Hasta La Gadget!

We’ve seen quite a few a) laptops and b) masterpieces in our day, but it’s hard to recall the last time that we saw both in the same instance. Have a look at the object above, which is undoubtedly one of the most amazing pieces of laptop art this planet has ever had the pleasure of seeing. Kenny Irwin, known for his post-microwave creations, decided to zap one of the low-cost PCs and then mold it into the OLPCSlug while things were still gooey, all in the name of good publicity and charity. You see, the buyer of this lovely piece will see 80 percent of the proceeds head straight to OLPC, and given that it will also “help keep you safe from forest beasts of unimaginable size,” those currently situated in backwoods retreats have an extra reason to plunk down. The only problem? That $26,001 asking price. A can’t-miss demo video is after the break.

[Thanks, Robert]

Continue reading OLPC gets microwaved, molded into stunning piece of art

Filed under: Laptops

OLPC gets microwaved, molded into stunning piece of art originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Sep 2009 09:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ah, finally. Mintpass has been teasing us with its delightfully adorable Mintpad for nearly a year now, and after sending a few out to a smattering of media outlets, it fell into a holding pattern for the rest of the summer. Now, at long last, the touchscreen-based PMP is on sale over in the UK, paving the way for consumers ’round the globe to call themselves an owner. Final specifications include a 2.9-inch LCD, 4GB of internal storage, a microSD expansion slot, WiFi, 1.3 megapixel camera, support for a gaggle of file formats and a battery good for 30 hours of audio or 5 hours of video. Too bad that £139 asking price becomes $229 here in the US.

[Via PMP Today]

Filed under: Handhelds, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Mintpass Mintpad now on sale, as cute as ever originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Sep 2009 19:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One thing’s for sure: the obsession with pico projectors has certainly calmed since these things first hit the scene right around a year ago. Optoma’s PK101 was somewhat of an industry poster child, so it makes sense to see the company outing a successor in hopes of catching the interest of those who held off on adopting early. Still, the predictably titled PK102 does little to improve upon the past, boasting the same native resolution (480 x 320), a 2,000:1 contrast ratio (up from 1,000:1) and the traditional DLP engine. On the plus side, it has managed to trim down ever-so-slightly, step up to 4GB of internal memory and add a few new connectivity options including a composite video input and a universal port capable of receiving VGA and component video signals. Best of all, the PK102 is available now for just $229, which pales in comparison to the $430 or so it took to snag the PK101 on launch day.

[Via PicoProjector-Info]

Filed under: Displays

Optoma’s PK102 pico projector slims down, boosts connectivity originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat! With Apple lowering the smartphone price bar with its last-gen iPhone 3G at $99, any well-specced phone hitting the airwaves these days for over a buck ninety-nine on contract just seems outrageous. And then, there’s this. T-Mobile USA has somehow found it within its heart to charge a near-astronomical $349.99 (on a two-year agreement, no less) for HTC’s latest WinMo-packin’ powerhouse, the Touch Pro2. Look, we aren’t saying the phone isn’t worth its weight in gold, but a quick look around the marketplace shows just how out of place this obscenely large asking price really is. The silver lining? We’re betting this slips beneath the $200 mark just as soon as the HTC fanboys have chipped in their early adopter fees (and it hits every other carrier in America).

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Filed under: Cellphones

T-Mobile hits the sauce, demands $350 for HTC Touch Pro2 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Aug 2009 02:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Call it coincidence or call it fate, but just as soon as we saw Samsung’s 11.6-inch N510 netbook go on sale across the pond, ASUS’ long-awaited 11.6-inch Eee PC 1101HA has netted itself a date with UPS here on US soil. The machine is the first in the Seashell range to boast a display larger than 11 inches, though the atypical WXGA (1,366 x 768) panel is about the only thing that’ll turn heads. Within, you’ll find an exceedingly bland array of parts: an Atom Z520 processor, 1GB of RAM, GMA 500 integrated graphics, a 160GB hard drive (still with us?), three USB 2.0 sockets, a 1.3 megapixel camera, WiFi, Ethernet, Bluetooth and audio in / out jacks. If you aren’t down with waiting to see what kind of netbook revolution coincides with the launch of Windows 7, you can order yours up from the links below for $429.99.

[Via Netbooked]

Read – BuyDig.com order page
Read – NewEgg.com order page

Filed under: Laptops

ASUS’ 11.6-inch 1101HA netbook finally on sale in America originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Aug 2009 04:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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