Hasta La Gadget!

What happens when you decide to sell a device that brazenly features an apple logo you’re not allowed to use? Well, not much actually, the robocops don’t come busting through your door or anything, but evidently the Cupertino lawyers are on top of their game (they’ve certainly had enough practice lately) and have shot out a kindly note to the M.I.C. Store guys to ask them to halt sales of the iHub. That’s exactly what’s happened with the $10 USB hub, and before we get in a huff about Apple acting all totalitarian again, let’s remember that a trademark is only as good as the enforcement you attach to it, so this pretty much had to happen. Strangely, M.I.C. still promises to complete delivery for those who’ve already placed an order, and this latest development should make it feel that much more special if and when it does arrive.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

iHub gets shut down by the iPolice originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Apr 2011 08:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The world’s love affair with tablets may have been bubbling along under the surface for a while, but it really got started in earnest during CES 2010. Back in those wild days, you could see 15-inch jumbo screens, TV tuners, and even hybrid pseudo-laptops stalking the tablet area of your favorite trade show. ASUS was there too, of course, though it still believed in the upstart smartbook category — a modernized take on the netbook that relied on an ARM CPU and a mobile OS to extract more battery life out of a lighter, thinner device — and was busy showing off a seductively slim prototype of just such a machine. Alas, nothing came of that Neo concept, most likely because it was relying on Android 1.6 and a Tegra 2 system-on-chip that was then still months away from hitting the market.

Today, however, is a different day. The 1GHz dual-core Tegra 2 is finally being produced in volume, Google has evolved Android to version 3.0, specifically targeting higher-resolution displays, and ASUS has abandoned the idea that a keyboard is crucial to mobile computing. No, wait, that last bit’s still there. The Eee Pad Transformer is a 10.1-inch Honeycomb tablet very much in keeping with the current trend, but it also has an optional keyboard dock that turns it into a, you guessed it, instant smartbook. So, does that mean you’ll get two devices in one or has ASUS been overly ambitious and compromised too much? We got to grips with the £380 16GB WiFi-only model and its keyboard buddy (£430 when bought as a pair) in an effort to find out. Answers await just past the break.

Continue reading ASUS Eee Pad Transformer (UK edition) review

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer (UK edition) review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Apr 2011 14:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It ain’t drastically different than Altec’s iDevice speaker docks from earlier in the year, but if you’re looking for a living room peripheral that’ll output video from your iPod touch or iPhone, the outfit’s Octiv 650 is certainly worthy of consideration. Ditching iPad support in favor of a cleaner, more compact design, this particular sound dock features a component / composite output as well as one other trick — support for the free Music Mood app. Put simply, it’ll pipe hallucinogenic visualizations onto your screen, all while cranking out the jams through a pair of three-inch, full-range drivers and a nested 4-inch subwoofer. We’re told that YouTube and Netflix output is a go, and there’s an auxiliary port thrown in for those pals who wander over with the worst-named PMP of all time. Check it next month for a nickle under $200, and start mulling the most important decision of all right now: black… or slate?

Continue reading Altec Lansing’s Octiv 650 iPhone / iPod speaker dock does video out, brings new meaning to Mood lighting

Altec Lansing’s Octiv 650 iPhone / iPod speaker dock does video out, brings new meaning to Mood lighting originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Now that your Wii Balance Board is safely tucked underneath the couch and you’ve long ago discovered that every standard Nintendo title can be played with the flick of a wrist, you might be wondering how you’ll ever convince yourself to exercise again. Well, there are certainly a few dangling-carrot solutions to your problem, and here’s one that actually makes sense — the Blaze U-Move, a Nunchuk replacement (with built-in pedometer) that effectively locks your joystick in place. The idea is that unless you’re moving, your avatar can’t move, and when you do, it can — each time you jog in place, you’re building up virtual momentum. That certainly sounds like a much more graceful and practical solution than others we’ve seen, which turn off the entire controller or (Miyamoto forbid) cut power to your entire game machine. This way, you can stop running when you need to do some precision aiming, and set your mind at ease regarding your save game. Yours for £20, or about $32 in US currency.

Blaze’s U-Move controls your Wii, makes you jog to play effectively (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 06:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When a product takes well over a full year to go from introduction to release, it’s natural for consumer expectations to amp themselves up a notch or two. Such is the case with Razer’s Chimaera, an Xbox 360-centric wireless gaming headset that was initially teased at CES 2010, and just started shipping to end users early this year. The company’s been in the gaming headset business for some time now — if you’ll recall, we thoroughly enjoyed our time with the (wired) Carcharias headset right around two years back. This 2.1 system promises to give Xbox Live yappers exactly what they’ve been waiting for, but is it really worth the $129.99 entry fee? Head on past the break for our take.

Continue reading Razer Chimaera wireless Xbox 360 headset review

Razer Chimaera wireless Xbox 360 headset review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 12:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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