Hasta La Gadget!

It’s not like the automatic vacuum cleaner market could get much more crowded, but Evolution Robotics has put an interesting twist on things with its Swiffer-packin’ Mint. If you’ll recall, we saw this guy wiping up the downright disgusting floors of the Las Vegas Convention Center back in January, and now it looks as if production plans are moving along nicely. Equipped with a NorthStar positioning technology that enables it to never hit the same spot twice on the same run, this hardwood sweeper is now up for pre-order. Unfortunately, getting in line requires a non-refundable $20 deposit, but the outlay will be applied to the purchase price and will enable you to snag one of the first shipments this summer (which is significantly more awesome than waiting for it to hit retail shelves in Q4). Don’t worry — your Roomba won’t be too envious.

Mint automatic floor cleaner up for pre-order, shipping this summer originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Apr 2010 05:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve had a number of reports come in that various people’s bank accounts were giving simultaneous good and bad news. First the latter: a pending charge upwards of $888 for an order you probably placed a month ago and forgot about — hope tax day didn’t wipe you out too much. The good news, should you brave that sudden financial burden, is that it emanates from Apple Computers and seems to indicate that the gang in Cupertino is, as indicated in an earlier email, on track to start delivering iPad 3Gs in late April. Got an outstanding reservation? Better check with your online money handler…

[Thanks Justin and everyone else who sent this in!]

iPad 3G orders being processed? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Apr 2010 20:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Given the legally-disputed origins of the JooJoo and the current shipping delays, you’d think Fusion Garage would scrupulously maintain a squeaky-clean image with its customers as it leads up to launch, but it looks like it wasn’t quite prepared to handle refunds in a sensible way — we just confirmed that the company asked a customer for his bank account information in order to deposit a refund directly after running into some troubles with PayPal. Here’s the relevant exchange:

“Support Joojoo” wrote:

Dear Rony,

We have checked this at our end and there seems to be a problem with
refunding via paypal.

To avoid any further wait time, could you send us your bank name, bank
account name, bank account number, sort or swift code and your bank address.

We will have a direct transfer done to your bank account. If you could
provide us the details today, we will ensure that the refund hits your bank
account by friday of this week.

Please advise . Sorry for the inconvenience caused.

Fusion Garage tells us that this customer actually changed his mind about getting a refund several times, and that they’ve only had three customers with refund issues, all of which were related to problems with PayPal issuing credit long after pre-orders were placed. While it’s uncommon here in the States (and obviously this buyer wasn’t keen on it), bank to bank transfers are the norm in Europe and widely used for the wiring of cash across international lines. Clearly after the issues with PayPal, however, the idea of handing over bank details doesn’t seem appealing in this case. We’ll see how everyone feels when that promised March 25 ship date rolls around, and we’ll let you know what happens with Rony and his refund when we find out more. Maybe next time just mail a check, guys.

JooJoo refund issues creating some bad juju originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re not going to engage in too much wild speculation on this piece of information, but there are certainly a few raised eyebrows in Engadget-land right now. Apparently Plastic Logic is no longer offering pre-orders of its QUE proReader, as a tipster of ours discovered while trying to push through his order of the $799.99, 8GB / 3G version of the large-screen device. According to the order page “Pre-orders are sold out. QUE will be available online and in select Barnes & Noble stores this summer.” This of course comes on the heels of news that the company would be further delaying the ship date from mid-April to summer related to “fine-tuning” and “enhancing the overall product experience.” So our minds aren’t exactly at ease, as we’re trying to understand why a company wouldn’t just caveat pre-orders by letting people know there’s been a run on supply — though it’s possible that Plastic Logic is doing separate batches for mail order and in-store, and just needs to pace themselves. We’ve reached out to the company for comment, and we’ll let you know as soon as we hear back.

[Thanks, Clive]

Plastic Logic QUE proReader pre-orders halted? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Mar 2010 15:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ok, you know the routine: the Apple store goes down prompting blog posts to deflect the onslaught of tips. Commenters then ponder why Apple has to go offline to add updates before a flamewar breaks out with somebody accusing somebody else of being a Nazi. Ah the internet, somebody should give it a prize. In between all the nonsense, feel free to wonder whether or not we’ll be seeing an overdue Mac Pro update to Gulftown in addition to the long awaited MacBook Pro update that should bring automatic NVIDIA Optimus graphics switching to Apple’s top-o-the-line laptops. We already know that iPad pre-orders are a lock. Check back at around 830 New York time to find out.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Apple Store down globally: iPad pre-orders only or something more? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 06:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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