3K’s Windows CE-powered RazorBook 400 netbook goes half price, still won’t sell

Man, remember just how great of a deal this looked like when it launched at $299 in May of last year? Funny how things change so rapidly, huh? Well, it’s pretty comical unless you’re 3K Computers, who now has a pathetic excuse of a netbook that it can only sell by slashing the asking price from $299 to under $150. Nearly web-wide, legitimate e-tailers are selling the RazorBook 400 CE for less than half of its original MSRP, and we’re not even a full year into its life cycle. But really, who’s jonesing for a CE-powered netbook (we could just stop there, truthfully) with a diminutive 7-inch display, 128MB of RAM and a processor that’s slower (in clock speed, anyway) than that found in HTC’s Touch Diamond? If you’re sheepishly raising your hand, the read link’s got sucker your name written all over it.

[Via Laptoping]

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3K’s Windows CE-powered RazorBook 400 netbook goes half price, still won’t sell originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Apr 2009 08:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Panasonic DMC-GH1 handled on video, coming to North America in May

Panasonic’s HD Micro Four Thirds shooter honestly can’t arrive soon enough, with its continual autofocus while shooting, on-the-fly aperture switching and all around loveliness. Thus, it’s with a heavy heart that we present to you the following tidbit: according to Doug Borbath, a senior project manager at Panasonic Canada, the DMC-GH1 won’t ship to North America until “late May,” though the pricing remains pretty much in line with what we’ve been hearing. It’ll sticker at $1,899CDN, which equates to just over $1,500 here in the United States. That price does include the pretty astounding 14-140mm (28-280mm in Four Thirds terminology) stock lens, though it doesn’t include the optional external microphone ($200; available “around the same time”) nor the super wide angle Lumix G Vario 7-14mm/f4.0 ASPH (price unknown; available at GH1 launch). Check the read link for some seriously enviable footage.

[Thanks, Jive]

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Panasonic DMC-GH1 handled on video, coming to North America in May originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Netflix raising rates for Blu-ray subscribers by around 20 percent

Ruh roh. In a move that will undoubtedly cause an incredibly raucous stir, only to fade away as movie renters realize that Netflix is still the best deal going, America’s most adored by-mail rental service is hiking the price of Blu-ray rentals once again. If you’ll recall, Netflix already implemented a $1 per month fee for Blu-ray customers back in October, and now it’s looking to push that premium higher by around 20 percent across its pricing tiers. The company asserts that the increase (slated to hit April 27th and only applicable to BD customers) is due to it buying more titles on BD to “accommodate the increasing number of Netflix members who prefer renting movies on Blu-ray.” In fact, nearly 10 percent of all Netflix customers are choosing BD now, and obviously these platters cost quite a bit more for anyone (even Netflix) to procure. Head past the break to see how big of a hardship this will be on you.

Continue reading Netflix raising rates for Blu-ray subscribers by around 20 percent

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Netflix raising rates for Blu-ray subscribers by around 20 percent originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Mar 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Global Sony announcement rumored for tomorrow, unicorns practically a lock

Take it for what it’s worth, but Smarthouse has it on authority that Sony Computer Entertainment is gearing up to make a worldwide announcement tomorrow, and believe it or not, it could involve the PlayStation 3. Analysts (and patient consumers) have been anticipating a PS3 price drop ever since, oh, December 26th of last year, but we’ve seen absolutely zero evidence to make us believe that one is coming within the next 24 hours. And as Joystiq points out, each Sony region sets its own PS3 price independently. At any rate, we reckon a joint PS2 / PS3 price slashing could be on the table, but we’d highly recommend not getting your hopes up too high. Who knows — we could be getting all worked up over a new firmware that unlocks HD DVD support.

[Via Joystiq]

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Global Sony announcement rumored for tomorrow, unicorns practically a lock originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Mar 2009 09:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony’s PlayStation 2 rumored to hit $99.99 in April

We’ve nothing to go on but a good man’s word, but we’re hearing that the permanent retail price of Sony’s aged PlayStation 2 console will soon fall below the magical $100 mark. And really, it’d be about time. If you’ll recall, Sony last adjusted the price of the PS2 in (surprise!) April of 2006, and if this here tip proves true, the company will select April of 2009 to push the MSRP down to $99.99. The image above comes from a generally trustworthy Kmart pricing system, and while we’re certain you’d all love a PS3 price drop to follow suit, we’ve no reason to believe that one is close enough to touch.

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Sony’s PlayStation 2 rumored to hit $99.99 in April originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Mar 2009 22:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung’s HMX-R10 HD camcorder aims for April release

Samsung’s devilishly cute HMX-R10 camcorder stole the hearts of many at CES, but ever since, we’ve been aimlessly wandering about Sammy’s website attempting to locate clues on pricing and availability. Thankfully, it seems some answers are starting to surface, and we’ve only got a month or so before we discover whether these whispers were laced in truth. Reportedly, this pocket-friendly high-def camcorder will be hitting UK streets next month, with early estimates pegging the price at $550. We’re told that Americans may have to wait until sometime this summer before they too can indulge, but at least the Britons will be able to test it out beforehand and give you a little heart-to-heart buying advice.

Read – Estimated ship date
Read – Estimated pricing

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Samsung’s HMX-R10 HD camcorder aims for April release originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Mar 2009 11:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Panasonic’s ultrathin TC-P54Z1 VIERA plasma priced at $5,999.95

Yeah, we know — six large for a 54-inch HDTV seems a bit much in today’s society, but the same sort of thing was said last September when Mitsubishi threw a $6,999 sticker on its mesmerizing LaserVue set. Panasonic’s one-inch thick TC-P54Z1 plasma, which just might be the last of its breed barring production of the NeoPDP concept, will undoubtedly serve a shrinking niche, but for those willing to pay for the best of what’s new, they’ll be getting an awful lot of sexy for $5,999.95. Speaking of that MSRP, that’s the good word from the HD Guru himself, though we’ve yet to see an official confirmation from Panny. Honestly though, that’s about what we reckoned it would list at after seeing it unveiled at CES, so now would probably be a good time to start hunting for any 10 percent off coupons for your favorite B&M HDTV outlet.

[Via CNET]

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Panasonic’s ultrathin TC-P54Z1 VIERA plasma priced at $5,999.95 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Mar 2009 11:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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T-Mobile brings $50 unlimited voice plan to rest of America

Well, that “trial” didn’t last long at all, now did it? Just days after teeing up a $50 unlimited voice plan in the great city of San Francisco, T-Mobile USA has reportedly taken said plan nationwide. Users are already buzzing about the widespread availability, though it should be noted that the same “loyalty requirements” from the San Fran pilot are still in effect for the rest of the nation. In other words, you have to have been a T-Mob subscriber for at least 22 months and have been in good standing the whole time. Oh, and being cute probably helps.

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T-Mobile brings $50 unlimited voice plan to rest of America originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Mar 2009 14:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell’s Inspiron Mini 9 drops to a delicious $199

Been brushing the idea of a netbook off for months now? Let’s see you ignore this. Hot on the heels of the Inspiron Mini 10 going on sale, Dell has lowered the barrier to entry on its marginally smaller Mini 9 to a rather amazing $199. For under two bills, you can now grab yourself an Obsidian Black 8.9-inch netbook with a 1.6GHz Atom CPU, WiFi, a 4-cell battery, GMA950 graphics, 512MB of RAM, a 4GB SSD and a copy of Ubuntu Linux. Of course, that price heads up a hundred bucks if you just can’t live without Windows XP, but if there’s ever been a time for learning how to deal within an open source environment, we’d say this is it. Good luck with that whole “resisting the temptation” thing.

[Via technabob]

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Dell’s Inspiron Mini 9 drops to a delicious $199 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Feb 2009 10:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony’s OLED Walkman priced and dated… in the UK

We know, there’s only so much an American can glean from UK prices, but there’s still excitement in the air from seeing Sony’s OLED-packin’ touchscreen Walkman up for pre-order at Amazon UK. The X Series is ready for ordering in 16GB (NWZ-X1050B) and 32GB (NWZ-X1060B) flavors, with both expected to be dispatched between a fortnight and five weeks. As for pricing? Try £214 ($308) for the little guy and £283 ($407) for the big brother. All of a sudden, Cowon’s OLED-equipped S9 isn’t looking like such a bad alternative, eh?

[Via OLED-Display]

Read – 32GB Walkman

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Sony’s OLED Walkman priced and dated… in the UK originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Feb 2009 09:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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