Hasta La Gadget!

Apple has just revealed its 6th generation iPod nano, which has been outfitted with just about the boldest redesign the portable media player has experienced yet. Gone is the clickwheel, to be replaced with a touchscreen interface and a shuffle-esque square form factor. It’s now 46 percent smaller and 42 percent lighter. Hard volume buttons on the side and a clip on the back provide the minimal hardware accouterments to that multitouch touchscreen, while the inside provides enough juice for 24 hours of audio playback. Seven total color variants will be up for grabs, including a Product RED option, with prices set at $149 for 8GB of storage or $179 for 16GB and pre-orders being taken today.

P.S. — If you were looking for that awesome camera the nano used to have, stop. It ain’t there anymore. We’ve also noted that there’s no video playback to be found anymore, either.

Continue reading iPod nano redesigned: smaller, lighter, better and costing $149 for 8GB or $179 for 16GB

iPod nano redesigned: smaller, lighter, better and costing $149 for 8GB or $179 for 16GB originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 13:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, that didn’t take long. Just a few months after Fujisoft’s PALRO was formally introduced to the Japanese education segment, said humanoid is now set to receive a host of new applications as well as become useful as a people tracker. It’s bruited that PALRO will soon gain a Twitter client (to read tweets aloud as best it can), a cooking app, a Japanese word game and remote monitoring abilities (among others), but it’s unclear how these obviously commercial apps will help / not help the robot inch closer to a citizen’s release. In related news, PALRO has been spotted with a few newfound abilities, namely the instinct to track people and objects via its built-in camera. We’ll spare you the rhetoric on why teaching these things to watch our every move is a tragic, tragic mistake, but feel free to peek the video after the break if you’re brushing the inevitable downfall of mankind off as a silly rumor.

Continue reading PALRO buddies with its first apps, busts new moves on video

PALRO buddies with its first apps, busts new moves on video originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Aug 2010 04:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola is set to refresh its original Droid phone with the launch of the Droid 2 later this week. The new Droid 2 phone will sport a better keyboard, the latest Android 2.2 Froyo operating system and a faster 1-GHz processor.

Droid 2 will cost $200 with a two-year contract on Verizon Wireless or $600 without a contract, according to Best Buy.

Motorola hasn’t confirmed a release date for the Droid 2 but widespread rumors suggest the phone will be introduced on Aug. 12.

The original Droid phone is now listed as “out of stock” on Verizon’s website.

The Droid 2 refresh comes nearly ten months after Motorola and Verizon launched the original Droid phone. In October last year, the two companies introduced Droid, then one of the most advanced Android devices in the market. The Droid debuted with a 3.7-inch touchscreen display, a slide-out keyboard, a 5-megapixel camera and a 600-MHz processor. Since then, the device has become one of the best-selling Android phones.

In June this year, Motorola announced Droid X, a device that extended the Droid brand. The Droid X, however, didn’t come with a keyboard. With its 4.3-inch touchscreen, the Droid X also sports a bigger display and a faster processor compared to the original Droid.

Droid 2 will now catch up to some of those specs. One of the key criticisms with the original Droid phone was the device’s keyboard. Many users complained that the keys weren’t comfortable to use. Motorola seems to have heard that. In a newspaper ad touting the imminent arrival of the Droid 2, Motorola has highlighted the Droid 2’s “new, advanced keyboard.”

Droid 2 also hopes to be the first phone to ship with Android 2.2 Froyo and support Adobe’s Flash technology for mobile phones — a distinction that shouldn’t matter much now since other devices including HTC Evo and even the original Droid are getting over-the-air upgrades to Froyo.

Another point to consider is that the feature upgrades won’t put the Droid 2 at the front of the pack of Android phones. HTC’s Evo has an 8-megapixel camera, compared to Droid 2’s rumored 5 megapixels. The Evo also has a front-facing camera and HDMI out — two features that will likely be missing in Droid 2.

If that’s the case, it is unlikely Droid 2 can on top of the best-seller charts like its predecessor.

See Also:

• Is This the Motorola Droid 2?
• Motorola Droid Rules Android
• Why I’m Not Getting a Droid Today
• Droid X Debut Leaves Hardcore Android Fans Leery
• Hands On With the Motorola Droid X
• Verizon Denies Tethering, Hot Spot Features to Droid Customers

Photo: Motorola Droid (Gubatron/Flickr)

Having reached a grand old age in the rapidly cycling tech world, Apple’s 24-inch LED Cinema Display is today getting itself a new sibling. The new 27-inch display clocks in at a 2560 x 1440 resolution, sports a 16:9 aspect ratio, and does it all for the (not so) low price of $999. That might not sound like a steal, but Dell’s similar U2711 (both offer IPS at the same resolution) actually retails for a hundie more at $1,099. For the price Apple includes a built-in iSight camera, a three port powered USB hub, and a universal MagSafe connector for charging up your MacBook. Like the 24-inch before it, Apple has really built this display to be the ultimate MacBook or MacBook Pro companion, since a single cable breaks out into the USB, Mini DisplayPort (with audio support), and MagSafe plug that are just about all your laptop requires when sitting down at a desk. PR is after the break, and the screen will start shipping in September.

Continue reading Apple Cinema Display goes to 27 inches, 16:9 aspect ratio

Apple Cinema Display goes to 27 inches, 16:9 aspect ratio originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 08:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Whether you classify it as a roadable aircraft or a flying car, Terrafugia’s Transition looks resolutely set on avoiding vaporware status and becoming a bona fide commercial reality late next year. It’s ironic, then, that the latest development is being illustrated with a bunch of renders, but what they show is a significantly redesigned body, which now comes with FAA-approved safety features and brings the hybrid vehicle closer to its final shape. The new design integrates lessons learned from the Transition’s test flight last year to improve the wing shape and retraction mechanism, while also including an impact-absorbing crumple zone in the nose. The two-seater now also comes with a touchscreen center console — because nothing signals modernity better than a touchscreen — and can be seen in all its computer-generated glory on video after the break.

Continue reading Terrafugia’s flying car Transitions into a safer, better, tamer-looking personal transporter

Terrafugia’s flying car Transitions into a safer, better, tamer-looking personal transporter originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 05:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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