Hasta La Gadget!

It boggles the mind to think that one Fermi GPU could be fit inside a laptop, but two? Eurocom has just outed its 17.3-inch Panther 2.0 mobile gaming station — which looks like a straight rebadge of the Clevo X7200 — with the most overpowered set of component choices we’ve yet seen. You can go SLI with the GTX 480M or NVIDIA’s more professionally minded Quadro 5000M, crank up CPU speed to 3.33GHz and beyond with the Core i7-980X from Intel (yes, the desktop variant), stash up to 24GB of onboard RAM, and jack in up to four storage drives, our preference being for the 2TB of SSD goodness option. Of course, if you prefer ATI’s Evergreen side of the fence, dual Mobility Radeon HD 5870 GPUs are on tap as well. Sadly, we’ve no idea how much these spectacular specs will set you back, but launch is set for later this month and you can always call up and get yourself a quote; we’re guessing it’ll be in five figures.

Continue reading Eurocom serves up GTX 480M SLI and HD 5870 CrossFireX options, seasons with Core i7-980X

Eurocom serves up GTX 480M SLI and HD 5870 CrossFireX options, seasons with Core i7-980X originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Aug 2010 09:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Is it tomorrow already? Must be because the Droid 2 is now up for sale on Verizon. $199 plus a two-year commitment takes home this Android 2.2 (Froyo) QWERTY slider with 3.7-inch 480×854 WVGA display, 8GB of internal memory plus another 8GB on microSD, and 5 megapixel camera. And unlike the original Droid just updated with Android 2.2, Verizon hasn’t crippled the 3G mobile WiFi hotspot capability this time, instead offering it as a $20 / month add-on. Order now if you can’t wait for Thursday’s in-store availability or the R2-D2 edition slated to arrive next month.

Update: Hey, it looks like our ol’ pal Derek is back, this time walking us through the finer points of Motorola’s new Droid 2. Hop on past the break for his refreshingly enthusiastic take.

[Thanks, Jeffrey]

Continue reading Verizon Motorola Droid 2 sales begin (update: product walkthrough video)

Verizon Motorola Droid 2 sales begin (update: product walkthrough video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Aug 2010 01:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Radio Shack is at it again, expanding your perceptions of the place that once actually sold radio components. A year after that ill-received ‘The Shack’ marketing campaign the company is now making a rather more substantial move, securing an arrangement with Target stores to see the creation of so-called Bullseye Mobile kiosks. This has started with a 100-store pilot program but, throughout this year and into summer next, the expectation is to prop them up in 1,750 big box locations. Something tells us they won’t all be wired up for WiMAX, but we can hope.

[Thanks, Breon]

‘The Shack’ downsizes, opens Bullseye Mobile kiosks in many Target stores originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 31 Jul 2010 16:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you think Intel chips are just for PCs, take a look at this touchscreen kiosk that the company has created for retailers.

The hulk of metal, plastic and glass looks like a Star Trek prop but it promises to replace the traditional CRT monitors with green-tinted screens that are still at the check out point in most stores.

The kiosk tries to bring the best features of online shopping, such as recommendations, history and easy check-out to retail stores, says Ryan Parker, director of marketing and architecture. We first wrote about this last year but Intel had a polished and slicker-than-ever demo ready Wednesday.

When a customer swipes a card or slides their purchase across the horizontal screen, the display will show the price and payment options –which include the option to pay by cellphone. As you scan the items, the kiosk also makes recommendations on what else you can buy and gives you a quick snapshot of it.

The entire kiosk is powered by Intel’s Core2Duo processors and it uses a solid state drive that helps the overall system work faster and consume less power than existing registers.  The chips also include Intel’s vPro technology, a virtualization technology that Intel builds into the chip itself, to make it secure and easy to manage.

The whole set-up is pretty neat, especially when you compare it to the self-check out counters at a Safeway or Lowes. But I can also see something like this potentially slowing down the check out process and longer lines at exit are not something consumers want.

Intel says it retailers don’t have to buy this whole idea as it is. They can pick the pieces they want and integrate it into their existing stores.

See Also:

• Why Intel Wants to Get into Energy
• Intel Introduces Ultra-Low-Power Processor for Smartphones
• Intel Researchers Turn Counter Tops Into Touchscreens
• Why 2010 Will Be the Year of the Tablet

Photo: Stefan Armijo/Wired.com

Seems like reports of the Roadster’s demise were indeed exaggerated. Tesla has announced it’s bringing its iconic electric automobile to five new nations. Canada and Japan are accompanied by Hong Kong, Poland and Turkey in being able to now take deliveries of freshly charged Roadsters. Of course, sufficiently motivated buyers could have imported theirs by now, but it’s always good to have local support on an official basis and this does seem to signal a more ambitious outlook on the part of Tesla. Also included in the press release — yours to peruse after the break — is word that the company has shifted 1,200 Roadsters since inception. That might not be a lot but you have to start somewhere, let’s hope the next 1,200 don’t take nearly as long to hit the road.

Continue reading Tesla Roadster goes continent-hopping, expands markets to include Canada and Japan

Tesla Roadster goes continent-hopping, expands markets to include Canada and Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Jul 2010 04:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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