Hasta La Gadget!

We waited nearly the entire summer for the Acer Iconia Tab A501 to break daylight. Now that it’s finally shone its uber-glossy face, we were anxious to see if the “4G” HSPA+ model is worth the extra coin (or two year ball-and-chain, should you go that route) over the standard A500. If you have little fear of commitment, signing the dotted line will get you one 16GB slate for $330 — plus the added cost of a capped data allowance or a pay-as-you go plan. Not down to hitch up to the contract wagon? Cool with us… but you’ll pay $150 more to get your hands on one of these. So is settling down for two of the Earth’s rotations with the same tablet a wise move? Are you better off sticking with the WiFi-only model? Read on to see what we discovered when we took the A501 for a spin.

Continue reading Acer Iconia Tab A501 for AT&T review

Acer Iconia Tab A501 for AT&T review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Most camera owners count low price, a versatile zoom lens, and HD video capture high on the priority list when searching for their next point-and-shoot, but Sigma’s new DP2x falls short on all three counts, sporting an $800 price tag, fixed-length 24.2mm lens, and meager QVGA video. So why, then, did Sigma bother releasing an update to last year’s DP1x? The camera’s near-DSLR-size 14 megapixel Foveon X3 sensor is slightly redeeming, along with a sturdy body construction and full manual controls, according to a review on ePhotoZine, but negative bullet points like poor JPEGs, a magenta cast on images, and a slow response time leave us unimpressed. Sigma boasts of the cam’s unique image sensor, which it claims stacks red, green, and blue layers for higher-quality images, but even there, poor low-light performance and 4.7 megapixel file output don’t seem to make the tradeoff worthwhile. The site claims that the cam’s lens is a solid-performer, however, with a fast f/2.8 aperture and an excellent manual focusing system. Overall, we don’t appear to have a winner on our hands with the DP2x, but Sigma loyalists looking to stick with the seemingly overpriced, undervalued camera line can hit up the source link for the full review.

Sigma’s fixed-lens DP2x reviewed: a ‘quirky camera’ that ‘needs further development’ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Jun 2011 15:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’ve never heard the words “form over function” used to describe a computer case, you must’ve missed Thermaltake’s Level 10 last year. Sure, it made us do a double take with its BMW-designed, super modular chassis, but its 50-pound weight and $750 price made it an impractical choice for a sizable chunk of the enthusiast crowd. Almost a year later, The Tech Report has gotten its hands on its successor, the $270 Level 10 GT, and deemed it much more fit for real-world use. This time, the company decompartmentalized the 3.5-inch hard drive bays — all while adding an extra 5.25-inch bay and making room for an external 2.5-incher. Nonetheless, the GT isn’t without imperfections — the reviewer found a few spots where the build quality was lacking. If you’ve had your eye on one of these, we highly recommend perusing the extremely thorough review at the source link.

Thermaltake’s Level 10 GT enclosure gets reviewed, deemed more practical than its predecessor originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Apr 2011 20:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The saga of the Notion Ink Adam is a tale like many we could name — it’s the story of a tiny company struggling to bring a vision to market, facing friction from investors, factories and the march of time itself. The difference is that the Adam captured the imaginations of gadget fiends like ourselves with ideas that were fantastic from day one and are still novel now that it’s finally been released, including a paneled UI, full USB host functionality, and of course that Pixel Qi screen. But does the Adam deliver on the promises of unifying form and function with such technology? In two words: Not really.

Continue reading Notion Ink Adam review

Notion Ink Adam review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Apr 2011 16:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Over the years, Garmin’s beefed up its line of Forerunner GPS watches, offering something for everybody with graphs and even a dash o’ pink. But the new, slimmed-down Forerunner 610 is the first to feature a touchscreen that you can tap to flip menus instead of feeling around for a host of bantam buttons. For your $350, it’ll display distance, time elapsed, and pace all on one screen, though you can add other metrics, such as heart rate. The 610 is also the first in the line with a run / walk alert, which keeps Auto Lap and other features active even when it detects you’re walking. As always, you can upload your runs to the web in excruciating detail, but this watch jumps on the social bandwagon with “Virtual Racer,” a Nike Running-esque community where you can compare your stats with strangers’ (or just try to best your own PRs, if you don’t play like that).

After logging some epic runs with the touchscreen Nano, we’d be curious to see how responsive the display is after your fingers become sweaty, though Garmin promises it’ll work well through sweat, rain, and touchscreen-friendly gloves. It’s available now on Garmin’s site, though we suggest you hardcore runners check out DC Rainmaker‘s review below: it’s everything you wanted to know about the 610 but were afraid to ask, including comparison shots with other Forerunners and a glove test.

Continue reading Garmin intros the Forerunner 610, its first touchscreen GPS watch for runners (video)

Garmin intros the Forerunner 610, its first touchscreen GPS watch for runners (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Apr 2011 14:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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