Nov 27

Black Friday deal roundup: Zhu Zhu mania edition

Posted in: roundup, Today's Chili

Ah, Black Friday. The words send shivers down your spine… do they not? We’re sure that you’re probably napping right now after a 4AM jaunt to your nearest brick and mortar retailer, where you inevitably trampled some children to get your hands on a Zhu Zhu or that super cheap TV with a 10:1 contrast ratio (hey, it was really cheap!). Still, there are some hard workin’, hard spendin’ folks who probably haven’t had nearly enough of Capitalism Day, and as such, we’re going to round up some of the best or most interesting deals we’ve seen thus far for their shopping pleasure. We’ve already done a few posts on the matter prior to the big day, and we’ll include those here as well. Oh, and we’re going to let you know about deals that seem too good to be true or just plain bunk to us, because no one wants you wasting your money… beyond what is considered reasonable by polite society. If you guys have any deals you think are notable, use the tip form (or comments) and let us know!

New deals today:

Dell Zino HD for $199 (buyer beware, it ships with Vista)
PS3 Slim (120GB) with inFAMOUS and Killzone 2 + a $10 Amazon gift certificate (different deals also available at other retailers)
Westinghouse 32-inch TV for $246 at Target (it is dirt cheap, but probably looks like crap)
TomTom iPhone app 30 percent off until Monday (link goes to App Store)

Previous deals:

Apple’s Black Friday deals
Black Friday deals roundup: Best Buy, Lenovo, Verizon and more
Black Friday deals roundup: Walmart, Target and NewEgg
Black Friday deals bonanza round up
Black Friday ads leaking all over town, we’ve rounded them up
Sears Black Friday ad revealed, we’ll be sleeping off our tryptophan hangovers

Black Friday deal roundup: Zhu Zhu mania edition originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 22

Black Friday deals roundup: Walmart, Target and NewEgg

Posted in: deal, roundup, sale, Today's Chili

We suspect this will be the final round of Black Friday ad leaks — you know, considering that Black Friday is but a few days away — but it seems as if the gadget world has saved the best (or at least the biggest) for last. As usual, we’re not spotting any major steals that’d be worth lining up a dozen hours in advance for, but the $78 Blu-ray player and $10 BD films from Wally World may be worth paying your neighbor to snag for you. Check ’em all out below… if you dare.

Black Friday deals roundup: Walmart, Target and NewEgg originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 07

Canon EOS 7D gets high marks all around

Posted in: camera, digital camera, DigitalCamera, dslr, review, Reviews, roundup, Today's Chili

Canon’s EOS 7D is a pretty grandiose piece of image-recording equipment, whether you’re talking about its size, features or price. You’re probably aware of the 18 megapixel APS-C sensor and dual DIGIC 4 processors already, but we’ve all had to be a bit more patient than usual in waiting for the pro reviews to come out. Dpreview doesn’t disappoint though, with a thoughtful 31-page tome awaiting the keen reader, and we’ve also got more digestible video reviews from DPhoto Journal for the less patient among you. If you’re after direct comparisons against competing models, such as the Nikon D300s, you’ll find those sprinkled in among the reviews as well, with Cameratown throwing in a direct head-to-head with Canon’s own 5D Mark II. The 7D was found to produce “virtually no visible noise” all the way up to ISO 1600, and scored further points for its gorgeous 100 percent frame-covering viewfinder and fast 19-point AF. With a weather-sealed, highly ergonomic body design, ridiculously fast processing and a sensor so good that “in most situations the lens, rather than the camera, is likely to be the limiting factor,” the only thing reviewers could criticize was the somewhat uncompetitive pricing, but that’s likely to soften with time anyway. Read on… if you dare.

Read – dpreview review
Read – Photography Blog review
Read – Tech Radar review
Read – DPhoto Journal video roundup
Read – Cameratown comparison with 5D Mark II

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Canon EOS 7D gets high marks all around originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 04

Apple tablet rumor roundup: future of media edition

Posted in: Apple, iPhone, roundup, rumor, tablet, Today's Chili

The sketchy Apple tablet rumors have continued apace in the past few days, and rather than hit you with each bit of fluff as it comes in, we’re going to be rounding them up from now on. Today’s edition builds on earlier reports that Apple’s trying to drag print media kicking and screaming into the future, with whispers that Apple execs recently met with Australian media execs to pitch them on new ways to distribute their content on a device “small enough to carry in a handbag but too big to fit in a pocket.” Apparently the deal involves a 70/30 revenue split, just like the iPhone App Store — and unlike the insane 30/70 split Amazon demands on the Kindle, which Apple executives called an “unattractive industry structure” during an investor event a few days later. Of course, Apple tends to say it’s not interested in something right before it enters the market, so read that as you will. And finally, China OnTrade today posted up an “Apple iPhone 4 Generation Midboard,” which would be a totally boring piece of plastic with no connection to anything… except these guys managed to score some iPhone 3GS parts way early as well. Is this just junk, or is it is really a new iPhone leaking months and months early? Or maybe just leftovers from a camera-equipped iPod touch that never was? Or… is this also some random part of a new tablet? No one really knows — which is why we’re sticking it all in this post and moving on with our lives.

Read – Apple pitches to Australian media
Read – Apple execs call online print media “unattractive”
Read – China OnTrade iPhone 4 Generation midboard

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Apple tablet rumor roundup: future of media edition originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 23

Windows 7: A Weekend Install Guide and More

Posted in: Microsoft, roundup, Today's Chili, top, Windows, windows 7

The weekend is here, and since launch just happened it’s time to install Windows 7. Here’s our guide. An in case you were on the fence, a recap of the week’s launch and some reviews from Giz and our friends.

• Our Complete Windows 7 Guide
• The Best Features and Tips
• Our Full Review

• Lifehacker’s Complete Guide to Windows 7

• How to Install Windows 7 via Boot Camp on a New Mac
• Win SuperSite: How To Clean Install Win 7 With an Upgrade-Only Disc
• How to Virtualize Any OS for Free

And here’s a recap of the finest launch moments of the past week…

The Launch Party

• Readers’ Windows 7 Launch Parties
• Adam Frucci’s One-Man Launch Party
• Host Your Own Win 7 Torrenting Party
• Microsoft Opens Its All-New Retail Store
• Microsoft’s New Windows 7 Ads
• Apple’s New Windows 7 Ads
• 38 Ways to Put some Sex Into Windows 7
• Saddest Example of Cross-Promotional Convergence Ever

The Steve Ballmer Interview

• Part 1: Ballmer Talks Natal, Says Blu-ray Add-On for Xbox Coming (Update)
• Part 2: Ballmer on the Smartphone Race: “It Doesn’t Matter What the Critics Say”
• Part 3: Ballmer on Zune: Sometimes You Get It Right The Third Time?
• Part 4: Ballmer on Those Crazy Ballmer YouTube Videos
• Part 5: Ballmer Optimistic About Win 7, But Says Vista Is “Very Popular”

The Dealzmodo

• Last Minute Windows 7 Deals
• Windows 7 Deals of the Day
• HP and Best Buy’s Super Insane $1200 Combo Offer

More Windows 7 Goodness

• 27 Reviews of Windows 7
• 7 Reasons to Stick to XP
• Battlemodo: Thin-and-Light Win 7 Laptops
• HP Envy
• Amazon Kindle Touchscreen App for Windows 7

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Oct 22

Windows 7 launch day: what you need to know

Posted in: Features, launch, Microsoft, roundup, Today's Chili, windows 7, Windows7

It’s out! October 22nd is at last upon us, bringing with it Microsoft’s latest generation of Windows, Windows 7. With preview editions released to the public, reviews galore to be found as early as August, and plenty of manufacturers already shipping product, it’s probably not hard to find an opinion on the operating system or to try it out for yourself. Most folks will probably just end up getting a machine with it pre-installed, instead of going through the hassle of an upgrade, but if you want to know if it’s worth the effort of a standalone buy, or even looking to buy a new all-new computer right-just-now to celebrate the OS, check out our helpful guides below:

Read the reviews (Windows 7 review | Windows 7 Media Center review)

What’s clear from the review and our look at what’s new in Media Center is that this is an enhanced version of Windows, but not some sort of revolution that will have Linux users repenting of their open source sins and Apple fans dropping their photorealistic icons. The articles should give you a good idea of what enhancements are in store and whether Windows 7 could truly make your old machine sing.

Pick a version (Windows 7 official pricing)

An age old confusion for Windows users has been slightly simplified here — most users will end up with Windows 7 Home Premium when they buy a PC, but folks buying a copy outright have some more soul searching to do.

How to upgrade (How-To: Install Windows 7 and live to tell about it)

So you’ve got a copy, how are you gonna get it onto your Vista or XP box without causing the complete ruination of your digital lifestyle? Microsoft has provided some pretty good tools for this process, but we break it down and help out where we can.

Pick a computer (Launch day hardware spectacular)

Decided to skip the upgrade route and go straight for the sexy new hardware that’s accompanying this release, huh? Well, you’re in luck. We’ve rounded up some of the more notable releases, particularly some of the stuff that’s packing newer processors, lower price points and a whole lot more touchscreen than last time around.

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Windows 7 launch day: what you need to know originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 22

Canon PowerShot G11 review roundup

Posted in: roundup, Today's Chili

We had an all too brief hands-on with Canon’s PowerShot G11 way back in August, but the first real flood of reviews has only just recently started, and now seemed like as good a time as any to get you caught up on some of them. As you might expect, one of the real stand-out features is that swiveling LCD, which is not only good in and of itself, but “one of the best of its type” according to What Digital Camera. Other reviewers like Wired UK and CNET UK also found that G11 delivered some noticeably better results than the previous G10, with it aided especially by the surprising but welcome shift from the old 14.7-megapixel sensor to a new 10-megapixel one that offers an improved dynamic range and better performance at high ISO settings, among other advantages. On the downside, the camera is somewhat bulky, and PhotographyBlog says it fails to live up to Canon’s claims of it being the “ultimate compact,” especially when you consider some of the similarly-sized (but admittedly pricier) Micro Four Thirds offerings available.

Read – Wired.co.uk
Read – What Digital Camera
Read – CNET UK
Read – PhotographyBlog

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Canon PowerShot G11 review roundup originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 13

ATI Radeon HD 5770 and 5750 steal away reviewers’ hearts

Posted in: AMD, ati, radeon, review, roundup, Today's Chili

The ATI onslaught of 40nm DirectX 11 parts continues today with two even cheaper variants coming from its Evergreen family of chips. Based on the Juniper core, the HD 5770 and 5750 represent ATI’s mainstream value proposition, with compute performance of more than 1 TFLOPS and pricing between $109 and $159. There’s a significant dropoff in specs from the world-conquering HD 5870 and similarly potent HD 5850, but reviewers found the latest cards were still up to the task, with the 5770’s performance said to be “just shy” of the very recent top dog for ATI, the HD 4890. With low power consumption, competitive pricing and added features like Eyefinity and 7.1 HD audio, the new cards might not push performance boundaries, but they also leave you with little reason to look elsewhere for your next GPU purchase. Hit up the reviews below for more detailed impressions.

Read – Hot Hardware review
Read – PC Perspective review
Read – HardOCP review
Read – TweakTown review
Read – Techgage review
Read – AnandTech review
Read – Hexus review

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ATI Radeon HD 5770 and 5750 steal away reviewers’ hearts originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 04:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 22

Gallery: Green Gear for Eco-Conscious Gadget Freaks

Posted in: Reviews, roundup, Today's Chili
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You want to go green, you really do. And you’ve taken the steps to take your carbon footprint from Sasquatch-sized to ballerina-slipper tiny by cutting transcontinental flights, separating green and brown glass, even outfitting your home with fluorescent lights. But what about gadgets? We’ve got you covered. Be it transportation, recreation or energy calibration, Wired.com has reviewed five pieces of tech that’ll get you greener than a St. Patrick’s Day parade.

Read on for our capsule reviews, or click through for the full reviews on Wired.com’s Product Reviews site.

Ford Fusion Hybrid

Ford scored a direct hit on the Camry Hybrid, topping the Toyota by 5 mpg, and almost took down the 41-mpg Honda Insight. But as Ford was shooting for fuel efficiency, it didn’t forget a car should be fun to drive and a joy to use. On that score, the Fusion excels. It combines excellent fit and finish with smooth driving dynamics in a handsome mid-size sedan that also happens to get excellent mileage.

The beauty of Ford’s hybrid system is it has none of the shudder or lag often experienced in hybrids when the electric motor hands off propulsion to the gasoline engine. It’s seamless, as is the electronic continuously variable transmission. Ford muttered something about “proprietary” when we asked how it pulled that off, then mentioned the terms “variable cam timing” and “variable voltage converter” before saying it had nothing more to say.

WIRED: European styling meets Japanese fuel economy in an American car built in Mexico. Go as fast as 47 mph on electric power. Clever dashboard makes hypermiling fun. More gadgets than Best Buy, and they’re all useful.

TIRED: Battery eats up trunk space. Climate control knobs are so low you’ve got to take your eyes off the road. Why is the light switch on the dash, not the turn signal stalk?

$30,780 (as tested), ford.com

Read our full Ford Fusion Hybrid.

Check Wired.com’s latest Product Reviews, updated daily.


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Sep 16

AMD pops out sub-$100 quad-core Athlon II X4 CPU: review roundup

Posted in: AMD, processor, roundup, Today's Chili

AMD has always been one to play the pricing card in its never-ending tussle with Intel, but we get the feeling this introduction may pack more of a punch than any before it. It’s a simple concept — the $99 quad-core CPU — and given just how in love we Americans are with value menus, you can bet new PC builders will at least give the new Athlon II X4 620 ($99) and 630 ($122) a look. Reviews around the web essentially came to the same conclusion: it’s not the fastest quad-core chip around, and the lack of L3 certainly doesn’t make it the most attractive, but the 620 somehow manages to compete with all of the processors in its price range while being the cheapest. The “cut-down Phenom II,” as HotHardware calls it, suffers a bit on the gaming side due to the L3 removal, but in general scenarios it was plenty potent. Hit the links below if you feel like digging in way, way deeper.

Read – HotHardware
Read – TechSpot
Read – MaximumPC
Read – PC Perspective
Read – TweakTown
Read – PC Pro
Read – AMD Zone

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AMD pops out sub-$100 quad-core Athlon II X4 CPU: review roundup originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Sep 2009 08:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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