Hasta La Gadget!

We won’t deny it — a stroke of envy took us by storm when Dell introduced its durable, colorful new line of Latitude netbooks for the education market. Not only were we stuck with aged textbooks and school machines that were chained to a desk, but we never even had the chance to read up on the latest tech news while glossing over a summary of 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. Reminiscing aside, Laptop Mag has evidently found the 2100 to be a solid rig for the segment for which it is intended, though its bulk may turn some GED-toting consumers off. ‘Course, the thin layer of armor is perfect for those who tend to bump and bang their machines around, and with internals much the same as in the Inspiron Mini, well — you can pretty much imagine the performance. Hit up the read link for the full writeup and a bevy of hands-on shots; just keep Junior far, far away unless you’re fine with nagging and pleading.

Filed under: Laptops

Dell’s Latitude 2100 reviewed: smart, but a bit heavy for afterschool use originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 May 2009 10:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Did you seriously shell out to have ARGONAUT plastered on your license plate? Oh, yeah? Listen up. Garmin has just pushed out a new duo of navigators aimed squarely at you, the Oregon 550 and Oregon 550t. Both of the touchscreen-based devices boast a 3.2 megapixel camera, a 3-axis compass, waterproof chassis, 850MB of internal storage and USB connectivity. Each unit packs a 3-inch, sunlight-readable display, two precharged AA NiMH batteries, loads of waypoint storage and the ability to route you while on the road, on the trail or in the wild. The standard 550 is set to arrive with a worldwide basemap in shaded relief for $499.99, while the 550t comes with preloaded topography maps for the entire US for $599.99. The full release is after the break.

Continue reading Garmin launches Oregon 550 and Oregon 550t outdoor navigators

Filed under: GPS

Garmin launches Oregon 550 and Oregon 550t outdoor navigators originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 May 2009 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Is trimming body-hair an acceptable enterprise for the male? Sure, hairy backs are gross, and my old high-school art teacher had fur jostling twixt the buttons of his shirt and crowding over the collar — not sexy. But is the alternative — smooth, oiled bodies free of frolicking follicles — how to say this, a little too feminine?

If you really must go this way, you need a manly named gadget with which to trim. Sadly, the Braun bodycruZer isn’t it. Where I come from, “cruising” has a very different meaning, and simply adding a capital “z” won’t change that. Even the ad is suspect: Check the Web site and see for yourself. Our “hero”, now hair-free, is also testosterone-free. Witness the women around him aggressively growling, taking the male role. Hell, one even turns into peacock to attract him. That’s peacock, not peahen.

From a gadget point of view, the bodycruZer is notable in that it departs from the “razor blade model”, wherein you get the handle almost free and then pay a fortune for the blades. It does this not by eschewing replaceable blades like the usual electric razor (those will cost you around $6 apiece) but by selling blades and charging a fortune for the handle — $70 in this case.

For the excessive hirsute male (or female, we guess) this may be something you’d like — if only as an alternative to the horribly named waxing procedure, the “back, crack and sack”. Available May 5th.

Product page [Braun via Uncrate]

Another Spring, another opportunity for iriver Japan and Speedo to sell a few MP3 players designed for underwater use. Yes friends, the Aquabeat you’ve grown to know, love and disassociate with overly tight swim trunks has a successor, the Speedo LZR Racer. Design wise, you won’t notice a lot of differentiation from the first, but this waterproof-to-three-meters device has twice the internal memory (2GB) and a built-in rechargeable battery good for around eight hours of continuous playback. It’s said to be shipping now in Japan for ¥12,800 ($128), though we hear it won’t be coming to America without first nailing down a Michael Phelps endorsement. Not that said task will be too tough or anything.

[Via Impress]

Filed under: Portable Audio

iriver, Speedo suit up for new Aquabeat underwater MP3 player originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Apr 2009 08:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s been awhile since we’ve seen the latest in a Durabook around these parts. GammaTech sent along a new D15RP to be part of a little feature we’re brewing, but we thought we’d go ahead and give you a quick peek at the thing first. It wasn’t quite as gratuitously packaged as the Toughbook we also recently aped, but upon seeing the logo on that box we admit to thinking for a moment we’d accidentally received a set of fresh kicks from K-Swiss. So far using it feels like using a real laptop, as opposed to the sensation of typing on an ammo case you get with the Panasonic, but we’ll leave the full comparisons for another day. Until then, enjoy some pics.

Filed under: Laptops

Durabook’s D15RP semi-rugged laptop unboxing and hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Mar 2009 08:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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