Hasta La Gadget!

Redmond was the place to be last night, as Microsoft gave over that long-anticipated Windows 7 RTM code to its favorite OEM partners, including HP, Toshiba, Lenovo (pictured), ASUS, Acer, Dell, Sony and Fujitsu-Siemens. Even if you’re not big into operating system nuts and bolts, it’s hard not to get just a little choked up as one nerd hands a nondescript white box to another nerd. You know there’s magic in the air.

[Thanks, JagsLive]

Filed under: Software

Microsoft invites some of its bestest OEM buddies over for a Windows 7 RTM code handoff party originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 25 Jul 2009 13:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s getting to be that time of the year where all the kids and teenagers flock to retail and spend copious amounts on back-to-school gear. Best Buy knows this cycle all too well, and has hand-picked a quartet laptops to showcase for its Next Class branded lineup. So what do these laptops have? Anywhere from a 14 to 15.5-inch screen, bundled Microsoft Office and 12 to 15 months of antivirus software, Intel Core 2 Duo processors, 3GB DDR3 or 4GB DDR2 memory, 320GB HDD, a sub-six pound weight, and a three to six hour battery life. Each of the four have their own merits, from Toshiba’s $650 price tag to Dell’s 4.7 pound body, but to us the HP Pavilion DV4 and Sony VAIO NW stand out. Of course, you could cast your net a little wider and shop around for all kinds of different models yourself, but if you’re feeling particularly lazy, this isn’t a bad set to pick from.

Read – Press release
Read – Next Class website

Filed under: Laptops

Best Buy gears up for back to school crowds with Next Class-branded laptop series originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Jul 2009 01:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Snapdragon-powered Toshiba TG01 is a beast of a phone — as Windows Mobile-powered phones go, anyway — but for Americans, there’s one small problem: it’s not clear how, when, or if it’s getting here. We still don’t have many answers there, but we’ve got one piece of very encouraging news in the FCC approval of a CDMA flavor today, bearing all the hardware you’ll need to use the phone on a carrier like… oh, you know, Sprint or Verizon. Even better, the test documents list the device as “production” — many FCC filings use prototype hardware — suggesting that this is pretty close to being ready for market. So, as we said, Sprint or Verizon have to be ramping up for this — but which one is it? Both?

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Toshiba TG01 passes FCC with some CDMA thrown in originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Jul 2009 12:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The trend in digital frames is to have them display a lot more than just photos from junior’s school play. Toshiba introduced three digital photo frames today, but the real story is the content you can show on them.

The frames includes a white 8-inch frame (DMF82XWU, $179.99), a black 8-inch frame (DMF82XKU, $179.99), and a black 10-inch frame (DMF102XKU, $229.99). All three will be available in August. The two 8-inch frames offer an acrylic front finish and a reflective trim, and the 10-inch is slim with a faceplace design.

Toshiba’s partnership with FrameChannel, however, turns these frames household information centers. Create a FrameChannel account and you can customize your frame with celebrity news, sports scores, weather forecasts, stock quotes, and much more. All three frames deliver real-time content over WiFi connections.

You can also use these connected frames to easily send or receive photos from friends and family. FrameChannel accounts work with accounts from Flickr, Photobucket, Facebook, and more. Look for them on the Toshiba site when they’re released next month.

The Dynabook UX / NB200 netbook has only been out for a few months now, but already Toshiba’s looking to score a few more buyers with two new hues. Originally launched in white, brown and black, Tosh has decided to queue up a pair of fresher, brighter colors for those looking for something a bit different. Now, you can expect the lappie to start making the rounds in “silky pink” and “blue,” though we get the feeling these will hit the UK first. Head on down to the read link for a hands-on gallery, but don’t expect any exciting new hardware — it’s still the same ole 1.6GHz Atom, 1GB of RAM and 160GB hard drive that we’re so painfully used to seeing.

Filed under: Laptops

Toshiba coating NB200 netbook in silky pink and blue originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Jul 2009 03:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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