Laptop data plans: comparing LTE, WiMAX, and HSPA+ by speed, price, and value

Now that Verizon’s gone official with its LTE pricing for an initial launch in some 38 markets this Sunday, we wanted to take a quick look at how it compares to the other players in the laptop data market — after all, how much you’re paying month to month can be just as big of a determining factor (if not a bigger one) in choosing a carrier than the speeds you’re seeing. So how do Sprint, T-Mobile, AT&T, Clear, and Rover stack up? Let’s break it down.

Continue reading Laptop data plans: comparing LTE, WiMAX, and HSPA+ by speed, price, and value

Laptop data plans: comparing LTE, WiMAX, and HSPA+ by speed, price, and value originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Dec 2010 15:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Four-Slot SD Card-Reader Looks Like Miniature Toaster

This little SD card reader is like a tiny plastic toaster for your camera’s memory cards. The little cube has four slots, each of which can take its own SDHC card, and the box comes with a detachable USB cable – essential for traveling light where you don’t want every single gadget to come with its own tail.

The blurb says that Elecom’ reader is compatible with all things SD: SD, microSD, and miniSD, but it really looks like the tiny pinky-sized microSD cards would need an adapter or get lost in the slot, just like the last runty slice of bread gets lost in the toaster and burns on the hot elements.

Why use this? Pros in the field will appreciate being able to drop a whole shoot’s worth of cars into one reader and then go grab a coffee. Surely that’s worth the $48? Available mid-December in Japan.

Four-slot SD reader product page [GeekStuff4U]

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‘The Collective’ steampunk USB drive is the stocking stuffer Jules Verne always wanted

Miffed you didn’t buy that $300 8GB steampunk USB drive we shared over the summer? Well, the good news is if you’ve got $395 worth of shillings lying around, Will Rockwell’s 16GB steampunk USB drive christened “The Collective” is yours for the taking. Besides its J.J. Abrams-like name, particularly cool details to highlight include a brass manifold featuring four coolant pipes, a large framed cabochon which acts as a service light, and a faux-gauge made from a domed cover and watch hand. A storage tank serves as a cap for the drive and there’s even a tiny plaque bearing Mr. Rockwell’s engraved John Hancock placed smack dab in the middle. Last but certainly not least, the elaborate thumbdrive ships with a velvet platform and a glass museum case, so that all who visit may bask in its craftsmanship and finally see the rusted version owned by that Victorian-poser down the block as the tetanus carrier it really is.

‘The Collective’ steampunk USB drive is the stocking stuffer Jules Verne always wanted originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Nov 2010 23:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Put Your Data on a Light Cycle with a TRON: Legacy USB Drive

TRON Legacy USB Drives

There are TRON-themed gaming mice, TRON-themed motorcycle suits, TRON-themed 3D Glasses, and now, if you couldn’t get enough TRON: Legacy merchandise ahead of the movie’s release, you can grab one of these TRON: Legacy USB flash drives in the shape of light cycles to store your data on. Choose the model of light cycle you prefer, dump your data, and impress everyone in that business meeting by bringing up your presentation on one of these stylish USB drives. 
The Kevin Flynn light cycle (shown in white, from the first movie) comes in 8GB, and the Sam Flynn model (in black, from the new movie) is 4GB, and both are available from Toys R’ Us stores or online. They’ll cost you $34.99 and $24.99 retail, respectively.
[via OhGizmo]

LaCie’s Hub4 quadruples your USB 3.0 pleasure

Even in their prime, USB hubs were never the sexiest part of a tech geek’s shopping trip — people would typically grab the most functional (or crazy) looking option and move on to picking out their next set of “future-proof” RAM sticks. We’re not convinced LaCie‘s really going to change all that with its Hub4, but it sure is trying hard by giving it a curvaceous exterior and those oh-so-desirable blue USB jacks. Yes, the USB 3.0 color coding is large and in charge here, highlighting a full quartet of ports for all that SuperSpeed gear you’ve been stashing. Of course, you’ll still need at least one 3.0 connector on your computer to make the most of this USB peripheral (otherwise you’ll have a very curvy and very standard USB 2.0 hub), but if that’s already accounted for, you’ll just need $59.99 and the source link to get yourself connected to the future.

LaCie’s Hub4 quadruples your USB 3.0 pleasure originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Nov 2010 07:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Adafruit Propeller Platform USB entices DIY electronics builders, ‘Gadget Gangsters’ at large

It’s days like today where you realize just how badly you need to scratch that DIY itch, and Adafruit‘s newest two circuit boards couldn’t be landing at a more opportune time. Both of these bad boys are classified as Gadget Gangsters, which makes ’em viable for purchase without any additional investigation. Should you choose to, however, we’ll have you know that the Propeller Platform USB is an open-source platform for building your own electronics projects with a new eight-core Parallax Propeller chip; the ProtoPlus model adds video / audio support as well as a “prototyping area.” Tutorials are available in the source links for those inexperienced with Spin, and at just $50 / $15 (respectively), we’d say they’re well worth the purchase if you’re looking to simply get your toes wet. Better known as “become hopelessly addicted to modding” ’round these parts.

Adafruit Propeller Platform USB entices DIY electronics builders, ‘Gadget Gangsters’ at large originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Nov 2010 05:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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OpenVizsla hopes to bring USB sniffing to the everyhacker

Remember that Kinect hack how-to? A key figure in the story was the use of a USB analyzer that was plugged in-between the Kinect and the Xbox to pick up on USB traffic and pull out a log that could be used for hacking. Well, there’s a new ‘OpenVizsla’ project on KickStarter that’s aiming to build open source hardware that can put this typically expensive tech ($1,400+) in the hands of more hackers, who use the hardware for anything from jailbreaking locked-down devices to building Linux drivers for hardware. The project was actually started by hackers “bushing” and “pytey,” who have worked on hacking the Wii and the iPhone, respectively. They’ve already raised a good chunk of change for the project in pledges, with backing from folks like Stephen Fry and DVD Jon helping out the momentum, and hopefully we’ll be seeing the next generation of hacks enabled by OpenVizsla and its brood before too long.

Continue reading OpenVizsla hopes to bring USB sniffing to the everyhacker

OpenVizsla hopes to bring USB sniffing to the everyhacker originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Nov 2010 13:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Next iPad likely to get a new screen, front-facing camera; USB port… not so likely

New rumors are swirling about the iPad 2, and they’re a bit of a grab bag. The source is the same Economic Daily News paper that made one of the early calls on the first iPad, but also the one that reported in August that there was a 7-inch display being sourced for the iPad’s sequel (which Steve Jobs seems to differ with). The new report says that the next iPad will be out in Q1 2011, will have dual cameras, a new display with new touch tech, and a USB port for working with third party devices.

From our own information we know there were actually some last minute revisions on the first iPad that ended up killing the camera and nixing an extra dock connector, so the camera(s) seem a particularly natural “addition” for the iPad 2. We’ve also heard that a revised screen is happening, though it’s unclear if this will be a “Retina Display” or something more minor. On the USB plug front, which could mark a sort of adolescent transition of the iPad into “computer,” our source says it’s, sadly, very unlikely. We’re particularly interested in this mention of a new touchscreen technology from the EDN rumor (perhaps stylus support or pressure sensitivity?) but we don’t have anything else to go on there. Overall, it’s still hard to tell if the next iPad will be a small update or something more splashy, but it’s certainly going to be something.

Next iPad likely to get a new screen, front-facing camera; USB port… not so likely originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Nov 2010 12:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Super Talent USB 3.0 RAIDDrive nabs an extra 55MB/sec

How’s this for post-purchase pleasantries? Super Talent has just revealed a new tidbit surrounding the world’s first USB 3.0 thumb drive (that would be the RAIDDrive), and it’s one that takes full advantage of second generation USB 3.0 controller technology — presumably on the PC side and not via a firmware update. The end result? An extra 55MB/sec on the benchmarking front, pushing its proven maximum speed to 370MB/sec. Head on past the break and mash play if you don’t believe us, and feel free to start pressing your own storage boutique of choice for something similar for all those other SuperSpeed products.

Continue reading Super Talent USB 3.0 RAIDDrive nabs an extra 55MB/sec

Super Talent USB 3.0 RAIDDrive nabs an extra 55MB/sec originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Nov 2010 07:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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La Boite Concept LD120 is the hi-fi desk your laptop’s been crying out for (video)

Why more people aren’t doing this kind of thing, we don’t know. La Boite Concept, a French design studio with a focus on electronic acoustics, has put together the above piece of laptop-loving music furniture, dubbed the LD120. It features a total of seven drivers, including a down-firing subwoofer and a stereo pair at the rear, the latter of which is intended to bounce sound off a wall and neatly into your ear canal. You’ll still only be getting 2.1 audio output at the end of it, but when it emanates from a leather-trimmed desk equipped with its own USB sound card and a cable-tidying channel in one of its legs, we’re kind of willing to overlook that little detail. We only wish we could be as blasé about the price, which at €980 ($1,300) places the LD120 strictly on our “hope someone buys us one” list.

[Thanks, Samiksha]

Continue reading La Boite Concept LD120 is the hi-fi desk your laptop’s been crying out for (video)

La Boite Concept LD120 is the hi-fi desk your laptop’s been crying out for (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Nov 2010 04:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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