Feb 20

Wall charger takes one AC outlet, provides juice for five USB devices

Posted in: adapter, charger, charging, Today's Chili, usb

We’ve seen some nifty chargers in our day, but this bugger is probably one of the most practical to ever hit the market place. Rather than sending along 800 various tips to keep track of lose while traveling, this wall charger converts a single AC outlet into power for five USB devices (4 USB A female and 1 mini-USB). These days, it’s rare to find a device that can’t optionally be charged via USB, and if it can’t, let’s face it — it’s about time you threw that thing to the local thrift store. Grab one now for just $25.99.

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Wall charger takes one AC outlet, provides juice for five USB devices originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Feb 2009 17:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 19

Supposed Mac Mini 2009 Spy Shot Shows So Many USB Ports

Posted in: Apple, Mac, Mini, rumor, Today's Chili, top, usb

This supposed Mac Mini 2009 spy shot from Macrumors Forum shows the bum-side of the new small-Mac design. What’s new? Besides the aluminum finish, there’s FIVE USB PORTS.

There’s also an Ethernet port, Firewire, Mini DisplayPort and the old style mini DVI Mac display port? Two display ports? That seems odd. In any case, if this is real, it looks quite nice—and you can probably bet it’ll run with at least the new Nvidia 9400 graphics chipset found in the newer MacBook and MacBook Pros. [Macrumors Forum via Apple Insider via 9 to 5 Mac]

Update: Adjusted credit. The image actually wasn’t from Apple Insider, it was from Macrumors’ Forums. Apple Insider just watermarked it for some reason.

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Feb 11

Samsung’s tiny 120Mbps Wireless USB chipset ready for Q2 launch

Posted in: intel, mwc, mwc 2009, mwc2009, samsung, Today's Chili, usb

Today things are a bit more clear as to why Intel abandoned its own Ultra Wide-Band efforts in favor of off-the-shelf solutions: Samsung just announced its ultra-fast Wireless USB chipset. Samsung’s tiny 8 x 8-mm (0.31 x 0.31-inch) chip operates in the traditional 3.1 ~ 10.6GHz Certified Wireless USB space and delivers a relatively blistering 120Mbps data transfer rate (measured, not theoretical) compared to the 50Mbps achieved by current solutions — that’s a single ripped 700MB film transferred in about a minute from a range of about 3 meters. It also features 128-bit AES encryption and other security mechanisms meant to safeguard your data during transmission. The SystemOnChip design consumes 300mW of power and brings a built-in ARM core, UWB (ultra wide-band) physical layer, and memory controller while interfacing with SD cards, MMC, NAND, and USB 2.0 without any additional circuitry. In other words, expect to see Samsung’s Wireless USB in digital cameras, MP3 player, speakers and more when these chips hit mass production in Q2.

It’s worth noting that Samsung is a member of the Wireless USB Promoter Group that pushes the “Certified Wireless USB” standard. However, with Wireless USB start-up WiQuest out of the picture and zero references made to the standard or use of the group’s logo, this might very well be a proprietary grab at the short-range wireless space that has received very little interest from vendors to date. We’ll find out more more when Samsung presents its WUSB solution for the first time at Mobile World Congress next week.

[Via Samsung Korea]

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Samsung’s tiny 120Mbps Wireless USB chipset ready for Q2 launch originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Feb 2009 03:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 06

Valentines Day Gifts for Your Geeky Girl

Posted in: accessories, diy, flash drive, ipod dock, LED, MP3 Digital Audio, mp3 player, Music, Tech Toys, Today's Chili, usb, zune

ibuzz_large_01.jpg

I know this might surprise some of you, but there are women in the world who like things done a certain way–in a nerdy way, to be more specific. For example, they prefer their marriage proposals to arrive via a video game, or at least tangentially related to video games. That’s right, geeks aren’t just guys–there are lady geeks, too.

So what do you give your geeky girlfriend for Valentine’s Day? Check out Gearlog’s gifts that only a truly geekified gal will appreciate. And make sure to check back for Part Two of our geeky Valentine’s Roundup!

The iBuzz (above)
Treat your love to some pleasure–set to the sound stylings of Barry White or Al Green, of course. Plug your MP3 player into the iBuzz Two, and the toy delivers music-activated vibrations with four pulsing patterns and 11 vibrating speeds. You can plug the two provided bullets into the iBuzz Two, or you can plug in any sex toy that has a mini-jack plug. It’s £19.99 (about $30 in the US).

More after the jump.

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Feb 06

Engadget’s recession antidote: win a set of Star Wars Mimobot USB drives!

Posted in: flash drive, FlashDrive, recession, Star Wars, Today's Chili, usb

So yes, you know the drill: the economy reeks, we’re all tired of the daily dose of bad news. Engadget’s trying to counter-attack a little bit of that hurting, so here’s the deal: we’re going to hand out a new gadget every day (except for weekends) to lucky readers until we run out of stuff / companies stop sending things. Today we’ve got a set of eight Star Wars Mimobot USB flash drives on offer — each drive is 1GB, and man are they cute! Read the rules (no skimming — we hate that!) below and get commenting!

Special thanks to Mimoco for providing the drives!

The rules:

  • Leave a comment below. Any comment will do, but if you want to share a tale of heart wrenching economic strife, that’s good too.
  • You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you’ll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.)
  • If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you’ll be fine.
  • Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don’t make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
  • Winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive 8 1GB Mimobot flash drives. Approximate value is $240.
  • Entries can be submitted until Friday, February 6th, 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
  • Full rules can be found here.


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Engadget’s recession antidote: win a set of Star Wars Mimobot USB drives! originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Feb 2009 12:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 05

Cheap Geek: Mac Sale, Kodak EasyShare, USB Turntable

Posted in: Apple, camera, Mac, sale, Today's Chili, usb

recordplayer1.jpg

What’s better than one great deal? Yep, it’s three great deals. Check out Gearlog’s finds for Thursday, Feb. 5.

1. If you’re an audiophile and live for vinyl, but want a way to listen to those old records on your iPod, then check out Woot’s deal of the day. The Ion Audio iPTUSB Portable USB Turntable is on sale for $49.99, originally $149.99. Also, although the sound probably isn’t’ the best, it has a built-in speaker, so you can play your records anywhere you like (it also can be powered by battery or included AC adapter). The player also has a line input jack so you can connect other music sources, such as a cassette deck, to convert your music into MP3s. The deal ends today, or while supplies last.

2. Get the Kodak EasyShare C913 9MP Digital Camera for $69.99 from Newegg.com. The camera is on sale for $79.99, down from $99.95, but knock off an extra $10 with coupon code
CAMERA22310. The camera has a 2.4-inch LCD, 3x optical zoom, and 16MB internal memory. And it even ships for free. [Via Bargainist.com]

3. MacMall is having a Valentine’s Sale, so show your sweetie you care by buying him or her a Mac. Save up to $84 on MacBooks, up to $1,044 on MacBook Pros, up to $100 on iMacs, up to $1,194 on MacBook Airs, and up to $129 on iPods. Check out the sale here. But hurry, it ends at 11:59 PST on Feb. 12.

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Feb 05

Wooden 2GB thumb drive doubles as Post-It Notes dispenser

Posted in: Today's Chili, usb, usb drive, UsbDrive

What can we say? This is a 2GB thumb drive elegantly ensconced in White Oak. If that weren’t enough, this convenient and portable package not only allows you to listen to some of your favorite Grateful Dead bootleg MP3s on your laptop at work, but also ensures that you always have a supply of tiny little Post-It Notes on hand. What better way to begin your workday in the soul-shattering plastic corporate world than popping in a somewhat eco-friendly wooden peripheral and rocking out to Picasso Moon? You should really check out the version from their October 25, 1989 show in Miami. This guy goes for ¥2,680 (about $30).

[Via Akihabara News]

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Wooden 2GB thumb drive doubles as Post-It Notes dispenser originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Feb 2009 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 03

USB cake design worst birthday surprise in history

Posted in: flash drive, FlashDrive, Humor, Today's Chili, usb, usb drive, UsbDrive

Imagine this — you walk into a custom confectionery and inform the design team that you want the image on a USB flash drive made onto a very special cake. In fact, you even leave the flash drive with them so they can really look it over. Sure, you’d think they would get to frost-brushing that unicorn flying through a rainbow right onto the cake, but apparently the artists in question had other ideas. Namely, creating a photo-perfect replica of a Lexar flash drive on the surface of what appears to be an otherwise delicious pile of sugar. Seriously. Too bad about that black icing, birthday boy.

[Via UberReview]

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USB cake design worst birthday surprise in history originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Feb 2009 07:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 29

Century’s Plus One 8-inch USB monitor seems pretty OK for displayin’ stuff

Posted in: Today's Chili, usb

You know how it is, with so many apps fighting over that valuable desktop real estate. Luckily, there is no shortage of companies looking to fill the void in your life (or your workflow) with an additional 8 inches of USB-enabled monitorin’. The newest entry into the market is the Plus One LCD-8000U by Century, a digiframe-looking thing that sports an 800 x 600 resolution, 250 cd/m2 brightness, and supports either portrait or landscape mode. What’s not to love, right? Well, the fact that it’s going for $190 is not very lovable. Still, it’s good to have options. Or something. Award winning video after the break.

Continue reading Century’s Plus One 8-inch USB monitor seems pretty OK for displayin’ stuff

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Century’s Plus One 8-inch USB monitor seems pretty OK for displayin’ stuff originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Jan 2009 17:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 29

Ask an Analyst: Using a Cell Phone as a Laptop Modem

Posted in: LG, Smart Devices, Today's Chili, usb, Verizon Wireless

LG_Voyager_Mobile_TV.jpg

This question came from reader Andrew:

On your
Web site, it mentions that the LG Voyager can be used as a modem, and the best way to do that is with USB. How do you access the Internet [using the Voyager] on a PC? Naturally, I was told that you supposedly are unable to do that. Any help?

My reply after the jump.

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