The elusive Pandora handheld and the Phantom gaming system have a lot in common. Thankfully, there’s one critical difference, and that’s the fact that the dutiful souls behind what’s sure to become the world’s next favorite pocket gizmo actually have some proof that mass production is tantalizingly near. The latest update has quite a few images of the final mold, and we’re also told that mass production has begun on the mainboards. All that’s left to do is add a touch of paint, snap a few things together and yell “Hello World!” for all the world to hear. Hit the read link if you’re badly in need of getting some drool out of your system.
[Thanks, Andrew]
Pandora cases start arriving, production enters ’so close you can smell it’ stage originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Welcome to the Engadget Holiday Gift Guide! The team here is well aware of the heartbreaking difficulties of the seasonal shopping experience, and we want to help you sort through the trash and come up with the treasures this year. Below is today’s bevy of hand curated picks, and you can head back to the Gift Guide hub to see the rest of the product guides as they’re added throughout the holiday season.
What luck. The Secret Santa recipient that you drew already has everything, so there’s little you can buy him / her that they’ll actually be impressed with. Thankfully, the peripheral market is here for you, and while some may considering these things “trinkets,” others will be downright giddy to unwrap ‘em. And whether you’d care to admit it or not, these are easily the most fun to shop for. Yeah, we said it — what of it? Hop on past the break for a few recommendations on knickknacks, or “accessories,” as it were.
Continue reading Engadget’s Holiday Gift Guide: Accessories
Engadget’s Holiday Gift Guide: Accessories originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The iPhone keyboard (or the lack thereof) has been a polarizing point for many, and while we’ve seen a workaround or two in our day, we’ve yet to see a solution to the lack of tactility as beautifully simple as this. 4iThumbs is a screen overlay that adds minuscule bumps on your iPhone display — bumps that correspond to where the keys are when using the vertical keyboard. ‘Course, these things are apt to bug you when using the horizontal keyboard (or no keyboard at all), but we’re guessing the heavy texters in the crowd won’t mind. Have a look at the videos below the break for a better idea of what you’re about to get yourself into. Oh, and be sure to pick up a pair of Awethumbs while you’re at it — we hear these two go great together.
Update: A horizontal version is available, hooray!
Continue reading 4iThumbs overlay adds a tactile keyboard to your iPhone… sorta (video)
4iThumbs overlay adds a tactile keyboard to your iPhone… sorta (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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If you managed to catch the last Engadget Show, you inevitably saw our own Paul Miller carve it up a bit on Tony Hawk: Ride. Of course, Mr. Miller is known ’round these circles as a “professional skater,” so there’s a solid chance he could’ve handled just about anything the guys and gals at Activision threw his way. The reality of the matter is that not everyone feels safe and secure on something resembling a skateboard, and now we’re being let in on the world of prototypes that were used to land on the final design. Within the read link you’ll find randomly placed arcade buttons, trucks with no wheels, a terrifying amount of sensors and a comical amount of duct tape. Yeah — even the whiz kids that make your dreams a reality start with duct tape. Go on, have a peek if you’re in disbelief.
Tony Hawk: Ride prototype skateboards employ arcade buttons, duct tape, love originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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We know, our GPS gift guide has already been erected, but if you’re in the unfortunate position of needing a high-end gift for someone who’ll actually be in San Juan del Sur over the holidays, there’s hardly a better option than this. The TomTom XXL 540S World Traveler Edition is exactly what you think it is: it’s an XXL 540S, but with maps for the United States, Canada and Europe (what — no Central America?). The 5-inch touchscreen is still there, as is the company’s IQ Routes, ‘Help Me!,’ an increased 4GB of storage, advanced lane guidance and 7 million points of interest. It’s expected to hit retail shelves in both the US and Canada early next month for $349.95 (US) / $399.95 (CAD).
TomTom XXL 540S World Traveler Edition: perfect for that dude you’re jealous of originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Even in a world full of racket, it seems that the squeaky wheel still gets the grease. In yet another blow to this whole “cloud” agenda, a vocal segment of Palm users began to notice that information transferred from their online Palm Profile was only a fraction of what it should have been. Today, both Palm and Sprint have issued a joint statement acknowledging the issue and promising to work much, much harder in order to avoid having something like this ruin your life once again. To quote:
“We are seeing a small number of customers who have experienced issues transferring their Palm Profile information to another Palm webOS device. Palm and Sprint are working closely together to support these customers to successfully transfer their information to the new device.”
Between this mess and the T-Mobile fiasco, we’re pretty certain we’re being forced to stay on the manual backup bandwagon for the foreseeable future.
[Thanks, Mike]
Palm and Sprint issue statement acknowledging Profile backup issue originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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It’s never too early to start thinking about that desktop that you really, really need under the tree by the third week in December, and rather than waiting until the last moment and getting stuck with some random configuration and a lofty overnight shipping fee, iBuyPower is encouraging you to have a gander at the five new liquid-cooled rigs that it just unveiled at NewEgg. The low-end is propped up by the Gamer Extreme 922 SLC at just $989, while the specced-out Gamer Supreme 979SLC will set Santa back just under four large. At the top, you’ll find luxuries such as Intel’s Core i7 975, a Blu-ray drive, 128GB SSD and 1.5TB of HDD space, while lower-end systems snag the likes of a Core i7 860, 4GB of RAM and a 500GB HDD. Peek the via link below for a more robust look at the specifications, and feel free to get your order in now if you like resting easy.
Continue reading iBuyPower lets out five liquid-cooled gaming desktops
iBuyPower lets out five liquid-cooled gaming desktops originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Publicly, at least, The New York Times has seemed perfectly kosher with the way things are moving in the newspaper industry. Rather than freaking out and wondering why they didn’t make the move to digital earlier, it’s apparently looking to push the digital distribution of its content via discounts and partnerships with hardware providers. In a rather unique and unprecedented move, the paper has today announced that prospective readers can receive $100 off of a Samsung Go netbook if they subscribe to Times Reader 2.0 for a year. The machine will come pre-loaded with the Adobe AIR-based application — which pushes published content to one’s machine on the double — and will be sold exclusively through J&R Music and Computer World. Of course, NYT wants $179.40 for a one-year sub, so the deal’s not exactly awesome or anything, but the offer stands for first-time subscribers until March 2010 if you’re interested.
Samsung Go netbook gets $100 cheaper with one-year Times Reader 2.0 subscription originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Tired of getting shafted, lefties? Never gets old, does it? At any rate, Razer is momentarily stepping away from its ambidextrous ways in order to craft a mouse that fits especially well in the hands of righties. The new Imperator gaming mouse houses the same 3.5G laser sensor that has become common on the outfit’s critters of late, but this one includes a smattering of “adjustable side buttons” that can actually slide and lock into place wherever you find them most comfortable. It’s up for order now for $79.99 (or €69.99 for those across the pond), and if the gallery below doesn’t get you close enough, a demonstration vid is just past the break.
Continue reading Razer Imperator gaming mouse ships with adjustable side buttons, disdain for southpaws
Razer Imperator gaming mouse ships with adjustable side buttons, disdain for southpaws originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Nov 2009 02:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Does the world really need another high-end gaming PC shop? Looks as if we’ll soon find out, as Origin has just launched itself into the mix with a pair of new rigs catering to those with specific (and pricey) demands. Poised to take on the likes of Falcon Northwest, this boutique outfit has ushered itself into the sector with the new Genesis desktop and EON18 laptop. The former gets going at $1,699, and if we’re reading this right, Origin allows buyers to select “any chassis on the market, any color and design” and pretty much any other hardware they can dream of. The lappie is an 18.4-inch beast with a 1080p panel, limitless color and design options, twin GeForce GTX 280M GPUs, 8GB of RAM, a trio of HDDs, dual-layer Blu-ray burner and a starting tag of $2,599. So, who’s up for celebrating the real end of the recession?
Filed under: Desktops, Gaming, Laptops
Origin launches custom gaming rig shop, starts with Genesis and EON18 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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