Continue reading MSI GT683DXR review

MSI GT683DXR review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Oct 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tesla’s been teasing us with the Model S electric car for what seems like a cruelly long time. But, we gadget fans need to remember that designing and releasing a car is a rather different prospect than something like a phone. If your new iDevice crashes you might lose your patience, but if your new car crashes, well, the results could be rather more disastrous.

Tesla is keeping up the teasing act with the Model S Beta launch, an opportunity for a lucky few to come and check out the company’s factory (once the NUMMI facility in Fremont, CA) and to take a quick ride around the company’s test track — and we do mean quick. How do we know? Well, we got to come along. Join us for our impressions after the break.

Continue reading Tesla Model S test ride and factory tour (video)

Tesla Model S test ride and factory tour (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We suspected there’d be a special guest at HTC’s party in London tonight and here it is: the brand new Sensation XL. You might recognize the mug shot from the many leaks we’ve reported under the Runnymede codename, but this phone also bears a distinct similarity to the recently announced HTC Titan. It’s carved from an almost identical 4.7-inch block of machined aluminum, has the same stunning 9.9mm (0.39-inch) thickness, same 800×480 Super LCD display and even the same eight megapixel rear camera unit. But there are key differences too: for a start, it packs HTC’s vaunted Beats Audio system licensed from Dr. Dre. Oh, and did we mention this thing is an Android rather than a Windows Phone? Those two things alone make the XL a different beast entirely, so read on for our impressions.

Continue reading HTC announces the Sensation XL with Beats Audio, we go hands-on

HTC announces the Sensation XL with Beats Audio, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Oct 2011 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Check your Bingo squares — we have a full on geek rant this week. While DVBLink’s Boxee extender engendered nothing but peaceful conversation, we couldn’t help but dig into the next two topics. Rumors of Microsoft’s efforts to integrate cable TV into a unified search with its other Xbox offerings continue to swirl, which left us wondering just who is standing in the way of innovation. Meanwhile, the cable companies and content providers are at odds over how to distribute their channels with little thought given to the end user’s experience. Of course, we do have some happy news, with Star Trek: TNG coming to Blu-ray, bigger LCDs and 4K support for the PS3. Press play to hear the rest of our discussion and our impressions of the new fall programming so far — it’s not looking good.

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Hosts: Ben Drawbaugh (@bjdraw), Richard Lawler (@rjcc)

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00:01:42 – DVBLogic’s Boxee app brings live TV streaming to the Box
00:04:15 – Microsoft reportedly adding video from Comcast, Verizon, HBO Go and others to Xbox Live
00:13:20 – Some cable companies are pushing for unbundled channels — but not for you
00:32:35 – Showtime launches Anytime streaming portal, social iPad app
00:34:57 – Star Trek: The Next Generation is coming to Blu-ray, starting in 2012 (video)
00:42:44 – Sharp’s biggest LCD HDTVs get even bigger with a new 80-inch model
00:49:00 – PS3 will support 4K stills after a future update, moving pictures remain out of reach
00:51:15 – Sony to stop paying for movie theater 3D glasses, theater owners fire back
00:56:27 – Energy Star 5.3 now in effect, some chunkier TVs left out in the cold
01:00:30 – Must See HDTV (October 3rd – 9th)

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Engadget HD Podcast 268 – 10.04.2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 18:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Leaving the confines of a Manhattan apartment, Lincoln Center has the uncanny ability to make one feel dwarfed. Home to the performing arts and haunt to New York City’s glitterati, the landmark received the IBM makeover as part of the company’s THINK exhibit — an interactive installation designed to weave the story of technology as it applies to the fabric of life, achievement and change.

The first thing that catches the eye is IBM’s sparkling 123-foot long, 12-foot high LCD wall lining a tunnel leading into the bowels of the NYC landmark. The “living” wall thrives off the surrounding environment, visualizing traffic patterns and analyzing corresponding air quality from nearby Broadway. It also shows the solar potential of every rooftop in the city, financial transactions and the amount of water leaking from the main aqueduct. As the event’s producer Lee Green simply put it, the idea behind the set up is to “delegate understanding” to “intrigue and inspire” even the least technologically-inclined.

Continue reading IBM’s THINK Exhibit invades NYC, aims to inspire (video)

IBM’s THINK Exhibit invades NYC, aims to inspire (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 14:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Storage enthusiasts (yeah, there is such a thing — what of it?) would probably tell you that PCIe-based SSDs are a dime a dozen these days. But in all seriousness, the prices we’re seeing are proof that a few more competitors wouldn’t hurt. A few weeks back, Austria’s own Angelbird started to ship a solution that we first heard about during 2010, and we were fortunate enough to pop a Wings PCIe SSD RAID card into our Mac Pro for testing. For years, we’ve been booting this up and running every single application off of its stock HDD — a 640GB Hitachi HDE721064SLA360 (7200RPM) — as we surmise many of you desktop owners might be. Anxious to see if these are the Wings your existing tower needs to soar? Head on past the break for our impressions.

Continue reading Angelbird’s Wings PCIe-based SSD preview and benchmarks

Angelbird’s Wings PCIe-based SSD preview and benchmarks originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Sep 2011 15:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Less than 24 hours after it went live on Microsoft’s site, Steve Ballmer reported a whopping 500,000 downloads of Windows 8 Developer Preview. That’s half a million copies, if not eager Windows fans. Well, you can count us among them. Although we were treated to some private hands-on time with a tablet optimized for the OS, we hadn’t, until now, had a chance to use it on a laptop — i.e., the computing environment where we spend most of our time, and the one where we’re most used to seeing Windows, in particular.

For the past three days, we’ve been doing just that: getting acquainted with Windows 8 using the good ‘ol mouse-and-keyboard combo. And while that might read like a redundant statement (what recent version of Windows hasn’t accommodated a cursor?), Win 8 is a peculiar breed — It’s the first version of the operating system where finger input wasn’t an afterthought, but a first-class citizen. It’s clear that this time around, Windows is optimized for touch, but we had to wonder if that Windows Phone-inspired UI would present a steep learning curve, if it would get in the way while we tried to go about business as usual. So how’s that working out for us? Suffice to say, we’re not in Kansas anymore, so find your most comfortable chair and meet us after the break — we’ve got oh-so many details to delve into.

Continue reading Windows 8 on a laptop in-depth preview (video)

Windows 8 on a laptop in-depth preview (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Sep 2011 17:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yearning to relive the classics (Lunar Lander, anyone?) on your iPad, replete with that authentic arcade feel? It wasn’t long ago that we reviewed ThinkGeek and Ion’s formidable iCade, but at $100, it was — and still is — a pricey portion to stomach for an occasional retro gaming fix. Fast forward to the present, and Atari’s paired with Discovery Bay Games to create their own official spin on an iPad arcade adapter, fittingly dubbed the Arcade Duo-Powered Joystick. Unlike the iCade, it doesn’t use Bluetooth and requires no batteries — you simply dock your iPad into its 30-pin connector. The joypad is specifically made to work with Atari’s Greatest Hits app, and it’s set to land in early October for a slightly more wallet-friendly price of $60. We were able to slam its controls a bit while playing through various levels of Major Havoc and the like, and you’ll find our impressions after the break.

Continue reading Atari Arcade is the $60 answer to iCade (review)

Atari Arcade is the $60 answer to iCade (review) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Sep 2011 16:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you thought you couldn’t get a real Android tablet from a brand you’ve heard of for less than $200, think again. Lenovo’s just announced the IdeaPad Tablet A1, a 7-inch Android unit that we got a sneaky first glimpse of back in July. Now it’s real, and it’s cheap, it’s running Gingerbread, and while it doesn’t hold a candle to the Galaxy Tab 7.7, it honestly feels like something far above its price point. Read on for our impressions.

Continue reading Lenovo announces IdeaPad A1, the $199 Android tablet, we go hands-on (video)

Lenovo announces IdeaPad A1, the $199 Android tablet, we go hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Sep 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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And you thought Samsung was finished showing off its Series 7 line of PCs. Joining the gaming rig and its smaller laptop brethren is a brand new Series 7 Slate running Windows 7. It sports a 400 nit, 1366 x 768 11.6-inch capacitive panel, Intel’s 1.6GHz Core i5 2467M CPU with integrated graphics and 4GB of RAM. On the front there’s a 2 megapixel camera and a light sensor, and around the back sits a 3 megapixel shooter. Connectivity comes courtesy of 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, plus there’s a USB 2.0 port, micro HDMI, and a SIM slot for surfing waves of 3G (no word on which carrier will send those swells of data, though). Each slate also comes with an capacitive active digitizer pen, but will also have Swype on board plus a custom software layer to make Windows a bit more finger-friendly.

It comes in four versions that differ in storage size and flavor of Windows, but all are .5 inches thin, weigh 2.03 pounds, and are swathed in brushed aluminum. There are 64GB SSD variants packing Home Premium for $1,099 or Pro for $1,199, while the 128GB models come with Home Premium, a dock and keyboard for $1349 or Pro sans the peripherals at the same price. They’re all scheduled for a late September release, so it won’t be long before you can pick one up. Looking to take the tablet plunge into Windows waters? Read on past the break for our impressions of Sammy’s new slate.

Continue reading Samsung’s Series 7 Slate PC hands-on

Samsung’s Series 7 Slate PC hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Aug 2011 12:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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