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Radio Shack is at it again, expanding your perceptions of the place that once actually sold radio components. A year after that ill-received ‘The Shack’ marketing campaign the company is now making a rather more substantial move, securing an arrangement with Target stores to see the creation of so-called Bullseye Mobile kiosks. This has started with a 100-store pilot program but, throughout this year and into summer next, the expectation is to prop them up in 1,750 big box locations. Something tells us they won’t all be wired up for WiMAX, but we can hope.
[Thanks, Breon]
‘The Shack’ downsizes, opens Bullseye Mobile kiosks in many Target stores originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 31 Jul 2010 16:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Once upon a time, Dell’s Zino HD promised desktop parts in a tiny box and didn’t quite deliver the goods, but it was still cute and powerful enough a mini-desktop to earn a spot on our holiday gift guide. This time round, it looks like Dell might actually fulfill that original pledge, as support documents leaked at the company’s website show the box sporting an AMD RS880M chipset capable of socketing Phenom II quad-core processors. While it only comes with onboard Radeon HD 4250 graphics by default, a Mobility Radeon 5450 GPU is listed as a potential option at launch, and the box can now hold up to 8GB of 1066MHz DDR3 memory alongside 802.11n WiFi and Blu-ray drive options. On the front and back of the small box, you’ll find practically exactly the same ports, but there is a new optical S/PDIF socket capable of piping 7.1 surround sound. While there’s no guarantee all these options are slated for a stateside launch, we imagine Dell will either deliver or keep a tighter lid on these sorts of docs.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Dell Zino HD 410 quietly leaks out with AMD quad-core potential originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 31 Jul 2010 14:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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To win at Mario Kart on a console you must master two things: drifting and power-ups. Half of that is replicated in these R/C Mario Kart toys, which we saw standing still last month but now can finally see in action motoring around what looks to be either Corporate Carpet Raceway or CDR Castle. The controller emits that familiar jingling item select sound when you’ve snagged a virtual power-up, and you can see how mushrooms boost your speed while banana peels cause your opponents’ cars to freak out. Sadly there is no drifting to be found in this version of the game, but we’re wondering if a little tape on the rear wheels wouldn’t help address that shortcoming.
[Thanks, Jarom]
Continue reading Remote Control Mario Kart toys tested, don’t drift but do shoot (video)
Remote Control Mario Kart toys tested, don’t drift but do shoot (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 31 Jul 2010 13:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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After being announced in early June, Anandtech recently put the Western Digital WD TV Live Plus through its paces and discovered the Netflix enhancement works as advertised. Like many Netflix-enabled devices though, the TV Live comes up short compared to the full PC experience since access is limited to only the Instant Queue. Its presence also sacrifices firmware hackability — a quality which previously made up for the WD TV Live’s lack of versatility as an HTPC. The ability to move, copy, and manage locally stored media files via the interface, on the other hand, was praised as a unique advantage over competing models — exciting, we know. Sadly, video quality was docked as being “significantly less than the HTPC counterparts they’ve seen so far.” However, it’s possible this could be improved in the future via firmware updates, since its Sigma Designs processor features noise reduction and deinterlacing algorithms that strangely aren’t currently enabled. File format-wise, DVD ISOs worked flawlessly, while Blu-ray ISO and some WMV video formats experienced issues that users may want to read up on before buying. Gripes aside though, Anandtech was still willing to place it “around the top of the list” for media player devices, thanks to its wide file compatibility and robust features. For more details, hit the review source link.
WD TV Live Plus gets reviewed, lauded for value originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 31 Jul 2010 11:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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31
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Oh, Enso — must you really give us a reason to hope? After dealing with what felt like a case of the vaporwares, and then being epically disappointed with the zenPad (which is now out of stock, curiously) that you finally shipped, we just can’t muster up the courage to look fondly upon the five new products that are gracing your webstore. That said, those that don’t mind risk taking and actually enjoy the thought of fighting for a refund have three new MIDs / slates to ponder along with a pair of Android-based smartphones to consider. Let’s break ‘em down real quick, shall we?
- zenPad 2 ($219; shipping now): Here you have a 5-inch, Android 1.5-based MID with an 800 x 480 resolution resistive touchscreen, a bundled stylus, inbuilt 3G, 802.11a/b/g WiFi, microSD slot (8GB included), 128MB of RAM, 256MB NAND Flash, a 624MHz Marvell PXA303 Xscale CPU, integrated accelerometer, onboard GPS, micro-USB port, 3.5mm headphone jack and a battery good for 4.5 hours of use. We’re told that an Android 2.1 update is “imminent,” but we believe that about as much as we believe BP’s promise to “make it right.”
- zenPad 3 ($249; pre-order): This here tablet boasts the exact same specifications as the zenPad 2 (right down to the battery life and resolution), but it rocks a 7-inch design that’ll aid those who can’t squint hard enough to see fonts on the 5-inch sibling.
- zenPad 4 ($199; shipping now): We hate to state the obvious, but this is quite obviously an iPad KIRF — right down to the Home button. You’ll find a 10.2-inch resistive touchpanel with a 1,024 x 600 resolution (one that Enso swears up and down “has a fast response and works very well”), along with Android 2.1, 802.11a/b/g WiFi, 256MB of RAM, 2GB of storage, a microSD slot (8GB included), a 1GHz Cortex A8 CPU, built-in accelerometer and a 2,400mAh battery that’s good for 5 to 7 hours of life.
- zenPhone ($349; shipping now): So… it looks like a Nexus One KIRF, it’s called a zenPhone, yet it says it’s a MID. Oh, and it’s not this ZenPhone. Whatever the case, it’s got a 4.3-inch resistive touchscreen (800 x 480), 3G HSDPA radio, 802.11a/b/g WiFi, Bluetooth, 256MB of NAND Flash, a microSD slot (8GB included), a 3.2 megapixel rear camera, 0.3 megapixel front-facing camera, a 2,600mAh battery, onboard GPS, 3.5mm headphone jack and — wait for it — Maemo 5 running the show. Yeah, seriously.
- zenDroid ($319; pre-order): In the market for a Droid KIRF, are you? You’ve come to the right place, with this one offering a 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen (800 x 480), 3G HSDPA, 802.11a/b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, an FM radio tuner, Android 2.1 (”upgradable to 2.2,” we’re told), a microSD slot (8GB bundled in), 512MB of NAND Flash, a 624MHz Marvell PXA935 processor, 5 megapixel rear camera, 0.3 megapixel front-facing camera, a 1,500mAh battery, onboard GPS, 3.5mm headphone jack and a micro-USB connector.
[Thanks, Neil]
Enso whips up two smartphones and three new slates, but we wouldn’t order any of ‘em originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 31 Jul 2010 08:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The recently released PS3 firmware 3.41 seemed to just be a minor update that added a new “You May Like” section to the PlayStation Store, but it looks like it’s been causing nothing but headaches for anyone trying to upgrade the hard drive in their console. As a 30-page strong thread on the official PlayStation forums reveals, folks upgrading their hard drive have been getting a “no applicable data” error after trying to install the update, which has left them with a non-working PS3 and, in some cases, a corrupted original drive. According to CVG, the issue may have something to do with a newly discovered feature of the 3.41 update that allows for more incremental patches, which might also explain why the problem only seems to be affecting PS3s where the firmware is stored in on the hard drive instead of the system’s memory. As for Sony, it hasn’t offered an official explanation just yet, but all indications are that it’s a bug and not an intentional blocking of hard drive upgrades — at least we hope it is. Head on past the break for a video of the problem.
Continue reading PS3 firmware 3.41 said to be causing hard drive upgrade problems
PS3 firmware 3.41 said to be causing hard drive upgrade problems originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 31 Jul 2010 05:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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After years of pleading, the fine folks over at Data Robotics finally gifted you with a Drobo NAS. They called it the Drobo FS, but we all know what the real skinny is. But is the five-bay, Ethernet-friendly storage robot really a dream come true? We’ve had nothing but success with it in our Time Machine setup, but as with pretty much any networked drive, we’ve heard reports here and there of frustrations and complications. For those who have sprung for the FS, we’re curious to hear what you’d change about the setup. Need more drive bays? Would you prefer a few extra interface options? Would you make the box a little less noisy? Go ahead and get honest down in comments below — we know you need an avenue to vent after the week you just survived, right?
How would you change the Drobo FS? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 31 Jul 2010 01:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The pool of choices for WiMAX hotspots continues to expand, and thanks to the FCC, we now know of another up-and-comer. The Rover Puck — trademarked by Clearwire and previously unheard of — joins the ranks Sprint’s Overdrive and its various rebrandings by providing pocketable 4G WiFi service. Unlike its predecessors, however, we finally have a new, more aerodynamic form factor. There isn’t much to the glean from the user manual at this point, and the oft-referenced Rover website still isn’t live — a WHOIS lookup reveals it was last updated via GoDaddy on July 2008 with no other details disclosed. So, until we get some word from the official news pipelines, a plethora of external / internal photos and user manual screenshots are only a mouseclick away.
Rover Puck WiMAX hotspot gets FCC’d, traction on ice subject of fierce debate originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 21:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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It’s taken quite a bit of chasing (and Kmart stalking) this week to score Augen’s $150 Gentouch Android tablet, but lo’ and behold, the gadget is now in its rightful home… our home! We don’t need to tell you that we ferociously ripped open the box to finally see how the Android 2.1 tablet performs, test out its touchscreen and see if it actually has access to app stores (unlike Augen’s smartbook which we toyed with earlier this week). We’re assuming you’re just as eager to find out the answers to those questions, so hit that read more button for some early impressions as well as a hands-on video.
Continue reading Augen Gentouch 78 preview
Augen Gentouch 78 preview originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 20:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/apple/Magic_Trackpad_review’; Apple’s Magic Trackpad isn’t the first of its kind — in fact, Wacom has been playing this game for awhile — but it’s the first of its kind from the cats in Cupertino, so obviously people take notice. The premise of such a device is stupidly simple: it’s a laptop trackpad that lives on your desktop. Over the past few years, there have been rumors that Steve Jobs has his sights set on eliminating buttons from Apple products altogether, and this certainly feels like the next step in the plan. But does it make sense? Is this an improvement over standard input devices like a mouse or trackball? More importantly, in the age of iPads and netbooks, does anyone even need an external input device like this? We’re going to try and answer those questions (and more), so read on for our full review!
Continue reading Magic Trackpad review
Magic Trackpad review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 19:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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