The Gadget Geek

MSI unveils a slew of new netbooks and one lonely nettop

It looks like MSI has been pretty busy lately. We got a good look at the MSI Wind U120 about a week ago, and now the company’s back with a slew of new machines and we have plenty of details for you to savor. Most notably, the U115 is a 10-inch netbook featuring the Intel Atom Z530 processor, 1-2GB memory, and a hybrid SSD / hard drive storage system. The solid state drive (being smaller and theoretically faster) is meant to contain the OS while the hard drive is to be used for data. The U110 is basically the same as the U115, except it only ships with 1GB memory and there is no SSD included. Also introduced were the U150 (sadly enough with no specs, besides the fact that it also ships with both HDD and SSD storage) and the WindBox, an Atom N270-based nettop designed to be VESA-mounted to the back of your monitor. The WindBox should be available Q1 2009 for around €300. Keep reading after the break for a complete rundown of all the specs.

Read – MSI WindBox Revealed
Read – MSI unveils new netbooks, unusual storage systems

Continue reading MSI unveils a slew of new netbooks and one lonely nettop

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

MSI unveils a slew of new netbooks and one lonely nettop originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Nov 2008 18:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2008 Holiday Gift Guide
2008 Holiday Gift Guide
Black Friday Brings GPS Deals For Under $100
GPS-based navigation devices are set to sizzle on Black Friday as device makers have cut prices to under $100 for the product that ranks high on many consumers’ wish lists. TomTom is currently offering its ONE 125 GPS model for…


Bulb is in the Heart .. of d:light
Did you know you’re not supposed to put your light-bulbs in the trash? Don’t pitch ‘em! Put them in the “d:light.” Designer Tim Edgeler presents. A new solution (maybe) to the light-bulb problem with his product, the “d:light.” It acts as both a lamp and a method for mailing the dead …

Black Friday Giveaways (part 2): 2GB Eye-Fi Explore card

Enjoy taking photos? Want to get them out onto the internets or into inboxes quickly? Then perhaps you need to win this Eye-Fi Explore card. With 2GB of juicy storage, you’ll be able to keep all sorts of painful memories laying around. Ready to nab it? Here’s how it works.

We’ll put up a gadget on the site, and you can only enter it until the next gadget lands (usually within a couple of hours). If you miss your shot, sorry, we’re moving on to the next gadget. Good luck! Oh, and don’t forget the rules. (Yeah, there are always rules.)

• Leave a comment below. That’s it! Who loves you, baby.
• 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.) You can enter different giveaways in today’s Black Friday giveaways, but you can only enter this one once.
• 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 or US contest laws if you have to be mad.
• Winners will be chosen randomly.
• Entries can be submitted until the next contest goes up. After that we’re all done. Good luck!
• Full rules can be found here.

Last round’s winner: Jack H! (Remember, winners are selected at random.)

Filed under: Storage

Black Friday Giveaways (part 2): 2GB Eye-Fi Explore card originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Nov 2008 12:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2008 Holiday Gift Guide
2008 Holiday Gift Guide
Review: Waring Martini Mixer
Ahhh Thanksgiving, a time for egg nog and egg nog based martinis. But that blasted shaking? Who has time to do that when there’s a perfectly good turkey that needs to be horridly burned? Houseware maker Waring thinks they have…


Bulb is in the Heart .. of d:light
Did you know you’re not supposed to put your light-bulbs in the trash? Don’t pitch ‘em! Put them in the “d:light.” Designer Tim Edgeler presents. A new solution (maybe) to the light-bulb problem with his product, the “d:light.” It acts as both a lamp and a method for mailing the dead …

T-Mobile G1 now available in frosty white

We’ve heard that it’s been showing up on doorsteps and in stores for a few days now, but T-Mobile has just officially given the word that the G1 is now available in white to complement bronze and the especially personality-free black (not to say there’s anything wrong with that, black G1 owners). The price, hardware, and software are all the same, so if you thought this release might somehow magically bring a soft keyboard with it, think again. Any guesses what — if any — future colors we might see on this puppy?

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

T-Mobile G1 now available in frosty white originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Nov 2008 13:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony’s multifaceted AC adapter, PS3 wireless keypad notch December ship dates

We won’t say that the onset of the holiday shopping season has, um, encouraged Sony to get with the program here, but the deafening roar of wallets everywhere opening up probably didn’t hurt matters. That said, we’re informed today that the long-awaited PlayStation 3 wireless keypad will begin hitting US retailers during the first week of December for $49.99. Furthermore, the outfit’s multi-purpose twin port AC adapter — which can charge a DualShock 3, SIXAXIS, Sony Bluetooth headset and the aforementioned wireless keypad attachment — will be in those same stores a week later for $24.99.

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

Sony’s multifaceted AC adapter, PS3 wireless keypad notch December ship dates originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Nov 2008 11:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Holiday Video Games 2008
Holiday Video Games 2008

HANNspree trots out SD7021 / SD80M4MB digital photo frames

Go ‘head HANNspree, get on down with your bad self. With the holiday season fast approach, HANNspree’s looking to exploit that need to get your ma and pa something special — and by special, we mean completely predictable. To that end, it has introduced the 7-inch SD7021 (pictured) and 8-inch SD80M4MB widescreen digiframes. The former includes an auto-rotation feature, slideshow functionality, inbuilt calender, 3-in-1 memory card reader and 8MB of internal storage, while the latter arrives with three interchangeable faceplates (one shown after the break), a pair of frame stands, audio / video support, an alarm clock, remote, 6-in-1 multicard reader and 256MB of built-in storage space. Both units are up for grabs right now at $49.99 and $99.99 in order of mention.

Continue reading HANNspree trots out SD7021 / SD80M4MB digital photo frames

Filed under: Digital Cameras, Displays

HANNspree trots out SD7021 / SD80M4MB digital photo frames originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Holiday Video Game Gifts
Holiday Video Game Gifts
Mini WiiMote Shines Mario Kart In Your Face
Those keychain flashlights and laser pointers are more annoying than they are useful. But at least Nintendo’s Wiimote projector would look kind of cool when your friends shine it in your eye. Resembling a Wiimote controller, the keychain measures 2.25…

NXE creating HDMI headaches for UK Xbox 360 owners?

The path to Netflix-enhanced glory hasn’t been entirely trouble free for everyone, this time it’s posters on AVForum noticing a distinct lack of audio on Xbox 360s connected to their HDTV by HDMI. So far suggested solutions for the afflicted include plugging in the hard drive while the system is on, or waiting several minutes before switching the monitor to HDMI, and repeating them every time the system is started. It’s not the first time we’ve heard of UK-centric HDMI weirdness, any of you hearing a whole lot of nothing while gaming (that’s not attributable to hard drive installs)?

[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]

Filed under: Gaming, HDTV, Home Entertainment

NXE creating HDMI headaches for UK Xbox 360 owners? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia XpressMusic 5610 Mobile Phone
Nokia XpressMusic 5610 Mobile Phone
MacBook Air Prototype Sold on Ebay
This MacBook Air was sold by the Californian iTech Systems on Ebay for $730. As it that wasn’t bargain enough, the notebook appears to be an Apple prototype with a temporary plastic botton casing and a misplaced power button. The…


Does My Butt Look Big in This?
As a child, going to the fair was a blast! My favorite part was walking through the funhouse trying to get out in one piece. The most hysterical part of the funhouse was the mirrors, which morphed our bodies in a variety of shapes and sizes causing outbursts of laughter …

BlackBerry Storm: the aftermath
With day zero of the Age of the Storm (well, Verizon’s day zero, anyway) now behind us, it’s probably a good idea to pause for a moment, take a deep breath, and reflect on what just went down. First and foremost, we’re hearing that stock levels are pretty bleak at the moment in many areas; in some cases, stores didn’t get as many Storms as they’d been expecting, leading to speedy sell-outs. Some of those that were able to snatch a scarce unit were met with activation issues, Verizon’s servers seemingly meeting the same fate as AT&T’s and Apple’s on iPhone 3G launch day. Will the situation improve? We can only imagine — but it’s hard to say just how long it’ll take before you’ll be able to stroll into the store (or shady mall kiosk) of your choice and score a Storm sight unseen, especially in light of the firmware drama unfolding before our very eyes. In the meantime, owners (and hopefuls, too), keep sending in your reports from the field!

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

BlackBerry Storm: the aftermath originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 Nov 2008 07:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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T-Mobile G1 Mobile Phone
T-Mobile G1 Mobile Phone
New MacBooks Take Big Performance Hit With Battery Removed
Apple’s new MacBooks are mighty speedy, but they suffer from a huge performance drop if you remove the battery and use the AC adapter as the sole source of power. Gearlog’s Zach Honig discovered that the MacBook sees a 37-percent…

Nokia planning touch-less, gesture-controlled devices?

Usually when we’re talking about Nokia and patents, a mention of Qualcomm can’t be far behind. This time however, we’re looking at something entirely less boring, fascinating even: ultra-sound sensors that detect hand gestures in the air in front of the device. Now the stretch. Nokia’s chief designer, Alastair Curtis, was asked at a recent cocktail party why Nokia’s N-series of multimedia devices have yet to see a multi-touch interface, Curtis replied, “We’ve not launched what we think is right for N-series in a touch product. You’ll see in the coming months, years… what we feel is right.” Curtis then elaborated, “Much as I’m talking to you now with gestures.” Hmm. Ok Alastair, if such devices are in the chute, as long as they don’t resemble the Palm V-series… we’re cool.

[Thanks, Pdexter]

Read — Patent application
Read — Curtis quotes

Nokia planning touch-less, gesture-controlled devices? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Nov 2008 08:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Meizu M8 captured on video looking smooth, doing multitouch

Oh M8, you’ve grown up before our eyes. It seems like just yesterday we were looking at your early incarnations and their uncanny similarity to certain other devices. And how could we forget those times we spent together waiting for you at trade shows, and mocking checking out your early hardware? And now look at you, all grown up and caught on video doing your thing. You know what? This actually looks pretty damn nice. Sure, the obvious major iPhone influence is still there, but we have to say, Jack Wong and co. have done a pretty good job of smoothing out this UI — and we didn’t expect to see multitouch working this nicely. Of course, the clip says more than we ever could, so go and wrap yourself in your grandmother’s afghan, grab a steaming cup of coffee, head out to the porch of your 19th century farmhouse, and just listen to the wind chimes and smooth sounds of this video as you take a tour of the Meizu M8… after the break.

[Via MP4 Nation Blog]

Continue reading Meizu M8 captured on video looking smooth, doing multitouch

Filed under: Cellphones

Meizu M8 captured on video looking smooth, doing multitouch originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 09:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung HT-X710T Home Theater System
Samsung HT-X710T Home Theater System

Sharp’s AQUOS photo player prints / displays images on your HDTV

Filed under: Digital Cameras, Misc. Gadgets, Home Entertainment

Now here’s an interesting combination. Sharp has decided to liberally splash its AQUOS labeling on an all new photo player, which pulls double duty as a photo printer and a photo, um, display-er. So far as we can tell, users can load up images via a variety of memory card slots, Bluetooth, Infrared and even the local network (HN-PP150 only), and from there, they can either print for showing to grandma or output the content through HDMI. For those who connect it to an AQUOS LCD TV, they can also utilize the music playback functionality that’s baked in. The non-DLNA-compatible HN-PP100 (pictured) will go for ¥20,000 ($207) starting December 5th in Japan, while the network-friendly HN-PP150 tacks on another ¥5,000 ($52) and ships in January 2009.

Sharp’s AQUOS photo player prints / displays images on your HDTV originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Nov 2008 09:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Logitech Illuminated Keyboard
Logitech Illuminated Keyboard