Could this be the best-looking Windows Phone 7 device yet? That’s open to some personal interpretation, of course, but Sammy’s alleged i8700 is looking like quite the beast — and it should assuage any lingering fears that the Omnia HD-based prototypes floating around would be influencing final ID for the company’s numerous WP7 launches later this year. If we had to venture a guess, we’d say this is probably that unnamed model we saw not long ago, identified by its sharp, squared-off edges and the button layout below the display. The about screen reveals 8GB of internal storage and the backside shows a camera of unknown resolution paired to an LED flash, so if you’re not tied to the idea of a physical QWERTY keyboard, this might be the Windows Phone 7 handset you’ve been looking for. Question is, what carriers?

[Thanks, Pradeep]

Samsung i8700 for Windows Phone 7 leaks, puts developer prototype to shame originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 14:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LaCie’s bringing its monkey out to play again today, announcing a USB 3.0 version of the Rikiki and a new Minimus portable hard drive. Both come in slick aluminum enclosures, with the Rikiki looking unchanged from its predecessor, but of course inside they pack the extra vroom vroom of the latest USB spec. Unlike Iomega, LaCie isn’t shy about price premiums here, as the Rikiki USB 3.0 model costs $100 for 500GB (versus $85 for the 2.0 SKU) and the Minimus offers a terabyte in exchange for $130. Both will have larger options as well, a 1TB Rikiki and a 2TB Minimus — with correspondingly elevated levies, we’re sure.

Continue reading LaCie embraces USB 3.0 with world’s smallest hug, ‘world’s smallest’ HDDs

LaCie embraces USB 3.0 with world’s smallest hug, ‘world’s smallest’ HDDs originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 06:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With Intel showing signs of jumping on board, USB 3.0 is looking more and more like the one next-gen interconnect to rule them all. Them all except for Apple, of course, who has notably thrown its support exclusively behind Light Peak. The chums at Cupertino have no interest in newer, bluer revisions of USB, but enterprise storage firm CalDigit thinks that many Apple lovers will. It has developed USB 3.0 PCIe and ExpressCard adapters (plus the necessary drivers) that will bring 5Gbps transfers to Macs, and is releasing its CalDigit AV Drive to match, up to 2TB of external storage with 145MBps transfers. (It also sports FireWire 800 compatibility if you’re not ready to cross the interface picket line just yet.) That PCIe adapter will set you back a not entirely unreasonable $59, while the 1TB external drive is $199. No price on the ExpressCard adapter or 2TB version yet, but all are said to be shipping presently.

Update: As bhillyer70 pointed out in comments, these are now available in the CalDigit store. The 2TB drive will set you back $299, while the ExpressCard adapter is listed at $69 and sports this somewhat troubling disclaimer: “CalDigit does not guarantee USB 3.0 performance on all Macs or when used in conjunction with third party products. The driver has been optimized for CalDigit certified products.” Perhaps we should re-open those peace talks…

Continue reading CalDigit brings USB 3.0 AV Drive to the Mac, still working on peace in the Middle East (video)

CalDigit brings USB 3.0 AV Drive to the Mac, still working on peace in the Middle East (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 11:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here’s a little nugget you may not have already been aware of — Apple’s iPad is only capable of registering USB hard drives (via the Camera Connection Kit, of course) that are 32GB or smaller, which may or may not bum a vast majority of you out. Thankfully, Sanho’s latest and greatest HyperDrive was tailor made to circumvent that limitation, and it just so happens to be the company’s most capacious. Checking in with 750GB of open space, this unit boasts a “patent pending ability to turn individual file folders into virtual 32GB drives on the fly that are readable by the iPad,” and as you’d expect, there’s also a CompactFlash and Secure Digital slot for offloading images directly from your camera’s memory card (at up to 40MB/sec). There’s even a 3.2-inch QVGA color display, support for JPEG and RAW files and the ability to act as a vanilla USB hard drive; it’s available now for $599, though smaller versions are available for those with less pocket change.

Continue reading Sanho’s 750GB HyperDrive photo backup HDD plays nice with your iPad

Sanho’s 750GB HyperDrive photo backup HDD plays nice with your iPad originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 16:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If the AppleTV announcement didn’t satiate your need for a Google TV set-top box battle royal, then new details about Amino’s Freedom box might do the trick. Yes it still packs the same hardware announced back in 2009 such as an Intel CE4100m Atom Processor, 500 GB of internal storage, SD card support, Bluetooth, WiFi 802.11n and 1 GB of RAM. We’ve now discovered however that it’ll also run its own Amino branded version of Nokia’s MeeGo OS, adding apps and gaming support to its list of capabilities that already included 1080p playback, VOD streaming, and DVR recording. In other words there’s going to be a new Google TV competitor on the block sometime before the end of this year looking for a fight. Whether it’ll provide a Lincoln Hawk-worthy performance though is something we’ll let the bookies squabble over until we can go hands on with both.

[Thanks, Hary]

Amino launches Freedom over-the-top video set-top box, challenges Google TV to arm wrestle originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 07:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ready to splash the cash on NVIDIA’s fresh new mobile Fermi graphics cards? ASUS is the first company to take the veils off its GTX 460M offering, which it has seasoned with a most welcome addition: 1.5GB of dedicated GDDR5 graphics memory. The ROG G53JW and G73JW machines are the beneficiaries of this upgrade, with both capable of 3D work should you ask them nicely, and offering such tasty options as quad-core Core i7 CPUs, up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM, 750GB of storage, 16:9 displays (1,366 x 768 on the 15.6-inch G53 and up to 1,920 x 1,080 on the 17.3-inch G73), Blu-ray-writing optical drives, and 8-cell 5,200mAh batteries. The lighter of the two laptops weighs in at 3.6kg, but if that doesn’t put you off, both are available right now at online retailers.

[Thanks, LifeBringer]

Continue reading ASUS upgrades G53 and G73 gaming laptops with 1.5GB NVIDIA GTX 460 grunt

ASUS upgrades G53 and G73 gaming laptops with 1.5GB NVIDIA GTX 460 grunt originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 05:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yeah, we thought netbooks were old news too, but if they all start strapping up with the latest in 4G connectivity, we might have to give them another look. The Samsung N350 is just such a machine, with dual-mode LTE and HSPA+ built in. You won’t be surprised that almost everything else is par for the affordable laptop market course: a dual-core Atom N550 CPU, that boilerplate 1,024 x 600 resolution on a 10.1-inch matte screen, 250GB of storage, 1GB of DDR3 RAM, a multicard reader, and a trifecta of USB ports. The basic wireless options are keeping up with modernity, however, with 802.11n WiFi and Bluetooth 3.0 on board, both of which are nice to see. The 3-cell battery should last up to 6.7 hours and the whole package is expected to retail for €429 ($553) in Germany this autumn. You can probably expect a rebadge under the Go label for the US and a relatively swift launch over here as well.

Continue reading Samsung N350 throws LTE and HSPA+ into an intriguing new netbook proposition

Samsung N350 throws LTE and HSPA+ into an intriguing new netbook proposition originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Sep 2010 07:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remember that iriver Story Touch Edition e-reader we spied last month? Well, iriver is showing it off at IFA this week, with plans to release the little 6-inch touchscreen device in Europe and Korea in the next week or so. We played around with it a bit, and while the 800 x 600 E Ink screen resolution is a little disappointing, and the resistive touchscreen layer impacts readability in a small but noticeable way, the software is certainly pleasant, and iriver is up to its usual standard in hardware design. There’s a small included stylus that slots in at the top of the screen (or the bottom, the screen auto-flips vertically based on how you hold the device) but while the stylus is fun for drawing notes, all you really need is a light tap or swipe with your fingers to operate the device. With 2GB of storage, a €229-ish pricetag for the WiFi-free version (there’s another WiFi version coming with an email app and a lightweight browser), and that low resolution screen, iriver probably wouldn’t have much luck going up against the Kindle and its ilk in the US, but they’re hoping to carve out a niche in Europe and Asia, and we can’t begrudge them that.

iriver Story Touch Edition preview originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Sep 2010 09:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You may never have heard of auto electronics provider Rydeen Mobile, but it certainly knows of you — or more specifically, your desire to obtain a slick new tablet PC — and has thus created an 7-inch Android tablet that integrates the dedicated map functionality of its GPS machines. The “gPad” GCOM701 won’t be a terribly high-end device, mind you, with an 800MHz ARMADA 166 SOC, 256MB of RAM, bring-your-own-microSD-storage and what we’re led to believe is a resistive touchscreen, but it sounds like at least Rydeen isn’t being stingy on the software front. You’ll find a full suite of Google Apps, Adobe Flash Lite 4 and AVI support, not to mention 4 million points of interest thanks to the integrated Navteq client. Connectivity include GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, both mini and full-sized USB ports, plus a front-facing camera for video chat, and there’s a 2400mAh battery the company claims will provide six hours of solid use. Find it this November at an unspecified price, no doubt alongside the pictured (but not mentioned) car dock.

Continue reading Rydeen hopes to cash in on tablet fever with Android-based, Armada-powered PND

Rydeen hopes to cash in on tablet fever with Android-based, Armada-powered PND originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While Sony’s new Bloggie Touch provides the template for how simple and easy a touchscreen camcorder could really be, Kodak’s similarly well built and attractive PlayTouch provides a stark contrast, with a modicum of simplicity on the surface, but a megaton of functionality to uncover. The PlayTouch isn’t as pick-up-and go as the Bloggie, but the basic touchscreen controls can be quickly mastered. What sets the PlayTouch apart are the in-depth features like an external microphone jack (complete with gain control), video effects (like black & white and sepia modes), and the particularly ambitious video editor. You can only trim shots and extract stills from that latter mode, but paired with the newer generation EasyShare functionality that lets you pre-assign photos and videos for upload to YouTube and Facebook, among other services, you can almost completely avoid using your computer as anything but a dumb pipe to the internet.

The PlayTouch really isn’t a “gift it to your grandma” sort of camcorder; even with a $230 pricetag you still have to bring your own SD card, there’s no built-in storage, and most of the higher end functionalities like the external audio jack will be lost on the general populace. Still, if you’re looking for a pocket camcorder that is more than just a dumb pocket camcorder, Kodak seems to be continuing the niche it carved out for itself originally with the Zi8.

Kodak PlayTouch preview originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 10:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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