Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

They’re billing it as the “most significant product launch in Microsoft’s history,” so why not let them have their fun? Microsoft busted out Windows Vista Business today, along with Office Professional 2007, and a slew of other business, server and enterprise-related products. The day’s festivities took place at NASDAQ, where Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer and Christopher Liddell rang the opening bell this morning, followed by a day of hyping up the offerings to prospective volume-licensees. Microsoft expects over 200 million people will be using at least one of the products offered today by the end of 2007, and no matter what your stance on Microsoft and Windows, it’s hard to argue with the impact of these softwares. So yeah, we could dwell on the considerable delays Microsoft experienced leading up to this release, or conjecture how long it’ll take for 0-day vulnerabilities to emerge in this shiny new OS, but instead we’d just like to wish Steve Ballmer and co. the best of luck with Vista, Office and all the trimmings. There, now that we’ve gotten that out of our system, let the bug-finding begin!

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Gaming

Wii came, Wii saw, Wii conquered. After hours in line getting worked into a frenzy, the unwashed masses were finally admitted into Toys “R” Us to pillage the store and escape with their Wii. Triforce, who we spotted earlier, was of course the first to get his Wii on, and therefore he and Reggie chatted it up through the purchase, after which he was mobbed by an adoring press. Things really didn’t get much more exciting than that. Most people in line seemed quite cheery throughout the evening, the temperature was quite bearable, and perks like the Segwiis, free hats, free t-shirts and other such frivolities kept everybody entertained. We found the exact number of consoles available and the exact number of people lined up to be a bit elusive, but the best numbers we heard were about 4,000 consoles on hand, for around 2,500-3,000 customers. Peep the in-store pictures after the break.

Continue reading Wii launch wrap-up

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Gaming

We’re hanging out at Toys “R” Us Times Square this evening, getting all ready for a bazillion people to get their respective Wii on. As of 9PM the line is already mind boggling, but the word is Toys “R” Us is stocked with 5,000 7,000 of the dang things for the launch, so there are going to be a lot of people going home happy this evening. Keep watching this space for more of the action as it unfolds, and make sure to peep the pics after the break.

UPDATE 1: New pics aplenty. Also, the scuttlebut on the street is that there are actually 7,000 of the little machines stashed away in Toys R Us, and from the looks of white wristband ubiquity (the wristband guarantees you a console tonight), nearly reaching all the way around a city block now, that could very well be correct.

UPDATE 2: Tons more pics. Here’s a map of the Wii line. That may not mean much to you non-New Yorkers, so let’s put it in perspective. A short block is 1/8th a mile, while a long block is about 1/3rd a mile. So this line is the better part of 4/5ths a mile long. A little arithmetic… we’d estimate that’s about 2,500 - 2,600 people or more. Good news for New Yorkers looking to buy a Wii tomorrow morning.

UPDATE 3: Attention, folks, Reggie has been spotted. We love the big guy, and the very privilege of watching him play a bit of Wii Sports baseball has us shaking in our little blogger boots. He was upstairs at the Toys “R” Us Wii display, so we got some pics of that too, all of which can be spied after the break. One hour to go!

Continue reading Live from Nintendo’s Wii launch in New York

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Laptops

So, right you are again AppleInsider. Hot on the silvery heels of the Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro, comes this fancy fresh Core 2 Duo bump for the MacBook sibs. Previously maxing out with a 2GHz Core Duo proc, the 13.3-inch MacBook can now boast of a 2GHz Core 2 Duo processor under the hood. $1099 remains the entry fee, only now that buys a 1.83GHz C2D and same 512MB DDR2 SDRAM, 60GB 5400RPM SATA disk, combo optical drive, GMA950 graphics, and 802.11g WiFi — though we wonder if they snuck in some 802.11n support as well. Optionally, a new 200GB 4200RPM SATA disk is available. Size and weight all remain the same as does the battery, apparently. The 2.33GHz C2D proc is still only available on the 17-inch MacBook Pro. So really, besides the new processor, nothing else has really changed. Now hurry on over to the Apple Store kids for a 25 10ish percent performance bump (likely) of your very own.

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Handhelds, Laptops

Ultra-portable XP devices have been getting a whole lot of interesting lately. Now Samsung just upped the ante with this — the SPH-P9000 Deluxe MITs — at the Mobile WiMax Summit 2006 in South Korea. Measuring in at chubby 143 × 94.3 × 29.75-mm / 580-g (5.6 × 3.7 × 1.17-inches / 1.28-pounds) when folded, this Windows XP device unfolds (dare we say) origami-like to reveal a 1GHz Transmeta CPU and both Mobile WiMAX (AKA, WiBro which is already launched in Korea) and EV-DO for data connectivity. No WiFi apparently, this all about Mobile WiMAX kids, with Internet speeds of 2-3 Mbps even when travelling up 120-KPH (75-MPH). The SPH-P9000 packs a 5-inch 854×480 (WVGA) LCD, 30GB disk, 1.3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, and apparently ships with both an internal 2980mAh and 7200mAh external extended-battery. People who have played with a prototype on display at the show complained about the screen being too small (in DMB-cellphone crazed Korea!?) and of excessive heating. Well, they can at least work on the latter before the scheduled Korean launch in the first half of 2007. No pricing yet but we’ve got plenty more pics after the break.

[Via AVING and The Korea Herald]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Displays

Forget what you know about lenticular-based 3D displays, holograms, and even those “real” 3D image projectors being toyed around with in Japan. That 3D image you’re looking at above was generated within the Cheotpics360, a four-sided transparent pyramid develop by a Danish team of engineers and designers from viZoo and Romboll. The Cheoptics360 can display both computer and film content when used either indoors or out and scale from 1.5-meters on up to 30-meters. The video images generated by the four projectors are re-assembled within the prism-like pyramid through a process of mirroring and reflection making them appear to float in mid-air. Hear that gamers, how ’bout setting this rig up at your next frag fest! Check the video after the break… you will believe.

[Thanks, BrianMP]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Ah, there you are sweet, sweet Nokia GPS navigator, official at last. Dubbed the Nokia 330 Auto Navigation by the cats in Espoo, this device marks Nokia’s first entry into the dedicated GPS satnav market. It features a 3.5-inch touch-screen with ROUTE 66 Navigate 7 application and European NAVTEQ map data pre-installed on a bundled 2GB memory card of unspecified origins. The 330 is also able to playback unspecified audio and video formats with MP3 and DivX rumored to be in the mix. The press release is so light on specs that we’re unable to confirm if it is in fact rockin’ SiRFStar III let alone provide any details regarding internal storage, battery capabilities, or whether it includes Bluetooth for hands-free linkup with your cellphone. We do know to expect it to hit Europe sometime in Q4 for an estimated retail price of €360/$458 sans taxes. So yeah, they’re looking at you TomTom and Garmin. See the 330 in its car mount after the break.

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Filed under: Cellphones

LG keeps the hotness comin’ with this new looker they’ve dubbed the Shine. Otherwise known as the SV420/LV4200/KV4200, this wispy thin 13-millimeter slider is their second Black Label series premium phone and features a new shiny metal design LG hopes will supplant Chocolate in the lustful hearts of consumers. Going brushed aluminum where it counts, the Shine delivers a 2 megapixel Schneider-Kreuznach shooter with flash, a media player with enough room for 1GB of MP3s (and more via expansion judging by the pics), Korea’s M-Bank monetary service, and a 2.2-inch QVGA display which goes all mirror-like when off. Oh, and it’s apparently coming to SK Telecom’s 3G June network. Will it be as successful as the Chocolate? Time will tell but it sure caught our attention. Expected in Korea first just like the Chocolate, only this time LG, let’s try to be a bit quicker on the global launch, eh? More pics and snaps after the break.

[Via AVING]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Filed under: Cellphones

We can almost hear the voices of skeptical readers whispering in unison, “fanboy Photoshop,” and we’d normally have half a mind to agree. After all, the bizarre gray exterior (just a reflection, perhaps?) seems incongruent with the rest of the phone, the contents of the external display are obviously faked, and the coloration of the Verizon logo doesn’t make a lot of sense — not to mention that the concept of a CDMA-based MOTORAZR MAXX is a bit… shall we say, new to us. Alas, it turns out the picture’s authenticity is rock solid (not to say it’s not a Photoshop job, but if it is, it’s an official one) seeing how we just downloaded it off Motorola’s official site for press multimedia. We know nothing about it besides what we’re seeing here, but truth be told, the picture alone is a lot to process: Verizon gets a strangely colored variant of a high-end RAZR we didn’t even know existed. It looks like a 2-megapixel cam is in the cards, and if the specs mirror its GSM cousin, we can expect a QVGA display, microSD expansion, and 50 odd megabytes of internal storage — not a bad piece to slot in right above the K1m, if we do say so ourselves. As soon as we catch wind of availability (or catch wind that Motorola is playing an extraordinarily unsportsmanlike practical joke on us), we’ll pass on the good word.

[Thanks, Pioneer]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Filed under: Portable Audio

Sony Japan just spilled the deets on their new Walkman S series of digital audio players. The NW-S700 players deliver pretty much exactly what we’ve already seen: 4/2/1GB of flash memory, 3-line OLED display capable of dishin’ albumn art, FM tuner, playback for MP3/ATRAC/ATRAC Advanced Lossless/Linear PCM and AAC/WMA sans DRM files, and the ability to record from external audio sources direct to PCM or ATRAC3Plus. The player features a quick 3-minute charge for 3-hours of playback or a 2-hour full-charge for up to 50-hours playback of all those 132kbps ATRAC files you probably don’t have. Finally, Sony claims that the NW-S700 series delivers the highest sound quality in Walkman history due to the integrated noise cancelation and bundled 13.5mmEX earbuds with integrated in-line Mic. Nice, if indeed their claims of 25% less ambient noise are true. Also announced are the NW-S600 players offered in 2/1GB flavas but without the FM tuner and built-in noise cancelation. The NW-S700 players will hit October 21st in Japan in your choice of black, violet, gold, and pink while the NW-S600 DAPs are set to roll on November 18th in black, blue and pink. And of course, there’s the limited edition NW-S706F/T in brown which, as you know, is the new white of consumer electronics. Expect to fork over up to ¥29,000 (about $242) for the 4GB NW-S706F or as little as ¥15,000 (about $125) for the 1GB NS-S603 model.

[Via Impress]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

With its high-profile XPS line and recent purchase of boutique gaming house Alienware, for awhile it looked like Dell would be the only major PC manufacturer willing to cater to serious gamers. Not anymore. In a move that caught everyone, including us, completely by surprise (you’ll notice the lack of backlinks to any rumor posts about this), HP announced today that it will acquire Alienware rival VoodooPC for an undisclosed sum. After the deal closes — following the usual regulatory rigmarole — HP will form a new business unit dedicated to gaming in its Personal Systems Group, with Voodoo co-owners (and brothers) Rahul and Ravi Sood assuming the roles of Chief Technologist and Director of Strategy, respectively. As you’re probably aware, the acquisition comes at somewhat of a turbulent time for HP: not only is the company still reeling from the bruising merger with Compaq under former CEO Carly Fiorina, it’s currently undergoing unwanted public and governmental scrutiny over the so-called “pretexting” scandal that led to the recent resignation of chairwoman Patricia Dunn. Although we doubt that the Voodoo deal is going to make everyone forget about the alleged spying that has occurred, it’s nice to know that once HP finally puts this ugly mess behind it, consumers (especially gamers) can expect to benefit from some hot products and lower pricing that can only be realized now that Dell has some real competition on its hands. [Warning: PDF link]

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SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time.

Filed under: Laptops

Hooray, Lenovo has joined the battery recall party! For those of you keeping score at home, that brings the number of manufacturers to five, including Apple, Panasonic, Toshiba and Dell. The recall, anounced today, affects nearly 170,000 batteries in the US, and over 350,000 additionally worldwide, according to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. The USCPSC also says that the recall was triggered by Lenovo’s confirmation of the battery that exploded at LAX a few weeks ago and that this latest battery recall affects the following ThinkPad notebook computers “sold between February 2005 and September 2006: T Series (T43, T43p, T60); R Series (R51e, R52, R60, R60e); and X Series (X60, X60s).” Furthermore, Lenovo has put out a press release stating: “Additionally, since these batteries can also be used with ThinkPad T4x Series or ThinkPad R5x Series systems, customers who ordered an extra battery or received a replacement battery for any ThinkPad T4x or ThinkPad R5x Series notebook PC between February 2005 and September 2006 may also have a battery subject to recall.” Now, Alan Cox’s exploded ThinkPad 600 isn’t part of the list, which leads us to believe that this isn’t the last we’ve heard about Sony’s exploding battery fiasco.

Read - US Consumer Product Safety Commission

[Thanks, JJL]

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SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time.

Filed under: Cellphones

Now that we know the Treo 750 is poised for a Cingular release here in the US, we’re kind of over Vodafone’s version of this Windows Mobile 5 smartphone, but because we’ve got mad love for our European audience, we’ll keep covering it until they pry us kicking and screaming from our keyboards. Following numerous spy shots, reviews, and announcements regarding this device, there’s pretty much nothing that we don’t know about its feature set — quad-band GSM with UMTS, 300MHz CPU, 240 x 240 pixel screen, Bluetooth 1.2, miniSD expansion, 1.3 megapixel camera, and of course, still no WiFi — but despite all the interest, a solid release date has yet to be announced. Well, until now that is, as Vodafone has finally updated its UK site to list an October 2nd launch (why do we feel like this thing has been “launched” like ten times already?), with that same vague pricing window of “free to £127.66 ($242.90).” So, congratulations dear friends across the pond, you’ll have your gadget-loving hands all over the 750v in a few short days; us Americans, meanwhile, are just preparing ourselves to go through the whole dog-and-pony show of leaks, rumors, and false starts all over again.

[Thanks, Nirav M.]

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SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time.

Filed under: Cellphones

Dear Palm,

Why is it that you have such a devil of a time keeping a lid on your product pipeline? It seems like in those precious few moments when your carriers aren’t leaking documents describing unreleased Treos, you’re doing it yourself. No bother; we already knew darned well Cingular would be getting a pair of new handsets from you, freshly freed of their pesky external antennas, in Palm OS and Windows Mobile flavors — we just wish you’d make it a little more challenging to scoop the deets sometimes. Anyway, you’ve got a crowd of Palm fanatics anxiously awaiting your 680 and 750 here in the US, so let’s get this show on the road, shall we?

Love,
Engadget

[Thanks, William and Jon]

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SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time.

Filed under: Laptops

It appears that the exploding IBM ThinkPad that we spotted last week at LAX may not have been a fluke after all. A Welshwoman named Telsa was hanging out with her husband Alan last night, when Alan’s ThinkPad’s battery suddenly exploded (see the photo on the next page), after which “a couple of fires started where the (presumably) boiling battery landed,” with one of the fragments taking out a nearby LCD monitor. Alan sustained a few minor burns, but other than the laptop itself there were no serious injuries, thankfully. Telsa does note, however, that the battery was third-party and was bought on eBay, so it may not be an authentic IBM pack at all. Still, somebody need to get to the bottom of this, like, now — after the Apple, Dell, Panasonic, and Toshiba recalls, the public demands and deserves complete and rapid disclosure.

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SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time.

Filed under: Gaming

Oh deary us, pictures of the PlayStation 3 before it’s launched? Looks a lot like some Sony dudes