Leopard O.S.

Sad business if true, but the UnwiredView is reporting that ASUS’ P565 Windows Mobile 6.1-toting, VGA, HSDPA, Blazing 800MHz (Marvell PXA930) monster has been quietly dumped. The reason? Nobody’s talking and we’ve not heard reports from either Garmin or ASUS to verify it either way — it has apparently launched in Germany and Poland, at least — but according to GPSAndCo, its debut in France isn’t happening and they point to the new partnership as the reason. In the end, it does seem as if the Garmin / ASUS team is going to deliver some pretty serious goods, so we’ll not shed a tear unless something happens to them, too. Of course, this could all be fluff, so do tell us if you catch sight of one of these at your local shop.

[Via UnwiredView]

Filed under: Cellphones

ASUS’ P565 superphone canned due to Garmin partnership? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 15:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First off, it’s rather amazing that someone in a developed nation is still using the Nokia 1600 as their primary handset. Secondly, it’s even more astounding that said handset lasted a week in the belly of a cod and could still make calls after it was rescued. In a just-barely-believable story hosted up at The Sun, a businessman was both shocked and confused when his presumably sunk cellphone began ringing his lady friend around five days after he dropped it at sea. As the tale goes, a 25 pound cod managed to swallow the thing, and a pair of fishermen discovered it upon gutting their catch. The best part? The bloke who it was returned to is still using it, despite the fact that it literally reeks of rotten fish. Who knows — maybe he suffers from ichthyomania.

[Via Nokia Conversations]

Filed under: Cellphones

Nokia 1600 survives week in fish’s belly, still makes smelly calls originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 14:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re not quite sure we understand the process behind making a Very Personal Computer, but clearly, Fidelity Electronics has it nailed down solid. In what’s apt to be the silliest, albeit most awesome netbook model name in the history of netbook model names, said company has just introduced its very own VPC. This incredibly intimate piece of machinery uses all 1.5 pounds of shell, every single megahertz and every last WiFi wave in order to completely invade your privacy, and we’re even told that the 800 x 480 resolution display can wink and cast glances as it attempts to woo you. The VPC sports a 7-inch panel, 2GB of internal storage, a 3-hour battery, “100MHz internet browser” (stop laughing, we’re being serious here), an Ethernet jack, SD card slot and a cherry gumdrop for a CPU. We’re expecting this one to hit stores next month for $199.99, but don’t be shocked if it just shows up in your bed, bathroom or favorite breakfast cereal.

[Via ChipChick]

Filed under: Laptops

Fidelity Electronics VPC netbook is all up in your business originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 13:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Or, you know, maybe the headline should read: “AMD looking to ship 32nm chips behind Intel. Rather than staying one step ahead of its fiercest rival, it sounds like Advanced Micro Devices is perfectly content with being a few months behind. Based on words from CEO Dirk Meyer, the company is hoping to “ramp up” production of 32 nanometer processors — which Intel has already demonstrated — in the middle of next year, with volume production hopefully starting in Q4. Of course, these chips will be among the first not actually built by AMD; instead, they’ll be fabricated by the newly spun Foundry Company, so we suppose the lag is little easier to understand. Oh, and there’s also the fact that “AMD isn’t in a race with Intel on all technologies,” though the business bone inside of us thinks it should be.

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

AMD looking to ship 32nm chips in 2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There’s no easy answer to erasing a staggering trillion-plus dollar deficit in a federal budget, but you’ve got to start somewhere — and Obama’s looking at the nation’s wireless carriers as cash cows just waiting to be milked. The President’s proposed budget for 2010 calls for an increase in spectrum license user fees from $50 million to $200 million, with further increases to $550 million over the course of the next decade, all of which would be on top of the billions carriers have already shelled out in spectrum auctions. A good way to bring in some extra cash? Yeah, probably, but considering that carriers will be more than happy to pass the increases on to consumers, let’s just be straight: it’s a tax.

[Via El Reg]

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

Obama’s proposed 2010 budget juices carriers for more cash originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 10:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This may look like a beloved iMac, but make no mistake, it’s just a shell of its former self. CGCC forum member Logicdustbin decided to gut the all-in-one and replace its innards with a Sega Dreamcast and 15-inch LCD monitor. The result? The iCast, a beautiful homage to simpler times. Hit up the video after the break to see this Fronk-en-shteen in action, playing a game that’ll assuredly prepare our children for a post-apocalyptic world.

[Via hack a day]

Continue reading Apple iMac murdered, reborn as all-in-one DreamCast mod

Filed under: Gaming

Apple iMac murdered, reborn as all-in-one DreamCast mod originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 09:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While the Big 3 seem to be visiting Washington on an all-too-regular basis trying to secure funding for future success, $25 billion in loans set aside to promote electric car usage in America has been sitting untouched for nearly two years. As the story goes, the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan program was established in 2007, but administrations have been toying with ideas about how to use it until present day. Some 75 applications from hopeful companies have been whittled down to 25, but there’s no telling how long it’ll be before we hear who’s getting the cash (and when). Many are irate that this dough is still sitting idle, but we tend to agree with the “let’s wait until we find truly remarkably beggars” approach before it’s just handed out to those without a viable plan. The takeaway? Electric vehicles may still end up progressing as planned despite the current economy, but only if brilliant plans can cut through miles of red tape.

Filed under: Transportation

$25 billion in electric vehicle loans still waiting for perfect beggars originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 07:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Endless Ideas’ original BeBook wasn’t exactly the same smash hit as, say, Amazon’s Kindle, but the company’s hoping to refocus some of the spotlight back on itself next week in Germany. According to a succulent teaser page on the company’s website, it has proudly announced that the next-gen e-reader will be on display at CeBIT, bringing with it WiFi and 3G capabilities, touchscreen navigation and wireless RSS support. Sadly, we’re not giving any pictorial clues, but we are told to expect “a complete redesign.” Consider our interest piqued.

[Via Pocket-lint]

Filed under: Displays, Handhelds

Endless Ideas launching next-gen WiFi BeBook at CeBIT originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 05:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You’re already buying TVs, washing machines, cheap keyboards and cell phones at Best Buy, why not a $12,000 electric motorcycle? That seems to be the thinking going on at Brammo HQ, where an infusion of cash from Best Buy’s investment arm last year has now led to plans to sell the $11,995 Enertia at five West Coast Best Buy stores in May. Okay, sure, but we’re way less optimistic about plans to let the Geek Squad handle basic repairs and maintenance — we don’t let those fools near our laptops, god forbid Pimples McUpsell touch something that could actually kill us. Eventually Brammo wants to sell bikes at every Best Buy location around the world, but we’ll see how this initial test works out.

Filed under: Transportation

Brammo Enertia electric motorcycle to be sold at Best Buy originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 03:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Generally speaking, we wouldn’t bother asking you how you’d change the second iteration of something, but Apple’s MacBook Air is a different beast. Given how Apple maintained a lot of those severe limitations the second go round (see: single USB port, non-removable battery, etc.), we’re extra curious to see how you want the next round of MBA to go. Is it finally time for Apple to downsize into the world of netbooks? Or do you just want a more “pro” oriented MacBook Air? Is 13-inches really the ideal display size here? Would it kill the suits in Cupertino to throw an integrated SDHC card reader on the side? Time to take off the gloves and let it rip!

Filed under: Laptops

How would you change Apple’s Rev. B MacBook Air? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 01:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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