UsbAdapter
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Amped Wireless releases two new USB adapters to cure internet blackspots (video)
Is your computer positioned just that little bit too far away from your home router to get consistent internet access? Amped Wireless is here for you with a pair of USB adapters that promise you'll never have to tilt your machine to maintain signal again. The UA1000 pushes out 500mW of power over the 2.4GHz band, will clip to your laptop screen and, if you connect it to two USB ports instead of one it'll be even more powerful. Meanwhile, the UA2000 can switch between its high-range 2.4GHz and low-interference 5.0GHz radios to ensure the best reception in the darkest corners of your home or office. The former will set you back $80 while its dual-band cousin retails at $100 and you can pre-order both from today.
Retrode 2 retro gaming adapter brings SNES / Genesis support to your PC for $85
We were already head over heels for the original Retrode, and we've gotta say -- version 2.0 looks mighty good in that attire. As the story goes, the product shown above is the result of some three years of toiling, with the second iteration handling cartridges for Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo. In fact, there's a pair of ports on here, enabling one cart from each console to be loaded up and carried around. Users need only to find and install an emulator on their machine, plug a cartridge and / or an associated controller into the device and then connect the Retrode 2 to one's computer via USB. Once you've loaded a ROM into your emulator, configured your controller and canceled every appointment on your calendar for the next 48 hours... well, you're in for quite a weekend of retro gaming nirvana. It's up for pre-order now in the source link for $84.99, with shipments expected to begin on January 23rd.
ASUS Eee Pad Transformer stand and adapters surface on Amazon Germany
We feel like if you're going to buy an Eee Pad Transformer, you may as well spring for the $150 docking station -- you know, the thing that makes the tablet so noteworthy. And we don't need to remind you it also happens to be a solid value proposition: the dock brings not just a full keyboard, but two USB ports, an SD card reader, and up to seven hours of extended battery life. There must be some people content with just the slate, though, because ASUS is rolling out a trio of accessories that offer pieces of the docking station's functionality. Head on over to Amazon Germany and you'll find individual USB and SD adapters for €19 ($27) a pop. And though it's not listed with the adapters, NetbookNews also spotted a €29 ($41) stand with a USB port, SD slot, and headphone jack. Before you get too excited, though, Amazon is saying the adapters will ship one to three months from now, which leaves you quite a bit of time to save up for the full keyboard dock. Just saying, folks. %Gallery-130235%
Samsung reveals 'premium accessory suite' for Galaxy Tab 10.1, includes premium prices
Loving your Galaxy Tab 10.1 but just itching for some accessories? Samsung knows you are, and today helpfully unveiled a "premium accessory suite" to soothe your jones for both add-ons and premium prices. The collection (parts of which appeared earlier on Sammy's German site) includes a full-size keyboard dock ($70) and a multimedia dock ($35) enabling HDMI pass-through – you can have Tab video on your TV, as long as you buy the separate HDTV adapter ($30). You have your choice of cases, as well: a book cover model ($60) you can leave on while using the tablet, or a leather pouch edition ($30) that is, you guessed it, a leather pouch. A few miscellaneous items round out the collection, including various chargers, a conductive stylus and the already-released USB adapter. The company also promises a Bluetooth keyboard and SD card adapter to come "mid-summer," just in time to ease your next bout of premium-accessory fever. [Update: Replaced keyboard image. Thanks for the feedback, everyone.]
Silhouette-spoiling USB host adapter arrives for the Galaxy Tab 10.1
Hot on the heels of Honeycomb 3.1 and its USB hosting capabilities, Samsung's US site has just listed a $20 USB adapter for the Galaxy Tab 10.1. The stubby add-on won't do anything for your Tab's slender figure, but it will convert the Apple-esque 30-pin connector into full USB and thereby open up a world of connectivity to "keyboards, mice, thumb drives" and potentially any other USB device that gets Android support. Unfortunately, the adapter is out of stock and listed as "back order", but after waiting this long for USB hosting on Android tablets we can probably hold out a little longer.
Amped Wireless' UA600EX adapter quadruples your laptop's WiFi range when you're on a boat
For every gadget you can use on land, there has to be one you can use at sea, right? Just in time for yachting season, Amped Wireless released the weatherproof UA600EX High Power Wireless-N 600mW Pro USB Adapter, which promises to extend your notebook's WiFi range in areas where there are no hotspots to be mooched. That sounds ideal for boating, but thanks to some flexible mounting options and one heavy-duty 26.5-foot cable, it should also come in handy everywhere from offices to RVs. The single-band UA600EX runs on the 2.4GHz spectrum, and although the company stops short of saying just how many feet of leeway you can expect, it does claim to quadruple your computer's range -- whatever that happens to be. If you have a hankering to watch Deadliest Catch on your next fishing trip, you can nab one of these bad boys at the source link for a cool $110.
Samsung Galaxy Tab accessories may include Bluetooth stylus and USB adapter
That weekend leak of Galaxy Tab accessories was apparently not done flowing. The same source is today dishing the dirt on a pair of highly intriguing extra bits for Samsung's upcoming tablet. Firstly, the Bluetooth pen acts both as a stylus for the Galaxy Tab and a sort of wireless remote control. It's compatible with other devices, meaning it can be used to control voice calls you receive on your cellphone. The second tidbit is no less thrilling: a USB adapter that promises to turn the Tab's dock connector into a standard-issue USB port. You don't need us to explain how handy a trinket that could be for the multimedia maven on the move. It's worth pointing out, however, that both these accessory leaks show what looks like an earlier hardware prototype of the Galaxy Tab, so we may be looking at slightly dated information. All such uncertainty and questions should be resolved come September 2.
Buffalo launches trio of affordable Wireless-N devices able to get just about anything online
Is your wireless adapter pumping out signals using a letter designation lower than N? If so, think of all that delicious speed you're missing. Buffalo is here to give you a taste with three new Wireless-N devices, priced such that they'll fit into most budgets. First up is a fairly standard router, the WCR-GN, sporting 802.11n WiFi and four Ethernet ports in a cool white design for a mere $40. Then there's the WLAE-AG300N, a dual-port access point designed for making a pair of wired game consoles or the like wireless. That is a little more pricey, at $80, but the final product, the smallest of the bunch, brings us back down to $40. It's the WLI-UC-GNM, a USB 2.0 802.11n adapter that is barely bigger than the port it fits in, poking out just far enough for you to pull the thing back out again. All three are pictured in the gallery below, and all three should be shipping soon. %Gallery-99143%
MvixUSA Solido USB WiFi adapter finds signals a county away, makes you look super important
Or tremendously dorky, either one. MvixUSA's newest WiFi adapter / range extender is a dramatic departure from its oh-so-minuscule Nubbin, though we're told that the downright gaudy 5dbi antenna provides more wireless range than you ever thought possible. Put simply, this 802.11n adapter takes advantage of MIMO technology, promising throughput up to 300Mbps and forcing you to look as if you're pinging a satellite just south of Jupiter rather than reaching for that Starbucks router eight blocks over. The good news is that it's only $34.99, and amazingly, it might just be less heinous than the Wi-Fire. Shocking, we know.
Multifaceted adapter combines 3-port USB hub with iPod / iPhone connector
Multi-purpose adapters aren't anything new, but it's often the simplest of the bunch that prove most useful. Take this bugger for instance, which is little more than a vanilla 3-port USB hub connected to an iPhone / iPod dock connector port. The purpose for its existence? To prevent you from having to haul Apple's flimsily built charging cable and a USB hub with you each time you scurry out, and to just generally make your time on this planet entirely more enjoyable. Now if only it could recharge our prototype Volt that we've secretly got hiding in the Engadget Garage, we'd really be able to extol the $14.99 asking price.
LaCie DataShare recycles your bits, will never say goodbye or hurt you
As gadget nerds and Type-A early adopters, you no doubt have a few microSD and SD / SDHC cards laying around that Cheeto-farm you call an office. LaCie's $10 DataShare USB card readers let you recycle those cards into make-shift USB drives. Not bad for a ginger. Watch the uncomfortably arousing video after the break -- go ahead it's safe, LaCie wants you to.[Via Pocket-Lint]
USB extension cable arrives with inline card reader
You know, sometimes it's just the simple things in life that really bring a smile to one's face. Take this cable, for instance. At first glance, it's really nothing more than a USB extension cable (USB A Male-to-mini USB) with an odd protrusion in the middle. Sort of like a snake that's only halfway done digesting its latest meal. Gross analogies aside, that bulge is actually an SD card reader that's also capable of handling SDHC, miniSD and microSD formats. The whole cord measures 2.43 feet long and costs just $11.99 -- can you say "geek stocking stuffer?"
Wall charger takes one AC outlet, provides juice for five USB devices
We've seen some nifty chargers in our day, but this bugger is probably one of the most practical to ever hit the market place. Rather than sending along 800 various tips to keep track of lose while traveling, this wall charger converts a single AC outlet into power for five USB devices (4 USB A female and 1 mini-USB). These days, it's rare to find a device that can't optionally be charged via USB, and if it can't, let's face it -- it's about time you threw that thing to the local thrift store. Grab one now for just $25.99.
SlingLink Wireless adapter appears then disappears from the company's UK site
So, you've been desperately searching and hoping for a way to connect your SlingCatcher into your wireless network router, right? Well back at CES in January, the company showed off a little accessory called the SlingLink Wireless -- a device that would do just that. Unfortunately, details were scarce. Things may be changing, however, as the adapter just appeared on Sling's UK site looking all fancy and official. There doesn't seem to be any indication of a price (last we heard it was $49.99), release date, or regional availability, and when we contacted Sling, they didn't seem to know much more than what the page conveys... and then pulled the info from the site. Oh well -- thank goodness for Google's cache. [Thanks, Brian]
ASUS USB-N11 Wireless N USB adapter ships with EZLink
We'll admit, ASUS has us scratching our noggins on this one. Just last month, the outfit coaxed us into believing that EZLink was simply its way of saying DisplayLink. Now, however, it seems that it's a blanket term being used anytime ASUS "simplifies" something. Whatever the case may be, the outfit has introduced its newest Wireless N USB adapter, the USB-N11. Sporting integrated support for Mac, Windows and Linux-based computers, this draft-N compliant device also features a WPS (WiFi Protected Setup) button -- this is where the EZLink comes in -- that "allows users to setup a protected networking environment with ease." Per usual, there's no mention of a price or release date, so it's on you to keep an eye out for it to land anytime, anywhere.[Via I4U News]
Plug It makes USB adapter cables even more convenient
A cable has to have a certain something to cause optical interrupt to these trade-show weary eyes. Then this comes along, the Plug It USB adapter. We doubt it's the "world's smallest" USB charging and data cable as they claim. Nevertheless, it's definitely convenient and small enough to be slung from your keys or even that eyelet found on many mobile devices including most cellphones. At the moment, it's available in a handful of proprietary models for connecting to a wide range of Samsung and Nokia devices. A mini USB version allows it to connect to just about everything else including BlackBerrys, cameras, PMPs, MP3 players, etc etc. Well, except that iPod in your pocket. Available now for about €8/$12 -- video demonstration after the break.
Netgear's WNDA3100 RangeMax Dual Band Wireless-N USB adapter spotted in FCC
Nothing too earth-shattering here, but it seems that those in the market for a dual band Wireless-N USB adapter could benefit from holding off just a wee bit longer. Netgear's forthcoming WNDA3100 has found its way into the FCC's doors, and while it doesn't look to speak with aliens or any other fancy stuff, it does support WEP and WPA / WPA2. Way too excited about this thing? Hit up the read link for test photos and a preliminary user's manual -- that ought to quell your inexplicable curiosity, right?
SIIG rolls out USB-to-ExpressCard adapter
We know how it is to finally break down and buy an SSD, multicard reader, HSDPA modem, or an entire expansion dock just to have something filling the void in your ExpressCard slot, only to find a superior alternative the next week. Fret not, as SIIG has rolled out a handy new solution to your "too many ExpressCard gizmos, not enough slots" quandary with the JU-000012-S1 USB-to-ExpressCard adapter. As the title implies, this here adapter simply enables any USB 2.0 port on your lappie or desktop to play nice with an ExpressCard, boasts a maximum transfer rate of 480Mbps, supports hot swapping, and works on nearly every edition of Windows and OS X 10.3+ sans a driver. The only real dig here is that it's only compatible with USB-based ExpressCard devices, meaning PCI-Express based cards won't function via this device. Nevertheless, you can start cramming more ExpressCards than you ever imagined into your machine right now for about $32 per adapter.[Via EverythingUSB]
Pelican adapter promises to bring Guitar Hero to PS3
It looks like the long wait is over for Guitar Hero fans impatient to get their thrash on with the currently Hero-less PlayStation 3, as a new USB adapter from Pelican promises to succeed where others have floundered and enable controllers from both PlayStation 2 versions to work on the newest console. As you may recall, the compatibility problem arises from the guitars' lack of the PS button required to start PSone and PS2 games on the PS3; Pelican's adapter addresses this issue by sporting a PS button of its own, along with three LEDs to indicate whether the unit is in regular, Guitar Hero left, or Guitar Hero right mode. Sounds pretty snazzy, and if it works as promised, may allow you to finally retire the old PS2 once and for all. [Via Joystiq]
TRENDnet's 108Mbps TEW-445UB USB 2.0 WiFi adapter
What's better than TRENDnet's pre-802.11n gear? How about an 802.11b/g-compliant device that you can actually rest assured works with basically every other piece of WiFi kit out there? The TEW-445UB is a 108Mbps-capable wireless USB 2.0 / 1.1 adapter which sports a fairly small 2.8- x 2.1- x 0.7-inch enclosure and plays nice with Windows only. Aside from supporting "Super G" technology and WEP / WPA encryption, it boasts a high power output for up to 23dBm of range, a detachable 2dBi antenna, and claims to cover "50 to 100" meters indoors while blanketing "150 to 300" meters outside. While nothing here is particularly revolutionary, the respectable $72 pricetag fits the package quite well, and it should be showing up in stores real soon.
