Intel's partner in solid state crime, Micron, just announced an update to its RealSSD lineup of SSDs. Based on the typically slower (and cheaper) MLC NAND process technology, the new 2.5-inch (up to 256GB) laptop and 1.8-inch (32GB to 128GB) ultra-portable storage slabs offer a 3Gbps SATA interface and ridiculous 250MBps read and 100MBps write speeds -- yes, that's fast, damn fast when you consider the 70MBps write and 90MBps read speeds of Samsung's latest consumer oriented SSDs. They even best the listed read speeds of Samsung's top-ender. Unfortunately, no prices were given though it's said to be "balanced price to performance." Expect 'em to hit the market in Q4 under the Lexar brand, and maybe even Crucial, Seagate, and Intel for all we know.

Commodore, a company which had long been considered dead and gone, continues to mount its inexplicable return to the spotlight with its latest offering, the Gravel C200 media player. As excited as we are that the C64-makers are back on the scene, it's hard to get too jazzed about this media-player, which is about as rote as you can get. The HTC Touch look-alike rocks a 1.8-inch color screen, comes in 512MB, 1GB, and 2GB storage varieties, and plays back all sorts of file formats like MP3, WAV, WMA, MPEG 2, MPEG 4, DivX, XviD, and WMV. Although the form-factor is nice and utilitarian, Commodore is going to have to do something really special to entice a purchase out of us... like, maybe add C64 emulation?

[Via Tech Digest]

Calm down fellas, you haven't let Valentine's Day slip up on you or anything, but SanDisk is looking out for those who like to look way ahead, or for those with in-the-know mums who need a new pocket-sized DAP for Mum's Day. The Sansa C250 digital audio player falls into the bargain-priced C200 series, and while a black iteration has been available for some time now, those who haven't caved and snapped up the highly-regarded Sansa Express can grab a pink or red C250 in 1GB or 2GB flavors. They also sport 1.4-inch color displays for showing album art and JPEG thumbnails, an FM tuner, radio recording abilities, a voice recorder, USB 2.0, a microSD expansion slot, and a removable, rechargeable Li-ion cell that purportedly offers up 15 hours of battery life on a full charge. The 10.4-ounce music machine is currently on sale for a penny under $80 at the store you love to hate, while the less spectacular black version will save you $20.

Amongst the circulating rumors regarding Gateway's fate comes the information that Gateway is looking to update its Tablet PC range with a new model featuring a finger print scanner and an ambient light sensor. All we have to go on at the moment is a PDF manual which unfortunately doesn't list any specifications beyond the standard ports (they're very standard: VGA, Ethernet, PC Card, a Memory Card slot, FireWire, and USB) and the aforementioned ambient light sensor and finger print scanner -- which interestingly, but probably uselessly, doubles as a trackpad when the tablet is in tablet mode. Aside from that you'll note that the screenshots are of the machine running Vista, and not a lot else. Expect this machine to get some sort of C-class designation, which incidentally both Gateway and Acer have used for their tablet PCs.

We're not sure how this one slipped under the radar, but earlier this month, Sansa announced that its e200 and c200 (pictured) MP3 player series would be coming to Europe with and without FM tuners. Apparently, all players that ship with an FM tuner are subject to an additional tax by the European Union, and Sansa was originally afraid that people wouldn't buy the player with a slightly raised price. Well, Sansa has come to its senses and realized that people probably would be willing to pay just 10 percent more to have the pleasure of gettin' that good ol' fashioned radio right on the same device. The new versions, with and without radio, should be on European shelves already, just in time for Chrismahanukwanzakah.

[Via Trusted Reviews]

Joining the growing parade of manufacturers upping the innards of their notebook lines with Core 2 Duo chips, Lenovo is bumping the specs in its buget-minded 3000 series. While the N100 has already made the Merom leap, the newly-unveiled C200 now offers a 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5500 processor, 15-inch XGA display, up to 2GB of DDR2 RAM, 80GB 5400RPM hard drive, Intel's GMA950 integrated graphics set, 802.11a/b/g wireless, and a DVD Burner to boot. It also sports VGA / S-Video out, a 56k modem, Ethernet, 4-pin FireWire, four USB 2.0 ports, and a PCMCIA slot, but the 6.2-pound weight and 2.5-hour battery life may scare some away. On the ultraportable side, the 4-pound V100 now touts a 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 processor, 12.1-inch WXGA LCD, 100GB 5400RPM hard drive, 6-cell battery, and a dual-layer DVD burner, while sharing the remaining specs with its larger sibling. Lenovo also threw an ExpressCard slot, 5-in-1 flash card reader, and snazzy fingerprint scanner in the little guy, but yanked the S-Video output and one USB 2.0 port in the process. Both units will be available in a plethora of configurations later this month, with prices starting at $650 for the C200, and $999 for the V100.

Read - Lenovo 3000 C200
Read - Lenovo 3000 V100

If you've settled on picking up a SanDisk Sansa e200 or c200 but feel a bit left in the cold in terms of specialized accessories, Altec Lansing is rushing in to heat things up. In what appears to be a spinoff of the "Made for iPod" agenda, Altec Lansing has partnered with SanDisk to create a lineup of accessories geared specifically towards the Sansa music players. The flagship device -- dubbed the inMotion iM510 -- is a black docking speaker station that doesn't veer too far from the company's iPod-friendly versions, save for its Sansa compatibility, of course. While details thus far are a bit slim, we do know the portable system will dock, sync, and charge the e200 and c200 series DAPs, and will play nice with the (optional) BB2001 subwoofer. Although no word on pricing nor availability has been given, the coinage should be a tad lower (we'd guess, um, 10 percent or so) than the iPod-conforming units when it hits the street.

[Via MobileWhack]

Seems like all those IFA goers and showers are getting up on the portable media device tip, between the Toshiba Gigabeat V, the Zen Vision:W, and the Sansa c200. And why not? It looks like Apple's prepping to launch a whole mess of stuff on September 12th, so if you can't beat 'em, at least get your products out earlier. Also in Apple: myTunes strips iTunes 6 DRM (albeit a little complicated), and Crossover Mac runs Windows apps without a virtual machine. And then along came the Chumby, making its adorable little way into our cold, jaded hands. Enjoy the show!

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Hosts: Peter Rojas and Ryan Block

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Music: Solvent - Instructograph (Ghostly International)

Format: 30:27, 14 MB, MP3

Program:
01:25 - Toshiba drops a bomb: Gigabeat V in the US
03:35 - Creative Technology introduces Zen Vision:W
09:15 - SanDisk intros Sansa c200 player
10:45 - SanDisk intros Made for Sansa
13:07 - CrossOver Mac beta released: run Windows apps in OS X
15:45 - myTunes: the simplified iTunes DRM stripper for Windows
18:20 - Apple planning event in SF on September 12th?
23:40 - Hands-on with Chumby

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Contact the podcast: 1-888-ENGADGET, Engadget (Gizmo Project) or podcast at engadget dawt com

If you're one of the non-conforming, iDon't conformers then you'd best get with the program son. SanDisk just hit us with their Sansa Base Station which, for all the hyperbole about it transforming your Sansa MP3 into a home audio jukebox, is just a run-o-the-mill dock and remote for you Sansa player. As such, it includes a USB 2.0 and RCA jack, remote control, and of course, a "universal connector" which slots into the bottom of your e200 or C200 series players for some hot DAP-on-dock charging action. Thing is, for all their marketing audacity, the only bit we find surprising is the fact that this "must-have" accessory didn't already exist. Yours for $70 bills by October in the both the US and Europe, you choose.

SanDisk is kicking out a successor to their aggressively-priced c100 line of flash-based players. The c200 won't be out until October, but you're looking at a 1GB model (the c240) that'll sell for $80 and a 2GB model (the c250) that'll go for $100. Both will support playback of MP3, WMA, and WMA DRM files (that includes PlaysForSure compatibility), and sport an FM tuner, integated voice recorder, a microSD memory card for adding up to 2GB of additional storage capacity, a 1.4-inch, 128 x 98 pixel LCD screen, and a battery life of about 15 hours.