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Engadget at 15: A look at how much tech has changed
A lot has changed since Engadget was born, both in the gadgets we use and what we do with them on a regular basis. When the site started in 2004, fitness trackers, voice assistants and electric cars were the stuff of fiction. Now most of these are commonplace, so much so that we put our trust in them on a daily basis. To celebrate Engadget's 15th birthday, here are 15 things that didn't exist 15 years ago.
iPhone 4 antennagate class-action lawsuit settled, owners to receive $15 or a free case (update)
According to CNET, a class-action lawsuit over the iPhone 4's troublesome antenna, aka Antennagate, has been settled. The planned resolution will net US residents who bought one and presumably either $15 in cash or (another?) free bumper case. CNET quotes co-lead counsel Ira Rothken (who, by the way, also represents Megaupload) saying that he believes the settlement is "fair and reasonable", affecting some 25 million people who will be notified by email and through print ads in USA Today and Macworld. Once they've received the heads up, they can go to www.iPhone4Settlement.com (not up and running yet) to register their claims. When the issue first came to light back in 2010 Apple suggested holding it differently before saying it would tweak its signal display formulas and, eventually, offering the free cases. Hopefully for the company and its users, this resolution puts the issue -- which is not a problem on the new 4S -- to bed.Update: We spoke to an Apple representative who confirmed that the settlement is for those customers who chose not to take a free case or return their phone back in 2010. It looks like holding out didn't get you much more than the option to take $15 cash instead, but we'll simply consider it a much-needed opportunity to reflect on the International Year of Biodiversity that was.
HP Envy 15 spotted, looking pretty real
We've heard chatter of HP-branded Envy machines in the past -- most notably the 13.1-inch Envy 13 -- and now we have specs for an alleged Envy 15-1060ea Notebook PC. According to topproduct.nl, the laptop features a 15-inch display, 1600 MHz Intel Core i7 processor-720QM CPU (6MB cache), 320GB HDD, 4GB RAM, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830 graphics, a Night Vision Webcam with IR LEDs for fans of the "Paris Hilton" school of videography, a 6-cell battery, Windows 7 Home Premium, and more. Get a closer look after the break. [Thanks, Eric]
Dell launches Design Studio for Inspiron 15, new FastTrack delivery service
Hey, you in the market for a cheap laptop with some crazy custom artwork glued to the lid? Dell's got you covered -- the Inspiron 15 has just been brought into the Design Studio fold, meaning you'll be able to select graphics from a wide variety of artists when you spec out your system. Most artwork seems to be priced around $60, but we're told that could vary -- considering the base Inspy 15 is just $499, we're assuming / hoping the ceiling won't be much higher. Dell's also launching a new FastTrack next-day delivery service for pre-configured machines -- the company claims it's constantly tracking orders and will be able to keep the most popular models on hand. Of course, that's sort of the opposite of the whole "totally custom laptop" thing Dell's pushing with Design Studio, but hey, sometimes you need a bog-standard PC, and you need it now.
Dell UK offers free flights to US or Europe with Inspiron or Studio 15 purchase
Dell's offering a free return flight (that's round-trip in Yanklish) from the UK to the US or Europe with the purchase of a £499 Inspiron 15 or £599 Studio 15. There are limitations such as airports (Heathrow and Gatwick only for trips to the US) and destinations (New York, Boston, DC, Amsterdam, Berlin, Madrid, Lisbon, and a few more city airports) but the offer seems to be a good deal if you're flexible and wanted to fly to any of these cities over the next year anyway. Just don't get too hung up on any one destination when submitting your request:The Booking Request Form entitles you, the bearer, to one return flight offer as specified, to one of the featured destinations. To obtain the flight you will be required to provide 3 alternative destinations and 3 alternative travel dates. Our booking agent will use all reasonable endeavours to meet your booking requests but this cannot be guaranteed and, in such circumstances, you will be offered an alternative.Still, if you're lucky enough to grab a coveted LHR to JFK slot, then a spot-check shows flights starting at about £400 in August 2009. In other words, the laptop is nearly free if you were already headed in that direction. So go ahead, you like to gamble, right?[Thanks, ugotamesij]
Blizzard's splash screen changes for June 27th: A "Lost" penguin and Death Knight imagery
Good Morning everyone! It is now June 27th, and as expected, Blizzard's splash screen has changed yet again to reveal more of the mystery behind what they may be announcing at the Worldwide Invitational, which begins tomorrow. What exactly they're announcing is still up in the air, but there have been some interesting revelations, especially concerning the mysterious purple monster everyone's been wondering about. The new graphic, named ice5.jpg, doesn't seem to have changed the cracking ice much, but what has changed is the "eyes." There's now very little doubt that they are glowing eyes instead of snow flecks, and to be frank, they do look remarkably like the eyes of Arthas the Lich King from underneath his helmet -- although the ethereal feel of them and the strange ridges being formed in the vapor are also very reminiscent of the Protoss. Whether these ridges indicate Arthas' helmet or the face ridges of a Protoss or a demon might still be up for debate, but this overlay of Arthas on today's splash screen by Zach is very convincing -- the eyes match up pretty much exactly. Hopefully, we'll know for sure who it is tomorrow. In addition, the new rune, located just above the breaking ice, is that of a snowflake, which brings to mind the Frost tree of the Death Knights (even if the frost rune shown on the official Death Knight page doesn't quite match up). Tipster Allen notes that the new rune looks a lot like a Norse Bind-Rune, specifically one known as a compass or the "Helm of awe," which is often used for invulnverability -- perhaps a Lost Vikings reference, or a nod to the Viking-like architecture seen in many screenshots of Northrend? All This new imagery would seem to be a killing blow of sorts for a Diablo 3 announcement, but it is also worth nothing that the new frost rune is in the correct area for the Pentagram theory to continue to apply. In addition, all 5 runes have lit up, so if you weren't able to get a good look at them before, you certainly can now. %Gallery-25975% What's really sort of interesting, though, is what our purple monster friend reveals, which I'll discuss after the break.
Blizzard's icy splash screen changes as Diablo 3 and WoTLK speculation intensifies
We reported yesterday about the new icy splash screen which has appeared on many of Blizzard's corporate and gaming sites. There's already tons of speculation speeding around the web about it, and of course the pot was only stirred all the more this morning when the picture changed slightly: the light in the middle of the cracked ice became brighter, and there's some new detail that can be seen through the ice, including a rune of some sort just to the upper right of the center. we can probably assume that the picture will change more each day until something is announced at the Worldwide Invitational. However, the question remains: What is being announced? Right now, there's two major schools of thought about it: One school says that this will lead up to the announcement of the WoTLK Beta, while another says that this will be the announcement of Diablo 3. Each side has some pretty passionate arguments, and are bringing the analysis to back it up. Let's look at what we have after the break. %Gallery-25975%
SMS parties down on 15th birthday... again
Ever wondered what it'd be like to have two birthdays in a single year? If so, just phone up, er, text SMS -- it's living the dream, baby! Apparently, the first "recorded text message" was sent from software engineer Neil Papworth to Richard Jarvis, a director at Vodafone, on December 3, 1992, which is arguably the birthday of SMS as we know it. Granted, the Short Message Service Center has been around just a hair longer, but without an official birth certificate tied to either, who are we to argue? So, here's to you (yet again), dear text messaging, but if you really try to sneak a third shindig in before the year's up, don't look to us to provide another round of hors d'oeuvres.[Via TGDaily, image courtesy of The Sydney Morning Herald]
Another VC Monday, another shooter (or two)
Three games up today for the Virtual Console in North America -- two disparate shooters and, just to mix things up, a racing game. Though after Gradius, we're not sure if Nintendo shouldn't take a break from scrolling shooters in favor of something a little different for a while, since after Gradius, there's many a game that just doesn't seem quite as good. And according to you guys, the VC needs to start branching out a little more anyway! Perhaps next week. For this week, however:Xevious (NES) -- 500 pointsR-Type III: The Third Lightning (SNES) -- 800 pointsMotoRoader (TurboGrafx 16) -- 600 points[Thanks to everyone who tipped us on this!]
DS releases for the week of January 15th
There are really only two words of import this week: Phoenix Wright. Unless you're in Japan, and then the big word is "Wario." For everyone in browser-free North America, we can also turn a glaring eye on Australia, where the official NDS browser is set to hit shelves this week. The globe is teeming the DS goodness this week, so let's get to the details, with the US up first:DS releases (US): Fossil League: Dino Tournament Championship Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice for All For the rest of the world, check after the jump!
