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There's a Google-branded Fiat 500 range now
Fiat has launched special edition versions of its 500 lineup of cars with an unusual partner: Google.
Amazon will let Italians buy Fiat cars with a click
Amazon has made it easier to research cars online, but actually purchasing a car? That's another story. Even a recent deal with Seat in France limited customers to making a downpayment on the web -- they still had to agree to a phone interview to clinch the sale. However, the dream of one-click vehicle shopping just came a bit closer to reality. Amazon is partnering with Fiat to let Italian motorists buy the 500, 500L and Panda on the web at discounts up to 33 percent greater than seen at retail. They'll still have to visit a dealership to complete the purchase, but this is about as direct as it gets if you're not ordering a Tesla.
HTC Desire 500 arrives in the UK, dual SIM and NFC versions incoming
So, it's not the new HTC some in the UK might have been hoping for, but the Desire 500 is officially heading west. The 4.3-inch, 1.2 GHz, quad-core device that first popped up a couple of weeks back will be coming to British shores some time this month, in lacquer black and glacier blue color options. While pretty much everything else remains the same -- 8- and 1.6-megapixel cameras, BlinkFeed and Highlights -- some might be interested by the confirmation of dual SIM and NFC variants, depending on markets. No pricing just yet, but expect to get considerably more change from your pound than its elder sibling and similarly sized stable mate.
Slingbox update lets you invite Facebook friends to watch your cable in a browser
If you're an inveterate place-shifter and have the internet bandwidth to spare, there's no longer any reason to keep your cable TV feeds all to yourself. A Watch update has arrived for the Slingbox 350 and 500 media streamers that includes Facebook integration, letting you invite your friends to view your Slingbox streams on a browser when you're not (only one connection is allowed at a time). Along with no doubt more "likes," the update also brings improved zoom controls to handle aspect ratios like anamorphic and letter box, a relocated pause button and advanced device search during setup. You can start inviting your pals on the social network now, but you may want to warn them: you can interrupt their viewing, but they can't interrupt yours. Check the More Coverage link to see which browsers are supported.
HTC Desire 500 launched in Taiwan, packs Sense 5 but ditches BoomSound
Just when you thought HTC's going all the way with its BoomSound feature, the company stopped short with its Desire 500, a mid-range model that's just been announced for the younger Taiwanese audience (think: university students). As you can see above, the new device takes design cues from the One S for its front side (but with plastic instead of metal), and from the One SV on the back. Despite the lack of front stereo speakers, this phone still packs the same 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 200 SoC featured on the Desire 600 range. Similarly, you'll still find NFC, microSD expansion (on top of just 4GB of built-in storage) plus Sense 5 UI with BlinkFeed and Video Highlights here -- the latter works alongside the same pair of cameras: an 8-megapixel f/2.0 main camera, plus a 1.6-megapixel front imager. What's slightly disappointing, perhaps, is the low 800 x 480 resolution on the 4.3-inch display, and we're even more baffled by the relatively high suggested retail price of NT$11,900 or about US$400. Hopefully it's just a way to persuade more people to get the subsidized Desire 500 from Taiwan Mobile, HTC's exclusive local partner for this phone come August 1st. Stay tuned while our colleagues in Taiwan grab some hands-on photos. Update: Our brethren over at Engadget Chinese has just posted their hands-on. Enjoy!
Slingbox 350 and 500 review: Sling Media finally upgrades its line of media streamers
It's hard to believe that the Slingbox has been around for seven years, but that only makes it harder to accept these are the first retail models that have been released since 2008. That finally changes today, though: Sling Media just introduced two new place-shifters: the Slingbox 500 and 350 (pictured). Available on October 14th for $299 and $179, respectively, these new set-top boxes replace the Solo and Pro-HD. While the 350 simply adds 1080p streaming for the same price, the 500 adds SlingProjector, a feature that lets you take photos stored on your iOS or Android device and send them to your television (video streaming will soon be supported as well). The Slingbox 500 will also soon be able to play content on USB-attached storage, but that will come in a future software update. The SlingPlayer apps get a refresh as well, adding reminders and an easier way to share your Slingbox with friends. What we set out to determine in this review -- and what you'll discover if you click through -- is how big of an upgrade this really is. Is it worth chucking your old hardware for one of these boxes? What if you're thinking of getting your first media streamer? We'll delve into all that after the break.
Nokia Belle earns corporate street-cred with Microsoft Office apps
Looks like the corporate bromance between Microsoft and Nokia is stronger than ever. The Finnish handset maker has announced a suite of MS applications that is making its way to select Symbian handsets right this very moment. Users rocking a Belle device are being given access to a handful of apps from Redmond, which will include: OneNote, Document Connection, Lync and PowerPoint Broadcast. A second wave of Office-centric wares, including Word, PowerPoint and Excel, will be made available at an undisclosed date in the not-to-distant future. Nokia E7, C7, C6-01, X7, Oro, 700, 701 and 603 owners should see the goodies appear in Symbian's software update application; the phone maker has promised to add support for the N8, E6 and 500 "soon." For more information on the Microsoft software infiltration, check the press release after the break.
Spar's Zephyr portable Bluetooth speaker lineup streams your music, charges your phone
Say hello to Spar -- a newcomer to the land of wireless audio. Today, the company is officially accepting pre-orders for its Zephyr lineup of rechargeable Bluetooth speakers. The portable units are similar to others such as Jawone's Jambox, offering wireless music streaming, speakerphone functionality and portability, but also feature the ability to juice up your smartphone over USB. In total, you'll have a your pick of three Zephyrs, priced from $99 to a moderate $160 (including cables, a case and a charger). First up is the "pocketable" 300 model, which has a 12-hour battery and a black paint scheme (along with red and blue for a limited time). If that won't cut it, the slightly larger 500 variant packs 18-hours of battery life and comes in choice of white or black. Rounding out the bunch is the aluminum-housed 550; it features a massive 28-hour battery and comes in a either silver or black. If you're willing to give this new kid on the Bluetooth-block a try, the Zephyrs are set to ship by year's end and you'll find more info at the source link below. Full press release after the break.
Nokia 500 hands-on
What's this, then? It's the Nokia 500, hanging out in the Vodafone booth. The 3.2-inch handset is awaiting an official release on the European carrier, which should be hitting around the October time frame here in Germany, according the rep we spoke with. Still no word on pricing from the carrier, but it was suggested to us that the handset would likely run €99 or less, on contract. We managed to get some hands-on time with the Symbian Anna handset, and can't say we were all that impressed by the hardware on what feels like a relatively low end phone for Nokia, a company that has offered up some of the best hardware designs in the business. The screen feels quite narrow, and the device itself a bit chunky. The phone has 256MB of RAM and a 1GHz processor, which do the job reasonably well, though the Anna interface will likely leave something to be desired for many smartphone users. There's also a five megapixel rear-facing camera and an microSD slot -- oh, and the rep we spoke with seemed particularly excited about the different color back plates, which will be available for the phone. It's not the most exciting phone out there from the Finnish handset maker, but for those looking for a relatively low-cost smartphone from the company, the 500 certainly gets the job done.%Gallery-132475%
Nokia 701 'Helen' gets a lookover from the FCC, likely includes pentaband support
If you like to play FCC bingo, pull your cards out for the next round; another Nokia phone has made it through the good graces of the US government. This time it's the Helen -- or, going by the new number scheme, the Nokia 701 -- which bears the identification tag "RM-774." This successor to the C7 is rumored to have a 1GHz CPU and come with Symbian Belle preloaded. While the veil that hides the Helen's secrets remains tightly draped over it, the filing indicates that it includes quadband GSM / EDGE and a pentaband 3G radio, a feature Nokia's opted to include in many of its recent smartphones. Of the four new devices on Espoo's leaked roadmap, we've already checked the Nokia 500 "Fate" and 700 "Zeta" off our FCC watch lists, leaving the 600 "Cindy" to bring up the rear at a future date. It's evident that the phonemaker is continuing to push forward with its Symbian plans at an impressive pace; after all, there's still five more years before the company's ready to wave goodbye to the platform, so why not milk it?
Nokia 500 'Fate' destined for Q3, 1GHz processor and Symbian Anna onboard
If you're a loyalist that hasn't given up hope on Symbian yet, behold the latest attempt to keep the OS alive and kicking. The Nokia 500 is the first handset to usher in Espoo's new numbering system and has a bit of firepower behind it: a 1GHz ARM11 CPU, 256MB RAM, and Anna are running the show on a 3.2-inch, 640 x 360 "nHD" display. It'll also sport a five megapixel camera and offer HSPA speeds of 14.4Mbps down / 5.8 Mbps up using a pentaband 3G radio. Respectable components for a device billed to be a "low-cost, full-function smartphone." Still intrigued? The black version will ship out sometime in Q3, with its white counterpart to follow in Q4. If you need to have more choices to select from the rainbow, several colorful battery covers will be sold later this year -- something you'll need to be aware of when accessorizing your latest Back to School shopping spree. More hands-on pics are available at Hungarian site Technet, and an official vid can be found after the break. [Thanks, Albona]
Canon intros PowerShot SX-230, ELPH 100 / 300 / 500 HS
Eschewing the CCD of the past, Canon's new PowerShot lineup -- we know, it sounds like a familiar tune, but hear us out, these are new -- all boast a 12.1 megapixel CMOS sensors. The quartet enjoys the 12.1 megapixel HS (High Sensitivity) sensor, an improved variant of the ones introduced a year back with the S90 and G11. In fact, the ELPH nomenclature has nixed "digital," "SD," and "IS" in favor of the more simplistic (but still elongated) "ELPH HS." So without further ado, the PowerShot ELPH 500 HS features a 3.2-inch touch panel screen, 4.4x optical zoom, ultra-wide angle 24mm lens with optical image stabilization, and color options including siiver, brown, and pink. The ultra-slim ELPH 300 HS has a 2.7-inch LCD, image stabilization, 4x zoom and a 24mm wide angle lens. On the lower end of the spectrum, the 100 HS comes in five colors, has a 4x optical zoom, a 3-inch LCD, and a 4x optical zoom -- otherwise, it shares many features of its bigger 300 HS brother. Meanwhile, the (non-ELPH) SX230 HS has a 14x zoom, GPS, and a 3-inch LCD. Price and release date? All are due in March (the 100 HS in the beginning of March, the rest by the end), with the 100 / 300 / 500 HS going for $199.99, $249.99, and $299.99, respectively, and the SX-230 for $349.99. Peruse the pics below -- enjoy! %Gallery-115796%
Garmin's new aera series gets you there by air or by land
Pilots looking for the hardest-core portable nav unit available tend to flock to Garmin's GPSMAP 696 these days, but there's a problem: the big, bulky tablet doesn't do much good once you're wheels-down and you've got to find your way to the hotel. Enter the new aera series, which you can sorta think of as "nuvi for pilots" with 4.3-inch touchscreens, user-friendly prompts, and dedicated car modes across the board that'll keep casual observers from realizing that your little buddy doubles as a $2,000 beast capable of safely guiding you cross-country at flight level 250. The 696 is still being regarded as Garmin's premier aviation portable, while the four aera models -- the 500, 510, 550, and 560 -- are called "entry or mid-level" with prices ranging from $799 to $1,999 and should finally sunset the aging lower-end GPSMAP models that look like they're straight out of Garmin's GPS III days. The 510 and 560 throw in XM WX weather support while the 550 and 560 feature Garmin's SafeTaxi interactive airport diagrams, integrated AOPA Airport Directory, and high-end car features pulled from the nuvi line like lane assist and speed limit data. All four models are technically launching on the 5th, but appear to be in stock with online retailers now if you're in a rush.
Sony Alpha 500 DSLR gets a hands-on
Sony's announcement of the three Alpha line cameras just came today -- but we're already seeing plenty of them. Pocket Lint's got a fairly extensive hands-on with the Alpha 500, which boasts an Exmor CMOS 12.3-megapixel sensor, an ISO range of up to 12,800, with a four frames per second continuous shooting. It also packs an HDR shooting mode, and an HDMI output. The Alpha 500 will be out in October, and it will run you $750. There's one more shot after the break -- hit the read link for the full set.
Garmin Oregon 500 series with built-in camera leaks out
Looks like the latest Garmin Oregon nav unit is following in family footsteps by leaking out a little early -- listings for an Oregon 500 and Oregon 500t appear in the latest REI catalog. The pair are basically the same as the Oregon 400 / 400t, with the addition of a built-in digital camera that'll enable you to take instantly-geotagged features. Definitely a neat idea, but convenience won't come cheap: the 500 lists for $549, and the 500t is $599. No hints at a release date, but we'd guess it's coming soon.
Trigem's $500 LLUON Mobbit MID goes on sale, wackiness ensues
Hard to believe but after three years (almost to the day) a MID / UMPC running a Microsoft OS with a $500 MSRP is finally out for retail. Trigem's LLUON mobbit is available in two configurations of which the lesser lists for KRW699,000 or about $490. A KRW799,000 ($560) presumably adds the listed WiBro spec for Korean style WiMaxing. That meager sum takes home a 13.2-ounce box o' XP with 1GB of memory, a 30GB disk, 4.8-inch 1,024 x 600 touchscreen with stylus, Bluetooth, WiFi, and 2 megapixel camera all riding Intel's Atom Z520 processor. Not bad... not beautiful by any stretch but significant enough to elicit maniacal behavior amongst devoted UMPC fanboys everywhere. Update: It appears that the WiBro model is actually the cheaper of the two. The lower price resulting from a required 18 month subscription.[Via CNET Asia]
Blaupunkt TravelPilot 700 and 500 overlay nav info on realtime video
Blaupunkt's TravelPilot nav units have never really stood out from the pack, but it looks like that's about to change -- the new TravelPilot 700 and 500 feature an integrated camera that displays realtime video with nav overlays on their 16:9 screens. That's definitely a novel and intriguing feature, but there's not a lot of information on how it works or what kind of hardware is under the hood to keep it running smoothly -- with the 700's estimated list price of $740, we're guessing it's pretty beefy. Both units also feature voice control, DVB-T traffic, live traffic, Bluetooth, and the usual PMP features, and the 700 also has a browser, email app, and VoIP client that work over Bluetooth tethering with your phone. Yeah, definitely intriguing -- hopefully we'll see this thing make it Stateside soon. Video after the break.[Via Navigadget; thanks, Khattab]
Vostro 500 appears on Dell's support site
Dell might have announced its "500" laptop for emerging markets last month, but we didn't get so much as a screen size out of the company as far as details, leading to speculation that it was working on an Eee-class ultraportable of its very own. Sadly, that doesn't appear to be the case -- the Vostro 500 just popped up on Dell's support site, and it's not much more than a Intel version of the Vostro 1000 with a 15.4 in display, Celeron processor, and integrated Intel 965 graphics. No additional details in the offing really, but if the XPS 730's early appearance on Dell's support site is any indication, we should be seeing this one soon.[Thanks, Dan]
iRobot intros the Verro 100 and 500 poolbots
The folks at iRobot updated the Verro pool-cleaning robots much to the chagrin of our pool boy, Philip, who's getting his walking papers next week. The new 100 and 500 models join the current 300 and 600 to cover a wide array of price ranges, and probably meet most -- if not all -- of your exacting standards for water-body cleanliness. The 100 comes in at the low-end of the spectrum at $399, though it will navigate and clean any flat-bottomed pool you throw its way; the Rolls-Royce of poolbots, the 500, will do floors and walls alike for $999. Of course, you won't know anything about that -- you'll be busy lounging, working on your tan, and trying to figure out whether you want the Bentley Brooklands or Azure (hint: the Azure!).
The Palm Treo 500, now SIM free
We're not confident that many folks were waiting with bated breath for this to go down, but sure enough, that rumored unlocked Treo 500 we'd told you about is now a reality. Features mirror Vodafone's original -- 256MB of storage, 2 megapixel camera, UMTS, Windows Mobile 6 Standard -- the only difference is that the Vodafone logo is now stone-cold gone from the phone's face, replaced with a more generic Treo logo. Grab it now for £269 (about $528) -- but beware if you're stateside, there's no 850MHz support for GSM and the 3G data resides only on the 2100MHz band.[Via PHONE Magazine and Reg Hardware]
