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Engadget + gdgt Live is happening in NYC on June 24th, come join us!
What's better than an Engadget reader meetup? An Engadget and gdgt reader meetup! That's right, folks, Engadget + gdgt Live is a mere five days away, and you can (and should) come join us. Doors open on June 24 at 6pm at 82Mercer in Manhattan (the physical address is 76 Mercer Street). The best part: tickets are free and you can get 'em right here. Those who come out will get to kick it in mobile lounges packed with the latest tech from from Samsung and Sony. And, we'll have many more companies showing off their wares, including Qualcomm, Toshiba, Slingbox and Goji, the smart lock company that won our Startup Contest. Plus, there will be on-stage chats with Sony about 4K, Samsung about its Galaxy devices and an editors roundtable with journalists from around the web talking the latest tech news. We'll also be giving away tons of gear, but you'll have to attend to find out how to grab the schwag for yourself -- rest assured, it'll be worth your while. If free stuff won't entice you (unlikely, we know), then the prospect of an evening with a gaggle of Engadget editors and thousands of other like-minded gadget-geeks should do the trick. Still not enough? We'll be capping off the night with live musical performances presented by IK Multimedia featuring Sound of Contact with Simon Collins (son of Phil Collins) and Vernon Reid (Living Colour founder and guitarist). Oh, and they'll also be hanging out in the IK Multimedia booth during the show along with some potential mystery guests. So, come on out, folks! You'll be glad you did.
This week on gdgt: PlayStation 4, MacBook Air, Google Now
Each week, our friends at gdgt go through the latest gadgets and score them to help you decide which ones to buy. Here are some of their most recent picks. Want more? Visit gdgt anytime to catch up on the latest, and subscribe to gdgt's newsletter to get a weekly roundup in your inbox.
This week on gdgt: BlackBerry Q10, Cord-cutting, Dell XPS 18 All-in-One
Each week, our friends at gdgt go through the latest gadgets and score them to help you decide which ones to buy. Here are some of their most recent picks. Want more? Visit gdgt anytime to catch up on the latest, and subscribe to gdgt's newsletter to get a weekly roundup in your inbox.
This week on gdgt: Nokia Lumia 928, Canon PowerShot N, gdgt price alerts
Each week, our friends at gdgt go through the latest gadgets and score them to help you decide which ones to buy. Here are some of their most recent picks. Want more? Visit gdgt anytime to catch up on the latest, and subscribe to gdgt's newsletter to get a weekly roundup in your inbox.
This week on gdgt: Toshiba brings a Retina-class display to Windows
Each week, our friends at gdgt go through the latest gadgets and score them to help you decide which ones to buy. Here are some of their latest picks -- along with a few you should probably avoid. Want more? Visit gdgt anytime to catch up on the latest, and subscribe to gdgt's newsletter to get a weekly roundup in your inbox.
This week on gdgt: LG shows there's room for more than one mega-smartphone
Each week, our friends at gdgt go through the latest gadgets and score them to help you decide which ones to buy. Here are some of their latest picks -- along with a few you should probably avoid. Want more? Visit gdgt anytime to catch up on the latest, and subscribe to gdgt's newsletter to get a weekly roundup in your inbox.
This week on gdgt: Fitbit's Flex may never leave your wrist
Each week, our friends at gdgt go through the latest gadgets and score them to help you decide which ones to buy. Here are some of their latest picks. Want more? Visit gdgt anytime to catch up on the latest, and subscribe to gdgt's newsletter to get a weekly roundup in your inbox.
This week on gdgt: Panasonic's ST60 is a must-have HDTV
Each week, our friends at gdgt go through the latest gadgets and score them to help you decide which ones to buy. Here are some of their latest picks -- along with a few you should probably avoid. Want more? Visit gdgt anytime to catch up on the latest, and subscribe to gdgt's newsletter to get a weekly roundup in your inbox.
This week on gdgt: Samsung plays it safe with the Galaxy S 4
Each week, our friends at gdgt go through the latest gadgets and score them to help you decide which ones to buy. Here are some of their latest picks -- along with a few you should probably avoid. Want more? Visit gdgt anytime to catch up on the latest, and subscribe to gdgt's newsletter to get a weekly roundup in your inbox.
This week on gdgt: Razer's Edge isn't quite sharp enough
Each week, our friends at gdgt go through the latest gadgets and score them to help you decide which ones to buy. Here are some of their latest picks -- along with a few you should probably avoid. Want more? Visit gdgt anytime to catch up on the latest, and subscribe to gdgt's newsletter to get a weekly roundup in your inbox.
Come say hi at our first Engadget+gdgt Live event in Austin tomorrow night!
As most of you know by now, we've recently welcomed some old friends back to the fold here at greater Aol Tech. We're thrilled to be working with the gdgt crew on our first event together, tomorrow night in Austin during SXSW. We'd love to have you join us for a night of fun gadgety action -- take a break from your intense schedule of panels and booze buses and come on out to mingle with gdgt and Engadget staff, check out the devices our sponsors are bringing in spades (plus win some!) and have a great time with like-minded technophiles. It's free to attend, and you don't even need a SXSW badge to get in. The one catch: you must be 21 or over to come to this party (upside: open bar!), although our future events will be all ages. When: Saturday, March 9th (7:00pm – 10:00pm CST) Where: The Hype Hotel, 301 Brazos Street Austin, TX How: RSVP hereSee you there!
The Daily Roundup for 02.13.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Allow me to reintroduce myself
Hey Engadget, I've missed you. For those of you who don't remember me, my name is Ryan, and until 2008 I served here as the Editor-in-Chief. Well, like Peter, I'm back. But this time I'm doing something totally different. Let's catch up.
It's good to be back
You may have seen the announcement earlier today that AOL is acquiring gdgt and that Ryan Block and I are going to be rejoining the company. A lot of you may have no idea who I am, but I'm the guy who created Engadget and for a while there was the only person who wrote for it. When we left Engadget in 2008 to start gdgt we left on exceptionally good terms. AOL even invested in our new company. But even though the relationship has been good all these years, I never honestly expected we'd have the chance to return, and I can say that it feels good to be part of the family again. I'm insanely proud of the work that Tim Stevens and the Engadget team have done to grow the site into a tech news powerhouse that it is today. The Engadget of 2013 far exceeds anything I could have hoped for it when it launched back in 2004.
Aol acquires gdgt: get those engdgt puns out of your system today
Yes, the rumors are true! The gadget database and website launched by Engadget founder Peter Rojas and founding editor Ryan Block, gdgt, has been purchased by our parent company, Aol. On gdgt's blog, Block explains that the site will bring its community and core technologies to web properties like, erm, this one -- in addition to its comprehensive product database, which we've been embedding since 2011. It'll also team up with Engadget on live events throughout the year, which means more gadget-filled fests in cities like Austin, Boston and San Diego, along with the usual suspects, such as our inaugural Expand conference in March. We'll have plenty more details to fill you in on later today, but you can hit up the post at our source link to see what we're able to share right now. Let's give Peter, Ryan and the rest of the gdgt team a warm Engadget welcome!
Marquee Media Center hands-on
Winning gdgt's StartUp contest has its perks -- just ask recent winner Marquee, which is showcasing version 2.0 of its Media Center here on the showfloor. The imposing device, currently available on the outfit's site for $899, packs 2TB of storage, 4GB DDR3 RAM, DVD player and a 2.4GHz dual-core Intel processor into an aluminum-lidded box to let you stream a mix of online and locally-stored multimedia content. Seen from above, the unit is mostly unadorned, save for a quite sizable power button, three circular vents and two notification LEDs. Off to the right side hiding just beneath that generous metal hood, lies ports for audio I/O and standard USB, with HDMI-out on the back. Naturally, you need a way to parse through the goods and that's where Plex XBMC -- running atop Ubuntu 12.04 -- and a custom wireless controller outfitted with a full QWERTY keyboard come in handy. According to Marquee's CEO, set-up out of the box is a no-brainer and requires nothing more than connecting to an external display and your home network (via ethernet or WiFi) to get things started. We had the opportunity to take the Media Center for a quick test spin and immediately noticed a calibration issue that, combined with the cluttered remote, made for some extremely unintuitive navigation. You can check out some pics of the startup's progeny below.%Gallery-159092%
gdgt runs the numbers on Retina display sizes
Apple fans have been oohing and ahhing since the MacBook Pro with Retina display was announced a few weeks ago. Let's face it, the display looks incredible! With Retina displays starting to make inroads into the world of Mac, gdgt's Ryan Block decided to take a look at what screen resolutions would be required on the rest of the Mac line to achieve a pixel density similar to that on the new MacBook Pro. What Block did was to figure out the current pixel density and size of Mac displays, then figure out what it would take to approach the 220 pixel per inch (PPI) display on the Retina display MacBook Pro. It's not just a doubling of pixel density; Block noted that the 11" MacBook Air already has a 135 PPI display that wouldn't need to be doubled to achieve Retina quality. Block's results are fascinating: 13" MacBook Air Current Resolution: 1440 x 900, Estimated Retina Resolution: 2560 x 1600 13" MacBook Pro Current Resolution: 1280 x 600, Estimated Retina Resolution: 2560 x 1600 11" MacBook Air Current Resolution: 1366 x 768, Estimated Retina Resolution: 2200-2300 x 1200-1300 27" iMac and Thunderbolt Display Current Resolution: 2560 x 1440, Estimated Retina Resolution: 5120 x 2880 21.5" iMac Current Resolution: 1920 x 1080, Estimated Retina Resolution: 3840 x 2160 (Block thinks the 21.5" Retina iMac would get a bump above that resolution) Of course, this is all pure conjecture. What do you think? Will Apple introduce Retina displays across the Mac product line in the foreseeable future? Let us know in the comments.
Introducing the gdgt databox!
Have you ever been reading a post about, say, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, and caught yourself thinking "What were those dimensions again?" Or, maybe it's something about the iPad 2 and you can't recall the thing's release date, or exactly how many different variations Apple has on offer? How about which of those two devices is heavier? You could go digging back for their respective reviews and find out, but now we have a better solution: the gdgt databox! It's a comprehensive, clickable, interactive database containing all the specs for all the devices we cover on here. Its contents are pulled from the massive library of hardware and software maintained over at gdgt, tirelessly updated and maintained around the clock. With a few clicks you'll have all the info you need and, should you desire more, you can quickly ask a question to someone who actually owns one. Check out a few example devices in the box below -- or just keep on reading. You'll be seeing a lot of it around these parts.
Switched On: TabCo's tease
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology Tomorrow, we will find out whether TabCo is a FabCo, a DrabCo, or a skunkworks LabCo, ending the best guessing game to hit the tech industry since the identity of Fake Steve Jobs. The significant spend on the PR campaign (to quote TabCo's Web site, "That skywriting stuff isn't cheap, you know. Neither are these videos.") as well as a reference to "a large colony of nerds" have led many to believe that TabCo is a large corporation. (Its Web site says it is a global company and TabCo is planning to launch in the US in August and Europe in September.) But there are also signs to the contrary. Take, for example, TabCo's founder and CEO -- the Google-elusive Ian "IQ" Quincy (TabCo has used pseudonyms such as "Beige Foul" -- a clear reference to Apple engineer Gray Powell), who has played a major part in the campaign. Let's dive a little deeper.
TabCo answers your tablet questions with more questions
How to differentiate your tablet in an already severely overcrowded marketplace? Well, you could simply launch the best device out there -- or you could embark on a mystery campaign, answering a curious populace with cagey responses. Whoever is behind the TabCo tablet claims to have done both. The company, thus far best known for a series of befuddling YouTube videos, is set to make a full reveal on Monday. In the meantime, a representative has taken to gdgt to answer questions about the product -- sort of. There are bits and pieces of information scattered here and there, but the responses are mostly attempts not to "spoil" anything, followed by a promise that more will be revealed on August 15th. Here's what the company will say, starting with the simplest first: TabCo is short for "Tablet Company," a business set to launch a new tablet in the US this month, followed by a roll out in some European countries come September. The company won't say whether the product is running some version of Android, but has promised that, whatever the OS is, the final form of the product will "offer a new way to interact with your device," including a "predictive UI" that apparently knows what you want to search for and buy before you tell it. The tablet has an SD slot, 3G and WiFi, and a "unique" physical design and resolution. There's no 3D or HTC Flyer-style pen functionality on the thing, however. Oh, and the build quality? TabCo says it's "as good or better than Nokia and Apple devices." So, what is it? The new tablet from the people who brought you the Tabasco line of hot sauces? A big Improv Everywhere-style prank? An actual, you know, tablet? Lots and lots of viral-type videos for the international tablet of mystery after the break. And feel free to speculate your guts out in the comments
