handhelds
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Bacteria's back with portable Nintendo 64, complete how-to guide
The quest to build the perfect portable Nintendo 64 continues, but we imagine we'll stop seeing so many disparate designs soon. That's not because Bacteria's latest bulbous handheld has achieved perfection -- far from it -- but rather because he's provided a 2.5-hour, step-by-step video guide to help you build it from the ground up. And hey, the system isn't too shabby, either. The "iNto64" portable features integrated Controller, Rumble and Expansion Paks for complete N64 functionality, built-in speakers and a headphone jack, rechargeable batteries for up to three hours of play, even a video-out port if you get tired of staring at the ubiquitous 5-inch Sony PSone LCD. The only obvious oversight is controller ports for more inputs -- seems our buddy Bacteria wasn't a big fan of GoldenEye. See it play some of N64's other best games after the break, while we dust off our gamebit screwdriver. Obvious though it may seem, know what you're getting into before you do likewise; ripping up classic cart-based consoles isn't for the faint of heart.
The cost of Apple's products, adjusted for inflation
A site called VoucherCodes recently tried to figure out if the $499 entry-level iPad really is as good a deal as many have claimed. They analyzed the cost of several of Apple's products, adjusted for inflation, and some of the results are pretty astonishing. The first Apple computer ever created, the Apple I, cost $666.66 in 1976. Adjusted to 2010 dollars, that Apple I would cost $2,540, which isn't too bad. But the Apple Lisa, Apple's first stab at creating a computer with a Graphical User Interface, cost $9,995 in 1983, or a staggering $21,745 in today's dollars. Sure, the GUI was a cool bit of innovation, over $20,000 for a personal computer? Comparing the iPad to previous Apple portables is even more interesting. Apple's first portable computer cost $6,500 in 1989 -- which would be almost $11,400 today -- while the $699 Newton from 1993 would cost nearly $1,050 in today's dollars. Most intriguing of all is that the first iPod, released for $399 in 2001, cost $488 in today's dollars. That's just $11 under the cost of the iPad, a device that has far more storage, processing power, and access to more features than the first iPod could even dream of only nine and a half years ago. Apple's handhelds are cheaper than ever, even when you bring inflation into the mix. Within my lifetime alone, computers have gone from luxury items and objects of curiosity, something people would have to save several months of paychecks in order to buy, to something people buy on a whim, for a week's pay, and carry around with them in their pockets. It's not surprising that the cost of computers has come down over time, but when charts like the one at VoucherCodes drive home just how much prices have dropped in terms of the real value of the US dollar, it's pretty amazing.
Nintendo DSi XL review
Since Nintendo first asserted sole domination over the handheld gaming market with the release of the paperback-sized Game Boy in 1989, the company has striven time and again to make its pocket systems smaller, meeting fantastic financial success along the way. Nintendo did it with the Game Boy Pocket, the Advance SP, the Micro, the DS Lite and again ever so slightly with the DSi -- the last even at the expense of backwards compatibility and battery life. Now, for the first time in the company's history, it's made an existing platform bigger, with questionable reasons as to why. Does the Nintendo DSi XL squash its predecessors flat? Or is Nintendo compensating for something? Find out inside. %Gallery-89058%
Rumor mill says Nintendo DS2 might be headed for E3 unveiling
Hot on the heels of the recent DSi XL appearance, rumors are swirling that Nintendo is preparing to announce a second version of the DS -- the DS2, if you will -- at E3 in June. Over on RPad they're spilling the beans about the supposed device, including the fact that it'll boast two larger, higher resolutions screens, an accelerometer, and it will also supposedly run on an NVIDIA Tegra chip. Finally, RPad is also reporting that they spoke with developers who say their games will be finished by the end of the year... leading us all to speculate the unannounced successor could, possibly, be announced at E3, then available by the end of the year. Of course, this info's all 100 percent unofficial, so take everything with a grain of salt, relax, and we'll let you know as soon as we hear something more solid.
Fujitsu LifeBook UH900 now available in US for $850
Remember back at CES, when we got ahold of Fujitsu's LifeBook UH900? Well, it looks like you won't have to wait any longer if you were dying to get one of your own -- you can grab one up on Fujitsu's US website now. The 5.6-inch, multitouch-boasting little guy's got a 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530 CPU, 2GB of RAM, a 62GB SSD, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS, and it comes with Windows 7 installed. The suggested retail price on this puppy is $999, but Fujitsu's offering it right now for $849 -- that's a lot more than many MIDs, but the spec sheet is enough to keep us interested.
Frog Design releases 1983 tablet prototypes
It's this week! It's almost a sure bet that we'll finally, after all of these years, see the Apple tablet unveiled this week, and to celebrate, Frog Design (the company responsible for many of Apple's designs back in the day) has given Wired some old shots of prototype tablets from the Cupertino company ... from 1983. Of course, Apple has released tablet-like devices before, and they've been thinking about this type of computer for a long time. But back in 1983, they apparently commissioned some concepts for an unreleased tablet called "Bashful" (so called because it was designed to work with the Snow White "industrial design language" that Apple used back then in the //c and other releases. As you can see above, the tablet isn't exactly "elegant" by today's standards, but it is interesting how similar it actually is to many of today's smartphones and handhelds, considering that we're talking about almost 30 years ago now. One model had a floppy drive attached (which was gigantic), and apparently they even considered a version with a phone on it as well. We still don't know for sure what Apple's release this week will look like, but it's fascinating to think just how far back the planning for this week's unveiling actually went.
Energy Sistem unloads TV2090 PMP, still can't spell 'sisstem'
Here's a slick little item you might be interested in, if your county of residence happens to subscribe to the DVB-T TV standard. Energy Sistem's just unleashed its TV2090 PMP for the world to enjoy. This attractive yet seemingly quite cumbersome looker boasts a 9-inch LCD, a stereo speaker and AV output, and it supports DivX, Xvid, AVI, MPG and MP3 / WAV playback. Now like we said, the whole unit is rather large -- measuring 265 x 32 x 155 mm -- and while we don't have an exact weight for it, we'd guess it to be... large enough to be pretty annoying. Regardless, if you're in the market for a giant PMP, this one will be released in Europe in March for around €133 (or $187, if you're keeping track).
Pink PSP 3000 official in Japan for March, get ready girls!
Hey -- are you in love with the PSP 3000 but can't stand the fact that a pink one doesn't exist? Well, your life just got a lot better. Playstation Japan's just officially outed the handheld in "Spring Blossom Pink" for a March 2010 launch. Other than its new, more girlish figure, this PSP 3000 is exactly the same as every one on the market, but you know, looks sure are important. Sadly, this beauty's only been announced for Japan so far, but we'll keep our eyes open for other availability. This one's going to run ¥16,800 (that's about $183). There's one more looker after the break.
Garmin spits out new handheld, touchscreen GPS devices
If you're the outdoorsy, adventurous type, this will no doubt be of interest to you. Garmin's just outed two new touchscreen, handheld GPS devices -- the Oregon 450t and 450. These mid-range devices both boast 3-inch displays, weigh in at in 6.8 ounces, and supposedly get around 16 hours of battery life on their two AA batteries. They also have 850MB of internal storage, microSD card slots, and can store up to 2,000 waypoints, 200 routes, 5,000 caches and a track log of 10,000 points and 200 saved tracks -- good news for avid hikers, no doubt. The main difference between the two units here is that the 450t comes preloaded with topographic maps of the entire United States, with coverage of major trails, urban and rural roads, interstates, highways, coastlines, rivers and lakes, national, state and local parks, forests and wilderness areas. Both units are available to order now on Garmin's site, and the Oregon 450 retails for $399.99, while the 450t will cost you $499.99.
Unichal unveils portable, pocketable DIXAU DX3 dictionary
At first glance, this looks a tiny bit like a flip phone of yesteryear, sure. Closer inspection, however, will prove it to be... a tiny dictionary! Korean company Unichal's recently shown off its newest pocket dictionary, the DIXAU DX3. This tiny source of knowledge boasts a built-in camera which can scan unknown words and deliver definitions on the front facing stylus-enabled touchscreen. The unit boasts a microSD card for multimedia storage, and is also equipped with the ability to speak back words to you -- in case you really can't be bothered to read them for yourself. It's available now in Korea, and though we doubt it'll ever make its way to the US of A, we'll keep watch for you. There's one more shot after the break.
Lenovo possibly developing e-book reader
Look, we don't like having to constantly be skeptics who don't believe in anything unless there's absolute proof of its existence... oh, wait: yes we do. Especially in scenarios like this, where sources are unclear, a bit vague, and poorly translated. Regardless, we're hearing that it's possible that Lenovo is actively developing an e-reader and may already be in an internal testing phase according to "sources" cited by Tech 163. Such a move wouldn't be wholly unexpected -- the e-reader bandwagon is getting more crowded every day. Still, we can't be sure yet, though Tech 163 apparently asked Lenovo for comment and they didn't outright deny the plans. Make of that what you will. There's a chance we'll hear more about this at CES -- and that's in just about a week and a half.
Nook shipping update assures pre-orders arriving on time
This should come as a relief to all you anxiously awaiting your Barnes and Noble Nook pre-orders. We've received a statement from Barnes and Noble affirming that all pre-orders which had an original pre-holiday ship date will be fulfilled, and that the rest of the orders will be filled starting on Friday. Here's the full, reassuring statement: "We're happy to report that all customers who pre-ordered nooks and were given a pre-holiday estimated shipping date will be sent their nooks in time to receive them by Christmas. As you know, there's been an overwhelmingly positive response and unprecedented demand since Barnes & Noble announced its new eBook reader on October 20th. Customer demand continues to be strong and new orders will be fulfilled beginning February 1, 2010. " Happy, happy holidays!
Aigo jumps on the e-reader bandwagon with EB6301
It's official: everyone's making an e-reader. While we're still a little unsure of where all this is heading (hey, call us Luddites, but we actually like turning pages!), we're always glad to see an ever-expanding offering of literacy-encouraging gadgets. Chinese company Aigo has just announced its own model, the daringly named EB6301. This one boasts a 6-inch E Ink display, a host of buttons running down its left side in addition to the navigation panel, and has 2GB of built-in storage. There's no WiFi on this unit which is a disappointment, and it's going to run 2,499 yuan -- about $366. There's no word on availability outside of China at this time.
iPhone, iPod touch leading product search for Christmas
This is an interesting little statistic, but it could be very telling about what's going on in terms of sales this holiday season. 9to5Mac says that over in the UK, the iPhone and the iPod touch are the current most searched-for products this holiday. iPhone made up 1.75 percent of all product searches last week, and 14% of mobile phone product searches. Meanwhile, the iPod touch was in second place at 1.29 percent, and the iPod nano was actually third, at .5 percent. Over three percent, then, of all product searches in the UK were for Apple's handhelds. Of course, just because one in 34 people are searching for an iPhone or iPod doesn't mean that they'll be huge gifts necessarily -- maybe the searching just means that they want one, not that they'll be getting one. But there's no question that as big as Apple's 4th quarter has been so far, it's going to get even bigger, in the UK and probably everywhere else as well.
Peek teams up with FON to liberate Europe... from roaming charges
Although the bright and cheerful Peek (and its somewhat ill-advised Twitter-centric brother) has long been a source of fascination for us, we realize that for most Americans a dedicated email device doesn't make too much sense. Now, in the same way that Hendrix had to go to London to find critical acceptance, it looks like FON CEO Martin Varsavsky thinks the device might be a winner overseas -- nothing less than a heroic "pan-European email machine that avoids [data] roaming charges." According to the man's blog, the PeekFon will cost €99 (roughly $145), including six months unlimited service, courtesy of a new MVNO called Spotnik. After that, you'll need to pay as you go to the tune of €12.90 (roughly $19) a month. Sick of those insane roaming charges? Curious? European? Varsavsky shares his feelings on the subject after the break.
Foxit busts out ebook store for eSlick owners
It's been a season of e-readers, that's for sure... and while Foxit is a smaller player in the scene as compared to the Nook or the Kindle, it's got some news of its own to boast about today. That's right, Foxit's launching an online bookstore all its own. The aptly named eSlick Store has been launched in partnership with Fictionwise LLC (a company which is rather interestingly owned by Barnes & Noble), and currently contains about 60,000 books. If you haven't forgotten -- Foxit's also recently released a firmware update which enables its support of EPUB. Full press is after the break.
Screen grabs: House, MD likes a little PSP Go between his high-risk medical procedures
Screen Grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today's movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dt com. There's one thing (and one thing only) that we know about House, MD. He seriously loves nearly killing people before saving them. Well, that, and he loves chilling out with a PSP Go. What, you hadn't heard? Yeah, seems old Dr. Greg is pretty into gaming in his downtime -- you know, when he's not downing Vicodin or collecting clues. There's one more piece of evidence after the break. [Thanks, Donny]
Kindle is the biggest selling item on Amazon, bests sliced bread
Recession? Not if you're the Amazon Kindle, it turns out -- it's currently the bestselling product across all categories at Amazon. Yes, that means it's outselling the robotic hamsters, the t-shirts with wolves howling at the moon, and the limited edition Snuggies. November, when people traditionally start trampling each other in the name of gift giving and holiday cheer, has also been the best single month of sales ever for the e-reading device, in spite of the fact that there's more competition than ever for it -- so that's good news for them, right? Amazon hasn't released any actual numbers, of course, so it's hard to say what it all means. The other good news is that as far as we can tell, it doesn't look like they'll sell out anytime soon. Full press release is after the break.
Sony VAIO UX handheld gets 3G wireless, quad OS, inflated sense of self
As we're all undoubtedly aware, old gadgets don't really die -- they just get modded eternally (as the continued appearance of Atari on these pages will attest). Another case-in-point: the Sony VAIO UX490N. It's been a while since we laid eyes on one of these bad boys, but apparently there's been plenty of hacking goin' on ever since, including: upgrading the SSD to the RunCore Pro IV 128GB and swapping out the 1.2GHz CPU for a 1.33GHz Core 2 Duo (overclocked to 1.438GHz). And that's just the beginning -- the cats over at the Micro PC Talk forums have also installed a voice-capable HSPA modem, swapped out the old wireless card for one that supports a/b/g/n WiFi, and installed partitions for Windows XP Pro, Windows Vista Business, Windows 7 Ultimate and Mac OS X Leopard 10.5.7. Impressive stuff, all that: but what if we told you that one fearless individual has applied every one of those changes to a single device? And that battery life was pretty much unaffected? Well, you're probably going to want the details, right? Hit the source link to get started.
FLO TV for iPhone proof-of-concept caught in the wild
We don't know if watching TV on a 3.5-inch display is your bag, as it were, but it looks like Qualcomm is moving onward and upward with its plans for FLO TV on the iPhone. Not too many details at the moment, just some pics that Electricpig snapped of a handset running a proof-of-concept app that relies on an external device for reception, streaming re-runs of Mayberry R.F.D. to your handset via WiFi. No word yet on the when this device might actually go "prime time," but with any luck the five pocket TV enthusiasts out there may someday be freed from the tyranny of the FLO TV Personal Television. Get a closer look after the break.
