Filed under: Handsets, Palm, Sprint, Verizon Wireless, EV-DO, CDMA, webOS

Ready for your daily dose of obvious? Good. After Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam proudly proclaimed that America’s largest mobile operator would be painting the Palm Pre red “in about six months,” Sprint has come forward to make sure we know that said statement is probably right on the money. According to Sprint spokesman James Fisher: “We have the Pre through 2009.” Short, sweet and chock full of pent-up rage. ‘Course, six months after the Pre’s launch on Sprint lands us in December, giving VZW just enough time to cripple the phone’s hottest features and push it out before Valentine’s Day. Sounds pretty reasonable, no?

Sprint affirms Palm Pre exclusivity “through 2009″ originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 29 May 2009 10:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We know the Mini 1101 is the more business-centric of the new HP netbooks, but unless the company has a sudden change of heart, it looks like you’ll be getting the base configuration or nothing at all. Starting this day, HP is enabling eager consumers to buy one of the $329 machines, but the only “customization” options are external accessories and peripherals. Hit the read link to see if what’s offered fits your bill, and if not, the Mini 110 XP and Mini 110 Mi alternatives should be popping up soon.

[Thanks, Richard]

Filed under: Laptops

HP’s Mini 1101 up for order, customizations nowhere to be found originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 Might 2009 13:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The bubble of anonymity surrounding BYD outside of its home in China might be about to burst. Last week, we learned that Volkswagen had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese automaker (first hinted at a month ago) to work together “in the area of electric mobility.” Turns out that Ford and an as-yet-unnamed European automaker are also pursuing “similar arrangements” with BYD. Warren Buffet must be smiling, since BYD’s stock price has more than doubled this year, according to Auto Observer.

Now, who might the unnamed automaker be? There aren’t any obvious choices. Daimler just announced a partnership with Tesla, but did state that Tesla wouldn’t be its only electric vehicle partner. BMW uses AC Propulsion packs in the MINI E. Opel (GM) is using batteries from South Korean company LG Chem for the Chevy Volt (and Ampera). Renault (and Nissan) seem to be all set with their various partnerships and Superior Place. Fiat? Citro

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Filed under: Displays, LG, LCD

Remember all those LCDs LG flooded us with at CES earlier this year? Another set of them is shipping, the LH55 models in sizes ranging from 37- to 55-inches. These don’t have any of the fancy world wide web connectivity or wireless HDMI tricks offered by some of the company’s more flash sets, but all offer 1080p resolutions at TruMotion 240Hz refresh rates, 80,000:1 contrast ratios, and other niceties like auto-calibration and Clear Voice II, which pledges to ensure dialogue doesn’t get washed out by heavyhanded soundtracks. They’re all Energy Star 3.0 certified, too, so you’ll feel a little more green while watching that Discovery Earth Blu-ray on a TV that’s almost five feet on the diagonal. MSRPs range from $1,399 up to $3,899, so get bargain hunting.

LG’s LH55 series of 1080p, 240Hz LCDs now shipping originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 27 Might 2009 06:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here’s another cool app for the Apple iPhone: LiveCLIQ, an app that lets you record videos and then either upload or stream them to the LiveCLIQ website. To do that, you just need to record a video using LiveCLIQ and then sync it. You can even record a few videos and then sync them all at the same time. Once they’re synced, you can select to upload or stream them to the LiveCLIQ website at livecliq.net. The app works with both the original iPhone and the iPhone 3G (as well as a host of other mobile phones). You can download it for free through Cydia, but you’ll have to sign up for an account on the LiveCLIQ website in order to start using it. Related articles: vlc4iphone v0.9.5 (Formerly ZodPlay): Media streaming added

Via [apple.qj.net]

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We’ve finally got the details on that Ford SYNC refresh we recently warned you about. According to the company, current owners of 2010 automobiles with the device now can download and install the latest TDI (Traffic, Directions and Information) app for free. As mentioned before, the app connects a customer’s Bluetooth-enabled cell phone to Ford’s Service Delivery Network voice portal for turn-by-turn driving directions, real-time traffic, business searches, news, sports and weather. This bad boy will be available on all 2010 Ford, Lincoln and Mercury automobiles equipped with SYNC, $395. The sale price includes service for the first three years. Ready to SYNC your ride? Do you find the phrase “SYNC my ride” as pleasing as we do? Hit that read link.

Filed under: Transportation

Ford offers SYNC TDI update free for 2010 model owners originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 May 2009 13:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Volleyball-playing robots may only come around every ten years or so, but they at least bring along some fairly massive improvements when they do show up — like actual mobility, in this case. Of course, “volleyball-playing” is still a bit of a stretch. The bot is actually designed to be more of a training aid, with it making use of a range of sensors, built-in GPS, a compass, and an iSight camera (all linked to a Mac mini) to track down balls and set them up for spiking drills. As you can see in the unfortunately short video after the break, all of that more or less works as advertised, although it seems that we’ll still have to wait quite a while for the inevitable robot vs. robot match.

Continue reading Volleyball-playing robot has Mac mini brain, heart of a champion

Filed under: Robots

Volleyball-playing robot has Mac mini brain, heart of a champion originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Might 2009 17:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Europe’s crash testing authority, Euro NCAP, has published a series of new tests that includes the latest small and fuel efficient models offered there. The top scorers in the small automobile segment, with five star results, were the Honda Jazz, Hyundai i20 and Kia Soul. The Audi Q5 and the Peugeot 3008 also scored the maximum in their category. What Michiel van Ratingen, Secretary General of Euro NCAP, stated that the findings should help combat the false feeling that only big cars are safe: “Many claim that the weight and size of a automobile is the only criteria for safety. We believe that there are other aspects of safety that are just as important. The smaller cars we tested whose results are released today show that size should not stand in the way of all-round safety,” he said.

[Source: Euro NCAP]

Filed under: Audi, Honda, Hyundai, Suzuki, Peugeot, Europe/EU

Euro NCAP finds small automobiles offer plenty of protection originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 28 May 2009 19:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, Palm, Sprint

When word that Sprint Gurus had gotten hold of the Palm Pre User Guide came across our desks yesterday, we couldn’t wait to get our eyes all over it… and then we saw that it was almost as long as Infinite Jest. Okay, we kid, it’s not as bad as all that — just 344 pages of heretofore unseen glorious tidbits. So here’s what we’ve culled thus far: first, the Pre’s main musical squeeze, Amazon MP3, will queue your music downloads when on the 3G network for later download when the device is on a WiFi network — which is sure to cause annoyance and dismay the whole world over (and by “world” we mean the Pre’s world, which is the US only). There’s however, plenty of good news: the Pre will, in fact have IMAP IDLE (AKA Push) Gmail abilities, meaning that you’ll get your spam nearly the moment it hits Gmail’s servers. Finally, the previously spied Reminder field in the Pre’s Contacts has been found out, and it’s a really awesome feature allowing you to make a note and attach it to a particular contact, so that the next time you’re in contact with that person, the reminder will pop up and… remind you. For anyone suffering mild memory loss (like us) tiny touches like this are sure to make the Pre a more attractive proposition. Hit the read link for the full manual, and let us know what you find. Warning: the user’s manual is a PDF, and has an insanely large Sprint Gurus watermark across every blasted page.

[Via Pre Central, My Pre]

Palm Pre User Guide: the highlights, so far originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 28 Might 2009 08:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We don’t want to point fingers, but at the same time Dell’s Studio XPS 16 red option suddenly returns — now a “Merlot” instead of once-axed “Crimson” — the Mini 9 conspicuously goes missing from the company’s website. Coincidence? We think not. It’s a regular murder mystery, and it looks like we have our prime suspect here, caught… erm, red-lidded. Catching the killer, though, won’t bring it back, but at least its younger brother, the Vostro A90, still seems to alive and kicking.

Update: We just got off the phone with a Dell customer service rep who told us the same thing a handful of our tipsters heard: the Mini 9’s being phased out, with its official “End of Life” possibly as soon as Monday. Shed a tear for our 2008 netbook of the year.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

- Merlot red Studio XPS 16
- Dell.com search for “Mini 9″
- Refurbished Laptop stockroom

Filed under: Laptops

Dell’s Mini 9 vanishes from retail site as red Studio XPS 16 returns (update: Mini 9 is on the outs) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 May 2009 19:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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