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Engadget Gift Guide

Adtec announces two adorable, tiny projectors


With nearly every company (seriously, basically all of them) rolling out a tiny projector, it's getting pretty hard to stand out from the crowd -- and Adtec's two new MP15A Series projectors don't look like they're going to push the envelope in any way. Specwise, they're going to be nearly identical to the rest of the bunch, with 15 ANSI lumens, a 200:1 contrast ratio, and VGA 640 x 480 resolution, and they'll boast an LED lamp with about a 20,000 hour life. The two models -- the 15AW is white, 15AB is black -- will be available in December and January, respectively, but only in Japan. No word on a possible release in other, pico-starved areas of the globe yet.

[Via About Projectors]

RIM lowers third quarter outlook, touts Storm sales

RIM no doubt got a boost of confidence from AvianResearch's sales numbers a few days ago, but it looks to be a bit of a gloomier mood today, as it has been forced to slightly lower its third quarter profit and revenue outlook. Apparently, instead of the previously forecast revenue of $2.95 to $3.10 billion, RIM now says it's expecting to rake in just $2.75 to $2.78 billion, with its adjusted earnings now expected to be 0.81 to $0.83 per share, and not $0.89 to $0.97 per share, as previously forecast. According to RIM's Jim Balsillie, the company is laying most of the blame on "product launch timing, general economic conditions and foreign exchange volatility," but it has nothing but good things to say about the Storm, which it says has "experienced particularly strong momentum in recent weeks." It further added that the Storm's first day of sales drew a record number of new net subscribers for the company, and that it also managed to pull in a record number of weekly net subscribers additions in the last week of the third quarter. Those interested in such things can look for the final numbers to be released on December 18th.

[Via mocoNews.net]

Buffalo unveils 16GB and 32GB SSDs for Inspiron Mini 9


It looks like the kids at Buffalo are hard at work making sure that all of you netbook-lovin' Engadget readers aren't stuck with the minimal storage that has plagued early adopters of the solid state drive. In addition to their recent Eee PC-compatible SSDs, the company is now offering 16GB and 32GB drives for Dell's Inspiron Mini 9. Due out sometime this month, the 16GB should set you back ¥5,300 ($57), or you can shell out ¥9,400 ($101) for the 32GB.

[Via Slashgear]

Holiday Gift Guide 2008: for daughter


What's more challenging than buying a tech gift for your finicky son? Buying one for your ultra-picky daughter. It's tough enough just raising a daughter who's a nerd, let alone knowing exactly what direction to go come present-presenting season. Luckily for you gadget-savvy (or not so gadget-savvy) moms and dads out there, the Engadget Holiday Gift Guide exists, and will transport you to the magical phantasmagoria of money-sucking goodness that we like to call "shopper's delight." Read on for all the info (and be sure to check out our other guides right here).

Apple amends Psystar complaint, says someone's behind the curtain


The soap opera of would-be Mac cloner Psystar was already full of shady twists and turns, but there's a possibility Apple's legal team thinks there's some truth to a few of the wilder conspiracy theories out there -- a paragraph tacked on to an amended version of the complaint filed in California says that Apple believes people or corporations "other than Psystar are involved in Psystar's unlawful and improper activities." That could mean just about anything, of course -- we've always thought Psystar was being a little too cocky, and no one's ever figured out how a fledging company that couldn't even hold on to a credit card processor could retain such a hotshot law firm -- but chances are Apple's just covering its ass in case it wants to sue the major investors of Psystar individually or even the OSx86 hackers that unwillingly enabled the company's dubious business. Either way, with all of Psystar's antitrust counterclaims dismissed and Apple adding new DMCA claims to its lawsuit, we've got a feeling things are about to go boom in Florida pretty soon -- if machines really are still shipping, this is probably your last chance to grab a piece of (semi-functional) history.

[Via Daring Fireball]

Jeffrey Stephenson impresses with another wood grained, retro casemod

Jeffrey Stephenson impresses with another wood grained, retro casemod
Last time we heard from Jeffrey Stephenson he had crafted an art deco-styled casemod that, spiritually at least, brought us back to the watery confines of Bioshock. He's back with another classic-looking device, dedicating this one to Ingraham Cabinet Co., creator of many a fine walnut-ensconced radio case in the WWII era. His Ingraham case mod is similarly walnut-clad (though veneered) with a hand-built basswood frame layered atop an otherwise mid-grade mini-ITX SilverStone case. The focal point is a finely polished chrome knob on the front that Harley riders might recognize from an Arlen Ness catalog, perched atop a final retro flourish: a Firewire 400 port. Inside (pictured below) things are rather more modern: a VIA VB8001 mobo, a (rarely seen in the wild) 1.6GHz Nano processor, 4GB of DDR2 memory, a 64GB SSD, and not a single vacuum tube.

Dr. Dre-approved Monster Beats in-ear headphones roll deep for $150


Seriously, we feel a little more street just by lookin' at these things. The followup to the smashing over-the-head Beats headphones are here, and yes, they deliver sound so big, you'll think you've got speakers in your ears (Dre's words, not ours). They also feature what's touted as the planet's first "tangle-free earphone cable," in-ear noise isolation and a trio of cone tips to ensure the most comfortable fit for every gangster's ear. Get your "ding ding dong... ring-gading ding ding dong" on in one to two weeks for $149.95. Holla.

[Thanks, Robert M.]

Samsung Ego GT-S9402 luxury phone shames the word "luxury"


We've got a bone (or three) to pick with this one, so we'll just get right down to the beating. For starters, anyone who can't recognize the striking similarity between this handset and Vertu's Ferrari Ascent Ti is obviously wearing Samsung-tinted glasses. Aside from the complete lack of originality, the Ego GT-S9402 also lacks a 3G radio -- an omission that's simply inexcusable given the estimated €1,200 ($1,513) price tag. Oh sure, there's a measly 1GB of inbuilt storage, tri-band GSM connectivity, a 5-megapixel camera (with LED flash), an FM radio module, Bluetooth 2.0, dual SIM slots and a microSDHC expansion slot, but for over a G, we expect something more than mid-range specifications in a "liquidmetal" alloy chassis. Color us emphatically unimpressed.

[Via UnwiredView]

Amazon's DRM-free MP3 store goes international with quiet UK opening


By our calculations, December isn't exactly "near" June, but it seems the rumors from long, long ago were at least somewhat factual. Without any fanfare whatsoever, Amazon has quietly fired up its MP3 store over in the UK, marking the first time the e-tailer has sold jams outside of the United States of America. The page doesn't look all that dissimilar to the one we Americans have grown used to, and of course, every one of the three million 256kbps MP3 files are DRM-free. At first glance, we're already seeing some tasty singles for £0.59 ($0.86) and whole albums for £3 ($4.39). Looks like it's about time to open that digital wallet, UKers.

[Via Pocket-lint]

Intel's Core i7 Extreme Edition 965 overclocked to 5.5GHz


Right, so Intel's 3.73GHz Core i7 Extreme Edition 965 is fast enough for the vast majority of PC users across the globe, but not for Japanese overclocking enthusiast duck. Oh no -- duck decided to pair the chip up with ASUS' ROG Rampage II Extreme motherboard, which facilitates hardware-based OC'ing, in order to reach a top speed of 5510.09MHz. The point of the exercise? Just to say he could, not to mention set the bar for OC Team Italy to try and demolish.

ASUS Eee Box B204 / B206 grows an HDMI port, handles high-def material


Man, talk about maturing early. ASUS' Eee Box just hit the shelves here in America a few months back, and now the company is already pushing out a pair of successors. Both the Eee Box B204 and B206 retain the same overall design and processor (1.6GHz Intel Atom N270), but you will find a 256MB ATI Radeon HD 3400 GPU to complement the 1GB of RAM, 160GB SATA II hard drive, multicard reader, 802.11n WiFi, Windows XP Home, 10GB of online Eee Storage, gigabit Ethernet, four USB 2.0 ports, DVI connector and the freshly added HDMI socket. The B204 trumps the B206 (weird, right?) with the inclusion of Bluetooth and a built-in battery that acts as a UPS in case of power failure. We've already seen just how decently the B202 could handle 1080p playback; it's just that much easier with a dedicated HDMI port. As is par for the course with ASUS, there's nary a mention of price / availability.

Logitech serves one-billionth mouse


Look, we're not going to go and get all sappy about Logitech shipping it's billionth mouse. After all, we still prefer our fingers for pointing and keyboards for quick navigation around the ol' computer. Still, a claim of one billion served is always notable, be it computer peripherals or hamburgers. Logitech's very first mouse was the Logitech P4 introduced in 1982. For the very first mouse ever, you'll have to contact Douglas Engelbart, its inventor. Or just click on over the break for pics of the P4 and Engelbarts original toothless sawblade.

T-Mobile lowers price of G1 admission in the UK to better compete


If you were a bit taken aback by the £40 ($59) monthly tariff required to take the G1 home for free, apparently you weren't alone. T-Mobile has hacked that requirement down to £30 ($44) per month, and while the carrier itself has said that it's not a reaction to poor sales, industry analysts are saying otherwise. In fact, a company spokesperson even states that it has chosen to "offer the device free with a £30 contract to make the pricing more competitive in light of recent device launches," even though it is "well on track to achieve [its] sales forecasts." Whatever the agenda, we're all about getting phones into hands for less, so three cheers all around. Except for you early adopters... bummer, eh?

[Via Pocket-lint]

RED's 'big change' announcement is actually kind of big (updated)


RED's "big change" announcement is out. The good news: no more waiting. Unfortunately, that's about it -- still no DSMC configuration for the general consumer. The rest of the news is targeted at professional film makers which, really should be expected if only these lustful hearts could be contained. With Jannard's team recently overcoming some sensor and electronics limitations, the specs and prices for the Scarlet and EPIC systems have been juggled resulting in a new, stretched delivery schedule. Judging by reactions in the RED USER forums, the changes are welcome if only vaguely understood for a system that only exists on paper (outside of RED ONE) for the time being. Now go ahead and hit the read link for the specifics of what changed -- and with 1,048,576 possible configurations to this modular camera system, you'd better bring help.

Update: After reviewing the 1 million configs, we did find something noteworthy: the previously TBD price of the 2/3-inch 8x fixed zoom 3K Scarlet is now priced at $3,750 when it ships as a "complete kit" with brain and lens sometime in the Fall of 2009. It looks like it should also be compatible with lenses from Canon and Nikon via an optional interchangeable lens mount. As previously announced, the "brain" alone costs $2,500. That officially puts RED within fighting distance of the 1080p-capable Canon EOS 5D Mark II for the prosumer's dollar. Relevant components pictured after the break.

[Thanks, Ben]

BCS Championship game live 3D broadcast coming to CES, movie theaters

Just in case you thought 3D was only for Thursday night NFL games and NBA playoff matchups, Fox Sports is broadcasting the first college football game in the format January 8. CEO David Hill dropped the info during the 3D Entertainment Summit, acknowledging plans to bring the 3D feed to CES (finally, we won't have to miss the big game this year -- like we'd ever watch an SD feed stretched on cheap hotel plasmas) and select movie theaters, but balked at pushing technology forward. Citing costs absorbed by broadcasters in switching to high definition, he's looking towards consumer electronics manufacturers to turn over HDTV profits and start another round of upgrades for early adopters. While they argue over who picks up the check we don't expect more than a few demos here or there, but with Panasonic, LG and others already taking the baton it's just a matter of time, maybe when ESPN takes over things full time in 2011?



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