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It’s takes a — how do you say? — special type of person to get all jazzed about an 18-inch laptop, but given that there’s a solid chance you’re one of those folks, we figured it prudent to pass along PC World’s review of HP’s beastly HDX18. Obviously designed with multimedia in mind and to possibly take the place of your desktop, this sucker performed satisfactorily in all the basic, everyday tasks as well as those media playing duties. It’s not meant for hardcore gamers, but you probably already knew that. Amazingly, the included battery lasted nearly three hours before petering out, which is pretty astounding for an 8.9-pound energy destroyer. At the end of the day, critics found enough to love to slap down a 90 out of 100 rating, noting that anyone crazy enough to want a “laptop” this big (save for FPS freaks) would likely find lots to love. In more ways than one.

Filed under: Laptops

HP’s HDX18 desktop replacement reviewed: rocks those socks right off originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Nov 2008 04:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Thanksgiving is approaching fast, and if you’re the one hosting this year’s dinner (like I am), it’s coming at light speed. While I look forward to spending time with the family and musing over what we’re thankful for, I’d be thankful to have the help …

GPS-based navigation devices are set to sizzle on Black Friday as device makers have cut prices to under $100 for the product that ranks high on many consumers’ wish lists.

TomTom is currently offering its ONE 125 GPS model for $100 till Nov. 30, after which it will go up to $130. The TomTom ONE 125 comes without maps of Canada but offers voice instructions.

Rival Garmin will have its nuvi 200 product available for $97 at Wal-Mart on Black Friday only, says Dealnews, which has been tracking the prices. The nuvi 200 is listed currently at the suggested retail price of $200 on Garmin’s website.

GPS devices, a hot ticket item last year, seem to be still popular with buyers. Three of the top ten products on Amazon.com’s electronics best seller list are navigation systems. TomTom’s ONE 125 ranks sixth.

Another sweet deal from a smaller brand is the Nextar P3 for $70 and free shipping, says Dealnews.

GPS makers are hoping the attractive prices will draw in customers. More than 50% of the total GPS devices sold during the year are in the fourth quarter, says Ralf Hug, vice president of product management for Airbiquity, which makes wireless transport products.

"Retailers are worried about not getting enough people into the stores," says Hug. "Maybe PND (personal navigation devices) product category could be that lead into the store."

Last year, GPS devices saw one of the most aggressive price discounts in electronics as retailers used the category as a "loss leader", or a draw to get shoppers to loosen their purse strings.

This year most personal navigation products lack differentiation, which could make it more difficult for the companies that are competing to get attention, says Hug. "There’s been a lack of innovation over the last two years," he says. "Everyone’s delivered a me-too type of product."

Even though it was released in the U.S. back in May of this year, Nintendo’s Wii Fit looks like it will be especially hard to come by this holiday season. Forbes reports that while Nintendo has finally ramped up production of the Wii console to meet demand, the

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It may have been a bad idea to begin with and Dell finally seems to have realized it. The company says it has now abandoned plans to launch a digital media player tied to an online store.

Dell had planned to launch a MP3 player this year that could potentially compete with Apple’s iconic iPod line and Microsoft’s struggling Zune player. But the company could have done well to learn from Microsoft’s experience with the Zune before it started on its venture.

With Apple’s iPod and iTunes dominating the digital music landscape,
rivals including Microsoft have failed to make a dent. Released in 2006, Zune has just about 4% of the market compared to Apple iPod’s 70%. Apple launched the iPod in 2001.

There have been other challengers to the iPod including Nokia’s Comes With Music online store integrated with the company’s handsets and online networking site MySpace’s music venture.

But few competitors have been able to match Apple’s superior design and the tight integration between its player and online store.

Dell, with its expertise in hardware, hoped to do just that counting on a recent acquisition that the company made. Earlier this year, Dell was testing prototypes of a player that had been developed based on its acquisition of entertainment and music software start up Zing in 2007, says the Wall Street Journal.

Dell had planned for a fall launch of the MP3 player as part of its efforts to boost its consumer products division but now it seems like a no-go. Dell did not respond to a emailed request for comment.

Photo: iPod Touch (Stefan Neagu/Flickr)

Filed under: GPS

What comes after the GPSmile 61? Why, the GPSmile 62, of course! The predictably titled successor to the big-bezeled unit we spotted at CES earlier this year has surfaced, though there’s no real indication that it’s coming stateside. Thus far, we’re seeing a 5-inch WQVGA display, an “edge-free” design, an SD card slot, integrated speakers and a removable rechargeable battery to boot. You’ll also find a built-in multimedia player as well as Bluetooth, and the TMC support should keep you posted on real-time traffic. You’re hopelessly riveted, aren’t you?

[Via SlashGear]

Holux quietly introduces 5-inch GPSmile 62 navigator originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 Nov 2008 21:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

The philosophy goes something like this: the great thing about Linux is that it’s secure, and the great thing about open-source software is that it’s thoroughly and constantly vetted for robustness. So to that end, Android should be pretty rock solid, right? Perhaps, but the overwhelming enormity of this particular bug definitely gives us pause. It turns out that G1 firmware revisions RC29 and earlier literally interpret everything you type as command-line operations, so if you happen across a legit command, it’s going to get executed — with superuser permissions, no less. No, seriously. Just go to the messaging app, the browser, or anywhere else a text box is convenient, type “reboot,” press the enter key, and watch magic happen. We’ve tested this on two G1s, both with RC29 firmware, and have gotten this to consistently work on one of the two, so your mileage may vary — but either way, this needed to get patched on the double. Fortunately, Google’s been quick about it, rolling a fix into the RC30 build that’s being rapidly pushed to users as we speak, but man… how did that get through?

Epic Android bug interprets your typing as system commands originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 Nov 2008 20:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The W705 offers aluminum siding.

(Credit: Sony Ericsson)

Sony Ericsson has just announced its final phone of the year–the W705 Walkman. It’s an aluminum-crafted slider with HSDPA, Wi-Fi, GPS, and a 3.2-megapixel camera and LED flash.

In terms of form factor, it’s got the typical Sony Ericsson …

We just got our hands on Alienware’s latest laptop, the 17-inch M17. It’s an offshoot of the popular Area-51 M17X, which impressed us earlier this year with its twin Nvidia GeForce 9800 GPUs and striking new design.

The new M17 (minus the “x”) system trades Nvidia graphics for …