You already loved it in its USB 2.0 incarnation. Now check the HDD Stage Rack with an additional eSATA interface. Who couldn’t use an extra 315MB/s transfer rate for their 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch disks? Yours now for $57.15 before those excessive shipping costs are factored in.
by Thomas Ricker – Engadget
Believe us, we know just how foggy things get when trying to remember back to the 13th day of December 2007, but sure enough, it was on that fateful Thursday that we received our first sneak peek at QNAP’s (then) forthcoming TS-409. Today, however, we’re looking at the official product: a 4-bay, hot-swappable NAS that supports such beautiful features as online RAID capacity expansion and RAID level migration. Reportedly filled with “disaster-proof enhancements,” this unit also includes an HDD S.M.A.R.T. function that provides complete hard drive information including temperature and overall “health.” No concrete word on price, but a quick scan of the intarweb pegs it right around $600.
by Darren Murph – Engadget
Yeah, we’re starting to feel slightly bombarded with portable cellular routers, but we can’t help but crack a smile each time one of these wonderful creations rolls into the commercial realm. Today, we’ve got Digi unveiling its new Digi Connect WAN 3G, which is hailed as an upgradeable 3G WWAN router for “primary and backup connectivity to remote sites and devices.” Besides supporting both EV-DO and HSDPA standards, it also aims to provide “a fast and easy Ethernet-to-3G wireless connection” and even includes a built-in VPN. Sadly, no price is mentioned, but we’re sure the folks at Digi wouldn’t mind coughing up that information if you called up with the right tone of voice.
by Darren Murph – Engadget
For those of you too cheap to pony up for that $700,000 diamond-encrusted Jupiter desktop we saw yesterday, China’s Eazo is willing to throw down the luxe for less than a tenth of the price — which still means the X70, pictured here, stil costs $45,500, but hey. The distinctive machine features a 3GHz Q9550 Core 2 Quad, two NVIDIA 8800GTX graphics cards, 4GB of RAM, light-up liquid cooling, a 10,000rpm 150GB drive backed up by a 7,200rpm 500GB drive, 7.1-channel sound, and Vista Ultimate, all wrapped up in an easy-access case with pneumatic door hinges. Of course, you can custom-configure systems well past the $70K mark (and down to just $9K), but if you’re not happy with this stock config, you might want to try yoga or something, Mr. Power Hungry. Check a bunch more shots in the gallery.
by Nilay Patel – Engadget
The Financial Post has uncovered evidence that Research in Motion will be unveiling a new music accessory called the BlackBerry Remote Stereo Gateway. The Gateway attaches to a stereo and then streams music files from a BlackBerry via Bluetooth. The information is available through an FCC filing, which has both the user manual and a photo of the Gateway. The device was filed by Cheng Uei Precision Industry Co., Ltd. out of Taiwan, but the BlackBerry brand is all over the place. This is obviously a big push into the consumer space for RIM, especially given the fact that, unlike iPod docks, it’s wireless. Between this and the increasing sizes of microSDHC cards, BlackBerry is becoming more and more viable as a media player.
Just like expected, Acer has formally bought into Packard Bell, snapping up 75% of PB Holdings, Packard Bell’s parent company. Things got a bit hairy for a bit there when Packard Bell started speaking with Lenovo as well, since Acer fears losing its strength in Europe to the Chinese giant. Luckily for Acer, Gateway was the real clincher here, since Gateway started talks with Packard Bell before getting bought by Acer itself, and had nabbed the right to counter any offers Packard Bell might get from other companies. The deal officially went through on Wednesday for $45.8 million.
by Paul Miller – Engadget
The bits, they just keep coming — now that 16GB SDHC cards are old hat, SanDisk’s gone and upped the ante with these new 32GB cards. That matches Toshiba’s record, but you won’t be able to get your hands on one until April, when they ship for $349. A 16GB version and a new 8GB Ultra II SDHC Plus with flip-out USB connecter will also hit in March for $179 and $99, respectively — but you know you want the big’un, don’t lie.
by Nilay Patel – Engadget
The memory card announcements at PMA continue — Kingston has just announced its first 16GB SDHC card. Sure, we’re happy for them, but at $231, it’s more expensive than SanDisk’s $179 16GB card — which comes with a USB 2.0 reader — and it’s certainly not as impressive as SanDisk’s new 32GB card. Also, your hair is frizzy and you look fat. But have fun at the party!
by Nilay Patel – Engadget
We’re not saying a sign in some little computer shop in Milford, New Hampshire is an indication of popular opinion, but there’s a reason those presidential candidates always end up in small towns on the campaign trail. Whatever the case may be, the folks at A&D computer are here to help… uninstall Vista from your PC. Hey, uninstalling unwieldy OSs is all well and good, but personally, we’d like to know more about this notebook repair.
by Joshua Topolsky – Engadget
