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We’ve got to give Toshiba a bit of credit here — it’s certainly not trying to sell its new Satellite C660 (and accompanying Satellite Pro model) as something it’s not. Tossing around words like “adequate” and “no-frills,” the company says that the revised Satellite is a “smart and affordable” solution, and it does indeed look like it’ll satisfy those looking for only the basics. That includes a 15.6-inch display, your choice of Intel or AMD processors up to a Core i3 or Athlon II, integrated graphics only, up to 8GB of RAM, up to a 640GB hard drive, and a multitouch trackpad, among other standard fare. The only difference with the Pro model, it seems, is Windows 7 Professional for the OS, a black textured casing, and a “non-reflective” screen. No word on exact pricing just yet, but you can look for this one to at least be available in Europe, the Middle East and Africa sometime in the fourth quarter of this year. Full press release is after the break.

Continue reading Toshiba announces ‘no-frills’ Satellite C660 laptop

Toshiba announces ‘no-frills’ Satellite C660 laptop originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Sep 2010 04:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Taxi top displays, those triangular advertisements on top of NYC cabs, are getting a facelift. And even though it looks like the base of an iMac is now attached to the roof, I think it looks good. Or at least better. More »

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Big Red really likes Android phones (probably a true fact). The dude, or rather, the guy, over at The Droid Guy, has posted a blury image of the new Samsung I-400. You’re probably already looking at this phone and saying, "meh." Sure it may look like a basic phone, but look a bit more. It probably doesn’t help the fact that there is a huge glare across the bottom — but look closer. This new Samsung phone is shipping with two displays: the main large screen and the lower mini-screen. This design reminds us of the Barnes and Noble Nook. No word on launch date or pricing just yet. All we know is that it will ship with Android 2.1 and carry Bing as the primary search engine. Go ahead — sound off in the comments section. [The Droid Guy]

Posted originally at Android Central

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One thing I love about Disqus is their mobile commenting abilities. Traditionally, commenting on mobile devices has been awful, but Disqus makes it pretty on the small screen. That said, it’s still a pain to moderate Disqus comments while on the go. So Disqus has a new product to take care of that. The commenting start-up (which we use here at TechCrunch) is releasing a set of mobile applications to handle comment moderation when you’re away from your desk. The Android, iPhone, and webOS platforms will all be getting this app. It’s out today for Android, and will be out shortly on the other two platforms, Disqus notes (they’re in review).

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If you install the latest iOS 4.2 beta 2 on your iPad 3G and visit the “Cellular Data” section of the settings app, then you may be in for a rather nice surprise. Right there, underneath the familiar APN settings is a new option: to tether the iPad’s internet connection.
Both of the screenshots here come [...]

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Filed under: Design, Education

A while ago, we had a heated debate on our internal mailing list concerning the best way to note shortcut keys. Is it Ctrl+Enter? Maybe it should be a hyphen, so should it be Ctrl-Enter? And should there be a space? Should we capitalize, or not?

This might seem fussy, but when you’re authoring a large body of text (or a collaborative blog), some standards have to be established. It’s not just a matter of consistency for consistency’s sake – the question is what makes the most sense for users.

Key Command Generator offers an interesting take on this problem. You fill in a simple form for your shortcut key, and you get an embeddable code. When you embed said code within your document, it shows up as a stylized “keyboard diagram” (as you can see in the screenshot).

While we won’t be using it ourselves (because the output is pretty ginormous), I can certainly see how this can come in handy for other projects. I only wish it was a bit easier to use. A simpler syntax would be great, because then I could just change a few parameters in my code and avoid having to fill the form in every time. Perhaps something like shortcutkey.com/ctrl+shift+enter. Oh well, I guess there’s always the HTML5 kbd element.

Key Command Generator helps you generate beautiful shortcut key codes originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 23 Sep 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After debuted the latest in a series of wacky stunts, dating service and scholarship fund Grouspawn, I caught up with Groupon CEO Andrew Mason backstage at TechCrunch Disrupt to talk about the recent Groupon backlash, the company’s success problem and how transparency can scale to hundreds of millions of dollars in deals in 150 cities around the world.

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Innovative screen design is coming to Verizon

The Verizon Samsung Fascinate, left, and Continuum, right.

Behold, the Verizon Continuum — aka the Samsung SCH-i400 — live and in person. It’s an as-yet unannounced Android 2.1 phone from Samsung, destined for Verizon, and it’s got a few tricks up its sleeve.

We knew a few things going into this thanks to a previous leak. So let’s start with what we don’t know: We don’t know when it’s coming. But judging by the build quailty, it’ll be soon. We don’t know how much it’ll cost, but you can imagine it’ll be in the usual $150-200 price range, after subsidy, of course.

And we don’t actually have official specs just yet. OK, we’ve dug up some, and surmised others. But as with things of this nature, specs are subject to change, as are software features, we imagine.

So now that we have those bases covered, on to our initial thoughts of the Samsung Continuum!

Posted originally at Android Central

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You know the drill, come 6pm PT, 9pm ET, 2am BST, we’ll be live over at: http://live.tipb.com/live/ Be there, and be ready to chat. We want to hear from you. iPhone live tonight, 6pm PT, 9pm ET, 2am BST is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store. TiPb – The [...]

iPhone live tonight, 6pm PT, 9pm ET, 2am BST is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb – The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

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That lock may seem a little bit too big, but I know some parts of New York in which you will need to use it. A reader sent us another image: More »

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We heard back at IFA that Sony was making the absolutely brilliant move of incorporating a market leading navigational system into its Xplod line of in-dash A/V units, and now that love is being shipped across the Atlantic (or the Pacific, if you’re taking the scenic route) in the form of the XNV-770BT and XNV-660BT. The beautiful Sony / TomTom partnership will soon be assisting clueless American motorists when both of the previously mentioned units ship in November, with the 770BT offering a 7-inch capacitive touchscreen and the 660BT stepping down to a 6.1-incher. They’ll both feature rear USB ports for iDevice connections, support for multi-channel audio playback and most importantly, pre-loaded maps of US and Canadian roadways. TomTom claims that its maps offer more than one million more miles of roads than other GPS brands in America alone, and buyers will also be treated to familiar TomTom extras like IQ Routes, Advanced Lane Guidance, MapShare and six million POIs. We still wish Garmin would’ve received the nod here, but it’s certainly better than some white label system — check ‘em soon for $1,300 and $1,000 in order of mention.

Continue reading Sony brings TomTom to US-bound XNV-770BT and XNV-660BT in-dash head units

Sony brings TomTom to US-bound XNV-770BT and XNV-660BT in-dash head units originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Sep 2010 12:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Julie already told you about H2O Audio’s Capture waterproof armband case for iPod nano 5th gen.  Just add H2O Audio’s Surge 2G Waterproof Headphones to complete your kit.  The redesigned earbuds are aerodynamic and water-tight.  You’ll get 5 sets of Elastomer earbud caps to ensure a water-tight fit.  The patented waterproof design can withstand “heavy  perspiration, rinsing [...]

Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear, News, Spotlight Gadgets

Tagged: Waterproof headphones

H2O Audio Surge 2G Waterproof Headphones originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 29, 2010 at 2:32 pm.

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German site BestBoyZ has delivered a string of HTC leaks in recent weeks, and the latest is a fairly legit-looking handful of alleged press shots of the Mondrian. As a refresher, the Mondrian seems to be one of the many code and commercial names floating around for Windows Phone 7-based devices HTC is looking to ship at or very near to the platform’s retail launch, a higher-end unit (possibly equipped with a 1.3GHz Snapdragon) that would probably hang in the same space as the rumored HD7 and Trophy. Interestingly, the shots — which show a unit with a German ROM — have HTC Hub listed on the home screen, despite some recent talk by CEO Peter Chou that his company’s first-gen WinPho 7 products would lack serious software customization. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing depends on how much you appreciate HTC’s design team, we suppose.

HTC Mondrian poses for press shots? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Sep 2010 20:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Many apps beam usage information—some of it enough to personally identify your phone—to marketers, behind your back. Programmers at Penn State cooked up TaintDroid (ew) to reveal the offenders and help you protect yourself from prying data miners. More »

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That lock may seem a little bit too big, but I know some parts of New York in which you will need to use it. [Thanks Roberto!] More »

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Today at our TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco, IAC CEO Barry Diller took the stage for a fireside chat with our own Michael Arrington. They covered a lot of topics, but the first thing Diller keyed in on was the most important: net neutrality. “All of you have to get out there and start arguing for this strongly,” Diller emphatically said. He clearly feels very strongly about this topic. “It is the lives of you all and the people coming after you — we have to protect that,” he continued.

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We’ve shown you how to pick an Android smartphone, but now Google’s ready to help too. The company’s new Google Phone Gallery is a showcase of available Android devices—complete with a comparison feature. [Google Phone Gallery via GoogleMobile] More »

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Rechargeable batteries keep a lot of toxic goop out of the world’s landfills, but ones that drain themselves whilst just sitting there in the drawer aren’t exactly perfect themselves. Sanyo licked that problem with its eneloop cells, thanks to their low self-discharge rates, and now the company is doing even better: boosting capacity. Sanyo will soon ship the eneloop XX battery in AA size, a 2500mAh cell that offers 25 percent more oomph than its predecessors. Even more important? The black and silver logo that serves as “a further testament to Sanyo’s design strength.” These up-rated and macho-designed batteries start shipping in Europe in December and, while no price has yet been assigned, given the number of times Sanyo mentions “professional” in its press release (six) they probably won’t be cheap.

Sanyo announces 2500mAh XX eneloop batteries, suitable only for devices aged 18 and over originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Sep 2010 11:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Gateway updates NV series with WiMAX-boasting NV59C66U

Gateway updates NV series with WiMAX-boasting NV59C66U originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Sep 2010 11:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Fun, Games, Time-Wasters

The nicest thing about The Deeplight Expedition is the speed. For me, a large part of what makes a platformer fun is how the character reacts – does it run fast, does it jump high? And in The Deeplight Expedition, both are true; the protagonist is extremely responsive and zips all over the screen as you control it.

Other than the fun dynamics, it’s a fairly stock platformer. You don’t have weapons (at least not as far as I got into the game – maybe later on). You’re basically navigating an abandoned maze, fraught with traps and danger, collecting runes and trying to retrieve an ancient artifact.

The game is large – I don’t think you can finish the whole thing in 10 minutes. (I’ve certainly tried, and I’ve played it for longer than that with no end in sight.) If you’re not bent on completing it, though, I think it makes for a very enjoyable casual game. It also automatically pauses when it loses focus, so you can easily come back to it several times during the day.

The Deeplight Expedition is a fun, retro platformer – Time-Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 22 Sep 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You can already do a lot with PayPal on your phone: pay for Android apps, bump handsets to send money. And according to PayPal exec Laura Chambers, you’ll soon—this week soon—be able to take a picture of the front and back of a check and deposit it into your account. Only iPhone was mentioned; it’s not clear if Android devices will get the same functionality right away. More »

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Internet spamsters are often nigh-artistic with the fraudulent tales they weave—an exiled prince! Hidden treasure!—but scamming them can be even more creative. The Atlantic’s Alexis Madrigal tells one revenge story of a conman duped into carving wooden sculptures. More »

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The last few months have been phenomenal for Android fans, with Samsung’s Galaxy line hitting all four carriers and Verizon getting a few, new, better Droids for their customers. But which should you pick? It’s actually an easy decision. More »

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Services like Gazelle and ecoNew are great, because you can sell them your old, unwanted gadgets for a decent price, and they’ll be recycled, which is better than just throwing them in the trash. Ecosquid makes this process easy. More »

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Digg founder Kevin Rose took the stage here today to talk to TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington about the future of Digg among other things. One revelation that came up during the talk? Jay Adelson, Rose and Digg crew turned down a $60 million dollar in cash plus $20 million in earnout offer during the trajectory of the social news site. Rose told Arrington that he didn’t regret turning down the offer, which we’re guessing came either from Current or Google (Rose refused to disclose).

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