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Engadget's Holiday Gift Guide 2009

The team at Engadget is well aware of the heartbreaking difficulties of the seasonal shopping experience, and we want to help you sort through the trash and come up with the treasures this year. See the guides below!
Accessories

Coming Soon

Cellphones

Nov 20th 2009

Desktops

Coming Soon

Digital cameras

Coming Soon

Docks / Alarms

Coming Soon

e-book readers

Nov 16th 2009

Fun stuff

Coming Soon

GPS

Nov 18th 2009

Home theater set ups

Coming Soon

Laptops

Coming Soon

MIDs / Handhelds

Coming Soon

Netbooks

Nov 24 2009

PMP

Coming Soon

Smartphones

Coming Soon

Television / displays

Coming Soon

Toys

Coming Soon

Video cameras

Coming Soon

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Reviews
Reviews

Survey: Droid advertising scaring men right into dutiful brand loyalty

Glowing red cyborg eyes, bombs dropped from stealth fighters, emotionless calls of "DRRROOOIIID" every time you get a text message -- it's enough to scare yesterday's lunch out of anyone. Verizon's no-holds-barred advertising campaign for the Motorola Droid has been so hellishly frightening overwhelmingly successful, in fact, that it appears to be paying dividends either directly or indirectly against Moto's biggest rivals. YouGov's BrandIndex -- an ongoing survey measuring brand loyalty through some secret-sauce methodology that only analysts would fully comprehend -- shows a marked spike in Moto's score in the critical adult male category, while Apple and RIM have taken hits over the same period. These numbers look terribly volatile over a relative short span, so we're not going to be rushing to any conclusions -- but by any measure, it's pretty wild to see Moto go from a has-been to besting the bulletproof cult of iPhone in just a few short weeks. In the long term, it'll be interesting to see just how deeply Moto's and Apple's carrier relationships are factoring into public sentiment; after all, momentum's certainly on Verizon's side right now.

LG's Monaco (IQ) spotted in Telus garb, rocking WinMo 6.5 and Snapdragon

It's been a hot minute since we've heard anything about LG's Monaco, but now it seems as if the wait for this to transition from presentation slide to reality is almost over. Unfortunately, Windows Mobile 7 won't be onboard as previously rumored, but prospective Telus customers can look forward to LG's S-Class interface sprucing things up somewhat. Other specs purportedly include a Snapdragon processor, WVGA display, 5 megapixel camera and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, though nitty-gritty details beyond that are nil. Peep that read link if you're lusting for a few more angles, and don't kid yourself -- you are.

HP's Obsidian becomes iPAQ Glisten, officially comes to AT&T

Wow, talk about digging deep in the memory bank. The same phone that we spotted way back in July (known then as the iPAQ K3 Obsidian) has finally emerged in official fashion on AT&T. Dubbed the iPAQ Glisten, this all-business smartphone boasts a vanilla coat of Windows Mobile 6.5, a 2.5-inch AMOLED display, 3.1 megapixel camera, 256MB of SDRAM, a microSD expansion slot, A-GPS, 3.5 millimeter headphone jack, a QWERTY keyboard, 802.11b/g WiFi and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR. 'Course, you'll still be dealing with a resistive screen and a dated OS, but if you're turned on in some weird way, it'll be "available in the coming weeks" for $179.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and 2-year agreement.

Fring adds Skype video support on S60, threatens to make front cams useful

Considering the proliferation of 3G, WiFi, in-home broadband, and front-facing cameras on phones, you'd think that there'd be far more obvious ways to bridge video calls between phones and PCs -- but alas, it's virtually impossible, particularly in the States where carriers have a complete aversion to the topic. Enter Fring -- one of the mobile industry's VoIP pioneers that has spread its love from Symbian to almost every smartphone platform worth mentioning over the years -- which is stepping out today with a new build for S60 handsets that offers video support through Skype. The way we see it, this is great news for a couple of reasons: one, Skype is one of the few videoconferencing systems with widespread traction, and two, this suddenly makes front-facing cams useful to a whole swath of Nokia users on networks (ahem, AT&T and T-Mobile) that don't offer video calling themselves. Whether we actually use it is another story altogether, but hey, it's cool to have it if we absolutely must see your beautiful face face right now in stunning low fidelity. Follow the break for a video demo.
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Nokia's 6700 slide and 7230 make up in price what they lack in excitement

No one's going to accuse Nokia of going after the high end, the fanboys and girls, or the fashionistas with its latest pair, but they've got at least two things going for 'em: 3G and blowout pricing. Starting on the left, the S60-powered 6700 slide marks a distinct break for the company, shedding its tradition of Xpress-on cover compatibility for permanent shells available in six loud shades; it's supposedly pretty tiny (Nokia touts that it'll fit "in even the smallest pocket or bag") and still manages to offer up a 5 megapixel cam with Carl Zeiss optics. Next, the 7230 (pictured right) kicks up the style a notch (okay, really, they just rounded the edges and chromed them up) and offers a 3.2 megapixel camera to go along with its 2.4-inch display. Look for them both to hit retail in the first quarter of next year for around €160 and €100 ($240 and $150) respectively.

Sony Ericsson already working on second version of Xperia Pureness, possibly Xperia Pureness 2?

Electric Pig is reporting that Sony Ericsson's already working on a followup to the Xperia Pureness. The designer of the original handset, Daniel Mauritzson, says that the second version of the Pureness will pack even fewer "features" than its predecessor, to hone in even further on the contrast between the handset and available smartphones. There's also been some murmuring of removing the buttons, apparently -- which makes us wonder if the next Pureness might not just be a four-inch long piece of black plastic we'll only be able to pretend to make calls on. Regardless, it sounds like the next Pureness is only in the very earliest stages of design, so don't get too excited yet -- it'll be a while.

BlackBerry Media Sync hits version 3.0 with 2-way photo management

Even after years of consumer-facing products and marketing, it's still tough to use words like "media" and "BlackBerry" in the same sentence -- but the fact of the matter is that RIM got out ahead of the 3.5mm headphone jack trend long before many other manufacturers did and currently offers cameras (not awesome cameras, but cameras nonetheless) on every modern model it sells. To that end, its Media Sync software has been helping suits get loose after the 9-to-5 with music management for well over a year now, and the latest version -- available later today -- adds some comprehensive photo capability to match. Media Sync 3.0 for Windows now includes automatic downsizing for pictures transferred from PCs to devices (wouldn't want to chew through your microSD card too fast, after all) and can automatically prompt users to pull in new photos snapped with the onboard camera after connecting. Makes you wish one of these things had a 5 megapixel sensor with decent optics, doesn't it? Look for the download to go live on RIM's site around noon today.

Pantech Impact now available on AT&T for $100

That trick Impact -- the better half of Pantech's two-phone combo for AT&T this fall -- has finally hit AT&T in the past couple days after we had a chance to play with it way back at CTIA at the beginning of October. Though it's not much of a monster on paper, the Impact has one of the more unique looks of anything currently in AT&T's lineup thanks to a touch-sensitive "hidden" external keypad paired with an internal color display and full QWERTY keyboard. That all matches up nicely with 3G capability and a 2 megapixel camera -- and buyers of all genders, tastes, and moods are welcome to this party thanks to availability in blue and pink. Grab it for $99.99 on contract after rebate, if you're so inclined.

Nokia's 6788 for China Mobile hops across the Pacific for FCC meeting

The 6788 looks just different enough from any other Nokia in the lineup that you might find yourself with an irresistible, inexplicably urge to own one (or destroy one, depending on your disposition), but unless you happen to be within earshot of a China Mobile outlet, you're probably going to be out of luck. Of course, that leads to the obvious questions of why a China-only Nokia -- the company's first to support TD-SCDMA, in fact -- would've found its way into an FCC lab. The answer's far less sensational than you might've liked: China Mobile's TD-SCDMA footprint is still a drop in the bucket of its much larger GSM coverage area, which means the 6788's gotta support it, and part of that is a US-usable 1900MHz radio. Without 850MHz coverage, you'd have to have an almost committable obsession with this trick one-off to justify using it in the States, but hey, good news -- if you do, you'll be legal.

Sony Ericsson Satio sales suspended after bugs discovered

Adding insult to Sony Ericsson's injurious bottom line, Carphone Warehouse and Phones 4U shops (the UK's largest mobile phone retailers) have halted sales of the SE's Symbian-powered Satio handset after a high number of customer returns and complaints. A "software glitch" reportedly causes Sony Ericsson's flagship device to power down when users try to access certain applications -- unfortunately, the issue can't be patched via an over-the-air update. A little digging into CPW discussion forums reveals multiple complaints of freezes, crashes, under-performing batteries, and bizarre interface behavior. Both the Carphone Warehouse and Phones4U will offer "new phones" to customers fed up with their Satio. Richard Dorman, senior marketing manager at Sony Ericsson, concedes the issue and assures us that it should be sorted by Christmas. Until then, you can still purchase the handset directly from Vodafone, Orange and T-Mobile... but really, why would you? The Satio's not the only dubiously-speced 12 megapixel cameraphone on the market.

[Thanks, ugotamesij]

HTC HD2 can be coaxed into doing 802.11n, if you know how to sweet-talk it

Even though Broadcom, Atheros, and Qualcomm have all been sampling phone-ready draft 802.11n chipsets for some time now, you're still not seeing the tech swiftly overtake 802.11g in the mobile arena -- in fact, we dare you to find a single phone in your carrier's store that can do it. Odds are you can't, but HTC HD2 owners can win a few quid off their skeptical (non-Engadget-reading) friends by enabling support after the fact. Looks like draft-n support got buried in the company's WinMo monster -- a fitting device to add such a rare display of raw, savage wireless power, if we do say so ourselves -- but it got turned off in the shipping firmware for some reason, possibly concerns over increased battery draw, flakiness, or a stark realization that the benefits of 802.11n might not be fully appreciated in a device hamstrung more by a crappy browser than by slow WiFi. If you want to live on the edge anyway and flip the switch, xda-developers has the registry hack you need -- and if you're using an HD2 in the States without 3G right now, let's be honest: you kinda need all the speed-boosting wireless hacks you can dig up.

Palm Precorder brings video recording homebrew to the Pre

If you like your software homebrewed with just a hint of alpha then boy do we have an app for you. The WebOS homebrew community just released Precorder; an app that lets your Palm Pre record audio and 30fps 480x320 pixel video in H.264/AVC format -- you can can even control the built-in LED for recording in low-light situations. Unfortunately, there's no video preview presented while recording but hey, it's alpha software bro... and it's free. Check a video sample after the break.
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Blinking LEDs to give QR codes a run for their (ad) money

We're still waiting for this so-called QR code revolution to hit North America, but our contemporaries across the Pacific are already looking to develop the next big thing. Reportedly, a smattering of mega-corps (including the likes of Toshiba and NEC) are joining hands in order to concoct a rivaling technology that requires even less effort to get content from billboards, books and posters to one's mobile. The heretofore unnamed system utilizes blinking LEDs to send data to phones, and so long as an ad has enough room for a minuscule light, consumers can come within five meters of it and receive the associated information by simply pointing their handset in the direction of the light. If all goes well, the technology will be ready for commercialization by 2013, or just after phase one of the Robot Apocalypse.

Klausner takes aim at RIM, Motorola over visual voicemail patents

It's been quite a few months since we've heard anything from Klausner Technologies, but it looks like the company has finally decided on its next set of targets that are allegedly infringing on its now infamous visual voicemail patents. As announced in a pair of expectedly terse press releases, Klausner says that both RIM and Motorola have now crossed into lawsuit territory with the Blackberry Bold 9700 and Motorola CLIQ, although it isn't specifying what sort of result it's looking for, or exactly how the two devices are infringing on its patents (at least some other RIM and Motorola devices are apparently covered under licenses granted to mobile operators). If the company's past track record with Apple, Verizon, LG, and Google is any indication, however, we wouldn't bet against a settlement.

iPhone camera mod for magnification: because you can

We've thought before how nice it might be to have some powers of magnification on the iPhone's cam... but are we going to go out and mod our unit? Probably not, but that doesn't mean we can't admire someone else's work. Taking various lenses and attaching them to the lid of a jar, the modder quite carefully built a contraption that looks a little "hobo Steampunk" to us, but we're still fairly impressed with this little gadget. Hit the read link for full, detailed instructions and more photos if you'd like to make one of your own.

Stats show Motorola Droid is the new elephant in the Android room

Remember back in the day when the West was still wild, the gold rush was still in full effect, you owned whatever land you could manage to fence off, and tycoons were being made and broken on a daily basis? No? Well, some of you whippersnappers might be too young to recall it, but trust us, it happened -- and it seems like that's the kind of frontier mentality we're getting again today in the nascent Android landscape. Just a couple weeks after launching, mobile ad clearinghouse AdMob reports that the Motorola Droid is already accounting for a whopping 24 percent of all its Android-based traffic -- no small feat, considering that the then-unreleased device didn't even move the needle in their October report (pictured in the left graph). The HTC Dream -- the world's first retail Android device, you might remember -- still reigns supreme at 36 percent, but it's amazing that the entire Android space is still volatile enough to register nearly a 25 percent shift with the launch of a single new device on a single carrier. For comparison, the CLIQ clocks in with a lowly 6 percent -- proof that Verizon's aggressive advertising has been working some magic. Question is, what'll be the next device to completely screw up this pie chart again?

The Engadget Show - 003: Drew Bamford, Joystiq's Chris Grant, Adamo XPS, and lots of game demos

This is a big one, folks. The new installment of The Engadget Show is jam-packed with goodness. First up, Josh sits down with HTC's director of user experience Drew Bamford to discuss Android, Sense, Windows Mobile and a whole lot more. Then we've got a charming little segment where Paul and Josh go hunting around NYC for KIRFs, and Chris Grant joins the gang on stage for a dissection of the holiday gaming situation... and some demos where the gang gets to show off their totally radical moves. Seriously, Josh and Nilay have a DJ Hero battle, and Paul Miller skates (but doesn't die) in Tony Hawk: Ride. Don't miss this one -- it might just be the best yet! Full video is after the break.

Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Paul Miller, Nilay Patel
Special guests: Drew Bamford, Chris Grant
Produced and Directed by: Chad Mumm
Executive Producer: Josh Fruhlinger
Edited by: Michael Slavens
Music by: Glomag
Visuals by: Dan Winckler
Opening titles by: Julien Nantiec

Special thanks to VIZIO for providing the 55 TruLED LCD HDTV!

Download the Show: The Engadget Show - 003 (HD) / The Engadget Show - 003 (iPod / iPhone / Zune formatted)

Subscribe to the Show:

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (M4V).
[Zune] Subscribe to the Show directly in the Zune Marketplace (M4V).
[RSS M4V] Add the Engadget Show feed (M4V) to your RSS aggregator and have it delivered automatically.
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ZTE F870E does MTV, wacky sense of style for Vodafone

See that little MTV logo down there on this poorly-facsimiled diagram in the FCC-issued user's manual for ZTE's F870E? Yeah, sure enough, there's some Music Tee Vee functionality in here -- but it's not for everyone. From the manual, it looks like this sucker is destined for use with Vodafone's MTV tie-ins, which would make sense considering that Voda is developing a healthy reputation for farming self-branded designs out to ZTE and Huawei. Historically, MTV's worked with France's SFR and Modelabs -- but who's to say they can't spread the love around? Other than the branding, you've got a landscape QWERTY slide, some sort of forgettable dumbphone UI, and a 3 megapixel cam, so if this thing is cheap -- and we suspect it will be -- it should be an option worth checking out for fans of manufactured teen reality series around the world.

Google Maps Navigation officially comes to Android 1.6

You might've thought that Google was positioning its industry-changing Google Maps Navigation as a value proposition for Android 2.0 and beyond, but yeah, not so much -- instead, they've gone ahead and backported it to 1.6 (alias "Donut") which means that T-Mobile's myTouch 3G and G1 plus other 1.6-equipped devices across the land can get in on the action. In the case of the memory-starved G1, that's especially surprising, and a heartening sign that the world's first retail Android device still has some fight left in it. It's available from the Android Market now, so go ahead -- try to get yourself lost. We dare you.

AT&T's new DataConnect Pass plans serve up data a la carte

AT&T is following Verizon's lead today with the introduction of new prepaid broadband plans targeted directly at netbook and laptop users who find themselves out of WiFi range (and in desperate need of email) every once in a while. The so-called DataConnect Pass plans exactly mirror Verizon's pricing, which means you can get 75MB as a "day pass" for $15, 250MB as a weekly deal for $30, or a half gig per month for $50. Like Verizon, you're far better off getting the 5GB postpaid plan if you're a heavy user here -- but if you find yourself needing wireless once in a blue moon, this may very well be the way to go. The packages are available now; follow the break for the full press release.
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“Look, we're just going to say it: the Pixi's keyboard is totally awesome.”
Upcoming Engadget posts on Digg over the past 24 hours.
99%

"Satisfied" iPhone 3GS owners

Of 200 iPhone 3GS users polled in August, 2009, 99 percent termed themselves "satisfied," with 82 percent saying they were "very satisfied."

Let the hive mind of Engadget get that for you.
"I just switched to Sprint from Verizon about three months ago for the Pre. Then I went for the Hero about a week ago. Now, I miss my hardware keyboard and am thinking about switching to the Moment. I am still able to switch back to Verizon if I want and get the Droid when it arrives. Should I just trade up to the Moment when it comes out, see if I like it, and if not switch to the Droid? Or something else entirely? Help!"
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