Free TUAW iPhone app -- try it now!
AOL Tech

Engadget

FEATURES: Holiday Gift Guide Droid review Palm Pixi Review Bold 9700
  • jimmy
  • Member Since Jun 18th, 2008
Blog Activity
Blog# of Comments
The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)14 Comments
Engadget209 Comments
Engadget Mobile2 Comments

Recent Comments:

@surfernerd6987 I think you run just as much risk giving your credit card to the 16 year old working for $2.85 an hour plus tips at Applebees. Except there, the kid goes into the back room and can get all the info, including the 3 digit number on the back. Oh, and assume you have a drink and they ID you, they have your address, too.

It pays to be careful, but you can't go through life being worried all the time! Remember when everyone was afraid to give their credit card over the internet? New things scare people, and in a couple years, this will be commonplace.

@Fanfoot Whoa. Let's take this step by step.
"I'd rather hide this in the cabinet and have it output its IR signal through a repeater"

I have a repeater with 8 IR eyes and one receiving eye. It was over $100 from a discount place. Best Buy would have been almost $300.

"Second, I don't know this company from Adam. " True. It's a new company, and they're technically not even open yet, which explains the lack of user forums. The software is up, but there are a limited number of docks available, and they're doing a public beta. Unfortunately because of Apple, there's no way to do a widespread private beta, since everything goes thru iTunes.

As to the third point, I'm sure there is a mechanism to back up the settings. If there isn't, there will be in an update.

For the 4th point, I agree. I'd like to plug this into a network rather than set up the wireless. I question the need for RF remotes if there is WiFi. I've never seen a component that is ONLY RF, with no IR option. And the PS3 is a lost cause, I have one. The best thing to do is buy a IR receiver that plugs into the USB port. It really is the best way.

Agreed on the dongle. I'd rather see an emitter that plugs into the dock connector, then you could just flip the screen upside down to work it.

@sitruc I have gone thru every palm out there, from my old Pilot to the III, V, Handspring Treo, and Palm Treos up through the 650. I can say without exception, the built-in ports are terrible. I loved Novi remote, and used it regularly, but the only hardware that had an IR port that could shoot 25 feet was the Handspring, and that was with the extra Springboard IR Module.

I'd much rather see Logitech come out with an app/IR-WiFi adapter. I've used Harmony remotes for years and like the interface. Considering the cost of real universal remotes ($100-500 for decent Harmony remotes, and thousands for other Touch Screen options) $190 isn't bad to be able to control anything from anywhere. You can't change tracks from the back deck with IR!
Awesome! Windows CE! Only 12 taps to start a video! Sign me up!

Now that the snarkiness is out of the way, it does look pretty usable. Seems like Windows Mobile 6.5 with a custom skin would be a better choice. Trying to hit buttons and icons made for a mouse with a finger is troublesome. WinMo also has more current apps than Windows CE, if I'm not mistaken...
I hate to say it, but Apple did the right thing with the iPhone. It has OSX guts, but doesn't look or act like a Mac. It is a new interface built for fingers. This tablet would rock with big, finger-friendly controls!
Glad to hear the keyboard is better. My buddy has a Pre, and I hate, hate, hate the mushy, plastic-y keyboard. Better tactile and higher keys will be a welcome change. He's buying a Pixi for his wife, hopefully he won't want to trade!

maybe because Cupertino* crams more cells into less space. Not saying that's a good thing, but that's what they do. They sacrifice a small measure of reliability in order to get more battery life in a slimmer package. If even a hundred batteries explode a year, that's a tiny percentage of the millions of laptops they churn out each year.

*batteries don't come out of Cupertino. They come from at least 3 different manufacturers in China and Taiwan. In the same factories that make batteries for other consumer electronics devices.
"just Apple"

And Sony. And Dell. And HP. And Lenovo. And Samsung phones. And Microsoft Zune. And iPod Nano. And LG phones. and.......

you're either uninformed or just plain biased.


To be fair to everyone, there are hundreds of laptop batteries from all manufacturers that explode every year. But there are MILLIONS of laptops sold every year, so we're looking at 1/100 of 1%. Them's pretty good odds. Worry about driving or getting hit by a train. You have a much higher possibility of getting injured there!
I love mine. I use it with a 2009 MacBook Pro at work and an older 2006 MBP I have hooked up as a Media Center at home.

It may have some ergonomic issues for some, but I have GIANT hands, so I've never found a mouse where my palm can rest on the mouse, so the low profile doesn't bother me at all.

I've had no issues dropping connections, and love the scrolling and side-swipe gestures.

I don't miss the scroll ball at all. I do, however, miss the squeeze-to-exposé buttons that were on the Mighty Mouse.
just hold down the play/pause button for 3 secs. Nighty-night AppleTV...
Let the hive mind of Engadget get that for you.
"I'm in the market for a new phone and money isn't a limitation. I'm also not partial to any particular US carrier, but here are some of the features I'd like to have: WiFi, GPS, good coverage in lots of places, push Gmail (a must!), physical keyboard (a must!), a touchscreen, decent battery life and a relatively slim body. And please, nothing that has a fruit logo on it. No offense to the fruit fans, though. Thanks!"

Boss of the Year Entry Form

Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.