Coveting an iPad, but not willing to pay full price? If you happen to live in Austria and don’t mind committing to a two-year data contract, Hutchison’s got you covered. The carrier’s offering a 333 Euro (approximately US $455) discount if you sign up for a 29.90 Euro, 5GB monthly data contract. Sounds great, but frankly we still don’t know how much it’s gonna cost outside of the US — the foreign sites still list American prices, as far as we can tell. The other catch is that instead of offering the integrated 3G version, you’re getting a Huawei i-Mo 3G modem to create a personal WiFi cloud with the iPad. Elegant? Not really, but it’s still quite the deal (short-term, at any rate). No indication when Apple’s device will hit Austria, but we gotta imagine they wouldn’t set up such an offer without a short-term plan.

Hutchison Austria to offer discounted iPad with 2-year contract for i-Mo 3G modem originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Logitech Squeezebox Touch delayed, again originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC HD2 extended battery gets its close-up, lower price originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, this is disturbingly creative. Seriously, is there much more to say about this Kratos casemod? Well, Greek mythology and video game fanatics alike should be pleased yet horrified with this one. We certainly were. Video is after the break.

Continue reading Kratos casemod can bring ‘God of War’ to your desktop… if you really want that

Kratos casemod can bring ‘God of War’ to your desktop… if you really want that originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple might have surprised everyone — including us — by naming its tablet the “iPad,” but the UK’s X2 isn’t letting this opportunity pass it by: it’s managed to drum up some cheap attention today by announcing an “iTablet” powered by a “1.6GHz Intel processor” and running whatever flavor of Windows from XP to 7 your heart desires. Of course, what X2 isn’t telling anyone is that it’s actually not doing anything more than simply reselling the Amtek iTablet, a product that’s been out for ages and that we’ve covered in the past — you might recognize this early post by one Mr. Joshua Topolsky in which he said the resistive touchscreen looked “quite frisky.” How dramatically things change. Anyway, we don’t have a detailed spec list right now, but the Amtek iTablet has a 1.6GHz Pentium M, not an Atom, so this thing could potentially be a serious dog. Feel like making with the goods, X2?

Update: X2 tells Register Hardware that its iTablet will go on sale in April in both 10 and 12-inch sizes, but declined to say what kind of Intel chip is powering this thing. If we had to guess, we’d say they’re using the name and pictures of the older Amtek device to cash in on iPad hype right now while they get their actual product in order — and hey, it seems to be working. We’ll let you know if we see the real deal anytime soon.

X2 brings the Amtek iTablet back from the abyss, forgets that no one cared the first time originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It likely won’t be ready for your next vehicle purchase, but some researchers from Imperial College London say that this rather modest-looking piece of material could eventually do nothing short of change of the way that cars are powered. The material itself is still a bit of a mystery, as you might expect, but it’s apparently able to store and discharge electrical energy, and (here’s the real kicker) is strong and light enough to be used for a car’s bodywork — essentially making the car itself one giant battery. That would obviously open up a whole host of possibilities, including being used to complement traditional batteries for even longer runtimes, or being used on its own to make smaller and lighter vehicles. The applications also wouldn’t necessarily be limited to cars, and the researchers specifically mention cellphones as another area that could see smaller and lighter (or longer-lasting) devices if the material is used. Let’s get on that, shall we? Video demonstration after the break.

[Thanks, Clinton C]

Continue reading Researchers say new material could let cars be powered by their bodywork

Researchers say new material could let cars be powered by their bodywork originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When it rains, it pours, huh, Google? Not even a week after announcing the big multitouch update for its own Nexus One, Google has turned loose a new version of Google Maps that enables pinch-to-zoom support on the Droid. Of course, it was no secret that Android 2.0 had the framework in place to support this kind of stuff — Moto enabled it all by its lonesome on the Euro-spec Milestone — but it looks like this could be the watershed moment where multitouch finally becomes a must-have feature on Android devices across the board, as Moto CEO Sanjay Jha recently suggested would happen. The new version 3.4’s available as a software update in the Market right now, so grab it if you’ve got your Droid handy.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Motorola Droid gets official multitouch support — in Google Maps, anyway originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Back in the beginning of December, when Dell outed its business-oriented, 17-inch Precision M6500 laptop, it boasted some pretty meaty specs: Core i7 CPU, up to 16GB of DDR3 memory, a choice of ATI FirePro M7740 or NVIDIA Quadro FX 3800M graphics chips, plus support for up to three storage devices, and a 1920×1200 LED-backlit display. Well, it’s added some new configuration options today, including USB 3.0 and a Core i5 processor, making this one bad boy all around. There’s no word on the pricing yet, but the previously available Core i7 configuration runs around $2,700. We’ll let you know when we find out what these new options will cost you.

Dell Precision M6500 gets upgraded with USB 3.0, Core i5 options originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It looks like the tide is starting to turn decisively against Amazon’s $9.99 e-book publishing model — first MacMillan fought back and won, then HarperCollins dragged Bezos and Co., back to the negotiating table, and now Hachette is beating on the door. That’s at least the word according to a leaked memo from Hachette Book Group CEO David Young, in which he says the “agency” pricing model favored by MacMillan — and used by Apple new iBooks store — is the way to go. Ultimately this all comes down to power and control, and we’re getting the feeling the publishers have realized that they have to exert it in order to keep it — and oddly enough, it seems like Apple and the iPad are the leverage they’ve been waiting for. Get ready for the shakeout.

P.S.- Charlie Stross has a nice breakdown of the differences between the Amazon model and the agency model, if you’re interested in the nitty-gritty.

Hachette Book Group also pulls away from Amazon originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Telus hasn’t yet committed to a date for the release of its mighty Milestone, but no sweat — Best Buy’s happy to commit on their behalf, pegging February 18 as the date that Canadians will have access to their most powerful subsidized Android set yet. That’s really awesome, don’t get us wrong — but the other side of this win-win is that it’ll be the first time that a Milestone has been available with 850 / 1900MHz 3G, meaning this thing could become a boon for anyone willing to whisk a few across the border, assuming it’s not a nightmare to unlock (we doubt it will be). So yes, it’s true, if you really want to wait to get your Android-powered Motorola on through AT&T proper, you can hold out for the Backflip, but considering that the Milestone’s a more juicily-spec’d piece to start, you might just want to swing this way — assuming you’ve got a penchant for hacking and smuggling, of course.

Motorola Milestone looks set for February 18 launch on Telus; AT&Ters, get your unlocking pants on originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 12:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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