Ion-based Acer Hornet nettop specs leak out: 1080p HDMI playback, Wii-like gaming, $299

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/31/ion-based-acer-hornet-nettop-specs-leak-out-1080p-hdmi-playback/

Well, well, what's this? We just received a ton of information on that hot little Acer Hornet nettop we'd heard about a while back, and if this pile of documentation is as real as it looks, this thing could be the holy grail of cheap HTPCs -- not only does it support 1080p video playback over HDMI, the "Media Center" version will indeed come with a Wii-like remote that can be used for gaming as well as media control. Specs look more than decent for the targeted $149-$299 price range: the low end model pairs what sounds like an Atom N230 with 1GB of RAM and an 80GB drive preloaded with Vista Home Basic, while higher end models get 2GB of RAM, a 160GB drive, and a "Boxshell" quickboot OS in addition to Vista Home Premium. All this plus super-quiet sub-26dB operation and a slick diamond-shaped chassis designed to hang off the back of your flatscreen? We're potentially in love -- when you gonna make our dreams come true, Acer? Full spec chart after the break.

P.S. We know that upper-right image is a ripped Nintendo press image, but this slide actually leaked from elsewhere a month ago -- and unless someone's decided to go way beyond the usual fakery by meticulously crafting the 20-page technical and supplier info document and lengthy presentations we received today, we're thinking this is actually real and not some April Fools thing. Let's hope!

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Continue reading Ion-based Acer Hornet nettop specs leak out: 1080p HDMI playback, Wii-like gaming, $299

Filed under: Desktops, ! Home Ent ertainment

Ion-based Acer Hornet nettop specs leak out: 1080p HDMI playback, Wii-like gaming, $299 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 19:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Clearwire's Clear Spot portable WiMAX / WiFi router now official, coming early April

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/31/clearwires-clear-spot-portable-wimax-wifi-router-now-official/

Good news for those who happened to live in Portland -- and elsewhere in the years to come. Clearwire's announced that the CradlePoint-manufactured portable WiMAX-equipped WiFi router we saw back in January will be hitting stores in early April as the Clear Spot Personal Hotspot. Up to eight 802.11 b/g-compatible devices will be able to share the 4Mbps bandwidth. Price is $139 for the unit, but of course you'll have to pay The Man beyond that to actually use the service. The company promises more devices like this in the coming months.

Filed under: Wireless, Networking

Clearwire's Clear Spot portable WiMAX / WiFi router now official, coming early April originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 20:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon MiFi 2200 EVDO hotspot leaks out, will sell like Canadian bananas

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/30/verizon-mifi-2200-evdo-hotspot-leaks-out-will-sell-like-canadia/

It's not quite as sexy as the brushed aluminum version we saw back in December, but these leaked images showing a Verizon-branded Novatel MiFi 2200 personal hotspot are certainly enough to get the blood pumping. If you don't recall the concept, the MiFi is a battery-powered EVDO router the size of a credit card that can provide network access over WiFi for up to four hours on a charge. There's still a lot of details up in the air here, like how many devices can connect at once and the max data rate, but if this thing comes in anywhere close to its estimated $200 price tag we'd say a lot of those answers might not matter. Couple more pics at the read link.

Filed under: Wireless

Verizon MiFi 2200 EVDO hotspot leaks out, will sell like Canadian bananas originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony PSP hacked for use as PC status monitor

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/31/sony-psp-hacked-for-use-as-pc-status-monitor/

No money for a secondary display? No use for that worn-down PSP? There's hope for the future, friend. Hacker avi has discovered that Sony's handheld makes for a wonderful status monitor, providing a clean look at your PC's CPU usage, memory allocation and system temperature levels. All you'll need is a bit of training in Python, Lua for the PSP and a sister willing to stop watching UMD movies long enough for you to give this a go.

Gallery: Sony PSP hacked for use as PC status monitor

Filed under: Displays, Gaming

Sony PSP hacked for use as PC status monitor originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 03:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Thecus's N0204 miniNAS is world's smallest, apparently

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/31/thecuss-n0204-mininas-is-worlds-smallest-apparently/

We track a lot of things claiming to be the smallest or thinnest this-or-that, but, when it comes to network-attached storage, we can't say as we've been breaking out our rulers all that often. So, when Thecus says its N0204 miniNAS is the world's smallest, we'll take them for their word. Little bigger than an external 3.5-inch drive enclosure, the N0204 actually sports room for two 2.5-inch drives, serving them up concatenated or in RAID 0 or 1 configurations. Despite its size it still offers the same functionality of many of the bigger boys, including the ability to act as an iTunes or DLNA server, print server, and webcam host. It even allows hot-swapping. Apparently the only thing it can't do is tell you when it'll release or how much it'll cost when it does. For that we'll just have to wait and see.

[Via Legit Reviews]

Continue reading Thecus's N0204 miniNAS is world's smallest, apparently

Filed under: Storage

Thecus's N0204 miniNAS is world's smallest, apparently originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 09:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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