iPad pre-orders estimated at over 150,000 -- possibly ahead of iPhone rate

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/15/ipad-pre-orders-estimated-at-over-150-000-possibly-ahead-of-i/

Let's get this out of the way right up front: the estimated number of iPads sold in the first 72 hours is nowhere near official. And if the numbers hadn't been scraped together by a well known amateur Apple analyst who regularly trumps the pros then we'd be skipping the fruits of his black magic algorithms altogether. Nevertheless, Daniel Tello (aka, Deagol), has applied his proven approach of extrapolating Apple web order numbers to come up with a 120,000 total for first day iPad sales that slowed to 152,000 after 72 hours (not including iPads reserved for pick-up). Tello told Fortune, "My best guess, although very tentative given the early stage and few data we have so far, would be that they hit the 1 million unit milestone by the second week after it ships." For those keeping track, it took the original iPhone 74 days to hit 1 million. Quite an accomplishment if these numbers pan out (and that's a big if!) considering that only 3 to 4 million tablets are sold globally each year.

iPad pre-orders estimated at over 150,000 -- possibly ahead of iPhone rate originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NVIDIA's 3DTV Play finally solves the HDMI 1.4 gap for 3D Vision

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/15/nvidias-3dtv-play-finally-solves-the-hdmi-1-4-gap-for-3d-vision/

In case you hadn't noticed, there was some trouble brewing in the NVIDIA camp. After ages of reigning atop the land of stereoscopic 3D playback on the PC, NVIDIA is finally being confronted with a real, bona fide standard for 3D, with zero GPUs capable of meeting it. The current NVIDIA 3D Vision-compatible cards pump out the necessary pixels over DisplayPort or dual DVI plugs, while the official spec for 3D TVs is an HDMI 1.4 plug that accepts data from both frames at once. We were in doubt there for a moment, but it turns out NVIDIA's cards upgrade to 1.4 just fine, and all 3D Vision customers will be getting this as a free upgrade later this spring. NVIDIA will also be offering this 3DTV Play software in a standalone version for $40 to folks who don't want to bother with NVIDIA's 3D Vision stuff at all (with HDMI 1.4 you can just use the stereoscopic glasses that come with your fancy new 3D TV, no need for NVIDIA's setup). NVIDIA is naturally hitting all the high points of the 1.4 spec, with 1080p24, 720p60 (the official gaming spec), and 720p50. The cards will also support 3D Blu-ray. So, just about time to splurge big on that home theater PC? We don't know... is it just us, or does that guy and his couch look a little lonely?

NVIDIA's 3DTV Play finally solves the HDMI 1.4 gap for 3D Vision originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Iomega iConnect review: getting your printers, HDDs online has never been simpler

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/15/iomega-iconnect-review-getting-your-printers-hdds-online-has-n/

Iomega's iConnect managed to launch during the whirlwind that was CES 2010, so if you didn't quite catch it the first go 'round, here's hoping that you're paying attention today. In essence, the device is fairly simple. It's a small, port-filled slab that's designed to sit beneath or beside your current router or hub, and while we're certainly dumbing things down somewhat with this description, it's basically a variant of the Pogoplug. Equipped with four USB 2.0 ports, an Ethernet jack and an internal 802.11b/g/n WiFi module, the iConnect is designed to put your existing thumb drives, external hard drives and / or printers online. We've had less-than-awesome experiences in the past with devices that turn localized storage into network accessible storage, so we went into this overview with fairly low expectations. Much to our surprise, we came away duly impressed with the package that Iomega has assembled, so be sure to read on if this one has been sitting on your maybe-must-have list.

Gallery: Iomega iConnect unboxing and hands-on

Continue reading Iomega iConnect review: getting your printers, HDDs online has never been simpler

Iomega iConnect review: getting your printers, HDDs online has never been simpler originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FCC submits National Broadband Plan to Congress: at least 100M US homes with access to 100Mbps download speeds

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/15/fcc-submits-national-broadband-plan-to-congress-at-least-100m-u/

Right on schedule, the FCC has submitted its National Broadband Plan. There's a lot to go through -- note the calls for broadband benchmarking and pricing reports -- and we're still combing, but here's what we've noticed so far. The six goals set out for "the next decade" propose that every American have the affordable access (the key, oft-repeated phrase) to "robust broadband services," and, more specifically, at least 100 million US homes with affordable access to at least 100MBps down / 50Mbps up speeds. All communities should have at their disposal 1Gbps service, every first responder should have "access to a nationwide, wireless interoperable broadband public safety network," and here's an interesting one: every citizen should be able to use broadband to "track and manage real-time [home] energy consumption."

The appeal to our taxpaying wallets comes in the form of the FCC expecting the "vast majority of recommendations [to] not require new government funding", and that the 500MHz of spectrum going on auction is "likely to offset the potential costs." The plan, as the paper itself says, is in beta and be perennially in flux. Set aside 15 minutes of your day and hit up the PDF for all the details, or 25 if you're having to download over dial-up.

Update: Here's a friendly reminder to keep the discussion friendly and on topic -- that is, about the broadband proposal itself. All other comments will get deleted and the respective users run the risk of being banned.

FCC submits National Broadband Plan to Congress: at least 100M US homes with access to 100Mbps download speeds originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NPD: Mac sales up 39 percent in January and Febuary as iPod sales rebound

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/15/npd-mac-sales-up-39-percent-in-january-and-febuary-as-ipod-sale/

Well, it looks like it's not just iPad pre-orders that are possibly be beating a few expectations -- according to NPD, sales of Macs and iPods were also up over some estimates in January and February. More specifically, NPD's Gene Munster says that sales of Macs were up 39% year over year for the two months (ahead of estimates of 22%), which should translate to sales of between 2.8 to 2.9 million Macs for the full quarter, while iPod sales were up 7% during the same period, suggesting total iPod sales of between nine and ten million for the first quarter. That latter number may actually be the more impressive of the two, as it marks the first time iPod sales have rebounded into positive territory in a full sixteen months -- although that trend could just as easily be reversed again if, say, Apple rolls out a new iPhone that cuts into iPod sales.

NPD: Mac sales up 39 percent in January and Febuary as iPod sales rebound originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 19:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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