Google's Boutiques.com Website and iPad App Launches [Google]

As we told you two days ago, Google's launched Boutiques.com—a fashion site (and app!) based on Like.com's image-recognition technology following their acquisition. It's very much For Women Only (unless you're buying!), but great for Google. [Boutiques via GoogleBlog]

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Boxee Box review

It's a little strange that the Boxee Box by D-Link feels like a late entrant in this year's crowded smart TV market -- the core Boxee software has been around forever, and the Box itself was announced way back in January at CES. But a platform switch from NVIDIA's Tegra 2 chip to Intel's Atom-based CE4100 platform cost Boxee and D-Link valuable time, while the Boxee software went through a dramatic UI transformation from the beta to 1.0. What's more, Boxee's gone from being an upstart rock'n'roll rebel to a legit market player, with a Netflix deal on the books and -- wonder of wonders -- an agreement to bring Hulu Plus to the Boxee Box sometime next year. That's a lot of changes, and, quite frankly, a lot of hype -- Boxee's dedicated fans are expecting the small company and its asymmetrical Box to show up no less than Apple and Google. So have Boxee CEO Avner Ronen and company pulled it off? Is the Boxee Box the ultimate connected TV device? Or has a punk rock media revolution turned into just another polite New Wave streamer? Read on for the full Engadget review to find out!

Gallery: Boxee Box unboxing and hands-on

Continue reading Boxee Box review

Boxee Box review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Nov 2010 16:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumors: Samsung Nexus S using fancy curved display Sprint had to pass on, HTC EVO Shift 4G is the Knight?

We've been fed some information by an established tipster today that paints an interesting picture of what sort of Android gear Sprint will -- and won't -- be getting next. First, we're told that the EVO Shift 4G trademark HTC recently filed for is the device known as the Knight, a downsized EVO 4G with a four-row sliding keyboard and a larger battery. Interestingly, as far as our tipster knows, the front-facing camera is off the table -- but in light of all the buzz around video calling these days, we wouldn't be surprised if it had been added back.

Perhaps more interesting, though, is some buzz around the display on the Nexus S. You might remember that we noticed it's concave on the front during its brief reveal at the Web 2.0 summit yesterday, an extraordinarily unusual design element for a full-touch phone. Well, our tipster tells us Samsung's been shopping this curved display technology to carriers for a while -- as early as CES at the beginning of this year behind closed doors -- claiming that its research showed such a design improved perceived usability over a perfectly flat display. Sprint bought the line and wanted to get a curved-display model on shelves in time for the holidays this year, but Sammy was apparently unable to deliver product in the volume it was asking for... so that's where the Nexus S might come into play; seems the Google-branded model could be the first to ship with it. We're unconvinced that it'd be any better, but our judgment is fully reserved until we've got a device in our hands -- which hopefully happens sooner rather than later.

[Image via xda-developers]

Note: Commenters are pointing out that the Dell Venue Pro also has a curved display, but it's a different situation -- that's longitudinally convex glass over a flat display. Here, it's laterally concave -- though we don't know whether the underlying AMOLED component is curved or not.

Rumors: Samsung Nexus S using fancy curved display Sprint had to pass on, HTC EVO Shift 4G is the Knight? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Nov 2010 18:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Griffin gets in the iPod nano watch game with colorful, protective Slap wristband

Find some of the current iPod nano watch options a bit too subdued for your style? Then you might want to consider Griffin's new Slap wristband, which looks to be among the most protective and colorful options to date. Made entirely of a soft silicone, the Slap is available in no less than eight different colors, and it completely encloses your iPod nano (save for the headphone jack) but promises to still let you control the volume and sleep / wake buttons through the case. Still no word on a release date, but you can expect this one to set you back the same $25 that most other similar wristbands seem to be going for.

Griffin gets in the iPod nano watch game with colorful, protective Slap wristband originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Nov 2010 19:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toshiba's newest hard drive is designed for 24/7 rugged use

It doesn't look like Toshiba's going to put an end to its awkward hard drive naming convention anytime soon, but at least we can call the new MK1060GSCX the "24/7 durable one." The 100GB, 2.5-inch SATA HDD is designed for "rugged operating environments" and continuous 24-hour operation. Obviously, Tosh has put this guy through the ringer -- it claims that the drive can withstand -15 to +70 degrees Celsius as well as operate at expanded altitudes. The sacrifice you make for that, however, is in speed -- the 4,200rpm drive has a 12msec seek time and 1.5Gbit/s interface speed. Of course, if you're looking for something faster -- one of Intel's latest X25-M SSDs would run circles around that. Toshiba will also offer an even smaller 80GB MK8050GACY version with a PATA interface. No word on pricing, but Toshiba expects the new drives to hit sometime in December -- hit the break for the full spec breakdown and press release.

Continue reading Toshiba's newest hard drive is designed for 24/7 rugged use

Toshiba's newest hard drive is designed for 24/7 rugged use originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Nov 2010 22:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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