Zeebo heading to Brazil in May, India and Russia next year, China in 2011

We've talked about the Tectoy-backed Zeebo before, but now we've got a little more insight into its plan of attack straight from its presentation at this week's Game Developers Conference. The Qualcomm-powered, 3G-equipped game console is heading to Brazil first a little earlier and cheaper than initially anticipated -- it'll launch in May for the US equivalent price of $200, about one-third the cost of buying a Wii locally. It'll come bundled with a handful of titles and give you the option of download the original Quake and a few others for free. All the rest will presumably fall under that US $3 to $13 price range they announced in November. Following that, expect it to show up in Mexico later this year, India next year, and Eastern Europe sometime in the middle of 2010. China is expected to follow sometime in 2011. No word yet on when or if the company's planning to try its luck in other regions.

Filed under: Gaming

Lenovo ThinkStation S20 / D20 sport new Xeon CPUs, Tesla C1060 GPU

We have to say, we didn't exactly expect Lenovo to have any hard-hitting news emanating from the floor at Game Developer's Conference, but this is pretty swank. The company has just unveiled two new ThinkStation desktops, the S20 and D20, both of which are designed exclusively for specialized professionals in fields such as computer-aided design and digital content creation. Within, you'll find your choice of Intel's latest Nehalem-based Xeon chips (yep, the same 5500 and 3500 series as in Apple's newest Mac Pro), NVIDIA's Tesla C1060 GPU platform (or an ATI FirePro, if you prefer) and Windows Vista or RedHat Enterprise Linux 5.2 running the show. Hit up the gallery below for the specifications breakdown, and as for pricing, you'll find 'em in Q1 for $1,070 and $1,550, respectively. Full release is after the break.

Gallery: Lenovo ThinkStation S20 / D20 sport new Xeon CPUs, Tesla C1060 GPU

Gallery: Lenovo ThinkStation S20 / D20 specs

Continue reading Lenovo ThinkStation S20 / D20 sport new Xeon CPUs, Tesla C1060 GPU

Filed under: Desktops

Complete, nearly finalized Pandora gets shown off on video

Poor Pandora. It looks like the shock of actually being nearly finished has turned it stark white. The little trooper was still able to make it through its latest demo video though, and it looks to be running better than ever, with it sailing through Quake at the handheld's native 800 x 480 resolution and at a full 60 fps. Just as importantly, the d-pad, nubs, action buttons, and keypad are all now apparently in their final or nearly final states and seemingly up to their all-purpose tasks, as are the all-important blinkin' LED lights. Head on past the break for the full show, and keep your eye out for a promised follow-up video (including some Quake 3 action).

Continue reading Complete, nearly finalized Pandora gets shown off on video

Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds

The Daily Roundup: here's what you might've missed

	AT&T counting on new iPhone this summer; carrier apps to figure prominently? Rumor has it that AT&T's gearing up for yet another door-busting, riot-inducing summer filled with new iPhone hardware, which would certainly jibe with everything we've heard in the past few months		Ballmer: Zune's future might be as software on non-Zune devices Fear not, Zune lovers, your favorite media player isn't going anywhere -- yet.
	Samsung's NC10 successor, the N110, announced and reviewed There's nothing like a little surprise to get the week off on the right foot, so thanks to Samsung for getting us rolling.	Other news of import Get your votes in for the 2008 Engadget Awards! Acer A1 touchscreen Android phone to arrive in September? Dell Adamo battery not user-replaceable, says bearer of harsh truths
	OPPO BDP-83 universal Blu-ray player first impressions While we were cordially asked to withhold a "full review" due to the beta firmware loaded on, we are passing along less formal informational pieces.		Nokia's 7205 Intrigue for Verizon now available Right on schedule, the Nokia 7205 Intrigue for Verizon Wireless is online and ready for purchase.
Monster "HDMI Difference" scam still kickin' in Fry's Electronics Blockbuster hamstrings Total Access rental plan		Motorola cancels Alexander smartphone? Commercial Times: Palm "smartphones" delayed to end of year (updated with Palm's response)

ASUS promises voice-controlled Eee products by end of the year

For a company that gets so much (deserved) guff for endless, boring product iterations, ASUS also manages to sneak in a good amount of crazy functionality -- some of it more gimmicky than others. ASUS has been doing multitouch trackpads since before they were hip, is toying with dual touchscreens and is even crazy enough to build the Fold / Unfold computer. Next up for the firm is voice control, with a whole team dedicated to voice recognition, and plans to ship Eee PC and Eee Top products by Q3 or Q4 of this year. According to ASUS CEO Jerry Shen they're working with third parties in this effort, so we're guessing they're not going to reinvent the voice recognition wheel. Still, it's a promising development for a line of computers that seem to suffer most when it comes to input methods -- we'll wait and see how well they pull it off.

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Samsung NC310 netbook gets a price, official pics

Samsung didn't exactly skip over a lot of details when it announced its new NC310 netbook earlier today, but it looks like it's now clearing up a few remaining tidbits, and dishing out some new, polished up press shots of the long-lasting netbook for good measure. While there's unfortunately still no official US pricing just yet, the NC310 (or N310 as it's also being called) will apparently demand £399 (or $577) when it hits the UK in May, at which point it'll only be available in basic black, with blue to follow shortly thereafter (no word on the remaining colors). As you can see above, the official shots also reveal a bit more of a resemblance to some of Sony's high-end VAIOs than Samsung's current netbooks, though you'll of course still get Samsung's trademark glossy, piano black bezel. Hit up the links below for a few more shots, and the complete specs in case you missed 'em the first time around.

[Via Electricpig]

Filed under: Laptops

DJ Hero's site goes live, doesn't drop any clues, beats

A little while back, Activision -- the fine folks responsible for bringing Guitar Hero to the world -- confirmed that it was working on a similarly named new title, DJ Hero. Well, the official site's appeared, and though it gives us no information about the actual game itself, well, you get the idea, right? Please, please let the above setup work in cooperation with Guitar Hero so that we can finally fulfill our dream of playing the part of Mr. Hahn with the rest of our band, Linkin Park.

[Thanks, John D.]

Filed under: Gaming

Get your votes in for the 2008 Engadget Awards!

Time is running out folks! The nominations are in, the picks have been sorted, and now it's time for you, the reader, to help us judge the best in tech from 2008! We've put together a long, long list of the top selections -- all we ask is that you cast your vote for the gadgets nearest and dearest to your hearts.

Votes will be tallied until Wednesday, March 25th, 11:59PM EDT. Just head over to our convenient and attractive landing page and do your thing. After we've checked for abuse (just say no!) we'll publish the results alongside our own Editors' Choice picks the following week. May the best gadgets win!

Filed under: Announcements

Ballmer: Zune's future might be as software on non-Zune devices

Fear not, Zune lovers, your beloved media player isn't going anywhere just yet. Interviewed at the McGraw-Hill media conference, Microsoft's head honcho Steve Ballmer said that the hardware will continue to improve, but reaffirmed that its future may be as software / ecosystem found on other devices. "I won't say full steam ahead because that implies acceleration of investment," he said, "but we're going to sustain our investment." It's unclear from the transcription -- much of it paraphrased by The Wall Street Journal -- whether or not Ballmer had given any indication as to the future of the hardware itself. Of course, should one of those mentioned hardware improvements managed to take a notable bite out of Apple's iPod business, we reckon those investments will see an uptick. We've already heard that the service would find its way on non-Zune devices sometime this year, but mum's still the word on any details thereof.

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Dice speakers sure to be a fashion gamble

Buffalo's just unleashed some portable little iPod speakers that you might want to try to get your hands on. With an output of one hot watt, the Dice speaker series is sure to turn your morning commute into a tiny, slightly louder micro-party in an instant -- or, at the very least, it'll cool up your look a few notches. They'd make a perfect gift for the gambling addict in your life, too, but sadly, they're going to be a Japan-only release when they come out sometime next month for ¥ 2,814 (about $33). Check out another shot after the break.

Continue reading Dice speakers sure to be a fashion gamble

Filed under: Portable Audio