How would you change the Drobo FS?

After years of pleading, the fine folks over at Data Robotics finally gifted you with a Drobo NAS. They called it the Drobo FS, but we all know what the real skinny is. But is the five-bay, Ethernet-friendly storage robot really a dream come true? We've had nothing but success with it in our Time Machine setup, but as with pretty much any networked drive, we've heard reports here and there of frustrations and complications. For those who have sprung for the FS, we're curious to hear what you'd change about the setup. Need more drive bays? Would you prefer a few extra interface options? Would you make the box a little less noisy? Go ahead and get honest down in comments below -- we know you need an avenue to vent after the week you just survived, right? 

Via DataRobotics

DMC's 5-inch Copia color e-reader landing this fall for $99, others to follow

It's fairly safe to say that DMC Worldwide's Copia e-reader family won't exactly make that estimated Spring 2010 ship date, but a new report over at The Wall Street Journal is cluing us in on a bit of a revised outlook. As of now, the first Copia suite of e-readers will "hit stores this fall in time for the holiday season," a suite that'll presumably include the 5-inch color (LCD) Wave 5 for $99, a 7-inch Wave 7 for $129, a 10-inch Ocean Color for $299 and a pair of E Ink-based options for $49 (Tidal) / $159 (Tidal WiFi). It doesn't seem as if the two Waves will include any sort of wireless connectivity, and given the LCD display, we're sure that battery life will be nowhere near as good as the marginally-more-expensive Kindle. That said, the user interface does look rather striking from afar, and if these manage to slip a bit further in price before that magical day in December, you could very well see a rush to stuff stockings with a member of this here family. Give those links below a poke if you're on the prowl for more detailed specifications. 

 

Via UberGizmo

Nokia N8 up for official €469 pre-order in Italy, available in September

Nokia's Symbian^3 flagship -- the 3.5-inch N8 with 12 megapixel camera -- just went up for pre-order on Espoo's Italian storefront showing an end of September availabilty. Now before you get up in arms about the €469 price tag (about $610), remember, the €370 estimated retail price announced was pre tax and pre carrier subsidy. That's just how Europe does things, deal with it. We're not seeing the preorder available elsewhere but we'll update you if that situation changes.

 

Via Nokia

HP crams Fermi-based Quadro 5000M GPU inside 17-inch EliteBook

Gotta live up to the name, right HP? NVIDIA's new pro graphics solution for mobile creatives, the Quadro 5000M, was unsheathed only yesterday but HP appears to have been first in line to get some of that new 40nm goodness. Electronista reports that the world leader in PC shipments is readying a 5000M solution for its 8740w EliteBook, which will bring 320 CUDA cores and a jumbo 2GB of dedicated memory to the party. That comes replete with the latest DirectX 11 and OpenGL 4.1 compatibility, naturally, as well as a bunch of pro-friendly computational enhancements. Dell's also going to be offering a 5000M-equipped rig, but lest you get too excited, bear in mind that getting the current best Quadro-equipped 17-incher from HP costs north of $3,000, so affordability is clearly not a priority here. Skip past the break for NVIDIA's joyous press release announcing the new Quadro chips. 

Via Electronista

HyperMac Stand doubles as an external battery for your iPad

Why settle for a separate iPad stand and external battery when you can have both in one device? Why indeed. That's the thinking from the folks at Sanho at least, who have just rolled-out the first-of-its-kind HyperMac Stand. It packs two slots that can hold your iPad at either an 18 or 45-degree angle (with or without a case), and a built-in 40-watt-hour rechargeable lithium-ion battery that promises to extend your battery life by a full 16 hours. Of course, that combination does make this one of the more expensive iPad stands around at $129.95, but that's not exactly too out of line when compared to a standalone HyperMac battery. Head on past the break for the complete press release.

Via  HyperMac

HTC makes Super LCD screens for Desire and Nexus One official

Welcome back to our "worst kept secrets" hour, where HTC has seen fit to release a PR blast informing the world of what it already knew: the Desire and Nexus One are getting Super (duper) LCD displays to fill demand that Samsung's AMOLED division cannot. 

Interestingly, HTC's statement says nothing of the Droid Incredible, a close sibling to these 3.7-inch devices, but the global Nexus One and Desire are getting hooked up "later this summer." CEO Peter Chou has also helpfully explained that the visual experience on the new SLCD screens is "comparable" to AMOLED, but offers better battery performance. Color us curious to see and hear more. 

Via Engadget

HTC Sense coming to Windows Phone 7, after all

 

Some cried and some cheered when Microsoft revealed that handset manufacturers couldn't reskin Windows Phone 7 devices wholesale. But as it turns out, at least one major OEM is still banking on software to help differentiate its phones. HTC's Drew Bamford told Forbes that Sense UI will still appear in the company's Windows Phone 7 creations, and believes it will live on in Android 3.0 (Gingerbread) as well.

"Microsoft has taken firmer control of the core experience," acknowledged Bamford, who added that Sense wouldn't be fully integrated into WP7 phones, but that HTC would "augment" the Microsoft experience with as-yet-undisclosed functionality of its own. As long as it doesn't eat up too much memory and processor time, right? 

Via Softpedia

Seagate FreeAgent 3TB Previewed

Crunchgear’s Matt Burns gave a quick hands-on with the new Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Desk 3TB. I’m pretty sure prolific downloaders as well as media professionals will be eyeing this new desktop drive though I concur with the reviewer that many will probably want their media in more than one drive. But 3000 GB really is impressive. 

Some takeaways are that Seagate gets negative marks on not bundling USB 3.0 and Firewire adapters with the device (you have to buy it separately) and it seems to have no eSATA as well. On the plus side, it’s quiet and solid with an external casing that’s easily removable for people who want to pry out the drive and stick into their desktop. 

This looks like the best solution if you want the most disk space in a single drive though personally, I’d rather slice up my storage needs into separate hard disks, just in case.

via CrunchGear

Toshiba’s Dualscreen Libretto W100 Gets A Sneak Peek

Toshiba shared one of their prototype Libretto W100 dualscreen laptops with Engadget and their resident portable reviewer Joanna Stern had a go at it. The Japanese tech company is planning to release the device next month through retailers including Amazon. Some of the highlights are the tandem operation of the two screens that maximizes the device despite being on top of a Windows 7 OS. You can configure it into many modes including a laptop mode that puts the keyboard on one screen, and a mode that splits the keyboard onto the bottom half of the two screens. There’s even a touchpad mode to help out if you need to. It does need a bit of work on the heat dissipation and the responsiveness of the accelerometer.

You would think that two touchscreen would be twice the fun, right? After all, the iPad was excellent and it only has one screen. Well, you better look at the price first since the Libretto will clock in at roughly €880 ($1,100), way too much for an unproven piece of tech. Maybe if Toshiba adds some excellent software to the mix that takes advantage of the dual screen but even then, the price point need to drop a bit for people to get interested.

via Engadget

Tesla Introduces New Roadster 2.5

The new iteration of Tesla’s electric sports car recently made its début, just a couple of days after the successful IPO of the company. The Roadster 2.5 is an upgrade of its 2.0 model and those lucky enough to have the previous model can purchase upgrades wherever possible. You can get the new model starting at €81,175 ($101,500).

Aside from the new look which you can see in the image above, the 2.5 also has directional forged wheels, a touchscreen display with back-up camera (optional), better seats that offer lumbar support and improved comfort, a quieter cabin and power control hardware.

Tesla introduced its electric super car last 2008 and reinvented the way vehicles were manufactured by infusing Silicon Valley tech, engineering and practices into their automobile production. The company boasts having the best battery technology for electric cars in the world and has over 1,200 cars sold, located in more than 23 countries.

via Tesla

Own a TRON Light Cycle for just $35,000

The Parker Brothers Choppers in Florida are selling off three working Lightcycle replicas like the ones in the upcoming movie TRON Legacy. If you’ve been dreaming of having your own Lightcycle ever since the first TRON and have the cash for it, better act quickly since there are only three of these babies left.

Each bike will set you back around €27,900 ($35,000) and each unit is custom-built and unique. Even the color is one-of-a-kind since they won’t make a bike the same color as ones already sold. To top it off, these are real, working motorcycles and not just something to sit on and pose for a photo-op.

I doubt buyers will be using these for their daily grocery run but the maker says they are built for street use. Each bike features hubless wheels, neon accents, a fiberglass body and either an electric or gas motor. Check out the link below for more info.

via Parker Brothers Choppers’ TRON Lightcycle eBay auction

Xbox 360 250GB Reviewed

New Xbox hit town recently, and Engadget has the low-down on the console. The Xbox 360 now has a glossy black case, housing a proprietary 250GB drive. It’s thinner but deeper than its predecessors and also comes with WiFi-N built-in. It also has more USB ports (five to be exact) and comes with a wireless controller. The best thing about it would likely be that it is compatible with Kinect, the grown-up version of the Wii’s motion sensing technology. All in all, it’s just a slight upgrade from the previous model so if you already own one, you probably won’t be interested in this new device just yet. It goes for about €240 ($299) at your favorite gaming retailer.

 

via Engadget

German ISP To Offer Android Tablet To Subscribers

We’ve heard ISPs offering anything from keychains to MacBooks in order to get subscribers hooked. German internet provider 1&1 will be manufacturing a tablet PC running Android that has all the basic specs we’ve come to know and love from slates of this sort. The 7-inch touchscreen SmartPad will have WiFi, an optional USB 3G modem, an SD card reader with 2GB plugged in, USB port, 500 MHz ARM11 procie, 256BM RAM and 1GB ROM. The company is the second biggest ISP in Germany and will likely bundle this with a 2-year contract and likely 3G coverage will be locked to them. No word if you can get this sans contract but if this proves popular, other ISP will probably jump to offering their own tablets just like what they did for netbooks. It’s expected to be available by the end of this month.

via SlashGear

Eagle Eye Lets Your Keyboard and Mouse In Your PS3 Party

Penguin United, a company established by gamers, has announced a new peripheral shooter addicts will surely want. The Eagle Eye lets you connect a USB keyboard and mouse direct into your console, giving you that PC first-person shooting experience the PlayStation 3 has been sorely lacking. Reviews of the device during the recent E3 gaming event praise the accuracy and speedy response of the commands. You can also program functions of one-button combos. Setup takes less than a minute and you’re off blasting away at enemy soldier, zombies and what not. While all this might give you an unfair advantage over opponents, I’m sure the $60 (€48) peripheral will at least assuage that guilt by letting you own each of your gaming rivals.

via Engadget