Dell’s Inspiron 1525 / 1526 leak out, set to land next month

Posted Nov 20th 2007 6:31PM by
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Those pondering the purchase of an Inspiron should probably hold off for a month or so if you can, as it looks like suitable successors will soon be available for both. The 6.6-pound 1525 and 1526 machines are the 15.4-inch replacements for the aforementioned pair and should target small businesses / low(er)-end consumers. Initial specs sheets reveal that the 1525 will be based on the Santa Rosa architecture, while the 1526 gets AMD-powered and offers up an ATI Radeon X1270 graphics set. Furthermore, the pair will feature up to 4GB of RAM, WXGA / WXGA+ / WSXGA+ panel choices, SATA hard drives, an optional Blu-ray reader (1525 only), built-in WiFi, optional WWAN and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR. You’ll also find four USB 2.0 ports, a 4-pin FireWire connector, Ethernet / 56k modem, VGA out, optional HDMI, audio in / out, a 8-in-1 multicard reader, ExpressCard slot and your choice of Vista or Ubuntu Linux. Not much looks to have changed in the design department, and apparently, you’ll still be able to order ‘em with a custom lid color. Also, there’s no definitive word on price just yet, but you can safely expect ‘em to land in the same neighborhood as the units they are replacing when the duo ships to nearly every corner of the globe in mid-December.

Working Bug Labs hardware hands-on

Wednesday, November 21st, 2007

As a publication whose bread and butter is handheld gadgets, we’re obviously more than a little excited about ‘ upcoming LEGO-style DIY electronics kit, which allows users to affix various modules to a small, open-source computer and create such magical products as a GPS-enabled digital camera with built in 3G modem and motion detector. While we’ve — including the BUGbase and current BUGmodules — founder and CEO Peter Semmelhack invited us over today to check out some of the very first working applications, including the Linux-based PIM software you see running in the photos. Apparently we can expect pricing details shortly, as well as a demo of the final system in action, all leading up to an official launch before the end of the year. Check out the gallery below for even more hands-on action…

PlayStation Store for PSP goes live in the US

The online for the just quietly went live on our side of the world with two downloadable PSP titles, 16 PSone titles, and a handful of themes, wallpapers, and videos. Wipeout Pure and Syphon Filter: Combat Ops are the first two $10 PSP games out of the gate, and highlights of the PSone list include Twisted Metal 2, Crash Bandicoot, and Tekken 2, all for $6. The store requires the download of a Windows-only loader app to transfer files to your PSP — and now, after waiting all this for PS3-free downloads, we’re kinda wondering why we can’t sync up over WiFi. Eh, don’t let our grumpy whining bother you — go get your game on and let us know how things are working for you in comments.

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Solid Alliance celebrates with four-port USB cake

We’ve already seen and (er, an avid fanboy) get down with their bad selves and celebrate with cakes that represent their respective milestones, but Solid Alliance is out to make sure no one gets shunned from the festivities. That’s right kids, even the USB obsessed can find a reason to party down, as the limited edition four-port USB cake enables you to connect up a of to keep your person toasty while surfing through the cold, blustery days that lie ahead. Additionally, the cake comes with four strawberry flash drives, each of which pack a full gigabyte of delicious storage space. Better hurry, though — reservations are only being accepted through December 3rd, and you can expect the cake and all of its trimmings to run you a staggering ¥50,000 ($453).

[Via ]

Hands-on with miShare

Today we got an exclusive look at that unit we spotted last week, and it seems to do exactly what it says on the box. If you missed it, the miShare is a little Linux-based device with a pair of iPod docking ports that can shuttle files from one iPod to another. We got to see it in action with a pair of nanos, and the operation was pretty painless — if a little sluggish, they’re claiming about 500K a second, at the low end of the USB 2.0 spectrum. The process involves plugging your iPods in and pushing the center button once they’re both mounted. You can select on the miShare whether you want pictures movies or music, and the device will automatically transfer the last played or viewed item of that type. If you hold the button down for a second it’ll instead transfer the iPod’s On-the-Go playlist. You’ll probably have a bit more trouble getting the files you’ve received onto your computer (hint: you’ll want to enable manual library management) but instructions are included to make it as painless as possible. The miShare itself is battery powered, and can be charged with an included AC adapter. You should be able to pre-order the unit within a week, and shipments are set to begin next month. The device has been designed and marketed from start to finish by a pair of guys that’d love to hear your suggestions, so be sure to sound off in the comments.