We heard back in January that Sony was looking to reface itself somewhat by introducing a minty fresh retail look that takes a note or two from the Apple and Microsoft shops already in existence, and for those lucky enough to find themselves in Nagoya this weekend, you can check it out in person. March 13th marked the opening of the all new Sony Store Nagoya, and with an ample of amount of glass, white demo stands and black overhead signs, it’s certainly one of the more seductive retail shops that we’ve seen. We’d bother knocking Sony for following instead of leading, but considering just how far the brand has fallen over the past couple of years, we’re just stoked to see it putting forth an effort to turn things around.

Sony opens idyllic new retail store in Nagoya, Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Mar 2010 09:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Longer battery life is high atop our list of gadget prayers, and the brainiacs at Stanford are one step closer to making our dreams come true with a new lithium-sulfur technology. Half of this trick lies in the silicon nanowire anode that the same team developed back in 2007, whereas the new cathode consists of a similarly commodious lithium sulfide nanostructure. Compared to present lithium-ion batteries, Stanford’s design is “significantly safer” and currently achieves 80 percent more capacity, but it’s nowhere near commercial launch with just 40 to 50 charge cycles (Li-ion does “300 to 500″) due to the compound’s rapid degradation. That said, we’re promised a theoretical quadruple boost in capacity as the technology matures, so until then we’ll keep that hamster running in our backpack.

Stanford develops safer lithium-sulfur batteries with four times the charge of lithium-ion cells originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Mar 2010 07:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, that was quick. Just weeks after hearing that Tesla would be nixing Roadster production prior to the world ending, it looks as if those planning to blow their life savings in the next 18 or so months took issue with the intentions. So much so, in fact, that Tesla has now “negotiated agreements with key suppliers that will increase total Roadster production by 40 percent and extend sales into 2012.” Better still, the iconic electric supercar will soon be hitting Australia and Asia, so even if you hit the relocate button in the next little while, you should still be covered should you choose to buy (or lease) in.

Tesla switches gears, plans to keep Roadster till 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Mar 2010 05:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You know what’s better than a stock 3.33GHz Core i7-980X Extreme Edition CPU? Not much, but we’re guessing that a 4.3GHz overclocked version of the same chip just might be. If you’re thinking the same, and you’ve got $1,044 to spare in order to find out, upstart gaming rig maker Origin PC has the means to get it to you. The outfit’s Genesis desktop can now be ordered with Intel’s freshest slab of silicon for $895, or you can snag an extra gigahertz for another $149. We know you’ll make the right call.

Origin PC offers overclocked 4.3GHz Core i7-980X Extreme Edition on Genesis desktop originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Mar 2010 02:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Jaxbot’s Windows Phone 7 Series Theme now available in beta (video)

Jaxbot’s Windows Phone 7 Series Theme now available in beta (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Mar 2010 23:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How do you know you’ve reached status as an internationally-recognized icon? When someone decides to make a Lego representation of you, that’s when — so our hats go off to you, BlackBerry Tour, for this distinguished accomplishment. Well-traveled Lego artist Nathan Sawaya was recently tapped to turn RIM’s global CDMA traveler into a life-sized monolith of plastic bricks, though with an unusual twist: his unnamed patron wanted a working video display, too, which required some “trial and error” to integrate. It might not fit in a pocket, but we reckon you could still find a belt holster that could swallow this thing. Follow the break for video!

Continue reading Lego-borne BlackBerry Tour probably still lacks WiFi

Lego-borne BlackBerry Tour probably still lacks WiFi originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Mar 2010 21:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just over a year ago, Dell pushed out its latest and greatest 24-incher, the energy-sipping G2410. Today, the Round Rock powerhouse has introduced that very unit’s successor (complete with a height adjustable stand), the G2410H. Still sized at 24-inches, this 1080p LCD monitor sports a variety of eco-modes, 5 millisecond response time, 160-degree (horizontal) / 170-degree (vertical) viewing angles, a native 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, ambient light sensor, 250 nits of brightness, a 1,000:1 contrast ratio and DVI / VGA inputs. We’ve had one in-house for around a week now, and for $339, it’s not a bad replacement to that 21-inch CRT that’s still weighing heavily on your desk. It’s not as sharp and brilliant as the (admittedly more expensive) UltraSharp U2711, but it was certainly clear enough for the average home user. It’s shipping now if you just can’t resist.

Dell introduces $339 G2410H 24-inch 1080p LCD monitor, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Mar 2010 19:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Beaming data with light is hardly a new thing, but lately we’ve seen a number of attempts at making it rather more usable and, more interesting, rather more speedy. We’re starting to get the feeling that those maybe/maybe not dangerous microwave-based systems have had their days numbered. The latest to beam bits with blinkenlights is a team at the Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications in Germany, which will be showing its stuff at the always happenin’ Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exposition in two weeks. The team was able to use a commercial LED and get an impressive 230Mb/s transfer rate, which doesn’t compare to the gigabit Penn State managed or 500mb/s Siemens pulled off, but those were done using rather more specialized hardware (like the Siemens rig pictured above). It’s interesting stuff, and we’re looking forward to see the commercial applications for this tech, but we do have one nagging question: what if you want to surf in the dark?

Another optical wireless experiment shows us that LEDs will beam your future downloads originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Mar 2010 17:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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[via Metafilter]

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How many SDK’s does it take to screw in a light bulb? You won’t find the answer in this week’s leaky edition of the Engadget Podcast Show, but you will get an exclusive chance to peer into the future of Paul Miller’s voiceover career.

Hosts: Josh Topolsky, Nilay Patel, Paul Miller
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Music: MPC2059 – The Beyonce Error

Hear the podcast

00:01:40 – iPad pre-order is go — will you buy one?
00:08:37 – iPad mute switch magicked into a ’screen rotation lock’ overnight, a flurry of other tidbits emerge
00:14:18 – Leaked Dell Streak flyer shows multitude of color options, confirmed specifications
00:14:35 – Microsoft’s Courier ‘digital journal’: exclusive pictures and details (update: video!)
00:16:35 – Leak: Microsoft Pink phones coming to Verizon, on shelves April 20th?
00:24:42 – JooJoo revamps interface ahead of launch, adds local video playback — and changes color
00:32:02 – JooJoo hits the FCC, reveals NVIDIA Ion, 3G card
00:35:17 – HP Slate makes an appearance to show off Flash, stays for a rock concert
00:50:24 – Palm’s webOS PDK beta adds Pixi native development, PDK’d apps will hit the Catalog mid year
00:51:07 – Android NDK hits Release 3, brings OpenGL ES 2.0 access to devs
00:51:30 – Microsoft shows off XNA games running on Windows Phone, full 3D is a go
01:04:38 – PlayStation Move: everything you ever wanted to know
01:11:45 – Joystiq and Sony VP Scott Rohde talk PlayStation Move
01:17:20 – Caption Contest: 3D is a mind blow, everyone can agree on that

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Twitter: @joshuatopolsky @futurepaul @reckless @ohnorosco @engadget

Filed under: Podcasts

Engadget Podcast 187 – 03.13.2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here lately, Navigon has been crushing it on the iPhone GPS front. Every couple of weeks, it seems that MobileNavigator is getting yet another fantastic update, all while TomTom’s lackluster offering hangs back in the land of complacency. Thankfully for us all, the outfit has just pushed out the v1.3 update, which adds real-time traffic (an unfortunate $19.99 add-on), Google local search, updated roadways, automatic music fading between text-to-speech instructions and the ability to add locations from other apps and websites. We’d still recommend Navigon’s software if you’re looking to buy into iPhone GPS for the first time, but this is certainly a boon for those already locked into the TomTom alternative.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

TomTom iPhone app hits 1.3, gains real-time traffic and Google local search originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Mar 2010 15:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nowhereelse found what amounts to be a sneak peek for a new version of Predator, now called Predators which I suspect will eat les balles. Oh well.

Read the original story at CrunchGear.

Whoa, Nelly! Isn’t this something? Apple has just posted details on its iPad battery replacement service, which is really not a battery replacement service at all. Check out the company’s opening line:

“If your iPad requires service due to the battery’s diminished ability to hold an electrical charge, Apple will replace your iPad for a service fee.”

Now, let’s compare that to the verbiage found in the iPhone’s battery replacement program details:

“If your iPhone requires service only because the battery’s ability to hold an electrical charge has diminished, Apple will service your iPhone for a service fee.”

We can see the puzzled look on your face from here, and we’re sharing in the same disbelief. Apple is actually saying that it won’t bother cracking open your withered iPad, replacing the battery and sending it back your way; instead, you’ll pay $105.95 (including shipping) for a completely different iPad, which certainly has its pros and cons. On one hand, you’re getting a new (or potentially refurbished, actually) iPad in around “one week,” but on the other, you’ll be waving goodbye to every morsel of personal data on the device that you send in — unless you backup beforehand, of course. Here’s Apple’s take on answering “will the data on my iPad be preserved?”

“No. You will receive a replacement iPad that will not contain any of your personal data. Before you submit your iPad for service, it is important to sync your iPad with iTunes to back up your contacts, calendars, email account settings, bookmarks, apps, etc. Apple is not responsible for the loss of information when servicing your iPad.”

Lovely, don’tcha think? Head on past the break for the full text.

[Thanks, David]

Continue reading Dead iPad battery? Never mind replacing it, Apple just sends another iPad for $99

Dead iPad battery? Never mind replacing it, Apple just sends another iPad for $99 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Mar 2010 13:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s always hard to confirm whether leaked pictures are authentic or not, but assuming this latest leaked picture of the Nokia C6 is authentic, it looks like the phone will be something like a Nokia Nuron that decided to grow a sideways-sliding keyboard. Do you think that this is what the Nokia C6 will eventually look like, or is it just a clever Photoshop job? Rumors are going around that the C6 is slated to be released in Europe this summer, so if you’re decided on this phone, you’d better start saving those pennies right now.

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Read the original story at Ubergizmo.

It looks like Lian Li isn’t the type of company to sit back and let Antec get all the attention with its Antec Skeleton test bench PC chassis, and now Lian Li has come up with its own PC-T1R Spider, which certainly looks menacing. One look at this chassis and you’ll have no doubt where it got the “spider” in its name from. Surprisingly, the chassis only seems to fit min-ITX motherboards, and a slimline optical drive, not to mention you’ll need to assemble the chassis yourself, reminding you of furniture that you bought from IKEA. The official pricing isn’t available just yet, but the PC-T1R Spider is expected to retail for around €150 ($205) and will be available in black or red.

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Read the original story at Ubergizmo.