Pretty impressive, isn’t it? Meizu sure has made a wise decision to launch its M9 Android Froyo phone on the first day of 2011 which, like most other countries, happens to be a public holiday in China. According to some Meizu fans (aka “Mei-yo” or literally “friends of Meizu”) outside one of the two Shenzhen stores, there were already about 60 people lined up outside at around 6am. A few of them even braved the cold weather since 8pm last night, despite CEO Jack Wong actively discouraging such hustle on the forum for the sake of people’s health, promising “all the flagship stores will have sufficient stock” for all pre-orderers. Meizu wasn’t keen on giving us an official number, but the two Shenzhen stores alone could’ve easily served several thousand customers this morning. With no limit on how many units each person could pre-order (¥2,499 / $379 for 8GB, and ¥2,699 / $409 for 16GB), you can imagine Meizu’s assembly lines working long hours to supply its stores from 28 other provinces in China. Meanwhile, somewhere out there, Mr. Wong is happily checking his bank account. Video after the break.

Continue reading Meizu’s M9 launch amasses thousands of Jack Wong fans across China (video)

Meizu’s M9 launch amasses thousands of Jack Wong fans across China (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Jan 2011 07:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, certain information, though scarce, regarding the Donkervoort D8 GTO now could be seen on Christmas cards that the company has sent out. This has added to the delight of auto lovers, and in a way has set the holiday cheers. Thus the first look of the open wheeled vehicle is out.

As per the teased images by the Dutch car maker, the new model will have a carbon fiber and steel chassis, claims to be “extensively tested at the 24 Hours of Dubai.”

The car will be powered by the Audi TT-S’ 2.0-liter TFSI petrol engine with 200 kW (268 hp / 272 PS) and 350 Nm (258 lb-ft) of torque.

The model is likely to be unveiled early next year. The teaser via the cards comes as a hint to the fact that the car is ready for a New Year release. The auto world expects the vehicle to make its public debut most probably through the Geneva motor show to be held in March.

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Among the many new-product announcements that have been released in the time leading up to CES, word on the web is that Dell will launch a new Latitude 2120 netbook at the Vegas convention next week. Apparently, the 2120 has specs identical to the previously available 2110, but gets double the computing power of the single core Intel Atom N470 chipset in its predecessor courtesy of a dual core N550 processor. While the upgraded processor is the big news, sources indicate the newest Latitude gets an optional Broadcom Crystal HD video accelerator, which should be a welcome addition for those students planning to watch March Madness during that 10AM lecture this spring semester. No word on price or availability, so interested parties will have to wait until the official launch for such details.

Dell to launch Latitiude 2120 netbook at CES? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Jan 2011 01:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re not exactly sure of the cause of this fancy new issue affecting Apple’s super cool iPhone line of cellphones, but apparently you’ve got trouble come 1/1/2011. According to an explosive stream of frustration-filled tweets on the Twitter microblogging service, when the clock strikes midnight, one off alarms will cease to sing out. The issue sounds eerily similar to recent Daylight Savings Time trouble we witnessed back in November, although we saw both repeating alarm and single alarm failures, respectively.

So how can you fix this potentially life-ruining problem? Well until Apple patches its OS — and it’s currently unclear if this is just iOS 4.2.1 or earlier versions as well — you can simply create a recurring alarm at the time you need to be woken up, and then disable it once your dreams are completely ruined. We’re taking a deeper look into the issue and have contacted Apple — if we get more news, you guys will be the first to know. In the meantime, feel free to commiserate in comments, and… happy new year?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

PSA: iPhone alarms not working come New Year’s Day 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Dec 2010 21:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Automaker BMW is considering the i8 moniker for its hybrid supercar Vision EfficientDynamics. The manufacturer has recently trademarked various “i” names and logos. BMW plans to create a sub-brand from its “Project i” set of vehicles.

Earlier, speculations stated that the vehicle might be tagged as i1 or i100. But the company is likely considering the i8 name amongst a group of others. Since the naming process involves a lot of market research and analysis, it is assumed that BMW has not yet fully completed and officially confirmed the name.

The use of the number 8 does make sense in fitting this large supercar above the 6-Series and 7-Series as was done with the never-seen M8.

BMW Vision EfficientDynamics will be taken to production in 2013 and is scheduled for a 2013 debut as a 2014 model.

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It’s become common practice to use services such as bit.ly to shorten URLs, but this is usually done using a bookmarklet script, which only works in web browsers. This Automator service allows you (on OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard) to select a URL in any application and shorten it using the bit.ly API.

First of all, you’ll need to open up Automator (Applications > Automator) and create a new Service by double-clicking the Service icon. If you don’t see this option when Automator starts, go to File > New and the new workflow screen will show.

At the top of the right-hand panel, there are two drop-down lists. Change the first to say URLs and leave the second on Any Application. Leave the Replaces selected text box unchecked.

Now, in the left-hand column, under the Utilities category, find Run Applescript and drag it over into the workflow on the right.

In the right-hand panel, replace the placeholder text in the Run Applescript action by copying and pasting the following script:


on run {input}
set inputResult to (input as string)
ignoring case

if (((characters 1 thru 4 of inputResult) as string) is not equal to "http") then
display dialog "Invalid URL"

else
set curlCMD to "curl --stderr /dev/null \"http://bit.ly/api?url=" & input & "\""
set tinyURL to (do shell script curlCMD)
return tinyURL

end if
end ignoring
end run

Next thing to do is add a Copy to Clipboard action from the Utilities category underneath the Applescript action. This grabs the output from the script and copies it to the clipboard ready for you to paste wherever you want.

Finally, you need to save your Service so that you can access it in other applications. Call it something sensible like “Shorten URL” or “Send to bit.ly” so that it’s obvious what goes on when you run it.

Once you’ve saved it, you can test it out by selecting a URL, right- or control-clicking and choosing the name of your service (in my case, it was “Shorten URL”).

Once you’ve activated the Service, wait a couple of seconds while the script contacts the bit.ly API, then paste into your browser. You’ll see that a bit.ly URL has been created, and if you follow it, you’ll be taken to the original page whose URL you originally selected.

If right-clicking isn’t your thing, and you prefer using the keyboard, you can go to System Preferences > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > Services and set up a keyboard shortcut. Now when you have text selected, just use that keyboard shortcut and you’ll get your short URL.

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You may have some cash on hand from the holidays, and buying a Mac is as good a way as any to spend that money. But when it comes to buying a new Mac, people seem to have an idea what they want, but aren’t sure exactly if that matches up with what they need. Here’s some advice to help you answer that second, more crucial question.

Only need access to information in order to make decisions?

One unfortunate hand-me-down that iOS devices have inherited from their iPod ancestors is that they are all tethered devices. You need either a Mac or a PC to take advantage of many of the iPad’s feature, by design, making the iPad incapable of replacing someone’s only computer.  It’s puzzling to see a Mac, a USB cord, iTunes and an Internet connection listed as system requirements for what is marketed as a standalone computing device. Still, if you already have a computer, and you’re looking for something that grab info for quick scanning and play media, then the iPad is perfect.

Need a travel buddy?

If you’re trying to decide between the Air and the iPad as a mobile solution, consider how far you’ll be traveling, and for how long.  While the iPad is a perfect companion around the office or even for intra-city adventures, if you plan on being gone longer than a day, then the 11-inch Air would be the better choice. When away for even a few days, having access to the software available on OS X as well as being able to utilize a keyboard will be a welcome benefit of the 11-inch Air over the iPad.

Creating content on the go?

If you’ll primarily be creating content and media, or regularly use multiple applications, then the MacBook Air 13-inch may be the better choice than the 11-inch Air. The screen size of the 11-inch will prove to be a little challenging when utilizing multiple applications. While Exposé and Spaces will certainly help, sometimes the extra bit of screen real estate is what’s needed to get the job done.

Creating advanced content on the go?

If you do more than just simple graphic design, preparing office presentations and charts, or writing, then consider stepping up to something a little more powerful: the MacBook Pro. If you’ll have regular access to larger secondary displays, then the 15-inch model is the one to get. If a secondary monitor isn’t often going to be an option, then consider the 17-inch, but go to the Apple Store first and decide if you want to carry one around first.  Both the 15-inch and the 17-inch MacBook Pros have the specs to handle most tasks, including video editing, photo manipulation, graphic design and more.

Will you be sharing with others at home?

Perhaps your family shares a household computer; which Mac is the right Mac to hold down the fort?  That all depends on whether or not you have and are satisfied with an existing keyboard, mouse and monitor.  If so, get a Mac mini, since it’ll save you a bunch of money, but if not, get an iMac.  As for which size iMac, get the 27-inch if your budget allows. No one has ever wished they got the smaller monitor after purchasing the big one.

Do you tend to do a lot of really demanding things all of the time?

If you work on massive video projects that require lots of rendering time, use multiple virtual machines simultaneously, or if your Mac is used as a serious gaming machine, you probably need the power and expandability of a Mac Pro.  Keep in mind that not every Mac Pro will outperform some iMac configurations, but you can customize them after the fact.  With its dual Super Drives and expansion capabilities, you can add plenty of memory and storage to a Mac Pro. Having more cores allows it to do more things at the same time.

Whichever you choose, it’s still a Mac

A new computer is a major purchase, so there will almost always be second-guessing that goes on after you’ve made your choice. At least with Apple, you can be confident that whichever Mac you choose, your decision was overall a good one.

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