So Microsoft doesn’t like anticompetitive behavior, huh? Since when? Brad Smith, General Counsel for the Redmond rabblerousers, has posted a lengthy blog post outlining Microsoft’s concerns with “a pattern of actions that Google has taken to entrench its dominance” in online search and ads, which he claims is detrimental to European consumers. Funnily enough, half the post is about Google’s legal issues in the US, but we’ll set that aside for now. What this boils down to is that Microsoft is finally taking the gloves off — Google accused it of pushing other companies to do its dirty work — and is now adding its name to the list of objectors to Mountain View’s stranglehold on search in Europe. The European Commission is already taking a regulatory looksee at Google’s tactics, so this isn’t sparking off a new investigation, but it does add the glamor of two big names locking legal horns yet again. Hit the source link for Brad’s exposition of Google’s villainous wrongdoings.

Microsoft lodges antitrust complaint against Google with European Commission, ignores irony originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 03:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Perhaps JooJoo will be one of those things—you know, like David Hasslehoff or cheese fondue. Big in Europe. Maybe they’ll even sell more than 64? Available to France, Germany and the UK now, for €359.00/£319. [JooJoo via Blogeee] More »

The concept is this: have one vehicle leading (the engine if you will) and the other cars following behind electronically tethered together. When a vehicle wants to leave, the driver disengages the system, pulls out of the line, and the car behind pulls forward and fills the empty spot. If someone new wants to join the line, they simple pull up behind the last vehicle and engage the system. They are currently testing a system to Europe to make this a reality, using sensors and professional drivers to drive the leader cars. Once you engage the system, automated controls would take over and you relinquish control completely until you reach your destination.

[via Treehugger]

Continue reading HP Pavilion dv3 with multitouch screen spotted in the wild, we go hands-on

HP Pavilion dv3 with multitouch screen spotted in the wild, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As one of the last two Vista holdouts on HP’s online laptop store (the other being HDX16), we were wondering what was going on with the Pavilion dv3. Well, it’s still not stateside, but Germany and the UK can apparently pick up the Windows 7-equipped touchscreen dv3-2200 now for £799.99 / €899 (somewhere between $1,305 and $1,350, respectively, in comparable US currency), with difference of pricing based on the separate listings. Additionally, we spotted the 11.6-inch dm1-1000 — which was also leaked alongside the dv3 — with a 1.2GHz Celeron processor and that hot new OS from Redmond. We’re sure it’ll come to the US eventually, but for now we’re just gonna have to wait ever, ever so patiently.

[Thanks, Adam and everyone]

Read – Official HP dm1-1000 page
Read – Official HP dv3-2200 page
Read – PC World UK listing for dv3

Filed under: Laptops

HP’s Pavilion dv3 and dm1 wash ashore on European land originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Why, Nintendo — why? Americans have been buying your underpowered, kid-centric console faster than you can ship ‘em here for years now, and yet you ignore our innermost desires to see a Wii in some color other than white. Have we not made ourselves clear? Are our voices going unheard? Clearly, you’ve an ear for those in Europe, as folks in the UK and Ireland will be able to procure a dark Wii starting on November 6th as part of a limited edition bundle that includes Wii Sports Resort and a Wii MotionPlus dongle. The rest of mainland Europe will see the same bundle on November 20th, and as if that wasn’t enough, a black Classic Controller Pro and a slew of black Wii accessories will also accompany the package for those looking to stock up. Naturally, there’s no mention of a price, but considering that you’ll pay anything to join the still-limited black Wii party, it (likely) matters not.

[Via Engadget Spanish]

Filed under: Gaming

Nintendo shipping black Wii to Europe in limited edition bundle originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve given HD DVD’s bastard child China Blue HD its due for a good start in its native land, but now that U.K. Importer GBAX has made a few units available it’s time for English language buyers to at least consider this Blu-ray alternative. Of course, with a £259.99 ($413.22 U.S.) pricetag for this plain TCL player, AV and HD cables, plus 14 CBHD movies (The Aviator, Blood Diamond, The Invasion, The Island, Flood, Poseidon & 8 Chinese-only flicks) to get you started the barrier to entry is high, but as shown in the unboxing / preview video — embedded after the break, watch for ninjas — the experience is very familiar. As Format War Central points out, the 220/240Hz power cord makes things complicated for the U.S. and other places outside Europe, but hardcore HD DVD holdouts are used to a world filled with only Warner and Universal movies already, so why not give the other blue laser flavor a try?

[Via Format War Central]

Continue reading China Blue HD crosses over to the UK, third Opium War inevitable

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

China Blue HD crosses over to the UK, third Opium War inevitable originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Marge Simpson is going to be on the cover of Playboy on Oct. 16, and I don’t know whether to laugh, puke, subscribe, or shake my head in utter dismay. What I do know is that this is proof the magazine industry as a whole, and the formerly dignified adult magazine industry in particular, has lost it. And I think it means The Simpsons has finally officially jumped the shark, too. (Confession: I have the first 8 or 9 seasons committed to memory, but I haven’t watched it in years.) [SF Gate]

Kindle revelation of the day: While there may not be any extra service charges for the international edition (which costs just $20 more), the books themselves will cost more. This makes sense for roamers, certainly, since that effectively is the extra service charge, but it doesn’t make as much sense for people who live in other countries. In its defense (or should I say defence?) Amazon cites higher EU taxes on ebooks as a reason. [Guardian UK]

TechCrunch caught this great Fox News blip where some guy (former Bush Deputy National Security Adviser Mark Pfeifle) said that the founders of Twitter should be up for the Nobel Peace Prize next time around. And we all had a good guffaw. And then we realized, whoa, wait a minute, why shouldn’t this be taken seriously? It’s not always about Michael Jackson, folks. [TechCrunch]

Engadget reported that a leaked slide from a Microsoft Office presentation mentioned the eagerly awaited Windows Mobile 7 would be released to manufacturing as early as “Spring 2010.” Never mind that the Office team is in a completely different division of Microsoft than Windows Mobile, and that the company is not known for strong internal communication. If this is accurate at all, what it does (as Engadget also notes) is affirm what we basically already knew, that Windows Mobile 6.5 is a stop-gap and that WinMo 7 would come out as soon as developmentally possible, sometime in mid to late 2010. I don’t care when it gets here as long as it’s not a total piece of crap. [Engadget]

Well, it took two months, but the European Commission has finally decided that Microsoft’s idea for a Windows 7 ballot screen, in which users pick which web browser they want installed, is acceptable, saying it’ll give users “an effective and unbiased choice between Internet Explorer and competing Web browsers.” Previously MS was working on a custom version of the OS for EU shores, called Windows 7 E, but nobody was particularly fond of that idea. We’re glad to see the European Commission and Microsoft finally starting to warm to each other — maybe money can buy you love.

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

European Commission likes Windows 7 browser ballot screen, will probably fine Microsoft anyway originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 07:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So the PS3 Slim was an absolute monster at retail (look at us, using superlative adjectives on a Monday!), selling one million systems since its release. (Keep in mind that’s an old number by now.) How’s the PSP Go doing? It’s doing well, yes, but I don’t think we can call it a monster yet. Sales in the UK were up 120 percent in the week following its launch. We don’t have U.S. numbers yet. Sorry.

Are those numbers good? Yeah, they’re good, but, much like the PSP Go itself, they’re not out of this world or anything.

Sony Europe put out an OFFICIAL STATEMENT~! (yes, I’m ripping off Figure 4 Weekly) that reads:

PSPgo has performed in line with our expectations, driving 100 per cent incremental volume for the category and has benefited the broad PSP portfolio with PSP-3000 also enjoying a big lift. PSP software sales also having been a standout with both new releases GT PSP and FIFA 10 performing well.

Note that Sony said it’s performed “within” expectations; expectations weren’t exceeded. So I don’t know if we can attribute sales directly to the PSP Go, or to the pretty big releases in Gran Turismo and FIFA. Unlike the Europeans, I paid full price for my copy of Gran Turismo!

And now we play the waiting game vis-à-vis U.S. numbers.

Surely I’m not the only one who remembers Homer and the Sorny television?