The Engadget Interview: Ryan Bidan, BlackBerry PlayBook senior product manager

RIM held a little PlayBook party here in New York yesterday, giving us a chance to hang out with Ryan Bidan, the company's senior product manager for the seven-inch tablet. In addition to chatting with us about battery life, connectivity, and pricing, Ryan clarified the PlayBook's app development model -- athough devs can choose to work with native code, Java, Adobe Air, and HTML5 / WebWorks, the idea is for the ultimate user experience to be seamless, and RIM is considering offering standard UI widgets for each environment. We also had to ask about those swirling rumors of Android support, and while we commend Ryan for his practiced non-answer, we can't help but feel we detected a hint of a smile on his face. Or was that just another tray of snacks going past? Check the video and decide for yourself.
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Engadget reader meetup tonight in San Francisco at 6:30PM PST! Win a limited edition gold Xoom!

By Nilay Patel posted Feb 25th 2011 3:35PM That's right human beings -- it's happening again! The Engadget crew is getting together their best party outfits and shipping out west for another installment of our fabulous reader meetups. Our last event in NYC drew loads of people and was an all around blast, and the San Francisco installment is sure to be just as explosive (or maybe more? c'mon... show us what you've got). This time around we're partnering with Sprint, as well as Sony PlayStation, Motorola, HP, Roku, Samsung, VUDU, RIM, Sling, Sonos, HTC, Corning, Sphero, OnLive, Plantronics, Snapstick, and more to bring you a night of gadget geeking, delicious foodstuffs, and some awesome music (provided by none other than our podcast producer, Trent Wolbe). Also, a whole mess of the Engadget editors will be on hand to entertain and inform, so if you have any pressing questions -- jot them down! Oh, and don't forget to include the hashtag #EngadgetSF in your tweets!

And did we mention there will be tons of serious giveaways for people in attendance? Because there will be. You seriously don't want to sleep on this. For instance, one lucky attendee to the event will walk away with a super limited edition gold Xoom (being gifted to this year's Oscar nominees). Check out an image and info after the break!

The all ages shindig will take place tonight, February 25 at City View at The Metreon, which is located conveniently in downtown SF. If you're a nerd in the city, you most likely already know what we're talking about. The doors will open at 6:30PM, and capacity is limited to 1200 people -- so if you want to get inside, get there early!

Update: A quick update on where to go -- the line is forming at 4th Street and Mission. Yes, there will be a line, but word is Sonos has brought a taco truck! Yes, free tacos starting at 3pm! [Scratch that, taco-palooza begins at 4:30!]
Above, just one of the many giveaways -- a special, limited edition Xoom in gold. Here's what Motorola has to say about it: The limited edition gold Motorola XOOM in a custom leather envelope case is being provided to an exclusive group of stars--the hosts and nominees for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Director.
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Ask Engadget: best (non-ugly) noise-cancelling Bluetooth headset for drowning out office noise?

By Darren Murph posted Feb 24th 2011 11:59PM We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Simon, who seems to be not-so-secretly hoping to drown out his entire office. If you're looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

"I need a headset which can block out the background from a busy office. I'm talking repetitive noises such as drilling, background chatter, keyboard clattering, computer fan whirring and the endless static from our building's air conditioner. I would love if this headset had a fair to good quality of sound for MP3s, and it would of course have to have a good microphone for IP phone telephony and Skype. If it didn't look like something from Radio Shack that would be a bonus, and if the microphone was a bit discreet for street and airplane use that would be an added benefit. Lastly the connection to a workstation could be both USB and Bluetooth, with a preference for wireless. Thanks!"

Bluetooth headsets have evolved quite a bit since the last time we had this discussion, so we're curious what you're currently using to make work a wee bit more bearable? No need in keeping secrets, right? Speak out in comments below!
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The winners of the 2010 Engadget Awards -- Editors' Choice

By Engadget staff posted Feb 25th 2011 2:02PM

The results are in, and well over 100,000 of you voted in the 2010 Engadget Awards. The Readers' Choice picks were just the tip of the iceberg, friends, That's right, the editors of Engadget have opinions, too, and here they are. Join us after the break for the year that was 2010 in gadgets.

The iPad won this one going away -- there's just no denying the influence Apple's tablet had on the industry this year. But we think the Evo 4G will be remembered as the first of an entirely new breed of smartphones, and that's pretty amazing too.

Runner-up: HTC Evo

Though it might not be the single worst product we saw in 2010, the sheer magnitude of the Kin's failure -- measured in the hundreds of millions of dollars -- takes it to the top of our list.

Runner-up: Fusion Garage JooJoo

iOS may be leading next phase of the mobile gaming revolution, but the NGP oozes raw power that's light years ahead of any other gaming handheld ever announced. We like power.

Runner-up: HP TouchPad

We went endlessly back and forth on this one, but in the end the iPhone 4 won out -- it's simply a more polished device than the Evo, and it set a dramatic new quality standard for mobile displays.

Runner-up: HTC Evo

Let's face it: Desktops are on their way out. Primo parts are preponderant, but the best machine you can buy today is the one you build yourself. We'll continue to write about towers on Engadget, if innovative ones appear, but unless there's substantive change, we're retiring Desktop of the Year.

Sure, HP unleashed its Envy line last year, but the Envy 14 corrected all of the original wrongs. Its aluminum chassis, Core i5 power, and Radiance display, truly make it the best PC on the market. That said, there's no denying the significance of the MacBook Air's new solid-state storage and speedy resume times.

Runner-up: Apple MacBook Air

The ASUS Eee PC 1215N is the netbook evolved. Thanks to the 12.1-inch laptop's NVIDIA Ion graphics and dual-core Atom processor, it can handle gaming and full HD. Google's Cr-48 may stand in stark contrast to that, but it's got one beautifully minamilstic chassis and is the first laptop to come with Chrome OS.

Runner-up: Google Cr-48

1080p video at both 24 and 30fps for well under $1,000. Need we say more? The T2i set a new bar for mass-market DSLR video performance, and 18.7 megapixel stills at ISO 6400 are nothing to sneeze at, either.

Runner-up: Sony NEX

The Kindle 3 isn't necessarily the most exciting e-reading product we saw last year, but its ubiquity and price point have legitimized the market in a way nobody else has. The fact that it's almost impossibly small and light doesn't hurt, either.

Runner-up: Nook Color

Though it was invented decades ago, Corning's Gorilla Glass finally found its calling in 2010 with a plethora of manufacturer agreements for phones and tablets, and it's helped to take some of the worry out of throwing your gadget in a bag or pocket unprotected.

Runner-up: Apple Retina Display

How many new game consoles came out this year? Not many, but the one that kept us playing longest was our shiny black Xbox. The Xbox 360 S made an already-great system more reliable, and the Kinect is poised to do amazing things. Honorable mention: OnLive, for making cloud-based gaming real.

Runner-up: OnLive Game System

What's the best thing you can buy for your game console, other than another disc? We'd recommend a motion controller, like the Kinect or PlayStation Move. Unfortunately, neither shipped with a killer app, but we'd give Kinect the edge -- hacks demonstrate the potential for fabulous game experiences.

Runner-up: PlayStation Move

Standalone GPS devices may be on their way out, but Garmin's still showing folks how it's done with its nuvi 3790t -- a sleek, feature-packed unit that almost makes us wish it were a phone. If you're not the standalone sort, however, the latest version of Google Maps for Android is tough to beat.

Runner-up: Google Maps v5

3D features may be the headliners for our winner and runner up, but amazing 2D image quality propelled Panasonic's VT25 to the top of the wanted lists and Sony's slick monolith style plus local dimming LEDs were a close second.

Runner-up: Sony Bravia HX909

Netflix's Watch Instantly was unquestioned in its status as a must-have app for media devices this year (want to know why Boxee didn't win for 2010?) while the iPad found a surprisingly cozy place as remote control / second screen for your TV watching pleasure.

Runner-up: Apple iPad

Microsoft's Kinect 3D depth camera was originally designed for the Xbox 360, but it proved to be the year's most fantastic hackable toy when interfaced with a PC. Our runner-up: the first mass-market quadrocopter, the AR.Drone, a veritable flying platform for hacks of its own.

Runner-up: Parrot A.R. Drone

Now in its fourth generation, the iPod touch is more dominant than ever, and with good reason. It's caught up to the iPhone 4 in terms of most key specs, and the App Store remains a huge advantage over the rest of the non-phone competition. If storage and sound quality is key, though, the Cowon X7 is tops.

Runner-up: Cowon X7

Shuttle delays pushed its trip to space into 2011, but Robonaut 2's been ready to go for months, and has offered us all a hope that humans and robots can work together in harmony. GRASP Labs' quadrocopters, on the other hand, are terrifying autonomous bots that can move in packs and fly through hoops.

Runner-up: GRASP Labs quadrocopters

Love it or hate it, it's hard to argue that the iPad didn't set off this year's tablet mania encompassing dozens of manufacturers and virtually every major mobile platform -- and its influence will likely be felt in the industry for years to come. Oh, and it's a pretty solid device in its own right, too.

Runner-up: Galaxy Tab

Jawbone has emerged as one of the premier Bluetooth headset manufacturers, thanks largely to its NoiseAssassin technology that it's been refining over the past several years. The Icon is no exception -- and its support for software updates is a nice bonus.

Runner-up: iPod Nano

Though it was beaten to the US market by MetroPCS, Verizon's deployment of LTE marks the beginning of a sea change in the American wireless industry -- a change that'll bring us much faster data.

Runner-up: AirPlay
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Live from the Engadget reader meetup in San Francisco (live video!)

10:01PM We're about to wrap up here. Thanks for tuning into the livestream!

8:04PM We're kicking off the giveaways! Are YOU ready!?


8:02PM And the Diet Coke is just flowing...






7:33PM Official Engadget CES 2011 jam playing right now! Rihanna ft Drake – What's My Name (Chopped... and screwed)! You know, you want to listen! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQYOQyxWHJM

7:03PM Don't feed the Engadget editors!



6:55PM Some of our younger readers.

6:37PM And yes, HTC brought the new Merge and Arrive! Hands-on here and here.


6:25PM We're just about ready inside. These gadgets are just begging to be touched...






6:14PM Man, the line outside is crazy! There were a few issues getting the taco truck parked (yes, they did a U-turn in the middle of the street), but it's up and running now!Have you heard? We're having a party tonight and you are invited! If you happen to be in San Francisco, we'll be here at The Metreon playing with the latest gadgets from loads of companies, including Sony, Motorola, HTC, HP, and Jawbone. It all starts at 6:30PM and goes until 10:30PM. Oh, and did we mention there's awesome music and a taco truck parked outside? As you can see, the line is already around the corner, but there's plenty of room. If you can't make it, we'll be liveblogging and uploading tons of pictures in this very post. All the details on how to get here and what to expect can be found right here.
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