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Dell Adamo XPS alive and kicking, back for order on Dell.com

Well hello again, Dell Adamo XPS. Though the incredibly thin and uniquely designed laptop disappeared from Dell.com last week and we received official comment that it was a “limited edition product with a finite number of systems available,” the Adamo XPS has reappeared in its $2,000 glory on the company’s site. According to Dell’s blog, it was merely just a move to restock the inventory and direct customers to retailers that had fresh stock — well why didn’t you just say that Dell! And do not fear about the Adamo brand, Dell reports that all is well as it starts to apply the design to other lines, just as we saw yesterday with the Vostro V13. We’re still a bit confused by the reappearance, but it sure is good to see you again, Adamo XPS. We wish you a long successful life with many many price drops.

Dell Adamo XPS alive and kicking, back for order on Dell.com originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung’s 3D BD-C6900 Blu-ray player now shipping, for real

The last we heard of Samsung’s BD-C6900 Blu-ray player it was up on Amazon for a pre-order — and then it was mysteriously gone again. We’re not sure whether anyone clicked the button quickly enough to get one of those into their shopping cart and onto their credit card statement back then, but even if you missed out then it is actually shipping now. At least, it is according to Amazon, which lists the thing as “In Stock.” The price is still $399.99 and for that you get 1GB of integrated memory, “explosive 3D capabilities,” DLNA streaming, and of course that lovely skylight to show off the spinning blur of your latest library addition — or Netflix rental.

Samsung’s 3D BD-C6900 Blu-ray player now shipping, for real originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Mar 2010 07:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Origin PC offers overclocked 4.3GHz Core i7-980X Extreme Edition on Genesis desktop

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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Opera Mini 5 on Android mini review

Opera’s Mini 5 beta finally hit Android in the wee hours of this morning and, while writing about what it looks like is nice, we thought a little walk-through to demonstrate the impressive speed of the thing was worthwhile. So we have a short video for you below, with a comparison against the stock Android browser, plus some impressions of just how it is to use. So, click on through, won’t you?

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Opera Mini 5 on Android mini review originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ask the attorney: What’s the best way to split equity?

(Editor’s note: “Ask the Attorney” is a weekly VentureBeat feature allowing start-up owners to get answers to their legal questions. Submit yours in the comments below and look for answers in the coming weeks. Author Scott Edward Walker is the founder and CEO of Walker Corporate Law Group, PLLC, a boutique corporate law firm specializing in the representation of entrepreneurs.)

Question:  My two friends and I have been working on a new venture for almost a year.  Our site is in beta and we actually have a few customers (it’s a subscription-based model).  We’ve spoken to a lawyer about incorporating, but we don’t know how to split-up the stock.  Should everyone just get one-third?

Answer: Not necessarily… The splitting of equity is a significant business decision, which must be negotiated among the founders based upon their respective contributions to date and their expectations going forward.  Simply dividing the shares equally among the three of you may sound fair on its face, but it’s usually not the correct decision.

Factors you need to consider include:

• Whether any of the founders contributed cash and/or intellectual property to the venture – which would warrant a higher percentage for that founder.
• Whether any of the founders will be working part-time or less than the other founders going forward – which would warrant a lower percentage for that founder.
• Whether any of the founders put in more time prior to the incorporation (or actually started the venture) – which would warrant a higher percentage for that founder.
• Whether any of the founders will have greater responsibility or will be adding more value going forward than the other founders – which would warrant a higher percentage for that founder.

The bottom line is that every venture is different, with varied contributions (past and future) by the founders.  It might help to sit down with your co-founders and your lawyer and hash this issue out.  As I have previously discussed, you will also need to hash out the vesting schedules, including whether any founders will vest a portion of their stock “up front” and/or whether a  one-year “cliff” will be imposed on any founders.

Something else to keep in mind: When launching a venture, the first rule of thumb is to incorporate as soon as possible (when the venture has as little value as possible).  Among other things, this allows you to be able to issue stock to the founders for a nominal purchase price, meaning they can share in the increased value of the company (and quickly begin the capital gains holding period).

To the extent the venture’s incorporation is delayed and its value increases (due to the meeting of certain milestones, etc.), there may be tricky tax issues with respect to the purchase price or value of the shares issued to the founders.  If the company were ever audited, the IRS may take the position that the shares sold for a nominal purchase price actually had value. That would make those shares a form of compensation to the founders (particularly if the shares were issued on a date close to a financing date) and there would be taxes due on them.

As I have previously discussed, another good reason to do this is to protect against personal liability. Good luck!

Disclaimer: This “Ask the Attorney” post discusses general legal issues, but it does not constitute legal advice in any respect.  No reader should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any information presented herein without seeking the advice of counsel in the relevant jurisdiction.  VentureBeat, the author and the author’s firm expressly disclaim all liability in respect of any actions taken or not taken based on any contents of this post.

Tags: ask the attorney, legal quesions

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FirstView’s $95 Android / Windows CE PC607V tips a craptablet iceberg at CeBIT

Doesn’t look too bad for a $95 Android tablet, huh? Well, there’s plenty more where that came from. Scattered along the main halls of CeBIT are dozens of Chinese and Taiwanese consumer electronics resellers looking to sell products to new customers, and this year they sure loaded up the suitcases with cheap Android / Windows CE tablets. For the most part all these tablets (or small smartbooks) have ARM 9 or 11 processors and 5 to 7-inch resistive touch displays. While some like the FirstView PC607V tablet (pictured above) have attractive skins on top of Windows CE, others from companies like Forsa and Huawei have gone with stock versions of Android. In truth, all of the ones we played with felt chintzy, but it was easier to lower our standards when we learned they wouldn’t draw more than $150 from our wallets. We’ve got a hands-on video with FirstView’s Android tablet after the break, but if that doesn’t fill your cheap tablet needs hit the more coverage links for videos by some serious Android / ARM tablet lovers.

Continue reading FirstView’s $95 Android / Windows CE PC607V tips a craptablet iceberg at CeBIT

FirstView’s $95 Android / Windows CE PC607V tips a craptablet iceberg at CeBIT originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Mar 2010 09:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Zynga Cofounder Andrew Trader Out

One of the cofounders of Zynga, the company’s executive vice president of sales and business development Andrew Trader, is no longer with the company, we’ve confirmed. He has been quietly removed from the company’s management page. Remaining cofounders – Mark Pincus, Michael Luxton, Eric Schiermeyer, Justin Waldron and Steve Schoettler, remain.

As of a month ago Trader’s title had been downgraded to VP of Partnerships and Studio Services, although no top sales or business development replacement executive has yet been named.

Why is he gone? No one is saying. CEO Mark Pincus says only “AT [Andrew Trader] and zynga have parted ways. He made an awesome contribution. We need to continue scaling the company.” Trader hasn’t yet returned a phone call asking for his comment.

Zynga’s revenue growth has been nothing short of astronomical over the last 18 months, so it would be hard to blame him for not bringing in the dollars. Perhaps he took the fall for the Scamville saga although that has largely blown over now.

Trader was with Zynga nearly three years, so he’s vested on a lot of his stock. Given how much money is at stake, the whole story about why the first cofounder of Zynga has left the building may never come out. Zynga raised $180 million in December 2009, at a rumored valuation of above $2 billion.

And no, I have no idea why he’s holding a banana in the picture.

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Windows Phone 7 Series mockup changes slightly, Zune menu making a comeback?

So Microsoft’s Charlie Kindel posted up a long blog post about Windows Phone 7 Series and app development just now, and we couldn’t help but notice the WP7S device mockup he used is noticeably different from the stock press shots we’ve been seeing and the actual devices we’ve gotten to play with. That’s a totally different hardware trim, for starters, and there’s a Zune-like menu on the right– on the builds we’ve seen scrolling to the right reveals the app list. And that map on the bottom has been moved up a couple rows from where we’ve seen it on demo builds — which is unfortunate because it’s so wildly ugly in comparison to the rest of the 7 Series interface. Now, this could actually be an older mockup, not a newer one, so we’re not reading too much into this, but it’s clear that Microsoft is still making a ton of tweaks to the WP7S interface as time goes on — hopefully we’ll see some final results at MIX.

Windows Phone 7 Series mockup changes slightly, Zune menu making a comeback? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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