Yeah, umm.. Example: If you have your ipod docked with your stereo in the living room, and you're cooking in the kitchen and want to change tracks or playlists, you can do so from there, or where ever you are (within range) There would have to be multiple versions (one for ipod, one for nano) as the nano's headphone port is on the bottom, while the ipod's is on top.

However i agree, it's clunky, ugly, and if what the guy said about song lag, battery life, etc is true, then it's probably better to pass and wait for version 2. I kind of wonder if he's correct, though, because he says he's had it for a couple of months, however engadget (and iprong) seem to think it's just been released.

Oh well, either way, it's not for me.

And to Brian: using apple's universal dock lets you navigate using the standard apple remote, which lets you change tracks at the very least, and maybe playlists as well. (I'm nearly positive) However it doesn't include a screen, so it's pretty much useless, as you have to be close enough to your ipod to see its screen.

Even better than a 5 terabyte 3.5" drive, you'd be looking at around a terabyte in your ipod.. Sweet!

That's AWESOME. I've been lusting over one of those tablets. After seeing them, it makes my graphire look like a toy. I wonder if it's as precise as a Cintiq? I've never used one, but I assume one of the differences from a cintiq and just a touchscreen is dpi & also the distance between the top layer of the screen & the actual pixels. Too far and your pen tip would appear to be off by a little bit. Correct?

Yah this is just stupid. Why even cover this, eng? IF this ever makes it to market, it'll sell maybe 3 of these (guaranteed to be) overpriced, underwhelming, trying-to-be-stylish-but-failing-miserably sets.

"Sony has a very hardware-centric approach. You have to buy the Blu-ray drive whether you want it or not. The fact that we're a software company gives an enormous competitive advantage, because we can add capabilities like this. This is totally integrated seamlessly for our users."

Umm an add-on drive is "totally integrated seamlessly for our users" more so than an internal drive? Who writes these things?

"Why does Sony keep knocking on Microsoft for the Core? I mean the 360 Premium is still cheaper than the PS3 "core" so Sony really has no leg room."

360 Premium + HD-DVD drive OR 360 core + HDD + HD-DVD drive = more than the "core" ps3, with similar capabilities. When will people stop blindly repeating this crap?

"This would be a little more interesting if Sony included HD compatible cables out of the box, but since they don't, they are even leaving their high-end customers in the dark."

Any self respecting "high-end customer" wouldn't use the included (read: crap) cables to hook up their HiDef media player to their TV.. They would buy aftermarket. And if not including some crap cables in the box means keeping the price down, I'm all for it.

"The PS3 Core on the other hand has less ports and cannot be upgraded in a similar fashion."

The only ports it lacks are the memory card readers, which I'm sure we'll be able to connect a reader via usb to get the same functionality. If not, who cares? Do we really need a compact flash reader in our PS3?

"Historically, the profit comes from games bought for the systems."

Don't forget first party peripherals! For companies that sell mostly first party software (ie Nintendo), maybe. But for Sony & Microsoft (which rely alot more heavily on third party developers) the money's in the peripherals.

"Who cares? The blu ray will fail like the mini discs blah blah blah"

The major benefit of including BluRay from the beginning is that GAMES can take advantage of the increased storage capacity. Whereas the 360 can play movies with its HD-DVD add-on, game developers are still limited to (correct me if I'm wrong) 8.5gb for the game discs. PS3 developers, on the other hand, have 50gb (possibly up to 200 in the future) to work with. Imagine this: the next final fantasy could have an intro equivalent to Advent Children, plus a huge game full of high resolution textures, plus maybe another hour long cinema sequence after you beat it. Tell me that wouldn't be sweet.
Now the main problem I see with this is that developers are following the trend of episodic gameplay, meaning shorter games, meaning smaller games. However, I doubt we'll ever see games like Final Fantasy released in this manner. Also, the inclusion of the hard drive on all models allows PS3 developers to make use of the hard drive without fear of alienating customers who purchased the core system. 360 developers are hesitant to use the HD to its full capability, because half of the user base wouldn't be able to use the game without purchasing a $100 add on. The loading of game data on to the hard drive from disc to decrease loading times on the ps3 is another example of this. That's not to say microsoft might not add this feature in the future, but ALL PS3 owners can take advantage of these. To be honest, I'd be more outraged at microsoft for not including a HD in all models. I mean, cmon, even the original xbox came with a HD standard. They really took a step backwards with that one. However, I do like the fact that it's easily removable.

"The PS3 totally screws you for buying the low-end model by limiting the ports and completely removing memory card readers from the low-end model (the model that would need it the most with the smaller HDD)."

Again, people, SAME PORTS ON BOTH MODELS. (No WiFi adapter in the "core", but I'm sure an external one will be available) No memory card reader, but if you need increased storage, slap an external hard drive or flash drive in the usb port.
I really don't see the outrage here. You people would be happier being FORCED to pay $600?? What if you don't use wireless internet? What if you don't own a single memory card? You'd rather pay $100 more for features you'll never use?

"There's no way I'm paying PS3 kind of money-it's disgusting."

The Playstation (1) was $400 at its release, years ago. With the increased capabilities, coupled with inflation, it's really close.

With the 360, Microsoft got the jump on the next gen consoles, however at what price? Now they have a system that can be configured so many different ways, they can't develop games to take advantage of the most powerful aspects of the system, because not everyone has those features. They release early, then "patch" the sytem with new technology. I predict the next xbox will be out years before the next playstation.

Disclaimer: I'm not a fanboy, I don't own ANY gaming machines and probably won't purchase one for a long time (with the exception of a DS Lite). I'm just sick of people arguing points that simply aren't true. Sorry for the novel.

"Well pull-up, or even drop, a stool ..."

great, engadget has sunk to making poop jokes.. -_-

common sense seems lost on you, friend..

the point is to destroy missiles aimed at US soil, not at the plane.

Imagine: Your baseball cards, when held in front of an amaze-art equipped telly, would show a 3D representation of the player. Same with pokemon cards, other sports cards, etc. The question is: do the models have to be hard coded into the set? Or does the tv 'read' the information from one of those cards. If so, what kind of range can you expect? And does it do it completely visually? I would think this would be easier to accomplish using something along the lines of RFID..

Well I worked for RadioShack for a little over a year, and I was in charge of purchasing, and I can testify to the fact that we made on average $10 per ipod. Maybe $17-20 on the 60gb, and as little as $4 on the shuffle. But average, (and on the 2-4gb nanos) $10.

I think that article that is estimating 50% markup on the ipods is wrong. I'm sure apple is making something before sending them out to other retailers, but I seriously doubt it's 40%.

c'mon engadgeteers, you're slacking on us..

i