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Toshiba's DMFC "internet viewer" prototypes are truly next-gen
It's not every day you walk past something quite as striking as Toshiba's new DMFC internet viewer prototypes. Sure, folks like Toshiba and Samsung have been chatting up DMFC (Direct Methanol Fuel Cell) power technology for ages, but to see it live and in person -- and powering a truly unique form factor -- is quite a treat. Word is these things can last for a week of typical use on one methanol refill, and are running regular old Windows XP. Unfortunately, there's no word on what processing and storage is under the hood or when these will hit the market, or for how much. Basically, Windows 7 is much more likely the OS we'll be seeing on them by the time they're ready to go -- if that ever happens at all, DMFC doesn't have the best track record of actually breaking through the productization stage. Video is after the break, and the gallery includes a couple other Toshiba prototypes.%Gallery-41724%
LG's Renoir spokesperson: he will jump for you, ladies and gentlemen
Four days of late nights, early mornings, endless meetings, and drugs will do this to even the most stoic PR flacks. Almost magical video is after the break.
Video: Motorola Aura in action
After we got done drooling over that hands-on gallery with the Aura, we thought we'd take the thing for a quick spin on video. It's really impossible to convey how sharp and choice this thing looks and feels in person, but we did our best. Video after the break.
Engadget Podcast 128 - 01.11.2009: CES wrap-up
Well, it's over -- and what a week it's been. Join Josh, Paul, Nilay and super-special guest Thomas Ricker as they wrap-up the big announcements and trends of CES 2009 -- a little something about netbooks, a little something about the Pre, and a whole lot of love.P.S.- Things get a little crazy towards the end -- it's definitely time everyone went home and got some sleep!Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Paul Miller, Nilay PatelGuest: Thomas RickerProducer: Trent WolbeSong: You Give Love a Bad NameSubscribe to the podcast[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC).[RSS MP3] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.[RSS AAC] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator.[Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune MarketplaceDownload the podcastLISTEN (MP3)LISTEN (AAC)LISTEN (OGG)Contact the podcast1-888-ENGADGET or podcast (at) engadget (dot) com.
CES 2009 North Hall tour: like Hot Import Nights minus the tire smoke
We may not have covered too many products in the North Hall at this year's CES, a mecca for vehicle customizers and their wares, but that's mainly because we have a hard time keeping up with the latest in LED and hydraulic technologies as applied to motorized pursuits. But, there were a few sweet rides scattered about, and while we can't say we'd necessarily allow ourselves to be seen in most of them, there was at least one intelligently modded muscle car in particular that we just couldn't resist capturing some video of. We think you'll recognize it below. %Gallery-41628%
Koolu's Android-equipped FreeRunner hands-on
It's not just running Android -- it's running Cupcake! That alone should make it the envy of every G1 owner, though Koolu's custom-loaded FreeRunner lacks 3G and a physical keyboard (which, when you think about it, pretty much makes Cupcake a must anyway so you can type stuff). Ultimately, your average Joe still isn't going to want to use a FreeRunner day in and day out -- regardless of what operating system it's running -- but it's really awesome to see that the right hardware and software platforms are now out there and readily available for quick 'n easy hacking.%Gallery-41528%
Video: Digeo Moxi DVR user interface tour
It's been years since TiVo has had any serious competition and although an HD DVR with a CableCARD tuner isn't the most mainstream of products, it is a god send for those who refuse to settle for the POS DVR your cable company will provide. The Moxi started shipping from Amazon about a month ago for $800 which isn't bad if you consider there aren't any subscription fees. The Moxi user interface is really nice and exposes how dated TiVo's 10 year old UI is, but the most interesting feature will be the Moxi Mate -- when it's released. This cool little fan-less box will let you enjoy your Moxi on another TV as if you were on the real DVR, and unlike TiVo's multi-room solution, it doesn't require an additional subscription fee. The only real complaint we have about the new Moxi is the fact that an ATSC tuner wasn't included. Sure, not everyone will use this but considering the cost to include such a feature is minimal, there's no reason not to include it. %Gallery-41666%
Ibiza Rumble prototype hands-on: a touchscreen PMP with Rhapsody, webkit browser
Behind closed doors at the Haier booth, we got a chance to check out two Ibiza Rhapsody PMP prototypes, codenamed Rumble and Rumble mini. Here's what we know so far: the Rumble's got a 2.8-inch WQVGA capacitive touchscreen, 8GB NAND flash, and a Freescale i.MX37 ARM 11 processor. It also has a Webkit-based browser, but it -- along with most of the operating system and virtual keyboard -- wasn't functional at the moment. There's support for AAC, MP3, and WMA, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H263, H.264, VC-1, and DivX. The Rumble mini trades out touchscreen in favor of an input pad and a smaller 2.2-inch screen. Beyond Rhapsody service, both models will feature integration with Flickr, Audible, and the ever-vague "popular social networking" sites. Battery life for the Rumble is expected to be about 15 hours for audio and 6 for video, while for the mini it's 14 and 4, respectively. It's surprisingly lightweight at the moment, but other than that we really don't have much to say until we can see the interface in action. Both players are on track for a June release for a penny under $150 for the touchscreen and $100 for the mini. %Gallery-41548%%Gallery-41561%
Video: Viliv S7 hands on and VAIO P comparo
As promised, we've made a run over to check out Viliv's forthcoming S7 netbook tablet, bringing along the ever-popular VAIO P to see how the two stack up (as well as an Eee 1000H for good measure). As you can see, the S7 actually isn't that much larger than the Sony, maybe 30 percent thicker and a little bit wider, but also a bit shorter. The thing manages to find room for a track pad on top of the keyboard, but it's an awfully small one, so thank goodness for the (non-multi) touch screen. Also small is that keyboard, which is one of the most painful we've yet experienced on a netbook, featuring arrow and punctuation keys that even a pygmy would fat-finger. But, compromises must be made when making machines small, and small this one is. Viliv has written a custom skin that overlays the Windows XP install, demonstrated in a video below. It's reasonably pleasant to use (minimizing the need to rely on that tiny trackpad), but is also easy to exit if you're not feeling it. We already know the specs of this tiny convertible, so the only mysteries left are "when" followed immediately by "how much." The answers we received to those questions are unfortunately a bit vague: "before this summer" and a rather predictable "less than the VAIO P." We're guessing it'll be a lot less. Oh, and for those examining the gallery, don't worry about the rough edges you might spy: this is a pre-production S7, so things should be a good bit more polished when it hits retail.%Gallery-41617%
ASUS Eee Top touchscreen PC zombie hands-on
It looks like ASUS is about to carve out another unexpected niche for itself with its Eee Top all-in-one PC. The 15.6-inch touchscreen coupled with ASUS' touch-friendly user interface (riding an XP / Atom N270 underpinning) and industrial design definitely looked and felt like a winner. Sure, the UI could use some more polish, and the occasional menu pull-out was positioned too close to the bezel's edge for easy touching. But we could easily see an Eee Top making its way into our lair as a secondary PC when it begins shipping Stateside in "a few weeks" -- especially for a $599 MSRP. %Gallery-41541%
LG rolling out pro LCDs with integrated Control4 automation
Home automation heads don't get too happy, because while LG is definitely delivering these HDTVs with Control4 OS built in, for the time being CE Pro reports they're for commercial customers only. Small steps are still progress, so if seeing Control4 take its place as "the home OS" is your dream as well, the wait may be getting a little shorter.
Video: Engadget CES trailer tour!
We know a lot of you have been curious to see what's going on inside Engadget's sweet doublewide CES trailer, but we were so busy covering the news this week we just didn't have time to give anyone a peek until now. Hit the break for a quick video tour, and check out the gallery for a random assortment of snaps from this crazy week -- including a couple of our insane gear collection.[Special thanks to Tekzilla's Veronica Belmont and the crew at Myvu!]%Gallery-41646%
HTC's Iolite poses for new picture and gets specced
Nice to see the Iolite getting a little more play, and thanks to jouwmobiel.nl, a little more real. The specs we've heard apparently have the Iolite packing Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro, 512 MB and 288 MB RAM and ROM, UMTS / HSDPA, quad-band GSM / EDGE, GPS, Bluetooth, and WiFi. If you take a peek at the front of the device you'll see a button with a small footprint on one side and a letter A on the other which will most likely hook into its GPS system in some way. We should get a pile more information by the time Mobile World Congress rolls around in mid-February.[Via Coolsmartphone]
22 US cities on track to receive mobile DTV broadcasts this fall
The Open Mobile Video Coalition, which currently consists of around 800 local stations across America, has announced here at CES that 22 cities are scheduled to receive mobile DTV broadcasts by this fall. The announcement was joined by a number of manufacturers as they debuted prototype cellphones and in-car receivers, essentially giving hope that citizens of 22 US locales could soon be tuning into 24 while trucking home from a primetime grocery run. Details beyond that are pretty scant, as most hardware firms are still waiting for the broadcasts to go live (or get a lot closer to live) before committing development dollars to receivers. Carrier-driven video services never have taken off here in the Land of the Free, but the promise of mobile airings of the Big 4 just sounds entirely more enticing.[Via HDTVExperts]
TRENDnet unloads one more at CES: TEW-673GR Wireless N gigabit router
If you haven't seen enough of TRENDnet here at CES, you haven't been looking, but for those in need of a new wireless router, these choices are certainly sights for sore eyes. The latest entry from the company here in Vegas is the TEW-673GR 300Mbps Concurrent Dual-Band Wireless N Gigabit Router. Constructed with a dual-band Atheros chipset, the device can handle both 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks simultaneously; essentially, this enables low-bandwidth clients to be assigned to the more congested 2.4GHz band while high-bandwidth, latency-sensitive applications (such as HD streaming and online gaming) head to the uncongested 5GHz band. Can't help you out on a price, but it should be filtering out in short order.
Hands-on with Panasonic's new Blu-ray decks
We've heard about Panasonic's new Blu-ray players a couple of times now, but we put our mitts on them today. The DMP-BD60 and DMP-BD80 on the low and high side of the line, respectively, are solid players and also add in the VIERA Cast capability we heard about, but we'll be honest -- we really came to see the DMP-BD70V. This omnivorous deck will gobble up your old VHS tapes, DVDs and Blu-ray discs and upscale them to 1080p glory.%Gallery-41543%
Crapgadget CES, round 4: kinetic energy charger
You have to hold it vertically.
Video: PQLabs iTable digits-on lets us touch orcs, movies, me-too branding
Multi-touch is where it's at, but what if you already have one of those lame, obsolete, big-screen, flat-panel displays that accept only smudges from your fingers? What you need is a Multi-Touch G2 from PQLabs, an overlay that attaches to your existing 32-inch (or larger) set with double-sided tape, adding the multi-touch sensitivity that your fingertips have been yearning for. The company has also announced its upcoming iTable, effectively a multi-touch panel with a built-in computer, having something in common with Microsoft's Surface, but nothing with Apple's iPhone (from which it dishearteningly takes a naming cue). We spent a few minutes with our fingers stroking both the iTable and the Multi-Touch G2 and were impressed by both; they initially seemed a bit unresponsive but, within a few seconds, we were browsing media, building grunts, and decimating forests in no time. Playing an RTS like Warcraft 3 with gestures is a fantastic experience no strategy gamer should miss, but, at $2,399, is one that only the richest of tacticians can put in their buy queue. No pricing for the iTable just yet, but expect it to be more.
Mobinnova Ice hands-on
On the surface, the Ice from Taiwanese upstart Mobinnova looks like a decent WinMo set, it really does. The spec sheet's solid enough with a wide QVGA display, AGPS, integrated FM radio, HSDPA, and a secondary touch screen for navigation (a la LG Venus) -- but regrettably, the specs only tell half of this tragicomic tale. Up close, questionable engineering decisions start to come out of the woodwork. Take the d-pad, for example: sounds like an awesome idea, but the screen the Ice uses is so dim you can barely make it out under normal lighting. Not that you'd have to make it out, since -- as far as we can tell, anyway -- the only thing it ever shows is the d-pad, which begs the question why they're using a display here in the first place (we'd figured that opening Windows Media would trigger a transition to music controls, but no dice). What's more, Mobinnova's skin to take advantage of the 400 x 240 screen is possibly the worst manufacturer-issued skin we've ever seen on Windows Mobile, with text that looks like it was hastily downscaled to the point of being illegible at the Ice's dot pitch. Now that Sony Ericsson's said to have made the leap to these guys, we're a little worried for the future of XPERIA, honestly.%Gallery-41523%
