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Massively unboxes EVE Online's Collector's Edition
Sci-fi MMO EVE Online initially launched as a physical disc sold in stores back in 2003 and saw limited success in the fledgling MMO space. A decade of regular updates and digital distribution has seen EVE grow organically into the largest sci-fi sandbox on the planet with over half a million subscribers, but until now something has been missing: EVE has never had an actual collector's edition box. To celebrate 10 successful years of operation, last month CCP officially released the EVE Second Decade Collector's Edition box. I recently received a review copy of the Collector's Edition from CCP and have put together an unboxing video with my general impressions of the items within. The collection comes in a sturdy presentation box and contains a 192-page commemorative hardback book looking back on the first decade of EVE's history, along with an anniversary re-release edition of CCP's board game Danger Game and a physical Rifter model that doubles as a USB hub. The pack also comes with a new account key with 60 days of game time, a soundtrack CD of the EVE music played by the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra, and keys to unlock billions of ISK worth of virtual collectables in-game. It's pretty expensive at around €150 or $150 US, but the virtual items can be sold in game to claw back some of the cost in the form of PLEX. Enjoy our look at the new CE!
Innergie PocketCell can power over 10,000 USB devices, just not at the same time
Between your tablet, phone, GPS and whatever else, keeping powered up on the move is a challenge for us all. Innergie wants to crush that problem with its PocketCell battery pack. Yep, it's a power cell, yes it fits in your pocket, but here's what you might not have worked out from the name: it has a 3,000 mAh capacity, mini / micro USB connectors built-in along with an Apple 30 pin adapter (as it's based on its Magic Cable design we loved so much) and a fast "Smart Charge" function for the impatient. There's five built in protections against unstable voltage, so you can be confident your digital world won't burn out in your hand. The makers reckon you can get an extra 4.5 hours of iPad usage and about 15 more hours on the horn to mom -- though, we're sure your mileage may vary. You can get charging from today for $79.99, which includes the Magic Cable, or touch up the PR after the jump for more info.
Innergie Magic cables wed USB and 30-pin connections, let you break 'em up on the fly
Apple's 30-pin connection got you feeling down in a world filled with USB? Wish your iDevice cable worked with more of your gizmos? Fret not, as Innergie recently introduced its effort to solve this dilemma with its Magic Cables. The idea is simple, one end is fitted with a standard connector and the opposite side terminates into a mini-USB plug that can be fitted with different tips. Twenty bucks will snag you the Duo variant with a 30-pin adapter and for $5 more you can pick up the Trio if you also need a micro-USB tip. All told, we're not sure that keeping track of minuscule adapters will prove much better than having a few cables, but if you're ready to consolidate your cords it may be worth a shot. Full press release just past the break.
Hanwha unleashes HDMI / USB adapter for iPad, iPhone 4, and fourth-gen iPod touch
Feel the desire to watch your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch (fourth gen) videos on the big screen, but looking for something with a little more girth than Apple's HDMI solution? Hanwha's latest dongle might do the job. As you can see above, in place of the original adapter's dock connector port is a USB 2.0 socket -- compatible with cameras supporting mass storage connection -- alongside the 720p-friendly HDMI port, but you'll have to use the switch to toggle between the two modes. And that little mini-USB port on the far right? Well, it's there to provide some juice to "reduce battery drain," but probably not enough to charge up your iDevice. If you're still interested and have a friend in Japan, Hanwha's charging ¥5,980 (around $73), which is almost double that of Apple's $39 connector. Is USB support worth such a price jump? Your call.
PhoneSuit Primo Battery Cube review
Smartphones are getting ever smarter and batteries ever better, but it seems that the poor things can just never catch up. It's a thankless, tireless job powering your gadgets, and sometimes those cells need a little help. That's where external batteries come in to lend a hand, giving your gadget those few precious extra hours of life -- enough for you to find your way home after that impromptu third encore sing-along that seemed like it would never end. The $40 Primo Battery Cube from PhoneSuit is one of the latest, a 1,000mAh reserve tank for your thirsty mobile. But is it worth making room in your pocket for? Read on to find out. %Gallery-100720%
Dell Streak procures a hacked-up mini USB adapter, gets friendly with your dusty cables
Even if you can look beyond the SIM lock and the aging Android 1.6 OS on the Dell Streak, there's still one irksome problem: the lack of a mini or micro-USB port (Dell clearly missed the USB party last summer). Dissatisfied with this state of affairs, John from Linux Slate decided to build an adapter for his tabletphone's dock connector, which he confirmed to be PDMI instead of a proprietary design. The procedure was simple: John cut up his Streak's cable plug, soldered a mini USB socket onto the board, and housed the new assembly within the Streak's cable clip. Voilà! Until third-party USB-to-PDMI cables start to show up in the stores, it's either this mod or cough up $20 for a spare cable from Dell. See the adapter in action after the break.
Dell Mini 3i unboxed in China, capacitive stylus included
One lucky Chinese blogger was kind enough to share his Dell Mini 3i unboxing experience beyond the Great Firewall, just a tad before Dell officially announced their first-ever smartphone. What's interesting is that the China Mobile version comes with a special stylus for the capacitive touchscreen -- a very handy tool for writing Chinese -- but there's been no mention of this accessory for the Brazilian 3iX. Dell's also bundled a 3.5mm adapter for the mini-USB port in case their handsfree isn't good enough for your audiophilic ears. Yeah, too bad about the missing headphone jack, but don't let this deter you from checking out the Mini 3i's full glory after the break.
Guangzhou Darling DP2000 is a nutty pc-in-a-projector that we kinda love (video)
What do you add to a pocket projector that already has a massive 640 x 480 resolution and the power of 9 suns lumens? Why, a WinCE-powered computer, of course. Now, when everyone else is fumbling around with their bulky laptops, you can bust out your Darling, use the top-mounted touchpad to navigate, and be the fastest projector gunslinger in the office. There's even a stand, a pair of mini-USB ports for hooking up a keyboard and mouse, and an SD expansion slot to augment the already super-generous 1GB of Flash storage. So how much does a PC with a huge display and SSD cost these days? $180. Don't tell us that ain't progress. Check it out after the break. [Via Pico Projector Info]
SendStation's latest PocketDock is slightly larger than a penny, has much better audio quality than a dime
SendStation has impressed us before with its PocketDock line, back in 2007 releasing a tiny nub to suck audio, video, and even get a USB out from an iPod. The company's latest, the PocketDock Line Out Mini USB, is far smaller -- no bigger than Apple's own charging plug -- yet sports a Mini-USB port for charging and a non-powered 3.5mm line out that enables better quality tunes from your pod when connected to an amplified device. The kit even includes a set of tiny stereo RCA jacks that would like nothing better than to mount the front of your receiver. This latest PocketDock is available right now for $29.95 on the other end of that read link, and we're told they'll be showing up in Apple Stores, too. [Via SlashGear]
Neuhaus T-2 vacuum tube amplifier turns heretic, offers USB input
We're more used to seeing vacuum tubes on iPod speaker docks, but the Neuhaus T-2 brings some of that analog action to your computer by serving as a USB amplifier. Those among us who think MP3 compression is just a-okay will find this new device boils down to a handsome-looking external sound card, with perhaps a bit of extra oomph. For the audiophiles, already cringing in distress at the preceding sentence, we have specs: the T-2 pumps out 20W each to two channels, with a signal-to-noise ratio of 85dB and a frequency response between 10Hz and 30KHz. If you find any of that attractive, hold your racing heart in check, as the asking price is $795. We suppose it's more affordable than the Magma, but then again so is a new car.[Via Switched]
PSP Go lacks mini USB, compatibility with existing accessories, common sense
Confession time: we weren't exactly charmed by Sony's PSP Go when Sony made the thing official. It's not that we're particularly fond of UMD (quite the contrary as a matter of fact), rather we found it a little hard to stomach a slimmer device that offers nearly the same hardware as its predecessor, swapping an optical drive for more storage, yet will cost nearly twice as much. Factor in the cost of all new accessories and things get even less appealing, with confirmation that the Go lacks a standard mini USB port on top, meaning things like PSP keyboards and Sony's GPS accessory are on a fast-track to obsolescence. Even current A/V cables and chargers won't work thanks to a new multifunction port on the base -- but Sony will be quite happy to sell you new ones. Is this the price of progress, or an attempt to boost profit margins? It's not good news for gamers, regardless.
The $1.94 reason micro-USB is the new phone charging standard
Yep, we're all gonna get squeezed for accessories again as the member companies of the GSM Association begin standardizing on micro-USB chargers, and while we're happy that the madness is over, we can't help but feel the decision to use micro-USB over the already-ubiquitous mini-USB was purely greed-driven -- sure, micro-USB's supposedly more robust connector can handle something like 10x more disconnects, but if mini is good enough for everything from pro-level DSLRs to rugged portable hard drives, it's probably good enough for your average flip phone, don't you think? Sigh.[Via Geardiary]
He's a demon on USB
Are you likely to be spending some money at Target in the near future? Then you might as well head on over there sometime soon and pick up this Speed Racer-themed gift card (which you can use later to buy what you actually wanted in the first place). Even if you're not interested at all in the upcoming game (or movie), you'll still land yourself the free mini USB 2.0 Flash drive that comes with it. The drive only holds 62.8 MB worth of stuff, but should that bother you, you're missing the key word here -- free.Initially, 51.6 MB will be taken up by promotional Speed Racer goodies, but that stuff can always be deleted. Those of you who are looking forward to seeing the Mach 5 in action soon enough, though, might enjoy some of the extras provided. According to GamerTell, the drive includes: Five coloring book-style pages featuring the Mach 5 and Racer X's car (PDF file) A coupon for $1 off a Speed Racer Powerburst racer and $3 off a Speed Racer Powerburst figure-8 track set (PDF file) Two Speed Racer desktop wallpapers A Speed Racer family movie (MOV and WMV files) A special code for the Wii version of the video game (we wonder what that will do/unlock?) Due to the nature of the internet, we're sure you'll be able to find the game code without buying the Flash drive-bundled gift card. Still, we recommend getting one of these pseudo-free sticks if Target is one of your regular stomping grounds.
Analog stick from the "ghetto"
About a week ago, Engadget posted a brilliantly detailed write-up on how to add an analog stick to your PSP. It wasn't attractive, so DCemu forum member Joe Stranger made a better mod. This version of the analog stick modification allows you to plug in the device through a new mini-USB slot he's created, so there's no messy wires hanging out of your system. Another bonus: you'll be able to freely add/remove the hack any time you want, so your PSP doesn't have to look like some weird Frankenstein. Color me impressed. Mr. Stranger talks about the potential for other peripherals to use the mini-USB slot, like a steering wheel... or better yet, a Steel Batallion controller.[Via Joystiq]
Motorola's P970 dials up USB power
Of course Motorola would most prefer you buy its new Portable Power P970 battery pack to power its own devices -- not all of which, ironically, posses mini USB ports to draw power from -- but that doesn't mean you can't use their freshly minted 1700mAh device to charge up that handheld, media player, GPS unit, or whatever else it is you might have that could use a quick hit of juice. As for phones, well, we'd like to think more than Moto, HTC, and smattering of others would get their act together on mini USB ports in our wireless devices, but it's not like the P970 won't have its uses otherwise.
APC's Mobile Power Pack delivers juice via USB
Add the Mobile Power Pack from APC to the growing list of accessories able to provide your portable gadgets with precious extra hours of runtime. Promising up to 55 more hours of juice for your iPod nano or eight to ten hours for your Treo, the MPP UPB10 sports a high-capacity, user-replaceable lithium polymer battery that can power and charge nearly any device with a USB or mini-USB jack. If you don't have the time/inclination to build your own solution, this may be seventy bucks well spent.
