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D-Link's Xtreme N DIR-685 storage router hands-on and impressions


Somehow or another, D-Link managed to combine a NAS, digital photo frame, secondary display and 802.11n router into a single device, and when the Xtreme N DIR-685 Storage Router was announced way back at CES this year, we were certainly interested to see how such a conglomerate would go over. At long last, the do-it-all wireless router is finally making its way out to the public at large, and with an MSRP of $299.99 (sans any internal HDD space), it's definitely one of the pricier routers out there. We've taken this strikingly unique device into our lairs for a few days of testing, and if you're interested in seeing if this bad boy is worth the price of admission, you'll need to follow us past the break.

Mitsubishi's 3D-ready and Unisen HDTV lines in the flesh


Toshiba already showed us what its freshest line of HDTVs looks like, and now its Mitsubishi's turn. The outfit was on hand in NYC to showcase a few of its now-shipping sets, including the 3D-ready Home Theater line and its speaker-infused Unisen crew. We won't bore you with the specs (which can be found here and here, respectively), but we will confess that the 82-inch WD-82737 has us squirming uncontrollably. Have a peek yourself in the gallery below.

Eye-Fi Pro wireless SD card hands-on

We're all pretty spoiled in these digital days; not that long ago taking a look at a vacation's worth of photos required a trip to the store, a couple of hours (or days) wait, and then the better part of an afternoon getting fingerprints all over a stack of poorly composed shots that you daren't throw out because you just paid good money to have them printed. Now you pop a memory card into your computer, wait a few seconds for them to fly into an appropriately labeled folder, and then... probably forget you took them. It's so much easier it's hard to fathom the process getting even more simple, but that's what Eye-Fi has done with its line of wireless flash memory cards, which beam pictures directly from your camera. The company has just announced the $149, 4GB Eye-Fi Pro to make the process even more direct, letting you send pictures straight to a computer while also adding some additional features that pros and semi-pros will appreciate. We put it through its paces after the break.

OCZ's Ion-based Neutrino and Colossus SSD hands-on at Computex


OCZ Technology's Ion-infused Neutrino may not look all that different than the existing model, but we all know it's the secret sauce within that makes it so magical. Our BFFs over at Engadget Chinese managed to spend a few quality seconds (some might say they "had a moment") with this very machine as well as the all new desktop-bound Colossus SSD. Sadly, the booth workers couldn't provide a definitive ship date or price for either, but the read link's still the place to go for a few hands-on shots as well as a video of the Ion Neutrino showing 3DMark 06 who's boss.

SilverPac's SilverFrame hands-on at Computex


SilverPac's SilverFrame is certainly doing its best to break the boring mold of typical digital photo frames, and while we were understandably skeptical about the idea on paper, we're beginning to warm to it after a little face time at Computex. Said frame is more like a widget console than anything else, and it definitely reminds us of that Samsung / Chumby prototype digiframe that we peeked back at CES. Don't take our word for it, though -- hit the read link to soak it in yourself.

ASUS Mars GPU hands-on at Computex


We knew it was coming, and come it did. Over in Taiwan today, ASUS was demonstrating its motherboard-incinerating Mars graphics card, which it proudly deemed "the world's fastest." In fact, the card packs 21 percent more power than a reference GeForce GTX 295 card, and the eight-heatpipe cooling solution keeps things at least a notch below molten. We found that the card will actually be sold in some capacity, though only 1,000 of them -- all of which will be individually numbered -- will be made available. Two more looks after the break.

Palm Pre filtering into Sprint stores, indocile employee sizes it up


With only days to go before at least four or five Sprint stores begin selling Palm's Pre, we're already seeing at least one employee with some time on his hands give the smartphone a go. Moral of the story? Right about now would be an awesome time to know somebody who can get behind a Sprint counter without using an unlawful amount of force.

Hitachi's 720p Mobile Hi-Vision Cam Wooo gets hands-on treatment


It may be a Japan exclusive for now, but Hitachi's Mobile Hi-Vision Cam Wooo has folks drooling from sea to shining sea. The cats over at Akihabara News were able to take a glimpse while KDDI unveiled its summer lineup, and they seemed to be quite impressed with the video quality and ease of use. Check the read link for a video of the flip phone in action, but remember, don't get too attached unless you call Japan home.

HTC Touch Pro2 brandishes Verizon logo, poses for camera with Cedar

Not that it wasn't without warning, but we've now got some pretty definitive picture proof that HTC 's Touch Pro2 is set to bask in Verizon's CDMA goodness -- we guess your Sprint friends won't be having all the fun, after all. Also caught on camera here is the HTC Cedar, a CDMA version of the HTC Maple / Snap. It's got a slightly different button layout just under the screen than the Sprint version we recently saw, which itself is different from its initial unveiling. According to 474RPR, who leaked these pics, this one's bound for Alltel's network, which while we don't see any proof from the image, we could totally buy that. Of course, none of these pics give a release date of any sort, so hang tight while we all anxiously wait in unison.

[Via wmpoweruser]

Hitachi's Mobile Hi-Vision Cam Wooo cellphone does 720p video recording

While it won't be the first handset to capture 720p video (hello, OmniaHD!), Hitachi's Mobile Hi-Vision Cam Woo is still apt to garner quite a bit of attention. As the leaked images hosted down below show, this clever flip phone packs 1,280 x 720 video recording, a 5 megapixel sensor, HDMI interface and a microSDHC slot for good measure. A generous tipster has informed us that said phone is slated to launch this coming Monday on KDDI, though we fully expect that envious North Americans won't ever get to toy with one on their home turf. For shame.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

OCZ's Z-Drive priced at Amazon: $1,561 and way up


The kind folks at OCZ Technology's CeBIT booth told us that they expected the forthcoming Z-Drive to be priced between $1,500 and $2,000, and unfortunately for consumers, they were obviously just talking about the starting tag. Today, the much-hyped PCI-Express SSD card -- which strings a few blocks of flash memory together on a wicked fast PCI-E pipeline -- has been listed at Amazon, and the asking prices are downright eye-popping. The drive is slated to ship in 250GB, 500GB and 1TB flavors, with Amazon demanding $1,561.30, $2,450.50 and $3,368.99 for each in order of mention. We know read rates up to 500MB/sec and write rates of up to 470MB/sec are appealing and all, but damn.

[Thanks, Gary]

Read - 250GB Z-Drive listing
Read - 500GB Z-Drive listing
Read - 1TB Z-Drive listing

Prototype OCZ Z-Drive PCI-Express SSD splayed, scoped out


Mmm, PCI-Express-based SSD storage. Be honest, is there anything more delicious? The camera-wielding cats over at Hot Hardware managed to climb behind the scenes at OCZ Technology and snap a bevy of shots of the outfit's highly anticipated Z-Drive in prototype form, and while the device doesn't look all that different than the press shots we peeked last month, there seems to be some ways yet to go before this bad boy's available for purchase. At any rate, the innards look about as you'd expect 'em to, with loads of green PCB littered about with oodles of ultra-speedy flash storage. The drive pictured above is actually a 512GB version with a single 4-pin molex power connector and an X4 PCI-e slot, and it benched at upwards of 500MB/sec during read tests and 400MB/sec on write tests. Check the read link for a closer look -- just don't forget to prep the drool rag before heading over.

Android-based Alpha 680 netbook spotted in the wild


Still think an Android-based netbook is in your future? If the abysmal performance on video hasn't turned you off yet, maybe the fire-engine red paint job coupled with 90s-era carbon fiber accents will. What you see above is the first legitimate in the wild shot of Skytone's Alpha 680, and at a glance, we're marginally excited about the sizable trackpad and roomy keyboard. Oh, and the swiveling screen is a plus, too. Check the read link for a few more looks.

[Thanks, Neerhaj]

Lenovo IdeaPad S10-2 gets hands-on treatment, favors S10


You've seen Lenovo's IdeaPad S10, right? If so, you'll surely recognize the recently revised S10-2 -- a mildly tweaked version of the netbook that sports the most minuscule of changes. That said, the new top cover and larger, more mature keyboard are certainly worth a gander, so head on down to the read link to give your eyes a treat.

Philips announces US availability for 2009 home entertainment line (with hands-on!)

Philips may be dodging the North American sector with its flashiest of products, but it's still showing the Yanks in attendance a little love on the home entertainment front. Today in a meeting in NYC, the outfit revealed US pricing and availability for its entire 2009 family, most of which was quietly introduced in January. Starting things off are the 6000 and 7000 Series of HDTVs, which just so happen to pick right up where the previous models left off in 2008. The 6000 Series will arrive in 32-, 42- and 47-inch flavors for $799, $1,399 and $1,699, respectively, while the 7000 Series goes 42-, 47- and 52-inch for $1,499, $1,799 and $2,299, also respectively.

While checking these very sets out, we noticed that the factory settings left the colors a bit blown out and overly sharp -- though, this practice is far too common in HDTV companies anyway. Nothing like wowing those Best Buy shoppers at first, only to sear their retinas at home, right? All kidding aside, the panels looked superb, and the A-B comparison mode made tweaking the settings a breeze. Hop on past the break for the rest of the details, and give our gallery a glance for a closer look at the whole lot.

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