Evan Blass
Articles by Evan Blass
Built NY prepping neoprene Laptop Back Pack
Built NY is fairly well known for its high-quality, snug-fitting notebook sleeves, but we're not sure if the company's neoprene addiction will play as well in the backpack form factor. Nonetheless, in order to celebrate what it claims is the 100th anniversary of the ubiquitous dual-strap sack, Built is releasing a bag called the Laptop Back Pack that looks a bit too form-fitting for our tastes. Expect the Kevlar vest lookalike -- in both 12- and 17-inch sizes -- to hit stores in April for $80.
Monster and Andre Young offer up 'Beats by Dr. Dre' headphones
Here's a rather odd partnership: legendary rapper and producer Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine, Chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, have teamed up with cable, line conditioner, and accessory powerhouse Monster to market a pair of high-end, high-priced headphones. The so-called "Beats by Dr. Dre" were supposedly tuned by the former N.W.A. member and Death Row founder himself (along with a little help from 'Head Monster' Noel Lee), and boast "rich, deep bass" which promises to keep your head ringin'. Scheduled to ship this spring, these over-the-head cans will sport a $400 price tag -- you know, just so you can be sure that this is in fact a Monster product
Systemax salvages CompUSA brand, website, and up to 16 stores
We're not sure how many people will be relieved by this news, but the few die-hard CompUSA fans out there can rest easy tonight, as the big box retailer will continue to live on as a ward of Ohio-based Systemax. According to Reuters, the TigerDirect owner will shell out around $30 million for the CompUSA brand, trademarks, e-tail business, and as many as 16 brick-and-mortar retail locations, although the particular sites have not yet been chosen. The acquisition -- which comes just a month after the company was sold to liquidation firm Gordon Brothers Group -- was justified by Systemax CEO Richard Leeds as being a good match for its Tiger Direct operation because he believes "the value of the CompUSA brand remains very high."[Thanks, Quentin]
Dell prepping XPS 630i: compact, entry-level gaming rig
Dell is planning to show off the latest desktop in its XPS line, the 630i, at CES, which the company is positioning as an entry-level gaming machine to complement the larger, more powerful XPS 720 (pictured above). Although no specs or images have been posted yet, Dell's teaser release calls this new model a "middleweight contender with heavyweight power," promising that while it's "more compact than the powerhouse XPS 720 family, it won't compromise on performance." Expect the XPS 630i to be announced this spring, along with the requisite pricing and configuration deets.
Is this Windows Mobile 7?
Not all the big news is coming out of CES today: thanks to Nathan Weinberg's InsideMicrosoft blog, we were able to check out a purported internal document detailing the revolutionary new input methods planned for Windows Mobile 7 as well as a ton of supposed screenshots. If this information is, in fact, accurate, it looks like Redmond is planning at least three methods of interacting with the device aside from pressing the usual buttons. First, as you might expect, is multi-touch capability á la the iPhone or Microsoft's own Surface, but it looks like WinMo 7 handsets will also be controllable via shaking and rotating the device, and even at a distance by way of camera-based gesture recognition. Again, no guarantees that any of these features will be included in the final version or that any of this info or images are even legit, but as you can see from the rather large gallery below, the mounting evidence is extremely compelling. Specifically, you'll definitely want to check out: New on-screen keyboard Gesture control Camera gesture recognition Touch-based photo editing Media player %Gallery-12782%
Forty-foot tall fire-breathing Robosaurus for sale
Wanted: good home for 31-ton robotic dinosaur, completely up-to-date on all immunizations and oil changes. This frisky 40-foot tall, fire-breathing bot answers to the name Robosaurus, and a traumatic youth spent crushing cars in front of thousands of rednecks means this guy needs a lot of love and attention -- along with plenty of open space to graze. All manuals, kits, and accessories are included with adoption, although new owner will assume responsibility for any damage caused by Robo's jaws and their 20,000 pounds of crushing force. Interested parties can bid on this one-of-a-kind companion at the 37th annual Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdate, AZ starting on the 12th.[Thanks, jo]
Whoomp! Earbud Enhancers keep headphones in place
Because we'd love to stuff our iPod earbuds just a little deeper into our ear canals, a 3M spin-off called Hearing Components has developed a plastic and foam accessory that snaps onto the buds and promises to both keep them in place as well as improve sound quality. However, the so-called Whoomp! Earbud Enhancers themselves don't seem to contain any audio enhancing technology, but rather serve to simply direct the music deeper into your head holes. Twenty bucks is all it takes to score a two-pack of these in either black or white, although you really need to factor in the cost of future visits to the otalaryngologist along with all the hearing aids you'll need after blowing out your eardrums.
USB missile launcher adopts webcam for geeky wars over MSN
We thought Brando had finally reached the pinnacle of jokey USB armaments with its recent wireless missile launcher -- the third such product in this evolving line -- but apparently there is demand out there for a remotely-operated version capable of waging war over the internet. Filling this strange market gap will be the USB MSN Missile Launcher, which tacks a webcam onto the standard version and allows your buddies on the Microsoft network to randomly shoot at you throughout the day. Again, we're not sure who buys a weapon whose main purpose is to attack its owner, so the $49 device may not be the huge hit its predecessors were when it 'launches' on the 18th.
Sony BMG will reportedly offer DRM-free music
In a move that could finally sound the death knoll for the universally-hated digital leech known as DRM, Sony BMG Music will reportedly become the last of the top four major labels to offer unprotected tracks for download. Citing people familiar with the arrangement, BusinessWeek.com reports that full details of the label's plan will be released "in the coming weeks," although at least part of its catalog will supposedly be available without DRM sometime this quarter. If this does indeed pan out, Sony would follow EMI, Vivendi Universal, and Warner in moving towards a much more consumer-friendly music distribution model.[Thanks, Mack S.]
HydroPak water-activated fuel-cell generator unveiled
While still quite a ways away from our ideal method of drawing power directly from tap water, the new HydroPak generator from Millennium Cell and Horizon Fuel Cell at least trumps those heavy, dirty, traditional models in both cleanliness and efficiency. As we first heard a few months back, this water-activated, fuel cell-based "portable power product" uses $20 disposable cartridges to provide "enough energy to recharge an average notebook computer 8 to 10 times" or "operate low power devices such as portable lights, notebook computers, portable televisions and ad hoc communications networks for more than 14 continuous hours," via AC outlet or dual USB jacks. Also on display at CES alongside the $400 unit will be a smaller version called the HydroPak Mini, a prototype device designed to juice up gadgets such as cellphones or gaming systems.[Via Gadget Lab]
Garmin's new Forerunner 405 puts the 'watch' back in 'GPS watch'
Starting with the Forerunner 305, Garmin finally started producing GPS-enabled watches that didn't make you look like a total goof while tracking your pace and vitals, but these still weren't timepieces you'd be comfortable wearing to the office or even a bar. Then came the Forerunner 50, which had the perfect watch-like form factor, but unfortunately, no GPS. So fans of this line will be pleased to learn that Garmin has somehow been able to shoehorn a satellite receiver into a casing not much bigger than the 50's and dubbed it the Forerunner 405. Besides monitoring and logging speed, distance, heart rate and location, the 405 also features a touch-sensitive bezel for controlling its various functions, as well as the same proprietary ANT+Sport wireless syncing technology as the GPS-less 50. Available in either black (pictured above) or green (pictured after the break, along with a video walkthrough), the Forerunner 405 will start at $299.
TV converter box coupons will ship February 17th
With about a million TV converter box coupons having been ordered in the first 40 hours of availability, we're sure that there are more than a few of you out there wondering when you can you expect those $40 vouchers to arrive at your door. Well to save you the hassle of quitting your job in order to wait by the mailbox every day, we're here to let you know that the feds will begin mailing 'em out starting on February 17th -- exactly one year prior to the scheduled analog shutoff. Just remember, as Engadget HD noted yesterday, those of you with early, tuner-less HDTVs looking for a few bucks off a digital receiver will be out of luck, making your seven-year wait for these coupons seem a little silly now, eh?
TV converter box coupons will ship February 17th
With about a million TV converter box coupons having been ordered in the first 40 hours of availability, we're sure that there are more than a few of you out there wondering when you can you expect those $40 vouchers to arrive at your door. Well to save you the hassle of quitting your job in order to wait by the mailbox every day, we're here to let you know that the feds will begin mailing 'em out starting on February 17th -- exactly one year prior to the scheduled analog shutoff. Just remember, as Engadget HD noted yesterday, those of you with early, tuner-less HDTVs looking for a few bucks off a digital receiver will be out of luck, making your seven-year wait for these coupons seem a little silly now, eh?
Asus M70S and M50S notebooks boast 1TB of storage
As you may have read in our coverage of Hitachi's new 5K500 2.5-inch 500GB drive, Asus will be the first manufacturer to pack a pair of these capacious components into a set of upcoming widescreen models, giving the 17-inch M70S and 15-inch M50S the distinguished honor of being the world's first one terabyte laptops. Besides those oddly-sized drives (which can configured in either RAID 0 or RAID 1), these machines will also offer up to WUXGA or WSXGA+ resolutions (for the M70 and M50, respectively), 2.4GHz T7700 Core 2 Duo processors, AMD ATI Radeon HD 3650 graphics, and a fingerprint reader, along with an optional hybrid TV tuner and remote. As usual, the good stuff (pictures, pricing) will be coming in a few days at the Show of Shows.
BlueAnt unveils voice-controlled V1 Bluetooth headset
Anyone who's used the stylish, compact, voice-isolating Z9 Bluetooth headset from BlueAnt knows that while the unit itself performs satisfactorily, remembering the thousand-and-one unintuitive button combinations (three-second push to end a call?) can be a real pain in the ass. Well thankfully for fans of that somewhat flawed product, the Australian manufacturer will be back as CES with yet another dual-mic model, the V1, which drops the Z9's awkward input method in favor of almost complete voice control. The so-called BlueGenie Voice User Interface promises to operate the full suite of headset functions with the use of but a single activation button, which -- if it can actually work in real-world situations -- should definitely help give this new model a leg (or six -- ha) up on the competition. Stay tuned to our CES coverage for more details, along with pricing and release info.
BlueAnt unveils voice-controlled V1 Bluetooth headset
Anyone who's used the stylish, compact, voice-isolating Z9 Bluetooth headset from BlueAnt knows that while the unit itself performs satisfactorily, remembering the thousand and one unintuitive button combinations (three-second push to end a call?) can be a real pain in the ass. Well thankfully for fans of that somewhat flawed product, the Australian manufacturer will be back as CES with yet another dual-mic model, the V1, which drops the Z9's awkward input method in favor of almost complete voice control. The so-called BlueGenie Voice User Interface promises to operate the full suite of headset functions with the use of but a single activation button, which -- if it can actually work in real-world situations -- should definitely help give this new model a leg (or six -- ha) up on the competition. Stay tuned to our CES coverage for more details, along with pricing and release info.
Dell releases Inspiron 1525 in the US
Well it missed a 2007 release by just days, but now Dell's Inspiron 1525 -- upgrade to the 15.4-inch 1521 -- is finally available for purchase in the US, starting at just $500. Of course, it'll cost quite a bit more to configure one of these colorful rigs to a power user's specifications, and even then, you're capped off at a 1,200 x 800 screen resolution being pushed by integrated graphics. Still, even the starter model provides quite a few nice features, including integrated 2 megapixel webcam, travel remote, HDMI port, and perhaps most exciting of all, built-in Wireless USB. You can hit up the Read link for more info and instructions on how to order.
Honda's transforming Rose Parade float in action
With all of yesterday's excitement over the availability of TV converter box coupons, we totally spaced on the annual Rose Parade, featuring that crazy ASIMO-piloted, transforming Ridgeline float from Honda. Well luckily a member of the YouTube nation was able to (rather shakily) capture a full transformation sequence on home video, which you can catch in three parts after the break. Our take? Pretty impressive for a parade float, but pit this achingly-slow changer against any one of the Decepticons in a ROBO-One-style deathmatch, and Honda would have a lot of truck-plane pieces to sweep up after the carnage.
Celio's REDFLY platform enables Foleo-like WinMo devices
It's not that we don't see the appeal of using a supplementary keyboard and display with our smartphones, rather, we simply felt that the Foleo was way overpriced for the relatively limited functionality it provided. Well now a new company called Celio seems to be heading down the same risky path as Palm, announcing the REDFLY Smartphone Interface System, a platform that allows Windows Mobile 5 and 6 devices to be controlled using external hardware -- sounds promising, except that the first piece of gear to incorporate the technology will cost $499, the same targeted MSRP as the failed Foleo (after its planned instant rebate). Celio wisely claims that it's initially targeting enterprise users with the Bluetooth 2.0, clamshell device, although frankly it seems like they'd have more success concentrating on the software and letting OEMs deal with designing products that offer a more attractive price / performance ratio.
Celio's REDFLY platform enables Foleo-like WinMo devices
It's not that we don't see the appeal of using a supplementary keyboard and display with our smartphones, rather, we simply felt that the Foleo was way overpriced for the relatively limited functionality it provided. Well now a new company called Celio seems to be heading down the same risky path as Palm, announcing the REDFLY Smartphone Interface System, a platform that allows Windows Mobile 5 and 6 devices to be controlled using external hardware; sounds promising, except that the first piece of gear to incorporate the technology will cost $499, the same targeted MSRP as the failed Foleo (after its planned instant rebate). Celio wisely claims that it's initially targeting enterprise users with the Bluetooth 2.0, clamshell device, although frankly it seems like they'd have more success concentrating on the software and letting OEMs deal with designing products that offer a more attractive price / performance ratio.