We like USB flash drives (probably little excessively, alright?), but sometimes you need a little more storage space in a small package, which is where Seagate's 5GB Pocket Hard Drive comes in. Seagate's round puck comes with a 4-inch retractable cord, needs no drivers, and is powered by the USB 2.0 port. The only knocks are drive disk/write speeds are not as fast as flash-based memory sticks and the plastic casing feels a bit cheap for $200.
Read MoreTEN Technologies announced the flexDock for iPod mini, a gooseneck arm that plugs into a car's cigarette lighter. With the flexDock, you too can have bizarre items sticking out of your dashboard for all onlockers to see and want to steal. It powers and charged the iPod mini, of course, and also features a 3.5mm line-out. An included casette adapter can then be plugged into your old-school car stereo. TEN made a name for themselves with the NaviPod wireless iPod remote, and they are surely hoping people will use this in conjunction with that. They say it will be available in November for $49.95. Not the cheapest thing in the world, but it could be just the thing you're looking for if you don't want to go the full iPod install route.
Read MoreLet's ponder something for a minute here. When SanDisk rolled out their 1GB SD memory card at the beginning of the year, it was priced at a full $500. Now, not only are they introducing their new 2GB Ultra II SD card (which has faster than average read/write speeds) at the low cost of $240, they're going to sell their regular speed 2GB SD memory card (which should be available next month) at the even cheaper price of just $200. And that $500 1GB SD card? You can now pick that up for around 65 bucks. Progress, etc.
Read MoreUsing no less than 24K gold, Delkin Devices have created the eFilm Archival Gold "300-Year" CD-R. As opposed to standard CD-Rs that can go bad within a few years due to environmental elements like humidity and ultraviolet light, the gold disks are rated to last more than 300 years (since they haven't quite had 300 years to test this out, they're basing their claims on an "accelerated aging process" test). Of course, if the discs only end up lasting 200 years, you probably won't be around to find that out, but whatever.
Read MoreiFire, a Canadian display technology company, is saying that its TDEL (thick-film dielectric electroluminescent technology) technology should be ready for market soon. The technology is supposed to create images comparable to LCD screens, but at a lower cost and with lower power consumption. The display technology uses phosphor dielectric film layers sandwiched between two layers of electrodes to produce images, in case that means anything to you. The company is focusing on a 34-inch model first, and they expect it to be released by Sanyo. While the contrast ratios and brightness leave something to be desired, cheap flat-panel TVs will be a welcome addition. That is, if the people at Sanyo don't see dollar signs all the way to Sears and end up charging LCD prices.
Read MoreSpeaking of using a PDA with a keyboard, HP's Bluetooth Foldable Keyboard, which has five rows of keys and is about the same size as a laptop keyboard when it's unfolded, has rather quietly turned up for sale. At 99 buck it's a little pricier than the portable IR keyboards that are out there, like palmOne's Universal Wireless Keyboard (which'll work with both Pocket PCs and Palms), but it's still cheaper cheaper than most of the other Bluetooth keyboards out there.
Read MoreMaybe you think you don't want or need a Bluetooth mouse for your PDA, but if you're going to ditch the laptop and just use a Pocket PC and and portable keyboard on that next roadtrip at some point you're going to wish you had a mouse, too. Besides working with most Bluetooth-enabled laptops, Think Outside's new Stowaway Travel Mouse is also compatible with loads of Pocket PCs and Pocket PC Phones. Should be out soonish. [Thanks, Barry]
Read MoreThank god Apple is coming out with a $29 pack of iPod socks, because we wouldn't have to resort to using regular socks (or even a cozy!) to keep our iPod nice and toasty this winter (it certainly doesn't get dangerously hot all on its own or anything). Goes sale next month, and we aren't kidding about the $29 part, either.
Read MoreThey've already squeezed USB memory into pen, watches and fake sushi, but now with a little tooling you can get your memory kicks in a Stormtrooper or Darth Vader Pez dispenser. A modder has figured out that the PNY Attache and Lexar Sport JumpDrive, along with a little Dremeling and painting, fits perfectly inside a Pez head. We assume other Pez dispensers will work too, so don't be surprised when you see a Garfield or Mickey Mouse USB Pez drive soon.
Read MoreWhat, you didn't think your friends at Griffin would leave you hanging if you went out and got that new U2 iPod, did you? Because they didn't, so quit your badmouthing, son. Caveat: like the new iPod, Bono made sure it's got mad protection systems to ensure it can only be used to play U2 songs, so if you're looking for a better way to to bump The Black Album, step on.
Read MoreOk, just like we did yesterday, we're giving away another BH220 Bluetooth headset from 8COM Wireless today. Here's how to win: sometime later today (as in Wednesday) we'll put up another post that specifically mentions the headset, all you've got to do is be the very first person to add a comment and the headset is yours. Congratulations to Richard, who won yesterday, and good luck to everyone today!
Read MoreIt's a while since we uttered the words "interesting bookstand", but Masato Tokuno's Mac G5-like design is cheeky and cool enough that we wouldn't mind having a couple around until we save up the money for the real thing. Takumi, the Japanese firm that carries it, also does a nice line in clocks and other interior stuff, though their website gives us no clue as to where we might get our hands on it. [Via MoCoLoco]
Read MoreAlright, well at least now you'll be able to pick up a card reader compatible with that new 256MB TransFlash card we just mentioned. SanDisk are gearing up to release MobileMate, a stick-sized USB2.0 multi-card reader that will handle several of those new micro flash memory card formats, including SD, MiniSD, MultiMediaCard, RS-MMC and TransFlash, while the MobileMate MS will handle the four MemoryStick formats. Both units are USB2.0 and should be useful for users of newer card slot-equipped cellphones. The good news is that SanDisk plans to retail both of these for only $19.99 each. The bad news? Another little thingy to carry around and lose. But we'll live.
Read MoreThere are now a few different mini flash memory card formats out there now, but the smallest of them all, at least for the moment, is TransFlash, which at a mere 15 x 11 x 1 mm is roughly the size of your fingernail, or about one-fourth the size of a regular SD card, and incredibly easy to lose. Anyway, TransFlash card slots are starting to show up in a cellphones now (mainly ones from Motorola, like the V710), but until SanDisk introduced their new 256MB TransFlash card this week the most storage you could squeeze into one was 128MB, which we all know isn't gonna cut it in today's world. There should be around 40 phones that accept TransFlash by the end of 2005. [Thanks, John]
Read MoreThe MobiBlue DHH100 (pictured at right) is one of those players that may never come out although it continues to taunt us with slight alterations in design and specs just to keep us baited and hooked. In this case, shots appeared of the music player with a white backlight instead blue. The unit still carries some unusual features, like built-in speakers and dedicated EQ settings buttons. MobiBlue also released product shots of its new DAH1400 audio player (pictured at left), a smaller flash-based unit that has some promising design features. Release date information for the new units is unavailable, but since the DHH100 was supposed to come out in September, we're not going to lose any sleep.
Read MoreMaybe less of a big deal given that these days it's getting harder and harder to buy a laptop without built-in WiFi, but today Sony Ericsson rolled out the GC89, their new quad-band EDGE/802.11g wireless laptop card. You already know what you can do with the WiFi part of the card, but if you sign up for a data plan from a wireless carrier that offers EDGE (that means Cingular and AT&T Wireless here in the US) you should be able to get decently fast download speeds of around 100-130 kbps (though it can clock as high as 247 kbps under ideal conditions that you'll never actually experience) to your laptop pretty much anywhere you can find cellphone coverage. We'd dig being able to seamlessly roam between 802.11g and EDGE, but that probably isn't in the cards, at least not for right now. The GC89 should be in stores early next year.
Read MorePortable XM satellite radio will become a reality when Dephi releases its new Roady portable adapter. The unit will sport the usual XM radio controls such as category, display, memory, and favorites buttons. It will use the headphones as an antenna, which is a cool use of space, but might also make using headphones of one's own choice a bit difficult. We don't know much else about it except that it is supposed to have a hard drive inside for recording, but supposedly the big announcement should be tomorrow. [Thanks, Chris]
Read MorePyrim Technologies have graced us with the Rock Dock line of iPod docks as stylish, yet functional alternatives to Apple's simple $40 white dock. Rock Docks come in a variety of configurations (well, three, to be exact), including the picture frame incarnation seen here. Other versions include a dual-well version and a CD holder. You have your choice of different faux rock types as well: choose from Granite, Red Granite, Quartz, Sandstone and Limestone. You will pay a little more for these ($70-80), but hey. what's a little extra cash for functional faux-fashion? Rock on (sorry, had to).
Read MoreMuch like Sony's Micro Vault, Lexar's USB 2.0 JumpDrive TouchGuard is a flash drive with a biometric reader and sensor that allows you to unlock your encrypted data, stores your browser favorites, and remembers passwords to your favorite sites via fingerprint authentication. We like the fact that no additional software or drivers are necessary to make this work on your Windows 2000/XP box, there's tough AES 256-bit encryption, and that the 256MB version will only cost around $70 when it comes to stores next week. But will its security countermeasures stay tried and true? As with all things security and crypto, only time will tell (just don't bet the bank on it). [Via cnet]
Read MoreXmultiple have created the FlashPoint memory stick which allows data transfer between sticks without the use of a computer. Say you're a, erm, how to put this, proactive businessman with some important files on your Flash card. Say, then, you want to give those important files to a type-B assistant. Normally, you would have to get to a computer or laptop, transfer the files to the hard drive, and then transfer them again to the other stick. With the FlashPoint, you simply mate the two devices and let the transfer love begin. Cue up some Barry White, baby, and you've got a computer-free transfer goin' on. Awww, yeah. [Thanks, Drew]
Read MoreRemember Net2Phone? Back in the early 2000s (what do you mean it's still the early 2000s? We live in the future.) they were supposed to be like what Skype is now. But, well, you know how things went back then; bubbles burst and they're lucky to be around. Except that now they've apparently bounced back with what is to the best of our knowledge their first compelling offering in years. The VoiceLine XJ100 WiFi Handset extends their VoiceLine broadband service and connects to their SIP-based services wirelessly from any WiFi hotspot (theoretically). We'd really like to see this in action but damn, take that Vonage! Snap!
Read MoreWe're not entirely sure why they chose to purposefully misspell their product's name, but A4 Tech's NB-30 BattryFREE wireless optical mouse cruises around on a special USB mousepad (which they claim is RFID-enabled, oddly enough), which more than likely provides power via the principle of inductive electricity (the same kind of thing that recharges your Sonicare toothbrush without contacts). We don't know for sure though, and they're probably not going to tell us, but either way it's still not going to pry loose from our fingers a good ol' fashioned Bluetooth mouse.
Read MoreLaCie continues their role as providers of designer-friendly Mac monitors with the new 321 21.3-inch LCD monitor. It offers 10-bit gamma correction and a 500:1 contrast ratio as well as a broad CRT-grade color gamut at 72% NTSC. In other words, you know how designers are always going on about how standard CRTs are necessary in real design situations, and that LCDs just aren't accurate enough? LaCie are doing what they can with the 321 to make that a myth. The new 321 is also Mac future proof, with a DVI interface and UXGA resolution. It comes out in November at an MSRP of $1,700.
Read MoreWe're not going to say anything about how easy it must be in Korea to start a digital audio player business apparently, but the latest firm we've never heard of, SignStyles, just threw in with their Si-200C, Si-300, and Si-288 (pictured above, respectively) Flash players with OLED screens (of which, two are actually pretty attractive). The Si-200C and Si-300 are 256MB Flash players that play MP3 and WMA with USB 2.0 and rechargeable Li-polymer batteries; the Si-300 has an FM tuner, while the Si-200c has a voice recorder and line-in. But the Si-288 is available in sizes up to 1GB, and has all of the above in addition to looking way uglier; they needn't be shy with that broke-ass design since we'd be surprised to see them out this way anytime soon anyhow. [Via Akihabara News]
Read MoreThe Graphic-DMM is a little turbonerd device that fits into CF or PCMCIA slots, and acts as a dual-channel Graphic Digital Multimeter. So basically it lets you turn your turbonerd tool into an übergeek tool right quick. It also comes with "Smart Analysis" software to guide user through fault investigation, diagnostics, and other insanely technical things that only our resident How-To wizard Phil Torrone would understand. The unit includes two independent Digital Multimeters connected to a Compact Flash interface, which are entirely isolated from the CF circuitry in order to keep your PDA from turning into half of a s'mores sandwich. It works with PDAs, laptops, and palmtops;use it wisely for car electric work, or to impress women with your waveforms. Right.
Read MoreNEC hit us with a one billion color display before, but that one only could display a paltry 16.7 million at a time (bah! Don't waste our time, NEC!), whereas this 21.3-inch LCD display can show over 1.7 billion colors simultaenously out of a possible 685 billion colors. For reals, yo. It uses NEC's Super Advanced-Super Fine TFT with a viewing angle of 170 degrees and has a QXGA resolution of 2048x1536. Take that, OLED!
Read MoreIt's by no means the craziest Japanese gadget we've ever seen, but the EZDigiMagic DM180 is kind of sublime. The incredibly simple (though not terribly pocketable 3.1 x 3.5 x 1.2-inch) device comes either with 20 or 40GB of space on a 1.8-inch internal drive with USB 2.0, onto which you can dump your CompactFlash, MicroDrive, SD, MMC, or MemoryStick's contents via a deceptively simple UI. One button and a couple hours of battery life spent copying (which should be spanned out over probably dozens of dumping sessions) might actually save you a whole lot of trouble or lost photos. [Via Akihabara News]
Read MoreWe might not have cared were device not named "iFunky" (we're such suckers for all things iFunky) but this cute little guy was spotted in Japan at the WPC Expo. The rather tiny (2.1 x 2.1 x 0.6-inches) DATAFAB iFunky MPF-001 Flash player rocks on MP3 and WMA playback, and has USB 2.0, an FM tuner, voice recorder, and comes in sizes up to 512 with its bizarre interface and button design. We'll keep you iPosted on if it ever makes it to iAmerica.
Read MoreWe've seen a lot of FM transmitters and car accessories before for the iPod, so Kensington's new combo FM transmitter/car charger unit, while simple and sexy, is hardly a surprise this late in the game. But hey, for sixty bucks you can at least charge either the your full or mini iPod while broadcasting those tunes to your FM radio, you know, like you do with those other devices you got two years ago that do the same thing. [Via MacMinute]
Read MoreWe don't know when Logitech got so down with hype design, but we're not exactly complaining here. Their new ultra-thin V500 is by no means their greatest piece to date, but the diminutive wireless RF mouse is a mere 3.75 x 2.25 x 1.12-inches in size, has a four way touch-sensitive scroll panel that looks like it probably won't work all that well, a USB micro-receiver that can be stowed inside the mouse, and a little carrying case so you can take it with you. We like the focus on portability, but if they wanted it to be truly portable they'd cut it out with the USB RF receivers and go with something more commonly built-in, like, say, Bluetooth. [Via DesignTechnica]
Read MoreTargus attempts to solve multiple Apple laptop issues with its new ChillHub released today, which includes two fans to keep the machine cool as well as a four-port USB 2.0 hub for all those extra devices you have (you do have thousands of USB devices, right?). It can run on its own AC adapter or be powered by the computer, so it's travel-friendly (in the sense that you only have to lug around one extra large object, not to), and at $50, the price ain't too bad either. On the other hand, Chillhub is a little overkill unless you're a computer hypochondriac and think your laptop is going to melt without fans blowing at it every which way. Or if you run folding@home (which you should be). Anyway, it measures measures 11.75 x 9-inches, is shipping today, and is certain to ruin that whole stylie PowerBook aesthetic you've got going on on your desk.
Read MoreLogitech, whose design standard setting diNovo Cordless Desktop turned a lot of heads a couple years back, has revamped their desktop set, aiming solely at notebook users. Though we can't see how it's really any more portable than before, the media keypad gained a temperature control, the wireless base station is now a tiny USB receiver, the mouse is vastly reduced in size. The price is also a lot more shrunken as well, now $150 down from $250, but we can't help wondering how much that has to do with the fact that the system has (very disappointingly) moved from Bluetooth to Logitech's proprietary RF. And we're also a little disappointed to see that they didn't hook us up with a wireless version of their new Mx1000 laser-mouse, but hey, with looks like that you can't complain too much, right? [Via DesignTechnica]
Read MoreI-O DATA will be shortly releasing their new LinkPlayer AVLP2/DVDLA, which is both a networked media player and DVD player. The device will play DivX and WMA files over a network from a connected PC, and will also play back photo folders to your set. It also supports high-def resolutions up to 1080i for those video and photo files, so while there may be better and/or cheaper network playback hardware, this device's component form factor and bundling with a DVD player makes it pretty attractive. Expect to see them in November at around $250, which we think is very reasonable.
Read MoreTaiwan-based Vosonic (yeah, we haven't heard of them either) announced their new portable multimedia devices which play MP3 and WMA audio files, display JPG pictures and play MPEG-1 video, have a 2-inch LCD, USB 2.0, and slots for all of the major flash memory card formats (even the less-used xD and the old Smartmedia formats) for offloading pictures in a snap. The MMV VP6300 (pictured at right, funny, it looks kind of familiar...) is a bit smaller and uses a 20GB, 1.8-inch hard drive, while the Super VP6210 uses a 2.5-inch drive (like a laptop) and comes in sizes ranging from 20GB to 80GB. Battery life is 3-6 hours, which is more than a bit weak, especially since the battery isn't user-removable.
Read MoreIt may be slightly less functional than the Kensington Laptop Desktop USB, and slightly less minimalist than the Griffin iCurve, but we have to hand it to Knoll; you want it done right in the looks department, you go to them. The Jellyfish is a deceptively simple and plainly attractive device for lifting your laptop's screen up to eye level, a concept we're still not really into (we'd prefer to just get a proper monitor) but hey, we wouldn't say no if they tried to foist one on us.
Read MoreWe know some of you just can't get enough of good iPod accessories and it looks like Belkin's served up some more goodies. TunePower is a $100 rechargeable battery pack that adds 8 to 10 hours of additional playback time, has three sleeve sizes to fit all iterations of iPods and the iPod mini, and has a detachable Firewire cable that can charge your player and the TunePower at the same time. We got to check this out the other night at DigitalFocus, and it's very slick and very useful so long as you're not using an iCondom. The $50 TuneBase is mini-only and lets you mount the mini anywhere with a long bendable neck; you can also power and recharge your player just by plugging it into the cigarette lighter. Both products will be shipping within two weeks.
Read MoreCome on, you know us. We're total suckers for anything solar powered (that you don't wear, mind you. No one gets between us and our Commes de Garsons.), like the Solio, which uses sun-juice to charge an integrated 1600mAh battery, which will in turn recharge your toys (including but not limited to a whole slew of Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, and Siemens phones, your iPaq, Palm, CLIE, and oh yeah, iPods too), what with that whole slew of modular connectors its got going on. Now if only they'd release a USB attachment. [Via iPodlounge]
Read MorePinnacle Loudspeakers have crammed a powered subwoofer into an 8-inch cube that claims bass response down to 28Hz at -3dB. The SUBcompact6 subwoofer uses a 6.5-inch speaker that's driven by a 200-watt amplifier and sports the standard subwoofer features: a variable low-pass crossover, line-level inputs, and auto on/off circuitry. The front-firing design is good for space-saving installations, and for a subwoofer of this size, we imagine those situations will be common. It also includes speaker outputs for satellite speakers, just in case you want to use the on-board crossover for those. Small and ballsy, just like you like it.
Read MoreSince the odds are pretty good that they wouldn't have one from your fave band anyway (we didn't see ones from Unwound, Dr. Octagon, or Big Star coming anytime soon), as promised HP has opened things up and is offering iPod owners the chance to print their own customizable iPod tattoos. You can use any image you want and a pack of ten blank sheets costs 15 bucks. [Via MacMinute]
Read MoreIn the 'Why didn't we think of that?' category, Socket announced that their rechargeable lithium ion Mobile Power Pack will be shipping next month. With a street price of $120, the power pack can power the average PDA for up to 16 hours, and can also be used to power your MP3 player or cellphone. This might be yet another item to put in our gadget bag—but only if they can keep down the price of each individual connection adapter.
Read MoreThe new Delkin BurnAway is a media reader, CD burner, a DVD player, a memory card reader, and a digital slideshow player. This unit can operate either independently or as a drive connected to a computer via USB 2.0. It also features a rechargeable battery, allowing for around 2 hours of DVD viewing time, or about 6 CD burns. For mobile professionals like photographers who need to archive on-the-run, this could be a great solution, although the battery time could be limiting if you're really on the road. It supports CompactFlash (I&II), Microdrives, SD, MMC, SmartMedia, Memory Stick and MS PRO. It also comes with a remote control and carrying case. Now go be on the road!
Read MoreEngadget special correspondent Oliver Mather dug up this nugget about the Auvi SA1500, a new 20GB MP3 player which might prove to be a worthy competitor for the iPod if they could ever get around to releasing it: After numerous delays we were finally due to see the promising, smaller-than-an-iPod, 20GB Auvi SA1500 go on sale at around November time of this year, however, they're obviously pushing this "good things come to those who wait" thing now. After speaking with the fine people of Auvi USA apparently they're making some changes to the SA1500 to make it compatible with several online music stores and now won't be available until the first quarter of 2005 at the earliest.
Read MoreLogitech has released their new Harmony 680 universal remote control for use with all those new Windows Media Center PCs that were announced yesterday (it'll work with all the old ones, too). So say you get a new Media Center PC, a fresh new sound system, and a nice new high-def screen, and you're rarin' to get into the wonderful world of Windows Media Center. The Harmony 680 learning universal remote let's you get rid of the rest of those remotes and is designed to work with Windows XP Media Center Edition right out of the box (it has buttons for "My Videos", "My TV", and "My Music") as well as just about any other IR device in your home, including home theater receviers, displays, and automation systems. It also features a programmable LCD screen for custom labels, and can do some serious macros - just push the "Watch TV" button and let it do the all the heavy lifting for you.
Read MoreJust like those standalone, PC-less CD burners out there, Sony's new $300 DVDirect can convert your camcorder or VCR tapes directly to DVD, stuffing up to twelve hours of video at the lowest quality setting onto a single dual-layer disc, encoding footage in MPEG-2 format while automatically creating chapter stops. It burns at 16x speed for single-layer DVD+R, or 2.4x speed for dual-layer discs, with buffer underrun support so you won't have any wasted blanks, and can hook up to a PC via USB 2.0 if you want to swing that way. We're impressed that this $300 unit can stuff up to twelve hours of video at the lowest quality setting on a single dual-layer disc.
Read MoreWhile they were letting us in early on the details of their new 5GB MP3 player, the people at Virgin Electronics also showed us two new portable speakers setups. Both are cast in aluminum and come with vinyl bags in which you can tote them about. The Boomtube uses 4 AA batteries, while the Boomtube EX uses rechargeable batteries. So what's the difference? While they use the same main speakers, the EX hosts a subwoofer in the main unit for some extra oomph. In a nod to British rock humor (or is it "humour"?), its volume dial also goes to 11. Other features include the use of standard RCA cables, so no more digging about for special cables, random special orders, or annoying, space-defining proprietary cables. They sound pretty good, too, although we weren't really about to blast them in the business-friendly conference room in which they were peeped. Of course, Virgin would like you to buy one of these with their aforementioned player, but we think these things wouldn't make a bad portable setup for some other player or serve as above-average desktop speakers. If you're up in the air, spend the extra cash for the EX version, as the bass makes a big difference in speakers of this size.
Read MoreIt's not clear when, if ever, this prototype exhibited by Sony at CEATEC will hit shelves, but apparently it's a hard-disk audio/video player with some sort of wireless connection (and a decent-looking screen), which we gather from the placard behind it (see larger image) is able to stream content wirelessly from a home server and also beam stuff on its hard disk to other devices. Another bonus is that it conforms to the interoperability standard that a consortium of consumer electronics manufacturers are working up, so you shouldn't have to have a suite of Sony stuff to get it working.
Read MoreKensington's new Laptop Desktop USB (whose name invokes many a fabled childhood session of "Red Light Green Light 1-2-3!") is almost a lot of things, like a Dell D/View, or a universal laptop stand, or even a docking station—but just not quite. While it seems a good idea, they claim it won't fit all those lovely 17-inch multimedia laptops coming out these days; and while we're totally into the USB docking station thing, four ports just isn't enough for device-heavy users. And the laptop stand thing? Well, you can judge for yourself, but trust us, we've used the D/View stand before (which is the exact same thing, but Dell-only) and we'd say your hard earned dollas might be best saved for that nice new monitor you've been eyeing.
Read MoreDell, seriously. This is ridiculous. We all know your R&D, design, QC, and fulfillment are totally for crap, but come on, you really expect to continue in the cutthroat notebook market after recalling a million (actually, 990,000 to be exact) laptop power adapters? Especially just after earlier this year you recalled 284,000 laptop batteries? Dell, is everything ok over there? Now on the public service announcement side of things: if your Dell laptop was sold between Sept. 1998 and Feb. 2002 (check even if it wasn't), and your adapter bears the part number 9364U, 7832D, or 4983D, Dell's recalling that part immediately to avoid imminent risk of fire and electrocution. Wait a second, the Dell laptop we're working on right now has one of tho— [Editor's Note: Ryan could not be contacted to complete this post. We will keep our readers apprised of the situation.] [Via CNN]
Read MorePanasonic has started shipping the 37-inch and 42-inch models in their 7UY line of 7th-generation commercial plasma displays. Some models, including the new 65-inch screen, have yet to ship, let alone be priced. Panny commercial models have grown popular among both businesses and enthusiasts due to their simple design, lack of speakers, and lack of tuner in a consumer-design landscape of ostentatious glass and sub-standard sound. Panasonic glass also produces some of the deepest blacks for plasma screens, which have historically suffered from poor black representation. Since most people who put up the cash to buy a flat-panel screen already have some sort of sound system and a tuner from their cable or satelite company, the Panasonic commercial-model plasmas have become good choices for some. The new 7-series boasts better burn-in protection, an available HDMI interface, 3.62 billion displayable colors, and 10% brighter images.
Read MoreYou know you're dealing with a high class electronics company when they've got an acute in their name, but come on, minus points for you by not making your GC-IRL IR Learner device USB, Global Caché! (And for that silly, recursive name!) You may not be able to keep it plugged into the front of your machine (without a serial extender, anyway), but if you're feeling hackish, the device will learn your device's IR code and convert to easily useable formats which can be repurposed however you can imagine (kind of like how we imagined making a universal remote out of an iPod). [Via TRFJ]
Read MoreUse it as a standard desktop mouse if you must, but this new device can be put in your lap, held while your cruising around the room, clutched with two hands, or even back at your desk as a trackball (Centipede, anyone?). Want to attach it to your hand like a little electronic leech? Go ahead. We won't stop you. While most mice designed for high ergonomics force the user, ironically, into one usage mode, the Dual Mouse allows for a host of ways to use it. We only hope that you'll eventually come back to your desk to get some actual work done after you've taken that stroll with this thing in hand. Or lap. It uses a rechargeable battery with 1-week battery life, and charges via USB. The range is about 1.5 meters - which could be better since Perific seem to be abvocating some major strolling around with this device.
Read MoreIn addition to going after the flat-panel market, next month Canon's releasing the Realis SX50, a projector that uses LCoS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon), a new display technology that's supposed to be brighter and sharper than DLP and LCD. Available for $4000, it sports an SXGA+ (1400x1050) resolution (which is good enough for 720P HDTV) and has a brightness of 2500 ANSI Lumens and a 1000:1 contrast ratio. We've reported on DLP projectors in the past, but we pretty sure this is one of the first LCoS projectors to actually hit the market.
Read MoreLikSang has finally cooked up something for all those PC enthusiasts who can't stand using a controller to play console FPSs. Indeed, the SmartJoy FRAG is likely one of the most significant peripherals ever concocted. The device simply allows the standard PS2 keyboard/mouse unit to be used for FPSs, and is even compatible with the Xbox! On top of this, it comes with presets for a number of topnotch titles. And if that's not good enough, it's completely customizable and features inverted mouselook and Deadzone adjustments. The SmartJoy is retailing for just under $30 (keyboard/mouse not included) and swill ship late this month, just in time for Halo 2. Joy.
Read MoreIf you're in the process of building the perfect networked home, and we're sure you are, Zanware's PC Controller panel might be the front-end interface you've been looking for. Installable in any standard 3-gang UL electrical box, the PC Controller uses a 128x64 pixel screen and retro-looking dial for input. It connects using just one Ethernet cable - it gets its power from it as well - making installation relatively easy (aside from all the in-wall Ethernet wiring you'll need to do, of course). Included as well are temperature and light sensors to trigger scripted events that you set up on your PC. Zanware suggests that you will be able to dial in music, RSS feeds, and news updates from the Internet on these things. The thing is pretty customizable, so put one in every room and go crazy with your bad self.
Read MoreAs far as iPod alternatives go we're rather partial to the iAudio M3—it's a pretty slick little package—but it turns out Cowon has something even better up its sleeve: the iAudio M5, a 20GB player which looks a lot like the M3, just with a thicker black casing and a color LCD screen for looking at digital photos (it has USB On The Go so you can copy photos over directly from a camera) and "limited support" for video playback (there are no specifics about what formats are supported). The screen looks totally 'shopped, so it's hard to say how good it'll actually be, but it is supposed to be out by December.
Read MoreWe haven't met many people using powerline networking (anyone out there taken the plunge?), but Netgear just introduced the WGXB102, an 802.11g wireless access point that connects to a home network using the HomePlug powerline networking standard. The whole point behind HomePlug is that you use turn the electrical wiring in your home to create a network. It hasn't gotten much attraction, but if you have a home that's too big to be covered by a single wireless access point and/or you don't feel like stringing Ethernet cables everywhere (not that there's anything wrong with that), it's definitely a viable option. Anyway, the one thing to keep in mind is that while the WGXB102 will let you use HomePlug networking to add 802.11g hotspots to disparate wings of your McMansion, the top speed of HomePlug networking gear is just 14Mbps, which means you won't get the full benefits of making the move to 802.11g(which runs at 54Mbps) if you're looking for a speedier way to wirelessly whip files around your home network.
Read MoreOver at iPodlounge Jeremy Horowitz figures out why he likes the RadioSHARK: the long-vaporous but recently materialized Mac peripheral isn't just about turning your Mac into a TiVo for radio, it's really about recording your fave shows (an obligatory Howard Stern reference is made, but we'll get all middlebrow on your asses and mention our weakness for This American Life) and then having them to listen to on your iPod later. And yes, we're already well familiar with Audible (which we like except for how unstable the software is on our Treo), but this more or less cuts out the middleman, doesn't it?
Read MoreWe're suckers for any kind of convergence, no matter how inane or banal, but we think Panasonic is actually on to something with smartSD, their new technology which combines those SD memory cards we all know and love with those RFID tags that tinfoil hat types loathe and fear. There are already a few cellphones with built-in RFID chips already out there (Nokia offers an RFID kit for their 5140 handset), but the big deal here is that with smartSD you could conceivably add RFID to almost anything with an SD or miniSD memory card slot like a cellphone, PDA, laptop, digital camera, personal video player, MP3 player, etc.
Read MoreRight after we trick out our lappy with some rims and some neon accents we're gonna snap up this portable external laptop subwoofer from Saitek and challenge someone to a bass off. And as if they were reading our geeky minds, it hooks up via USB.
Read MoreIt's not the first time we've seen a multi-purpose adapter/charger, but Incase's new charger will power any iPod with a dock connector at home or in the car, which is kind of nice. But for the $50 they want for it, why couldn't they be kind enough to include an FM transmitter while they were at it? Because this thing is going to take up the car lighter port you'd probably otherwise use for the transmitter, so come on, little help? Jeez. [Via iPodlounge]
Read MoreI am Tiger. Hear me roar. Amazon.com shows Mac OS X 10.4, known to Apple fans by its codename Tiger, available for pre-order today and lists a release date of March 31, 2005. Since there has been nothing official out of Cupertino regarding an exact release date - "first half of 2005" is all they've said - one can assume that it will only be a matter of hours before Apple legal issues one of their infamous cease and desist emails and the pre-order page is 404.
Read MoreWe interrupt the worldwide iPod love-fest to complain a bit. Hey Apple, WTF, the very useful app "iPod Download" made our iPod 10 times better, we were finally able to easily get music off our iPod, but since we've updated iTunes to version 4.7, now (of course) it doesn't work at all. C'mon guys, this is our music, on our iPod. Here's more about the app when we covered it last month.
Read MoreWe really lucked out. We convinced our good friend Ross Rubin to write a new weekly column for us called Switched On which'll cover everything related to digital convergence, the connected home, and all those other multimedia buzzwords that marketers are tossing out these days. Fortunately, Ross knows how cut through all the marketese and get straight to the heart of the matter, as he does with his inaugural column about the new iPod Photo: There are many good reasons to pre-announce products in the technology industry. You get all the excitement of having something new without the burden of having to actually produce or manufacture it. However, you'd think that in an industry that is famous for such embarrassing pronouncements that 640K ought to be enough for anybody (well, maybe for your camera's firmware) or that there is a world market for about five computers (perhaps in every person's pockets), companies would tread cautiously in announcing that they're not going to create something. While that's not exactly been the case with Apple and a video-enabled iPod, the company's derision of portable video has certainly signaled that we shouldn't expect such a device before, say, the next major Earth-smashing asteroid threat. There are two primary reasons for Apple to create a video iPod. The first would be that the company believed that there is real demand for such capability, though Apple has signaled that it sees anything but (the second I'll discuss later). There are a number of strong arguments for this, including the user attention that video requires, the content acquisition dilemma, and the poor experience that a 3.5-inch LCD provides when compared with enjoying the Finding Nemo DVD on the 60-inch plasma in your Gulfstream V.
Read MoreAs speculated, Apple's iTunes Music Store has expanded to include localized versions of the service for Austria, Belguim, Finland, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain in addition to the US, UK, France, and Germany. Expect to see regional features, lists, and hopefully, some cross-cultural sharing across the various stores (would be nice to check out what's hot in Finland).
Read MoreAlright, we knew that the black U2 iPod was going to be announced today, but what we hadn't known (blindsiding just about everyone who was predicting this wouldn't be out until next year), Apple also introduced their new iPod photo this afternoon, too. Here's what we know: The iPod photo will come in two versions, a 60GB model that goes for $599 a 40GB that'll retail for $499. The U2 iPod will be a black-colored version of the regular iPod and retail for $349. Supposed to start shipping today. We'll have pics and more details soon. [Thanks to Brian Blair, analyst with Dorado Capital in San Diego for the scoopage]
Read MorePredicting that there'll be new iPods next year isn't exactly difficult, but Merrill Lynch gets a little down and dirty (or at least a little specific) and predicts what everyone was already guessing: that Apple will introduce both a flash-based player and a photo iPod soon. An analyst with Thomas Weisel swears that they'll come out with a flash iPod before Xmas, but Merrill Lynch speculates that it won't actually make it out until sometime in the first quarter of next year and will probably have 256MB of storage (that honestly seems a bit low all things considered) and retail for $149. They're a little less certain about the deets on the photo iPod, that everyone has been speculating about like crazy, but they think it should also come out soon, probably in the first half of next year. [Via MacMinute]
Read MoreOne of the members of the original Macintosh development team, Jef Raskin, has been sopping up headlines after he told The Guardian that the "Mac is now a mess." Claiming that Apple now designs by accretion, he says today's Macintosh is too complicated and that its purpose as a plug-n-play device has been lost in Apple's desire to make it a powerful workstation. He goes on to attack Apple's premium packaging and design, saying that it does nothing to assuage the fact that there's little difference between a Windows and Macintosh interface these days. He also laments the loss of Hypercard and the bloating of modern applications. Sorry, Jef, but some of us want to do something beyond writing "Hello" in 1-bit mousescript on 9-inch monitors.
Read MoreYou know, even with more pressing issues at hand but two weeks from the big election, there are still a lot of rumors and hubbub going around about what might have happened during the debates, what with G.W. Bush's mystery-bulge-in-the-suit. We're so glad someone finally set the record straight. [Via Joi Ito]
Read MoreApple's iBook line of laptops has been tweaked, just as per yesterday's rumors, adding faster processors and Airport Extreme wireless up and down the line. The new line, still based on G4 processors (what, you thought they were going to be G5s?), start at $1000 for a 1.2Ghz model with Combo Drive and run up to $1500 for a 1.33Ghz model with SuperDrive. All have Airport Extreme 802.11g wireless built in now and come with the iLife application suite. Other new features include an ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 graphics card with 32MB of DDR memory and AGP 4X support, VGA video out, FireWire 400, USB 2.0, a built-in 56K v.92 modem and fast Ethernet. Bluetooth remains optional. Go get 'em, they're available now!
Read MoreFirst the black iPod was just a shot in the dark (literally, it was just a picture of white ipod taken in the dark). Then colorware began to offer custom color iPods, including black ones. The colors add a little personality, but the white buttons left us, well, wishing for something a little more authentic (though their 4G black version was nice). The quest for the ultimate black iPod continued and HP answered with a few iced-out black ones for the likes of Puffy and Snoop. Nice, but they're a little out of our price range, and we're over the ice and gold phase—anyone want our lil Jon replica Pimp Cup? Apple will answer the calls for a black iPod next month, though, but it's not what you think. No, it's not one of those iPod tattoos, but it might be just as bizarre; know those new iPod commercials featuring U2's new single? Well the black iPods will be special U2 edition ones. In addition to the color change the iPods will come preloaded with U2's new album How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, as well as selected hits and other old tracks from the Irish rockers (and we use the term rocker loosely). The U2 iPods are due out November 23, but should be announced October 26 at the San Jose shindig Apple just sent out the invites for.
Read MoreWe're not saying it's this way or that by any means (you know how these well-informed rumors work), but there are definitely a lot of wheels turning right now in the direction of Apple having some decent pre-holiday product announcements very, very soon. The prediction du jour is that the iBook line will be updated as soon as tomorrow, and will have G4 CPU speeds up to 1.3GHz; also, speculation is that with Apple's U2 event next week, the iPod might possibly get a U2 edition (we're slightly of doubting this considering how careful Apple is to make sure they cater to the plural tastes of their customers), perhaps even decked out with all their albums to date. But as usual, we'll just have to sit tight for the time being and wait it out.
Read MoreBrad Gibson at Technology News says—Apple Stock on Upward Momentum; Analysts Positive. According to this article, it is the 'halo effect' of iPod sales and iTunes music that continue to garner positive 'buy' ratings for Apple stocks from seven Wall Street analysts. An excerpt: "...Apple said it expects to post a first-quarter profit of between 39 cents and 42 cents a share on revenue between $2.8 billion and $2.9 billion. Before the company's update, Wall Street analysts had been estimating Apple would earn 28 cents a share on revenue of $2.52 billion..." Go Apple... (-:=
Read MoreDespite hugely successful Q4 earnings, Apple might take a big hit this holiday season if IBM doesn't come through with the G5 chips Apple needs to get the new iMac G5 into the public's hot little hands. MacNewsWorld reports "While it's difficult to quantify the impact of the processor shortage, it is clear that Apple is taking a hit on G5 system sales." Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer was quoted during the conference call as saying "We believe IBM has placed enormous resources to resolve this situation." The continued lack of chips could hit Apple hard in the wallet. While they will still enjoy strong iPod sales through Christmas, not having iMacs in stock is potentially devestating. IBM had previously implied they would be meet demand back in August. Two months later, they are still falling short and not even close to meeting their commitments.
Read MoreAmazon put up a product pre-order page for Tiger, Apple's OS X 10.4 operating system, and it shows a March 31, 2005 release date. Price is the usual 129.95 like previous iterations of OSX. As far as we know, this is the first time a release date has been associated with the new operating system (Apple had previously said only that it would be out in the first half of next year). The date makes us wonder, though - March 31 is exactly the end of the first quarter of 2005, so chances are it's an educated guess by the Amazon people looking to line their wallets ahead of time. The other interesting tidbit is that one would expect Apple to release new hardware with the new OS, at least that's how it's been done in the past. As for what that may be, we'll just leave that cat in the bag for now and let the fanboys speculate.
Read MoreApple is slated to open 6 "Retail mini" stores this weekend and Apple CEO Steve Jobs held a news conference today to throw the curtains open on the Palo Alto location. The mini stores will help Apple achieve their goal of having 100 stores open worldwide by the end of the year. But since the mini stores are only half the size of the of the smallest existing Apple retail store, shouldn't you need twice as many of them to hit the target? Hmmm... What's next? An Apple Store within an Apple Store? An Apple kiosk? I can just picture it now.. an Apple kiosk in the middle of your average suburban mall. Wedged between the Piercing Pagoda booth and the so-called novelty shirt stand that prominently displays a powder blue "Bourbon Cowboy" t-shirt.
Read MoreThanks to the folks at ColorWare, you can now order an iMac in virtually any color you want. ColorWare has been colorizing a full spectrum of Apple products, PCs, peripherals and gaming consoles for a while now and from what I have seen, they do a great job. I'm even sending my own 20GB iPod in for carbonizing just for fun. I had a chance to ask The ColorWare folks a few questions about their latest offering. Q: What kind of coating is used? A: It's a hybrid between a manufacturing and automotive finish. Q: Do you offer the option of custom designs, logos or patterns as well as one-color covering? A: We do not offer custom work at this time. Q: Do you offer coloring services for pre-owned iMac G5s, like you do for Powerbooks, iBooks and iPods? If so, what is the cost of the colorization process? A: We will be offering our services for used iMacs. (note: they did not comment on when) Q: What is the turnaround time on colorization service? A: 8-10 business days and finally... Q: What has demand been like for the colored iMac G5? A: It's a great product and we expect great sales. Thanks to Lars Rasmussen of ColorWare for taking the time.
Read MoreBrad over at the Digital Music Weblog thinks that Apple is duping it's iTunes Music Store customers because, as he puts it, "they must stick with Apple players [when their iPod fails] because their iTMS-bought music collection won't work with any other ones." Saying that music purchased from the iTMS won't work with anything but the iPod is very misleading and patently untrue. Buy it, burn it, play it back or copy it to wherever you please. Re-import it as whatever music format you want and dump it onto any other inferior digital music player you'd like. It's that easy. No one will prohibit you from doing so. Will the process be lossless? No. But most people buying cheaper imitations of the iPod aren't exactly audiophiles, and even my highly evolved ears can't tell much difference between a first generation, high-quality audio file and a 3rd generation medium-high-quality audio file. Apple's iPod is here to stay - and so is the music you're buying from the iTMS.
Read More"We are thrilled to report our highest fourth quarter revenue in nine years," said Steve Jobs. "We shipped over 2 million iPods, our Retail store revenue grew 95 percent year-over-year, and the new iMac G5 has received phenomenal reviews and is off to a great start." "We're pleased to report 37 percent revenue growth for the quarter and operating margin above 5 percent," said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's CFO. "Looking ahead to the first quarter of fiscal 2005, we expect revenue of between $2.8 and $2.9 billion, operating margin above 7 percent and earnings per diluted share of $.39 to $.42." As usual, Apple has posted the earnings conference call in Quicktime format on their site. Have a listen. AAPL closed up 1.46 today, at 39.75.
Read MoreMicrosoft still doesn't get it. Having launched their MSN Music service yesterday, a Microsoft rep was quoted as saying "We're different because Apple is a closed system. If you want Apple, you have to use the iPod. A lot of people want choice and we offer that." Man, are they dense. The people have made their choice already. Microsoft just doesn't want to admit that like the choosy moms who choose Jif, choosy consumers choose iPods. Deal with it! 92% of all hard-drive-based music players sold are iPods. More than 65% of all digital music players sold are iPods. Sure looks to me like people have made their choice and are really quite pleased with their choice. The MSN Music service is destined to fail - at the very least it will pale in comparison to the iTunes Music Store, which will continue to dominate the market. Microsoft is out of their league on this one. Too little, too late.
Read MoreReports are coming in that Apple could be gearing up to release a G5-based eMac really soon that would also include an update to the video hardware. Recent inventory movements at distributors signal that something may be up with the education-friendly machines, and distributors like Ingram Micro have seen mass movements of eMacs lately, which is usually what we see immediately before a major product announcement. Apple is having its Q4 financial conference call this afternoon, so we'll be keeping an ear open for any hints.
Read MoreFree t-shirts to the first hundred visitors, a sweepstakes to win a Digital Lifestyle Collection consisting of a 17-inch flat-panel iMac G5 with Combo drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW), an iPod mini, a Canon PowerShot S410 digital camera, a Canon ZR80 digital camcorder, and an Epson Stylus R200 printer (valued at nearly $2,350) and no sales tax in Delaware! W00t! Apple Store Christiana Mall 308 Christiana Mall Space 1547 Newark, DE 19702 Grand Opening: Saturday, October 16, 10:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m
Read MoreIn an effort to break Apple's 60%-and-growing hold on the digital music player biz, analysts are expecting Dell to refresh its Dell DJ player in time for holiday sales. When the Dell DJ was launched last year, critics had generally good things to say about it and it cost less than the Apple iPod, but instead of being an "iPod killer," it didn't even inflict as much as a superficial wound. Dell remains silent about what plans, if any, they have to jazz up their DJ line, but the experts seem to agree that if Dell wants to be a player in this market at all, they will have to do something soon so that the DJ shows up on someone's Christmas list. Check out BusinessWeek for an in-depth analysis. Since Michael Dell and Steve Jobs are known to harbor personal grudges as well as professional contempt for each other, it's unlikely we'd see an iPod-based Dell Digital Music player along the lines of the Apple iPod + HP that was announced in January and started shipping earlier this fall.
Read MoreFrom now until Jan 10, 2005, you can get a $300 rebate when you purchase a new Power Mac G5 or PowerBook G4 and Quark 6 on the same invoice from Apple or from resellers that are both Apple and Quark authorized. The rebate is $100 if you are purchasing the Quark 6 upgrade. See Apple's Quark Promo page for details. The sad thing is that many of the people I know have already gotten so fed up with Quark that even paying them to use it is no longer an option. I am seeing Adobe InDesign gain more and more momentum every day - even with printers that have been holding on dearly to Quark for years.
Read MoreThe rumors about this have been flying since March, but now Think Secret confirms that a 60GB iPod with a 2-inch color screen and the ability to sync up with iPhoto for viewing digital photos is due out sometime in the next 30 to 60 days and will retail for $499. It'll also have audio/video-out capabilities for hooking up to a TV, but there still won't be any support for video playback, so dreams of a video iPod remain deferred. P.S. - The photo at right is just a mock-up. [Thanks to everyone who sent this one in]
Read MoreFrom an article in today's New York Times: A Reborn Museum Redesigns Design [free registration may be required] The Museum of Modern Art reopens in November at its new facility on W. 53rd St in Manhattan after a 2 year stint in Queens, NY. MoMA's acclaimed and newly expanded Design collection will also be back on display. "The collection's exhibition will now begin with contemporary objects, and with a new emphasis not only on contemporary design, but on design of recent, newly appreciated periods like the 1960's and 70's. Objects like Ingo Maurer's 'Porca Miseria!' chandelier, an exploding star of broken china and flatware designed in 1994, and Apple's G4 Cube computer, designed by Jonathan Ive in 2000, will greet the public. " It's no secret I'm one of the Cube's most loyal fans. You can also see the Cube (many of them!) on display in my apartment. Admission is free, but reservations are required :)
Read MoreBesides the usual amount of spam, "lost" orders, and general sketchiness you may have to deal with, you might also be getting a little something extra you didn't bargain for when you thought you could score free iPods from FreeiPods.com: a nice little reminder engraved on the back of where you got your new bauble from. Seems that Gratis Networks, the outfit behind this whole thing, has been using the Apple Store as a source for the iPods they're giving away (and yes, we've established this is more or less for real, that doesn't mean we want you posting all your referral link spam everywhere), and lately they've been making sure that "freeiPods.com" gets engraved on the back of a bunch of them. [Via Cult of Mac]
Read MoreTelecom giant AT&T is reportedly evaluating Linux and Apple systems as a possible replacement for their current Microsoft Windows infrastructure. While this would be HUGE if it happened, it might not be the best thing for Mac lovers. One of the reasons the Mac OS has been mostly immune to the recent surge of malicious attacks, worms, malware and other nasties, is that there isn't any significant payoff in bringing less than 5% of the worlds computers to a crippled halt. AT&T has some 70,000 computers in circulation all by itself. All of a sudden the Mac OS doesn't look to shabby to a bored teenage script kiddy in Taiwan.
Read MoreAfter years of doing hardware benchmark tests, hosting classes, and garnering a bit of local celebrity at San Diego's Fashion Valley Apple Store, Robety Morgan is no longer allowed to do his thing. Apple has enacted a new corporate policy that bans Morgan from doing hardware benchmark tests at Apple Stores store after latest results show that the new iMac G5 isn't quite as fast as Apple is claiming. Apple claims the G5 iMac is 3 times faster than the previous iMac G4, and when Morgan ran tests on the new machine, he didn't come up with the same results. As for his testing methods, we're not completely convinced - Morgan likes to use 3D games to do his benchmarking, and Macs really aren't gaming machines, per se. Moral of the story? Rather than turn this into a firestorm of bad publicity, Apple has promised to gave him a G5 iMac to test on his own turf—see how it all works out in the end?
Read MoreIt was only about 20 years ago that Steve Jobs asked John Scully, the Pepsi CEO, if he was content selling sugared water to kids or if he'd rather be a part of something that could change the world. We all know how well THAT turned out. Pepsi North America and Apple gave away 100 million free songs earlier this year as part of the iTunes music store launch. Now Pepsi Canada is upping the ante by giving away one iPod every hour from now until Christmas. That's more than 2000 iPods. And a lot of sugared water. I'm a US-based Diet Coke drinker, so I'll have to curb my enthusiasm. Good luck to all my Canadian friends, though!
Read MoreNot sure whether Jason Pfaum, the analyst with Thomas Weisel who was the source of last Friday's rumor about Apple possibly introducing a flash-based iPod, was either misquoted or simply got his facts wrong (or that this is a completely different matter altogether), but SigmaTel, the company that was supposedly making the chips for said player, just signed a two-year deal with Rio, one of Apple's staunchest competitors. Doesn't mean that they didn't also cut a deal with Apple, just that we could see how there might be a little confusion over all this. We'd call Apple and ask, but you already know what they're gonna say... [Thanks, Andrew]
Read MoreIs Apple working on an even more mini flash-based iPod? It's still more or less in the realm of speculation for now, but a semiconductor company called SigmaTel has supposedly signed a deal with Apple to supply them with controller chips for a new flash-based digital audio player which should be out just in time for Christmas. If true, we're guessing that Apple will probably use the chips in a line of ultrasmall, ultralight flash-based players that'll like range from 256MB to 1GB in storage capacity (or maybe even bigger). We're all aflutter at the possibilties. [Via PlayerBlog]
Read MoreiTunes Music Store users in several European countries, as well as Japan and Australia, awoke to find their access cut off. Fear not, for people-in-the-know are speculating that this is due to localized versions of iTMS due to launch within the next 24 hours, probably around the same time as Apple announces its rumored U2-themed iPod. Users in Switzerland, Austria, Ireland, and Canada, when attempting to log on to the store, get the message "iTMS is not available in your country yet."
Read MoreFor the uniniated to the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) scene, Tom's has a general guide to the Internet telephony world, with information on the major providers such as Vonage and BroadVoice, how well 911 works in a power outage, reliability, and voice quality. They also uncover a dirty little secret of the VoIP provider world, which is that you may not necessarily be able to switch providers using the same hardware because the Analog Telephone Adapters (ATA) may be locked for one provider only (much like SIM-locked cellphones). And don't forget that the FCC requires that VoIP always be tappable by the feds, and that the NY Times considers VoIP insecure, for what it's worth (which is not too much in our book).
Read MoreSkype are planning to add video chat services to their voice chat-via-internet software in the coming year. It seems that with the rush of VOIP services, Skype is turning up the development heat in order to regain some market momentum. In fact, they are also planning to add Skype for SmartPhones and other devices. When? Well, that they can't answer, but they do promise that Skype will appear on more platforms inthe future. As for the VOIP to standard phone issue, they still believe Skype users don't want it. Seriously. That's what they said.
Read MoreYeah, you heard us right. We aren't sure how Directron is doing it (as if you recall, Microsoft is only giving out Media Center Edition 2005 to their VARs, who will in turn offer the upgrade to their customers with media-center PCs), but apparently through a possible licensing loophole, they're letting it go for $134 US (with a remote for an extra $44, as well). On their page they're selling it as though they're assuming you, the customer, are a computer reseller building media-center PCs for your customers (so buy it fast, and we do mean now, if you catch our drift). Whatever, right? Of course, we predict within 15 minutes, Microsoft will have issued a cease and decist, so, you know what you've got to do if your PC's manufacturer doesn't seem to plan to offer the upgrade any time soon (or if you want to roll your own MCE box). [Via Lockergnome]
Read MoreAfter watching American Idol a few times we're pretty sure there's more than a few people out there who could use a little pitch improvement, so William Hung, this one's for you. If you've got a Smartphone, PhonTuner will help you perfectly tune your voice, guitar, violin, or piano over three octave ranges in realtime, and what's more, it's got fancy graphical interface. So why do we have a feeling that 50 Cent would totally segfault this app?
Read MoreWhile Google says that Internet Explorer is required to use the new Google Desktop Search, intrepid developers have released the Firefox Toolbar that extends the Desktop Search to the Firefox browser on Windows and the Google Toolbar to Firefox on the Mac. This new toolbar allows one-click access to Gmail and the ability to search your Gmail account. Adding Google Desktop Search to the toolbar in Windows requires an easy "hack" but it is one Google themselves provide to add Google Desktop Search to their own Deskbar. I've hacked my Google Deskbar and it works fine. The Firefox Toolbar works with Firefox 0.9 and the PR1 release. NOTE: This post has been updated. I originally indicated (incorrectly) that this toolbar enabled Google Desktop Search on the Mac. As a reader pointed out in the comments to this post, Google Desktop Search requires an .exe file that is currently only available for Windows 2000 and XP. Sorry for the error.
Read MoreThe Windows Media Center announcements keep on coming! The latest comes from Akimbo, which says that beginning early next year their video-on-demand TV over IP service will be "accessible" from PCs running Microsoft's new Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005. It sounds like they'll be doing something similar to TVTonic (which we wrote about a few weeks ago) and offering a plug-in for Media Center PCs, but the difference with Akimbo is that you pick and choose the programs you want to watch which are then automatically downloaded to your PC's hard drive. Of course, they omit all the juicy details from their press release, like how much it'll cost and what kinds of programming they'll offer, but it'll probably be along the lines of the service they offer now via their standalone player, which includes video-on-demand of CNN, iFilm, the Cartoon Network, a bunch of porno, a lot of weird sports channels we've never heard of, and a bunch of other stuff you probably aren't willing to pay good money to watch (the basic package costs ten bucks a month, but all the premium channels and shows cost extra). Not exactly much there yet, but it's not that we aren't hyped on the idea of IP TV or anything—we're dying to kick Time Warner Cable to the curb—it's just that something like this all comes down to the programming. At the end of the day hardly anyone cares about the technology involved (except us), they just want something good to watch.
Read MoreOk, so contrary to initial reports Microsoft actually isn't selling their new 2005 version of Windows XP Media Center Edition direct to consumers who want to build their own Media Center PCs, but there is at least one site which is selling OEM copies (that are meant for PC makers) to anyone who wants one anyway. These OEM copies are supposed to be bundled with hardware and only sold as part of a PC, but so far Microsoft has yet to bring down the hammer on Directron, the company which is doing this.
Read MoreHere's a fun one; not really a hack, but we suppose it could be used for all sorts of things, like blackmailing your friends and family, or at least embarrassing them. If you and your friends use AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) or iChat you can send an AIM "bot" to go and chat with your pal(s) and then have the conversation emailed back to you. This can be a lot of fun since you can choose the name of the "bot" (like Stacey or Mike), age (as in "17" or "40") and location—the classic "asl" (age, sex, location) you see in those chat rooms no one ever admits to visiting.
Read MoreUnlike rude Western nations like the UK, where leaving your ringtone on even in "no ringtone" train carriages is socially accepted, Japanese good manners dictate that most businesspeople will have their phones set solidly to vibration mode. This obviously isn't an idea that pleases Japan's numerous ringtone providers, and Dwango have taken the lead in launching ringtones that blend into the aural background (and dispelling at a stroke the image their name conjured up of a fat kid with a propeller cap). So now your phone will ring with the sound of someone coughing, or cutlery jangling together, or a host of other "environmental" sounds. We have enough trouble when a character's home phone rings on TV and we reach for the handset, though, and we'd hate to be digging out our cellphone every time the guy next to us coughs. (The photo is of one of Dwango's TV ads, incidentally, not just a shot of two random guys.)
Read MoreWe'd been trying to forget about the new, infra-red version of the Tamagotchi in the hope that it'd go away, but the durn thing keeps evolving. Not content with enabling it to talk to other Tamagotchi, Bandai has now tweaked the infra-red port to let you communicate with a cellphone, meaning you can shop using points you've built up by raising the creature, or send it off on holiday via your phone (sadly, there doesn't appear to be a function for spiking its drinks so that it ends up hallucinating in a Mexican hospital and never makes it back). We're not sure whether the Shuku Keitai Kaitsuu Tamagotchi Plus (the first bit loosely means "Congratulations! It now works with a cellphone!") will make it outside Japan, but we can hope.
Read MoreTo inaugurate the release of SnapStream's Beyond TV 3.5 (and perhaps also to piss off Sony, whose Vaio type X costs about five times as much for about as many TV tuners), they've assembled a white-box PC with six Hauppauge tuners and a measly 5400RPM 40GB hard drive. They're calling it the Medusa PVR, and funny as it may be, the $1,200 machine works, and works well. Though it doesn't have 1.5 terabytes of storage, it's still good enough for us in that over the top ridiculously excessive kind of way.
Read MoreZDNet UK reports today that Microsoft has delayed the release of their MSN Messenger 7 due to a possible security flaw involving "unauthorized winks." Where I come from, we just call them smiles. "The Messenger beta was designed to only send approved MSN winks," said a spokesperson for Microsoft. "That said, we're investigating the potential that hackers could bypass this process to send unauthorized - rogue - winks that could cause security issues. We will not ship winks with the limited beta so we can address any potential issues." If i didn't know any better, I'd think that Microsoft was more concerned about the security of their chat program than they were with vulnerabilities in their operating systems. We're not winking at you, I promise. We just have a little dust in our eye.
Read MorePowerHouse Technologies Group has announced that their Migo software is now available for iPods, at least the ones that work with PCs. Migo allows people to bring their personalized computer setting anywhere their iPod is. Migo software stores email, calendar, and contact information from Outlook, as well as IE bookmarks and history. It also stores personal documents in the same document structure you have on your personal computer. What's more, it lets you bring your desktop wallpaper with you werever you go...or me go...or Migo. Ahem. They way it works is thus: plug the Migo-equipped iPod into a foreign computer and it transforms into your own - your desktop pattern, email, contacts, and files are all there just like home. Pull up Internet Explorer, and your bookmarks and history are all ready to go. For security purposes, the folks at PowerHouse say that nothing will be left behind, including passwords and cookies, on the host computer. The software sells for $99, and it's also available in a USB flash-key configuration if you don't have an iPod.
Read MoreEarthink has introduced a new service for their broadband subscribers: Free Online Calling. Their FAQ says "EarthLink Free Online Calling is technology that lets you make calls over the Internet using Session InitiationProtocol (SIP) technology. Instead of picking up a telephone, two or more SIP users can talk to each other over the Internet for free, whether it's across town or around the world." I happen to be an Earthlink broadband customer, so I'll take it for a spin, but the I'll have to find another Earthlink broadband customer to test it with since the service isn't available on traditional phone lines. Granted, Earthlink was the first major nationwide ISP to offer a VoIP and their prices are now on par with Vonage and the other VoIP players, but it would be cool to see something more Skype-like from a major company. On a related note, my own Vonage install kit arrived today. I finally took the plunge. Within about 10 minutes of signing up this past weekend, I had the SoftPhone service added (you'll notice that Earthlink's free online calling service, uses the same software), the SoftPhone software for OS X installed and I was dialing like a mad woman. So far I am impressed. But more on that another time...
Read MoreThis week's How-To is a three part special complete with our first Engadget "Podcast" MP3. The first part is how to get "Podcasts" on your iPod. So what's a Podcast? To put it simply, a Podcast is an audio file, a MP3, most likely, in talk show format, along with a way to subscribe to the show and have it automatically delivered to your iPod when you plug in to iTunes. The show isn't live, so you can listen to it whenever you want. Doc Searls may have said it best: "PODcasting will shift much of our time away from an old medium where we wait for what we might want to hear to a new medium where we choose what we want to hear, when we want to hear it, and how we want to give everybody else the option to listen to it as well." For the second part of the how-to you can listen to a Podcast we made featuring Lenn Pryor and Phillip Torrone. It's about 40 minutes long, and we're thinking about doing one each week (let us know what you think, this was just a test). The third part of the how-to is about making your own Podcast. Think of this as DIY Radio. We looked around for resources, and while there were many ways to do this, most required buying some sort of sound software application, so for our how-to we're using a Mac, GarageBand (came free with our Mac), and two free sound tools.
Read MoreEver just want to cut out all the noise and pick out your honey's face from within your library of digital photos? Aw come on, don't be shy, sure you do. Well, Fuji demoed their F-Next Image Viewer at Photokina, which is a hardware image viewer with a 3.6-inch QVGA screen, 2GB of storage, and CF slot, but it's also got this crazy face searching feature. You find someone's face, highlight it in the system, and it will present to you all other photos which it thinks are of the same person. Not bad for ¥20,000 ($180 US), but we'd really like see a delete mechanism, where you can kill all photos of said significant other after that ugly, messy breakup.
Read MoreWe already knew that a new and improved iChat AV will be rolled out with Mac OS X 10.4, aka Tiger, which is expected in Q1 2005. But until today, Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar users could at least upgrade to iChat AV 2.x (the version included with Panther) by paying $29. If you were still waiting for a good reason to upgrade your OS - this is a pretty good one. Apple is making it pretty clear that they are all about looking forward...
Read MoreLost with a PocketPC? Want to use custom maps for GPS? GPS Tuner 3.5 is a PocketPC tool that allows measurement, mapping, and geocaching. It uses an averaging technique to record waypoints, it's GPX compatible, and handles NMEA logging and playback in real time. It also comes with Digital Compass, which is pretty what it sounds like it is. As far as custom maps, you can use GIF, JPG, PNG or BMP files, and the people at GPS Tuner offer a sharing forum for custom maps from around the world. The archive is pretty small right now, but if you're planning a hike through Csopak, this just may be the Pocket PC proggy for you.
Read MoreA little on the inside baseball tip, but there's a rumor going around that HP is going to spin-off their printer and imaging division into a new company which will keep the name "HP" and the company that remains changing its name to "Innovative Technologies". "Innovative Technologies" sounds exactly like what you'd call some supersketchy, super vaporous tech company, but setting that aside, it's not like HP hasn't spun off a major division before; in 1999 they let loose their division focused on measurement equipment and turned it into Agilent.
Read MoreNot a week after Ballmer was saying that software piracy would peter out if PCs were $100 commodities, AMD busts it out on us with their reference design for the Personal Internet Communicator, or PIC. Aimed at Latin and Indian nations where the dollas ain't so heavy on the intake, the PC features a 366MHz AMD Geode x86, 128MB RAM, 10GB drive, USB, 56k modem, a host of Internet-centric software, and Windows CE with XP-extensions (for XP app compatibility), which apparently enables the little sucker to boot in 25 seconds (which is way faster than our 3.0GHz workstations we got up in this joint). Not that you'd be interested in getting one (if they're even ever made available in the US, that is), but they're going to go for $250 with monitor and $185 without. Computers for one and all, comrades!
Read MoreWhen it comes to cameraphones, after yesterday's Samsung 5 megapixel handset, most other stuff is going to seem old had. But all the same, the new CanU Casio HS7000 handsets are pretty cute. They feature a 2 megapixel camera, integrated MP3 player, miniSD, and supports some online banking service called BankOn. Okay. Otherwise, we're a bit light on details, but you know the drill: probably not going to be available in America, etc.
Read MoreSomehow we're left a little doubting that a stroll around the Sony store is going to be the same kind of retail-philosophy jaunt that is a visit to the Samsung Experience, but make no mistake about it, Sony's really been opening those stores up behind everyone's backs. Eleven, then twelve as of this month, to be exact, with the first opening only last year. We're not going to make any rude comments, Sony, about how this is going to eat into your other retail channels and kill parnerships, but can we just say one word? Gateway, Sony. Gateway.
Read MoreWe can see the tagline now: "Ever want to live the Amazon.com shopping experience?" IBM has gone done created computerized shopping carts to allow for a more high-tech shopping experience, which, naturally, is exactly what we all need. More high tech everything. The Shopping Buddy, being tested in Stop & Shop grocery stores now, allows shoppers to e-mail a shopping list ahead of time and pull up that list upon arrival. The user is then presented with on-the-fly coupons, locations of items on the list, and suggestions for other products that may be of interest. You can even cruise the aisles with your shopping cart telling you where to find the low-carb mayo (or the Veganaise, as it were) as The Shopping Buddy will also allow you to customize your shopping experience around dietary needs. But what we're really hoping for is the addition of a chat client to talk up that hot housewife in the deli section. "Hey, nice provolone...ASL?" Just don't forget not to shop while hungry.
Read MoreVeteran journalist and Engadget correspondent J.D. Lasica cornered TiVO CEO Mike Ramsay in a hallway at the Web 2.0 conference, where the head of the pioneering digital video recorder company talked about TiVo DVD recorders, government meddling in new technologies, and what the future of television holds: Talk to me about TiVo not as a company, but as an idea. TiVo owners are passionate about their TiVos. Why does the cult of TiVo command such power? The insider language around this is, Oh my God, we've created a monster. It's apparent we've got this compelling consumer proposition. At the end of the day, it has to do with fact that people are discovering they can be in control of television and, more broadly, can be in control of their home entertainment. It's not until you discover what you can do that you realize how much a slave you were to the old way. Television has a bad rep, it's kind of broken. When you have 500 channels and there's nothing on, television is definitely broken. I think what TiVo has done is put people back in charge. And that's a primal, important thing that people like as far as a social trend that's far broader than television. And when you give them that empowerment, they get very excited and love it. And so you get a statement like, 'It's changed my life. I can never go back.' That's a huge motivator for us as a company.
Read MoreGlobal-Tech Appliances, makers of all sorts of generic electronics for companies like Black & Decker, have shipped an order of 17-inch and 30-inch LCD TVs destined to become some of Yahoo!'s first consumer electronics products. While we originally heard that Diamond Electronics would be manufacturing the Yahoo!-brand LCD TVs, it seems Global-Tech got the deal. The Home Touch 17-inch and 30-inch flat panel high-definition LCD TVs are expected to have 768 lines of vertical resolution and appear in (really crappy) Yahoo-exclusive stylings. [Thanks, Daron!]
Read MoreThis is totally weird given that it's already turned up on SonyStyle.com, but Digital Photography Review says they received an "official note" from Sony that they won't be selling the Cyber-shot DSC-T3, their new five megapixel successor to their ultraslim DSC-T1, in the States because the DSC-T1 is selling better here than they had originally expected. Hearts are being broken.
Read MoreSony is releasing the DHG-HDD250 and DHG-HDD500 DVRs featuring 250GB and 500GB hard drives, respectively, and in a Sony-like move, they will use the TV Guide On Screen interactive program guide instead of tried-and-true Tivo for their programming interface (like several of the other DVRs do). Expect to get around 30 hours of HD recording on the $799 HDD250 and 60 hours on the $999 HDD500, and they will also sport HDMI and component video interfaces. A few major questions remain, however. Most new DVRs include multiple tuners to allow recording and viewing on different channels, or recording of multiple channels simumtaneously. Do these units follow suit? Also, why isn't there support for QAM so we can record HD content from digital cable with the tuners built in (the press release seems to insinuate this when stating that the units "provide access to analog cable services, as well as such non-subscription services like high definition digital terrestrial and analog broadcasts.")? Sony? Sony?
Read MoreAnd while we're at it, Dell also officially revealed that new slimmer version of their 20GB Digital Jukebox (the one we had a spy pic of the other day). We hit the new Pocket DJ 5GB MP3 player earlier today, but the scoop on the DJ-20 (as they're calling it) is that it has a battery life of 12 hours (which is actually a lot worse than that of the original Digital Jukebox), a 1.92-inch LCD screen, and is 4.0 x 2.5 x 0.74 inches in size.
Read MoreAlright, Dell expanded their line up and rolled out three new flat panel TVs today: The W4200HD (pictured above), a 42-inch high-definition plasma display with a (sorta skimpy) resolution of 1024 x 768. Retail price: $3,499. The W4200ED, which is like the W4200HD, just with an ehanced-definition resolution of 852 x 480. Retail price: $2,299. The W1900 (pictured second), a 19-inch LCDhigh-definition TV with a resolution of 1280 x 768. Retail price: $899. Make sure you click to see some pics of the W4200ED and the W1900.
Read MoreNvidia has finally thrown the financially-challenged a bone. This bone just so happens to be made with silicon, and supports Direct X 9.0 Shader Model 3.0. What caught our eye about this press release was the following claim: "The GeForce 6200 features the industry's most advanced graphics feature set and delivers an extraordinary gaming experience on next-generation titles, such as Ubisoft's Far Cry and id Software's Doom™ 3 , as well as consumer electronics-quality, high definition video playback." No word on pricing, but we hope it's somewhere around nine bucks.
Read MoreSony is planning to launch the Qualia 006 (Qualia being Sony's ultra high-end brand), a 70-inch rear projection Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCoS) TV in time for next year's Super Bowl for under $10,000. LCoS is the latest acronym making waves in the TV world (at least until SED makes some headway), and by all accounts offers a bright, sharp picture that won't burn-in, but since it uses replaceable bulbs, can get expensive over time. Last we checked (meaning in the last 15 minutes), the Qualia 006 will be the largest LCoS TV available, besting Brillian's 65-inch model.
Read MoreFor this week's Engadget Inteview veteran journalist J.D. Lasica spent a few minutes with Anthony Wood, founder and CEO of Roku, to discuss digital media, digital music, DRM wackiness, and Mona Lisa smiles. For readers who aren't familiar with Roku, what are you guys about? We've been around since October 2002 and we're based in Palo Alto, Calif. Our focus is building digital media players for home. Our core expertise is to produce great-looking products and great user interfaces. Such as? Our product line includes the Roku SoundBridge and the HD1000. We tell people, wouldn't you love to see a slide show of your family pictures in full-quality digital on your flat-panel TV in your living room? That resonates. And Roku means what? "Six" in Japanese. It's the sixth company I've been involved with. Tell us about your main product lines. The HD1000 launched in October 2003 and now comes in two versions. The base version is $299, and the gallery version, at $499, is geared toward owners of HDTVs, flat-panel TVs and the like. A lot of folks love to display artwork on their flat-panel TVs when they're not watching a show.
Read MoreWe didn't forget Ask Engadget for this week, we just got a little pre-occupied this afternoon so it's not going up until now. This week reader Jeff S. wants to know, "What's the single best standalone DVD player to buy? Which one reads the most file-formats, (avi, mpg, etc) and also handles recorded DVDs (+/-) with no problem?" We'll confess that we've got a hidden agenda in posting Jeff's question, since after almost a year of watching DVDs with our Media Center PC we've been thinking about unbundling, so to speak, and going with a separate standalone DVD player instead. Of course, it'd have to be a really nice, high-end progressive scan DVD player, probably one with DVI output, so we'd dig hearing everyone's suggestions for a quality machine. P.S. - The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed that we've added Ask Engadget as its own separate category. Should make browsing through all of the past questions and answers considerably easier. Check it out!
Read MoreBeginning our weekly series of Ask Joystiq, we start with the one we hear the most. This one comes from bernesto: "What's the best tool to optimize my PC for gaming?" This is an easy one. Every game depends on your videocard to pump out the graphics. So, if you want to get the most out of your game, you have to tackle the GPU. We have one word for you — Powerstrip.
Read MoreOk, last week reader Stephen D. wanted to know what the best Bluetooth headset was, this week reader Taylor R. wants to know, what's the must-have gear for business travel? I'm starting a new job where I'll be on the road at least once a month, and I want to ask Engadget for some advice about are the best gadgets for business travelers. I've got my laptop and iPod, but I really could use some recommendations for a good portable mouse and a USB keydrive, as well as some suggestions about what other road warrior gear I need that I'm haven't thought of. I've also been wondering, are any of those WiFi detectors worth buying? Are they helpful? Any tips for our new friend?
Read MoreThe top 20 game publishers were ranked in the latest issue of Game Developer. And while the results are not all that surprising, it's good to know that this time around they considered a number of factors, not just pure revenue (although it still seems to be the deciding factor). So when you see Nintendo slipping into the ten spot, it's mostly because they've been relying too much on classic franchises and have not developed many significant IPs in recent years. Now, EA also lacks original IPs, but earned high marks from outside developers, and also posted $2 billion-plus in revenue. Here is how the top companies stack up (as shown on IGN): 1. Electronic Arts 2. Microsoft Game Studios 3. Sony Computer Entertainment 4. THQ 5. Ubisoft 6. Eidos 7. Activision 8. Take-Two 9. Atari 10. Nintendo 11. Vivendi 12. Codemasters 13. Acclaim 14. SEGA 15. Konami 16. Square Enix 17. Midway Games 18. Koei 19. Empire Interactive 20. Namco
Read MoreOk, we screwed up and forgot to run Ask Engadget yesterday like we should have, but it's shaping up to be a very slow Friday so we're making amends and running it this afternoon instead. Hope nobody minds too much and we promise to fire a few interns rather than take full responsibility for the mistake. Anyway, last week reader Cody H. wanted some recommendations for a good gadget bag, this week Stephen D. wants to know: Now that the Treo 650 release is in sight, what is the best Bluetooth headset? Small size, good sound quality, long battery life, comfort, and overall coolness are obvious traits of the best headsets. We know that not all Bluetooth headsets are created equal, any advice for your fellow reader?
Read MoreLooking conspicuously like a Gamecube, Armari (no, not Armani, which makes suits we can't afford), has a couple of new Media Center 2005 PCs out that sport some fairly solid specs, like dual 1.8Ghz AMD processors, a 600GB mirrored hard drive, a 128MB ATI Radeon graphics card, dual TV tuners, a DVD rewritable drive, and multi-format memory card readers. Armari includes USB ports (mimicking the controller ports of our Nintendo gaming machine) which normally glow purple, but then change to red when a USB peripheral is plugged in. The UK launch was just a day ago, but no word yet on pricing or availability.
Read MoreWhile there are some similarities to the Linksys NSLU2 Network Area Storage (NAS) device, BuffaloTech's Kuro Box (kuro meaning black in Japanese) isn't exactly the same beast. For instance, both embrace open-source Linux, allow for a user-installable 3.5-inch hard drive, and include a 200Mhz PowerPC CPU. But apparently the Buffalo is a lot easier for the power user to tweak. For $160, it is a bit more expensive than the Linksys unit, but setting it up as a Web, SQL, webcam, and MP3 server is certainly doable without having to resort to extensive hacking.
Read MoreWith the proliferation of PDAs with small VGA (640 x 480) resolution screens (like the Dell Axim X50 or HP iPAQ hx4705), all of a sudden being able to zoom in when viewing web pages is a big deal (unless you like squinting a lot). Microsoft Research has developed a simple interface which lets you zoom in on a portion of the screen with a single pen stroke, a feature we expect/hope/pray will be implemented in Windows Mobile 2005.
Read MoreJapanese firm Package Technology is coming out with a 42 x 23.5 x 61 mm box called the PicoServer that's essentially a web/mail server with an Ethernet port and three sockets for sensors (one out, two in). Suggested uses include hooking up a heat sensor and have it mail you when Widget No. 24 is overheating before it blows up half the neighourhood, or using it to control your lighting or gas (gas?!) at home; the possibilities for fun are endless. Out in Japan on November 9 for around Y40,000 ($375).
Read MoreHere's a special How-To that is not only simple but extremely useful for recording all the sounds that are playing on your Mac. Why would you want to do this? You might want to save online audio broadcasts from NPR or other streaming services and to listen to later on your computer or music player. You can also record audio from any website or DVD, or perhaps you have a playlist in iTunes you want to record as one long file. We'll show you how to do all of this with free tools. As an added bonus we're going to be using the music CD in this month's Wired, which says "Rip. Sample. Mash. Share". It was released under a new type of copyright license called the Creative Commons. So as a bonus for this How-To you'll be able to download all 16 songs from the CD here on Engadget without us getting sent to copyright jail or sued.
Read MoreEpson will shortly be releasing its first 1080p LCD panel for front and rear-projection HDTV systems for a true, 1080p HDTV signal. See, in the past, the D5 series panels were able to produce up to 720 lines of resolution for a 720p picture, but with the new panel consumers will be able to see all 1080 lines of HDTV at once—yes, that's 1080p in progressive-scan mode (as opposed to interlaced 1080i). Good lawd that's a lot of imaging going on up in here.
Read MoreIf you're thinking of buying a DVD burner, wait. Yeah, of course you'd expect us to say that, but check it: the DVD+RW Alliance is delivering the first 8x DVD+R double-layer burner to the World PC EXPO in Japan. The new drives will allow users to burn double layer DVD+Rs in about 16 minutes, cutting recording time by about two thirds the time it takes current standard 2.4x drives. 8.5GB double layer DVD disks have grown in popularity with media archiving and other, well, not-so legal activities, so, naturally, this is great news for back-up artists and scary news for the movie industry. We're just kidding, MPAA, no it's not. You're still in fine shape, so buck up! Gawd!
Read MoreThere's a good summary of the PCI-Express scene over on d-Silence. The new technology doesn't only promise more bandwidth for your game graphics. It also promises more bandwidth for other processes, like sound and video. The hope is that the new standard will future-proof the home PC with huge channels for data to pour through. The guide is broken down into three parts: What is it? When can I get it? And then the FAQ. A good job on the writer's part of cleaning up a topic that many are interested in knowing more about.
Read MoreAfter major mobile processor price cuts last week (from 13 to 34 percent) and the ditching of a 4GHz desktop chip, Intel announced their newest Pentium M CPU, the 765, which has a 2.1 Ghz clock speed, a whopping 2MB of L2 cache, and 400Mhz frontside bus speed. Improved power consumption (though no concrete specs were offered) and a speed increase is what Intel touts in their latest mobile offering, so if you just bought a Pentium M 2.0Ghz CPU laptop (like we just did a few weeks ago), know that you can't brag about having the fastest Pentium M any more. Like what normally happens 15 minutes after you buy a new computer. Great, innit?
Read MoreWhile the display is only 20.1-inches (pictured right is their 13-inch version), that's still huge in the OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode, aka the displays of tomorrow) world, so LG Philips is really touting their prototype active-matrix screen as the world's largest. For at least this week, we think. The display weighs in at a 2048 x 1536 resolution—a whopping 3 megapixels. OLED is cheaper (well, it will be), brighter, clearer and consumes less juice than LCDs, and we've really been hankering for a large OLED display since we saw the Sony Clie PEG-VZ90 in action.
Read MoreRealizing that not everybody has the money for their home theater to be featured on MTV Cribs, Toshiba has launched their budget TDP-S80U SW80U projectors, which feature 2000 ANSI lumens, SVGA (800x600) resolution, and a 2000:1 contrast ratio, for $1,300 and $1,500, respectively. And while it may be budget, Toshiba didn't skimp, as they did indeed use DLP (Digital Light Processing) technology, with the higher-end SW80U including WiFi and a PC card slot so you can be PC-free for your presentations. But you know us, we're ever digging it because lately we're been dreaming of Halo 2 on a fresh 120-inch screen (or wall, for that matter) in our conference room here at Engadget HQ.
Read MoreBut what is it? It's a device that will stream media content from your PC (must be running Windows Media Center Edition 2005) to your Xbox. Now ain't that a dream come true? All you need to do is throw in the Media Center Extender disc along with the (DVD) infrared receiver and you'll have full control over your PC from the convenience of your couch, including the ability to setup TV recordings and music downloads. The total package will be available for $80 on November 15, but remember, you'll need a Windows Media Center PC.
Read MoreIn addition to today's iBook updates, Apple's also announced a single 1.8GHz CPU version of their Power Mac at the bargain basement price of $1,500, straight up. This adds to their lineup of dual 2.5GHz, dual 2.0GHz, and dual 1.8GHz boxes, but otherwise all have the same great fixins. The Apple Xserve RAID SAN devices system (we won't blame you if you don't know ore care about this one) has also gotten an update, bumped to a maximum capacity of 5.6TB, with systems starting for as little as $6,000. Not a bad day for the Apple crew, if one might say so. [Via MacMinute]
Read MoreComing in at a whopping $3700 to start (which is a whole lot for a desktop), the VoodooPC EDEN f:2 comes with dual AMD Opteron 64-bit CPUs, a 80GB Serial ATA hard drive, Nvidia Quadro graphics card, and is actually rather silent due to its liquid cooling. This is Voodoo's first foray into the workstation market, as they've historically catered to the high-end PC enthusiast and gaming market, with products like the Vibe Media Center PC. We'll see how they fare with stiff competition from Alienware and Compaq's X line but we're sure they'll do just fine in their niche.
Read MoreXimeta has created a rather odd marriage (well, maybe not that odd), combining an external 160GB hard drive with a 802.11g wireless access point and router, in their NetDisk Wireless. Really, for Ximeta it makes perfect sense, since if they were going to have a wireless version of the NetDisk product, it wouldn't take much more on their part to make it a router. It can be easily used as a backup drive and any computers connected to the network will have access to the drive (hopefully without all those lame NDAS drivers Ximeta usually requires to use their drives).They also announced software for the Playstation 2 which allows video, audio, and images to be streamed over your network from the NetDisk.
Read MoreA lot of companies talk about convergence, but Zyxel, they talk about convergence. Seriously, who's ever heard of a single box that acts as a 802.11g router, ADSL modem, and VoIP IAD (that would be integrated access device). Of course, the Prestige 2602HW seems like it might be a little wasted, what with DSL going fast out of fashion as it is, but we think they might be able to make up for it by giving it a hard drive, DVD burner, TiVo software, and making it Windows Media Connect compatible. Yeah, maybe then. [Via BusinessWire]
Read MoreWe've seen USB Flash drives come in all shapes and sizes, but the new SolidAlliance (they brought us the USB duck drives) sushi drives set a new standard in conjoining the Japanese obsession with plastic food and our obsession with weird USB drives. Unfortunately your tekka maki only comes in sizes from 32 to 128MB, so we may hold out until they hook up some 512MB+ fugu drives. [Via Akihabara News]
Read MoreWe're sure a lot of people saw it coming that Microsoft's new PlaysForSure—their WMA DRM compatibility system—wouldn't be limited only to portable digital audio players (which, granted, is still its primary target). But being that there are still a ton of media adapters in living rooms the nation over, Microsoft's new Windows Media Connect spec is already now starting to take hold among home-networked media adapters and receivers to provide PlaysForSure compatibility; among the first to get the treatment (via firmware upgrade) are Roku's Soundbridge (no surprise there), the OmniFi DMS1, and the D-Link MediaLounge DSM-320. Expect to see this in a lot of devices in the future.
Read MoreWe guess the programmers at Easybits software got a tad tired of the kiddies always crashing daddy's laptop files, since they built the Magic Desktop software as a shield against the teething-set. And while an operating system for 2 to 12 year olds sounds a bit overreaching (not to mention that by 12 they'll probably be hacking into the Pentagon's computers, not goofing around on something like this), the system is pretty simple and filters out all non-kid-friendly material to enable safe surfing, uses clickable images to navigate the interface and ignores all those repetitive clickings with which little Billy always seems to freeze the system. The software is currently testing in Europe and the US.
Read MoreAt this point you're probably a little tired of hearing about new Media Center PCs, but since we're a little (or maybe more than just a little) obsessive-compulsive about this stuff, we figured we'd post something about Evesham's e-box anyway. Like most of the others we mentioned earlier this week from Sony, Dell, HP, iBuyPower, Niveus, and VoodooPC, the e-box runs on Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, and also has that A/V component-style to it that will probably confuse those you have yet to be fully initiated into the cult of convergence. Inside the silvery e-box there's a slot-loading DVD burner, dual TV tuners, ATI X300SE 128MB video card, a 3GHz Pentium 4 processor, 512MB of RAM, and a 160GB hard drive.
Read MoreAs if having a medallion MP3 player wasn't totally nerdy enough, French company Shinco's (probably different from the other Shinco) Medaillon Lecteur MP3 Z2 (which we think looks a lot like another company's MP3 player, if you ask us) comes in 128MB or 256MB versions, but is especially notable because it runs on and can even boot your computer in Shinux, their stripped down Internet-heavy Linux distro. Ah, how we do love gimmicks and novelties. [Via Slashdot]
Read MoreAMD and other chip makers have long done it, but computer nerds have forever desired the day when Intel got real and started making genuine steps towards making their chips more efficient before piling on the MHz (and heat, and power consumption, and so on). They undertook this strategy in their laptop-based Pentium M line (which instead of being marketed at so-and-so-GHz, were been given model numbers which indicate performance stepping, like 715, 725, 735, etc.), but now Intel's officially started those wheels in motion with their bread and butter desktop CPU line by axing their in-development 4GHz Pentium 4 in favor of adding more performance enhancements and a smaller bump to 3.8GHz. You go Intel.
Read MoreThe newest Zaurus from Sharp has risen with some nice new features, including a built-in 1-inch 4GB drive and the standard 128MB of RAM. It also features some new interface tweaks like a control pad that replaces the previous arrow keys. With all this new stuff and the new moving parts, Sharp is claiming a decent 7 hours of battery time for the SL-C3000, down from about 8 hours for the SL-C860. Other niceties include the ability to operate as a USB drive, SD and CF slots, irDA, and media playback of MP3, WMA, and MPEG-4 video files. Expect the new Zaurus to go on sale November 15 in Japan. You should be able get your sweaty mitts on these in the West shortly thereafter. Click to see some more pics. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Read MoreATI has released their newest set of drivers for the Radeon family of video cards. The drivers have a long list of fixes implemented, which you can check out here Among the highlights are some game-specific fixes like: Far Cry v1.2: Texture corruption is no longer seen on the ground PainKiller: missing textures are no longer noticed on the ground and light artifacts are noticed when moving around within the game or when moving in and out of the light. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: An access violation error no longer occurs when using the function Alt-Tab to get out of the game and then using the function Alt-Tab to get back into the game. Also included in the update is an updated Control Center. Download away!
Read MorePhilips, maker of all things totally cool—except MP3 players—appears to have bumped their less than successful hdd060 released earlier this year up a model stepping to the hdd065, and gave it another 500MB, bringing it all the way up to 2GB. It's slightly larger than before, but at least now it finally has USB 2.0. Oh Philips, what can we say? Especially after the Stremium HDTV yesterday, you're still simultaneously releasing some of the best and worst products around. Have you been watching Sony too closely? [Via DAPreview]
Read MoreThe review doesn't say anything about whether or not it runs on the new 2005 version of the Windows XP Media Center Edition operating system (a quick check of their site reveals that it has the 2004 version), but PC Mag checks out iBuyPower's new Media-XP Media Center PC, which like ones from Alienware and HP has a sleek black A/V component-style look to it (so it won't look out of place in your living room), 1GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, 3.4GHz Pentium 4 processor, a DVD+-RW drive, a dual-TV tuner for recording two shows at once (which makes think that the one PC Mag got for review is running Media Center 2005), and an nVidia GeForce 6600 video card.
Read MoreMaui X-Stream (extreme, get it?) has launched CherryOS, a Mac OS X software emulator for $50 that lets you simulate a G4 Mac on your PC. It runs at 80 percent efficiency, meaning if you had a 2Ghz PC, you would be running your CherryOS on roughly a 1.6Ghz G4, the other 20 percent of CPU cycles being used up by the emulator (color us skeptical about how well the emulator actually works). They're also working on a standalone version where you don't even need Windows at all, but we're sure Apple will have something to say about that sooner or later. This reminded us of the free PowerPC emulator PearPC, but that didn't exactly set the world on fire either and now development on the project seems to have waned. If you're not quite ready to take the plunge but still want that OS X look and feel, check out our guide to turning your PC into a Mac.
Read MoreWe thought GMC had gotten into the PC game for a second when we heard about the 2005 Denali Edition Media Center, but it turns out it's just Niveus Media's newest computer offering. Taking advantage Windows Media Center Edition 2005's new support for high-definition television broadcasts, Niveus also threw in ATI's HDTV tuner, a 3.2Ghz HyperThreading processor, and a DVD burner. Designed to run silently thanks to special heat pipes which made it possible for them to leave out the noisy fans that annoy you when you're trying to get your movie on.
Read MoreWhat with all the hubbub going on yesterday about Windows Media Center Edition 2005, it's appropriate that Voodoo also announced their new MCE-based product, the Vibe (we have no idea why it's not called the Xvibe, or something). With their own version of Microsoft's Media Center Extender for Xbox (which uses your Xbox as an MCE server console of sorts, displaying and controlling your MCE server remotely) they've managed to take the home theater PC out of the living room, put it somewhere else, like under your bed with your other computers. This way it's only your Xbox that makes all the fan noise and takes up the space. And it makes a whole lot of sense when you think about it, since who wants a full-size PC sitting in their living room? But then again, why pay $5,000 for one of these when for way cheaper you could do something similar wirelessly? Sure, you don't get the Xbox Media Center console aspect, but you know, you take the good, you take the bad.
Read MoreBill Gates is giving his big speech right now at Microsoft's big "Digital Entertainment Anywhere" event in Los Angeles. We'll have a proper report for you soon, but in the meantime we figured we'd relay details about some of the new Media Center PCs unveiled there today. Besides Gateway's 820GM, which we just mentioned, here's what else is new: Linksys formally introduced their new WMCE54AG Media Center Extender. HP showed off it's component-style Digital Entertainment PC (pictured above in all its glory), which is available in two versions, the z545-b, which comes with dual TV tuners, and the z540. They'll also have Media Center Extender out soon, called the x5400. Dell announced that Media Center will be an option on their Dimension 8400 and Dimension XPS PCs, and will be extending that option to three other PCs and making it possible to order a Media Center PC without a TV tuner. Like Linksys and HP, they'll be offering a Media Center Extender of their own. Sony says that they'll be offering the Media Center operating system as an option on their Vaio R series desktop PC.
Read MoreNow that it's official and all that, Gateway is rolling out one of the first new PCs to run on Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005. The 820GM doesn't have that living room form-factor we've come to expect from our Media Center PCs, but it does stay cool using Intel's new ultraquiet BTX architecture and have an 8X dual-format, double-layer DVD burner, Pentium 4 processor, ATI RADEON X300SE PCI-Express 128MB graphics card, 250GB hard drive, and 1GB of RAM. Should be in stores this weekend.
Read MoreIn a continuation of our Podcasting series, for this week's HOW-TO we look at how to get Podcasts on non-iPod devices. A Podcast is usually an audio program somewhere on the web that can be downloaded automatically to your audio playing device, so you can listen to it wherever and whenever you want. You actually do not need an iPod to publish or receive Podcasts, but the "Pod" name caught on, so many folks have emailed us asking if they can use their Windows Media devices as well as Portable Media Centers. You can and we'll show you how all using free programs.
Read MoreIn a morning announcement, Dantz Development Corporation, maker of the award-winning Retrospect backup and restore software, has confirmed that they have been acquired by EMC, effective today. An email sent to Dantz partners earlier this morning says that Dantz will operate as part of the EMC Software Group (ESG), a single, integrated, platform-independent software organization and that EMC's focus on recovery management, especially in the SMB marketplace, led them to Dantz. Going forward, ESG will accelerate Retrospect's progress toward becoming the premier backup and recovery offering for SMB customers. Additionally, the letter states, ESG's backup and recovery strategy will now meet both the data center and distributed requirements for enterprise customers. Retrospect has been a staple in the Mac backup market for as long as I can remember and is used by enterprise and home users alike. Let's just hope they don't forget the home users.
Read MoreThe Nvidia GeForce 6200 may be on the verge of making a big splash. The buzz is that the video card is not only fast and cheap, but seriously overclockable. This preview by nvNews has a striking discovery that, if true, will "disappear" the product from shelves all over the world in record time. Try this on for size..."It would appear that this particular review sample is severely underclocked as overclocking provided a whopping 93% increase in the core clock speed and a 45% increase in the memory clock speed." Two things come to mind: 1) This is a fluke. 2) I better pre-order this, immediately. Hopefully, this is the first you've read about the card's potential, and I've benefitted from a head start.
Read MoreLooks like the first (crappy) pictures of Sharp's new Zaurus are out, with an expected launch at the WPC EXPO 2004 in (you guessed it) Japan. We'll see how it goes, but right now our hearts forever long for the deceased Sony UX50. [Via Akihabara News]
Read MoreSometimes you need a little more quality for your portable recording, and Rosendahl's bonsaiDRIVE delivers: it's a low-compression, direct-to-HD recorder for both video and audio. While it's not cheap ($2,250), it does deliver some nice specs: you can choose your own IDE drive, it's light-weight, and you can reocrd 8 tracks of lossless 2:1 compression audio. For video, you can record PAL or NTSC via S-video or component, along with 10 audio channels. It's also compatible with most audio and video remote control devices, allowing jog control and multi-tracking in more hardcore studio environments. On top of all of that, it weighs only 3.5lbs. We tried convincing the powers that be that we need one of these for doing voice recordings at interviews, but that didn't seem to work.
Read MoreApple Computer, circa 1997 World's Fastest Home Computer What's a machine this fast doing at home? The Power Macintosh 6500 runs at blistering speeds of up to 300MHz. World's Fastest Laptop The blazingly fast (240MHz) PowerBook 3400 gives you state-of-the-art multimedia, advanced communications capabilities, and flexible expansion options. We've come a long way, baby.
Read MorePerformance artist Tim Kaiser has a terrific line in guitar effects, synthesisers and other noiseboxes that he builds into the chunky metal cases that used to house oscilloscopes and other gadgetry. Neat touches abound, like an ex-Geiger counter with a needle that swings over to the "DANGER" zone when you switch the effect on. Best of all, he'll build you one to order if you're that way inclined.
Read MoreColorware, the company already known for offering iPods in all sorts of colors, have continued the practice of Turnerizing Apple products with the new iMac G5 line. Now you too can get an iMac G5 in Alpine, Blush, Dragon, Hybrid, Lightning, or one of at least 20 available colors (Midnight is shown at right). The cost of the colorization adds a few hundies to your iMac's price, but if you're a true individual you'll pay that price, right? [Via MacCentral]
Read MoreApparently doing their very best to remind us that they don't just make stampede-sparking $30 DVD players, last month Apex hit us with the MP-2000, their first stab at a personal video player. CNET digs the fact that it supports playback playback of all sorts of types of video and audio files, including MPEG-4, DivX, Motion JPEG, and WMV9, MP3, and WMA, and can record MPEG-4 videos (a feature the average PVP lacks), but they're not so hot on the user interface, which they politely describe as "mundane".
Read MoreEven though the standard hasn't been set in stone by the powers that be, Belkin says they're pushing ahead anyway and later this month is aiming to launch their first 802.11n WiFi products which are able to get speeds up to 135 megabits per second, or more than doubles the 54 megabits bandwidth of 802.11g. The key to 802.11n is that it is completely backwards compatible with both 802.11g and 802.11b, something that we always like to see when a new standard is created. And before any freaks out about Belkin jumping the gun and releasing 802.11n gear before the standard is properly set down, plenty of gear makers did the same thing before 802.11g was ratified and most of the time it meant only a firmware upgrade to ensure proper compatibility. But, yeah, buyer beware and all that.
Read MoreRetro tech is what all the cool kids are into now, and Iain Sharp has cleverly crammed a media server PC with mini-ITX components into a vintage Macintosh SE/30 case. Determined to keep that classic look, he installed a black & white 9-inch LCD screen, but the insides are all modern: a 40GB hard drive, slot-loading DVD-ROM (he had to widen the old school floppy disk slot), S-Video out, and the usual USB 2.0 and Firewire ports. And definitely bound to confuse people, he installed an emulator to fo perfect that 68k Mac look. What is it about people turning Macs into PCs into Macs?
Read MoreNHJ may be threatening to put BenQ out of business as the object of our gadget lust du jour, but for now they're still going to have to work for it. We don't know if this VHD-5500 is going to be a part of their V@MP line (which seems to be having more and more video playing devices these days), but either way we're down with any MP3/WMA player that has a 5GB hard drive and Bluetooth headphones. But that's all we know for now. [Via DAPreview]
Read MoreA new wireless router & PC card duo from Netgear promise better range, faster wireless speeds, and they do your laundry. Their new WGU624 router uses both 802.11a and 802.11g at the same time to create two simultaneous 108MBps wireless streams at both 2.4GHz and 5GHz, and by doing so avoids common 2.4GHz wireless intereference issues and allows the router to prioritize wireless transfers, be they PC-to-PC or simple e-mail downloads. At the end of the day the system gives you a wider wireless range (400 feet indoors, which is roughly three times the usual range of a standard 802.11g router), less interference, and something really geeky to talk about the next time your friends come over for a wireless LAN party. Enjoy. $129 for the router and $79 for the card, available now.
Read MoreSure there are some nice benefits to your car or cellphone knowing exactly where you are at all times, like being able to find the nearest gas station with the cheapest super unleaded, but since everyone keeps talking about how it's all gonna be paid for with personalized ads it probably makes sense that the deep thinkers at MIT threw together the Emerging Technologies Conference to discuss everything related to location-based services, GPS tracking, and finally being able to pinpoint objects to within one foot (which while being sucky for those with a nosy employer or jealous spouse, is definitely hot news for anyone prone to losing their keys or wallet or whatever). The biggest obstacle to GPS heaven/hell is that while most of the technology needed is already currently available, there still some obstacles to settling on standards for location-based services, cellphone networks dish out imprecise location info, and GPS doesn't work so hot indoors or between tall buildings.
Read MoreReuters notes that even though standalone DVD recorders keep getting cheaper and cheaper (they're expected to hit $150 sometime later this year), one very basic does need to get asked: Does anyone really need one? Not that we'd kick one out of our living room or anything, but if you want to copy DVDs you'd need to buy a PC anyway, and if you really only want to record TV shows you're way better off with a proper digital video recorder or even barebones media PC. Maybe if all you wanted was an easy way to dump video from a camcorder, but that's about all really...
Read MoreJulie over at The Gadgeteer has a review of the pocket-sized Asus WL-330G WiFi access point, which is a pretty solid access point for its diminutive size. The idea is that you can throw it in your laptop bag on business trips and set up a mini hotspot in your hotel room. Besides the unit getting way too hot overnight, connecting and configuring it was simple and it pulls double duty as a wireless bridge if you want to add WiFi to just about anything with an Ethernet port. It's too bad that Asus didn't put in support for audio out, which would have made it something of a proper competitor to the Airport Express (especially since it retails for about half the price). Ta4??%?%´/
Read MoreAre you one of those lucky ones with a high-end video card? You should put that puppy to the test. No, not with a game. Have some fun this weekend with some good, old-fashioned benchmarking. With 3DMark you can get a bead on what you have under the hood. The app runs a number of benchmarks (all very fun to watch) and at the end of the process you get a score. This score can be compared to other equivalent rigs — so you can spot problems and brag about good numbers. Computergames lays it out for you in detail, and gives you a link to the app. You can't call yourself a gamer until you know your benchmark numbers. The download link can be found in the bottom right corner of the page.
Read MoreOk, so this guy took an old iMac (not that one we found on the street) and decided to rip out all the original stuff inside and turn it into a PC, an "iPC" if you will. And then he took the box-bending to a whole other level by skinning Windows XP Pro he was running on the iPC so it'd look like he was running OS X on it (not sure whether he used our "How-to turn your PC into a Mac" guide or not). [Via The Cult of Mac]
Read MoreWe're definitely not so sure how we feel about subverting the caller ID system, but whereas before it was a cool hack for jerks like creditors and PIs, now Camophone (get it?) is readying the service for primetime general use. They are set to offer their caller ID spoofing service to anyone with a PayPal account, which'll buy you pre-paid blocks of spoofed-call minutes at a five dollar, 100-minute minimum (that'd be five cents per minute). But this time around the company's owner is choosing to remain anonymous (remember what happened last time?), especially what with all the new security concerns we'll have to deal with. Like, for example, access to T-Mobile voicemail boxes that are set to read caller ID and grant access without a password. Hooray. [Via TechDirt]
Read MoreA few weeks ago we convinced Wendy Seltzer, an attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation and a fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School, to take a few questions from readers regarding the INDUCE Act and other issues related to gadgets and the law. Well, in between then and now a little something funny happened: the INDUCE Act more or less went away when the bill's chief sponsor, Senator Orrin Hatch, decided not to continue pushing it through. Regardless, Wendy's adjusted her answers accordingly, so here goes: Not that I intend for anything I say to be used toward copyright infringement, but I figured it was safest to wait until the proposed INDUCE Act was dead. Now that Congress is packing up to leave without having passed the bill, here are my responses to your questions. Thanks! 1) INDUCE looks like a clear contradiction to the 'Betamax' decision. If INDUCE is passed, does that setup a rollback of 'Betamax'? While we're safe from INDUCE for this term, we'll likely see this zombie again and again, so it's important for technologists, technology fans, and everyone else to let their congresspeople know how harmful it would be. The Betamax case (Sony v. Universal) said that Sony wasn't liable for the possible infringing uses of the Betamax VCR - more generally, makers of technology "capable of substantial non-infringing use" are not liable for their users' infringement. INDUCE would replace that clear standard with a dangerous, murky, liability for "inducing" infringement. Does the iPod's generous disk space "induce" infringing copying? Does your new PC's CD burner? Even where technology companies might ultimately not be held liable, the INDUCE standards make the fight much more expensive by making it nearly impossible to get a case dismissed before trial. That means hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees to add into the cost of making a new product.
Read MoreCitizen have created CertifGate, a computer security system that utilizes USB base units and wireless name tags. While the main purpose of the system is intended to lock computers when the proper employee walks away and unlock them upon their return, the software can be configured to do all sorts of fun things. For instance, employers will be able to track employees as long as they're near various base units. Also, employees would potentially be able walk up to virtually any computer and have it appear with their own desktop, documents, and applications (we don't know, so don't ask). The tags could also give administrators access to various computers they walk up to, opening up an interesting invitation to hackers who produce a "go anywhere" card if these systems actually do make their way throughout the corporate world. We envision a scene of this sort in the next Mission Impossible. Dum dum, dum dum... er, sorry.
Read MoreWell, at least one person is going to be celebrating (but for all the wrong reasons, trust us) this interesting tidbit that's passed through the pipes; a recently discovered security flaw in the Firewire (aka IEEE 1394, or iLink) spec, which we first saw pop up on VulnWatch, lets a connected device gain elevated access and/or control of any kind of computer without the perpetrator having to do anything more than plug in, say, an iPod (loaded with the appropriate software, of course) via Firewire. So yes, you too may soon find yourself |-|@><0R3|) by teh iPodz0r. It's very unlikely that this will actually happen to you, to say the least, but if you ever wanted a reason to switch to USB... [Thanks, Joe]
Read MoreJust when you thought printing out those reams of terrorist training pamphlets at home was perfectly safe, along comes some nosy Purdue researchers who've developed a technique to trace documents to their original printers (both laser and eventually inkjet, they claim). Apparently subtle print characteristics and "intrinsic signatures" left by the printers can act like a fingerprint, or more accurately, like a person's handwriting style. We know this is supposed to be used for tracing terrorists and counterfeiters and everything, but we're going to immediately demand they trace the origins of all this Spock-on-Kirk fanfic we found on the subway the other day. [Via Slashdot]
Read MoreAlrighty, get ready for for some Pocket PC trojans! Airscanner has published a new tutorial on the first Pocket PC trojan that shows you how to reverse engineer a new example of Windows Mobile malware. According to their post on SecurityFocus, their goal is to inspire others to enter the exciting field of reverse engineering embedded malware, and we smell a lot of anti-virus companies getting ready to pimp all new versions of their products for Pocket PCs really, really soon.
Read MoreFirst it was those Kensington laptop locks. Then it was those Kryptonite bike locks. Now you can add Master Lock steering wheel locks to the list of "secure" locks you can pick with a ballpoint pen. We even have the video to prove it, courtesy of reader Vlad Tepes who sent this little gem in to us. Watch
Read MoreSeen at the Tokyo Plastic Model and Radio Control Show, the folks from Futaba are the latest to get into the bipedal-robot thing with their 802.11b-controlled Speesys (a pun on "species" if you say it in Japanese). The robot falls a little short of competitors such as JVC's J4 in terms of looks, but the joystick is the item of coolness pictured right, built around the already cool (if shortly to become extinct) Sony U-50.
Read MoreCasio has successfully combined a 1.2-inch LCD screen and an optical fingerprint sensor, potentially allowing manufacturers to include biometric security in small, space-deficient devices like cellphones. The technology uses optical sensors placed on 0.7mm-think sensor substrate that is placed on a standard TFT LCD screen, saving space while improving on fingerprint-sensing technology. According to Casio, the optical sensor technology is superior to other types, such as CCD or capacitor systems, because of the optical substrate's accuracy and ability to be effective in less-than ideal conditions such as dirty or dry fingers. The technology is still about a year away due to software development concerns, so don't get your thumbs all bent out of shape just yet.
Read MoreRogue scientists at the Hack in the Box convention in Kuala Lumpur have announced that your next-gen cellphone could be hacked, giving people access to your phone book and other personal data. And not via Bluetooth, either. They say there's a flaw in the Java 2 Micro edition or J2ME software (which was jointly developed by Sun Microsystems, Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Motorola) that allow for all sorts of maliciousness, like allowing someone to take over your cellphone, read your address book, and potentially do permanent damage to your data, and potentially even eavesdrop on your conversations (gasp!). Our advice? Don't piss anyone off and you should be fine.
Read MoreJust because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they're not after you... The new "JPEG" image exploit/Trojan horse affecting many Windows-based operating systems and programs including Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Office XP, Office 2003, Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1, Project, Visio, Picture It and Digital Image Pro is making the rounds of the interweb. If the modified JPEG is viewed on an unpatched system, the host computer (if unprotected) will try to connect up to a site via FTP and download a bunch of applications to take over the newly 0wned machine. The good news is you can update your system here, and the FTP site(s) have so far been shut down or blocked; the bad news is that this flaw is likely going to be a new platform for compromising users' systems. So, all that said we tested our Pocket PCs with a compromised JPEG and after looking at the packets with PhatNet (most excellent tool for the Pocket PC) it doesn't appear that the Pocket PC operating system is in any way affected by the Trojan horse. Which makes sense since the exploit connects up via ftp, something you can't exactly do on a Pocket PC, only a full Windows system. But there's no reason to assume we're out of the woods just yet, there are a lot of people who are going to use this exploit so we'll just need to see what happens next and keep patching. This is going to be a hard one to stop.
Read MoreIt figures that all the big news would happen while I have been on hiatus. Sorry for the lack of updates, folks. I've been dealing with a pressing family matter. My family is one of the few things that takes precedence over my Mac-addiction, my work, my writing, etc. So here's what happened while I was gone. I feel the need to recap since I'm certain all of my loyal readers don't ever go to any other Mac-related news site, ever, to get the scoop, right? :) iBooks got a speed bump. A non-virus made a few Mac users nervous. Which, of course, made a few anti-virus software developers ecstatic. It's much ado about nothing if you ask me. U2 decided if you can't beat 'em, join 'em and partnered with the Apple and Universal Music group to release a special edition iPod. Apple trumped their iPod U2 announcement by following it up with a new iPod Photo device. Yum. Not to be confused to the Apple Store mini, Apple also unveiled their new online iPod store. With Winter around the corner, Apple wants to be sure your iPod stays warm and toasty. So they announced another innovative concept: iPod Socks. Yes, I said socks. Buy one in every color so you can be sure they'll always match your belt and your handbag. I guess I don't have to carry my iPod around in my Pink Fluffy KrooPouch anymore. Although I did have my heart set on one of these iPod cozys. iTunes Music Store readies launch in EU and Canada John "the C is for Cranky" Dvorak gets it wrong, as usual, on Podcasting. My posts may be sporadic still for the next week or two, but I'll try to keep you updated as often as possible!
Read MoreEach week Tom Whitwell of Music Thing highlights the best of the new music gear that's coming out these days. Last Saturday it was the the Chiclet DSP Music Box, this week it's the triple neck guitar: As a protest against the boring black boxes on display at the AES (Audio Engineering Society) Convention in San Francisco this weekend, I'm looking at the ultimate example of dumb-ass rock gear excess this week: The Triple Neck Guitar. Like spandex trousers, custom-painted Lear jets and decaying nostrils, Twin-neck guitars are a rock essential. The idea is that you have, for example, a 12-string guitar for the folky bits, then a 6-string for the solo (If you're playing 'Stairway to Heaven'). But in rock, there's always someone wanting to go one further. And triple-necks aren't new. In 1954 Semie Mosely built a triple neck guitar in his garage (two guitar necks, one mandolin). Semie later founded Mosrite Guitars, favoured by the Ramones and Kurt Cobain, who were both disappointingly fond of the single-necked instrument.
Read MoreIt's shaping up to be a slow Friday, so we figured we'd toss you some highlights from Joystiq, our sibling blog that's just as crazy for video games as we are gadgets: Tontie: crazy Japanese cure for boring afternoons NFS: Undeground 2 demo available! Nintendo uses 'sexy' blue squares and static to sell DS GTA San Andreas: BEST GAME EVER??? Dead or Alive Ultimate: just a pretty remake? Call of Duty: Nazi SS doll yanked from retail Grand Theftendo for the 8-bit killer in you Videos surface showing Nintendo DS in action Ask Joystiq: What's the best tool to optimize my PC for gaming?
Read MoreWe were gonna write up a proper post for this one, but our band played the wrong song. [Via waxy.org]
Read MoreOh, while we have your attention, we wanted to mention that if you're a My Yahoo user you can automatically add Engadget to your page simply by clicking the button at right. You'll feel better afterwards, we promise.
Read MoreYeah, it's fair to say that nobody's Choos or Blahniks are going to take a hike when these Wei-Chieh Tus stroll into town, but you have to hand it to 'em, it does take care of that ever-nagging (literally) heel issue right proper by going from 0 to 38° at the push of a button. We have a sneaking suspicion this could turn out to be the goldfish-filled glass-platform shoes of the 2000s, and if so, we're ecstatic to be at ground zero for it.
Read MoreAs part of Xbox Live's "Game with Fame" series, Burnout 3:Takedown players will have a chance to go up against Jimmy Eat World tomorrow between 3pm and 5pm EST. So if you are a fan of the band or if you want to make the band pay for making watery-sensitive punk rock, then you'll want to look for the Gamertag: jimmyeatworld and lay down a challenge.
Read MoreIt's all we can do to stop ourselves from making bad puns about an impending dot-com bubble bath. Japanese startup Frontier 2000 (even their name is right back there in dotcom-bubble-land), an erstwhile maker of telephone cards that seems intent on lurching from one bad business model to another, has hit on the idea of taking out-of-copyright works and printing them on PVC so you can read them in the bath. Now Japan is famed for its love of a good soak, and has more than its fair share of avid readers, but we're thinking this may be, to put it mildly, a niche market. At ¥1,035 (about $10 US) a book we're not talking bargain-basement, either, though it's a snip compared to the option of vinyl vanity publishing, which'll set you back ¥300,000 (about $2,800 US) for the minimum order of 100 copies of a 100-page text-only work. We'll save our money in the hope that a waterproofed WiFi PC comes out soon, thanks all the same. [Via Slashdot Japan]
Read MoreThere are a lot of gratuitous shots in the video for Snoop Dogg's new single "Drop It Like It's Hot", but none more gratuitous than the full-screen crotch shot of a diamond-encrusted iPod that's just like the one HP presented to P. Diddy at the MTV Video Music Awards a few weeks ago. We'll brush aside the streetness or unstreetness of the Doggfather biting off P. Diddy (though the "Star Trak" written on it means it could also belong to one of the Neptunes), and simply assume that more than a few cash-filled suitcases were thrown his way.
Read MoreWe're not sure what kind of coaxing Sirius had to do in order to get him (and we're not so sure we want to know, either), but unlike the rest of America (for now anyway), Howard Stern is taking the plunge head first into satellite radio starting January 1st, 2006. Perhaps it's because of the lack of decency regulations, or perhaps it was a beefy multi-million dollar contract, but any way it went down, it means that if you want to hear his radio show you're going to have to sign up for Sirius service, which is a seriously big deal not only for Sirius, but for the radio industry. Perhaps he'll change his monicker from The King of All Media to The King of Some Yet Un-established Private Media? But perhaps what's most shocking here are the XM ads that are still running on his personal web site. Go figure.
Read MoreCaption contest! Ryan: "Hallo, may name ees Flavio, and I weel be your ObGyn today." Peter: "You're sure this won't make my hair catch on fire, right guys?"
Read MoreWhat with Halloween being just around the corner, you're obviously going to want to go as the scariest thing imagineable. Like, so scary you start crying when you look in the mirror, that scary. So obviously you're going to go as Michael Jackson, right? Because what on god's green earth could be any more horrifying? Nothing. Just, nothing. And the best part is the bitter irony of how he's become more zombie-like in reality than were any of the undead in Thriller. But what we're really looking forward to is a rotting-corpse J-Tim Halloween mask in maybe 15 years after he's all washed up, too. Man, that would be amazing. [Via BoingBoing]
Read MoreMotorola has been showing off their new system for cars which lets you use your cellphone to remotely control functions on the car, including (and especially) the heating and air conditioning. You can also keep tabs on stuff like how much fuel you have left, whether your car doors are locked, etc. It's just a prototype for right now, but since we're pretty sure it's your God-given right not to ever have to be inconvenienced by a freezing cold car on the start of those chilly morning commutes, Motorola better get their asses in gear and get this out soon before the first big deep freeze hits this winter.
Read MoreSegway, our favorite self-balancing human transporter, is now available for under $2500 at Sam's Club (a division of Wal-Mart). While not as speedy as the 12.5 mph i series, the P133 is the lighter budget model, weighing just 70 lbs, with 16-inch tires, a range of up to 10 miles per charge, and can reach 10 mph. But we're sure some enterprising Segway hacker will find a way to get a little more out of the P133.
Read MoreDue to lawsuit concerns and what some would call a culture of fear, many automotive technologies and upgrades will likely never see the day in the United States. Just to rub it in, the New York Times published a brief overview of all those fresh things. Topping the list were the ability to use navigation systems as televisions and karaoke devices, and Internet access. But most disappointing of all, Toyota probably won't ever bring that self-parking Prius over here. It's just a lawsuit waiting to happen.
Read MoreCustomer First (nope, never heard of them either) is the latest company to get into Japan's handsfree cellphone accessory market with an eye on the approaching ban on yakking while driving. Their BT5500CL is probably a rebranding of some faceless Asian OEM's product, but it's a rare break in the constant stream of headsets, being a mike-and-speaker blob that plugs into the cigarette lighter, with simple answer and last number redial buttons. CF, forward-thinking folks that they are, is also releasing a Bluetooth adapter so that the 98% of Japanese phones that don't have Bluetooth built in don't get left out of the fun.
Read MoreWe totally know how fascinated you are by the raw destructive power of the chainsaw, but it's kind of creepy when they actually go and put all those horses to a use that isn't something like lumbering endangered rainforest wood. For instance, if they were to go and mount twenty four of them on a huge superbike chassis. As in the Dolmette. And don't you dare confuse this with the infamous blaxploitation classic Dolemite, or they'll surely drive this thing all through your house. Sucka. [Via Gadgetopia]
Read MoreJapan's National Institute of Advanced Science and Technology has come up with a take on the Segway concept that's unlikely to encourage the Japanese government to allow standup two-wheelers on its roads. The PMP-2 loses all that unnecessary bodywork and stuff in favour of a minimal platform-with-wheels design that doesn't inspire much confidence to look at, though it apparently balances alright with a bit of practice (see video). Maximum range is about 6 miles, and the top speed with the current gear ratios is about 4.5mph—the imagined use is carrying it on the train and zipping from the station to your destination, though at 27-pounds it's a bit of a hefty package to lug around. They're apparently looking for a manufacturer to mass-produce these, though at a projected price of ¥100,000 ($1,100) the day when the streets are thronged with PMP-2s on Christmas morn could yet be a way off. Especially not when you apparently look rather constipated while riding it (at least the dude in the video did).
Read MorePerhaps in a move to out-do Honda's IR-based warning sytem, today Toyota announced in Japan that they were introducing a laser-based warning system that shoots a green laser beam at the road ahead to warn of pedestrians or other obstacles. An interrupted laser beam triggers a slew of warning sounds in the cockpit, gently requesting that the driver honor us with either a brisk turn or a slam on the breaks lest that puppy get smushed under a Camry. Unfortunately, we were unable to glean any new Toyota models shots, but in the meantime we'll keep our lasers pointed.
Read MoreWe've heard this song and dance before (granted, not for awhile), but iRiver's announced that they're already ramping up production of a new line of in-dash drive-based MP3 players with satellite radio and email. No word yet on docking or player interfaces or how the email thing works (or any pics, for that matter), but we're sure they'll pop up sooner or later. They always do. On a side note, iRiver is supposedly going to be following a OEM, OBM, and/or ODM business plan in the future, which means that you might be seeing a lot of perfectly good iRiver products not being bought simply because they'll have an Emerson or Wal-Mart brandname slapped on them instead. [Via Slashdot]
Read MoreThe purists will argue that it defeats the whole purpose, but you gotta admit there's a certain inevitability to the Centaur, a four-wheeled ATV which uses all the same gyroscopic balancing techno-stuff found in the original Segway HT (and can even balance on its rear wheels), but goes way faster and is apparently aimed at that very small subset of geeks who are also into off-roading. Just a prototype for the moment, but the Centaur could be weirding out mountain bikers before the end of next year. [Thanks, Deviant]
Read MoreThis year's SegwayFest is going on right now in Coconut Point Florida, and there is actually some pretty interesting stuff getting covered there like autonomous Robot Segways and fuel cell-powered version, along with some other things like Segway Polo and the, uh, inflatable alien beach-ball obstacle course challenge.
Read MoreSo this Japanese parts manufacturer Denso has whipped up a system that helps warn drivers of dangers they aren't looking at. Sounds pretty hot, apparently the setup monitors the driver's eye movements from within the dash, and also monitors traffic obstructions on the road ahead. If it thinks the driver isn't seeing what's going on, or isn't paying attention, it displays some warnings up on the windshield. So yeah, you could definitely say there's obviously a lot of safety potential for this kind of thing, especially during those Bruckheimer-style car chases we all find ourselves in much too often. But we're refusing going to buy this system unless they outfit the equipped cars in question as pictured here.
Read MoreWe knew it was bound to happen sooner or later: an Ontario man has gotten fined $8000 (Canadian dollars, we think) for riding his Segway on a street without a license, without insurance, and making an illegal left turn. He's fighting the charges, but he's caught in the middle of a techno-legal catch-22: he can't ride his Segway without a license, but the good people down at the motor vehicle registry can't (or won't) issue him one, reducing his Segway-enjoying options to playing polo with it or using it as a golf caddy. [Thanks, Phil]
Read MoreRoad signs have always been more like gentle suggestions than rule-of-the-road iron fist, at least to us. There's a hairpin turn ahead, ok, noted, now let's see how fast we can take it before sliding off into the ditch. But the National Information and Communications Technology Australian lab wants you to follow every road sign you see and has made a driver's aid system that detects and reminds drivers to pay attention to the road signs in front of you. It's kind of like having your nagging grandma accompany you on every car trip you ever take. The system, DAS - driver's assistance system, uses 3 cameras, one to scan the road for signs and the other two to watch where you're watching. The camera's vision is connected to a PC under the dash, which is also connected to the speedometer. The only potential problems might be with low-vision issues, such as bad weather or lack of lighting, assunming that you can actually stand the incessant headache of the computerized back-seat driver in the first place.
Read MoreWe were under the impression that the Big 3 automakers, in cahoots with the Bilderbergs and/or the Trilateral Commission, bought up and then buried all the patents for a car that ran on air a long time ago (it's so obvious). But apparently fearing no sinister cabal the Luxembourg-based company Motor Developpement International is introducing the Air Car, which gets up to 50 miles on a full tank of compressed air. There are actually two versions, a small three-seater and a six-seat sedan, but with a top speed of 70mph neither will be able to outrun the Illimunati after they come after you. The upside is that the compressed air tank only takes four hours to "recharge" and you can plug it into any household socket (but then again, from a global perspective converting electricity to compressed air is remarkably inefficient and probably just means more pollution at a powerplant somewhere).
Read MoreThe new Cobra NavOne mobile GPS unit, at $1299, will allow PDA users to beam addresses from their contacts for on-the-road directions and route tracking. Assuming you already have contact information in your PDA, just beam the information and go. Other nice new features include an internal gyro that will continue to track movement during a loss-of-signal as well as the ability to move the unit from one vehicle to another (it just suction-cups to your window and plugs into a cigarette lighter). Backlit buttons make data entry a little easier in dark situations. One question, though: is infrared the best choice for communication in a unit meant to be used in driving situations? Getting two IR devices to line up just right in less-dangerous situations is tough enough - imagine trying to get this thing to connect while driving. Let's hope they toss some Bluetooth in there soon.
Read MoreThe Knights of the Old Republic 2 website is up and it's a ponderous one. If you don't know what the hell I could mean by that, just go check it out. Man, this is some somber stuff. Lucas's game sites tend to be a little heavy on the sound/visuals sometimes, but this one works well. It's a little sparse at the moment, with only 3 wallpapers to grab. Give them time. They'll have more goodies available soon, as usual. Some great concept art dots the site, too (see below).
Read MoreWe're not sure when this was announced, but Bejeweled 2 is inevitable and should be available by Christmas. Bejeweled is one of our guilty pleasures in life. We can only assume that the sequel will be equally addictive (if, for no other reason than it includes the original, as well as new modes of play). Fifteen bucks for years of enjoyment. This is why gaming rules our hearts.
Read MoreWorthplaying has posted a slew of new clips. The lineup includes: Pariah - Trailer Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Trailer #3 Halo 2 - Multiplayer Featurette Trailer MoH: Pacific Assault - Trailer Prince of Persia: Warrior Within - Trailer Enjoy!
Read MoreThe next installment of Elder Scrolls has given us an early peek at the next generation Xbox's capabilities. There aren't any "credits" with the pics to prove that these are indeed from the Xbox2; but a Joystiq reader, named Vance, pointed out that Game Informer Magazine claims the shots are indeed from the next big, black MS box. Look at the shading. Look at that field. Very nice stuff.
Read MoreJust in case anyone missed the news about Gizmondo last month. Here's a reminder that it's shipping today in the UK. Of particular interest is the use of Nvidia's GoForce 4500 chipset and the inclusion of a GPS locator. We also like the use of standard PDA/Phone technologies like Bluetooth, SD, and GPRS. What we don't like is having only a handful of launch titles of questionable quality. We already have enough hardware sitting around that has been abandoned by manufacturers and developers alike. [thanks to Justin Nolan]
Read MoreIt's Friday afternoon and we still have several hours left to go before we escape. If you are in the same boat you can check out the first Pariah trailer we mentioned here. We aren't experts about film or film trailers, but we didn't get the "emotional" response Mojo was suppossed to be able to deliver. Overall the game isn't looking too unique, but we did like seeing bodies and vehicles flying through the air.
Read MoreSome of us have day jobs around here. You can't play games all day, right? Well, okay, you can sneak in some EQ at work as long as you're not in a cubicle. My day job is in the mobile gaming business, which means this article is not a surprise to me. The feeling in the mobile games industry reminds me of the boom times of the Internet craze. Money's getting thrown all over the place. The Reuters piece hits it on the nose. Games on your cell phone is already the Big Time. Granted, the one billion figure is a worldwide tally, but that's still impressive when you consider how new it all is. Look out for some great titles in the near future. Especially as Nvidia and ATI enter the fray.
Read MoreMilwaukee Blockbusters have been ordered to remove a number of San Andreas posters advertising the release of the game in light of a brutal beating death earlier this month on the south side of the city. The order came from Blockbuster headquarters in Dallas, which was contacted by Charles Grosz, a local Milwaukee musician, who was disturbed by the murder and believed the posters on display were inappropriate because one of the boys charged in the murder cited Grand Theft Auto. In response to Blockbuster's swift action, Grosz stated, "It speaks to the power of one." We'd just like to thank Blockbuster for being so corporately responsible, now that's showin' some class, ain't it?
Read MoreNCsoft plans to offer beta test accounts to those who have been playing City of Heroes the longest. While an official start date for the City of Villains expansion beta has yet to be announced, players who have subscribed for at least 12 months will be guaranteed a spot in the test, regardless of level. If all the slots aren't filled, then NCsoft will turn to 6-11 month subscribers. The decision to extend the beta test to the loyal fan base was made after requests for testing spots poured in from long-time subscribers. It's also a logical move, as these players certainly know the ins and outs of Paragon City.
Read MoreAlex Seropian co-founded Bungie and then brought us Halo, before moving on to form Wideload Games. The debut title from the studio is currently known as, Stubbs the Zombie in "Rebel without a Pulse". Huh? That's why we call it a working title. All names aside, what's really creating a buzz, is that Seropian's new game is built off of the Halo engine. But this is no mere clone: "players take on the role of the rebel himself—Stubbs, a wisecracking Zombie who takes on an ultra-modern city of the future using nothing but his own carcass and the weapons of his possessed enemies... [featuring] gameplay as bizarre and unpredictable as its namesake." Wideload utilizes a small full-time staff reaching out to about 30 or so artists, programmers, and coders for support. Look for Stubbs to pop up on the Xbox, PC, and Mac next summer.
Read MoreThe Dungeons & Dragons real-time strategy/role-playing game, Dragonshard, is now taking applications for its public beta. The requirements are pretty basic and require you to register with valid information (which, we know, is very difficult for some of us). The start date for the test hasn't been announced yet, but look for additional information at this link soon. The marketing poop, for those not in the know, is as follows: "Three desperate races will converge in a struggle to deliver the world into the light... or bury it deep within the shadows. Lead your warriors underground, to thrilling RPG-style dungeon campaigns that affect the myriad maneuvers above. Control armies of haunting power from another time, another plane, another bloodline, in this innovative fantasy experience from the legendary worlds of DUNGEONS & DRAGONS." Sounds like a real hoot.
Read MoreA version of The Door's 'Riders on the Storm' has been remixed by Snoop Dogg and will only be available as part of NFS:Underground 2. Today a full track list was announced and several new songs will be available with the game from Unwritten Law, Capone, Helmut, and Felix da Housecat. All of this is fine with us as long as we can hear the sweet sound of NOS coursing through our engines. mmm... nos... NFS ships Nov. 15
Read MoreEvery Thursday Michael Gartenberg of Jupiter Research contributes an interesting item of gadget-related research data. This week he looks at mobile gaming: With the emergence of the Nintendo DS in the coming weeks and the Sony PlayStation Portable close behind, it's time to take a look at what the portable gaming market is all about. As device manufacturers and content developers cater to broader audiences, JupiterResearch expects the installed base of game devices will only increase over time. In order to address demand for games among niche audiences willing to pay a premium for multifunctional devices, hybrid devices (that are not dedicated to games) will account for a small but important segment of growth for an estimated two percent of the installed base by the end of 2004 to seven percent of total sales in 2009. Similarly, the audience of gamers that play at least five hours per week on their handheld devices will grow, as the installed base of devices increases and as such devices better accommodate game play. When looking across portable device capabilities it's important to note, video games appear as a top feature ahead of both music and imaging—two applications classically associated with the portable device market. In fact, video games are the most highly prized media application by online adults—ranking fifth out of a list of features for mobility. It's safe to say that mobile gaming is emerging not only as a challenge and replacement cycle for the traditional Gameboy but also as a growth market segment that will have strong appeal beyond traditional markets. Question posed: "What are the top three functions you use most frequently on a portable device? (Select top three.)" Source: Jupiter Research/Ipsos-Insight Consumer Survey (7/03), n = 2,085 (consumers who carry portable devices, US only) © 2004 JupiterResearch, a division of Jupitermedia Corporation. Michael Gartenberg is vice president and research director for the Personal Technology & Access and Custom Research groups at Jupiter Research in New York. Contact him at mgartenberg@jupitermedia.com. His weblog and RSS feed are at http://weblogs.jupiterresearch.com/analysts/gartenberg .
Read MoreSony has announced the feature list and pricing for Station Players, a new service initially for Everquest 2 players. The name implies that they will be expanding the service across other MMOs in the future. A handful of free features like a Guild site and access to your character data through the website will be accompanied by premium features at $2.99/mo to satisfy more hard-core players. All of these appear to be designed to decrease the barriers between a human's time in the real world and in the game world. Now when players are out of the game, they'll still have access to detailed character info, guild accomplishments, and screenshots. Perhaps the most interesting feature is the dynamic item database where players will be able to see the latest crack, I mean items, that have been discovered in game.
Read MoreVirgin Megastores has apologized for briefly selling a Nazi SS doll in its Vancouver outlets. The doll was pulled from shelves this past Sunday because it depicted a Totenkopf Division officer, the same combat division that once guarded concentration camps during World War II. The doll was part of the Call of Duty action figure series and was chosen because the Totenkopf Division participated in the Normandy battle. While the news that such figures are being sold in public outlets is both shocking and appalling, Chris Borman, co-president of Plan-B (the company that manufactured the dolls), has argued that since his grandfathers fought in WWII he has "[the] right to make whatever [he] want[s]". Borman added that the Totenkopf Division has "the coolest gear. It makes for a cool figure." Yet even more disturbing is the fact that Virgin has not released an official statement guaranteeing the removal of these toys from other area stores.
Read MoreXevious is an old favorite of mine. The table-top arcade version was always covered in pizza grease at the local Pizza hut — and a small line of similarly greasy boys would be there waiting their turn. At the time, no one had seen anything like it. The scrolling effect with the rich colors were hypnotizing. The game is available now on GBA, but I don't like to carry that around too much these days. Bad back. Luckily, we'll soon be able to play the classic on our cell phones. Sure, the feeling can't possibly be the same as those days in Pizza Hut; but if Namco can preserve 1/3 of the original's magic, this will be a sure-thing purchase when its released this Winter.
Read MoreUbisoft has revealed some new features for the Xbox version's multiplayer. As expected, Ghost Recon 2 will take full advantage of Live 3.0, including an option to enter a match as an entire team. To add to this, the leaderboards will now support team rankings. The entire netcode has actually been rebuilt, which will allow for far better connections across the board. Just as in Halo 2, Ghost Recon will feature four-player split screen online, and players will have the option to play in first person or third person (although the host can lock this). We should also mention that there will be 24(!) maps from the start, eight of which are exclusive to multiplayer. All of this sounds great, now if it just weren't launching right behind Halo 2...
Read MoreWe didn't have a price for the Sony PSP in the last post, but Gamepsot may have the real word on how much dinero we will be parting with. Could the price really be this low? If it is, how the hell can they make any money? Isn't that what business is all about? Oh yeah, maybe it's all about market share. We lose track, sorry.
Read MoreActivision held one of those creepy status meetings via conference call. These things allow press to listen in on the status of the company, including financials and plans for future products. Sometimes you're allowed to talk back, sometimes you are muzzled. Fun! The company let loose a couple of Doom 3 tidbits. The Xbox version of the game, along with the PC version's expansion pack will be available in the first quarter of 2005. You can go to this link and actually listen to the thing, if you have some extra time on your hands. And a thing for being talked to, but not heard.
Read MoreWe still fondly recall using our Fire Horn to decimate skeleton after skeleton, and so on... The new version of Bard's Tale shares its name with the original series but now much else. Deciding to make it an action-RPG utilizing the Snowblind engine was probably a better choice than sticking with text (We'll leave it as an exercise for the reader to decide for themselves). Also, new both to the series and the genre is a humorous story line and talented voice acting. Taken as a whole, GameSpy is finding the combination refreshing. We just want to find a floppy drive to run the original.
Read MoreA retail store in Omaha has decided not only to ensure age requirements are met for purchasing Grand Theft Auto, but have decided to tighten up security and employ some nebulous form of profiling. "We have trained all our cashiers and security staff to be on the lookout for kids that don't fit the rules" is the quote from a store rep. We aren't sure what the point of that is and we think he doesn't know either. Unfortunately for all of us, GTA characters don't need to inspire cosplay, we dress like that already.
Read MoreAfter the initial flash flood, rhythm games have been steadily loosing the public's interest, at least in the western world. But apparently Namco would like to challenge that notion, as it has recently ported over its popular Japanese drum series, Taiko Drum Master, to the US. Drum Master is by no means a bad game, but somehow it seems that banging on a plastic drum with plastic drum sticks won't have much staying power in the US market-correct me if I'm wrong. Taiko Drum Master features 31 unique songs to drum along too and an offbeat cast that at times can be puzzling to an American audience. But if you're a down-low rhythm-junkie, definitely add Drum Master to your collection.
Read MoreMidway has released the first few glimpses of its upcoming Mortal Kombat action/adventure spinoff, Shaolin Monks. As expected, the game will focus a lot of attention on Liu Kang & Kung Lao and includes a two-player co-op mode. Shaolin Monks is part of a new plan that Midway is undertaking in which an original Mortal Kombat game is released each year. So presumably, we won't see a true follow-up to Deception until 2006.
Read MoreEA has announced it will bring a multi-platform (including PSP) adaptation of the upcoming Batman Begins Warner Bros. feature film to gamers sometime next year. The console versions will be developed by Euorcom (NightFire & Spyrp: A Hero's Tail), while Vicarious Visions (Doom 3 for Xbox) will handle the portable side. Senior VP of WB has said, "Batman Begins is the darker depiction of Batman that we've all been waiting for".
Read MoreKonami has joined forces with some legitimate, albeit unknown, Hollywood talent for the latest Metal Gear installment. David Hyter, Harry Gregson-Williams & Kyle Cooper join the team. Those names ring any bells? Well, Hayter is actually the (English language) voice of Solid Snake and will once again lend his talents-he's also a screenwriter (X-Men, X2 & Scorpion King). Gregson-Williams is composing another original score for the series (he's responsible for the MGS2 score). Some of his Hollywood credits include, Shrek 1 & 2, Enemy of the State, Team America & Man on Fire. Finally, Cooper, a director/producer, is working with Hideo Kojima (MGS creator) on an interactive opening title sequence. Cooper's worked on title sequences for Spider-Man, Seven & Mission Impossible. Metal Gear Sold 3: Snake Eater will be available on November 17. [Good lookin' out, David]
Read MoreGamespot has come out swinging for the new Grand Theft Auto game. San Andreas hit the stores like a thug with a bat today, and the scores are starting to roll in. Gamespot has given the title its hoity-toity "Superb" rating, with a 96 score. Not too shabby for a game that we all expected to be a classic. Nothing like living up to expectations. The review gets into a lot of detail and includes what could be seen as spoilers — so be careful diving in too fast. Especially if you don't have the title in your hands. But, of course, if you did have the game, you wouldn't be reading this blog.
Read MoreA playable demo is now available including the new 'Free Roam' mode and the shops. Unfortunately, the only car available for the demo is the 350Z, but it should be enough to get an idea. Looks like online play via EA's servers is available as well. I'll race you to the download queue. [Via Blue's News]
Read MoreA new interview with Bertrand Helias is up over at TeamXbox along with screenshots. Looks like we'll be treated to an older darker Prince that's capable of a greater arsenal of attack combinations and weapons. As an added bonus a slow motion effect has been incorporated so that we can enjoy the beautiful darkness that is decapitation.
Read MoreWe're still not sure what to think about Gamer.tv's Sexiest Gamer competition. On the one hand you've got some good looking guys and gals combining their photos with screen caps of frag counts demonstrating that brawns and beauty can go together. Then you have the fellows sporting unibrows doing their best to look like Solid Snake and failing miserably. Either way, browsing through can be addictive, humorous, and sometimes disturbing.
Read MoreSo if you are bored at work waiting to go home to play some GTA, you might want to pass some time at this site. We recommend checking out Tontie which involves smashing one-eyed monsters with a red hammer. When you reach the upper levels prepare for some crazy hammer-swinging action as you try to keep up. The site's in Japanese but the games are simple enough that it doesn't matter for us Engrish only readers.
Read MoreNot much has changed here. Yes, Shorty's still ridin' shotgun in your Ferrari as the sequel to the 1986 arcade classic lands on the Xbox, retaining its old school flavor, while updating the engine for the 21st century. It's as basic as you get. Accelerate. Brake. Powerslide. A true arcade racer, accessible to just about any brand of gamer imaginable. But this also means that there's close to no variation from car to car, save for speed—another downside is the lack of a custom music track feature. Still, Sega has managed to pack in a load of unlockables (including the original OutRun), some whacky game modes, and online racing, all for just $40. If you had trouble keeping up with Burnout 3, you may find OutRun 2 to be a refreshing alternative.
Read MoreCheck out this review of the SmartJoy FRAG. Apparently this lil' gadget really works, for the most part. As it turns out, it's a bit of a crap shoot whether or not the keyboard/mouse combo works great or just plain okay. Still, this reviewer claims he would take the keyboard/mouse over a standard controller in just about every situation regardless. Plus, configuring with the SmartJoy FRAG to your liking is a breeze, including the ability to fine tune the deadzone. Of the games that were tested, Halo, TimeSplitters 2, Killzone, MechAssault, and Crimson Skies worked the best. So it's pretty safe to assume that the SmartJoy FRAG will be the perfect compliment for Halo 2 players seeking the kind of keyboard/mouse precision that many gamers have to come to live and die by.
Read MoreTo welcome the holiday spending, Microsoft & Nintendo our offering the latest bundles for their respective systems. The Xbox now features a couple of second-tier sports titles, NCAA 2005 & Top Spin, plus two free months of Live (available with almost every online enabled game anyway), for the standard $150 price tag. Also, Nintendo has just announced that by mid-November it will launch a Mario Kart: Double Dash Gamecube bundle for $100. Of course, Sony may still have plans for its own packaged deal, but will likely ride through the season with the new PStwo model, which is now available for $150 (no game included). So if you've been itching to snatch up a console or two, now is the definitely the time to do it.
Read MoreNewsweek has featured the Sony PSP on its cover. The magazine's article claims that the device is the future of Sony. This may be so (except for that little thing called the Playstation3) and the article paints a convincing picture. The piece delves into the market placement of the console, but it really shines when it gets into the process by which it was designed. One of the more intriguing excerpts is below the fold.
Read MoreDoom 3 is getting an expansion pack. The title will be called Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil. From the press release: "Through the discovery of a timeless and evil artifact you now hold the powers of Hell in your hands, and the demons have come to hunt you down and take it back. Following the events of DOOM 3 and featuring new locations, characters and weapons, including the return of the double-barreled shotgun, DOOM 3: Resurrection of Evil expands the terrifying action that fans and critics have been raving about. The title will require the full retail version of DOOM 3..."
Read MoreOver at Krawall Gaming Network they've got some new shots of Need for Speed: Underground 2 up. So far it's looking a lot like the first version of the game with expanded licensing of vehicles. But if your idea of street racing includes a lowered H2 with ground effects or a pearl white Escalade with some Neuspeed vinyl, then you are in luck because SUVs have been added for this iteration. This is exactly the image of speed that comes to mind when we think about street racing... yeah, maybe not. Trying to drag race a 4,000 lb. mall cruiser just doesn't do it for us. [via Bluesnews]
Read MoreNow that we're surrounded by baseball and football, what better time to sit back and play some basketball on your Xbox? Gamezone has a good review of NBA Live 2005. The piece seems to imply it's worth the hard-earned fifty bucks. That is, if you're into the quick and easy gameplay. The reviewer seems to think EA's offering is a bit more "technical" (though it has plenty of action for my taste). Live 2005 must be a real barn-burner to get this kind of write-up. "A button-masher's paradise," says the review. "Just roll up the floor flip the joystick, and throw it down, big man." Okay, will do.
Read MoreThe first screenies that came out for Goldeneye: Rogue Agent were pretty impressive. You could see the warts on the guys' faces. The PR spin that oozed out was filled with promises of physics and facial expression implementations that would blow us away. Now, to be fair, these are only screenshots, so it's hard to judge. But we'll judge anyway...What the hell happened? These are mediocre at best, and remind us more of a first-generation PS2 title than a next-generation Bond game.
Read MoreCould these be the first shots of an Xbox2 or PS3 game? The screenies of the next chapter of the Elder Scrolls series are stunning. This is to be expected from the team who brought us Morrowind. But by stunning, we mean stunning! Could these be the first peek into the next-generation consoles' graphics abilities? Sure, they may be pulled from a PC, but there are no captions to tell us one way or another. And the game is being made for the MS and Sony consoles. Some indications are that the PS3 hardware isn't even available to developers yet. And ATI has only recently rolled out their Xbox2 offering. But, hell, take a look at the images and let us know what you think.
Read MoreLionhead disappointed fans with the announcement that B.C., the prehistoric romp through man's nascent years, has been postponed (i.e. cancelled). Think about it. How often do games get postponed, and then brought back to life? The official word on their website is as follows: Lionhead Studios announced today that its plans for Xbox title BC have been suspended. BC was being developed by Intrepid Computer Entertainment, part of Lionhead Studios. In announcing the decision to suspend work on BC, Peter Molyneux Managing Director of Lionhead Studios said "The decision to suspend work on any games project is always a very difficult one, particularly when it is a title with the potential of BC. We hope to revive the project at a later date and will endeavour to assign as many of the team as possible to other Lionhead projects." Check out the screenies. It looks like it could have had some promise. Oh well.
Read MoreApparently Brady Games' Mortal Kombat: Deception strategy guide came packed with a few deceptions of its own, or just some fine print neatly stashed away on their website: "Game secrets and hidden moves revealed." Notice the exemption of the word all. As it turns out, Brady failed to include a complete list of fatalities. Now that's criminal. But to make matters worse, there is no mention of the "super unlockables" hinted at by creator Ed Boon. Needless to say, fans have become enraged by this mis-information. In response, Brady did promise an online update by the 19th, but that date came and went with no mention of these uber-secrets. Now fans feel duped by both parties, Midway & Brady, and the running opinion is that all the secrets have already been unlocked by the diehards, and the two companies have nothing left to offer, only more deception. Hit up the message board on Brady's website for more info. [Thanks for the scoop, Chad]
Read MoreRecently, IGN got a hands-on preview of Ghost Recon 2's multiplayer mode. Besides being utterly dominated by the Ubisoft team, the boys got a great feel for the online offering. While the tweaked control scheme was definitely a plus, what really caught their attention was the sheer beauty of the game. Ubisoft has really taken the graphics engine to the next level. Also of note, is the new Lone Wolf kit, which will allow players to shoot over and around cover using a special camera device. Sick! Use the link below to check out IGN's full feature. Remember, Ghost Recon 2 will likely get lost in the chaos caused by Halo & Half-Life 2, but it's worth checking out once the madness has settled. Don't sleep.
Read MoreSure it'll be midseason by then, but Madden 2005 will be making its debut on the Tapwave Zodiac in November via download from Tapwave's website. This most recent incarnation of the football franchise will be an upgraded version of the MDM's Palm OS game. New features include 480x320 resolution, analog control, enhanced stereo sound with commentary by Madden & Al Michaels, and vibration effects. Also on tap is an update that will feature a head-to-head mode via Bluetooth and a create-a-player function.
Read MoreSony has announced another delay in the ongoing saga that has plagued the much anticipated release of GT4. Last month, fans were dismayed by news that the online mode was being nixed in order to ship the game before year's end. Well, you can all throw that promise out the door. GT4 won't be in Europe's hands before 2005, and even then, will still lack online capabilities. Polyphony is considering adding the feature in a later release, but don't get your hopes up. In case you were wondering, this latest delay is being attributed to PAL localization.
Read MoreJust a month after the release of X-Men Legends, Activision has confirmed a sequel is underway. There aren't many details yet, including a title or release date, but we do know that Raven Software will be in charge of development again. We'll keep you posted with future updates.
Read MoreRockstar has gone public, expressing concern about the pirated version of San Andreas, as well as a number of other stolen images and game manuals popping up on various websites. In a statement released yesterday, the developer warned, "We take the theft of our intellectual property very seriously and we are and will continue to diligently and aggressively pursue this matter." Watch out, these boys mean business.
Read More"We want our youth to experience traditional Chinese culture and education when they're playing online games," a Chinese official told Reuters earlier this week. And so, the Chinese government will reportedly spend $242 million to fund China-based game developers, offering tax breaks and other incentives in the hopes of producing an estimated 100 online titles over the next four years. Currently, Korean and Taiwanese games dominate the market, although the Chinese government has not approved a new game for the past two months.
Read MoreAmerican McGee wants to be bigger than his name. He wants to make games that change the world — and that can be made into really profitable movies. He may have a lot of Hollywood lingo on the tip of his tongue, but he's stuck to making good games. Scrapland, his latest effort, is an interesting angle on The Matrix. Let's let him speak for himself. "There are twelve different characters that the player can switch to during the game. You can access this feature two ways: by walking up to a character you wish to become and pressing the "overwrite" button or by accessing a "Great Database Terminal" and selecting a character from a point and click menu. Either way you'll instantly become the character you choose and have all their abilities." Nifty angle. And the graphics will, no doubt, be impressive. The demo has some good buzz, but we'll wait for the first round of reviews.
Read MoreI feel like breaking heads these days. No idea why. Maybe I need to go back on the Zoloft. Maybe it's the way work has been going these days. Maybe I was weaned too early. I'm looking for a fight. So it's a good thing we have some fighters coming out soon. The one I want to ram my fist down the throat of is Def Jam: Fight For New York. The title offers up five fighting styles, including street fighting, kick boxing, martial arts, submissions and wrestling. I prefer catfighting, but I'll take submissions in a pinch. The review is positive, the rage is boiling, the Blockbuster game rental card is beckoning, and I'm out of here.
Read MoreFollowing up on our previous post about the leaking of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, we now present the consequences of such a theft — on the Halo 2 folks. Halo 2 suffered its own leakage recently, and the game's creators are none too happy. Not to be preachy, but, well, we're gonna get preachy. Read this article on Spong to see the effects that piracy has on a team that has worked for years, 16 hours a day, to make a game we can all enjoy. The story of Halo 2's leak is a sad one, with employees wondering what the hell they worked so hard for. Are they overreacting? Maybe. But we owe it to them to report any sign of the game on file sharing networks. This is one case where being a tattle-tale will get you major karma points.
Read MoreMindball is a tabletop game that rewards you for being relaxed. Players put on headbands that track Alpha- and Theta waves, you know, the kind that occur during deep chillitude. The EEG readings correspond to the ball's movement, and the most-relaxed player will make the ball move to the other player's goal. The game is available from Interactive Productline for a slim $20,000. Um, after spending $20,000 on pong with a brain strap, how does one relax? Ever? Obviously by playing their Pongmechanik (that would be Pong 2.0, by the way), duh. [Via BoingBoing]
Read MoreWhat's a white paper? Women In Game Development has updated their site with two relatively new articles: Chicks and Joysticks: An Exploration of Women and Gaming (September 2004) by Aleks Krotoski & Why are There so Few Women in Games? (September 2004) by Lizzie Haines. Both of these topics have been coming up a lot, and these articles provide some keen insight into the discussion. Check them out and get back to us with your comments.
Read MoreEA has announced it will be bringing the next Medal of Honor installment, Dogs of War, to consoles by next spring. The game brings the fight back to Europe, 1942, the height of the German offensive. Players will command Lt. William Holt as he carries out a variety of missions provided by the OSS. Holt will at times be accompanied by a squad of soldiers, and of course, will also be working on the solo tip. As always, EA will be consulting with the Congressional Medal of Honor Society to keep things as authentic as possible.
Read MoreThe WWE has filed a lawsuit against THQ and others, alleging that these companies used bribes to obtain the WWE videogame license. The WWE wishes to void this license and seek damages. THQ released a statement yesterday, claiming, "[It] is not directly accused of any wrongdoing in the complaint." Indeed, Jakks Pacific, THQ's partner, is carrying the brunt of the allegations, believed to have offered more than $100,000 to WWE senior vp of licensing & merchandising James Bell and WWE licensing agent Stanley Shenker for the videogame license back in 1998. At any rate, the lawsuit will not effect any current WWE games, namely WWE Smackdown! vs. RAW & Wrestlemania XXI.
Read MoreHere we go again. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas has now fallen victim to the latest craze — leaking. How are people getting their hands on the code so easily? The game has been spotted on bitorrent, among other virtual places. This comes hot on the heels of the Halo 2 leak that shook the gaming world. The official press release pleads, "We take the theft of our intellectual property very seriously and we are and will continue to diligently and aggressively pursue this matter. If anyone finds information on websites with links to unauthorized downloads, information, scans or videos, please contact us at piracy@rockstargames.com." Don't fall victim to the " If They'd Charge Less I Wouldn't Download It" syndrome. These folks have spent years on this project, and they deserve every sale they get. Give them a shout if you spot the title floating around.
Read MoreUs Sacred fans have to stick together. We know how great the game is, and we're perfectly willing to let all the rest of these gamers go on without enjoying our world. And now we can dive a little deeper into the game with Sacred Plus, a free expansion pack that includes the following: 2 new Regions 6 new Sets (one for each character class) 15 new weapon types 2 new quest blocks and new sub-quests 5 new enemies and a new boss Sacred fans know how huge the game is. Two new regions just makes it gargantuan. Sacred fans know how deep the characters can be. Six new sets just makes makes them a chasm. Can you tell this expansion pack has someone in the room excited?
Read MoreBe afraid. Be very afraid. Todd Hollenshead, id's badboy, is offering up a free, signed(!) copy of DOOM 3, a strategy guide, and "Making of DOOM 3" book to the person with the "best legitimate tattoo, judged in [his] sole discretion". And this ain't no ordinary tattoo, nope, it's got to be id-related. And even if you don't win, your picture will be framed on the wall of id Software's headquarters. What an honor. Hey Zackheim, you gonna send in a picture of that hellspawn you got tattooed down there?
Read MoreIt's been a while since we last heard an update, but it appears that Eidos is still seeking a buyout. The company recently stated, "[We are] currently in the process of selecting a preferred counterparty". Eidos also announced that its popular soccer sim, Championship Manager 5, will not be making its anticipated October release on the PC, instead being pushed back to sometime before Christmas or even "into the New Year". The delay will likely cripple Eidos further, as Sega's rival game, Football Manager 2005 (developed by the same creators), is finished and will ship later this fall. We will keep you posted with future details.
Read MoreIf you hate to leave your gaming rig to venture out into the real world, perhaps you've discovered mobile gaming. Some of us don't like to carry Gameboys around. Too much heft. For the most part, cell phones have offered mostly trite, two minute experiences. But that little cell in your pocket could be the key to 24-7 fun. We don't tend to pay much attention to mobile gaming around here, but that may change as titles like Baldur's Gate show up. Gamespot has a review posted for the classic game's mini-version, and they like it a lot. It's not perfect, it's not even great — but it seems to capture the essence of the original. And it sits in the palm of your hand. No more settling for puzzle games and simple shooters. Mobile games are coming. And while , the idea of gaming all the time is exciting, it's also terrifying. After all, how much can you enjoy a beautiful, sunny day when adventure awaits you in your back pocket?
Read MoreWorthplaying's goods are always a nice way to prop up your day. Their game clip offerings are plump and ripe for picking today. From the ridiculous to the sublime, all game types are represented. The list from today's queue includes: Auto Assault Universal Combat: Hostile Intent Miami Vice - Teaser Trailer Darkwatch - Gameplay Trailer Axis And Allies - "Making Of" Part 3 Trailer Sure, the Miami Vice one is a tosser, but check out the A&A clip. We're looking forward to that one.
Read More1999. Yep, that's Namco's latest offering. A dated, short, repetitive, seen-it-done-it for eight years game. Don't get me wrong, I've always admired the Time Crisis series, perhaps that's why I'm so disappointed with Crisis Zone. Duck. Shoot. Duck. Shoot. Duck. Shoot, shoot (now I can use both my GunCons!). Innovation is the key to survival in this industry, and plugging in a second light gun does not meet those evolutionary standards. If you want a quick easy fix, and don't mind confounded storylines or repetive patterns, if you're just looking to blast everything on screen (and now you can!) then Crisis Zone is worth a few of your precious hours. Otherwise, enough is enough.
Read MoreOf course, that's not saying much. But let's just put those other 'Nam titles aside for the time being and examine Men of Valor more objectively. From the get-go, the game was in the right hands. 2015, the development team behind Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (one of the better offerings from the series) has crafted another strong war epic. The team took care to create an environment and atmosphere that isn't plastered with sensationalized stereotypes as much as Shellshock is, and really succeeds in thrusting you into an unnerving jungle world, only to be forced out into urban streets later in the game. Still, the storyline is marred by movie cliches and an overly pro-American theme. But the negatives are outweighed by the creative online multiplayer options, featuring (besides standard deathmatch) the ability to work in teams to carry out specially designed co-op missions. Not only is Men of Valor the best Vietnam game of the year, but it puts the Medal of Honor series back on the map.
Read MoreActivision and Nielson announced that they will be testing how consumers react to in-game advertisements. The publisher and entertainment analyst plan to use the PC version of THUG 2 for the test. A special software will be written into the test copies that measures the amount of time players interact with brand name products, starting with Chrysler Jeeps. Nielson plans to collect data daily and is working with console manufacturers to extend the reach of its testing.
Read MoreWord from bernesto on a press release from Microsoft. Here she is: LOS ANGELES (October 18, 2004) – Vivendi Universal Games (VU Games) today announced that Half-Life® 2, the sequel to one of the most critically acclaimed PC titles in gaming history, will ship to retail outlets around the world in November. The Company confirmed that Half-Life 2, developed by Valve Software, has gone gold with a planned retail street date of November 16, 2004. The countdown to the highly anticipated retail street date has begun around the world, as VU Games completes plans to ship localized versions of Half-Life 2 simultaneously in English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Traditional and Simplified Chinese, Korean, Thai and Japanese.
Read MoreWhether you've played Dungeons & Dragons, or not, everyone knows that it's had a profound effect on gaming. It's not an overstatement to say that the structure of D&D is the reason we play many of today's videogames the way we do. D&D's cryptic and awkward rules always turned me off as a kid. If I was going to play I didn't want to be privvy to all the ins and outs of game mechanics. No, I wanted a computer to do all the calculations for me. Now that they do, I regret that I never got swept up in the phenomenon when it first started. Just take a look at the kids in the photo that accompanies this MSNBC piece. They look happier than I did when I was that age!
Read MoreOtogi 2: Immortal Warriors is the quintessential sequel. Bigger, better, and no surprises. The most noticeable new feature is the addition of three playable characters. However, the sequel is still plagued by many of the problems that marred the original, namely the camera. A few moves have been made to counteract the repetitive non-stop action, including more boss battles and, as previously mentioned, the ability to play as several characters. Still, FromSoftware could have done more to make this title standout. As it is, fans of the series will certainly be drooling over the brilliant visuals and hardcore action and will likely be drawn to Otogi's old school values. This is certainly a game that encourages players to re-play levels again and again (any beaten level can be played at will), as an initial run-through will only take 12 hours or so.
Read MoreOver on Gamespy they've posted Part One of a new Jade Empire feature, bringing us all the gritty details we've been thirsting for. The article kicks off with some background history on BioWare, and then jumps into Jade Empire's storyline, which basically plays out like any Sunday afternoon kung-fu flick mixed with the myths & legends of ancient China. Good stuff. At the start of the game, players will be given the task of creating a character from scratch, or simply sticking to the premade models. The full details of this process are still unknown, but the obvious choice you'll have to make is fighting style. Use the link below if you're interested in reading about some of the various character-types that are available in the game.
Read MoreThe Chronicles of Riddick was a forgettable blockbuster flop, at the movies. But its videogame counterpart Escape From Butcher Bay was, in many ways, groundbreaking. Set for release on the PC this December, fans and newcomers alike will be treated to an all-new Director's Cut that will feature bonus missions, an arena to "test [your] survival skills", and an exclusive mech robot to, well... just use your imagination. The total package will be bargained priced for $30.
Read MoreFist Halo 2, now San Andreas?! The rumors of a GTA code leak are backed by a 3.95GB file generating a lot of activity on file sharing networks. However, according to some sources many of these files are bogus. Indeed, publishers have been known to flood the net with mules and honeypots in order to deter hacks. Still, this is troubling news for both Rockstar and the industry as a whole. Pirating has made big news in the music and film industries in recent years, now it looks like we can add videogames to that list. Expect an official announcement from Rockstar shortly.
Read MoreThe new Prince of Persia: Warrior Within demo awaits downloading over on 3D Gamers. The measly 440 MB file is getting hit pretty hard just about everywhere. But if you're a fan of the game, then you don't really have a choice, do you? Start clicking. I haven't seen the file show up on bitorrent yet, but you may be better at finding stuff than I am. The only detail on the demo offered so far is that part of it takes place during the famous ship scene. Have fun!
Read MoreWhatever you think of the announced tracks for the next Grand Theft Auto, you're going to have to reevaluate after reading this article. The IGN piece gets into more details than ever about how many songs there are, what style they are and how often they show up in the game. Apparently, you'll be able to listen to three times the number of singles as GTA3, on 11 stations, with 20 different DJs. That sets a bar that, we're guessing, will not be matched in our lifetimes. Until the next GTA, of course. The IGN piece also has a really nice run-down of the radio stations, and their style. Definitely worth a read if you're looking forwrd to this game.
Read MoreI can understand how Basketball got some street cred, since you can't go anywhere in New York without running into a court packed with kids playing. But the idea of football in the streets is, well, much rarer. Sure, I've been tackled on the curb many times, but mostly for my wallet, not any football in my hands. Still, the last NFL Street game was a lot of fun and the next installment looks great. Here's a link to some new images. I look forward to jumping off some wall to get to the end zone, and smacking some punk with attitude into the garbage. Then I can get back to my wimpy real life.
Read MoreEarlier this week, Midway dropped its second retro-arcade collection, Midway Arcade Treasures 2. For the bargain price of $20 it may be hard to pass this one up, especially since its packing just over 20 games (did you read that Microsoft?). While it's ceartainly a better deal than what's been proposed for the Xbox Live Aracade, MAT2 will likely be collecting dust within a week. See, what Midway (and other publishers) are selling us on is nostalgia. When I first saw Mortal Kombat 2 on the list, I was immediately thrust back into memories of adolescent Friday nights at the local arcade, pumping in quarters to witness the gorey thrills. But sadly, when I play MK2 now, it's simply a dated format that I'm glad we've moved on from. Sure MAT2 is packed with a number of classic titles—as well as a handful of obscure misses—but I'd much rather allow these games to live on in my adoring memory, then be reminded of just how far the industry has come.
Read MoreFans of the super-duper Heather Graham will be able to feel a tad bit closer to the movie star, if they plunk down 60 bucks for Everquest 2. The starlet is making an appearance in the game in the form of a character with hours and hours of dialogue. Her character, Antonia Bayle, is the leader of all that is good and hot-alicious. To counter her youth and beauty, Christopher Lee will also be in the game ad nauseum. The British actor will lend a few hours of graceful English, and an extra dab of gravitas to boot. For those of you who think this is just more of Hollywood intruding on our space, fight the good fight! For the rest of us, look forward to listening to the force of good whisper sweet nothings in our headsets over and over again.
Read MoreHead over to the IGN media pages to get a look at the entire second level of GoldenEye: Rogue Agent. The mission unfolds at Auric Enterprises, Goldfinger's mountain stronghold, which is under attack from Dr. No and his henchmen. As Goldfinger's ally, it's up to you to stop the invasion. But don't worry, you're character comes well equipped...
Read MoreEver since The Wizard (1989!), we've dreamed of winning our very own videogame tournament. Well, these folks live that dream. The Evolution Fighting Game Championship brings together more than 700 of the world's top gamers to duke it out in the most popular fighting games of our era. 2D, 3D, frickin' virtual reality, well, maybe not virtual reality, but what we're saying here is that these guys are the cream of the crop, el numero uno, G.O.A.T., kna' mean? We're talking Justin Wong here! An unprecedented 4th Marvel vs. Capcom 2 World Championship! Okay, so maybe we're getting overly excited here, but seriously, these guys are humbling. We're not suggesting you shell out 70 bones for the complete set, but at least check out the trailer, just visit the link below...
Read MoreFresh off the gone gold announcement, we explore the recent rumor of online multiplayer... and simply put, there isn't any. But don't fret, the possibility of a co-op mode is also under heavy speculation. What we do know is that there are various missions that have been demoed which show CJ aided by another character, whether it be operating a vehicle that CJ is gunning from or driving alongside him in a separate car. Obviously this other character can be computer-controlled, but there seems to be some slight inclination—or just a desperate longing—that someone could pick up a second controller and assume this role. On top of these scattered missions, it's been suggested that a number of mini games will feature two-player modes. The official word from Rockstar is that co-op does not exist, but since when have we ever trusted a studio's word?
Read MoreVoodooPC, Alienware's closest competitor in the gaming PC market, has just announced the launch of Voodoo VIBE, a Home Theater PC made for your living room. The PC actually utilizes a customized (and sweet looking) red Xbox to slide into your living room's setup. This lets you use the PC to play Xbox games, record TV and set up a media server. The idea of a PC that piggy-backs on the Xbox's built-in capabilities sounds new to us. The fact that PC is packed with all the powerful hardware you would expect in a VoodooPC, just makes the package that much sweeter.
Read MoreIf you like The Black Eyed Peas, you'll be happy to know that the band will be making an appearance in The Urbz: Sims in the City. Electronic Arts, A&M Records and iTunes have teamed up to offer the first cross-media album featuring a single band. The band will appear in the game itself, where they'll provide nine tracks that will be available on iTunes with a special download card. The intriguing part of the deal is that the tracks will be recorded in the creepy, but convincing, language of The Sims games - Simlish. That should make the album eligible for the New Age section of your local music store.
Read MoreIf you're already growing tired of the crashes of Burnout 3, don't worry. There's already word out that Burnout 4 is being worked on. Not many details on the title yet, but our guess is that there will be cars and bent, burning metal. The factoid was mentioned in the latest Playstation 2 Magazine from the UK. The current title is doing, um, well in the marketplace. So the announcement isn't a surprise. Apparently, development has already begun. Anyone have screens to send us?
Read MoreKonami's football (that means, soccer) franchise is finally earning the respect it deserves. Pro Evolution Soccer 4 is gearing up for tomorrow's European launch, expecting to ship a franchise record 1.5 million units. PC and Xbox versions will follow in a month, featuring online multiplayer. As for the American counterpart, Winning Eleven 8, it won't be hitting retail until next spring. And oddly enough, Konami still hasn't confirmed an Xbox release. Still, if you're in Europe, or have importing capabilities, PES4 is the game to own. Forget FIFA, if you're a soccer fan and have never experienced Konami's sim, be prepared to be blown away. 'Nuff said.
Read MoreMajesco resorted to the oldest trick in the book when it came to publicizing its vampire-vixen sequel: sex sells. Yes, the boys (and girls too?) over at Majesco broke some serious boundaries while generating hype for BloodRayne 2. We're talking digital boobies, Playboy: October issue. But if you're anywhere half-way-interested in videogames, you already know that. You may have even spotted Rayne's handiwork in the latest Evanescence video, appropriately titled, "Everybody's Fool". And so, as expected, BloodRayne 2 is simply the latest offering of style over substance. It's a game plagued with bugs (of the programming sort) and mindless violence. But it sure is pretty, and the type of game that anyone can pick up and play. So, while it's still a bit early to judge, we're betting that BloodRayne 2 will sell. And that's just the current state of the industry.
Read MoreSome random Spanish guy claims that he found a CD-R chock-full of rejected commercials for Nokia's N-Gage gaming phone. What luck! Supposedly, he found the disc at a bus terminal near the Nokia offices. The ads reek of viral marketing, and we've probably just fallen trap to Nokia's evil plans, but what can you do? The CD-R supposedly contained seven ads that didn't make it into a new promotional campaign for the N-Gage and he was kind enough to post the ads in both WMV and Quicktime formats. Thanks, amigo!
Read MoreThe mainstream press may be a little behind the blogging community, but at least they try. We covered this story a few months ago, and now it can inspire everyone who reads USA Today (last we heard, they had more readers — for now). The inspirational and astounding story of Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems is what human nature is all about. The engineers at the company have developed a system where you can control a game of pong with 70% accuracy with your thoughts. "Cyberkinetics' big breakthrough is listening to up to 100 neurons at once and applying the computing power to make sense of that data almost instantly," the article says. "The 100 sensors stick out from a chip the size of a contact lens. Through a hole in the skull, the chip is pressed into the cortex surface." The tech will allow people with disabilities to control the environment around them, from chores to recreation. Amazing. John Kerry, speaking about his friend Chris Reeve, yesterday said. "So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable. And then when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable."
Read MoreThe Alienware DHS line of computers is now available for your configuration. The system includes all the usual Alienware bells and whistles, and then throws in Windows Media Center Edition and the DISCover technology. For those who aren't aware of DISCover, its more of a patent than an actual device. The tech allows you to install your games to this "den" computer for quick and easy play, when you feel like it. Games load fast, update automatically and, generally, make your HTPC feel more like a console than a PC. It's an interesting idea, but it may run into some problems as Microsoft gears up for the Xbox 2. Some recent reports say the next generation console may be able to play your PC games. If true, the owners of the DISCover patent will definitely demand their day in court.
Read More17 years ago you were frantically tapping up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, b, a, (select), start. My how things have changed. Well, it's still one hit kills, and you're still packing serious heat, but this is the 3rd generation, what's new? Neo Contra expands on the series' fast-action gameplay by offering an ever-changing view of the action. From the start, players will have a choice between four levels. The one Konami has been showing off features a top-down perspective and has players blasting away in all directions, pausing only to dodge enemy fire by rolling to the side or erecting a temporary energy shield. Instead of grabbing power-ups throughout the level, you'll choose your weapons at the beginning, assigning them to three different slots. There's a fairly limited selection to start, but rest assured you'll be unlocking the big guns sooner or later. So while the basic run-n-gun premise, featuring hordes of enemies and ginormous boss fights, is unchanged, the newest generation of Contra looks to add a fresh flavor to the franchise (is that a samurai sword on his back?).
Read MoreThat didn't take very long. Warhammer Online looks to be alive again. For fans of the game, you all know how great an MMO version of the experience could be. So it was a sad day when the title was killed by its publisher. Someone out there recognizes that the Warhammer license is worth a little bit, and has brought the project back to life. It's probably a smart move, since the outcry over the game's demise was pretty loud. Here's hoping they do it right.
Read MoreIf you haven't given Painkiller a try yet, here's chance number three. 3D Gamers is offering a single-player demo that features the Military base level. Also included are the enhancements from the most recent version of the game (version 1.35/1.4 codebase). This is the much-touted code base that will be included in the upcoming Battle out of Hell expansion. Impressive-looking stuff. A must-play for Serious Sam fans.
Read MoreGriffins and Frogloks have been unveiled by Sony Online Entertainment. While we would chastise you for not knowing what a Griffin is, we understand if the Froglok slips your mind. Apparently, they're amphibious creatures with long tongues and the strength of a thousand toads. The two creatures have been unveiled as new characters in this obscure upcoming game, called something like Everquest 2, or something. The characters will be unlockable only in certain scenarios, meaning they'll have high value in the game. Frogloks sound tasty and all, but the Griffins seem especially appealing. Especially if you have a long journey ahead of you and want to get there quickly and safely. Consider it the public transportation of Norrath.
Read MoreJoystiq special correspondent Edward Ho contributes a report for us from this past week's World Cyber Games: The Samsung bankrolled World Cyber Games came to San Francisco this past week, bringing with them the world's fastest twitchy-fingered kids. It's 2004 and the WCG is still playing Counter-Strike and 2 generations of RTS from Blizzard. I think the youngest player in the tournament was 9 when Counter-Strike hit the streets? Never mind the age of the games, the action was intense as players would crowd the sidelines with binoculars to scope the competition's screens.
Read MoreThe X-Men deserve the best writers, artists, movies, cartoons and games. They've enjoyed the best of all these, save one. The games one. Sure, there have been some decent fighters with our favorite mutants, but for the most part the gaming potential of the team has never been realized. Hopefully, that's about to change. The reviews are coming in for X-Men: Legends and they look promising. Tom's Hardware is certifiably nuts about it, and give us this classic line: "After entering all of that data into the gaming calculator, this is what it spit back out: X + Men(Legends) = (Bu)Y + iT. That's not just my opinion... it was a scientific calculator. You can't argue with science." If the teamplay dynamic is captured as well as the review says it is, then I may not be reading X-Men for the next couple of months. I mean, why read it when you can be it?
Read MoreThe big announcement has been made about the "sequel" to System Shock 2, and it turns out that it's not a sequel after all. However, Bioshock will be a game that follows in the footsteps of the classic, offering gameplay that the developer calls "emergence". In a nutshell, emergence is a system that allows the player to have a unique, unscripted experience during gameplay. The same system was used in the Deus Ex series to great effect (for the most part). The setting of the game will be a laboratory, filled with odd life forms, and dead bodies, kind of like my apartment. Some of the same folks who gave us the classic SS2 will be throwing their efforts into this puppy, so look for a good time.
Read MoreHot on the heels of the official release comes a patch for Star Wars: Battlefront. The game has surprised a few of us old-timer online gamers, who assumed it would be a rehash of other troop games. But the title has its fair share of originality, and manages to capture the Star Wars atmosphere, without becoming too vanilla. A full review is forthcoming, but you can see where I'm going. The patch deals with a few bugs: * Improves NAT negotiation for online games which may help improve multiplayer performance. * Minor fix to server browser screen. * Corrects an issue with connecting via GameSpy Arcade. * Corrects an issue with losing connection to the host after Task-Switching. * Added planet names at Planet Loading Screen.
Read MoreOver on the HomeLan Federation they've posted an interview with DOOM scriptwriter, Dave Callaham. The young talent actually secured the job two years ago at the age of 24. He earned some merit out in Hollywood for a "dark and violent" (sounds perfect) spec script, and although it hasn't turned into a movie deal, it did catch the eye of ex-Warner Bros. head of production Lorenzo di Bonaventura (credited for snagging the Matrix films). Bonaventura asked Callaham to pitch him a script for the DOOM movie, and the young writer excepted the challenge. Needless to say, the producers loved it. And, well, you can read the rest from the man himself...
Read MoreIn case you were unaware, the fourth annual World Cyber Games are deep underway. With only three days of competition to go, the competitors are really pushing their limits, er, buttons. This is not just a kill-or-be-killed, high score affair, hardly. The athletes (if we may call them that) must prove that they are capable of mastering such skills as advanced strategizing, adaptation, quick reflexes, & hand-eye coordination. Winners not only own the bragging rights to games like Counter-Strike, Halo, & Starcraft, but also walk away with roughly $400,000 in cash prizes. No joke. You may even end up with your own television show in Korea, earning $500,000 a year, a mob of half-crazed fans, and uzi-toting bodyguards. And you thought all you had to worry about was carpal tunnel syndrome...
Read MoreSystem Shock 2 is certainly one of the best games ever made. Many developers cite the title as an inspiration to them, and a launching pad for a flood of ideas that made our favorite hobby what it is today. Now, Gamespot has one of the more intriguing reads of the season. Not only do they go over what makes the classic a classic, they then go on to hint that there's a major announcement coming. In fact, it's imminent. From the article: "But why even look back at System Shock 2 at this point? Because Irrational has been, and it plans to make a related announcement this Friday (tomorrow). The studio has decided that it wishes to further what it started in System Shock 2—to work on games that promote "emergent" gameplay—open-ended exploration that offers many choices and combinations of options to players. You'll see what we mean tomorrow. Be sure to come back then." We can't wait.
Read More"Mr. Soundtrack" is selling over 1300 items including more than 300 systems and a massive arsenal of gaming peripherals on Ebay. Included in the lot are 23 Atari 2600s, 78 Nintendo NES's, 33 PlayStations, 60 SNES's, and tons more (that's probably not a weight exaggeration, either). If you are the lucky winner, your bounty will be delivered in 21 boxes. The boatload also includes some harder-to-find systems like the Bally Retrocade System, a Sega Nomad, and a couple 3DO systems. What we're really interested in, though, is where all this stuff came from. Did Mr. Sountrack run a store? He claims that game systems aren't his "specialty," and that he needs to "focus on [other things] at the moment." We fear the collections of things that are his specialty. [Thanks, cottonbuds]
Read MoreCum Laude! Oh my, they are so clever these days... Yes, Larry is back, but this time it's his nephew, Larry Loveage. If you're old enough to remember the original series, you may be disappointed with this new offering, which features little more than repetitive mini-games that test your hand-eye coordination. Of course, you may be in it for the digital nudity, but I'm sure you could find much better media out there on the Internet without the hassle of mixing virtual drinks. As expected, the really hot moments are entirely censored. In the end, you're left with a decent looking puzzle game, with exaggerated, CG breasts. About the only redeeming quality of this brainless romp is the dialogue, which is worth a few laughs. If you happen to be hitting puberty right about now and can somehow get your hands on this title, Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude is the game for you!
Read MoreHere's a special feature on the human side of MMORPGs from guest columnist Miss B, a dedicated MMORPGer with over a year of Lucas Arts' Star Wars Galaxies under her game playing belt: At the core of playing any Massive Multi Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) is the inescapable element of human drama. Whether you're playing in a galaxy far far away, or in a city of heroes, you are bound to come up against the same pathos of your everyday real life (RL) existence. One area in particular, that of romance, emerges as a regular if not given element in online game play. There are several dynamics in the MMORPG romance, and they are all in some way or another dictated by the personal dynamics of those behind the keyboard. ,
Read MoreJoy! The next installments of the beloved Worms series has found a new home. Team 17 has announced on their forum that the popular license is back on track, and that Worms: Special Edition and Worms: Forts will be blessing retail shelves soon. The series' future was in doubt after they lost their publisher. But now the developer says "...we hope to announce details of this very soon. We haven't got release schedules yet but we are working on those and hope to have both games on sale this year if at all possible (we have to re-submit the games through Sony/Microsoft as we changed publisher)." Our advice? This is going to be a pretty crowded holiday season. If you're going to release it this year, make sure you have the marketing money to back it up.
Read MoreCapcom's latest survival horror game, Haunting Ground, is westbound, due to arrive early next year. Known as Demento in Japan, Capcom has taken a fresh stab at the genre. The gameplay will feature a nifty gimmick where the control vibrates in tune with the main character's pulse. So, as she becomes more and more freighted the vibration picks up and the character is less responsive, easily stumbling and falling. In addition, the colors on the screen will begin to fade, and only running or hiding will remedy the effects. In order to succeed, you must gain the trust of an Alsatian dog that will eventually fetch items and even defend you against foes. Capcom has also hired Naoto Takenaka (Ghost in the Shell films) to direct the cut scenes. From the looks of it, Haunting Ground is shaping up to be a refreshingly eerie offering in a genre gone stale. Let's hope they can pull it off.
Read MoreWe know it sounds weird and that it's based on some seriously sketchy speculation, but now people are beginning to report that Sony's PlayStation Portable will be able to connect to the XBox (as well as a host of other devices). We are already aware of Sony's plans to allow games to be continued on the handheld device and vice-versa, but if they come up with a way to allow developers to do that on multiple platforms, well, we'd be really impressed (and really, really surprised). As for what other purposes this could serve, we can think of some GBA-like features for party gaming, map and crucial data display, as well as transportation of game saves. Weirder things have happened, but we're officially taking a skeptical stance on this one.
Read MoreIt looks as though Midway has wasted little time getting back to the lab. That's right, fresh off the release of MK: Deception, Midway has registered the name "Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks" at the patent office. What could the Shaolin Monks subtitle imply? It's a mystery for now, but perhaps another spinoff is in the works—hopefully not in the same vein as the miserable N64/PSone action title based on Sub Zero. We do know that Midway has already confirmed the release of a next-gen MK installment, and this could very well be it. We'll keep you posted as more details arise.
Read MoreThe first downloadable level for Full Spectrum Warrior is now available via Xbox Live. It's considered premium content so it'll set you back $5, but worth it if you enjoyed the first offering. It's a Search and Destroy Mission that's set roughly two hours after the initial campaign's ending. Pandemic promises Epilogue 1 to be as challenging as any level can get, as well as its counterpart, Epilogue 2, which will be released shortly. There aren't any major gameplay tweaks in the new content, but fans will notice that the designers took greater advantage of vertical levels and high elevation, resulting in some pretty fantastic death scenes. Visit the link below for a full preview.
Read MoreSega's European division announced that they will bring Tenchu Kurenai (published in Japan by From Software) to the PAL territories sometime next spring as Tenchu: Fatal Shadows. There has been no word from Sega of America pertaining to a US release, but they'll be holding a press conference next week where it is more than likely that the announcement will be made. Fatal Shadows features an all-female cast and is promised to have a more open-ended design. Other gameplay additions include, persistent corpses that must be hidden and the ability to hide underwater. This recent move is somewhat of a trend, as Sega previously localized another From Software series in Otogi.
Read MoreGameOn NY is an upcoming videogame expo & tournament, part of the larger consumer technology event known as DigitalLife. The four day event (October 14-17) will be hosted by Ziff Davis at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York. If you live in the area and haven't been able to make it out to E3 or other mass gaming events, this could be your ticket to digital nirvana. Plus, if you manage to win one of those tournaments, you may end up walking away with some free games or even cash, but that's not likely... Use the link below to find out more. (We'll see you there)
Read MoreWant to get paid to write about video games? Joystiq is growing way more quickly than we expected and we've decided it's time to add another writer to the team. We're looking for someone who's a gamer's gamer, who is obsessed with keeping on top of all the new games coming out and who can write about this stuff with wit and irreverence. So if you think you have the chops and you have the time to commit to blogging with us on a daily basis, drop us a line via our contact form with a little bit about yourself and a list of your fave games of all-time. Thanks!
Read MoreIt looks like Freddy Adu will have to wait for another year, EA has announced the newest athletes to appear on the cover of the latest FIFA installment. In North America, FIFA Soccer 2005 will feature Andriy Shevchenko, Fernando Morientes, and Oswaldo Sanchez. "I love EA SPORTS, especially the FIFA franchise," said Sanchez. Now that's a spokesman! FIFA hits stores next Tuesday, we'll have more coverage then.
Read MoreNow that Halo 2 production is complete, what's next for Bungie? In a recent interview with the BBC, Bungie studio manager Pete Parsons revealed, "After Halo 2 we are planning to do something different... we have a few ideas." An original IP, eh? Does this mean Halo won't be a launch title for the Xbox 2? One things for sure, Halo 2 is right around the corner, just cleared for RTC where it will be transfered from digital tape to DVD for final testing. So let's give Bungie a much-deserved rest and set our sights on November 9.
Read MoreThe newbies over at Meqon recently made news when they were brought on board to help out 3D Realms with Duke Nukem Forever. The game will be using the company's physics engine to make the environment surrounding our favorite anti-hero bounce, crash and flip well. The small outfit is made up of guys who had a great idea about how physics should work in games. But instead of just dreaming about it they threw everything they had into the company and delviered. A great story for those of you out there who think you have the idea and the skills to make better games. We'll see if the product is actually any good, when DNF is released in 2024.
Read MoreChapter ten of Gamespy's Black & White 2 developers diary gets into the nitty-gritty of character development. In a game like BW 2, the most fun you're going to have comes from your personal relationship with your creature. To pull that off in today's sophisticated and cynical market, it takes a lot of tweaking.The characters better look and act like million bucks, or you can kiss the good reviews goodbye. To keep the animators on their toes, the company makes sure everyone is accountable for their work. During "frequent" meetings, the artists have to slap their efforts up on a big screen and take criticism from their peers. Nothing like a little humiliation to keep a creative on his toes, right?
Read MoreTime for another week's worth of mods. Make your old games go farther with the latest line-up of mods, gathered together by our friends over at HomeLANFed. The fine folks bring up a really good point when they say we can expect to see some great stuff come out for the recently released Tribes Vengeance. There aren't any listed yet, since it's a little early, but there are some great mods listed. Included are the staples like Unreal Tournament 2004, but there are also a couple of new additions. First, you can download the editor for Call of Duty: United Offensive. Second, you can check out Far Cry and Doom 3 tutorials from 3D Buzz, the makers of excellent lessons for the Unreal series. This would be a good place to start if you're thinking of getting into modding your favorite game.
Read MorePlease, please, please bring back Sam & Max. The adventure title, Sam & Max: Freelance Police was unceremoniously axed by Lucas recently, making all gamers with taste (and gray hairs) scream in agony. The sequel looked like it was coming along fine when the plug was pulled without any (sufficient) explanation. The humorous duo should have their sequel, damn it, and hopefully this piece of news is proof that they will. Apparently, the same gang that worked on the now-dead project have moved on to make their own outfit. There's no indication that they'll be reviving their Lucas efforts, but it would make sense — if they can just work out a deal with the Star Wars man. Hey, if you guys are reading this, and you need someone to bust some knee caps, let me know.
Read MoreIf you've been jonesing for some Killzone media, look no further. Just click the image above and you'll find yourself in the heart of Killzone mania. Trailers, gameplay footage, screenshots, and more... yeah, it's nothing you wouldn't expect, but it got our mouths watering. Also, peep these other official PS2 websites: Jak III Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal [Thanks Matt, er, 'Slaughterhouse Chief']
Read MoreThe original Mortal Kombat started a frenzy, and the sequel simply blew our minds. Since then, the series had been on a downward spiral, until 2002's surprisingly refreshing installment, Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance. Now, Deception takes those same great concepts and simply propels them into a whole new dimension. More characters, with more moves, and of course, more fatalities! Add to that, more mini-games, a ginormous number of unlockables, and online kombat?! Why are you even reading this?! ...Alright, excuse the excitement, to be honest, we've still got our eyes on DoA Ultimate, but Deception has turned out to be a real contender for fighter of the year and will not disappoint newcomers or the undying fan base. No game is flawless, but Deception is not far off.
Read MoreLast year it was estimated that China had 13.8 million people playing online games. These figures were reason for concern for the government, eager to control the information spread across the Internet. So the Video Games Committee of the Chinese Adolescents Internet Association was formed, placing games into three categories, including middle school, high school, and adult. Games will be rated on the basis of, "degree of violence, pornography, terror and content of cyber chatting." Online games will be judged slightly differently, the criteria includes, "pornography, violence, horror, social morality and cultural implications." China also intends to set up "healthy" & "recommended" servers for downloading these games.
Read MoreWe're not sure how this Swordfish-themed, GPS-based cellphone game managed the coup that was their John Stewart's Daily Show shout out last month. Of course the show belittled the game, but hey press is press, right? To play the game, you look on your screen, see where the "swordfish" are, then move to that location to attempt to catch them. In real life, you don't "virtually" go there or any of that crap. Sounds like a whole lotta work, and miles covered, for the hollow claim that you caught a non-existent swordfish. The game is only available in Canada right now, and the company says that they are the first location based fishing game, which we're sure is true, since we're not even sure there is a market for one of these things. [Via TechDirt]
Read MoreThis is an odd story. Peter Molyneux has posted some thoughts on the Fable forums over at Lionhead. The post has a serious tone from the start, and goes on to, essentially, apologize for Fable. "There is something I have to say," he begins. From there, he proclaims that he will not talk about his future games in lofty way. Apparently, he's smarting from criticism that Fable doesn't do all the things he's promised it would over the years. While this is true, it strikes us as strange that he should feel the need to say this, even when the game is a great one. Don't get me wrong. I don't like the idea of lofty hype for marketing sake. But I don't mind listening to the dreams of a great game-maker. Anyone who knows games at all should know our eyes are bigger than our stomachs. In preparation for a game we all get ourselves into a tizzy. But as long as a developer constantly informs the press that they are scaling back "promised features" I don't see any reason why a dreamer like Molyneux can't dream out loud.
Read MoreWhere the hell did this come from? Apparently, game publishers are about to increase the price of games for the first time in a long time. The proposed hike being floated around is three to five bucks. Weren't we just talking about a price slash on console games just a year ago? I can understand how the rising costs of production would push the profits down a bit; but five dollars? I cringe whenever I pass Doom 3 on the shelf. The 55 dollar price tag just seems so high. Of course, with an across-the-board rise in price, the AAA titles would run around 60 bucks when they first come out. My worry is this will only hurt the industry by making piracy more acceptable to morally ambivalent gamers (not talking about you or me, of course). Sixty bucks is a lot of diapers, and I really don't want to have to decide between S.T.A.L.K.E.R and a clean crib. This CNN Money piece covers both sides of the argument well.
Read MoreWorthplaying has a slew of new screenshots posted on their site, as usual. The new ones of Half-Life 2 caught our eye. We're not sure how many of the pictures are actually new, but there seem to be a bunch that we haven't seen before. It would make sense that the number of images would increase, since the game is, theoretically, right around the corner.
Read MoreAerotechTelub has just secured a deal with Digital Illusions to use the Battlefield 2 technology in a series of training simulators and demonstration facilities for the Swedish defense. The deal will benefit both parties, saving the Swedish defense money in the long run, while boosting Digital Illusions "competitive edge". Battlefield 2 was chosen because it can simulate large geographical areas and international situations. The technology can also be used to develop new management methods. As for us nonmilitary personnel, we can expect to be doing our own Battlefield 2 training next Spring.
Read MoreApparently LucasArts decided it couldn't wait for the holidays to extend some good ole' fashioned corporate generosity to the little people. Then again, this could just be one of those sneaky Jedi mind tricks. Either way, if you gave up on Star Wars Galaxies more than 60 days ago, LucasArts is now begging for you to come back. They're offering a ten day free return using your old account and want you to check out all the new additions (more quests really). The plan is to get you psyched for the upcoming expansion, Jump to Lightspeed, for which you will also be given ten more free days. Go hither young master Jedi...
Read MoreIt looks like it's just one of those years for the struggling, but always talented, Mr. Woods. First it was getting knocked from the world's #1 ranking, now his game is getting pulled from shelves across Europe? What a Tiger to do? Contrary to popular rumor, the decision was not spurred by the controversial leopard thong outfit, but rather, a "performance issue"—however, the two are not entirely unrelated. All sixth grade humor aside, EA decided it was best to pull the English language European version and offer a future exchange or full refund to consumers who already own the defective copies. It's believed that the bug has only affected a small percentage of players, but that number could still be pretty big considering that the game ranks number four on the UK charts and sold more than twice as many copies as last year's version during its first week.
Read MoreThe latest reports on the Acclaim saga suggest that Rod Cousens, former CEO, will reopen the UK studios in Manchester and Cheltenham. Cousens is being backed by Europlay Capital Advisers LLC and along with the studios, has acquired the rights to four games and several other IPs. The studios, while planning to rehire much of the preexisting staff, will be operating under a new name. The team will also include former Acclaim publisher Barry Jafrato. Let's just hope they've all learned from their mistakes and can move on.
Read MoreWhen we originally reported about Google's new SMS service, we were pretty sure they would be rolling out new search features and functions over time. Looks like this may be happening for driving directions sooner than later. As MobileTracker reports, sending a "directions" message to Google SMS (46645, or GOOGL), returns "Looking for driving directions? Unfortunately this feature is not yet supported." Of course, this sort of thing would require a more complex search string, something like "Directions 10016 1300 Fann St 92804" in order to get from zip 10016 to 1300 Fann St. in the 92804 zip code, unless it already saves where you're starting from. That might a lot to ask for (esp. since Google SMS is already free), but we can hope, can't we?
Read MoreWe want Gmail made mobile as much as anyone (okay, maybe a little more), but to date things have been more than a little sketch when it comes to getting it on your PPC or smartphone. So it's nice to know that if you've got a trusted network of your own, you can remotely access your Gmail account from your Pocket PC without needing to do much out of the ordinary (if you're a sysadmin, that is). The trick: just VPN to your network, use terminal services to start up a Windows session, and open Gmail up with IE. Not a great hack or anything, but it's still useful if you know how to make those things work.
Read MoreYesterday we covered the news that Google is expanding their search to the mobile arena with their new Google SMS service which lets you search by sending text messages from your cellphone. The service is primarily targeted at looking up business listings, residential listings, product prices (Froogle!), and word definitions. Google has a handy pocket-sized tip sheet here. Two things worth noting. First of all, for a lot of people sending and receiving SMS text messages still costs money, so you'll definitely want to double check what your plan is before you mobile googling everything in sight. Second, unlike web searches which are somewhat anonymous, when you use Google SMS Google logs an encrypted version of the incoming phone number, the wireless carrier associated with the number, and the date and time of the transaction. It's unclear if they log the search query and if that is matched up with your phone number. Not that it matters all that much, but it's also possible your carrier is storing copies of all your text messages already. Don't believe us? AT&T Wireless handed over all the SMS messages related to the recent Kobe Byrant case. After the incident the accuser in the case text messaged two people—her previous boyfriend and a mystery person— and the judge in the case ordered AT&T Wireless to hand over all the messages 4 months after the messages were sent. When we called AT&T we were told customers don't have access to their own messages, but all evidence seems to indicate that the SMS messages are stored indefinitely. Other carriers have different policies, but at least with some carriers are holding onto them.
Read MoreHow cool is this: With the new Google SMS service, you can do basic Google queries from any SMS-capable phone (which is darn near all of them) by sending text messages to 46645 (GOOGL). Results usually come within a minute, and are text-based only - no links or other craziness that could screw up an SMS. So far, you can get local business listings, product prices and comparisons, dictionary definitions, and more is planned soon (or already there and they just haven't told us about it yet). So, for instance, enter something like "Starbucks 10016" and you'll get a response with nearest place to get burnt-tasting, overpriced coffee. Well, near us, anyway, unless you change the "10016." Give it a go and let us know how it works for you. So far our results have been positive.
Read MoreGateway obviously doesn't like spacing out their product releases, as we've all noticed, so today they've gone done dropped four new machines on us on opposite ends of the laptop spectrum: the thin-and-light 4530GZ and 4535GZ, and the desktop replacement 7405GX and 7210GX. The 4530GZ and 4535GZ are both in the 5.5-pound weight class, coming in at about an inch thick; the Centrino-based laptops have 802.11g WiFi, a 4.5-hour lithium-ion battery, DVD±RW drive, 4-in-1 card reader (only SD/MMC and Memory Stick/Pro), USB 2.0, Firewire, 15-inch screen, and start at $1350. The 7405GX and 7210GX are a little more decked out, with an Athlon XP 3000+ Mobile or Mobile Athlon 64 3200+, and 64MB ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 graphics or ATI IGP3210M (respectively), WXGA 15.4-inch widescreen, and the same on the DVD±RW drive, 802.11g WiFi, 4-in-1 card reader (only SD/MMC and Memory Stick/Pro), USB 2.0, and Firewire side. The big boys will start at $,1250, and you can expect them all in stores as early as tomorrow.
Read MoreWe've been hearing a lot of buzz about the new Dell (Inspiron, supposedly) 9200, their new 17-incher in the works, but you'll have to forgive our lack of enthusiasm. Perhaps its because there's a reason why they've never really gotten pre-release laptop hype, but they're apparently being very vocal about the fact that they know the only way this thing's going to make a splash is by directly competing with the 15-inch laptop price range. We're not saying it's going to be the same price, but they more than likely intend to step the cost down a few notches from the extra few k that 17-inch machines tack on. Also, we heard from a little birdie in the window that it is apparently actually very light for its size class, and that it supposedly has unit's body has a "white trim" wraparound. This could be a pretty bizarre step for Dell and their oft inelegant laptop-design department, but if our tipster is right we'll all find out on November 18th when we're told it's set for launch.
Read MoreSee? Just when you thought that Blu-ray had already won the war even before the two standards were out and competing with each other in the world, Toshiba hits us with the huge announcement that they'll be including HD DVD in their laptops starting around this time next year (which can be expected to retail between about $1,850 and 2,800). This is no real surprise, given they've already announced a working prototype of their HD DVD recorder. It's still very early in the game yet to actually declare a winner, but we're already cringing as the big players take sides in the fight between HD DVD and Blu-ray; either way there's going to be a lot of people stuck with next-gen Betamaxes out there.
Read MoreWe were directed to these shots of a fuel cell-powered NEC laptop this morning, and it looks like they actually got the darn thing working with a 10-hour battery life (no word yet if this unit is corn-based). The unit is being unveiled at the WPEC expo and should cause more than a few waves in the industry. While fuel cell batteries are a promising alternative, the battery here appears quite bulky, reminding us of the Apple Portable days. But it'll get there.
Read MoreA German Mac news site, MacGadget, seems pretty confident that Apple will be releasing new iBooks this coming Tuesday. If this were only posted on a rumors site I wouldn't pay it too much attention, but I have a good hunch that it's accurate. I guess we'll find out on Tuesday! Here's a loose translation from their site. (16:20 o'clock) New iBooks on Tuesday. Apple will announce on coming Tuesday a revised iBook G4 product line. Apart from the usual technical improvements, speed bumps and price reductions for all three iBook G4 models are expected. The improved iBooks are alreadyen route to dealers and distributors.
Read MoreAfter years of ghostly vaporousness, OQO's Model 01 ultrapersonal computer (you know, that handheld with the slide-out QWERTY keyboard that runs on a full version of Windows XP and has a 20GB hard drive, 1GHz processor, and built-in Bluetooth and WiFi) is finally supposed to join the world of the living tomorrow. If you can't wait another second for yours, they're already taking orders for it, selling it for $1,899 with Windows XP Home installed and for $1,999 with Windows XP Pro. [Via Handtops]
Read MoreOh, and we almost forgot: along with all those other new Media Center PCs, Toshiba is revamping their line of Qosmio multimedia laptops, too. Besides getting bumped up to the new 2005 version of Windows XP Media Center Edition, both the Qosmio G15-AV501 and Qosmio F15-AV201 also come with Toshiba's instant-on QosmioPlayer software which lets you watch TV, DVDs, or listen to CDs without having to boot up Windows, each has a 1.8GHz processor, built-in 802.11b/g, integrated TV tuner, DVD burner, up to 100GB hard drive, 512MB of RAM, NVIDIA GeForce FX GO 5700 128MB video card. The only real difference is that the G15-AV501 has a 17-inch widescreen display while the F15-AV201 has a 15.4-inch widescreen display.
Read MorePeter, over at Engadget, has the scoop on the new Alienware ultraportable machine. If you're a hardcore gamer you're probably going to want something with a little more firepower and a bigger screen, but that hasn't stopped Alienware from rolling out the Sentia, a new ultraportable laptop with a 12.1-inch widescreen LCD, 1.8GHz Pentium M processor, 512MB of RAM, a 60GB hard drive, 802.11g WiFi, and instant-on software so you can watch a DVD or listen to a CD without having to actually boot up Windows (a big plus for the really impatient).
Read MoreIf you're a hardcore gamer you're probably going to want something with a little more firepower and a bigger screen, but that hasn't stopped Alienware from rolling out the Sentia, a new ultraportable laptop with a 12.1-inch widescreen LCD, 1.8GHz Pentium M processor, 512MB of RAM, a 60GB hard drive, 802.11g WiFi, and instant-on software so you can watch a DVD or listen to a CD without having to actually boot up Windows (a big plus for the really impatient).
Read MoreWe know this is hard to believe, but people haven't exactly been snapping up those ginormous 17-inch widescreen laptops. At least according to an analyst with DisplaySearch, who says that sales of 17-inch laptops sales have been "slowing dramatically" while sales of 15-inch widescreen lappies are all zoom zoom (so it's not like consumers aren't digging on the widescreen thing). Maybe they're just holding out for someone to introduce an even more backbreaking, even less portable 19-inch laptop. We know we are.
Read MoreNow that the iMac has gone all G5 on us the Apple faithful (and, well, the not so Apple faithful, too) have been asking: When the freak is the PowerBook G5 going to arrive? Plenty of people at Apple have been trying to dampen expectations that one will be out anytime soon, but PowerPage reports that while they're definitely hard at work trying to get the cooling system down (the G5 processor runs so hot that putting it in a PowerBook could literally be dangerous), that Apple is probably going to refresh the G4 PowerBook with faster processors (1.8GHz and 2.0GHz) and a new fan system before they take things to the next level. So basically that means no PowerBook G5 until probably March of next year (though a January surprise timed for the release of Tiger—aka Mac OS 10.4—is possible) but refreshed G4s should be out sometime within the next few months.
Read MoreOur head says no, but heart says yes, yes to Sony's latest ultramodern media PC, the VGX-X90P (which better not stand for "eXtreme" or we're giving up), which comes with 7, count 'em, 7 TV tuners, up to 1.6 terabytes of storage (half for the PC and half for storing video), a 3.6GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, a 128MB video card, and a DVD+-R/RW drive. Here's the scary part: this bad boy retails for nearly five grand. And to go along with your new media PC you can't afford (and also can't buy except in Japan), Sony also announced a couple of companion pieces in the type X series, a matching digital HDTV tuner (the VGX-X90PS) and a 23-inch HDTV, the VGP-D23HD1. [Via Akihabara News] ?a?WŸ%?Z 2003 and now comes in two versions. the base version is $299, and the gallery version, at $499, is geared toward owner?g?TŸ%?Zvs, flat-panel tvs and the like. a lot of folks love to display artwork on t?K?UŸ%?Zat-panel tvs when they're not watching a show. sounds like what you might see on bill gates' walls. that̵?s?GŸ%?Zt. the gallery collection comes with still i?U?tŸ%?Z classic art but also moving art of mountain streams and other looping high-def video clips. what's your favorite? i like the clocks - you can add analog clocks with pictures of your kids in the background - and the geo-clock, with a map of the world showing where it's day and night, and the robo clock. the most popular seller is the classic art packs - people get it, 'oh, the mona lisa on my tv.' second is the aquarium, followed by nature - like fields of poppies swaying in the breeze - and images from deep space, and clocks. plus, there are third-party apps you can download, like an app that retrieves weather from the weather channel with the current forecast for your area, and you can press buttons on your unit to see a satellite view. and there are third-party apps that display eight different webcams from around the world on your tv. just to be clear, this is not a personal video recorder. right. there's no hard drive in it. its purpose is to play media that you have on your computer or on a memory stick or compact flash card. you can take your digital photos, plug them in, and they'll come up in high-def on your screen. its primary focus is as a consumer-friendly media adapter. when people think of high def, they think of television. but this isn't about television. correct, although it will play back high-def video. if you record high-def video on your pc, you can play it back with this. but it's less about mpeg-2 than about the other features we talked about: displaying family photos and art packs that look stunning on a flat-panel display. so you can't play hollywood high-def tv or movies on the hd1000. you can get an atfc capture card for your pc and capture tv shows over the air and play them back on your pc. a lot of people use it to play back standard mpeg-2 dvd clips that they've ripped. there are really two markets for this. there are people who want to display the art. and there are people who are ripping dvds who buy the $299 version. so it won't play dvds, but it will play dvd files that you've ripped. yes. it plays vod files that you've ripped to your hard drive, and you need to connect your computer to a home network. is that legal? i'm not a lawyer. these are dvds that they've bought and are watching at home, not sharing with others. that's a pretty small market at this point. this product is targeted toward the early adoption market. for the hd1000 product line, our run rate is 20,000 units a year. we're going after flat-panel tv owners who want to use the tv for something other than watching something else. what role does roku play - software, hardware or both? we write the software and design the hardware. we work with factories in asia and contract out to build them. we have sales teams that sells them to dealers. where can people buy them? you can find the hd1000 at best buy, magnolia, tweeter, good guys. crutchfield, fry's or online from us. let's move to the soundbridge. sure. the soundbridge started shipping in august. there are two versions, for $250 and $500. both products are designed to play music you have stored on your computer in another room in the house. you can listen to your itunes collection in your bedroom or your kitchen. you hook them up to a pair of power speakers or your stereo. they come in two display sizes, both of which support itunes directly - we're the only music player with a license from apple that a protocol that supports itunes. it's plug and play. if you have wifi, you plug it in a wall socket, turn on itunes and it'll find it and play it. the big one is 17 inches, designed to go on a rack. the small one people usually place on a table with power [multimedia] speakers. how does this sound through a good pair of bose speakers? i imagine pretty shitty if you're playing mp3 files from kazaa. it depends on the bit rate. some customers play a .wav file or uncompressed aff file. if you're ripping cds, with itunes' aac format you can get a 192kps bit rate. it's up to the user what quality level they want. how is the soundbridge selling? between now and christmas we'll sell 25,000 and next year 100,000 to 150,000. how does the soundbridge compare to the other music players on the market? there are only a couple of others out there from the networking companies, linksys [a division of cisco systems] and netgear. so they kind of look like routers. in terms of industrial design, our products look really nice. the other guys don't even play aac files, just mp3 and wma [windows media audio]. our other advantage is we have a big display that's easy to read. you'll see the name of the song, the artist, genre, album. anoth
Read MoreIt really wouldn't be an Engadget Christmas without this USB-powered snow man or Christmas Tree on your desk, would it?
Read MoreWhile our own Xbox died for entirely different reasons (we tried to get all mad scientist on it), an owner upset that his Xbox DVD drive failed in under one year of use has taken his ire to another level, and has filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of all Xbox owners alleging defective parts. We've heard of plenty Xbox owners having their drives die on them—usually a new drive from eBay fixes things—so chime in if you've had any Xbox drive problems.
Read MoreWe're jazzed to hear high-def TV will soon be coming over Internet lines with SBC Communications' Project Lightspeed; they intend to lay over 38,000 miles of fiber to bring 18 million households by 2007 up to speed with 15 to 20 Mbps, which, of course, should be more than enough bandwidth for HDTV. So SBC is teaming with Microsoft for IPTV services, which will provide an alternative to cable and satellite, with standard definition and high-def offerings, video on demand, and digital video recording. We're sure it's going to be heavily DRM-protected, but what can you do? [Via Slashdot]
Read MoreWe're not sure what lies behind this curious decision (all right, we could take a guess), but Microsoft is to send employees into several Tokyo schools to instruct pupils on how to protect their computers from viruses. "Install SP2" and "switch to OSX or Linux" are the two cheapest shots that occur to us as suggestions for the class curriculum, but seriously, given MS's recent record we're inclined to think they're the ones who should be taking the classes, not giving them.
Read MoreAfter their big to-do on Tuesday, there can be no doubt that Microsoft has cast its lot with all that digital convergence/future of home entertainment stuff. In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Bill G. makes the usual noise about the wondrous world of interactivity this is all going to lead to, but he also revealed a few other interesting tidbits. The positive stuff is he understands that ideally the creators of programming will "[J]ust put their content on the Internet and then they have a direct relationship with the viewer". But the catch is that Microsoft is also committed to building as much copy-protection and DRM into Windows Media Center as it takes for content providers (read: big movie studios) to finally feel more comfortable putting their stuff online. Which is fine, because the more DRM they put into their media, the faster it will be circumvented. Oops, did we say that?
Read MoreEngadget publisher/baby daddy Jason Calacanis hit Microsoft's Digital Entertainment Anywhere event in Los Angeles this afternoon and recorded this MP3 of Bill Gates' keynote address for us. He introduces all the new stuff, like Plays For Sure, Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, Windows Media Extender, and Windows Media Center Extender for Xbox. And yes, that is Bill G. up on stage with Queen Latifah. We saw Bringing Down the House, so we know what that's all about. Listen (MP3)
Read MoreWe already knew that Microsoft was planning to roll out the 2005 version of their Windows XP Media Center operating system tomorrow, but the bigger deal is that they're also announcing what's known as Plays For Sure. Basically what Plays For Sure does is certify that music and video files downloaded from MSN Music and other online services are compatible with any player bearing the Plays For Sure logo. Yes, it's really just a clever name for the DRM they're using with Windows Media, but this is more or less their attempt to counter the dominance of Apple's iTunes Music Store by helping to ease any confusion about whether or not you'll be able to buy music online and listen to it on your digital audio player, which is all the average person cares about (believe it or not, they could care less about all of our ideological warfare). Now we're just counting down the minutes until the first time someone reports that a Plays For Sure track fails to play for sure on a Plays For Sure digital audio player.
Read MoreWe all know by now that Sony plans to use Blu-ray on the upcoming PS3. But as for the guys at Microsoft, the format of choice for the Xbox 2 is still up for grabs (and they sorta have to pick one or the other). While both technologies have their merits, and in the case of games and data storage the format should be somewhat transparent to the end-user, the HD-DVD association would love to get Microsoft on board in order to bolster HD-DVD drive production and bring prices to a more consumer-friendly level (and of course, piss off their friends at the Blu-ray Disc Association). Either way, if both technologies make it out of the starting gate with a major console under their belt, things could get real confusing real quick when it comes to HD content shopping.
Read MoreMicrosoft have finally shipped Virtual PC 7 after 20 months of holding the thing hostage from Mac enthusiasts dying to run PC apps on their 64-bit G5s. The new version makes use of the 64-bit G5 hardware environment and comes with a Windows XP Professional license. Other versions are expected over the next few months with Windows XP Home Edition and another without an OS at all for those who have, shall we say, other sources for their Operating System Of Choice. The guys in Redmond promise 10- to 30-percent speed increases over previous versions. Will it run Doom 3, though? While we doubt it, we'd like to know for sure. Be the first to report back here.
Read MoreKind of bizarre that it's taken them so long given that UltimateTV, their first failed stab at the digital video recorder market, already had this feature years ago, but Microsoft is finally getting around to adding support for multiple TV tuners (which means no more terrible agony over which show to record) to the 2005 version of Windows XP Media Center Edition which they'll be announcing next week. The Media Center OS will finally be capable of recording HDTV, but only over the air broadcasts—there won't be support for recording satellite or cable HDTV (and there are a bunch of complicated reasons why that's the case), at least not this time around.
Read MoreIn another sign that Microsoft may never understand the Japanese market, Peter Moore, vice president of the company, claims the Japanese will like the Xbox 2 because it will be smaller. Sure, the Japanese like small products. We all do. But was this a wise thing to say in public? Is it really the kind of selling point an AMerican company wants to trumpet in a foreign land? Think about it. Wasn't it Bill Gates who claimed the Xbox S controller would be popular in Japan because its smaller form factor would fit in their hands better? Oh, that went over really well. The latest statement may be factually true; indeed, it may be a sign that the company is grasping the Big Picture of its failure in the country. But if they're not careful they may have a publicity error on their hands of the highest magnitude. Make good games that the Japanese customer enjoys, and you'll succeed.
Read MoreFirst Cellular is the first US service provider to offer ringback service, the personalization technology that allows users to annoy or amuse their friends and colleagues by replacing the regular ringing sound you hear when you call someone up with a sound or music track that plays instead. In other words, say you call your friend Jim. Jim is into Black Sabbath. When Jim's cellphone rings, you get about 10 seconds of Paranoid before Jim picks up and goes, "Yo, dude." Expect more carriers to introduce the service once they realize they can also sell the tracks that are used in the service.
Read MoreIt's not quite Google SMS, which works just dandy for the majority of people who don't happen to have a cellphone with a decent web browser, but Yahoo just rolled out mobile.yahoo.com, a new, uh, mobile version of their portal where you can search, access your email and calendar, and get local info like driving directions, weather, and movie times. Looks great on our Treo. [Thanks, Mike]
Read MoreJapanese home security company Secom has found a new twist on its KokoSecom location service, which combines cdmaOne and GPS to track you and a panic button that'll bring a nattily-dressed Secom man scurrying to your aid. They're teaming up with Kyowa Bag to create satchels for elementary school kids that come with a transmitter neatly installed in a colour-coordinated pocket so increasingly-paranoid parents can track their every move. Cannier youngsters are presumably going to work out in no time that the transmitter's detachable, though the potential for at least some playground mischief has been taken care of by omitting the panic button. The satchels go for Y33,000 ($310), plus a monthly subscription of Y525 ($5).
Read MoreBillboard, publishers of Billboard magazine have teamed up with research firm Consect on a "Hot Ringtones" chart, a top-20 list of the most-popular polyphonic ringtones. The first chart will appear in the November 6 issue of Billboard Magazine. Billboard says the data is compiled from the major ringtone distribution channels, including both service providers and ringtone distributors/sellers. While Billboard and Consect aren't the first to do a ringtone chart (KPMG has been publishing a chart in Britain since May), it will be the first to regularly appear in a US magazine. We can only hope that the #1 isn't something entirely embarrassing for Americans.
Read MoreOh, and just for the record, Cingular finalized their $41 billion purchase of AT&T Wireless today. Now begins not just a two-year process of integration (read: layoffs), but also one of the worst cases of buyer's remorse in history, given that AT&T Wireless has been hemmorhaging customers for the past year or so. To put this in perspective: AT&T Wireless has around 22 million subscribers, at least as of a few months ago. At a cost of $41 billion, Cingular paid roughly $1,850 per subscriber to acquire the company. Given that AT&T Wireless' average revenue per user is $57.40 a month, or $688.80 a year, once you subtract all the costs of doing business like marketing, building out a 3G wireless network, customer service, handset subsidies, etc., it's going to be a good long time before Cingular recoups their investment, so they better hope that acquiring AT&T Wireless' network and spectrum licenses turns out to be worth it. Anyway, expect to see the AT&T Wireless formally disappear sometime around the end of next month, at least until it's resurrected by AT&T, which retains rights to the name.
Read MoreApple unveiled its black-and-red U2-themed iPod today. The 20GB iPod, signed on the back by the band in Apple's signature laser etching, also comes with an exclusive U2 poster. Why is it that after years of waiting for a black iPod, they screw it up by making the scroll wheel red? Also, there is no mention of free U2 content pre-loaded on the iPod as was previously speculated. However, the U2 iPod does come with a $50 off coupon for The Complete U2, a digital box set including more than 400 U2 tracks (all the albums plus 25 B-sides).
Read MoreAlright, here's how they do it in Hong Kong: you can now buy cellphone SIM cards from vending machines selling cellphone SIM cards in the subway stations there. Now if you could just use your cellphone to wirelessly pay for your new SIM card, the recursive loop would be complete. [Thanks, Andrew]
Read MoreLast week's report that Sharp was taking its Zaurus PDAs out of the US market didn't come as any great surprise following Sony and Toshiba's retreat. On Friday, however, Sharp came out with an official denial, saying that it's not pulling the Zaurus SL-6000 from the US, will continue to sell it to both home and business users, and will consider future moves based on local demand. On the surface that sounds more like spin than a refutation of the original report, but if they send us an SL-C3000 for Christmas we think we might be able to overlook it.
Read MoreBritish phone giant BT (British Telecom) is hoping to get cellphone and MP3 player users back in the phone booth with tentative plans to turn phone booths into music download stations. Apparently something like 60 percent of their 70,000 booths lose money and they think that people will be interested in stopping for a moment to download the latest Kylie Minogue track in a right jiffy. Because, as you know, when you need that new song, you really need that new song. Superman style, mate.
Read MoreBasically totally screwing up our plans to prank phone call Takeshi Kaga next time we were over there, but Japan is supposedly getting all set to outlaw prepaid cellphones because apparently too many criminals were using anonymous phones for nefarious purpose (only about 3.2% of users there take the pay-as-you go route, though that's still gotta be a huge number of people given the cellphone penetration rate). We smell an overreaction, but it looks like the Yakuza and such will have to go back to doing things the old fashioned way. [Via textually.org]
Read MoreThe word on the street is that on Monday both the FCC and the Justice Department are going to give their official blessing to Cingular and AT&T Wireless' mega-merger, leaving no barrier to the creation of the nation's largest wireless carrier. Buyer's remorse aside (seriously, it's a little insane that Cingular paid $41 billion for AT&T Wireless), the big question is whether or not the shrinking of the cellular market from six major players to five will lead to significantly cheaper prices for calling plans and cellphones. Either way, expect things to get down and dirty between Cingular and archrival Verizon beginning next year.
Read MoreWell, looks like Taiwan too now wants to jump on the wireless data bandwagon, following Philadelphia and San Francisco; they've introduced a project plan they're titling M-Taiwan (hmm, wonder what that M could stand for?) that would cost 1.1 billion and shroud the island in cloud of WiFi and something they call iB3G, or Internet Beyond 3G (beats us, but they describe it as 802.11b/g service for 3G/GSM cellphones with WiFi). And apparently all this is going to begin starting Q1 next year, so watch out, wireless data comin' out the yin-yang. [Via TechDirt]
Read MoreVocel have created cellphone-based SAT tutor software based on The Princeton Review course, and Verizon have jumped onboard, naturally, in their ongoing effort to add more monthly services fees. The new tutor service sends SAT questions to a collegian-in-training's cellphone, scores the answers, and tweaks future questions based on The Princeton Review curriculum. Of course, parents dropping the money on the service will be able to check how their little bundles of intelligence are doing at any time (oh, thank god). The service costs $5.75 a month and is one of several new applications that are part of Verizon's "Get It Now" phone download service. Good luck, kids, and remember: the sum of all angles in a triangle is 180-degrees.
Read MoreSure, you could send out an SOS via telegraph or a mayday by radio, but why go through all that trouble when you could just paint your iPod orange? Because, afterall, according to the Department of Boating and Waterways, the iPod is an internationally recognized distress signal, along with flares, code flags, dye markers, and arm-waving patterns. So if you need to save yourself on the high seas, you can either fire a gun at one minute intervals or hold up your (orange) iPod, and they'll be sure to rescue you. Seriously. [Thanks, Steve]
Read MoreThese are only available in (and, to be honest, relevant to) Japan at the moment, but Japan's first digital TV PC cards are out soon. We wouldn't bother you with these except for the fact that they might show up in modified form when digital broadcasting to mobile devices spreads beyond Japan, and because anyone who grew up playing with Transformers can't help but be sucked in by the fact that the antenna folds out, which adds a whole new dimension to all those enigmatic oblong cards we've been sticking in our laptops all this time.
Read MoreHot off the heels of SBC's fiber deployment to 18 million folks, Verizon announced they will be bringing FiOS Fiber to the Premises (FTTP) high speed network to 6 more states (for a total of 9), including Virginia, Delaware, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and to Engadget's home state of New York. Hot damn. Verizon Fios offers 5 Mbps downstream and 2 Mbps upstream for $39.95 per month, additional speeds of 15 Mbps and 30 Mbps are available for a bit more. So here's to 30 Mbps speeds coming to our offices and homes by this time next year (yeah right). Cheers! [Via Ars Technica]
Read MoreWe're not entirely sure why Sydney, of all places, seems to think its mall-going populace has a greater Bluetooth-per-capita level than anywhere else (we're not saying they don't!), but apparently later this week they're going to be re-opening their Broadway Shopping Centre as Bluetooth-enabled shopping experience. They use a system called bluepulse (no capital b, too cool for school) in order to let consumers access information about their shopping experience and environs, and apparently they're all stoked because Bluetooth gives them more bandwidth to play with than 3G. Look. Despite our inklings for new and original totally unnecessary uses of wireless techonology, maybe we must supect them of possibly really just have no clue of why they're even doing it. But we'll see, right? Because we'd certainly be in line to try it out if it ever came to the Manhattan Mall (not that it would). [Via textually]
Read MoreWe're not going to get into that whole "where the money could be spent" better discussion, but it does at least make a little more sense that San Francisco wants to give that whole municipal WiFi thing a go (compared to Philly, anyway). And yes, it fits, Mayor Newsom stating "We will not stop until every San Franciscan has access to free wireless Internet service," being that SF is one of the last decently socialist American cities. But with ugly unemployment rates and unaffordable everything else, we're still not sure Internet access (or lack thereof) is what's keeping San Francisco behind right; either way, we'll see how quickly this one falls on its face.
Read MoreThere are a lot of people out there, after all, who can't afford a Beemer, so why shouldn't they be able to iPod their car, too? Crazy custom mounts are all well and good, but if you want something a little less, er, intense, the iPod2car hooks into your aftermarket stereo system, regardless of car model (so long as the stereo's compatible), and track (and fast) forward and back can be controlled from the head or the steering wheel controls. Not bad, but the price is a little steep ($200) yet; hopefully we'll see more stuff like this coming out in the future on the cheap. [Via Autoblog]
Read MoreEvery Thursday Michael Gartenberg of Jupiter Research contributes an interesting item of gadget-related research data. This week's factoid: Are cellphones really replacing landlines? There's a lot of buzz about how cellphones will eventually replace wired landlines for most users but how great is that reality at the moment? In presentations to press and analysts over the past year, US wireless carriers have emphasized landline displacement as a major source of future growth. Carriers without ties to landline providers (AT&T Wireless, Nextel, and T-Mobile) in particular see this as an opportunity to steal business from landlines, and the carriers with landline ties (Verizon, Cingular, and Sprint) insist that the landline side does not bind their wireless efforts, and they will compete for this business as well. With wireless customer growth in the low single digits, US carriers have all announced that they are looking to landline displacement to add customers and keep minute usage up. The reality is somewhat different. According to a recent JupiterResearch survey, under six percent of US consumers today are actually using their wireless phone as their only phone. We also believe that number will not rise above 10 percent over the next 18 months, as consumers are happy with inexpensive, high quality landline service. Now, as for the replacement with landlines to VoIP connections... that's another story for another week. Michael Gartenberg is vice president and research director for the Personal Technology & Access and Custom Research groups at Jupiter Research in New York. Contact him at mgartenberg@jupitermedia.com. His weblog and RSS feed are at http://weblogs.jupiterresearch.com/analysts/gartenberg .
Read MoreAn analyst who was supposedly tight with people "who are in a position to know the details of SigmaTel's supply chain"—SigmaTel would be the reigning king of Flash-memory player chipset manufacturers; their innards comprise an unbelievable amount of digital audio devices—has been said to have confirmation that Apple is indeed going to rock on that Flash player rumor, and that SigmaTel's supplying the parts. Oh, and it'll be out before year's end. We'll see, we'll see. [Via iPodlounge]
Read MoreHo hum, several manufacturers including Texas Instruments are working on chips that will allow cellphones to receive digital television signals. They expect widespread availability by 2006—the technology is already being tested in South Korea by SK Telecom. The new hardware-based receivers are different than current software versions, as they receive much better sound and can display much higher frame rates and higher-resolution HDTV signals. The industry envisions users checking in on sports and news broadcasts and "watching short shows at cafes." A few questions remain, of course, like battery life, specialized programming, and the big one: will people pay extra for TV on their phones? The providers are sure hoping so.
Read MoreApparently, North Irish kids are more physically fit than those in the Irish Republic. Why, you may ask? Well, because the kids int he Irish Republic are spending recess text messaging their fat friends. Due to litigation that keeps many of the Northern kids from doing oh-so-dangerous activities like running or jumping rope, the most active exercise they're getting is text messaging. We figure at .25 calories per word, these kids are on their way to a brilliant future of obesity, LOLs, big arses, and OK ME2s.
Read MoreFlarion Technologies and Netgear are preparing a big announcement next week that has something to do with the rollout of their new high-speed cellular technology called Flash-OFDM. The new protocol allows for wide-spectrum wireless connectivity in both static and mobile situations. Flarion claims speeds up to 1.5mbps, faster than Verizon's or Sprint's EV-DO service which claims download speeds up to 500kbps, and still faster than AT&T's short but sweet 3G rollout, at 320Kbps. Expect to see premium prices for the service, but if the technology works as promised (forgive us and our doubts) you will be able to subscribe to Flarion and use it both at home and on the road without having to worry about hotspot costs or locations. We've seen a few wide-spectrum wireless companies come and go, but Flarion's commitments from Netgear could make this one stick. The announcement is planned for Monday.
Read MoreRemember back in the day before Bluetooth, when if you wanted to get like 1200 baud wireless data on your cellphone you had to get one of those massive PC adapters that cost like $150, and only worked for that particular model cellphone? That was the pits, dude. Then along came GPRS and Bluetooth and whatnot, and all was good (well, not if you were using Sprint, who totally blocks Bluetooth on their 1xRTT data capable phones). Anyway, apparently now Sprint's testing a new device from Telular called the Phonecell ST5T, which enables your laptop's integrated modem (you do have a laptop with an integrated 56k modem, don't you?) or any other phoneline device (like your TiVo, fax, or cordless phone, for instance) to plug into a wireless unit and send calls over Sprints wireless network. Apparently Sprint even plans to use this with satellite TV providers and in conjunction with services like OnStar. Sounds amazing now, but we'll see how it pans out. These things usually get kind of lame and expensive as the corporate beaurocratic process ensues.
Read MoreThe MYbi Card Strap shown here isn't just a cute accessor—it allows RFID payments without the need for one of those ever-elusive DoCoMo FeliCa-equipped phones. Shopping via RFID tags has been seriously taking off in Asia, and these cards enable a stop-gap solution for those waiting for the perfect compatible phone (though yes, we know they could technically be attached to your keychain or wallet). They're available now in Korea with a variety of deposit amounts starting at 4,000 Won (about $3.50 US). Blue and green make a nice combination, no? [Via RFID In Japan]
Read MoreWe reported before that after JVC's last failed attempt to bring an entry (the iO) to the now-thinning Pocket PC market, they were going to pick up the pieces and start anew. Their handheld was supposed to be some hot new multimedia-centric device that would blow us all away; well, guess they wanted to prove us wrong. Now their next-gen Windows Mobile 2003 handheld has been vaporously "indefinitely postponed," which, in our little world, means they just couldn't get their act together. We won't expect to hear much from them any time soon, in other words.
Read MoreWhat with all the hubbub about phones having this T-Flash and that miniSD slot, Israel-based M-Systems bellies up to the bar to let us know that we should all get real and ditch our measly memory-skimping SIMs (which often have at most 128KB of space) in favor of their MegaSIM, (which is still in development, mind you). Their new card, which will fit the same size and compatibility specifications of a standard SIM card, should reach capacities of up to 256MB, an unbelievable abundance of space by comparison. While we're not sure MegaSIMs are going to replace the flash memory card slot (which is still very useful for quickly transferring multimedia data), this could open a lot of other doors for cellphones, like, say, a great place to put all those mobile apps, call logs, and SMSs you've been accumulating. [Via GigaOm]
Read MoreSharp, say it ain't so! First Sony, then Toshiba, now Sharp has announced plans to withdraw its PDA business from the US market, and no sooner than announcing their hot new PDA handheld, too. It's not like we actually expected to get to play with the new Zaurus SL-C3000 or anything, but still, this is pretty rough up in here. Apparently, just like with Sony, we can expect a liquidation of their remaining SL-6000 units while they pack their bags and head for friendlier climes where they needn't constantly look over their shoulders for Treo 650s and BlackBerrys.
Read MoreBritco & Bridco have developed the Mobile phone Automobile Security System (MASS), a device that allows car owners to monitor and control their cars via SMS. Say, for instance, someone has broken your passenger side window in the interest of getting at that nice new Pioneer AVIC-N1 you just had installed. You'll get an SMS informing you that some dude has broken your passender side window; you then can sound an alarm, turn on a speaker to ask the burlgar to kindly step away from your vehicle, or you can simply listen in on what the friendly robber has to say. If he decides he wants your car in its entirety, you can also shut off the engine via SMS (we don't even want to know the syntax for that one). While this sounds like an intriguing idea, we're pretty sure this is going to be huge with all the wrong people.
Read MoreWe're not really used to the idea of Siemens producing set-top gear, but we're certainly not going to argue against their new Gigaset M740 AV, a DVB-T (that would be Digital Video Broadcasting-Terrestrial, which the fancy Euro way of saying broadcast digital TV) with dual tuners that can record and playback MPEG-2 broadcasts on network shares and attached USB drives. That's right, no more set-top hard drive limitations cramping your style! Now if only we could get the FCC to hook us up with some serious digital terrestrial broadcasts, they'd be in business here; but until they do, expect the Siemens to stay safely overseas. [Via Slashdot]
Read MoreWhile we were in our usual fog of adulation over the handsets KDDI released last week we failed to note that they also announced the expansion of their massively successful chaku-uta mp3 ringtone download service to support full-length song downloads. In its current form the service sounds like something of a donkey, in the sense that a 48kbps AAC-format song will set you back an astronomical Y300 ($2.75) and you're only able to play it back on a handset with the same number as the one it was downloaded on (no SIMMs in Japan, unless you have a W-CDMA phone). With hard disk cellphones and megabit download speeds looming the quality should improve, though, so if they can lose the DRM and slash prices we might be rewriting this with a bit more enthusiasm in a year or so.
Read MoreAT&T Wireless CTO has joined the board of Aperto Networks, a company that sepcializes in WiMax software technologies, showing a keen interest and future in WiMax. As AT&T Wireless shores up 3G services, they are already looking into WiMax solutions to both satisfy customer demand and fill any gaps their broadband services have left behind. As they get swallowed into the Cingular enterprise, expect them to release WiMax services on new wavelengths in the near future; while AT&T Wireless' customer service has been short of stellar as of late, we're glad to see them get on the WiFi train (all aboard!). The plan is to roll out the services as soon as 2006. We won't keep our fingers crossed (okay, maybe we will), but we'll certainly be watching, scrutinizing. You hear us, AT&T Wireless?
Read MoreAnd here we were thinking the church was really taking to the idea of cellphones, but apparently in some countries slightly less strict on their communications codes than we (such as Mexico, India, and even Italy), churches have been installing cellphone jammers. Typically they are Israeli-built units (such as the one pictured) which cost about $2,000 a pop from the parishioner's donation plate; even still one reverand was quoted as saying, "There are still many people who don't understand that being at Mass is sharing a moment with God." Like those pesky doctors, EMTs, and firemen. Come on though, if you're going to do it, do it right and at least pretend to make emergency calls available. You know, like the French.
Read MoreWe're kind of thinking it's one of those cold-day-in-hell sort of things, but regardless the IEEE is beginning work on a standard for cellphone batteries called IEEE P1725, which would include specifications on making them uniform in design (among other things). Whereas this could only be a good thing for the consumer, the IEEE has no power over cellphone manufacturers and could hardly force the adoption of the standard, no matter how good it may be. So for now we're expecting more of the same: crappy batteries with crappy life that require replacement in a couple of months. Thanks for trying, guys!
Read MoreNot that we're seeing an abundance of handsets out now with WiFi (or without crippled WiFi VoIP, in some cases), but last week SBC also announced the new holy grail of wireless telephony: by the end of 2005 they will have implemented equipment to extend the Cingular coverage area via WiFi hotspots (probably with that WiMax backhaul), and they will have a business cellular/WiFi voice plans to go along with it. Wishful thinking? Well, we'll just say that we'll believe it when we see it. [Via The Feature]
Read MoreThe Rio Carbon has one. Virgin's new MP3 player has one. Creative's Zen Micro has one. Dell's new Pocket DJ has one. Heck, even Packard Bell's PocketM@estro has one. Which is why Lindsey over at PlayerBlog raises a good question: Where is the 5GB (or 8GB or 10GB) iPod mini we're all waiting for? There were some rumors that Apple would max the mini back in August (along with some new colors), but since 5GB drives that are the same physical size as the 1-inch 4GB drives they're currently using have been turning up in competitors' products for a few months now, it's only natural that Apple would raise their game and intro a new 5GB iPod mini in time for the big holiday shopping bonanza that awaits us.
Read MoreWazTempe are on a mission to provide Wifi to 95% of Tempe, Arizona, and they're doing it at least in part with some cool new electric cars like the one shown here. As you can see, they sport a nice antenna and communication module built into the trunk. While WazTempe aim for widespread, permanent coverage for Tempe, it looks like these carts may serve as stop-gap solutions in order to create instant network hotspots in high-need areas. Fit the thing with a siren, and you could have emergency WiFi for people who must be online, like, now. This thing could be great for emergency situations and large conferences in which the standard WiFi infrastructure proves to be insufficient.
Read MoreThe NPD Group said on Tuesday that the iPod accounted for 92.1 percent of the market for hard drive-based music players, up from 82.2 percent a year ago (if that's not dominance, we don't know what is). Coming up secord and third were Creative Technology players (3.7%) and Digital Networks North America's Rio (3.2%). While those numbers are no-doubt daunting for the followers, the NPD Group report did mention that there seems to be room for competition in the smaller player market currently topped by Apple's iPod Mini (which is why Virgin and Creative just rolled out their new 5GB players). The problem for the little guys, says the NPD Group, is that people looking for players in the smaller configuration appear to only know the iPod, with kids are asking their parents for iPods this year rather than just asking for MP3 players, much like we begged our parents for a Nintendo in late late 80s rather than pleading with for a video game console.
Read MoreIt's an unspoken law in the Japanese cellphone industry that handsets never get launched alone, and KDDI abides by it by dropping five newies on us all at once today. As ever with KDDI, the specs of the first four lack the military unity of DoCoMo, and it's pointless trying to nail down common features; there are megapixel cameras that shoot up to QVGA-sized movies, stereo speakers, big screens, the cellphone version of Opera, GPS, Bluetooth, USB webcam functionality, FM radios, and a host of other things spread liberally across the range. The fifth handset announced today is perhaps the pick of the bunch, though: a Marc Newson-designed handset called the talby (pictured above) that has a 3.3-megapixel camera and comes in at 0.5-inches thick and 2.8 ounces.
Read MoreIn an upcoming field trial, Motorola will be testing Near Field Communications (NFC) technologies with MasterCard, allowing users to make payments quickly and securely by simply using their cellphones and MasterCard PayPass technology, turning cellphones into virtual wallets. While Motorola is promising deep security measures, it seems to us that this will make getting one's cellphone an even more painful process. The convenience factor could be huge, though: potential uses, aside from purchases, include concert tickets, ID checks, and even a contactless reader. What's a contactless reader? Well, it means that you could get McSpammed by simply walking by a McDonalds, we we can only hope Motorola's spending as much testing that security as they probably are finding new advertising channels.
Read MoreQu'est-ce que c'est? On Monday the French Industry Minister Patrick Devedjian approved a new policy that will let theaters and concert halls install cellphone jammers, allowing only emergency calls to get through. No more, "Yes, zis baguette is vury niiiiice" in the middle of your matinee. However, there also won't be any "Oh dear, I think I'm having my baby" either - our questions is, how do they know if a call is an emergency or not? Is the next step some sort of anxiety sensor that will allow the calls through, or will the jammer only be turned off after someone has already pulled a fire alarm?
Read MoreAT&T Wireless has added MobiTV access for their customers with Motorola V600s or Nokia 6620s. As we've reported before, MobiTV has been made usable beyond a chunky still-frame exercise in futility. For AT&T customers, the service starts at a $7.99 introductory price, expected to be raised to $9.99 later on. The channel lineup is actually pretty decent and includes Discovery, C-Span, and MSNBC, to name a few.
Read MoreGrandma doesn't use her cellphone; she says it's too small and hard to see. Grandpa doesn't use his - he doesn't trust the evil people at AT&T to be honest about his bill. In the interest of getting grams and gramps into their cellphones, the wireless industry is turning its attentions to their needs. After all, doesn't every teenager, 20-something, 30-something, and parent have a cellphone by now? This will mean some bigger, chunkier, more honest cellphones for people of age. Things like LG's cellphone for the elderly - a big, yellow, monster that won't be lost every morning. As cellphone adoption continues, this could spell an interesting trend - will they become like so many other markets, one for every type? Will there be a soccer mom phone with a built-in kid herder? Other concerns rest over the structure of cellphone bills. AARP, a consumer watchdog group for older people, have reported that elderly people don't understand their cellphone bills, and as such don't trust the cellphone provider companies. We don't blame them. If AARP gets its ways, we could all be able to get out of contracts easier as well. We're with you, grandma!
Read MoreAfter a lot of delays it seems that Mobile Broadcasting, Japan's first provider of digital terrestrial TV for mobile devices, is finally launching their service on October 20. They've already stuffed journalists into buses for mammoth TV-watching roadtrips to prove that the reception is OK; now, it's time to see what the gadgets are like. On the evidence at their launch event, we're a little lukewarm; the Sharp and Toshiba TVs that'll be available initially will cost Y60,000-Y70,000 ($540-$630), and though they're pitched as "AV players" recording is to SD memory card rather than hard disk, which puts something of a crimp in the amount of video you'll be able to carry around. Cellphones with TV receivers, for which prototypes are beginning to surface, should show up around 2006. (More products at the company site.) Mobile Broadcasting's next step is expansion from Japan to the rest of Southeast Asia and thence to America, which, given that they have the backing of seemingly every major Japanese corporation, may not be out of the question. We'd suggest they think up a different service name than "MobaHO!" before they get to that point, however.
Read MoreBoeing's Connexion unit (which specializes in WiFi deployment on airplanes) announced today that their in-flight broadband service will work in conjunction with NTT DoCoMo's Mzone wireless service. As of October 22nd, DoCoMo customers will receive yet another nicety in addition to having 3G and the world's most amazing cellphones: users subscribing to their Mzone service (the equivalent of T-Mobiles HotSpot service here) will enjoy affordable high speed access on loads of flights on Lufthansa, ANA, Japan Air, and Scandi Air. And jealousy ensues. [Thanks, Rich]
Read MoreWe all know how tough it is to backup data on a cellphone, right? Verizon tackling that nagging problem of cellphone data backup by offering a new $1.99/month service that'll let you backup your cellphone contact data and automatically retrieve it using a new or replacement phone. if your current one gets lost or stolen. Handy if, say, you upgrade your phone to a new one and don't want to wear out your just-manicured fingers entering all the data back in, but you'll probably be most happy you spent the extra two bucks a month if your current phone gets lost or stolen. You just download the data from Verizon's servers, and you're done. Or you can save yourself the $24 a year and figure out how to back up to your PC or Mac over IR or Bluetooth or USB.
Read MoreIt was laughs the first couple of times Koreans were all into sterilizing their cellphones, but now it's getting kind of (read: extremely) creepy. Now consumers can buy the IM-7400 (which features, to their credit, 100MB of space and a 1.1 megapixel camera) from SK Teletech, the only phone equipped with a single nanometer-thick coating of silver particles that both attack pathogens and promote deodorization. Deodorization? We had no idea cellstink was such an issue. We're starting to get the feeling that the first person to come up with a way to make rubber body suits unobtrusive will be the first Korean trillionaire. [Via picturephoning]
Read MoreYou won't sound cool namedropping it at cocktail parties or anything, but WiMax, which is like a long-range version of WiFi, is all set to become the next big buzzword you'll be reading lots of lame, repetitive stories about, and the San Jose Mercury News has a concise, non-hyped, non-lame, and non-repetitive overview of where things are now and where WiMax should be in a few years. Trust us, in about three or four years we'll all be debating whether palmOne is going to be adding WiMax to the Treo 1000 or whatever it is they're up to by then.
Read MoreWhat better way to spend your free time in between appointments than browsing music on your cellphone at AT&T's new music store? We're not sure if this is incredibly convenient or a very silly idea, but users will be able to buy songs at the now-standard $0.99 (or $9.99 for an album) and then download them to their PCs later on. And if your phone is good enough you'll be able to listen to 30-second song samples while browsing, and it even works with their Music ID, so that if you hear a song but don't know who it is, you can play a few seconds of it into your phone and then automatically be able to buy it to enjoy later on. Purchases will be billed to users' monthly statements, so be careful mom & dad - your teenage daughter may be coming home with more than a new pair of shoes. We're all about the impulse buy, which is why linking this up with Music ID isn't such a bad idea, but how seriously tedious is it browsing for music on your phone going to be?
Read MoreDisappointed as we are that people have found a use for cameraphones besides creating voyeur porn, Nashville, Tennessee has one less criminal walking the streets all thanks to a cameraphone. A quick thinking limo driver who was robbed last week was able to use his to snap photos of the suspect and his pickup truck; the pics were good enough for the cops to send out a detailed APB and the culprit was picked up within ten minutes. Sounds like yet another case closed for the Cameraphone Detective.
Read MoreFor this week only Audible and the iTunes Music Store have made the first round of the Bush/Kerry debates available as a free download for your iPod or other supported digital audio players. If you have iTunes you can get it here. And after you're done listening to the debate check out the debate spotter text analysis tool.
Read MoreNokia was in town yesterday and invited us by to check out a few of their new fashion phones which should be out here early next month, and of course we took tons of pics (above, from left to right, the 7280, the 7270, and the 7610).
Read MoreWe're not so sure how wonderful this is in the whole aesthetic/style/couture department, but they get plus five points for creativity: T-shirts printed with QR 2D graph barcodes that cellphones can read to get a URL. Not bad, but somehow we have a feeling people snapping pictures of you all day long like some covert Vice Don'ts scout isn't exactly going to make you feel better about the fact that you're wearing an advertisement. [Thanks, Daniel]
Read MoreYou know CNN is really going for that Emmy when it features Richard Branson's love note to his trusty cellphone. We're not sure what is more disturbing, his 5th grade book report writing style, the fact that he makes it sound like the cellphone made its debut last week, or his suspiciously unbuttoned chest hair flash. "Before I had a mobile phone I would try to get away from my desk as often as possible but it was definitely a lot more difficult. . . Now I'm never behind a desk. I am always out and about and on the move." And free to write truly lame articles for CNN's tech pages, lucky us. We know he's just trying to promote Virgin Mobile so we'll cut him some slack, but CNN's really got no excuse.
Read MoreYeah, this guy wins. Sure, anybody can put paint a cardboard box white and say they're dressed up as an iPod, but he decided to take things to the next level and make an iPod costume that could actually play MP3s using a Tablet PC for the display and rewired a USB mouse for the scroll wheel controls. Nice, but if he was really punk he'd have dressed up as the new iPod Photo. [Via Slashdot]
Read MoreWe don't remember the last time we entered a record store, but the first DualDiscs (embroiled in a legal dispute when we last reported), double-sided hybrid discs that put a CD on one side and a DVD on the other, have hit retail stores nationwide this week with offerings from Simple Plan and The Donnas. Besides the usual music tracks, each band offers behind-the-scenes video footage, music videos, and photos on the DVD side of their DualDiscs. We still ain't buying 'em.
Read MoreGleaming the Mods, the creme de la creme of weekly mod gathering, is ready for you now. The list of games that await your adjustment includes: Starfleet Command 3 Unreal Tournament 2004 Nexus: The Jupiter Incident (SDK) and get this, Quake 2! Now that's variety. ???A?ŸŸ%
Read MoreWhen the iBeam laser and flashlight combo came out from Griffin, a few people didn't know what they could possibly do with a laser or flashlight on an iPod besides use as a pointer for an occasional PowerPoint slide or illuminate the wiring behind the stereo. Well, here's how we're using ours, and we've got 4 words for you: "LASER BEAM DOG TOY." Click here to see the video (Windows Media).
Read MoreIf you ever though that maybe, just MAYBE, videogames make us more violent, then let this story put that to rest. This bloke went to Best Buy for his copy of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and walked out of the store with an AOL CD and some local bus schedules. An irritating read, but worth it. My advice to the writer? Personally, I would have pulled a Grand Theft Auto and jacked the cop's car, busted through the store facade and taken whatever the hell my loaded self wanted. Kidding! Maybe... Thanks for the heads-up, Todd!
Read MoreWe knew Delphi was planning something, but they surprised us all with the release of SkyFi 2, a new Satellite Radio receiver. While it features a new scroll wheel and better display, the most interesting new feature is the addition of a 30-minute buffer that allows pausing and rewind. While 30 minutes isn't a huge buffer time, it does allow some basic rewind and pause functions for when you get that annoying phone call and simply must hear the rest of that Simple Minds track. It will retail for $129.99, and install kits for home and vehicle are $69.99. [Thanks, Michael]
Read MoreHere's the latest podcast folks! Lenn is back from Spain and in this podcast we talk about the O'Reilly Mac OS X conference, the new iPod Photo, the Treo 650, mobile phones, devices, contracts from around the world and how we all use (or don't use) data. On a technical note, we tested out some new ways to record the quality should be getting better each time. We're still always trying to improve things, thanks for all the feedback as always. Hosts: Lenn Pryor and Phillip Torrone. Format: 50 minutes, 17MB, MP3. Click here to listen to the show (MP3) or add the Engadget Podcast Feed to your Podcasting application and have the show delivered automatically. We've added time codes in the following list and links to the stories or references. Time & Topics: 01:00- Intro. 02:00- O'Reilly Mac OS X Conference, hacks are really popular, yay! 12:00- iPod Photo, it's faster than you'd think. 20:00- Tro 650, Sprint might not cripple it, still doesn't have WiFi though. 25:00- Random thoughts and conversations about data and phones around the world. 50:00- This is the end. LISTEN
Read MoreSince we've been getting at least two or three emails a day asking about this ever since we launched back in March, we should probably point out that we've finally added search to the site. Yes, we know it's long overdue, but trust us, no one is happier about this than us. Anyway, the search box is over in the right-hand column, just below the text messages. It's still technically in beta or whatever, so you might notice a few bugs here and there, but at least now you'll be able to search through our archives to your heart's content.
Read MoreIf free time is something you have in ample supply, perhaps you could make some popcorn and watch a DVD. Or maybe building a 20-foot flame-barfing gun is more your style. Nonetheless, in an effort to build the perfect weapon of mass incineration, Roland Tower crafted a flamethrower out of some valves and PVC tubing. He even posted some animations of the thing spewing arcs of flame across a quiet suburban cul-de-sac, much to the chagrin of innumerable families of four in his neighborhood. While we don't endorse the creation of such things (we ain't going to jail when you accidentally burn your house down), we're glad to see that kids these days are putting chemistry class to good use.
Read MoreWhile they may have just stamped their name on the camera (offering no warranty or support), Polaroid's new X530 digital camera (which we was announced ages ago) has finally reached retail stores, and in the UK of all places. The X530 uses the highly anticipated Foveon X3 sensor, which captures red, blue, and green light in each individual pixel (rather than most digital cameras where a pixel only records one color), has a 2-inch LCD screen, 3x optical zoom, and uses Secure Digital flash memory. They list the X530 as having a resolution of 4.5 megapixels, but because of the way pixels get counted on a Foveon sensor some have argued that this is really just a 1.5 megapixel camera.
Read MoreHere are a couple of videos to cut your teeth on. The Halo 2 clip is a re-cut of the sixty second commercial we've all memorized. There's some new stuff, so it's worth a look. The Battlefield 2 download shows off a bloody battle in high-high definition. To top things off you can check out the shaky cam clip of BF2, but it's only for diehard fans, if you ask us. Which is most of you, granted.
Read MoreThere's only one thing more amusing than watching a couple of ninth grade nerds get in a slap-fight over a Raspberry Capri Sun — and that's a couple of marketing types spitting vitriol at each other. Sony and Nintendo reps sometimes seem to understand how silly they sound. A little smirk may accompany their zippy words. Sometimes they don't. Here's a good example of a time when they don't. It looks like Nintendo is pretty pissed off about the low price of the Sony PSP. Our guess is that they're just about the only ones on the planet who are pissed off about it, though.
Read MoreYou can argue about whether it's a digital photo viewer first and an MP3 player second, but the 20GB Transcend Digital Album does have something the new iPod Photo doesn't have: a built-in flash memory card reader for copying over JPEGs from CompactFlash, SD, MMC, Memory Stick, and SmartMedia cards. Also comes with a video out port (and an infrared remote!) so you can hook it up to a TV for slideshows rather than force everyone to crowd around its 2.5-inch screen. [Via Photography Blog]
Read MoreMeet Les Seules. They play videogames... Counter-Strike. Competitively. Pictured right is Louise Thomsen aka AurorA, the leader of Les Seules ("The Outsiders"), a pack of Swedish bombshells that placed 4th in this year's Electronic Sports World Cup in Paris. And yes, they demolished the US team. If you're interested, the team is featured on a pinup in the November issue of Sync magazine .
Read MoreUK provider Sky TV is hoping to start a loyalty program for their subscribers by using a currently-empty smartcard slot in their set-top boxes. Say, for instance, you're a serious Comedy Central addict. You could be rewarded in a points system for your loyalty, redeemable for special offers or even premium programming. Other, more evil ideas include reward programs for those who actually watch advertisements. This not only makes advertisers happy, but it allows sad TV addicts to feel as though there is a friend out there, somewhere, in the shape of a mop-like device that magically sucks up all the dust and evil things in life who really cares for them.
Read MoreNothing says luxury extravagance quite like gold-played electronics (except, perhaps, solid-gold electronics), so Jens Of Sweden, the name in all things bling, busted out the Excentrique (yeah, we'll say so) MP-400 flash player on us. The 2.5 x 1 x 0.6-inch 24-carat gold plated playa got 1GB of storage, USB 2.0, plays MP3, WMA, ASF, and OGG, has an FM tuner, an OLED screen, and 20-hour battery life. Will only run $1,100 for ballers like you. [Via I4U]
Read MoreJoy World Pacific have concocted "Calory Answer," a microwave-looking calorie counter that can display a food item's macronutritional content using near-infrared analysis. By placing a food item in the unit, one can get the protein, sugars, and fat content of any food. The unit runs on Windows, although it was initially intended for Linux. Cost is currently at $28,000 (do you really need to know there are exactly 48.6 grams of fat in that Cinnabon?), but Joy World hopes to bring that down significantly. Otherwise, we know of a couple personal trainers who will take significantly less than that right now, and they will even hang out with you and tell you if that crap you're eating is bad for you.
Read MoreSharp just announced a new 8 megapixel CCD module for digital cameras. We know you're probably asking "So what?" at your computer screen, but the reason we're wasting your time on this is because this 8 megapixel sensor is the same size as the tiny 4 and 6 megapixel digital camera sensors found in plenty of the ultracompact digital cameras we're currently sweating. Expect to be drooling over plenty of tiny eight megapixel camera next year.
Read MoreSo now that Apple has officially rolled out the new iPod Photo, we still have one nagging question: will HP follow suit and come out with an HP iPod Photo? Not necessarily, since even though HP has their own "versions" of the 20GB and 40GB iPod, Apple hasn't cut them in on that sweet iPod mini action. The HP rep we spoke to this morning told us that they have "Nothing to announce", but given HP's huge emphasis on digital photograhy and digital photo printing you figure it'd be natural for them to hook up an HP iPod Photo. Which makes us wonder, what exactly is the nature of Apple and HP's deal? Does HP automatically get to sell a version of each new iPod that comes out or are things negotiated on a per-iPod basis? HP's rep wouldn't answer that question for us, either.
Read MoreOk, they're not the first name that pops to mind when you think of digital cameras, or probably even the second or third or fourth or fifth or sixth, but BenQ has been stealthily staking a claim to this increasingly crowded space. They already announced a couple of new cameras at Photokina last month (the four megapixel E43 and five megapixel E53), now they're adding no fewer than five new models to their line up. Here goes: Starting things off are two new six megapixel cameras, the C60 and the C62 (pictured at right). The C60 has a 2-inch LCD screen, while the C62 has a fast startup time of just one second and a shutter release lag time of only 1/100 of a second. The four megapixel E41, which comes with a 2-inch LCD touchscreen that you can scribble notes on and alsos pull double duty as an MP3 player. Comes in red, gold, and blue. The E30, their new ultracompact three megapixel camera, is just 24mm thick. And lastly, the five megapixel C51 comes with a 3x optical zoom lens and a 2-inch LCD screen.
Read MoreApart from the occasional story about hacking Diebold's touchscreen voting machines, we've been feeling a little left out of this whole Election 2004 thing here at Engadget (which is fine, since we're not Instapundit or Talking Points Memo or anything), but fortunately a little something something fell in our laps courtesy of this story over at CNN about Segway-riding politicians. Apparently there's a small trend of candidates using Segways when they go canvassing door-to-door for votes in suburban areas rather than, um, their own two feet. We're pretty sure Segway owners aren't a significant voter bloc (yet), but State Rep. John Heard, who is running for re-election in Georgia, says that crusing around subdivisions in his Segway keeps him from getting all sweaty, something we've heard voters don't much care for in their elected officials. We'll have to remember to follow-up next week and see if he won or not.
Read MoreOk, in about six weeks you're going to be officially sick of hearing about MP3 players with color screens for looking at digital photos (assuming you aren't already), but in the meantime, check out the Elio, Asono's new 20GB digital audio player with a built-in FM tuner, line-in recording, a 2.2-inch color LCD screen, an SD card slot, and USB On-The-Go for transferring your JPEGs directly over from a digital camera (as demonstrated by the picture above). The memory card slot is a nice touch, but we have a feeling that hardly anyone will take notice in the wake of the new iPod Photo. [Thanks, Soe]
Read MoreYou'd think that if you'd go to all the trouble to mod a sneaker that you'd try to make it, you know, more useful or functional, instead of more annoying, but Studio 5050 thought it'd be a hoot to maketh a pair of hightops mimic the same "click click" sound made when walking in high heels. What they did was install a small speaker and sensor and then record the sound of a heel clicking that is triggered everytime the shoe hits the ground. Fortunately Studio 5050 justify the ClickSneaks (which is just a prototype for right now) by pointing out that the shoe's purpose is to "subvert both the traditional attributes of a pair of shoes, and expose the multi-layered relationship we have with our clothes and accessories." [Via Popgadget]
Read MoreAs promised, here are some pics and more details about the iPod Photo: Comes in two versions, a 40GB model which sells for $499 and a 60GB version that sells for $599. Both weigh 6.4 ounces, are 2.4 x 4.1 x 0.75 inches in size (slightly thicker and heavier than the regular 40GB iPod), and have a battery life of 15 hours (which is 25% better than the 4G iPod). Also comes with an AV cable for hooking up to a TV for slideshows. It's estimated to ship in 1 to 2 weeks. Click to see a couple more pics.
Read MoreThe rumors were true! Delphi and XM just announced the MyFi, the world's first portable satellite radio. It isn't cheap—the retail price will be $349.99—but they did toss in some nice extras like an FM transmitter if you want to listen to XM on your car or home stereo (though obviously there'll be some loss in sound quality) and some built-in memory for storing up to five hours of programming. Coincidentally, five hours is how much battery life you'll be able to squeeze out of the MyFi before having to recharge. Should be in stores by the end of next month. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Read MoreSimply put, San Andreas is the best the PlayStation 2 has to offer. At nearly six times the size of Vice City, with fully customizable characters & vehicles, a new control scheme, enough mini-games to give Mario Party a run for its money, a killer cast, wicked soundtrack, and, well, pretty much the freedom to do whatever you can cook up in that little noggin a' yours... San Andreas is a defining moment in the history of video gaming. Okay, okay... sure, it's not perfect, still marred by unstable framerate, suspect AI, awkward pop-ins, and flaky visuals. But let's just put our inner-critics aside for a moment, shall we? Good. Now go buy, steal, rent, (whatever it takes to get your hands on...) this game, ya' heard?! Alas, if you were foolish enough not to slap down a few bones for a pre-order, then continue on for a few screenshots to tide you over until the next shipment comes in...
Read MoreAt last, the Far Cry patch is available! And if you're interested, so is the Linux dedicated server. Just use the link below. [Thanks, Anthony]
Read MoreHere's the latest installment of the Engadget Podcast! We talk with Hadley Stern, the author of iPod Hacks, we make another prediction about the new iPod, and we discuss XM robot weather, getting movies on your PC, Macs and more...Click here to listen to the show (MP3) or add the Engadget Podcast Feed to your Podcasting application and have the show delivered automatically. Host: Phillip Torrone. Guest: Hadley Stern, author of iPod Hacks. Format: 31 minutes, 10 MB, MP3. We?ve added time codes in the following list and links to the stories or references. Time & Topics 01:00- Show overview. 02:00- DVDs to movies, it?s up to us, not Hollywood to do this now. 05:00- TVCasting, PODtv, we?re thinking about doing a TV show. 06:30- Using the iTalk for portable recording, I said iTrip I meant iTalk. 07:00- XM offers up weather and traffic, by robots? 11:40- The new iPod may be more than a music player, our prediction. 13:30- Hadley Stern, author of iPod hacks. 30:00- Wrap up. LISTEN
Read MoreWe're trying to remember the last time we even listened to a CD, let alone coughed up actual money for one, but if you still swing that way, next month in Japan Sony is releasing the D-NE20 CD Walkman, the world's smallest, thinnest, and lightest CD player. The D-NE20 comes in at only 127 x 132.5 x 13.1 mm in size, with a body made of magnesium to keep the weight down to a slight 110 grams. In addition to playing your standard music CDs, the D-NE20 CD Walkman (~$200 retail) has ATRAC3plus (Sony's proprietary format) and MP3 support (hot damn!). Also comes with kanji character display on the remote control and you can squeeze an astounding 100 hours of battery life out of it if you only play discs with ATRAC3plus files on them. [Via TechJapan]
Read MoreFrom the parallel space-time in which Japanese technology occasionally appears to be developed comes Shinko Electric's SP-250, a remote-controlled printer that you can hook up to a TV (or anything else with an NTSC video out) and use to print out frames at will. It also has a card slot for CompactFlash, MemoryStick, and SD/MMC cards and will print out JPEG/TIFF images. As it's a dye sublimation printer we suppose the quality should be decent, but it doesn't seem to print out on anything much bigger than postcards, which could make the only suggested use they've come up with—printing out recipes from cooking shows—a little unrealistic unless you're into squinting a lot. It also costs about $375, which seems like a lot of cash for a little fun.
Read MoreYeah, they're saying Sony's two new players won't make you deal with that ridiculous SonicStage MP3 to ATRAC converstion stuff anymore, and it's being reported that the two new players will be among the first to natively support MP3. We're going to remain vigilantly doubtful though, especially after just a couple days ago Sony released their non-MP3-compatible NW-S23 S2. Whatever, we'll see, right? Anyhow, the NW-E99 will have 1GB of space (for about $300) and the NW-E95 512MB (about $250), and apparently lacks those now-standard features we've all become used to in every other Flash player on the planet (FM tuner, line-in encoding, etc.). We'd like to say way to go, Sony, but you aren't even being clear what you're doing, so we're going to hold our tongues for a little while longer. [Thanks, Lars and Leo]
Read MoreEach week Tom Whitwell of Music Thing highlights the best of the new music gear that's coming out these days. Last Saturday it was Jazz Mutant's Lemur, this week it's the Chiclet DSP Music Box: Next week is DIY week on Music Thing, so I'm looking at home-grown music kit. The Chiclet is a pocket-sized digital music-making box. The MIT-connected team behind call themselves the DSP Music Syndicate, and their aim is to: "offer an inexpensive delivery mechanism for intricate algorithmic and generative music which is the size of a pack of smokes and powered off batteries". What they've designed and built is portable music playback device, a bit like an iPod. Except it won't play back pre-recorded music. Instead it will contain songs in the form of programs which can change every time they're played. One idea is to create a real-time life remixer, which takes input from a microphone, and plays it back in 'some mangled form'. So, you're walking down the street with your headphones on. The box is taking in the noises of cars going past and people talking, and it's spitting some kind of remixed interpretation of the sounds into your ears. As a DIY project, it's pretty involved. Ethan Bordeaux, part of the team, told me: "Currently we build our hardware with a soldering iron and magnifying glass, but it is extremely touchy work. I personally could never do it, only one guy has hands steady enough to pull it off (the legs on some of the ICs are very very small, and spreading solder across 2 pins will kill a chip)." It's slightly baffling for anyone who doesn't go to MIT, but the box really exists, and it really makes music, which you can listen to here. Coming to a record shop near you soon. maybe.
Read MoreUm, less "ums"! Here's the latest installment of the Engadget Podcast! We talk about buying music by the megabyte (less than 4 cents per song), how Wal-Mart 0wns us, the new SPOT from Swatch, romance in online gaming and more. Click here to listen to the show (MP3) or add the Engadget Podcast Feed to your Podcasting application and have the show delivered automatically. Host: Phillip Torrone Guest: Beth Goza Format: 50 minutes, 17MB, MP3. We've added time codes in the following list and links to the stories or references. Time & Topics 02:00- We <3 Richard Dean Anderson. 02:20- Primer the movie. 05:20- AllofMp3.com, we buy a song for 4 cents, as in $0.04, "live" on the podcast. 12:30- Wal-Mart blows. 16:30- XM portable and XM for free on your PC. Go jog now... 20:15- Pocket PCs are dying 23:10- Patents on PhotoMosaics? 26:30- New SPOT watch from Swatch. 36:30- Flash iPod. Flash, ahhhh, it'll save every one of us. 38:10- Special Guest Beth Goza on Multi Player Online Games and romance. Lucas and Sony says no gay marriage allowed? Shoutouts: Scoble, binrev, Gartenberg (get well soon!), Hugh and ResFest. LISTEN
Read MoreDue to customer complaints, The Vineyard restaurant of Bentonville, Arkansas has designated a "No-cellphone" area after customer complaints about annoying cellphone chatter while they were trying to enjoy a meal. We're not even going to touch this but sheesh, what's next? No smoking? Oh, right, sorry. [Via MGN]
Read MoreRight, well, it sounds a little ridiculous to us Westerners, but they're doing it for the disabled so shut it: Hong Kong is now offering emergency services to be summoned by SMS, so those who can't talk or otherwise communicate verbally can call (not in the literal sense, naturally) for help. Keep in mind, this is a huge step forward; you used to have to fax for emergency services. For serious. We can't help but wonder if there isn't some better way than typing out your situation and location in t9, but either way we suppose any more avenues to communicate to emergency services can't be bad. But if you think you had a hard time getting a cop before by calling, we don't even want to know what the response time on an SMS is going to be.
Read MoreIf only it were just a little closer to Valentine's day, this might well be the perfect nerdness to bestow upon our respective significant others: Lover Disk, without the s (naturally), come in his 'n hers. "Memory". Oh yeah, the sweet memories, baby, we're gonna have with the USB 2.0, and 128 or 256MB versions. How very sweet indeed.
Read MoreSure, anyone can be that type-A bizarro with a hardcore work session going on in the corner of the airport terminal, but now DeskSpaceAnything makes it possible to be both incredibly hardcore and borderline insane at the same time. Just pull out your DeskSpaceAnyplace Model 1000, release the telescoping legs, connect it to your rolling luggage, secure it, and voila! You've got desk space, err, anywhere! You freak.
Read MoreWe have little or no idea what it is or how it works at this point, but we're utterly intrigued by the G2g GadgetyII Bluetooth P2P communications system. Especially since the P2P part implies that to use it with another G2g, you'd be communicating directly via Bluetooth, and thus you must be within Bluetooth's distance. Which is basically the same room. Maybe this device is like a tech Zen koan, and we're not supposed to get it, but just to think about it for awhile.
Read MoreYou ask Engadget, Engadget answers (or its readers do, anyway). Last Thursday Dan D. asked what people's fav mobile apps were. This week, in the spirit of our latest baby, Hack A Day, Engadget reader Alex asks: "As I've upgrade my stuff over the years, I'm left with gadgets that I don't use but that are still fully functional. What do you do with them when you're too attached to toss them or give them away?" We've got a lot of gadgets in our closet (we kicked out all the skeletons when there just wasn't any room left), but we mostly give them to our mad-scientist Philip Torrone to hack. Anyone out there using their old gear for any interesting projects?
Read MoreIf you're the type who doesn't mind RFID tagging just about everything you own (it you're not, we'll let it slide... for now) then you may soon find yourself stuffing the wallets of some very clever scientists from MIT. Their RFID-enabled bag has sensors that will let it know when its being picked up—it scans to make sure you've got what you brought, and has a voice synth delcare (as it were), "Cellphone: yes. Wallet: yes. Keys: no!" Of course, this might get a little tedious for an afternoon if you've lent your keys to your locked-out roomie, but hey, anything that makes it easier for us not to think is just fine. They're also planning on adding a version that checks the weather to make sure you've brought an umbrella. Science marches on. [Via textually]
Read MoreWell, no one can say for sure yet, but financial analyst Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. have a document outing (or trying to, anyway) XM on their expected MyFI/wearable portable satellite radio next week. Tuesday, to be exact, near Engadget HQ in New York. We'll keep you posted on the deets, so don't say we didn't warn you early. [Thanks, Candlebougie]
Read MoreDid we call it or what? Xclef finally got around to releasing a 100GB version of their Xclef 500 player. It's still supposed to have that crazy 20-hour battery life, mic, analog and optical line-in encoding, FM radio, and FM recording. They get props for breaking the barrier, but really all they did was toss a 100GB drive in their previous player, so you know, very light pat on the back, good job guys, you worked hard to get here.
Read MoreYo Japanese patent office, why you gotta playa hate? Oh yeah, because Fuji Shoji wanted to make Pachinko machines with Hitler's likeness. Despite it being "a parody", neither Hitler, Moses, or Abraham Lincoln (what?!) will grace Pachinko parlors. Maybe they need to just make a Hitler vs. Moses vs. Abe Lincoln mashup free-for-all fighter game instead, that'll definitely pass the Japanese Interior Department of Insane Products.
Read MoreSpong just schooled us to the Scribes column over on Rare's website. It's basically a space where Rare can post and answer all the stupid letters it gets. Recently, Rare took the time to update the page, addressing such topics as Conker, Kameo, Perfect Dark, and EA's new Goldeneye sequel. It's good for more than a few laughs. Ch-ch-check it out!
Read MoreThose 20GB players are sprouting like weeds, man; good weeds, mind you. Three new personal media players (PMPs), the JaceTech DDP-1500, imuon PMP-AH120A, and Sytec Systems MVP-100, are being released in Asia as we speak. They all sport 20GB hard drives, but some also include big color screens, camera modules, video playback with video out, FM tuners, and the usual lot of pretty much everything. If this tells us anything, big fat color screens and video playback are the features of the future that should begin appearing on Western units in, say, 2-10 years. We really like the JaceTech (pictured right), but we're trying not to pick favorites here, so settle down.
Read MoreGamespot has posted a brand-new San Andreas trailer! What? You still reading this?! Go download it already! [You can also get a WM version here if you're not a Gamespot member]
Read MoreYo Joe! Here's the latest installment of the Engadget Podcast! We talk about the mysterious black iPods, the Apple U2 ad, Sony, an interview with Paul Griffin, hacking DVD players and more. Full show notes below. Click here to listen to the show (MP3) or add the Engadget Podcast Feed to your Podcasting application and have the show delivered automatically. Host: Phillip Torrone. Guest: Paul Griffin, Griffin Technology Format: 38 minutes, 13MB, MP3. We've added time codes in the following list and links to the stories or references. Time & Topics 02:15- U2 and black iPods...Bono said no to Microsoft but yes to Apple? 08:50-Sony WTF? RetroPod gets shutdown, Sony please support Ogg Vorbis. 14:25-Making Photo Mosaics. 16:45-Paul Griffin talks all things iPod 28:00-Control TVs with an iPod and other devices... 31:30-Hack your DVD player. 33:00-One way to record movies to your portable video player. Shoutouts: del.icio.us, Kevin Rose, Cult of Mac, Scripting.com and Jon Stewart. LISTEN
Read MoreWe get our fix via the official Handmark Scrabble game for our PDAs, but the hardcore Scrabble players (you know who you are) will mos def want to hook up a dedicated Scrabble e-dictionary. This $50 Franklin model validates some 100,000 Scrabble words and even provides brief definitions. So next time you pull out ZAX, QAT, or QUA for the elusive triple-word score, just hand your opponent this dictionary and call 'em out on their biz. [Via bookofjoe]
Read MoreAnyone who's visited Japan will likely have been screwed up to a greater or lesser extent by the country's arbitrary and idiosyncratic address system. The Fukuoka fire brigade sympathise with your plight; they're getting a growing number of calls from cellphones (which they can't trace without carrier help) from people who can't describe accurately where they are (apart from "next to the flaming building", presumably). The solution they've hit on is to slap address labels on vending machines, so next time you run out of a burning building and don't know where you are, dash for the latest drink machine and phone it in. Cans of Calpis don't make a good fire extinguisher, though. Probably.
Read MoreKorean manufacturer Cowon (we know them as iAudio over here) have released their new iAUDIO G3, and they claim the little MP3 player puts out 50 hours of battery life on a single AA cell (we'll be curious to see battery time tests outside of the laboratory). It is among the first Flash players to be available in a 2GB model (but is also available in 256MB, 512MB, and 1GB versions), and has voice recording, FM tuner, and an adjustable 5-band EQ. The feaure-packed player should be available in the coming months. Its size is 2.5 x 1.7 x 0.67-inches and it weighs in at 1.2 ounces without the battery. Although the model pictured appears to have a standard blue-backlit screen, Cowon claims it will have a 1.8-inch 260K color screen.
Read MoreMMGN recently interviewed John Smedley, the President of Sony Entertainment Online. The topic: Star Wars Galaxies. Just follow the link below... [Thanks, Justin]
Read MoreOkay, "world's coolest" may be a bit of a stretch (that title still goes to NIST's F1 atomic clock in Boulder, Colorado), but what Inga Sempe has created might fall just shy of it. It's analog and digital, with the hour and minutes hand rotating as would a normal clock, but at the end of the clock is a digital readout which independently orients itself so it's always readable (we suspect some weight or gyroscope action just like the taxi hubcap ads). Unfortunately, this clock is a one of a kind (and how), so expect to see some crappy Hong Kong-knockoff on eBay any day now.
Read MoreSplashpower are gearing up to finally release their SplashPad charging mat. The mouse-sized pad allows users of cellphones, PDAs, and other portable, recharcheable devices to simply place them on the pad for recharding rather than plug them all in separately. Great idea, right? Only problem is that the SplashPad requires the use of SplashModules, thin little receiver modules that fit onto the portable devices to be recharged. It would have been nice if the SplashPad worked on its own without having to put stickers all over our devices, but we'll still give this thing a try. Could solve some serious wiring (and more serious electrical fire) issue we always seem to battle, what with about 800 adapters under the desk. [Thanks, Tom]
Read MoreStylie manufacturer Jens of Sweden announced their latest player to be difficult to find in the US, the MP-400 Flash player, which supports MP3, WMA, OGG, and ASF, and features a 96 x 63 pixel OLED, insane 20-hour rechargable battery, voice recording, FM tuner, line-in encoding, USB 2.0, and sizes up to 1GB. All in that little 2.5 x 1 x 0.6-inch box of white Nordic plastic; the price though, man, the price. They want up to about $500 for one of these! Rock it like Ikea, guys, and swing low. [Via DAPreview]
Read MoreThe American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), representing a large stroke of American music publishers, have penned a deal that will allow radio stations to simultaneously play music over the Internet that they already play over airwaves. At least, that's what the deal seems to insinuate. The deal, valued at $1.7 billion, should open the doors for radio stations to stream their feeds over the Internet without additional costs or licensing issues. The agreement is good through 2009, so expect Internet radio to pick up some speed over the coming years. Finally, Dave Matthews and Britney Spears at 128k!
Read MoreA new dress code has been approved by the US Navy that will allow sailors to wear cellphones for the first time. While the new dress code was approved mainly to allow female sailors to wear skirts, the interesting part of the story, to us, is the inclusion of cellphones as approved wear. In addition, the dress code allows for garment bags to be worn over sailors' shoulders. So here's what we want to see: a skirt-wearing sailor sporting a cellphone attached to a man-purse. The Navy has totally gone metrosexual. [Correction: Turns out the dress code actually doesn't require female sailors to wear skirts. Hooah!]
Read MoreXtrack has developed a line of Smart Labels embedded with RFID tags, which are usable in thermal printers. It's good to know that these meet Wal-Mart's strict guidelines, but since RIFD tags are generally still too costly per unit and are easily hacked, we know that they're not really going to get heavily bought into just yet. But we're totally excited that soon we'll be able to tag everything around, including our (organic) dog so he can finally take that long-discussed trip to Portugal.
Read MoreThis week's How-To shows how to take just about any ordinary image you've taken with your digital camera (or from the web) and make a photo mosaic. A photo mosaic is one large image made out of hundreds and thousands of tiny images from your personal stash, from google images or even frames from a movie. There are a few applications that do this for free, on Macs / PCs, and we'll show you where to get them and how to use them.
Read MoreWe're pretty sure the P.E.A.R.T. (Pneumatic and Electronic Actuated RoboT) was designed specifically for all the droves of aspiring post-electronic musicians selling their turntables for guitars, being that it interfaces with your computer via USB and plays MIDI tracks. But make no mistake about it, all that stuff about the drummer being the most replaceable member of the band just got very real. And like Louis and the EZ Trumpet, Buddy Rich must also be rolling in his grave. But in a good way this time. [Via Slashdot]
Read MoreSee what happens when your warranty runs out?. In this case, a 20" Toshiba owned by Chris van Rossman started sending out the international distress signal at 121.5Mhz on October 2. Assuming it was coming from a transponder that had dropped from a nearby airport or a boat that had somehow made its way to Fourth St. and Jackson Ave., the Civil Air Patrol showed up at van Rossman's apartment to tell him that he had to turn off his TV or face fines of $10,000 a day. Toshiba can't explain how this happened (ghost in the machine?), but they do promise to provide van Rossman with a replacement TV. [Thanks, Adam]
Read MoreIt does nothing but turn TVs off. Seriously, that's all it does, is just universally, completely, truly attempt to shut down just about every TV around (and it's rarely unsuccessful). We've had nightmares about this sort of thing, but we imagine a significant other armed with one of these might be what we'd need to finally kick our bad Ali G habit. And while we imagine the TV-free are all having a blast irritating everyone else to no extent, maybe there's a lesson to be learned here. When we figure it out, we'll tell you. No doubt, respek. [Via Wired News]
Read MoreAn anonymous tipster hooked us up with the skinny on Uniden's nex-gen cordless phone, the DMX778 (that's what it's supposed to be called, anyway). You know us, normally we wouldn't give a cordless phone the time of day—it's not like we'd actually have a line to use one with anyway—but we like how these things are really (and finally) starting to mimic cellphones; it's almost kind of cute. The DMZ778 operates on the 2.4GHz spectrum (we'd really be impressed if it was WiFi VoIP to one-up Vonage, but we're being realistic here), has a slider-style handset, calendar and programmable reminders, 4 handset expansion, handset to handset text messaging, speakerphone, push-to-talk (you know, walkie talkie style), and, of course, a digital answering machine. It should be out in the next two months, and could possibly garner some serious interest with our Vonage crowd, but otherwise we hope you'll excuse us if we have some reservations.
Read MoreWe're more used to LEDs lighting up keyboards, the dancefloor, the yard, balloons, and more recently, being able to transmit data, but we're a bit scared of any LED powerful enough to warrant the Ray Charles glasses (god rest his soul) just to look at it. Lamina's light engine is powered by hundreds of LEDs, and produces 13,300 lumens of light (5x the brightness of your average plasma display), and doesn't have the heat or power issues of regular lightbulbs. One Lamina disk will cost $4900 and yes, listen to your Mom when she says to not look directly at bright objects, as this disc can blind you.
Read MoreWell, that was fast. Never underestimate the entrepreneurs of New York; not days after the FCC announced its rulings on BPL (broadband over powerlines) and FTTH (fiber to the home) has ConEd and Earthlink announced, in conjunction with Ambient, their new preliminary test program for power line Internet access at a building in the Upper West Side. The building's residents shouldn't expect more than DSL speeds to start, but they'll be among the only ones in America being offered such as service, and speeds are only going to get faster in the future. Now if only we could somehow find some affordable housing that isn't a windowless basement (and while we're at it, how about some decent burritos?) on that tiny island, we might be set, right?
Read MoreOur favoritest branch of the government, the FCC, has finally cleared the way for broadband over power lines (BPL) and fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) to be available nationwide to consumers. Now your local power company can offer broadband (which will be comparable to DSL speeds to start), and they've deregulated fiber optic networks, so telephone companies will no longer be the only ones laying fiber. Us, we're just waiting for Verizon's Fios fiber service, or really anything faster than cable, the awful late 90s excuse for broadband we're all still using at home (when it works).
Read MoreWe're not too happy to hear that TiVos transferring their cached shows to new DVD burning boxes (like the Humax DRT800) via the TiVo Home Media option will not be able to burn those old copies due to a codec compatibility issue. You can still watch the transferred shows on your new TiVo, just no putting it on DVD. We're sure it's not going to be a huge issue for most people, but it's irksome that nowhere does TiVo mention the differences in the units which cause the issue.
Read MoreYamaha has for a while been marketing in Japan a line of soundproofed rooms-within-a-room for musicians that you can set up in a corner of your already-cramped home. The latest evolution of the range, however, appears to be intended for the opposite purpose, that of shutting out the outside world so that you can work, study, watch DVDs, and so forth. Y440,000 ($4,000) or so gets you a 1.3 x 1.7 m space in which to do whatever you feel like, with a range of interior options and phone, ethernet and TV connections should you require them. We're getting a bunch installed at Engadget HQ next week in the hope that it'll help with the terrible bouts of agoraphobia we've been getting since we moved to this open-plan penthouse.
Read MoreWe're always suckers for good convention photos. Who doesn't like a glimpse at the latest booth babes? Who can turn down a glance at uber-dweebs (like us) dressing up to look like anime characters? With that in mind, take a look at some fun shots of the Digital Life convention in New York City. I couldn't make it this week, since my wife was sick as hell — but I stumbled upon these pics and feel like I've seen all that I want to. My personal fave is the Bloodrayne booth babe. Can we get a little auto-focus next time, though?
Read MoreNot to be outdone by Roland's digital accordion, Yamaha has come out with an electronic trumpet that lets you avoid having to do the intense cheekwork yourself, like all that buzzing and blowing that the analogue version demands. Instead, you can eiether hum into the mouthpiece and have it convert your mumblings into trumpet-sounding melodies, play using the valves, or just use some combination of the two. We're sure Louis Armstrong is turning over in his grave about now.
Read MoreDidn't Casio just release the EX-Z50 a couple of weeks ago? It must not be doing so hot (either that or it's doing amazingly well) if they're already releasing colorful versions of the camera, but either way the Z50 is still a fine lookin' little 5 megapixel shooter with 3x optical zoom; apparently it's now also got a feature called BESTSHOT, which gives the user 23 preset motifs for scenario and situation, perhaps like "silhouetted lovers on beach", or "sunset over mountains". Puhlease.
Read MoreIt's so good when someone takes a pretty stupid idea that no one has really questioned—like CD stompers and sticker labels, for instance—and upped it a few notches creatively and technically. Enter Casio's KLD-300, which can print things directly to your DVD/CDs; hot damn, we're plum hooked on this idea. It's just too bad that it's (as usual) Japan-only for now, and will cost about ¥24,000 to start ($220 US), which will in fact make it ever difficult for us to set down the trusty Sharpie. [Via Akihabara News]
Read MoreJust a few minutes ago, Amazon's link to pre-order Tiger was an error page. Now the page has returned, saying "This item is not stocked or has been discontinued."
Read MoreAs I predicted, Amazon's link to pre-order Tiger now says We're sorry! An error occurred when we tried to process your request. Rest assured, we're already working on the problem and expect to resolve it shortly. If you were trying to make a purchase, please check Your Account to confirm that the order was placed. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Read MoreIf you've ever dreamed of playing your PSX games on a PC with a decent controller, then you'll definitely want to check out this review. If not, move along. The Super Joy Box 4 may sound like something you can only buy if you're over 21, but the little device is actually made to give fans of the old PSX a chance to enjoy their favorite emulator titles on the PC. Just install the software, plug in your Dual Shock controller and play away. Okay, there may be some tweaking in there, but according to this review, it's minimal.
Read MoreYou can't really expect a couple of hipsters to be all up on trademark law and such, and so now just a few months after it made its perfectly-timed debut, the RetroPod is dead. You'd think you could take an old Sony Walkman case and do whatever you wanted with it as long as it was bought and paid for, but apparently Sony's lawyers didn't look too kindly upon anyone using a vintage Eighties Walkman as an iPod case and consqeuently sent off a cease & desist letter a few weeks ago. Best part: Consumers likely will be misled and deceived into believing that Sony is somehow connected with the iPod personal stereo when in fact it is not. Moreover, they will be misled into thinking that Sony is backward in its design of products and is going away from miniaturization, as the size of the tape player housing is quite large by today's standards. Damn, Sony, you wouldn't want to give anyone the impression that you're backwards or anything, huh? Anyway, we're pretty sure that these guys have a legal leg to stand on since they weren't selling it as the RetroPod Walkman or whatever (we'll have to consult some lawyer types to make sure), but either way it sounds like they just didn't feel like tangling with a multinational corporation.
Read MoreWe'd been looking for a new way to annoy people during calls, so just in the nick of time we've discovered RAZZ, a downloadable application for cellphones that let's you insert sound clips into phone conversations on the fly. Gamely trying to cash in on this election fever everyone seems to have come down with, PhoneBites, Inc., the company behind the RAZZ application, has just came out with a slew of Bushism sound clips that poke fun at W.'s penchant for malapropism. Impress your friends while, in the middle of a conversation, you exhibit your wit with a quote from George W. Or call a fence-sitting acquaintance and ask, "Did you know that Bush said 'I want an energy bill that encourages consumption'?" When said acquaintance says W. didn't say that, play back the RAZZ clip proving your point. Everyone will love you! The RAZZ app is available at Handango.com. Enjoy, but please don't call us. [Via textually.org]
Read MoreEngadget HQ is currently located 12 feet away from a construction site, so we're all over SilenceAir, a line of transparent, noise-blocking bricks which let light and fresh air in while keeping noise out. Each brick is embedded with passive resonators that block everything between the 500Hz to 2kHz range, and are adjustable if you live near a highway or have particularly (or peculiarly) loud neighbors. [Via Meta-Efficient]
Read MoreTheir first stab at this, the original Aireo, only had a scant 1.5GB of storage space, but SoniqCast's figured out that most people want a little bit more bang for the buck and have squeeze a 20GB drive into the Aireo 2, their new MP3 with built-in WiFi. You probably won't really want to waste your time using that 802.11b connection for file transfers (synching...20GB...might...take...a...little...while...), but you can use the WiFi to stream Internet radio (it has stream-capturing software, too) or to download Audible audiobooks, and the Aireo 2 also pulls double duty as a wireless hotspot detector (which is such an obvious application, really glad they tossed that one in). Still missing a couple of things that might make use really, truly lustful, like the ability to wirelessly swap tunes with other users (imagine being able to browse and grab tunes from somebody else's player while you're riding the subway) or wirelessly buy songs from an online music store (you could just hit a hotspot to top yourself off), but who are we kidding. Once Apple adds 802.11g (or ultra wideband or WiMax or whatever) to the iPod this thing is just a footnote. [Via MacCentral]
Read MoreAccording to some reports, GTA San Andreas has gone gold! The news was confirmed by Steve Dotolli of Inside Gamer Online, who added that the game is looking great. San Andreas is set to ship on October 26.
Read MoreEven if they were legit they certainly did a pretty good job of coming off like a bunch of scammers from day one, but Liebermann, the PC "maker" all the geeks loved to hate, has thrown in the towel. The blame a lack of willing investors (El Reg think it's more like a lack of willing customers), but we'll give them props for getting a lot of people's attention. They just never learned the difference between good attention and bad attention.
Read MoreWell, this year's DigitalLife expo in New York wasn't all that fantastic to us and Engadget readers, probably because we're always getting hooked up (and in turn, hooking you up) with the scoops way before the launches. But either way, there were a few highlights, including the skinny on the BenQ P50, TiVo ToGo, a hands-on with the new Creative Zen Micro (and lots of pics!) and a few other surprises. Click to read on.
Read MoreWe had a chance to see the MuVo Micro player in person today, and although it looks like a tiny old-school tape recorder, it's packed with features in a very small form factor. The new Micros are 1.3 x 2.6 x 0.5-inches and weigh about an ounce, coming in 256MB, 512MB and 1GB models in an array of eight colors. A nice surprise is a 1/8-inch line-in for direct recording from other sources as well as a built-in microphone so it can live out its voice recording destiny. An FM tuner is also included and allows direct recording. The 256MB and 512MB version are shipping now, and the 1GB version should be available later this year.
Read MoreFor the fashionista gangsta who wants to have all of his or her bases covered, the Bling Bling medallion from Chi Ha Paura melds together virtually every corporate logo they could think of into one gold plated talisman that is most definitely guaranteed to piss off Naomi Klein.
Read MoreHave you ever noticed how every year gadgets get smaller and smaller? We hadn't, but those eagle-eyed aces over at the New York Times haven't been asleep at the switch like us and have an article today about the pitfalls of over-miniaturization. Michel Marriott takes a look at emerging personal technologies and how the quest to make gadgets ever-smaller can lead to some serious usability issues, all the while playing the "isn't it amazing what they can do in so little space?" card. The most tear-jerking, eye-opening moment is when Marriott talks to very tall people who try to use very tiny cellphones and asks them, "Do your fingers hurt?", and concludes that technology manufacturers should start thinking about this stuff or pay the price...something with which we actually agree.
Read MoreOk, so Archos just proved they can build the world's smallest 20GB MP3 player and have formally announced the new Gmini XS200 (which everyone already knew about thanks to an accidental—or maybe not so accidental—leak about a month ago), but is that enough? We tooled around with this thing at DigitalFocus last night (none of the pics turned out, it's almost like the lighting was deliberately awful there), and yeah, it is really small, but the design won't exactly make you fall out of love with the iPod and the icon-based interface has this weird retro-Mac feel to it (something which might actually be a plus for some people). Should be in stores by the end of the month with a retail price of $250.
Read MoreWe're pretty sure they're going to announce this today, but since we haven't seen anything on the Dell site yet we're just gonna post this other, better pic we "acquired" of the Pocket DJ, Dell's new 5GB answer to the iPod mini. The styling ain't there, but it's almost exactly the same size as the iPod mini (3.5 x 2.1 x 0.5 inches vs 3.6 x 2.0 x 0.5 inches), has 20% more storage capacity (5GB vs 4GB), and costs only $199. Dell is definitely the right moves if you want to position this as the "value option" to the iPod mini (or whatever is people in marketing say), but there are going to be a lot of disappointed kids out there this Christmas if parents think they can save fifty bucks and put this under the tree instead.
Read MoreRyan and I are obviously on the right mailing list because, we keep getting invited to these legitimate tech media events. The latest one we scored an invite to was DigitalFocus, which took place last night in advance of today's DigitalLife show here in New York. Nothing too major, but we snapped a few pics of some of the things we saw there:
Read MoreThe folks over at Macintouch have done some research on CherryOS, which I mentioned yesterday. Highlights include: The alleged creator of CherryOS and the "inventor" of the vx30 video encoding system is the same person One person, Arben Kryeziu (arben -at- vx30.com), who apparently is responsible for a web design company, the "inventor" of vx30, in his spare time and out of the blue came up with an emulator that is **80%** the speed of the host hardware, when emulation companies have worked years to get a quarter of that performance with similar products Later in the day, the url for the videos switched from vx30.com to mauionline.com, another provider whose WHOIS contacts are listed as one Jim Kartes, the same media "contact" listed in their original CherryOS press release! Did Jack Campbell move to Hawaii?
Read MoreThis is gonna sound weird at first, but Olympus has decided that there's room for one more in the mobile media pool and has just bounced out a couple of new portable media players. The m:robe MR-500i is a new 20GB portable digital photo viewer/MP3 player with a 3.7-inch VGA resolution touchscreen LCD and a built-in digital camera. There's tons of software for organizing, viewing, and "remixing" your digital photos (you can transfer pics directly over from a digital camera), but despite the sweet high-res screen it looks like there is no support for video. The m:robe MR-100 is their new 5GB competitor for the iPod mini. You won't be falling out of your chair or anything, but Olympus says it uses some sort of "unique electrostatic pad" for controls. Alright! Both are currently for Japan only. [Thanks to everyone who sent these ones in]
Read MoreCreative has just officially thrown down in taking on the iPod mini with their new 5GB Zen Micro MP3 player. First off it comes in double the number of colors—Black, White, Silver, Dark blue, Light blue, Red, Purple, Citrus Orange, Lime Green and Pink—and is exactly the same width as the iPod mini, three-tenths of an inch shorter, and two-tenths of an inch thicker, and has 25% more storage capacity, a built-in FM tuner, a removable 12 hour battery (believe us, this is a big deal), a vertical touchpad like the one found on the Creative Zen Touch, customizable menus, and the ability to sync your calendar, contacts, and to do list with Microsoft Outlook. They're taking pre-orders on it for $249.95. Click to see a pic of the Zen Micro up close. [Thanks, Ben]
Read MoreBusiness Week's latest Voices Of The Innovators features an interview with Steve Jobs. The Seed of Apple's Innovation is a worthy read. According to Jobs, innovation "comes from people meeting up in the hallways or calling each other at 10:30 at night with a new idea, or because they realized something that shoots holes in how we've been thinking about a problem. It's ad hoc meetings of six people called by someone who thinks he has figured out the coolest new thing ever and who wants to know what other people think of his idea." "And it comes from saying no to 1,000 things to make sure we don't get on the wrong track or try to do too much. We're always thinking about new markets we could enter, but it's only by saying no that you can concentrate on the things that are really important. " Sage advice from a man synonymous with innovation.
Read MoreIt's not Apples and oranges anymore. It's Apples and Pears. And Apples and Cherries. Yes, kids, there's a new Mac OS X emulator in town. It's called CherryOS and it purports to allow you to install and run Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther) on a PC. Priced at only $50, it's less than half the price of the real thing, but hopefully it isn't less than half as good. I was hoping to check it out in more detail tonight, but this is what I was presented with when I went to their website: "Our Server is getting hit with high traffic, and some people are trying to hack in too, so please be patient, we are working on it. We wont give up - CherryOS Team !"
Read MoreMaybe they figured that since they were already pumping out so much flash memory each year that this was a no-brainer, but SanDisk is getting even deeper into the MP3 game. It's really nothing too get too worked up about (except for the fact that it's SanDisk), but the Digital Audio Player has a built-in FM tuner, gets 15 hours of a battery life out of one AAA battery, can double as a USB flash drive (of course), and comes in three color-coded flavors: a red 256MB player that'll cost $99.99, a blue 512MB player that'll cost $149.99, and a silver 1GB player that'll cost $199.99.
Read MoreThis one sneaked past us at the time, but seems eccentric Japanese toymaker Takara (responsible for the Bowlingual and more recently the Dream Workshop) is coming out with an IPv6 intercom phone, meaning that you can get a small step closer to having everything in your house connected up by Ethernet cables. Plug these in to your network, and picking up one will ring the other. If all this sounds a bit dry and techy, don't worry—Takara hasn't forgotten it's a toy company. You can chain up to five animal toys to the port provided on the handset cradle, which will start singing in chorus when it rings. [Via MoCoLoco]
Read MoreJapanese company Dainippon Printing is trying out a model for magazine advertising that's transplanted straight from the web. They're placing product ads in magazines that include QR codes containing a URL (the example on the right is for engadget.com); scanning one with your cameraphone will send you to the product site. The advantages? Not much for the poor user, apart from not having to thumb in a URL, but for advertisers it means being able to keep track of clickthrough and completion rates for a specific ad, plus the fact that they only pay out if an ad click results in a sale. Old Media, this is New Media. Shake hands.
Read MoreHere's the latest installment of the Engadget Podcast! Hosts: Lenn Pryor and Phillip Torrone. Format: 44 minutes, 10mb, MP3. Click here to listen to the show (MP3) or add the Engadget Podcast Feed to your Podcasting application and have the show delivered automatically.
Read MoreIt really was so overdue for someone to combine a vacuum cleaner with a hovercraft (wheeling ours around the house was becoming a real drag until we replaced it with a Roomba), and the new Airider ditches wheels altogether and just floats around your floors on a cushion of air. Roboticize this thing and we'll be all over it. Should be out in a few weeks, at least in the UK.
Read MoreEven though they showed off some 15 different models at the 2004 Consumer Electronics Show back in January and everything seemed all set back in June, Motorola's has cancelled plans to introduce a line of Motorola-branded plasma TVs, LCD TVs, and LCD computer monitors here in the States (which would have marked a return to the TV business after a considerable absence). A small quantity of Motorola LCD monitors were released in the Chinese market, so save that bad boy for some future eBay if you have one, it's officially a collector's item.
Read MoreWoodi, Korean makers of other fine little players, have announced a new player simply called "Cool" that features OGG-support. An unusual protective swivel cover hides the USB interface and gives the Cool a butterfly knife look. Several different colors will be available in order to make sure the Cool is your own special kind of cool. Included are an FM tuner, 2 color OLED, SRS, WOW, Lyrics, and playlists. OGG loyalists should be psyched about this one, and cool people should feel cool about the Cool.
Read MoreWe had the chance to get a first look at Virgin Electronics' new MP3 player (yes, they're called Virgin Electronics now). Aimed squarely at the iPod mini market, the new Virgin player is of a similar small size, although it packs a little more storage space at 5GB, and also sports some nice new features that show the people at Virgin are listening. First off, the FM tuner is, at this point, an obvious thing to include, and those who don't include them are either stubborn or they're Apple. Another feature - that they didn't even point out to us, no less - is the inclusion of two headphone out ports for sharing music. To us, that's cool as heck, and makes those intimate moments when you want to share a groovy song with a loved one so much more accessible. Another nice touch is a pressure-sensitive interface that allows you to scroll through songs slow or fast; while it's not a jog wheel, it gets the job done pretty well. We were able to get some shots of it for size comparison, and one thing you might notice is that the design of the Player makes it look like a close relative to Sony's now-defunct T300 phone. Expect it to hit stores before Christmas for $249. Click to see some more action shots.
Read MoreLatest innovation by the Tokyo police force is videophone kiosks in koban (police boxes) so that you can talk to a cop face to face if everyone happens to be out on patrol (or gone for the night). Looks like they're going one step further, too—this kiosk we came across the other night was in a diminutive hut under a road bridge that didn't seem to have anything else in it. The kiosks do let you do things like calling up and printing out information such as maps to a particular address or the nearest station or bus stop; however, we suspect this cellphone thing that one or two people in Japan seem to have these days might make them a touch irrelevant for most folks.
Read MoreOne of our spies who just wants to go by the name "Richard" hit the Korean Electronics Show this past weekend and sent back this report with some highlights of what he saw there:
Read MoreIt appears Korean manufacturer EZmax has officially sounded the trumpet of the first 2GB flash players with their new EZMP-4100. While it's not much to look at, and being 3.5 x 1.1 x 0.85-inches it's certainly not the smallest player available, you've got to give them props for upping the ante when it comes to large-sized flash MP3 players. And that OLED doesn't hurt, either. Now if only they could make it minus fifteen ugly points, they might have something good on their hands. [Via DAPreview]
Read MoreHsuan Mao Technology Co., Ltd. of Taiwan have crafted the MP3-6610, which they claim is the world's smallest MP3 player with built-in Li-Ion battery. Coming in at a diameter of 40mm and a width of 12.2mm, the MP3-6610 is smaller than the EraTech Coin-Sized MP3 player (otherwise known as the BeatSounds EMP-Z), however, it is a bit heavier, coming in at 17g to EraTech's 14.2g. Those extra 2.8 grams kill it for us.
Read MoreThe accordion isn't an instrument you might think would lend itself to the digital realm, but Roland has worked on developing a system of air-pressure sensors (they call it Physical Behavior Modeling, which sounds like something else entirely, but never mind) to allow the same type of play as the real thing, and have modelled the reeds within the instrument that are usually a pain to adjust. You also get the ability to play a range of non-accordion sounds and (using a footpedal) connect to sequencers and other stuff via MIDI.
Read MoreProbably only a matter of time until they feel the cold, hard wrath of the RIAA, the MPAA, and the television networks, but next month Orb Networks is introducing a service where for ten bucks a month you'll be able to stream/remotely access the audio, video, and digital photo collection on your PC to any web-enabled device like a cellphone, PDA, or laptop. Nothing we haven't seen before (SlingBox, anyone?), and why these guys scored an AP story we're not sure, but Orb Networks claims the service will work with copy-protected files and will also stream live TV (sort of like Sony's LocationFree TV). We won't get into the mechanics of how crappy remotely accessing your DVD collection can be, but let's just say that you won't be ditching your iPod anytime soon.
Read MoreMaybe a little less urgent now that you can search our new best friend Froogle via SMS text message, but Scanbuy has just properly released ScanZOOM, a software app for cameraphones that let's you comparison shop by snapping a picture of a product's barcode and then automatically pull up price information from PriceGrabber and Amazon. Only 16 phones supported at the moment (the Treo 600, Nokia 6600, 6620, 7650, 3650, and 7610, and Sony Ericsson P800, P900, and P910 are on the list). Good for eliminating buyer's remorse, but wanna bet that when retailers finally get clued into this that they're not gonna be too happy?
Read MoreSo a couple of years ago Minox took Leica's classic M3 camera, compacted it down to one-thirds size, and fit a 2 megapixel sensor in there. Not sure what took 'em so long to finally get around to bumping up the specs, but they've just released a new three megapixel version (that interpolates up to four megapixels) for your retro-pleasure.
Read MoreDell just dropped the price on the Digital Jukebox, their game attempt at an iPod competitor (the 15GB model, pictured at right, is down to $149), but they're about to hit back with a couple of new players: the Pocket DJ 5, a 5GB player competitor for the iPod mini that'll retail for $199 and have a battery life of 9 hours; and a new 20GB player that'll be slimmer than the original Digital Jukebox, have a battery life of 12 hours and retail for $249. Both should be out within a few weeks. Sorry about the quality of the pics, but they're the best we could find right now. [Thanks, Will]
Read MoreIn a scene surely inspired by Joe's Apartment, Shai Pariente won an iPod recently by being the fastest among three finalists to eat 13 oven-baked cockroaches. The Journal News reports that he even did it with his hands tied behind his back and without ketchup. "They were good," he said. "Crunchy and salty. I would eat them again." Sometimes I am speechless. This is one of those times.
Read MoreEach week Tom Whitwell of Music Thing highlights the best of the new pro music gear that's coming out these days. Last Saturday it was Vestax's new Güber Cube-T CM-01 turntable, this week's its Astrasound's Polyvox duophonic synth and ESCO-100 tape-delay unit: The history of vintage synthesisers is pretty short. A handful of companies — Moog, Roland, Korg, ARP, Sequential Circuits — invented and manufactured pretty much everything interesting. But there's also a parallel universe where those companies don't exist but loads of cool synths still got made. That parallel universe was the Soviet Union, where, since 1982, military radio factories were producing ever-more-bizarre synths and effects for the internal market. Now that the market for any kind of vintage synth has exploded, Soviet gear is more affordable (and certainly more interesting) than it's US/Japanese equivalent. Astrasound is a Dutch company that trades through eBay, exporting delights like the Polyvox - a great-sounding duophonic synth that folds into it's own aluminium case (they sell for $700). Or the ESCO-100, a tape-delay unit that looks like a Geiger counter from Chernobyl ($430). Synths aren't the only soviet throwback you'll find in a modern western studio. Almost every pro guitarist in the world uses a tube amp, and most tubes come from former military factories in Russia and the former Eastern Bloc. And Oktava have been selling weird-looking high-end microphones in the west since 1994.
Read MoreWe know that the diet industry's got a stranglehold on a big percentage of our hard-earned dollars, so it's natural that they would start to get a tad creative. Popgadget has some deets on a few of the more unusual dieting gadgets, like, the Powerseed (pictured at right) a device that makes rhythmic beats to which you can time your bites and chews, and every once in a while prompts you to review your hunger feelings. Maybe this could help the eating-impaired but we're thinking we'll use the pod for Powerseed dinner parties, then friends and family can all munch to the same beat. There's also the DDS system, an uncomfortable merging of dental wear and a diet aid, and uses a custom-fitted retainer to reduce the amount of food the wearer can chew by 25% for every bite. Since we're sure that any pleasure gained from eating will have been completely trounced through this bulky retainer, we ask the question begging to be asked, why not just cut portions by 25%? No, that would be too easy.
Read MoreHere's the latest installment of the Engadget Podcast! Hosts: Lenn Pryor and Phillip Torrone. Guest: Eric Lin. Topics discussed: New microphones for our Macs, Pocket PC Phone XDA III (Blue Angel), Wifi-Phones, ActiveSync for Palm, Handango's new developer program, Hackaday.com, Goggle releases Google SMS, Text Message Privacy and more... Format: 37 minutes, 8mb, MP3. Click here to listen to the show (MP3) or add the Engadget Podcast Feed to your Podcasting application and have the show delivered automatically.
Read MoreBeginning today, the Proud Gallery (London) will be featuring Robbie Cooper's Alter Ego exhibition. Cooper, a photo-journalist, set out to capture the gamer and his/her alter ego. That is, the exhibit juxtaposes the real life image with the MMORPG character. All of his photographs were taken either in the US or Europe, but Cooper plans on expanding the study into Korea, where there is a massive online gaming population. The displays are certainly a fresh take on the depth of our desires. So if you're in the area, check it out and drop us a line.
Read MoreBesides playing MP3s, the SA250, Auvi's new 256MB USB-style flash memory has an FM tuner, a built-in voice recorder, and can record MP3s from radio broadcasts. It connects to your PC or Mac at the faster USB 2.0, and one AAA battery will last you 15 hours. We like the Samsung Yepp YP-T5's styling better, but the Auvi looks like it's easier to connect to a computer (just plug-and-play, as they say). We're still waiting on the Auvi's SA1500, which supposedly has 20GB and is smaller than an iPod, which would be a neat product if it ever sees the light of day.
Read MoreWe're pleased to announce the addition of another site to the Engadget and Weblogs Inc. extended family: Hack A Day, a new web magazine devoted to seeking out all the best hacks, mods and DIY (do it yourself) projects from around web. Our own resident mad scientist Phillip Torrone will post a new hack every day, with at least one special how-to (also known as How-To Tuesdays here at Engadget) to look forward to each week. We thought it was about time there was one spot on the web where you could keep track everything related to hacking and modding iPods, digital cameras, robots, game consoles, portables, locks, Macs, PCs, etc. This site is still currently in beta, so enjoy the occasional oddity and sawdust while we get things cooking.
Read MoreLook, we're really not trying to push this thing on you or anything, but come on. You know how amazing the Rolleiflex MiniDigi is, so what do we need to say except that the mini-modern remake of the classic medium format camera is finally headed off the island of Japan? No word on where it's going besides Europe, but anything that makes aquiring the 2 megapixel manual digital is just fine by us. Just say a little prayer to the gadget gods for a drop on the €400 list price (that's about $490 US style).
Read MoreThe next time you're iChilling at a bonfire with some friends and you're listening to your iPod, try strapping it on or something. Or, how about this: stay away from large exposed flames when using personal electronics. Apparently, this poor guy got scared by a friend and dropped his iPod into a massive column of fire. And, of course, within seconds it was burnt to a crisp. The good news? The thing still works! While it's tough to fit headphones into the melted jack, the hard drive casing is warped, and the battery is all but demolished, some folks were able to get the poor little burn victim running - they even have video proof. The moral of the story? iPods are built fairly well, since the insides of the thing were relatively clean compared to the horror that was the shell. The other moral? Fire is hot. It burns things.
Read MoreEidos has released its Sims clone, Singles: Flirt Up Your Life!, to retail. Previously only available via download, Singles offers very repetitive, mechanical eroticism, if you can even call it that. Basically, your goal is to get two roommates to hook up. Keep them happy (fed, clothed, itemized, etc.) and eventually get them to grope each other in hopes of hitting the sack together. For a game that's been slapped with an 'Adults Only' rating, it's a surprisingly timid adventure. All explicit encounters take place under the sheets, and Eidos decided to go with the fig leave look (down there)—if you want, you can go all natural by modifying a config file. As with Magna Cum Laude, if you're looking for pornography, just use the Internet. But if you're really eager to see a couple of roommates hook up, just sit back and watch the Real World.
Read MoreGene Munster, an analyst with Piper Jaffray said today that Apple's iPod is dominating "mindshare and market share" of todays teenagers. 600 teenagers were surveyed. Munster's study says that 16 percent of the highschool students queried currently own an iPod and 24 percent plan to buy one within the next year. The study also notes that the iPod ranked fourth on the teens' holiday wish list - behind clothes, money and cars - even though the iPod wasn't even an choice in the survey... it had to be written in! Ah.. kids today. Whatever happened to teen's mindshare being dominated by sex, drigs and rock & roll? I guess rock & roll still ranks.
Read MoreIn a welcome departure of form factor from the tablet-style design of most personal video players, Toshiba has introduced a new player in Japan called the MTV-S10 that sports a built-in digital TV receiver. It's not your standard TV, though - you can actually pick up satellite transmissions with this bad boy. We'd gush about being able to carry around DirecTV in your pocket (well, maybe your bag), but satellite TV is a different beast in Japan so we'll just perish that thought right now. Anyway, you can use it to record both TV and audio, saving everything to SD flash memory cards (you can squeeze about two hours and twenty minutes onto a 512MB card) and there is support for playback of standard MPEG-4. We're also pretty sure that in this case "MTV" stands for "Mobile Television", not "Music Television", but we can see the product marketing now... (Fade to dream sequence... images of Carson Daly appears holding the MTV-S10... Dear Lord, make it stop!)
Read MoreWe're still waiting patiently, ever so patiently, for someone to release a Blu-ray disc recorder here in the States, but already Sony and Matushita (the heavyweight behind Panasonic and JVC) are taking things to the next level and are talking about releasing a Blu-ray disc camcorder next year. Besides costing many thousands of dollars (at least at first) and probably only coming out in Japan (also at least at first), the camcorders almost definitely wouldn't use full-sized Blu-ray discs (which can hold up to 50GB of data), but instead would use 8cm discs which can hold up to 15GB and are the same size as those mini DVD-Rs used in DVD camcorders today.
Read MoreIt's hard to tell how small it actually is from the pic (if it's too large—i.e. bigger than the iPod mini—we're out), but check out this new Joybee MP3 player from BenQ with a 4GB drive and a memory card reader for transferring files over from a CompactFlash or SD memory card.
Read MoreThe name may sound like something you'd use to help infants get around, but the Tokyo Institute of Technology's Roller Walker is a distinctly kiddy-unfriendly metallic hunk of speedskating meanness. It doesn't look much in the photo and we suspect it'll be fairly clunky when walking, but it redeems itself when it's slinking around in high-speed mode with the wheels on its feet flipped out (watch video). We're not sure what speed it maxes out at, but it does look like they're reining it in to avoid taking out bystanders. Anyway, bottom line is we want to see a bigger, meatier version of this chasing Will Smith around if they ever make I, Robot II.
Read MoreHave we ever mentioned that we're in love with the Cyber-shot DSC-T3, Sony's new 5.1 megapixel digital camera? Because we are, and it's not just because it's follows in the ultraskinny footsteps of the DSC-T1 and DSC-T11 and is Sony's slimmest full-featured digital camera yet. Actually, that's exactly why. Anyway, it's finally gone on sale. [Thanks, Josh]
Read MoreThe good news is that Apple (AAPL) shares hit a 4-year high of $40.64 today. Q4 2004 financials will be released and discussed on Wed, Oct. 14, after market close. As usual, the earnings conference call will will be streamed live via QuickTime. Way to go Apple! Let's hope they can continue to meet demand with ample supply and continue on this upward path. The bad news is that Apple is being sued by Honeywell for alleged infringement of a patent for technology that "increases the brightness of images and that reduces the appearance of certain interference effects on a liquid crystal display (LCD)." The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the district of Delaware, asks for monetary damages and an injunction to bar the sale of products that infringe its patent. The other good news is that at least Apple isn't the sole defendant. Casio, Dell, Kodak, Fuji, Nikon, Sony, and Toshiba, amongst 30+ others are named in the suit. I guess now would be a good time to buy that new Cinema Display you've been waiting for :)
Read MoreThe last time we bought a book light was for one of those crappy spend-five-bucks-White-Elephant parties and with an hour before party time we just grabbed whatever was left in clearance bin at Border's. Which is why we were filled with much stokedness to stumble across a book light that actually gives a little something back in the style and innovation department. LightWedge uses a sheet of acrylic with embedded LED's that users just place over the page to illuminate it. Since it lights up the entire page, there's no more awkward positioning of those clip-on book lights, we just hope the full page of shining LEDs doesn't give us some sort of cornea burnout. [Via Funfurde]
Read MoreI really need to stop second-guessing myself. Yesterday I was heading over to the Apple Store Special Deals page and I noticed a new badge above the link to it on the store homepage. The link said, simply, "Our Price Matching Policy." I did look twice and I was pretty sure Apple had never had a price matching policy, but on the other hand, I felt certain that if it was new, everyone would have been reporting it already since it's pretty big news. So I concluded, wrongly, that I've just been too darn busy to notice this new policy of Apple's that had been, so I thought, reported already by all the mainstream Apple news sites. Turns out I should have gone with my gut instinct, because Tuesday afternoon I noticed all those other sites reporting it. My scoop instinct is slipping. Oh, the shame. Anyway, this is major news. At a time when more and more Apple resellers are packing up their Powerbooks and going home, the last thing they need is to have Apple dig the stake in a little deeper. Before Apple starting popping up in malls across America, independent Apple Authorized Resellers were the heart of the Mac market. They, in my opinion, helped to make Apple what it is today. In return, Apple has made it increasingly more difficult for the independents to remain in business. Undercutting them on price in this manner is a real low blow. Especially considering that Apple resellers are bound by very strict guidelines regarding advertised prices and have been left with truly pathetic margins on Apple hardware for years now. If you happen to be an Apple reseller reading this, I'd be very curious to hear your take on it.
Read MoreApparently there will be some other uses for RFID besides tracking your every move: a new start-up called ThingMagic wants to embed RFID tags into everything imaginable, with every tag containing a little bit of information about the object it is attached to, with the idea that once that happens it'll be just a trifling matter to have your slavebot dash around the house fetching things for you or putting them back into their proper place (we always knew that technology would someday address our slovenliness). Still ten years out, which should give them plenty of time to figure out how putting self-identifying RFID tags on everything we own is going to prevent tech-savvy thieves from cruising around rich neighborhoods looking for the homes with the highest concentration of valuable treats waiting inside. Shoot, we'd cruise around with a high-powered RFID tag reader checking out what weird embarrassing stuff people have just for kicks.
Read MoreIf the twisted look of the face corset becomes the next teen trend, then we'll just have to join the ranks of the agoraphobics. As an art aesthetic we're obviously not big fans of the Marilyn Manson-style face corset, but since the the corset was originally created to aid with facial reconstruction due to accident, then we'll admit that the device is not the obvious fashion faux-pas-in-the-making it appears to be. Engineers at the Imperial College of London developed the aid and experts of "facial reconstruction history" (what the?) are creating a "Rearanging the Face" seminar this week. We just hope that JoJo and lil' Bow Wow don't start rocking these, or it's going to be a real long shut-in winter. [Via Near Near Future]
Read MoreYotel, a new London hotel concept, claim they're design is based on Japan's capsule hotels, but we suspect they've never actually stepped into the curtain-covered beehive holes that are the Tokyo capsule hotels. Don't get us wrong, Yotel is swanky and say our company (given we had a company with a budget for the £70 bill) was sending us to London, we'd vote for Yotel every time. It's got an iPod connector to blast our music surround sound-style, WiFi access, and the classic Japanese hotel control panel to dictate everything from air temp to tv remote to dimmer mood lighting. But unlike Japan's capsule pods which don't allow even the ability to turn around, let alone standup, Yotel's spacious 10x12 rooms look large enough to feel roomy. We're thinking that the usual Japanese capsule hotel clientele, trashed afterwork salarymen looking for a place to pass out, might steer clear of Yotel's chic suites and just opt for the dirty hostels down the street. [Via IDfuel]
Read MoreActing on a tip, MacMinute.com reports that Steve Jobs is giving away his old house! Apparently Steve wants to build a smaller house on the same lot, so he is offering to GIVE the existing house to anyone who agrees to move it. The house, located in Woodside, CA, has been given "historical" status so Jobs has had a difficult time reducing it to rubble. Jobs has called the house a dump. But it was good enough for Bill Clinton who stayed in the guest house when he would visit his daughter while she was attending Stanford. The Almanac reports that a local surgeon is one of the more promising prospects. there's a catch though... the surgeon claims that while he doesn't believe the house is really 17,000 square feet, as it has been advertised, that it's still too big based on current Woodside building regulations. He is scheduled to appear in court tomorrow to ask for a variance, but Jobs' lawyers are asking for a an extra week to do some more research. The last time I needed to have a car towed it cost me a mint. I can't even imagine how much it costs to tow away a whole house! I'll tell you what, Steve... if you pick up the gas tab, I'll haul it cross-country and take good care of all 14 bedrooms for you.
Read MoreThis fall we've seen a barrage of Vietnam titles hit the market. And the overwhelming verdict is, and we swore never to use this word, but... well, it's true, they all suck. With a combined review average of 59.6% (in a day and age where rating inflation is rampant) this bundle of Vietnam-genre shooters has got to rank as one of the worst of all time. Conflict: Vietnam feels frustratingly cramped as Pivotal Games took the open-air Desert Storm formula and crammed it into the jungle. As for Vietcong: Purple Haze? Yeah, 'nuff said. Finally, Eidos' offering, Shellshock: Nam '67 couples senseless, disturbing cutscenes with uninspired gameplay. A real pack of classics, right? Games based on Vietnam have the potential to explore true heroism amidst the horror and controversy of a war that endures as one of our greatest nightmares. Unfortunately, what has happened here is that the developers chose to throw together a disgraceful product and slap an eye-catching name on the box. Shame on you. Let's just hope that Men of Valor (see link at bottom) will do justice to this genre. Reviews: Conflict: Vietnam Vietcong: Purple Haze ShellShock: Nam '67
Read MoreAll this month, the Walk of Game website is accepting votes for "Game/Character" and "Lifetime Achievement". At the end of the month, the four top games and/or characters, plus two lifetime achievers, will be honored with a 24" x 24", brushed-steel star imbedded into the floor of the Metreon (that really big mall Sony built in downtown San Francisco). Quite an honor indeed. So go vote, it's your duty as a citizen. (Note: site was down when we tried to vote earlier... darn voting saboteurs...)
Read MoreLooks like BenQ is up to it again, this time adding three new Joybee offerings in pre-holiday blitz style. If you remember, the Joybee 102 (not to be confused with the disappointing 150) still holds the title as the world's smallest MP3 player, but we hope its new brethren won't disappoint: the Joybee 110 looks suspiciously like the GoVideo ARC, and comes in a pawltry 128MB size; the 256MB Joybee 125 features a USB port like a retractable knife that pulls in and out with a switch; finally, the Joybee 180 is also 256MB, but is apparently marketed towards the ladies in the audience. No other word yet on specs, prices, or release dates, but we'll give you an estimate: pretty decent, reasonable, and soon. You go BenQ. [Via Akihabara News]
Read MoreEver wonder if you're in red or blue territory? Wanna know who around you has been dumping money on the presidential candidates? Now you can find out, and in real-time as you move around, too. A new Java app from Gravity Monkey called red | blue ("Red or Blue") for cellphones and other Java wireless devices plots out the political landscape based on your location. The application gets your current location and maps it against the nearest individual campaign donor data taken from the Federal Elections Commission. If you are using a GPS-enabled device, it will even track your movement through the political waters, allowing you to avoid those boring stiffs or crazy pinko liberals like so many icebergs. Available for free from Handango. Bon voyage!
Read MoreNeither is quite as exciting as the iAudio M5, but we should also mention that Cowon also has a couple of other new MP3 players on the way, the iAudio 5 and the iAudio G3. Both are flash-based players and will probably come in the usual array of storage capacities (i.e. from 128MB up to 512MB or 1GB or something like that), and are supposed to be similar to the iAudio U2, with the iAudio 5 running off of a single AAA battery and the iAudio G3 running off a AA battery and getting up to 50 hours of playing time. Both should be out by November.
Read MoreWe hate it when digital video signals have to get converted into analog and then back to digital simply for our viewing pleasure, and fortunately Pioneer hears our pain. They've developed a little something called Pure Vision for their next-generation plasma displays which makes the digital signals stay digital throughout, reducing fuzzy edges, artifacts, and image jitter. Too bad we'll have to pay for the privilege, as the 43-incher will be over 10 large, while the 50-inch model will set you back $14,500.
Read MoreIn case your fibrillator need defibrillating, Philips is poised to bring this automatic defibrillator to market once the FDA approves direct-to-consumer sales of the devices. You've seen these on ER and other medical shows, or perhaps you've seen them in person: automatic defibrillators help bring abnormal heart rhythms back to normal and can save people about to go into cardiac arrest. In fact, they work only for a cardiac arrest, when the heart's regular beat is too fast or too slow, causing it to stop pumping blood and leading to immediate loss of consciousness. The Philips unit provides step-by-step voice prompts on how to apply on how to apply the paddles - the machine then automatically analyzes the heart rhythm and shocks it back to normal, if necessary. There's a drinking game in here somewhere, we're sure. Did we just say that?
Read MoreWe've just noticed that Halloween is right around the corner, which means we'll probably have to give out candy this year since none of the kids that popped by last year seemed to appreciate the USB flash drives we were handing out (one kid even threw it back at us when he saw that it only had 16 megs on it). Or we might pretend we're not home and dress up all of our gadgets in little costumes like these ones and have our own little party.
Read MoreMmmm. More Best Buy for us. Finally, we can all own products with Best Buy's own brand slapped right on the front. Their new in-house Insignia brand will include TVs, appliances, and computers—in other words, Best Buy is cutting out the middleman and is having random companies in South Korea and Taiwan make cheap PCs and TVs for them. As you wander the aisles looking for a new laptop, some pimply boy in blue will approach you, with something along the lines of, "So, you're looking at the new Vaios, huh? Pretty nice, right? Check out this even newer Insignia - you can only get it at Best buy, too." Oh joy of joys. Which reminds us that Best Buy tried this once before with their vpr Matrix line of PCs, and in fact the new Insignia PCs will still include the vpr Matrix logo, but real small and in the corner just in case those of you who became fans of that brand lose any faith in the new line of products. For those of you ready to get up and buy, the new Insignia line includes two Intel Pentium 4 processor desktop PC models, priced at $559 and $659 before rebates (that you may or may not ever get), respectively, and a $109 17-inch CRT monitor to go with them. It also includes a 23-inch LCD television for $1,499, and two portable DVD players, which offer 7-inch or 10-inch screens and sell for $229 and $449, respectively. Go get 'em!
Read MoreNas will probably want to stick to his iPod, but Roc-A-Fella and Rocawear mogul Damon Dash is encroaching into Steve Jobs' turf with the Rocbox, Roc Digital's new line of MP3 players that launches in November. The first two models are a chrome-colored 20GB model that'll sell for $299 and a smaller white and aluminum flash-based player that'll cost $159. [Thanks, Manhattanite]
Read MoreSteve Ballmer spoke to a group of London journalists this weekend and essentially told them that iPod users are thieves. "We've had DRM in Windows for years. The most common format of music on an iPod is 'stolen'." The only thing we're stealing, Steve, is your market share. Ballmer also said, in reference to the race to win the market for a new digital hub device, "There is no way that you can get there with Apple. The critical mass has to come from the PC, or a next-generation video device." He's kidding, right?
Read MoreThis thing appears to do just about everything. With a 20GB or 60GB drive, it also has slots for virtually every other storage format, including CF I & II, SM, MD, MS/MS PRO/MS DUO, SD, MMC, and the ever elusive D Card. For audio you get MP3, WMA, AAC, ID3 Tag, and WAV support, and you can watch AVI, MPEG-1, and MPEG-4 video files on its 558 x 234pixel 2-inch LCD screen. For playback in group situations the VSV-18A also comes with RCA video ouputs for connecting to standard televisions, and also has photoviewer software built-in. Oh, and the picture of the baby isn't ours, we swear. Not quite sure about the price, but we're pretty sure that given its wealth of features personal video player will definitely set you back.
Read MoreAlthough not nearly as entertaining - or enlightening - without the visuals, you can listen to last week's Presidential Debate (and the 3 remaining debates) courtesy of Audible and the iTunes Music Store. The download is free. The content is invaluable. The choice is yours. All debates are scheduled to begin at 9:00 p.m. E.T. Vice presidential debate: Tuesday, October 5 Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH Second presidential debate: Friday, October 8 Washington University St. Louis, MO Third presidential debate: Wednesday, October 13 Arizona State University Tempe, AZ
Read MoreWe sorta think that at this point its unrealistic to have a laptop without WiFi and expect to be able to get online while traveling, but just to be on the safe side TeleAdapt has come out with the DeskBridge, which basically a WiFi-to-Ethernet adapter. It's designed for use by the hotel industry and even has a retractable Ethernet cable built right in. Not a completely terrible idea, but at this point it might just be cheaper to have a handful of WiFi PC cards and USB adapters to lend out at the front desk in case anyone needs one. [Via TRFJ]
Read MoreWhy are these things always only shown to industry "experts" and "engineers," while the rest of us sit in the dark only to see nothing but vapor? Oh yeah, we know why: because usually these technologies are vaporware. The people at 3D Solar, Inc. swear that they will be showing off the technology this month in both France and Santa Clara, CA. The produced images are described as "holographic-like," based on 2D images, and users can interact with the images just like they would a 3D object. While details are slim on the technology, the company says they think they will be able to mass produce the devices for around $1,500 once the market has been established, and the device will work with both Macs and PCs. We'll wait and see.
Read MoreEach week Tom Whitwell of Music Thing highlights the best of the new pro music gear that's coming out these days. Last week it was Live6's new PODxt Live, this week it's Vestax's new Güber Cube-T CM-01 turntable: Warning: At the end of this article, you're going to be really, really annoyed. So, you know the guy. He was a bedroom DJ in the 90s, running a little club night. Now he's making £££ working in marketing or sponsorship or whatever. He lives in a nice flat with his girlfriend, so he's not allowed to have pair of Technics and a mixer in the living room. But he's still got 1,000 records in the spare bedroom. That's right, I'm talking about you.
Read MoreToday's NY Times Op-Art piece made me giggle. But it also reminded me of an error message a friend of mine sent me a screenshot of last week. This is an actual error message received in Eudora. Discuss amongst yourselves.
Read MoreIn France, it's illegal to play your iPod loud enough to blow out your own eardrums. But goPod wants you to live dangerously. "goPod is a command line program that allows you to remove the EU Volume limitation on EU iPod's." If you skip the English readme file, you'll miss out on gems like these: Q : I'd love to contact you. A : Just draw an X on your window, using adhesive tape. We'll visite you soon. Q : Your translation is very approximative. You suck. A : C'mon man don't forget I'm just a frog eater.
Read MoreEarlier this week we attached a camera to our dog to see the world as he sees it, but as always it seems, there's someone from about 100 years ago who had the same idea and patented it. In 1903, Dr. Julius Neubronner patented a miniature pigeon camera activated by a timing mechanism. Darn it, there goes our How-To for next week, sorry folks. We do wonder what the good Doctor would do with today's digital cameras, though that's a pretty nice pigeon hack for the 1900s!
Read MoreWith their introduction of the new iMac G5 Troubleshooting Assistant, Apple is making a surprising push in the direction of empowering Mac users to diagnose and solve their own problems. While I think it's an excellent idea overall, I will admit to being a tad skeptical about how successful this is going to be. For more savvy users, it's a blessing. But for the average home user, it might just lead to more frustration. Time will tell I suppose. I fed the Troubleshooting Assistant some common problems and it did a pretty good job of getting to the bottom of things. You may be interested to know that there are only about 10 service parts that make up the iMac G5. And a lot fewer screws than it's close cousin, the Dual USB iBook :) It wasn't long ago that Apple wouldn't even send rubber foot service parts to Powerbook users directly. Now they make ordering up a midplane assembly as easy as ordering a slice a pizza!
Read MoreIf flossing a converted Boeing 727 limo around on American freeways was in any way legal, we would be the first to take the plunge—well, if we had the $1,500 for the 3-hour trip, that is. We aren't transportation experts or anything, we just have this feeling that the Highway Patrol isn't going to cut the 60-foot long, 13-foot high monstrosity too much slack, especially when there's 50 people crowded around the limo's bar and spilling onto the dancefloor.
Read MoreWatch out Sony. Look out Nintendo. That's right, 'GODMODE' is coming. We're talking hot glue, 2 inches, and 292K pixel resolution. What?! See for yourself...
Read MoreWhen I'm not sitting in front of one of my many Macs, I'm usually ensconced on the couch, feeding my Law & Order addiction, compliments of TiVo, or watching last month's hit movies, compliments of Netflix. TiVo and Apple have been chummy for a while now. TiVo offers a chance to earn special edition iPods as part of their TiVo Rewards program and you can purchase a TiVo in select Apple retail stores. TiVo's Home Media Option even allows you to integrate your iLife with your TV. Now Netflix is joining the fold, creating a holy digital Trinity of my favorite things. Although the details are still vague, a deal has finally been signed that will enable TiVo to offer Netflix-on-demand over a broadband Internet connection. c|net news has a few more details today. This is an instant gratification lovers dream. Netflix is already pretty speedy for me, since they have a depot only a few miles away, but I still want it faster. I want everything faster and I am just lazy enough that I don't even want to have to go to the mailbox in my lobby to get it. Perhaps an iMovie upgrade from Apple isn't too far off... imagine an iMovie Video store similar to the iTunes Music store!
Read MoreWhat! Don't look at us like that, it's totally true. You don't see many portable audio players with only an in-line remote display, let alone devices that look so very suspiciously like our favorite 20GB Korean audio player, the iAudio M3. But hey, we're not pointing any fingers. If you're still interested, the JXD 889 comes in 1.5 and 2GB sizes, and plays Ogg, MP3, WMA, WAV, and ASF, has line-in encoding, voice recording, an FM-tuner, and, of course, USB 2.0. Not that you should be. [Via DAPreview]
Read MoreNo, not the vicious killer whale from that 70s movie. Going overboard? No problem. See, you're sporting the Orca (Overboard Recovery Communications Apparatus), a new device worn by deck personnel in the military that alerts the ship if, and when, you take a little involuntary swim. The ORCA provides a unique ID for each individual, and it triggers pre-set messages to the bridge at the time of the big dive. It is also capable of triggering several beacons at once (in case a few deck hands go down for whatever reason) and pinpoints each one using GPS. It lets nearby helicopters know what your name is, and to what ship you belong. And for those thinking more hellacious scenarious, the device even forces the host ship to redirect itself, helping to avoid any close encounters with the ship's propellers. Now, if we could just get these things for kindergarten kids, we should be all set.
Read MoreCheck in. Go to your hotel room. Get online. Or, more likely, try to get online. Call the front desk. "No WiFi access, sir. We can get you a phone cable so you can plug into your data port." Great. While it's still rare to find a hotel that offers high-speed access, it's even more rare to find one that offers WiFi access. Enter Starwood Hotels. The mavens that they are, Starwood have started offering not only WiFi access in rooms, but also local hotel-based blogs for guests. Now you can get online on your cushy hotel bed and find out who serves the best oysters within a mile radius. Or pizza shooters, if you're somewhere less civilized (not that there's anything wrong with pizza shooters). The point is that the blog is created by hotel guests like yourself from the past and present, and nothing beats the experience of real people. Future services are planned like streaming music and other online entertainment.
Read MoreNintendo is now featuring a DS ad with the likes of Steve-O and Chris from the Wildboyz. Apparently, the scene where Steve-O is touched by a lioness was a complete accident caught on camera. Luckily, it makes for a great commercial that the kids are sure to love. Be sure to thank your cameraman, Nintendo!
Read MoreNintendo has now apologized after claiming that SuicideGirls.com was infringing on their rights because a user's profile included references to Metroid and Zelda. They go on to offer the site creator and offending user a game system and game of their choice. Follow the link for the full text of their response. [via Boing Boing]
Read MoreIf you're an old fogey who won't touch anything over 8-bits and wonder why all these young punks love Grand Theft Auto, you're in luck. Grand Theftendo is the love baby of Brian Provinciano. We'll let him explain it. "Grand Theftendo is a port of Grand Theft Auto III for the original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It is Grand Theft Auto III running on an 8 bit, 256x240 resolution, 2 bit colour x 2 bit palette, 1.79 Mhz system, written entirely in 6502 Assembly Language! It includes the entire Portland city!" Very nice. We're hitting bittorent to try and find a beta, if it exists. Let us know if you track it down!
Read MoreIf you've always yearned to see Jason Bateman and Alyssa Milano play Mario on Nintendo during an Ice Capades show in 1986, then your dream has come true. You must be prepared to see a lot of fruity hair-dos, sweaters that defy logic (and fashion sense) and some seriously bad background talent. The two teen stars fiddle with their joysticks and Milano gets an education. Bateman is the only man who could offer her that, of course. Scroll down to Oct. 27th posts and click on "Video: Super Mario Ice Capades from 1989" If you dare...
Read MoreOn December 2, Nintendo will launch the DS in Japan. On December 2, Nintendo will launch the DS in Japan with only 300,000 units! While Nintendo does plan to ship out 1 million units by the end of the year (in weekly installments), this initial number is really low. For example, the GBA launched with 1 million units in Japan, and it still didn't meet demand. Yes, we're talking riots, people. No estimate yet on the US release numbers, although it's been confirmed that, as in Japan, 1 million units will hit the market by year's end—4 million worldwide.
Read MoreApparently, the bigwigs over at Nintendo have decided it's Princess Peach's time. Yes, every Nintendo-raised boy's (and perhaps girl's) first crush is finally earning the starring role she has fought so long and hard for. Super Princess Peach will be a 2D side-scrolling (hey, it's were they all got their starts...) action title, featuring an umbrella weapon. Joy. No word yet on a release date, but it's headed to the DS.
Read MoreVideos surfaced recently showing Nintendo's DS portable gaming unit in action. The videos highlight the system's stylus input interface, showing everything from virtual operations to puppies interacting with the pointer. While some games are gimmicky (rub the girl, rub the girl!), others show that using the stylus might actually be an interesting way to play. Now we just need to figure out how to play these games in public without looking like complete tools. [Thanks, Chris]
Read MoreOn your way to the store today, you might want to swing through the Gameboy section and pick up some of the latest crop of Classic NES releases. Today's release includes Metroid, Castlevania, Dr. Mario, and Zelda II. This should give us something to do as we wait in line for midnight releases in the coming weeks.
Read MoreNintendo scooped up more than two dozen websites in order to promote their upcoming sequel, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. The sites are actually just mirrors of each other, featuring a giant Samus face and the statement: "ALL YOUR BEES ARE BELONG TO US. NEVER SEND A MAN TO DO A WOMAN'S JOB." Yes, the bees are back in town, as Nintendo has now opted to plaster this image on just about every website that starts 'ilove' and ends in a word that rhymes with 'bees'. How clever. If you're interested in the complete list continue reading. And for an extra bit of fun try compiling your own list first, then compare it to the one Nintendo came up with. Betcha can't get 'em all...
Read MoreGuidance Interactive have created GlucoBoy, an attachment for the Nintendo GameBoy that monitors blood sugar levels. Creator Paul Wessel noticed that his son, who was diagnosed with diabetes at age 3, carried his GameBoy everywhere. Wessel figured, hey - why not just turn the thing into a blood sugar monitor? He is also developing games that work with the GlucoBoy beyond the standard testing. Finally, GameBoys that are not only sticky with candy and soda, but bloody with glucose tests! Yummy.
Read MoreEven though it's not out there for another month, pre-orders for the Nintendo DS are so robust that it's already the third best selling game console in Japan, not only edging out the poorly-received Xbox but even the newly redesigned PlayStation 2 which just came out. Not that we're all that surprised...
Read MoreA new set of ads targeted at young males began airing yesterday with the slogan 'Touching is Good'. In their attempt to sex up their image, Nintendo somehow forgot to add the sex. The ads feature some static, two blue squares, and a woman's voice ecouraging you to touch the squares. This is apparently sexy for people with blue square fetish (it's a real fetish, I promise) and is going to make the rest of us buy the DS.
Read MoreThe week of October 11th has brought great news for Nintendo. Their DS handheld console has taken the third spot in Japan's Top 10 Consoles list, beat only by the orginal Playstation 2 and Nintendo's own Game Boy Advance SP. Not too shabby considering the thing isn't due out for another month in Japan. Notably, it beat the Playstation 2 redesign and, of course, Microsoft's Xbox (which sold a whopping 173 units).
Read MoreThe iQue Player is a small peripheral that's essentially a mini Nintendo 64. The device looks like a gamepad and runs games with flash memory. There are small shops in China that allow you to quickly download titles for about 8 bucks. Now the iQue will have an online component, allowing users to download and play games online. Available titles include: 1. Dr. Mario 2. Super Mario 64 3. Star Fox 64 4. Wave Race 5. Mario Kart 64 6. F-Zero X 7. The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time 8. Yoshi's Story 9. Paper Mario 10. Sin and Punishment
Read MoreOrbis Labs, which manufactures a handsome product called the 'Battle Sphere' and Channel 51, a UFO speculation site are the latest attempts at underground marketing from Nintendo. Both sites appear to have placeholders for future content are being used to promote Metroid Prime 2:Echoes which is due on November 15. We weren't impressed with the fuzzed screenshots on Channel 51, but we have gone ahead and placed an order for the Orbis Sphere since we can always use more vehicles equipped with thermal cannons.
Read MoreSome fads never seem to die. And while the Pokemon craze has likely seen its heyday come and go, it's certainly settled into a dominant role in the videogame industry, especially when it comes to portable gaming. Now the franchise is set to crossover to the Nintendo DS with two new titles. "We've started developing the NDS Pokemon Diamond & Pearl as the true successors to [Pokemon] games. They will be the definitive entries in the series," Tsunekazu Ishihara, president of Creatures Inc, told Famitsu magazine. Not to mention Pokemon Dash, which will have a dual cartridge feature, allowing one to insert a GBA Pokemon game into the DS while playing Dash for a special bonus race course in the shape of a Pokemon. Oh my! Seriously though, and maybe we're offending some of you, but does this really turn anybody on?
Read MoreAn interesting tidbit has popped up on Gamecube Europe. Apparently, the Nintendo DS is going to be region-free. This will ensure that everyone will be able to play any DS game, no matter where it was developed. We're not sure why Nintendo decided that the DS was the right product to introduce this feature, but you won't hear us complaining.
Read MoreNamco are making 30-somethings rejoince as they offer a new arcade cabinet featuring three of the biggest Nintendo classics ever: Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., and Mario Bros. The new cabinets will host a big 25-inch screen so you can bask in the detailed 80s graphics like never before. All cabinet artwork includes the original goofy graphic design work as well as original-style controls for that pizza-and-cigarette atmosphere. This is vintage stuff, people. A fine wine, if you will. Enjoy with a spritz of Aqua Net. [Via Slashdot]
Read MoreDid Spong grab the first shots of the mysterious Nintendo DS thumb pad controller? Only time will tell. Apparently, the image was snagged after a presentation of Super Mario 64 DS in Seattle last week. And even if this screen doesn't quite convey it, this is no simple wrist strap. The little nodule is tightened around the thumb and used for analogue control on the lower screen. Make sense? You'll figure it out when you dig one of these out of the box come November.
Read MoreCan you believe that the Nintendo DS is just over five weeks away from hitting stores? At least it'll be hitting stores in theory. Nintendo admitted last week that there will probably be a massive shortage of the dual-screen portable game console, something which will likely spark a nasty round of eBay price gouging and a massive number of Jingle All the Way-style tussles between manic parents trying to frantically to find one for their bratty kids. We know it's going to be rough waiting, but in the meantime check out this gallery of high-res images.
Read MoreMario returns to his 2D comfort zone in Paper Mario 2: The Thousand-Year Door. It's been more than three years since we last visited the paper realm, and while PM2 certainly doesn't break the mold, it offers the level of fine-tuning and polish that we've come to expect from Nintendo's sacred franchises. As with many of Nintendo's titles, PM2 is unique in that it appeals to both kids and adults, offering a good 30 hours of classic (and nostalgic) Mario RPG goodness. The battle system is exceptional, and the new "audience" feature is a nice touch and guaranteed to provide more than a few laughs. Still, the developers could have done more to bring out the paper-theme in the visuals. And c'mon, where is the voice acting?! If you can manage through the slow start (a ton of text reading), you'll find Paper Mario 2 to be a refreshing addition to this fall's gritty lineup.
Read MoreTo get a quick glimpse of the first print advertisement of the Nintendo DS, click away. The Circuit City ad is nothing too spectacular, but it certainly gives you the impression that you must have one. And you must have one now. "Touch it. See it. Feel it." Nice motto. Sounds like the dialogue from Debbie Does Tokyo. Our guess is that the ad is for a mature audience.
Read MoreThe doubts we had about the Nintendo DS are offically gone. Perhaps it's good marketing, perhaps it's accepting the inevitable. But the bottom line is that the launch/early titles look astounding. Check out the list over at Spong to get an idea of why we're so excited. Wario, Mario, Advance Wars, you name it, it's there. Oh yeah, Metroid, too.
Read MoreA Nintendo Sales and Marketing VP let slip that Nintendo's next-generation console, currently code-named Revolution, will be released just before Sony's PlayStation 3, which we're guessing means sometime in 2006. Also probably means that those specs for a next-generation "GameCube Next" that turned up back in May were probably all fakery, but we sorta already knew that. Now it's time just sit back and wait for the emails from Nigerian scammers asking us to sell them a thousand Revolutions to roll in.
Read MoreNintendo said yesterday that they expect to have just one million DS units available in the US before Christmas. Given the hype and timing for the new dual-screen handheld, we fully expect to see some big-time shortages, mom-on-mom catfights, and millions of disappointed kids come December 25th. Saying that a shortage can be a good thing, senior vice president of Nintendo George Harrison thinks that the "Cabbage Patch Doll syndrome" laced with "consumer interest and fury" is good for business. We'll be revisiting this in the coming weeks just to see how much the things are going for on eBay as the buy-my-kid-whatever-the-heck-he-wants season approaches.
Read MoreNintendo today held a touch-and-feel event for its forthcoming DS handheld in Tokyo. One of the interesting tidbits revealed by president Satoru Iwata is that not only will it be possible for multiple users to play together wirelessly, you'll also only need one copy of the game—whichever machine has it installed will act as a server and beam it to the other players. Also, in addition to distributing extra content wirelessly at cinemas showing the next Pokemon movie, they're planning to have game retailers beam out demos from their stores in the same way. They were also showing off several playable games (which should cost the equivalent of $35-$45 in Japan), leaving an impression of confidence that's in contrast to the uncertainty surrounding Sony's PSP.
Read MoreAn interactive gimmick that's definitely designed to get asses in seats, Nintendo says that you'll be able to wirelessly download extra characters and data if you bring your new Nintendo DS portable game console along with a Gameboy Advance Pokemon title with you to the theater showing the new Pokemon movie that opens next summer (and by "you" we mean all of our gradeschool readers out there—we hope). Sounds like someone will be setting up a lot of wireless hubs, but the one thing we don't know quite yet is whether they'll be doing this in theaters anywhere besides Japan. [Via GameInformer]
Read MoreNintendo has announced which games will accompany the DS for its North American launch. The first wave is short, but sweet. You'll have your choice between Super Mario 64 DS, Spider-Man 2, Madden 2005, the Urbz, and Mr. Driller. Also due out by the end of November are: Asphalt Urban GT, Feel the Magic: XY/XX, Metroid Prime: Hunters, Ping Pals, PictoChat (built-in), Rayman DS, Ridge Racer DS, & Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005.
Read More"Let me tell you something," warned Nintendo's head of sales & marketing for the US, "Those little women at the Tokyo Game Show with those portable consoles strapped to them... What you didn't see is that those women were having to go recharge the batteries every two hours!" That was Reggie Fils-Amie this morning, attacking Sony from Seattle, and marking the first instance in which Nintendo, or any other company, has publicly called-out the PSP's questionable battery-life. Fils-Amie went on to state, "We have gone on the record to state that the Nintendo DS will have battery life comparable to the Game Boy Advance SP. Nowhere will you find any mention of the other machines power life. And you have to wonder why..." Dem dere's fightin wurdz...
Read MoreRecently, GameStop sparked a bit of controversy when they displayed box art for the upcoming DS remake of Super Mario 64-the design has since been removed from the retailer's website. Initially, the appearance of the graphic ignited speculation that the Mario game would launch with the DS on November 21. Even though the box art has now be removed, it's still more than likely that the Mario title will launch with the handheld, and how could it not? A Nintendo release without their flagship mascot has bad omen written all over it. The classic remake now features four playable characters (Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, & Wario) and promises a 4-player wireless mode. Itsame, MARIO!
Read MoreThe Nintendo DS news is coming fast and furious, which means dinner must wait. This press release gives us details on the RF device that will sweep school rooms around the world. The wireless device will attach to your DS, allowing kids of all ages to beam text and drawings to any other DS. Perfect for sharing opinions on Jenny's new outfit. Though the link is just a press release, it's a blast to read for no other reason than this...Nintendo DS is coming. And we're much more excited about it than we thought we'd be.
Read MoreYou may not call it a deluge of titles, but it will do. Word is out that the Nintendo DS will launch with four titles. This means that, when all is said and done, a lot of parents will be giving Nintendo around 300 dollars of their cash for a total package this holiday season. There's no confirmation of which games will be in the line-up, but, apparently, Metroid is not one of them. Oh well. You won't have to wait long for the details, though. You should know all by this time tomorrow.
Read MoreArtist Paul Catanese has combined two of your favorite things: high art and the Game Boy Advance. Yes, the marriage is complete, and you can now explore the interior life-phases of concretions (bezoar stone), understood as forming within a living body, and the less-known exterior lives of the stone - all on your GBA! Other titles (Are these titles? Are we completely missing the ironic juxtaposition of art and Nintendo?) include "Recollections of a Somnambulist" and "Medicinal Craft of Cephalopods", pictured at right. We wish we had thought of this first. We also wish we were still doing art in college whilst smoking something illegal.
Read MoreResponding to complaints stemming from the E3 demo, Nintendo has decided to make some changes to the Metroid Prime: Hunters interface. Call it a facelift, as the main action will now be featured on the top screen, swapping spots with the map/options. However, the original control scheme is still in tact, meaning a combination of the D-pad and stylus pen will be used, only now, the player's hand will not block the action. Nintendo is expected to reveal the new version of Hunters within the next 10 days. (Original version pictured right)
Read MoreNamco has cooked up something surprisingly original for Pac-Man's DS debut. Granted, there aren't a whole lot of options for a giant yellow circle with a mouth—unless you make the mistake of letting it sprout arms and legs—but this latest installment charters new territory by taking advantage of the DS's unique stylus feature. That's right, players will actually draw Pac-Man with the stylus, aiming the image at any number of ghosts that appear and travel at random across the screen. Once the image is drawn (correctly!) it will spring to life and start chomping in the direction its mouth faces, and in order to get Pac-Man to change directions, players must draw lines (or walls) to keep him in play—if a ghost passes through a wall, the line is ruined. The object of the game is to gobble as many ghosts as possible before the time runs out, or the ink does. No seriously, players will have a fixed amount of virtual ink to use for Pac-Men and wall drawing. We're not sure that this title will be "extremely addictive", but it has certainly caught our eye.
Read MoreNintendo of America announced that sales for its latest GBA Pokemon titles, Fire Red & Leaf Green, have broken the one million mark in just three short weeks. On top of that, Game Boy Advance SP sales have increased by 70% since the $20 price drop. Ironically, the new Pokemon games are remakes of the original Game Boy Color's Red & Green titles. Then again, much of the GBA's recent success can be attributed to the remake genre. And so, as Nintendo's VP for marketing said, "The key to success in our industry is no secret." You got that right, George.
Read MoreIt's that time of the month again. A new Warcraft III map has been posted on Blizzard's website. This one is a Halloween theme, of course. You can always depend on Blizzard to throw out a little gem before a holiday. The title is "Extreme Candy War 2004" and it's designed for 4v4 or 5v5. Have a great Halloween!
Read MoreI'm reading The Stand by Stephen King, and these screenshots remind me of the desolate, post-apocalyptic world he paints. The abandoned buildings, the vast landscapes, filled with nothing. Creepy stuff. It just looks like the kind of world you'd want to be armed in. Luckily, STALKER will arm you to the teeth, as a couple of pics show. Better to take on the zombies with. These are good shots - definitely wallpaper-worthy.
Read MoreWhen we saw these screenshots we just had to everyone go check them out. Click through and take a look at what could be the best looking MMO. These were taken in game from the preview we mentioned ealier. [thanks Kamalot]
Read MoreIf you aren't stuck at work like us, then head on over and grab your copy of the Guild Wars client. We love demos, especially open previews for MMOs. So far this latest offering from NCSoft is looking great, but everyone can decide for themselves this weekend as the preview will last until the end of October.
Read MoreSad news went out to beta testers last night, the WoW closed beta is ending today at 3pm PDT. The rest of the world can rejoice in their pain as it means that Blizzard is one step closer to finishing their drug for us. After taking down the servers, they will prepare them for a massive stress test and then the players will be allowed back in. All this means that the open beta is just around the corner.
Read MoreIf you want to watch the slow and fascinating birth of a mega-mod gaming PC, we have the site to visit. "The Ultimate Computer Case Mod Website" has a thirteen page "write-up" on a sick DOOM 3 fan project. Final pics of the project don't seem to be available yet. But we can see that the guy knows what he's doing. The base case is an Antec, but it looks like there won't be much showing of the thing by the time this puppy's wrapped up. Warning, typos galore and more pics than deep insight. But the "To Be Continued" at the end may be the only narrative you need.
Read MorenVidia is sponsoring the latest CoH contest aimed at fans who are into cosplay. NCsoft is asking players to send in a picture of themselves dressed as an original Paragon City character in public. Yep, none of this behind-closed-doors, I'm-ashamed-of-myself business. Winners will be selected in six categories, including best overall, best male, best female, best gargantuan, most humorous, and most daring. And you've got to be at least 13 years of age, which seems a bit young given the pictures on display here; which we might add, are certainly a rarity in the real world City of Heroes. Happy Halloween!
Read MoreThe day has finally come where Star Wars Galaxies players finally get starships. The resulting combination of space combat and RPG is something we've desired for years. We would have posted this up earlier but we were busy trying to figure out if it our X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter skills were transferable. They aren't, or at least not for us. Hit up the main site to see if the available ships will satisfy your fantasies.
Read MoreTo help combat rampant piracy, Valve has implemented an online registration key, similar to the one Microsoft uses for XP. In order to activate Half-Life 2, players must register their copy online before they can play. The news must certainly burn those handful of gamers out there who have capable PCs, but no connection to the internet. Oh well, we suppose they won't hear the news until it's too late anyway. Look for Half-Life 2 sometime next month.
Read MoreEverquest 2 is almost upon us. The release date of November 8th has been verified and the hordes of fans are getting their pocketbooks ready. There are estimates that the title cost in excess of 50 million bucks so the thing better be good. From the press release we get a little gem from the daddy of SOE: "After more than four years in development, the wait for EverQuest II is almost over," said John Smedley, president, Sony Online Entertainment. "We've invested heavily on development of the game to ensure that EverQuest II has the highest production values of any online game produced to date. We want to deliver a game to our players that will provide an experience like nothing they've ever seen."
Read MoreA gamer armed with a video camera managed to record some great demo footage from LanVegas. The demo clearly shows that we are getting more of the goodness that was in Battlefield:1942 plus a lot of what the community added afterwards. Some of these include an integrated player stats system which users of the now defunct bfstats.org will find familiar as well as the ability to record game files efficiently for sharing online. Both of these are of vital importance to those of us that derive our sense of self worth from showing everyone exactly how many knife kills we can get. For some reason the first thing that comes to mind is making a highlight reel set to the tune "Take my breathe away".
Read MoreThe Detroit Free Press is reporting that World of Warcraft could hit stores on November 22. This would bring it out just two to three weeks after Everquest 2 and Jump to Lightspeed. What's a MMO player to do? Well, we think the only option is to not sleep anymore. Don't forget there is still the WoW open public beta coming up soon, so you can see if their quest driven MMO is the right drug for your needs. [Via Bluesnews]
Read MoreThe Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Light Speed diary is probably one of the best-written diaries out there right now. The quips are tittliating, the insights are deep and the self-deprication is refreshing. There isn't enough self-deprication in the games industry these days <snark>. This installment of the series tempts us with the closeness of it all. The expansion pack seems inevitable, as proven by juicy passages like: "The plan is for us to lock down all coding by noon today. We get a build up onto SpaceDev by early afternoon. QA bangs on it all afternoon (and all night) and if it passes we will move it out to SpaceBeta (and both Test Centers) Sunday morning. Hopefully this is the final candidate for what goes Live next week. All bugs that are found will be individually analyzed, to see if it is something that we have to fix before launch or if it is something that we could hotfix in after things go Live. Any and all changes at this time add a layer of risk to the current build, sometimes causing complete regressions of the entire game."
Read MoreIt's the gift that keeps on giving. The next Civilization game is now official. The new screenies already prove that it will be a generational leap in the eye candy department. Spong says the game may be developed for consoles, as well as the PC. This is a good idea for a number of reasons. One, bigger audience. Duh. Two, there's nothing else even close to it in the console area. Three, a lot of the original fans who aren't playing games anymore may see it's available on their kid's Xbox and jump back in. Any chance to bond with the kid is a good idea, right?
Read MoreJust a quickie here. Since we linked to the Sacred Plus update recently, we feel obliged to inform you of a patch. That didn't take long. The 11 MB patch is a required download if you want to play the title online.
Read MoreHere's an amusing preview of Sid Meier's Pirates! The piece is a fast and easy read that sums up the upcoming title, nice and tight-like. It makes me want to play the game, actually. Apparently, Meier initially thought that the game would be able to use his old combat engine. But on closer inspection of today's market the team at Firaxis opted for an all-new system, designed by the master himself. The overall gameplay sounds like it's going to be like a slower-paced Wario-Ware, with a slew of microgames to keep you tittilated between battles.
Read MoreIf you live in the Mac world you have damn good computers that are good looking. But every silver cloud has a dark lining, and gaming is it. Though the platform is much more robust than it was a few years ago, it still suffers second-itis. Our criteria for such a brazen comment? Well, you can't assume the game you want to play will be available. But when titles like The Sims 2 show up, there's cause to celebrate. Word is out that the title will be available from the Mac-porter Aspyr. There's no date set yet, but we're hoping they find it in their schedules to release it before the holidays. It would make our shopping for those Mac friends a hell of a lot easier. They're so damn picky.
Read MoreThe latest version of America's Army: Operations is available for download from 3D Gamers, the site we love even though it has an awful name. The 734 MB file brings the tactical shooter to version 2.2.0 and includes two new multiplayer maps for Special Forces, named Oasis and Taiga. The update also patches the server and admin elements of the title. Good, free gaming to be had for all, so get to it.
Read MoreAnyone who knows comics, probably knows about Concrete. The series was a gorgeous exploration of our planet through the eyes of a lonely and honorable golem-type hero. The writer for the classic series, Paul Chadwick, has graced the Matrix Online game with his talent. This is the kind of detail that could make a MMO-doubter like me take notice. Many people don't know that The Matrix was a comic before it was a film, and Chadwick was one of the scribes. If that doesn't get your hopes up about the title, I don't know what will. Apparently, Chadwick offered a theme and a direction, and that's good enough. Yes, he's that good.
Read MoreWe don't ask for much in our game patches. Give us a couple of tweaks, a fix or two, keep the download to less than 300 MB and we're happy. But posting a patch for mass download requires the developer to consider a golden rule — "Do no harm." Far Cry's last patch was a disaster. It brought down thousands of computers and had the community up in arms. Considering how happy people had been up to that point with the game, it was an unfortunate slip-up. Now comes word that the next patch will be showing up soon, with a bevy of fixes under its wing. Worthplaying has the goods. Here's hoping they get it right this time around.
Read MoreJust in time for a chilly weekend, comes the newest Warcraft III map from Blizzard. The details of the map are, as follows: Though these islands are surrounded by deep and treacherous waters, they have seen little peace. Many of the creatures dwelling here are refugees from the war. They have nothing left to lose. Don't expect a warm welcome. Suggested Players: 1v1 Size: Small Tileset: Lordaeron Summer They've been doing a lot more of the small maps recently. Which is fine with me. I like my blood up close and personal-like.
Read MoreOnline, CoH players have been gathering in clusters to salute Christopher Reeve, who passed away on Monday. As an actor Reeve was best known for his role as Superman, but became a real life hero after suffering a severe spinal injury in an equestrian accident. He quickly became the face of cutting-edge spinal cord research and medicine and stunned skeptics in 2000 when he was able to move his index finger. Although Reeve longed to "escape the cape", the CoH tribute (organized by fans, not NCsoft) shows just how important this man was to our imagination of Superman.
Read MoreWe may start doing this more often if you guys want it. I spotted this amazing deal on Doom 3. Thirty bucks! Yes, the same Doom 3 that you and I spent sixty smackers on, is now being given away for half the price at Go Gamer. What a perfect stocking stuffer! What a great anniversary present! Or, if you don't have it yet, what a great gift to celebrate this beautiful Wednesday. Hurry though. This is one of Go Gamer's 48 Hour Madness Specials, so it will expire soon. Sorry I didn't catch it earlier. Oh, if you don't know Go Gamer, I'll vouch for them.
Read MoreThe latest finalists have been posted for the fourth round of the Make Something Unreal contest. The contest has given the best modders in the world a chance to strut their stuff in front of their fellow gamers. Some incredible efforts have been revealed, ensuring that the mod community will continue to be treated with the respect it deserves. This round of finalists includes Assault maps. Assault maps are probably the most challenging to make because they essentially require a story to make them fun. Onslaught and Deathmatch modes may be fun, but they're just a bunch of killing. Onslaught requires the designer to throw tasks and hurdles in the players' paths. We haven't tried any of the maps from this list. Let us know if you hit on a gold mine.
Read MoreCounter-Strike: Source is now being played by those who were smart enough to pre-order Half-Life 2 and download it with Valve's Steam service. HomeLANFed has posted the Top 10 Things Said While Playing Counter-Strike: Source. The list is silly, but exciting at the same time, since it proves how close we are to reaching Half-Life (pun intended). My personal favorite is #4 — "The textures look just as crisp as my Special K."
Read MoreYeah, we know it's a misleading title, but it's half-true. In preparation for the inevitable Half-Life 2 release, IGN has posted a system tweak guide. Though the guide is mostly some common sense suggestions that you can find in any other tweak guide, there are some nice ideas that could add a frame or two per second. The most welcome part of the article is the run-down of general video card settings for ATI and Nvidia owners. All of the options avaliable in the card settings are starting to give me a headache, so I'm primed and ready to be told what to do. The seven page piece is bound to have a couple of tips that you haven't heard before.
Read MoreFuncom has released a fun press release announcing their massively multiplayer online role playing game, Anarchy Online, is now free to the highest bidder. The game can be downloaded from a Funcom site, and tried out for 14 days, no charge. And then the money part kicks in. There are a number of options in the subscription area, including a reasonable eight dollar fee. It will be interesting to see if these aggressive moves increase the game's numbers.
Read MoreThe Lemmings DHTML is back up! This complete copy of the original popped up about 6 months ago, but was yanked due to copyright infringements. Hats off to the author, it's one helluva job! Be sure to visit the link below soon, the mirror will not be around for long... [Thanks David]
Read MoreValve has announced the official pricing options for the various Half-Life bundles via Steam distribution. In just a few long hours, 2 pm (EST) to be exact, you'll finally be able to purchase Half-Life 2. That doesn't mean you'll be playing any time soon, but you can always fire up CS: Source as a consolation. If you've already grabbed the ATI/Half-Life 2 package you'll be eligible for the Bronze Edition, but you can easily upgrade. Here's the breakdown: Bronze = $49.95 Silver = $59.95 Gold = $89.95 (Use the link below to learn about all the extra junk your money will get you...)
Read MoreIGN takes a character up to level eight, and has a lot of fun doing it. The writer of the piece seems to be a die-hard fan of the original, and he (she?), while cautious, clearly likes what he (she?) sees. This is not an article for fans only. It should actually be a good read for those of us considering the game for the first time. The graphics are, of course, a high point of the experience. But it's a good dig into what is fun about the game, too. "The single most significant question about EverQuest II is one that can only be answered via a substantial injection of speculation," says the writer. "Will it continue to be fun over the long term so as to hold players' interest for months and years?" Good question. Let us know ASAP so we can know whether or not it's worth it to shell out 13 bucks a month.
Read MoreHere's a good deal, for those of you who qualify. If you pre-order the Star Wars: Galaxies Jump to Light Speed expansion pack from Gamestop you'll get to participate in the beta. The CD you'll receive includes: *Priority access to the BETA test period (10/8 – 10/22 only) of Star Wars Galaxies: Jump To Lightspeed *An exclusive in-game vehicle called the Flash speeder, a sleek lightweight speeder from Naboo. But keep in mind these restrictions before you shell out 30 bucks: *Participation is limited. ONLY WHILE SUPPLIES LAST. *Must be a subscriber in "good standing" of Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided Broadband connection is required. *BETA period is defined as October 8, 2004 through October 22, 2004. Those trying to enter before or after the defined BETA period will not be allowed access.
Read MoreIn a further sign that Europeans are more sophisticated than the rest of the world, there's word that Half-Life 2 will only be available on DVD there. This is a trend we're looking forward to state-side, since handling six discs with all the AAA titles is a pain in the butt, to say the least. Hopefully this is a trial run by the publisher, and, hopefully, the trial-run will go well. Expect to see New Egg run out of PC DVD drives in the next month if this rumor ends up being true.
Read MoreFor those of you who have been waiting patiently for the Linux version of the first-person shooter of the year, you may now commence downloading. The Doom 3 Linux demo requires five PK4 files from the retail game, so you may now commence spending, as well. The downlaod has the OpenGL client along with a dedicated server. The single-player demo lets you play three levels from the retail game. Compile away, my friends.
Read MoreIf this report is to be believed, World of Warcraft may go up against the big, bad AAA titles of this holiday season. There have been rumblings that the game was going to be delayed and would not be released until 2005, but a company report for Vivendi's upcoming financial year includes a release date of November 2004 for the online role playing game. IGN goes on to (correctly) point out that the executive side of any given company may not know what the publishing side is up to. Anyone who's worked in a big company knows the right hand rarely knows what the left hand is doing. But, if true, there could be a lot of happy Warcraft fans out there, come November.
Read MoreIrrational Games has posted a contest for its upcoming sequel to Freedom Force. "Calling All Heroes!" is your chance to create (illustration only an option?) an original hero to be featured in the upcoming tactical RPG, Freedom Force vs. The 3rd Reich. All entries must include a brief character description, including name and special power, and an origin story less than 250 words. There's only one grand prize winner so you better dig your best work out of those dusty, old notebooks. Good luck.
Read MoreHalf-Life 2 is running out of half-life on its never-ending quest for your local retail shelf. Word is out that the European box will be released on November 26th, with the U.S. version hitting stores three days earlier. That's November 23rd for those who don't do that whole "math" thing. Great news! We will, at last, see the game we've all been waiting for. Please! No more delays. Credit where it's due, so to Bernie, "Arrrr, Matey!"
Read MoreA few weeks ago we heard a rumor about this, but (sigh) we neglected to inform you for lack of any tangible evidence. Well, now it's official, Rooster Teeth Productions will be using the in-game Sims 2 movie maker to create a series of clips titled, The Strangerhood. If you're not familiar with their previous work, Red vs. Blue (based off of Halo), you have got to check it out. It's available on DVD, but you can find it easily enough by searching the web. And if that series is any indication, The Strangehood is really gonna bust some guts. To view the debut episode, just visit the link below.
Read MoreKoei announced plans for a new PS3 project, known only as Oni. Although the title has no relation to the 2001 Bungie game of the same name, it is being developed in coordination with an upcoming film based on a screenplay by the late great Kurosawa. Not surprisingly, given a number of other Kurosawa films, the story focuses on a samurai warrior in search of his destiny amidst warring 16th Century Japan. The only other known detail is that the samurai happens to be blonde haired. We're sure we'll be learning plenty more before the game and film are released in 2006.
Read MoreSony is hosting the SOCOM II World Championships this Saturday at the Metreon in San Francisco. It looks like it's going to be an eight on eight battle between Korea and America using both classic maps and new maps. This will also be the debut of maps that are downloadable content for the 5 people in the US that bought PS2 hard drives. We wonder if Zipper Interactive ever heard of the Xbox.
Read MoreSony has finally come clean with the details concerning the PSP's battery life. We'll just keep this short n' simple <wink>... the lithium-ion battery will provide 4-6 hours for games, and 4-5 hours for videos. According to Sony, these ranges were obtained by adjusting the PSP's luminance from max to min, while the volume was set at mid-level with headphones plugged in, and no wireless LAN connection made (presumably, LAN play will eat up the battery faster). At any rate, a spare battery can be picked up for an extra $45, which definitely seems like a viable option.
Read MoreSquare Enix has announced it's working on another Final Fantasy VII spin-off, this time, an RPG title for the upcoming PSP. This is the fourth official installment in the FFVII series, following the original game, Advent Children (CGI movie, which will be ported to the PSP), and Dirge of Cerberus. Details are scant, but we do know Crisis Core won't be arriving anytime before 2006.
Read MoreFor the hardcore SquareEnix RPG fans out there, Hori has released the Dragon Quest Slime PS2 controller. Sitting on your floor or shelf, this controller looks just like a Slime from the Dragon Quest video game. Flip it, and you have a fully-functional Dual-Shock controller. For those confused readers, Slimes are the most common monsters encountered in SquareEnix's Dragon Quest Role-Playing Game series. They've become something of a Dragon Quest icon, with fan fiction sites and FAQs and other unmentionables. For those in the know, you can get one of these from Japan for around $30.
Read MoreIt looks like Sony has decided to offer consumers a holiday bundle after all. The PlayStation 2 Racing Pack will feature the new PStwo system, a controller, AV cable, AC adapter, and a copy of Gran Turismo 4. Sony plans to release the bundle on December 3 in Japan for 24,900 yen (or $234). No word yet on whether or not a US/European release is planned, but if it is, we sure hope that price drops a bit. We'll keep you posted.
Read MoreWe'll gently remind everyone that they still haven't said anything concrete yet about US pricing or availability, but we should probably have mentioned that in addition to selling the PlayStation Portable as a basic standalone package (pictured above), Sony will also be offering a PSP Value Pack which'll retail for 24,800 Yen and include a battery pack, AC adapter, 32MB Memory Stick Duo, a carrying case, and headphones with a line-in remote.
Read MoreSony's PlayStation Portable, or PSP, will be released in Japan on December 12, 2004 - just 10 days after the Nintendo DS launches there. Sony has set the price at 19,800 Yen, just under $200 US. Sony is also promising 21 games out before end of year. Confirmed launch titles will include Metal Gear Acid, Dynasty Warriors, Vampire Chronicle, Puyo Pop Fever, Hot Shots Golf, Ridge Racer, Need For Speed Underground Rivals, and Tiger Woods PGA Golf Tour. As for battery life, Sony has gone on record to promise "between four and six hours for game titles and continuous four to five hours for video viewing." Memory sticks, straps, and cases will be available at launch separately as well. Looks like an early 2005 release for US and Europe isn't crazy talk. [Thanks to everyone who sent this one in]
Read MoreComing in at 8 millimeters thicker and with some new "automatic" entertainment based on something called "x-applications," the new PSX shows that Sony remains interested in turning PlayStation into a serious home entertainment center. X-application is a name for something Sony calls "automatic entertainment". Using the PS2-based Emotion Engine, the x-applications can create on-the-fly animations based on the photos and videos you have uploaded, providing you with, well, automatic entertainment. New video and photo terminals have also been added and moved around based on customer needs as well as to allow easier access to media terminals. The PSX's recording software automation has also been updated, including fuzzy logic that will look for things that may be of interest and automatically record them. Automatic, yo. Wave of the future.
Read MoreWe were just clued in to some new shots and a video of the PlayStation Portable using the Universal Media Disc (UMD). The mechanism appears to be similar that used in many Sony MD units, in that is is both slot-loading and flips open to eject the disk. The best part of video clip is when the guy demoing it fails to properly remove the UMD on the first go-around.
Read MoreActivision has announced it has two offerings for the PSP launch. The company played it safe, opting to make its debut with established franchises: Spider-Man & Tony Hawk. The former is based on the blockbuster hit from this past summer. Spider-Man 2 will be an original undertaking, rather than a mere port of the major console release from earlier this year—it's also different from the DS title of the same name. As for THUG 2, it's still unknown whether or not it will differ from the existing version. Shaba Games is in charge of development, the same team responsible for the PSone Tony Hawk 3 port. At any rate, Activision has certainly dedicated themselves to Sony's latest toy.
Read MoreRumor has it, LucasArts is not happy with the way that Sony has handled Star Wars Galaxies. Sources speculate that once the expansion, Jump to Lightspeed, is launched, Lucas will announce a second expansion pack along with its divorce from Sony. This will be followed by future announcements concerning the changes that will be made once Lucas is commanding the reins. These changes may include the removal of (playable) Jedi in Galaxies. LucasArts would probably have been better off keeping Star Wars in-house in the first place. Lesson learned. [Thanks, Justin]
Read MoreIf anyone should be accused of flip flop—er... constantly changing their story these days, it's certainly Sony on their forthcoming PSP handheld console. First it's coming out this year in Japan, then there's speculation it's been delayed, then its US launch is supposedly going to be pushed back until around this time next year. Now the latest is that it's definitely coming out by December this year in Japan and we should expect "westward expansion" in spring of 2005. Whatever, Sony, just give it to us straight. If it's really not going to come out on time we can take it. [Via Joystiq]
Read MoreWe love us some good corporate warfare, and Nintendo haven't let us down today. In an unusual move for the quiet gaming giant, Nintendo has finally made some public comments about the PSP, and they're not so nice. Remember the pictures of people playing PSPs strapped to the booth girls at Tokyo Game Show? Of course you do. "What you didn't see," commented Nintendo's head of sales & marketing for the US, "is that those women were having to go recharge the batteries every two hours!" Poor battery life has been a rumor for the PSP for a while now, but to see Nintendo come out like this is a welcome change of events, for two reasons: 1) It's good to see Nintendo waking up, and 2) this could make Sony listen and not put something out that, while being "portable," needs to be plugged in. Remember the Lynx?
Read MoreThat's this year in case you're lost. Actually, Sony's (growingly infamous) handheld will likely only make its Japanese debut by year's end. According to Chief Technical Officer Masayuki Chatani, "[PSP will] definitely be able to launch at the end of the year." Sony has made these types of claims before with the PlayStation, but Chatani assured the doubters that the PSP's development is "far better". As for a US/European release, there's no definite date, but if the PSP does appear in Japan by December, we can expect to see a westward expansion sometime in the spring of 2005.
Read MoreBest comment spam ever: Dear Sir, I came across your site on a web search on behalf of the staff and company it is our wish to commence with you. i am intrested in buying a thousand piece of your PLAYSTATION3 i will need a sample of the product. Do not worry about the shipping cost i will pay through my credit card. mail me back to know if you ship to Nigeria. looking forward to hearing from you soon. Yours Ever Evander (miss) Not even sure where to begin with this one...
Read MoreWe can hardly believe it ourselves, but Joystiq says that game industry analyst/thorn-in-Sony's-side PJ McNealy is predicting that the PlayStation Portable won't hit stores until November...of next year. His reasons? Hardware and software difficulties, a huge problem with the PSP's battery life, and the fact that a "significant software library" is unlikely to be ready in time for Sony's current launch windows of December of this year for Japan and March, 2005 for the US. We so don't want to believe this.
Read MoreAnd this is no ordinary delay. We're talking November 2005 for the US release! So where is this latest speculation generating from? Good question. Industry analysts PJ McNealy of American Technology Research and Piper Jaffray & Co. are projecting the delay, citing both hardware and software concerns. Most notably, is the battery life issue, which has been estimated to be as low as 90 minutes. On top of the hardware issues, it's unlikely that a significant software library would be available in time for Sony's planned release dates of December (Japan) and March (US). Stay tuned for an official announcement from Sony.
Read MoreThis happens a lot this time of year, so we're going to report this with some serious skepticism. There are some scans making rounds this morning that supposedly come from the Official Playstation Magazine (who are funded, in part, by Sony, which is where they get the "Official" from). The scans in question report the various packages available for Sony's upcoming PlayStation Portable. What's sort of encouraging is that if true you'll be able to pick up a PSP for as little as $199.99, but they actually list three different packages of varying configuration, and what's confusing is whether or not you will be able to buy the listed accessories after the fact or if the $199.99 model hamstrings you into only playing games unless you fork over another $150 (!!) for a fully-featured model. Click to see the full details on what the reported packages are.
Read MoreWell, well, well. Even though Sony's going to be later to the game than the Nintendo DS (which is out next month), at least they finally released some official specs. Get ready for some numbers: it's going to be a chubby little 9.5 ounces and 6.7 x 2.9 x 0.9-inches in dimension, (smaller than we expected), with a 4.3-inch 16:9 screen (480 x 272 resolution, 16 million colors), 333MHz CPU, 32MB RAM, 4MB DRAM, 802.11b, USB 2.0, Memory Stick PRO Duo, IrDA, IR remote, headphone and mic ports, and yes, it will play MP3s (though we don't know quite how) and, of course, ATRAC3 files. Good show, then. Hurry up and release it, right?
Read MoreThe Harmony 688 Remote, now under the Logitech brand, is splitting home theater enthusiast opinions over to its common-sense setup and command choices. Consensus, based on reviews, is that it's easy to set up and easy for the wife or babysitter to use, but can be frustrating for those who simply want to control their stuff. For instance, it comes with aptly-named "activity" macros like "Watch A DVD" or "Play Music." While those are pretty clear as to what they do, some hardcore enthusiasts may prefer to simply say, "Give me the commands for my Yamaha DVD player and I will choose what I want to do with it by hitting the appropriate buttons." The brilliant thing about the 688, however, is its computer setup process, in which you simply run a program on a computer that guides the user through a series of questions and then dumps the appropriate codes to the remote for you. [Thanks, Jim]
Read MoreLuminous Landscape has a review of the Maxxum 7D, Konica Minolta's new 6.1 megapixel prosumer digital SLR which has a contoured grip and design that allows for ergonomic handling, a big 2.5-inch LCD for viewing, and fits most Minolta SLR lenses. The 7D's uniqueness comes in KM's Anti-Shake technology, which unlike other SLRs, is built into the camera itself and not in the lenses, allowing for stabilized images no matter what lens you use. [Via Photograhpy Blog]
Read MoreConsdiering how big this WiFi thing has gotten you'd think there'd be more than a handful of those WiFi detector fobs out there, but as far as we know Hawking's new HWL1 802.11b/g WiFi Locator is only the fourth (or maybe the fifth) one to hit the market in the past couple of years. It's not like they're all that complicated—you really just press button and they tell you whether there is 802.11b or 802.11g afoot, and the HWL1's claim to fame is a hi-gain directional antenna that can better help you pinpoint where all the WiFi goodness is coming from. We wouldn't mind if it had a small display that listed SSIDs, signal strength, and whether the access point was open or closed, but no one seems to have figured that one out yet. [Thanks, Jason]
Read MoreThe new iPod Photo is out, it's not on sale everywhere quite yet, but you can check out its innards over at iPoding. So far it appears that the iPod Photo is pretty similar to the 4G iPod. We're thinking that once we get our mitts on one of these we'll hack up an "iPhoto" frame with speakers, so when you doc up you can watch a slide show and listen to music.
Read MoreConfirming Mossberg's overview of the iPod Mini's new competitors, CNet posted a review of Dell's new Pocket DJ that more or less echoes those same usability issues. The hold button is, in fact, hard to use, the unit's a bit heavier than the iPod Mini, and as far as extra features, the Pocket DJ doesn't include an FM tuner or recording functions. Granted, the review is based on an early build of the player so it's possible that Dell will fix the issues, but as of now it doesn't look good for usability. As for price, this unit is coming in at $199, which might just be enough to sway price-sensitive buyers.
Read MoreWe don't know how badly you're lusting after the new Treo 650, though if you're anything like us it's badly enough to have wasted more than a couple of minutes playing with Sprint's 360 degree rotable viewer for the new smartphone. Not sure if it's "officially" up or anything (Sprint's product page for the Treo 650 isn't live yet), but someone just found it online. [Via Sprint PCS Info] P.S. - Both MobileBurn and PhoneScoop have hands-on galleries with this puppy.
Read MoreGadget eminence grise Walt Mossberg and his assistants compared the iPod mini to three of its direct competitors: the Dell Pocket DJ, Rio Carbon (pictured at right), and Creative Zen Micro. While they encountered synchronization problems on those three units, the iPod Mini they used had no problems on the first try. In addition, they complained about the other manufacturers' attempts at scroll wheels, saying that the iPod mini's scroll wheel provided the quickest and most pain-free access to songs in large lists (they complained of finger cramps and mis-cues using the other methods). You can bet that manufacturers will keep their aims dead set on the mini, but for now, most people seem to be ignoring the added features, improved battery time, bigger hard drive, and (sometimes) smaller prices in lieu of Apple's usability.
Read MoreWe're not sure Mortiis would appreciate Perstel calling their PMP1004 the "Digital Emperor!!", but all the same we have to concede that it's a pretty intense little device, what with its 260k color 2.83-inch LCD, mass storage compatible 20GB drive, 1.3 megapixel camera/camcorder, USB 2.0, line-in audio/video encoding, and MPEG4, DivX, MP3, and WMA playback. No word on price, or whether or not it will (supposedly) murder you for being false metal. Rock. [Via DAPreview]
Read MoreDeeming it a "revolutionary upgrade" compared with earlier S series phones, Mobile Burn seems to have really taken a shine to the new Siemens S65 cameraphone. New features include a 1.3 megapixel camera and a 65K color screen, hardly revolutionary in the world of cellphones, but perhaps in the Siemens world, or at least for a Siemens phone that's available Stateside. Other features include a 40-voice polyphonic sound generator, speakerphone and the usual infrared and Bluetooth connectivity. The 1.3 megapixel camera was clearly the highlight, and although it's a fixed-focus lense, it produced some impressive images, and it also capable of grabbing short video clips. The new display, at 132x176 pixels, exhibits some brightness issues, according to the review. While it's nothing to write home about, it's a new phone and we couldn't leave that alone, could we?
Read MoreDespite it being pretty unique for a non-smartphone to have a touchscreen that you can write on, Pocket Lint doesn't seem to like much else about the new Philips 755 cellphone. The negatives: a poor design that makes it a burden to use, no Bluetooth, and just a VGA camera. The one innovative thing, of course, is the phone's "Tag it!" feature, which allows you to graffiti your photos before sending them off via email or MMS. It's very basic (think MS Draw here), but you can change your pen thickness, color, and text and the phone can even send the images to your TV as well via the included (but bulky and impractical to carry around) link cable.
Read MoreThey're probably just the teensiest bit peeved over their thunder being stolen by Apple's announcement of the iPod Photo, but Gateway unveiled their new MP3 Photo Jukebox today, a 4GB MP3 player with a 1.6-inch, 128 x 128 pixel color LCD screen for looking at digital photos. A little lighter and a little bigger than the iPod mini (3.4 ounces and 3.8 x 2.3 x 0.7 inches vs. the mini's 3.6 ounces and 3.6 x 2.0 x 0.5 inches), the MP3 Photo Jukebox probably wouldn't win many converts on its own, but then again for your $249 you do get all that extra photo viewing functionality. The one thing it's definitely missing is a built-in memory card reader. P.S. - Remember what we said about how you will all be sick of hearing about MP3 players that double as digital photo viewers in about six weeks? That might happen even sooner.
Read MoreRemember that kid who tried too hard? He (or she) was probably a little overweight and unpopular in jr. high. He totally looked like one of those kids whose mom dressed in husky Toughskins and unfortunate shirts. Then at some point, usually early in high school, the kid lost weight, developed a little self confidence and started dressing himself. Proud of the weight he had lost, he tried to hang out with all the popular kids, but they still made fun of him for his clothes or his awkward social skills or whatever. With a little more financial independence, the kid went overboard, buying totally over top clothes and trying to out-attitude any of the popular kids. Of course no matter how hard he tried to emulate the popular kids and fit in with them, he always missed the mark, doomed to be that weird kid who followed them wherever they went. Yup, Nokia finally slimmed down the Series 60 smartphone, and is bringing the thinner, lighter 7610 "imaging phone" to North America, but only after realizing it had stopped selling well in Europe and relaunching a slightly more "normal" looking 6670 there. The 7610 tries too hard to set itself apart in the name of style, sacrificing ease-of-use and mass-market popularity for the sake of looks. A Euro-friendly version of the 7610 has been out for many months and is available for a reasonable price at most online resellers. The 7610b, which is the North America-friendly model we reviewed, should be out by the end of October.
Read MoreI'm still working my way through Star Wars Battlefront, and enjoying it. I find it tough to review since I'm not privvy to Battlefield 1942, which is the game most people compare this new Star Wars title to. So in a weird attempt to show you what I think, I'm going to write up some impressions and then send you to Avault. Keith Durocher's review does a great job of wrapping up the sense I get from playing Battlefront.
Read MoreIs this the ultimate fighter? At least this year. At least for the Xbox. Dead or Alive is part of a long standing debate over which franchise really owns the 3D fighting crown. And on most lists, it often falls below Virtua Fighter, Soul Caliber, and even Tekken. DoA has always been criticized for its apparent lack of depth, and while it may pale in comparison to some of the intricate technical maneuvers featured in the previoulsy mentioned list of titles, DoA is by no means a button smasher. Yes, a novice has a better chance at beating an expert, but in reality, skill is still the utmost necessity. Ultimate may be written off as beauty disguising weakness, but this is certainly an unfair assessment. True, you'll be hard pressed to find a better looking game (including the backgrounds!) this generation, but Ultimate features a fairly robust fighting engine with unique, balanced characters and is also the first truly successful online fighter (2D or 3D). Fans will swear by it, haters will despise it, but whichever side of the fence you're on, there's no denying that Dead or Alive Ultimate is the truth.
Read MoreThe latest Ace Combat installment has just landed in stores. And from the looks of it, not much has changed since 2001's Shattered Skies. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as tampering with a formula that works can often lead to disaster, but perhaps Namco could have gone the extra mile with The Unsung War. Still, fans will likely love Ace Combat 5, as it features a great storyline that actually drives the gameplay forward, masking some of the tired missions we've been through again and again. The visuals are top notch too, and while an online mode would have been duly welcomed, there are plenty of unlockables to keep players coming back to the single-player campaign again and again. Ace Combat 5 does little to break the mold, but it's still a damn fine flight-action experience.
Read MorePioneer's new 50-inch HDTV plasma has been reviewed by ExtremeTech and scored some decent marks. That's all good, but our problem with the review is its writer's insistence on continuing to perpetuate more plasma myths. Within the first couple paragraphs, the reviewer is crooning about burn in and price — two things that people love to bitch about when it comes to plasmas. The reality is that Plasmas have been around long enough that burn-in is no longer an issue of concern, and they are now available for under $2000. The review also states that they always test displays at their native resolution. In this case, the PRO-1110HD's native resolution sports a vertical count of 768 lines, yet the reviewers drop a 480-line DVD into a player and follow it up with a 1080i baseball broadcast. They talk a good talk, bringing up IRE and false contouring, but in the end they come off as a bunch of PDP myth-builders, mentioning the display technology's shortcomings at every opportunity. Boo.
Read MoreSlightly smaller (volume-wise) than Sony's popular slim 5 megapixel DSC-T1 camera, NHJ (makers of the TV watch and Bluetooth headphones) offers up the Dzign DZ-300, a 3.2 megapixel camera that comes in a choice of five colors (including the blindingly bright red at right). It has a 1.4-inch LCD in the rear, a sliding lens cover, takes Secure Digital cards (but only up to 256MB), and has a shutter speed from 1/1000th of a second to 1 second.
Read MoreThe Outlaw series has returned with the sequel to the game that started it all, Outlaw Golf. Tiger Woods this is not. At the budget price of $20, you should know what to expect. Truth be told, it's a decent (beginner's) golf sim, dragged down by short-lived (i.e. repetitive!) humour and tedious one-player nuances. Still, the online mode is well fleshed out, providing an entertaining, but not so challenging, experience. And if you're simply looking for the thrill of half-naked videogame babes, just wait for DoA Ultimate (tomorrow).
Read MorePC Mag wasted no time in getting up a (rather short) review of the new Dell Inspiron 9200, which they actually really like; apparently they found it to be a good multimedia machine with a nice display and a surprisingly long battery life for a machine of its class, though they weren't entirely able to look past its bulkiness. And might we say that at 15.5 x 11.3 x 1.6-inches and 7.7-pounds, it's more than a little bulky? We're gonna stick to the Qosmio for now, but thanks for playing, Dell.
Read MoreWe like the size, but not the capacity of the Decktron (a South Korean outfit) IMP 8000, a flash-based 128/256/512 MB MP3/WMA audio player which has a 1-inch color LCD that can display BMP (and we assume JPG) picture files, an internal FM tuner, USB 2.0 support, direct recording to MP3, and packs in 17 hours of playback on a lithium polymer battery. Roughly half the size of an iPod mini at 33 x 60 x 15.5 mm, it weighs just 30 grams and promises OGG Vorbis support via a firmware upgrade in November. [Thanks, Robert]
Read MoreYeah, right Dell. You think you can keep a secret? Get real. (Well, maybe it's not a secret if these scans were grabbed off the November 2004 Holiday Gift Guide.) Anyway, we're not going to mention how disappointed we are with this one (very) and we're certainly not going to mention whether or not we'd buy one (we won't), but we've got to hand it to them for at least trying to make their gear a little more palatable. Click on to see more pics and get the full specs. [Thanks, Bloke]
Read MoreDPReview takes a look at Fujifilm's E550 6.3 megapixel camera, which is basically the same camera as the FinePix F810 but in a plastic body and without the widesceen LCD and with AA batteries instead of a lithium ion battery pack. Just like the F810, the E550 has a 4x optical zoom, 2-inch LCD, and a fast start-up time before taking pictures. The negatives? It's lacking in picture quality settings at 6 megapixels, a weak RAW file mode, slightly high native contrast, and suffers from some focus problems in low light.
Read MoreWe've had our eye on MobiNote's DVX-POD 7010 personal video player ever since we first caught wind of it back in June. We figured it'd be yet another one of those random Taiwainese PVPs that never actually makes it over here (how many times have we complained about that, right?), but not only is the DVX-POD actually going to be available in the States beginning next month, we actually managed to get our lusty paws on one the other day courtesy of Tight Systems, which'll be distributing them here soon. Click to see some initial impressions as well as a few more photos.
Read MoreMusical pillows were out for a while, but we're kind of glad to see them creeping back into vogue. This incarnation, called Oto Makura (noise pillow) RLX-P1 (Relax Pillow 1, perhaps?) from Toshiba, uses a wireless infrared base station that connects to your audio source. The pillow speaker is stereo and utilizes bone induction to get sound into your dreams. It claims 8 hours of battery time, which should be just enough for a healthy night of sonic sleep. Be sure to sleep perfectly still and centered in order to retain that stereo sweet spot.
Read MoreFor those of you interested in Windows Media Center but who have no interest in putting a PC in your living room (which we suspect is a lot more people than most nerds would like to admit), Windows Media Center Extenders deliver the best of both worlds. Media Center Extenders are components that you fit into your AV rack, and they do just what you'd think they do—they extend Windows Media Center to that entertainment center. You can install up to five of these on one Media Center PC server, and they come in a variety of configuations, from small boxes to component-style rack pieces. The review points out that a few obvious things are missing, like a DVD player and media card reader to make things a bit easier, but overall, they seem very positive on something we're all likely to see a lot more of in the future.
Read MoreAnd just because we knew you'd want to see 'em, here are a bunch more pics of the new Treo 650 which palmOne just formally introduced today.
Read MoreYou know it's going to be good when we can post a device to both our laptop and handheld channels. Bridging the gap betweek laptop and PDA, the Sharp Muramasa CV-50F packs a pretty impressive power-to-size ratio; while they're not brand new, they are available in a continually wide variety of configurations. The one Akihabara News reviewed with crime-scene style gloves (see right) was packed with a 1GHz Transmeta TM8600 CPU, a 16MB Radeon Mobility video card, 7.2-inch 1280x768 screen, USB 2.0, CF and SD ports, and WiFi. The hard drive, 20GB, isn't huge, but given its size and intended use that should be plenty sufficient. So there you have it. If you're in need of a sub-notebook with laptop power (but don't want to get down with an OQO), the CV-50F could be the answer. But only if you're willing to pony up about $1,850 to import one.
Read MoreIf Formac were here we'd rap them in the knuckles for calling their new LCD line the Gallery Xtreme. But then showing off the displays with snowboarders? Are they serious? If you don't have a problem buying 2004 technology with 1998 marketing (which, technically speaking, you shouldn't) then it might interest you to know that their DVI-based, 700:1 contrast ratio, 15ms pixel response displays are going to retail for $600 for the 19-incher, and $900 for the 20.1-incher. And it's got USB interfaces, too. Well, then. [Via Chaitgear]
Read MoreSpong has some serious contacts. They've dropped in on Rockstar Games in Manhattan's Chelsea to play the next Grand Theft Auto, GTA: San Andreas. Half the fun of getting a new game are the surprises, so we can understand if people just want to play the thing already. We certainly do. But since Spong has offered up a thorough and detailed account of their playtime, we figure we should clue you in. The piece details a world with much more agressive police, less irritating fights, minutia that will make your head spin and endless, varied enviornments. We plan on getting this for Christmas, so we can play it in front of gramma.
Read MoreWe had high expections (okay, maybe not) when we heard about the Bose SoundDock, yet another speaker system for iPods (save the first and second gen models) and iPod minis that also charges your player. CNET rather likes the player, though; it filled their 10 by 18-foot room with good sound, masquerading well as a big speaker. We like its looks, but $300 is just a bit too pricy for us, especially without stereo separation greater than three feet and no other audio inputs besides the iPod connector. Next! [Via DigitalMediaThoughts]
Read MoreJobo (an American company releasing an MP3 player, surprisingly enough) has gone done released two models for us: the Giga Vu Pro, and the Giga Mini (but don't be fooled by the name, this Mini's still bigger than a regular iPod). Both devices can, like many players these days, directly download files from SD or CF cards to their 20, 40, or 60GB hard drives (depending on how much you're willing to drop on one of these suckas), connect up via USB 2.0, and can play your standard MP3 audio. The Giga Vu Pro (at right) interests us a bit more, what with its 3.8-inch LCD screen, 40 or 60GB hard drive, support for Divx 3/5, MPEG 1/2/4, JPG, and MP3, and WiFi, but for as large as the Pro is (5.7 x 4.2 x 1.5-inches), we'd really like to see that 2200mAh battery be user-changeable. [Via DAPreview]
Read MoreIf preliminary glances weren't enough to yet whet your appetite, the guys at Anandtech have put together an exhaustive look at Windows Media Center Edition 2005, replete with screenshots and installation log. It's interesting to note that it seems Microsoft has fixed numerous problems with previous iterations, and the setup process looks pretty straightforward for anyone looking to buy their hardware separately. Now that PCs are available with decent hardware specs for MCE, a self-install like the one they go through doesn't seem too far-fetched, either (and apprently, you can now order MCE separately, as well). A couple problems remain with MCE, though, like the inability to record things that are already in buffer (say you've been watching something for 30 minutes and want to save the whole show—you can't) as well as lack of recording support for HDTV other than over-the-air broadcasts (no HBO-HD, for instance). It's a huge overview, so take a look, especially if you're planning on installing MCE 2005. [Via DigitalMediaThoughts]
Read MoreNeo Contra is not Contra. Konami has decided to throw all fundamentals out the door for the sake of "flailing about, twitching to extreme degrees, and repeatedly re-snapping the strafe lock-on mechanism into place" (IGN). No power-ups. No eight-way shooting. No jumping. No second player joining mid-game. Etc, etc. What we do get is Animal Contra, a talking dog that commands an aircraft carrier. Huh? If you've got a spare 45 minutes, grab a buddy and blast through this title for a few memorable laughs. Otherwise, wait for Konami to drop the Neo bull$h!t.
Read MoreThe sequel to Tecmo's survival horror series has been revamped for the Xbox to include an all-new first person mode-which is actually much more effective than the standard third-person view. Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly is a slow-paced freak fest, that isn't interested in thrilling players with over-the-top gore or zombie-capping action. No, in fact the only weapon at your disposal is a camera. And as a pre-teen twin girl, you're not exactly the leading candidate for kicking ghostly-ass. "If you love movies like The Ring and want a truly creepy experience, this is your game"(IGN). Just be sure you're close to a light switch...
Read MoreA photo gallery of detailed shots of Samsung's new 5 megapixel SCH-S250 just popped up. We know you're probably either super anxious to check it out, or couldn't possible care less. So please do click on to see some more high quality shots of the cameraphone, or ignore this entirely, respectively. [Thanks, Lucaluca]
Read MoreThat's right, with Half-Life 2 around the corner, the critics are already getting their two cents in. Three early opinions are in and boasting some really high scores. You might not be able to read the full review without buying the respective magazine, but you can get an idea from the blurb. "It raises the bar for interactive entertainment, and then uses that bar to club all other games into submission..." (PC Gamer). Yep, that about sums it up.
Read MoreA WeWa way, a WeWa way, the lion sleeps tonight? No, all Lion King aside, WeWa (from Hong Kong) has a new 20GB player called the HD-200—not to be confused with the MPIO 5GB HD200 player—which plays your MP3 and WMA audio, has multilingual support (Chinese, Korean, Japanese), line-in encoding, e-book reading capability, and an FM tuner. We're not quite fond of reading anything besides the current track title on such a small display, so we're not sure if that little selling point is going to be enough to win us over right yet. [Thanks, Dmitry]
Read MoreFor only $10,000 Australian (or a measly $7300 USD), you too can own a Serious Racer Pro, a videogame racing pod crafted after a real F1 cockpit, including a real racing seat, force-feedback steering wheel, and real F1-style paddle shifters. Other features include 5.1 sound, wireless video out, authentic racing seat, and personalized graphics and embroidery. We could continue to list the features here, but our gaming insides would explode. Ah, crap, let's just do it: dual seat rumblers, dual fans, adjustable pedal position, aluminum retractable from handle, race lighting, console remote for PlayStation 2, carbon fiber dash panel with real SR gauges, and—wait for it—a drink holder. Stop us now. Please, make us stop. GT4 not included.
Read MoreMidway has confirmed that Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks will deviate from the standard fighting genre of the series. The game will be a beat-em-up action/adventure title, featuring platforming, puzzle-solving, and 2-player co-op. This is dangerous territory for the developer, who would surely prefer we all forget the N64 Sub-Zero offering of a similar nature. Shaolin Monks is expected next fall.
Read MoreWe're not quite sure who Koss is (or rather, was) marketing these headphones to besides maybe Green Bay fans to wear with their foam cheesehead hats, but if you want a set of KSC19 Cheese headphones, it's gonna set you back 25 bones. We're half tempted to get a pair just for the can they come packaged in, but we're probably going to hold out until they release a Jarlsberg version. [Thanks, Mike]
Read MoreThe demo of the day is Medieval Conquest, a tongue-in-cheek title with cartoony violence and bad guys with big, cute eyes. The storyline is highly original. It "takes you on a heroic quest to save your kingdom and bring an end to a great evil that has plagued the land." Okay, not so original. We haven't heard much about the game, but it looks cute, and the download is free. The game's description asks the eternal question, "You have the keys to the kingdom but do you have the courage to defeat the ultimate evil and bring peace to this magical land?" More importantly, do you have the bandwidth?
Read MoreThe Sapphire Radeon X800 XT PCI Express Card gets a write-up from Adrenaline Vault. The upcoming video card is built from the ground up to be a pure PCI Express experience — not a transitional product, like most of the PCI-E cards coming out. At the end of the 8 page review, the Sapphire gets a big thumbs up, with the reviewer saying, "The real world gaming tests and synthetic benchmarks all speak for themselves on this matter. The Sapphire X800 XT PCI-E clearly made leaps and bounds in terms of scoring above its AGP predecessors."
Read MoreRecently, IGN got a hands-on look at Sony's little system. While it took some time to get over the initial shock of the size of the machine—1"x9"x6"(!)—other design changes began to become noticeable. Nothing new here, but the staff definitely noted the new top-loading disc feature, the addition of Ethernet and dial-up ports (thanks to internal network adapter), the loss of the HDD support, an external AC adapter, and the inability to use multitaps (the new placement of the controller ports renders the peripherals useless). Also, if you're a fan of the Logitech Cordless Action Controller, you'll find that the receiver ends up propping the PStwo. All hardware changes aside, the software looks to be running as smoothly as ever, and more quietly too! As an added bonus Sony has thrown in a full one-year warranty just in case you loose the system in a stack of games.
Read MoreJust when you thought you'd seen about everything in the world if digital photography, famed camera manufacturer Hasselblad drops the digital SLR to totally end all digital SLRs. And what's more, the 22 megapixel Hasselblad H1D forgoes storage cards entirely, favoring an integrated 40GB hard drive (which is entirely necessary, considering that each of the images it produces weighs 132MB). Yet somehow, even given the size, we're wondering how practical it is—but come on, what's practical about 22 megapixels anyway? We live in times of glorious tech excess. [Thanks, Evan]
Read MoreThe Vosonic XS-Drive Pro VP3310 looks like it's quite similar to the other two devices they just announced, but instead of the 2-inch color LCD it's got a 2.5-inch blue backlit LCD panel. The VP3310 supports the same varying and obscure flash memory card formats (like Smartmedia and xD) and can play MP3s (but not WMA files). It connects to your computer via USB 2.0 and has a one-button copy to upload your pictures from your memory cards, so as with Vosonic's other devices, we can see these being used more as a portable hard drive with emergency multimedia features, especially since the battery life is a right atrocious 3-6 hours.
Read MoreEach week Tom Whitwell of Music Thing highlights the best of the new music gear that's coming out these days. Last Saturday it was Astrasound's Polyvox duophonic synth and ESCO-100 tape-delay unit, this week it's Jazz Mutant's Lemur: It has a pungent whiff of vaporware hanging around it, but the most interesting thing I've seen this week is the appallingly named 'Lemur', from the really appallingly named French startup 'Jazz Mutant'. It's a 12-inch touchscreen monitor with an embedded CPU / graphics chip and an ethernet port. Plug the screen into a laptop and it becomes a control panel displaying movable faders, buttons and keyboards for live tweaking of music software. So far, so much like any design student's final year project. Then, you watch the video clips on the site. They're tiny and dark, and you can't hear the music that's being tweaked, but they're amazing. The interface looks great and seems really responsive. We can dream, right? Click to read on.
Read MoreComing in either the standard silver or three other exotic colors (at least, exotic for Canon), Steve's Digicams has a review of the new PowerShot SD20, which packs in 5 megapixels of goodness in a stainless steel package, features a 1.5-inch LCD screen, an automatic orientation sensor which rotates your pictures for you when viewing, uses SD memory cards, and weighs just 3.5 ounces. It's nice to see Canon loosening up a bit, and this is their smallest five megapixel digicam, (it's about 75% of the size of the popular Compact-Flash based Canon ELPH series), but the deal killer is that it doesn't have an optical zoom, only 6.5x digital zoom. [Via PhotographyBlog]
Read MoreIt's great and all that Motorola put a 1.3 megapixel digital camera into the MPx220, their new Smartphone, but it'd be even better if they'd bother to put a decent sensor in there. PhoneMag has been testing the MPx220's camera and discovers that you can up the megapixels but that doesn't mean you'll be able to take take better pictures. Sooner or later, when it's no longer a novelty to have one, two, or three megapixels in your phone manufacturers are going to have to start worrying about stuff like sensor and lens quality. At least we hope they will. [Via Smartphone Thoughts]
Read MoreWe loves us some TiVo (to the point where we can't watch TV any more without it), but we wanted an easy way to archive shows (recording to VHS is so retro) without having to pay some crazy money for one of those TiVo/DVD recorder combo units from Pioneer or Toshiba. Which is why we're stoked that Humax, another TiVo licensee, has rolled out the DRT800 DVD, a TiVo with 80 hours of storage and a DVD-RW recorder that sells for $499 (with $100 rebate currently). No mention of how fast the DVD burner can record your shows, but we're sure it's not too bad.
Read MoreThe end game of some portable computing devices is eventually to become full-fledged versions of their desktop brethren. The Pocket PC (now called Windows Mobile) is very Windows like, but users still need to learn a new way to do the same tasks they've learned on the desktop on a phone or PDA; but what if there was a tiny computer which ran a desktop operating system in a form factor close to a PDA? That's the OQO (which you should know about long before now, as we've been hyping this thing since forever ago) and we have a series of Gear Eye articles about this new type of computing device, which ushers forth a new era in portable desktop computing. The first in our OQO series is about the hardware. But actually it's just lots and lots of photos we took playing around with the thing.
Read MoreWe'll have the first installment of our lengthy, multi-part review of OQO's new model 01 ultrapersonal computer up later today, but in the meantime groove on this roundup of other reviews and first looks that we've thrown together for you: Read - New York Times Read - Wall Street Journal Read - CNET Read - PC World Read - PC Stats
Read MoreCasio claims that it's the world's smallest digital camera with optical zoom and we're inclined to agree with them. Made of stainless steel, the credit card-sized EX-S100 is just two-thirds of an inch thick, has a 2-inch LCD screen and a 2.8x optical zoom lens. Pocket Lint gets a little nitpicky, and complains that Casio doesn't include an SD card with the camera and that three megapixels is a bit meager in this age of 6-7 megapixels digital cameras.
Read MoreIt's only been out for a couple of days, but the first few reviews of the Audiovox SMT 5600 (known as the SPV C500, the i-Mate Smartphone 3, the Qtek 8010, and the Dopod 565 in other corners of the globe) have started trickling out. Besides being the smallest handset to run on Microsoft's Smartphone operating system, the SMT 5600 is also the first with the new mobile version of Windows Media Player 10, and PC Mag gives it high marks for its good battery life and tight integration with Outlook (not to mention the built-in digital camera and Bluetooth). Available now from AT&T Wireless. Read - PC Magazine Read - Smartphone Thoughts
Read MoreOlympus surprised us today with their new i:robe (really, who thinks up these names?) IR-500 4 megapixel camera. It features a 2.5-inch LCD that can rotate a full 360 degrees and a 2.8x optical zoom lens and is part of a suite of "Dock & Done" products that includes a 40GB portable hard drive with its own processor and the P-S100 postcard-sized photo printer. The magic in this "Dock & Done" line is that you can easily store and print photos just by docking the camera into the cradle without using a PC. But calling this thing the "i:robe"? Shall we "robe" ourselves in pictures? Is the elegance of the camera akin to lounging in a white robe at a luxury hotel? Click to see some more pics, including a couple of those new peripherals
Read MoreWe're not quite digging the shape of Muzio's new JM-600 player, but this mini MP3 player comes with your option of a 2.2GB or 4GB hard drive, JPG viewing on its 1.5-inch 128x64 resolution 65k color LCD screen, USB 2.0 connectivity, FM radio, line-in recording, and support for Ogg Vorbis. It's not claiming to be the world's smallest player or anything, but it may have a niche market with its mini LCD screen for picture viewing, a feature which seems to be popping up everywhere, including maybe even the next iPod.
Read MoreYou can't get your hands on one quite yet (they want to see how badly you really want it and so won't be shipping them out until November 17th), but tons of reviews of Dell's new Axim X50 and X50v Pocket PCs have started popping up, and as we're known to do, we've rounded them up for your perusal. If you find some other reviews we haven't listed, drop us a line or post up a link in the comments. Read - AximSite - Axim X50V Read - PocketNow - Axim X50 & X50v Read - infoSync - Axim X50v Read - infoSync - Axim X50 Advanced Read - infoSync - Axim X50 Standard Read - PDA Buyers Guide - Axim X50v Read - Brighthand - Axim X50v Read - CNET - Axim X50v Read - Pocket PC Thoughts - Axim X50 Read - BargainPDA - Axim X50 & X50v Read - Geek.com - Axim X50 & X50v
Read MoreJust in case you missed it over the weekend, Gamespy got its grubby hands on some Nintendo DS launch titles. The preview includes closer looks at titles like Madden NFL 2005, Metroid Prime Hunters, Super Mario 64 and The Urbz: Sims in the City. The screenies look okay, though not as high-rez as we would like. Our impression of the images we've seen overall, so far, is mixed. Remember when the Playstation 2 first came out and people talked about how awful and pixelated the game screen shots looked? Turned out the system just doesn't look that good when it spits out a single frame. But in motion, of course, we know how great the PS2 ended up looking. Hopefully that's the explanation for these lower-rez DS images. We'll find out soon enough.
Read MorePhilips is finally going to release the Streamium 23PF9976i, that gorgeous 23-inch high-definition LCD TV with built-in 802.11g WiFi which we first reported back in April. They claim this thing is "future-proof" (yeah, right), but either way it's one of the few TVs out there that can stream MP3, MPEG 1/2/4, DivX, XviD, and JPG files directly from any computer in your home network (hence the name "Streamium") and even access online stuff like iFILM and Yahoo! Movies, Photos, and Games. Due to hit stores in November.
Read MoreThe new Fuji Film Pivi MP-100 comes in at 126.5x98x29.5mm and weighs 205g, fits in your pocket, and can print 130 photos on a single battery charge. Photos take about 21 seconds to print and are transfered via IR, which means cellphone cameras and PDAs with photo libraries will be able to beam pictures of little Johnny (or, you know, other things) just about anywhere. Announced today from Fuji, it will go on sale in Japan on November 15. As long as the IR connectivity works fine and the prints look decent, this could be a great mobile photo solution.
Read MoreSeventeen-inch laptops might not exactly be flying out of stores right now, but that isn't going to stop Dell from taking the plunge and introducing their own will-barely-fit-on-your-lap laptop. Or at least they will be soon. We don't have a whole lot of other deets at the moment, just that it'll be called the Inspiron 9200 and probably be huge and ugly. [Thanks, Will]
Read MoreWhile there's nothing terribly special that makes these just for the Xbox, Pioneer knows a market when they see it, and they've slapped an Xbox logo on these wireless Dolby Digital headphones (otherwise known as the DIR1000). For all-night gamers who want to hear their games in 5.1 surround, these headphones could be a good solution. While they don't have the full 6 speakers found in a traditional 5.1 setup, they do mimmick the effect with some special headphone processing. Reviews so far have been relatively positive in terms of the surround effect, however the phones exhibit some hiss during quiet scenes, and the IR wireless trasmitter means that you have to be in visual sight with the receiver in order for the things to work. You also don't have to use these for Xbox alone - they're standard headphones with a standard Dolby Digital processor as a base. One truly unusual design decision is that the headphones turn on automatically upon being worn. This means your head needs to be just big enough to trigger the on-state, and just small enough that your brain doesn't start leaking out your ears within a few hours of play time. $500, Richie Rich.
Read MoreIf you're a fan of the Tribes series, and you've been wondering how good the latest installment is, stop wondering. The single-player element of the game that single-handedly redefined the multiplayer experience may be a bit weak. But it doesn't seem to detract from the fun. The reviews have been kind, for the most part — and this one from Worthplaying appears to be one of the more balanced perspectives. They fault the title for the weak single player elements, and even take some shots at the multiplayer play. But this is a Tribes game, so the team combat is well done, and there's enough depth to warrant a look. I wish the reviews had been better for Tribes: Vengeance, but I can plunk down 50 bucks with some level of confidence that the mod community will guarantee good value.
Read MoreOver at AximSite someone posted up a real live pic of the Axim X50, that new Pocket PC that Dell is all set to roll out on Tuesday. We've gotten confirmation from several independent sources that the Axim X50 will definitely come in three versions, with the flagship supposedly having a 624MHz processor, a VGA quality screen (which apparently someone found useful for looking at Japanese schoolgirl porn), and built-in WiFi and Bluetooth. Click to see specs for that and the rest of the lineup. [Thanks, wyldeone] UPDATE: The Dell Axim X50 has arrived. Click here for more details.
Read MoreThis last spring no-name Korean manufacturer iAudio made major waves by doing something no one had done before: release a digital audio player with the same capacity as Apple's iPod, but that was thinner and lighter. The M3 had a slick design and affordable price, but the icing on the cake was the all of the features it had that even the iPod could't beat, like line-in encoding, FM radio, and a voice recorder. But there's a catch: the screen. There isn't one on the player itself, instead there's just an LCD screen on the remote. Since then Apple has released the 4th generation iPod, and the M3 still does all those things the iPod doesn't, and so on. But in all reality, the choice of an M3 is still very much the same; more than anything else, you're choosing whether or not you like the remote.
Read MorePhotographyBlog check's out the Eye-Q 5062AF, Concord's new digital camera which manages to deliver five megapixels for under $199. Corners, of course, are cut to get the price that low, and the biggest ones are that it has a poor quality LCD screen and that they skipped the zoom lens and put in a fixed-focus lens instead. Picking a camera is more than just about the number of pixels.
Read MorePolaroid isn't exactly Polaroid anymore since they went bankrupt a few years ago, but they've just come out the PP46d, a new dye-sublimation thermal digital photo printer for making 4-by-6-inch prints (there are even slots for popping in your memory card). Only costs $229, which isn't bad for a thermal printer, and PC World says that the results are stellar, but the catch is that each print takes an agonizingly long time to pump out and once you figure in the cost of ink ribbon cassettes and printer paper you're looking at a cost of a whopping 69 cents per print. At that price you're probably better off springing for professional printing.
Read MoreThat image we posted a couple of days ago of Cowon's new iAudio M5 had a touch of the 'shop to it, but lest anyone cry "fake" a more convincing picture of it snapped at the Korean Electronics Show has turned up. Yeah, there is clearly a sticker on the screen and they did write "MULTI COLOR SOUND" on the side (something which almost kills it for us), but the big question is whether this thing actually plays video or not. We're gonna hedge on our previous statement since right at the bottom it says that the M5 is a "Portable Digital Audio Player" and you'd think that if it was more than just an MP3 player that they'd want to play up any video playback capabilities. [Via DAPreview]
Read MoreThe Tungsten T5 reviews are slowly rolling in, and they mainly confirm the initial impressions most people had of it: that all the memory (256MB total) and its ability to double as a USB drive are both great, but that otherwise there just isn't enough there to justify upgrading from the Tunsten T3, especially given the lack of built-in WiFi. P.S. - If you spot any more reviews of the T5, be sure to send them our way. We're pretty sure they sent out more than four review units. Read - PDA Buyers Guide Read - Bargain PDA Read - Brighthand Read - ZDNet.co.uk
Read MoreThough not as slick as Sony's Librie ebook reader (it doesn't use e-ink), Bookeen's Cybook claims to be the first ebook reader that is totally open-standard, meaning you can use it with any of your HTML, PDF, PRC, or RTF documents, which we definitely appreciate (especially considering the Librie's weird closed format ebooks that expire after a certain amount of time). The Cybook runs on Windows CE and comes with a 10-inch color LCD display, gets 3 to 5 hours of battery power, plays MP3 files, and comes with Pocket versions of both Word and Excel. And though it comes with a dainty 56k modem,you can add a WiFi card or add Compact Flash memory via its PCMCIA slots. The catch (why must there always be one?): Bookeen is selling the Cybook for around $750. You could probably score an older Tablet PC with a lot more to offer for that kind of cash.
Read MoreLast week we let a wrist watch make all our import decisions in life, and what direction to go with the Decision Maker Watch by OVO. This week our libido got the best of us and we bring you the Sexum Adult Digital Watch.
Read MoreWindows XP Media Center Edition 2005 might not be get officially official until next week, but both Thomas Hawk and GamePC each have an advance look at it. Right off the bat the biggest difference between MCE 2005 and the versions that came before it is that you can also now buy it as a standalone, user-installable app you install on top of Windows XP if you want to build your own Media Center PC rather than have to buy somebody else's (they even toss in a remote). Besides that, Thomas Hawk doesn't like the lack of support for HDTV cable and satellite broadcasts (though he understands why), but GamePC declares it the "best home theater product on the market by a very large margin", which seems to just teeter on the edge of hyperbole to us. The one thing we want to know: has Microsoft finally added some decent support for widescreen displays? UPDATE: Both Thomas Hawk and GamePC had the wrong info, it won't be available direct to consumers. Read - Thomas Hawk Read - GamePC
Read MoreThey first showed these off way back at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas back in January (which seems like a million years ago now), but the very first Windows Media Center Extender, which is a digital media adapter for streaming audio and video from a Media Center PC has just turned up online. The WMCE54AG is available for pre-order at Buy.com, and while at $250 it's a little pricier than we'd hoped it'd be, a Media Center Extender is pretty much the only game in town if you want to watch TV shows you've recorded on your Media Center PC in other rooms of your house (Microsoft puts a little shell around the files so that they aren't just regular WMVs). [Thanks, Matt]
Read MoreAfter MPIO's notable but albeit brief blips on the digial audio player radar, they've apparently followed up their HD200 player with the HD300, a much more expertly designed foray, this time with a much more respectable amount of space. Their new HD300 will have 20 and 40GB versions, with mass storage device support, line-in encoding, FM tuner, play MP3, WMA, and OGG, and has a 15-hour play time. No word on when it will surface elsewhere from their Czech site, where the price is, how do you say, bloated? Try €330 ($400 for the 20GB) or €400 ($490 for the 40GB) on for size. Yeah, ouch. [Via DAPreview]
Read MoreSporting a touchscreen 3.5-inch LCD and the ability to play a whole slew of audio and video formats (MPEG 1/2/4, DivX, XviD, MP3, JPG, Ogg Vorbis), the i-Station PMP1000 personal video player also has a few more tricks up its sleeve, like a calculator, dictionary, and an FM radio. This Korean beauty will retail for around $500, but don't confuse this one with Jenna Jameson's personal media player of choice, the iRiver PMP-100.
Read MoreFor once a fancy-pants laptop that's actually available in America without going through a pricy importer, Acer's high-end 8006LMi is a fast, relatively light notebook (just a tad over 6 lbs), that is one of the fastest in its class. Retailing at around $2500, it comes with a fast 2Ghz Pentium-M CPU, a 15-inch display, a 60GB hard drive, 512MB RAM, built-in 802.11g WiFi, and a speedy Mobility Radeon 9700 video card. So now when you expense this laptop on your company's dime, you'll have a nice little Doom 3 LAN party portable gaming rig on hand, too.
Read MoreWe already know all about how much the Japanese love to trick out their potties, but it's nice when someone gives us the human side of things, you know? Like the Toto Sound Princess (we think it'd have to be renamed the Toto Deuce if they brought it to America, which they won't), which, granted, has been out a couple of years now, but come on, it's still novel. Wave your hand over the sensor, and the soothing, nondescript sound of running water fills the stall. So yeah, if you really want to know, any gadget that can make taking care of business a little eaiser for Naoko Ito in Tokyo is okay in our book, got it?
Read MoreGamespy has a preliminary look at Tribes Vengeance. They seem very diplomatic about the game, acknowledging that the series has moved into uncharted territory by offering a single-player quest. For the most part they like what they see. The game focuses on good, old-fashioned Tribes action, with vast outdoor arenas and effective atmosphere. They're a little weary of the new online modes, but promise a follow-up soon to let us know if it works. This is the series that introduced many of us to online warfare. We hope Tribes Vengeance continues the good run they've had.
Read MoreOk, maybe it's not that shocking that there'd be some similarities between two handhelds from the same company, but we were the only ones who thought that palmOne would do something a bit more inventive with their new Tungsten T5 (pictured above left) than just make it look like a clone of the Tungsten E (pictured above right)? We wouldn't mind so much, but the T5 is supposed to be the flagship and Tungsten E is supposed to be the mid-range model, and you'd expect some real next level design from what palmOne is billing as their top-flight PDA. Or maybe we're just getting cranky.
Read MoreTHUG 2 has landed in stores, marking the sixth season Tony and the gang have lit up the virtual streets. The ride has been smooth for the most part, and to its credit, the Hawk series has always offered more variation form year-to-year than other perennial sports titles. But perhaps Neversoft has reached its limit this time, as the developer has already announced it will focus its attention on an original title for next year. That's not to say that the Tony Hawk franchise has come to an end, hardly. THUG 2 offers up a two-team demolition story mode, exploiting the (relatively) recent MTV-fame of Bam Margera. And for us old-schoolers, there's Classic Mode which sees a return to the good ol' days of simple, 2 minute timed runs. Throw in a ton of customization and multiplayer modes, and you're looking at one helluva hardcore ride. But Hawk games have always been accessible to gamers of all shapes and sizes. So whether you're a videogame nut or someone who couldn't locate the "X'" button with your eyes closed, or just somewhere in between, THUG 2 has a lot to offer, albeit a familiar offering.
Read MoreThat's it, we're dropping everything and heading to Chattanooga. Apparently one of our readers says that he actually got hands-on with that obscure object of desire known as the Treo 650 while shopping at one of the Sprint Stores there. Here's what he had to say: I was in the Sprint Store in Chattanooga TN yesterday talking about getting an upgrade flip phone for my girlfriend when the guy goes "hang on" runs over to another sales/tech rep and grabs something from behind the counter. He brings it over to me and it's the full Sprint-ized new Treo. I played with it and the screen is amazing and there is Bluetooth. The keyboard for this Sprint unit has all white keys as shown in the pics above but the number keys are darker; exactly opposite the current Treo 600. He confirmed it does have a removable battery and according to him does take great pictures. It seems very fast processor wise. It has built in camera that the screen keeps up with the movement of the user in real time, no waiting for the frames to catch up when you are framing a shot. Also a neat thing that I liked was that it appears to have a built in video recorder also. Didn't find out if it had sound or not. They said it will be a Christmas time release. And in case you were thinking of dropping by and asking to see it (and then making a mad dash for the door once it's in your hands), he's talking about the Sprint Store located at 2108 Hamilton Place Blvd.
Read MoreA new addition to JVC's Interlink line says, "Hi! I'm tiny and powerful!" And we must, of course, say "Hi, you cute little powerful thing! Come sit over here!" This latest Interlink sub-notebook bears slight dimensions (225mm x 29.5mm x 152mm and 910g) and some ballsy horsepower. Packing a low-voltage Pentium M 733, it also has built-in wireless (802.11g), a 60GB hard drive, and an 8.9-inch TFT screen. The screen, while 1024 x 600 native, is capable of showing 2048 x 1536 when run in a virtual mode off of the 64MB video card. Expect this laptop to hit the Japanese market some time in November, and the American market probably sometime never.
Read MoreMobileBurn has a bunch of pics of the 7100v, the other new more phone-like BlackBerry that RIM just introduced. Almost exactly the same as its American cousin (same screen, same keyboard, etc.), just with a better looking design (at least to our jaded eyes), the 7100v won't be coming out over here, at least not anytime soon, and is currently only available exclusively from Vodafone in Europe.
Read MoreAlthough still in short supply due to poor yields of the 2.5GHz CPUs at IBM, Ars got their hands on one for a very detailed review. What do they think? "Overall, the Dual G5 is very SnappyTM. Responsiveness is excellent, spinning beachballs rare, and start up very quick (of course the only time this machine gets restarted is for software updates requiring a reboot). Applications launch quickly, especially the second time. The machine is a pleasure to use and never feels slow."
Read MoreSorry, we couldn't resist that headline. Hitatchi Home & Life Solutions is planning to release the "PRO Freezer!" refridgerators sporting optional LAN support. Finally, you will be able to monitor how many times your fridge has been opened, triggering warnings that you have visited the doors to obesity one time too many. Other data access will include temperature adjustments, utility expense triggers, and overall system status (but does it tell you if you have any milk left before you head home?). The fridge doesn't come with LAN support built in; you'll have to buy an adapter that enables the happy-fun access. As for wireless support, we have no confirmation, but it sure would be nice given the girth of the unit - they come in 465- and 416-liter versions. Due in November in Asia, we have no pricing information as of yet.
Read MoreNow being shown at AV expos around the world, the soon-to-be-released Eclipse TD712z speakers look like a pair of jet engines and are supposed to sound great. The egg-shaped housing design helps improve speaker efficiency and, as a result, sound accuracy. Eclipse claims that the speaker design makes listeners "forget" where the speakers are; we're gonna call them out on this one sice with a design like this it would be more or less impossible not to notice them. No pricing available yet, but given the materials used (zinc is used to reduce vibration) and Eclipse's reputation for high-end speakers, expect them to cost a pretty penny or two. The built-in stands also allow for height adjustment so you can develop the perfect sweet spot. Sweet.
Read MoreCome on, who couldn't love a 16:10 widescreen laptop? Because if you love 'em like we do, (and, oh, how we do love 'em) BIOS has a review of NEC's recently released i-Select (Versa, in the West, as it were) M4610, a nice little number with a WXGA ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 driven screen, Pentium M, 802.11g, a DVD-recorder, USB 2.0, FireWire, and integrated 4-in-1 card reader. Not bad, now, as usual, can you please pretty please bring it here, NEC?
Read MoreWe've been pretty unsecret about our secret love for BenQ (which goes totally unrequited), but we're not quite as impressed with their new multimedia-centric Joybook 7000 laptop as HardwareZone is. It's not that we don't agree with them and think it's totally fine or whatever, it's just that you can get everything found in the Joybook 7000 (a 14-inch widescreen LCD, a DVD+RW drive, 802.11b/g, and tons of multimedia software) in HP's new dv1000 Entertainment laptop—and you get the dv1000 with a faster processor, more RAM, QuickPlay software, and a bigger hard drive. Not that it really matters all that much since it's next to impossible to find any BenQ laptops for sale in the US.
Read MoreWe're already fans of the MDR-EX71 Fontopia headphones that Sony currently makes, and these soon-to-be-released MDR-EX81SL phones look to continue the legacy of mid-range iPod-color-friendly personal audio gear. As a background, the EX71 headphones have become pretty popular among city dwellers like ourselves, as they do a good job of isolating sound without making one completely unaware of oncoming buses. One problem with them has been the weight of the cord hanging from one's ears due to the weight of the extension adapter. With these EX81s' sporting ear wraps, that problem could be mitigated. It's unclear, though, if these new ones are in-ear phones. We'll just have to wait and see.
Read MoreNo, it's not an iMac clone - this new multimedia center to be offered by Sharp in Japan hosts a 26-inch HDTV LCD monitor with 1,366x768 pixel resolution. Don't let that resolution fool you - it's perfect for HDTV and DVD viewing. It's also a DVD recorder with a 250GB hard drive, running on an Intel Celeron with 512MB RAM. Some people here may call this an out-of-the-box HTPC (home theater PC), and they would be correct, but the integration by a trusted manufacturer may be a welcome surprise. Sharp is only making 5000 of these, and they go on sale in Japan in December. One caveat: We can only assume you can record TV broadcasts to the hard drive. A couple of us have DVRs with 160GB drives, and those only record about 20 hours of HD content. With a 250GB hard drive that will serve both as a DVR and a storage device for the PC portion of this unit, will people run out of space quickly?
Read MoreThe Register took a look at Sony's newest music player, the Vaio Pocket VGF-AP1L, which not only plays music, but has picture viewing capabilities in a package, you know, roughly the size of the first iPod. In additional to a three-line LCD remote and solid design and construction, the most unique feature of this unit is still, of course, the touchpad, which corresponds on the LCD to the position you press on it. Though they looked at a pre-production unit which doesn't play MP3s, we hope that Sony does turn it into an MP3-zilla before the product's release next month, since they've finally succumbed to supporting MP3 (supposedly).
Read MoreA Swiss company has developed the Lokomat, a robot which helps semi-paralyzed and stroke victims learn to walk again. While in use, the lower half of the body may look like ASIMO, as the robot wraps around the user's legs and puts them through the walking motion at a comfortable pace on a treadmill. It has made some patients relax too much and be a bit lazy (robotic assisted movement tends to do that to a person), but it saves two therapists from hard manual labor when rehabilitating patients.
Read MoreIn an ongoing effort to rid the world of productive robots, three college students have crafted a Legobot that can beat the first level of Super Mario Bros. Using Legos and a basic circuit board, Matt Sesno, Ben Rowe, and Tim Dooley built a robot made of Legos that is capable of playing Super Mario Bros., the first Mario-based platform game for the NES, and even beating the first level. Why? Apparently (unless they're lying to us), there is a Lego Robot Talent Show every year, and they were looking for an entry. After all, there's a huge need right now for videogame-playing robots made of Legos. [Thanks, Cameron]
Read MoreEvolution Robotics, the company responsible the Aibo's charging station-recognition software, have created an infrared navigation system called NorthStar. With the system, each room is installed with a basic infrared beacon that allows the robot to know which room it is in or going to. It also helps robots find the charging station before it's too late. While robots like the Aibo are cool and all that, they have some major navigation flaws: they don't remember the names of rooms or where they are, and they can sometimes get lost long enough to never find their charging station before electric death (running out of batteries). NorthStar aims to fix this, making robots much more reliable house-roamers-when-you're-out. [Via Near Near Future]
Read MoreThey've already gone off to war with the PackBot (pictured at right), which is currently pulling tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, but now iRobot, the company behind those Roomba robotic vacuum cleaners, is going retro and teaming up with tractor maker John Deere on a heavily armored robotic combat vehicle that'll be used to automatically transport equipment in battle zones. And to help you win the chore war, iRobot says they're also working on a new line of household robots that'll be able to do stuff like fold your laundry.
Read MoreNear Near Future found a pic of that "swallowable" multi-legged robot pill we wrote about the other day that is supposed to crawl around in your intestines and do something or other that's helpful. Unless they seriously shrink that sucker down, we're guessing a lot of people would probably rather stay sick than have one of those things wandering around inside of them.
Read MoreCellphone users in the UK on Vodafone, T-Mobile, BT Mobile, 3 and O2 networks can now send text messages to people who don't have cellphones (you mean there are people who don't have cellphones?). The service utilizes text to speech synthesis to read the sender's text message to receiver on a standard land-line, like robo-Jeeves reading the days messages. Apparently it makes no bones about SMS colloquialisms and swear words, so instead of saying "F U" it will read out the full expletive version. Something about a British female synthesized voice telling you off over the phone is just, well, it's good stuff. Trust us, we've had it happen before. Unfortunately, the robo-lady also reads off the number of the person who sent the message, so cyber stalking will be a bit difficult with this technology. Not that we were thinking about it, or anything.
Read MoreAs robots patiently seek coadunation with their human counterparts, it only makes perfect sense that we begin designing them to mimic the finer parts of our own behavior. Like alcoholism and panhandling, for instance. Creepily misanthropic, the Bar Bot's primary objective is beer consumption, which it accomplishes by begging passersby for money. When it's collected enough dough for a brew, it orders one up from the bar (someone still has to hand it to the Bar Bot, though) which it proceeds to drink; only then will the Bar Bot interact with you outside of asking for money or booze. Kind of like going to a singles night, if you think about it. [Via Near Near Future]
Read MoreTo fend off accusations of child camel-jockey abuse by international human rights groups (which we reported on earlier), Qatar has announced they will be officially substituting robots in camel races in 2005 and beyond. Approximately 1.37 million dollars was spent developing the robots (why, we can't tell; they just receive input for handling the reigns wirelessly) for mass production, which will cost roughly $5,500 apiece; however, for now only 100 will be purchased, meaning the Swiss company producing them immediately takes a loss of about $820,000 unless they get selling these things fast. So please, for the future of tomorrow's child camel-jockey, would you all please buy one of these robots for camel races of your own? [Via Near Near Future]
Read MoreThe Zeus robotic surgical system is being tested for remote, wireless surgery in an underwater experiment aimed at eventually enabling similar procedures in space. The underwater Aquarius lab in Key Largo, Florida, will host a gall bladder removal surgery on a dummy as a test for eventual remote surgery in space. The surgeons will be in Ontario, controlling the whole thing via the Zeus robotic system several thousand miles away. The hope is that eventually astronauts in need of surgery won't have to turn around and come back to Earth but instead will be able to slip into a gown and get that organ yanked out by a local robot.
Read MoreWhen did swallowable tiny robot gear become the breakout single of the summer? We're not sure (ok, so maybe it's not that popular) but first there was the robot pill crawler, now the latest is the VitalSense monitoring pill. Designed by the Mini Mitter Company and, um, the US Army, the pill checks out your inner stats with a wireless temperature sensor. We can feel a Survivor-type reality TV cameo brewing here, but more practical apps include studying how high-heat environments affect body stress. We're thinking of popping a few, relaxing at the fake-n-bake, and checking the results.
Read MoreNIZO Food Research, along with Quest International (a flavoring company) have developed an artificial throat the mimics the real thing, taste-testing fizzy drinks so humans don't have to. As absurd as it sounds, the truth is that the drink industry uses tons of taste-testers, and an artificial device like this could spell big efficiency gains for them (and a lot of out of work taste-testers—it was fun while it lasted!). The end result for us? More fizzy drinks, of course. The device uses two glass tubes that operate like a mouth and esophagus, and an air just pumps the "breath" back up after a "swallow" for sampling. As for what the average consumer could do with such a device, we'll just leave that one alone.
Read MoreWe really wanted to invite QRIO to the sock-hop, but we thought that it might be a little old-fashioned, you know, for a robot of the future. But oh, how wrong we were—we had no idea you rollerskated (albeit to really bad music), QRIO! You've once more set our little organic hearts aflutter. We also rather enjoyed watching Fujitsu's HOAP-2 do some sumo prep moves. HOAP-2 is retail available for $1,500 apparently, but it doesn't appear to be a wireless solution like QRIO. No matter though, as HOAP-2 owners are already entering their programmable robots in fighting competitions to see whose kung-fu (pun intended) is superior. [Via BoingBoing]
Read MoreWe'll admit we're more than a little jealous that Japan's rapidly-aging population will son have a robot for every occasion. OK, so we maybe should count it as a blessing that we don't require a robotic bathtime, though the human washing machine pictured here looks like the ultimate fullbody spa. And we guess we should be especially stoked that we don't require this new robotic lifter for the bedridden that Secom will be selling in April. The user can control the lifting robot with a remote and the device can move and place the user wherever s/he needs. Sensors make sure that the user is securely positioned on the lifter and stops moving if senses his/her unsafe placement.
Read MoreWhile the initial response to the idea of a leggy robot crawling around your guts is naturally one of shock and awe, if you really think about the other surgical and endoscopic options, they're all a little offputting as well: tubes, little cameras on wires, so why the hell not a tiny-legged robot pill? The 25mm long and 10mm diameter crawling capsule was created by researchers in Italy and Korea and once the pill is swallowed the soft coating dissolves and the crazy-legged robot starts its course. The only issue might be one of control, since we're sure the patient won't be none too pleased when some rogue robot starts aimlessly inspecting his intenstines. [Via Near Future]
Read MoreAkihabara News saw a lot of fresh gadgets at the CEATEC 2004 trade show in Tokyo, but our fave is this shiny red robot which looks a lot like JVC's answer to Sony's bipedal QRIO. Best part: the J4, as it's called, is controlled via Bluetooth.
Read MoreThe AIBO ESR-7 digital doggy is getting a major software update. In a new version of the AIBO Mind software, improvements to response time, speech recognition, and vision have all been completed. In test units, the dog was able to recognize objects and remember where they were, so it eventually creates a topographic map of its environment and navigates around things rather than, well, through them. Response time has also been improved, with reported times as little as one second for voice commands as well as the ability to accept new voice commands while still executing a previous one. This will add to a more "lifelike" experience, say Sony. The new AIBO can also play media files, including MP3s and WMVs. For the surveillance gurus, the watch-dog portion of the software has been improved - you can now set the dog to take photos or video based on trigger events like motion or sound, and then send those image or video files via e-mail. Or, you can control it remotely with included software. So when you get an email containing a picture of a ninja stealing your goldfish food, don't say AIBO didn't warn you.
Read MoreWhile one part of us hopes that these stock buying and selling robots don't completely outdue their human counterparts, replacing all of Wall Street with teenage programmers might be kind of therapeutic. Japanese computer programmers have been invited to create virtual robots to compete in KabuRobo Programming Contest, a stock investment returns contest put on by Waseda University, Nomura Research Institute and IBM Japan. Contestants will program their virtual robots to buy and sell orders for 40 stocks out of the 225 leading stocks in the Nikkei in response to market events or whatever factors they choose. Once the contest starts the contestants have to refrain from giving their robots any input and have to just let the bot broker on its own.
Read MoreWe're not sure how accurate this story is, but since it sounds similar to some other goods readily available out there, we're not going to question at least the possibility of lamppost-climbing robots with CCTVs strapped to their backs. We just going to pass the rumor along and deal with our lack of journalistic efforts later. In the English region of the West Midlands, police and firefighters unveiled the devices at an arson task force, hoping to catch future arsonists in the act and hopefully prevent them from committing their firey misdeeds.
Read MoreIf you've ever been in town for a Berkeley protest then you know they're one part Che-t-shirt-wearing freshman, one part scraggly middle-aged 60's-era throwback and one part People's Park drifter (where's the free food?). So lucky for us all, we can now watch the ugly planned mayhem of the Sproul protests over a new robotic webcam, which has been installed under a project called Demonstrate made by Berkeley's engineering school. Users can sign into the project's site, control the webcam through point-n-click, take still pictures and write comments for their own and other user's pics. About 20 users can control the cam at a time and the site uses an algorithm to share all of the user's requests and determine the ultimate lens focus. For example if you're a user who has taken more pictures and commented on more images, then you're control over the cam carries more weight than a first time user. Starting noon today (just in time for the 40th anniversary of Berkeley's claim-to-fame free speech movement) the engineering school will be displaying and lecturing about their webcam. Though we really don't want to see the sad "you should have been there, man" old hippies or the "Mean People Suck" students, we might check it out just in case someone gets arrested.
Read MoreTiny robots. In your blood. That dispense drugs. At least that's what scientists at the Chinese Academy of Science and the University of Science and Technology of China are promising if they can get the 3 millimeter-long drugbot they've built, which is still pretty big for something that's going to be passing through your blood vessels, down to a tenth of a millimeter. Then it's party time, er, healthy time. [Via near near future]
Read MoreIf you'd have told this to a doctor even ten years ago they'd have either laughed or spat in your face, but a University in China has developed a robot that can set bones, operate on patients, and conduct medical research (we're not sure what that last one means, but if it can conduct other kinds of research we could really use it over here at Engadget HQ). The smaller version of the robot has already helped conduct 21 bone setting surgeries, apparently, with a 100% success rate; not bad, but forgive us if we're not entirely excited about the possibility of a segfault while our femur is being realigned. Still, it's not the first, nor will it be the last time a robot's going to cut open a human and meddle with the insides. [Via Near Near Future]
Read MoreEngineers seem to have a real soft spot for rat/robot combos like the Cyborg Rat, which we took a look at last week, though the AMouse (Artificial Mouse), a fully robotic rat with natural mouse whiskers, looks admittedly nothing like a mouse (we guess they weren't going for the realistic look). We're thinking that rats and labs have gotten a bread-n-butter partnership because, beyond all those lab-friendly characteristics, they tend to score pretty low on the public-sympathy-meter. And though we're not sure of the exact method by which the AMouse gets its real McCoy whiskers, it's probably not such a great outcome for the de-whiskered rats. Engineers at Universities of Tokyo and Switzerland created the AMouse to climb into small spaces and use its whiskers as sensors to detect different changes in environment. They're hoping one day to create robotic whiskers to replace AMouses' borrowed real ones, but until then some unlucky labjockey will have the honorary job as rat-whisker plucker (not to mention the unlucky rats).
Read MoreSo now that we can all officially say that technology and fashion go hand-in-hand, we can really stop being surprised when designers come out with special-edition gadgets. Like, for example, Vogue's and Dianne Von Furstenberg's new couture-tech line, which includes the DVF Mobile (a gussied-up Samsung SPH-A680 cameraphone) and an accessory called the CityBand which makes carrying the essentials (cellphone included, we presume) easier. A lady gadget bag, if you will. We think we may wait it out for palmOne to release a Issei Miyaki Treo 650, though.
Read MoreSamsung, never content with their cellphone technology (yeah they're the ones with hard drives, a 5 megapixel camera, and VGA screens), has developed a new chip for phones which increases brightness by 50%. The LCD Driver IC does VGA (640 by 480) resolution using their proprietary "4 Color Rendering" and will be used in their higher-end handsets in 2005. We admit, we've resorted to using our cellphone as a flashlight when the power goes out, so we'll be armed with this come next year.
Read MoreSo the details on Samsung's SCH-S250, the 5 megapixel cameraphone that we told you about earlier this week, have begun to make it out. Not surprisingly, to go along with that crazy resolution it's got a 320 x 240 pixel QVGA screen, which can display an astounding 16.7 million colors (the resolution isn't by any means a first for a cameraphone, but the amount of colors the display can handle definitely is). It also has a text to speech function, QVGA video recording, and Tungsten 3-like slide-out design that protects the camera optics, 92MB of internal memory, an MP3 player, TV-out and MMC. MMC? What, they couldn't add SD to what's arguably one of the most advanced phones in the world? It's only out later this month in Korea, so don't worry about hoarding your pennies just yet for the $800 pricetag. [Thanks, Wirobro]
Read MoreWe don't know anything about when it might come out here, but PC Watch snapped this pic of the Yepp YH-926, Samsung's new MP3 player with a 20GB hard drive and a 65,000 color LCD screen which we can only presume is for looking at digital photos. [Via Akihabara News]
Read MoreThe creative and/or stoned people at the Royal College of Art helped develop a "meta tool" for portable devices that tracks the devices' movement through 3D space. So what does this mean? It means that interfaces are being created that will allow one to access information based on the placement of the portable device. Want to see what booty-shakin' music you have? Move the device to your, well, booty. Want to listen to some nerd-rock? Move it to your head. Want to listen to Michael Jackson? We won't touch that one (or say anything about where you might store your porn site passwords). Other, more practical uses, might include security settings for getting at personal financial information that would require a particular posture or movement. We would do anything to have the robot dance as our PIN number. Anything. Really. [Via Near Near Future]
Read MoreLooks like some science nerds at the University of Washington's Human Interface Technology Laboratory have hooked up a screenless heads-up display they call the virtual retinal display (VRD), which, unpleasurable as it sounds, fires laser-drawn images right into your eyeball off microscopic mirrors oscillating at incredibly high speeds. Intended for use with cellphones and other wireless devices,, the upshot is that the picture has a theoretically infinite resolution, is vibrant, bright, and doesn't require those silly mini-screens right up in your eye that use up way more power. But yeah, you end up with a fickin' laser beam in the retina. And the other downside? Well, duh, it only displays red (that is, until we get some miniaturized blue and green lasers).
Read MoreResearchers at The University of Manchester and Chernogolovka, Russia have created the first-ever single-atom-thick substance, a fabric they call "graphene". The substance is stable, flexible, and highly conductive, and researchers believe it could be used to create computers made from a single molecule. Professor Andre Geim at The University of Manchester was able to extract a single plane of graphite crystal, resulting in the new fabric. The hope is that the fabric will be used in the future to create nanotubes, transistors for microscopic computers, that could result in some seriously small electronic gadgetry.
Read MoreIt's here at long last. The Alienware SLI series has made its debut. The system promises a video scheme that provides the power of two interlaced graphics cards. You can now go to the Alienware site and do more than just look at the specs — now you can actually buy it. For a measly six grand you can own the mountaintop. You can stake your flag in the ground at the peak of the PC world. Granted, the ground slips out from our feet in about 4 months, until another mountain springs up, but such is life on the cutting-edge that we first adopters live by. The sweet system lacks absolutely nothing. SLI, 3.6Ghz Intel, 148Gb Raptor, you name it. Not to mention the case. Yeah, we sound like a brochure at the moment, but you go take a look and try to contain yourself.
Read MoreAlan Epstein has crafted micro gas-turbine engines out of silicon that he says could become a powerful alternative to the standard rechargeable battery for portable devices. The tiny gas turbines are a little smaller than a dime, spin at more than a million revolutions per minute, and can run on a container of diesel fuel that about the size of a D battery. The US military is already interested in the new technology for mobile soldiers, as they currently lug around some pretty big battery packs. As the technology advances, Epstein is confident that cell phones, PDAs, laptops, and other portable electronics could be fitted with the little jet engines as a more efficient alternative to current battery technologies. One problem, of course, is that you would end up with a cellphone that has an exhaust. "Ooh, excuse me. No, no, that was my cellphone. Really. Ahem."
Read MoreKing of brings new meaning to "What will they think of next?" now that CyberKinetics have developed BrainGate, a device that allows people to control computers entirely by their thoughts. Using a small chip with 100 neuron sensors, BrainGate has allowed a 24 year-old quadriplegic man to check email and play videogames using his thoughts. With a little chip that goes in one's noggin, the device can read brain activity at the neuron level, a first of its kind. Because of this level of interaction, the "installed" individual can control an electronic device while doing something else at the same time. So the next time you see a quadriplegic complaining about being asked to do too much, point out the multitasking 24-year old with BrainGate, so he had better get off his lazy paralyzed ass.
Read MoreHP's UK division has developed a technology that allows screens to be printed on sheets of plastic; images can be displayed on thin, flexible displays, which may be used for digital paper, electronic billboards, and digital photographs. We've all heard about this biz before ("It's real this time!"), but apparently this current prototype can display 125 colors, and even hold the image when the display is shut off (we haven't seen that from HP in two years). Inkless publications are obviously still a ways off, but these are all good signs.
Read MoreOooooh, a lot of people aren't going to like hearing this, but a study by the Karolinska Institute in Sweden found that the risk of ear tumors is 3.9 times higher for people who have been using a cellphone for more than ten years, but only on the side of the head where they hold their cellphone. We know what your next question is: Ear tumors? Yeah, in addition to brain cancer you'll have to also worry about acoustic neuroma, a benign tumor which affects the auditory nerve and can possibly lead to brain damage. There is one thing that'll help some of you sleep a little easier tonight: it's only analog cellphones that seem to cause this, there doesn't seem to be any evidence that digital cellphones (i.e. ones that use GSM or CDMA) raise the incidence of ear tumors at all. Which is good, because we're sorta into being able to hear and all that.
Read MoreWe know what you're thinking. Crazy flashing lights equals Pokemon-style seizures, but the Japanese scientists who have developed a method of communicating by flashing LED lights at extremely high rates that are faster than the human eye can possibly detect. They're investigating it as an alternative to using radio waves for position detection (which they is way too inaccurate and theoretically their LED system is precise to within a few millimeters), and also for creating traffic signals which can beam information to your car.
Read MoreYeah, this happened to us too when we developed a personal jet pack for flying around—our friend's mom who loaned us the money to get it going totally took us to court because we wouldn't give it back, just like what happened with Bradley W. Barker and LW Stanley III. Whatever, water under the bridge. So hey, Brad, take our advice and produce that jetpack for that pretentious ass Thomas Laurence Stanley III and his whiney mom, or you could end up spending a couple months in the slammer like we did. Granted, it was minimum security, but the jetpack just isn't worth it, dude, even if it can fly for 27 seconds like yours can.
Read MoreHerbert Zeman has invented a device he calls the vein contrast enhancer (VCE) that is aimed at reducing failed attempts at hitting the vein the first time during blood tests, injections, and IV drip insertions. The device uses infrared LEDs to point out areas of high blood concentration, which, if the patient is in fact human, are veins. The LEDs illuminate the skin at a wavelength of 740 nanometers which is highly-absorbed by blood and dispered by fat and other tissue. The result is an image that represents the location of veins. This image is then projected back onto the skin using a "hot mirror" that ensures accuracy within 0.06mm. As patients, we love the idea of making things easier for the doctor or nurse during those scary needle moments, especially if you're one of those people for whom finding a vein can be a problem. Not that you're fat, or anything.
Read MoreNever though there'd be someone who made the guy who built that jet-powered wheelchair seem completely sane, but there you go. The insane thing is that the wheelchair actually goes faster than this supermarket cart, er, trolley that some soon-to-be-deceased Englishman strapped a jet engine to.
Read MoreUnapparently unsatisfied with the destructive capabilities of the weapons they have now, the US Air Force is working on—get this—antimatter bombs (we'll spare you the obvious sci-fi references, but feel free to make them yourselves). And we can see why: as little as one millionth of a gram of positrons has as much destructive force as 83 pounds of TNT, and unlike with nukes, there's no messy radioactive fallout to have to deal with later. We smell a doomsday machine in here somewhere, and there are already plenty of worries that the fact that an antimatter superweapon could kill tons of people without also rendering the planet uninhabitable has some scientists worried that they'll be too temtpting to actually use. Potentially saving us all from destruction: the fact that producing even 100-billionths of a gram of antimatter costs on the order of $6 billion, a princely sum which'll either keep antimatter weapons from being built anytime soon or result in a massive jack-up in military expenditures.
Read MoreWe always knew that batteries have the honor of being the single most toxic element out of any electrical device we own - we're thinking that's why our battery-sucking kid brother developed that weird tick. But Sony announced that they've made the silver oxide battery disc battery a little greener. The silver oxide battery is the one used in wrist watches and handhelds games, and in the past the battery always needed mercury to stop corrosion. But now Sony says they've developed the technology to take out the mercury without the previous corrosive result. We really have no idea how they did it, but we applaud taking mercury out of the occasion. Now start working on those thermometers.
Read MoreIt's true, we do heart BenQ. And while we agonize over whether to snap up the Treo 650 or hold out for their slightly more spec'd out P50 (which is due out in March and has both the built-in WiFi and 1.3 megapixel we find sorely lacking in the Treo 650), BenQ has another new smartphone for us to contend with, the recently-launched P30, a tri-band GSM/GPRS cellphone which runs on Symbian UIQ (which is the same software you'll find in the Sony Ericsson P900 and P910), and has a 2.66-inch, 262,000 color LCD touchscreen, Bluetooth, a built-in VGA quality digital camera that can record video clips, an SD memory card slot, and comes with Opera's mobile browser pre-installed (which is a bigger deal than it sounds). [Thanks, Guttrhead]
Read MoreSeems Panasonic has dropped an awful lot of new cellphones on us at the PT/EXPO COMM CHINA2004 show, which range from vaporous to solid. The UMTS/GSM/GPRS Z800 (pictured right) should hopefully turn up all over the place by virtue of its sheer multibandedness (it's their first 3G handset), while the X100, X200, X700, A200 and A500 (we'd feel so much more for them if they were called Dave, Mike and Julie) are GSM-only; the X700 apparently marks Panasonic's first Symbian phone. (Photos of these are in Panasonic's Japanese press release here.)
Read MoreApparently Cingular has decided to flex its might now that they've formally gobbled up AT&T Wireless, and is getting exclusives on a bunch of the better new GSM cellphones (which basically really only means that you won't be seeing them on T-Mobile, too). It's no big surprise that they'll be the only ones offering Motorola's RAZR V3 here in the States, but now it looks like they'll also have an exclusive on the S710a, which is the EDGE-enabled version of the S700, Sony Ericsson's swivel-style 1.3 megapixel cameraphone. Should be out in December with a retail price of $399.
Read MoreWe don't know much about the S2, RoverPC's new clamshell-style Pocket PC Phone with a 3-inch LCD screen that rotates around and folds down so you can use it like a regular PDA, but we do know it has 64MB of RAM, 32MB of flash ROM, a built-in VGA quality digital camera, and a 400MHz processor. We definitely dig the direction they're going in...
Read MoreIt's a crazy, goofy, flashing, retro Nineties-style personal home page, which can only mean one thing: someone (in this case a company called Digital Oxygen) has been engaging in some stealth marketing on someone's behalf. "Hank Magwood" of Hank-Makes-It-Flat.com really loves flattening things like traffic cones, bikes, and dumbells, and crikey, there just happens to be a bunch of pics of him with his very favoritest flat thing of all, Motorola's new RAZR V3 cellphone. You go! [Thanks, huphtur]
Read MoreMore than a few people have called out Sprint for crippling Bluetooth on the new Treo 650 so it can't be used as a wireless modem for a laptop or another PDA, but Sprint is fighting back, saying that they're working on a software upgrade that'll enable this capability. It's just that because of "development deadlines" it won't be available until sometime after they launch the phone next month, and instead will come as part of a scheduled maintence release of software that's due out later. [Thanks, Ani]
Read MoreDon't expect to be able to connect, let alone sync your Sidekick II with a Macintosh, according to developer mark/space. Although they have working software that would allow the synching to take place, issues with Danger and/or T-Mobile are keeping them from releasing it. This is unfortunate, especially since the software is ready to go. Expect to see a stop-gap solution from Konfabulator-creator Arlo Rose, who apparently is on the case. [Thanks, Jerry]
Read MoreTrying to play up some sort of "DJ" angle by claiming that the little circular metal decoration on the front automatically makes it reminiscent of the wheels of steel is a little weak, but KTF is probably onto something with the KTF-X5500, their new MP3 playing phone. Like T-Mobile's SDA Music Smartphone, it has dedicated buttons on the front for controlling the MP3 player, as well as 1.3 megapixel digital camera, a 1-inch external LCD screen, a 2-inch internal LCD screen, 55MB of storage space (enough for probably about 10 to 15 MP3s or so, or enough to be able to ditch your iPod for at least an hour). Only available in South Korea, but since it does use EV-DO it isn't entirely inconceivable that Sprint or Verizon might offer it someday. It's just highly unlikely.
Read MoreWhile DoCoMo have had their PreMini line of microscopic phones out for a while, they release four new ones with some solid features. First off, the phones are still about as slight as a phone can get, all coming in smaller than a business card in terms of length and width. The four new phones, the Premini-s, Prosolid, Music Porter, and Lechiffon are distinct designs with clearly different intended audiences. The Lechiffon, for instance, is a pink flip phone with a heart-shape camera lense guard. The Music Porter, on the other hand, is a silver and red Gameboy Advance SP-looking MP3-playing square flip phone. See if you can guess which one is meant for the girls. [Thanks, Dan]
Read MoreThe iPod and the BMW are already best friends (or something along those lines), but not to be outdone, palmOne proves it can pimp a German ride as well as the next gadget maker and has teamed up with Audi. The gist of the deal is that Bluetooth-enabled Audi cars'll be able to automatically pair up with palmOne's new Treo 650 for use as hands-free speakerphone and that you'll also be able to use the smartphone to control various features of the car (though we're not quite sure which ones). Expect some sort of big proper announcement soon, but palmOne was already showing this dealy off at CTIA the other day. Read - MobileTracker Read - Bargain PDA
Read MoreRemember how we told you how easy it is to kill BlackBerrys via email, causing them to hard reset? Well, turns out that was a buffer-overflow issue in the 3.7 version of their operating software, and was actually fixed right proper in 3.8. So if you don't want your nerdy prank-playing coworkers constantly resetting your BlackBerry (what, they're just trying to mess with you!), you might want to upgrade post-haste.
Read MoreAudiovox has been showing off the CDM-8940, their first high-speed EV-DO handest, which sports a 1.3 megapixel digital camera, an SD memory card slot, and a 1.9-inch, 262,000 color, main display and a 1.2-inch, 262,000 external display. No carrier has committed to carrying it yet, at least not officially, but since it's compatible with EV-DO it has to be either Verizon or Sprint here in the States, and from what we've heard, it'll probably be Verizon.
Read MoreThe no-name PDA Phones just keep a coming, the latest is from a South Korean company called Startups called the Vivace that they claim runs on Windows CE.net (though in the pics it looks like it's got the Pocket PC OS on there, but whatever), comes in both CDMA and GSM versions, and has a 3.5-inch LCD screen, 64MB of RAM, 64MB of flash ROM, and a CompactFlash card slot (which seems a little quaint by this point, doesn't it?). There's also a "Plus" version that ups the ante ever so slightly by adding a 0.3 megapixel digital camera to the mix. They're almost certainly looking to build this thing for someone else (welcome to the wonderful world of ODMs and OEMs), we're sure they'll find at least one legit company (Audiovox, we're looking in your general direction) willing to lend their brand name to this thing. [Via PDA Live]
Read MoreIt's an entry-level phone, which these days means no digital camera or Bluetooth, but Sony Ericsson just rolled out the T290a, a new dual band GSM/GPRS cellphone aimed directly at the low-end of the market that does have a few niceties like a built-in speakerphone and a decently bright (but sorta low-res) color screen.
Read MoreNot exactly shocking since they were the first ones to get the Treo 600, but Sprint says they're planning on being the first US wireless carrier to offer the brand new Treo 650. They say it'll be in stores sometime next month with a retail price of $599.99 and that a cameraless version should follow sometime later this year. P.S. - In case you're looking for 'em, here are the links to our coverage of palmOne's big announcement: Treo 650 is official! Even more Treo 650 pics First (official) look at the Treo 650 Treo 650 won't support WiFi
Read MoreCodenamed Magneto, some deets and screenshots have leaked out of Windows Mobile 2005, which should be out sometime in the first half of 2005. It'll be based on Windows CE 5.0, which should translate into better support graphics and multimedia stuff (especially for VGA Pocket PCs like the Axim X50), with Direct3D Mobile (based on DirectX graphics technology), some revisions to Pocket Word (see right) and Excel, the addition of security zones for Pocket Internet Explorer, and a revamped ActiveSync 4.0. At this point it's all evolution rather than revolution.
Read MoreIt's exactly not news anymore that companies are working on tiny digital TV tuners for cellphones, but according to CNET, Texas Intstruments says that 70% of all cellphones worldwide will have digital television chips within three years. Normally we'd toss this as self-serving crap from a company that's trying to move some product (not to mention the whole thing about whether people really want to watch TV on their cellphone), but after seeing the rise and rise of cameraphones (remember that it was only two years ago that the first handsets with built-in digital cameras arrived here in the States, and now it's hard to find a new phone without one) we're not quite foolish enough to bet against technology's relentless march forward.
Read MoreSome users of the Vodafone V602 in Japan are outfitting their phones with a night-vision device made by Yamada Denshi. The device, meant for military and defense uses, works with the V602 and allows its users to "see" through clothing with night-vision sensors that pick up body heat. The device is so popular among pervs in Japan that it prompted an official statement from Vodafone. One priceless tidbit: "we would never sell a phone that was enabling someone to see someone naked." Well there you go. Naked-watching is not officially endorsed by Vodafone.
Read MoreThere have been rumors since April that Sprint would carry the CU928, Daxian's sweet new Pocket PC Phone (and yes, the XDA III/MDA III is the GSM/GPRS version of this), but now it's official. And as usual, don't shouldn't waste your time calling up Sprint asking for the Daxian CU928 since it's now known as the Audiovox PPC-6601 (it's like Audiovox has become the brand name of last resort for wireless carriers who feel like they gotta slap something vaguely recognizable on there). Anyway, we more or less already knew the specs on this one, but here's the recap: 128MB of memory, 400MHz processor, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, Bluetooth (which we're sure will be crippled because it's Sprint), and an SDIO expansion card slot (but no built-in 802.11b WiFi like with the XDA III). There will also be a version called the PPC-6600 that comes with a built-in VGA quality digital camera. Retail price is $629.99.
Read MoreDon't get us wrong, we'll be snapping one up as soon as possible, but are we the only ones who feel like palmOne skimped a little bit on the specs of the new Treo 650? It was already frustrating enough that they didn't amp up the camera (it's still VGA quality, not 1.3 megapixels like had been reported previously) or the memory (they kept it at a mere 32MB), but now you can add one more thing to the list of disappointments with the new Treo 650: it won't support WiFi. Not only will it not be compatible with palmOne's WiFi SD expansion card, apparently palmOne isn't even planning to work on a driver or otherwise add support for SD WiFi cards. We'd already given up hope about adding a WiFi card to the Treo 600, but we figured that maybe they'd have gotten it right with the Treo 650 and sorted out all the power consumption and radio interference issues that are supposedly involved. It's not like other smartphones don't have built-in WiFi.
Read MoreExpect loads more in the coming days, but for right now TreoCentral has what is more or less the first hands-on review of the new Treo 650 (we probably shouldn't count that guy who said he got to play with one at a Sprint store a few weeks back).
Read MoreYep, the wait is over: the Treo 650 got officially official today, and right on schedule, too (well, depending on whether or not you take into account them seriously jumping the gun and accidentally distributing the Treo 650 press release last week). No, you can't buy it yet—you're at the mercy of the carriers now, which won't actually be offering the new smartphone until they're good and ready—but at least we know that it can't be too much longer now. And as we all already knew, the major improvements over the old Treo are Bluetooth, a higher resolution LCD screen, a faster processor, and a removable battery. The stuff we are disappointed by: still only 32MB of memory, supposedly some carriers will be crippling the Bluetooth, and the camera is still only VGA quality—no bump up to 1.3 megapixels like we'd hoped. Click to see the official specs and some more pics.
Read MoreUnless something seriously catastrophic happens, palmOne is all set to make us fall in love all over again and drop the new Treo 650 on Monday. The specs are no big secret at this point, but CNET has what looks more or less like an official press photo of our new lust object.
Read MoreThose Brits are hooked up with gadgets in the worst way. First, they actually have a properly rolled out 3G data network, now it's been announced that they can expect a 3G version of RIM's BlackBerry for next year, as per T-Mo's UK director, Brian McBride. We'd say we were jealous (don't think we're not) but we're trying to spend our time on happy thoughts of spending future time with the Treo 650 and the BenQ P50.
Read MoreMotorola is recalling an undisclosed number of v710s due to numerous problems, one of which includes a misaligned camera module on models distributed in the Verizon Wireless channel. Other problems include Bluetooth discoverability and general software usability problems. Verizon is reportedly not happy with Motorola's history of releasing products that could have used a bit more testing, and may be looking to Nokia to fill their needs in the future. In fact, the T720 never made it to market via Verizon due to testing problems, and it now looks like the Razor is encountering quality control issues as well. Motorola, slow down. No running near the pool, and chew your food at least 32 times.
Read MoreSymbol, (who you probably know for making barcode equipment, and in some cases Pocket PC handhelds) announced today their new MC50 series of Windows Mobile Pocket PC devices, which, in addition to being pretty tough in anticipation of heavy use, also have integrated WiFi for VoIP, a one megapixel camera, a 65k color, 240x320 QVGA TFT LCD screen, SDIO port, 64MB RAM and ROM, and a 520MHz XScale CPU. Oh, and a barcode reader. Because it just wouldn't be a Symbol without one, right guys? [Via Geekzone]
Read MoreIt's a pen, it's a phone, it's a... yeah, yeah. Chinese manufacturer Haier (who you may know for making just about everything else in your house but a phone) have created the P7 pen phone, a 5.9 x 1.0 x .7-inch little cellphone with color screen and a VGA camera (we have no idea how). It's also tri-band GSM (900/1800/1900), supports GPRS, and claims 3 hours talk time or 120 hours standby time, with a 128 x 64 pixel, 65K color display. And to top it off, it sports a USB interface for uploads and downloads of those gorgeous VGA photos. The big irony, however, is that we're pretty sure the thing can't actually write anything. [Mia msmobiles]
Read MoreMitsubishi has already shown a prototype cellphone screen that uses two alternately flashing backlights to show a different image front and back; now Omron has come along with their take on the idea, the Reversible Light. Instead of the usual clamshell phone setup, where a main and subdisplay (plus a backlight for each) are mounted in the handset, they posit a setup where you'd have a single display serving as both main and sub, with the Reversible Light acting as backlight when you looked at the main and frontlight when you viewed the sub, if that makes sense. (The display and light are the left and right blocks in the diagram, if that helps.) The obvious advantage is halving the thickness of the display components needed, though with more and more stuff being crammed into cellphones we worry that clamshells of the future could end up looking distinctly bottom-heavy.
Read MoreThe rate at which phone camera resolutions continue to increase isn't much cause for surprise any more, but another datapoint in the pixel arms-race is Mitsubishi's announcement that it'll start shipping samples of a four-megapixel autofocus module next month. That means we could start seeing four-megapixel autofocus cameraphones sometime around next May to June, though as ITmedia notes (in Japanese, so you'll have to trust us) the image quality problem is shifting to lens and optical zoom technology, or the poorness of it, rather than pixel count per se. In any case, Mitsubishi's module means that shooting nice 2,304x1,728-pixel photos and VGA video at 30 frames per second with your phone will soon be possible, which can't bad at all.
Read MoreWe know some people still aren't fond of cellphones; we'll admit, even for some of us here at Engadget the lack of etiquette on the parts of some unnamed parties is a bit more than we can stomach. So in a way we're kind of on the same page (no, we're not) as the Germans who organized their latest cellphone throwing contest, where this time around Nico Morawa beat a four-year old record of 65.80m (that would be 215 feet in American). We can't help but wonder, though, which manufacturer's handset was the lucky winner tossed? Suppose we're all just going to have to use our imaginations.
Read MoreThere've been many a mumbling about this going down, but Samsung's finally thrown down, and what we've got to show for it is an unbelievable 5-megapixel cameraphone. We don't have any details on it yet (or pictures, for that matter, except that turd to the right) but holy moly, what more do you need? It's not like it's going to come out here anyway. [Via Picturephoning]
Read MoreUh oh, Palm, get ready. Right now at the Gartner's ITXPO Symposium RIM is demoing their new BlackBerry 7270, which is capable of 802.11b WiFi. Granted, it's a VoWLAN VoIP custom job that interfaces with business phone systems and all that (don't look so surprised), but all the same we're glad that some big players are hitting us up with WiFi, despite the fact that they're not keeping it open—which will just have to come in time. Now if only they'd pair it up with Bluetooth, like the BlackBerry 7290 they just announced. [Via MobileTracker]
Read MorePalmOne, pull it together, now. We don't even know what you're doing anymore. First there's the Treo 650 page on your site, now there's this press release for the Treo 650 floating around? Why don't you just give up the ghost and announce it already? It's not like no one knows. Anyway, the "release" confirms what we all already knew: Bluetooth support, revamped keyboard, internal NVRAM, user-removable battery, 320x320 screen, and so on. And they also told us about some stuff we were really hoping for about the two versions to be available: a CDMA/1XRTT dual-band version, and a quad-band EDGE capable GSM version. Oh, and carriers will announce availability in the next few weeks ("before the holiday shopping season," as they put it). [Via Treonauts]
Read MoreWhat do you do when you're out of ideas for new products? Ask the public to come up with ideas for you for free, of course. Sony Ericsson, who have gone quiet as of late in the new wireless entry game, held a design competition in China in which they received hundreds of interesting ideas. Entries range from straight-up ripoffs of products already in existence to bizarre exercises in Escher geometry. Spotted trends include twisting keypads, iSight-like cameras, and PSP-inspired widescreen displays. Also, the iPhone dream still lives (see right).
Read MoreTu-Ka isn't the Japanese cellphone company that usually makes handset news (its position in the industry there is more that of the hedgehog cowering at the roadside as the 50-ton trucks roar by), but its stripped-down approach occasionally throws up an oddity. Hence, the Tu-Ka S from Kyocera, its most minimalist offering yet, which foregoes even a screen and ends up looking more like a baby intercom than a cellphone. Power and signal strength are both indicated by LEDs that light up for "good", flash for "bad", or stay dark for "dead" when you press the talk key, and there's no memory whatsoever (naturally). Battery life is, as you might expect, exemplary: you get 840 hours standby and 240 mins talk time. Ideal for parents who're worried about getting their kids cellphone-addicted, perhaps, though you have to balance that against the risk that they'll never make any friends carrying one of these.
Read MoreCome on Palm, this isn't the first time you've done this. You'd have thought the lesson might have been learnt, or that you could just come out with it by now and stop beating around the bush with the 650. Anyhow, some guys replaced 600 with 650 in a URL string on palmOne's site and lo and behold, a Treo 650 page was already whipped up and live. So I guess that means we're going to have to sic our hordes of monkeys at keyboards (they prefer "interns" for some reason) to do this to every possibile link on their site. [Via TBCM]
Read MoreNothing like having more confusing and similar names to add to the smartphone/PDA phone nomenclature, but some new details have surfaced about the HTC's latest Pocket PC Phone, which is codenamed "Alpine" but has been picked up by O2 and christened the XDA IIi. More or less a refesher of the XDA II, the XDA IIi packs in a 520Mhz processor and a 1.3 megapixel camera—not to be confused with the XDA IIs (bear with us here) which is probably going to be released by Cingular here in the States as the Siemens SX66. Biggest difference you're likely to actually notice? The XDA IIi doesn't have the slide-out keyboard of the SX66/XDA II. Phew. Those ODMs never go easy on us.
Read MoreWe thought it was going to be AT&T Wireless (and to be fair, they could still end up offering it as well before the merger happens), but unless someone went way out of their way to hoax us hard, we're now pretty sure that Cingular is going to carry the Siemens SX66 Pocket PC Phone (the Cingular logo is a dead giveaway). Also known as the Siemens SX66 in certain foreign parts, the Siemens SX66 might just be the Pocket PC Phone you've been waiting for: it has a slider-style mini QWERTY keyboard, a 3.5-inch LCD screen, 64MB of flash ROM, 128MB of RAM, a 400MHz processor, quad-band GSM/GPRS (which means you'll be able to use it overseas), an SDIO expansion card slot, and built-in Bluetooth and 802.11b WiFi (we're also pretty sure there's a VGA quality digital camera in there somewhere, but there's no mention of it on the leaked Cingular brochure we scored). [Thanks, Graham]
Read MoreAsk Engadget is back again this week with more questions and answers. Last Thursday reader Taylor R. wanted to know what the must-have gear for business travel was, this week Dan D. asks sort of a general question, but one we think a lot of people will have something to say: What are some of your favorite software apps for smartphones and PDAs? A few of our faves for the Treo are FileZ, Snapper Mail, and Kinoma Player, but which mobile apps have you guys been digging on lately?
Read MoreLooks like there's a flaw with BlackBerry devices that sync with Microsoft's Exchange server using Blackberry Enterprise Server for Microsoft Exchange. Basically, if someone sends off a long meeting request with a bunch of text in the location field and sets the time to a date in the past, the BlackBerry will reboot (erasing all your stored messages). Stuff somebody's inbox with enough of these messages and their CrackBerry will be unusable.
Read MoreBasically blowing their chance at skimming off any disaffected Treo users who want a phone with both Bluetooth and built-in WiFi, supposedly BenQ now won't be introducing their P50 Pocket PC Phone (which is about the same size as the Treo 600 and has similar mini-keyboard) until sometime next year. Too bad, because once the Treo 650 comes out it'll be harder and harder to win our affection.
Read MoreWe've seen this before as the CU928 from Daxian and even listed on the FCC's website with a Verizon logo on it, and now it's turned up again as the iMate PDA2k EV-DO Pocket PC cellphone. In case you haven't been following along too closely (not that we expect you to, since that's our job), a similar GSM/GPRS version is already available in Europe (as the MDA III and XDA III, among other names) and will probably come out here in the States sooner or later. The bad news/frustration is that while iMate PDA2k has most of the same features as the GSM version, like a 400Mhz CPU, slide-out keyboard, 128MB RAM, Bluetooth, 240x320 QVGA screen, 640x480 VGA camera, and a 3.5-inch LCD screen. Missing, however, are the WiFi capabilities of the GSM version, which is a bit of a major disappointment. We're not sure why they skimped on this, but WiFi should be an added feature, not a subtracted feature.
Read MoreYou think pounding out text messages on your cellphone's 9 digit keypad is a chore? Try tapping one out in Chinese. Yeah, it's hard, and not just because you don't speak Chinese, either. It's annoying enough in English, bit it's actually even more of a pain to write out an SMS in Chinese, which is why Motorola is rolling out the A668, a new tri-band GSM handset with an unusual keypad that doubles a touch-sensitive surface that let's you write out English and Chinese characters with your finger. The A668 is probably the first to have the keypad double as a touch pad, but there are actually a few phones with regular touch pads already out there (Nokia has at least a couple) that are aimed pretty much exclusively at the Chinese market.
Read MoreFor reasons that are WAY too complicated to get into (it's also known as the C500, the i-Mate Smartphone 3, the Qtek 8010, and the Dopod 565, but here in the States it's known as the Audiovox SMT 5600) AT&T Wireless has just started offering it for $199.99 with a two-year contract, $319.99 without. No matter what it's called, at just 4.24 x 1.82 x 0.69 inches in size the SMT 5600 is the world's smallest cellphone running on Microsoft's Smartphone operating system and yet it still has a 2.2-inch, 176 x 220 pixel LCD screen, Bluetooth, a VGA quality digital camera, and a mini SD card slot. [Thanks, Naresh and Saquib]
Read MoreWe're almost stifling a yawn this time around, but yet more "leaked" pics have turned up of the Treo 650. Not that we aren't patiently waiting for its release or anything, it's just that this is getting to be sort of a tease and we want the damn thing to finally come out so we can buy it and experience a week or two of complete gadget-fulfillment before we start hearing all the rumors about the Treo 700 and how it's gonna put the Treo 650 to shame.
Read MoreWe know what you're thinking. Or at least we know what we were thinking when we first saw the 2650: does that thing actually fold up or not? Turns out it does, and they even have a tutorial reminding you to "not try to force the fold to open more than the hinge allows" and to, "Close the fold by pushing from the top part of the phone, not from the hinge." Good to know, but while we love its looks, unfortunately the 2650 is minimal in both design and specs: there's no Bluetooth, no built-in digital camera, and a 4,096 color LCD screen (we've sorta gotten spoiled by all those cellies with 262K color screens that keep coming out). The 2651, Nokia's North American version of the 2650, supposedly just got FCC approval to be sold here. No word on which carriers might offer it.
Read MoreThat five megapixel cameraphone Samsung was talking about the other day? Apparently just to mess with everyone (well, especially Casio) they're apparently moving up its release date and should have the hybrid cellphone/digital camera out before the end of this month. At least in South Korea. You didn't seriously think they'd sell something like that funky fresh here, did you? [Via textually.org]
Read MoreWe've more or less lost track (or maybe just lost interest) in all the twists and turns of Motorola's new MPx220 Smartphone, but let's simply say that if you've been waiting and waiting and waiting for it to finally come out that today is your lucky day. That is, if you're fortunate enough to live close to a Best Buy that's stocking it, with reports trickling out that Best Buy stores around the country (though mainly on the West Coast) have started selling the Cingular-branded version of the phone for $349.99 with contract or $499.99 without. The best part (and Cingular did this with the Treo 600, too) is that they're selling the MPx220 unlocked, which means as long as you don't mind the Cingular logo you can use them with any other GSM carrier (i.e. T-Mobile and AT&T Wireless here in the States). Weve' heard nary an official word from Cingular, but supposedly the Mpx220 should be in most Best Buy stores and available online sometime around the 15th.
Read MoreWe had some details and leaked pics of HP's new iPAQ hx2000 PocketPC line before, and now we've got some more finalized specs for this new business-oriented PDA which'll come in three flavors. The entry level mode is the hx2110, with a 312Mhz processor, QVGA (320x240) display, 64MB RAM and ROM, Compact Flash and SD card slots, and Bluetooth connectivity. The hx2410 has a faster 520Mhz processor, a bigger battery, docking cradle, and onboard WiFi in addition to what the hx2110 has. The top of the line hx2750 sports a 624Mhz processor, a VGA (640x480) screen, 128MB RAM and ROM, and is the only model to have a fingerprint reader for security purposes. Are we the only ones you think these things look a little wider than they need to be? [Via PDALive]
Read MoreYeah, it's totally a Treo knockoff (it's even roughly the same size, too), but we've been making eyes at BenQ's P50 Pocket PC Phone ever since we first spotted it at CeBIT back in March, and fortunately a bunch of new pics of it have turned up just in time to remind us of why we were so crushed out in the first place. The specs are hot (Bluetooth, WiFi, 1.3 megapixel digital camera, a large LCD screen, mini QWERTY keyboard), but they'd be even hotter if BenQ would hurry up and get the P50 out before the Treo 650 walks on stage and makes us forget all about this thing. Click to see a bunch more pics. [Via Godmode]
Read MoreWe had some spy shots of this one before, but now the Baby Phat by Kimora Lee Simmons i833 phone by Motorola has finally made its way to stores, sporting 0.4 karats of diamonds and a quilted pink look. Kimora Lee Simmons has been staring down at us from billboards everywhere lately, and we're still a bit unsure as to what exactly it she does - is she a model? A trophy wife? A phone designer? A disturbed angel stuck somewhere between ethnic and gender stereotypes aching to be known as a creative force in a world teeming with prejudice and hate, hiding from the man that seeks to bring her down? Either way, designing a pink phone sporting some bling-bling (the aforementioned diamond encrustation) may, or may not, be the way to go about breaking through those barriers that hold her down. You go, girl. These pink monsters are selling for around $700 on eBay already. Street prices are around $600.
Read MoreIn an unusual, but sensible, marriage of technologies, LG has released the KP8400 cellphone that doubles as a blood test for diabetics. The phone includes a tester into which users can place a blood test drop on a strip, place the strip in a special reader on the phone (located near the phone's battery pack), and get insulin and blood readings on the phone display. Readings can then be uploaded to an online database for retrieval later on. Because of the added technology the rest of the phone isn't anything to write home about, but it's more than sufficient: 262k color TFT display, CIF camera, and 64 voice polyphonic sound.
Read MoreSamsung announced a new version of their high-end slider-style cameraphone. The SGH-D500 basically addresses every complaint we had about the D415 (although we'll have to see if they improved the menus). They've removed the external antenna (we hope they didn't sacrifice too much of the awesome reception by doing so), added a speakerphone, Bluetooth and SyncML for syncing and beaming pictures, contacts and more. Plus, they've added MP3/AAC audio playback, upgraded the camera to 1.3 Megapixels and packed it full of 80 (80!!) MB of memory for pictures and music. We know, usually now is when we say "too bad you won't be able to get it here," but guess what? The SGH-D500 is a tri-band GSM/GPRS phone, just like the D415. And we're betting that when this phone is launched around the end of the year that you'll be able to go into your local T-Mobile store and pick one up. It's not totally absurd to believe that since they currently carry the D415 that they'd also carry the replacement. [Thanks, Bryan]
Read MoreSo we're using the new Sidekick II, but we wanted to know if we could unlock the old SideKick we had lying around. By unlocking it, of course, we could use any SIM card from any carrier to enable the SideKick to call and text message. While the data functions won't work without a SideKick account, we wanted to try and use it as a phone and SMS device. What! Don't scowl, it's not just a mobile communicator, it can make calls too, remember?. Anyway, it turns out you can easily unlock an SK (with T-Mobile's permission, of course).
Read MoreIt'll be sold as the Siemens SX66, but AT&T Wireless is reportedly going to start carrying the XDA IIs, Pocket PC Phone with quad-band GSM/GPRS (so you can use it overseas), a 2.5-inch color LCD screen, a VGA quality digital camera, 128MB of RAM, 96MB of flash ROM, a SDIO expansion card slot, a 400MHz processor, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard (like the one found on the XDA 3/MDA III), Bluetooth, and best of all, built-in 802.11b WiFi. If the price is right, this could knock HP's iPAQ h6315 right off the block (oh, and AT&T Wireless will have that phone next month, too).
Read MoreWe had some spy shots of this back in July, and it looks like Nextel's first cameraphone, the Motorola i860, has finally arrived. Nextel seems congenitally unable to carry a nice-looking phone, and while the i860 is no exception, we do dig its large 2.2-inch, 262,000 color LCD screen. The bad news is that while Nextel took their own sweet time coming out with a cameraphone, they didn't take advantage of the opportunity to skip a generation and come out with a megapixel model, and the digital camera on the i860 only has a resolution of 0.3 megapixels. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Read MoreMaria Sharapova, tennis star and burgeoning cellphone mannequin, is hugely popular in Korea. So huge, in fact, that when she called her mom on her custom-built MS330 after winning the Hansol Korea Open, fans were clamoring to get their hands on the orange phone. So in the interest of satiating Korean fans' desperate need to be like Maria, Motorola has moved up the release date of the phone... in Korea. The phone features a 1.3 megapixel camera and the same rubberized skin found on other recent Motorola phones. As for the rest of us, we'll just have to wait until some other star makes a phone famous.
Read MoreSony Ericsson busts it out with the Z500a, which has tri-band GSM support, dual color LCDs, VGA resolution camera, and plays both MP3 audio and MPEG4 video. It can connect to the Internet via GRPS and the new, faster EDGE specification (between 100 and 200 kbps) and of course, it wouldn't be complete without changeable faceplate covers. Coming soon, very soon. [Thanks, Artos]
Read MoreWhether they just made a pact with the devil or simply yielded to pragmatism depends on your point of view, but palmOne just cut a deal to make the email software in the Treo 650 and other future Treos fully compatible with Microsoft's Exchange email servers (which are especially popular with big corporations). We can see why they did it—excellent integration with Microsoft Exchange is one of the BlackBerry's prime selling points—but we won't even get into the whole thing about how this is only dredging up yet more speculation about how palmOne might someday abandon the Palm OS and switch to Microsoft's Windows Mobile (remember that palmOne themselves haven't explicity ruled this out). [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Read MoreThat seemingly endless series of leaked pics somehow gave us the impression that Nokia was getting ready to finally drop their new 7710 multimedia cellphone on us, and Reuters now confirms that not only will the actually phone see the light of day (unlike it's abortive predecessor, the 7700), but that they'll be announcing it next month in Monaco. Nokia won't comment, of course, but as suspected the 7710 is definitely going to be lighter and thinner than the 7700 and is also designed specifically for watching video and TV broadcasts. [Via MobileTracker]
Read MoreThe one we're really waiting for is the P50 (which if they ever get around to releasing might potentially lure us away from our trusty Treo), but in the meantime BenQ has only just now gotten around to shipping the S700, their new tri-band GSM/GPRS clamshell with a built-in 1.3 megapixel digital camera (with LED flash) that can record video clips and sports a mini SD card slot and comes pre-loaded with software for playing MP3s. Definitely not to be confused with Sony Ericsson's swiveling one megapixel cameraphone of the same name.
Read MoreGovernator Arnold just signed the nation's first cellphone recycling bill that requires all cellphone retailers to have a recycling program in place by July 1, 2006. The numbers are staggering: 40,000 phones are thrown out (or become obsolete) every day in California, and there is currently no law in place that forces their environmentally-friendly termination, er, disposal. The only electronic recycling program in place, the Integrated Waste Management Board, forces recycling of electronics with displays of 4-inches or larger. This, of course, does nothing for all those little Nokias. Sounds great, right? Did Arnold do something good for the environment just out of sheer good will? We're not convinced: step in ReCellular, a company who has received contracts to handle the recycling. They collect cellphones at drop-off locations and recondition them for resale in developing markets or recycle unusable parts and says that they return the majority of the proceeds to the sponsoring charity or company. [Via Mobile Gadget News]
Read MoreThis triband smartphone was just unveiled at the Symbian Expo by Arima Group. It's based on Symbian OS v7.0 and uses the UIQ platform. As for guts, it's got that: 16MB RAM, 32MB Flash ROM, and it uses the standard but sufficient 2.66-inch 65K color touchscreen. It also includes a alphanumeric keypad, Bluetooth, FM radio, and a 1.3MP camera with 4x digital zoom. The camera also sports an LED flash and can do video recording. The keypad slides, so dimensions are 106 x 55.7 x 19mm, or 24mm with the keypad open. Weight is 120g. We dig the Frankensteinian looks, and hope that more options will be available like some 802.11b.
Read MoreCourtesy of a pseudonymous reader who wishes to only go by the name "Typhoon", we've scored pics of HP's new iPAQ hx2000 series Pocket PC, including the one above showing it alongside those new Bluetooth stereo headphones HP is coming out with soon. The verdict: they're rather bland-looking, especially compared with some of the iPAQs that came out last year or even that new Axim X50 that's coming from Dell. Anyway, the hx2000 series was conspicuously absent (well, at least to people like us who make a career out of obsessing over these things) when HP announced all those other new Pocket PCs back in July, but we still don't know much about them. What we've heard is that there'll be at least three models in the series, the hx2100, the hx2400, and the hx2700, and that the hx2100 is supposed to have a 316MHz processor, 64MB of ROM, 64MB of RAM, a 3.5-inch transflective display, Bluetooth, and CompactFlash and SDIO expansion card slots; the hx2700 is supposed to have pretty much the same thing, just with a 624MHz processor, 802.11b, and 128MB of ROM; and we don't really have much dirt on the hx2400, but it'll probably fall somewhere inbetween the hx2100 and the hx2700. Make sure you click to see the rest of the pics, which show the hx2000 with a similar snap-on keyboard to the one used in HP's h6315 Pocket PC Phone.
Read MoreArriving right on schedule, palmOne officially introduced the Tungsten T5 just a few minutes ago. Completely skipping over the T4, their new flagship PDA has a massive 256MB of storage, a 320x480 pixel LCD screen, a 416MHz processor, and built-in Bluetooth. The big disappointment: it runs on Palm OS Garnet 5.4, not Palm OS 6 (aka Cobalt) like a lot of people had predicted/hoped. The even bigger disappointment: no built-in WiFi (we know, it's totally weak). Should go on sale November 3rd and retail for $399, but you know that by that point it's gonna be completely overshadowed by the Treo 650 announcement scheduled for the week before. Click to see a few more pics.
Read MoreDude, your cameraphone only has three megapixels? So weak. Samsung's are already obsolescing the SPH-2300 (pictured at right), that three megapixel model they introduced a couple of months ago and have announced plans to have a five megapixel cameraphone out by the end of the year.
Read MorePsst! Yeah, you! Hey. In case you were interested, a Chinese site has a bunch of pictures up of the mysterious Nokia 7710 we told you about before, and some specs too. Apparently the thing has a completely amazing screen (640x320 pixels, 65k colors, but you could totally tell that by checking out the images), runs Symbian series 90, has 6.6 hours talk time, 11 days standby time, an MMC (or probably SD) port (thanks Nokia!), 64MB internal flash memory, Bluetooth, FM radio, MP3/AAC audio player, IR, USB, and tri-band GPS/EDGE support (among other things). That's not too shabby for a Nokia, eh? The gallery is pretty comprehensive (and slow) so we did you the honor of picking out the best shots. Just click to view on. [Thanks, Ahbao] P.S. - We apologize for the awful, terrible watermarks, but what can ya do?
Read MoreMitac, the makers of the Mio 168, the first Pocket PC with integrated GPS, is aiming to improve on their earlier effort with the Mio 188, which should do everything the first one did, but better. The GPS antenna will be smaller and less obtrusive, and they made the design so that it can easily be used in portrait or landscape mode, something which should make it easier to read maps on it. No word on when it'll be out or what it might retail for, but we'll keep you posted.
Read MoreYeah, we're pretty sure that this is the same dealie as that new Qool QDA-700 cellphone which turned up the other day (in fact the more we think about it the more we're sure this is the same exact phone), but either way what we do know for sure is that PiTech is one of three new licensees of the Palm operating system who'll be pumping out Palm-powered smartphones sometime in the near future. Just don't expect to ever see any actual phones sold under the PiTech brand name, this is only a reference design for a handset that some other manufacturer (or even a carrier) will end up refining, customizing, and slapping their brand-name on. But definitely do expect to see a lot more Palm smartphones besides the Treo to start turning up next year.
Read MoreIt's been a long time in coming, but the arrival of Motorola's new MPx220 Smartphone is so close that we can practically taste its silvery plastic casing. Better still, from the looks of it both Cingular and AT&T Wireless are going to be carrying (nope, they haven't merged into one super-carrier quite yet), with the AT&T Wireless version showing up on Motorola's website and some rumors that Best Buy will start selling the Cingular version in about a week with a retail price of $349.99 with two year contract (no word yet on what ATTWS might be charging for it, but it'll probably have to be about the same). Read - MPx220 AT&T Wireless Read - MPx220 Cingular
Read MoreA reliable source swears up and down that palmOne is going to announce the new Treo 650 around October 26th, give or take a day. This doesn't mean you'll be able to buy it from them or that any of the carriers will have it (that'll take a few more weeks or even months), just that they're going to formally unveil it and stop pretending to give us puzzled looks whenever we ask them about it. In case you're leaking for leaked pics, we have them here and here.
Read MoreProbably should mention that T-Mobile has started shipping the BlackBerry 7100t, you know, the one with that newfangled keyboard where they put two letters on each key and uses predictive text to guess which letter you mean. [Via MobileTracker.net]
Read MoreSeems like Second Lifers don't like being studied by anthropology students and it has raised questions about the ethics of recording your interactions in MMOs. Gosh, we wonder what researchers would say about our psychotic break in Ultima Online... oops, forget we said that. We really have no idea why anyone would be *cough* embarrassed about their behavior in a MMO. In related news, Linden Lab, the creators of Second Life, has announced securing 8 million in additional financing. [via Boing Boing] [funding news via GamaSutra]
Read MoreLook, it's not so much that the WanderPod is overkill—which it is—it's just mainly that their scope is way too small for this application. It's a trailer with a generator, satellite internet connection, and open WiFi access intended to be deployed in disaster situations, right? But there are a couple of nagging points: first, while we appreciate the gesture, we think most people will agree that the phone infrastructure is way more important than end-user internet access in times of emergency. Second, WiFi has very short range (we so don't believe their WiFi sends and receives up to 2,000 feet away), so WanderPods would have to be deployed all over, and at $80,000 apiece, that's a spicy meatball. Third, satellite would be nigh useless in the case of bad weather; for instance, the stormy aftermath of a hurricane would render the sat connection on a WanderPod useless. Yeah, their heart is in the right place, but this is one instance in which a mesh WiMax network or even a proprietary technology would be best suited for delivery. [Via Wired News]
Read MoreKen Schaffer, the guy who invented the wireless microphone, has returned with ME2TV, a technology that let's you rebroadcast your TV to another PC in any location. Schaffer demonstrated ME2TV, which uses hardware-based capture on the TV receiver end and software-based decoding on the PC end, by watching his Moscow TV broadcasts in his New York City apartment. Here's the catch: it costs 5 grand and isn't demonstrably different than already-extant technologies like Sony's LocationFree (pictured at right) or Sling Media's new rebroadcasting service.
Read MoreXM has a free 3 day trial for trying out their service on your PC (no Mac support, it appears), XM Radio Online. Seems like a good idea; we have XM and love it, they should let all current subscribers use this for free to 30 days, they'd sell a lot more net and sat set ups. We're trying this out now and trying to figure out if we can fool it so we get another 3 days, and another 3 days... oh wait, that was our "inside voice".
Read MoreIn the wake of Sirius' Howard Stern $500 million exclusivity announcement, XM Radio turned around and won a bidding war for the rights to broadcast Major League Baseball over their satellite radio network. XM plans to add an entire baseball channel and broadcast not only live games, but also classic games, special shows, and games in multiple languages. While the deal isn't worth as much (non-monetarily, we mean) as the Howard Stern deal, it is a big victory for XM and satellite radio. The people at XM hope that this will not only improve consumer sales, but also OEM sales to auto manufacturers, which is becoming a tight battleground for satelite radio providers. XM picked a perfect time to announce this deal with the craziness going on in the playoffs, as people have baseball on the brain in a big way right now.
Read MoreYou can imagine our surprise and delight to hear that CinemaNow will begin offering what is yet considered the holy grail of downloadeable media: legit high-def movie downloads for home PC playback (just in time for Windows Media Center Edition 2005, even). Now, granted, these downloads will come via Windows Media High Definition Video which will be undoubtedly DRMed like none other, but if you're willing to max out your broadband for a few days to get the latest films in 720p high-def and 5.1 surround (though they're only announcing the IMAX film "Coral Reef Adventure" for now), then they've so got your hookup. [Via eHomeUpgrade]
Read MoreRemember how XM pulled their XM PCR from stores because users found a way to digitally record perfect copies of XM streams via their computers? Well, Hybrid Mobile pulled apart XM receivers to find out how they work, and has released the XmDirect Tuner Interface Cable, a simple $45 module, and created software which allows you to hook XM back to your PC again. We're sure XM will be none too pleased to discover this latest development of users utilizing their service to the fullest.
Read MoreHere's the latest installment of the Engadget Podcast! We review the OQO model 01 and talk about some other news of the day. Click here to listen to the show (MP3) or add the Engadget Podcast Feed to your Podcasting application and have the show delivered automatically. Hosts: Lenn Pryor and Phillip Torrone. Format: 43 minutes, 14MB, MP3. We've added time codes in the following list and links to the stories or references. Time & Topics: 03:00- OQO mini-PC review, ours, WSJ, NYTimes. 29:15- Entelligence: TV on a PC 30:00- Broadcast TV needs to change 34:00- Google Desktop Search 40:30- Upcoming Podcasting session @ Mac OS X conference Shout outs: The GoBots, Waxy.org, Elizabeth and Pablo from OQO and MobileWhack. LISTEN
Read MoreEvery Thursday Michael Gartenberg of Jupiter Research contributes an interesting item of gadget-related research data. This week's factoid: TV on a PC. With the release this week of Media Center 2005 from Microsoft, the now old discussion re-emerges of whether consumers really want to watch TV on their PCs. A recent JupiterResearch survey reports that only 34 percent of online users want to record TV on their PCs to watch on their PCs' monitors. That, however, isn't the real question to ask. When asked about the ability to record TV on their PCs and then watch this content on their TV, the number of consumers interested changes dramatically to 51 percent. PC hardware and networking OEMs do have an opportunity to broaden their entertainment reach into passive video—including DVD, TV, and personal video recorder (PVR) functionality. However, the opportunity involves supplementing, not replacing, homes' primary TVs and is going to require a significant amount of education and marketing to be successful. Question (sample was split randomly into two equal parts): "Computer manufacturers are developing new technologies that will allow you to use your computer to manage media, video, audio, games, etc. You will be able to create and edit music, video, etc. on your computer, but watch and listen through the TV, stereo, etc. Which of the following activities are you interested in doing on such a computer, using your TV and stereo or home theater system? (Select all that apply.)" Source: Jupiter Research/Ipsos-Insight Consumer Survey (7/03), n = 1,432 (US only) ©2004 Jupiter Research, a division of Jupitermedia Corporation. Michael Gartenberg is vice president and research director for the Personal Technology & Access and Custom Research groups at Jupiter Research in New York. Contact him at mgartenberg@jupitermedia.com. His weblog and RSS feed are at http://weblogs.jupiterresearch.com/analysts/gartenberg.
Read MoreNPD reports that while Apple's iTunes Music Store continues to lead the pack of online music download stores, growth in the sector appears to be slowing, and perhaps even reversing. In April, 2004, paid downloads hit 1.3 million, but then slowed to around 1 million in May and June. While analysts note that this coincides with promotions offered by companies like Pepsi and iTunes, the fact that P2P music sharing sites and technology have continued to grow will no doubt have the record industry up in arms yet again (we blame society). According to numbers released in the report, P2P numbers grew to 6.4 million in July 2004 from 5.1 million in August 2003. Moral of the story? People like free stuff. [Correction: It's 1.3 million USERS who downloaded, not downloads themselves. Thanks, Jeff!]
Read MoreSlowly but surely more and more details are leaking out about what's going to be announced at the big Windows Media press even Microsoft is holding later today. We already told you about Plays For Sure, their new system for ensuring that when you buy a song from an online music store it'll be able to play on a certified digital audio player, and the launch of Windows XP Media Center 2005, but the latest bit of news to dribble out is that XM's new XM Radio Online service is going to be directly integrated into Windows Media Player, though you'll still have to keep waiting for a version of Windows Media Center that works with a proper satellite radio tuner.
Read MoreIf you haven't seen this yet, check out Engadget on Podcasting. It's like TiVo meets RSS meets your iPod. Or maybe not. Trust me, Phillip does a much better job of explaining it. I'll have to clear off all those audio books and Air America streams I've got loaded on my iPod mini to make room! I could have a lot of fun with this. Think you could handle my voice buzzing around inside your head on a regular basis?
Read MoreWe're not sure any Tablet PC will yet beat NEC's insane 11mm thick VersaPro, but Fujitsu's new FMV-STYLISTIC TB11/B, TB11/R, and TB11/S would all certainly have a home here with us. The line, which will go on sale today in you-know-where, will have a 1.10GHz Pentium M 733, 802.11a/b/g, Gigabit Ethernet, fingerprint sensor and user authentication via a security button or smart card, and will come loaded with Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005. The TB11/S will include a docking station, wireless keyboard USB mouse for ¥281,800 (about $2,650), the TB11/R will have a 10.4-inch XGA LCD for ¥239,000 (about $2,250), and the TB11/B will have nothing included with the unit (except a power supply, we presume) will retail for ¥219,000 (about $2,050). We're down for one, but unless the gadget gods smile upon us sometime soon, like the VersaPro this one is Japan-only. [Via TechJapan]
Read MoreApparently they know how to make the trains run on time over there at Dell because their new Axim X50 Pocket PC turned up on their site today, right on schedule. No surprises at all in the specs and deets—they've been floating around for weeks—but here's a quick recap: The X50v, which has a 3.7-inch VGA resolution LCD screen, 624MHz processor, 64MB of RAM, 128MB of Flash ROM, Compact Flash and SDIO expansion card slots, 802.11b WiFi, and Bluetooth. Retail price: $499. The X50 520MHz, which has a 3.5-inch, 320x240 pixel LCD screen, a 520MHz processor, 64MB of RAM, 128MB of Flash ROM, Compact Flash and SDIO expansion card slots, 802.11b WiFi, and Bluetooth. Retail price: $399. The X50 416MHz, which has a 3.5-inch, 320x240 pixel LCD screen, a 416MHz processor, 64MB of RAM, 64MB of Flash ROM, Compact Flash and SDIO expansion card slots, and Bluetooth. Retail price: $299. All of three run on the Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition operating system and come with the new mobile version of Windows Media Player 10 pre-installed (but you can use it to listen to stuff besides Joss Stone). [Thanks, Gunnlaugur]
Read MoreWebpad's still seem mainly like a solution in search of a problem (not that we wouldn't mind having a few of them around the house or anything), but ETG Technologies is all set to release their OnePad, a Windows CE device with a 7-inch LCD screen and 802.11a/b/g WiFi and Bluetooth capabilities, at the Consumer Electronics Show next year. It's also one of the few webpads with an integrated hard drive (a decent 40GB drive), which means the OnePad might also pull double duty as a personal video player. Let's just hope they meet their target of selling this thing for under $500.
Read MoreFujitsu is rolling out the LifeBook T4010, a new convertible-style Tablet PC with a 12.1-inch LCD screen, up to 2GB of RAM, a 40GB or 60GB hard drive, built-in 802.11b/g WiFi, dual noise cancellation microphones for voice commands, a DVD burner or DVD/CD-RW combination drive, and a battery which can slug it out for up to 5 hours. Goes on sale on the 21st of this month. [Thanks, Christopher]
Read MoreOk, so it isn't much to look at, doesn't have built-in WiFi or a high-resolution screen, and is little expensive considering what you're getting, but there is one redeeming feature to palmOne's new Tungsten T5: you can plug it into a USB port and use it as a plug-and-play flash memory drive without having to deal with any sync software (trust us, anyone who owns a PDA knows why this is a sweet deal). Better still, you also don't have to worry about losing all of your data on your T5 if completely run down its battery. Not enough to get us to spring for one, but if palmOne is smart they'll add this feature to the new Treo 650.
Read MoreNot quite as hot as that original iMac someone tossed out, but it's amazing what turns up on the sidewalk here in New York.
Read MoreiPodLounge has a bunch of pics of the new iPod Photo, including some shots of its packaging, its dock, and the A/V cable you can use to hook it up to a TV for slideshows. [Thanks, ccather]
Read MoreReader Will H. sent us this pic he took in the subway. Looks like the word is out on the street.
Read MoreLast time Navman released a GPS device it was just a rebadge of the MiTAC Mio 168, so naturally we have to wonder about the origins of this one. Not that it matters too much, since the specs are pretty decent: QVGA (320 x 240 pixels) 3.5-inch touch screen, magnesium enclosure, lithium-ion battery, 32MB NVRAM, and an SD slot. The device runs on Navman's SmartST directional software, which is all well and good, but why go and drop $450 on a dedicated GPS PDA when you can get a Pocket PC with an integrated GPS unit in the same price range? You wouldn't. So good. ?aA?y?Ÿ???t
Read MoreYeah right, as if you didn't already know the Japanese are totally insane. [Thanks, Susser]
Read MoreHaving closed at $39.75, AAPL is up another $2.66 per share (6.69%), now trading at $42.41. Steve Jobs is working his way up the Forbes list. He's a shoe-in for the 73 slot next year!
Read MoreNot ever going to come out here, but we can still drool over the V602T, a new cameraphone from Toshiba that Vodafone is carrying in Japan.
Read MoreIt might appear Apple is having some slight usability problems with the complicated design of their new iMac G5. Thanks for the help, guys! We can take it from here. [Via StreetTech]
Read MoreWe've all already heard about the Japanese using contactless cellphone credit card payments (especially via cellphone, those cellphones especially being NTT DoCoMo FeliCa cellphones) but apparently they've also begun a pilot program called QUICPay (what, no K? Oh yeah, it's Japan.) for properly enabled DoCoMo phones to make payments in Tokyo cabs. Heading to Harijuku to pick up on babydoll goth girls has never been easier! [Via SmartMobs]
Read MoreThree University of New South Wales students have developed the Rockpool, a waterless dishwasher, and it's such a success that it will be Australia's entry in the Electrolux Design Laboratory competition to be held in New York. The dishwasher uses "supercritical carbon dioxide" to create a fluid that acts as a powerful grease-cutter and solvent without the use of any water. The technology isn't brand-new—it's been used in industrial cleaning applications for years—but this is the first time the technology has been used for consumer purposes. Hopefully, this means installations won't be dependent on nearby plumbing. But, carbon dioxide? Will using carbon dioxide leave dishes smelling lemony fresh or more like that bad-breath smell that fizzes up from soda? [Via Core77]
Read MoreOne of our must trusted and reliable sources for news, The Onion, has unearthed a rare 1874 manuscript by late French novelist and science fiction visionary Jules Verne, entitled "The Camera-Phone". Apparently the story, in its native language titled "Le Telephon-Photographique," revolves around a talented scientist, Bernard Cingulaire who "fails to predict that his invention, a portable telephone that can take photographs and send short script messages, will contribute to the breakdown of traditional manners among Parisians". It's history guiding-documents like this that make us really glad we're on the right track today. It will certainly join the ranks of some of our favorite historic texts, such as Freud's essay entitled "On the Loneliness of the Technically Inclined," and the classic George Orwell sequel to 1984, 1995.
Read MoreTimex and Core77 have announced the winners of their Timex2154: THE FUTURE OF TIME design competition, and you'd think that telling time would pretty much have reached its apogee by now, but we're happy to report that there are still come worthy ideas to be had. Late for work in your flying car? Check your silk bracelet, designed by Lea Kobeli, that displays a live picture of Big Ben. Perhaps you don't like wearing jewelry or things around your wrist at all. Use the Sticker Watch (pictured above) by Alexey Koptev and simply affix a digital watch wherever you need it - on a shirt sleeve or laptop bag. Other concepts are a little more out there, like a "tentacular watch [that] shows your global energy consumption and the free time you win or lose." As if we need any more guilt in our lives. [Via Near Near Future]
Read MoreNo, it's not an analog-piano interface for playing MIDI, so don't even bother dreaming about how amazing your AC/DC MIDI files would sound on your Steinway; it's a network traffic analyzer that strikes a key when an attached computer has network activity (that's up to 88 computers). We imagine the novelty would be worn out within seconds, but just for laughs we'd leave bittorrent on all afternoon while we're out; we're sure the incessant C# note will eventually drive our bass-pumping neighbors absolutely up the wall. [Via Near Near Future]
Read MoreEvery Thursday Michael Gartenberg of Jupiter Research contributes an interesting item of gadget-related research data: With Sony pulling out of the PDA market and others slimming down their offerings, there seems to be some question about the future of the these devices relative to a single converged device such as a smartphone. We think that's incorrect; the PDA will be around for quite some time, but the market will segment accordingly in response to smartphones. The personal digital assistant (PDA) marketplace has increasingly trifurcated in terms of functionality and that's likely to continue. We see the three functionality forks as follows: basic PDA functionality; basic PDA functionality with media centricity; and basic PDA functionality together with media centricity and wireless features. JupiterResearch believes that trifurcation in the market, combined with very different price points, precludes convergence on a single device or form factor. Business users will lean toward wireless-enabled devices, high-end consumers will focus on color and media-centric devices, while price-sensitive consumers will be well served by basic PDA functionality. Michael Gartenberg is vice president and research director for the Personal Technology & Access and Custom Research groups at Jupiter Research in New York. Contact him at mgartenberg@jupitermedia.com. His weblog and RSS feed are at http://weblogs.jupiterresearch.com/analysts/gartenberg .
Read MoreThey're billing it as "the ultimate self-defense weapon": a credit card-sized double-barrelled shotgun that is just half an inch thick, can fire off seven standard steel BBs from each barrel, costs only 99 bucks. Better hope those 14 BBs do the trick, too. Since this thing is a muzzleloader reloading it means you have to measure out the gunpowder, pour the BBs into each barrel, tamp in a small wad of paper, and then pray that your first couple of shots did more than just enrage your assailant.
Read MoreSo the city of Kobe in Japan has a new plan where beginning in 2006 they're going to start embedding RFID tags all over the place, like in streets, utility poles, and signs, so that when you walk around the city you can point your phone (which will of course have an RFID tag reader by then) at something and instantly be able to pull up more information about that location. So how long until some unscrupulous person hacks the system and decides to RFID-spam an entire city center? [Via textually.org]
Read MoreIt's Tokyo Designers Week in Japan, and PC Watch has a report from the show that'll give you a glimpse of all the computer craziness they've got cooking up over there, including this concept design pictured above for a laptop which we're pretty sure also doubles as a breakfast tray.
Read MoreJapanese company Nichia, along with a professor from Tokushima University, have developed a new LED screen technology that displays 3D images without requiring viewers to wear glasses, goggles, or other not-so-stylish items that might mar some kogaru girl's carefully crafted look. We haven't seen the test unit yet, which has a resolution of 18,000 pixels in total and measures 146 by 77 centimeters, but the general idea is that the screen somehow shows different images to each eye and tricks the brain into seeing 3D. As soon as we have a chance to get properly crosseyed we'll report more.
Read MoreMovie Gadget Friday spends another week in the year 1983! Last week Josie Fraser checked out the W.O.P.R. from WarGames (make sure you check that one out, John Badham, the film's director responds in the comments!), this week she fulfills another reader request and takes a look at the brain scanner from Brainstorm: Brainstorm (directed by Douglas Turnbull, the man behind the special effects for 2001: A Space Odyssey and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and now IMAX Supremo) is a flawed but interesting film about tech product development. We see the team go through the excitement of research and development, from clunky prototype to marketable product, and to the inevitable final stage – military funding/take over and exploitation of the application for nefarious ends.
Read MoreThe upcoming FPS from Groove Games will start being revealed through four trailers starting this Friday. The game which was favorably received at E3 this year has drawn a lot of comparisons to Halo 2, which it will inevitably be competing against for the hearts of fanboys everywhere. The theatrical quality trailers will be produced by Mojo LLC which it has done for blockbuster films The Last Samurai, Troy, The Matrix, and xXx.
Read MoreWe're sorry for MGF's delay; some editorial mixups have since led to numerous interns being flogged mercilessly. Last week Movie Gadget Friday took a look at the Memory Erasing Process from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. This week, following a genuine reader request (and not just because sarcasm comes so naturally), Josie Fraser takes a gander at the W.O.P.R. from 1983's WarGames. Ah, 1983—to be honest I can barely remember it, but who could ever forget WarGames—the thrills, the tension, and the fabulous touchtone telephones. The film's star is the made-up and most likely made of cardboard military computer W.O.P.R. (War Operation Planned Response, pronounced Whopper—apparently Burger King had far reaching connections in the 80s) and a programme called Joshua—ably voiced by James Ackerman who easily wins second place for the all-time Creepiest-Computer-Voice-In-A-Movie Award (you know who gets number #1). W.O.P.R. works for the non-fictional North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD), and is programmed to play a limited selection of games, including chess and Global Thermonuclear War.
Read MorePenny Arcade kicked off their ambitious gamer powered charity drive this week. Last year, almost on a whim, they decided to harness the holiday spirit of their audience to provide toys for the Seattle Children's Hospital. The result netted nearly $250,000 in toys and cash which had to be delivered by truck loads to the hospital. This year they've decided to expand the drive to benefit five hospitals across the country. The only thing we'll miss about last year's drive is watching them drown under the deluge of toys.
Read MoreAnd for every Pokemon, there's a Ninja Turtle. But some of us may be lucky enough to remember when the turtles where the talk of the town. I mean c'mon, how incredible was that 1989 arcade beat-em-up and its (rather clumsy) NES iteration? Classic. Sadly, all good things must come to an end, and for the turtles, the wave was a relatively short ride. Then, just last year, Konami resurrected the dead franchise because, well, it's cheap, easy, and kids don't have much of a memory span. So what about the game? Let me just say this, TMNT 2: Battle Nexus is in the running for worst game of the month, no, scratch that, worst game of the year! "Avoid it like the plague" (GameSpy). But listen, for any of you sucker enough to pick up this title, there's a wonderful little easter egg waiting for you at the finish... 1989, baby!
Read MoreIn an apparent effort to "protect" their content, HBO will be adding copy protection technology that will keep viewers from making copies of their programming. It will allow viewers to make a single copy of standard HBO programming and will completely disallow copies of any OnDemand programming. Want to watch that episode of Six Feet Under on the plane? Not gonna happen. People are already on HBO about the fact that this caps fair use, but they don't seem to care, as they are looking to protect their content from the evil people who want to watch it. One step forward, two steps back.
Read MoreAchin' for some Robbie but your iPod is in the shop? Fret not, for Robbie Williams' new album is being made available on MMC multimedia cards. The cards, produced by EMI Records and The Carphone Warehouse, include Robbie's complete album plus video content. So the idea is this: hip Robbie Williams listener (are you out there?) buys new album on MMC card. Hip listener slips Robbie's new album into his phone and jams out like he knew he could. While MMC-capable phones are still pretty rare, this is an interesting experiment and potential precedent. Expect Carphone Warehouse to strike similar deals with other musicians and content providers (say, for ringtones and games) in the near future.
Read MoreLast friday Josie Fraser checked out the Dejarik Holochess game from Star Wars, for this week's Movie Gadget Friday she writes about the Memory Erasing Process from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: A lot of the action in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind takes place inside the head of main character Joel (played by Jim Carrey - thankfully not gurning for once), while he is having all memories relating to his ex-girlfriend Clementine (Kate Winslet) erased by two techies. They work for a company called Lacuna, Inc., run by Dr. Howard Mierzwiak, who has perfected a painless, non-surgical procedure for identifying and erasing unwanted and painful memories. In the film, the procedure is a two step process - first, the patient brings items relating to memories of the events or person they want expunging. Their head is placed in a large, white, donut shaped machine, which produces a display of cross-sections of their brain. They look at their meaningful objects, and while re-experience the unwanted memories Dr. Mierzwiak maps where the nasty thoughts are hiding out.
Read MoreGrowing industry heavyweight, Ubisoft, has acquired the King Kong license. The Peter Jackson (remake of) King Kong license. The game will be released alongside the movie in December of 2005 on "all platforms". There's an impressive staff behind the project, starting with the production team-headed by Michel Ancel-that was responsible for the last year's stellar action/adventure title, Beyond Good & Evil. Working in collaboration with this team will be Ubisoft's Montreal studio (Splinter Cell & Prince of Persia), along with Jackson's own Wingnut Films production company. Ubisoft promises that the game will allow players to "experience all the power, drama and emotion of the film". We'll keep you updated.
Read MoreGuess we'll have to set the TiVo to record CSI: Miami on Monday to find out what in the hell this is about (we think maybe Howard Rheingold wrote this episode): Episode 303: Murder in a Flash First aired on Monday, 11th October 2004 Delko and Calleigh invesitgate after student is found dead on a golf course. The body is found during a flash mob. Horatio tracks down the killer of a junkie who is murdered in the Golden Triangle. Flash mobs and a murder in the "Golden Triangle"? We're so there. [Via SmartMobs]
Read MoreLast friday Josie Fraser checked out the Fluid Breathing System from The Abyss, for this week's Movie Gadget Friday she writes about the Dejarik Holochess game from Star Wars: I know there are loads of cool gadgets in the Star Wars movies, and I'll get round to look at more of them in future Movie Gadget Friday slots. Last week we had a reader request for the Dejarik Holochess game that's featured in the original 1977 Star Wars (now known as Episode IV: A New Hope) and we thought we'd oblige. In real life I have a strong aversion to overly hirsute men, but I've always had a soft spot for the 200 hundred year old, 2-meter tall wookiee Chewbacca. Everything about him is cool, although I particularly liked his minimalist Che Guevara/guerrilla chic look as a child. According to the mythology, Chewie is a champion Dejarik player who put the Holochess table into the Millennium Falcon in order to keep his game up during the years of space piracy. The table has subsequently become an essential and instantly recognisable feature of any model of the Falcon. The table has a round, black and white checkered dartboard-like top, made up of 25 segments, resting on a single cylindrical leg. It has blue and red fairy lights around the edge and projects holographic figures onto its surface. Each player has a selection of different figures. Full game rules have subsequently been invented by fans, but at the time the film was made the only rule seemed to be: let the wookiee win or endure his sulking. Frankly Chewbacca could have been the worst player in the entire Star Wars universe. He still would have walked off with the gold cup at the playoffs. The game scene was really just used to establish the following: 1. Chewbacca isn't just a weird yodelling bear-dog hybrid. He's actually the brains of the outfit. 2. We're in the distant future/distant past! Where they play cool space games! & you can never lose the pieces!
Read MoreWorthplaying has posted an excellent clip called "Inside the Battle: Volume 7: The Making of Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth". Long title, short clip, but worth it. The EA behind-the-scenes series covers how the title is being. Chapter 7 covers how powers are used by heroes. The strategy game, a la Warcraft, is the kind of title that could keep us in all winter, if it's as good as it looks. Of special interest is the use of the Eye of Sauron. The eye can monitor the landscape for the enemy's movement, of course. But its appearance can also inspire an orcish horde to turn it up a couple of notches. All in all, the 12 MB file is a no-brainer if you're a fan of RTS or LOTR. That would probably cover all of you.
Read MoreReplay Studios recently revealed its upcoming "Reality Gaming" project, Survivor. While there's no plan to include ridiculous tasks on a deserted island, the game will feature historical disasters from the past 100 years. Missions will include catastrophes like the Titanic, Hiroshima, and 9/11. Not to undermine those other tragedies, but the simple fact that 9/11 occurred just three short years ago puts a title like Survivor into question. How far is too far? And is it too soon? Replay argues that the game is about saving people, and although sensationalized, how much more inappropriate can it be than a game like Conflict Desert Storm (a bestseller)? The studio has even hinted at the addition of a Baghdad level, which would take an entirely new approach to the obvious military blitzkrieg. It's certainly a sensitive subject, reflected in the fact that Replay has yet to find a publisher. But if this game does ever make it home, it will be interesting to see how we react. Perhaps the thrill of games like GTA or Manhunt is that they aren't really real at all.
Read MoreThe Blu-ray disc just got a little boost in its blood feud with the HD-DVD over which disc format will be the high-definition successor to the DVD now that the newest member of the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) is a little-known indie studio you might have heard of called Twentieth Century Fox. Now at 73 members, the BDA is focused on studying the format and working on copyright protection technologies prior to its eventual release. Fox hasn't committed to releasing movies in Blu-ray, but as we've mentioned before, this format war will most likely all come down to whoever has the content in HD, and Sony, Pioneer, and the other heavyweights behind the format are doing the damnedest to get the content providers on board, figuring that if they can get most of the major movie studios to commit to Blu-ray it'll go a long way towards solidifying it as the standard.
Read MoreAfter a recent lull in the latest releases of Tivo/DVD-R combo units, the VCR-replacement market is gearing up for a bigger, better, cheaper year. A few units have come out that fit the Tivo/DVD burner mold, but they tended to be prohibitively expensive or used interfaces that were so crappy they weren't worth the time spent plugging them in. A few new units are due out this year, both from TiVo as well as Humax. Expect these new systems to have giant hard drives, fully-functional TiVo interfaces, and import/export technology like Firewire for camcorders and maybe even archiving. In the meantime, TiVo is all set to offer TiVo To Go, a networking solution that allows TiVo users to backup programming to a networked computer
Read MoreBoston-based NetCableTV say they're launching a new peer-to-peer sharing technology that allows customers to download movies directly from one another's hard drives (as opposed to a central server), and that the whole thing is completely legal. They also say that they've added two layers of digital rights management to prevent piracy. All that DRM stuff will most likely last about as long as it's taking us to write this post, but we would love to see this actually work.
Read MoreAlright, Sharp, if you wanted to impress us, you've accomplished that with your new 65-inch AQUOS LCD TV, which ranks as the world's largest, at least until some South Korean upstart decides to show you up and come out with a 70-incher or whatever. But in the meantime we're saving our pennies (they won't even say yet what it's gonna cost, which usually equals crazy expensive).
Read MoreLast friday Josie Fraser checked out the Voight-Kampff and Esper Machines from Blade Runner, for this week's Movie Gadget Friday she writes about the Fluid Breathing System from The Abyss: We've looked at some great films recently, but this week's gadget comes from a real stinker of a movie—it's the Fluid Breathing System from James Cameron's 1989 sentimental underwater alien action fest, The Abyss. I have (what I regard as) a perfectly reasonable loathing of underwater movies - they are obviously only made by sadists or lunatics, and watching them reminds me of the early stages of motherhood. Cameron apparently falls into the former category of film makers; the inclusion of the Fluid Breathing System was inspired by high-school aged Cameron witnessing a science gimp almost drown in an experiment showing how liquid breathing might be possible (although not necessarily survivable). Poor old Ed Harris's near-drowning between takes was dismissively referred to by the director as being "very uncomfortable," and the actors working on the film subsequently nicknamed it 'The Abuse', The plot lurches from one apocalyptic crises to another with a couple of heart-warming near deaths thrown in for good measure. The Fluid Breathing System is brought along to the party by some Navy Seals, who join the crew of an undersea drilling rig in order to retrieve a nuclear sub, which has sunk to settle on the precipice of an abyss. The water pressure experienced by divers at depth make it tricky to stay down for too long without running the risk of developing decompression sickness and turning into a human SodaStream. The breathing liquid solution works on the principle that this won't happen if you take away the pressure in the blood and lungs by using a non-compressible fluid (oxygenated fluorocarbon emulsion in the film), rather than a gas. Fluid Breathing theories and experiments have been around since the mid 1960's, and Cameron happily uses this film to commemorate a long and proud history of rodent abuse.
Read MoreWe're all for the idea of wireless headphones and everything—especially ones from Onkyo, who makes some very notable audio gear—and yeah, we can understand why you'd be hesitant to get a pair of cans that have a huge base station and all that, which is probably why Onkyo used a small 2.4GHz USB transmitter for their MHP-UW1 phones. But that means you can only uses these ¥10,000 (about $95) headphones with a PC, which seems a little cloistering if you ask us; if they'd just figure out a way we could use these with a USB compatible MP3 player... [Via TechJapan]
Read MoreMotorola has unloaded four new Bluetooth headsets on us, the HS850 (a revision of the acclaimed HS810) which has improved noise cancellation, loudness, sound quality, and battery life; the HS805 which is a slim surfboard-shaped set boasting 22 hours of talk time on a single AAA battery; the HS830 that can be worn as a necklace and also available as a helmet for motorcycle Bluetooth talk; and the HF800 wireless speaker with longer talk time and better audio than the last generation model. All four should be available by the end of the year.
Read MoreWe already know that Delphi is releasing the MyFi portable XM satellite radio device. The latest rumors have been confirming an earlier guess we made regarding a wearable add-on accessory for the Roady 2. Their most-recent press release simply states they "will showcase the recently introduced Delphi MyFi and introduce another satellite radio product at the 2004 Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association (SEMA) show." We don't usually quote press releases, but in this case, we're thinking it's going to be that wearable adapter for the Roady 2.
Read MoreJabra (makers of the popular BT250 headset which apparently a good many Engadget readers recommend) has announced the BT800, a Bluetooth-enabled earpiece with a 21x64 pixel LCD display, 5 ringtones, a vibrating mode, noise cancellation, 6 hours of talktime, charging via both USB (yes!) and AC power, and that weighs in at just three-fourths of an ounce. We would think those specs are enough, but Jabra goes all out and squeezes in two more buttons (to accept or deny the call) and a jog dial. We're counting down the days to January 2005, which is the rumored date being thrown around. Click to see another pic.
Read MoreLast week we begged IBM to give us the deets on the Linux watch they promised years ago, this week we're gearing up to see if they're telling the truth next time we see them with The Truth Detector Watch.
Read MoreRealizing that earpieces are not a universal fit for all, Logitech has developed the EasyFit Mobile line, which includes five different headsets and nine different connectors (for basically any cellphone currently available). They've split up the package so you can pick and choose from three over-ear pieces, earbuds, or earbud booms (with small, medium, and large ear fittings), and then choose a connector to fit your phone.
Read MoreIt's not right for us to hog all the new gadgets for ourselves, so we convinced 8COM Wireless to spot us a couple of their new BH220 Bluetooth headsets to give away to our readers. If you've been itching for a new wireless headset or been wondering what this Bluetooth thing is all about, here's your chance to get into the game for free. Here's how to win (we promise it's easy): Sometime later today (as in Tuesday) we'll put up a 2nd post about the BH220, all you've got to is be the very first person to comment on it (just gloat or something) and the headset is yours, no questions asked (except, of course, about where to send it). We'll do the same thing on Wednesday, so if you don't win today you'll have another chance tomorrow. So keep checking Engadget later today and tomorrow for your chance to win. P.S. - Remember that we do require email authentication for comments, so make sure you authenticate your comment if you want to win. Also, you have to be a resident of the United States, we can't be bothered to ship things overseas.
Read MoreFinis just announced the SwiMP3, a waterproof MP3 player which uses bone conduction to vibrate the sound directly into your head via your cheek bones (it actually attaches to your goggle straps, but we've also seen a prototype for goggles with a bone conduction MP3 player built right in). They don't much storage capacity, but they say it has enough space for 30 songs, which sounds like it should clock in somewhere around 128MB. [Via MacMinute]
Read MoreWe've seen MP3 playing, solar powered, and gadget jackets, but now we have the Memswear (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) jacket, a Bluetooth enabled coat which senses when the wearer takes a fall (kind of like that shirt from the other week). Faster than you can say, "I've fallen and I can't get up," the jacket will send a signal from your Bluetooth-enabled cellphone to your caregiver via text message, email, or phone call. They are aiming to market this towards the elderly as well as athletes and military (as they also are developing a sensor that monitors heart rates), and the sensor will be priced around $60 apiece. [Via Popgadget]
Read MoreOkay, there are officially too many SPOT watches now, who would have thunk? Can you tell that this is Gates' pet project? Word is that Bill wants to see this tech succeed in a big way. Anyhow, SpotStop drops the docs on the new Fossil and Abacus models, which are going to go for $200. Rubber and leather bands, out of the box content, slimmer design, inductive charging—seems like Fossil took notes and responded to all the feedback from the early adopters. So hold off on that Swatch we showed you until you see these. Expect these to come out next week, and expect even more at CES. [Thanks, Brian]
Read MoreWe dropped the chunky on the Swatch SPOT earlier this week, and now we got our FM-seeking crubby paws one, and of course, took lots of pictures. There are other colors, but these, friends, are the orange and blue models.
Read MoreEven despite our previous hopes (and their previous claims) that they'd be introducing MP3 to their Flash-based players, Sony's gone ahead and released a 256MB water resistant Sports version of their Network Walkman, the NW-S23 S2. They claim the battery gets 270 hours (of which we're highly skeptical), but it's 3.9 x 1.9 x 0.78-inches in size and is only USB 1.1. And yes, of course, it only plays ATRAC3. Highly disappointing, Sony, but we're sorry to say not surprising at all.
Read MoreWe had heard this rumor on the internets a little while ago, and now it looks like Swatch is really going to come out with a SPOT watch (SPOT, of course, being Microsoft's Smart Personal Object Technology that uses FM radio signals to send data to watches, like news, stocks, instant messages, etc.). You've gotta hand it to Microsoft, they've manged to bag Swatch, Tissot Suunto and Fossil; not a bad line up for watches (place your bets now on which watch makers will drop out next year). Hopefully Swatch will pump out some cool designs and get the costs down more. The press release says "The traditional Swatch plastic case comes in a new chunky design and an extra-large size". Hey fellas, nothing sounds good when you call it chunky, really. Girthy? Now that's hot. It'll cost $150 which isn't that bad for a SPOT watch, but you still need to pay the service fee for MSN Direct—that said, looks like Swatch does include some free content out the box, called "Swatch City". [Via ChaitGear]
Read MoreLast week on watch this Wednesday we slapped our wrists with the onHand PC watch and, it felt oh so good. This week we ask, where's our Linux watch? Sheesh, calm down, it's right here. Starting in 2000 IBM started showing a Linux watch to showcase how great Linux is and where it can run. December rolled around, they added Bluetooth; then in to January of 2001, IBM and eMagin added a high resolution Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) for CES. But in 2001 IBM teamed up with Citizen Watch and since then we haven't heard a thing. It's almost 2005 now! What happened to this watch? Well, we figured we'd use our "Watch this Wednesday" weekly feature to ask, and hopefully hear when we can buy one. Ain't nothing like root on your timepiece.
Read MoreThe Chibi Vision—a "US-patented brand new advertisement method", no less—is a backpack-mounted TFT screen and some unspecified innards that will play back "DVD, CD, SVCD, MP3, CDDA, JPEG, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, and DVD-RW", has stereo speakers, a battery, and so forth. The idea is that you're going to pay its inventors, a shady-looking outfit called Universal Planners, ¥70,000 (or about $640 US dollas) to buy ad-space on one of these for the day, and have someone walk around with it on their back playing your video; in reality, you're just going to laugh at them and spend the money on beer.
Read MoreNot to be confused with MOMO's and Motorola's recent release of their Bluetooth Fighter Helmet, BMW has themselves whipped up a Bluetooth motorcycle helmet called the System V. Though it's a great dell less attractive than Moto-MOMO's helmet (and its name is just a slight bit more intimidating than the freaking Fighter Helmet), it's still pretty well equipped itself, with its fibre glass, carbon and Kevlar laminate shell, two array mics up near the forehead (not our first choice for location, but whatevs), a DSP to cut back on wind noise and interference, two speakers, integrated batteries, and, of course, the Bluetooth headset module. [Via Blueserker]
Read MoreWho would have thought Philips would be bold like building health monitoring systems (complete with skin-contact electrodes) into, um, underthings? You know, bras and briefs and whatnot; the devices fit in your pants (that's British for knickers, yank) and can detect changes in hearth rhythm, blood pressure, and even detect loss of consciousness via motion-detector. What's more, they can send out emergency calls wirelessly via a home base-station or a GPS-enabled cellphone. So we're going to go out on a limb here and assume these were really designed for the elderly, but you know what? For the youth-oriented version we think the addition of a stank-sensor might yet be an order, since we know more than one person round these parts has got on some raunch unders. [Via Near Near Future]
Read MoreWe won't even get into the mechanics of their claim that this is the "first mass market wearable display to augment reality for the everyday person" (though we sorta love how the phrase "augment reality" is employed completely uneuphemistically), but Mitsubishi says they'll start selling the Scopo, a new low-cost wearable heads-up display, beginning next year. It's basically a tiny wearable LCD screen that you can plug into a cellphone, laptop, PDA, or DVD player,
Read MoreThe end is upon us! Today, the FDA approved the use of the VeriChip, an RFID microchip that is implanted under skin without need for surgery. The chips are designed to include patient-specific information such as allergies or previous procedures that would be scanned at a hospital emergency room wirelessly. In order to assure its ubiquity (and eventual mind control of the masses), Applied Digital Solutions is giving away scanners to 200 trauma centers. This is the first time the FDA has approved devices like this, and we'll be watching this slippery slope closely, comrades.
Read MoreLast week on Watch this Wednesday we hit you with the mysterious and oh-so-seductive Sexum Adult Digital Watch. This week we bring you all the power of a PC (well, from the 80s) to that wrist real estate you're looking to renovate.
Read MoreA shirt has been fitted with a 2cm x 2cm sensor that signals loved ones when the wearer is moving at great speeds horizontally. In other words, the good people in Singapore have developed Life Alert for shirts. Fit an elderly person with one of these shirts, and once he or she has taken a fall, the device transmits, via Bluetooth, to a nearby computer or cellphone and alerts those designated to pick up Mr. or Mrs. Old. Sounds good on the surface, but we must raise a couple questions. The system assumes that grandma has a Bluetooth-enabled computer or cellphone. That assumption is a bit of a stretch - not even all the early adopters we know have Bluetooth phones yet. Besides, let's say grandma isn't so neat with her laundry, and like us, just throws her shirt into a pile at the end of the day. Is that considered a fall? Will that trigger some Rescue 911 action?
Read MoreWe might be a little more into this if they took a page from Nike/Philips' book and gave it a Bluetooth module or something, but we can't help loving that cross-training has officially gone geek chic. So if you're ready to eat lightning and crap thunder, the Talking Digital Skipping Rope (or Jumprope, if you're Americans such as we) has a calorie counter (with voice announcements), jump counter, timer, and adjustable rope length (in case you're, you know, as stout as the Italian Stallion). [Via TRFJ]
Read MoreThough it may be lost on creatures of intense, unwavering habit like us, one can definitely see why the University of Washington-built "smart-watch" (no, it's not a SPOT, though it probably should be) would be such a useful tool, being that it warns its user that they're forgetting their wallet and keys (or whatever else). It's pretty simple in that it uses RFID to keep track of what you've got with you, but things get kind of ugly with the concept and prototype once they they add a "pocket server" you have to carry around to make the whole thing work. But RFID is still in its infancy, so we'll try and keep that in context. [Via Technology Trends]
Read MoreWhen it comes to picking out a new pair of glasses, one problem usually stands in the way: since you're looking at new glasses, you're so blind that you can't see yourself wearing them in the first place. Another problem for those of us with not-so-symmetrical faces (and that's pretty much all of us), what you see in the mirror isn't what everyone else sees - just the opposite, in fact. Enter Smart Mirror, a system for optometry offices that allows patients to view up to four frame styles at a time. It also allows them to print out the images for viewing and discussion with those who have to look at their assymetrical mug. While this thing isn't going to turn any heads from a technological standpoint, it is a good application of things we already can do. Now go get those black rims you've been dreaming about. [Via TRFJ]
Read MoreUPDATE: It's official. Get the details on the MyFi here. File this one under "rumor" for right now, but we just got a tip that XM Satellite Radio and Delphi are going to introduce a wearable satellite radio very soon. Supposedly it'll be called "MyFI" (to go along with Delphi's line of SkyFI receivers), and a quick check of the US Patent and Trademark Office reveals that they Delphi did in fact make a trademark filing for "MyFI" a couple of months ago. Might not make up for not snagging Howard Stern, but you definitely can't knock being able to listen to satellite while you jog or whatever. [Thanks, Michael]
Read MoreIf Monday Night Football, countless jerseys, posters, hours of SportsCenter, and conversations at the local watering hole aren't enough to remind you and everyone you know that you are a true Raiders fan, Touchdown Industries has the PC for you. Yes, you too can have your own Helmet PC bearing the official helmet of your favorite football team. Models start at around $599 plus another $100 for an official Riddell Sports helmet. They're not powerhouses (they're based on the Mini-ITX mother board), but c'mon - get your priorities straight here - are you a fan or a user, punk?! Unfortunately, these aren't wearable helmet PCs - when they fit the PC into a wearable helmet, we're so in.
Read MoreThe only folks who might be tempted to download this are either recent grads who've yet to have the everyday tie-knotting drudgery instilled in them or those that "work at home" most likely never changing out of their pjs, let alone donning a tie (right, we don't know any of those). Well, we guess if you wanted to start getting really clever with neck fashion, since the database has 14 famous ties that teach you the step by step theatrics that is the tie knot. But if you really can't remember the simple steps to the classic knot, then you probably really don't need one anyway. [Via TRFJ]
Read MoreIn the ongoing effort to further complicate the simple act of telling time, we bring you the Nooka line of watches (definitely not to be confused with Nokia). The Nooka Zot uses dots to show hours and a progress bar to show minutes, while the Nooka Zoo uses a LCD for hours and a progress bar for minutes. They're pretty styley with thick wristbands that are all the rage these days. No release date or pricing information is available just yet. In the meantime, just keep chanting, "Nooka Zot, Nooka Zoo; Nooka Zot, Nooka Zoo..."
Read MoreIf you want to get a peek at the extras that the Halo 2 Collectors Edition will have, head to the link below. The 88 MB video (at the bottom of the download page) is a high-resolution Windows Media file that shows off some multiplayer action. Unfortunately, the thing is mostly hype and bravado, with the standard "Halo 2 will destroy everything out there" crap. But it's worth a look, if only to see the tweaks that Bungie packed in.
Read MoreCall us crazy, but we just about lost it when we heard the news that IGN will post its Halo 2 review on Sunday, November 7 at noon (PST). And that's what Halo-fever will do to an office full of game-crazed bloggers. Until yesterday, we didn't think it was possible to really get all that excited about the prospects of a review surfacing. My, how times have changed. Bungie's kept the lid so tight on this one, especially when it comes to the single-player campaign, that it feels like the whole world might explode on November 9th. Then again, it that were gonna happen, it would likely have been Wednesday... Red Sox? World Series Champs? Anyway, The Official Xbox Magazine is the first to get a review out there. "97" (in case you were wondering).
Read MoreYesterday, Sean Burke filed a suit in Los Angeles alleging that his Xbox stopped reading and playing games after less than a year of normal use. The suit is looking to represent all Xbox owners who have had similar problems and is seeking compensation. Microsoft hasn't responded yet, but we'll keep you updated. Any readers have an experience with bad drives in their Xbox? UPDATE: So far I've only gotten a generic response from Microsoft's Molly O'Donnell saying they have been aware of the suit and have been looking into it. I'll keep putting whatever I get from them in the comments thread.
Read MoreXbox, er, rather, Microsoft has broken a 30 year tradition by negotiating an ad space in the famed King Cross space in Sydney, Australia. It's considered the "crowning jewel" of Halo 2's outdoor advertising campaign, featuring a clever play on the adjoining Coke display. In related news, Master Chief was seen escorting Miss Universe Jennifer Hawkins to a Sydney charity event. Needless to say, Halo is getting much love down under.
Read MoreMicrosoft has announced a slew of new Platinum titles. Okay, not a slew, but five isn't bad. The Platinum games are the best of the "old" titles, letting you scoop up classics for twenty bucks. The latest line-up includes: Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing NFL Street Project Gotham Racing 2 The Simpsons: Hit & Run Get Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge, unless you don't like really fun games.
Read MoreSadly, Microsoft announced today that Halo 2's co-op mode will only be accessible through offline splitscreen—no Live; no System Link. The news comes as a great disappointment to fans that had been circulating the rumor of online co-op, even though neither Bungie nor Microsoft has ever hinted at such a feature. However, 4-player splitscreen was confirmed for online multiplayer, providing some consolation for the heartbroken. Splitscreen co-op in the original Halo was a great experience, but with the sequel's revamped multiplayer, it's hard to believe that the feature-that-could-have-been will linger much longer in our memories.
Read MoreRemember him? The now the small, cute device mocking you from that windowpane is a aromatherapeutic device that squirts out your favorite scent every 30 seconds (kind of a departure from a PC, we know). In their never-ending quest to anthropomorphise just about everything, Japanese designers bring us Halo, a "transformation of aromatherapy" creature that shows that you're both into cute things and things that smell good. Heavy. Choose a scent, and every so often, those cute little ears lift up, filling your work or living area with the scent of "moonlit night in January," "Christmas morning back home," or "drunk guy who won't stop talking to you on the subway". Oh, that last one is included in the New York scent pack, our mistake.
Read MoreLast we reported, Halo 2 presales had reached a million—and some of our readers still weren't impressed, or just not convinced. Well, Microsoft has now confirmed that presales for this fall's most anticipated sequel have reached the 1.5 million mark! Translation: within its first 24 hours Halo 2 will bring in more sales than any blockbuster movie has in that same timeframe, ever. Period. November 9th, people. November 9.
Read MoreCourtesy of our buddy Dan Wu over at Engadget: Although there are modchip hacks and free media software already available, Microsoft is releasing an official $80 Xbox Extender kit so you too can peruse pictures and videos, as well as stream MP3s from your home network for viewing and listening on your TV (we're sure Voodoo and their Vibe are a little rattled by this). The catch is that you need to subscribe to Xbox Live, or this won't work for you. But we won't mention again how there are other ways of doing this on your Xbox (wink, wink).
Read MoreOn January 5 at 6:30pm, Bill Gates is set for a pre-show speech at the Consumer Electronics Show. A key topic of course, the Xbox 2, we think. (Just trust us on this one). The CES is the largest North American trade show, expected to draw an estimated 130,000 professionals. Rumor spread that the announcement was to be made at the Game Developer's Conference, but now that that's come and gone, the CES is the next logical event for Gates to spill the beans. A number of Microsoft's trusted developers already have working versions of the Xbox 2 hardware, so an announcement has got to be just around the corner.
Read MoreTecmo announced that DoA Ultimate is finished and will ship October 26. Yeah, we've heard that before. The delay has cycled a full year now, and the allure of the online fighter has been steadily fading in the wake of this year's blockbuster titles. Launching (if it's true) alongside San Andreas, and mere weeks before Halo 2, will certainly hurt sales. Still, we've got our money on DoA Ultimate as fighter of the year. Don't sleep on this one.
Read MoreCould the Xbox 2 be revealed in January? Bill Gates will be delivering the keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in January 2005, and it is quite possible—even likely—that he will use this platform to reveal Microsoft's plans for the Xbox 2. Some of you might remember that Microsoft was supposed to reveal the original Xbox at CES three years ago, but had to bail on the plans last minute. There are two ways to look at this: first, it's exciting for gamers, as any new console launch is a good thing. On the other hand, if Microsoft shows its hand this early, it could give Sony some time to come up with an answer for PlayStation 3. Either way, it's looking promising for some hard Xbox 2 news in January, instead of all that junk speculation.
Read MoreIf clicking on the random buttons over at the new Halo 2 site was starting to annoy you, then you might find this helpful. Over on Bungie's forum some thoughtful gamers have posted what we've been too lazy to figure out. Thank you, your efforts have been duly noted.
Read MoreThe new Halo 2 site features a nifty Covenant interface, as if you were commanding one of the alien craft headed for Earth. Unfortunately (unless you have the time to decode it), the buttons are all in alien symbols. But there's a lot to uncover if you have the patience. Enjoy.
Read MoreAlthough there are modchip hacks and free media software already available, Microsoft is releasing an official $80 Xbox Extender kit so you too can peruse pictures and videos, as well as stream MP3s from your home network for viewing and listening on your TV (we're sure Voodoo and their Vibe are a little rattled by this). The catch is that you need to subscribe to Xbox Live, or this won't work for you. But we won't mention again how there are other ways of doing this on your Xbox (wink, wink).
Read MoreOver on his weekly column, Chris Morris of CNN takes a stab at Microsoft's latest attempt to appeal to a wider audience. On November 3, the Xbox Live Arcade will launch, offering a surprisingly limited selection of retro/casual games for a relatively steep price. While we've already heard plenty of griping about the seemingly outrageous prices (keep in mind some purchases will we packaged deals), the news that Microsoft will only have about seven titles available at launch is simply shocking. There are promises to add 3-5 games a month, but still, the prospects of the Live Arcade are drying up quick. About the only good news is that the free starter disc will feature Ms. Pac Man, and the addition of online leader boards offers some satisfaction for our mindless (and costly) efforts. It's time to get your act together Microsoft.
Read MoreLogitech has announced its latest peripheral venture for the Xbox, the Logitech Cordless Headset. It's about time! The headset will be packaged with the Cordless Precision Controller for a hefty $80 price tag (but that's still cheaper than the half-way wireless offering from Bluetooth). The unit will use 2.4Ghz techonology and has a 30ft range (if you do find yourself playing 30 feet from the screen you either have a movie theater in your home or something's wrong with you). At any rate, Logitech is a trusted brand, and if wires really bug you, the Cordless Headset shouldn't disappoint. Look for it later this fall.
Read MoreLogitech already has wireless controllers for the Xbox (and PlayStation 2) and now they're adding to the family with a rechargeable cordless headset so Xbox Live users can completely be wire free when they game online. Looking much like a Bluetooth earpiece, the headset retails for $80, lasts for 6 hours on a single charge, and uses 2.4Ghz technology for clear audio. We're a bit disappointed they chose to use the 2.4Ghz band and not the 5.8Ghz band since if you have 802.11b or 802.11g WiFi (which also uses the 2.4GHz slice of the spectrum) in the house there is the potential for some intereference problems.
Read MoreContinuing our Halo 2 tribute day — It looks like Halo 2 is available if you're a pirate. The game leaked out into the ever-welcoming maw of the Internet, leaving microsoft with a befuddled and angry expression. Late last night, the game suddenly appeared on Usenet and some shady websites, weighing in at 3GB. Word is that the version does not inlcude online play. If you have no morals you should set out to find the game now. Bye! Gotta run!
Read MoreMech Assault 2: Lone Wolf is going to try to make all you mech-haters, mech-lovers. No small task. Hating mechs is in the blood. Gamespot gets a good gander at the title, which is nearly done. They seem to think it has enough arcade action to pull in the uncommited, but not so much arcade action that the diehard fans will be turned off. That's a fine balance that I, personally, would not want to maneuver with a mech. Mech Assault 2 will definitely be packed with game modes and extras — including, of course, downloadable content. I believe that the last game in the series was one of the first to offer content for Xbox Live! Correct me if I'm wrong. The preview is a bit of a fluff-piece, but those can be an amusing read too.
Read MoreOkay, we swear this will be the last Halo 2 post of the day, so here goes... If you're in the New York area come November 8, you might want to consider heading to the Toys "R" Us in Times Square for, drum roll please... the official Halo 2 launch party! Fanatics of all shapes & sizes will be treated to an early hands-on preview featuring a number of guest appearances while they wait for the clock to strike 12:00. And at midnight, the doors open, and all hell breaks loose. Who will emerge from the madness with the very first copy of Halo 2? Will you? If you're game, come wearing your best Master Chief digs (you might win a prize).
Read MoreLike it or not, it's definitely contemporary rock. Click the picture to the right to hear the sample yourself. The band is Breaking Benjamin, and the track is called "Blow Me Away". It's hard to say how the music will fit into the game without any context, but the new sound is not necessarily a bad sound. The Halo 2 Soundtrack will be available alongside the game on November 9, and besides Breaking Benjamin, features Incubus, Hoobastank, Nile Rodgers, Nataraj and guitarist Steve Vai. Music was vital to the first Halo, and we trust that Bungie made the right decisions for the sequel. Drop us a line with your first impressions.
Read MoreIf you can't see the the fine print, please read: "Visit the new halo2.com on October 15th to get the full version of the wallpaper". This little teaser comes by way of the 'godfather' whose "company" got its hands on this image before the complete version's release via halo2.com on Friday. It isn't much, but hey, beggars can't be choosers.
Read MorePhantagram has been polishing this little gem for a few years now, and with Microsoft onboard as publisher, Kingdom Under Fire has generated some high expectations. Does it deliver? Depends. If you love the mindless button-smashing of Dynasty Warriors, then KUF is definitely worth checking out. But be warned, this is only half of the gameplay. The other half consists of real-time strategy that, while engaging in theory, fails on a number of levels. And the addition of this RTS element pushes the game into a niche genre that may only attract hardcore gamers (and of a certain caliber at that). The online play does little to remedy this fact, and suffers from its own shortcomings as well. Still, KUF is a beautiful game filled with frantic action, and remains a one-of-a-kind gem in the Xbox catalogue. How precious a gem is really up to you.
Read MoreYeah, we knew this already, but it's great to see it made official. Halo 2 has indeed gone gold, and will be making its way into our lives for weeks on end, starting next month. The press release is filled with some tantalizing details, and some amazing facts. Like this: "Microsoft Game Studios today announced that Halo® 2 for Xbox®, the most-anticipated video game of the year, has gone gold and will ship simultaneously over three days to 27 countries in eight languages. Halo 2 will be available on November 9 throughout North and South America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. The sequel to the award-winning Halo: Combat Evolved, will be available in France, Belgium and Switzerland on November 10, as well as in Japan and the rest of Europe on November 11. Halo 2 is being localized in eight languages including English, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (traditional), Spanish, French, German and Italian." How's that for a AAA title launch? Say what you will about Microsoft, but they sure do know how to launch a product.
Read More$20 will get me what? Pac-Man?! No thank you. In a disappointing announcement yesterday, Microsoft confirmed that each game featured on its upcoming Xbox Live Arcade service will cost between $10-20. Compare this to a title like Midway's Arcade Treasures 2 (due out 10/11) also retailing for $20, but containing 20 (mostly decent) arcade games, and there's an obvious disparity. Does Microsoft really expect to get away with this? Say it ain't so...
Read MoreA scary thought indeed. And also true. Now hold on... before you start yelling, sell out!, and curse the day you slapped down your pre-order, there are a few things you should know. First off, yes, there is a deal with Nile Rodgers, uber-producer extraordinaire—and you should be able to access sample clips from the soundtrack over on his website starting today. And yes, those clips may include bands like Incubus and Breaking Benjamin. And yes, this scares us too... But if you follow the link below, you'll find a detailed explanation from Bungie's music boss Marty O'Donnel, and trust us, it'll make you feel better.
Read MoreAs Gizmodo notes, "When you're done, though, you'll have one of the slowest, least-useful OSX boxes money can buy!" If you truly have nothing better to do, check out the tutorial at GA Tech. Neither Apple nor Microsoft is going to be very supportive when you break something by attempting this. Then again, as long as you don't offload all those stolen MP3s from your iPod, Steve Ballmer probably won't care.
Read MoreThe Seattle Times has reported that Halo 2 pre-sales are hovering around the 1 million mark. Needless to say, this sets the record for pre-orders of any game, period. With Halo (1) having sold roughly 5 million copies, there's no telling what kind of damage the sequel will do. With just over a month to go, you can expect pre-orders to really pick up, if that's even possible. It's gonna be chaos come November 9th! [Thanks Justin]
Read MoreAn interesting write-up of Xbox's Ghost Recon 2 has been posted on 1up. It looks like the fine folks behind the game have pissed off a whole country. When the developer was called by Star & Stripes (a western newspaper) and asked about the game, the answer was taken out of context and turned into good old propoganda. Read the article for more. The preview takes a hard look at the game from a real-world perspective. Apparently, the team has been getting great cooperation from the government and, of course, Clancy, in their quest to make a game that will show off tools and weaponry that's ten years down the line. The first game was an excellent peek at the inner workings of a squad, and the sequel looks to update the experience. As usual, the designers are being mum about the online modes for the Xbox version. The hype behind the Live! elements is only growing with their silence. They may want to temper expectations by coming clean on the basics of online play. Please?
Read MoreThe Xbox has never gotten all that much love in Japan, which maybe isn't too surprising given the hometown advantage Sony's PlayStation 2 has there, but apparently Microsoft thinks that (besides the PS2's two year headstart) the problem is that the original Xbox console is simply too big for people over there, with corporate veepster Peter Moore insisting that a smaller, slimmer Xbox 2 will do better in Japan because the large size of the original was "unappealing to Japanese consumers". [Via Joystiq]
Read MoreBoth NEC & Toshiba are pushing for Microsoft to pick up their HD-DVD media format for use with the Xbox 2. This latest next-gen storage format will be competing against Blu-ray (to be used for PS3 games) to become the successor to DVD. Costs remain the biggest concern, but NEC believes it can drive prices down within six months of installing HD-DVD drives in its PCs, as well as selling the units externally—likely to begin late next year. Given those estimates, if Microsoft is really planning on releasing Xbox 2 by the end of 2005, it may be too expensive to incorporate the HD-DVD technology. We'll find out when the next E3 rolls around...
Read MoreMarty O'Donnell is the musical composer of the classic Halo soundtrack. Many of us Halo geeks think its score is one of the best ever produced — making O'Donnell something of a hero. This interview on Music4games gets into the process of creating the soundtrack for the upcoming sequel, Halo 2. Some tidbits worth mentioning are the fact that the DVD special edition will include some behind-the-scenes peeks at the production process. Then there's the news that volume one of the soundtrack will be available from Nile Rogers when the game is released. This implies, of course, that there will be a volume two, which O'Donnell says will be filled with stuff they couldn't fit in the game.
Read MoreGamespot is reporting that Halo 2 is done. The game has been released by its mommies and daddies to the RTC (Release to Certification) process. Our educated guess is that it will probably make it through the official tests. Unless someone steals the eight digital tapes while it's en route. Wow, that's not funny at all. The announcement brings the long production to an end, and releases droves of sun-deprived developers from their caves. Welcome back to the sunshine, people. We hope to be showering you with flowers and praise (and money) very soon.
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