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XtremeMac InCharge Auto & Home BT chargers stream music, phone calls over bluetooth
There are many ways to get your phone's tunes to your system's speakers, and now thanks to XtremeMac, you have two more. At $80, the InCharge Home BT is just $20 cheaper than an Apple TV, and it only lets you stream audio over bluetooth (vs. video, and WiFi for the Apple TV). Its on-the-go counterpart, however -- the InCharge Auto BT (also $80) -- is a much easier sell, beaming music and phone calls to a car stereo without a need to tether your handset to your receiver. Despite the company name and ubiquitous "Made for iPhone" branding, XtremeMac has confirmed that both devices offer identical functionality with non-Apple handsets as well, along with iPods, iPads, and other bluetooth-enabled gadgets. Available now, both devices support A2DP, connect to your speakers using a bundled 3.5mm cable, and include a 10-watt USB port for charging your devices -- assuming you don't mind cording up, on occasion.
XtremeMac shows off new docks and chargers at CES 2011
XtremeMac had a suite at the Bellagio (my favorite hotel on the Strip, I think) for last week's CES conference, and I stopped by to check out their latest lines of accessories and cases for the upcoming year. My favorite product in the booth is pictured above -- it's a speaker dock called the Tango TRX, which features a removable dock that can be unattached from the sleek speaker. It's Bluetooth-enabled for streaming audio directly from your iDevice, and there's a free universal app that will let you control the speaker with a virtual remote. The Tango TRX is shipping soon, and it will be available for US$179.99. The other dock they were showing was the Luna SST, a bedside stand with a detachable speaker that will actually send two alarms out to the two separated speakers (so that a person on one side of the bed can supposedly wake up without bothering the other). The Luna also has an app that can be used as a clock face, or even set alarms or settings on the device while docked. I also saw a new line of InCharge chargers -- there are auto-based chargers coming that will allow you to not only charge your iDevice in the car but also plug in an aux cable or charge another USB device. XtremeMac is also introducing an iPhone case called the InCharge Mobile that serves as both a 2300 milliamp battery and a relatively thin case with a kickstand for just $79.99. Finally, I was walked through some of the cases that XtremeMac offers -- all pretty standard affairs. I was told (not the only time that week) that black is by far the number one color for case sales, and that while customers will say they want different colors and will judge a brand based on many colors, in the end they mostly choose black for their own phones. Cases are mostly a matter of taste, so it turned out that what I learned about case buying was more interesting than any of the actual cases on display there.
TeknoCreations' InCharge juices Wiimotes through silicone skins
It's a common issue, really. Having to peel that sticky, icky silicone skin from the Wiimote each time you try to swap out the batteries or plop it down in a recharging station is a real pain, but TeknoCreations has a better way. By utilizing a contactless induction charging system, its InCharge remote charger can actually reinvigorate Lithium Polymer battery packs that are encased within those newfangled silicone grips that the Big N recommends so heavily. The system reportedly offers a 25-hour battery life, and unlike contact-based chargers, the aforementioned dirt and grit won't gum up the juicing process. The InCharge Wiimote charger should be available real soon for $34.99, and for PS3 owners feeling all left out, fret not -- the company just received certification to go forward with a similar product for the SIXAXIS.[Via Nintendo Wii Fanboy]Read - InCharge WiimoteRead - InCharge PS3 certification
New charger sends power to batteries through Wii Remote jackets
Teknocreations has unveiled their InCharge battery pack and charge stand for Wiimotes. The new stand uses a set of lithium polymer batteries, which, according to the press release, are half as heavy as other rechargeables and work over hundreds of charges. Each charge provides 25 hours of gameplay. The stand can charge two Wiimotes side-by-side.But all of that is just a leadup to the real magic trick that separates this thing from other chargers: it charges without any metal contacts, and will charge a battery through a silicone cover. If you actually use your Wii Remote Jackets, you can leave them on when you dock your Wiimotes to charge. That is really, really cool. No word on whether or not this charger will melt your controllers.
Breakfast Topic: You're in charge
Richard Bartle (who also blogs over at Terra Nova) gained notoriety among WoW players this week for saying that if Blizzard put him in charge, he'd shut the game down for good. His point was not that he's angry at WoW, but that if players suddenly woke up without it, they'd move on to other, more interesting and varied virtual worlds. WoW is the 800 lb. gorilla in MMO gaming (and in some cases, videogaming) right now, and if Bartle could do one thing with that gorilla, he'd get it out of the picture, so other games would have a chance to shine brighter.Yesterday on Terra Nova, he asked players the same question he was asked, and today, we'll ask it to you. If Blizzard called you up this afternoon, and said "Boy, we really love the way you're playing this game, and we want to put you in charge," what would you do? And not just in terms of the game world (although I'd love to finally buff Shamans), but in terms of the game business itself. Would you start working on a sequel, or make plans to push out expansions every six months instead of every year? Would you combine the realms together, or create an hourly payment plan instead of a monthly one?Or would you shut the whole thing down and let players have a chance to play something else (or get back to their lives)? If you were in charge, what would you do?
