SlashGear

Happy Hour Watch may be best gift ever for booze hounds

Shane McGlaun — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:52:36 +0000

I have been running across a bunch of strange and cool watches recently. The coolest, and most expensive, has to be the 4N watch that I ran across this week with mechanical operation and limited to only 16 pieces. A new watch today isn’t expensive and isn’t handmade. The thing is called the Happy Hour Watch.

If you like to drink adult beverages that need a bottle opener this is the watch for you. The face of the watch has a digital display for time, the day, and an analog display that has normal hands and operation with red markings for 5p.m., also known as happy hour.

The buckle on the band of the watch is the unique bit here. It is designed to allow you to open a bottle without hunting for a bottle opener or using your teeth. The watch is available now for $49.95 on sale with the normal price being $69.95.

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Active Media Products unveils SaberTooth ZT ZIF SSD

Shane McGlaun — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:37:36 +0000

Active Media Products has all sorts of SSDs and storage devices, but most of them are aimed at use in laptops and desktops using SATA connectivity. The company has announced a new SSD product called the SaberTooth ZT Turbo ZIF SSD.

The SSD fits into devices that use a 1.8-inch IDE/PATA drive. The little SSD is 5mm thick and uses the 40-pin ZIF interface. It can be had in 32GB or 64GB capacities and promises 100MB/sec read speed and up to 85MB/sec write speeds.

The SSD uses MLC NAND and supports SMART and ECC. The drive uses bad block management to map bad bits to prevent data errors. The drive ships with a small screwdriver and install instructions and supports Windows, Linux, and Mac operating systems.

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brite-View unveils LinkE powerline network adapters

Shane McGlaun — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:13:14 +0000

Powerline networking is the only way for some users to get connectivity to their devices inside the home. WiFi doesn’t always reach each room of your house and running Ethernet cable is expensive and time consuming. Brite-view has announced its new powerline networking solution called the LinkE.

The kit a 200Mbps single port bridge and a four port switch. The system is specifically designed to allow you to stream AV content around your home and supports single and cross-zone home wiring. Security is provided with 128-bit AES encryption.

The LinkE system can transmit data up to 65 feet in LOS wired homes and up to 32 feet in NLOS wired homes. The LinkE kit can be ordered now for $89.99 direct from the brite-View website.

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Office Max to launch Engage store brand for tech gear

Shane McGlaun — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:59:28 +0000

There are so many options for technology products on the market today that you can find gear just about anywhere. More options is not a bad thing though and Office Max has announced that it will be offering its own line of tech gear under the Engage brand. Here’s hoping Captain Piccard is featured on the packaging.

The first products in the Engage line will be a wired optical mouse and a wireless optical mouse. The wired version of the mouse will sell for $16.99 and will be offered in black or blue colors. The mouse has five buttons and a scroll wheel.

The wireless mouse is offered in purple, red, black, and bronze colors for $19.99. The mouse also has five buttons and a scroll wheel. Both Engage mice support Mac and PCs and are available right now.

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Xplore offers rugged iX104C4CR tablet PC for clean rooms

Shane McGlaun — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:47:20 +0000

Tablet computers are big on the market right now for consumers, and the machines have been on the market for commercial users in specific industries for a while. A company called Xplore has unveiled a new tablet PC that is rugged and aimed at use in clean rooms and other environment that have demanding no contamination needs.

The tablet computer is called the Clean Room iX104C4 and features an optional AllVue Xtreme display that is 10.4-inches and has a 1024 x 768 resolution. The screen can also be fitted with an optional resistive touch digitizer. Graphics for the machine are Intel integrated.

The CPU is a dual core Intel U2500 at 1.2GHz. Other features include Bluetooth, WiFi, optional HSPA mobile broadband and more. The battery in the tablet is an 8-cell li-ion unit with up to 4.5 hours of run time. The rig can be ordered with up to 2GB of RAM and stores data to a 32GB SSD.

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Samsung offers price and ship date for R1 and R0 PMPs

Shane McGlaun — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:30:54 +0000

I mentioned the Samsung R1 PMP last summer when it landed in Europe. We expected the player to come to the US soon, but that never happened. Samsung has finally announced availability and pricing information for the R1 and its sibling the R0 PMPs.

The R1 will come in 16GB and 8GB versions that will both ship in April for $149.99 and $179.99 respectively. The R0 PMP will also be offered in 8GB and 16GB versions shipping in April for $99.99 and $129.99 respectively.

The R1 features a 2.4-inch TFT LCD touchscreen with drag and drop media loading. The R1’s battery is good for up to 50 hours of audio playback and four hours of video per charge. It also features a FM tuner and recorder along with support for Bluetooth headsets. The R0 has a 2.6-inch LCD and has enough juice for six hours of video and 30 hours of audio along with a microSD card slot for storage expansion.

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Samsung offers pricing and availability on new Blu-ray home theater systems

Shane McGlaun — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:18:31 +0000

Samsung is into home theater in a big way with all sorts of products including some of the most popular HDTVs around. Samsung is set to start selling its 3D TVs and will offer product demos in Sears stores this summer. Samsung has unveiled the pricing and availability on some of its new home theater systems that were on display at CES to go along with its new TVs.

Among the new home theater systems is the HT-C6930W shipping in April for $899 supporting 3D surround sound. The system also has wireless rear speakers. The HT-C7530W is a 5.1 surround sound system with wireless rear speakers, WiFi, 1GB of embedded storage and more for $999 with shipping starting in May.

The HT-C5500 and HT-C6500 home theater systems are for small spaces with 5.1 surround sound, advanced calibration options, and iPod docks. The C5500 will ship in March for $499 and the C6500 will ship in March for $649. The difference is that the C6500 will have 1GB of storage and dual HDMI inputs along with upgraded speakers.

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Pioneer DJM-2000 pro DJ mixer debuts

Shane McGlaun — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:01:42 +0000

I once won some tickets to an event from a radio station and when I went to to pick them up the number of knobs and buttons in the studio was impressive. I could never be a DJ, I have a tendency to push buttons to figure out what they do rather than read instructions. Pioneer has a new pro DJ controller it is unveiling today for those that know what all the buttons and knobs are for called the DJM-2000.

The device has the industry’s first 5.8-inch multitouch screen effects, Evolved Beat Effects, Pro DJ Link, and MIDI controls. The color LCD also lets the DJ set up seven different dynamic audio effects with touches and movements on the screen.

Other features include Pro DJ Link to link the Pioneer CDJ-2000 or CDJ-900 turntables to the mixer and a Live Sampler for taking sounds from as mic or master output to use in the mix. A 3-band EQ is built-in and the Cross fader function can be assigned and adjusted. The DJM-2000 will ship in June for $2,999.

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OWC Mercury Elite-AL Pro mini quad interface storage solution revealed

Shane McGlaun — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:50:11 +0000

OWC has a big range of external storage solutions and other gear that is typically aimed at Mac users, but often work with Windows machines as well. The latest OWC offering is a new external storage solution called the Mercury Elite-AL Pro mini. The storage solution is hailed as the industry’s first quad interface 2.5-inch 1TB HDD.

The mini is available to order now with ten different models ranging in storage capacity from 250GB to 1TB. All of the models have FireWire 800/400, USB 2.0, and eSATA interfaces with data speeds up to 300MB/s depending on the interface used.

The drives are all housed in an aluminum enclosure. Some versions of the external device have 5400 rpm drive; some have 7200 rpm drives, and SSD versions are offered as well. Prices range from $119.99 to $299.99 for the 5200/5400 rpm drives, 7200 rpm versions are $144 for 320GB and $189 for 500GB. SSD versions are $299 to $849 depending on capacity. All versions are powered by the USB bus.

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Quirky unveils crowd designed Cloak Undercover case for iPad

Shane McGlaun — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:38:15 +0000

I think many of the products Quirky produces are cool and I like the fact the company lets visitors to its website help design the product. The latest product for sale at Quirky is a cool case for the iPad called the Cloak Undercover.

Quirky is taking pre-orders on the Cloak Undercover now for $36 each and only 620 will be made. The Cloak is a case with a lid that flips back to protect the screen of the iPad. The iPad is held inside the case with a friction grip after it is slid into the case.

The Cloak has a stand that will hold the iPad up in portrait mode and the lid can be used to hold the tablet up in landscape mode. The case is cool and you can pre-order yours right now.

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MSI debuts new Wind12 U230-033 and U230-040 notebooks

Shane McGlaun — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:26:32 +0000

MSI pulled the cover off its Wind12 line of AMD powered ultraportables a few months ago. We saw the original U230 on video back in November of 2009. MSI has unveiled a couple new models for the Wind12 line called the U230-033 and the U230-040.

The new models for the line weigh 3.3 pounds each and have 2GB of RAM along with a 6-cell battery. The operating system for both models is Windows 7 Home Premium and both have 12.1-inch 1366 x 768 HD resolution screens. Graphics on both models are via Radeon HD 3200 GPUs.

The keyboards use keys 51% larger than those on standard keyboards do for typing comfort and pack in a 1.3MP webcam, HDMI out, USB 2.0 ports, and a memory card reader. The difference in the two models comes in storage and CPU. The U230-033 has an Athlon Neo MV-40 processor and 250GB of storage with the U230-040 getting an Athlon X2 L335 processor and 320GB of storage. The 033 sells for $429 and the 040 sells for $479 with both at Newegg now.

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Smart Kid baby furniture is useful once the kid can climb

Shane McGlaun — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:13:06 +0000

I have two kids and both are years outside the baby bed today. I can remember putting the beds for them both together only to toss them out in a few years when they learned to scale the side of the bed. Andensen Furniture has a new design concept that is perfect for the new parents looking to get some mileage out of their furniture.

The Smart Kid furniture starts out as your average crib with drawers under and beside the crib. You need lots of storage for diapers and maybe extra clothes for you until you learn to dodge the urine stream if you have a boy. My son always held a bit back to use the instant the wiener hit air.

Once the baby is too old for a crib, the whole thing can be transformed into a variety of other useful devices for an older kid’s room. The setup can turn into a toddler bed with a desk and a green thingy that appears to be Velcro. It can also turn into one of those baby jail cells for when you need some time without chasing a toddler. Kid Smart has to be the coolest baby furniture ever.

[Via Yanko Design]

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Sceptre X240CC-FHD 1080p TV is clad in chrome

Shane McGlaun — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:58:24 +0000

If Bender and his shiny metal butt ever decided to buy a new HDTV, this full chrome set from Sceptre would be what he would get. The frame, stand, and surfaces of the TV are all clad in shiny chrome. The upside is that you can always see who is walking up behind you. The downside is any sunlight hitting the thing might set your eyebrows on fire like a magnifying glass to an ant.

Underneath that shiny chrome surface sits a pretty darn good HDTV/PC display. The set has a 16:9 aspect ratio and supports full 1080p video. When used as a PC display the screen supports a maximum resolution of 1920 x 1080 and measures 24-inches. It can show 16.7 million colors and has a 4000:1 contrast ratio.

Brightness for the screen is 300 cd/m2 and it has 3W speakers built-in and sports S/PDIF output along with USB 2.0 input. Connectivity includes a pair of HDMI ports, composite, component, DVI, and VGA. HDCP is supported for Blu-ray playback as well. The chrome TV is available on Newegg and at retail locations like Target and Sears for $399. If you don’t like the product, you can bite my shiny metal butt.

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Casttoo makes it cool to have a broken bone

Shane McGlaun — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:44:43 +0000

I have never broken a bone despite the fact that I frequently jumped off the roof of my house as a kid and ran wild on a three-wheeler with no parental supervision at an early age. My cousin on the other hand could break a bone if he farted too hard. We are sort of like Mr. Glass and David Dunn from Unbreakable.

If you or someone you know has broken a bone recently we have the coolest cast covers ever from a company called Casttoo. The things are available in several styles including several different pre-designed styles that go on casts of all sorts and sizes with drawn bones with breaks for decoration.

The coolest cover is certainly the custom one where you send the company a digital version of your actual x-ray and they print your break on a cover. Just think of all the time you could save by not having to explain what’s broken, you could just point to the cast picture. The custom cast covers cost as much as $40 depending on the size needed.

[Via BoingBoing]

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HP adds MediaSmart Expander for TiVo to MediaSmart Home servers

Shane McGlaun — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:32:41 +0000

HP has been offering its interesting line of MediaSmart Home servers for a while now. The line of servers runs Microsoft Windows Home Server software and allows the user to store all sorts of digital content from their network in one place for management and streaming to other machines on the network.

HP has announced a new and cool feature for the MediaSmart line that adds the capability to manage TiVo HD DVRs directly from the MediaSmart server with HP MediaSmart Expander for TiVo. Users that have a TiVo HD DVR can transfer recorded programs from the DVR directly to the MediaSmart server and then send them back to the TiVo if needed.

The recordings can be managed directly from the HP server and recordings stored on the server can be sent to any PC on the home network for viewing. The service can be accessed from the Windows Home Server Console on EX90, EX495, and Data Vault servers at no additional cost.

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Google launchs cloud-computing based Apps Marketplace

Paul Fang — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:15:49 +0000

Perhaps one of the companies most prolifically embracing cloud-computing based technology, Google has just launched its Apps Marketplace, that will integrate with the Google Apps ecosystem and deliver products and services directly from the “cloud”.

During tonight’s Google Campfire One developer event, the Apps Marketplace went live with 50 applications available from third-party vendors, and Google has stated that it will charge 3rd-party developers $100 for selling their applications in the marketplace. The marketplace also supports OpenID to provide a single sign-on for developers, and customers are allowed access through OAuth, the open standard for authorizing users.

Google also noted that it is celebrating a recently accomplished milestone: 25 million users and 2 million businesses are now using some form of Google Apps. With this foray into more “enterprise”-based applications, both businesses as well as consumers will be able to benefit from this app market centralization, not to mention Google itself.

[via ReadWriteWeb]

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All six major studios on board for HD movies on Playstation Network

Paul Fang — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:52:29 +0000

The Playstation platform has been getting quite a bit of love these days, coming off just yesterday from an optimistic industry analyst report that it’ll become the reigning force in the console wars. Today, Sony announced some more news; it has signed up all six major studios to deliver HD movies (purchases and rentals) on the Playstation Network.

That heavy-hitter list includes 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. and, naturally, Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Sony’s the first-ever company to have inked such a deal; let’s hope that the Playstation Network itself doesn’t collapse under the excitement.

From Movie Theater to Home Theater: PlayStation(R)Network Delivers High Definition Movies From Six Major Movie Studios in the United States

PlayStation(R)3 Computer Entertainment System First to Have High Definition Movies for Purchase from All Major Studios

FOSTER CITY, Calif., March 9 /PRNewswire/ — Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) today announced that 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Pictures, and Warner Bros. Digital Distribution will offer high definition (HD) movies for purchase and rental on the PlayStation®Network video delivery service in the United States. PlayStation Network is the first to offer high definition movies for purchase from all of the major movie studios, further establishing PlayStation®3 (PS3®) as the preeminent home entertainment platform for this year’s most popular and critically acclaimed high definition movies.

“Securing high definition content from these studios is another significant milestone further validating PlayStation Network as a complete entertainment network in the home. PlayStation Network is the first and only service to deliver high definition home entertainment from all six major studios, directly to consumers for download,” said Peter Dille, senior vice president, marketing and PlayStation Network, SCEA. “PlayStation Network continues to offer the most comprehensive catalogue of HD movies to PlayStation Network members that realize the wide-ranging entertainment power of the PS3 system.”

The PS3 system is the most complete home entertainment solution on the market today, enabling consumers to enjoy high-definition games and movies, as well as listen to music, view photos, browse the Internet and more. Today’s announcement joins one of the industry’s strongest home entertainment brands with the major media companies that produce and distribute a substantial number of films. At launch, the content will be available in the U.S. only, with plans to launch soon in the U.K., France, Germany, and Spain.

New titles available today on PlayStation Network include:
· 20th Century Fox – “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian”, “Jennifer’s Body” and “Fantastic Mr. Fox” (on March 23)
· Walt Disney Pictures – Disney Pixar’s “Up”, Jerry Bruckheimer’s “G-Force” and Disney’s “Earth”
· Paramount Pictures – “Star Trek”, “Paranormal Activity” and “Zoolander”
· Sony Pictures – “This Is It”, “2012″, “District 9″ and “Zombieland”
· Universal – “Inglourious Basterds”, “Couples Retreat” and “Public Enemies”
· Warner Bros. Digital Distribution – “The Hangover”, “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince” and “The Wizard of Oz”

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Cisco ushers in “next-generation internet”, routing platform scales up to 332 Tbps/s [Video]

Paul Fang — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:36:07 +0000

After a momentous announcement yesterday that it would unveil something today that would “forever change the internet”, Cisco has introduced its internet changer, the Cisco CRS-3 Carrier Routing System. Let’s just say that it won’t quite change your world, but it’ll deliver your slice of the internet quite a bit faster.

“The Cisco CRS-3 triples the capacity of its predecessor, the Cisco CRS-1 Carrier Routing System, with up to 322 Terabits per second, which enables the entire printed collection of the Library of Congress to be downloaded in just over one second; every man, woman and child in China to make a video call, simultaneously; and every motion picture ever created to be streamed in less than four minutes.”

So it’s faster, but only by three times the speed. That’s not enough to be labeled life-changing in my book, but it certainly will be appreciated.

[Cisco]

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Pioneer DreamBook Lite is a 12.1-Inch Notebook With 10 Hour Battery Life

Evan Selleck — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:40:58 +0000

Notebooks are dime a dozen, and much like the mobile phone marekt, it’s the features that really matter. In the case of Pioneer’s latest laptop, the 12.1″ DreamBook Lite, it’s got a few features in here that may make someone shopping around take a second look. That is, if you’re looking for your next great gaming notebook.

If we told you that you’ve got a few options at your disposal here, that’d be a bold-faced understatement. For processors, you’ve got the Intel N450 1.66GHz variation, or the N470 1.83GHz if that suits you a bit more. From the title you can discern on your own that the notebook is rocking a 12.1-inch display, but what you may not know, is that it’s not just your normal LCD. Nope, this one’s packing an LED monitor, so basically it’s just a feast for your eyes while you’re playing your favorite games. It’s got the normal slew of inputs, including three USB ports, the LAN port, and an option for an HDMI port. It comes standard with a 4-cell battery, but you will more than likely push out the 10 hour battery life from the optional 6-cell battery.

It’s also got WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, a standard 1.3MP camera, and 3G is also optional. The Operating System is apparently up to you: it supports Windows XP/Vista/7, as well as Ubuntu 9.10 and Linux. So, while some things are just more run-of-the-mill options, we’re pleasantly surprised to see an LED display on this gaming notebook, and if that 10 hour battery life actually holds true, that’s beyond fantastic news. Look below for the full specifications list.

Specifications

CPU
Intel N450 1.66GHz, Intel N470 1.83GHz

Core Logic
Intel NM10 Express Chipset

Display & Graphic
12.1” LED BL HD 1366×768 (16:9)
nVidia ION2 GT218M Graphic, Up to 512M

System Memory
DDR2 667/800MHz Support
One So-DIMM DDR2 slot support up to 2GB

Storage
Support 2.5” SATA Hard Disk Drive
Support 4-in-1 card reader, SD/MMC/MS/MS Pro

Keyboard and Pointing Device
78keys with 19.05mm key pitch and 2.0±0.5mm key stroke
Support Multi-national Languages

I/O Ports
VGA port: One 15-pin VGA Port
Audio port: Two jack (MIC in & Headphone out)
LAN port: One RJ45 Port
USB port: Three USB Ports
Card reader: 4-in-1, SD/MMC/MS/MS Pro
HDMI: One HDMI Port(Option)
Power port: One DC-In Port
Kensington: One

Power System
Polymer battery, 4 cells 7.2V/4600mAh, 6 cells 7.2V/6900mAh Optional
AC 110~240V, DC 19V @ 65W AC Adapter

Power Management
ACPI V2.0
S0, S3, S4, S5 support

Switch Control
Power On/Off Button
Two Function Button
WIFI/3G/Bluetooth Hardware On/Off Switch

Option Items
Bluetooth V2.1+EDR
HDMI Port
3G module and antenna

Features
Wireless LAN: One Mini PCI-E Slot, 2 Antennas, Support 802.11 B/G/N, Half Size
Ethernet LAN: 10/100 M Ethernet Controller
PC Camera: 1.3M(1 Digital Microphone option)
Audio : HD Audio, Built-In 2 Speaker(Internal Microphone option)
3G Module: 3G Board Option(USB interface, one mini PCI-E Slot, one SIM Card Connector) , Antennas Option
Bluetooth: On USB Interface(Option)
LED Indication Power LED
Battery Charge LED
HDD Activity LED
WLAN Activity LED
3G Activity LED
Bluetooth Activity LED
Number Lock LED
Caps Lock LED

O.S.
Support Windows XP/Vista/7
Support Ubuntu 9.10 Linux

Certification
CE
FCC
RoHS
CCC
C-Tick

Weight and Dimension 302mm x 213.4mm x 27mm
N/W: 1.45 kg

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Sony BDV-E570 Blu-Ray Home Theater System Available Now, 3D in Summer

Evan Selleck — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:47:45 +0000

3D is making a huge push, hoping that the technology will be widely adopted by everyone sooner than later. Sure, there are still some people out there that refer to 3D as an old, recycled gimmick, but that’s not stopping all the major companies from doing everything they can to try and get it not only into movie theaters around the world, but also into your home. Enter Sony, who have just made available their BDV-E570 Blu-Ray home theater system, which comes with a nice little surprise this summer.

Sony wants to capitalize on this new love for an old (but vastly improved (and still improving)) technology, so they’ve made sure the Blu-Ray Disc player is able to handle the 3D technology, and they’ve got it perfectly planned to gain that capability in tandem with Sony’s release of their BRAVIA 3D TVs. That’s right. If you go with Sony, eventually everything will be in 3D.

Sony is touting that the industry’s first Blu-Ray Disc home theater system is getting “upgraded” to 3D capabilities by the Summer, and we honestly can’t blame them. That’s a great big next step, and we’re glad that Sony isn’t making people pay for a whole new system if they don’t want to. The system itself is able to offer full 1080p playback; along with offer some great Internet streaming sites, such as Netflix, Amazon On-Demand, Slacker Inernet Radio (Pandora is coming in the Spring), Sony Pictures, and Sony Music. There’s also the exclusive iPhone/iPod Touch Blu-Ray Disc remote, which we told you about before. If this is sounding like something you want, head on over to Best Buy right now and get ready to drop about $550. But hey, at least you get 3D in a few months, right? Now, just start saving up for that BRAVIA TV.

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Samsung eReader Partners With Barnes and Noble, Has EmoLink

Evan Selleck — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:26:28 +0000

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about Samsung’s eReader. It’s one of those pieces of technology that looks just as good as it’s supposed to perform, and it certainly catches our eye. The sliding function might be a bit too much for some people, but we can’t help but be attracted to it. It’s different, is what it is. Samsung wants you to know that their eReader is coming, and it’s changed in one major way.

When we brought you news of the E6 (which is pictured above, on the right) in January, we noted that the eReader would be using Google Books to bring you your daily reading fix. That has since changed, and Samsung Electronics have gone ahead and partnered with Barnes and Noble (don’t they have an eReader, too?) to bring you, the reader, over one million ways to satisfy your needs. And while the sliding function may be eye-catching to some, Samsung is banking on their electromagnetic resonance (EMR) stylus pen. Basically, this means you can use their stylus to write on your eBook display, just as you might on a physical book. That’s right, the Samsung eReader handles handwriting, and they’ve got a stylus that works perfectly well with their E-ink display. The company has also included a journal, memo pad, and a scheduler, just in case you needed something to write in. (On?) And with the company’s EmoLink technology, users of the Samsung eReader will be able to share all the information they want between devices. And your Outlook can be synced to the eReader as well, with a built-in dedicated program.

Specifications go like this: 6-inch E-Ink (600×800) display with 8-Gray scale; support for ePub, PDF/a, TXT, and bmp/jpg image formats. The unit itself has two front-facing speakers, and also a headphone jack, so that you can enjoy Samsung’s text-to-speech (TTS) capability. There’s also a built-in MP3 player, so podcasts, eBooks, and music can be enjoyed as well. It’s got Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity for wireless headsets, and WiFi (802.11 b/g). And finally, the eReader offers up 2GB of on board memory. But just in case that’s not enough memory for you, the MicroSD card slot can expand the memory an additional 16GB. The price? $399. The availability is imminent, so if you’re in the market for a new eReader and this one rings true to you, keep your eyes open for it.

[via Business Wire]

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Microsoft Windows Phone 7 Series Will Have 3D Gaming, Robust LIVE Integration

Evan Selleck — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:54:37 +0000

That title shouldn’t be that big of a surprise. If you’ll recall, the Zune HD does 3D gaming as well, and considering that the XNA Studios is heavily invested in the Personal Media Player, we’re not surprised to hear (again) that XNA and Windows Phone 7 are going hand-in-hand. We’ve seen that a game developed by XNA Game Studio 4.0 allows for developers to create three-screen gold, but the details that are starting to seep out of GDC are mouth-watering to say the least.

The Game Developers Conference is under way, and Microsoft is making sure that people know they are there. Despite the company’s big investment with console gaming, Windows Phone 7 Series is offering up a new, innovating, and in-depth new way to play games, with the sort of integration between platforms that we’ve only ever dreamed about. Microsoft noted that XNA Game Studio 4.0 will include accelerated 3D APIs, which means advanced 3D games are going to be the standard, and not the exception when it comes to gaming for the mobile platform.

The news doesn’t stop there, though. Just as was previously mentioned, the Xbox LIVE integration is pretty robust. It offers new ways to acquire those coveted Achievements, and there will be push notifications for turn-based gaming. Of course, at this point the big question is whether or not we’re going to get some real multiplayer games, but Microsoft is keeping mum on that subject for now. They’re releasing morsels right now, but MIX10 is just around the corner, so we’re expecting quite a bit more details to come from there. If you’re not interested in Windows Phone 7 yet, maybe you should watch this video again, just to make sure it sinks in.

[via engadget]

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Intel Dual-Core Atom Processor for Netbooks in the Works

Evan Selleck — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:37:02 +0000

Intel’s Atom chips are well known for being the low-cost alternative to “better” processors on the market, and up until now, it’s been a general rule of thumb that their presence in the mobile industry has been stymied to a single-core layout. Their dual-core processors are well known in the desktop realm, where tradition speaks that more power is needed (even if dual-core Atom chips don’t offer that much power). But it looks like the times are changing, because a rumor has begun to sprout that something in the dual-core vein of things is on the way to a netbook near you.

According to a report from PC Inpact, Intel is currently in the works to create a dual-core Atom chip the smaller laptops of the world. Why is this a big deal? Simply because up until now, if a manufacturer wanted to put a dual-core layout in their netbook, they had to use architecture from a desktop chip. Which means resources may run great, but the bottom of your netbook may get a bit hot, and your battery may drain a lot faster. Chips created for netbooks specifically don’t generally have this power, as they are essentially optimized for the form factor.

The report goes on to say that the chip itself could be called the N500. Intel’s latest chip is the D510, so the number designation makes perfect sense. As does the letter, considering the majority of Intel’s netbook-oriented chips have begun with N. We haven’t heard word about a price or availability date, but considering that this considered still an unconfirmed rumor, there’s no surprise there. PC Inpact claims that the report came from companies working directly with Intel, so maybe there is some truth to this tale. Only time will tell.

[via Liliputing]

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Source R&D’s Warpia Easy Dock Wirelessly Connects Your Desktop and Laptop

Evan Selleck — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:37:57 +0000

Ease of use and convenience is a big part of anyone’s life. And when you’re working with computers, for work or personal use, then you know working with more than one of them can become a hassle given enough time. Whether that means you’ve got all your files on one, and yet need it for a special project on the other, there’s no telling how many different scenarios can pop up and make you wish everything was just connected. Source R&D feels your pain, and they want to help you out. That’s why today marks the official announcement of their Warpia Easy Dock. That’s right: your life just got easier.

The laptop has become something of a ubiquitous product, to say the least. For some people out there, it holds the contents to their entire lives: music, school, work, pictures, and movies. But some people out there would rather watch their movies on a bigger screen than their laptop. Or listen to music on better speakers than the ones their laptop offers. Or, maybe you have a netbook with a smaller keyboard, and you want nothing more than to feel a full-sized board under your fingers again. Then the R&D Warpia Easy Dock is exactly what you need.

Based off wireless technology from Wisair, the Easy Dock is basically a dongle that connects to your laptop via a USB port, and a receiver that you connect to your home-based desktop PC. It connects to the monitor, keyboard, mouse, and speakers. The receiver will instantly recognize the dongle, and the wireless transmission will begin. It will then begin transmitting the image from your laptop at a max resolution of 1400×1050 to your desktop screen.

“Perfect for professionals working from home, students on-the-go, or families with both MacBook and PC laptops, the Easy Dock gives customers ultimate portability and comfort,” says Marc Levaggi, VP of Marketing for Source R&D. “They can take their compact notebook to business meetings, while still having the option to do more intensive work at home with a full-size keyboard and monitor. It’s also a great solution for those who want to play media on high quality speakers.”

Yes, there are other options for wirelessly syncing your laptop to your PC, but Source R&D is ahead of the game with their level of wireless technology. Above all, you’re able to wirelessly sync between a Mac-based platform to a Windows-based one without any trouble or extra cables. It just works. And for $149.99, it’s priced to not be a strain on your wallet. The Easy Dock works with Windows 7, Vista, XP, Mac OS X Leopard, and Snow Leopard. If you’ve been looking for a way to easily access everything on your laptop from your desktop, here’s your answer.

[via Source R&D]

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GasCase will surely get you a closer look by TSA at the airport

Shane McGlaun — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:23:33 +0000

Most suitcases are pretty much the same with square designs and not much in the way of style. If you want to be different and travel a lot, you might like the GasCase that appears to be sized for carry-on use on commercial flights.

I’m not sure I would want to be the person trying to make it through airport security pulling what appears to be a 20 gallon can of gasoline through the airport. I am betting you will be sure to get one of those fancy new full body scans while the security officers go through your bag with interest.

The case can be had in versions with a top that flips up or in a side opening traditional design. Apparently, the things are made of out steel so they are bound to be too heavy to get on a plane without paying extra. The bags are available for about $137 in Europe.

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Guitar concept has no strings but fingers don’t know

Shane McGlaun — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:13:58 +0000

I received a guitar for Christmas when I was from my parents and then they sent me to lessons to learn to play the thing. That was all fine and good until I realized you had to practice a lot and I lost interest, plus I kept breaking the strings and losing picks. The one thing that most guitars have in common is strings. A concept guitar at Yanko Design has no strings and isn’t intended for playing Rock Band.

The concept is a MIDI instrument for digital musicians that can replicate the sound of any guitar setup. The pickups and frets on the guitar are digital inputs and the neck is touch sensitive. One thing that you lose with a guitar lacking strings is the feel of the strings vibrating.

The designer says that the concept uses piezo-electric actuators to emulate vibrations corresponding to the played note. That means in a nutshell that the guitar offers faux sting vibrations so you feel like you are playing with strings.

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TiVo posts Q4 loss thanks to high cancellation rate and less sign ups

Shane McGlaun — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:51:22 +0000

TiVo is looking to choke one of the more important features from other DVRs on the market and has recently unveiled new Premiere DVRs that are interesting. However, the company is not doing well financially and posted a large loss for Q4 reports the Wall Street Journal. TiVo shares grew after it won an appeal on a patent for some of its software last week, but that wasn’t enough to help its Q4 earnings.

TiVo attributes the loss for its Q4 ending January 31 of $10.2 million to cancellations of existing subscriptions for its monthly service required with all TiVo DVRs and to slowing new subscriber additions. The $10.2 million figure works out to a loss of 9 cents per share. The same quarter of the previous year TiVo posted a loss of $3.6 million.

While TiVo posted a large loss, its revenue grew by 16% to $68.5 million for the quarter. The $10.2 million loss for the quarter is better than the loss of $13 to $15 million TiVo had projected in November.

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Dell unveils new Vostro 3000 notebooks with Core CPUs

Shane McGlaun — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:35:03 +0000

Dell has been peddling its Vostro line of business notebooks for a long time now and one of the coolest of the Vostro lot is the Vostro V13 with its Adamo looks and cheaper price tag. Dell has now added a complete new series to the Vostro line called the 3000 series.

The new 3000 line has machines sporting 13, 14, 15, and 17-inch screens and will be offered with Core i3, i5, and i7 processors. The 13-inch 3300 machine will sell for $788, the 3400 is a 14-inch machine starting at $768, the 3500 is a 15-inch machine for $768, and the 17-inch 3700 machine in $798.

You can opt for discrete graphics with prices jumping up significantly. The 13 and 15-inch machines can get discrete graphics with 512MB of VRAM and the 17-inch offering gets a discrete GPU with 1GB of VRAM. Pricing when adding discrete graphics jumps up considerably. The machines will also all feature backlit keyboards, encrypted HDDs will be optional, and fingerprint readers. The 3500 will reportedly come in a touchscreen version by April. The line is available in the US right now and will hit Europe later this month.

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Researchers crack RSA encryption algorithm

Shane McGlaun — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:22:38 +0000

In December of 2009 we learned that the encryption algorithm used to protect GMS voice calls had been cracked. The cracking of the encryption meant that some voice calls might be vulnerable to eavesdropping. Researchers at the University of Michigan have announced that they have found a major weakness in the popular RSA encryption algorithm.

RSA is used to protect a wide range of data from information on laptops and smartphone to banking information. The researchers found that they could defeat the RSA encryption by varying the voltage supplied to the holder of the private key needed to decrypt content using RSA.

The private key would be stored on the consumer device when RSA is used for copy protection on the servers used by banks of businesses. The team claims that it is very unlikely that a hacker would be able to use the exploit against large enterprises. The researchers were able to extract the private key in about 100 hours using their voltage tweaking scheme.

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Sony 3D TVs to launch in June

Shane McGlaun — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:06:22 +0000

Last month I mentioned that Sony was set to start showing demos of its 3D TVs like the BRAVIA XBR-52LX900 at Sony Style stores and was going to be taking pre-orders on the sets. What we didn’t know at the time was exactly when the sets would ship.

Reuters reports that Sony will start whipping its 3D TVs in June. The electronics giant is hoping that it can make 3D TVs count for 10% of the 25 million LCD sets it hopes to sell in its next financial year. Sony and many other TV makers are hoping that 3D TVs will help them to increase sales during the down economy that has seen TV sales decline.

We already know that Sony plans to offer a new firmware for the PS3 that will enable 3D gaming and movies and it would be safe to assume that the update will land for the PS3 in June alongside the availability of its TVs. Rival Samsung plans to launch its 3D TVs in the US this month.

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