Cool Tech Gadgets: Nov 20, 2007

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Verizon launches Kyocera KPC680 EV-DO Rev. A ExpressCard

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

Still waiting around to hop on the Rev. A highway? Although last week would've been a swell time to do so, now's not too bad either, and Verizon Wireless customers have yet another option at their fingertips. The Kyocera KPC680 ExpressCard is available now for anyone interested, and enables BroadbandAccess users to reach average download speeds of 600kbps to 1.4Mbps and upload speeds that range from 500kbps to 800kbps when situated in a Rev. A area. Additionally, this thing sports a "breakthrough" (ahem) antenna design that "moves the antenna away from the device as it is opened, providing greater sensitivity, dual external antenna ports for signal flexibility and a compact form factor." Get yours now for just $49.99 after a mail-in rebate and throwing your John Hancock on a two-year agreement.

Working Bug Labs hardware hands-on

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

As a publication whose bread and butter is handheld gadgets, we're obviously more than a little excited about Bug Labs' upcoming LEGO-style DIY electronics kit, which allows users to affix various modules to a small, open-source computer and create such magical products as a GPS-enabled digital camera with built in 3G modem and motion detector. While we've seen the hardware before -- including the BUGbase and current BUGmodules -- founder and CEO Peter Semmelhack invited us over today to check out some of the very first working applications, including the Linux-based PIM software you see running in the photos. Apparently we can expect pricing details shortly, as well as a demo of the final system in action, all leading up to an official launch before the end of the year. Check out the gallery below for even more hands-on action...

Gallery: First shots of working Bug Labs hardware

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Dell's Inspiron 1525 / 1526 leak out, set to land next month

Filed under: Laptops

Those pondering the purchase of an Inspiron 1520 / 1521 should probably hold off for a month or so if you can, as it looks like suitable successors will soon be available for both. The 6.6-pound 1525 and 1526 machines are the 15.4-inch replacements for the aforementioned pair and should target small businesses / low(er)-end consumers. Initial specs sheets reveal that the 1525 will be based on the Santa Rosa architecture, while the 1526 gets AMD-powered and offers up an ATI Radeon X1270 graphics set. Furthermore, the pair will feature up to 4GB of RAM, WXGA / WXGA+ / WSXGA+ panel choices, SATA hard drives, an optional Blu-ray reader (1525 only), built-in WiFi, optional WWAN and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR. You'll also find four USB 2.0 ports, a 4-pin FireWire connector, Ethernet / 56k modem, VGA out, optional HDMI, audio in / out, a 8-in-1 multicard reader, ExpressCard slot and your choice of Vista or Ubuntu Linux. Not much looks to have changed in the design department, and apparently, you'll still be able to order 'em with a custom lid color. Also, there's no definitive word on price just yet, but you can safely expect 'em to land in the same neighborhood as the units they are replacing when the duo ships to nearly every corner of the globe in mid-December.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

The elephant-sized ad in the room

Filed under: Announcements

Those of you not blocking Flash may have noticed the ginormous Apple ad adjacent to the content column. Yeah, a little about that. So a couple of days ago our ad sales team let us know they were going to be running a pretty big experimental placement on the site, which is up just today and tomorrow. (We know what some of you are thinking, and we want to remind everyone that the Engadget editorial team does not sell ads nor have any influence on ad deals. In the biz we call it the separation of church and state (advertising and editorial), and it's essential in maintaining editorial integrity.)

We hear that the experimental ad might be causing some issues, though, specifically audio problems, browser crashes, or might be especially taxing on some people's computers. We've been informed that the appropriate ad people have been dispatched and are trying to fix the issue for everyone. But we know that doesn't help you in the here and now, so if you're having problems with the ads you might try turning off Flash. (For your convenience we've posted a few ways to do that after the break.) In the mean time feel free to vet in comments -- we're totally here for you.

Continue reading The elephant-sized ad in the room

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Solid Alliance celebrates with four-port USB cake

Filed under: Peripherals

We've already seen Sony and Nintendo (er, an avid fanboy) get down with their bad selves and celebrate with cakes that represent their respective milestones, but Solid Alliance is out to make sure no one gets shunned from the festivities. That's right kids, even the USB obsessed can find a reason to party down, as the limited edition four-port USB cake enables you to connect up a variety of warming gizmos to keep your person toasty while surfing through the cold, blustery days that lie ahead. Additionally, the cake comes with four strawberry flash drives, each of which pack a full gigabyte of delicious storage space. Better hurry, though -- reservations are only being accepted through December 3rd, and you can expect the cake and all of its trimmings to run you a staggering ¥50,000 ($453).

[Via FarEastGizmos]

PlayStation Store for PSP goes live in the US

Filed under: Gaming

The online Playstation Store for the PSP just quietly went live on our side of the world with two downloadable PSP titles, 16 PSone titles, and a handful of themes, wallpapers, and videos. Wipeout Pure and Syphon Filter: Combat Ops are the first two $10 PSP games out of the gate, and highlights of the PSone list include Twisted Metal 2, Crash Bandicoot, and Tekken 2, all for $6. The store requires the download of a Windows-only loader app to transfer files to your PSP -- and now, after waiting all this time for PS3-free downloads, we're kinda wondering why we can't sync up over WiFi. Eh, don't let our grumpy whining bother you -- go get your game on and let us know how things are working for you in comments.

[Via Gamebrink]

Ion V2000: the DIY all-in-one 19-incher

Filed under: Desktops

While all-in-one PCs come in many flavors from many brands, the one thing most of them have in common is nearly a total lack of customization. Not so with the Ion V2000, which is just a chassis with a built-in display, speakers and media card reader. The rest is up to you, and with all these fancy chips and graphics cards hitting the market of late, there's never been a better time to stick it to the man and go it alone. Hopefully the next time around Ion can do this up with a little more sexy, and a price tag and release info really wouldn't hurt, but we hate to be pushy.

Poll: Rhythm game nation - Rock Band or Guitar Hero 3?

Filed under: Gaming

So last night at midnight Harmonix -- former developers of the Guitar Hero series -- and MTV's new rock and roll simulator, Rock Band, had its first ever gigs. Of course, Guitar Hero 3 fans have been shredding for weeks, and probably aren't about to sell one faux guitar for another (especially if it's not even guaranteed to work). So which are you buying (or asking for)? What's that, you want our take? Ok, well, since you asked, when the talent (Harmonix) left the Guitar Hero series, we thought the new game suffered big time. Plus we're WAY more into the tracks on Rock Band -- c'mon, they've got Bowie and The Clash! -- but we kind of think the Guitar Hero Les Paul is better than the Rock Band Fender. Vote below in the battle of the bands, and may the rockingest win.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Hands-on with miShare

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Portable Audio, Portable Video, Storage

Today we got an exclusive look at that miShare unit we spotted last week, and it seems to do exactly what it says on the box. If you missed it, the miShare is a little Linux-based device with a pair of iPod docking ports that can shuttle files from one iPod to another. We got to see it in action with a pair of nanos, and the operation was pretty painless -- if a little sluggish, they're claiming about 500K a second, at the low end of the USB 2.0 spectrum. The process involves plugging your iPods in and pushing the center button once they're both mounted. You can select on the miShare whether you want pictures movies or music, and the device will automatically transfer the last played or viewed item of that type. If you hold the button down for a second it'll instead transfer the iPod's On-the-Go playlist. You'll probably have a bit more trouble getting the files you've received onto your computer (hint: you'll want to enable manual library management) but instructions are included to make it as painless as possible. The miShare itself is battery powered, and can be charged with an included AC adapter. You should be able to pre-order the unit within a week, and shipments are set to begin next month. The device has been designed and marketed from start to finish by a pair of guys that'd love to hear your suggestions, so be sure to sound off in the comments.

Gallery: Hands-on with miShare

Unboxing the 8GB Zune Original

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

The 80GB Zune might be hard to come by, but the rest of the family is doing just fine -- and Zune.net user halfcirclepunch is here to unbox his fancy-pants 8GB Zune Original for your viewing pleasure. The device is obviously identical internally to the standard 8GB Zune, but the box contains a fullsize poster of the custom-engraved artwork, and a nice soft carrying case -- and the deep red Zune looks way better in these pics than we've ever seen it before. Peep all the rest of the shots at the read link.

[Thanks, Kevin]

Hercules 400 laser makes you a man for a mere $3,000

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

We get it, lasers are awesome. You know, you can burn things and blind people and stuff, what's not to like? But at some point -- let's say the $3k mark, for the sake of argument -- you're just starting to look silly, that's all we're saying. The Hercules 400 Laser happens to hit just such a price point, with 400mW of power that's capable of burning through cardboard and thick plastic. Back in our day we had to use ingenuity and a magnifying glass to set things on fire, but we would've sold our family into slavery for a shot at one of these, so the point is kind of moot.

[Via Uncrate; thanks Frank]

AMD's Spider platform gets the early benchmark treatment

Filed under: Desktops

For the first round of benchmarks AMD isn't letting anyone else set up its systems for testing, but that doesn't mean we can't get a decent idea of how the Spider platform's going to perform in the real world. ExtremeTech got to test a machine that AMD set up with a 2.6GHz quad-core Phenom chip, but since those won't be shipping for a few months, they ET also downclocked the chip to 2.3GHz to give us a better idea of what AMD's hit the market with yesterday. The good news is that the sub-$300 2.3GHz chip should perform quite comparatively with Intel chips at a similar price point, but the 2.6GHz hasn't had a solid price set yet, and might have more trouble competing with Intel's GHz-happy line. We won't bore you with the benchmark nitty gritty, and you might want to wait for some true lab-based benchmarks before you make the jump, but it looks like AMD is headed in the right direction.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Revo Blik WiFi internet radio goes easy on the features

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Household, Wireless

Perhaps it's a positive thing that wireless internet radios are really past the point of feature overload and are really fighting it out on looks and price these days. Take the Revo Blik WiFi for example. It's not going to blow anybody's mind with the MP3 and WMA streaming capability, the internet radio compatibility, or that FM tuner and line-in port, but it's still a bit of a looker, and the price is decent at £100 (around $205 of that pretend stuff we pass around here in the States). You can naturally use the unit as an alarm clock, and streaming is compatible with PC and Mac.

[Via Tech Digest]

RTX Telehealth Monitor keeps you in contact with your doctor

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

We've seen a few remote health monitor concepts, but they all seem like overkill compared to RTX's Telehealth Monitor, which strips things down to the basics. The device wirelessly connects to a range of sensors like blood glucose monitors, scales, and and blood pressure monitors, and sends data to healthcare providers over a phone line connection. In addition, the unit can be programmed to ask diagnostic questions, give dosage reminders, and communicate other information from doctor to patient. Intriguing, but come on -- not even our grandparents have landlines anymore.

[Via MedGadget]

Regulators put pressure on Sprint to remedy issues with iDEN network

Filed under: Cellphones

Although Sprint has coughed up some $1 billion over the past few years in order to nix the interference between 2,200 public safety agencies across the US and its iDEN network, it apparently hasn't done enough. Reportedly, the FCC has warned Sprint that it "could lose access to the signal spectrum used by its Nextel- and Boost Mobile-branded wireless services" if it doesn't remedy the problem by June of 2008. Supposedly, Sprint is "working hard" to settle the issue, but it's not wasting any time asking the US Court of Appeals to get involved. The carrier claims that these shut down threats could force it to halt signups of Nextel-branded customers, and furthermore, around three million public-safety workers would purportedly lose service if the FCC did indeed shut down the Nextel network. 'Course, industry analysts are suggesting that regulators wouldn't really go through with shutting it down, but if nothing else, this should light a fire under Sprint to expedite the process.

[Via PhoneScoop]

Blitz Play Hero III game uses RFID, WiFi, and modified DS's to do...something

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

We're not even going to pretend like we know exactly what the players who gather to play Blitz Play Hero III are attempting to accomplish -- with with phrases like "level 2: DRAW with CHALK within certain subjectively chosen (psychogeographic) WiFi areas and PLACE RFID-tags - all analogous- old school tagging!" sprinkled liberally around the website, it seems likely that we don't really even posses the necessary chemicals to understand what's happening here. Regardless, the game features RFID light up Christmas tree badges connected to modified Nintendo DSs running a homebrew "game controller," a little creative warchalking, and an system of scoring that appears to center around graffiti-ing Nintendo D-pads everywhere. That sounds like a little slice of awesome, no matter what the rules -- but if anyone can tell us how all this will somehow result in "the LIVE concert is simulated over Bergen: A BLACK AND WHITE MOVIE with a virtual RFID SOUNDSCAPE concert!" in the spring of 2008, do please let us know in comments? Thanks.

[Via Make]

Keepin' it real fake, part XCV: Old Navy rips the Wiimote and first gen shuffle

Filed under: Portable Audio

Old Navy's going to have to do a lot better than the unholy offspring of a Wiimote and a first-gen iPod shuffle to make us ignore the advertising and buy its KIRF fashions. Anyone know what super awesome tracks are preloaded on this thing?

[Thanks, Steve]

Happy birthday, Wii

Filed under: Gaming

It may be underpowered, but it's got a big heart. Oh, and we hear it's doing alright for itself in this generation's console war, but that's all hearsay. That's right, Nintendo's Wii turns one year old today, and what a magical year it's been.

[Wii cake courtesy of Henry S.]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Vodafone Germany obtains restraining order against T-Mobile iPhone sales

Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio, Portable Video

You'll have to bear with us on this one folks as the news is a bit muffled crossing the Atlantic, language, and cultural divides, but UK-based Vodafone has reportedly received a restraining order against T-Mobile's iPhone sales in Germany. Vodafone's issue is the exclusivity contract with Apple and fee structure within T-Mobile's subscription offering. What's odd here is the language of the Dow Jones piece which claims that the Hamburg order, issued Monday is, "prohibiting the German telecommunications giant from selling Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPhone in Germany." That sounds like a full stop (pending appeal) of all iPhone sales in Germany. The Financial Times, however, says that the order "will not disrupt sales" as the Christmas purchases accelerate. Vodafone is framing their argument around customer choice while admitting that it's the revenue sharing model, and possibility that Nokia or Ericsson follow suit, which has prompted the legal action. At least they're not sticking their heads in the sand this time.

Update: Dow Jones has now clarified the situation. A Vodafone spokesman says, "The preliminary injunction filed in Hamburg doesn't mean Telekom will have to cease marketing the product immediately." Deutsche Telekom is the parent of T-Mobile Germany. He goes on to say, "We're not taking any plans to replicate these actions anywhere else, or in the U.K."

[Via Appleinsider]

Dell's 15.4-inch Vostro 1000 laptop hits $399

Filed under: Laptops

Tired of waiting for Black Friday? Just plain terrified of getting mauled? If you happen to fit into either of the aforementioned categories, take heart, as Dell's got you covered. The firm's 15.4-inch Vostro 1000 -- which was listed earlier this year for as low as $449 -- has now dipped $50 lower to crack the oh-so-crucial $400 barrier. The all-black lappie features a 1.7GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 TK-53 processor, Windows XP Home Edition, an XGA panel, 120GB 5,400 RPM hard drive, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, a DVD writer (with dual-layer DVD+R write capability), ATI's Radeon Xpress 1150 integrated graphics set, 802.11g WiFi and a four-cell Li-ion battery to boot. Nah, this budget machine won't satisfactorily churn through any advanced audio / video editing, but we'd bet it can handle Doom just fine.

Samsung's VP-HMX10A HD camcorder makes retail premier

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Samsung's VP-HMX10A camcorder is now on sale. No, not in North America or Europe, but S.Korea-only at the moment. ?799,000 (about $870) nabs this 720p recorder with 2.7-inch LCD and 4GB of internal flash storage for all your H.264 recordings (SD expansion for more) in a 310-gram barrel. With any luck these will go global on the quick.

Samsung's LED-backlit LN-T4681F LCD HDTV gets reviewed

Filed under: Displays, HDTV

Although it'd be easy to take one of our reader's word for it, Sound and Vision Magazine set out to see if Samsung's sleek LN-T4681F really was the best home theater display on the market. The 46-inch LED-backlit display is a proud member of Sammy's 81 series, and while the glossy motif sure boosted the sexiness, reviewers did note that a "fair amount of reflected light pooled up on the screen during daytime viewing." The crew didn't have much trouble tweaking the settings to get the image just right, but it did exhibit a few problems deinterlacing film-sourced 1080i-format programs. Nevertheless, LED SmartLighting / LED Motion Plus both proved extremely beneficial, color rendition was deemed "excellent" and picture uniformity was satisfactory save for the slightly lackluster off-axis performance. Overall, those in charge of critiquing this here set were mighty impressed, and while a few niggles may annoy those looking for reasons to nitpick, most everyone else will likely walk away quite pleased with its performance.

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