Archive for May 11th, 2009

Why should authentic, honest-to-goodness Wii owners be the only ones to indulge in some mindless escapism — or a spirited virtual workout, for that matter? To this end, the heads at Chinavasion have dreamt up a two-tone, quasi-legal Balance Board KIRF for you and your game console. Sure, this is by no means the first such beast we’ve seen, and there’s no telling whether or not this bad boy is compatible with your WÜ, MiWi2, or Chintendo Vii, but it does sport handsome light blue accents. Take one home for $67.91, or save a few shekles and buy ‘em in lots of three or more. Intrigued? Take a closer look for yourself after the break.

Continue reading Keepin’ it real fake, part CCVI: yet another Balance Board edition

Filed under: Gaming

Keepin’ it real fake, part CCVI: yet another Balance Board edition originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 May 2009 16:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While Monitor Audio’s new Airstream 10 WiFi / DAB radio unfortunately isn’t a radio inspired by a vintage Airstream trailer, it is nonetheless pretty eye catching in its own right, and fairly full featured as far as WiFi radios go. Apparently, the radio can either be stood upright or placed on its side, and it’ll let you listen to some standard FM or DAB radio, or hop onto a network via WiFi or Ethernet to either stream some tunes off your Mac or PC or tune into some internet radio stations. What’s more, while Stuff.tv is apparently reserving final judgment for its full review, it does say that the sound quality doesn’t disappoint, and it packs the usual 3.5mm jack to round out its options. Still no word on a DAB-less version for these parts, sadly, but those in the UK should be able to pick this one up starting in June.

[Via SlashGear]

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio

Monitor Audio Airstream 10 WiFi radio gets the hands on treatment originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 May 2009 16:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It was probably only a matter of time: Dell — a company that’s been churning out some pretty wildly (and attractively) designed laptops of late — has just rolled out a new website especially for the ladies. Called “Della,” the site presents a shopping experience that is presumably less manish and annoying than good ole’ Dell proper — with lots of photos of women lounging around at the beach, drinking coffee, and browsin’ the ‘net in small groups on beautifully matched neutral-toned furniture sets. The site looks pretty slick, and while we can’t really take issue with that, we do find it a bit disconcerting that they mention “finding recipes,” “counting calories,” and blissing out to “guided meditations” on the Tech Tips page. Tech Tips!? Then again, we didn’t find any references to shoe shopping, so you know: whatever.

Filed under: Laptops

Dell unveils Della website to help women choose which totally cute laptop they prefer originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 May 2009 15:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There’s really not much meat to these ultra-short videos highlighting major features of the Pre, but they do suggest that Sprint employees are already being actively trained, likely on final or near-final hardware and software. Painless for the reps that have to sit through them, yes, granted — but if this is really all the help in-store peeps are getting prior to the phone’s launch, we sense trouble. Perhaps more interesting than the videos themselves, PreCentral forum members have astutely observed that Documents To Go and Adobe Reader icons make quick cameos — two apps that many, many productivity-minded Pre owners will be taking interest in. Check the videos after the break.

[Via PreCentral]

Read – Email
Read – Gestures

Continue reading Palm Pre training dude accosted by giant hand in internal Sprint training vids, new apps spotted

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Palm Pre training dude accosted by giant hand in internal Sprint training vids, new apps spotted originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 May 2009 15:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lenovo’s S10 has walked a long, rough road. First it battled months of delays, then hordes of anxious owners began weeping rivers due to incessant fan noise. Lenovo already made a few attempts to better its cute-as-a-button netbook, but now it’s ditching the little-by-little approach entirely and introducing a ‘Part II’ version. The understandably titled S10-2, which we spotted via a handy user manual just last week, is officially official, and while it’s still rocking the same basic specs (1.6GHz Atom N270, 1GB of RAM, 160GB HDD, WiFi, 1.3 megapixel camera, etc.), there have been a few appreciated tweaks made. There’s a new cover design, a larger keyboard, a bigger trackpad and a model with integrated 3G that’ll run just $50 more than the standard $349.99 flavors; too bad Lenovo didn’t take this opportunity to dish out an entirely new IdeaPad with a CPU that’s marginally robust.

Filed under: Laptops

Lenovo gets official with mildly refreshed IdeaPad S10-2 netbook originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 May 2009 15:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, we thought this might happen — especially after the news that Acer’s Z5600 all-in-one will be shipping with Windows 7 pre-loaded, come October 23rd of this year. And now it’s official: Windows 7 is on track to be released this “holiday season.” Now, this announcement may be officially vague, but it is official. Sometimes in this business (as in life) we take what we can get.

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Microsoft Windows 7 on track for the holiday season originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 May 2009 14:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ready for loads of succulent new audio / video equipment that you can likely only afford in your wildest dreams? Fantastic. Today in NYC, Denon has decided to introduce a whole fleet of new kit, so we’ll get right down to the nitty gritty. Oh, and we’re on hand at the premiere, so expect some hands-on shots shortly.

• DBP-2010CI ($699; shipping in July) – Profile 2.0 Blu-ray player, onboard Ethernet, BD-Live / BonusView support, DivX HD playback, support for AVCHD, Anchor Bay Technologies VRS processing, upconversion and IP scaling to 1080p/24, RS-232c support, HDMI / component / composite video outputs
• DBP-1610CI ($499; shipping in July) – Same as above sans Anchor Bay chip and RS-232c
• Nine new AV receivers, priced from $379 at the low-end to $1,999 at the high; shipping between May and July 2009
• ASD-51W ($299.99) and ASD-51N ($249.99) network-enabled iPod docks, both shipping in August. Both items also allow for Rhapsody streaming, Internet Radio streaming and Napster support.
• AH-NC600 ($199), AH-C710 ($149) and AH-C360 ($49) in-ear headphones, all of which will ship by July

Full press releases and details for each are posted just past the break, and yes, it’s overwhelming.

Continue reading Denon outs 2009 line of Blu-ray players, AV receivers and headphones

Filed under: Home Entertainment

Denon outs 2009 line of Blu-ray players, AV receivers and headphones originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 May 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve already gotten a good look at the Dodge Circuit EV courtesy of the good folks at AutoblogGreen, but they’ve now come through yet again with a video that shows the Tesla competitor in action (or moving, at least). While it’s expectedly still very much in prototype form, our fearless test driver nonetheless seems to have been fairly impressed by the car, with it delivering some speedy acceleration and an apparently generally pleasing ride. As noted earlier, however, the car is a tad cramped, and the real visibility leaves quite a bit to be desired, although Chrysler says that should be remedied somewhat by some smaller batteries in the eventual production version. Head on past the break for the video.

Continue reading Dodge Circuit EV test drive gets chronicled on video

Filed under: Transportation

Dodge Circuit EV test drive gets chronicled on video originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 May 2009 14:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve always had a soft spot for Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer, and it sounds like the old man’s doing more than cajoling Tom Hanks into telling jokes following his consolidation of power: in a lengthy and illuminating interview with Nikkei Electronics Asia, Sir Howard pledged that Sony would use more open standards in the future, saying “If we had gone with open technology from the start, I think we probably would have beaten Apple” in the music market. That’s a pretty bold statement to be making in hindsight — especially since we’re pretty sure the Connect Player and SonicStage would have still driven people screaming into the arms of iTunes — but it’s pretty heartwarming to hear from the head of a company just as famous for an endless array of funky proprietary standards as it is the Walkman. You want to make us feel even warmer and fuzzier, Howie? “We can no longer say that we’re right and our customers are wrong. We can’t build only what we want to build.” Wow — sounds like the start of a whole new Sony. We’ll see if Sir Howard can actually pull off what sounds like a major change in his company’s culture, but for right now we’d recommend hitting the read link and taking in the whole interview, cause it’s a good one.

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

Sony CEO Howard Stringer on music: “If we had gone with open technology from the start, I think we probably would have beaten Apple” originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 May 2009 13:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wouldn’t it be great to be able to just toss your various gadgets into a nice little bed of grass and have them instantly recharge themselves through the magic of some WildCharger-style cordless charging technology? Of course it would. Unfortunately, this new so-called Grass Charging Valet available from Taylor Gifts won’t let you do any of that. It will, however, let you conceal your current entanglement of chargers beneath a tasteful patch of 100% faux grass, and set you back a mere $30. Hit up the link below to get your order in if you’re feeling so inclined, and look for it to start shipping next week.

[Via Red Ferret]

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Grass Charging Valet doesn’t actually charge your gadgets, isn’t really grass originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 May 2009 13:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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