Sponsoer by :

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Engadget News

Sponsored

Engadget News

iXstreamer bridges the extreme gap between your iPad and TV

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 10:26 AM PST

Looking for more than just a regular standalone iPad dock? Then you might want to consider Xtreamer's new iXstreamer system, which is an iPad dock that also doubles as a media streamer. Of course, it will also work with iPhones and iPods, and the "dock" is quite capable all by itself as well -- it'll accommodate a 3.5-inch hard drive and up to two USB hard drives, and it'll support just about any audio or video content you can throw at it, including content stored on your computer or networked hard drive. Interestingly, Xstreamer also notes that it would like to let you use iOS apps on your TV as well, but it says that's up to Apple to allow -- in other words, don't bet on it. Head on past the break for a video overview, and look for the device to set you back €175, or roughly $235.

NYU prof installing camera in the back of his head, JW Parker Middle School teachers insanely jealous

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 09:34 AM PST

You've wished you had a camera implant, right? We mean, it's pretty common: you've been on the bus or the incline and something went down and you were like, "I wish I was recording this right now." Well, we know of at least two folks looking to replace their prosthetic eyes with webcams, and now an artist living in New York wishes to sport an implant of his own. Wafaa Bilal, an NYU photography professor, plans on having a camera attached to a piercing on the back of his head for one year. Throughout that time, still images will be taken at one minute intervals and displayed at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Qatar. The work, titled "The 3rd I," is billed as "a comment on the inaccessibility of time, and the inability to capture memory and experience," although it really sounds like the dream of every teacher and parent since time immemorial: to have eyes on the back of their head. Of course, the privacy of Bilal's students is being taken into consideration, although the school is not exactly sure how they're handling that one yet -- either the camera will be covered while he teaches or shut off altogether while in NYU buildings.

AT&T starts selling Novatel MiFi at long last: November 21st for $50

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 09:16 AM PST

AT&T's finally taking a cue from its mobile hotspot-equipped archrivals at Verizon and Sprint, launching a branded version of Novatel Wireless' MiFi 2372 this Sunday, November 21st, for $49.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate. The device is a little more advanced that the one you're used to using on American CDMA networks, featuring an integrated microSD slot that can be shared among connected devices and support for built-in, browser-based widgets that can take advantage of the unit's AGPS for providing weather, local search, and so on. The unit tops out at 7.2Mbps on the downlink, which you'll be able to enjoy via AT&T's standard array of DataConnect plans: $35 a month for 200MB or $60 a month for 5GB, plus contract-free plans ranging from 100MB to 1GB.

Xperia X10 will get pinch-to-zoom in Q1 2011, with some limitation (video)

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 09:11 AM PST

There's been a long back-and-forth from Sony Ericsson and the dev community as to whether or not the Xperia X10 was at all capable of multi-touch -- the company stance has been that the hardware just can't do it, but still whispers to the contrary have lingered. Consider those murmurs validated: Sony Ericsson Product Blog has announced that the X10 will, in fact, get multi-touch in the first quarter of next year -- with some caveats. The large asterisk that's destined to clarify the minutiae will tell you that pinch-to-zoom will be enabled for browser and maps, but as the blog post put it, "situations like when the movement of the two fingers cross each other on the X- or Y-axis that could cause strange behavior." Third-party apps should be able to join some functionality, too, with the similar limitations (including when buttons must be pressed simultaneously -- that won't work). In the video demonstration after the break, take note how Angry Birds doesn't quite pinch and zoom smoothly. So yeah, it's not all sunshine, but at least there's something to look forward to.


Google Docs now supports mobile editing

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 08:49 AM PST

While Android and iOS aren't short on productivity applications for cobbling together a .doc and sending it on its way, we've been really hankering for native Google Docs support since pretty much day one. Google is finally ready to deliver, and it looks like they've actually put some thought into the UI, particularly on the phone end of things. Edits show up in near realtime across platforms, and you can even edit tables embedded in documents -- though don't try to get too fancy, the tools still look pretty basic. Android also allows you to insert text using voice recognition. Currently Google Docs will be supporting Android devices with Froyo and iOS devices with 3.0 or newer (including the iPad), with the functionality rolling out over the next few days. There's a video after the break demonstrating the new features.

Olive's 2TB O6HD music server makes audiophiles (and designers) swoon

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 08:00 AM PST

How exactly does a boutique outfit like Olive match its lowest-end offering yet? Why, by announcing it's highest-end offering yet merely two months later, of course! Sure enough, Olive has just issued its newest music server (the O6HD) with an eye on affluent audiophiles -- ones willing to pay a meager $4,999 for a 2TB unit. Aside from buying what's likely the most guapo piece of AV equipment we've ever seen, that tally also nets you a pair of TI 192khz / 24-bit Burr-Brown PCM1792 modules, "flawless" encoding and decoding of lossless audio, simultaneous stream support, an ultra-quiet 2T AV hard drive, eight layers of noise canceling padding, a TEAC CD-RW drive, gobs of analog and digital outputs, a gigabit Ethernet jack, inbuilt 802.11n WiFi, HDMI out, a USB 2.0 port and a 10.1-inch 800 x 480 color touchpanel. It's all encased in a fine-grade aluminum shell (passively cooled), leaving you with only one simple decision: silver or black, Sir Godfrey?

Onkyo outs 3G Windows 7 tablet for Japan only

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 07:53 AM PST

Onkyo's outed a new Windows 7 tablet -- seems to be all the rage these days -- with KDDI 3G onboard. The 11.6-inch TW317A7 tablet (which is essentially a re-badge of the ExoPC Slate which we reviewed) boasts a 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N450 CPU, 2GB of RAM, a 32GB SSD, plus Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity, a 1.3 megapixel webcam, card reader, two USB 2.0 ports, and stereo speakers. The 11.6-inch multitouch display has a 1366 x 768 resolution, and the tablet brings with it Onkyo's new custom ExTOUCH software which is apparently designed to enhance finger input in the OS and boasts a dedicated app launcher. The TW317A7 will be available in Japan very soon -- as in this week -- but Onkyo has yet to announce pricing.

Buffalo launches assault on your USB ports with MiniStation Stealth and DriveStation Axis LED

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 07:31 AM PST

Buffalo launches assault on your USB ports with MiniStation Stealth and DriveStation Axis LED
We love the smell of storage in the morning, and these two from Buffalo are smelling fine with their decidedly militaristic names. First is the MiniStation Stealth, a little black box that is not covered in absorbent paint but does at least rely on only a single USB cable for power and data, decreasing its radar signature considerably. That's available nowish starting at $74 for 320GB and moving up to $104 for 640GB. Then there's the DriveStation Axis LED, launching its assault in January, a larger external drive which extends its evil might with an array of lights on the front, letting you tell at a glance how your battle against disk capacity is going. To help your efforts this one starts at 1TB for $99, with the 2TB model going for $159. Just don't forget to pick up a few war bonds while you're at it.
Buffalo Ministation Stealth and DriveStation Axis LED


Show full PR text
Buffalo Launches Two New Easy-to-Use USB Storage Solutions

New Solutions Make Storing and Protecting Digital Content Simple and Affordable

AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 16, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Buffalo Technology, a global leader in the design, development and manufacturing of wired and wireless networking and network and direct attached storage solutions, today announced the MiniStation™ Stealth and DriveStation Axis™ LED, two external drive solutions designed to meet today's storage consumer needs. The MiniStation Stealth is a high performance portable storage solution in a remarkably compact and lightweight contemporary form, while the new DriveStation Axis LED is a single drive storage solution combining a unique LED capacity meter display with easy to use features and reliable performance.

"Buffalo continues to offer robust yet design-conscious products that make protecting and managing digital content simple, affordable and fun," said Ralph Spagnola, vice president of sales at Buffalo Technology. With the new MiniStation Stealth and DriveStation Axis LED, Buffalo has once again delivered powerful yet affordable storage solutions for today's growing storage needs."

The MiniStation Stealth is a compact portable hard drive that is USB powered so there are no additional cables to manage and no need for a separate power source. Simply plug the MiniStation Stealth into any available USB port on your PC or Mac® computer and instantly add capacity or store files to take on the road.

The DriveStation Axis LED is an easy to use external hard drive for the instant addition of external storage to any device using a USB port. Featuring an easy-to-read integrated capacity meter and a unique chassis, the sleek, attractive DriveStation Axis LED can be positioned vertically or horizontally, adapting to the location it is used in for efficient use of space and providing immediate feedback regarding storage capacity.

Included with both the MiniStation Stealth and the DriveStation Axis LED is Buffalo's multi-purpose Buffalo Tools utility suite designed to enhance Windows® PC performance and user experience. It features TurboPC, a utility designed to enhance PC performance for up to 2X faster file transfers. Also included, Buffalo's Backup Utility protects your important files and documents by backing up your PCs to your Buffalo external hard drive and it provides an easy-to-use data restore function. Store, back up and transport your content instantly with plug and play connectivity. The MiniStation Stealth and the DriveStation Axis LED are the perfect solutions for expanding storage or backing up your computer.

Pricing and Availability

The Buffalo MiniStation and DriveStation storage solutions are backed by a limited one-year warranty that includes toll-free 24/7 technical support.

The MiniStation Stealth will be available November in the US market at estimated street prices of $74.99 for the 320 GB (HD-PCT320U2/B), $89.99 for the 500 GB (HD-PCT500U2/B) and $104.99 for the 640 GB (HD-PCT640US/B).

The DriveStation Axis LED will be available in January 2011 at estimated street prices of $99.99 for the 1 TB (HD-LEM1.0TU2) and $159.99 for the 2 TB (HD-LEM2.0TU2)

Buffalo products can be purchased through distribution, online resellers and Buffalo's ecommerce website. For more information about Buffalo Technology and its products, please visit the company's web site at www.buffalotech.com.

About Buffalo Technology

Buffalo Technology (USA), Inc., based in Austin, Texas, is a leading provider of award-winning networking, storage, and multimedia solutions for the home and small business environments as well as for system builders and integrators. With almost three decades of networking and computer peripheral experience, Buffalo has proven its commitment to delivering innovative, best-of-breed solutions that have put the company at the forefront of infrastructure technology. For more information about Buffalo Technology and its products, please visit www.buffalotech.com.

Buffalo, Inc. trademark statements. Buffalo is a trademark of Buffalo, Inc. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE Buffalo Technology

PeeWee debuts Pivot 2.0 spillproof, drop resistant netvertible for the little ones

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 07:11 AM PST

Kids these days use gadgets almost as much as their less disaster-inclined adult friends, and PeeWee's been making laptops with that in mind for a while now. Well, the company's just launched its newest laptop for kids, the Pivot 2.0 -- which is basically the CTL 2go Convertible. This rugged little netvertible boasts an Intel N450 CPU, a touch screen that rotates 180 degrees and a webcam, and it's packed with 15 educational games onboard. As far as ruggedeization goes, the laptop boasts a water-resistant keyboard, a plastic shell that should withstand minor drops, and rubber grips for easier carrying. The Pivot 2.0 is available now and it'll run you $599. The full press release is below.
Show full PR text
Spill and drop resistant laptop features rotating touch screen with stylus and retractable carrying handle


Coral Gables, FL – November 17, 2010 – PeeWee PC, the leading manufacturer of computer products and accessories for children, is proud to announce the availability of the new PeeWee Pivot 2.0 laptop. The rugged, durable and lightweight (3.7lbs) notebook is fully loaded and features a 180° rotating touch screen tablet and camera, 15 educational games, Microsoft XP Home, Intel® Atom™ N450 processor, retractable carrying handle and water resistant keyboard.

The PeeWee Pivot 2.0 features a durable exterior and superior security protection. Made with a sturdy plastic shell, rubber slip-resistant grips and water resistant keyboard, the laptop is able to withstand the demanding every day use while at school, home or in the car.
To ensure maximum safety and protection, the PeeWee Pivot 2.0 comes standard with 2 security software suites. PeeWee Patrol and Privacy limits how much time children spend browsing and gaming, blocks inappropriate sites and prevents children from changing system systems. Additionally, the proprietary software allows parents to take screen shots, view browsing history and control the laptop remotely.

The PeeWee Pivot 2.0 is available now for $599 MSRP at www.PeeWeePC.com. For more information, please contact PR representative Valerie Guerra at 305-576-1171 x20 or valerieguerra@maxborgesagency.com.
About PeeWee PC

Founded in 2008, PeeWee PC works to empower children by providing safe, smart, and customized computing solutions. PeeWee PC designs and sells desktops, notebooks, software and computer accessories for children built with a focus on learning, durability, and safety. Every PeeWee PC computer ships with the company's proprietary security suite to ensure children can safely browse the internet.

Windows Phone 7's microSD mess: the full story (and how Nokia can help you out of it)

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 06:50 AM PST

There are many reasons to be excited about Windows Phone 7, but a bleak spot has been Microsoft's message -- or lack thereof -- on user-expandable storage, and the situation finally came to a head last week when AT&T told Samsung Focus owners to hold off on buying microSD cards altogether until Microsoft had a chance to certify some for use with the platform. How did it get to this point? Why wasn't it communicated to users that this was such a problem before the phones ever went on sale? And if it really is such a problem, why did Samsung dare to make the microSD slot user-accessible in the Focus the first place? All good questions -- and in talking with a number of sources the past few days, we've pieced together some of the answers. Read on.

First off, Microsoft had never intended Windows Phone 7's storage to be expandable, swappable, or removable. Bear in mind that manufacturers occasionally use internal, non-user-accessible SD or microSD cards simply because they offer greater flexibility than soldered-on chips do -- companies merely need to swap out cards to offer different SKUs of their product with different capacities. That's exactly what Microsoft had in mind. Apparently, employees raised concerns early on that customers would be removing the cards and causing all sorts of drama in the process, and the official call was that manufacturers should glue the cards into place; somewhere along the line, that message was lost, and the Focus happened with a fully user-accessible slot. Whoops.

Even so, from the phone's perspective, it's still not the end of the world if a card gets swapped. Worst case, you lose data and you need a factory reset; as far as we can tell, there's no way to end up with a paperweight. We're told that on the first boot after a reset, the phone checks the inserted card and formats it -- but that's not all that happens. One of our tipsters reminds us that the "S" in SD stands for "secure," and though most platforms don't make use of SD's security features, Windows Phone 7 most definitely does. After the format, the phone randomly generates a password that it stores in its internal Flash and then uses to secure the card, essentially bonding the card with the phone. By its design, a password-secured SD card (or microSD card in this case) can be read only with the password; otherwise, your only option is to erase it.

When we removed the card from our Focus and stuck it in another phone, it couldn't be seen. It's not that we could see it but it couldn't be formatted... it simply wasn't there at all. We couldn't see it on a PC or a camera, either. Sure enough, Windows Phone 7's card security situation explains the problem -- put simply, a secured SD card attached to a machine that isn't set up to read it is very locked down, and most devices aren't equipped to decrypt or erase them. It's not a simple matter of formatting, it's a lower-level operation than that.

So how does Nokia come into play here? Well, it turns out that Symbian is one of few platforms that is designed to handle a secured SD card properly -- and sure enough, we were amazed to discover that we were able to use an N8 to recover our once-dead microSD card when seemingly nothing else would. Yes, the card was erased, but in this case, that's seriously all we wanted -- we just wanted to bring the card back to life. Very strange... and very good to know. Needless to say, be sure to keep a Nokia-equipped friend close by for as long as you own your WP7 gear.

But what constitutes a certified card, and why can't we get them yet?

Okay, so now we know how to resuscitate cards that we're removing from Windows Phone 7 devices, but that's only half the problem; the other half is that we don't know what to replace those cards with. The official guidance at this point is that we need to wait for cards that are specifically certified for Windows Phone 7... and since those cards don't exist yet, we need to hang tight. But what constitutes a certified card, and why can't we get them yet?

What we've learned from our tipsters and from documents culled from Microsoft, Samsung, and others is that the big issue is random access performance -- a figure that isn't taken into account in a card's class rating. Ironically, Microsoft discovered in its testing that cards with higher class ratings actually performed worse on Windows Phone 7 because the tweaks card manufacturers make to achieve high sequential throughput can actually hurt random access times. There's some rocket science involved here, but basically, it's a tradeoff and a bit of a gamble -- if a manufacturer tunes a card for a high class rating, it takes more time to access the first byte at a new location on the card because it's optimizing access for that area of memory, but once it does that, it can blast sequential bytes at very high speed. If you've got a lot of small reads or writes you need to make to different files at different locations in the card's memory, though, you really start to suffer. Cards with lower class ratings tend to spend less time optimizing sequential access prior to the first read / write operation, so it can move around the card (that is, access it randomly) much faster.


Hold up, though -- don't run out and buy the lowest-class microSD card you can find.

Hold up, though -- don't run out and buy the lowest-class microSD card you can find. We're hearing that some of the best-performing cards for Windows Phone 7 can only be bought in bulk by manufacturers at this point, which might partly explain why neither AT&T, Samsung, nor Microsoft were able to immediately step up and recommend some cards to consumers this week. Interestingly, SanDisk -- whose memory cards are usually considered one of the gold standards for the industry -- is listing a few Focus-compatible cards on its site (see the Source link below), but it's unclear whether the recommendations are being made with Microsoft's blessing or if they're just freestyling.

All in all, the situation is as clear as mud, and no one -- not AT&T, Microsoft, Samsung, SanDisk, or any other involved party -- has stepped up to definitively lay down the law, offer clearly-labeled compatible cards, and give users concise instructions for safely swapping and upgrading. We're hoping that all happens soon, but in the meantime, be careful out there -- and keep a Nokia on standby.

Verizon's RedZone Channel-streaming FiOS Football app for iPad shows up on iTunes (again)

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 06:14 AM PST

Though the FiOS Football app for iPad only showed up on the App Store for a short time a couple of weeks ago, it was long enough for us to fall in love with having access to RedZone Channel video and stats in our laps while keeping the TV tuned to one key game. Assuming one is at home in front of their FiOS TV with an iPad and a subscription to the Redzone Channel (a remarkably specific set of circumstances, we must admit), it's hard to imagine a better companion on football Sundays that doesn't come with an unending reserve of one's favorite adult beverage on tap. Check out our hands-on for more screenshots and impressions or hit the source links for Verizon's FAQ and the official iTunes page.

[Thanks, Michael]

QNAP's TS-119P+ Turbo NAS offers a 'fashionably shiny design,' just one HDD bay

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 05:52 AM PST

QNAP's TS-119P+ Turbo NAS offers a 'fashionably shiny design,' just one HDD bay
When it comes to external storage, the amount of gloss provided by the enclosure in question is really of paramount importance. QNAP knows this, and so it is touting the new TS-119P+'s "fashionably shiny design" -- oh, and its single HDD bay, iSCSI support, 1.6GHz processor, and 512MB of RAM too. It pulls down just 12 watts of power while in operation, five while sleeping, and thanks to the bevy of software sharing apps that come along with the thing you can stream media files straight to your iPhone or Android device, even host your Windows AD to unify login accounts. QNAP isn't saying how much you'll pay for this combination of features and style, but expect it to ship next week. BYO storage, of course.

Update: Uwe wrote in to let us know that this is actually available now in Europe at a cost of around 240 €, which corresponds to about $325.

QNAP TS-119P+ Turbo NAS

Blue's Mikey microphone for iPhone and iPod finally shipping to picky recorders

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 05:29 AM PST

Blue's Mikey microphone for iPhone and iPod finally shipping to picky recorders
If you need a little better acoustic recording from your iPhone or iPod, or if your portable device is simply fitting a little too easy into your pants pocket, Blue Microphones has your solution. Its Mikey microphone is finally shipping, after getting a debut nearly a year ago. The specs are still the same as we expected before, including CD-quality recording in stereo or mono with a swiveling base that lets it cover 230 degrees of your own little sound field. One thing that has changed, and quite nicely, is the cost: down to $80 from the previously expected $99 MSRP. Everybody likes that.

VIZIO launches latest XVT series HDTVs, new Blu-ray players with 3D today

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 05:06 AM PST

Say hello to the new VIZIO XVT 3D series, while the XVT Pro line announced earlier this year (and that 72-inch model we were drooling over) were not to be, these 42-, 47- and 55-inch HDTVs are real and on sale today through Amazon, Sam's Club and Target's online shops and should be on shelves later this month. Features like the number of LED backlighting zones (for the 47- and 55-, the 42-inch features edge LED lighting), claimed contrast ratio, WiFi N and VIZIO Internet Apps are consistent with existing models, so the big addition this time around is 480Hz refresh rate and obviously, 3D readiness (active shutter glasses not included). VIZIO's also announced two new 3D compatible Blu-ray players to match for $189, plus a new router and some high priced HDMI cables to fill out the lineup. Full specs and prices are in the press release after the break, but with a premium of $300-$400 on Amazon over the award winning 2D-only XVT3SV lineup (we have one in for review, hint: it's excellent), most will probably want to wait for some kind of package deal unless there's a copy of NBA 2K11 3D or Black Ops burning a hole in their console right now.

Update: It appears VIZIO's made one other change since its initial 3D announcement, these TVs feature 3D processing from RealD, instead of the SENSIO/XpanD combo announced for the XVT Pro line, press release is after the break. We asked if these glasses will be compatible with those from other manufacturers but haven't gotten an answer to that question yet.

Show full PR text
VIZIO's Six-time Award Winning XVT Series Goes 3D

- VIZIO's XVT Series brings 3D to America with three Full HD 3D TVs, Full HD 3D Glasses, 3D Blu-ray Players with Wireless Apps, Wireless Internet Routers and High-Speed HDMI Cables

-VIZIO XVT3SV Series Wins awards from CNET, Home Theater Magazine, The Perfect Vision, HDTVSolutions, PC World, and TopTenReviews

-VIZIO kicks off new ad campaign with TV commercial featuring Grammy Award winner Beyoncé and VIZIO's XVT3 Series with Internet Apps

Irvine, CA - November 17, 2010 - VIZIO, America's HDTV and Consumer Electronics Company, announced today that its six-time award winning XVT3SV Series is adding 3D technology to its most coveted line. VIZIO's 3D launch will feature three Full HD 3D XVT Series TVs with VIZIO Internet Apps™ (VIA) available in 42", 47" and 55" screen sizes. The units are now available online at Amazon.com, SamsClub.com, Target.com, VIZIO.com and will hit retail shelves later this month with wider availability in December.

These three HDTVs headline a 3D Home Theater Ecosystem that also boasts VIZIO Full HD 3D glasses, 3D Blu-ray Players with Wireless Apps, Wireless Internet Router and High-Speed HDMI® Cables.
The XVT3SV Series has recently won the CNET Editor's Choice, Home Theater Magazine Top Pick, ThePerfectVision's Highly Recommended Components, HDTVSolutions #1 Rated 55" and 32" TVs, PC World's Best Buy 40- to 42-inch HDTV, TopTenReviews Gold Award as the #1 LCD HDTV and was recognized by Mashable.com as one of the five gadgets that broke new ground in 2010.
At the same time VIZIO will debut a new TV spot featuring 16-time Grammy Award winner Beyoncé that promotes the award winning XVT3SV Series. VIZIO's new TV spot features a performance face off of a live performing Beyoncé battling herself on a VIZIO XVT TV with VIZIO Internet Apps™ (VIA). The creative was developed by Venables Bell & Partners of San Francisco and directed by Jake Nava who also directed Beyoncé's "Single Ladies" and "Crazy In Love" videos.

"Working with the team at VIZIO has been a great experience. They are at the top of the TV industry and have created an award-winning product. I admire VIZIO's drive to take entertainment to the next level," stated super star Beyoncé.

"The VIZIO XVT line is an incredible, award-winning product that has earned the title of the best LED LCD HDTV on the market," stated Randy Waynick, VIZIO CSO. "We are thrilled to launch our new XVT television campaign featuring Beyoncé a true leader in entertainment and look forward to the upcoming release of our new 3D XVT sets which will continue to set the bar for performance, design, and value, challenging all others to improve."

VIZIO XVT 3D HDTVs
VIZIO's latest XVT series of HDTVs now adds advanced technologies such as Full HD 3D, High Speed HDMI inputs, SRS TruSurround HD™ and 480Hz SPS™ to their award winning picture quality. With VIZIO Full HD 3D, Smart Dimming™, VIZIO Internet Apps with built-in Dual Band 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth remote with sliding QWERTY keypad, these feature-rich sets are state of the art entertainment hubs for both 3D and 2D broadcasts, discs, online streams, games and more. The 55" (XVT3D554SV) and 47" (XVT3D474SV) HDTVs offer full array TruLED™ backlighting with Smart Dimming. These 3D HDTVs work with VIZIO Full HD 3D active shutter glasses (sold separately) and also feature VIZIO's 480Hz SPS high frame rate technology with Smooth Motion to produce amazing 3D and 2D images.
VIZIO's 42" (XVT3D424SV) XVT 3D HDTV produces stunning 3D images with VIZIO's Razor LED™ backlighting with Smart Dimming and works with VIZIO Full HD 3D active-shutter glasses (sold separately). These HDTVs also utilize VIZIO's 480Hz SPS high frame rate technology with Smooth Motion.

VIZIO Internet Apps™ (VIA™)
All XVT sets feature the VIZIO Internet Apps (VIA) Connected HDTV platform, delivering unprecedented choice and control of web-based content directly to the television without the need of a PC or set-top box. Current Apps from top online content and service brands include: Amazon Video On Demand, Facebook®, Flickr®, Netflix, Rhapsody®, Pandora®, Twitter™, VUDU®, and Yahoo!® TV Widgets, as well as several new apps recently released, including: Fandango, Yahoo Fantasy Football, NBA® Game Time, Wiki TV, My-Cast® ,MediaBox™, TuneIn Radio™, Web Videos and iMemories.

VIZIO XVT Series HDTVs with VIA are able to connect to the Internet using the built-in high definition wireless (802.11n dual-band) or a wired connection, accessing on demand movies, TV episodes, music and other online content is easy. Each XVT Series HDTV includes a Bluetooth universal remote control with sliding QWERTY keyboard that makes thumb-typing easy.

Model Size Res Refresh Rate Smart Dimming HDMI 1.4 Inputs VIZIO Internet Apps (VIA) Bluetooth SRS Audio In Store MSRP

XVT3D554SV TruLED 55" FHD 480Hz SPS 120 Zones 5 Yes Yes TruSurround HD Q4 $2,399.

XVT3D474SV TruLED 47" FHD 480Hz SPS 160 Zones 5 Yes Yes TruSurround HD Q4 $1,799.

XVT3D424SV Razor LED 42" FHD 480Hz SPS 160 Zones 5 Yes Yes TruSurround HD Q4 $1,399.


VIZIO 3D Blu-ray® Players with Wireless Apps
VIZIO delivers the ultimate movie experience! The VBR333 and VBR334 3D Blu-ray Players with Wireless Apps unlock a new dimension with breathtaking, crystal-clear 2D and Full HD 3D. Built-in Wi-Fi means you get easy wireless connectivity to more entertainment from top online services like Netflix, VUDU, Pandora, and more. With up to 7.1 channels of digital surround sound, Dolby TrueHD™ and DTS HD™, you feel like you are in the middle of the action and can enjoy sound just like in a movie theater or at a live event. This is one powerful 3D movie machine, transforming your movie nights into immersive theater-like events! Buyers can now get a free HD movie rental from VUDU and a free Netflix trial too! Both VIZIO 3D Blu-ray Players will be available in November and have a SRP of $189.99.


VIZIO Dual Band Wireless Internet Router
VIZIO has created the XWR100 802.11n Dual Band Wireless Internet Router, a media-centric router, designed for maximum performance when streaming content such as HD video. Optimized for VIZIO Internet Apps (VIA) devices, the XWR100 automatically prioritizes Internet traffic destined for VIA devices like VIA HDTVs and Blu-ray players with Wireless Apps. This universal wireless router works with just about any Wi-Fi device and is the ideal solution over conventional routers for households that want to enjoy streaming media along with traditional web surfing and other data-centric activities. In addition, the router operates simultaneously at both 2.4 and 5 GHz bands, effectively acting like two wireless hotspots in one by providing a separate network for each band. The XWR100 is shipping now with a SRP of $99.99.

High-Speed HDMI® Cables-VIZIO Extreme Slim Series
VIZIO's latest series of HDMI cables deliver the best in both HD video and audio. They include an integrated Smart Chip that cleans and boosts signals for optimized digital audio and video including Blu-ray and 3D entertainment. Not only 60% slimmer than conventional HDMI cables, the XCH606 cable is 3D Ready to bring 3D gaming and movie titles to your 3D TV. Getting ready for today and tomorrow's highest definition audio and video formats and functions they support? VIZIO's HDMI cables support "4k" 4096 x 2160 resolution and bandwidth of up to 10.2 Gbps, Advanced 7.1 Audio Surround Sound, and even Audio Return Channel (ARC) which enables your TV to send and receive audio signals without additional cables. The XCH606D1 cables are shipping now with a SRP of $59.99.

About VIZIO
VIZIO, Inc., "Entertainment Freedom For All," headquartered in Irvine, California, is America's HDTV and Consumer Electronics Company. In 2007, VIZIO skyrocketed to the top by becoming the #1 selling brand of flat panel HDTVs in North America and became the first American brand in over a decade to lead in U.S. TV sales. Since 2007 VIZIO HDTV shipments remain in the TOP ranks in the U.S. and was #1 for the total year in 2009. VIZIO is committed to bringing feature-rich consumer electronics to market at a value through practical innovation. VIZIO offers a broad range of award winning consumer electronics. VIZIO's products are found at Costco Wholesale, Sam's Club, Walmart, Target, BJ's Wholesale, and other retailers nationwide along with authorized online partners. VIZIO has won numerous awards including a #1 ranking in the Inc. 500 for Top Companies in Computers and Electronics, Fast Company's 6th Most Innovative CE Company of 2009, and made the lists of Ad Age's Hottest Brands, Good Housekeeping's Best Big-Screens, CNET's Editor's Choice, PC World's Best Buy and OC Metro's 10 Most Trustworthy Brands among many other prestigious honors. For more information, please call 888-VIZIOCE or visit on the web at www.VIZIO.com.

The V, VIZIO, TruLED, Extreme VIZIO Technology XVT, VIZIO Internet Apps, 480Hz SPS, 240Hz SPS, Thin Line, Smooth Motion, Razor LED, Smart Dimming, Entertainment Freedom For All names, phrase and symbols are trademarks or registered trademarks of VIZIO, Inc. All other trademarks may be the property of their respective holders.

Source: VIZIO, Inc.





VIZIO Licenses RealD 3D Technologies



VIZIO Full HD 3D HDTVs to Support RealD Format and RealD Active Eyewear Technology

LOS ANGELES, CA (November 17, 2010) – RealD Inc. (NYSE: RLD), a leading global licensor of 3D technologies for cinema, consumer electronics and professional applications, today announced that VIZIO, a leading LED LCD HDTV manufacturer, has licensed RealD's 3D technologies for their upcoming line-up of 3D TVs. Current VIZIO XVT series Full HD 3D HDTVs in 42", 47" and 55" class sizes will support the stereoscopic RealD Format for the delivery and display of high-definition 3D content. VIZIO active eyewear compatible 3D HDTVs will also utilize active shutter glasses that integrate RealD 3D lens and synchronization protocol.

"VIZIO is a leader in North American flat panel HDTV sales and we look forward to working with them as they introduce their line-up of 3D HDTVs utilizing RealD 3D technology," stated Robert Mayson, President of Consumer Electronics at RealD. "RealD active eyewear technology is known worldwide for delivering exceptional 3D, giving viewers of VIZIO 3D TVs the opportunity to see content in crisp, clear and fully immersive 3D."

"VIZIO is committed to delivering a great 3D experience and RealD's 3D technology has helped make this a reality," said Matthew McRae, CTO, VIZIO. "Consumers purchasing 3D televisions expect compatibility with all formats including RealD."

The RealD Format is based on RealD's patented side-by-side 3D display technology. It combines left eye and right eye 3D image streams into a single channel for delivery of high-definition 3D video to 3D-enabled displays using today's HD infrastructure, including existing HD set-top boxes and DVRs.

RealD's active eyewear technologies are recognized industry-wide for delivering a high-quality 3D image. Through decades of research and development, RealD has advanced active shutter glasses technologies for the best Stereo3D™ clarity. Using infra-red communication, the RealD active eyewear protocol synchronizes the TV with the eyewear lens for optimal image brightness and 3D effect.

About RealD Inc.
RealD is a leading global licensor of 3D technologies. RealD's extensive intellectual property portfolio is used in applications that enable a premium 3D viewing experience in the theater, the home and elsewhere. RealD licenses its RealD Cinema Systems to motion picture exhibitors that show 3D motion pictures and alternative 3D content. RealD also provides its RealD Display, active and passive eyewear, RealD Format and gaming technologies to consumer electronics manufacturers and content producers and distributors to enable the delivery and viewing of 3D content. RealD's cutting-edge 3D technologies have been used for applications such as piloting the Mars Rover. For more information, please visit our website at www.reald.com.


Cautionary note on forward-looking statements

This press release includes forward-looking information and statements, including but not limited to: statements concerning VIZIO's license of the RealD Format and other statements that are not historical facts. These statements are based on RealD's current expectations and beliefs, as well as a number of assumptions concerning future events. Such forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors, many of which are outside RealD's control that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. RealD's annual and quarterly reports include a more detailed discussion of the risks and uncertainties that may cause that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements.

RealD undertakes no obligation to update publicly the information contained in this press release, or any forward-looking statements, to reflect new information, events or circumstances after the date they were made, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

© 2010 RealD Inc. All Rights Reserved

Nox Audio Scout mini headset on sale now, boasts world's smallest mic button and some decent sound

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 04:43 AM PST

NOX Audio sprang out of obscurity this year with two pairs of stylish 'phones -- the moderately disappointing Specialist supra-aural cans with a retractable, flexible mic, and the promising Scout earbud headset pictured immediately above, now on sale. Even at first glance the Scout's not your average pair of in-line earbuds, connected to your phone of choice via a piece of rubber linguini that acts as a no-tangle cord, but they also have balanced armature drivers that delivered some surprisingly good sound even in the bustle of a busy trade show. (They've also got a ludicrously tiny send/end button for the headset buried in the cord's joint, if you're fond of playing spy.) We haven't had a chance to put our review unit through its paces quite yet, but if you want to give NOX the benefit of the doubt, you'll find the Scout at "select retailers" and the company's online store for $80 right now.
Show full PR text
NOX Audio Scouts Out Sleeker Design for Active Music Fans; Introduces New In-Ear Headset

NOX's Latest High-Quality Audio Headset, the Scout, Now Available Online and at Select Retailers

City of Industry, Calif. - Nov. 16, 2010 - NOX Audio introduces the Scout headset, the second in its line of audiophile-quality products. The Scout features the latest in high-efficiency balanced armature technology and is tuned to deliver exemplary bass and a wide, clean, dynamic sound range. Design elements of the Scout were created with active lifestyles in mind: Flexible silicone fins comfortably secure the earbud inside the ear which hold the headphones in place while running, exercising or traveling. The Scout's stylish square and flat cables help reduce cord tangles, and the "world's smallest" send/end button is located right at the Y-split of the headset for convenience.

The Scout is the latest product to demonstrate NOX's continued commitment to delivering high quality audio experience to the masses. It uses high-performance 6mm balanced armature drivers with bass extension to provide tight bass, well-controlled and balanced mids and crystal-clear highs. The discreet inline 3mm electrets omni-directional mic provides high fidelity voice pick-up that works with cell phones for making voice calls on-the-go.

"When we designed the Scout, we were really focused on improving the overall audio experience by making a product for people who need a versatile headset to match their dynamic lifestyle," said Julie Ma, president of NOX Audio. "This is a headset people will use on-the-go, working out at the gym, running at the beach or just relaxing with some music at the end of the day. It's sleek, compact and doesn't sacrifice audio for cost, while providing features comparable to those of similar products priced at twice as much."

The Scout is available now from NOX-Audio.com and retailers nationwide for $79.99, and is compatible with all devices that use a standard 3.5mm stereo jack. Like the Specialist, the Scout works with NOX's Negotiator universal gaming optical audio adapter, which provides digital audio compatibility with the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

Dell Streak busts out a white back for Best Buy exclusive

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 04:14 AM PST

Seems like Best Buy has developed something of a taste for snow-white exclusives, as it's now become the first retailer to offer up Dell's 5-inch Streak tabletphone with an alabaster case. We're hearing the only way to grab the new palette option is to go down to your nearest Best Buy store, though online reservation and payment is also available. Not every store has them just yet, so checking ahead of time might also be advisable. Skip past the break to see the new Streak's front end -- it actually retains a lot of the black bezel of its noir family mate.

C-Loop camera strap contorts in ways your first party strap could only dream of

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 03:39 AM PST

We actually didn't know we had a camera strap problem until we saw this little promo video for C-Loop (embedded after the break). Now it's blindingly obvious, and we're not sure we can even go on taking pictures if we don't get a C-Loop, like, yesterday. The C-Loop itself is surpassingly simple: it screws into your camera's tripod mount and swivels. That's about it. You attach your strap to the C-Loop, naturally, and you get rid of strap tangle, improve landscape / portrait transitioning, and score +100 sex appeal instantaneously. Not bad for a $35 chunk of aluminum. It should start shipping by the end of the year.

Update: StrapBuddy offers a similar solution for $19.99, and it's on sale right now.

Sony teases us with NXCAM HD concept Super 35mm camcorder, strictly for the pros (video)

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 03:02 AM PST

Sony teases us with NXCAM concept Super 35mm camcorder, strictly for the pros (video)
It's a Super 35mm world, and we're all just trying to fit in frame. At least, it will be once Sony's done expanding its lineup of cinematic shooters. Last week it was the "affordable" PMW-F3, and now the company is teasing the NXCAM HD, a decidedly professional-oriented camcorder with a Super 35mm equivalent large format CMOS sensor nestled behind an E-mount interchangeable lens system. It'll record to AVCHD in 1080p at frame rates covering all the majors: 23.98, 29.97, and 59.94, along with 25 and 50. All progressive, natch. Sony is planning to release this boxy beast in the middle of 2011 and plans to make it "affordable" for professionals as well. See what good a little competition can do?

[Thanks, Demetri]





Show full PR text
Sony to expand 35mm large format sensor camcorder lineup
"NXCAM" HD camcorder under development, featuring E-mount lens system

Sony Corporation announced today that it is developing a new type of E-mount interchangeable lens camcorder for professional use that is equipped with a Super-35mm equivalent large format CMOS sensor. This new addition to Sony's professional "NXCAM" line will be available in the middle of 2011.

Already a key player in the 35mm digital cinematography business with the highly acclaimed "CineAlta" F35 and SRW-9000PL for high-end digital cinema production, Sony has just strengthened its lineup in this category with the recent PMW-F3 announcement. In addition to this, with this new "NXCAM" HD camcorder now (still under development), Sony looks to further strengthen its position in the entry-level segment by providing an affordable yet highly capable professional solution for many applications including independent film, music video and corporate communications all looking for the cinematic look.

This "NXCAM" HD camcorder under development will be equipped with a Super-35mm equivalent sensor, a widely used film stock size in the film industry that is perfectly designed for capturing motion picture. This new sensor will have extraordinary performance in terms of picture quality and sensitivity, and is able to create rich "Bokeh" effect (beautifully defocused image) that is perfect for artistic story-telling in motion picture.

Thanks to the adoption of the E-mount interchangeable lens system that is identical to the "α" series NEX-5, 3 and "Handycam" NEX-VG10, the E-mount lenses will be compatible with this new professional camcorder. In addition, a very short flange back distance (the distance between lens mount surface and sensor surface) let various "α" A-mount lenses be mounted via a mount adaptor (LA-EA1). Furthermore, it is also possible to attach many other lenses using third-party mount adaptors*1. With such flexibility, users will be able to experiment with various creative expressions by exploiting the characteristics of different optics.

*1: Not all types of adaptors and lenses are guaranteed.

The recording format for this new HD camcorder will be AVCHD, a widely supported format by many non liner editing software vendors and the same format as HXR-NX5 "NXCAM" camcorder.
There is also a plan to implement 1080p (60p / 30p / 24p*2 or 50p / 25p) recording modes.
(MPEG4-AVC/H.264 compression will be used for these modes.)

*2: 59.94p / 29.97p / 23.98p respectively.


"NXCAM", "α" and "CineAlta" are trademarks of Sony Corporation.
"Handycam" is a registered trademark of Sony Corporation.
"AVCHD" is a trademark of Panasonic Corporation and Sony Corporation

Windows Phone 7 will work with third party browsers, so long as they're based on IE? (video)

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 02:10 AM PST

Internet Explorer not stirring your cup of Windows Phone 7 tea correctly? Well, you now have an alternative in the form of a new browser that's arrived in the Marketplace: Browser+. It does seem to have been built on IE code rather than its own framework, so don't get your hopes up for Chrome to Phone on WP7 any time soon. Anyhow, the new app's been given a test drive by a couple of sites, who note it integrates a view of your current tabs and a Google search box right into the general web view, providing a slightly more accessible interface than the default option, while also throwing in a private surfing mode for the paranoid among us. A few crashes and bugs have been spotted in Browser+ so far, but hey, it's cheap and it at least gives us hope for a less monotheistic browsing experience. See it in video action after the break.



Hulu Plus drops price to $7.99 a month, adds Roku support for official launch

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 01:03 AM PST

There you have it, good people of the internet, the rumored Hulu Plus price drop has indeed been enacted, though it's a little smaller than some might have hoped. The formerly $9.99 subscription service has now dipped to $7.99 per month -- enough to get you to jump on board? Maybe the one week free trial will help get you there, but don't fret if you're already subscribed -- Hulu's got you covered with a refund for the difference from the preview price to the current one, which will be applied in your next billing cycle. Isn't that nice? Also good to know is that the list of devices you can enjoy your Plus experience on has been expanded by one, adding Roku's hardware as previously planned. You'll find the full press release after the break.

[Thanks, Adam S. and Alwyn]
Show full PR text
HULU PLUS™ SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE LAUNCHES FOR $7.99 PER MONTH

Offers Deepest Library of Current Hit Network TV Shows Like Glee, Modern Family, and The Office; Extends Access to Even More Devices and Platforms

(LOS ANGELES) November 17, 2010 /PRNewswire/ - Hulu™ today officially launched Hulu Plus™, the first and only internet video subscription service to stream full current seasons and a deep library of back seasons of hit TV shows from ABC, FOX, NBC, and more, in HD, to computers, internet-connected TVs and Blu-ray players, set-top boxes, mobile phones, and tablets, all for $7.99 per month.

"We're proud to offer consumers the best of current TV on their terms," said Jason Kilar, chief executive officer of Hulu. "With Hulu Plus, it's now possible to watch any episode from the current season of watercooler shows like Glee, Modern Family, 30 Rock and dozens more; whenever and wherever they want."

Any users who subscribed during the preview period will also receive a credit for the difference from the $9.99 preview price to be applied automatically to their next billing cycle. Starting today, all new subscribers to Hulu Plus receive a 1-week free trial.

Access Anywhere on Multiple Devices
Today, Hulu Plus will be available through a wide variety of devices that have an installed base of over 50 million in the U.S. No matter when and where a TV lover wants to catch the latest episode of House, Saturday Night Live, or Family Guy – whether it's in the office, in the living room, or on the go – Hulu Plus is there:

Connected TV and Blu-Ray players: Samsung, Sony BRAVIA® HDTVs and connected Blu-ray Disc™ Players, and coming soon: LG Electronics, Panasonic, VIZIO
Connected Set-top Boxes: Roku, Sony Network Media Player, and coming soon: TiVo Premiere DVRs, Western Digital's WD TV Live Hub Media Center and WD TV Live Plus Network Media Player
Gaming Consoles: PlayStation® 3, and coming soon: Xbox 360
Mobile Devices: Apple iPad, iPhone, iPod touch
Other network appliances: Sony Dash
HD-available programs will stream to users in 720p high definition on HD-capable devices. Hulu will continue to announce additional supported devices and platforms in the coming months.

More of Today's Top TV Shows
Hulu Plus offers full current and back seasons of both current and classic hit TV shows to subscribers in the U.S. TV fans can instantly stream any episode of current broadcast network shows such as Glee, Family Guy, Grey's Anatomy, Modern Family, 30 Rock, House, and The Office all season long. In addition, TV lovers will be able to enjoy full series runs and numerous back seasons of classic shows like The X-Files, Arrested Development, Desperate Housewives, Battlestar Galactica, Monk, Psych, Saturday Night Live, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Ugly Betty, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and dozens more.

The Hulu Plus library has grown by thousands of videos during its preview and will add more titles in the months to come.

Advertising Partners for Hulu Plus
Hulu has built one of the most effective brand advertising services in the world, with a platform that delivers 55% more effective ad campaigns than traditional channels. Hulu Plus extends this proprietary and innovative targeted ad platform across PCs, TVs, mobile phones, and tablets, creating multiple touch points to reach connected consumers wherever they live, work, and play.

For the launch of Hulu Plus, the company has partnered with leading brand marketers including Bud Light, McDonald's, Nissan, and Microsoft to expand their reach to Hulu's engaged and connected audience. Hulu is also working with comScore and Nielsen to help create accurate and leading edge measurement tools for the Hulu Plus service.

Intel learns from Dr. Dre, wants Atom chips in NFL helmets to know when heads are ringing

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 12:03 AM PST

We always understood that Intel looked after the rock stars of tomorrow, but who knew that included football players? Yup, according to PC World, Intel is currently investigating adding Atom chips inside NFL helmets to provide real-time impact data to medical staff on the sidelines. While there's no explicit time frame set for this project, we're thinking the sooner the better -- lest we forget it took the league until 2009 to require players who display signs of a concussion to stop playing for at least one day. This isn't the first time though that the world's largest chip maker has actually helped make the gridiron safer. In fact, it previously worked with helmet maker Riddell's fittingly named HITS (Head Impact Telemetry System) and academic researchers to run head injury simulations using linked Xeon-powered computers. Off the field, Intel is also currently partnering with the Mayo Clinic to boost medical cranial scans using MIC (Many Integrated Core) supercomputer co-processors. Codenamed Knights Corner, this hardware puts teacher's pets to shame by running trillions of calculations per second, and apparently accelerates head scans by up to 18 times. Sure, safety's all well and good, but we know Intel's really just curious about how Moore's Law holds up to the shoulder pressure of NFL d-backs.

Sharp plans 3D smartphones for US, China and India in 2011

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 11:09 PM PST

It might be all Japanese to you now, but Sharp's autostereoscopic 3D is coming to a smartphone near you next year. The tech will debut next month on the Softbank-bound Galapagos 003SH and 005SH Android handsets, but now Sharp has confirmed its intention to also bring it Stateside as well as to two of the world's most populous nations in China and India. It's not yet exactly clear what handsets those markets will be getting, but if you're looking for further signs of Sharp's expanding international ambition, the company's reported to also be contemplating extending its e-reading tablet platform out to the US and China. Taken alongside Panasonic's recently announced plans to start selling Android smartphones globally in 2012, this does suggest we might soon be watching a neat little resurgence from our buddies from the land of the rising sun.

Sony Ericsson's 4.3-inch Anzu previewed: ain't got no Gingerbread, but still looking tasty

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 10:24 PM PST

Our hope for the recently leaked Anzu (likely to be known as the Xperia X12 at retail) handset from Sony Ericsson was that it'd be the company's Android Gingerbread flagship, but here comes international super-reviewer Eldar Murtazin popping that bubble for us. The good man from Russia has a preview unit in his secret lab and reports that it currently only runs Android 2.1, with the intention being that launch devices in early 2011 will start off with Android 2.2 before getting their Gingerbread (2.3) fix in a later update. He also notes a 4.3-inch display with 854 x 480 resolution (just an LCD, nothing exciting), an 800MHz Qualcomm MSM7230 (same as in the T-Mobile G2 / Desire Z) powering things inside, and a 12 megapixel imager mounted on the back. The latter is naturally capable of recording 720p video, while early performance impressions are that the stock Android interface flies. Alas, Eldar expects SE to layer its own customizations on top, which adds to his disappointment with the general build quality of this device -- it's thinner and lighter than the X10, but apparently feels cheaper to the touch. Hit the source link for his comprehensive preview.

Let's also not forget Eldar's tweet from the weekend when he said he was playing with the Anzu and the Galaxy 2 (aka Samsung i9100, according to him). Given that the first of those devices has now indeed made its way onto Mobile-review, the veracity of his second claim -- that the upcoming Samsung handset would be a dual-core beastie -- now seems a lot less questionable.

[Thanks, Momchil]

Panasonic's 103-inch 3D plasma hits for massive $100,000 price

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 09:53 PM PST

Incredibly, Panasonic's been the proud parent of a 103-inch plasma since January 2006. Here we are almost five years later learning off a 3D variant, model TH-P103MT2. The Full HD 3D plasma with 5m:1 native contrast ratio is expected to cost about 8.5 million yen or a bit more than $100,000 when Panny begins taking orders tomorrow, November 18th -- and that still doesn't include the cost to ship, handle, and install the 439 pound TV onto the wall of your country estate. At least it ships with one pair of active shutter glasses.

Elecom's Actrail headphones is the tree to iPod shuffle's spanish moss

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 08:57 PM PST

We spared you the "wireless" joke, but to be fair, that's precisely what we're looking at: Elecom's Actrail headphones are wireless, Bluetooth-less ear muffs designed for your miniature Apple-borne MP3 player. Only the latest iPod shuffle is officially supported, but we're betting some of the previous generations could fit in just fine. Or maybe even an iPod touch, if don't mind applying scotch tape liberally to your noggin. Hey, it's not like you really need to see the front as a makeshift watch, anyhow. Asking price is ¥4,200 in Japan, which is just around $50 in US coins, and it's due out sometime this month; no promises it'll make stateside release via official channels, but we're sure if you're jonesing you can find something.

VUDU hits PS3 on November 23rd, UI overhaul coming mid-December

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 08:00 PM PST

First Netflix, then Hulu Plus, and now VUDU. The movie rental service is making its way onto PlayStation 3 just in time for Thanksgiving later this month -- November 23rd, to be exact. If you're familiar with Walmart's recently-acquired video service, you know the drill: on-demand HD titles streamed for a fee, up to 1080p and Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 surround sound. The interface will be the same as every other VUDU iteration -- until mid-December, that is. That's when, as we've been told, the company plans to roll out version 2.0 of its UI. In addition to being more streamlined, there's ratings, recommendations, and most interestingly, support for PS3's Move controller. Pictures below, press releases after the break.
VUDU hits PS3 on November 23rd, UI overhaul coming mid-December
Show full PR text
PlayStation®Network Continues to Expand its Industry Leading Entertainment Offerings with VUDU™ HD Streaming Movie Service

VUDU Brings High Definition Movies On-Demand to PlayStation®3

FOSTER CITY, Calif., November 16, 2010 – Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC (SCEA) today announced that on-demand movie service VUDU™ will launch on PlayStation®Network in the United States with an application that allows for High Definition (HD) and Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 surround sound streaming to the PlayStation®3 (PS3™) computer entertainment system. VUDU delivers a massive library of movies to PS3 in true 1080p HD format, providing another choice for PS3 users to experience cinema-quality entertainment in the comfort of their living rooms. When the VUDU application launches on November 23, PS3 will be the first and only system with dedicated gaming functionality to offer this service. This partnership further establishes PlayStation Network as the complete home entertainment hub, which includes the latest in gaming, movies, television shows, sports, original programming, internet browsing and social networking.

Using the VUDU streaming movie service, PS3 owners will be able to conveniently and instantly access more than 4,000 HD movies for all major Hollywood studios on-demand, including new releases available the same day they are released to DVD or Blu-ray Disk. The VUDU streaming movie service also offers great value to PS3 households, with an enormous collection of titles available for only $2 for a two night rental.

"PlayStation® has long been the leader in providing living room entertainment. PlayStation Network has emerged as the industry leading entertainment hub for experiencing an unmatched amount of digital content," said Peter Dille, senior vice president, marketing and PlayStation Network, SCEA. "With the addition of the VUDU application to our free PlayStation Network, users will have another way to access entertainment, with thousands of HD movies available instantly in the comfort of their own home."

"PS3 is tailor-made for the high-quality, high-speed VUDU streaming experience," said Edward Lichty, general manager, VUDU. "Now with VUDU on PS3, we are able to deliver a completely immersive experience to those loyal to their entertainment system when they want, where they want."

Customers that have a free PlayStation Network account can download the VUDU application in the "Media" category on PlayStation®Store and then access it under the "Video" icon on the XMB™ (XrossMediaBar) menu. New VUDU customers receive a $5.99 credit, enabling them to watch their first HD movie on the service for free.

About Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC.

Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC continues to redefine the entertainment lifestyle with its PlayStation® and PS one® game console, the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) handheld entertainment system, the ground-breaking PlayStation®3 (PS3™) computer entertainment system and its online and network services the PlayStation®Network and PlayStation®Store. Recognized as the undisputed industry leader, Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC markets the PlayStation family of products and develops, publishes, markets and distributes software for the PS one, PlayStation 2, PSP and PS3 systems for the North American market. Based in Foster City, Calif., Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC serves as headquarters for all North American operations.

About VUDU

A leader in digital entertainment, VUDU offers the world's largest selection of streaming HD movies, including thousands of blockbusters, Hollywood classics, and indies available in stunning HDX 1080p with Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 surround sound. Movies are available the same day they are released on DVD or Blu-Ray, and can be rented or purchased without a subscription. VUDU comes built in on select internet connectable HDTVs and Blu-Ray Disk Players from, LG, Mitsubishi, Samsung, SANYO, Sharp, Toshiba and Vizio, and is also available on PC or Mac via the Boxee platform. VUDU is a wholly owned subsidiary of Walmart Stores, Inc., and is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA. For more information, visit HYPERLINK "http://www.vudu.com/"http://www.vudu.com/.

# # #

"PlayStation", "PSP" and "PS one" are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. "PS3" is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Visit us on the Web at HYPERLINK "http://www.us.playstation.com"www.us.playstation.com.
Show full PR text
VUDU Unveils its Next Generation User Interface

New Design Offers Unparalleled Experience to VUDU Users

November 16, 2010 – San Francisco, CA –VUDU today revealed its new 2.0 user interface, to be delivered before the end of the year to all VUDU-enabled platforms and devices. VUDU 2.0 features an elegant new design optimized for high definition, wide-format TVs and provides many new options to help users discover the best film to fit their mood. Because VUDU is fully cloud-based, users will be able to receive and experience VUDU 2.0 with no downloads, discs or hassles.

While retaining the rich cinematic feel of VUDU's original, highly acclaimed user interface, the new design provides an easy, intuitive structure organized around tabs, allowing users to navigate more quickly with fewer screen changes and fewer clicks. VUDU 2.0 also provides users with several powerful new tools, including personalized recommendations based on viewing history and ratings and enhanced browse and filter capabilities.

A major new feature in 2.0 is support for next-generation motion-based input devices, such as the PS3 Move, mice, and pointer remote controls. This capability will initially be supported on the Sony PlayStation 3 with the Sony Move controller.

"Since our founding, our core mission has been to deliver the best movie watching experience available anywhere, and VUDU 2.0 substantially raises the bar," said Edward Lichty, VUDU's General Manager. "With our sleek new design and killer new discovery tools, we've been able to build on what people have always loved about VUDU and make it even better. Finding and enjoying a movie from our extensive library of HD movies has never been easier or more fun."

Today VUDU also announced availability on Sony PlayStation®3, adding a leader in gaming consoles to existing partnerships with top manufacturers of HDTVs and Blu-ray disc players. VUDU is also available on the PC and Mac via the Boxee platform and on the Boxee Box by D-Link. All VUDU devices and platforms will be updated with VUDU 2.0 before the end of the year.

About VUDU

A leader in digital entertainment, VUDU offers the world's largest selection of HD movies, including thousands of blockbusters, Hollywood classics, and indies available in stunning HDX 1080p with Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 surround sound. Movies are available the same day they are released on DVD or Blu-Ray, and can be rented or purchased without a subscription. VUDU is available on internet-capable HDTVs and Blu-ray disc players from Funai, LG, Mitsubishi, Samsung, SANYO, Sharp, Toshiba and Vizio and on the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system from Sony. VUDU is a wholly owned subsidiary of Walmart Stores, Inc., and is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA. For more information, visit HYPERLINK "http://www.vudu.com/"http://www.vudu.com/.

Toshiba's newest hard drive is designed for 24/7 rugged use

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 06:56 PM PST

It doesn't look like Toshiba's going to put an end to its awkward hard drive naming convention anytime soon, but at least we can call the new MK1060GSCX the "24/7 durable one." The 100GB, 2.5-inch SATA HDD is designed for "rugged operating environments" and continuous 24-hour operation. Obviously, Tosh has put this guy through the ringer -- it claims that the drive can withstand -15 to +70 degrees Celsius as well as operate at expanded altitudes. The sacrifice you make for that, however, is in speed -- the 4,200rpm drive has a 12msec seek time and 1.5Gbit/s interface speed. Of course, if you're looking for something faster -- one of Intel's latest X25-M SSDs would run circles around that. Toshiba will also offer an even smaller 80GB MK8050GACY version with a PATA interface. No word on pricing, but Toshiba expects the new drives to hit sometime in December -- hit the break for the full spec breakdown and press release.
Show full PR text
TOSHIBA INTRODUCES HARD DISK DRIVES ENGINEERED FOR RUGGED OPERATING ENVIRONMENTS
2.5-inch Hard Disk Drives Deliver Reliable Data Storage for 24/7 Operations in the Toughest Environments Including Ruggedized PCs and Industrial Equipment

IRVINE, Calif., November 15, 2010 – Toshiba Storage Device Division (SDD), the pioneer in small form factor hard disk drives (HDDs), today announced two new 2.5-inch HDD models designed for rugged 24-hour continuous operation in computing, industrial, and other extreme environments. The new models – the 100GB1 SATA interface MK1060GSCX and the 80GB1 PATA interface MK8050GACY – offer exceptional reliability and performance across wide temperature, altitude, and vibration ranges, making them excellent choices for use in industrial equipment such as ATMs, digital surveillance, factory automation, and ruggedized PCs.

Designed for extended periods of operation, the MK1060GSCX and MK8050GACY feature a "case temperature" range of -15 to +70 degrees Celsius2 – the widest temperature range for 24/7* power-on operation in the HDD market. Both drives also have an expanded operating altitude range and offer better resistance to vibration when compared to standard HDD models.

"The reliability and performance of today's hard disk drives continue to expand the applications for digital storage technologies beyond traditional markets," said Scott Wright, Product Manager, Toshiba Storage Device Division. "These new models provide both the extended operating range for commercial applications as well as a longer model production window to better fit commercial design and business cycles."

The two new models build upon Toshiba's long-standing design expertise in automotive- grade HDD technology, a market in which Toshiba has held 75 percent market share since 2003. In addition, as part of Toshiba's commitment to the environment, the MK1060GSCX is halogen free and both drives are compliant with the European Union's Directive on the Restriction of the
TOSHIBA LAUNCHES SED MODEL DESIGNED TO TCP OPAL SPECIFICATION

Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS). The MK1060GSCX and MK8050GACY will begin volume production in December 2010. For more information on Toshiba's line of industry-leading mobile and enterprise-class, small form factor hard drives, visit www.toshibastorage.com.

Kinect hack explained: follow-along-at-home guide lets you reverse engineer USB, impress your friends

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 06:05 PM PST

So, there's already an open source driver for the Kinect -- who needs to learn how to reverse engineer USB all over again? Well, ladyada of Adafruit Industries, the folks responsible for the Kinect hack bounty and the USB logs used by the bounty winner to get a jump on his hack, has published a detailed guide on exactly how she sniffed the Kinect's USB chatter. The guide isn't for the faint of heart, but it's not completely unintelligible to someone with a bit of time and determination. If anything it serves as an excellent bit of how-the-Kinect-was-won history. We're not expecting Microsoft to reconsider its "Microsoft does not condone the modification of its products" stance on this issue, or its petty threat of law enforcement "to keep Kinect tamper-resistant," but we do hope they've learned one thing by now: they're fighting a losing battle.

Mobee Magic Charger review: wirelessly juice up your Apple Magic Mouse

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 05:18 PM PST

Aww, look at that cute little mouse cuddling up in its nest. Wait a tick... an inductive charging mat for the Magic Mouse? You won't currently find the Magic Charger at the Apple Store (something that could change soon) but the good folks at Mobee are finally taking orders for this intriguing product on its website. To mark this occasion, the Swiss company sent us a review unit for some sweet wireless charging action. Read on for our full review after the break.
Mobee Magic Charger review: wirelessly juice up your Apple Magic Mouse

Apart from the LED's color, the final product hasn't changed much since our extensive hands-on back at IFA -- the two-parter bundle consists of just the charging mat and a battery module (containing two NiMH AAA 800mAh cells) along with a mini-USB cable for the mat -- an odd choice given that most phones are now using micro-USB. While the parts are mainly housed in recyclable plastic (for the sake of inductive charging), their silver paint and texture actually match well with the Magic Mouse's metallic underside, and there's no doubt that the charging mat's silver-white combo is a homage to the previous-gen Mac Mini. Build quality is also satisfactory -- we see even paint job and cleanly cut edges, although we did spot some light warping on the mat's white surface.

There's not much to do to get the ball rolling, although we did have to push the battery module in with a little extra effort to make sure it snaps on -- this is due to the module's little metal spring that helps lifting it up when unlatching, so you'll just have to live with it. That said, once it's installed, the module is flush with the mouse's bottom side and doesn't affect maneuverability. As for charging, while the spec sheet says it only takes six hours for a full charge, our unit -- just a little warm to the touch -- continued to charge throughout the night (as indicated by the blinking green LED) rather than eventually stopping (which would show a still green light). A look at our Mac's system pane suggested that the mouse is capped at a 70 percent charge. Mobee has yet to come back to us about this strange phenomenon, but from what we've seen, we're certain that the advertised six-day battery life is realistic, plus we're supposed to get at least three years' worth of usage even if you charge the mouse every day.

Update: The 70 percent charge reading is a result of the 1.2V Mobee NiMh cells versus the 1.5V per cell charge supplied by normal AA alkalines. Mac OS measures the remaining power to be 2.4V with Mobee's fully charged battery pack (2 cells) instead of 3V with the AA batteries. Sure, that works out to be 80 percent but Mobee assures us that the reading is normal.


So would we recommend the Magic Charger? Absolutely -- $49.90 pre-tax (or €49.90 elsewhere) is reasonable for this super-convenient peripheral bundle, plus you can get spare battery packs (€29.90; US pricing to be confirmed) for the others in your household or office and share the charging mat. If you're itching for an inductive mouse charger and happen to be in one of the 35 listed countries, you can head over to Mobee's website and buy directly from them (shipping fees applied); otherwise, you can wait until early December when the Apple Premium Resellers and large retail chains like Best Buy will have it in stock. And finally, we're told to keep an eye out for two new products from Mobee at CES this coming January -- our money's on something for the iPhone 4 and Apple's wireless keyboard.

Screen Grabs: A Droid X with a SIM card? XOXO, Gossip Girl

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 04:41 PM PST

Sure, Verizon has the lock on Gossip Girl product placement, but even the technological reality of CDMA must bow to plot development, and if that means Serena's Droid X sprouts a SIM card so Lil' J can steal it and surreptitiously swap in a new one, well, so be it. Of course, this clever plan assumes that Serena doesn't text or call anyone using her new SIM, but, you know, just go with it. Video after the break.

Sony Internet TV with Google TV ripped apart, messy Intel internals exposed

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 04:01 PM PST

Sony's Internet TV with Google TV (we heard you like TV, so we put TV in your... etc.) actually turned out to be pretty much our favorite implementation of Google TV. Imagine our shock and horror, then, to discover what an untidy tangle of wires its cables turned out to be, particularly in comparison to the mega-clean insides of the Revue or the ultra-compact Boxee Box. What gives, Sony? Just because it's a TV doesn't mean it doesn't matter. Don't feed yourself that nobody-loves-me-guess-I'll-eat-worms trash. You have to have a little self respect. If you don't give a damn, who will? Okay, we're done.

Griffin gets in the iPod nano watch game with colorful, protective Slap wristband

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 03:22 PM PST

Find some of the current iPod nano watch options a bit too subdued for your style? Then you might want to consider Griffin's new Slap wristband, which looks to be among the most protective and colorful options to date. Made entirely of a soft silicone, the Slap is available in no less than eight different colors, and it completely encloses your iPod nano (save for the headphone jack) but promises to still let you control the volume and sleep / wake buttons through the case. Still no word on a release date, but you can expect this one to set you back the same $25 that most other similar wristbands seem to be going for.

SlingPlayer Mobile for iPad gets a walkthrough, reminds us of all the daytime TV we're missing out on

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 02:40 PM PST

We heard the iPad version of SlingPlayer Mobile was coming hot on the heels of SlingPlayer for Windows Phone 7, and now we've got some video of the app in action. According to Mr. Video Narrator, the app has video quality "better than any mobile app we've ever done," thanks to Apple's fancy H.264 Live Streaming capabilities. The UI looks nicely responsive and unobtrusive, and the video does indeed look pretty great in the middle of a 360p YouTube video. It's also clear that the iPad is really becoming a TV-consumption powerhouse, between Hulu Plus, Netflix, ABC, etc., so SlingPlayer looks like a natural fit. How well it will perform when it's out in the wild is another matter, but we look forward to plunking down our $30 soon and finding out for ourselves.

[Thanks, James]

Rumors: Samsung Nexus S using fancy curved display Sprint had to pass on, HTC EVO Shift 4G is the Knight?

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 02:06 PM PST

We've been fed some information by an established tipster today that paints an interesting picture of what sort of Android gear Sprint will -- and won't -- be getting next. First, we're told that the EVO Shift 4G trademark HTC recently filed for is the device known as the Knight, a downsized EVO 4G with a four-row sliding keyboard and a larger battery. Interestingly, as far as our tipster knows, the front-facing camera is off the table -- but in light of all the buzz around video calling these days, we wouldn't be surprised if it had been added back.

Perhaps more interesting, though, is some buzz around the display on the Nexus S. You might remember that we noticed it's concave on the front during its brief reveal at the Web 2.0 summit yesterday, an extraordinarily unusual design element for a full-touch phone. Well, our tipster tells us Samsung's been shopping this curved display technology to carriers for a while -- as early as CES at the beginning of this year behind closed doors -- claiming that its research showed such a design improved perceived usability over a perfectly flat display. Sprint bought the line and wanted to get a curved-display model on shelves in time for the holidays this year, but Sammy was apparently unable to deliver product in the volume it was asking for... so that's where the Nexus S might come into play; seems the Google-branded model could be the first to ship with it. We're unconvinced that it'd be any better, but our judgment is fully reserved until we've got a device in our hands -- which hopefully happens sooner rather than later.

[Image via xda-developers]

Note: Commenters are pointing out that the Dell Venue Pro also has a curved display, but it's a different situation -- that's longitudinally convex glass over a flat display. Here, it's laterally concave -- though we don't know whether the underlying AMOLED component is curved or not.

BlackBerry PlayBook first hands-on! (video)

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 01:19 PM PST

RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie actually declined to show off the his company's tablet today on the Web 2.0 Summit stage, but in private he was more than kind, treating us to a nice long glimpse at the BlackBerry PlayBook in a quaint hotel hallway. We only got to heft the one-pound slate for a few seconds, but we got the basic feel of the device in the hand -- warm to the touch, solid if a little plasticky, with a responsive glass touchscreen up top and a bottom that's mildly rubberized. Balsillie didn't bother to locate the "module cavity" for us, but he did try to explain where those 5300mAh lithium ion cells might hide -- we suspect the CEO exaggerated only slightly when he told us "it's all battery and glass inside." He then wrenched the device forcefully from our unprepared hands (at least that's how we like to think it went down) and proceeded to let us film a brief film showing off the QNX and Air-based OS juggling a spreadsheet, photo gallery and some beautiful underwater footage all at the same time. Hit the break for that hastily-shot video.


Boxee's dramatically changed its interface from the beta released at CES 2010 in January. We actually really liked the old UI -- it was engaging and different, and really highlighted the social aspect of using Boxee. The new UI is... well, it's sort of ugly. It's like a cross between an Apple TV and Roku, all stirred up with some cutesy graphics, and while it may be simpler and easier to get familiar with, it's also much less functional in many ways, particularly when it comes to accessing local media -- getting to your stuff now requires many more clicks, and some of the more robust filtering options have disappeared. We're not the only ones to dislike this change; there's an eight-page petition on Boxee's forums asking for a reversion to 0.9. We doubt Boxee will do anything that drastic, but we are hoping some of the old UI makes its way back into the 1.0 interface over time.

But let's engage this interface on its own terms instead of looking at the past, shall we? At its core, Boxee is all about delivering content from multiple internet sources to you in a seamless and unified way, and you've got plenty of options in that regard. On the bottom half of the main screen you've got a selection of featured apps and videos -- we're quite fond of the Vevo music video app, which is really well done -- and then you've got what essentially amounts to a source list up top.

On the far left, you can select the Friends tab, which pulls in all the video your friends from various services have shared -- if you've got Boxee hooked into Facebook, for example, all the videos your friends post will show up automatically. Boxee tells us this feed is refreshed every time you open the tab, but for us it seemed like it was taking far longer -- we'd like a simple refresh button. Right now the Box supports Facebook, Twitter and Google Buzz, and it appears there's more to come -- Netflix seems like a no-brainer, and the Boxee website lets you add yet more. Then you've got Watch Later, which is a queue of things you've chosen to watch later, Shows and Movies tabs that offer galleries of available content, and finally Apps and Files. We'll get to those last two in a moment, but let's just focus on Friends, Shows, and Movies for a second.

Boxee offers a number of ways to go get content online -- in addition to a partnership with Vudu and upcoming deals with Netflix and Hulu Plus, there's also the web itself. Selecting content from Friends, Shows or Movies pops up a dialog box displaying all the potential sources available -- services, sites, even local media if applicable -- and selecting one means a number of different things might happen. You might get a buffering screen while Boxee pulls down a raw file, as with the Engadget Show. You might get a full-screen Flash player with controls mapped to the Boxee UI and remote from a handful of sites the software understands, as with YouTube. You might open an app and play a video from within that experience. Or you might just get dumped on to a webpage with a tiny Flash player and left to your own devices to make it all work. In all but the last case, Boxee does a commendable job presenting its own UI and offering a unified experience, but it's not perfectly seamless, and the tiny little differences between playback modes seem destined to confuse non-geek users.

Apps are a bit of a different story -- the Boxee Box comes preloaded with a large variety of different apps, and, ah, several more can be unlocked by switching off the adult content filter in settings. (Given Boxee's rebellious history, we can't help but wonder if D-Link knows that switch is there, actually.) Boxee apps aren't really "apps" in the interactive sense -- they're more like custom content interfaces for various web sites, and they don't really try to be much more. As we said above, we're quite fond of the Vevo app, and other apps like Showtime Podcasts, The Big Picture, Auto-Tune The News and TED all provided direct access to their respective content with no added fuss. Whether or not you think having page after page of web video apps on your TV is valuable is up to you, but to us it feels like having an endless amount of Blu-ray extras with no actual movie to watch. That's not to say there isn't great long-form content out there -- we recommend a little something called The Engadget Show -- but out of the gate Boxee's app content is very "web video on your TV," not "TV delivered by the web."

And finally there's local media playback, which is where the Boxee Box thoroughly outclasses its competitors. Avner Ronen said at the launch event that the Box can play back any video format with a three-letter file extension, and we were able to play back virtually every file we threw at it, whether over an SMB network share or loaded up on an SD card. Straight from a camera, pulled off the internet in an unknown format, whatever -- it played. The only issue we ran into was that when faced with either a slow network connection or SD card, hitting play would result in a wait cursor that kicked us back out to the file list, and we'd have to hit play a second time. (Since we were struggling with WiFi to begin with, we ran into this problem quite a bit.) We also agree with Boxee's many fans who want easier access to local files with more robust sorting options -- until Boxee lines up more content deals, the Box's overwhelming strength is local media playback, and it should be a point of emphasis on the main screen, not hidden away in a tab. Boxee says it'll eventually add a preference to prioritize display of local content on the main screens, and the company has also promised manual refresh and hourly scan / update options for network sources -- right now you're limited to scanning sources daily, which is clearly not often enough.

Performance, browser, and Flash


Given our experience with the Intel CE4100-based Google TV devices, we weren't expecting the Boxee Box to light any worlds on fire performance-wise, and we'd classify real-world responsiveness as "acceptable." We've seen Boxee more or less fly when run on actual PCs and even Atom-based nettops, so it's a little sad to see it chug along on the Box, but it's not a killer. Unlike Google, Boxee doesn't think anyone actually wants to browse on the TV -- Avner says the Boxee browser is a "fallback" -- so while you'll wait a tick or two while cueing up a video or loading a web page, the real goal is to watch video, and the Box can certainly do that.

That's not to say we had flawless playback experiences -- we noticed that audio and video sync drifted occasionally, and every now and again we encountered a Flash bug where the audio started and finished well ahead of the video. We also once came back to a Showtime podcast after a long pause to find the sync so unmatched we had to quit and relaunch the video to get it back in order. We also ran into some seriously stuttery playback of an XviD file and a DTS-encoded WAV file -- which also led us to discover that multichannel audio files are only output as PCM, instead of bitstreamed like video files. (We were able to send both DTS and Dolby Digital to our receiver while playing video, if you're curious -- we weren't able to test Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD.) Overall these are all minor issues, but they add up, and in a market this competitive we hoped the Boxee Box would be a lot closer to perfect.

As for browsing, well, we can certainly understand why it's treated as a fallback -- it's serviceable, but as with Google TV, it's slow enough to make you immediately reach for your phone or laptop, and if the speed doesn't bother you, moving the mouse around with the arrow keys will make you run screaming for the hills. (We'll say it again, though: add a trackpad to this remote and it would be perfect.) We also found that Boxee's Flash implementation is just as video-centric as Google TV's -- while it'll play 1080p video without breaking a sweat, a simple Flash game like Canabalt runs at maybe half speed. There's a huge market out there for Flash games on the TV just as soon as someone figures it out -- and we can't for the life of us understand why Boxee's 1.2GHz Atom-based CPU can't run Flash games as well as any netbook or most high-end Android smartphones.

Netflix, Hulu Plus, and content blocking

We'd be remiss in our review if we didn't mention Netflix and Hulu, which are both coming to the Boxee Box. Netflix is due "by the end of the year" and will be in HD, although it sounds like surround audio will remain a PS3 exclusive for the time being. Boxee's even making a special Box remote with a dedicated Netflix button, which sounds crazy to us but apparently makes perfect sense for the huge numbers of people out there who just want Netflix on their TV. As Boxee said to us, "Netflix is different."

As for Hulu, well, first let's just commend these two for working things out. It's an impressive achievement for Boxee to have gone from scrappy underdog rebel to full-on media platform, and getting Hulu to play along is confirmation of the company's newfound status. That said, it's not Hulu on Boxee -- it's Hulu Plus, which'll cost you $10 a month. Visiting Hulu.com pops up a note saying Hulu Plus is coming at some undefined point in the future, and that's it. Same with various other network sites -- just as with Google TV, lots of content is blocked from the Boxee Box browser, and that kills much of the product's value. Boxee is aggressively out there trying to negotiate deals with content owners, and Avner is sincerely passionate in his belief that they'll eventually come around, but don't expect any of this stuff to be resolved when you plug this thing in on Christmas morning.

We should also note that while Vudu is technically on the device at launch, we weren't able to test it -- we just got a dialog box saying it's "coming soon."

Wrap-up

Man, we really want to love the Boxee Box. On paper it's exactly the right blend of streaming content from online services and robust local playback support we've been dreaming of for years -- and having a Webkit browser with Flash as a fallback seems like a perfect compromise to the PC / TV interface dilemma. It also lines up perfectly price-wise: at $199 it offers vastly more features than the $99 Apple TV, but it's cheaper than the much more ambitious $299 Logitech Revue while offering a similar browsing experience. Plus we're pretty much stupid for the remote, save for the lack of trackpad.

Unfortunately, in practice the Boxee Box just isn't polished enough to be worth the hassle right now. The ideas are all there, and our experience with the Boxee team has us confident in their vision and ability to execute, but the Box as shipped feels like less of a finished product than an excellent rough draft of the future. Yes, it's nice having a ton of web content easily accessible on your TV, but that stuff isn't a replacement for the high-quality linear TV content most people want, and Boxee doesn't do a great job of delivering that. Netflix and Hulu Plus will go a long way to filling that gap, but they're not here yet, and while Vudu sounds nice it's just not enough on its own.

What you're left with, then, is an extremely nice media streamer with amazing codec support and tons of potential for the future. That's not a bad purchase if you're in the market for a streamer, and we'd imagine plenty of people will pick one up just for that. We'll just say it: this is the best nerdy streamer box we've ever used. But streamers are almost by definition niche products, and we don't think that's what Boxee's going for here -- hell, if you're nerdy enough to want a streamer, you're nerdy enough to grab a $299 Ion nettop and run Boxee on it, and you'll get better performance with no network content blocks. No, the Boxee Box has to deliver on all that latent potential if it wants to challenge Apple and Google and shake up the staid TV industry, and we just don't think it's there yet -- it lacks both content and polish, and that's a deadly combination.

Boxee says it wants to do major updates twice a year with "many, many" small updates in between, so we're certain many of these issues will be dealt with -- and the content deals feel almost inevitable, given the Boxee team's undeniable charm. Until then, however, we're still waiting for the TV revolution to finally arrive.

Comcast Xfinity remote for iPad does streaming video, we record some for you (video)

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 12:10 PM PST

If you've got Comcast service and an iOS device, there's no reason you can't download the brand spanking new Xfinity TV DVR remote app right now, but it won't have the software's spiffiest feature -- direct-to-device streaming video. That's set to roll out in either "a couple of weeks" or "by the end of the year," depending on which Comcast representative you ask, and we got to try it for ourselves (along with the rest of the app) at the Web 2.0 Summit this week. Right now the featureset is fairly limited -- you just pick programs from a guide and either watch them, beam them to your TV, or tell your DVR to record -- but what is there was leagues more intuitive than a physical remote and about as responsive as we could hope for. Comcast tells us that Apple itself helped insure the user experience was polished, and it showed in every swipe and tap we made. Find out more and watch the app in action after the break!


Right now content is divided into three silos, TV Listings, On Demand and (in the prototype version we saw) Play Now, with the first a touchscreen TV guide, the second Comcast's traditional video-on-demand and pay-per-view offerings, and the last streaming video content from the likes of Starz, Showtime and HBO. You'll only be able to watch streaming shows from the premium channels you already pay for, of course. Avatar looked pretty good, albeit letterboxed on the iPad's 4:3 screen, and over a good WiFi connection the app was able to jump from spot to spot in the film with no perceptible delay.

Comcast reps told us the company's getting so many suggestions for ways to improve the app that it's going to try to issue new updates every month, with streaming video the first out of the gate, followed by (in no particular order) the ability to manage and delete DVR recordings, suggest new programming using push notifications, and emulate the regular set of buttons on a standard Comcast remote. If that sounds like yet another reason to make the iPad the center of your home, however, don't run out to the Apple Store quite yet -- Comcast's hastily working on versions for BlackBerry, Android, and even your web browser too, in the quest to make all our personal computers bow to the power of cable. We're finding it hard to complain.

MeeGo 1.1 spotted running on Moorestown hardware, blowing minds

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 12:02 PM PST

Love application launchers? Application switching? Open source software running on non-commercial hardware? You're going to love this video. MeeGo 1.1 has been spotted on Aava-built, Intel Moorestown-powered hardware. It appears, in fact, to be that Virta 2 smartphone development kit of theirs (which already managed MeeGo 1 just fine), thought it's a little hard to tell in the dim lighting the MeeGo event coordinators chose to set the mood for Linux love. Not a ton of the OS is shown off in the video above, but there are some nice transitions and smooth scrolling. That Firefox load time has miles to go, however. Mainly we're just excited to see something that isn't ARM running a next-gen smartphone OS (no offense, ARM), and we're looking forward to seeing where MeeGo lands on the Android / webOS / guy-in-garage continuum of Linux-based smartphones.

Jim Balsillie says BlackBerry PlayBook has a 'module cavity,' hints at NFC capabilities

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 11:19 AM PST

He unfortunately didn't have one on hand (or at least on stage), but RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie did make a bit of news about the BlackBerry PlayBook at the now-happening Web 2.0 Summit. The first is that the tablet packs what Balsillie described as a "module cavity" -- the most obvious use for which would be to add WWAN capabilities to the WiFi-only model (something Balsillie himself suggested), although the possibilities certainly extend far beyond that. Balsillie also later mused a bit about NFC capabilities, stating that "we'd be fools not to have it in the near-term, and we are not fools." That's obviously in relation to BlackBerry phones in general and not just the PlayBook, but it does seem like a prime candidate for that aforementioned "module cavity," which we really hope is not the final name.

Dynamics' credit card-based computing platform makes what little money you have more secure (video)

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 10:21 AM PST

Some folks are trying to replace your credit card with your cellphone, while Dynamics, Inc. is among those trying to make credit cards better. And you know what? We seldom get excited by such things, but this video from the CES New York press preview has us seriously itching to upgrade our plastic. Card 2.0 is the computing platform powering the new Citi cards that re-write the magnetic strip depending on whether you want to spend you cash or your rewards points. The technology fits snugly in your credit card, is waterproof, has a battery life upwards of four years, allows multiple accounts on a single card, and even can be used to require a PIN before displaying the card number. This is some pretty awesome stuff indeed -- but don't take our word for it! Get a peep yourself in the video after the break.

[Thanks, Dave]
at 11:53 AM

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

My Blog List