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Monday, December 13, 2010

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Engadget's Holiday Gift Guide: Docks and Alarm Clocks

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 10:30 AM PST

Welcome to the Engadget Holiday Gift Guide! The team here is well aware of the heartbreaking difficulties of the seasonal shopping experience, and we want to help you sort through the trash and come up with the treasures this year. Below is today's bevy of hand curated picks, and you can head back to the Gift Guide hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the holiday season.
Portable media players: from grandma to the nieces and nephews, it seems like everybody's got one. But if they're only using it on the road, they're not getting their money's worth. That's why we've assembled this selection of alarm clocks and docks for every locale and every budget, with the features your loved one will need to get the most out of their device.

Stocking stuffers


iLuv App Station iMM190

Perfect for either the cubicle or bedside table, the heart of the App Station is its alarm clock app, which features wake-to-playlist, temperature notifications, and more. The App Station also features two bases, so it can sit in either landscape or portrait mode, which is great for running any of your other software, regardless of their orientation (hence the name App Station).

Key specs: Functions in landscape and portrait mode, iLuv alarm clock app

Price: $90

For the light sleeper...

Sony Nature Sounds Clock Radio - $60

It's an alarm clock, it features a 3.5mm audio input for your MP3 player du jour, it can project the time on the ceiling, and it boasts not one but five "soothing nature sounds!" Perfect for both the forest ranger and the new age meditation aficionado in your life.

For the bold...

Altec Lansing Octiv Mini - $40

Featuring that "slanted black cube" motif the kids seem to love these days, the Octiv Mini is easy on the eyes -- and the pocketbook. To get the most bang for your buck you'll want to download the iPhone / iPod touch alarm clock app, although this one is compatible with whichever iPod your loved one is currently using.


Oh, you shouldn't have


iHome iA100 iPad stereo speaker system

Just the thing for your favorite iPad owner, the iHome iA100 iPad stereo speaker system is a Bluetooth-enabled FM radio / alarm clock compatible with iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. If that weren't enough, the iHome+Sleep app download features custom alarm and nap settings, sleep stats, social media integration, weather, news, and Bongiovi digital signal processing. That's right -- this thing is a beast.

Key specs: Supports iPad and Bluetooth audio, iHome+Sleep app

Price: $200

For the office...


Sony ICF-CL75iP - $130

Offering more than your average dock, this multi-function LCD clock / radio / iPod dock features a 7-inch display for photos and videos, 1GB of internal memory, support for external storage via MemoryStick, SD card, and USB drive, audio player and more. Maybe it's overkill, but you'll probably make someone very happy with this bad boy.

For the beach...

Logitech S715i - $150

Not only does this look pretty badass, the Logitech S715i is highly regarded for those of us who want great sound quality at a decent price point. There's no fancy app, clock radio, or radio tuner with this guy, just an iPhone / iPod connector and a built-in rechargeable battery that boasts eight hours of use -- which will probably be a decent trade-off for most.

We can't afford the rent now, can we?


Pioneer AV Series XW-NAV1K-K Docking Station for iPod

Speaking of full featured, Pioneer's XW-NAV1K-K Docking Station sports 2.1 speakers, HDMI, component video, and composite video out, Bluetooth audio streaming, a DVD/CD player, FM tuner, USB connectivity for external storage, CD-to-MP3 ripping, and "scaling of DVD video to 1080p near HD resolution." Sure beats that hair brush you were going to buy Della (besides, she already sold her hair to buy a chain for your pocket watch).

Key specs: rips CDs, plays DVDs, HDMI out

Price: $200

For extras in Larry Clark films...

Altec Lansing Mix iMT800 - $300

This is definitely the one for the misbehaving teen in your life. It looks like your old ghetto blaster, but instead of a cassette deck this thing features an iPod / iPhone connector, a 5.25-inch side-firing subwoofer, and two aux inputs. Runs on mains power or eight D-cell batteries.

For Wall Street fat cats...

Bang & Olufsen BeoSound 8 - $1,000

If money is no object (and the gadget lover in your life lives in a Logan's Run-esque palace of straight, fluid lines and simple geometric shapes) the BeoSound 8 is definitely the way to go. Features include a dock connector for iPad / iPhone / iPod, audio cable input, and optional wall mount.

Kaleidescape launches 100-disc Blu-ray movie server

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 10:09 AM PST

Kaleidescape has fulfilled its promise of launching the industry's first Blu-ray server by releasing its new 100-disc Blu-ray disc vault we saw at CEDIA that, when paired with its M300 or M500 players, can rip, store, and stream copies of Blu-ray movies throughout the home. However, despite its pricetag of $1,495 (plus $2,500+ for the player) there's still some serious restrictions -- each disc vault has to be connected to an individual player, and the discs have to remain in the vault for the player to stream their ripped copies over the network. Sony's 400 disc changer can store more movies, but this should load them faster and offer easy browsing with cover art and title info. We suppose this is the "simplest" ripping solution available for now, but a year and a half later we're still wondering if Blu-ray's Managed Copy feature will ever launch and make a legitimate movie jukebox option a reality.

Show full PR text
Kaleidescape Introduces Industry's First Blu-ray Movie Server

Pristine Digital Storage of Blu-ray Discs for Instant Playback throughout the Home


SUNNYVALE, CA - December 13, 2010 - Kaleidescape, Inc., creator of the movie server product category, today announced shipment of the industry's first Blu-ray movie server. The Kaleidescape System stores exact copies of your Blu-ray Discs on its hard drives, and transforms your collection of movies into a magical experience. Kaleidescape's simple and elegant user interface makes choosing something to watch part of the fun.
"Blu-ray offers the highest fidelity for my discerning clients, but if you thought watching a DVD was frustrating, just try a Blu-ray Disc," said Jeff Cherun, owner of Teatro Custom Installation, Inc. in Los Angeles, California. "With the Kaleidescape System you're enjoying any of your Blu-ray movies in seconds instead of minutes. My customers will never go back to an ordinary Blu-ray player."
The Kaleidescape Movie Guide enables an unparalleled movie-watching experience. High resolution cover art combined with a brief synopsis of each film and many other details make it entertaining to explore your collection of movies. Video bookmarks and triggers enable the system to start a movie instantly and automatically adjust lighting, curtains and screen masking during playback. With over 145,000 titles, Kaleidescape's exclusive Movie Guide is the largest database of its kind.
"The simplicity and elegance that we have achieved for watching Blu-ray movies required significant hardware and software innovation, legal analysis and user interface design," said Michael Malcolm, Kaleidescape's founder, chairman and CEO. "My family and I enjoy the freedom to jump to a favorite scene in a movie or to any song in a concert. For the first time, all of our Blu-ray movies are literally at our fingertips, at any screen in our home."
The new Kaleidescape Modular Disc Vault completes the Kaleidescape Blu-ray movie server. Paired with a Kaleidescape M-Class player, the disc vault imports, houses, and organizes your Blu-ray Discs. The copies stored on the server are then ready for instant playback. With a capacity of 100 discs, the Modular Disc Vault simplifies ownership by automating the import process. Any number of Modular Disc Vaults may be added to a system, but each must be connected to its own M-Class player.
The Modular Disc Vault is priced at $1,495 MSRP in the United States and Canada, and is available now. The M500 Player and M300 Player have been shipping since May 2010 and are priced at $3,995 and $2,495 MSRP, respectively, in the United States and Canada. Any Kaleidescape System can be upgraded to be a Blu-ray movie server with the addition of an M-Class player and a Modular Disc Vault.

About Kaleidescape
Kaleidescape designs and manufactures the world's leading DVD and Blu-ray movie servers, bringing lifestyle convenience to families with young children and movie enthusiasts. The Kaleidescape System, renowned for its intuitive user interface, presents your entire collection of movies on any TV in your home, and provides a rich, cinematic experience for the entire family. Kaleidescape's innovative products and services are protected by over 50 patents issued and pending. Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, Kaleidescape sells its movie servers through custom installation dealers and distributors throughout the world. For more information, please visit www.kaleidescape.com.
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Clear iSpot gets easy web-based 'jailbreak'

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 09:46 AM PST

For hackers, Clear must have known that its iSpot mobile hotspot would be hard to resist -- $100 for the device contract-free plus unlimited WiMAX for $25 a month is a pretty insane deal, after all, and the only catch is that they try to lock non-iOS devices out of the action. Indeed, it took mere hours for unlocks to start coming out of the woodwork, but now it's easier than ever: the developer of one of the original iSpot hacks has circled back to create a new unlock that requires nothing more than a couple link clicks while you're on a machine connected to the hotspot. How is that possible? Turns out there's a vulnerability that makes it possible to execute arbitrary commands on the iSpot through web code, and Clear hasn't yet updated the firmware to patch it. On that note, the developer tells us that there are actually some iPads that aren't able to connect to the iSpot without the hack, ostensibly because Apple is using some MAC addresses that the iSpot's current firmware isn't expecting -- so ironically, you might need this "jailbreak" just to use the thing the way Clear intended. As always with these sorts of things, proceed with caution -- we don't have an iSpot lying around to try this ourselves, so let us know how it goes.

Fraunhofer IIS uses Awiloc indoor positioning magic to guide museum patrons

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 09:22 AM PST

If you've been to a museum in the past year and change, chances are you've been coerced into ponying up an extra five bones for some sort of handheld apparatus. Supposedly, these things accompany patrons and enhance the experience, but more often than not, you're stuck with a grimy audio device that tells you little more than you brother Bob, who is undoubtedly tagging along behind and educating everyone in a 50 foot radius. Folks who choose to spend their time waltzing through the Museum of Industrial Culture in Nuremberg, however, have it better. The Fraunhofer IIS has developed a new technology for WLAN-based positioning, and unlike conventional GPS approaches, Awiloc actually works indoors. As the story goes, visitors to the museum can grab a handheld that follows their movement and then shows them what they're facing (or aren't facing, for that matter) in detail. Of course, they could also use the tracking data to see which exhibits were drawing the most attention if they were smart, but how exactly would the privacy advocate in you feel about that?
Show full PR text
Individual museum tour: Launch of a new WLAN-based guide system at the Museum of Industrial Culture in Nuremberg

Presseinformation 11.11.2010

Visitors to the Museum of Industrial culture now have the opportunity to discover the exhibition in a very special way. A mobile multimedia guide system offers detailed background information based on the current location of the user.

WLAN-basiertes Führungssystem

The mobile device calculates continuously the visitor position and displays the current location as well as which surrounding exhibition pieces additional information is available for. The visitor can then choose which exhibits he would like to learn more about in the form of videos, animations, audio samples or photographs. With the new guide system, the visitor always remains in control and can explore the exhibition according to his own interests. Matthias Murko, Director of the Museum, is enthusiastic about the system: "The visitor finishes the exhibition in the present. Now he is guided by technology of the future."

Typical location detection systems such as GPS run up against their limits when used indoors. For this reason, the researchers at Fraunhofer IIS developed awiloc®, a technology for WLAN- based positioning indoors and in cities that can determine locations with a level of precision down to a few meters. "The design of the Museum of Industrial Culture with both small rooms and large open spaces poses particular challenges with regard to position detection. Our task was to ensure consistently good locating results for the visitors,"says Steffen Meyer, who leads the awiloc® development at Fraunhofer IIS.

The guide system was developed and implemented by the company art2guide. Over 180 film, audio and text contributions were produced in total. "The multimedia guide primarily offers users supplemental information on the exhibits, covering new facets that previously could not be presented. For example, Count Anton Wolfgang von Faber-Castell explains his personal family and company history in an interview," explains Markus Prosenz from art2guide. "We combined the positioning technology with a new, user-friendly interface to create a guide system offering previously unexplored possibilities for teaching and higher levels of user-friendliness," continues Prosenz. This pilot project, which was carried out in close collaboration between the Museum of Industrial Culture, art2guide and Fraunhofer IIS, has set new standards in conveying information in terms of both content and technology. The system will be tested in Nuremberg until the end of the year, after which it should also be used in other museums.

New Kindle sells 'millions,' bests all 2009 Kindle sales

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 08:54 AM PST

Amazon has left us with no choice: making sales conclusions based on a single additional letter. The company, notoriously vague on Kindle sales, has announced that "in just the first 73 days of this holiday quarter, we've already sold millions of our all-new Kindles." In other words, at least two million, and more for Kindle overall if you consider DX (still on sale) and the recent lightning deal blowout of the Kindle 2. Amazon's Department of Creative Statistics also noted that this elusive sales figure is greater than all its Kindle sales in 2009. How many is that, you ask? No idea -- we know "millions" were sold between 2007 and 2009, but parsing it out further would only unravel a mystery Encyclopedia Brown has been spending pages and pages to solve -- and still has a ways to go.

Judge throws out Paul Allen's massive patent suit, Allen plans to continue

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 08:31 AM PST

Remember the massive patent lawsuit leveled at Apple, Google, AOL, Facebook, ebay, Netflix, and a number of other companies by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen? Well, it's now hit something of a snag -- a federal judge dismissed the case on Friday, stating that Allen's suit "failed to identify the infringing products or devices with any specificity," and that the court and defendants were basically "left to guess what devices infringe on the four patents." For his part, Allen apparently plans to persevere with the patent fight, and said through a spokesman that the dismissal was merely a "procedural issue," and that "the case is staying on track" -- Allen now has until December 28th to file an amended complaint.

MetroPCS follows Cricket's lead, launches Huawei's Ascend budget Android phone

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 08:08 AM PST

Huawei's really starting to make a splash in the American smartphone market, breaking into the Big Four with the launch of the T-Mobile Comet not long ago -- but it's the budget regionals where these guys might have a chance to dominate. MetroPCS has taken a cue from archrival Cricket in launching Huawei's Ascend today, offering a 3.5-inch HVGA display, 3.2 megapixel camera, and microSD memory expansion to 16GB atop Android 2.1. The $179 they're asking seems a bit steep for the specs until you remember that MetroPCS offers its hardware contract-free -- and it'll save you a dime or two over the carrier's name-brand Android offering, the Optimus M from LG. It's available today; follow the break for the full press release.

Show full PR text
MetroPCS Adds to Its Handset Lineup With Affordable Android Phone

New Huawei Ascend Android smartphone arrives just in time for the holidays

DALLAS, Dec. 13, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- MetroPCS Communications, Inc. (NYSE: PCS) today launched a new handset sure to entice last-minute holiday shoppers who are looking for the latest technology at an incredible value. The Huawei Ascend™ is available today in MetroPCS stores and online at www.metropcs.com.

An entry-level smartphone powered by the Android 2.1 (Eclair) operating system (OS), the Huawei Ascend is a perfect match for consumers wanting to move from a feature phone to a smartphone. The intuitive OS and nine customizable home screens make it easy to organize and get quick access to widgets, shortcuts, apps and social networks, and users can update their Facebook status or Tweet from the home screen. With smartphone plans starting at $50 per month with no annual contract, the Huawei Ascend is priced at $179-a great value for an Android device offering key features such as:

* Access to more than 100,000 apps in the Android Market™, in addition to games, ringtones and wallpapers available through the @metro App Store™
* A 3.5-inch HVGA auto-rotate touchscreen with onscreen QWERTY keyboard for easy text input
* 3.2 MP camera and camcorder to shoot and share images and video with friends and family
* Easy Wi-Fi® connectivity – automatically connect to Wi-Fi hotspots nationwide


"Our customers desire more choices and are looking for the latest handsets and services that fit their personalities, lifestyles and budgets," said Tom Keys, chief operating officer of MetroPCS. "With the addition of this device, we are again expanding our portfolio to provide our customers with a chance to experience the latest technology with the value of affordable, flexible and predictable no annual contract wireless services."

MetroPCS customers can also enjoy Metro USA(SM) with nationwide unlimited talk, text and web services and no annual contract service plans with taxes and regulatory fees included.

For more information, please visit:

Details on rate plans and service features: www.metropcs.com/plans

Press resources: www.metropcs.com/presscenter

Follow MetroPCS on Twitter: www.twitter.com/metropcs

Become a fan of MetroPCS on Facebook: www.facebook.com/metropcs

View MetroPCS' latest videos: www.YouTube.com/metropcs

About MetroPCS Communications, Inc.

Dallas-based MetroPCS Communications, Inc. is a provider of unlimited wireless communications service for a flat-rate with no annual contract. MetroPCS is the fifth largest facilities-based wireless carrier in the United States based on number of subscribers served. With MetroUSA(SM), MetroPCS customers can use their services in areas throughout the United States covering a population of over 280 million people. As of September 30, 2010, MetroPCS had approximately 7.9 million subscribers. For more information please visit www.metropcs.com.

MetroPCS related brands, product names, company names, trademarks, service marks, images, symbols, copyrighted material, and other intellectual property are the exclusive properties of MetroPCS Wireless, Inc. and its subsidiaries, parent companies, and affiliates. Copyright ©2010 MetroPCS Wireless, Inc.

Creative ZiiO 10 follows little brother into the halls of FCC

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 07:44 AM PST

Two haikus:
FCC archives,
The Creative ZiiO 10.
Seven was there first.

Manual reminds
A lack of Android market.
Gallery's below.
Creative ZiiO 10 in FCC

MSI to reintroduce WindPad tablets at CES, claims Oak Trail improves performance and battery life

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 07:19 AM PST

You'll remember that back at Computex MSI introduced two tablets or so-called WinPads -- there was the Windows 7 / Atom slate and another one of the Android / ARM variety. Well, MSI is planning to resurrect those with some slight improvements for CES, and this time it's gearing up to actually release them both. First up is the 10.1-inch Windows 7 Home Premium version, which will be one of the first Intel Atom Oak Trail-powered devices out there, says the company. According to MSI's Director of North American Sales Andy Tung, Intel's tablet solution does show both battery life and performance improvements over the current Atom chips, but it's "not extremely significant." Based on our discussion with Tung, we got the feeling that it's a step in the right direction for Atom but still not as long-lasting as it needs to be to compete with ARM-based tablets. Beyond that, the tablet measures less than an inch thick and will have a 1024 x 600-resolution, multitouch display, mini-HDMI and mini-USB ports, an SD card slot, and an accelerometer. Tung wasn't ready to reveal pricing, but he said it should be available in early 2011.

On the Android side of things, MSI's got a dual-core Tegra 2-powered 10.1-inch, 1280 x 800-resolution slate prepped with the same selection of ports and features -- although, this one is slightly thinner and also has a drop-proof design. So, what version of Android will it run? Well, that depends on Google's timing, says Tung. If Android 3.0 or Honeycomb is available by the February / March timeframe MSI will go with that option -- however, if it's not, it will go with Gingerbread, so it can hit the market earlier in 2011. We have to say both tablets sound rather intriguing, but will they be able to go up against the hundreds of others coming at CES: The Tablet Year? We'll know more in Vegas, that's for sure!

Cobra's PhoneLynx BT 215 Bluetooth adapter keeps your RCA landline handset ringing (in a sense)

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 06:56 AM PST

So, your RCA 25055RE1 cordless landline phone is a lot more comfortable to hold upside your cranium for hours on end compared to that [insert smartphone here], but you aren't about to reinstate the phone service that you axed half a decade ago. What's a boy (or girl) to do? Enter Cobra's PhoneLynx BT 215, a Bluetooth-to-home phone adapter that funnels any call you receive on your cellphone to any handset that you connect to the peripheral. Better still, it's capable of distributing calls to multiple landline handsets at once, enabling the whole family to talk to Uncle Rickie when he phones in this holiday season. Oh, and did we mention that it creates a dial tone when you pick up the aforesaid RCA handset while also pushing calls out via your cellphone? You can get your retro on now for around $35.

Eizo announces more detail on glasses-free 3D DuraVision LCD, releases more pics of this BBW

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 06:33 AM PST

Eizo announces more detail on glasses-free 3D DuraVision LCD, releases more pics of this BBW
You admired its bezels two weeks ago when Eizo released the first details to the world, now wonder at its full specs and more details. The company has released a spec sheet confirming the 1920 x 1080 resolution and 23-inch size, also detailing how it works. The monitor uses a directional backlight and a time lag to effectively hit each eye individually through the same pixel, enabling that high resolution in a small panel but still delivering glasses-free performance. Eizo pledges no moiré, color distortion, or other issues typically seen in glasses-free displays, but this tech will surely not come cheap when it ships in the second quarter of 2011. How do we know? Anticipated applications for the FDF2301-3D include scanning electron microscopes and semiconductor inspections -- playing Killzone 3 is sadly not listed.
Eizo Duravision FDF2301-3D

Senate approves Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act, ensures a future for noise pollution

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 06:10 AM PST

http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/24/prius-gets-optional-underhood-zombie-deterring-noisemaker-soun/
If you've been lucky enough to occupy the driver's seat of a hybrid or electric vehicle you've surely enjoyed the bliss that comes from smoothly and silently pulling away from a stoplight. You've also, surely, run over at least a couple of pedestrians while doing it. (We hit at least eight of the poor souls during our latest Volt test drive.) Sadly, here comes John Kerry and the rest of the US Senate to ruin our Carmageddon-esque fun. The Senate has unanimously approved the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act, which requires:
...minimum level of sound emitted from a motor vehicle that is necessary to provide blind and other pedestrians with the information needed to reasonably detect a nearby electric or hybrid vehicle operating at or below the cross-over speed
How much sound? Well, they haven't figured that out yet, nor have they figured out up to what speed it must be required, nor what sort of noise is required, but by golly there will be noise. Those answers will in theory be found through the course of a study that will take no more than 48 months to complete, leaving us wonder if current noisemaker options on the Volt, Leaf, and Prius will meet the need. Regardless, if you want a quiet car you'd better start your financing.

Sony announces suite of SD cards for cameras that don't work with Sticks

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 05:19 AM PST

Sony has announced three (count 'em) new series of SD cards, giving amateurs, pros, and prosumers alike even more choices on where to stick their pics. First up is the budget Essential Series in 2, 4, and 8GB capacities, offering Class 4 (4MB/s) speeds and little else. Next up is the similarly Class 4 Experience Series, which adds 16 and 32GB models to the list. Finally is the full-bore, Class 10 Expert Series in 8, 16, and 32GB capacities. This is obviously your choice for high bitrate HD recording (hello PMW-F3), but any should do just fine for taking pictures. All come with a handy "memo space" for those with petite handwriting and ultra-fine point pens, and all ship in January, but, alas, none have been assigned MSRPs just yet. Now, who said Sony doesn't like industry-standard formats?


Show full PR text
Sony has expanded its family of premium-quality memory cards to meet the growing needs of today's digital imaging users.

There's now a choice of three SDHC card ranges by Sony. The perfect partner for your Cyber-shot™, Handycam®, α NEX or DSLR camera, they're also a great match for SD/SDHC-compatible cameras, camcorders and devices from all manufacturers. The affordable Essential Series and value-added Experience Series are joined by the flagship Expert Series for photo users who demand class-leading capacity and transfer speeds.

The new family of SD memory cards by Sony reflects ever-increasing resolution and performance of today's digital cameras and Full HD camcorders. Innovations like high-speed burst shooting, 3D and Sweep Panorama by Sony are all driving demand for higher media capacities and faster transfer rates. Reflecting this trend, Sony now offers a choice
of SD cards to suit every need – from casual photography to the most data-intensive imaging applications.

All new SD cards by Sony are attractively presented with environmentally-friendly new eco packaging. There's also a handy memo space on each card for handwritten titles and other notes.

High performance Expert Series: up to 22MB/s (Class 10) SDHC card, available in 8GB, 16GB & 32GB capacities
The brand new EXPERT Series of high-speed SD cards is ideal for memory-hungry applications, from Full HD video to continuous burst shooting and 3D imaging. Supporting super-fast data transfer speeds up to 22MB/s, the SF-32NX/16NX/8NX is a no-compromise solution for storing and sharing high-resolution video and still images captured with your DSLR camera, compact system camera or Full HD camcorder.

Value-added Experience Series: up to 15MB/s (Class 4) SDHC card, available in 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, 16GB & 32GB capacities
Available in capacities from 2GB up to 32GB, the versatile EXPERIENCE Series of SD cards copes effortlessly with a wide range of imaging applications. Supporting data transfer speeds up to 15MB/s, it's a perfect choice for shooting stills and Full HD video with your DSLR camera or camcorder.

Entry-level Essential Series: (Class 4) SDHC card, available in 2GB, 4GB & 8GB capacities
Offering excellent value, the general purpose ESSENTIAL Series of SD memory cards is an essential add-on for boosting the storage capacity of your entry-level digital camera or camcorder. It's also a convenient choice for storing and transferring digital music and gaming data.

Reflecting the needs of today's digital imaging customers, Sony now offers a complete photo solution that teams high-quality storage media with powerful, easy-to-use software and utilities. Offered free to Experience and Expert Series card owners, two valuable applications enhance storage, sharing and enjoyment of your digital images and video clips.

File Rescue HD* software – now with world-first AVCHD video file support
From accidentally-deleted folders to disconnected transfer cables, camera users everywhere know the frustration of lost, damaged or erased image files.

Now help is at hand if you think you've said goodbye to precious photos and video clips from your digital camera or camcorder – whether it's from Sony or another manufacturer. Available as a free download for customers of EXPERT and EXPERIENCE series SD cards, new File Rescue Version HD can recover as many as 90%** of mistakenly deleted image files. In a world first by Sony, this easy-to-use file recovery software can now retrieve AVCHD movies recorded with any brand of camera/camcorder alongside JPEG, MPEG-1 and MP4 files.

x-Pict Story™ software for Memory Card
Also available as a free software download for Experience and Expert Series card owners, new x-Pict Story™ software by Sony brings your collection of digital images to life.

This easy-to-use package combines your favourite photos and music with beautiful visual effects and transitions to create professional-looking presentations, with no special skills needed.

Integration with Picture Motion Browser software by Sony makes it quick and easy to upload slideshows to sharing sites like YouTube™ or Facebook™ with a few clicks.

In addition to the current Experience Series, the new range of Expert and Experience Series SDHC removable memory cards by Sony are available from January 2011.

**source: Sony EMCS customer support report of current version

Roku drops new firmware in time for the holidays, XR gets 1080p, Hulu optimization for all

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 04:51 AM PST

Roku drops new firmware in time for the holidays, XR gets 1080p, Hulu optimization for all
If you're an owner of one of the early Roku XR units and have been left on the 720p bench while the newer models step up to full HD, it's time to get in the game. Roku has released a firmware update (2.9-b1509) that unleashes the necessary pixels on the XR, also including some niceties for those models that can already do 1080p. The full list is at the source link, but look for improved performance for viewing Hulu along with a suite of bug fixes. Leave your box running and it'll update itself, or if you want it now you can grab it manually under "Settings," "Player Info," "Check for Updates." Yeah, you know you want to.

Aigo's iPhone 4 battery case internalizes your charge cable, InCase Snap Battery lightens the load

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 04:11 AM PST

Our quest for the perfect iPhone 4 battery case continues apace with the Exolife Exogear presently holding the lead, slightly ahead of the Mophie Juice Pack Air and the Mili PowerSpring. Just like these fine selections, the Aigo aiPower i616 claims to "virtually double" battery life, but it's got another trick up its sleeve: a hidden USB ribbon cable for both charging and data built right into the case. Should you want for a longer sync cable than it provides on its own, there's also a second microUSB port built into the left side, as well as a switch for the external 1500mAh battery and a handy button to display its current level of charge. Not bad for a pleasantly comparable 125.8 x 62.6 x 17.25mm, nor the $80 asking price.

If you're looking for something a little more svelte, however, the $60 InCase Snap Battery might be more to your liking -- it adds a 900mAh battery in a soft-touch frame that InCase claims is the slimmest around. We can't say it looks like it offers much protection, only covering the corners and rear of the phone, but fashion has long been a harsh mistress to those who obey her siren call.

Google hides mathematical puzzle in Cr-48 video, rewards its solver with a laptop

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 03:21 AM PST

Watching Google destroy Cr-48 laptops for fun can't have been easy for any of you, but it turns out that the wily geeks of Mountain View had a clandestine purpose to their malevolence after all. An equation, scribbled out in old school chalk in the background of one scene, attracted the attention of a Sylvain Zimmer, who, together with a group of like-minded geeks, set about trying to solve it and discover its meaning. A full day's worth of cryptographic work later, Sylvain was left with a set of numbers he was able to convert into letters, which in turned spelled out "speed and destroy." Appending goo.gl, Google's URL shortener, to the front of those words got him to a screen congratulating him for being "first to figure out our MENSA-certified puzzle" and promising to send him a Cr-48 laptop as his prize. Kudos to Sylvain... and to Google for being such irrepressible geeks.

Google Latitude lands in iTunes App Store, for good this time

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 02:49 AM PST

After making a false start last week, the official Latitude app from Google seems to have stuck its landing in the iTunes App Store. Surprisingly for an initial release, Latitude is already showing a 2.0.0.346 version number demonstrating, perhaps, just how long this one's been waiting for Phil Schiller's sanction. Whatever the case, there's never been a better opportunity for iOS 4 users to track down their very own Ana Leftin.

World's first Nissan Leaf delivered -- it's black, like the future of gas-powered cars

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 02:02 AM PST

Somebody at Nissan knows how to keep to a calendar, it seems, as the promised December US deliveries of the Leaf began over this weekend. A big deal was made out of the first one's arrival, a shiny black number purchased by Olivier Chalouhi from the San Francisco Bay Area, which will be accompanied by Leafs landing across the other launch markets of Arizona, Southern California, Oregon, Seattle, and Tennessee. A second batch of Nissan's all-electric hatchbacks is coming on December 20th, with the company promising a nationwide US launch for 2012. In the meantime, Hawaii and Texas will be the next locales to join the fun early in 2011 and reservations will be reopened soon thereafter. Sadly, some "additional markets" are expected to be pushed into the latter half of the year -- guess Nissan knows how to use a calendar to mark off its delays too.
Show full PR text
12.10.2010 , SAN FRANCISCO

NISSAN TO MAKE HISTORY WITH DELIVERY OF WORLD'S FIRST 100% ELECTRIC NISSAN LEAF TO CALIFORNIA CONSUMER

North Bay Nissan of Petaluma to deliver 100% electric car on Saturday; Press conference to follow after procession to San Francisco City Hall

Tomorrow, Nissan North America Inc. (NNA) will make history by bringing sustainable mobility to the mass market, with the world's first delivery of a Nissan LEAF all-electric vehicle. Olivier Chalouhi, a San Francisco Bay Area resident and the first person in the United States to place a Nissan LEAF order, will take delivery of his black Nissan LEAF SL at North Bay Nissan of Petaluma. The delivery will be followed by a press conference at San Francisco City Hall Plaza. This groundbreaking moment represents the first delivery of an affordable, mass-market, all-electric car since the first days of the automotive era.

Chalouhi, a 31-year-old entrepreneur is the founder of Fanhattan, a venture-backed stealth start-up in the connected TV space, where he serves as chief technology officer. He currently lives in Redwood City, Calif, with his wife, Jana, and their two children and holds a master's degree in computer science from the French Aeronautical and Space School. Before purchasing his Nissan LEAF, Chalouhi commuted to work on an electric bicycle.

"Electricity is the new fuel for cars, and the Nissan LEAF has the potential to transform the automotive industry and the way people drive," said Carlos Tavares, Chairman, Nissan Americas. "Starting today, drivers have the freedom to choose a future that produces zero tailpipe emissions, moves away from our dependence on fossil fuels, and represents the end of trips to the gas station. This Nissan LEAF delivery is the first of thousands and signifies the dawn of a movement that brings sustainable mobility to within our grasp."

The San Francisco Bay Area events kick off more than a week of festivities, as Nissan delivers the first Nissan LEAF vehicles to each of its primary launch markets in Southern California, Arizona, Oregon, Seattle and Tennessee. Nissan also is donating $25,000 to the World Wildlife Fund to mark the occasion.

"San Francisco is committed to make the Bay Area the top EV market in America, and the fact that San Francisco is the number one market in the nation for Nissan LEAF ownership reservations is proof we're on our way," said San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. "We are proud that Bay Area resident is the very first owner of a LEAF, anywhere in the world. We congratulate Olivier Chalouhi and the thousands of other Bay Area residents who soon will be driving electric cars, leading the way to climate friendly transportation."

In all of these first markets, Nissan has formed partnerships with local, regional and state governments along with utilities to foster the development of electric vehicle-friendly policies and an EV-charging infrastructure. Sonoma County, the home of North Bay Nissan, marks among the first of such partnership agreements. The delivery of these first Nissan LEAFs also marks a milestone for The EV Project, a research and charging infrastructure deployment project funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. The first Nissan LEAF owners in San Diego and Arizona are participants in The EV Project, the largest EV infrastructure deployment project ever undertaken. AeroVironment Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV) is working with Nissan to supply and install home charging docks for Nissan LEAF customers, nationwide, including Chalouhi as well as first customers in Oregon, Seattle and Tennessee.

The initial Nissan LEAF deliveries will be followed by a second shipment of Nissan LEAF electric cars scheduled to arrive on Dec. 20 and destined for consumer driveways in time for the holidays. Nissan is on track for a nationwide launch of the Nissan LEAF by 2012, with Hawaii and Texas next to roll out in early 2011. In order to fulfill interest and meet demand in initial launch markets, Nissan plans to reopen reservations in the first half of 2011 as well as shift timing of additional markets until the second half of 2011.

In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. Nissan is dedicated to improving the environment under the Nissan Green Program 2010 and has been recognized as a 2010 ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency. More information on Nissan in North America, the Nissan LEAF and zero emissions can be found at www.nissanusa.com.

CE Oh no he didn't!: Time Warner chief likens Netflix threat to Albanian army

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 01:12 AM PST

Think the relationship between Netflix and cable and content executives is amicable? Not. Even. Close. Certainly not after Netflix CEO Reed Hastings blazed a trail into the living room on the strength of the company's streaming television and movie content originally made possible by a shrewd 2008 deal with Starz. A move that netted streaming access rights to Sony and Disney content for an estimated $25 million -- next to nothing compared to the traditional licensing fees charged to cable operators. That deal is set to expire in 2011 and could cost Netflix as much as $250 million a year to renew. Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes thinks that Netflix's days at the top are numbered having been made possible by an era of experimentation that's now ending. "It's a little bit like, is the Albanian army going to take over the world?" said Bewkes, "I don't think so." According to the New York Times, the comments were made last week as UBS sponsored a media conference in New York that it says turned into a "platform for executives to express their grievances and emphasize that they will now aggressively try to tilt the economic balance between Netflix and content creators back toward the media conglomerates." Wow. Don't worry though Netflix subscribers, we're sure that the implied collusion is the good kind.

LG's E90 monitor slims down to 7.3mm thickness by stuffing everything into its excessively glossy base

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 12:03 AM PST

LG's just announced a new desktop visualizer for us all and it looks a promising proposition with its stupendously thin 7.3mm profile and minimal bezels surrounding the screen. But wait, it can't be all good news and it's not, as LG's also decided to apply an ultra-glossy finish to the E90, which should easily neutralize any understated appeal it might otherwise have had. As usual with these ultraslim displays, most of the electronics are encased in the E90's base, though the specs themselves don't seem to be showing any sacrifices. You're looking at an LED-backlit panel with a 2-millisecond response time, a 1920 x 1080 resolution (on the 21.5-inch E2290V), 250 nits of brightness, analog, digital and HDMI inputs, a 10,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, and a €329 ($435) MSRP. It should be available at some point later this month, see video of its appearance at IFA this year after the break.
Show full PR text
LG Unveils E90, An Unbeatably Slim LED Monitor

(SEOUL=Korea Newswire) December 13, 2010 -- LG Electronics (LG) today unveiled its new E90 monitor, the company's slimmest LED monitor to date at just 7.2 mm in depth.

With more and more consumers watching movies and videos on their desktop PCs, the quality of the monitor is more important than ever before. The E90 is easily the best choice for watching action movies or sporting matches because with a response time of just 2 milliseconds, the monitor's display remains clear and bright even during fast-moving action sequences. And LG's Image Booster software, blurry streaming content from video sites such as YouTube are significantly enhanced so they look terrific on the E90's vivid display.

"The E90 is the result of advanced technology and beautiful design coming together in perfect alignment," said Si-hwan Park, Vice President of LG's monitor division. "With its revolutionary features in terms of design and picture quality, the E90 is the leading example of the company's "SUPER LED" monitor line that is setting new benchmarks for style and performance."

In keeping with its ultra slim design, the LG E90 places the power supply and the socket connecting the monitor with the PC on the back of the stand, an innovation called EZ-cabling. In addition to the reduced footprint offered by its light weight and slim size, the E90 manages to reduce both energy consumption – as much as 40 percent less than conventional CCFL-backlit LCD monitors – and use of hazardous materials such as halogen and mercury in its manufacturing.

LG's newest monitor will be on display at the 2011 CES Innovations Awards, where it will be recognized as an "Honoree" product in the computer peripherals category.

The E90 will be available starting this month in select markets.

PS3 to start streaming ITV and Channel 4 content in the UK this week

Posted: 12 Dec 2010 11:17 PM PST

Our British mates aboard the VOD ship may look a little cheerier today as The Guardian reports both ITV and Channel 4 -- two of the nation's foremost commercial channels -- are bringing their video catchup services to the PlayStation 3. The ITV Player and 4OD have been available as web-based services for a while, but they've both now agreed deals with Sony, who projects their overall traffic will improve by around 10 percent as a result. ITV's leaving the door wide open for adding its content to "other consoles," web-connected TVs, and tablets like the iPad, whereas Channel 4 has found Microsoft unforthcoming about Xbox 360 deals and the Wii inhospitable because it doesn't support advertising. For its part, Sony's clearly making a big content push, having recently welcomed Lovefilm into the fold and completed the rollout of its Qriocity on-demand facility across Europe. Does anyone even play games on these things anymore?

Google's Teach Parents Tech site to help mom and dad find the 'any' key this Christmas

Posted: 12 Dec 2010 10:44 PM PST


It happens every December. You head home for the holidays only to be accosted by parents who need help fixing their computers. This year, it looks like Google will be lending a hand with its unannounced Teach Parents Tech series of public service videos. The Google-registered website teachparentstech.org still shows a "coming soon..." graphic and the videos remain unlisted on YouTube, but that shouldn't stop you from sending the source link below to your parents right now. At the moment, we're counting 54 cross-platform how-to videos hosted by real live Google employees. The videos are brief (less than a minute) covering topics as simple as "how to copy and paste" and "how to attach a file to an email" to more advanced sessions covering "how to setup an email autoresponder" and even "how to find cheap flights." Unfortunately, even Google can't explain to parents how to create a FAT32 hard drive partition. See what we mean after the break.

Update: And it's live. Might as well get in the gift-giving spirit, eh?

[Thanks, Nathan G.]


Swap Rebel watch phone laughs at your wrist-mounted iPod nano

Posted: 12 Dec 2010 10:06 PM PST

Apple's iPod nano and the Sony Ericsson LiveView may have disappointed as wrist computers, but our Dick Tracy dream soldiers on, to the point where we found ourselves taking another look at that most dubious of converged devices: the watch phone. There, we discovered the Rebel, the latest creation from UK manufacturer Swap, a quad-band GSM wrist unit with a 1.46-inch color touchscreen and a built-in camera for both video and stills. It may look like a sterile medical wristband, but that silicone strap actually hides a USB port on one end, the better to let you transfer your MP3s and MP4 video to its paltry 2GB of expandable microSD storage. The watch also does FM radio, beams audio to your Bluetooth headset and comes with the typical smattering of basic apps. Still, there's not a lot for the asking price of £189 (about $300) so you'd best be head over heels in love with the design. PR after the break, more images at our source link.
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sWaP triumphs in the fashion stakes with the Rebel

The sWaP Rebel is an affordable mobile phone watch available in an array of daring colours

London, 7th December 2010 – sWaP (smart Watch and Phone), the leader and innovator of mobile watch phone technology, today announces the latest addition to its extensive range of desirable mobile phones and mobile phone watches - the sWaP Rebel.

The fashionably stylish and affordable mobile phone watch features a 1.46" TFT colour touch-screen, comes with a mini-stylus and is available in an array of eye-catching colours to ensure there is a choice for all users this Christmas. The sWaP Rebel has quad-band functionality, enabling users to make and receive calls and SMS in high clarity. It is available from Harrods, Amazon, IWantOneOfThose.com, F.Hinds and Buymobilephones.net for £189.99.

The Rebel is available in a variety of colours to co-ordinate with any outfit, activity or mood.

There are three vibrant colours - orange, pink and lime green - as well as subtle black and white models. The body is produced from a soft, silica rubber gel with a smooth, matt finish. The durable rubber construction ensures that the Rebel is ideal for day-to-day activities, such as travelling and sporting pursuits.

This mobile phone watch features a unique in-built USB port located at one end of the watch strap and a stainless steel buckle at the other, eliminating the requirement for additional cables. The convenient plug-and-play functionality enables users to connect straight to a laptop or PC for instant charge and sync to transfer any data (such as sound clips, music, pictures or videos) while with friends, at home or travelling.

As with all current sWaP products, the Rebel is not network restricted, operating across all networks (except '3'). The watch offers quad-band connectivity and allows users to make and receive calls in high clarity, whether through the in-built speakerphone, wired earphones or pairing a headset via Bluetooth.

The Rebel is an impressively lightweight 65g and measures a compact 205.0 x 45.5 x 17.52mm. It features a 240mAh lithium-ion polymer battery, providing users with up to 85 hours of stand-by time and up to 160 minutes of talk time. The sWaP Rebel takes just two hours to fully charge and arrives with sWaP's own earphones to allow listening to music on the go. The Rebel features a 2GB micro SD card as standard, which is expandable to 8GB, enabling users to store all contacts, music, movies and pictures with ease, while leaving plenty of memory for future use or simply storing various files as a portable storage drive.

There is a good selection of additional features, including 25 ring-tones (as well as the option to upload five of personal choice), video and still camera, voice activation, FM Radio, MP3 music and MP4 video player, seven profile settings (including flight mode), a speakerphone and stop watch. The Rebel also includes a mini stylus, which is neatly contained within the side of the device to help assist with dialling and text. Other day-to-day functions include a calendar, alarm, calculator, to-do list and WAP internet connection.

The Rebel is not fixed to any contract or limited to specific network providers, allowing users to take full advantage of the flexibility in receiving and making calls with either their existing SIM cards or by purchasing a Pay As You Go SIM.

Price and Availability

The sWaP Rebel is priced at £189.99 (including VAT) and is available from Harrods, Amazon, IWantOneOfThose.com, F.Hinds and Buymobilephones.net.

For a full list of stockists, visit www.s-w-a-p.co.uk.

US Military bans removable media again, this time probably for good

Posted: 12 Dec 2010 09:07 PM PST

The US military has officially solidified its reputation as a flake, by banning the use of all removable media including thumb drives, CDs and DVDs again on its Secret Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRnet) after relaxing the same policy in February. To prove they meant business this time, senior officers in each branch relayed the orders and reaffirmed personnel would risk of court-martial if they failed to comply. This seems silly to us considering Uncle Sam feels comfortable giving some cell phones access to secure data, and we all know how much damage losing one can cause. But then again, if history and Transformers are any indication, sometimes it's these little things that cause bigger breaches than anything Cyber Command focuses on stopping.

Apple mysteriously kills jailbreak detection API while hacker boosts iOS security, irony restored

Posted: 12 Dec 2010 07:59 PM PST

It's no secret that Apple's been keen to monitor the lot of naughty jailbreakers, but it turns out the company has recently shelved iOS 4.0's jailbreak detection API with no explanation given. While this has little effect on the average user, Network World explains that this is bad news for enterprise IT and MDM (mobile device management) vendors, who will now have one fewer channel for checking whether a user's iOS device has been jailbroken and thus become vulnerable to attacks. That said, apparently this isn't a huge loss for the MDM vendors, anyway; but the real question is why drop the API now? Could its presence alone be a threat? We'll probably never know.

Fear not, though, as some folks have put jailbreaking to good use. The Register reports that come Tuesday, Stefan Esser of Sektion Eins will demonstrate a tool called antid0te, which reportedly adds ASLR (address space layout randomization) onto jailbroken iOS devices. In a nutshell, ASLR randomizes key memory locations to make it more difficult for certain attacks to locate their target data. According to the famed white hat hacker Charlie Miller, this technique is already present on Windows Phone 7 and desktop Windows since Vista, but Apple's only dabbled with it on OS X and not on iOS. Now, this doesn't mean that jailbroken devices will be fully safeguarded, but some protection is better than no protection, right?

[Thanks, wooba]

CE-Oh no he didn't!: GM's Dan Akerson says he 'wouldn't be caught dead in a Prius'

Posted: 12 Dec 2010 07:11 PM PST

Think GM's CEO sees the Toyota Prius as a worthy competitor that, in many ways, paved the way for the Chevy Volt? Think again. Speaking to the Economic Club of Washington, D.C. this week, GM CEO Dan Akerson described Toyota's hybrid as a "geek-mobile," and flatly declared that he "wouldn't be caught dead in a Prius." Not surprisingly, it didn't long for Toyota to respond to that slam, with a company spokesman telling The New York Times that "Toyota has sold more than two million Prius hybrids worldwide, and counting. Those buyers can't all be geeks." What's most troubling to us about all of this, however, is the implication that a "geek-mobile" is somehow a bad thing -- it sounds pretty awesome to us... geeks.

IDEO constructs RFID turntable, hearkens back to mixtapes of yore (video)

Posted: 12 Dec 2010 06:10 PM PST

Once upon a time, you could touch your music -- or at least caress a 7- or 12-inch vinyl disc -- but these days the cool kids stream MP3s (and OGGs, and APEs) off the internet. However, design studio IDEO recently decided to see if they could get back in touch with their audio roots, and -- taking a page right out of the industrial design treatise I Miss My Pencil -- they built the above machine. To put it simply, what you're looking at is a box filled with specially-angled Arduino Pro Mini boards constantly searching for RFID tags on top, and a set of cards each with two RFID tags, with each tag representing one song. When you drop one on the turntable, it begins playing within a second, thanks to the clever array of Arduinos underneath, and you and your High Fidelity soulmate can leave multiple cards on the table to create an impromptu mixtape, or, presumably, flip one of the "cassettes" to play Side B. It's a good thing IDEO isn't selling the device and packs of cards, because we're afraid we'd be compelled to collect them all, and our poor wallet doesn't need any more heartbreak. Don't miss the video below!

Inhabitat's Week in Green: electric vehicles gear up to race, Apple's new HQ, and living architecture

Posted: 12 Dec 2010 05:00 PM PST

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.
This week we revved up Chevrolet's Volt and hit the streets for an elusive test drive of the hotly-anticipated electric vehicle. We also saw electric aviation soar to new heights as the pint-sized Cri-Cri airplane broke the electric aircraft speed record. The world of EV racing is also picking up the pace as GreenGT unveiled an all-electric supercar for the Le Mans race and Honda's CR-Z Hybrid beat out scores of gas-guzzling autos in a 25 hour vehicular marathon.

High-tech architecture broke new ground as Apple announced that world-renowned architect Norman Foster is designing its new headquarters, and researchers revealed work on a living skin that could one day reinforce buildings and infrastructure with a hard, coral-like armored coating. We also watched as a crop of gorgeous bubble gardens popped up in the streets of Paris, and an abandoned warehouse in Brooklyn was updated with a high-tech transforming facade.

In other news, this week the energy world was buzzing about a new type of organic solar cell inspired by wasp exoskeletons, and the largest photovoltaic plant in the United States officially opened in Nevada. We also saw several eco technologies take hold on the home front: researchers developed a hot solar-piezoelectric hybrid fiber that could be used to create energy-generating clothes, and Lavish & Lime rolled out a cute set of digital shower timers that are perfect for kids.

Motorola's 10-inch Honeycomb tablet meets Mr. Blurrycam, shows off Verizon logo

Posted: 12 Dec 2010 03:57 PM PST

By now you're probably familiar with this slate, seeing as how Google's Andy Rubin recently unveiled it on stage, but we're willing to bet you've never seen the top edge -- you know, the part now bearing a front-facing webcam and a conspicuous Verizon tattoo. Yes, this is Motorola's 10-inch Honeycomb tablet, and it's playing for Team Red just as foretold, though the tipster who obtained these images isn't sure whether it will bear the name Stingray, Everest or even potentially "Trygon." Spec-wise, we're told our previous tipster was right on the money, and it'll have a 1GHz Tegra 2 T20, a gyroscope and 32GB of storage underneath that 1280 x 800 multitouch screen, as well as 512MB of RAM and a slot for an up-to-32GB microSD card. It also sure looks like there's a micro-USB jack, a mini-HDMI port and a 3.5mm headphone socket, as well as some contacts for a likely dock, though as always Mr. Blurrycam's handiwork is such that we can't quite tell. No matter -- see for yourself in the gallery below.

Update: What's that button on the back of the unit, right next to the speaker and dual LED flash? Why, it's the power toggle, of course.
Motorola and Verizon's 10-inch Honeycomb tablet


[Thanks, wnrussell]

Sphero toy ball rolls itself, you control it with your smartphone

Posted: 12 Dec 2010 02:22 PM PST

Don't have the airspace required for an AR.Drone? Gearing up for its CES 2011 debut, Sphero is a small, robotic toy ball made by Orbotix, and controlled remotely via Bluetooth and your smartphone's tilt sensor. A ball that moves by itself? Call us lazy (too lazy to roll a ball even), but we think this is a toy whose time has come. Sure, the whole thing is pretty straightforward, although we hope that once iPhone and Android developers get ahold of that open API we'll see plenty in the way of augmented reality gameplay: a maze or a racing game of some sort would make this thing quite coveted, in our opinion. Catch a video of the prototype in action after the break.

Toshiba's new glasses-free 3D display tilts images and viewing angles your way (video)

Posted: 12 Dec 2010 12:37 PM PST

Autostereoscopic (read: glasses-free) 3D screens sound like all the rage, but the narrow zones from which you can comfortably view their images have made them a dubious proposition. That's not stopping Toshiba Mobile Display, however, which recently came up with a novel idea for a self-adjusting display. By sticking a six-axis accelerometer in this 12.1-inch slate, the company can tilt the tablet's viewing angle as the tablet itself is tilted, letting viewers effectively look around 3D objects on screen, using software algorithms rather than the fancy lens-and-camera assembly that Microsoft's been prototyping. Toshiba figures it'll make a splash with e-tailers -- because who doesn't want to play with a prospective purchase in 3D space? -- but is mostly talking up the tech as a way to extend the limited 3D viewing angles of these sorts of displays. But enough jabber: see it for yourself after the break.

SpaceX Dragon's secret payload revealed: Le Brouere cheese (video)

Posted: 12 Dec 2010 10:49 AM PST

It looks like the Air Force isn't the only organization with its secrets. While we still don't know the exact nature of the testing the X-37B space plane underwent during its seven months in orbit, we have learned what, exactly, the SpaceX Dragon was carrying during its time spent in low-earth orbit. That's right: a wheel of Le Brouere, a French variant of the Swiss Gruyere, a hard yellow cheese made from cow's milk. It's also a reference to a Monty Python sketch -- but you probably knew that already. You've seen the launch, so how about checking out the sketch that so amused Elon Musk? Well, you're in luck -- it's after the break.
at 11:50 AM

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