| Modder turns RROD-stricken Xbox 360 into PS3 arcade controller, awesomeness Posted: 26 Feb 2011 09:32 AM PST In the most recent of Xbox 360 hacks, a modder named Morris has crafted a PS3 controller out of none other than -- as ironic as this may seem -- a dead Xbox 360. That's right, somewhere out there, a PlayStation 3 has slain its mortal enemy, mercilessly gutted the internals and now has a modded Xbox as its eternal slave. The case contains all of the buttons you need to partake in a classic beat-'em-up -- a joystick, the four PlayStation buttons, R1 and R2. There's plenty more to gander at in the source link and enough in the way of detail and instruction to get started on your own arcade stick too. |
| RIM, Bank of America partnering up for Mobile Wallet NFC trial Posted: 26 Feb 2011 07:31 AM PST We've known for some time that RIM is going all-in on NFC ( isn't everyone?), but we didn't realize they were going retroactive, too. A NFC payment trial coming up involving RIM and Bank of America will allow selected testers to get an NFC-capable back for their Curve 8520 or 8530, Tour 9630, or Bold 9000, 9650, or 9700 -- in other words, most of the company's portrait QWERTY models from the last couple years. You'll also need an active Bank of America account, at which point you'll be able to tap your 'Berry on NFC terminals to get your pay on. The trial starts this spring; no word on when it might be open to everyone. [Thanks, Dylan] |
| Windows Phone's new UI and Xbox games are most exciting aspects of Microsoft deal, says Nokia poll Posted: 26 Feb 2011 05:27 AM PST In search for feedback on its momentous decision to dump Symbian in favor of Windows Phone, Nokia has put up the above poll on its Conversations website canvassing opinions about what users anticipate most out of the new deal. There's no consensus choice, with the equivocation of reactions being underlined by the fact that the "Other" option was the modal response, however of the given categories, a UI refresh and Xbox-related gaming boons turned out to be most important. No surprises there, Symbian's touchscreen UI shortcomings are well known about while the Xbox tie-up has been one of Microsoft's big selling points for Windows Phone 7 since its start. We'd just ask Nokia to be quick about delivering on these things -- spending too long in anticipation mode won't be good for our health. |
| AOC Aire Black LED-backlit monitors, more of the same, now in black Posted: 26 Feb 2011 03:04 AM PST If this super slim monitor looks familiar, it's for a good reason -- AOC's new Aire Black LED monitors are nearly identical to their white counterparts, save a couple exceptions. As the name suggests, the new monitors are an all black affair, and come in 20-, 22-, and 23-inch iterations. The slender screens also come equipped with a new software feature called Screen+ that allows users to divide the display into four separate work spaces. Other than that, not much is new here -- like the rest of the Aire series, the Aire Black features a 12.7-millimeter-thick screen, with a 16:9 aspect ratio, 50,000,000:1 dynamic contrast, DVI-HDPC input, and five millisecond response time. If you like your monitors skinny, you can get your hands on the ebony displays now for $129 (20 inch), $149 (22 inch), or $179 (23 inch). Full PR after the jump. Show full PR text AOC Launches the Ultra-Slim Aire Black LED Monitor
New addition to the AireLED Series includes 12.7 mm-thin monitors with embedded Screen+ Feature and DVI-D with HDCP input
Fremont, Calif. – February 23, 2011– AOC, the world's largest manufacturer of LCD/LED Monitors and HDTVs, reveals the Aire Black LED, a glossy piano-black monitor featuring one of the world's slimmest display panels. This new all-black addition to the popular AireLED Series offers bonus features like embedded Screen+ software that allows the user to divide the screen into four self-contained work areas. The Aire Black LED monitor comes in 20-inch (e2043Fk, $129), 22-inch (e2243Fwk, $149) and 23-inch (e2343Fk, $179) screen sizes, and is now available at national retailers including Best Buy, Radio Shack, Office Max, Fry's, TigerDirect/CompUSA and PC Richards, among others.
The sleek widescreen Aire Black LED Monitor is one of the slimmest display panels on the market at 12.7 mm throughout. The monitor also offers impressive image quality with a 50,000,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio, 5ms response time, and a DVI-D with HDCP input for the ultimate HD viewing experience. Along with being EPEAT Gold Certified for its green packaging and production, the Aire Black LED Monitor on average consumes only 15 watts of energy and includes an eSaver feature that lets the user preset power conservation modes for the display when the PC is not in use. The monitor's Power Saving Mode uses 50 percent less power, and Standby Mode uses only 0.1w.
"A clean and modern aesthetic coupled with amazing image quality have made the AireLED Series one of our most popular monitor lines for both business and home use," said Robert Velez, AOC Marketing Manager. "The Aire Black LED display reduces energy costs and offers incredible value, which is a trademark of the AOC brand and products."
The versatile Aire Black LED Monitor has a built-in VESA stand that locks into place so that the monitor can be used on a desktop and easily mounted on a wall by simply pushing a button and folding the stand at its tilt hinge. No assembly is required for the stand, making the monitor a helpful solution for businesses that require visual displays but have limited space. The monitor's easily accessible connections are located at the back of the stand, while its front features convenient LED touch controls for power and onscreen display.
SPEC HIGHLIGHTS
• Screen Size: 20", 22", 23"
• Ultra-slim display panel throughout (.5 in/ 12.7 mm)
• WLED Backlight
• 50,000,000:1 DCR
• 5ms Response Time
• DVI-D with HDCP Input
• Screen+ Technology
• e-Saver Feature |
| HTC Droid Incredible 2 shows up in Verizon's system Posted: 26 Feb 2011 01:01 AM PST Well, look what we've got here! Seeing that HTC just introduced the Incredible S -- a world phone only available in the UK -- it was only a matter of time before the phone hit the stateside. A trusted tipster just hit us with screen shots of Verizon's internals containing a device dubbed HTC ADR6350. The other screenshot below has a listing for the HTC63503 with a description of "INCRD2." Putting two and two together, we'd say with great confidence that the Incredible 2 is coming to Verizon in the near future -- and we certainly wouldn't be surprised if it had something to do with that "buttonless" shot we saw a while back. Stay tuned as we try and dig up more details... and in the meantime, peep the second screenshot after the break! |
| Sony indicates all future Alpha models will include translucent mirrors Posted: 25 Feb 2011 10:53 PM PST That satisfying clunk of the mirror swinging up and away, the rapid-fire clatter of DSLRs going into burst mode, could be on its last legs. Well, for Sony Alphas at least. The company has confirmed that its translucent mirror tech, most recently confirmed to be coming to the A77 and earlier shown on the A55 and A33, will be coming to the entire Alpha line. The sensor actually captures light through the mirror itself, which is just reflective enough to allow for real-time focusing even while capturing video. It's something of a bold move in the generally stoic DSLR market, and only time will tell whether it helps to boost Sony's street cred up to Canon and Nikon levels. |
| Microsoft announces budget-friendly Lifecam HD-3000 webcam, Comfort and Express mice Posted: 25 Feb 2011 08:39 PM PST Digging the 1080p LifeCam Studio but don't feel like spending $100? Or, maybe you don't need all those p's? Microsoft has, for you and you alone, announced the new LifeCam HD-3000. It tops out at 720p but retails for a more palatable $39.95. Also newly announced is a trio of mice, first and most exciting being the $19.95 Express Mouse (above) which, according to Microsoft, has both the looks and the moves. We're not really sure what that means, but it is kind of funky looking with the offset cord your choice of six colors ranging from "Hibiscus Red" to "Dahlia Pink." For those who'd rather stick with something less-flowery there's the Comfort Mouse 3000 for the same price, similar features in a design less likely to stand out in the conference room. Or, cough up another $10 for the $29.95 Comfort Mouse 6000, pictured below. It gives up ambidextrous pretenses in favor of a more form-fitting shape and five whole buttons. Can you handle that many buttons? Yeah, you totally can. |
| Microsoft Research shows off next-generation gesture interfaces, Kinect integration, other neato stuff (video) Posted: 25 Feb 2011 07:32 PM PST Leave it to Microsoft Research to show off some cool stuff that may or may not actually happen on any thing you ever actually buy. Check out the video after the break to see the latest, Director of Microsoft Applied Sciences Steven "Stevie B" Bathiche showing off a variety of interesting interfaces. It all starts with gesture controls that take you well beyond the touchscreen, relying on a retro-reflective sash and a camera to detect hand position. But, things quickly progress to a flat lens called a wedge that can enable holographic-like imagery. Pair that with a Kinect and perspective shifts come into play, tracking your face to enable you to peer around like looking out a window. It's all just waiting for you below -- and maybe IRL sometime in the future. |
| How would you change Panasonic's Lumix DFC-GF2? Posted: 25 Feb 2011 07:01 PM PST We're drowning in interchangeable lens options, but that's far from being a bad thing. For those that finally caved and picked up Panasonic's Lumix DFC-GF2, we're interested to see how you'd change things if given that golden opportunity. Are you satisfied with the size, weight and design? How's the low-light performance? Would you alter anything about the lens selection? Introduce a version that changes colors with the seasons? Go on and get creative in comments below -- the GF3 needs some ideas, you know? |
| HTC Freestyle for AT&T hands-on Posted: 25 Feb 2011 06:35 PM PST Last time we checked in with the Freestyle back at CES, we couldn't turn it on -- but things are a little different here at our luxe meetup in San Francisco this evening. Honestly, the phone looks and feels great, doing a great job hiding its Brew MP-based, not-quite-smartphone underpinnings; pricing is still a concern, but the month-to-month dumbphone data is a bonus, and you've still got a full HTML browser plus a capacitive display at your disposal. Check shots below -- video after the break! |
| Visual VoiceMail pulled from Android Market, Google accused of 'pulling an Apple' Posted: 25 Feb 2011 05:38 PM PST Looks like Apple isn't the only one wanting to make sure that app payments are being run through appropriate channels. The Visual VoiceMail app, which has been downloaded about a million times (literally), has just been pulled from the Android Market. When developers at PhoneFusion asked the reasonable question, "why," they were simply directed to section 3.3 of the Android Market Developer Distribution Agreement: If you want to collect fees after the free trial expires, you must collect all fees for the full version of the Product through the Payment Processor on the Market... All fees received by Developers for Products distributed via the Market must be processed by the Market's Payment Processor. The service allows users to purchase premium features through the company's website, something that many other apps do and that is certainly not new to Visual VoiceMail. What's next remains to be seen, but sadly Google is saying PhoneFusion must re-submit the app with a new name -- losing all the positive reviews it's racked up. Hardly an ideal solution. |
| Live from the Engadget reader meetup in San Francisco (live video!) Posted: 25 Feb 2011 05:06 PM PST 10:01PM We're about to wrap up here. Thanks for tuning into the livestream! 9:46PM So many giveaways! 9:45PM Bros Cobbing Bros! 8:46PM Guy love. 8:25PM Mystery man, emeritus. 8:24PM Giveaways, round one. 8:04PM We're kicking off the giveaways! Are YOU ready!? 8:02PM And the Diet Coke is just flowing... 7:33PM Official Engadget CES 2011 jam playing right now! Rihanna ft Drake – What's My Name (Chopped... and screwed)! You know, you want to listen! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQYOQyxWHJM 7:11PM Shiny happy people. 7:03PM Don't feed the Engadget editors! 6:55PM Some of our younger readers. 6:53PM And they're in! 6:37PM And yes, HTC brought the new Merge and Arrive! Hands-on here and here. 6:25PM We're just about ready inside. These gadgets are just begging to be touched... 6:14PM Man, the line outside is crazy! There were a few issues getting the taco truck parked (yes, they did a U-turn in the middle of the street), but it's up and running now! Have you heard? We're having a party tonight and you are invited! If you happen to be in San Francisco, we'll be here at The Metreon playing with the latest gadgets from loads of companies, including Sony, Motorola, HTC, HP, and Jawbone. It all starts at 6:30PM and goes until 10:30PM. Oh, and did we mention there's awesome music and a taco truck parked outside? As you can see, the line is already around the corner, but there's plenty of room. If you can't make it, we'll be liveblogging and uploading tons of pictures in this very post. All the details on how to get here and what to expect can be found right here. |
| Visualized: the HTC keyboard slider family Posted: 25 Feb 2011 04:52 PM PST Clockwise from the top left, that's the the Sprint Arrive, the likely-for-Verizon Merge, the Sprint Evo Shift 4G, and the T-Mobile G2. If we had to rate them, we'd say the Arrive has the best key feel, followed by the Merge, the Evo Shift, and finally the cramped G2 -- although the super cheap-feeling hinge on the Evo Shift knocks off several points. We'd also say the physical keys on the G2 feel better than the mushy keys on the Merge, but the G2's cramped layout doesn't do it any favors. In any event, picking one of these is a pretty great problem to have, don't you think? |
| Sprint HTC Arrive with Windows Phone 7 copy and paste first hands-on! (video) Posted: 25 Feb 2011 04:41 PM PST HTC also brought along a Sprint-branded Arrive to our San Francisco reader meetup, and while we're already familiar with this Windows Phone 7 slider from our time with the HTC 7 Pro it's still nice to see a CDMA WP7 device in the flesh. Oh, and the keyboard is pretty fantastic -- not only does it feel great, but the dedicated number row alone is reason for keyboard fans to give this thing a look. The best part? The demo unit was loaded up with the Windows Phone 7 copy and paste update, which is the first time we've seen it in the wild. The system worked well, but we noticed that you once you paste out of the clipboard your text is gone, so you can't multiple paste. It's a little odd -- we'll have a video up shortly. Update: The video is up -- check it below! Update 2: Okay, so you can multiple paste! The paste icon just disappears after the first paste, which is super confusing. You can just swipe to the right to bring it back, though. We'd suggest Microsoft re-think this implementation a little for an update, since it wasn't clear to anyone here at first glance.
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| Clash of the Titans sequel will be another 2D-to-3D conversion, and Inception too? Posted: 25 Feb 2011 04:23 PM PST After a poor response to the first Clash of the Titans movie and its substandard 3D effects, courtesy of a rushed conversion process, you'd think they would never try that again, and you'd be wrong. Director Jonathan Liebesman, fresh off of Battle:LA is helming sequel Wrath of the Titans and says was talked into doing the conversion process again (but shooting with that in mind, Piranha 3D-style) on this flick by a series of demos including, Christopher Nolan's Inception. This is notable both because no 3D re-release has been announced for the visually engrossing flick, but also because Nolan himself has suggested 3D would be a bad choice due to the dimming effect of the glasses. Warner Bros. could only manage to tell Cinematical "At this time, the plans for Inception 3D cannot be confirmed," leaving the possibility of a return alongside Star Wars, Titanic and others to twist in the wind for now. |
| HTC Merge first hands-on! (video) Posted: 25 Feb 2011 04:15 PM PST HTC just rolled in to set up for our San Francisco reader meetup tonight, and what's this? They brought a brand-new HTC Merge with them. No one's talking about what carrier this interesting Android slider is going to launch on yet, but that Verizon-red earpiece and search button aren't exactly coy. Apart from that, it's pretty much exactly the device we've seen leaked all over for months now -- a really nice landscape Android slider with a solid keyboard. More pics in the gallery, and a video after the break! |
| HTC Thunderbolt said to have terrible battery life, might explain delay? Posted: 25 Feb 2011 03:42 PM PST We're hearing from... well, let's call them "people familiar with the matter" that HTC's Thunderbolt -- a phone that's supposed to be Verizon's first with LTE -- is experiencing positively miserable battery life that's making it difficult for testers to avoid carrying a second phone around as a backup. How bad? Two to three hours from full to empty in some cases. Of course, we wouldn't be surprised if battery life was really bad with the LTE radio left on -- the EVO 4G wasn't much different at launch with WiMAX lit up -- but the word on the street is that the power situation is largely responsible for the delays we've been seeing. In fact, our source tells us the phone is currently working on its sixth retail delay at the moment. More on this situation as we get it. Update: We've just heard from another trusted tipster that there's definitely a new firmware in the works to address battery life and signal issues (which -- you guessed it -- are interrelated). Thanks, HTC Kid! |
| Intel Oak Trail Atom Z670 tablets to arrive at the end of March Posted: 25 Feb 2011 02:43 PM PST Intel's spent the last nine months prepping its Oak Trail silicon to improve the battery life and performance of Windows 7 tablets, and come the end of next month we should finally have some slates with the new 1.5GHz Atom Z670 chip inside. While Fudzilla has heard that the tablets will hit in the general March time frame, the eagle-eyed guys at Netbook News spotted the Fujitsu Stylistic Q550 press materials stating that the new platform will launch on March 30, 2011. That seems to line up with what we've heard on timing, since both the Oak Trail-powered Samsung Sliding PC 7 and MSI WindPad 100W were announced with March availability. Chances are we will hear more about it all at CeBIT next week, but honestly, at this point we're just really eager to get one of these in our hands to see what Chipzilla's really improved. |
| Netflix: 30 percent of Watch Instantly titles subbed with more on the way, plus Xbox & Roku support Posted: 25 Feb 2011 02:16 PM PST It's been a slow climb since Netflix first announced it was adding closed captioning to the PC and Mac in early 2010, but today's blog post indicates its reached 30% of the available titles. So far platforms on the second revision of its streaming frontend like the PS3, Boxee Box, Google TV and Nintendo Wii support optional captions while the Xbox 360 and Roku players should "later this year." Of course, while its per-episode count is significantly higher, it's still only a few hundred of Netflix's available series, and deaf/hard of hearing users face problems like having some episodes subbed while others aren't. Netflix's new page breaking out supported titles should help, while nc-mac-asl's blog or InstantWatcher.com also can provide a filter. The plan is apparently to have subtitles on 80% of content by the end of the year and here's hoping it gets to 100% soon -- makes our quibbling over 5.1 surround sound seem sort of trivial doesn't it? (But, while we're on the subject, Netflix, where's 5.1 on non-PS3 clients?) |
| Samsung's Google TV delayed by Intel exclusivity agreement? Posted: 25 Feb 2011 01:44 PM PST Samsung's been waffling on Google TV for quite some time -- prototypes aside -- and now Bloomberg thinks it might know the reason why. According to an anonymous source, Mountain View's been requiring that OEMs use Intel's CE4100 chip in their television products, and as any self-respecting chipmaker might be expected to do, Samsung declined. Now, with Google TV's efforts to break into the living room floundering, the search giant has allegedly lifted the restriction and allowed Samsung to use its own silicon, meaning we'll likely see Google TV running on a certain dual-core ARM in the months to come. Anything to save us from Smart TV, right? |
| Verizon CEO claims Apple LTE products are coming, doesn't specify when Posted: 25 Feb 2011 01:08 PM PST Dan Mead, Lowell McAdam's successor at the helm of Verizon Wireless, has told the Wall Street Journal that we'll "see more coming from Apple on LTE. They understand the value proposition of LTE and I feel very confident that they are going to be a part of it." No further details were forthcoming from the chief exec, such as timing and the particular shape of Apple's participation in Verizon's LTE plans, but at least we now have an indication that Cupertino is actively working toward 4G connectivity. Mead's comments came as part of an interview discussing the iPhone 4's launch on his network, which has already seen the device bust through Verizon's opening sales record. Notably, at the actual launch of that phone, Tim Cook said an LTE version of the iPhone would have required too many compromises, so we suspect those compromises are exactly what Apple's working on right now. |
| LetsTalk goes out in a blaze of glory, sells Atrix 4G and Laptop Dock bundle for $250 as AT&T partnership ends Posted: 25 Feb 2011 12:44 PM PST We can totally picture how this went down: AT&T appears to have made it not worth LetsTalk's time (or Wirefly's time) to sell its phones anymore, which means they're parting ways staring next month. LetsTalk -- wishing to end its AT&T relationship in the most spectacular fashion imaginable -- has elected to sell the Motorola Atrix 4G / Laptop Dock bundle for $250 on contract after rebates, essentially half of what you'll pay through AT&T directly (LetsTalk runs Walmart's wireless store portal, which we've linked). The fire sale might not fix some of the dock's flaws... but it certainly makes them a little less painful. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] |
| Motorola dragged into court for Xoom trademark infringement Posted: 25 Feb 2011 12:11 PM PST To Xoom or not to Xoom, that is the question -- and Xoom Corporation says Motorola needs to ditch the name of its new Honeycomb-laden slate. That's right, Xoom has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit asking for monetary damages, a temporary restraining order, and / or a preliminary injunction to spoil Moto's release party for its new tablet. In case you're curious, Xoom (the company) does seem to predate the slate by a good bit: it's been operating its online payments business under that name and has owned the www.xoom.com domain since 2003. Xoom got a registered service mark for its money transfer and e-payment services in 2004. But what about that Xoom trademark Motorola filed last year for mobile computers and related accessories? Traditionally, courts give priority to the first user to register a mark, so Xoom Corp. certainly has a case here, but we're not so sure they'll be able to prove that consumers are likely to be confused. To find out, the court will look at multiple factors to determine the likelihood of confusion: the strength of Xoom's mark, the similarities between the two marks, the proximity of Xoom's services and software to Moto's tablet in the consumer marketplace, evidence of actual customer confusion, and the similarity of the marketing channels used by Moto and Xoom. Honestly, we can't see Moto marketing the Xoom tablet to anyone looking for online payment services (aside from the occasional Android Market purchase) so Xoom Corp. has a tough road to hoe, but stranger things have happened -- we'll see how it goes. |
| Windows Phone 7 coming to Verizon in March, starting with HTC 7 Trophy? Posted: 25 Feb 2011 11:41 AM PST With Sprint starting up its Windows Phone 7 adventure on March 20th with the HTC Arrive, Verizon is now said to be matching its CDMA competitor with its own offering, the HTC 7 Trophy. We already knew this particular handset would be coming to this particular network in " early 2011," but now WinRumors has narrowed that down to a launch at some point in late March. Verizon's announcement is expected as early as February 28th, this coming Monday, and we're hearing the NoDo update -- the one with copy and paste -- should be preloaded on the device from the start. Should this solid-sounding rumor bear out as foretold, Microsoft should finally be on all US carriers by the start of April. [Thanks, Mike] |
| Engadget reader meetup tonight in San Francisco at 6:30PM PST! Win a limited edition gold Xoom! Posted: 25 Feb 2011 11:35 AM PST That's right human beings -- it's happening again! The Engadget crew is getting together their best party outfits and shipping out west for another installment of our fabulous reader meetups. Our last event in NYC drew loads of people and was an all around blast, and the San Francisco installment is sure to be just as explosive (or maybe more? c'mon... show us what you've got). This time around we're partnering with Sprint, as well as Sony PlayStation, Motorola, HP, Roku, Samsung, VUDU, RIM, Sling, Sonos, HTC, Corning, Sphero, OnLive, Plantronics, Snapstick, and more to bring you a night of gadget geeking, delicious foodstuffs, and some awesome music (provided by none other than our podcast producer, Trent Wolbe). Also, a whole mess of the Engadget editors will be on hand to entertain and inform, so if you have any pressing questions -- jot them down! Oh, and don't forget to include the hashtag #EngadgetSF in your tweets! And did we mention there will be tons of serious giveaways for people in attendance? Because there will be. You seriously don't want to sleep on this. For instance, one lucky attendee to the event will walk away with a super limited edition gold Xoom (being gifted to this year's Oscar nominees). Check out an image and info after the break! The all ages shindig will take place tonight, February 25 at City View at The Metreon, which is located conveniently in downtown SF. If you're a nerd in the city, you most likely already know what we're talking about. The doors will open at 6:30PM, and capacity is limited to 1200 people -- so if you want to get inside, get there early! Update: A quick update on where to go -- the line is forming at 4th Street and Mission. Yes, there will be a line, but word is Sonos has brought a taco truck! Yes, free tacos starting at 3pm! [Scratch that, taco-palooza begins at 4:30!] Above, just one of the many giveaways -- a special, limited edition Xoom in gold. Here's what Motorola has to say about it: The limited edition gold Motorola XOOM in a custom leather envelope case is being provided to an exclusive group of stars--the hosts and nominees for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Director. |
| Samsung Galaxy S II gets very preliminary, expensive UK pricing Posted: 25 Feb 2011 10:53 AM PST Don't go jumping off the Android sailboat just yet, these are very early numbers, but the Samsung Galaxy S II has been priced by a couple of UK retailers and the category they've placed it in is the distinctly high end. Expansys is listing £630 ($1,020) for the Gingerbread-sporting unlocked handset, while Play.com has it at £600 ($971) and is promising a March 31st release date. Even if you're zany enough to put the cash up for a pre-order today, do take note that Play was showing the cost at £650 (with £670 RRP) only yesterday, so pricing still seems to be fluctuating and finding its sweet spot. Whatever happens, with such a high starting point, we doubt the S II's price will be its most attractive attribute at launch. |
| Square Connect SQ Blaster and SQ Remote review: Home automation, unified Posted: 25 Feb 2011 10:43 AM PST Having already taken our first feverish steps down the path of an automated home, we figured it was time to try and integrate the home entertainment system with the household lighting. Our goal coming into this review was to sit down on the sofa and hit a single button on an old, unused iPhone 3G to automatically dim the lights, fire up the 5.1 sound, flip on the media streamer, and ignite the projector. To accomplish this seemingly monumental task we installed a WiFi-enabled SQ Blaster in the TV cabinet, a puck-shaped IR blaster from Square Connect that communicates with MiOS home control gateways like Mi Casa Verde's Vera. So, did we succeed? Did we achieve the ultimate in home-owner nerdvana? You'd better believe it. Read on to find out how. Hardware  If you've ever owned an IR blaster then you already know how finicky they can be to setup and use. Signals can be interrupted by passing bodies and transmitted commands will inexplicably disappear into the ether. But these are issues affecting all IR blasters and Square Connect has done its best to mitigate them by offering up a very flexible solution. One look at the SQ Blaster and you already know it's unique. To start with, the puck-shaped $199.99 blaster is only available in a solid cherry or "achitectual grade" bamboo wood case. While we like the otherness and premium look of its design, some might be annoyed that it doesn't blend well with the plastic and metalic materials used by most home entertainment gear. An issue exacerbated by an intense green LED that flashes red each time the SQ Blaster receives a command -- something that can be very distracting depending upon where you place it in your cabinet. Placement is flexible thanks to a trio of front-facing high intensity IR emitters and optional accessories you can hang off of the puck's 3.5-mm jack. $10.99 takes home a 9-foot cable with 3x external IR-LED emitters for somewhat tethered control (you adhere the emitters directly to the target's IR receiver) over three devices while $9.99 adds a long range IR Blaster slung off of a 7-foot cable. A six-foot $9.99 Y-adapter cable will split the signal allowing you to mix and match the two. A detachable ariel meant to boost the WiFi signal is also included in the SQ Blaster box. However, we found it superfluous to our needs even when placing the SQ Blaster at the extreme edges of the WiFi signal in our home (two floors and two room across from the WiFi access point). But what about the power cable? Surely that will dictate the unit's placement? Not really. See, while the SQ Blaster ships with a USB wall plug it could conceivably be powered by any device with a USB port. And let's face it, that's pretty much any modern device meant for the living room. Unfortunately our grand plan to strap it to our ceiling mounted projector was foiled by a lack of pass-thru USB power when our Epson is plugged in but powered off. Software Part of the appeal of the Square Connect control solution going into this review was its SQ Remote iOS app. A whopping $29.99 if purchased as a standalone remote control for the Mi Casa Verde Vera home automation server or free with the purchase of the SQ Blaster. And if you're a multiple iOS device family then you can copy your final SQ Remote configuration -- including all the automated macros and meticulously crafted button and panel layouts -- to each and every idevice in the house. An ideal solution for us since we have an iPhone 4 in the pocket and a previously unused iPhone 3G in a drawer. Although we tried to avoid it, the SQ Remote manual is required reading. A humbling act for gadget nerds but a requirement in this case. Fortunately, once indoctrinated into the Square Connect ways you'll quickly toss it aside, never to be referenced again. Adding devices is standard fare for anyone who's ever setup a programmable remote. First you search a database for preconfigured IR codes for the components you own. We instantly found three of our five test devices: an exact match for a one-year old WD TV Live streamer and two matches for the device families that cover a two-year old Epson projector and a ten-year old JVC receiver. We had to teach the SQ Blaster about a Samsung DVT set-top box and Iyama TV by pointing each device's remote control at the SQ Blaster's IR Learning port, then cycling through every button we wanted to map onto the SQ Remote's button layout. A tedious process, to be sure. he Z-Wave home automation devices are added automatically just as soon as we pointed SQ Remote to our Vera home automation gateway.  With the devices added, you're now ready to create the carousel "control pads" and populate each with the device you want to control. For our setup, we created just three control pads: "Home," is our Z-Wave command console for lights, socket adapters, and sensors; "Movie," includes all the controls for managing the projector, video streamer, lighting, and surround sound; and "TV" is used to primarily control the television and set-top box. Each pad can be further augmented with up to six slide-out panels arranged along the side for more logical control of your devices. In other words, you place the buttons you use most frequently on the main control pad with any extended functionality you might occasionally require placed within the side panels. At least that was the solution that worked best for us. Fortunately, Square Connect provides several preconfigured button layouts -- both generic and specific to the devices found in its database -- which can be automatically assigned to each device you won. You can also assign button controls one at a time and reassign and reposition the controls anytime you wish. When we say the software is flexible, we mean flexible. We do miss the ability to copy and paste assigned control sets across different panels and pads. For example, we wish we could copy and paste the audio controls from the Movie pad to the TV pad instead of recreating these from scratch each time. This became especially tiresome while optimizing our SQ Remote button layouts as we had to repeat the changes on every panel using the same controls. A snap-to grid feature to help keep the buttons allignd was also sorely missed. The biggest issue we have (which isn't big at all in the grand scheme of things) with this kind of solution is the lack of a known device state -- an issue that affects all programmable remotes. Our JVC receiver lacks discrete IR codes for power on / off or for switching device outputs. As such, SQ Remote isn't actually telling it to turn on, it's just telling it to toggle its state. Cccasionally, this created issues with macros like "Movie On" (created to switch on all the devices required to watch a film on the home theater projector) by inadvertently shutting off the receiver that had been turned on earlier in the day as it blindly cycled through its list of commands. Some IR Blaster solutions provide add-ons that will measure the voltage of attached devices to determine its state -- Square Connect doesn't. In our usage, this wasn't really an issue but could be in households where many people have control over the remotes. Our Setup We were already annoying the family with our "whoa, watch this!" demonstrations of wireless television and lighting control within just a few minutes of unboxing the SQ Blaster hardware. Within two hours, we had built a rudimentary remote control giving us full control over our home's lighting and sensors in addition to the home entertainment console. In four hours, we had brute-forced a macro together that would automatically dim the lights and power on the home theater with a touch of a single button. On the second day everything was pretty much automated with macros, followed by a few weeks of subtle tweaks meant to optimize the command sequences, delays between commands, and signal repeat counts as we adapted the software to how we actually listen to music and watch TV and films. Pro tip: Don't test during the prime time television viewing hours. As exciting as it was to accidentally shut the TV off from the other side of the house, your family members won't be so delighted. Our goal was to keep the physical setup as clean as possible. That meant using the SQ Blaster without the detachable arial, external IR emitters or long range IR Blaster attachment. In other words, just the puck. We ultimately found the perfect placement for the SQ Blaster allowing it to control the television, WD TV Live streamer, audio receiver, and DTV set-top box in the cabinet in addition to the ceiling mounted projector located opposite (at a 5 foot diagonal) of the entertainment cabinet. Sure, we had to shuffle the boxes in the cabinet a bit but the housecleaning was long overdue anyway. In the end, we aimed the SQ Blaster at the projector and bounced the IR signal off the wall to each component in the cabinet -- a little trick made possible by the extra-wide IR spread created by the SQ Blaster's three internal IR blasters placed along the circumference of the unit. Demo time! Wrap up The Square Connect SQ Blaster coupled with the free SQ Remote iOS software has become an indispensable part of our home entertainment kit. However, it's not for everyone. Part of its particular appeal stems from the fact that it works so seamlessly with our existing Z-Wave home automation system built around the Mi Casa Verde Vera. As such, it fully integrates our lighting, power, and home theater controls through a highly customizable and easy to use iPhone or iPod touch remote control app. So easy to use that after just a few hours of trial and error we were able to achieve home automation nirvana: a single button press will now dim the lights and power on (or off) all the disparate devices that comprise our so-called home theater system. Better yet, the Square Connect solution replaced five existing remote controls with a single repurposed iPhone 3G rescued from the island of unused gadgets. Not bad for $200. |
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