Archive for January, 2010

Ultrasone Edition 8 Palladium headphones are massively expensive

Posted in Headphones by Shane McGlaun on January 13th, 2010

I am a fan of headphones that sound good for watching movies and playing games on my PC. Good sound is also nice for the few occasions when I want to listen to some music. I am far from an audiophile though and stick to reasonably priced headphones.

If you are an audiophile of the type that will pay big money for a great set of headphones Ultrasone has unveiled its new Edition 8 Palladium Edition headphones. The things feature natural S-Logic surround sound and have 30-ohm impedance.

Elgato EyeTV TV Tuner for Mac and PC

Posted in Mac by Conner Flynn on January 13th, 2010

Elgato’s new EyeTV One TV tuner is compatible with both Mac and Windows. It connects to your computer via USB and allows you to watch and record HDTV channels broadcast over-the-air for free. Sounds pretty sweet to us.

It features a coaxial plug for connecting an antenna, a flexible USB extender, and the included EyeTV 3 software gives you the ability to stream video to the iPhone and iPod touch via the company’s EyeTV app.

Gravity Ruler weighs your luggage

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on January 13th, 2010

Airlines suck. They will charge you extra for everything. So it’s important to know how much your luggage weighs. The Gravity Ruler is an easy way to weigh your luggage before you head off to the airport. You don’t want to be surprised and get stuck paying more fees.

It’s simple to use. The Gravity Ruler is nothing more than a bungee cord that you loop through your luggage handle. When you lift it up, an orange band on the cord moves through a clear sheath to show you how much the item weighs.

Nanobrick’s Miyoul Media Frames store photos on individual OLED screens

Posted in Digital Photo Frames by Conner Flynn on January 13th, 2010

Forget regular old Digital Picture Frames. Nanobrick has created 11 media frame models that you can customize with your photos. Each of them has several OLED screens that measure either 3.3-inches or 4.1-inches.

Problem is that each model costs around $100,000. It would be cheaper to make one yourself. If you can afford one maybe you can display pictures of money burning and people getting hit in the nads with baseballs, because that’s how you will feel after your purchase.

LG to release new Art Cinema XF2 in April

Posted in LG by Conner Flynn on January 13th, 2010

LG’s XF2 player ships in April with 1080p video and 5.1 audio output over HDMI and that’s just what we like to hear. That performance is exactly what we want. As far as compatibility there’s MPEG 1/2/4, h.264, Xvid, DivX, FLAC, WMA, AC3, and all the usuals.

The XF2 also supports subtitles and captions in several formats. The 500GB capacity is acceptable but not great when you consider the lack of a network interface. All in all, we like it, but the price is an issue.

Netflix Coming to the Nintendo Wii Console

Posted in Netflix,News by Darrin Olson on January 13th, 2010

Netflix coming to the Nintendo Wii Game cosoleNetflix have now officially announced an agreement with Nintendo of America to stream it’s video content to the Nintendo Wii game console. We had heard it was coming way back in October and now Netflix has rounded out its coverage with the big three game consoles including Microsoft’s Xbox and Sony’s PS3.

The new deal allows Wii console owners who are also Netflix subscribers and have a broadband internet connection to select movies from a catalog of choices and stream them to their television instantly. The service will be offered at no additional cost to subscribers to the DVD by mail service with Netflix with at least an $8.99/month plan.

Google to stop censoring results in China

Posted in Google by Conner Flynn on January 12th, 2010

Google has made a bold statement today and most would say that it is about time. It has announced that it will no longer censor search results on the Chinese version of the search engine. Apparently they are serious about it, even if it ends in the shut down of Google.cn. It seems that enough is finally enough. From the Official Google Blog:

We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all. We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China.

Tiniest 1080p PC is silent, enjoys Doublemint gum

Posted in Home Theater by Conner Flynn on January 12th, 2010

Yes HTPCs are getting smaller and smaller. One day soon they will be the size of a flash drive, with flash drives being the size of a pebble. This crazy small PC has a Via EPIA-P820 Pico-ITX motherboard inside, and Via’s AMOS-3001 is the first PC to use it. It has COM ports and two USB ports on the front, and Ethernet, USB, and HDMI ports in back. It measures just 6 inches wide.

The 1.2GHz all-in-one VIA VX855 Media System Processor plays 1080p video as well. And yes the design is fanless, which keeps things silent. No pricing info just yet, but we should know more soon.

Retro-tech Platinum table: Great idea, insane price

Posted in Furniture by Conner Flynn on January 12th, 2010

The Retro-tech Platinum table is a coffee table with a 22-inch monitor and a computer inside. The idea is that you hook the table up to your TV as a media center. Which is a pretty nifty idea. Especially for parties and get-togethers.

The problem is that it costs $4,850. You could do this yourself for hardly anything. It’s the sort of product that gets us all excited to put this in our livingroom and then sh*ts all over our carpet with it’s insane price. Oh well, someone will do a better version for far cheaper.

Android-powered 7-inch Netbook spotted at CES 2010

Posted in Android by Conner Flynn on January 12th, 2010

Android is literally in everything. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it show up in a teapot next. Anyhow, this GL-750 netbook was spotted at CES 2010 running the Google Android operating system. It comes from Taiwanese PC maker King Yung.

You get a 533MHz Freescale iMX31 ARM11-based processor along with 128MB RAM and up to 16GB of flash storage. Aside from Android, you can also get it with Windows CE or a lightweight Linux distro built on a 2.6.x kernel.

Motorola TN700, TN500 GPS navigators with Google search

Posted in GPS by Conner Flynn on January 12th, 2010

Motorola has announced two new GPS navigation devices, the TN700 and TN500. They are both “connected” devices, however you’ll need to hook them up to a Bluetooth-enabled cellphone if you want to transfer data. The technology comes from Airbiquity and the Google Search capability augments the internal POI database.

The TN500 has a 4.3″ widescreen display with lane guidance, junction views and spoken street names, while the TN700 has a larger 5.1″ cinematic display along with other features found on the TN500, but adds real-time traffic with an optional dash cradle.

JVC SP-A130 iPod nano-matching portable speakers

Posted in Speakers by Conner Flynn on January 12th, 2010

We first told you about these speakers back in September, but since everyone else is all gaga over them we thought we would remind you. JVC’s nano colored SP-A130 speakers are compatible with the nanos in size as well as color.

Just slide the cover out and you’ve got yourself a portable speaker with a 3.5mm input to connect it to your nano or other compatible portable media player. It’s powered by AA batteries and will be available this March for $29.95.

GPS lingerie could help geeks find women, but what then?

Posted in GPS by Conner Flynn on January 12th, 2010

GPS lingerie brings with it a whole bunch of ethical issues. You could potentially locate a cheating wife, or use it in an escort service situation where a pimp can keep tabs on his/her girls, or even play weird GPS sex games if that’s your deal.

For better or worse, Lindelucy of Brazil has outted GPS lingerie that lets you keep track of where the wearer is at all times. Not what they are doing sadly for voyeurs. We shouldn’t worry about the ethical issues that much. The lingerie will be taken off in a matter of minutes.

Swivel Car Tray, juicebox not included

Posted in Automotive by Conner Flynn on January 12th, 2010

Tired of having your food fly everywhere after you make a sudden turn? Worry no more. You are a large human mammal who needs to eat at all times, even when behind the wheel of a two ton killing machine. Thankfully some comapnies understand this and even encourage your gluttony with new products.

The Swivel Car Tray parks in your cupholder and allows you to shovel food from it’s built in tray to your hungry Jabba mouth while you roam the commuter wastelands looking for your next caloric adventure.

First leaked pictures of Sony Ericsson Faith

Posted in Sony Ericsson by Conner Flynn on January 12th, 2010

Sony Ericsson is singing a George Michael tune. They want you to believe that “You gotta have faith”. And so some new pictures of the unannounced Sony Ericsson phone called “Faith” have leaked. It’s a Green Heart device and runs Windows Mobile 6.5.

Some specs include: Multi-tasking with delight, Panels for 24 hours life, Sleek design with beautiful ergonomic, Qwerty keypad with good usability, AGPS, 2.4” QVGA touch screen, Micro Sd Card slot, Windows Mobile 6.5 and Green heart.