Archive for June, 2010

ColorWare wants to add some color to your TV

Posted in HDTV by Conner Flynn on June 15th, 2010

Not content with jazzing up your handheld devices, the folks at Colorware now want to give your TV a color makeover. LED or 3D, it makes no difference to them.

They will color the bejesus out of whatever you have. But this time, instead of mocking up your TV’s new paint job on their site, you’ll have to call with the type of colors you want to customize all over your TV. What color would you want?

Toshiba Satellite T200 Series Laptops

Posted in Toshiba by Conner Flynn on June 15th, 2010

Toshiba has announced its new line of T200 series thin and light laptops with low-power processors and an affordable price. The two new laptops are the 13.3-inch Satellite T235 and the 11.6-inch Satellite T215. Both laptops feature Toshiba’s Fusion Chrome finish, with a patterned design on the outside.

They are available in red, white and black and are just an inch thin, and under four pounds. Prices start at $469.99.

Nintendo 3DS gets official

Posted in Nintendo 3DS by Conner Flynn on June 15th, 2010

At E3 today, Nintendo has made the 3DS official. The device looks sharp. At least the one they had on stage does. Looks a bit thicker, but we can’t be sure. There’s a 3D Depth Slider on the side to maximize or eliminate the 3D depth effect. The bottom screen is the only touchscreen, just like the original DS, but in this case with a 3.5-inch widescreen on top. There’s a slide pad for analog control and also an accelerometer and a gyroscope.

It sports a camera on the inside and two lenses on the outside for taking 3D photos with the device. But that isn’t it. The Nintendo 3DS is also capable of showing 3D Hollywood movies. The graphics look pretty sweet for a handheld, almost Wii-like.

Viewsonic unveils VMP75 digital media player

Posted in Viewsonic by Shane McGlaun on June 15th, 2010

Viewsonic has been creeping into categories where it hasn’t traditionally played over the last months. The company now offers things like netbooks and notebooks and has unveiled its first network media player.

The device is called the VMP75 and it can stream just about every audio and video format around. The system can stream online content like Netflix, YouTube, Live3655, Flickr and more. You can also shoot media on your PC over the to the TV in the living room.

Turtle Beach Ear Force PBT for PS3 unveiled

Posted in Turtle Beach by Shane McGlaun on June 15th, 2010

Turtle Beach has unveiled its latest headset for gamers called the Ear Force PBT. The Ear Force line has a ton of headsets in it and some of them offer surround sound and other special features for gaming. The special feature for the PBT is that it is a Bluetooth headset.

The PBT connects to the PS3 wirelessly and looks like a Bluetooth headset for a mobile phone. The device can pair with two devices at once. That means you can pair to your mobile phone and the PS3 allowing you to answer calls during the game.

SuperTalent TeraDrive CT SSD debuts

Posted in SSD by Shane McGlaun on June 15th, 2010

SuperTalent has a full line of SSD offerings along with lots of other storage products using flash. The company has added a new SSD to its TeraDrive family called the TeraDrive CT. The drive uses SATA 3Gbps connectivity and is aimed at desktops and notebooks.

The SSD supports garbage collection and TRIM command in Windows and promises 285MB/s read speed and 275MB/s writes. The SSD uses the SandForce 1222 SSD processor and features wear leveling.

Active Media Products offers Key Drive USB drive

Posted in USB,USB Flash Drives by Shane McGlaun on June 15th, 2010

There are lots of people out there who like to keep a flash drive on them at all times. The problem is that many folks forget to take one with them that isn’t small enough to fit in a purse, wallet, or on a keychain.

Active Media Products has announced a new USB flash drive called the Key Drive that is made from metal and shaped like a house key. The Key Drive has exposed USB contacts and is only 3mm thick.

Kindle 2.5 Firmware Update available in the US

Posted in kindle by Conner Flynn on June 15th, 2010

It’s been a long bumpy road for the 2.5 update, but Kindle owners in the US can finally have it. The Kindle 2.5 firmware update has been available for international users for a few days and now it’s available for US Kindle owners.

Just leave the wireless on your Kindle turned on, and the magic will happen. The 2.5 firmware update includes the following. Collections: To help you organize your books and documents. Facebook & Twitter Posts: Allows you to share your notes and highlighted book passages with friends on Facebook and Twitter. You can also see what the Kindle community thinks are the most interesting passages in the books you’re reading and now you can zoom into PDFs and pan easily. There’s also Password Protection and more font sizes with improved Clarity.

Samsung Wave 2 and Wave 2 Pro get official

Posted in Samsung by Conner Flynn on June 15th, 2010

We can add another to the growing number of Samsung’s phones powered by the Bada mobile OS. The company has just announced the Wave 2 S5250 and Wave 2 Pro S5330 mobile phones. Both have similar specs, but the Wave 2 Pro features a physical QWERTY sliding keyboard.

Both phones should be available in Russia and South East Asia in August. Not Sure when they hit elsewhere. Some specs include Quad-band GPRS/EDGE, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1, 3.2-inch TFT LCD, 3-megapixel camera with video recorder, A-GPS, 80MB built in memory, Up to 16GB of microSD card expansion and the TouchWiz 3.0 user interface.

Wii controllers for people with really small hands

Posted in Wii Accessories by Conner Flynn on June 15th, 2010

Do you have freakishly small hands? If so, the Wiimote is probably too big for you. Good thing Power A has your back with this new MiniRemote and MiniChuck. These controllers are 35% smaller. Great for those of small hand, little people, grandmothers and kids.

This retails for $49.99 and is due out in September. They are fully compatible with MotionPlus, and feature large buttons that are easy to find with your tiny fingers.

Toshiba A665 Laptop ready for 3D Blu-ray and Games

Posted in Toshiba by Conner Flynn on June 15th, 2010

The A665 is a 15.6-inch laptop that will hit US stores on June 20th. It features a 3D Blu-ray capable drive, Intel’s Core i7-740QM quad core processor, NVIDIA GeForce GTS 350M discrete graphics, 4GB DDR3 RAM, a 640GB hard drive, and a 12-cell battery. The basic 3D model starts at $1600.

If 3D isn’t for you, Toshiba has a non-3D A665 and the M645, both of which offer processors ranging from Core i3 up to Core i7 or AMD’s Phenom II Quad Core and optional discrete graphics. These two models come with seamless graphics switching Nvidia Optimus technology. Starting prices are $800 and $730. Both look like they offer solid performance and will be available this Sunday as well.

Starbucks to Offer WiFi for Free July 1

Posted in Wi-Fi by Darrin Olson on June 14th, 2010

Starbucks Free WiFiThe coffee peddling behemoth Starbucks announced today that it will not be outdone by independent coffee houses nor other national chains and will begin offering unlimited free WiFi to it’s customers. Starbucks has had WiFi available for some time now, for a fee, and has most recently offered 2 free hours per day to cardholders but now is giving the service away to all.

This announcement no doubt will come as great news to frequenters of the coffee houses and bad news to anyone trying to sell WiFi within the vicinity. Please note however that the free service is only for Starbucks stores operated directly by the corporation, and not to licensed locations commonly found in airports or grocery stores.

Xbox 360 Kinect Coming Nov. 4th, Ready to Fight

Posted in Xbox 360 by Darrin Olson on June 14th, 2010

Microsoft Xbox 360 KinectMicrosoft has officially announced today that its Kinect game system will go on sale starting November 4th, just in time for the holidays and to wage war on rival Nintendo. The new motion-sensing system will work with the Xbox 360 and consists of a 3-camera appliance that plugs into the console. The system will allow players to interact with games using body gestures and voice commands, taking it one step further than the motion controllers of the Nintendo Wii.

Microsoft has also disclosed 15 games that will be available to work with the motion-sensitive Kinect system, all involving exercise and physical play. Titles include Zomba Party, Game Party in Motion, Motionsports, Kinect Adventures, The Biggest Loser: Ultimate Workout, Kinect Joyride, Kinect Sports, Adrenalin Misfits, Deca Sports Collection, Dance Central, Dance Masters, Sonic Free Riders, Kinectimals, EA Sports Active 2.0 and Your Shape: Fitness Evolved.

New Xbox 360 is official at $299, ships today

Posted in Xbox 360 by Conner Flynn on June 14th, 2010

Meet the new Xbox 360. It will launch today for $299. The old Elite will be $249 and the Arcade will drop to $149. The new console looks like a stealth Xbox in glossy black with touch-sensitive buttons. According to Microsoft it’s “whisper quiet,” with one large fan instead of two.

It has integrated 802.11n WiFi, five USB ports, and 250GB of storage on a removable hard drive, though it’s not the same drive as the old console, and older Memory Units won’t work, either. To upgrade you can use a USB-to-Xbox hard drive connector cable to migrate to the new box. What do you think?

Video calls and stream sharing over Xbox Live and Live Messenger

Posted in Xbox 360 by Conner Flynn on June 14th, 2010

Xbox Live and Windows Live Messenger are about to collide. But hopefully in a friendly and personal way. Microsoft just announced a new video chat service called Video Kinect. It’s an extension of its brand new Kinect voice- and motion-sensing control system.

We’re talking more than just video calling. You’ll be able to watch movies, news, sports and more with whoever you’re chatting with. Another interesting new feature is a skeleton-tracking tech that makes the Kinect unit follow users as they move around the room. Sounds creepy, but at least it is connecting you with your friends.