Archive for March, 2011

PlayStation business card case

Posted in Games by Conner Flynn on March 14th, 2011

The original PlayStation may be gone, but it is not forgotten. That’s why Takara Tomy Arts has introduced the Original PlayStation Business Card Case for geeks who miss the console and want to present their business cards in style.

It’s made from aluminum and looks just like the original PlayStation, just smaller. It’s available now in Japan and hopefully we will get it here in the US as well. You will certainly make an impression with this card holder. It’s business on the inside and a PS party outside.

WattsClever recharges regular batteries

Posted in Chargers by Conner Flynn on March 14th, 2011

Why buy rechargables when you can get more juice from regular alkaline batteries? You can put your regular batteries into a battery recharger and treat them just like rechargable batteries. WattsClever has released an alkaline battery charger that allows you to do just that.

The charger uses a “microprocessor to minutely control the trickle charge so the batteries don’t overheat and die.” We aren’t sure how long the recharged batteries will last, or how many times you can recharge them, but it’s a good alternative to buying expensive rechargables. This charger also works with Ni-Cd or Ni-MH rechargeable batteries, so you are covered no matter what you use. The WattsClever alkaline battery charger will cost you $46.

HTC Thunderbolt coming March 17th

Posted in HTC by Conner Flynn on March 14th, 2011

We’ve been pretty psyched about HTC’s Thunderbolt ever since we first heard about it. And frankly that seems like a lifetime ago, after it’s release has been pushed further and further back. But now we have some good news and we hope that our hopes don’t get dashed yet again. A leaked email and an HTC regional sales manager’s tweet (the account has now been deleted) both claim that Verizon’s first 4G handset will finally be available on March 17th.

HTC posted on Facebook that the official launch date will be announced “soon, “. Well, four days from now qualifies as soon in our book. If they delay this again, people are going to start looking at other options.

iPad 2 Jailbroken

Posted in iPad by Conner Flynn on March 14th, 2011

The latest version of the iPad, the iPad 2 only went on sale on Friday in the US, and @comex has already managed to Jailbreak the new device, though we don’t have any details on just when the jailbreak will be made available to everyone. That didn’t take long at all. The jailbroken device was a Verizon Wireless model, but the 3G versions should also be able to be jailbroken just as easily.

Interestingly, this iPad 2 was jailbroken remotely, the iPad 2 used belonged to @chpwn. It shouldn’t be long now until the jailbreak for the new iPad 2 is available to everyone. When we know more, we will let you know.

Hulu Android app coming soon, but only for some devices

Posted in Hulu by Conner Flynn on March 13th, 2011

Hulu’s Hulu Plus plans for Android are getting closer with a new teaser in its device list. The teaser shows the Plus service “coming soon,” but not for all devices. Only certain ones. Use of the TV streaming will require “select Android OS 2.2 phones,” according to the company.

Pretty odd since the photo shows the Nexus S, which runs Android 2.3, but maybe they are preparing to change the image. As for why the access is limited, it is likely due to Android fragmentation. Netflix knows first hand that the platform has wildly varying DRM support in most versions and it would have to write too much code to support most or all Android devices. So support is coming, but there is a price. It will shut out a large portion of the Android community. Hulu, who is very keen to guard against stream ripping also faces this barrier. One day though, we hope to have Hulu Plus on all of our Android devices. The question is when?

Sony Ericsson Xperia Play launches in the UK March 31st

Posted in Sony Ericsson by Conner Flynn on March 13th, 2011

We’ve all been waiting for Sony Ericsson’s new gaming smartphone and now it looks like the Xperia Play will go on sale in the UK on March 31st. The Xperia Play will come with six games installed at launch and UK customers can expect it on Thursday the 31st of March, for a still unknown price.

Sony Ericsson says that the Xperia Play will have the biggest UK marketing campaign ever, so get ready for mega advertising. The games that are included at launch are Fifa 10, The Sims 3, Tetris, Bruce Lee Dragon Warriors, Start Battalion and Crash Bandicoot. There will be fifty different games available to download at launch through Sony’s PlayStation suite, so you will have plenty to play with more coming.

ASUS announces three new full HD monitors

Posted in ASUS by Conner Flynn on March 13th, 2011

ASUS has announced three new Full HD Monitors to their Designo ML series. These models are the 21.5-inch ML229H, 23-inch ML239H and 24-inch ML249H. The LED-backlight monitors deliver 1920 x 1080 Full HD resolution, 50,000,000:1 contrast ratio, and 250 cd/m2 brightness.

There is a 5ms response time for the ML229H and ML239H, an 8ms response time for the ML249H and 178-degree ultra-wide viewing angles. They come with D-Sub and HDMI connectors. No info on pricing yet however.

Official LEGO USB Drive

Posted in USB Flash Drives by Conner Flynn on March 13th, 2011

Lego fanatics can never get enough colored bricks or mini Lego people, so they will love this toy. The Classic LEGO Minifigure is now available as a USB flash drive. How awesome is that? This is a Lego Mini-fig with a 2GB USB flash memory drive inside.

You can store all of those pictures of your Lego creations, MP3s, games, documents and whatever. It will also attach to your keychain, so you won’t lose it. The official LEGO USB flash drive is compatible with Mac and PC as well as every geek it comes into contact with.

Signeo USA Soul By Ludacris Headphones

Posted in Headphones by Conner Flynn on March 13th, 2011

These headphones have plenty of soul. They are from Signeo USA and these new headphones are called Soul by Ludacris. It’s a collaborative effort with Grammy winning artist Chris “Ludacris” Bridges. The SOUL brand initially will offer a 5-model line-up of high definition headphones.

These headphones deliver superior sound and presumably Ludacris approved style. The Signeo USA Soul by Ludacris headphones are priced between $69 to $299. No info yet on a release date, but we are hoping they arrive soon.

BlackBerry PlayBook to launch with video conferencing app

Posted in BlackBerry by Conner Flynn on March 13th, 2011

Video calling is now a major trend in mobile devices and so the BlackBerry PlayBook wants it on board as well. It ships with both front and rear cameras, for just that reason. But it was assumed that the PlayBook would be using a third party app like Skype for video calling, but according to RIM, they will be releasing their own video conferencing app that will be launching with the tablet.

Aside from that, we don’t have any details on the app. We aren’t sure if it will be limited to BlackBerry PlayBook tablets or if it will show up on other phones and computers. The tablet will be arriving very soon, so we will learn more anytime now.

iFixit tears down the iPad 2

Posted in iPad by Conner Flynn on March 13th, 2011

If a gadget is new, the folks at iFixit will tear it down. It’s as certain as death and taxes. Now it’s time for the iPad 2′s turn. Apple’s latest iOS device was laid out and surgery commenced. The tear down helped them discover that the tablet carries a slightly larger battery than the previous model.

They also learned that the hard to remove front display panel was tricky, but aside from that, the device was pretty easy to take apart. If you need to know how to take yours apart, you can head over to iFixit to find out how. Just make sure you can actually do it first, so you don’t kill the device.

HTC Incredible S spotted in the wild, gets the hands on treatment

Posted in HTC by Reuben Drake on March 13th, 2011

The HTC Incredible S was shown off at the Mobile World Congress last month and was scheduled to be released in Q2 this year. The FCC has already taken a look at the device, and now we have some images of the device in the wild, so we hope that the Android phone will arrive very soon.

Until that happens, the guys at Android Spin recently got their hands on the Incredible S and have provided some photos. They will be also be posting their hands-on experience with the device and sharing it. To refresh your memory the HTC Incredible S features a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM 8655 processor, a 4″ WVGA LCD screen, Android 2.2, 8 megapixel rear camera with flash, 1.3 megapixel front facing camera, 4GB of internal storage, 768MB of RAM, and a 1450mAh battery.

New Toshiba REGZA RB2 TVs with Blu-ray players

Posted in HDTV by Conner Flynn on March 11th, 2011

Toshiba has introduced a new line of REGZA RB2 TVs for those of us also in need of a Blu-ray player. The new REGZA RB2 TVs will come with Blu-ray players built directly into the TV, saving you the hassle of buying them seperately.

The RB2 TVs come in 3 different sizes. There’s the 26″ 26RB2 for $1,269, the 32″ 32RB2 for $1,390 and the 40″ 40RB2 for $2,055. The REGZA RB2 TVs are now available in Japan, and might even hit our shores after a bit.

Sony NGP to arrive in Europe on November 11th?

Posted in PSP by Conner Flynn on March 11th, 2011

Sony’s Jack Tretton said that the company intended to launch their Next Generation Portable in “at least one territory” by the end of 2011, and now we might have the answer as to which one. Reports indicate that the quad-core, OLED packing handheld may arrive in Europe first on November 11th.

If this is true, it would be a fitting date, 11/11/11. The anonymous sources say that “development deadlines have been set to ensure key Western releases are finished before the end of the summer for deployment in the autumn.” anyway, it gives all of us some time to save up our money.

Call Of Duty Black Ops now the all-time best selling US game

Posted in Games by Conner Flynn on March 10th, 2011

This isn’t really a surprise since most of you reading this are probably just taking a breather between Prestige levels, but Black Ops has now sold more than Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Planescape Torment, Super Mario Galaxy and basically any other blockbuster game.

The information comes from NPD. The folks at Treyarch are surely celebrating. Now comes the hard part. Having to outdo themselves and make an even better game so they can do it again and celebrate some more.