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Mad Catz rolls out Rock Band Fender bass guitar

Posted in Controllers by Nino Marchetti on September 8th, 2008

Mad Catz Rock Band Fender Precision Bass Replica for Xbox 360

The craze of video game controller guitars for titles like Rock Band continues today with the shipment of Mad Catz first ever Rock Band bass guitar. It is known as Rock Band Fender Precision Bass Replica for Xbox 360 and it prices around $70.

The Fender Precision Bass from Mad Catz is its initial offering under license from Harmonix and MTV Games related to the Rock Band game. It is compatible with both the older title and the upcoming sequel Rock Band 2 and can be used, according to Mad Catz, to play both lead and bass guitar portions of a music track.

Slim LiveView GPS PT-10 offers extremely timely tracking

Posted in GPS by Nino Marchetti on September 8th, 2008

LiveViewGPS PT-10

A company by the name of LiveViewGPS is claiming today to be offering the world’s smallest portable Live GPS tracking device. It is called the PT-10 and you’ll find it available for around $350.

The PT-10 from LiveViewGPS, measuring 3.5- x 2.08- x 0.75-inches, lets you track it live from any Web enabled computer via updates every 10 seconds when moving over 10mph, or every 20 feet when walking. The compact size and quick updates seem to make this the type of product one can use to keep track of loved ones, such as children, or items like cars.

Olympus adds new member to rugged Stylus SW family

Posted in Digital Cameras by Nino Marchetti on August 27th, 2008

Olympus Stylus 1050 SW

The camera gods of Olympus have rained down a fair number of new digital cameras this week – another one is a new member of the rugged Stylus SW series. It is known as the Stylus 1050 SW and you’ll find it pricing around $300 when it comes out in October.

The Stylus 1050 SW is a 10.1-megapixel shooter which Olympus says has a shockproof, waterproof and freezerproof body. It is available in four body colors and can be controlled with a simple tap on its top, back or sides, “which is made possible thanks to the new camera’s 3D accelerometer that detects the direction of the force on the camera’s body.”

Nokia N79 blends being pretty with multimedia functions

Posted in Mobile Phones by Nino Marchetti on August 27th, 2008

Nokia N79

Nokia released several new Nseries mobiles this week. The Nokia N79 is one of these and it’s coming to Europe this October – no specific American release information was made available.

The Nokia N79, according to its maker, offers up quite a lot of features for the multimedia inclined. This include, in a nutshell, “integrated navigation, music with FM transmitter, high-speed connectivity, superior web browsing, at least 10 pre-loaded N-Gage games and an advanced 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics.” It also combines 3.5G HSDPA and Wi-Fi wireless support.

New Polk Audio speakers look like garden accessories

Posted in Speakers by Nino Marchetti on August 27th, 2008

Polk Atrium

You want outdoors audio to compliment your peaceful garden but you don’t want something pumping out sound which looks like your dad’s subwoofer. Polk Audio thinks it has an answer to your prayers with its new Atrium outdoor speaker system, consisting of the Atrium Sat 30 satellite speaker and Atrium Sub 10 subwoofer, priced at around $180 and $330, respectively.

The Atrium Sat 30, according to Polk, looks like an outdoor light fixture in shape and style. It can be mounted in a variety of spaces, looking like it was made to fit into your garden. The Sat 10 subwoofer, meanwhile, resembles something like that of a plant stand or pedestal table. Both reportedly “are constructed from sealed, weatherproof designs,” meaning you should be able to enjoy them even in the pouring rain.

Olympus FE-Series digital camera updates go for entry level photographers

Posted in Digital Cameras by Nino Marchetti on August 27th, 2008

Olympus FE-370

It truly is digital camera craziness this week with all of these new shooters flooding the market in time for the holidays. Another product announcement this week from Olympus comes in the form of two new FE-Series models – the FE-360 and FE-370, priced around $150 and $200, respectively.

The FE-360 and FE-370, both available now, are targeted towards entry-level shooters. Both offer eight-megapixels, image stabilization, face detection, shot previews and in-camera help guides, among other features. You can get full details after the jump.

Three new Canon digital cameras update product lines

Posted in Digital Cameras by Nino Marchetti on August 27th, 2008

Canon PowerShot SX110 IS

Canon the other day unveiled three new digital cameras, among others, which fill out further its A-series line as well as its SX-series of ultra-zoom cameras. These cameras include the new PowerShot A1000 IS and PowerShot A2000 IS as well as the PowerShot SX110 IS. Pricing is set at around $200, $250 and $300, respectively.

Canon says these new cameras offer new looks, robust feature sets and lighter body designs. All should be available by the end of September. You can read full details after the jump.

LaCie puts designer touch on new NAS device

Posted in NAS by Nino Marchetti on August 27th, 2008

LaCie Network Space

LaCie’s got itself a new designer external hard drive today which is networked for NAS duty. It is called Network Space and you’ll find this drive offering 500GB or 1TB of storage when it becomes available next month.

The LaCie Network Space, which starts pricing around $150, is the latest design for the company by Neil Poulton. It has a black mirror-polished finish, fanless operation and blue LED strip. LaCie says it is usable right from the box by just plugging into an Ethernet port.

IOGEAR Wireless USB to VGA Kit gets friendly with HDTV

Posted in Adapters by Nino Marchetti on August 27th, 2008

IOGEAR Wireless USB to VGA Kit

IOGEAR has been on a tear of late with new connectivity products for your computer living experience. One of the latest is the Wireless USB to VGA Kit, priced around $230.

The IOGEAR Wireless USB to VGA Kit, according to IOGEAR, enables HD video streaming between a PC and TV or projector up to 720p in a home or office. It works from up to 30 feet away on a HDTV and lets one make use of the TV’s picture-in-picture feature to watch a show and look at a computer display at the same time.

Sony adds new GPS models to nav-u line

Posted in GPS by Nino Marchetti on August 27th, 2008

Sony nav-u NV-U94T

Sony took the wraps today off an expanded line up of its nav-u personal navigation devices. These new models – the NV-U94T, NV-U84, NV-U74T and NV-U44 – price around $400, $350, $300 and $250 respectively and will be available in September.

Sony says new features of these four just added nav-u GPS units include more brand icons, search functionality and photo viewing features. The top dog of this group is the NV-U94T, adding “a photo viewer, audio/video player and stereo Bluetooth technology for streaming audio and making hands-free phone calls using compatible devices.” You can get full details on these models after the jump.

Navigon packs lots of features into 7200T GPS unit

Posted in GPS by Nino Marchetti on August 27th, 2008

Navigon 7200T

Navigon is unveiling its latest high end GPS unit just in time before it goes on sale in October. It is known as the 7200T and you’ll find it pricing around $450.

The Navigon 7200T sports a thin design and touchscreen interface. Key features of this GPS device include free real-time traffic updates, voice recognition which routes one to an address based upon saying it, 3D points of interest, 3D views with road signs and lane guidance for many highway interchanges and exits, lane maps with arrows and road geometry, Bluetooth speakerphone integration and POI data from Zagat.

Navigon

Epson gets all stylish with new Artisan inkjet AIOs

Posted in Printers by Nino Marchetti on August 26th, 2008

Epson Artisan 800

Epson seems to feel adding some style to its new Artisan all-in-one inkjets will convince you to lay down cash to make one part of your home office. The new Artisan 800 and Artisan 700 are priced around $300 and $200, respectively.

The Artisan 800 and 700, both available in September, do look nice with their stylish piano black finishes. What is really interesting though is the mix of features. This is particularly true of the 800, which includes both Wi-Fi and faxing capabilities, in addition to being able to print, copy and scan at 4800 dpi resolution (48-bit color). It includes as well an automatic document feeder, 7.8-inch touch control panel and 3.5-inch LCD panel for viewing loaded photos from compatible memory cards.

Epson

NZXT Whisper gaming chassis offers quiet PC experience

Posted in Cases by Nino Marchetti on August 26th, 2008

NZXT Whisper

NZXT has itself a new full tower gaming chassis which sports noise dampening technology. It is called the Whisper and when it comes available next month it will cost you around $140.

The NZXT Whisper has 10mm noise dampening foam which pads both side panels and the top panel, among other noise reduction features. There’s space inside the chassis for nine hard drives and a total of six 5.25” bays for larger expansion cards. You’ll also find inside the Whisper a pre-drilled wire management system, screwless installation and four built-in fans.

NZXT

New iLuv digital alarm clock sports dual iPod/iPhone docks

Posted in Clocks by Nino Marchetti on August 26th, 2008

iLuv iMM173

The folks at iLuv announced today a rather cool looking new dual dock alarm clock which works with the iPhone 3G. It’s called the iMM173 and it prices around $130, with expected availability next month.

The new iMM173 offers dual integrated universal docks for iPods and iPhones. One can choose and play either of the two docked players. There’s also auxiliary line input for audio devices with a 3.5mm jack. Other features include a special user interface on the LCD display, sound enhancement technology, FM radio and an included remote control.

iLuv

Nikon rolls out anticipated D90 with HD video recording

Posted in Digital Cameras by Nino Marchetti on August 26th, 2008

Nikon D90

Nikon just launched its new D90 digital SLR, which has been highly anticipated for its ability to let photographers take great shots as well as record HD movie clips with sound. This 12.3-megapixel shooter will be available for around $1,000 for the body only or around $1,300 with an included AF-S DX Zoom-NIKKOR 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR lens.

The D90 lets users record HD movie clips (1280 x 720) with sound at up to 24 frames per second. Users can record movie clips onto an inserted SD / SDHC card, created as Motion JPEG AVI files, and play them back on larger screens via HDMI output. Key camera features of this new Nikon camera include a three-inch display, a burst rate of up to 4.5 frames per second, an 11-point auto focus (AF) system tied to scene recognition and face detection technologies, typical battery life offering typically up to 850 shots and a playback function which lets users show their images in either four, nine or 72 thumbnail images.