Roland TR-808 flash drive

Posted in USB Flash Drives by Reuben Drake on August 4th, 2011

This 8GB TR-808 flash drive is perfect for DJs and other music enthusiasts. You can pre-order it now for $40. Sadly it doesn’t also function as the real thing, but at least it looks authentic in a mini form.

It might be fun to fool your friends and tell them that you’ve shrunk the real instrument. Hopefully they won’t ask you to play it and prove it.

Toshiba Qosmio F755 arriving August 16th, for $1,699

Posted in Toshiba by Reuben Drake on August 3rd, 2011

The Qosmio F750 glasses-free 3D laptop is now called the F755. August 16th is the date when you’ll be able to pick up Toshiba’s latest 15.6-inch media machine starting at $1,699. The notebook packs in a Core i7 processor, 6GB of RAM, and a 750GB hard disk.

Other features include a Blu-ray drive, and GeForce GT 540M GPU. It won’t be able to convert 2D games to 3D out of the box, but Toshiba is working with Nvidia to deliver that feature by November, if you can wait that long. It starts shipping in about two weeks.

PlayStation Vita hits the FCC

Posted in PS Vita by Reuben Drake on August 3rd, 2011

Sony’s highly anticipated PlayStation Vita has finally arrived at the FCC for wireless testing and approval. The Commission’s test documents do not shed any new light on features, but the approval suggests the company is on schedule to launch the device in time for the holiday season.

Rumors have the Vita hitting stores this fall. There is an ad supposedly from Blockbuster UK that points to an October 28 date as well.

All of Time Inc’s Publications Will Be Available As Tablet Editions By 2012

Posted in News by Reuben Drake on August 3rd, 2011

If you are a fan of Time Inc’s publications, you’ll be happy to know that it will be bringing all its 21 publications out as tablet editions before the end of the year. Time Inc. is the first major U.S. magazine publisher to make all of its titles available specifically for tablet devices.

Time Inc. has also announced a new agreement with Barnes & Noble to sell digital subscriptions of its publications on the NOOK Color e-reader. No surprise there. The new e-reader editions will be available toward the end of August.

Qualcomm Renames Its Snapdragon Processors

Posted in Processors by Reuben Drake on August 3rd, 2011

Qualcomm has announced a new naming scheme for its Snapdragon processors. The idea is to make it easier for consumers to understand what is powering their device. Now Qualcomm Snapdragon processors will be known as S1,S2, S3 and S4. The higher the number the faster the processor.

That should keep things simple for those who have a hard time keeping track. The S4 processors will encompass Qualcomm’s new range of Quad-Core processors which have yet to be launched, while the S1 range will include processors designed for mass market smartphones.

Compaq Mini CQ10-688nr netbook arriving August 4th

Posted in Notebooks by Reuben Drake on August 3rd, 2011

The Compaq Mini CQ10-688nr comes with a 10.1-inch screen and 1024 x 600 resolution. It packs an Intel Atom N455 CPU at 1.66GHz, a 250GB HDD and it has 1GB of DDR3 RAM. There’s also a VGA resolution webcam for video chatting, WiFi and a media card reader.

If you’re into LTE you can expect to see download speeds in the 5-12Mbps range and uploads around 2 to 5Mbps. The Compaq Mini CQ10-688nr will retail for $449.99 with a new 2-year customer agreement. A monthly data plan with 2GB of monthly data is $30, 5GB of monthly data is $50, and 10GB of monthly data is $80.

Out Run arcade game lets you game and drive

Posted in News by Reuben Drake on August 3rd, 2011

Gaming and driving? At the same time? Awesome. Garnet Hertz’s augmented reality-based OutRun project marries a concept car to Sega’s classic driving game with an electric golf cart, allowing players to navigate their way around real-life courses. It’s like driving an arcade cabinet.

Hertz outfitted the system with cameras and customized software that can see in front of the car to automatically reproduce the route on the screen. The map is displayed in the same 8-bit rendering as the original OutRun, with perspectives changing with the steering. It only hits 13 mph, but it’s awesome even at that speed.

Jerrycan Gas Can speakers

Posted in Speakers by Reuben Drake on August 3rd, 2011

Just because these speakers come in a gas can form, doesn’t mean they will cost you a fortune on gas to run. They will just cost a fortune. These Jerrycan Gas Can Speakers are a gas. My jokes have run out of fuel at this point.

They will cost you £285 ($470) and weigh about 55 lbs, and are even available in a variety of colors.We’ll let you decide if they are worth it.

iHome SD63 Retro-Style Headphones

Posted in Headphones by Conner Flynn on August 3rd, 2011

iHome has released the new SD63 Retro-Style Hi-Fi Stereo headphones. These boast an on-ear design and feature a pair of 40mm neodymium drivers, an adjustable headband, air-cushioned ear pads for added comfort, a six-foot coiled cord, chrome accents, and Soundesign branding.

You also get a rotary volume control on one of the two swiveling ear cups. The iHome SD63 Retro-Style Hi-Fi Stereo headphones are priced at $49.99 and we love the retro style.

Iomega Mac Companion Hard Drive

Posted in Mac by Conner Flynn on August 3rd, 2011

Iomega has released the new Mac Companion Hard Drive, which is available in 2TB or 3TB storage capacities. It features a 2.1 Amp USB charging port designed specifically for charging your iPad, iPhone, or iPod and uses a fast 7200 RPM 3.5-inch hard drive formatted HFS+ for compatibility with Mac computers right out of the box.

The device fits perfectly on the base of your Apple iMac or your monitor. It also boasts two FireWire 800 ports, one USB 2.0 port, and a two-port integrated USB 2.0 hub that lets you connect multiple devices. The 2TB model is priced at $195. The 3TB model is $295.

LG Revolution To Get Bugfix Update

Posted in LG by Conner Flynn on August 3rd, 2011

LG Revolution users on Verizon LTE are about to get a new OTA update for their smartphones very soon. Not Gingerbread on the Revolution just yet, but VS910ZV6 has new apps, updates, and bugfixes in the meantime.

Verizon will provide you with its latest VCAST media apps, as well as provide updates for some of the pre-installed titles on the Revolution. None of the bugfixes address any serious problems with the phone itself, but they’ll make sure that it works the way you expect it to, with proper call notifications when in vibrate mode, auto-correct not turning on by default, album art displaying correctly etc.

iPad 2 Game Boy case

Posted in iPad by Conner Flynn on August 3rd, 2011

The iPad 2 is one of the most beloved gadgets, so is the original gameboy. Put them together and you have something ultra awesome. This iPad 2 Game Boy case is one of the coolest cases we’ve seen. And we’ve seen plenty.

No release date yet and since Nintendo likes to go after Gameboy imitators, this may not be offered for long. We will have to wait and see what happens.

Best Buy offering free Nexus S for one day

Posted in News by Conner Flynn on August 3rd, 2011

Have you been on the fence about getting a Nexus S? Well, Best Buy has announced that starting last night (August 2nd) at midnight it will begin offering the Google Nexus S for free. You’ll still have to have a two-year agreement with AT&T, Sprint, or T-Mobile, but it beats full price.

Better hurry because if you wait a day later the price will jump back up. We imagine Best Buy will be very busy today with this news.

Motorola Droid Bionic specs revealed

Posted in Motorola by Conner Flynn on August 2nd, 2011

We know that you can’t wait to get yourself a Droid Bionic and you’ve no doubt been wondering about the specs. Well, they are on Motorola’s developer site. It features a TI OMAP 4430 1GHz dual-core CPU bundled with 1GB RAM, a 4.3-inch qHD display with 960 x 540 resolution, HDMI 1.4, 8 megapixel rear camera and a VGA front-facing camera.

Other specs include 1080p HD video capture, webtop capabilities, and LTE radio. No GSM / EDGE of course. At least now we know some more of what it’s offering.

Calling from Gmail now in 38 languages, with lower rates

Posted in Google by Conner Flynn on August 2nd, 2011

If you like to make calls from Gmail, then here’s some good news. The service will now support over 38 different languages, and Google has also lowered the call rates to more than 150 destinations.

The rates have been cut quite a bit. For example, you can make calls to a landline in France for $0.02/min, while it will only cost you $0.10/min to call a mobile phone in UK and chat up your British friends. Calls to the U.S. or Canada placed within those countries will continue to be free for the rest of 2011. Calls to the U.S. or Canada placed from outside these countries will be charged $0.01 per minute. That’s a bargain.