Apr 24

China Blue HD players revealed, second stage of the format war is officially on

Posted in: Today's Chili

China’s alternative to Blu-ray finally has some hardware to show off, with players from TCL and Shinco making their debut this week. Priced at less than 2,000 yuan ($292) they’re reportedly 40% cheaper than the competition, and while the promised support from Warner Bros. has yet to materialize it plans to release 100 movies on the CBHD format by the end of the year. That’s about all the machine translation could help us make out beyond the usual promise of lower licensing fees for Chinese manufacturers, but a better look at the latest (and by far most legit, although that’s not saying much) Blu-ray fighter is beyond the read link.

[Via CDR Info]

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China Blue HD players revealed, second stage of the format war is officially on originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 24

Wind and solar charger ‘tribrid’ for power blackouts

Posted in: Today's Chili

Kinesis Industries’ K3 is a compact “tribrid” wind and solar power generator about the size of a flashlight. The company calls it a tribrid since the built-in rechargeable battery also can be precharged with normal grid electricity using an AC plug. It also charges from any computer via USB, or …

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Apr 24

Army’s multimode death ray knocks out IEDs, vehicles, whiners

Posted in: laser, Today's Chili

While the US Air Force is dead set on shooting down missiles with airborne lasers, it looks like their colleagues in the Army are busy cooking up a little something called the Multimode Directed Energy Armament System (see our artist’s conceptual rendering, above). According to Wired, this device uses an ultra-short pulse laser to create an ionized channel through the air, which it can use to send bursts of energy, conduct electricity, or act as a waveguide for an intense pulse of microwaves. If you’re looking to knock out an IED, an oncoming vehicle, or an enemy combatant, this bad boy should do the trick just fine. The Army’s Armament Research Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC) plans on having a working prototype operating in a the real world sometime in 2011.

[Via Wired]

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Army’s multimode death ray knocks out IEDs, vehicles, whiners originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Apr 2009 06:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 24

Zip-It: Headphone Concept Keeps it Tangle-Free

Posted in: headphones, Today's Chili

Yi_earphones1

Wake up Belkin, Griffin and other iAccessory makers — you need to be selling this splendidly innovative concept design from Yanko-er Ji Woong.

The YI headphones not only beat tangles with their built-in zipper which meshes the two cords together — it also makes any old t-shirt look like an ultra-smart zip-up top.

We especially love the zipper handle, which has a twisting tip with which to control the volume, and also a push-in switch that acts as a hold button for that volume control.

So come on, Belkin, Griffin and everyone else. Stop dickering around with FM transmitters (which never work) or in-line remote adapters which put the Shuffle-sized control next to the Shuffle itself and make me some of these. I have $29 with your name on it.

Zip Up Tangles [Yanko via the Twitter]

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Apr 24

Video: iPod Shuffle vs. Kindle 2 Speech Fight

Posted in: kindle, Media Players, Today's Chili

This fantastic video pits the text-to-voice abilities of the iPod Shuffle and the Kindle 2 against each other in an amazingly appropriate contrivance — the two machines re-enact the Voight-Kampff interview from the movie Blade Runner.

If you have seen the movie or have read the novella Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, you’re in for a treat. If you haven’t, stop reading immediately and go do your duty.

The purpose of the video — to check out the quality of the artificial speech, is satisfied with a clear winner — the Kindle. This may be because it is based on the voice of a real person, and not a replicant voice like that of Alex in the shuffle. Are you seeing how clever this video is yet?

Talking Gadget Theater: Blade Runner, starring the Kindle 2 and iPod Shuffle [DVICE]

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Apr 24

Video: Blade Runner starring the iPod shuffle and Kindle 2

Posted in: amazon, Apple, Today's Chili, video

You’ve probably heard the text-to-speech capabilities of the Amazon Kindle 2 and iPod shuffle by now. But you probably haven’t heard them act out Leon’s VK test from Blade Runner. Check the newest nerd-legend after the break, then come back and tell us about your mothers.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Video: Blade Runner starring the iPod shuffle and Kindle 2 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Apr 2009 05:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 24

Googlephone: One Million Sold in Six Months

Posted in: Today's Chili

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T-Mobile’s G1 aka the Googlephone was released to an excited (and nerdy) public back on October 21st last year. The verdict back then was that the Android OS was pretty good, but needed work, and that the HTC handset was a piece of junk, featuring a big, thumb-annoying lump of plastic next to the keyboard and a generally underpowered computer inside.

So its a surprise to us to find out that, just six months later, the G1 has sold a million units. That’s a healthy number for a pretty non-hyped (in the real, non-geek world at least) handset. By contrast, it took Apple just 74 days to shift a million iPhones, or just over two months. Another interesting tidbit is that the total number of 3G phones sold by T-Mobile in the US in the same six-month period was 1.5 million. This shows just how successful the G1 has been.

Now, if only HTC can fix the five-minute battery life for the G2, we’re on.

Press release [T-mobile via ★]

Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

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Apr 24

Redrock Micro Hybrid Cinema Rigs turn DSLRs into filmmakers

Posted in: dslr, film, Today's Chili

Yep, you heard right — the DSLR is totally the new camcorder. With the reality being that most mid- and high-end DSLRs from here on out will tout at least 720p movie modes, Redrock Micro is looking to make the most of a most opportune situation. The DSLR 2.0 line of its Hybrid Cinema Rigs enables the Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Nikon D90, and Panasonic Lumix HG1 to become filmmaking machines (at least on some level), and as we’ve seen, DSLR filmmaking is no laughing matter. The company sells all sorts of racks, rails and shoulder mounts, with solutions starting for as little as $195. Look, you’ve been putting off making that dust-collecting screenplay into a masterpiece of cinema for ages — what legitimate excuse do you really have now?

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Redrock Micro Hybrid Cinema Rigs turn DSLRs into filmmakers originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Apr 2009 05:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 24

MSI’s X-Slim X340 CULV thin and light bait and switch?

Posted in: msi, price, Today's Chili

Uh, MSI. The $1,100 price tag you’re showing for the X-Slim X340 CULV-based thin-and-light laptop on your retail site is not “under $1,000” as you promised three weeks ago. Then again, maybe you’ll slip in a lesser spec’d model by the time the “Out of stock” badge changes to “Shipping?” Know this MSI, we’re watching you.

[Thanks, Andrew R.]

Continue reading MSI’s X-Slim X340 CULV thin and light bait and switch?

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MSI’s X-Slim X340 CULV thin and light bait and switch? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Apr 2009 04:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 24

Viliv S5 reviewed, is mostly smiles with good video playback

Posted in: MID, PMP, Reviews, tablet, tablet pc, TabletPc, Today's Chili, touchscreen, UMPC, Windows, Windows XP

You’ve seen its introduction, its unboxing — in two different languages, no less — and maybe even fancied the pre-order page. Now Pocketables has what appears to be one of the first full-fledged review of the Viliv S5, and the verdict? It’s quite a sturdy and well-built MID, with surprisingly good battery life and video performance from the Intel Atom Z520 processor (same one as found in the Vaio P). The virtual keyboard leaves a lot to be desired for, and it’s a shame to hear the joystick’s mouse functionality is limited to four directions, but despite these complaints and a $599 price tag, the conclusion is still a overwhelmingly positive for those who like the form factor. Hit up the read link for the full examination.

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Viliv S5 reviewed, is mostly smiles with good video playback originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Apr 2009 03:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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