May 14

Cheap Geek: Canon VIXIA Video Camera, Computer Briefcase, Sennheiser Headphones

Posted in: headphones, Today's Chili

CanonVIXIAHG21.jpg

If you waited for the Tuesday matinee so you could see the new Star Trek movie for $2, you might be a cheap geek.

1. Some people like pocket video cameras, and some people demand professional quality. If you want to record video that will look amazing on your wall-size flat panel, try the Canon VIXIA HG21 camcorder. Amazon has it for $899, and you know that includes free shipping. This Canon records AVCHD video, offers a 12X optical zoom, and has a 120GB hard drive for storing up to 45 hours of video. You’ll enjoy crystal-clear images from the 3.3-megapixel full-HD CMOS sensor.

2. Here’s a beautiful deal for business travelers: Amazon is selling the SwissGear rolling computer briefcase in black for $86.88 (with free shipping). It’s made from super-durable ballistic nylon and includes a padded carry handle, a shoulder strap, and a telescoping handle for rolling it.

3. Upgrade to Sennheiser’s Open-Aire stereo headphones and hear what you’ve been missing. Buy.com has them for $51.91 with free shipping. I’m crazy about the sleek yet rugged design.

No Comments | Tags: ,
May 14

Video: Polish students take building light shows to the next level

Posted in: Today's Chili, video

Our friends at Engadget Polska caught this video of a giant lightshow — a nerdworks, if you will — put on by a group of students at Wrocław University of Technology. This is not the first time we’ve seen such a display, nor is it a first for this particular group, who call themselves Projekt P.I.W.O. — but it is one of the best (and longest). The ten minute show includes much classic geekery — Pong, Tetris, Dr. Mario, and Michael Jackson. Yes, that’s right: Michael Jackson. Check the video after the break.

[Via Engadget Polska]

Continue reading Video: Polish students take building light shows to the next level

Filed under:

Video: Polish students take building light shows to the next level originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 May 2009 13:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments
May 14

Fuel for Your iPhone or Blackberry

Posted in: Today's Chili

Case-MateFuel.jpg
If you’ve ever drained your cell phone’s battery in a single day (something that’s easy to do if you have an iPhone), you’ll appreciate the new Fuel cases from Case-Mate. While they’re similar to Mophie’s Juice Pack line of cases in that they provide extra significant charge, they have one big advantage: they have belt clips. Mophie Juice Pack cases are available for the iPod Touch and iPhone, while there are Fuel cases for the iPhone 3G and the Blackberry Bold.

The Fuel for iPhone 3G delivers up to 9 additional hours of talk time or 7 hours of Internet use. The BlackBerry case delivers up to 7 additional hours of talk time or 20 more days of standby. Both have racheting 180-degree belt clips. If the iPhone case protected the top edge, I think it would be perfect. I don’t love that it leaves so much exposed.

Each case sells for $79.99. If you need a little extra incentive, Case-Mate is currently giving away $5 Starbucks gift cards with each order.

No Comments | Tags: ,
May 14

iHome iP1 isn’t bad for an iPod dock, packs a Bongiovi punch

Posted in: Features, iPhone, iphone 3g, Iphone3g, ipod, ipod dock, IpodDock, Today's Chili

We’re not what you’d call audiophiles — we’ve stood dangerously close to a 128kb MP3 or two in our lives, and even tried internet radio once — but we still seem to prefer things that “sound good.” That cuts out most iPod docks on the market, which due to price, size and know-how constraints tend to do few favors for the low-bitrate music they usually serve up.

Enter the new iP1 dock from iHome, which kicks off a new “Studio Series” for the manufacturer, and features “Bongiovi Digital Power Station processing” to bump up the quality. Tony Bongiovi, audio engineer and cousin to Jon Bon Jovi, developed the DPS technology to improve sound in “compromised” environments like cars (it’s currently used by JVC in car stereos), planes and low-quality speakers, and is specifically tuned for its output device. The upshot is that the iP1 brings volume and clarity to the low and high end of the audio, especially in older recordings that haven’t already been compressed to high heaven, where details and oomph would be absent given the limited hardware. Sure, the result isn’t an “accurate” picture of what was recorded — you still need studio monitors to do that — but it makes most things sound “good” without adding the ruination of many digital audio enhancement techniques, and we even picked up a couple details in a favorite song of ours that’s received heavy rotation on our home system. It also had the unfortunate effect of turning a Bob Marley song into a bit of a banger (a “Could You Be Loved In The Club,” if you will) but can thankfully can be deactivated at the press of a button.

The dock itself packs a 100 watt amp, two 4-inch woofers and two 1-inch tweeters. The included remote can handle custom EQ in addition to switching Bongiovi on and off, and there’s also component video out and full iPhone support. It should be hitting stores in the middle of July for about $299.

Gallery: iHome iP1 isn’t bad for an iPod dock, packs a Bongiovi punch

Filed under: ,

iHome iP1 isn’t bad for an iPod dock, packs a Bongiovi punch originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 May 2009 13:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags:
May 14

Asus Eee Keyboard arriving shortly

Posted in: Today's Chili

Asus Eee Keyboard(Credit: Asus)

The tech trade show known as Computex is fast approaching, which means there should be a slew of new Netbook launches and announcements very soon.

Certainly one of the oddest things to be shown at the Taiwanese event starting the first week of June is going to be …

No Comments
May 14

T-Mobile proposes settlement for early termination fees

Posted in: Today's Chili

Class action suits against carrier early termination fees (ETFs) are nothing new, but now it appears one case may come to an end.

Though it has yet to be approved by the court, T-Mobile has proposed a settlement in an $11.5 million class action suit filed in August 2008 …

No Comments
May 14

GamePark GP2X Wiz gaming handheld now available, for real

Posted in: handheld, Today's Chili

There’s been a few false starts, and some newfound competition from upstart Pandora, but it looks like GamePark’s GP2X Wiz gaming handheld is now finally, officially available. As promised earlier, it’ll set you back a fairly reasonable $179, which’ll get you a 533MHz ARM9 processor-based handheld that’s capable of running a handful of official games and a whole boatload of unofficial games, not to mention some applications from the app store that’s slated for launch this summer. All set to add one more handheld to your collection? Then hit up the link below to get your order in.

[Thanks, Conrad]

Filed under: ,

GamePark GP2X Wiz gaming handheld now available, for real originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 May 2009 12:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments
May 14

LG Viewty Smart to drop in Europe this month

Posted in: Today's Chili
LG Viewty Smart is not headed to the U.S.

LG Viewty Smart is not headed to the U.S.

(Credit: LG)

Europeans, rejoice! LG has confirmed that it will be shipping the highly anticipated successor to the LG Viewty (Which we took a closer look at last year’s CES), the LG Viewty Smart, later this month. It sports …

No Comments
May 14

Latest Netbooks Roundup

Posted in: Today's Chili

With no sign of abatement in sight, recession-addled consumers continue to flock towards the small, low-cost, low-power laptops called Netbooks. According to IDC, Netbooks went from essentially zero to a full 8 percent of the portable computing market in 2008, making this a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy economy for PC makers.

Typically, a Netbook means a 10-inch display, Intel’s Atom CPU, 1GB of RAM, Windows XP, and a 160GB hard drive — but those lines are clearly beginning to blur. Some of the Netbooks in this roundup include new CPUs from AMD and Via, or larger displays (that some would say disqualifies them from being Netbooks at all — a position we can’t say we fully disagree with).

And beyond these current models, we have several potentially interesting new Netbooks on the horizon, including Dell’s Mini 10v, which intends to bludgeon the competition with a $299 starting price; and Asus’ Eee PC 1008HA, which reinvents that popular line with a slim, upscale design.

See our reviews of all the latest Netbooks after the break.

…

No Comments
May 14

White House press conference overwhelmed by cell phones

Posted in: Today's Chili

Quick note: if you can’t figure out how to set your phone to vibrate during a tense White House press conference, at least learn to turn the damn thing off. Video after the break.

P.S.- We’re actually more amazed at the second guy, who not only interrupts the briefing, but walks out of the room to take the call. Cojones!

Continue reading White House press conference overwhelmed by cell phones

Filed under:

White House press conference overwhelmed by cell phones originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 May 2009 12:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments