Sony Ericsson Aino’s PS3 Remote Play capabilities get detailed — no games, just media playback

Sony’s got a lot of housekeeping to do before it can quell the infighting long enough to produce a proper PlayStation phone, but the upcoming Aino‘s PS3 Remote Play features sound like a tentative first step. According to a Q&A posted on the Euro PlayStation blog, the upcoming slider handset will be able to use Remote Play to connect and control a PS3’s XMB through the internet, but you won’t be able to play PS1 games like you can on the PSP — you’ll be limited to media playback, browsing the PlayStation Store, and chatting on PSN. Yeah, it’s kind of a missed opportunity, but at least we can hope future handsets will expand on the capability a little, just like the PSP had remote PS1 game playback added in after the fact. We’ll find out when the first Ainos ship in the UK in October.

[Via Joystiq]

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Sony Ericsson Aino’s PS3 Remote Play capabilities get detailed — no games, just media playback originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Sep 2009 07:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Clearwire goes live with WiMAX service in ten new markets

Just as we expected, Clearwire has lit up its CLEAR WiMAX services in ten new markets. Beginning today, those with a thirst for ultra-speedy mobile broadband can sink their teeth into those delicious 4G airwaves so long as you call one of the following locales home: Abilene, Amarillo, Corpus Christi, Killeen/Temple, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, Waco and Wichita Falls, Texas; Bellingham, Wash; or Boise, Idaho. We fully expect a smattering of other markets to see similar launches as the Fall progresses, but if you just can’t wait, well — there’s always vacation.

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Clearwire goes live with WiMAX service in ten new markets originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Sep 2009 07:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Samsung XL2370 has entered the building

Here it is, your very own foot stand. Monitor sold separately…just kidding.

(Credit: Eric Franklin/CNET)

If the Samsung SyncMaster P2370 went on a diet, got a few new features, and exchanged its CCFL (code cathode fluorescent lamp) backlight for LED backlighting, you’d basically have the Samsung XL2370. …

SSD shootout, round III: OCZ, Corsair and PhotoFast butt heads

Like clockwork, we’ve stumbled upon yet another updated SSD shootout almost a year to the day since the last one, and nearly two years since the first. Since 2008, we’ve seen OCZ introduce a new “garbage collection” algorithm for its Vertex Series 120GB SSD, Corsair introduce its P64 and PhotoFast make waves with its supposedly speedy G-Monster-V5. The benchmarking gurus over at HotHardware had the patience to sit ’em all down and break out the rulers, and the long and short of it is this: the Vertex Turbo and G-Monster V5 bested the Corsair, with the PhotoFast drive in particular showing remarkably strong performance in read / write tests. Of course, all of the units were quite a bit quicker than traditional HDDs, but the folks at HH maintained that SSD pricing is still way out of reach for many consumers. But hey, if you’ve got the means to lay down $3 per gigabyte, feel free to tap that read link and ingest.

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SSD shootout, round III: OCZ, Corsair and PhotoFast butt heads originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Sep 2009 06:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft Discontinues All Current Zunes

We know already that the Zune HD, Microsoft’s rather nice-looking iPod Touch competitor, is due in stores September 15th. We also know that it will cost $220 for 16GB and $290 for 32GB, prices which undercut the current iPod Touches (although Apple is likely to change that with its September 9th announcement).

What we didn’t know was that the Zune HD will be the only Zune you will be able to buy. Microsoft has discontinued all other Zunes, and if you want one (hint: you don’t) then buy now before stocks dwindle. Or wait until they show up in some dime-store clearance sale.

It’s hard to work out why this is. On one hand, Apple’s figures show dwindling sales for old-style iPods and increasing adoption of iPod Touches and iPhones. And seeing as Apple sells the majority of MP3 players, this market trend makes sense for Microsoft to get out early, especially as the Zune was not a great success.

On the other hand, Microsoft is again playing catchup. Its obsession with fighting Google is not Gadget Lab subject matter, but that, combined with the Laptop Hunter ads and me-too products like the Zune (and the Xbox) show a company rattled and desperate to keep up.

Also, as commenter Freakyfelt remarks on Paul Thurrrot’s Supersite for Windows: “Well that’s a dumb move. Not everyone wants a touch screen device with all the bells and whistles.”

Current Zunes are discontinued. Zune HD is it going forward [Supersite for Windows]

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Photo: Dylan Tweney / Wired.com


Video: MIT robofish set to snoop the deep seas

MIT has been at this robotic fish lark for a long, long time, and its latest iteration is a true testament to all the effort and energy put in. The first prototype, 1994’s Robotuna, was four feet long and had 2,843 parts driven by six motors, whereas the new robofish is no longer than a foot, carries one motor and has exactly ten components, including the flexible polymer body. The hardy and relatively inexpensive drones can be used as substitutes for AUVs in tight spaces, inhospitable environments and the like, but their earliest adopters are likely to be supervillains in need of surveillance bots for their moats. Video after the break.

[Via CNN]

Continue reading Video: MIT robofish set to snoop the deep seas

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Video: MIT robofish set to snoop the deep seas originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Sep 2009 06:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NEC keeps standard-aspect ratio LCDs alive with MultiSync EA190M

Much like good help, standard-aspect ratio LCD monitors are tough to find these days. But hey, that’s why NEC is still kickin’, and moreover, why it’s kickin’ out the MultiSync EA109M. Said display packs a 19-inch form factor aimed primarily at business environments, government applications and education users, but those sick and tired of looking at the world through a 16:9 or 16:10 aspect ratio should also find something to love. As for specs, you’ll notice a lackluster 1,280 x 1,024 resolution, 250 nits of brightness, a 900:1 contrast ratio, five millisecond response time, 4-way ergonomic stand and an all-business, all-black bezel. Too bad NEC wants $259 for this thing, else it might just sell a few to someone other than The Man.

[Via HotHardware]

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NEC keeps standard-aspect ratio LCDs alive with MultiSync EA190M originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Sep 2009 06:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IBM patents TV remote that updates Twitter, Facebook

Oh, I totally understand this drawing.

(Credit: USPTO)

The convergence of the Internet and television is here. I can rent videos from iTunes and watch them in my living room while drinking a beer with buddies. I can stream from Netflix via my Xbox 360. I can check my friends’ …

Verizon beefs up global modem line with UMW190

Verizon’s really starting to buy into this global 3G data thing, offering modems that do EV-DO domestically and HSPA abroad; problem is, ZTE’s AD3700 that’s on the market currently is… shall we say, a little too “in-your-face” for some folks. For those individuals, we might recommend the more buttoned-up UMW190 from PCD, which offers triband HSPA to go along with the EV-DO Rev. A that you’ll enjoy domestically. Those with pockets deep enough to withstand the heavy-hitting roaming bills can grab the UMW190 now online (later this month in stores) for $49.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate.

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Verizon beefs up global modem line with UMW190 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Sep 2009 05:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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VUDU’s 1080p movie streaming goes live on LG Netcast HDTVs

You knew good and well it was coming, and come it has. Starting today, those fortunate enough to own an LG Broadband HDTV in the LH50 LCD series and PS80 plasma range can tap into VUDU‘s growing library of on-demand 1080p films. If you’re still skeptical, we’ll invite you to surf over to your set’s Netcast interface; from there, you can either update your software to gain VUDU access or begin viewing right away (depending on when you purchased your tele). Oh, and if you’re thinking of just lallygagging around while the rest of the world takes advantage, you should know that your first HD or HDX movie rental is gratis for a limited time, so there’s some pretty obvious motivation to hop on it. Anyone given it a go? Impressed / unimpressed?

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VUDU’s 1080p movie streaming goes live on LG Netcast HDTVs originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Sep 2009 05:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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