You might think this “app of all trades” would be a master of none, but it’s actually a solid collection of useful tools–with a price that’s hard to beat. pOriginally posted at a href=”http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19512_7-10447453-233.html” class=”origPostedBlog”iPhone Atlas/a/p
We kick off today’s episode of CNET’s The 404 Podcast with a fun story about the Nestle Crunch Hotline number. The company’s latest viral campaign offers a series of hidden menus within the prerecorded call center that lets callers choose between English, Spanish, and Pig Latin language options. You can also choose to hear prerecorded knock-knock jokes, “funner game options,” and the weirdest feature of all, which lets you listen to the sound of bubble wrap. We attempt to call the number during the show, but the line is so popular that we keep getting busy signals, so call 1-800-295-0051 if you have time to waste after listening to our show.
Jeff also brings us an amazing deal from Dell for the new Alienware M11x. It won our Best of CES 2010 award and, judging by its size, it’s comparable to a gaming Netbook. You get an 11.6-inch display and a 1.3GHz Pentium SU4100 processor inside as well as a battery with 2 hours of gaming play and 6.5 hours of standby time. Best of all, the gaming rig comes in at a base price of $799. No, we’re not working on the Alienware payroll, but with portable gaming systems dropping in price, the appeal of PC gaming is bigger than ever and we thought our listeners would appreciate this deal. Check it out!
Lots more stories in the rundown today, including a $7,000 talking sex robot, a T-shirt that all predators will enjoy, the new Sonic the Hedgehog 4 trailer, and more!
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Originally posted at The 404 Podcast
[Thanks, Thai Tan]
HP slips out stylish, Core i3-based G62t laptop originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Samsung, Hynix, Applied Materials in corporate espionage shocker! originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 12:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The 2010 Chevrolet Camaro lives in two eras. It’s a 1970s muscle car at heart – big, loud, visible – yet it’s also more polished thanks to the dozens of microprocessors that keep the rear end from breaking loose under acceleration, maintain fuel economy in the mid-twenties, and provide connections for your iPod and cell phone. If you’re a pony car fan, the choice of Camaro vs. Ford Mustang comes down to whether you’re a Chevy guy or Ford guy. Ford offers more cockpit technology even if the Camaro has just about enough on its best-equipped V6 and V8 models.
Oh yeah, you’re a party waiting to happen when you’ve got the Samson Expedition XP40iw, the company’s first iPod sound system with a wireless mic. Other portable iPod speakers let you fill the room with your music, but this Expedition also lets you talk or sing over the speaker. It might try your friends’ patience, but you’ll be a star. The XP40iw has a 40 watt speaker, a rechargeable battery (so you don’t have to worry about being near a power outlet), and an iPod dock. It also includes two inputs for additional mics or instruments.
For bigger needs, Samson is also debuting the Expedition XP5101i, a 500 watt system with a detachable 10 channel mixer. It includes an iPod dock, but can’t work wirelessly, as the XP40iw can. Its dual two-way speakers each have 10-inch woofers. The entire unit–two speakers, mixer, and cables–folds together for easy transportation and weights just over 50 pounds. Both models are due out in April. The XP40iw will list for under $300 and the XP510i for under $700.
Next Monday and Tuesday, I’ll be in Cape Canaveral as a Twitter correspondent for a two-day event culminating with the launch (if all stays on schedule) of the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). I was one of 15 lucky people chosen at random, according to NASA, from a pool of applicants to attend and tweet about SDO’s launch. Fifty other twitter-folk were chosen for a simultaneous two-day tweetup at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, where SDO was designed and assembled, and from where it will be managed after its launch.
On the day of the launch, several dozen schools, astronomy clubs, and individuals are hosting their own SDO events, with NASA’s support, encouragement, and educational materials. Although most are in the U.S., these tweetups will span the globe, with events scheduled in at least five continents.
The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)
is scheduled to be launched from the Kennedy Space Center’s Launch
Complex 41 at around 11 a.m. February 9 atop an Atlas V rocket. It will
be placed in a geosynchronous orbit, where it will be prepped to begin
its nominal 5-year mission to study the sun.
Sony has long said it would cautiously approach the tablet market while it built up its Reader e-book line, but it looks like things are picking up a little steam: CFO Nobuyuki Oneda said the company is “very interested” in the tablet market during his post-earnings report news conference. Oneda said that Sony’s “confident we have the skills to create a product,” and that “Time-wise we are a little behind the iPad but it’s a space we would like to be an active player in.” We could certainly see a Sony device about the size of the Reader Daily Edition making a splash, especially if it’s tied in with Sony’s new push at a unified online experience — and dare we hope for tablet remix of the Dash Internet Viewer (pictured above) based on the Chumby OS? Time will tell.
Sony catches tablet fever, wants to be an ‘active player’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 12:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
After a 16-year wait, Sega unveils a follow-up to Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is coming to the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii this summer. pOriginally posted at a href=”http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-10447420-17.html” class=”origPostedBlog”The Digital Home/a/p
In response to a report that appeared on CNET telling of user complaints regarding a loss in black level performance over time in its plasma TVs, Panasonic issued a statement describing the change as “automatic” and part of normal operation.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
