Sep 07

Doctor Who Sonic Screwdriver Wiimote

Posted in: Accessories and Peripherals, Games, Today's Chili, wii

Doctor Who’s Sonic Screwdriver is at once the most versatile and most preposterous tool the universe has known. There’s nothing it can’t do, from remote-controlling the TARDIS through scanning, burning and cutting, to fixing up cellphones for “universal roaming”. Now, it has one more function: it can control the Wii.

The BBC and Wii-accessory maker Blue Ocean have teamed up to make the Sonic Screwdriver Wii Remote. It’s not just a shell into which you slot a regular Wiimote, either: the Sonic Screwdriver is a self-contained controller, and will be used to play the upcoming Doctor Who: Return To Earth. Other than the fact that the game will feature the Cybermen, nothing is known about the game. I can take a guess, though, based on the increasingly absurd plots of the TV show:

The Doctor and Amy Pond will discover something awful. It will get worse and worse and threaten to destroy the entire universe. There will be no possible way out. Then, the Doctor will mutter some nonsense, point his magic stick at a machine and all will be fixed. Disappointment will ensue.

The Wii Sonic Screwdriver will be joined by a tiny version for the Nintendo DS, which will be used as a stylus to control another game, Doctor Who: Evacuation Earth. Both will be available by the end of the year.

Doctor Who gets Sonic Screwdriver Wii Remote [Official Nintendo Magazine via Oh Gizmo]

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Sep 07

Nike+ App Ditches Dongle, Gains GPS

Posted in: Accessories and Peripherals, gps, iPhone, Today's Chili

Remember the Nike+ run-tracking dongle for fitness nerds? Well, remembering it is pretty much all you’ll have to do from now on, as it just became obsolete: Nike has all but replaced it with software.

Available now in the App Store, the big change in Nike+ GPS is right there in its name. The new app uses the GPS radio in compatible iDevices to track your runs and plot them on a map, and also uses the accelerometer in the iPhone to record your pace. Because it uses the accelerometer to track your steps, it also works with the iPod Touch, although no maps will be displayed as you run. You could even use it on the iPad, although you’d look pretty stupid.

One of the best parts of the whole Nike+ setup is the online tracking of your progress, and that now comes to the local app, letting you browse previous runs and then also sharing them with the existing Nike+ site. In fact, the only possible reason you might still spend $29 on the Nike+ shoe-dongle is to use it with the iPod Nano (the new, squared-off Nano still works with the Nike+, despite being shorn of many other functionalities).

The price for this software-only solution? Just $2. I suggest you take the $27 you just saved and spend it on beer and burgers. You earned it.

Nike+ GPS [iTunes]

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Sep 07

Ricoh CX4 gets reviewed: slight improvement over the CX3

Posted in: concept, Today's Chili

Well, it looks like Ricoh is still sticking to the if-it’s-not-broke-don’t-fix-it model with its CX series of cameras. Just as it found in its review of the CX3, Photography Blog says that the new CX4 model delivers some modest improvements over its predecessor, but likely not enough to warrant an upgrade — or stand out from the competition, for that matter. The improvements this time around include some improved image stabilization, as well as a handful of new features like a multi-shot night landscape mode and subject-tracking AF, which both apparently work reasonably well. One of the other new changes also proved to be one of the camera’s biggest drawbacks, however, as the reduced handgrip makes the CX4 harder to hold comfortably than earlier models. Hit up the source link below for the full review.

Ricoh CX4 gets reviewed: slight improvement over the CX3 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 07:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 07

Samsung Galaxy Tab Will Cost Over $1,000

Posted in: samsung, Tablets and E-Readers, Today's Chili

How much will Samsung’s Galaxy Tab cost? The guesses range from $300 up, but a listing on Amazon Germany puts the 7-inch tablet at €800, or $1,020. If this actually turns out to be true (and I suspect it will), then the device will almost certainly be a mainstream flop.

Say what you like about the iPad, but don’t argue that it isn’t cheap. The entry-level model is just $500, which is somewhat miraculous for what it packs in, and even more surprising given that Apple likes to make a good chink of change on its hardware sales. Still don’t agree? Take a look at the Dell streak, a tablet with a much smaller screen which runs Google’s Android OS. It costs $550.

As a smaller tablet, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab needs to have a smaller price. Lets be generous for a moment and say that Amazon is listing the 32GB model (the page doesn’t say if it has 16GB or 32GB storage). Next, we’ll take the price of the 32 GB iPad Wi-Fi+3G (the Tab has 3G as standard): $729.00. The Tab is almost $300 more. UPDATE: Reader Jonathan Huyghe emailed to point out that in on Amazon Germany the 32 GB iPad Wi-Fi+3G is €820, €20 more than the Tab. The German Apple Store lists it for €700, however.

I’m sure there will be a market for this little device: it certainly looks good, and Samsung has sold over a million Galaxy S smartphones in just a month and a half. But is it too late? It seems like nobody can yet beat the iPad on price (hell, nobody can beat the iPod Touch on price, and that’s been around for years). Given that the one thing that rivals had over the iPod was price (the iPod was always a little more expensive than other MP3 players) and they still could’t crack Apple’s hold on the market, things don’t look good. And that’s before we even get to the apps.

Samsung Galaxy Tab [Amazon. Thanks, Sascha!]

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Sep 07

Official: Samsung Fascinate launching September 9 for $199 (update: September 8 online)

Posted in: Android, availability, GalaxyS, launch, release, samsung, Today's Chili, verizon, Verizon Wireless, VerizonWireless, video, vzw

Put away your leaked Verizon documents, good folks, the Fascinate finally has an official release date: September 9. Verizon’s Galaxy S variant snuck up on all of us with a commercial appearance last night, which was accompanied by that appropriately blown out text at the bottom, indicating it’ll be in stores within a couple of days. That doesn’t leave much time for you to build up fresh anticipation, so hopefully you were able to sustain yours while everyone else was unpacking their Captivate, Epic and Vibrant handsets. Hey, you might be late to the party, but at least you’ll be there. See the ad (minus the launch date note) after the break.

[Thanks, Kyle]

Update: And what do you know, the official press release has just dropped, confirming the above in-store date and giving us an even earlier one: September 8 for online orders. Pricing is set at your usual $199 on a two-year contract, provided you have the patience to deal with a $100 mail-in rebate.

Continue reading Official: Samsung Fascinate launching September 9 for $199 (update: September 8 online)

Official: Samsung Fascinate launching September 9 for $199 (update: September 8 online) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 07:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 07

Amino launches Freedom over-the-top video set-top box, challenges Google TV to arm wrestle

Posted in: 1080p, dvr, Google, GoogleTv, meego, os, set-top-box, streaming video, StreamingVideo, Today's Chili

If the AppleTV announcement didn’t satiate your need for a Google TV set-top box battle royal, then new details about Amino’s Freedom box might do the trick. Yes it still packs the same hardware announced back in 2009 such as an Intel CE4100m Atom Processor, 500 GB of internal storage, SD card support, Bluetooth, WiFi 802.11n and 1 GB of RAM. We’ve now discovered however that it’ll also run its own Amino branded version of Nokia’s MeeGo OS, adding apps and gaming support to its list of capabilities that already included 1080p playback, VOD streaming, and DVR recording. In other words there’s going to be a new Google TV competitor on the block sometime before the end of this year looking for a fight. Whether it’ll provide a Lincoln Hawk-worthy performance though is something we’ll let the bookies squabble over until we can go hands on with both.

[Thanks, Hary]

Amino launches Freedom over-the-top video set-top box, challenges Google TV to arm wrestle originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 07:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 07

Zoho Expands Office Suite with Meeting Tool

Posted in: Today's Chili, Web Sites

This article was written on March 22, 2007 by CyberNet.

Zoho’s list of products and tools continues to get longer, and today they just added another to the list. It’s called Zoho Meeting, and it will help you meet online with co-workers or friends as a web conferencing application.

It’s currently in private beta with some great features to offer, and by the time it steps out of private beta and into the public, there will be even more exciting features offered.

One of the nicest things about it is that people who are participating in the meeting will not need to install any application to be a part of it. You can also record, save, and then share the meetings for no charge, and Zoho meetings will be able to be embedded onto sites and blogs.

Zoho has also taken the opportunity to integrate some of their other services together.  For example, within Zoho Show, you can select a slide that will launch Zoho Meeting right in the presentation.  You can also use Zoho chat as part of this new Meeting product.

Below is the demo video that they have on their Blog that will give you an idea what Meeting is all about.

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Sep 07

Amazon steals Microsoft’s Director of Game Platform Strategy for some reason

Posted in: amazon, gaming, Microsoft, speculation, Today's Chili, xbox live, XboxLive

Amazon’s gaming related job postings are starting to bear exotic fruit having just nabbed Microsoft’s Director of Game Platform Strategy, Andre Vrignaud. Vrignaud started with Microsoft in 2002 as Director of Xbox Live Platform Strategy and more recently helped manage Microsoft’s overall gaming platform strategy with a hand in figuring out how to roll out Xbox Live on Windows Phone 7. Obviously, this leads to speculation that Amazon is looking to expand further into digital games as it’s already done with music, video, and digital books. And with Amazon working on non-Kindle hardware with ambitions for dual-screen readers, well, we’d say the question isn’t what, but when?

Amazon steals Microsoft’s Director of Game Platform Strategy for some reason originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 06:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 07

Intel may finally be ready to embrace USB 3.0

Posted in: intel, plans, roadmap, rumor, speculation, Today's Chili, usb, usb 3.0, Usb3.0

It’s September so that can mean only one thing in Intel land: IDF. The second of this year’s Intel Developer Forums is this year preceded by speculation that the big blue giant’s next motherboard reference design — codenamed Cougar Point — will include USB 3.0 support. Intel’s relationship with the 3.0 interconnect standard can at best be described as strained, but motherboard and laptop makers haven’t shied from integrating it into their wares and as the number of devices supporting SuperSpeed increases, it’s becoming somewhat inevitable that Intel would have to play ball as well. At least until Light Peak shines its “instant obsolescence” ray onto USB cables next year. Then again, bear in mind China’s Commercial Times has been wrong before, so let’s not credit this as fact until someone with a blue name badge tells us so.

Intel may finally be ready to embrace USB 3.0 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 05:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 07

ASUS upgrades G53 and G73 gaming laptops with 1.5GB NVIDIA GTX 460 grunt

Posted in: ASUS, laptop, NVIDIA, Today's Chili

Ready to splash the cash on NVIDIA’s fresh new mobile Fermi graphics cards? ASUS is the first company to take the veils off its GTX 460M offering, which it has seasoned with a most welcome addition: 1.5GB of dedicated GDDR5 graphics memory. The ROG G53JW and G73JW machines are the beneficiaries of this upgrade, with both capable of 3D work should you ask them nicely, and offering such tasty options as quad-core Core i7 CPUs, up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM, 750GB of storage, 16:9 displays (1,366 x 768 on the 15.6-inch G53 and up to 1,920 x 1,080 on the 17.3-inch G73), Blu-ray-writing optical drives, and 8-cell 5,200mAh batteries. The lighter of the two laptops weighs in at 3.6kg, but if that doesn’t put you off, both are available right now at online retailers.

[Thanks, LifeBringer]

Continue reading ASUS upgrades G53 and G73 gaming laptops with 1.5GB NVIDIA GTX 460 grunt

ASUS upgrades G53 and G73 gaming laptops with 1.5GB NVIDIA GTX 460 grunt originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 05:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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