Hasta La Gadget!

It’s a big day in PSP land. First we get word that the lukewarm PSP Go got a major price cut. Now it seems that we’re getting some leaked information about a the PSP’s successor. All said, the timing of these two bits of news certainly makes sense.

Word was that Sony was set to announce the device at this year’s Tokyo Game Show, back in September–ultimately, however the thing never surfaced, though a few people in the know were said to have gotten sneak peaks of the thing in back rooms.

Kotaku claims to have squeezed some details about the device from “several sources.” The PSP2 is said to have a touch panel on the rear of the device that “look[s] like a big mouse trackpad.” The display on the device is sharper and an inch larger than its predecessor. Sony is apparently referring to the screen as HD.

It’s also said to be even more of a multimedia device than the PSP, serving as an eBook reader and a “netbook,” on top of its usual gaming duties.

Release for the device is said to be the fall of next year.

The top 10 toys requested by children for the 2010 holidays, according to the Duracell Toy Report, are all Apple products.

What do you do if you’re the maker of a popular netbook operating system? Create your own netbook, of course! Okay, it does seem like a rather odd step, but Jolicloud CEO Tariq Krim tweeted a few teaser images this morning and then confirmed with the exclusive shot above that the software company is in fact working with a hardware partner to create its own 10.1-inch netbook. The details are fairly slim at the moment, but Krim did share that the mini-laptop will boot Jolicloud 1.1 and be primarily aimed at those in the 12 to 25 age range. As for specs, your guess is as good as ours at this point, although he boasted that it will be able to rock 720p video. We can’t tell much from the picture above, but it sure does have a funky lid, VGA port and a few USB sockets. Pricing and availability are being firmed up now, but it will apparently hit for under $500 and before those long-awaited Chrome OS netbooks. That’s not really saying much at this point since we’ve been wondering about the whereabouts of those Chrome-books for almost a half a year now, but hit the gallery below for a few more mysterious shots and we’ll promise to fill you in on the details when we hear more.

Jolicloud prepping a netbook of its own originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Oct 2010 14:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This year marks the 25th anniversary of the original “Back to the Future” release, so today we’re running down the top 21 BTTF2 innovations everyone is still waiting to see. The list includes classic BTTF gadgets like Marty’s self-drying jacket, the Mr. Fusion home energy reactor, and of course flying cars in the Skyway, but there are a few inventions on here that actually do exist in some form or another.

Antoine Dogson

(Credit:

Buzzfeed)

For example, cops in the 21st century may not have scrolling LED hats, but walk into any mall and you’ll see a dude walking around in an LED message belt buckle. Same goes for bar code license plates and modern vehicle identification numbers.

Be sure to check to see if your local movie theater is screening the movie tonight at 7 p.m., exactly 25 years from when Marty first went back in time!

Halloween is coming up fast, and the holiday wouldn’t be complete without the annual American tradition of forcing your dog to wear uncomfortable costumes for the enjoyment of others. On Saturday I attended the yearly Halloween dog parade in Tompkins Square Park, so check out that link to see some of the funnier costumes, like the “Tron” console, a couple of bedbugs, and my favorite: Antoine Dogson.

In other nerdly news, 23-year-old Brittney Schnecks just finished rebuilding her 1994 Dodge Caravan to look exactly like the Ninja Turtles van from the comic book/cartoon series!

A dedicated fan of the original TV series, Brittney has been building the van since last July using money she saved at her cashier’s job. She used a Dodge Caravan instead of a VW due to availability of parts, but the final outcome looks great and even includes fake gun turrets, a spoiler, and hand-painted decals!

Finally, thanks to the two Zachs and Jennifer in the U.K. for sending the following video voicemails. We love watching these, so keep them coming by sending your YouTube link to the404(at)cnet.com!

Jenny from the U.K. has a message for the dudes.

Zach thinks The 404 is the best…we agree!

Episode 694

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Originally posted at The 404 Podcast

Samsung’s Galaxy Tab, one of the first tablets to contend with the iPad, is getting multiple price tags.

Samsung on Monday confirmed that Sprint will sell the 7-inch Galaxy Tab for $400 with a two-year contract. Incidentally, a leaked Best Buy brochure hints that the retailer will sell a Wi-Fi-only Galaxy Tab for $500. And last week, Verizon said it would offer a contract-free version of the Galaxy Tab for $600. The Galaxy Tab goes on sale mid-November.

At first glance, these prices seem competitive with Apple’s iPad, but they’re not that impressive. Sprint’s pricing for the Galaxy Tab is a raw deal: It will cost you $400, but you’ll pay at least an additional $720 over the two-year contract. (Apple’s 3G iPad is contract-free, so you can activate cellular data whenever you need to use it, and opt out when you don’t.)

Verizon’s $600, contract-free Galaxy Tab and Best Buy’s $500 Wi-Fi appear to match the pricing of the iPad. (The iPad costs $500 for its Wi-Fi only model, and the 3G model starts at $630 without a contract.) However, the iPad has a bigger screen and more apps.

The pricing of the Galaxy Tab only proves Steve Jobs’ point. Apple’s CEO said in an earnings call last week that other manufacturers were having difficulty producing tablets at a competitive price with the iPad.

Jobs also pronounced 7-inch tablets “dead on arrival,” arguing that their screen size was too small for a good touchscreen software experience. However, that’s up for debate; we’ll have to wait to see the consensus when the Galaxy Tab finally ships in November.

See Also:

• Official: Samsung Galaxy Tab $600 on Verizon
• Video: Samsung Galaxy Tab Caught in the Wild
• Samsung Introduces 7-Inch Tablet to Rival iPad

Photo courtesy of Samsung