Philips CushionSpeaker coming to America this April for $80

Hear that? That’s the sound of millions of Yanks celebrating in unison. Why the joviality? Because Philips’ CushionSpeaker is coming to America, of course! The device — which simultaneously serves as a lap-based laptop cushion / stand and an external speaker system — first made waves last September when it debuted in Europe, but now that USers have evidently proven that they need one too, they’re getting exactly what they want. We had a chance to tinker with the device, and largely, we agree with what has already been said. It’s a perfectly fine cushion for using your laptop while kicking back on the sofa, but the bass-less speaker leaves a lot to be desired. It’s set to ship to sofa sitters this April for $79.99, and if you’re interested in the $39.99 to $49.99 Notebook Sleeve, $49.99 Notebook SoundBar and a variety of other peripherals that now have a stateside release in their future, the full details are posted after the break.

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Philips CushionSpeaker coming to America this April for $80 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 06:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Iomega ScreenPlay Director HD media player gets busy with CinemaNow

Iomega’s making a Full HD play for the living room at CES with the introduction of its new ScreenPlay Director device. The 1TB HD media player brings a bevy of TV connectivity options including HDMI composite video, component, and more. It’s also DLNA- and DivX-certificated in addition to boasting H.264, WMV, AVCHD and MKV format support at 1080p. A trio of USB ports give you room for external capacity growth while baked in 10/100 Ethernet (or optional 802.11n USB WiFi Adapter) gets the pup online where you can rent or buy movies from CinemaNow or browse content on Flickr, YouTube, Shoutcast radio, and RSS feeds. ScreenPlay Director HD lists for $250 when it goes on sale, well, today if you order through Dell.

Iomega ScreenPlay Director HD media player gets busy with CinemaNow originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 05:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iriver Story e-reader shipping to US soil this month, WiFi version coming in Q2

iriver‘s first legitimate shot at making an e-reader has been floating around in various corners of the globe for months now, but finally we’ve confirmation from the company that the device is coming Stateside. Announced here in Las Vegas, the iriver Story will ship to US retailers later this month, with an “updated WiFi version” slated to ship in early Q2. For those who’ve forgotten, the 0.36-inch thick reader packs a 6-inch e-ink display, an integrated MP3 player, 2GB of internal memory, an SD expansion slot, USB 2.0 connectivity and a battery good for 9,000 page turns. As for the MSRP? iriver tells us it’ll be “competitively priced,” with more details to be released as “content and retail partners are finalized.”

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iriver Story e-reader shipping to US soil this month, WiFi version coming in Q2 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 05:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Iomega v.Clone turns your whole computer into a portable, bootable VMWare image

We’re not used to thinking of Iomega as a software company, but with EMC — the maker of VMWare — in the background now, some sort of synergy was bound to happen. Iomega’s new v.Clone software is the result, and it sounds pretty great. Basically it backs up your C: drive into a bootable, standalone app-wrapped VMWare image, which can run off of a compatible Iomega drive (new eGo and Prestige lines, for starters) on any other Windows computer. Any changes you make to your system in VM mode will then be synced back to your main machine when you return. We’re guessing there will be some performance implications to the setup, and it’ll take some using to know just how practical this might be, but it presents an intriguing opportunity for people to untether from their increasingly bulky, store everything desklaptops if it works — and their friends don’t mind them jacking in.

Iomega v.Clone turns your whole computer into a portable, bootable VMWare image originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 04:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Turtle Beach upgrades, iterates USB soundcard line, adds optical output for true 5.1 surround

Turtle Beach upgrades, iterates USB soundcard line, adds optical output for true 5.1 surround
The USB soundcard race may not be the hottest, but it just got a little warmer just the same. Turtle Beach upgraded its Amigo and Micro external cards to be the — wait for it — Amigo II and Micro II. Both feature a new design that makes them larger than before but extends the device away from your laptop (or whatever you connect it to), giving a bit more flex room to connect your headphones or microphone. That’s all you’ll be connecting to the Amigo II, as it sports a pair of 3.5mm connectors: audio output and microphone input. The Micro II ditches the input, but adds S/PDIF digital optical output (via adapter) so you can get proper 5.1 out of your laptop. Both devices are said to be available soon for a very reasonable $24.95.

Continue reading Turtle Beach upgrades, iterates USB soundcard line, adds optical output for true 5.1 surround

Turtle Beach upgrades, iterates USB soundcard line, adds optical output for true 5.1 surround originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 03:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kindle DX now with global wireless?

See that text up there? The part of the site that reads “Kindle DX Now with Global Wireless.” Well, the Kindle DX doesn’t have have global wireless… yet. The link is dead but it certainly looks like Amazon is about to make good on its earlier promise to bring global roaming capabilities to the DX as it did with its 6-inch Kindle. In fact, we’re expecting a press release any time now.

[Thanks, Brad]

Kindle DX now with global wireless? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 03:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ESPN 3D launches in June with World Cup soccer — our football to follow later

Need any more proof this is the year of 3D? USA Today is reporting ESPN 3D will start broadcasting this summer with a World Cup soccer match, with additional content coming from the Summer X Games (we won’t have to wait for the flick to hit theaters this time) NBA games, and college basketball & football. DirecTV still hasn’t confirmed its rumored plans for 3D, but CableLabs CEO Paul Liao is quoted calling the level of engagement 3D sports presents viewers as “unprecedented.” More details on exactly how 3D in the home will happen are sure to come throughout the week — we’ve already been blown away by 3D sports, it looks like everyone else will have their chance in just a few months.

ESPN 3D launches in June with World Cup soccer — our football to follow later originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 01:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Skype HD: 720p videocalling from PCs or directly through LG & Panasonic HDTVs

Skype has already made an impact on the home phone, mobiles and PC desktops (couldn’t do our podcast without it) and now it’s taking on the living room. LG and Panasonic are already lined up to deliver new HD webcams for their internet connected plasma and LCD HDTVs that will enable living room-to-living room calling in 720p. With support for the service’s standard features like free Skype-to-Skype calling, voicemail, receiving inbound calls and more, using the TV to make calls should be just as easy (but likely more embarrassing, try some HD makeup — just a tip) as we’re used to. PC users haven’t been left behind with 720p HD streaming built into the latest client and new webcams on the way from faceVsion and In Store Solutions. Like the ones planned for the TVs, they handle video processing onboard so even older computers or underpowered netbooks can support HD streaming without bursting into flames. Let the good people at Skype explain it all to you in a video embedded after the break, we’ll wait to get our hands and made-for-SD faces some time with the new setup this week at CES

Update: We’ve found a few pics of LG’s version of the Skype HDTV experience to go along with the Panasonic rendering above, check the gallery.

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Skype HD: 720p videocalling from PCs or directly through LG & Panasonic HDTVs originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 01:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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WirelessHD 2.0 spec speeds up to 28 Gbps to make room for 4K, 3D, portable devices

Two years after finishing up version 1.0 WirelessHD (WiHD) is still trying to come out on top of the no-cables-necessary high definition streaming dogfight, and it’s going to get a boost in that effort now that the 2.0 standard is available. Backwards compatible with existing WiHD hardware, the bandwidth has been upped to 10 – 28 Gbps (up from initial specs of 4 Gbps with a theoretical 25 Gbps limit) – enough to handle 4K resolutions, Deep Color, a newly specified 3D over WirelessHD set of standards, HDCP 2.0 DRM and even 1 Gbps file transfers between devices. Out of this world specs are just a matter of course for new hardware, but our focus is still on the group’s ability to get the price down this time around if it ever plans on going mainstream. With an investment from Best Buy just announced and a spot in VIZIO’s LCD lineup already confirmed, existing cable manufacturers may want to start developing Monster Air (10x higher transmission speed due to special platinum ionized molecules, of course) to sell sooner rather than later.

WirelessHD 2.0 spec speeds up to 28 Gbps to make room for 4K, 3D, portable devices originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 01:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ioSafe’s Solo SSD ditches platters, isn’t worried about buildings collapsing on it

Remember when ioSafe unveiled its original Solo right around this time last year? Man, that thing’s looking mighty sluggish now. This year, the company is introducing the Solo SSD, which is hailed as the planet’s first solid state external drive built to protect data from a building collapsing on it. Yeah, a building collapsing on it. It’ll be available with capacities as large as 256GB and will get connected via eSATA or USB, and if you care to know, the ruggedness is due to the firm’s own proprietary ArmorPlate steel outer casing. As for specifics, said tech helps the drive survive 5,000 pound crush forces, 20 foot drops onto rubble and blazing infernos to boot. It’ll be available next month in the US for $499 (64GB), $749 (128GB) or $1,250 (256GB), with the full details / press release hosted up after the break. As soon as we catch some benchmarks on this thing, we’ll be sure to pass ’em along.

Continue reading ioSafe’s Solo SSD ditches platters, isn’t worried about buildings collapsing on it

ioSafe’s Solo SSD ditches platters, isn’t worried about buildings collapsing on it originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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