Hasta La Gadget!

Skullcandy is hitting CES with a characteristically bold claim: its new Fix in-ear headphones are touted as the first to never fall out of your ears, irrespective of the intensity of your physical activity. We’ve matched them up against the Yurbuds Ironman Series, a rather larger pair of in-ear speakers, which makes the exact same assertion. Both companies have patented their particular technology and both claim to be the one and only true solution. Obviously targeting runners, vigorous exercisers and discreet headbangers, they’re priced at $70 for Skullcandy’s Fix and $50 for the Yurbuds Ironmans. We’ve had a pair of each to play around with for a few hours here and sound quality is generally satisfactory on both. The Ironmans are much punchier in the bass range and offer significantly better sound isolation — a lot of external noise leaks in through the Fix’s seal, but the oversized Ironman buds netralize the vast majority of it. Both sets feel comfortable in the ear and shouldn’t cause any grief if you opt to wear them for prolonged jogs outdoors … or impromptu indoor moshing sessions.

Skullcandy Fix versus Yurbuds Ironman … battle of the in-ear headphones! (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 Jan 2011 13:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung made a lot of noise about its first-party Smart TV initiative yesterday, so we had to stop by and check things out — especially that new WiFi-based RMC30D Smart Touch Remote, which comes bundled with all new 8000-series TVs and above. (It also works with the 7000 series, but you have to buy it separately.) Unfortunately, things weren’t working so well — tons of WiFi interference in the area made control hard to do, and the system itself was a confusing UI nightmare made worse by the remote’s slow resistive touchscreen. Oh, and did we mention that the remote itself is a straight-up iPhone 3G KIRF? Because yeah — it is. Things were slightly improved when we loaded up the soon-to-be-released Android control app on a nearby Fascinate, but that didn’t fix the essential issues with the UI — it’s very much just a picture of a regular remote drawn on the screen, which rarely works well on a touchscreen device. Don’t just take our word for it — check the video after the break.

Continue reading Samsung Smart Touch Remote and Smart TV hands-on

Samsung Smart Touch Remote and Smart TV hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 Jan 2011 12:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Own a first generation MacBook Air? If you’re perfectly fine with hanging onto it for awhile, Other World Computing is now offering a tempting upgrade in the storage department. The newly announced Mercury Aura Pro is promised to deliver up to 275MB/sec, which equates to right around 3x faster than the factory SSD on 2008 – 2009 MacBook Air models. It’s said to be the first SandForce-based SSD available for those machines, with 60GB, 120GB, 240GB and 480GB models available. The foursome is available today for $199.99, $299.99, $579.99 and $TBA. Curious, but true.

Continue reading OWC aims SandForce-based Mercury Aura Pro SSD at 2008 / 2009 MacBook Air

OWC aims SandForce-based Mercury Aura Pro SSD at 2008 / 2009 MacBook Air originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 Jan 2011 11:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ambidextrous, capacitive, programmable, open source, five simultaneous touch inputs. The Misa Digital Kitara has quite the laundry list of goodies to boast about, but we couldn’t let it slide through CES without getting our fingers on it and exploring for ourselves. The first thing that strikes you about this guitar-shaped synthesizer is its weight distribution — it’s no heavier than a good electric guitar, but a lot more of that weight is contained within its neck — and the second will inevitably be its lightning-quick response to touch. Misa tells us latency is less than 5 milliseconds and it felt like it.

There are two main modes of operation: a string mode, as seen above, and a ball mode allowing for even more adjustability. Both modes can then be further tweaked by choosing between the red and blue setting, with the former allowing for the performance of hammer-ons. Sliding your finger around the 8-inch touchscreen can do all sorts of wonderful things as well, such as altering pitch, tempo and volume, while those fearful of having no tactile feedback in string mode can apply a clear sheet over the screen that has tiny little ridges where the strings would usually reside. We say “usually,” because you’ll be able to configure the distance between the imaginary strings for yourself. The Kitara runs an open source Linux OS, which will be updatable via USB and is already compatible with Mac, PC and, naturally, Linux machines. It also has more than a hundred sound presets and we’ve been promised the option to customize them and create new ones by playing around with the algorithms in the future.

The black Kitara is made out of good old plastic (but it’s made very well) and costs $849 whereas the silver one you see in the gallery below is constructed out of a single block of aluminum and will set buyers back $2,899. Pre-orders are going on now through Misa Digital’s online store and shipping is set to start on April 3. Video follows below.

Continue reading Misa Digital Kitara hands-on preview (video)

Misa Digital Kitara hands-on preview (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 Jan 2011 10:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A WiDi adapter, but only for music? It’s true. Up until now, Intel’s Wireless Display technology has been marketed as a means for transmitting video wirelessly from a PC to an HDTV, but apparently it’s good for audio, too. Logitech has chosen CES 2011 to launch the box you see above, the Wireless Speaker Adapter for Intel WiDi-enabled laptops. The idea is fairly simple: place the box near your sound system, and connect it up via a 3.5mm auxiliary jack or using standard analog RCA jacks. From there, you can launch the WiDi software on your laptop, nail the ‘Connect’ button and watch as your PC pairs up with your speakers. If you aren’t equipped to handle WiDi, there’s a similar box, but for Bluetooth. Both are expected to ship in the US and Europe this May for $29.99 apiece.

Continue reading Logitech intros $30 Wireless Speaker Adapter for WiDi-enabled laptops

Logitech intros $30 Wireless Speaker Adapter for WiDi-enabled laptops originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 Jan 2011 09:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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