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Jan 06

iHome expands its portable offerings with trio of road-warrior iPhone and iPod accessories

Posted in: feature, Features, Today's Chili

What, this morning’s iPhone-friendly offerings from iHome don’t jive with your nomadic, cord-hating lifestyle? Check out the company’s next triumvirate of Apple-inclined accessories:

iP48 Portable Rechargeable Stereo Alarm Clock: Yes, it’s another alarm clock (pictured above), but this one zips shut to easily slip into your roller. It packs an internal, rechargeable battery and also will sync with your iPhone’s time, so no more late-night attempts at clock setting, you jet-setter you.
iP49 Portable Rechargeable Studio Series Audio System: We unfortunately don’t know what this one looks like, but we’re told it packs all the features of the home alarm clocks but with even better audio and, again, a rechargeable battery. A remote control is a nice bonus for when you’re too tired to wander across that 2,500 square foot penthouse suite your platinum reward status earned you.
iHM79 Rechargeable Mini Speakers: Perhaps the most useful of the three, the iHM79 (pictured after the break) is simply a set of tiny, portable speakers that will work with Apple devices or, indeed, anything with a 3.5mm output. They too are rechargeable and pack an internal amp.

Like before, no prices or specific availability dates for any of these, so you’ll just have to wait a bit on that. Yeah, we know, patience isn’t our strongest asset either.

Continue reading iHome expands its portable offerings with trio of road-warrior iPhone and iPod accessories

iHome expands its portable offerings with trio of road-warrior iPhone and iPod accessories originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jan 2010 11:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 06

Live from LG’s CES press event

Posted in: LG, LiveBlog, Today's Chili

We’re getting ready fof the first (of many) press conferences of the day, LG figures to unload all manner of new HDTVs, mobile TV and who knows what else. Watch Phone anyone? Things start in another minute or two, so hang on.

Continue reading Live from LG’s CES press event

Live from LG’s CES press event originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jan 2010 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 06

VUDU coming to Sharp, Toshiba and VIZIO, adds tons of new apps

Posted in: LG, Sharp, Today's Chili, Toshiba, vizio

The folks over at VUDU have been very busy apparently, not only have deals been struck to get VUDU onto new Sharp, Sanyo, Toshiba, and VIZIO HDTVs and Blu-ray players, but there are also 100 new apps for select models — TV manufactures like LG can decide not to support the Apps even though the VUDU movie streaming is supported. The list is pretty extensive, but many of the names look iffy — more like show names than apps — so we’ll hold back on judgement until after we’ve gotten a chance to try them first hand. There are some that piqued our interest though; like Twitter, Facebook and Weather. Check out the entire list for yourself after the break.

Continue reading VUDU coming to Sharp, Toshiba and VIZIO, adds tons of new apps

VUDU coming to Sharp, Toshiba and VIZIO, adds tons of new apps originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jan 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 06

Olive and Thiel Unveil $7,900 Networked Audio System

Posted in: audio, iPhone, ipod, ipod touch, MP3, MP3 Digital Audio, networking, speakers, Today's Chili

Okay, this one isn’t exactly for those who listen to MP3s through their iMac’s built-in speakers. Olive and Thiel Audio have unveiled the Olive+THIEL HD Music System (HDMS), a high-end audio setup that consists of three parts: a server, speakers and cabling.

The flagship 4+ HD music server holds 6,000 CDs or 20,000 24-bit HD music tracks, and comes with a touch screen LCD and support for an iPhone and iPod touch control app for use as a remote.

Meanwhile, Thiel’s SCS4D loudspeakers are two-way bookshelf models that work in both upright and sideways configurations (no small feat, as the audio response changes dramatically when you do this). Each speaker features a die-cast aluminum front baffle, a 24-bit DAC, and a 200-watt class D amplifier.

The system connects together with Ethernet cables, and lets you connect up to four pairs of Thiel SCS4D speakers. That’s assuming you’ve got the money, because the base system with one pair of speakers costs $7,900. Head over to www.olivethiel.com for more details.

Jan 06

RIM Unveils PowerPoint Display Gadget for BlackBerrys

Posted in: BlackBerry, Microsoft, projector, RIM, Smartphones, Today's Chili

RIM has unveiled BlackBerry Presenter, a portable gadget that lets business users show Microsoft PowerPoint presentations directly from BlackBerry smartphones–and gives owners a reason to forgo upgrading to an LG Expo projector phone.

The Presenter is a tiny but heavy device, measuring 3.4 by 2.4 by 0.9 inches (HWD) and weighing just over a pound. It displays three video resolutions: 640-by-480 (VGA), 800-by-600 (SVGA), and 1024-by-768 (XGA) at a 4:3 aspect ratio. The device contains VGA and S-Video outputs, plus a USB power connector and a multi-mode status LED.

When displaying PowerPoint files, it features Loop and Freeze modes, and is compatible with third-party Bluetooth enabled devices. It supports NTSC and PAL video signals, supports most 2003 and 2007 PowerPoint animations and transitions, and offers navigation and displays speaker notes on the BlackBerry. The unit comes with a synthetic leather carrying case. It requires BlackBerry OS 4.6 or later, meaning that it doesn’t work with older BlackBerry Curve 8300 and Pearl Flip 8200 series devices.

The BlackBerry Presenter lists for $199.99. RIM hasn’t announced a release date other than posting a “Coming Soon” notice.

Jan 06

D-Link Pebble media streamer isn’t the Boxee Box

Posted in: media streamer, MediaStreamer, streamer, Today's Chili

Sort of funny that D-Link is calling its other new media streamer the Pebble, since it’s just about as anonymous — especially compared to the company’s own Boxee Box, which is also launching this week for just slightly more than this thing’s $119 list price. We’re sure the Pebble will do a fine job streaming local and network media to your TV, but c’mon — have you seen the Boxee Box’s remote? Case closed.

D-Link Pebble media streamer isn’t the Boxee Box originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jan 2010 10:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 06

MyDitto is the cloud-accessible NAS for people who don’t know what NAS stands for

Posted in: cloud, nas, Today's Chili, usb

There are plenty of ways to get your datas online, more coming online by the moment, but if you’re the type who doesn’t know your WAN port from a MAC address you’re probably looking for the most straightforward solution. As of now the myDitto from Dane-Elec looks about the simplest. It’s a dual-bay device that can manage RAID 0 or 1, also sporting a pair of USB ports for when internal storage just won’t cut it and DLNA and iTunes support for media accessibility. If you don’t know what any of that means here’s the important bit: to access that storage all you need to do is connect it into your network and then plug a myDitto USB key into any internet-attached machine. Then, hey-presto, your storage will be accessible and you won’t have to configure a thing. In practice these fire-and-forget sort of implementations can often create more headaches than they solve, but if this one works it could be an ideal way for non-networkers to get networked. Mind you, at $249 for a 1TB model that simplicity will come at a premium when it launches in March.

MyDitto is the cloud-accessible NAS for people who don’t know what NAS stands for originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jan 2010 10:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 06

Immerz Acousto-Haptic Kor-FX: Really Feel the Sound

Posted in: MP3 Digital Audio, Today's Chili, video games

If you’re a gamer or rocker who turns up the volume to unconscionable levels just to get that full-body resonance with your audio, you’re going to love this: The Immerz KOR-fx (invented and marketed by quantum-mechanics physicist Shahriar Afshar, shown above wearing the device) brings the sound directly to your body. More sophisticated and subtle than those vibrating gamer-chairs, the KOR-fx phones sit atop your chest cavity and, according to the company, “activate neural pathways that subconsciously monitor the vibrations of the
chest cavity that naturally occur when speaking, laughing or crying.” It can work with any device with an audio output.

I had a demo from Afshar a couple weeks ago, and I was quite impressed. I listened to music and watched a movie trailer, which were both enhanced for me–bass-heavy music and action flicks get the most obvious benefit. But most interesting was watching Afshar play a first-person shooter game while I was wearing the KOR-fx; it actually helps you sense directionality. I’m definitely not an FPS person, but even I could tell this might give you an edge in gameplay–plus, it’s just fun.

Today Immerz announced that the KOR-fx is available for pre-order at $189.99; maybe a bit pricey for some, but no more expensive than high-quality headphones, after all. It’s expected to ship in May. The company has a booth at CES, in the i-Stage Finalists area, so if you’re out there, stop by and try it out.

Jan 06

Immerz KOR-fx ‘acousto-haptic’ gaming tech gets a ship date

Posted in: Today's Chili

The kids at Immerz want you to know that KOR-fx, the “acousto-haptic technology” that you never knew you wanted, is set to make its all star debut at CES this week. Compatible with any machine that sports audio, the device is essentially a set of speakers that deliver “nearly imperceptible vibrations” to areas of the chest — activating various neural pathways and creating “a more immersive entertainment experience” somewhat akin to “an uncanny ‘7th Sense’ awareness,” reinventing “all forms of multi-media entertainment” in the process. Never mind 3D, your gaming experience just got exceptionally creepy! This bad boy has been available for pre-order for a while now at the princely sum of $190, so if you already made the leap you can expect delivery sometime in May. PR after the break, yo.

Continue reading Immerz KOR-fx ‘acousto-haptic’ gaming tech gets a ship date

Immerz KOR-fx ‘acousto-haptic’ gaming tech gets a ship date originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jan 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 06

Toshiba’s T115 and T135 thin-and-lights start at $450, offer Intel and AMD flavors

Posted in: hands-on, thin and light, ThinAndLight, Today's Chili, Toshiba

When a manufacturer picks AMD or Intel chips for a particular model, it’s often a bit of an exclusive marriage. Toshiba, however, is going Big Love for its new 11.6-inch T115 and 13.3-inch T135 ultraportables, which can both run AMD Neo, AMD Turion or Intel Pentium SU4100 processors. Nothing absolutely blazing, but at the $450 starting point (for AMD) you’re hardly past a netbook cost for something considerably peppier. The laptops, which measure less than an inch thick and weigh 3.5 and 3.9 pounds, respectively, offer up 9 hours of battery on Intel and 6 hours on AMD, with the ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics in the latter providing some decent low-power video decoding (including Blu-ray, if you have an external drive). Prices scale up to $700, with a 320GB hard drive and 4GB of RAM at the high end.

We played around with both models, and while there’s nothing specific to gripe about, we can’t say we’re super impressed by Toshiba’s heavy handed, ultra-gloss approach. It feels a little last gen and cheap, particularly in comparison to the refined mini NB305 — whose chiclet keyboard is almost preferable to the slightly mushy keys on display here. The price point and feature set makes these certainly worth a further look, but we wish Toshiba would get over its plastic fetish and make something a bit more desirable.

Gallery: Toshiba T115 and T135 press shots