Hasta La Gadget!

Klipsch managed to unveil a black-and-white version of its high-end Image X10i earbuds as well as something referred to as a LightSpeaker at last CES, and this year they’re doing the inevitable: unveiling a trio of iDevice-friendly sound systems. All a part of the new Gallery series, the Studio, Forum and Arena are all making their debut tonight in Vegas. Each of these units are AirPlay certified, meaning that each one will wirelessly ingest smooth jams and fusion metal from a nearby iTunes library. The Studio and Forum each have slots along the front edge where you can rest your iPhone / iPod / iPad, while the high-end Arena actually has a 30-pin Dock Connector port as well as a video output. The unit’s the company had on display this evening were far from being production quality, but the overall design was nice, if not a touch understated. To remedy that on the Studio, the outfit plans to offer well over a dozen faceplates with various graphics — if sales are strong, we’re told that it could create similar plates for the higher-end siblings.

To go along with those, Klipsch also unveiled a trifecta of slim, passive speakers: the G-12, G16, G-28 and G-42. These range from $299 to $599 per speaker, and are obviously aimed at the more affluent crowd. One thing of note — the backs of these speakers have clever cutouts along the bottom and rear, enabling you to better manage your wires. Yeah, wires. These units definitely aren’t wireless, but here’s hoping for 2012, right? As for the iPod sound systems? Those are slated to ship in Q2 or Q3 with prices set for $399 (Studio), $599 (Forum) and $799 (Arena).

Continue reading Klipsch unveils AirPlay-enabled Gallery Studio, Forum and Arena soundbars (hands-on)

Klipsch unveils AirPlay-enabled Gallery Studio, Forum and Arena soundbars (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 02:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Some days our dream of being able to watch anything, anywhere, anytime, and on any screen seems like it’ll never happen, but other days are like today. Yes, today every major studio, except Disney, announced that it would start distributing movies that will work with any UltraViolet devices, software or services. We learned on the Engadget HD podcast that this means that if you buy a movie one way (DVD, VOD, hotel PPV, whatever) you can view it on just about any other without paying again. PC software and updates for existing devices are expected to start rolling out later this year — so much for launching in 2010 — but we’ll have to wait for CES next year to learn about all our gadgets that can’t, or won’t, be updated. Of course the dream will only come true if everyone and everything agrees to play, and while we’re a long way away from finding out if our media consumption fantasy will ever come true, the list of 60 companies that have already pledged their allegiance is a who’s who among media and electronics giants.

Continue reading Six major studios to distribute UltraViolet titles by mid year, hardware to come later

Six major studios to distribute UltraViolet titles by mid year, hardware to come later originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 01:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I’m not sure how Mimbot does it–the company may be tapped directly into my brain–but man, I want this thing so bad. The latest flash drive from the company is a limited edition (way to make me want it more) key designed to look like the golden age 1939 dark knight.

The vintage Batman key is limited to 5,000 units, but he’ll soon be joined by Robin, Joker, and Catwoman keys this Februrary, thanks to a deal with DC Comics. The companies also plan to offer a number of other character keys, including Superman, the Flash, and Green Lantern–the latter of which will no doubt get a nice push, thanks to the upcoming movie.

The Batman drive is available now in capacities from 2- to 16GB, through Mimobot’s site and a few select retailers like Kid Robot and the Converse Store.

We just played with a wonderful tablet, and it wasn’t running Android, webOS, iOS, or even Windows. It was running a funky realtime operating system called QNX that RIM bought in April, combined with WebKit and a heaping helping of Flash, and plans on releasing to the world in Q1 of this year. The BlackBerry PlayBook is surprisingly polished and responsive at this stage, even though RIM says it has a lot of work to still left to do. In fact, the only thing frustrating about our roughly 30 minutes with the tablet (under the caring gaze of Mike Lazaridis) was the fact that you can’t buy an actual BlackBerry phone right now that’s anywhere near this enjoyable to use. Follow after the break as we talk through the product, along with a video walkthrough and stress test of that dual-core proc’s multitasking chops.

Continue reading BlackBerry PlayBook preview

BlackBerry PlayBook preview originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 00:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony Ericsson isn’t being shy about hyping the Xperia Arc‘s new Reality Display, so we naturally had to take a head-to-head shot with the iPhone 4’s Retina Display. They actually compare quite well in person, even though the Arc actually has the same 854 x 480 resolution as the Droid X — you can definitely see some pixels up close, but since the panel is a hair smaller than the X at 4.2 inches, the pixel density is a little tighter. The real noise behind the Reality Display is Arc’s Bravia Engine, which Sony claims will enhance colors and detail just like on Bravia TVs, but we didn’t get to play with it too much beyond finding the option in settings to turn it off. We’ll obviously be diving deep on that once we score a review unit, but for now check a macro shot and a Droid X comparison after the break.

Continue reading Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc Reality Display vs. Retina Display… fight!

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc Reality Display vs. Retina Display… fight! originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 00:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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