Hasta La Gadget!

Go ‘head, D-Link, get down with your bad self. Seriously, we can’t remember the last time a router got us all hot and bothered, but this one’s just too wild to not get stoked about. The Xtreme N DIR-685 is hailed as an “all-in-one home network router,” and we’d say it puts a new meaning to “all-in-one.” Aside from handling the normal duties of an 802.11n wireless access point, the device also includes a 3.2-inch LCD for displaying photos and / or widgets. As if that wasn’t zany enough, it also supports both UPnP server functions and BitTorrent downloads. How so, you ask? The twin USB ports on the rear enable users to plug in vanilla external hard drives and essentially convert them into NAS drives, making the data on each accessible over the web. Sadly, no price is mentioned for this conglomerate, but we don’t expect it to come cheap.

Filed under: CES, Digital Cameras, Displays, Networking

D-Link’s Xtreme N DIR-685 router is also a digiframe / NAS device originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 11:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Logitech’s last Harmony launch was of the subtle and sneaky variety, but there’s nothing at all quiet about this one. The big, bold and brash Harmony 1100 is showing itself here in Las Vegas, and the primary selling point is the customizable, 3.5-inch QVGA full-color touchscreen. Rather than getting your buttons all gummed up with pizza grease, you can now smear a nice, innocent panel as you attempt to alter volume and change channels. As expected, the unit packs a rechargeable battery and RF capabilities, and the guided online setup should make programming a lesson in simplicity. Can’t wait to get your own? Tough luck, ’cause this one’s not shipping to the US and Europe until next month for $499.99.

[Via Electronic House]

Filed under: CES, Home Entertainment

Logitech’s Harmony 1100 remote is more touchscreen, less buttons originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 10:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We all yearn for a life lived sans wires, yet many of us still find our media players dangling from the things. Mono Bluetooth headsets are already everywhere, but this could be the year that those of the stereo variety take off, and Altec Lansing’s hoping its new BackBeat series will be a contender. They’re made in partnership with earpiece-guru Plantronics, so callers will find integrated voice dialing, omnidirectional microphones, 7 hours of talk time, and AudioIQ to boost volume when you’re in a noisy situation. For the music listener the sets include tune-channeling, canal-sealing buds, a behind-the-head band, and support for A2DP, AVRCP, HSP v1.1 and HFPv1.5. For those devices that list doesn’t cover (we’re looking at you, iPhone), the $130 BackBeat 906 includes a small transmitter. Everyone else can opt for the otherwise identical but transmitter-less BackBeat 903, which is $30 cheaper. We look forward to getting our ears on these at CES — hopefully after they’ve had a thorough cleaning.

[Via iPodNN]

Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio

The word is on the street about Altec Lansing’s BackBeat Bluetooth headphones originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 09:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nothing is more frsutrating than when your IR remote “misses” a piece of gear — your whole carefully synchronized setup goes out of whack, especially if you’ve got macros programmed on that remote. Hillcrest Labs is hoping to save you some headaches by joining up with Texas Instruments to produce RF remotes that comply with the RF4CE standard that came out last summer. They’ll be showing some of these new wares off at CES, and we expect RF technology is pretty much essential for use with Hillcrest’s Freespace motion control where the whole point of the device is to wave it about with reckless disregard for a chicklet-sized IR sensor. Press release past the break.

Continue reading Hillcrest Labs hops on the RF4CE remote control bandwagon with TI

Filed under: CES, Home Entertainment

Hillcrest Labs hops on the RF4CE remote control bandwagon with TI originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 08:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re still not sold on the merits of “5.1” sets of cans, but Psyko Audio Labs is looking to push doubters over the edge with its incredibly heinous 5.1 Directional Audio Headphones. Supposedly, the company uses a special alignment technology that delivers accurate surround sound to each ear “in a natural 3D sound field.” In case you weren’t skeptical enough, there’s also a “subwoofer” in each ear cup, which sounds like a feat you’d truly have to hear to believe. Yeah, we guess the built-in amplifier — which lets gamers “customize volume and bass levels” — is pretty nifty, but for $299.99, they’d have to knock our equilibrium clean out of balance. Full release is after the break.

Continue reading Psyko Audio’s 5.1 surround sound headphones actually look psycho

Filed under: CES, Portable Audio

Psyko Audio’s 5.1 surround sound headphones actually look psycho originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 07:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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