Hasta La Gadget!

Rather than simply adding a new capacity option or throwing another adjective on the end (i.e. Ultra, Xtreme, Gnarly, etc.), SanDisk is actually launching something in the flash drive sector that’s worth paying attention to. The Ultra USB Backup is hailed as the planet’s first USB key with simple backup software activation at the touch of a button, and with capacities up to 64GB, we’d say this is a pretty decent option for keeping your digital paraphernalia backed up sans an external HDD. In related news, the outfit has redesigned the long-standing Cruzer to fall more in line with today’s trends, effectively stripping the retro pastel hues and adding in “iconic new design language developed by global innovation firm frog design.” The new bunch is expected in stores this April, with prices ranging from $24.99 to $99.99 for the Cruzer and $39.99 to $199.99 for the Ultra Backup. Full release is after the break.

Continue reading SanDisk showcases new Ultra Backup / Cruzer USB flash drives

Filed under: CES, Storage

SanDisk showcases new Ultra Backup / Cruzer USB flash drives originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 22:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The idea of gesture-based remote control isn’t new, but GestureTek has added in 3D tracking to the mix for, you guessed it — even more expressive interaction with your TV. After all, you don’t live in flatland, so why should your remote control gestures? Of course, adding in depth perception requires the use of more than one webcam, but maybe that’s not a big tradeoff in our age of six and more speakers in the living room. The setup will be on display at CES (sans Xpletive), so we’ll try and swing by for a, um, hands on while we puzzle over how to add voice commands to this system. Watching the big game with your buddies just might get even more entertaining yet.

Filed under: CES, Misc. Gadgets, HDTV, Home Entertainment

GestureTek brings 3D and gestures together for remote control originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 20:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As you know, we’ve been hearing some mind-blowing Zii hype lately. If this latest rumor has any weight to it, among earth-shattering revelations unearthed in Creative’s booth at CES will be a Zii-powered Zen. Of course, screenshots like these can be faked all too easily — but really, why would anyone bother? What we have here is something that resembles previous Zen interfaces, formatted landscape rather than portrait, with what appears to be a widescreen display. Really, guys? Is this what passes for “revolutionary” these days? Call us jaded, but it’s rather hard for us to believe that any PMP would have the power to “better lives beyond our imagination.” Unless, of course, you’re talking about the MySpace MP3 player. We so want one of those.

[Thanks, Oscar M.]

Filed under: CES, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Creative Zen Zii screenshots unearthed, possibly faked originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 19:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Man, iLuv‘s on a roll like no other. Practically every week since the onset of December ’08 the company has pushed out a new alarm clock of some kind, and it has apparently saved the big boy for CES. Announced today, the iMM183 Hi-Fi Dual Dock Alarm Clock with Weather Band Radio promises to charge both you and your lover’s iPod / iPhone 3G while providing NOAA emergency alerts of impending weather-related doom. There’s also an obligatory auxiliary input for non-Apple devices, and the LED warning indicator should do a decent job of telling you what sort of catastrophe is looming. Just remember — HURRICANE ALERT =/ Rock You Like A Hurricane. Full release is after the break.

Continue reading iLuv’s iMM183 dual dock iPod alarm clock also does weather alerts

Filed under: CES, Home Entertainment, Portable Audio

iLuv’s iMM183 dual dock iPod alarm clock also does weather alerts originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 19:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Watch out, MP3 — you’ve got a formidable opponent creeping up on you. All kidding aside (yes, we were kidding), Fraunhofer IIS is hoping that at least four people will turn from their MP3 / AAC addictions and embrace yet another one of its audio formats at CES, which is simply christened MPEG Surround. Harald Popp, head of the Multimedia Realtime Systems department at the company, has asserted that the firm believes that “MPEG Surround will become a major online distribution format when downloading music, movie and TV content,” noting that it offers “the music industry a way to sell iPod-compatible surround content through the existing stereo download infrastructure.” We suppose the multi-channel aspect is at least somewhat noteworthy, but we still see a hard road ahead for it to gain “global acceptance” in 2009.

Filed under: Portable Audio

Fraunhofer IIS to push MPEG Surround as next big downloadable audio format originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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