Hasta La Gadget!

Alright, we got a chance to check out iGUGU’s Gamecore setup, and we’re simultaneously impressed and disappointed. The fact that for $80 you can get all the hardware necessary to beam your PC video to your TV wirelessly and control games with a full QWERTY wireless controller is just plain great. We also love the form factor of the controller, since it’s basically a clone of the Xbox 360 controller — a little shameless, but our hands and fingers don’t seem to mind. Unfortunately, the drawbacks are many. First and foremost, iGUGU’s software is pretty abysmal, and for all its seeming attempts at simplifying access to games and media in a “TV friendly” manner, it only serves to complicate such actions. The second problem is that we’re just not sure a trackball could really serve to satiate the desire of most PC games for a mouse control. We tried out a FPS and would’ve much preferred a joystick nub for aiming the camera, and while there’s an accelerometer built into the controller, it felt overly sensitive in the racing game we tested — and has rarely been proven to be much beyond a gimmick in the console world outside of very specifically targeted software. That said, the Xbox-style triggers and shoulder buttons are great, and the QWERTY keyboard is uncomfortably cheap but very usable. Perhaps for lower-impact games that don’t involve the precision of a shooter or a racer we could see this working, but we’re unconvinced we’d really enjoy the majority of the “27,000 available PC games” at this thing’s disposal. Check out a video of it in action after the break.

Continue reading iGUGU Gamecore hands-on

iGUGU Gamecore hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jan 2010 16:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ATSC tuner, 720p resolution, remote control, switchable cuddle / mauling modes. But where’s the giraffe?

P.S.- This isn’t even Hannspree’s craziest TV — that honor goes to the 42-inch fire truck monitor, which we still want.

Crapgadget CES, round 1: polar bear TV originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jan 2010 15:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s CES week and that means the press conferences never stop, with Sharp the next up to flaunt its wares for the coming year. Last year the company ducked the Widget onslaught and continued its own AquosNet path, we’ll see what 2010 has in store.

Continue reading Live from Sharp’s CES press event

Live from Sharp’s CES press event originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jan 2010 15:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Are you ready for this? No, we mean are you ready for this? We sure hope so, ’cause Audiovox is about to drop eight new products on you here in the desert. Kicking things off is the Acoustic Research brand with two new iPod / iPhone-friendly sound systems: the ARS1i (36-watts) and ARS2i (50-watts). Both of these guys arrive with twin 2.5-inch carbon fiber woofers, two dome tweeters, AM / FM radio functionality, a bundled remote, backlit LCD, soft touch front keys and an auxiliary input jack. The latter also touts a built-in rechargeable battery and portable handle, and while it will list for $199.99 this Spring, the lesser-specced sibling will sell for $50 less.

Moving on, there’s the RC60i and RC66i iPod clock radios from RCA, with the latter running on standard alkaline batteries and designed for the on-the-go crowd. That one will sell for a penny under $100, while the AC-powered RC60i will be offered at $79.99 when they hit this Spring. Staying on the RCA beat, there’s the new line of Small Wonder pocket camcorders. The EZ4000 is a rugged, waterproof version that can capture 1080p clips onto a microSD card for $169.99 (available this Spring), while the palm-sized EZ5000 ($169.99) and EZ5100 ($199.99) look entirely more like a conventional camcorder and offer up 720p / 1080p video recording, 8 megapixel still shots, a 2.4-inch flip-out LCD and a rechargeable battery. The smaller EZ1000, EZ2000 and EZ3000 models round things out on the low end, with full specifications of these in the press release after the break.

The outfit is also introducing the DPF8100 ($129.99) and DPF8300 ($129.99) digiframes, both of which are a part of the newly created Décor series; if those are just too classy for you, there’s also a 7-inch DPF7407 ($129.99), which fits squarely in the cutely named Celebration series. Closing things out are the $39.99 RCA Voice Control Remote (which gladly listens to commands that you bark at it), a gaggle of new AR outdoor wireless speakers, a few new Jensen in-car head units and Zentral Home Command smartphone remotes. Feel free to dig in for more information on those just past the break.

Continue reading Audiovox goes wild at CES: digiframes, camcorders, remotes, iPod sound systems

Audiovox goes wild at CES: digiframes, camcorders, remotes, iPod sound systems originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jan 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’ll recall, FLO TV showed off a proof-of-concept for getting its mobile TV service onto the iPhone back in November of last year. At the time, it required a somewhat unwieldy attachment, which has now melted away with the inclusion of Mophie into the deal, who will integrate the FLO TV hardware into its popular Juice Pack. Both companies are pretty psyched about the synergy of having one device both receiving mobile TV and doing the consequently necessary battery life extension. You’ll find their collective announcement after the break, and products can be expected in the first half of the year.

Continue reading FLO TV and Mophie team up to bring mobile TV to your iPhone

FLO TV and Mophie team up to bring mobile TV to your iPhone originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jan 2010 14:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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