Sony unveils new HomeShare network speakers, iPhone docks, and Wi-Fi universal remote

We haven’t heard much about Sony’s HomeShare wireless networking protocol since the initial buzz in 2008, but based on today’s announcements, it’s fairly clear that Sony intends to ramp things up in 2011. The SA-NS300 and SA-NS400 are two new wireless network speakers designed to broadcast tunes from a variety of sources such as DLNA-enabled PCs or BRAVIA internet music services found on Sony’s latest Blu-ray players. iPhones and iPods can join in on the streaming fun when placed in HomeShare compatible NAS-SV20i and NAC-SV10i docks. Since all of these components go beyond the realm of your average IR controller, Sony has kindly released the HomeShare-friendly touch screen RMN-U1 Wi-Fi universal remote, too. Using its activity-based control options, the remote allows those invested in the HomeShare system to send music throughout their network and a view a variety of eye-candy — you know, like album art. Even more interesting is that Sony says all of the components will be available this March for between $200 and $300 depending on the device, which is far below the four figure price points of its early HomeShare gear. For more details, hit up the press release below.

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Sony unveils new HomeShare network speakers, iPhone docks, and Wi-Fi universal remote originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 05:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS EEE Slate EP121 shows up for pre-order on Amazon

Just yesterday, ASUS finally officially unveiled its brand new, IPS display-sporting EEE Slate EP121. If you can’t remember yesterday, the EP121 boasts an Intel Core i5-470UM processor, up to 4GB of RAM, and a 64GB SSD all in a 12.1-inch package running Windows 7. This high end tablet is due later this month, but if you simply must pre-order one today, well, taht’s now possible as it recently appeared at popular online retailer Amazon, for $999. Get over there!

[Thanks, DocWllk]

ASUS EEE Slate EP121 shows up for pre-order on Amazon originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 05:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pioneer wants to hold your iPhone and boost its GPS signal in its SmartCradle

Pioneer wants to hold your iPhone and boost its GPS signal in its SmartCradle

Yes, a little more news from Pioneer today, perhaps the biggest for those not looking for a new head unit. It’s the SmartCradle, which accepts an iPhone and offers integrated GPS, ala the Magellan GPS Car Kit. It also has a built-in amplified speaker and microphone for hands-free calling and, thankfully, has charging built-in to keep you from running out of juice half-way to Topkea. No word on a price yet, sadly, nor a release date, but good things come to those who wait.

Pioneer wants to hold your iPhone and boost its GPS signal in its SmartCradle originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 04:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung’s John Revie shows off new 3D specs, waxes poetic on thin-bezel displays (video)

Following Samsung’s press event yesterday, we caught up with SVP of the Consumer Business Division John Revie for a quick chat about its new 3D sets and specs. We found out the SSG-3700CR active frames, which do in fact fit comfortably over our glasses, will hit the market in spring for a cool $150, and perhaps unsurprisingly, the new flagship HDTV will be comparable in price to the ones it debuted last year. Wanna hear all about the qualitative perks of a decidedly bezel-deficient HD display? Our quick video interview’s after the break.

Continue reading Samsung’s John Revie shows off new 3D specs, waxes poetic on thin-bezel displays (video)

Samsung’s John Revie shows off new 3D specs, waxes poetic on thin-bezel displays (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 04:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NEC dual-screen Android Cloud Communicator LT-W hands-on

At CES, NEC’s showing off the hinged Android tablet it teased last month, pitching it as a great way for third parties to… well, do awesome stuff. They’re kind of leaving the doors wide open as to how (or to whom) it’ll be sold, suggesting it could make a great e-reader, a digital notebook for students, a scrapbook, or whatever devs dream up. The “Cloud” part of the “Cloud Communicator” name means that NEC thinks the LT-W would be great for generic cloud services, but really, it’s just an Android 2.1 tablet with WiFi, Bluetooth, and optional 3G — there’s nothing special in here that makes it particularly well-adapted for magically pulling data out of the cloud.

Unfortunately — cloud or otherwise — we didn’t come away with a very positive impression of this thing. Our very first red flag was the stylus, which matches up with a pair of 800 x 600 resistive touchscreens that don’t seem particularly bright or contrasty. Some of NEC’s sample apps (which you can see in the video after the break) make decent use of the dual display setup, but nothing blew us away — and more importantly, everything seemed just a little too jerky for a Cortex-A8 core. If NEC were to remix this with a Tegra 2, two capacitive touchscreens, and Honeycomb, we might be singing a different tune… but for now, this seems like little more than a Courier gone wrong.

Continue reading NEC dual-screen Android Cloud Communicator LT-W hands-on

NEC dual-screen Android Cloud Communicator LT-W hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 04:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Engadget Podcast Show livestream extravaganza day two!

Here we go, another Engadget Podcast Show video conglomerate livestream from our trailer at CES. It’s going to be totally insane, we promise, so check out the Ustream and chat after the break!

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The Engadget Podcast Show livestream extravaganza day two! originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 04:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Canon PIXMA MX882 hands-on: an all-in-one with superpowers

Printers don’t often get us hot and bothered, but Canon‘s PIXMA MX882 certainly has us intrigued. The main draw is that Dual Function panel up front, which combines a 3-inch LCD with a unique set of hard keys that have dynamic displays below that change depending on what function you’re trying to access. For example, when you go to send a fax, they turn into a keypad, and change to other related buttons if you want to copy or scan. On top of that, it’s got support for the iOS and Android Canon photo printing apps, as well as built-in WiFi and Ethernet. To further sweeten the deal, it’s got duplex scanning and printing capabilities, along with five individual color print cartridges so if you run of out of one color, you don’t need to replace the whole thing. Oh, did we mention it costs less than $200? Yeah, we told you it was good.

Canon PIXMA MX882 hands-on: an all-in-one with superpowers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 02:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GM invests $5 million in Powermat, says wireless charging headed to Volt in 2012

GM may have filed for bankruptcy back in 2009, but a lot has changed since then. GM’s venture branch now apparently has enough cash in the bank to drop five million on a multi-year commercial deal for Powermat’s wireless charging technology. The terms of the deal give GM the option to convert their investment into an equity stake within the first six months and provide GM exclusive use of Powermat’s technology for one year in vehicles worldwide. Subsequently, the Volt is slotted to be one of the first vehicles receiving the new tech and a prototype version with charging mats in the front consoles and back seat will be shown this year at CES. However, the automaker is unsure as to what other models will receive Powermat upgrades. Micky Bly, leader of GM’s electric car development efforts, stated though that initial tests did not reveal any significant issues with porting the technology into vehicles, leading GM to shoot for launching commercial integrations sometime in 2012. The automaker hasn’t forgotten its an investor however and hopes other manufacturers will join the wireless charging bandwagon to help drive down costs after their exclusive buffer ends.

GM invests $5 million in Powermat, says wireless charging headed to Volt in 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 02:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola Atrix 4G, HD multimedia dock, and laptop dock hands-on

Earlier today, we got a complete demo and some seat time with the Motorola Atrix 4G for AT&T at Motorola’s CES event, including its HD multimedia dock and laptop dock. The phone looks similar to the Samsung Vibrant, but with a black screen bezel and a tastefully patterned matte back cover. Build quality is very good, as we’d expect from a Motorola device. The QHD (960 x 540) display is gorgeous and the phone feels ultra snappy, thanks to the dual-core processor running Froyo. In fact, despite still running preliminary firmware, we recorded a blazing 2,616 score on the Quadrant test. The power button at the top back of the Atrix 4G also serves as a fingerprint reader, and there’s a dual-LED flash flanking the 5 megapixel camera. Check out the gallery below and read on for the details — and the complete demo on video — after the break.

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Motorola Atrix 4G, HD multimedia dock, and laptop dock hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 02:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

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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