Hasta La Gadget!

Let’s try this again, shall we? We were none too impressed with the first iteration of the device you see above, mostly because it failed to support audio. A few generations later, and seems as if Warpia may finally have its ducks in a row. The StreamHD is a USB-to-HDMI adapter, presumably relying on Wisair technology to whisk 1080p content from one’s USB-enabled laptop or desktop onto your HDMI-equipped television. It’ll handle material with resolutions as high as 1920 x 1280, and we’re told that both Hulu and Netflix content will be passed along sans issue. Hooking things up is a lesson in simplicity (in theory, at least) — just plug the USB dongle into your Windows PC, and the transceiver dock into your HDTV. High-def content and 5.1 surround sound should be transmitted, and there’s a reported range of 30 feet. It should be popping up any moment now on Amazon for $169.99, and yeah, that does include an HDMI cable and a S/PDIF cord. How thoughtful.

Continue reading Warpia’s wireless StreamHD USB-to-HDMI adapter supports 1080p, 5.1 surround sound

Warpia’s wireless StreamHD USB-to-HDMI adapter supports 1080p, 5.1 surround sound originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 09:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The WiFi-enabled SD card wizards at Eye-Fi already have a mobile app kicking around that lets you upload shots from your phone to the cloud, but their relationship with mobile is about to get a whole lot cozier with the introduction of Direct Mode. Basically, Direct Mode lets the Eye-Fi card in your camera communicate directly with your tablet or phone — with Eye-Fi software installed, of course — giving you direct and immediate access to the photos that are on your camera without the need to either cable up or first allow the card to upload the images to a photo sharing service before they can be pulled back down on the mobile device. Granted, the cameras inside phones are getting better by the day, but most of them still don’t come anywhere near serious point-and-shoot quality — and that seems to be the angle Eye-Fi’s trying to attack here, making it dead simple to share your “real” camera photos just as quickly as you would had you taken them with your phone itself. Look for it as a free upgrade for Eye-Fi’s existing line of X2 cards “later in 2011.” Free’s nice, eh? Follow the break for the press release.

Continue reading Eye-Fi’s Direct Mode unites phone and camera in holy matrimony

Eye-Fi’s Direct Mode unites phone and camera in holy matrimony originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 09:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford and Microsoft have been all over the smartphone-car integration scene with their SYNC system, but now it’s Toyota‘s turn. The outfit is launching a major initiative here at CES to make your vehicle more than just a mode of transportation, with the Entune infotainment system offering Bluetooth, a host of mobile apps and the ability to read-back and replay text messages. Entune is expected to launch as an option on “select models” later this year, with featured apps including Bing, iheartradio, MovieTickets.com, OpenTable and Pandora, not to mention location-based services such as personalized traffic, fuel prices, stock alerts, weather reports and sports scores. It’ll rely on voice commands and in-vehicle controls, enabling users to be informed and empowered while traveling. Aside from giving motorists the ability to reserve a table as they’re en route to an eatery and order a movie ticket for later, it’s also a fully-featured entertainment center — you’ll get access to HD Radio, a CD player, USB connectivity and Bluetooth audio streaming. Best of all, the entire setup is firmware upgradable via OTA updates, so the risk of obsolesce is lessened a good bit. We’re hoping to get some hands-on time with an Entune-equipped whip here on the show floor, and we’ll be sure to share our impressions just as soon as we do. For now, feel free to get a closer look in the gallery below and the video after the break.

Continue reading Toyota Entune in-car infotainment system interfaces with your smartphone, does everything but drive

Toyota Entune in-car infotainment system interfaces with your smartphone, does everything but drive originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No more dribs and drabs of information leaking out as Vizio has finally listed its entire 2011 LCD lineup, again featuring LED back & edge lighting across all models. That includes two ultrawidescreen 21:9 Cinema models in its Theater 3D line in 50- and 58-inch sizes, two VIA Plus TVs with Google TV in the XVT3D476SP and XVT3D556SP, and continuation of its existing Yahoo! Widgets based Vizio Internet Apps features including WiFi and Bluetooth QWERTY remote across TVs sized 22-inches and above. Check the press release after the break for all the models and what they offer, perhaps wisely there’s no detailed information about when and for how much they’ll be available just yet, so we’ll still have to speculate about which models will represent the sub-$300 3D portion of the lineup.

Continue reading Vizio shows off its full 2011HDTV lineup: ultrawidescreen, 3D, Google TV, widgets & all

Vizio shows off its full 2011HDTV lineup: ultrawidescreen, 3D, Google TV, widgets & all originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 08:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tired of the power supply going sour in your Time Capsule? Join the crowd. Clickfree is making its annual CES introduction today from Las Vegas, and for those familiar with the aforementioned Apple product, you’ll understand exactly how the Clickfree Wireless works. Put simply, it’s an HDD-infused box with an 802.11n radio within, and it’s designed to automate the backup of an unlimited quantity of Macs or PCs without any wires whatsoever. Sort of. You’ll still need to plug it directly into each machine you’re hoping to duplicate as the initial backup takes place, but after that, all settings will be found and configured, and all future backups will happen without wires. Sadly, only two models are available at launch — a 500GB box for $179, and a 1TB unit for $249. If you’ve more than one machine in your house, you’ll probably need to wait for larger capacity units to surface later in the quarter, but hey, at least they’re en route.

Continue reading Clickfree Wireless takes the Time Capsule approach, automates backups over WiFi

Clickfree Wireless takes the Time Capsule approach, automates backups over WiFi originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 08:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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