Hasta La Gadget!

Attention all humans and empathetic robots: The Engadget Show is back in a big way this Saturday, October 23rd at 6:30pm! To get things started, Josh and the gang will be taking a first-hand look at the myriad Windows Phone 7 devices with Microsoft’s Aaron Woodman, then we’ll be demoing Google TV, and Engadget’s own Darren Murph will be joining Josh, Nilay, and Paul on stage, Guinness world record in hand. What’s more, we’re hosting our first ever Halloween costume contest! There will be giveaways at the show for the best costumes (as voted on by you, the audience), so get to work on your winning masterpiece now! We’ll also have the usual random giveaways, but why leave it to chance when you could win stuff with a little creativity and a black turtleneck? There will also be music from Kris Keyser and visuals from noteNdo and plenty of other giveaways at the live show only, so make the trek and join us at The Times Center in person. We have a new ticketing policy, so if you’re coming to the live show, be sure to read about it below. If you’re geographically incapable of joining us in New York City, just tune into the stream right here on Engadget.

The Engadget Show is sponsored by Sprint, and will take place at the Times Center, part of The New York Times Building in the heart of New York City at 41st St. between 7th and 8th Avenues (see map after the break). Tickets are — as always — free to anyone who would like to attend, but seating is limited, and tickets will be first come, first served… so get there early! Here’s the updated info on our new ticketing policy that you need to know:

• There is no admission fee — tickets are completely free
• The event is all ages
• Ticketing will begin at the Times Center at 2:00PM on Saturday, October 23rd, doors will open for seating at 5:45PM, and the show begins at 6:30PM
• We now have assigned seating, so the first people to get their tickets — and the Sprint text-to-win winners (see below) — will get priority seating. This also means that once you get a ticket, your seat is guaranteed — you won’t have to get back in line to get a good seat.
• We still had plenty of tickets left over at the last taping, so just because it’s 5:00pm and you finally finished Halo: Reach doesn’t mean you won’t get a seat at the show — so get your butt up to the Times Center!
• Ticketing will continue until all tickets are given away
• You cannot collect tickets for friends or family — anyone who would like to come must be present to get a ticket
• Seating capacity in the Times Center is about 340, and once we’re full, we’re full
• The venue is located at 41st St. between 7th and 8th Avenues in New York City (map after the break)
• The show length is around an hour

If you’re a member of the media who wishes to attend, please contact us at: engadgetshowmedia [at] engadget [dot] com, and we’ll try to accommodate you. All other non-media questions can be sent to: engadgetshow [at] engadget [dot] com.

Subscribe to the Show:

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (M4V).
[Zune] Subscribe to the Show directly in the Zune Marketplace (M4V).
[RSS M4V] Add the Engadget Show feed (M4V) to your RSS aggregator and have it delivered automatically.

The Engadget Show returns this Saturday, October 23rd with Windows Phone 7, Aaron Woodman, Google TV devices, and our first Halloween costume contest! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Oct 2010 18:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony told us that Best Buy wouldn’t begin selling its Google TV sets until October 24, but it looks like that wasn’t quite right — sources within the big box retailer tell us the TVs have already arrived, and will be free for all to purchase when an October 17th street date breaks tomorrow morning. The scrap of paper you see above goes on to suggest that full shipments may not actually arrive until the 19th and that the Logitech Revue won’t appear until the 20th, but if you’re looking to get a nice big NSX without hunting for a Sony Style store, it’s definitely worth a shot. That assumes, of course, that you’re not planning to wait for our full review. Might we recommend at least a brief glimpse at our early hands-on? Find a pic of Sony’s Google TV packaging after the break.

Update: Sure enough, we’re getting reports that the TVs and Blu-ray player are now on sale, and you can find them ready to ship online at our more coverage link. [Thanks, Jon]

Continue reading Sony’s Google TVs on sale at Best Buy tomorrow, already hitting stores? (update)

Sony’s Google TVs on sale at Best Buy tomorrow, already hitting stores? (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 16 Oct 2010 23:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You asked for it and it’s back… The Engadget Show returns to you next Saturday, October 23rd at 6:30pm! To get things started, we’ll be taking a first-hand look at the myriad Windows Phone 7 devices with Microsoft’s Aaron Woodman. We’ll also be taking an inside look at Google TV and Engadget’s own Darren Murph will be joining Josh, Nilay, and Paul on stage, Guinness world record in hand. What’s more, we’re ending the night with our first ever Halloween costume contest! Yep, you heard that right and there will be giveaways for the best costumes, so get to work on your winning masterpiece now! We’ll also have music from Kris Keyser and visuals from noteNdo and plenty of other giveaways at the live show only, so make the trek and join us at The Times Center in person. We have a new ticketing policy, so if you’re coming to the live show, be sure to read about it below. If you’re geographically incapable of joining us in New York City, just tune into the stream right here on Engadget.

The Engadget Show is sponsored by Sprint, and will take place at the Times Center, part of The New York Times Building in the heart of New York City at 41st St. between 7th and 8th Avenues (see map after the break). Tickets are — as always — free to anyone who would like to attend, but seating is limited, and tickets will be first come, first served… so get there early! Here’s the updated info on our new ticketing policy that you need to know:

• There is no admission fee — tickets are completely free
• The event is all ages
• Ticketing will begin at the Times Center at 2:00PM on Saturday, October 23rd, doors will open for seating at 5:45PM, and the show begins at 6:30PM
• We now have assigned seating, so the first people to get their tickets — and the Sprint text-to-win winners (see below) — will get priority seating. This also means that once you get a ticket, your seat is guaranteed — you won’t have to get back in line to get a good seat.
• Ticketing will continue until all tickets are given away
• You cannot collect tickets for friends or family — anyone who would like to come must be present to get a ticket
• Seating capacity in the Times Center is about 340, and once we’re full, we’re full
• The venue is located at 41st St. between 7th and 8th Avenues in New York City (map after the break)
• The show length is around an hour

If you’re a member of the media who wishes to attend, please contact us at: engadgetshowmedia [at] engadget [dot] com, and we’ll try to accommodate you. All other non-media questions can be sent to: engadgetshow [at] engadget [dot] com.

Sprint is offering 50 guaranteed tickets to the Engadget Show taping to the first 50 entrants who text “ENGADGET” to 467467 or enter online! Standard text messaging rates apply. Click for the Official Rules and see how to enter online.

Subscribe to the Show:

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (M4V).
[Zune] Subscribe to the Show directly in the Zune Marketplace (M4V).
[RSS M4V] Add the Engadget Show feed (M4V) to your RSS aggregator and have it delivered automatically.

Continue reading The Engadget Show returns next Saturday, October 23rd with Microsoft’s Aaron Woodman, Google TV devices, and our first Halloween costume contest!

The Engadget Show returns next Saturday, October 23rd with Microsoft’s Aaron Woodman, Google TV devices, and our first Halloween costume contest! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Oct 2010 19:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We just laid our unworthy eyes on the new Sony Internet TV powered by Google TV (boy is that a mouthful) and it looks exactly the right sort of modern. We got a quick chance to play with the remote and it definitely appeals to the nerd within us — it’s nice to hold and use, although the optical mouse pad in the upper right corner was pretty wonky on the units we tried. (Sony chalked it up to RF interference, but we’ll have to investigate further.) We’ll be updating you with some video so stay tuned!

Update: The video is up. Plus we’ve got some thoughts for you to double your pleasure:

• It’s interesting how UI scales between the different TV sizes — the search bar looks comically large on the larger TV sizes, and just about right on the medium sizes.
• While you don’t have to switch inputs, as Sony and Google are so proud to point out, there is a distinct resolution switch that the TV is undergoing between live TV and the Google TV app UI — 1080i to 720p would be our guess.
• Something that could be a real issue for Google TV is the lack of UI consistency. You’re dealing with your DVR’s UI, the Google TV search and record experience, the Chrome browsing experience, and then whatever UI a particular media browsing app might have (all the ones we tried were vastly different from each other). You can also browse your recorded shows from the Google TV UI or your own DVR’s UI, which among other overlapping functionality might prove confusing when it’s not being convenient.
• The picture-in-picture function, which is a simple right click on the right d-pad, is probably going to be a well worn option for Google TV users — keeping a show going live while looking something up in the browser or in an app is sort of this machine’s bread and butter, and it’s nicely convenient to access.
• The Sony keyboard remote feels nice in the hand, but it’s pretty unintuitive. Although both of your thumbs rest naturally on the controls up top, you’re not supposed to use them at the same time — you can either arrow around the UI with the left thumb or control the mouse with the finicky optical pad under your right. The two things are totally separate, so you’re using the arrows and you accidentally click the right button, you end up selecting whatever’s under the mouse cursor and going off in a totally different direction. It’s weird, especially since it’s supposed to feel like a PS3 controller — a controller that generally uses both thumb controls together very effectively.
• Oh, and there are a million tiny buttons for everything, not all of which make a ton of sense in every configuration, and some of which are just totally mysterious — there’s no way you’re going to get what the star and Fn buttons do on the first go.

Continue reading Sony’s Internet TV (powered by Google TV) first hands-on! (update: video)

Sony’s Internet TV (powered by Google TV) first hands-on! (update: video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Oct 2010 18:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Straight from Sony’s Google TV unveiling in New York we finally know the official details of its plans, which include four HDTVs (24-, 32- , 40- and 46-inch) with prices from $599 to $1,399, plus a funky white set-top box with built-in Blu-ray player for $399. The 24-inch is a CCFL backlit LCD, while the larger models all feature edge LED lighting, while all of them feature built in WiFi, so no need to go stringing any new network cables to the living room. The only custom app we’re seeing among the preinstalled ones (Netflix, CNBC, Napster, Pandora and more) is a Sony Qriocity VOD player, for more you’ll be waiting for the Android Market to hit in early 2011. If you want to be the first on your block with one, hit up the local Sony Style outlet when they go on sale this weekend, or Best Buy stores starting October 24, meanwhile, check the press release after the break for full specs and details.

Continue reading Sony Google TV HDTVs and Blu-ray player launch details revealed

Sony Google TV HDTVs and Blu-ray player launch details revealed originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Oct 2010 17:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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