Hasta La Gadget!

Attention audiophiles, Bose has introduced two home theater systems that combine proprietary 5.1 surround sound with the new Bose Unify intelligent integration system. Intelligent integration is the company’s technology for cutting through the complexity in setting up home theater systems. It makes connecting speakers and adding remotes easier.

The new Lifestyle V-Class and T-Class systems were designed to evolve with the owners needs, and can accommodate up to six HD sources. The Lifestyle remote can operate with nearly any entertainment device. Setting up the systems should be especially easy, and all parts and instructions are in plain English.

“Many of today’s home entertainment systems are feature-rich, but if an owner can’t access those features, they don’t offer any real value,” said Doug Lankford, director of home theater product marketing for Bose. “The new Lifestyle systems deliver what’s been missing in the market — a truly simplified, high-quality home theater system.”

The V35 lists for $3,299.95 and the T20 for $1,999.95.

Qbot is a prototype home robot that can interact with its user and avoid obstacles. Developer Francisco Paz says it will be an open-source machine that will be cheap enough to garner many users.

Well, if it isn’t a surprise to end all surprises. Amazon’s head honcho Jeff Bezos recently grabbed a mic at the outfit’s annual shareholder meeting in Seattle, and when speaking about the “millions” of Kindle e-readers that he’s sold, he pointed out the obvious when questioned about the possibility of a color version. In addressing concerns that LCD-based tablets may seem more attractive due to their ability to showcase color images and video, he noted that developing color electronic ink remains a challenge, and while he’s seen things “in the laboratory,” the prototypes are simply “not ready for prime-time production.” He also stated that these lust-worthy, mythical displays were “a long way out,” but that the Kindle would remain focused as a dedicated e-reader moving forward. Hear that, Mirasol? That’s the ear-piecing sound of a market opportunity waiting to be exploited.

E-Ink Shocker! Amazon CEO says color Kindle is ‘still a long way out’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 May 2010 16:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unfortunately, we don’t know much about this new Marvell powered tablet, but we couldn’t resist sharing our impressions of the very svelte 10-inch device. We only got a few minutes to play around with the slate at the Netbook Summit, but we can tell you that it has a brushed metal back and there’s an opening on the front for a camera. As for the internals, it’s based on Marvell’s Moby reference design, which uses its Snapdragon-class Armada 610 processor, and will run Android 2.1 Eclair. The rest will be up to whatever Marvell customer is bringing this bad boy to market — the Marvell executive that let us catch a glance at the device wouldn’t turn it on as he feared we may see the mystery customer’s logo. We told you we didn’t know much, but from what we saw today it sure looks promising. Now, if only we felt Android was ready Google would give us a tablet-ready version of Android…

Marvell shows off 10-inch Android tablet at Netbook Summit originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 May 2010 16:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Now that the proverbial cat’s out of the bag, Tech Flash has caught up with Robbie Bach about his impending retirement from Microsoft. In a far-reach interview, the former President of Entertainment & Devices Division says he made his ultimate decision just last Thursday, and that while he and also-gone J Allard “had been talking [Allard’s] situation for awhile,” the conversation never went both ways and the timing of the departures is “pure coincidence… serendipity.” Bach further claims that it was his choice and was not asked to leave, and as for pundits who might’ve thought he was in line for one day taking the reins from CEO Steve Ballmer, Bach downplays that possibility and says he never had interest and such discussions never took place.

But enough business talk, what about some of the projects Bach oversaw? There were a couple choice quotes we noted from the report. First up is Natal, a motion-sensing project that he views as a “midlife kicker for the [Xbox] 360.” For those watching a calendar, that would give the console an approximately nine-year perceived lifespan on the corporate side — from November 2005 to 2014. Of course, we could be reading too much into that, but we could certainly believe it. On the subject of Courier, Microsoft’s now-cancelled internal tablet project, Bach is “absolutely confident… a bunch of that innovation will show up in Microsoft products.” It’s a stronger wording that what we originally read, and given just how excited we were watching that leaked video, we can only hope his prophecy is foretold. Do yourself a favor and take 15 minutes to read through the interview — hey, you’re welcome.

Robbie Bach: Project Natal a ‘midlife kicker’ for Xbox 360, ‘absolutely confident’ Courier innovations will appear elsewhere originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 May 2010 16:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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