Hasta La Gadget!

Activision just confirmed a whole lot of heroes: the long-teased DJ Hero being the most notable among them. Many trivial humans had conjectured what a “Hero”-style DJ controller would look like, and at last we have our first look (above, and there’s another shot after the break). Sure, we have no idea how we’re supposed to play it — where’s the whammy bar, for instance? — but we’re sure once we tape a couple of our mom’s Perry Como records to the sides we’ll start to get the picture. Music genres include “hip-hop, R&B, Motown, electronica and dance,” and the game will allow turntablists to create “original mixes” of songs. Additionally, Activision is also prepping a family-friendly Band Hero game, and a Guitar Hero 5 followup to its flagship title, with all three new Hero games hitting sometime this fall.

Continue reading DJ Hero announced at last, along with Band Hero for the family and Guitar Hero 5 for the face melters

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

DJ Hero announced at last, along with Band Hero for the family and Guitar Hero 5 for the face melters originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 May 2009 09:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It was hardly a secret ’round these parts, but Verizon Wireless is finally ready to confess to that MiFi 2200 Intelligent Mobile Hotspot we’ve heard so much about. Like the Novatel unit it’s based on, the device harbors 802.11b/g and EV-DO Rev. A radios, and can share a 3G Verizon connection with up to five different WiFi devices simultaneously. Battery life is pegged at four hours of active use, and 40 hours of standby on a single charge. Data plans include a $40 monthly subscription for 250MB and 10 cents per MB overages, or $60 for 5GB and half the overages price. If you want to forgo the subscription and pay full-price for the MiFi, you can pick up a 24 hour “DayPass” for $15 — any way you slice it, you’ll be paying good money for the privilege of using the thing. The MiFi 2200 itself hits stores May 17th, and will run you $100 after a $50 rebate.

Filed under: Wireless, Networking

Verizon debuts MiFi 2200 portable EV-DO router originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 May 2009 18:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just as with the Kindle 2, Amazon posted the Kindle DX product page while the launch event was underway. Specs-wise, there’s not much here we didn’t know: the big changes are a larger 9.7-inch screen that rotates to landscape display, a PDF reader, and more storage space at 3.3GB. The big news is actually the flat $489 price tag, which seems on the high-side of realistic to us — although the subsidy-pricing rumors weren’t totally inaccurate, as the New York Times, Washington Post, and Boston Globe will offer subsidized on-contract Kindles to customers who can’t get at-home delivery when the DX ships this summer. (Yes, that’s a pretty lame restriction.) Amazon’s also announcing a wide range of textbook publishing partnerships, with tomes from Addison-Wesley, Wiley Higher Education, Longman & Prentice Hall and many others available — and what’s more, Arizona State, Case Western Reserve, Princeton, Reed, and Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia have all signed on to distribute “hundreds” of Kindle DXs to students this fall. We’re hunting for more info, stay tuned.

Read – Kindle DX product page
Read – Kindle DX PR

[Thanks, Jason G]

Filed under: Handhelds

Amazon Kindle DX announced: $489, ships this summer originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 May 2009 10:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What the CEO wants, the CEO gets — right? Evidently so, as just four months after Ed Colligan proudly stated that he wanted the Pre in Canadian hands, Palm has revealed that the to-be launched handset will indeed grace the cellular airwaves in the Great North. Canucks will have to rely on Bell Mobility (a CDMA carrier, for those unaware) for service, and they’ll have to wait until “the second half of 2009” to indulge. Check the read link to get yourself signed up for notifications, and feel free to start the countdown until 11:59PM on December 31st, 2009.

Filed under: Cellphones

Palm Pre definitely coming to Canada on Bell Mobility: 2H 2009 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 May 2009 09:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s still an elusive target for our old friend Mr. Blurrycam, but We just got some basic specs on the new, decidedly more newspaper- and college textbook-friendly Amazon Kindle DX. Here’s what we know: it’s got a 9.7-inch display (as opposed to the current six-inch unit), a long-requested built-in PDF reader, and the ability to add annotations in addition to notes and highlights — whatever that means. We’re also hearing that New York Times will be offering a $9.95 / month subscription, a little lower than the current $13.99. Honestly, that all sounds to us like this really is just a Kindle with a larger screen, not the newspaper savior it’s being hyped as, but ol’ Jeffy B. might still have surprises in store, so we’ll see. Seriously, can’t Wednesday just hurry up and get here already?

Update: Looks like Mssr. BC decided to throw down — check out some pics in the gallery!

Update 2: Some more details care of the Wall Street Journal. Chief information officer for Cleveland-based Case Western Reserve University — the college whose president will be taking the stage with Jeff Bezos — Lev Gonick said select students are being issued the new, larger screen Kindles (doesn’t specify DX) in the fall semester with pre-installed textbooks for chemistry, computer science and a freshman seminar. Five other universities including Pace, Princeton, Reed, Arizona State, and Darden School at the University of Virginia are also said to be signed up for the trial. As for the new details on the device itself, the report states it’s got a more functional web browser, with no word on how that’ll jibe with Whispernet.

Filed under: Handhelds

Amazon Kindle DX to feature 9.7-inch display? Update: Pictures! originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 May 2009 22:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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