Hasta La Gadget!

You can exhale Sonos fans, it’s finally happening. The Sonos Controller for Android is official. After almost a year in development, the free WiFi music remote finally gives Sonos owners control over their whole-home audio system from any Android 2.1 and above device with a screen size of HVGA 320 x 480, WVGA 480 x 800 or WVGA 480 x 854. At least it will when it hits the Market at the end of March. Better yet, it trumps the Sonos iOS controller with music controls mapped directly to the buttons on your Android hardware. As such, you can control the volume of your Sonos system with the physical volume rocker on your Desire Z or use the search button on your Droid X to forage for that certain artist, track, or album. Oh, and the Sonos Controller for Android also supports voice search — take that iOS app. Sorry, Sonos isn’t announcing anything related to an Android tablet-equivalent of the Sonos controller for iPad today as the company is waiting to see how that market develops and which screen sizes and resolutions gain the most traction. Nevertheless, we’ll be getting our first hands-on opportunity of the handset controller at Mobile World Congress next week. So, until then, why not wipe the tears from your $349 Sonos CR200 controller and watch the video preview after the break.

Continue reading Sonos Controller for Android with voice search will blow you away (video)

Sonos Controller for Android with voice search will blow you away (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Great news, channel surfers — Samsung’s Smart Touch Android remote application is now finally available in the Android Marketplace as a free download nearly nine months after originally launching on iOS. If you dropped a hefty quantity of cheddar on a new model C Samsung Internet TV in 2010 (those with older models are out of luck) and can’t wait for your Android handset to assimilate yet another life-task, today could be momentous. We say ‘could’ simply because our CES hands-on with the software wasn’t exactly swell — but then again, a massive trade show floor isn’t exactly the best WiFi testing environment. Currently, the application has an average of four stars from 25 people, but it’s not completely free from a smattering of crash and error reports. Feel free to give it a whirl if you’ve got the necessary gear, and if that match made in couch-potato heaven feeling doesn’t come… well, don’t give up hope, because that dual-sided QWERTY remote could save the day soon.

Continue reading Samsung Smart Touch Android remote app is now available for download

Samsung Smart Touch Android remote app is now available for download originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Feb 2011 16:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve never been shy about our affection for Logitech’s G25 and G27 steering wheels, and now we can share our love with our friends of the Xbox 360 persuasion. With the brand new F-1 converter from XCM, die hard Xbox 360 and Xbox 360 Slim fans can get behind the same wheels we’ve been behind since 2006. If that wasn’t reward enough, the F-1 also sports a built-in combo-attack memory function for fighting games, and rumble support is baked in for good measure. So go ahead, ye of the XBox 360 ilk, plug her in, caress the contours of her beautiful leather-wrapped curves, feel the way she kicks — we’ll try not to get jealous. Video game voyeurs can check out the F-1 in action after the jump.

[Thanks, Roadography]

Continue reading XCM’s F-1 Converter lets XBox 360 players get behind G25, G27 racing wheels (video)

XCM’s F-1 Converter lets XBox 360 players get behind G25, G27 racing wheels (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 04:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remember when everything had an iPhone dock? The coming dock revolution will be just like that, but a lot more massive. Akai is showing off a non-functioning version of its SynthStation 49-key MIDI controller at NAMM this weekend, and it’s pretty much the same idea as the smaller iPhone-docking Synthstation25. That said, here you’ve got nine velocity-sensitive MPC pads, a separate transport section, and 1/4-inch outs. And an adjustable iPad dock, which is a funny thing to see on a keyboard. Software-wise, this younger-bigger bro in the family will also support CoreMIDI — and an updated version of Akai’s SynthStation iOS app for the bigger screen, using the added real estate to allow finer, more direct control over the sound, along with a new recording section and simultaneous drum / synth sequencing. Not a bad piece of kit for the pad-centric musician in your life — look for it to splash down this June for $199. Check below the break for video of the unit and a runthrough of the new software.

Continue reading Akai’s iPad-docking SynthStation 49 and updated app: eyes-on at NAMM 2011

Akai’s iPad-docking SynthStation 49 and updated app: eyes-on at NAMM 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Jan 2011 16:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The scariest looking peripheral at CES 2011? Possibly. But for those looking to gain a split-second edge on the competition, the N-Control Avenger just may be the solution Xbox 360 gamers have been looking for. Announced just a couple of months ago, the company was here in Las Vegas to actually demonstrate a fully functional model. But simply, it straps onto your first-party 360 controller, adding triggers, straps, cables and all sorts of other contraptions that aim to give you improved alternatives to pressing buttons (while freeing your thumbs up to more accurately operate the analog joysticks). Enough talk — hop on past the break to see how exactly this $60 shell gets down to business.

Continue reading N-Control Avenger Xbox 360 attachment gets a CES overview (video)

N-Control Avenger Xbox 360 attachment gets a CES overview (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 08:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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