Hasta La Gadget!

The Gemini FirstMix USB DJ Controller, at $80, would be an option for the DJ on a budget

Gemini’s FirstMix USB DJ Controller Won’t Break the Bank
Amateur and would-be DJs can get started spinning tunes without doling out a lot of dough with the Gemini FirstMix USB DJ controller. For $80, you get many of the same features as high-end controllers, like dual touch-sensitive jog wheels with volume, effects, 2-band EQ, and a cross-fader. FirstMix includes MixVibes’ CROSS LE software, which supports MP3, MP4A, WAV, AIFF, FLAC, and OGG audio file types and is compatible with other popular DJ programs. You can start scratching on your own Gemini FirstMix in May.

Gemini FirstMix [Slashgear]

Microsoft Kinect Is Now The World’s Fastest-Selling Gadget
With an average of 133,333 units sold each day over its first 60 days, the Kinect is now the Guinness World Record holder for fastest selling consumer electronics device. Over 10 million Kinects have been purchased since its debut in November. In the past, the iPhone and iPad have been titleholders. Let’s see how long the Kinect can hold this record with the iPad 2’s rapidly approaching launch.

Kinect Confirmed as Fastest Selling Consumer Electronics Device [Guinness World Records via Wired UK]

Angry Birds Seasons Gets in the St. Patrick’s Day Mood
Rovio just released 15 new levels for Angry Birds Seasons, filled with pots o’ gold, shamrocks, and leprechaun hats in celebration of St. Paddy’s Day. iPhone and iPad versions are available now, and an Android update will be released tomorrow. And just like with their Valentine’s Day themed update, when you like Angry Birds on Facebook you can unlock three more bonus levels. If that’s not enough for your insatiable bird-flinging appetite, Angry Birds Rio is also expected to come out this month.

Angry Birds Celebrate St. Patrick [CNET]

Teradek Cube Turns Your Camcorder Into a Livestreaming Machine
The deck of cards-sized Teradek Cube is the first wireless HD video encoder that can sit atop your camera and stream 1080p over Ethernet or WiFi. It’s designed to be easily mounted on a baseplate, hotshoe, cage, or rail system. The Cube is available in six different models, including two with support for 4G, with pricing ranging from $1490 to $2190.

Cube [Teradek via Geeky Gadgets]

Spire Clock Combines Japanese Folding Fan And A Saw Blade
The minute hand and hour hand are represented by each end of the fan, which folds and unfolds “in the rhythm of a Japanese fan.” That’s nice, but what about those sharp looking spikes on the end of each of the blades? Those look like they could do some damage.

Spire Clock [Moco Loco]

Wireless Luggage Finder Makes It Easier To Locate Your Luggage At The Airport
easy2pick, a little gizmo with attachments for a keychain and your luggage, was created to make sure you don’t miss your bag as it goes by on the luggage carousel after an arduous day of travel. It sounds an alarm, flashes, and vibrates when the two tags come within 66 feet of one another. Each keychain has a unique ID code, so if someone else also has one, your signals won’t get crossed, and included sensors that measure sound, light, and altitude deactivate the device when it’s in the cargo bay or in the air.

Wireless Luggage Finder [X-treme Geek via Oh Gizmo]

Microsoft is making up serious ground in the console wars. This time it is the ever popular Kinect system that is for Xbox 360. Since the November 2010 release, the Kinect has sold over 10 million units.

According to Microsoft, six million of those units were sold in the first two months.It’s a new record, taking Apple down as the fastest selling electronic ever. The Kinect has found success in the Nintendo Wii ruled world we live in.

Microsoft has plans to grow the sales even more. Recently, the company announced that many hardcore games will be released for the Kinect in the coming months. The Kinect is also slated for a PC edition to be released this year.

Via Beta News

The Kinect for Xbox 360 has turned into a rather lucrative property for Microsoft. Naturally, the company is pushing to have more games developed for the peripheral. .

A handful of Kinect games for hardcore gamers will be released this year. Senior producer of Microsoft’s gaming department, Kevin Unangst, stated that this is just the “scratching the surface” for hardcore gamers. Ubabgst added that, unlike the Wii, however, Microsoft isn’t targeting all of its games for the Kinect.

Nintendo abandoned the hardcore gamers with the Wii. That was fine for families, children, and older players, but ignored those games who made Nintendo what it was. Microsoft appears to be trying to avoid that mistake.

Via X Bit Labs

Continue reading Nao robot gets a new charging station, Kinect / Wiimote controls

Nao robot gets a new charging station, Kinect / Wiimote controls originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 20:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In this week’s Gadget Lab podcast, we kick off the show with a quick look at some weird fungus that’s apparently turning certain ants into zombies. Gross and awesome.

Moving on to gadget land, we waste some time playing with Zibits, puny robots controlled with a two-directional “joystick.” They aren’t very useful, but they’re charmingly simple.

In more serious news, we cover the highlights of Apple’s new iPad 2 tablet computer launched this week. It’s thinner, faster and lighter than the previous iPad, with the same $500 starting price.

The iPad 2 also includes two cameras: one on front for video-conferencing and the other on back for snapping photos, which are a neat addition, but they look like they’re pretty low-quality cameras.

Apple is also selling a pretty interesting protective cover for the iPad 2 called the Smart Cover, which has a magnet to clip the accessory right on to the side of the tablet. It’s a neat cover, but we’re more interested in Apple’s business strategy in the accessories game than in the product itself.

We wrap up the podcast with some of our favorite hacks for the Microsoft Kinect. Some clever nerds have hacked Microsoft’s Kinect controller to use it to control music, give themselves boob implants and create 3-D models, among other applications.

UPDATE: To enter the contest mentioned in the podcast, post your answer below by 5pm Pacific on Wednesday, March 9, 2011.

Like the show? You can also get the Gadget Lab video podcast on iTunes, or if you don’t want to be distracted by our unholy on-camera talent, check out the Gadget Lab audio podcast. Prefer RSS? You can subscribe to the Gadget Lab video or audio podcast feeds.

Or listen to the audio here:

Gadget Lab audio podcast No. 106

http://downloads.wired.com/podcasts/assets/gadgetlabaudio/GadgetLabAudio0106.mp3