JBL ships AirPlay-enabled On Air speaker dock, charges stiff premium for wireless luxury

It’s a familiar face, sure, but there’s a key ingredient thrown here that’s been lacking on JBL’s prior iDevice docks: AirPlay. We’re still waiting (and waiting) to see if Apple’s going to expand its licensing program to allow third-party vendors the ability to toss in AirPlay video streaming, but for now, JBL’s taking advantage of what’s out there. The On Air Wireless AirPlay speaker dock — which is shipping today to Best Buy and Apple Stores after being teased a few weeks ago — is now good and official, enabling consumers to wirelessly stream their iTunes library from Macs, PCs, iPhones, iPods or iPads right to the dock. Aside from a rather unorthodox design (which should go a long way to dispersing jams in a 360-degree fashion), you’ll also find a color LCD, digital FM radio, an inbuilt alarm clock, DSP technology and a proprietary adapter that enables it to be worn as headgear at your next rave. We’re guessing that final bit makes the $349.99 price tag entirely more palatable.

Continue reading JBL ships AirPlay-enabled On Air speaker dock, charges stiff premium for wireless luxury

JBL ships AirPlay-enabled On Air speaker dock, charges stiff premium for wireless luxury originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blaze’s U-Move controls your Wii, makes you jog to play effectively (video)

Now that your Wii Balance Board is safely tucked underneath the couch and you’ve long ago discovered that every standard Nintendo title can be played with the flick of a wrist, you might be wondering how you’ll ever convince yourself to exercise again. Well, there are certainly a few dangling-carrot solutions to your problem, and here’s one that actually makes sense — the Blaze U-Move, a Nunchuk replacement (with built-in pedometer) that effectively locks your joystick in place. The idea is that unless you’re moving, your avatar can’t move, and when you do, it can — each time you jog in place, you’re building up virtual momentum. That certainly sounds like a much more graceful and practical solution than others we’ve seen, which turn off the entire controller or (Miyamoto forbid) cut power to your entire game machine. This way, you can stop running when you need to do some precision aiming, and set your mind at ease regarding your save game. Yours for £20, or about $32 in US currency.

Blaze’s U-Move controls your Wii, makes you jog to play effectively (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 06:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Donya wish your touchscreen had buttons like these? (video)

Touchscreen gaming’s like cheese pizza — a generally tasty treat, but significantly improved by an addition or two. Good thing Donya’s got some new toppings for your touchy-feely display: a set of physical buttons and D-pads. Available in Japan for ¥999 (about twelve bucks) you get single, dual, and triple button stickers along with two D-pads to bring some much needed physicality to your handheld experience without sacrificing pocketability. We’re not sure what marvel of modern science makes these tactile additions cling to your screen, but we do know they make firing off a few Hadoukens quite a bit easier. That plus a few Hurricane Kicks after the break.

Continue reading Donya wish your touchscreen had buttons like these? (video)

Donya wish your touchscreen had buttons like these? (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 06:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SNAK Facebook keyboard features custom hotkeys for all your trolling, poking, and cyber-stalking needs

Sometimes you have to keep tweaking a concept until you have a winner. Do you really think that Robert Amato, CEO and founder of Social Keyboards, quit when his dedicated Classmates.com keyboard flopped? No, he went on to re-tweak the design for OK Cupid and even MySpace with the aptly titled Social Keyboard Applied to Networking and Kegs (S.K.A.N.K.) before hatching his latest plan, the Social Network Access Keyboard — or S.N.A.K. Essentially a Multimedia Keyboard from Dynex with custom drivers and decals, this bad boy features nineteen Facebook-friendly hotkeys that take you to your inbox, events, photos, and more with the mere push of a button. And when you sign out? The hotkeys become disabled, so no one can maliciously (or hilariously) update your profile behind your back. This device is compatible with XP, Vista, and Windows 7. Yours now for $30! And yes, we were lying about the OK Cupid, Classmates.com, and MySpace keyboards — although we sort of wish we weren’t. Hit the source link to get rolling.

SNAK Facebook keyboard features custom hotkeys for all your trolling, poking, and cyber-stalking needs originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 18:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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10 Hacks That Make Microsoft’s Kinect a Killer Controller

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The Kinect


The Microsoft Kinect is one of the hottest gaming peripherals we’ve seen in years, and that’s because it can do a lot more than control games.

Within weeks after the Kinect hit stores, scientists, programmers and researchers hacked away at the device. It turns out that the Kinect, which consists of cameras and an infrared-light sensor to track and follow your body movement, has applications for medical purposes, language learning and even partying outdoors. Those applications are enabled by a relatively open programming interface which lets people quickly hack together their own custom software to interface with the Kinect hardware.

None of these hacks are officially supported by Microsoft, but they demonstrate the amazing potential of turning the human body into an interface controller. Who’da thunk a gaming gadget would be so powerful?

What follows are some examples of the coolest Kinect hacks we’ve seen, pulled from the Kinect Hacks blog.

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Technocel’s $70 PowerPak Duo battery pack doubles up on USB ports, ships April 1st

Technocel’s original PowerPak (and Battery Boost) were both among our stash of gadgets used at this year’s CES, and they proved incredibly useful for juicing up a dead MiFi or smartphone without having to remain tethered to an AC outlet. As you well know, we’re pretty big fans of external battery packs, and it seems as if Technocel has addressed the one major gripe we had with the first-generation PowerPak. The Duo is essentially the same kind of gizmo, but with a lot more oomph and double the ports. It’s a squared power brick with an internal 2500mAh lithium-ion battery (compared to 1600mAh in the earlier build), and rather than having a single USB port, this guy’s got two; moreover, it’s far easier to look at, and is said to provide up to 7.5 extra hours of talk time to the average phone. The company also throws in a half-million interchangeable tips that are compatible with around 95 percent of handheld USB devices, and based on word directly from Technocel, it’ll go on sale April 1st for $69.99.

Technocel’s $70 PowerPak Duo battery pack doubles up on USB ports, ships April 1st originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Feb 2011 18:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Twelve South’s BookArc for Air stand cozies up around your MacBook Air

Twelve South’s made somewhat of a name for itself by crafting unexpected (and generally visually pleasing) accessories for everything Apple, but the ouftit’s latest just seems particularly superfluous. The BookAir for Air is described as a vertical stand for the MacBook Air, enabling you to hoist your new ultraportable upright for use with a desktop monitor and keyboard. ‘Course, we have to believe that only a smattering of individuals have any real interest in using their MBA as a desktop replacement, but hey, at least there’s now a stand should you fit into that category. She’ll be on sale soon for $39.99, with initial shipments to head out next month.

Continue reading Twelve South’s BookArc for Air stand cozies up around your MacBook Air

Twelve South’s BookArc for Air stand cozies up around your MacBook Air originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 15:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Razer trots out mildly overhauled DeathAdder Black Edition USB gaming mouse

When you’ve got a good thing rolling, why stop? That’s the mantra applied to Razer’s latest, which is actually the third DeathAdder to be released. You may remember the original slinking out way back in 2006, with the southpaws in attendance finally getting one of their own in March of last year. Today, in order to celebrate the device’s Wood Anniversary, Razer’s loosing the USB-connected DeathAdder Black Edition. For all intents and purposes, this is the same DeathAdder that we came to love last decade, but with an ever-so-slightly tweaked design that adds non-slip rubber sides and an all-black finish. It’ll ship globally next month for $59.99 / €59.99, with orders being taken right… about.. now.

Continue reading Razer trots out mildly overhauled DeathAdder Black Edition USB gaming mouse

Razer trots out mildly overhauled DeathAdder Black Edition USB gaming mouse originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 14:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rude Gameware’s Fierce Laser Gaming Mouse v2 has a long name and a lengthy spec sheet

When the crew at Rude Gameware aren’t flipping burgers, they’re building gaming gear — like this Fierce Laser Gaming Mouse V2 — and while we haven’t seen anything particularly groundbreaking, there’s some bang for the buck to be had. This rodent in particular brings the heat with a 5000dpi laser sensor, a 1ms response time and 1000Hz polling rate, on-board memory to save configurations and macros for each of its seven programmable buttons, adjustable weights and on-the-fly DPI, a braided cord and even a moderately comfortable-looking design. Best of all, it’ll manage to deliver all that for a nickel shy of $50 next month. Oh, it’ll have some storied competitors at that price point, to be sure, but now you have more choices. Isn’t capitalism grand? PR after the break.

Continue reading Rude Gameware’s Fierce Laser Gaming Mouse v2 has a long name and a lengthy spec sheet

Rude Gameware’s Fierce Laser Gaming Mouse v2 has a long name and a lengthy spec sheet originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 18:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Art Lebedev’s Optimus Popularis delayed, but new Optimus Mini Six is on the way

We’ve always taken Art Lebedev‘s product launch forecasts with a grain handful of salt, so this doesn’t come as a surprise: the firm’s sub-$1,000 OLED keyboard won’t be out anytime soon. However, the second thing the indie peripheral design house revealed today makes us giddy despite our misgivings — before the full-sized Optimus Popularis comes to market, it’s planning to release a new miniature keypad like the Optimus mini three (pictured above) but with six keys inside. Still… is it bad if all we really want is an Optimus Aux prototype?

Art Lebedev’s Optimus Popularis delayed, but new Optimus Mini Six is on the way originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Jan 2011 20:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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