Hasta La Gadget!

Much like Sony’s Rolly, we’re still struggling to piece together exactly how iriver’s WAVE-HOME device is supposed to revolutionize our lives. And, you know, figure out what exactly it does. Thanks to a unit floating out in South Korea (in black attire, no less), we’re given a decent look of the internet phone / do-it-all home appliance getting unboxed and setup for the first time. Aside from phoning people, we’re told that the handset can also double as a TV remote or controller for a radio / music player. We’re still eager to get our own palms around one of these curious creations, but for now, you can tap the read link to get a few JPEGs closer.

[Via Portable Alliance]

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

iriver WAVE-HOME internet phone thingamajig seen in the wild originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Mar 2009 02:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, kids — if you’ve been using Sony’s Go!Messenger service (all three of you), we have some sad news. It looks like the company will be putting the brakes on the thing, citing lack of consumer interest. “Although Go!Messenger brought innovative communications features to the PSP community, the service has not developed the base of users” Sony was hoping for, reports GameIndustry.biz. The party’s over on March 31st of this year.

[Via mocoNews]

Filed under: Gaming

Sony puts the kibosh on Go!Messenger for PSP originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Feb 2009 13:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After years of providing the devices on which we spoke, Verizon is finally providing the Hub. The Verizon Hub is not the first VoIP product to use that moniker — with pay upfront for lifetime long distance startup Ooma having used the “hub” name for its primary home phone adapter — but the telco’s take on the screenphone represents a turning point in the evolution of consumer telecommunications.

For much of its existence, the cell phone had long played second-fiddle to the home phone as the wireless wonders implied expensive plans and inferior voice quality. Increasingly, though, consumers are finding connections to data services as critical as voice connections, and despite attempts that have ranged from the Cidco iPhone (yes, there was one years before iPhones by Cisco and Apple) and more recently the RSS-savvy GE InfoLink (now abandoned by Thomson’s exit from the cordless handset business), the home phone has begun to lag far behind its portable cousin as an Internet resource.

Enter our nation’s two largest telecom providers. Triple-play aspirant Verizon Wireless has joined rival AT&T in offering a touch-screen, Internet-savvy home phone system heavy on information delivery and communications functionality while working with up to four DECT expansion handsets. Unlike the questionably named Samsung HomeManager offered by AT&T, the screen on the Verizon Hub cannot be carried conveniently about the house like a tablet display. The Verizon Hub also uses IP for its voice and data communications whereas HomeManager uses broadband for data and a traditional circuit-switched connection for voice calls. Why would Verizon blithely bypass its own copper?

Continue reading Switched On: Verizon Hub is a handset homecoming

Filed under: Displays, Misc. Gadgets, Wireless

Switched On: Verizon Hub is a handset homecoming originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Feb 2009 17:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Now, this might not seem as futuristic as a videophone, or your own USB powered Star Trek communicator, but if you’re in the mood for some VOIP (feeling frisky, are we?) IPEVO‘s newest is definitely worth a second look. The S0-20 is a stand-alone Skype handset that boasts a 4 hour talk time, backlit keys, a 1.8-inch color LCD, support for both G711 and G729AB codes, and both WEP and WPA/WPA2-PSK encryption — all in a package that would look at home next to a ten year old pre-pay cell phone. Available now for $129.

[Via TMC]

Filed under: Peripherals

IPEVO’s WiFi handset lets you Skype like it’s 1999 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Feb 2009 16:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Heads-up, Trekkies! We just stumbled upon the perfect complement to your LCARS-esque touchscreen, and chances are that you won’t have to sell off too many Spock action figures in order to procure it. Created by Dream Cheeky, this VoIP / Skype phone is powered by USB and looks pretty much exactly like one of those classic Star Trek Communicators. Best of all, there’s a velcro backing in order to mount it up for everyone to see. Because you will want everyone checking this out, right?

[Via OhGizmo]

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Star Trek USB Communicator dials up galactic jetsetters originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Feb 2009 07:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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