What's new on SlashGear.com |
- Dell Streak 7 In-Production Commercial Leaks Out
- Chumby 2 Breaks Cover, Features Larger Display and Thinner Frame
- Acer Aspire One 522 Features AMD Fusion Chip, Leaks Ahead of Unknown Launch Date
- Harmonix Officially Splits From Viacom, is Independent Once Again
- Solar Vox is a Portable Solar-Powered Charger Looking for Funding
- Why I Find Time for Gaming (and Why You Should Too)
- TRON Watch Concept Design Uses Hexa-Slots to Tell Time
- T-Mobile to Unveil 4G Plans at CES 2011
- mophie juice pack plus review
- Steve Jobs Declared Person of the Year by Financial Times
- Apple Plans to Hide the Antenna Behind Their Logo
- Rovi Declares Intent to Buy Sonic Solutions
- Gear4 UnityRemote: another iPhone universal remote option
- Sense “has escaped the phone” HTC claims: digital home media, 4G video calling & more
- Path 1.2 adds 10 second video sharing to “personal moment” service
- Iain Sinclair Poco Pro camera promises the works: 1080p HD, 14MP in a tiny form-factor
- Sony PSP plans could include touchscreen
- Ion Torrent Personal Genome machine has an iPod dock
- Even your dog will be embarrassed by the jacket case for smartphones
- LiteLocker lets you leave those Christmas lights up all year
- Skype struggles back online as Supernodes issue continues
- Pioneer ships new 3D Blu-ray player line
- Notion Ink Canvas demo: Adam’s drawing & image editing app [Video]
- IN Media debuts new Windows 7 tablet
- Newegg launches electronics recycling program called Recommerce with Gazelle
- LG offers European launch date for Optimus 2X Android smartphone
- Android Honeycomb to hit in March says insiders
- Ambarella iOne SoC makes better photos and more for Android phones
- Def Jam Rapstar gets support for Kinect
- NewerTech launches NuStand Alloy for iPad and Mac mini
| Dell Streak 7 In-Production Commercial Leaks Out Posted: 23 Dec 2010 01:12 PM PST Earlier today, a tablet device from Dell earned its WiFi certification, and immediately after got tossed around the rumor mill for a bit. While some thought it was the Opus One, a tablet with some similar specifications as the already-released Dell Streak 5-inch tablet, others thought it was the 7-inch variation, previously known as the Looking Glass. Well, if this in-production commercial is any indicator, then it looks like it is the 7-inch variation, but unfortunately the device isn’t called the Looking Glass. Instead, Dell went with something safe: This is the Dell Streak 7.
The commercial itself isn’t in video form yet, but Engadget managed to get their hands on it. This is the treatment for the piece, with slides, and text underneath that details what’s going to be happening in the commercial at that particular moment. The advertisement will focus on the tablet’s size, with 7-inches being that “perfect” option for tablet manufacturers as of late. It also focuses on gaming, browsing the Internet, as well as social networking aspects of the device. You’ll also find the same Stage User Interface (UI) that was recently added to the five-inch Streak. There’s also a Blio reader that gets some face time in the ad. Dell is sticking with, “You can tell it’s Dell,” for their slogan. While Looking Glass would have been a better name for the device, we’ll just have to make due with the Streak 7. [via Engadget]   
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| Chumby 2 Breaks Cover, Features Larger Display and Thinner Frame Posted: 23 Dec 2010 12:29 PM PST If seeing a new Acer Aspire One notebook leak ahead of an unannounced launch isn’t good enough for you, perhaps the second-generation Chumby is more to your liking. Especially when it looks like this, and nothing like the original. we can immediately tell from the image that the display is certainly larger than the previous model, and the frame itself makes the device look more like a digital photo frame. There’s a large stand on the back, and reportedly speakers integrated into the sides.
Details are scarce at this point. But, an image is supposed to be worth 1,000 words, anyway. And, from what we can tell here in this image, we should expect to find a full-screen Web browser available for usage. There’s no telling how widgets will play in this generation of Chumby device, but considering how pivotal they were in the previous iteration of the device, it’s not likely that they’d drop support for them entirely. Chumby isn’t an official exhibitor at CES 2011, but there’s still a small chance that we get to see this device in some fashion or another at the show, so stay tuned. [via Gizmodo]
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| Acer Aspire One 522 Features AMD Fusion Chip, Leaks Ahead of Unknown Launch Date Posted: 23 Dec 2010 11:58 AM PST Following in the footsteps of the Acer Aspire One 721 that made its rounds on the Internet (mostly in the Czech Republic), featuring new hardware under the hood, the new Acer Aspire One 522 recently found its way onto the Web, and is ready to show off its new AMD Ontario chip, from the Fusion family. The new notebook from Acer boasts the AMD dual-core C-50 Ontario chip, but shares many of the same aesthetics from the previously released Acer Aspire One AOD255.
As for the chip inside, each of the C-50′s cores are clocked at 1GHz, but the power usage is measured at only 9W. The display measures in at 10.1-inches, and features a resolution of 1280×780. If you need better resolution, though, you can use the HDMI port to use an external display. The Aspire One 522 has a Radeon 6250 graphics processor under the hood, which supports UVD3 accelerated video decoding and DirectX 11. As far as battery life goes, it’s rated at just 6 hours. You’ll find only one speaker built-in, too. Unfortunately, Acer doesn’t have a word on when, or in what parts of the world the Aspire One 522 will launch. A price tag hasn’t been attached to the new notebook, either. [via Electronista]
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| Harmonix Officially Splits From Viacom, is Independent Once Again Posted: 23 Dec 2010 11:43 AM PST It’s been over a month since we first heard about the split between Harmonix and Viacom. With the help of investment company Columbus Nova, Harmonix is “returning to our roots as an independent and privately owned studio.” For anyone who purchased a Rock Band title, as well as the recently released Dance Central, Harmonix has every intention of continuing to support those titles with future downloadable content (DLC).
John Drake, Harmonix’s PR representative, made an official statement on the company’s Rock Band forums, after Viacom officially came forward and announced the separation. His main point was to promise that the developer would continue to support released titles, and that the DLC schedule (for Rock Band) they’ve stuck to will not suffer because of this transition for the company. In closing, Drake made a favorable mention of Viacom, saying that they’ve been a great house for the developer to call home over the last four years, and have allowed them to work with talents like AC/DC, The Beatles, Green Day, and The Who. In essence, Drake is saying that the separation between the two entities is one that they’ve both come to terms with, and it’s good. And, as a tease, Drake also mentioned upcoming projects that he is sure “you’re going to be pumped about.” So, stay tuned, as Harmonix isn’t going anywhere any time soon. [via Joystiq]
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| Solar Vox is a Portable Solar-Powered Charger Looking for Funding Posted: 23 Dec 2010 11:17 AM PST For a concept design to become real, and find its way into consumers all over the world, it needs money. That’s where Kickstarter comes in. A service designed to help creators find the means to get their ideas off the ground, and hopefully onto shelves where people can actually buy them. We’ve seen an iPod Nano watch hit the big time thanks to Kickstarter, and now a solar-powered portable gadget charger is looking for some funding. Designed by Eric Strebel, it’s a simple device with a lot of potential.
Strebel calls it the Solar Vox, and it’s designed to be a portable, and easy to use device to charge your other gadgets while you’re out doing things. It’s a box that features the ability to be set in four different positions. The hope is that, no matter what position the sun is in the sky, you’ll be able to tilt the Solar Vox in such a way that it will be able to soak in as many rays as possible. It features replaceable batteries, and several different USB connectors. Strebel says that the Solar Vox is perfect for those in the world that are environmentally conscious, and anyone who falls into the “techie” description. Of course, if you hike, or take long trips that won’t let you access a traditional wall outlet as often as you’d like, the Solar Vox is a perfect option for you. As of the time of this writing, the Solar Vox has received $2,139 in funding, out of the $35,000 of its total goal. Feel like you can donate to help the Solar Vox become a reality? Head through this link. [via Wired]
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| Why I Find Time for Gaming (and Why You Should Too) Posted: 23 Dec 2010 10:45 AM PST Whenever gaming comes into a discussion on health, it gets attacked. A large group of critics from all over the globe say that playing video games causes children to be violent, older players to withdraw from the world, and can cause physical health issues from the supposed sedentary lifestyle.
Whether or not gaming really does cause children to become violent, adults to withdraw from society, and gamers in general to lose sight of their physical needs is decidedly up for debate, and there are compelling arguments made on either side. The fight between the two parties has been going on for years, and I don't plan to rehash them here. But I do want to get into what gaming does for me. In my daily life, I've found that finding time to play a video game for at least a half hour each night helps me keep some balance between work and life. It gives me some time to decompress after a long day. And it provides me with a level of entertainment that I don't necessarily enjoy during other parts of the day. And I suppose I should say, for the record, that gaming didn't make me violent as a child, I haven't withdrawn from society, and I think I'm in relatively good physical condition. Gaming makes me feel like a more balanced person. It provides me with that time each day to just, well, relax. And as many of us know all too well, we need more of that in our lives. Now, I realize that people find relaxation in other entertaining exploits, like reading a book, exercising, watching a movie, or having a hobby. And among gaming critics, those actions are considered more valuable. But as much as those critics might disagree, I'm a firm believer that gaming really does provide some value in peoples' lives. And to say that it doesn't, or to denigrate the impact it can have on helping to build a more well-rounded life for people is, at least in my opinion, a great disservice. As far as I'm concerned, there is simply no reason to believe that gaming isn't as valid as other tools used to help keep people happy. So, although everyone has their own way of achieving a comfortable level of work-life balance, I think I've found mine through video games. Say what you will about the industry, the stories, or the way in which people play video games, but when it's all said and done, gaming serves an important purpose in my life. And like many others, I'm happy about that. But that's just me. Do you find time for gaming in your life? Let me know in the comments below.
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| TRON Watch Concept Design Uses Hexa-Slots to Tell Time Posted: 23 Dec 2010 10:39 AM PST We’re certainly covering the gamut of possible gadgets that could be inspired, and themed, by the recently released TRON: Legacy movie. While the orange-hued Xbox 360 controller and real-life light cycles may be the coolest “real” gadgets we’ve seen, this concept design from designer Abhinav Dapke has us hoping that some watch designer out there will pick up the reigns and make this watch real.
Like most “fancy” or “futuristic” watches, it’s more about how the device looks, as opposed to actually telling what time it is. The TRON watch is no different. While the device will easily tell you what hour of the day it is, you’ll have to use some brainpower to figure out the actual minutes. Why? Because it uses “five minute hexa-slots” to tell the minutes. If we had to guess, after staring at the watch for several minutes, it counts from left-to-right, and fills a dot every five minutes. So, in the images, we think it’s 5:25, but we have no idea if that’s AM or PM. The watch is just a concept design right now, so don’t pull out your wallet thinking you can buy this, and put it on your wrist. However, with as much hype as the movie is receiving, and with Disney trying to promote it as much as possible, it’s possible that it sees the light of day some time in the future. [via Yanko Design]  
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| T-Mobile to Unveil 4G Plans at CES 2011 Posted: 23 Dec 2010 10:04 AM PST 4G is going to be a hot ticket at CES 2011, no doubt about that. With HTC confirming that they’ll be showing off an 4G LTE-based handset on January 6th, it’s T-Mobile’s turn to announce that they’ve got plenty of 4G related news ready to go for the big show. While they’ll be taking some time to talk about overall speeds, they’ll also be sure to talk about what everyone else wants to hear: devices.
In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, Mark McDiarmid –Senior Director of Engineering– gave a very brief highlight of what T-Mobile plans on showcasing. First and foremost, the wireless carrier will talk about their plans for HSPA+, and how they will build a path to 4G speeds clocked at 42Mbps. McDiarmid said that T-Mobile will, "unveil its plans for the faster network in Vegas,” and added that the technology will be implemented into smartphones next year. T-Mobile, according to McDiarmid, plans on focusing on Android, 4G, and continuing to drive innovation behind both of those things well into 2011. Does that mean we’ll get to see some devices, like those proposed smartphones, or maybe even some tablets, at CES in Las Vegas? Perhaps. Or, it could just be a time where T-Mobile will hint at some devices, but focus primarily on the technology behind them. [via Tmo News]
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| Posted: 23 Dec 2010 09:42 AM PST Mophie’s Juice Pack Air for iPhone 4 impressed us back in September with its minimal bulk and ability to almost double runtime versus the standard Apple battery. Still, there are some power users – or weekend travellers – for whom “virtually double” still isn’t good enough, hence the Mophie Juice Pack Plus. Bigger battery, bigger price; is this Mophie good value or overkill? Check out the full SlashGear review after the cut.
HardwareThe key difference between the Juice Pack Air and the Plus version is the battery: 1,500 mAh in the Air, versus 2,000 mAh in the Plus. For that Mophie charge $20 extra, bringing the Juice Pack Plus to $99.95. In comparison, the iPhone 4′s own battery is 1,420 mAh, and while the fourth-gen smartphone generally manages longer runtimes than its predecessors, the tactile charms of iOS often mean users run the phone down well before the end of the day.
Despite the larger capacity battery, the Juice Pack Plus measures and weighs exactly the same as the Air: 5.07 x 2.51 x 0.68 inches and 2.5 oz. Yes, it adds some bulk to the iPhone 4, but it’s minimal in practice, and the curved, soft-touch rubber back panel actually makes the Apple smartphone more comfortable to hold.
Around the case there are cutouts for the volume buttons, ringer switch, headphone socket and sleep/power button, as well as a hole at the back for the camera and flash. While there’s no docking connector cutout – the bottom edge of the Juice Pack Plus has a button and four LEDs to show battery status – you do get a microUSB port for recharging both the phone and the Juice Pack, as well as sync’ing with iTunes. A physical power switch on the bottom corner rounds out the main controls.
The iPhone 4′s speaker on the bottom edge of the handset gets a “virtual speaker box”, basically redirecting audio out the front of the case. As on the Air, it does make for louder music playback. Build quality in general is high, and while there’s no fascia protection (bar a slightly raised rim around the edge, holding the touchscreen off the table if placed face-down) the rest of the case is sturdy and feels well constructed.
PerformanceMophie claim the Juice Pack Plus is capable of boosting iPhone 4 talktime by up to 8hrs on a 3G network or up to 16hrs on a 2G network. Alternatively, you should see up to 7hrs extra 3G browsing time or 11hrs WiFi browsing. Audio playback is boosted by up to 44hrs, or video playback by up to 11hrs. Those numbers all exceed Apple’s estimates for the iPhone 4′s own battery, usually by at least an hour, suggesting you can more than double usage with the Plus in place.
As with the Air, the Juice Pack Plus can work in two ways. With the Mophie switched off, you can use your iPhone 4′s own power until it’s close to expiring, and then turn on the Juice Pack to recharge the handset as if plugged into the mains. Alternatively, you can turn the Mophie on straight away and rely on its external power initially, leaving the iPhone 4′s internal battery for when the Juice Pack Plus runs out.
Though we tried both approaches, the overall result was the same. With normal use we managed two days with no downtime – several hours longer than the Air had managed to prolong the iPhone 4. Of course, with some judicious use of the Juice Pack Plus’ power switch, we were able to prolong the power on offer through into a third day. Wrap-UpBarring the extra $20, we can’t see any reason why iPhone 4 owners would opt for the Air over the Mophie Juice Pack Plus. With no bulk or weight compromise, you’re getting several hours extra use together with the same protection for the smartphone. Equally appealing to power-users and those making trips during which time they’d rather not concern themselves with toting an AC adapter and finding somewhere to plug in, the Mophie Juice Pack Plus is perhaps the company’s best model to date.                                             
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| Steve Jobs Declared Person of the Year by Financial Times Posted: 23 Dec 2010 09:21 AM PST While Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, managed to wrangle in the title from TIME Magazine, the Financial Times has a different outlook on the previous year, and who managed to have the biggest impact. The periodical has announced that they’ve given the Person of the Year achievement to none other than Steve Jobs. And while there’s many factors as to why the Financial Times has decided to go this route, they’re putting quite a bit of the achievement on the shoulders of Apple’s tablet device, the iPad.
The Financial Times paints the iPad as a device that acts as a “culmination of an approach that he has seemingly been perfecting for his entire career.” They point out that they view Jobs, the current head of Apple, as a visionary, but that someone who doesn’t just stare into the future hoping. He’s a “taskmaster” that gets things done, and he doesn’t allow Apple to rest on previous successes. Instead, they continue to push forward, releasing new products on a tight schedule. The FT also makes honorary mention of the fact that Jobs has perfected the “reality distortion field,” his perfectionism during any and all launch events pertaining to an Apple product, and the speed in which the man recovered from his liver transplant. All of these factors had something to do with the fact that the periodical chose Steve Jobs as the person of the year. Anyone not agree with their decision? [via The Next Web]
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| Apple Plans to Hide the Antenna Behind Their Logo Posted: 23 Dec 2010 09:03 AM PST Apple engineers are always hard at work trying to better their hardware, trying to find every route possible to make it more interesting, usable, and effective. While “Antennagate” may have thrown a wrench in a lot of people’s planning and hard work, and caused an antenna-related campaign of which no one had seen before, it also meant that those same engineers were already hard at work on a fix right after the launch of the latest generation iPhone. And, if a recent patent application is any indicator to the fact, they may have found a potential fix for the whole situation: hiding it behind the logo.
Apple is calling it the “logo antenna,” and it’s right where you think it is. The patent (which, as mentioned above, is an application at this point) is clear in pointing out that the logo antenna isn’t just for an iPhone, either. As you can see in the image above, they make it very clear that they could put the same technology into their laptop line-up, or “telephonic” MacBooks. Patently Apple points out that this is the third time Apple has patented a telephonic MacBook, and suggests that this is an obvious trend, which Apple is focusing on for a reason. It’s also not surprising that Apple is already planning on using this same technology, if not better variations of it, and putting the logo antenna in even smaller devices, like something you can wear. According to PA, the new technology could use a housing that is machined from an aluminum block –or other metals– that service as conductive sidewalls. The housing could then be used to hold wiring, displays, and other integrated circuits. The hope is that the new logo antenna will allow the device to “gain a stronger signal without intervening metal or other conductive housing walls interfering.” It’s not a secret that as our gadgets get smaller and thinner, it is becoming more difficult for engineers to put antennas into them. But this new design, with that aforementioned conductive housing, or “conductive antenna cavity,” could mean a huge transition in antenna technology. [via Patently Apple]   
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| Rovi Declares Intent to Buy Sonic Solutions Posted: 23 Dec 2010 08:25 AM PST In an announcement late Wednesday, Rovi Corp. has officially made it known that they have every intent in buying Sonic Solutions. In their proposal, the company confirmed that the deal would be worth $720 million in a cash-and-stocks deal. The result of a purchase like this, both companies believe, would be the collected power to change the way digital distribution is handled within the video entertainment market. They hope to make it better.
With Sonic Solution’s RoxioNow, consumers are able to buy premium content from digital storefronts, which are run by companies like Blockbuster, and Best Buy. All of the details of the proposed purchase aren’t known quite yet, but with Rovi Corp. projected to finish the whole process some time in the first quarter of 2011, we won’t have to wait too long to see what these two companies have planned.
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| Gear4 UnityRemote: another iPhone universal remote option Posted: 23 Dec 2010 07:16 AM PST Whether the world really needs another way to turn an iPhone 4 or other iOS device into a universal remote control is something for a different argument; Gear4 is just pleased to get its UnityRemote out of the door. The $99 accessory hooks up to your iPhone via Bluetooth and has a 360-degree IR transmitter array to control your HDTV, amp, Blu-ray player and anything else.
Meanwhile there’s the usual companion software in the App Store which turns your iOS device into a learning remote. You can either program it by choosing your kit from a list of preconfigured manufacturers and hardware, or by teaching the UnityRemote emitter itself using the existing remote control. There’s macro support, so you can have your TV, cable box and surround sound amp turn on simultaneously with a single button-tap, and programmable gestures to change things like volume and channel. It’s available now, at $99 from Gear4 direct or from Amazon.    Press Release:
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| Sense “has escaped the phone” HTC claims: digital home media, 4G video calling & more Posted: 23 Dec 2010 06:59 AM PST HTC has been fleshing out some of its ambitions for the HTC Sense system, as the platform continues to develop from a simple smartphone UI to a more comprehensive multimedia system. According to Drew Bamford, HTC’s head of User Experience, “Sense has escaped the phone“; he envisages HTC using the platform as a way of “getting cool content onto phones”, starting with ebooks as on the European Kobo-powered service, but then potentially extending the company’s partnership with Netflix on Windows Phone 7. It’s not just on phones, either; HTC is eyeing home electronics too.
We’ve already been looking at the HTC Media Link this week, the company’s wireless DLNA streaming box that bridges digital content devices – such as smartphones or tablets – and an HDTV, but Bamford suggests that rather than simply a compact STB, the Media Link is actually “a phone with no screen.” “The living room is definitely a place where you can have a Sense experience” he claims, perhaps hinting that digital content streamed to HTC smartphones might one day also be available to stream to your TV. The company is already looking to delivery out-of-the-box 4G video calling, something currently not available in Android as a core feature. HTCSense.com already allows users to remotely access their Desire HD and Desire Z smartphones, browsing and replying to text messages, checking the address book, locating the device using GPS and even locking or wiping it should it be lost. In the future, the platform will become even more flexible, Bamford says. ”It’s about giving a product intelligence to interpret the things you would naturally do with it” he suggests, “anticipating what you want it to do without being explicit.”
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| Path 1.2 adds 10 second video sharing to “personal moment” service Posted: 23 Dec 2010 06:46 AM PST Here’s an odd one: Path, which launched an iPhone photo sharing app last month designed to only show your pictures to up to fifty carefully-selected friends, has added video sharing to the v1.2 update. Thing is, only clips ten seconds or shorter can be uploaded, a limit that seemingly addresses both limited mobile bandwidth and the company’s ethos of “personal moment sharing”.
It’s not the only change in Path 1.2; there’s also better handling of iPhone push notifications and more intelligent integration of the tagging system with the media timeline. The people or places you tag in your photos – and videos – are now prioritized to the top of your timeline. It’s available as a free download for iOS devices here [iTunes link] Click here to view the embedded video.
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| Iain Sinclair Poco Pro camera promises the works: 1080p HD, 14MP in a tiny form-factor Posted: 23 Dec 2010 06:16 AM PST With cellphone cameras improving all the time, point-and-shoots have to aim high if they want to stand out of the crowd. Iain Sinclair’s Poco Pro certainly makes plenty of promises; tipped to launch in Q2 2011 for a bargain £200 ($308) or thereabouts, there’s a 14.6-megapixel sensor, 1080p HD video capture, a 2.4-inch AMOLED preview display and a microUSB 3.0 port for data and option HDMI output, all in a credit-card sized black-anodized magnesium chassis.
In fact the spec sheet is impressive all round, with only the dual-LED flash – rather than Xenon – being a low point. It’ll supposedly record stereo audio and support auto-focus and macro shots, while there’s an optional WiFi-enabled microSD card for throwing wireless into the mixture as well. That memory card slot boosts the 4GB of onboard storage. It’s ambitious stuff, and we can’t help but suspect that the Poco Pro is trying to do too much at once. A 14-megapixel CMOS sensor of the small size required to fit into a 85.6 x 54 x 5 mm casing is probably not going to be great at dealing with normal lighting, and the £200 price tag seems over-ambitious. Iain Sinclair is taking £100 ($154) deposits on the first units now, but we’ll wait until the reviews come through before getting over-excited.    [via Gizmag]
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| Sony PSP plans could include touchscreen Posted: 23 Dec 2010 06:00 AM PST Sony’s PSP Go failed to ignite the mobile gaming market in the way that the company hoped it might, but that hasn’t stopped Sony engineers and designers from pushing ahead with another PSP successor. According to Sony’s gaming chief, Kazuo Hirai, the company has been looking to the next-gen handheld “since the day” the PlayStation was released, and might use both a touchscreen and traditional physical gaming controls. Meanwhile, Hirai believes there’s still a segment of gamers for whom the popular – and cheap – iOS, Android and other mobile games aren’t sufficient.
“The games being played on Android and Apple platforms” he suggests, “are fundamentally different from the world of immersive games that Sony Computer Entertainment, and PlayStation, aims for.” As for the dual control methods, “depending on the game, there are ones where you can play perfectly well with a touch panel,” Hirai explains. “But you can definitely play immersive games better with physical buttons and pads. I think there could be games where you're able to use both in combination.” If you’re thinking that sounds a lot like the Sony Ericsson PlayStation Phone – aka the XPERIA Play – then you’re not alone. Although Hirai suggests the “gaming industry pie” is only growing larger thanks to the new interest in casual titles like Angry Birds, Sony is also apparently cautious about how it will differentiate between, say, the XPERIA Play and a new PSP. “We don’t want gamers to be asking, what’s the difference between that and a PSP,” he explained. :We have to come up with a message that users will understand. It would have to be a product that keeps the PlayStation's strengths intact.”
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| Ion Torrent Personal Genome machine has an iPod dock Posted: 23 Dec 2010 05:52 AM PST Over the last few years, breakthroughs in genome sequencing have been making headlines. When researchers first began sequencing genetic material it was a very expensive tasks with some large and expensive machinery. I am sure the machinery is still very expensive, but it has become significantly smaller.
A new genome machine has surfaced from a firm called Life Technologies that is called the Personal Genome Machine. It’s not meant for you to use at home though, it’s a real research machine for scientists and stuff. The rig uses parallel semiconductor sensors to measure the hydrogen ions produced during DNA replication in real-time. This is the first product on the market to use that tech. The machine is about the same size as a printer and weighs 65 pounds. I would assume it to be the same size as a large printer. The strangest feature is that the machine has an iPod dock on top. Why you ask? Obviously, the dock is there to keep your iPod jamming “The Who” while you work. Via GizMag
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| Even your dog will be embarrassed by the jacket case for smartphones Posted: 23 Dec 2010 05:39 AM PST I once had a dog that we dressed in a fake leather jacket for Halloween. He pissed all over that jacket the second it came off, which I thought was rather telling of how he felt about being dressed up. If you buy this denim jacket case for your iPhone, your dog will be embarrassed for your phone and the fact that his owner is so lame he has a phone jacket.
The jacket is made for denim and has a top to bottom length of 4.5-inches and it is 3.5-inches wide. This blue jacket of fail is sized to fit Blackberry, iPhone, and other smartphones. It appears to have a strap for carrying as a purse made from belt loop material. The only upside of this jacket is that it has already sold sparing any pets and other people from seeing you use this thing. Whoever purchased this has a karmic kick in the jewels coming. If you have no taste and a penchant for being made fun of the maker may have more.
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| LiteLocker lets you leave those Christmas lights up all year Posted: 23 Dec 2010 05:22 AM PST There are a few asshats in my neighborhood that put up Christmas lights last year and just left them up. One of the guys even left his wreath and garland around the door all year. I guess it was a short cut to decorating for this year, but its’ dumb to drive by in May and see holiday decorations up already.
If you want to be able to leave your Christmas lights up all year without making your neighbors hate you, the LiteLocker is what you need. The LiteLocker is a system that hangs under your eaves or gutters and when open the lights show and look like you hung them just for the holiday. The thing closes and hides the lights from view. It's a neat idea so you only have to hang lights one time. I generally just rip mine down, breaking most of the bulbs in the process and buy new strands the next year.
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| Skype struggles back online as Supernodes issue continues Posted: 23 Dec 2010 05:14 AM PST Skype has announced that around 30-percent of its regular user-base is now able to connect to the VoIP and video conferencing service, after downtime issues that began yesterday. According to the Skype blog, a software issue affected the connectivity status of the “supernodes” the service uses to route calls between users; although enterprise functionality is working normally, the company can give no estimate as to how long regular users will be without the service.
Even when the service does come back online, certain functionality – such as the recently launched group video chat – will not be available. The company estimates that around 5m users are now able to sign in to their Skype accounts, but that’s a mere 30-percent of the sort of user-base it would regularly expect to see at this time of the day.
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| Pioneer ships new 3D Blu-ray player line Posted: 23 Dec 2010 05:08 AM PST Pioneer is a huge brand in the home theater market and the company has announced that it is finally shipping its new line of 3D Blu-ray players to consumers everywhere. The new players are the BDP-430, the BDP-41FD, and the BDP-43FD and they all share many of the same features.
Those shared features include faster load times than previous players, steaming capability, WiFi ready, and support for control via a new iPhone app. The players use the new HDMI 1.4a standard for 3D support and has Pioneer PureCinema tech for upconverting SD to 1080p. The players come with integrated Ethernet ports and can be fitted with the optional WiFi adapter Pioneer offers for accessing steaming content like YouTube, Netflix, and more as well as getting updates for firmware and BD Live features. The iControlAV app is for the iPhone and iPod touch and lets the devices be full function remote controls for the players. The BDP-430 sells for $299, the Elite BDP-41FD sells for $399, and the BDP-43FD sells for $499.
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| Notion Ink Canvas demo: Adam’s drawing & image editing app [Video] Posted: 23 Dec 2010 05:06 AM PST Another day, another Notion Ink demo video, and after yesterday’s Sniffer file management run-through there’s a somewhat more entertaining app on show today. Canvas is a drawing and image editing program of Notion Ink’s own creation, and though the video only shows the former functionality there’s apparently support for layers, different brush types and other pro-style tools.
Video demo after the cut
Notion Ink describe the current version as the “alpha” of what they eventually want Canvas to do, with plenty of updates promised for after Adam launches. The company is predicting that tablets will find a niche in storyboarding, and so are looking to make it useful for pro-artists and developers rather than simply something to keep the kids occupied. The clip below has obviously been sped up, but it’s interesting to see all the same. It reminds us a little of ArtRage, which was always one of the best ways to demonstrate Windows-based tablets back in their heyday.
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| IN Media debuts new Windows 7 tablet Posted: 23 Dec 2010 04:54 AM PST If you are keen to get in on the tablet parade that is going on, but you want a machine that is a bit more suited to the apps you are used to running on your PC, IN Media has announced a new Windows 7 tablet that will be coming soon. The tablet is called simply The Tablet PC and it runs the full Windows 7 OS. It has an Intel Atom 1.66GHz CPU inside.
Storage on the device is a 160GB HDD and it has HDMI out for viewing HD on a big screen. The screen is a 10-inch unit and has a forward facing camera. It can also be used as an eReader and the little machine will sell for $399 with a ship date set for Q1 2011. The rig also has USB port and memory card slots and full touchscreen functionality. The screen supports gestures for things like resizing images and other uses. The tablet supports Flash since Windows does and has an on-screen keyboard. Check out the video below to see the tablet in use.
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| Newegg launches electronics recycling program called Recommerce with Gazelle Posted: 23 Dec 2010 04:40 AM PST If you are anything like me, you probably have boxes of old gadgets sitting around that you don’t use and don't want. Some of that gear may be worth money, but I loathe eBay and don't want to mess with trying to sell it. Rather than just throw the stuff out Newegg has a new option for you.
Newegg has a new recycling program that can land you a Newegg gift card. The program lets you get a price quote on your gear online, you can ship it to the company for free, and then they will send you the gift card back. The program is powered by Gazelle and will take products in 20 different categories. Items that are worth no money can still be sent in for recycling. The gadgets that are worth money have to be inspected before the money is sent to you to be sure they work. Any personal data is removed from the devices before they are recycled or resold.
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| LG offers European launch date for Optimus 2X Android smartphone Posted: 23 Dec 2010 04:27 AM PST LG issued an announcement yesterday that it was working with Ennio Morricone on a collaboration that would produce ringtones for LG devices. Morricone is a composer that has created music for a number of movies and TV shows. During the announcement about the ringtones, LG let slip a bit of info on the Optimus 2X Android smartphone that we didn't know.
The important nugget of information on the device is that it will hit Europe next month and has 25 of those new ringtones loaded up. If you missed the smartphone back when we first heard of it earlier this month it has a Tegra 2 CPU, WVGA touchscreen, and an 8MP camera. It will support 1080p video playback and has a 1.3MP front facing camera as well. I didn’t think ringtones were enough to warrant folks getting excited any more since we can make tones out of whatever music we really like on most devices. Ten of the tones from Morricone on the smartphone will be from his movie tracks and the other 15 will be originals for LG. Via SlashPhone
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| Android Honeycomb to hit in March says insiders Posted: 23 Dec 2010 04:01 AM PST We don’t have much in the way of details on this repot to go on, but insiders are claiming that the next big version of Android dubbed Honeycomb will be landing in March of 2011. This is the tablet centric version of the Google Os and should usher in the era of Android tablets in force.
The sources citing a March launch come from Taipei according to DigiTimes. The publication also says that we will see a new MSI tablet running Honeycomb and packing NVIDIA Tegra 2 power under the hood after the new OS is launched. Take that with a grain of salt though since DigiTimes sources are not always accurate. We still don’t know if Honeycomb will see Android move to 3.0 status or if it will be 2.4 or some other number. The rumor meets up with others we have heard pointing to a launch for the tabletified version of Android in the February-March time frame.
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| Ambarella iOne SoC makes better photos and more for Android phones Posted: 23 Dec 2010 03:30 AM PST One of the things that most folks use their smartphones for no matter what device they use is photos and video. I would bet the vast majority of smartphone users on all brands would want better photo capability. A company called Ambarella has announced a new camera application processor called the iOne SoC that is for Android devices.
The iOne is a triple-core SoC that has a pair of ARM cores that operate at 1GHz and a third ARM-11 core that runs at 533MHz specifically for handling real-time camera tasks and allows the camera to boot in under a second. The SoC allows the Android camera to support multi-stream encoding capability and live video streaming. The chip allows users to upload clips to YouTube and supports HD telepresence apps. The SoC will also allow the camera to shoot still photos and record HD video at the same time with up to 32MP still image processing and capturing at 5MP at 30 frames per second. The SoC also has high ISO for low light capability. The dual stream encoding allows the SoC to encode a 1080p30 stream and a stream of lower resolution for uploading or streaming on WiFi at the same time. iOne also supports WiFi, Bluetooth, FM radio, mobile TV and has image stabilization.
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| Def Jam Rapstar gets support for Kinect Posted: 23 Dec 2010 03:00 AM PST If you aren't familiar with Def Jam Rapstar the video game, it’s easy enough to wrap your brain around what the game is. The video game is sort of like Rock Band for rap fans and it focuses on Hip-Hop and social networking for the players.
Def Jam has announced that the game has been updated to support the Kinect device on the Xbox 360. Using the Kinect the player can take advantage of the cameras in the Kinect system and make their own video. The game also has editing tools for the videos and when they are done; the player can submit the videos to social networks and have battles with other players. Kinect support is coming to the game with a patch that can be downloaded right now in the US and the patch will hit Europe in January. The game with the software only sells for $39.99 and the game with a single wired mic will cost you $49.99.
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| NewerTech launches NuStand Alloy for iPad and Mac mini Posted: 23 Dec 2010 02:47 AM PST Apple accessory maker extraordinaire NewerTech has unveiled a couple new accessories that are used to hold some of your cool Apple gear for easier use. Both of the products are new stands called the NuStand Alloy. It is offered in a version specifically for the iPad and a version for the Mac mini as well. Both of the stands are made from aircraft grade aluminum.
The iPad version of the stand will hold the iPad vertically or horizontally and has a rubberized black finish that is soft to the touch and scratch resistant. I would assume that rubbery finishes is an effort to prevent scratches since you will likely be pulling the iPad out of the stand frequently. The stand holds the iPad at a 15-degree angle for comfortable use and weighs only 3.5 ounces. You can order it now for $24.99. The NuStand Alloy for the Mac mini is the same weight and works with the 2010 version of the Mac mini only. It also has a rubberized finish to prevent scratched and has a silicone center to securely hold the mini. Both of the stands have rubber feet to prevent skidding and more. The Mac mini version of the stand is also $24.99.  
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Sonic Solutions is a known company for their ability to distribute paid content, whether it be movies or single episodes of a television show, courtesy of their proven infrastructure, to a wide variety of devices. While Rovi is known for their electronic program guides, and content metadata. Earlier in the year, Sonic Solutions acquired DivX, which let the company reach even more devices, courtesy of the popular video format.
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