Spam Flood Blog: Interesting Stuff

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Interesting Stuff

6/6/2007 3:46:00 PM

Filed under: Storage

Western Digital has given a boost to its Passport line of external USB hard drives, today introducing a new 250GB model that makes the previous top-end 160GB drive look positively paltry in comparison. While the exact type of hard drive crammed in there isn't clear, like other Passport drives, it's most definitely of the 2.5-inch variety, with the entire enclosure measuring just 5.11 x 3.14 x 0.59 inches. You'll also get the usual complement of pre-loaded software, including Western Digital's WD Sync software and Google Desktop -- no Mac software here, although the drive itself will work just fine. If that'll do, you can get your drive now for an even $200.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/06/western-digital-intros-250gb-passport-hard-drive/#comments

6/6/2007 3:13:00 PM

Filed under: Storage

It seems that Hitachi has been basking in the glory of releasing the world's first 1TB internal hard drive so long that it let a number of others leapfrog it in the external sector, but nevertheless, the company's Easy Hard Drive lineup has now hit the mark. Split into two offerings, the AC-powered External USB Storage device holds 500GB, 750GB, or a single 1TB HDD within a matte black case, and while we're sure it's total coincidence, we can't help but notice the eerie resemblance to the the Xbox 360 Elite. Moving on, the Portable USB Storage unit now holds 160GB, 200GB, or a full quarter-terabyte of space within a pocket-friendly enclosure that's entirely powered via USB. Both drives should be available right now if you're brave enough to enter a Best Buy, and while the portable drives will run you between $139.99 and $249.99 depending on size, the 1TB desktop drive's price still remains a mystery.

[Via EverythingUSB]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/06/hitachis-external-easy-hard-drive-reaches-1tb/#comments

6/6/2007 2:42:00 PM

Filed under: GPS

Continuing in its tradition of improving the accuracy of portable navigation devices while completely butchering the capitalization rules that we all hold so dear, San Jose-based SiRF Technology Holdings Inc. has announced a new, um, technology called SiRFDiRect that promises to offer the same low-signal prowess in your nuvi or ONE that's normally found in those overpriced in-dash units pushed by car salesmen. Using a combination of fancy-schmancy algorithms and so-called "dead reckoning" hardware sensors (Dead Reckoning, DiRect, get it?), properly-equipped products will be able to maintain a course even in the complete absence of a signal by using heading and acceleration data to fill in the blanks -- perfect for traveling under dense forest canopies or through the dreaded urban canyon (pictured). Engadget-regular Mio will be the first manufacturer to incorporate this new tech -- branded "Navisteadi" -- in its wares, with other models that use the GSC3e/LP and GSC3f/LP chip sets set to get their reckonin' on in the third quarter.

[Via Navigadget]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/06/sirfdirect-promises-in-dash-gps-accuracy-for-pnds/#comments

6/6/2007 2:09:00 PM

Filed under: Features, Laptops

Turns out our local zombie-infested Apple store was already stocking yesterday's new Santa Rosa-based LED-backlit MacBook Pro -- and so naturally we had to do our own wholly unscientific comparison. Now, for starters, please note: all side-by-sides were taken with an 8 month old 2nd gen MacBook Pro with CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent tube) backlight and matte display on the LEFT, and the 3rd gen MBP with LED backlight and matte screen on the right. Apple told us the difference would be imperceptible -- was it? Check out the pics, and read on for some thoughts.

Gallery: MacBook Pro backlight comparison: LED vs CCFL

Continue reading MacBook Pro backlight comparison: LED vs CCFL

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/06/macbook-pro-backlight-comparison-led-vs-ccfl/#comments

6/6/2007 2:05:00 PM

Filed under: Displays, Misc. Gadgets

While it's hardly as big a deal now that Microsoft itself has let its much-anticipated Surface/Project Milan out of the bag, those that prefer to get their information in the form crude sketches and less-than-readable sentences can finally get their fix, as the USPTO has now revealed Microsoft's patent application for the device. Filed way back in November of 2005, the application describes a "function-oriented user interface," and lays out many of the features that we saw first-hand last week, including resizing pictures using two fingers, and dragging one element to another in order to initiate an activity. So, not a lot of new information, but if you're looking for something more to tide you over until you can get your hands on a Surface yourself, you can hit up the link below for a glimpse at its origins (and plenty more sketches).

[Via PC Joint, thanks Staksa]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/06/microsoft-surface-revealed-in-patent-form/#comments

6/6/2007 1:23:00 PM

Filed under: Storage

Philips certainly isn't the first company to shove 1TB of storage into some form of external enclosure, but the recently-unveiled SPD5130 does manage to strip the NAS niceties and add an eSATA interface all the while. Of course, users can still plug this one in via USB 2.0, and everyone should appreciate the 32MB included buffer for "enhanced transfer stability." Externally, the 1TB drive is wrapped in a thick aluminum shell that should protect it from minor battles, touts a one-click backup button, and it and it even includes an intelligent power management feature that powers it up and down with the PC it is attached to. Reportedly, the SPD5130 should be available to customers in Europe and the US pretty soon, and while we haven't seen anything official just yet, we're hearing that it'll run €449 across the pond and $499 here on American soil.

[Via Pocket-Lint]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/06/philips-spd5130-external-hard-drive-hits-1tb/#comments

6/6/2007 12:53:00 PM

Filed under: Laptops, Storage

If you were wondering who's responsible for the super-slim burner that allows Toshiba's waifish Portege R500 sub-notebook to sport an optical drive in such a small enclosure -- and who wasn't, really? -- it seems that Akihabara News has solved this non-mystery by outing Panasonic's seven-millimeter thick DVD writer as the guilty party. At only 99 grams heavy as well, the unnamed spinner reportedly stomps all over the previous record holder for slimmest notebook drive, which measured a relatively-bloated 9.5 millimeters from top to bottom. You'll probably be seeing this model all over the place soon enough; in fact, we wouldn't be surprised (well, maybe we would) if Samsung stuffs one into the first revision of the Q1 Ultra. or Mr. Hawkins employs it to add some value to the critically-panned Foleo.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/06/panasonic-has-a-7-millimeter-thick-dvd-burner/#comments

6/6/2007 12:14:00 PM

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

After teasing us for a couple of months, modder extraordinaire (and Engadget contributor) Ben Heckendorn has finally taken the wraps off his mystery commercial product, now revealed to be a gaming headset. Dubbed the Audio FX Pro 5+1, the USB (non-wireless) headset opts for an old school look but packs its share of newfangled features, including internal motors for some force feedback action, along with some virtual 5.1 surround sound. As a bonus, Ben Heck's also responsible for the product's packaging, which includes some copy you're not likely to find anywhere else ("hear the cries of dying noobs with perfect digital clarity"), not to mention some faithfully reproduced bullet holes that Ben himself created in a fit of ~~rage~~ inspiration. As promised, the headset also comes in at under $100 ($80, specifically), and is available for pre-order from eDimensional now, although there's no word yet on when it'll ship.

[Via Joystiq]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/06/ben-hecks-mystery-product-revealed-to-be-audio-fx-pro-5-1-heads/#comments

6/6/2007 11:50:00 AM

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

If Philips' portable audio division has one thing going for it, it's definitely consistency. While other manufacturers are tacking value-added features onto their products like WiFi, higher storage capacities, and more codec support, Philips just keeps on releasing the same damn model in slightly different form factors. Cases in point are the company's new SA9300 (pictured right) and SA5100 (pictured left) DAPs, which offer the same small color screens, FM tuners, limited file support, and maxed-out 4GB capacities that we've already seen a hundred times before on devices like the SA9200 and SA6045. GenerationMP3 spotted these units on Philips' German site, meaning we're not sure when/if the cookie cutter players will be hitting the States; pricing, however, seems to be in the €99 to €199 ($133 to $268) range, depending on model number and storage.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/06/philips-offers-more-of-the-same-with-sa9300-and-sa5100-daps/#comments

6/6/2007 11:25:00 AM

Filed under: Storage

We know that you've been barely able to sleep since the new miCARD memory card format was announced -- who would be the first manufacturer to get these out the door, you wondered -- so you can finally rest easy with the news that Pretec is showing off its own version of the multi-functional little wafers (pictured larger than actual size, of course) at Computex in Taipei. The company's S-Diamond line already tops off at an impressive 8GB (wit8GB (with theoretical capacities of 2TB, but we're not holding our breath), and like the flood of other miCARDs soon to hit the market, will work with regular SD/MMC-capable devices through the use of an adapter. Pretec still isn't being forthcoming with any pricing or release info on these, but since there's no miCARD-specific hardware on the market yet anyway, we doubt that many of you care.

[Via Everything USB]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/06/pretec-shows-off-first-micards/#comments

6/6/2007 11:04:00 AM

Filed under: Features, Misc. Gadgets

Day 1 at Computex has drawn to a close and Engadget's lovely sister site in China was at the heart of the action. First order or business: blow out the booths with all the photos and video they could shoot. Funny enough, even though the show is being held in Taiwan, favored son HTC arrived without their new Touch -- go figure. Don't be shy now, the important bits have all been translated into English. Hell, you might even get lucky and see a girl.

Read -- Grand opening 1
Read -- Grand opening 2
Read -- Microsoft
Read -- A-DATA
Read -- PQI
Read -- Transcend
Read -- RIDATA
Read -- Apacer
Read -- Kingston
Read -- Genius
Read -- Intel
Read -- NXP
Read -- Toshiba
Read -- Mio
Read -- Hitachi

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/06/engadget-chinese-hits-the-floor-at-computex/#comments

6/6/2007 10:44:00 AM

Filed under: Cellphones

If you've been keeping a keen eye out on the FCC findings of late, you wouldn't find it surprising at all that two of Samsung's latest are officially headed to the US of A. Turns out that the Samsung SGH-T729 and SGH-T419 are both slated to make their US debut on T-Mobile, and while there's not a whole lot here for the high-end customer, the lower-end crowd should certainly appreciate what they're packin'. The T729 slider dons a somewhat stylish exterior, 1.3-megapixel camera, 220 x 176 resolution display, sports the SureType keyboard, and reportedly includes BlackBerry Connect as well. The T419 bargain phone doesn't do much outside of accepting and dialing calls, but does manage to include a 160 x 128 resolution display internally, a simple greyscale LCD on the exterior, a paltry VGA camera, and a hint of the modern world with the inclusion of Bluetooth. No word just yet on pricing nor availability, but at least you'll know where to look.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/06/samsung-sgh-t729-and-sgh-t419-coming-to-t-mobile/#comments

6/6/2007 10:24:00 AM

Filed under: Peripherals, Networking

Although there's never been an overwhelming amount of success in any one category, just about everything has tried its hand at traveling over power lines, but Icron looks to be the first to channel USB 2.0 over the medium. Taking advantage of Panasonic's HD-PLC technology and its proprietary ExtremeUSB magic that was already seen in a wireless USB endeavor, Icron's system "extends USB 2.0 over standard power lines enabling remote connection of standard USB devices such as keyboards, printers, flash drives, hard drives, and web cameras over the AC outlets in your home or office." (What, no hand warmers, aquariums, or drink chillers?) The prototype setup featured a four-port USB 2.0 OPL hub and dongle set that saw 190Mbps over standard power lines, and there won't be any additional drivers necessary for this to play nice with Windows, Linux, and OS X systems. No word just yet on when these kits will be available for sale, but we'd wait on a review before labeling ourselves an early adopter on this one.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/06/icron-offers-usb-2-0-over-power-line-solution/#comments

6/6/2007 10:04:00 AM

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Interactive billboards and advertisements have been (trying) to catch our eyes for some time now, but a team of Swedes are apparently hoping that adding speech abilities might convince you to take an even closer look. The Paper Four project has reportedly developed a prototype digital paper that uses embedded sensors to detect touch, and when you graze over a certain spot, it actually talks back to you via "printed speakers." Now in the fourth generation of development, the device combines paper with "printed graphic codes and electronically conductive ink that is sensitive to pressure," and it is already being showcased as a way to invite tourists or other customers to get up close and personal with ads in order to hear auditory information. Best of all, the team has hosted up a video showing exactly how this stuff works, so do yourself a favor and hit the read link to catch a peek.

[Via BBC]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/06/paper-four-initiative-developing-talking-paper/#comments

6/6/2007 9:44:00 AM

Filed under: Laptops

General Dynamics Itronix certainly has the rugged computer gig down pat, but the GoBook VR-2 scales things back a bit and only gets the "semi-rugged" treatment. Don't think this bad boy's not a workhorse, however, as this machine was reportedly designed to "meet the demanding needs of mobile workers in a variety of commercial, field service, public safety, and military markets." Among the niceties that make the day-to-day a bit easier is a 13.3-inch XGA DynaVue touchscreen display, Intel's 2GHz T7300 Core 2 Duo processor, up to 4GB of RAM, up to 120GB of hard drive space, an optional HDD heater for those chilly morns in Killington, DVD burner, PC Card slot, optional ExpressCard slot, VGA output, audio in / out, four USB 2.0 ports, gigabit Ethernet, 802.11a/g/n, integrated fingerprint reader, optional WWAN / GPS, Bluetooth, and a three-year warranty that should keep you feeling secure. Of course, this beast can handle a decent amount of shock, dust, and humidity too, but we wouldn't expect anything less with a base price of around $3,500. Click on through for a few on-the-job snaps.

Continue reading Itronix's semi-rugged GoBook VR-2 gets a day job

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/06/itronixs-semi-rugged-gobook-vr-2-gets-a-day-job/#comments

6/6/2007 9:14:00 AM

Filed under: Robots

Quite a lot has transpired in the android universe in the past two years, and it's fairly safe to say that Kansei has made a few solid strides during that time as well. A Japanese research team has purportedly crafted a working prototype that can "pull up to 36 different facial expressions based on a program which creates word associations from a self-updating online database of 500,000 keywords." According to a professor at Meiji University's School of Science and Technology, the idea of the project is to "create a flow of consciousness in robots so that they can make the relevant facial expressions," and the device relies on 19 movable parts and a silicon face mask in order to work its magic. Developers also noted that speech abilities should be added within a few years, and while we doubt you had to guess, it's quite likely that fully developed Kanseis will one day roam nursing homes as Japan seeks to care for its quickly growing geriatric set.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/06/kansei-makes-a-comeback-with-reactive-facial-expressions/#comments

6/6/2007 8:24:00 AM

Filed under: Displays, HDTV

We don't know why, but in a game where numbers are king we bring you the world's smallest HDTV. Measuring in at just 7-inches, Xceive's "Breckenridge" reference design is currently on display at Computex in Taipei. Unfortunately, Xceive is only showing off their XC5000 silicon tuner in the press release, but we've got a sneaking suspicion that they're using that ~~Sanyo~~Seiko-Epson 7.1-inch, 1080p-capable LCD panel (pictured) first floated back in October. Xceive's contribution to the 16:9 HDTV is the crazy small, 2.75 x 4.75-inch main board capable of rele of receiving all 18 ATSC formats or NTSC signals via terrestrial or cable implementations. Unfortunately, you'll have to sit about 6-inches away from the display for all those pixels to matter. Still, it is just a reference design. In other words, Xceive is looking for someone with the manufacturing skills to take this to market. Sammy, Sony, Philipps... any takers? Read-on to peep the XC5000 chip just for kicks.

[Via DigiTimes]

Continue reading World's smallest (7-inch) HDTV on display at Computex

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/06/worlds-smallest-7-inch-hdtv-on-display-at-computex/#comments

6/6/2007 7:47:00 AM

Filed under: Laptops

Egads NEC, show some pride... a Hello Kitty LaVie? Say it ain't so! Your LaVie series of laptops were already totin' some serious Alice-the-housekeeper frump, and now this? What can we say, that puss dominates Japan like a pink, mouthless Godzilla... really, what could poor NEC do. Available now for ¥199,500 or about $1,645 with plenty of pasted-on Swarovski nuggets destined for the recessed folds at the pit of your man-bag. Sure, you'll buy it for your daughter but we know who'll use it... sissy.

[Via Impress]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/06/the-hello-kitty-lavie-is-this-really-the-life-nec/#comments

6/6/2007 7:01:00 AM

Filed under: Laptops

ASUS is showing of its design chops this morning with a trio of laptops made from wood. Of course, these aren't the first (and certainly not the last) pieces of consumer electronics kit to go au naturel. We've even seen other wood-cased laptops before including ASUS' own EcoBook. But man, is the above "laptop" design practical by any stroke of the imagine imagination? Still, kudos to you ASUS for pushing the design envelope. If these are the gaffes required en route to your product successes then we're willing to suffer (a little). Read-on for a few viable designs which, knowing ASUS, could see limited production runs.

Read -- model 1
Read -- model 2
Read -- model 3

Continue reading ASUS' wooden "laptop": kills trees and reason with a single swing

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/06/asus-wooden-laptop-kills-trees-and-reason-with-a-single-swin/#comments

6/6/2007 5:56:00 AM

Filed under: Desktops

We just received an anonymous tip regarding the two new Dell desktops Wal-Mart will be carrying starting Sunday. We have no way to verify the claim but the specs -- which were apparently read directly off the packaging -- certainly seem reasonable and are in line with Michael Dell's Dell's own admissions on the models. The first system is said to be a $698 Windows Vista Home Premium model E521B-001W sporting a 19-inch "E197FPB" LCD monitor, dual-core Athlon 64 X2 3600+ processor, 2x 512MB (1GB total) DDR2 667MHz memory, 320GB SATA disk, Integrated GeForce 6150LE graphics, a 16x DVD +/-RW optical drive, USB keyboard and mouse, 13-in-1 media card reader, 10/100 Ethernet, integrated 7.1 channel sound, and 56k PCI Data Fax Modem. For comparison sake, that's about $50 cheaper than a Dell Dimension E521 (pictured) configured on-line with the "exact" (you never know with Dell) same components only with a 19-inch widescreen SE198WFP LCD which is faster, brighter, and features a higher contrast ratio than the Wal-Mart E197FPB (which we presume to be the SE197FP listed on Dell's site). The second system is a $498 E521SA-001W offered sans monitor and a 250GB disk -- exactly $1 cheaper than a similarly spec'd E521. So, if the specs are to be believed, then it's a wash in terms of pricing. Really though, what did you expect from the razor thin margins of the home PC market? Again, these are unconfirmed so you'll have to check for yourself on the 10th when Dell's systems find their way into the godless hellscape called Wal-Mart.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/06/specs-and-prices-of-wal-marts-new-dell-desktops-revealed/#comments

6/6/2007 5:02:00 AM

Filed under: Digital Cameras, Displays, Wireless

Nah, MediaStreet can't be considered a pioneer by throwing in Bluetooth functionality with its eMotion digiframe, but considering that only a few others have made such a gesture thus far, you won't find us bellyaching. The firm is upping the ante on its seven-inch widescreen digital photo frame by adding in the ability to instantly transfer photos snapped on your cameraphone or BT-enabled device onto the frame, but didn't forget about the traditional loading methods in the process; users can still import media onto its 256MB of internal memory via SD, CF, SDHC, MMC, MS / MSPro, xD, or USB 2.0. The device plays nice with JPEG / BMP photos, MP3 and WMA on the audio front, and AVI / MPEG1/2/4 when looking at video, and while this may not be the biggest buck on the block, it manages to support a variety of interchangeable wood frames and a wireless remote while ringing up at just $149.

[Via Slashgear]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/06/mediastreet-adds-bluetooth-to-emotion-digital-photo-frame/#comments

6/6/2007 4:41:00 AM

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

It was two months (to the day, actually) ago that we first got wind of the possibility that Nintendo could have a trio of colorful Wiimotes planned for the UK market, and now we've got even more reason to believe that future Wii controllers could indeed sport a few different hues. Of course, we're still filing this away as a rumor for the time being, but a fairly convincing screen shot from an Argos internal system clearly shows that a blue Wiimote has a SKU in its inventory. Additionally, the UK-based poster also stated that a pink listing was also spotted, but had no idea if any were carefully hidden in the store's back room. Still, we've no idea if or when Nintendo ever plans on releasing the slightly more vivid Wiimotes on the world, but you can go ahead and color us sour if these end up a European exclusive.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/06/colorful-wiimote-rumor-gets-revived/#comments

6/6/2007 3:05:00 AM

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Four years in the making, Olympus looks set to finally launch the successor to their E-1 digital -- the first camera designed as a DSLR from art-to-part. Swaddled in silk with a "coming soon" teaser tagged on Olympus' European site is what can only be the new flagship shooter they've been dribbling out at tradeshows under the "P-1" codename. No specs of course, only that the E-1's successor will take "the excellent picture quality, mobility, and reliability of the E-1 to new and unprecedented levels." Hey, that's what Olympus says. Still, until they take off the veil, well, anything goes.

[Via Impress]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/06/olympus-teases-with-e-1-dslr-followup/#comments

6/6/2007 2:02:00 AM

Filed under: Gaming

Non-nerds need not apply, but if Guitar Hero has whetted your appetite for rockstardom, and you don't want to mess with any of those nasty string-based things of your predecessors, FRETBUZZ should be able to help you and your Guitar Hero controller on the path to glory. The app is written in Max/MSP, and requires you to download the runtime environment to fire it up, not to mention the fact that you'll need quite a bit of technical chops to get it past that point and making music for you. Luckily, the creator of the app is part of The Guitar Zeros, which naturally makes its sounds using this very method, and there are some decent instructions for doing your thing. Rock on, just remember to leave us a spot on your guestlist when you get all rich and famous changing the face of music forever.

[Thanks, Jake]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/06/fretbuzz-app-turns-your-guitar-hero-stylings-into-real-musicks/#comments

6/6/2007 12:58:00 AM

Filed under: Cellphones

We've got a bit of hands-on and photo gallery love of the new HTC Touch over at Engadget Mobile. If you're the type who's at all interested in thin, sexy, large-touchscreen smartphones that launch in June of 2007, you owe it to yourself to check this sucker out.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/05/htc-touch-hands-on/#comments

6/5/2007 11:26:00 PM

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

While the Virtual Hallucinating goggles and Brain Machine can certainly give you a taste of the erratic, a new behavioral-pattern monitor at the University of California, San Diego will reportedly be used to "study the behavior of patients with mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia." The LifeShirt, "a computerized vest that continuously monitors the patient's movements," sports integrated sensors to monitor hyperactive and repetitive movements and record data on "respiration, heart rate, and other physiological measures." Notably, the padded room wearers are presumably crammed into sports a ceiling-mounted webcam that films their exploratory behavior in order to better analyze movement patterns associated with certain disorders. Eventually, of course, resear, researchers are hoping that data collected from the sensor-laden straight jacket could be used to create new drugs to help combat the behavioral abnormalities, but for all of our sakes, let's hope this thing doesn't fall into the wrong hands.

[Via MedGadget, photo courtesy of TechnologyReview]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/05/big-brother-equipped-straight-jacket-further-proves-youre-crazy/#comments

6/5/2007 10:01:00 PM

Filed under: Robots

Incorporating sweat sensors into gadgetry is nothing new, but an artist from Buenos Aires apparently felt that just detecting the liquid wasn't nearly good enough. The Alexitimia robotic blob was crafted by Paula Gaetano in order to showcase "creative intuition that permits both the artist and the viewer to leap over logic, whether scientific or artistic, and emotionally experience the problem laid out here of reconciling the wet domain of nature with the dry domain of electronics." Pretty far out, we know, but this creepy piece of blubber reportedly feels like rubber to the touch, and thanks to the integrated touch sensors, an internal water pump allows the pores to perspire in a zany attempt at showing affection. No word on whether this thing can blast out streams if your handling gets a little too rough for comfort, though.

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6/5/2007 9:05:00 PM

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Looks like all that heat generated by your laptop may finally be useful for something other than frying eggs -- a group of grad students led by professor Orest Symko at the University of Utah has unveiled an array of "thermoacoustic" engines that turn heat into sound, which can be can be directed at a piezoelectric mechanism to produce electricity. The US Army-funded research seems promising but is obviously still in its infancy -- one of the designs the researchers demonstrated is half the size of a penny but pumps out 120dB of noise (about the same as a siren), while another bumped out over 135dB, (which is roughly equivalent to a jackhammer). The team expects that future, smaller designs will work at ultrasonic frequencies outside the range of human hearing. Although we're not expecting hybrid-siren-powered laptops to hit anytime soon, you Utes out there may want to invest in some earplugs -- Professor Symko says they'll be testing these designs at the University's water-heating facility in the next year.

[Via InformationWeek]

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6/5/2007 8:23:00 PM

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Ok, so we finally heard back from Zune PR, and they were about as cagey as we always expect when it comes to statements about future moves in the market. Anyway, here's what they said about Sunday's meme that the player wouldn't be launching in Europe this year: in a nutshell, Ballmer was mistranslated, and did not say either way whether Zune is launching in Europe in 2007. "He emphasized -- as we've been saying all along -- that focus is important to us and the US has been our focus to date. He also reminded those readers that Zune is an investment for the company... a multi-year strategy... but we are currently not making any announcements about future launches." Ok, so it might have just been easier for Zune to come out and say it is (or isn't) in fact still launching in Europe this year, and you can still chalk up the above to a non-denial denial if you like. But it still seems plausible this year may yet hold good news for our cross-Atlantic pals anticipating a Microsoft player of their very own, so don't give up just yet.

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6/5/2007 7:53:00 PM

Filed under: Features, Portable Audio

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment:

Whe/>When Lala.com launched just last year, the company raised eyebrows looking to build a business around trading of compact discs for a dollar per trade while expecting most of its revenue to come from sales of new CDs. The company claims that it actually reached profitability in its core business, but it realized that exposing members to lists of each others' CDs wasn't enough. Soon it added Internet radio by acquiring terrestrial-turned-Internet broadcaster WOXY.com.

Lala has dismissed concerns that it would facilitate piracy as members ripped and flipped with the argument that the real problem that music faces today is the war for time and money versus other media. Consumers are inundated with cable channels, YouTube, RSS, DVDs, video games, Web sites and those clever Engadget columns that you know you should really submit to Digg more often.

To this war, Lala is bringing two major weapons which brings the site determined to disrupt squarely into the realm of digital music. Not only will the company offer free music library hosting and downloading directly to one's iPod, but it is moving to offer free streaming of on-demand libraries from all four major labels, starting with Warner Music.

Lala will enable any members to store their entire digital music collection on its site to stream on demand. Of course, Lala is not the first to have this idea -- MP3.com tried it in 1998 and earned the scorn of the RIAA, which forced the startup to nix the idea. Nowadays, several sites provide music locker services (often for a fee) for those wiling to upload their music files, which can be a lengthy proposition for those with large libraries.

Continue reading Switched On: Lala makes the Web the latest iPod accessory

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6/5/2007 7:23:00 PM

Filed under: Cellphones

While the unlicensed version of Porsche's mobile handset still holds a special place in our hearts, it looks like the Porsche Design Mobile Group finally took it upon themselves to join the growing fray and introduce its own co-branded device. The group has already slapped the luxurious logo on a sat nav device as well as a portable XM radio, but Stephane Bret (the group's director) was caught showing off a new mobile in Essen. Unfortunately, details on the phone are all but nil, but we do know that the P'9521 was unveiled at the Red Dot Design Museum and will rock a squarish flip-phone design, integrated camera, and multimedia player. No word just yet on when (or if, actually) this sure-to-be-overpriced handset will hit store shelves, but we can't help but notice that a few formidable opponents are quite a few laps ahead at this point. Click on through for a few more shots.

Continue reading Porsche Design Mobile Group unveils P'9521 handhset

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6/5/2007 6:44:00 PM

Filed under: Robots

As we all know, the human-robot divide can be a tough one to bridge (what with them secretly plotting to destroy us and all) -- but there's a new robot out there that's willing to tackle the problem, and he's ready to lend a hand to anyone doing research on the subject (for a price, of course). With a head full of servos, RoboMotio's Reddy robot can contort its face into a broad range of expressions, including joy, anger, sadness, surprise, and disgust, which the company says makes it ideally suited for various human-robot endeavors. RoboMotio appears to be a bit wary of Reddy getting too "emotional," however, choosing not to give him legs or any other means of movement, although those willing to take the risk can attach him to "many standard or non-standard mobile robot bases." Of course, robots can't make a living on goodwill alone, so RoboMotio's also talking up Reddy's potential for various marketing and entertainment applications, which means you could be running into him any day now. In the meantime, be sure to hit up the link below for some not-to-be-missed shots and a couple of videos of Reddy in action.

[Thanks, Jake]

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6/5/2007 6:10:00 PM

Filed under: Features, Misc. Gadgets

While we're busy sipping iced girly drinks in the shade Stateside, considering which laptop-lite du jour most deserves a spot in our gadget bag, our Engadget Chinese counterparts are sweating it up in Taipei, blowing out the coverage on Computex Taipei (like always). Head on over to our sister site for prolific galleries and impressions (in English!) of the sights and sounds of the "world's second largest IT tradeshow." Once the dust settles a bit we'll round up all the happenings, but to see it all as it happens, you know where to go.

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6/5/2007 5:36:00 PM

Filed under: Gaming

<p>

Just a quick check-in on that supposedly Earth-shattering Xbox news that was due today: turns out that Bandai and Pac-Man designer Toru Iwatani debuted Pac-Man Championship Edition for Xbox Live Marketplace in New York, with new game types and an undisclosed number of new mazes -- the first in 26 years. (Humorous: the event was presented by... wait for it... Quiznos.) We're not gonna harsh on Pac-Man or anything, we love the little bugger and know damn well that for some this will actually "go down in video game history" as claimed. But our minds remain thoroughly unblown, and so we point you to Joystiq for the complete story.

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6/5/2007 5:10:00 PM

Filed under: Digital Cameras

CompUSA has been trying to turn itself around for a while now -- it closed a ton of stores earlier this year and has generally been pretty aggressive in trying to cut costs. No matter how bad things get, though, sometimes a company's gotta bite the bullet and do the right thing by its customers, and it looks like the $269 CompUSA is holding back from Texas consultant Terry Heaton might end up costing it a lot more than it anticipated. Seems as though Terry purchased what he thought was a Canon A630 from one of the stores CompUSA was closing back in March, but when his step-daughter opened the box a few weeks ago, it was empty. Assuming he'd get a refund, Terry drove to the nearest CompUSA, where he was told that all liquidation sales were handled by a third party and not CompUSA, and that he would have to contact CompUSA's attorneys to secure a refund. Undaunted, Terry then wrote a letter to CompUSA's CEO, whose "Executive Care" assistant replied and said that Terry should have been more careful to inspect the box when he purchased the camera, and that the prominent ALL SALES ARE FINAL signs around the store and on the receipt weren't just for show. That's pretty callous, if you ask us -- while we're always extra-careful when we buy clearance items, we can't imagine CompUSA (or its liquidators) knowingly marked an empty box with a $269 price tag, and we can't imagine seeing that price and thinking the box might be empty. So come on, CompUSA -- let's see some customer friggin service, okay?

[Via LostRemote, thanks, James]

Update: Heaton got his cash back! Well, in the form of a gift certificate, which kind of sucks, but still, we're glad for him.

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6/5/2007 4:40:00 PM

Filed under: Digital Cameras, Misc. Gadgets

Sony's showing off a whole range of new environmentally-friendly gear in Japan at the moment, all of which can be used without ever having to be plugged in for a recharge. One of the more interesting devices of the lot is the Spin N' Snap digital camera (pictured above), which you charge up simply by placing your fingers in the two holes (which also double as a viewfinder) and spinning it around a few times. Taking a slightly different but equally non-power-hungry route is the Crank N' Capture camera, which can also apparently capture video of some sort. Rounding out the line up are the Pull N' Play stereo headphones, the Push POWER Play device (apparently a viewer of some sort), which you charge by rolling it back and forth on a table, and the "Juice Box," which packs a fold out solar panel that can be used to charge your other devices. What's more, if we're reading the machine translation correctly, it appears that all the devices are made of re-used or recycled plastic. Unfortunately, there's no word on when or if any of them will actually be available, although you can check out a couple more pics courtesy of Impress after the break and plenty more at the link below.

[Thanks, kaztm]

Continue reading Sony shows off range of enviro-friendly "odo" gear

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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6/5/2007 4:11:00 PM

Filed under: Peripherals, Storage

Just in case you hadn't yet caught wind, the Data Robotics Drobo external drive appliance went on sale today (for $500 US). We're not usually the type to tell people whether or not they should buy gadgets, but if you're at all curious you can check out our Drobo review here.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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6/5/2007 3:55:00 PM

Filed under: Announcements

Courtesy of Sprint, Engadget Mobile's got yet another (PRODUCT) RED Motorola RAZR V3m to give away. Sure, the 1.3 megapixel camera and media player are nice, but that red shell lets everyone know that you're doing your part to help fight the AIDS epidemic in Africa. Try your luck right now!

Have a look at our other contests, too, before it's too late: Motorola T305, Samsung u620, (PRODUCT) RED MOTORAZR V3m for Sprint, Sprint UpStage by Samsung (number two), Samsung BlackJack , Nokia N75 (number two)

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6/5/2007 3:27:00 PM

Filed under: Laptops

We still don't have the magic numbers (launch date and price) on that most impressive new Dell XPS m1330, but we did at least secure some more eye candy for you. A couple more shots after the break.

Continue reading More pics of the Dell XPS m1330

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