Spam Flood Blog: Interesting Stuff

Friday, July 13, 2007

Interesting Stuff

7/13/2007 11:55:00 AM

Filed under: Laptops

Granted, we've seen our fair share of Apple products getting a bit hot under the collar, and while the PowerBook AC adapters never were truly regarded as top-notch pieces of equipment, it seems that this particular one chose the wrong guy to get all sparked up on. Justin Stangel, a head writer / producer for the Late Show with David Letterman, was presumably writing up the night's monologue when he was uncomfortably faced with a sparking AC adapter. As any true professional would do, he actually filmed the volatile device getting its spark (and smoke) on rather than evacuating the area, so be sure and click on through to see what the fuss is all about.

Continue reading Letterman's head writer faces sparking, smoking PowerBook adapter

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/13/lettermans-head-writer-faces-sparking-smoking-powerbook-adapte/#comments

7/13/2007 11:35:00 AM

Filed under: Gaming

When we hit up a press event, we're looking for two things (besides free refreshments): unannounced products and unreleased devices that we can get you some hands-on shots of. Well save for the snazzy MX Air that we picked up from Logitech, last night's Digital Life preview in New York was a total bust -- nothing but Foleos and non-working robots as far as the eye could see -- so instead of schmoozing with our colleagues or getting our egos stroked by publicity-happy vendors, we watched uncoordinated journalists attempt to master the controls of HotSeat Chassis' latest immersive simulators. While the company also makes a full line of driving rigs, the demo machines were both of the flying variety: the $6,000 Combat Sim and $7,000+ Heli Sim. The former contraption features two monitors and traditional "dogfight" controls that work with most any software, while the latter offers just a single control stick to help you live out those Airwolf fantasies. If you're interested in checking out gaming equipment that costs more than a used car (and even some new ones), hit the gallery below...

Gallery: HotSeat Chassis' plane and helicopter flight simulators

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/13/hotseat-chassis-plane-and-helicopter-flight-simulators/#comments

7/13/2007 11:10:00 AM

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Transportation

Concocting zany printers seems to be all the rage these days, and if the sugar, 3D, and film renditions weren't sophisticated enough for you, this creation is giving new meaning to taking your word to the street. In a DIY endeavor that eerily resembles one we recall from years back, the StreetWriter project stuffs a computer-controlled industrial spray painting unit into an extended-body cargo van, where it can then roll up to unsuspecting sections of pavement and drop all sorts of textual delight. Granted, the prints can really only be deciphered from tall buildings or low-flying crafts, but we're sure it needs all eight of those cylinders to skedaddle if caught printing on public property. No word on how long this bad boy's been rolling about, but be sure and click through to get a closeup of the innards.

[Via CNET]

Continue reading Van-sized StreetWriter prints messages, burns rubber

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/13/van-sized-streetwriter-prints-messages-burns-rubber/#comments

7/13/2007 10:46:00 AM

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

While it might not quite match the robot invasion of the 2005 World Expo in Aichi, Japan, it looks like Zaragoza, Spain's 2008 World Expo won't be lacking for displays of technology either, with an MIT-designed "digitd "digital water pavilion" greeting visitors at the entrance. While its practicality may be in question, the pavilion certainly looks to be impressive enough, boasting computer-controlled walls of water that can display scrolling text or images, or automatically form a doorway when it detects a person approaching. To manage that feat, the MIT engineers employed a series solenoid valves that can be opened and closed at high frequency, effectively working, as MIT describes it, "like an inkjet printer on a large scale." It's also apparently not as wasteful as it seems at first glance, relying entirely on recycled water, with the water also eliminating the need for air conditioning.

[Via PhysOrg]

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/13/zaragoza-world-expo-to-feature-mit-designed-digital-water-wall/#comments

7/13/2007 10:23:00 AM

Filed under: Robots

Throwing its fins into the proverbial pool with various water-bourne robots such as the Strider, the CMU Water Runner, and whatever this creep is called, is the new STRIDE -- soon to be the aforementioned Strider's enemy number one. The name stands for Surface Tension Robotic Insect Dynamic Explorer, and the minuscule bot works by mimicking the strider insect and skirting along the surface of the water using hydrophobic wire legs coated in Teflon. Researchers discovered that the 1-gram bot could carry a 9.3-gram payload without breaking the surface by utilizing a sculling motion for movement. The robot is 10-15 times slower than the actual insect and 10 times larger, but the engineers hope to lower the bot's size and increase it's speed by downsizing its build, along with expanding its capabilities by harnessing technologies such as sensors, wireless communication, and autonomous control.

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/13/water-skimming-robot-will-probably-attack-you/#comments

7/13/2007 10:03:00 AM

Filed under: Home Entertainment

Internet radio -- a market which seems to be heating up lately -- is getting another entry to the game in Freecom's latest device. The company has just announced its MusicPal WiFi radio, which can access up to 5,000 pre-programmed internet stations (or you can add your own), stream your MP3s and WAVs from your PC or network, and can be connected to your home stereo when it's time to really party. The petite, stylish device runs on the Linux 2.6 kernel, has 802.11b/g and wired 10/100 RJ45 connectivity, and sports a 128x64 pixel monochrome LCD display. The MusicPal goes on sale in August for €129, although the company is taking pre-orders right now. Too bad royalties are poised to kill the internet radio star this Sunday.

[Thanks, Jeroen S]

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/13/freecoms-musicpal-wifi-radio-now-on-pre-order/#comments

7/13/2007 9:33:00 AM

Filed under: Networking

While we've seen all sorts of blazing feats over fiber here lately, it's not often that such wide open bandwidth gets piped directly to a home, but a 75-year old Swede recently changed all that when she had a 40Gbps connection installed in her domicile. 'Course, this fine dame is the mum of Swedish internet legend Peter Löthberg, and she's hoping to somehow "persuade internet operators to invest in faster connections." The trick behind the setup is a "new modulation technique which allows data to be transferred directly between two routers up to 2,000-kilometers apart with no intermediary transponders," and just in case you're wondering, she can download a full high-definition DVD in a painstaking two seconds.

[Via Slashdot, image courtesy of TheRedWoodMotel]

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/13/40gbps-internet-connection-installed-in-swedes-home/#comments

7/13/2007 9:01:00 AM

Filed under: Handhelds, Laptops

We had a hunch that a once over just wasn't enough time with Asus' oh-so-intriguing Eee PC 701, so we're quite pleased that the folks over at NotebookReview were able to get a little alone time with the mini-laptop and give us some food for thought. As expected, this decently spec'd (for the price, of course) machine booted into an Asus-customized flavor of Linux "in about ten seconds flat," while the entire shutdown procedure took about half of that. Once inside, they seemed quite impressed with the amount of built-in applications and responsiveness, and noted that enough software was included to "definitely serve all of your basic needs." Of course, the understandably scrunched keyboard "took some getting used to," and although the display wasn't jaw-dropping, it served the purpose. Best of all, they were able to snag quite a few shots of the wee device, so be sure and give their writeup a look if you could potentially see this thing in your future.

[Thanks, Patrick L.]

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/13/asus-diminutive-eee-pc-701-gets-previewed/#comments

7/13/2007 8:02:00 AM

Filed under: Laptops

Fujitsu's got a new bag, baby, and it's called the LifeBook A3130. The business-centric, Vista-ready, 15.4-inch laptop features a 2GHz AMD Turion processor, 2GB of RAM, a 120GB HDD, an ATI Radeon Xpress 1150 graphics card with 256MB of RAM, and a DVD-RW optical drive. With Bluetooth, 802.11a/b/g, five USB ports, and a bitchin' fingerprint reader / scroll button, you'll be the toast of the boardroom, possibly. The zippy little number also includes a spill-resistant keyboard and a screaming-fast V.90 56K modem. Available right now for the bargain price of $1149.

[Via PCLaunches]

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/13/fujitsus-funky-new-lifebook-a3130/#comments

7/13/2007 6:54:00 AM

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Handhelds

Feel that? That's the unexpected stir of nostalgia welling inside your dorktic-loin. Rest easy, you're not alone. In fact, that picture aroused a deeply seeded HP fanboi-ism long obscured by thick slabs of drab computing plastic and opaque printer ink. The 35s marks the 35th anniversary of the industry defining HP-35 pocket scientific calculator (and death of the sliderule) -- a first to offer basic trig and exponential functions. While HP preserved the original's reverse Polish notation, gone is the single-line of red LEDs which illuminated the childhood wonder of so many budding engineers. The new 35s also introduces an algebraic entry mode for those who find RPN entry just a bit too, well, reversed. Of course, it's fully modern with 800 storage registers, 100 built-in functions, and a large 2-line alpha numeric display with adjustable contrast. Better yet, the 35s will only set you back $60 compared to the $395 it cost back in 1972 -- that's a lot more 8-tracks for your swank ~~Ford~~ Mercury Capri, eh Pops?

br />Read -- HP-35 anniversary video
Read -- HP 35s

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/13/hp-celebrates-35th-anniversary-of-hp-35-launches-35s-calculator/#comments

7/13/2007 5:39:00 AM

Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio, Portable Video

If you can't wait for the eventual Apple update, then by all means have at it weekend hackers: custom iPhone ringtones can now be yours. Disparate hacks have been cobbled together into a step-by-step guide over at the appropriately named hacktheiphone site. The instructions make use of both the iPhoneInterface and jailbreak hacks which opened up full access to the iPhone's UI and filesystem. Unfortunately, the former only works on the Intel-based Macs at the moment. For those of you a bit wary of screwing the $600 pooch somewhere along the 23 steps, take heed: "everyone [they] know has been able to restore their iPhone fully by using iTunes." So go ahead, we double-dog dare ya. Just report back in the comments how it went, mkay?

[Thanks, HaJo and Richard]

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/13/custom-iphone-ringtone-hacking-instructions-prepped-for-noobs/#comments

7/13/2007 4:39:00 AM

Filed under: Cellphones

In 2005, Greek authorities discovered a plot hatched and executed by unknown sources which allowed the tapping of wireless phones on the Vodaphone network belonging to the country's Prime Minister and other top officials, making it one of the furthest reaching covert infiltrations of a government in history. A recent report from IEEE Spectru Spectrum shows that the tap was made possible by a 6,500 line piece of code called a rootkit, the first-ever to be embedded in a phone switch's OS. The complex hack took advantage of aging phone systems by disabling transaction logs on calls and allowing call monitoring on four switches within the teleco's computers, thus sending the call to another phone for monitoring (similar to a legal wiretap). The spies covered their tracks by creating patches on the system which routed the calls around logging software which would have alerted admins, and were only discovered when they tried to update their software. The case clearly exposes holes in call security amongst providers (due largely in part to outdated systems), and suggests the possibility that this kind of thing could easily happen again... to you!

[Via textually]

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/13/rootkit-hack-taps-greek-prime-ministers-phone/#comments

7/13/2007 3:27:00 AM

Filed under: Wearables

Chalk another one up to the rumor mill, as it looks like the leaked PowerPoint slide we saw just last month was indeed referring to an actual product. Thanks to an FCC filing, we now know that Timex is actually cranking out a Made for iPod timepiece in its Ironman series. The i-Control isn't the most handsome of watches, but it will be available in a water-resistant casing, sport Indiglo backlighting, and play nice with your dock connecting iPod. According to the documentation, users will clip an included RF transmitter into their Pod, which will allow the watch to control the volume, track, and play / pause function so long as the it's within "about ten feet" of your wrist. Of course, it still sports the same alarm, chrono, recall, and interval timer modes as the rest of its siblings, but unfortunately, it doesn't look like you'll see any scrolling track tags on this one. As expected, there's no word on price just yet, but click on through for a more detailed shot of it all sprawled out.

Continue reading Timex's iPod-controlling i-Control watch hits the FCC

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/13/timexs-ipod-controlling-i-control-watch-hits-the-fcc/#comments

7/13/2007 2:32:00 AM

Filed under: Portable Audio, Wearables

We haven't seen too many portable audio devices out of Yamaha (well, unless you count scooters), but the company's new BODiBEAT looks like it could be a big hit with runners. The arm-mounted DAP contains an accelerometer that links to the earphone-mounted pulse monitor, enabling the BODiBEAT to play tracks that match your running rhythm, switching songs as you speed up and slow down. It doesn't look the like unit actually changes the speed of your music, so Yamaha has thoughtfully included a range of preloaded beat loops that remix themselves at every tempo to cover any gaps. Good thing, too, since the puny 512MB of memory means you'll be out of music by the end of the block. Expect to see the BODiBEAT popping up at the gym later this summer for an astronomical $299.

[Via jkOnTheRun]

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/13/yamahas-bodibeat-plays-music-in-time-to-your-workout/#comments

7/13/2007 1:25:00 AM

Filed under: Networking

Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins' internet ordeal is over, and he has detailed all the painful, laborious, and clearly unnecessary steps needed to put yourself into Cashville with AT&T's cheap-o DSL service over on his website. In the end, the poor guy spoke with what appears to be hundreds of the company's employees, had to "pay" $79.99 for a router (although they offer a mail-in rebate reimbursement), and forked over $50 for AT&T's "activation fee", yet still technically doesn't have service. Regardless, when he's paying a measly ~~$10~~ $18 a month for his phone and DSL service, and you're still Go-Go dancing on weekends just to cover your voicemail charge, who will really have the last laugh? Hit the read link for all the painful details....

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/13/mans-quest-for-10-atandt-dsl-ends-in-success-kind-of/#comments

7/13/2007 12:31:00 AM

Filed under: Desktops

Unlike some companies we've seen, it appears that Commodore Gaming is actually keeping its word, as the company has just now released the final details on its lineup of flashy US-bound gaming rigs. The Cg, Cgs, Cgx, and Cxx machines progress gradually from least extreme to highly 1337, and all four can be customized to suit your every fantasy. To asy. To give you an idea of what's on tap (if you've got the coin), the Cxx packs a 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6800 processor, twin 500GB 7,200RPM hard drives in a RAID 0 array, 2GB of Corsair RAM, DVD-RW optical drive, an 850-watt power supply, Creative's Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer sound card, Windows Vista, and dual 768MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800 Ultra GPUs to boot. As far as pricing goes, word on the street is that the base system will start out around $1,700, but we'll know for sure when these come stateside in Q3.

[Via CNET]

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/12/commodore-unveils-lineup-of-us-bound-gaming-desktops/#comments

7/13/2007 12:03:00 AM

Filed under: Portable Audio

Style-maven Bang & Olufsen has introduced a new DAP into the mix, called the Beosound 6. Breaking from typical B&O design convention -- which can often be a little absurd (see the Beosound 2 and 3) -- the Beosound 6 is a strikingly simple design; a silver, candy-bar shaped audio player with stripped-down controls and a thin LCD display. Specs are light at the moment, but it looks like standard MP3 / WMA playback, 4GB of flash memory (jettisoning the company's previous SD storage scheme), a 65K color LCD screen, and USB connectivity. The player will also be accompanied by a leather case and the company's A8 earphones, and will retail for around £400 ($812 US).

[Thanks, Casper]

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/12/bang-and-olufsons-beosound-6-dap-revealed/#comments

7/12/2007 11:12:00 PM

Filed under: Digital Cameras, HDTV

JVC hasn't shown off any of its fancy Everio camcorders in quite awhile, but it's making a noticeable return with the HDD / SDHC-compatible GZ-HD3. This handheld camcorder does it up right with a built-in 60GB hard drive, MPEG-2 HD recording (though not Full HD, reportedly), and the ability to capture onto SD / SDHC flash cards. Unfortunately, not a whole lot of details beyond that are readily available, but while you wait patiently for a release date and price, feel free to click on for a few more glamor shots.

Continue reading JVC showcases HD Everio GZ-HD3 HDD / SDHC camcorder

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/12/jvc-showcases-hd-everio-gz-hd3-hdd-sdhc-camcorder/#comments

7/12/2007 10:25:00 PM

Filed under: Peripherals

If there's such a thing as a Logitech fanboy, you can count us among their legions, as we've been more than pleased with almost all of the products (mice, webcams, surround sound speakers, wireless gamepads) that we've ever purchased from the peripherals giant. And we must say, the new MX Air certainly lives up to this enviable reputation. From good hand feel to instinctive reactions in 3D space to the sweet virtual scrollwheel (it even makes a freakin' accelerating and decelerating clicking sound, just like the MX Revolution!), the latest member of the MX family is a pleasure to work with all around, and also features the no-brainer plug-and-play setup that we've come to expect from these devices. We'll have a more detailed hands-on a little later, but for right now you can check out our unboxing pics in the gallery below...

Gallery: Unboxing the Logitech MX Air

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/12/unboxing-the-logitech-mx-air/#comments

7/12/2007 9:38:00 PM

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

After patiently wait for what felt like ages to finally have the Cowon D2 on American soil, here's a tidbit sure to make you early adopters a bit disgruntled. According to a blurb at GenerationMP3, Cowon is planning to release an 8GB and 16GB rendition of its diminutive media player, and additionally, it will reportedly sport a built-in SDHC slot for cramming even more media onboard. In other news, the iAudio X7 is slated to land sometime in September, and will be available in both 40GB and 80GB flavors, but the release of the iAudio X5 is a bit shaky considering that production on the device has "been stopped" for the time being. Per usual, we aren't exactly sold on the legitimacy of these reports, but you won't catch us complaining if a roomier D2 finds its way stateside anytime soon.

[Via PlayerBites, thanks Gavin]

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/12/cowon-d2-to-get-capacious-upgrades-iaudio-x7-x5-on-the-horizo/#comments

7/12/2007 8:39:00 PM

Filed under: Gaming

You know, we could understand a few months of Wii shortages, and perhaps we'd let Nintendo slip by the seven month mark with a mild slap on the wrist, but this recent announcement of shortages through the 2007 holidays is just plain annoying. "There is no guarantee that we are not going to have 'out-of-stocks' this holiday season," says George Harrison, senior V.P of marketing for Nintendo of America. "If you see one, buy it. Don't assume that you can come back later and find one." It's not like Nintendo doesn't have the time, cash or know-how to ramp up production. Sure, we don't know all the ins and outs of supply chain management, but it sounds more like Nintendo is enjoying its "can't keep 'em on the shelves" status a bit too much to seriously make an attempt at meeting demand.

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/12/nintendo-planning-to-milk-its-wii-shortage-through-the-holidays/#comments

7/12/2007 7:59:00 PM

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

In addition to patching various security holes, it looks like Apple added "Export to iPhone" and "Export to iPhone (Cellular)" presets to Quicktime 7.2 -- making it easy to spit out .m4v or .3gp files optimized for the iPhone's screen and data delivery options. This isn't a huge surprise, since Quicktime gained Apple TV and video iPod presets shortly after those products were released, but at least now compressing your videos to the postage stamp sizes required for them to stream over EDGE is just a click away.

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/12/quick12/quicktime-7-2-patches-bugs-adds-export-to-iphone-option/#comments

7/12/2007 7:21:00 PM

Filed under: Cellphones

As a staff member here at Engadget can attest, you never know when someone may want your mobile a hair more than you, so we've no qualms with a cellphone that packs its very own form of weaponry to fend off thieves. Of course, this completely conceptual device is highly unlikely to hit production (at least in first-world nations), but there's still something about a transforming mobile that whips out a set of chainguns and walks on its own that would convince us to pick one up. Intrigued? It gets better -- hit the read link to see this monster in action.

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/12/transformers-phone-sports-lethal-theft-deterrent-system/#comments

7/12/2007 6:51:00 PM

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Nearly 11 months ago to the day, Europe witnessed its very first HD DVD release, and while the battle over format supremacy has been heated and rarely slanted to one corner here in the US, apparently things are vastly different across thcross the pond. According to the (biased?) information spat out by the European HD DVD Promotional Group, "HD DVD players have outsold Blu-ray players by a three-to-one margin in Europe's main markets so far this year," and moreover, it claimed to hold a staggering "74-percent" of the market share in Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland for standalone players. So, for those residing in the aforementioned lands, are things really this skewed, or does a certain lobbyist group have their numbers all fuzzed up?

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/12/european-hd-dvd-lobbyists-claim-74-percent-market-share/#comments

7/12/2007 6:21:00 PM

Filed under: Cellphones

Though the original PEBL didn't get quite the love Motorola may have liked (Maria Sharapova special edition notwithstanding), it seems they're looking to give it at least one more go with the upcoming U9 model. Presumably designed to slot in alongside the RAZR 2 V8 / V9 models, Phone Scoop reports that the U9 will be ROKR branded, indicating a strong music tie-in. Other details are sketchy, though there's speculation that the "9" designation in the model number indicates that 3G is in the cards; for Motorola's sake, we hope that's true.

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/12/the-pebl-lives-motorola-to-add-rokr-u9/#comments

7/12/2007 5:51:00 PM

Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Wireless

We first heard of Philip's BTM-630 Bluetooth music system when it was announced alongside a number of other Bluetooth-equipped systems last month, but it looks like it's just now passed through the FCC's all-important hands, making it one step closer to landing in yours. In case you missed it, this one not only packs an iPod dock, but a built-in CD burner and Bluetooth compatibility to let grab songs from any Bluetooth-equipped cellphone or make some hands-free calls. Those looking for some slightly less glamorous shots of the device can get their fix after the break, while the truly curious can hit up the link below for some shots of the system's innards, along with the complete users manual (all courtesy of our friends at the FCC).

Continue reading Philips BTM-630 Bluetooth music system hits the FCC

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/12/philips-btm-630-bluetooth-music-system-hits-the-fcc/#comments

7/12/2007 5:21:00 PM

Filed under: Displays

Olympus is planning on taking head-mounted displays out of the "giant nerd" category and into the "scary dystopian future" realm with a new project to develop a completely wireless system that can also double as eyeglasses. While most other HMDs we've seen feature a cable snaking across your body to an external power pack, Olympus has expanded on its previous efforts (pictured) and is already prototyping a 3-ounce unit with an internal power source powering two side-mounted 110,000-pixel displays that project email onto the lenses. Olympus is optimistically hoping to bring the tech to market in 2012 -- looks like wannabe Terminators are going to be lugging those battery packs around for a while yet.

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/12/olympus-developing-completely-wireless-head-mounted-displays/#comments

7/12/2007 4:51:00 PM

Filed under: Gaming

It looks like we could soon be in for a good old fashioned price war, with talk of yet another PS3 price cut already spreading just days after the last one became official. What's more, this latest rumor appears to be based on more than just idle speculation, coming instead from Capcom's Capcom Chief Financial Officer Kazuhiko Abe, who told Reuters that the price "is likely to be cut again towards the end of the year," adding that he expects the PS3's installed base to "grow gradually." While there's no indication of just how big a price cut it'd be, any further drop would certainly put a crimp in Microsoft's rumored plans for a significant price cut of its own, though we doubt too many other people will be complaining.

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/12/ps3-to-get-another-price-cut-by-years-end/#comments

7/12/2007 4:21:00 PM

Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Not really sure how much mileage Apple is going to get out of this patent, with Zune and pretty much everybody else already swapping songs and such wirelessly, but we'll humor 'em all the same. A September 1st, 2006 filing describes methods "for delivery of data to a portable electronic device from another electronic device." For sake of argument, we'll assume they're talking iPhones and iPods here. Applications are pretty broad, ranging from various protected and unprotected media files, to news subscriptions and shopping lists, and syncing can be done automatically and manually. In a definite step above the level of sharing offered by the Zune, subscription files can be shared in an unlimited manner with other subscription users -- though of course that would all be contingent on Apple ever offering a subscription-based iTunes to its users.

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/12/apple-patents-method-for-iphones-and-ipods-to-chat-wirelessly/#comments

7/12/2007 3:51:00 PM

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Media PCs

Word on the street is that Fujitsu-Siemens is going to introduce its first entry into the not-so-crowded Windows Home Server market under the Scaleo brand at this year's IFA conference in late August. The Scaleo Home Server will feature headless operation under Vista Home Server, a two disk 500GB SATA RAID array, gigabit Ethernet, and Energy Star 4.0-compliant energy usage of just of just 50W. Price estimates are ranging from €500 ($690) to €700 ($965), and availability is hazily pegged at "by the end of the year" -- projections that match the awesome blurriness of this render.

[Via We Got Served]

[Thanks, tip-star]

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/12/fujitsu-siemens-scaleo-home-server-to-arrive-at-ifa/#comments

7/12/2007 3:21:00 PM

Filed under: Portable Audio

Continuing on with its new product blitz, Samsung today unveiled its new MM-X5 iPod speaker dock / alarm clock. Sammy's being a little shy with with pics, but we're told the 20-watt piano black unit features an iPod dock, FM tuner, slot-loading CD player, and a USB port for non-iPod sources. Expect to see these popping up in September for around $199.

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/12/samsungs-mm-x5-ipod-speaker-dock/#comments

7/12/2007 2:51:00 PM

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

It looks like high-end PC maker Alienware might soon be following its parent company into the wilds of retail sales, at least according to French blog LaptopSpirit, which claims to have heard as much from Alienware's French marketing director. According to the site, the company could begin selling its systems in "selected stores" as soon as first quarter of 2008, with the retail push expected to extend to every country that Alienware currently sells computers in. While Dell's newfound retail love would certainly seem to make a similar move by Alienware a distinct possibility, we'd still recommend taking this with a grain of salt pending some harder evidence.

Update: We just got word from Alienware's public relations arm that the company "has no plans to enter retail outlets at this time." They did also state that they "would never rule out any distribution method" either though, so take that as you will.

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/12/alienware-headed-to-retail/#comments

7/12/2007 2:28:00 PM

Filed under: Announcements

LA-area readers! We know you've been asking us for years to do a reader meetup in your humble little town of, what, five, maybe ten million? Well, we didn't quite have enough time to put together a full on Engadget event of our own, but our bestest buds at Joystiq are doing a little something and Peter and myself will be on hand to chum it up with LA-area gadget and game geeks. We can't guarantee the usual free booze + tshirts + gadget giveaways, but we can guarantee a good old fashioned geek-out at to Mahalo HQ in Santa Monica. So leave us a comment if you think you'll be able to come on out tomorrow!

When: 6PM-9PM on Friday 13th
Where: Mahalo HQ, 902 Colorado Ave. Santa Monica 90401 (Google Maps link)

And yes, this event is all ages!

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/12/joystiq-la-reader-meetup-with-engadget-tomorrow-night/#comments

7/12/2007 2:21:00 PM

Filed under: Gaming, Household

Yeah, you thought you were living the high life with that pair of rechargeable batteries and tennis racket attachments you ponied up for -- too bad you weren't even halfway to awesome. Nyko's new "Wii Party Station" is the only way to live, with room to charge four Wiimotes, hold and chill four adult beverages and room to house the all important chip and dip bowl and various Wiicessories. Best of all is the completely superfluous score board to make your smack talk so much more effective, and the hand cooling fan really seals the deal. For $25, if you don't have one of these 12 seconds after they hit sey hit store shelves, we can't be friends anymore.

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/12/nyko-wii-party-station-its-official-the-fun-has-begun/#comments

7/12/2007 1:51:00 PM

Filed under: Laptops

Seems like everyone is getting in on the brightly-colored laptop game these days, with Gateway now following Dell and others in offering an alternative to the usual monochromatic look. While complete details are still a little light, the company's new M and T-series laptops will apparently boast 15.4-inch and 14.1-inch displays, respectively, along with your choice of Core 2 Duo processors, optional ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2400 XT graphics, optional HD DVD or Blu-ray drives, and resolutions up to 1920x1200 (on the M-series). Sure to attract the most attention, however, are those colors, with Crimson Red and Pacific Blue options available in addition to the more subdued Slate Gray, each of which feature Gateway's "Ridgeview" graduated sphere pattern, which looks to be slightly less garish than some patterns we've seen. Look for these to roll out by the end of the month, with prices starting at $900.

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/12/gateway-intros-new-m-t-series-laptops/#comments

7/12/2007 1:21:00 PM

Filed under: Cellphones

Chris Hughes -- the gent who brought us the RoombaWii -- is up to new shenanigans and this time with an iPhone. Apparently using a bit of software that is "... close to being releasable ..." he was able to add the "CTU" ringtone -- yeah, we know, poor choice -- to his iPhone. Of course, this would be dead-easy to dupe -- and we can't verify 100 percent either way -- but his honest demeanor, striking resemblance to Matt Damon, and previous tricks help us to at least hope that there is a shred of truth in this. Check the vid after the break.

[Via Wirelessinfo.com]

Continue reading Video hints at customized iPhone ringtones

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/12/video-hints-at-customized-iphone-ringtones/#comments

7/12/2007 12:51:00 PM

Filed under: Gaming

Hot on the heels of Sony's well received PS3 price drop and various rumors to this effect, Microsoft's Shane Kim has admitted in an interview that Microsoft needs to cut the 360's price to lure casual gamer types that are currently falling for the Wii. "We need to compete effectively for that customer and part of that is getting to the mass market price point for the console," said Kim. "We definitely are working on that area." He also mentioned that no such announcement will be made at E3, and there's always that hairy little problem of "profitability" that Microsoft's games unit has contended with for ages. Luckily, that new Falcon chipset should ease the pain a little bit. Kim also mentioned in the interview that Microsoft "feels very good with where we are at right now," and doesn't feel the heat from Sony's price cut, but we'll see how long that optimism lasts.

[Thanks, Robert W]

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/12/microsoft-plans-on-slashing-360-to-mass-market-price-point/#comments

7/12/2007 12:31:00 PM

Filed under: Portable Audio

In a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine, doctors from Vancouver General Hospital detail the case of a 37-year-old jogger who was admitted for treatment of lightning-related burns on his neck, face, and chest -- and they say that the iPod the man was wearing conducted the current through his body. According to the letter, the man's eardrums were ruptured, his jawbone broken in four places, and both of his jaw joints were dislocated when lighting struck a tree near the runner during a storm. The doctors say that while the use of an iPod won't increase your chances of being stuck by lightning, the metal in the device's earbuds can direct current "to and through" ones head. This is strikingly similar to this case that we saw in July of last year, though it can be assumed that any earphone-equipped music device could have this rare effect, so don't go dumping your Apple stock just yet.

[Thanks, psxp]

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/12/lightning-strikes-twice-for-unsuspecting-ipod-users/#comments

7/12/2007 12:01:00 PM

Filed under: Portable Audio

It looks like Microsoft might be considering shaking up its Zune Marketplace a bit, with a recent patent application revealing its plans for "off-line economies for digital media" or, in effect, paid Zune sharing. Basically, users would be paid a sales commission for sharing songs with other Zune users -- only if that user actually ends up purchasing the track after the usual three free plays, that is. What's most interesting, however, is that the system could potentially work with "pirated" music as well, with the application specifically stating that "even resale of pirated media content benefits the copyright holder." Of course, there's no indication as to when or if the system may actually be put in place, though it would certainly seem to go some way towards making the Zune more "social" -- in a bugging your friends to join Columbia House sort of way.

[Via ZuneScene]

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

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/12/microsoft-patent-application-reveals-plans-for-paid-zune-sharing/#comments

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