
The FCC just approved the 40GB Ceramic White PS3 for US consumption. It's apparently the same model announced for Japan back in October. Perfect for the living room laboratory if ever released this side of the Pacific.


Although Polycom just got around to shipping its HDX 4000 / 8000 HD video conferencing systems last month, you won't catch this firm resting on its laurels -- oh no. Instead, it's pushing out an entirely new series in its HD video portfolio, the HDX 7000. This one, which caters to small and medium-sized conference rooms, features 22kHz StereoSurround for "natural voice clarity," Lost Packet Recovery (LPR) technology, 720p video support, a 16:9 EagleEye HD camera and the ability to adjust bandwidth for content. You'll also find an RS-232 control port along with DVI, USB 2.0 and a number of audio inputs and outputs. Supposedly, to-be owners can expect the HDX 7002 to land in March for $9,499, while the HDX 7001 (SD version) lures in the bargain hunters at $7,999.
We already had a pretty good indication of the specs for HCL's new low-cost MiLeap X and Y laptops, but those that still haven't had their curiosity satisfied can now get their fix courtesy of PCLaunches, which has the complete rundown on both systems. As expected the lower-end MiLeap X is Classmate PC through and through, including a 900MHz Celeron M processor, 512MB of RAM, 2GB of flash memory, two USB ports, and the usual 7-inch 800 x 600 display. The more UMPC-like MiLeap Y, on the other hand, boasts an Intel A110 processor, 1GB of RAM, an 80GB hard drive, a 1.3 megapixel webcam and a higher resolution 1024x600 7-inch screen. Still no word on a release date, however, though they sure seem about ready to drop.
Yeah, we sure love our charts / tables too, and with Garmin's nüvi lineup now bordering on thoroughly overwhelming, we're glad to see the folks over at NaviGadget doing the dirty work and cranking out "the ultimate nüvi comparison table." Click on for a much easier way to digest the latest outpouring of nüvis, will ya?
We know how difficult it will be not to get your shorts twisted over Panasonic's latest digital camera offering, the Lumix LS80, but please try. When a product is marked by such breathtaking features as 8.1-megapixel resolution, 4 x zoom, "MEGA O.I.S." image stabilization, ISO up to 1600, SDHC card support, and 16:9 recording modes, it's easy to get carried away -- though we suggest simple breathing exercises to keep your pulse in check. The new model is available in stylish black, pink, or silver, no word on price or release date, so just keep your heart medication nearby.



The nerve of the Chinese-via-Brazil knock-off industry -- thieving the names of consoles and not even attempting to also steal the look, operation, logos, or games. Enter the Wi Vision, a "game console" meant to evoke thoughts of Nintendo's money-maker by name, though it evokes something decidedly crappier in appearance... like a melting Genesis standing on its side. What about specs, you ask? How does a 240 x 240 resolution, 64 color capacity, NES compatibility, and included 106-game cartridge sound to you? Pretty good right? Oh, don't forget about the wireless controllers and complete lack of fun. Available now (in Brazil) for 269 BR (or around $150).
$140 can't get you too far in the gadget world these days, but if you're in the market for a totally crap-ass knockoff of Nokia's slim and slender N800 tablet, look no further than this "dual-band PMP cellphone," all hooked up with a QVGA display, dual cameras, Bluetooth, 128MB memory, and enough snazz to blow away the real thing. We're being so sincere right now.
We've seen more efficient ways of piping tunes from phones to stereos, but admittedly, they usually involve a wire or two. The Venturi Mini, now being offered by Verizon Wireless, performs the wondrous feat of receiving music streamed to it via stereo Bluetooth and relaying it on to your car's head unit by way of FM transmitter, making the whole process completely wire-free. "But wait," as they say in the industry, "that's not all." The cigarette lighter socket-powered device doubles as a handsfree that cleverly pauses your music when the time comes to take a call. Grab the multitalented wonder now for $129.99 -- and if you live in Washington or Oregon, the sooner, the better.
Oh Canada, it's your lucky day, because a kind, cool wind is blowing down on you from your friends in Finland -- Nokia. That brisk breeze is carrying a new partner for the long and lonely Canuck winter nights: the N810 internet tablet, the all-singing, all-dancing sliver wonder. The handheld -- which your friends (namely, us) have been flaunting for months -- is finally making its way into the hands of Canadian consumers for the thrifty price of $485 (a downright bargain). The WiFi-and-GPS-equipped gadget should be just the thing to accompany you on a trip to Tim Hortons, a Maple Leafs game, or some other stereotypical regional activity.
It looks like DJs (robot or otherwise) will soon have a couple of new pieces of gear to consider, as both Stanton and Pioneer took advantage of the currently-happening NAMM expo to announce some new and decidedly non-amateur rigs. First up is Stanton's SC System (pictured above), which will be available either as a set for $2,499, or as a separate "virtual turntable" and "virtual mixer" for $1,499 and $999, respectively. As Crave reports, the former of those'll give you a 10-inch, high-torque motorized platter covered in real vinyl, while the latter packs four channel strips with EQ control among other standard controls and, most importantly, a Firewire interface that'll handle a 96KHz sample rate. Look for it to be available in May. For its part, Pioneer's announced two new additions to its line of DJ CD players, including the MEP-7000 Professional Multi-Entertainment Player and the SEP-C1 Professional Software Entertainment Controller. Both of those pack 4.3-inch LCDs and make use of Pioneer's DJS software suite for control from a PC, with the $2,300 MEP-7000 adding dual players (that'll handle DVD-ROMs in addition to CDs) and a slew of other features not found on the $1,200 SEP-C1. As with the Stanton, however, you won't be able to get your hands on those just yet, with each of 'em only slated to roll out in June.
The holdup is still a bit of a mystery, but HP is finally offering up its iPaq210 PDA for sale. Due to be released in October, a "supply issue" put the handheld on a mysterious hiatus, but no longer. You can snag one of these Windows Mobile 6, 624MHz units for $450.
Your good pals at Buffalo are injecting some new storage options into your life, so you might want to pay attention (especially if you're a Japanese citizen). The company is introducing a new line of RAID 0, four-drive models called the QSIBSU2 HD / R, featuring eSATA, USB, FireWire 400 / 800, and TurboUSB functionality. A 1TB version of the array will run you ¥74,300 (or around $695) and will be available in at the end of the month, while the 2TB model clocks in at ¥106,300 ($995) and will ship in late February.
Looks like the folks at Samsung woke up on the right side of the bed this morning, and decided to gift us all with the SGH-F490. This handsome prada-esque set features full screen browsing on its 3.2 inch screen in both landscape and portrait mode, 5 mega pixel camera, 3.5 mm audio jack, 130 MB of internal storage, and memory expansion via microSD. The disappointing bit is that we're only getting tri-band GSM / EDGE and HSDPA in the European 2100 MHz band. Price is set for about €530 (roughly $780) and is expected to ship in February.
Griffin's oh so sexy wireless Evolve iPod speaker dock now has a little buddy. Two actually: the $100 Cube Speaker and $30 Charging Base add-ons. The speakers operate at 433MHz and feature an internal lithium-ion battery for 10-hours (at "normal" listening value) between charges. And you can add as many speakers as you can afford. Our own hands-on from CES allowed us to walk about 100-feet from the base station before interference set in. Not bad considering the density of RF noise the speakers had to compete with on the busy show floor. Combined with the charger, the complete system could make for a quick, dirty, and expensive (the Evolve costs $299) wireless setup in your tiny dorm or garden apartment.
GM is planning a few of these E-Flex vehicles, and while the Chevrolet Volt is the current flagship, this one ain't no slouch in the looks department. Perhaps more importantly, the Cadillac Provoq crossover looks much closer to a ready-for-market car than your average concept. This edition of E-Flex uses a fuel-cell stack to power a 70-kilowatt motor for the front wheels and a pair of in-hub 30-kilowatt motors in the back. A pair of 10,000 psi hydrogen storage tanks and a lithium-ion battery should muster about a 300-mile range, with only about 20 of that coming from the battery. Still, you can charge the battery with plugs on both sides of the car, and that 20 miles might be just enough to complete your daily commute -- or perhaps fuel a desperate attempt to track down a hydrogen filling station. There's a solar panel on top to help power internal electronics, and the powertrain design allows for a good amount of storage and leg room. It's unclear at this time if GM's going to take Provoq to market, but we're certainly looking forward to one of these E-Flex dealios going all the way.
Well folks -- it's official. The Everex / Packard Bell / FIC Nanobook / Cloudbook / CE260 (phew) that we recently got some face time with is actually coming Stateside... to Wal-Mart. That's right, the Eee crown-threatener will be available on January 25th of this year, featuring a 1.2GHz VIA C7-M CPU, 512MB of RAM, a 30GB hard drive, and a 800 x 480 display for the extra-affordable price of $399. The system will be sporting Everex's gOS Rocket, the Google-ified version of Ubuntu which powers the company's cheap desktop. Watch your back, front, and sides, ASUS.
With data integration in mobile handsets, it's no wonder home telephones haven't been able to keep up. But what happens when you're using a service like Verizon's FiOS and all of a sudden that boring handset has broadband data piped right into it? One example could be OpenFrame – a new home phone envisioned by John Sculley, former Apple CEO – that maybe-a-little resembles Apple's iPhone. The various devices are built on Freescale MX31 processors "with two 600-MHz ARM11 chips doing the heavy lifting" for features like streaming video, music, web surfing, and more. According to the manufacturer's chief executive, the heavily subsidized phones could be shipping out in four or five months straight from the carriers (no retail presence here). Though the phone was built specifically for services like FiOS, they're not yet saying if it's coming to FiOS. Why so shy, fellas?
Well, Sony finally got official with its A200 DSLR this week, but it looks like Sony's got even more in store for camera nuts. According to the Dyxum forums -- which tracked down these images on some Chinese / Taiwan forums -- Sony's prepping this here DSLR with a flip-screen, and that's all that's known at the moment. The main body is pretty similar to that of the A200, but the internals and other modifications are anyone's guess.
We're not quite sure what makes Acer's new Aspire 7720-6844 any more "panoramic" than your average widescreen laptop, but that's not to say system should be ignored, with it boasting some pretty decent specs at a more than reasonable price point. That includes that aforementioned widescreen display (a glossy 17-incher), a Core 2 Duo Processor T5450 processor, 2GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, and NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS graphics, all of which comes wrapped in Acer's usual Gemstone design, as you can see above. If you think that's enough to get the job done for ya, you should be able to grab one of these right now from "select retailers" for $1,049.
Mouse Computer's at it again, this time loosing the P551 laptop series in Japan. On the top-end, consumers can look forward to an Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 processor, 160GB SATA hard drive, dual-layer DVD burner, a 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M, 15.4-inch 1,280 x 800 resolution display, 802.11a/b/g WiFi, a 1.3-megapixel webcam and a decent assortment of ports including eSATA and HDMI. 'Course, users can settle for less if you've only got ¥129,990 ($1,192) to spare, but the aforementioned configuration will run you ¥159,810 ($1,465).
Philips really isn't blowing us away with this pair of VoIP phones, but at least the prices are right and the aesthetics are nice. The VoIP251 (pictured) lets you make Skype calls over DECT 6.0 cordless tech, with a base station that can plug into your PC over USB to get to those sweet cheap-phone-replacement internets. The VoIP151 (after the break) keeps it a bit more basic, plugging straight into your computer with USB. Both phones feature a small built-in display for browsing your contacts, and Mac and PC compatibility. Both phones will arrive in April 2008 for $50 and $30, respectively.







AMAZON SHOCK recommends you hum The Who's "Squeeze Box" while reading this post. That said, Logitech has just announced details for their latest Squeezebox, dubbed the Squeezebox Duet. The system controls your myriad musical devices with a wireless controller that can interface with multiple 802.11g Duet receivers. The controller's 2.4-inch LCD lets you browse your music library using a "familiar" scroll-wheel (now where do we recognize that from again?). But you're not limited to your own tunes, you can also tune-in internet radio providers like Rhapsody and Pandora. The Squeezebox Duet "network music system" comes with both receiver and controller for $400, and will be available in the US and Europe this month. Want additional receivers for other rooms, they'll be available for $150 while additional controllers will be available for $300. There's no escape from the music ...




Nothing like a good round of crappy mockups and likely-faux leaked Jobs to get the old rumor juices flowing. Check out a few of these pre-Macworld photoshops circulating the internets, and the MacRumors um, rumor, which has the full leaked "scoop" on what Jobs is going to be announcing on the 15th (MacBook Nano 13-inch ultraportable with SSD, MacTouch dual-screen multi-touch folding / sliding SSD tablet, Mac mini redesigned with solid state, half the height and named the Mac Nano, Penryn Mac Pro with Blu-ray option, Penryn MacBook Pro with black aluminum option, iSight-enabled Cinema Displays, blah blah blah). Here's a hint: we have no reason to believe any of this anything but positively fake and pure speculation. Enjoy!

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