Gadgets Future

by Darren Murph, posted May 30th 2008 at 1:57PM
DigiTimes has it that HTC has already shipped its first batch of over 10,000 Touch Diamond mobiles to Hong Kong CSL, which has consequently sent our saliva glands into overdrive. The report continues on to say that deliveries to European / Asia-Pacific operators should get going in June, though no further details were mentioned. Meanwhile, North Americans are left to weep softly to keep from embarrassment.

[Via SlashPhone]

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Filed under: cellphones

by Ryan Block, posted May 30th 2008 at 2:32PM
Whoa, hard to believe its been three years since the last internationalized version of Engadget launched, but we’re back and have a number of new sites in the pipeline — kicking off with Engadget in Polish!

Why Polish, you ask? Well, besides the fact that we had some amazing talent waiting in the wings to blow it out, it’s also a smaller (dare we say underserved?) market to soft-launch in that allows us to work out the kinks as we prepare to do even more international versions of Engadget in the coming weeks and months.

So if Polish isn’t your bag, just hang tight, you’ll be seeing even more localized Engadgets soon enough. And if it is, head on over and welcome our Polish team to the fold!

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Filed under: Announcements, Meta

by Donald Melanson, posted May 30th 2008 at 2:19PMWe haven’t heard much about iRiver’s shiny new Spinn PMP since it was unveiled at CES earlier this year, but Crave has now turned up a couple of fresh new details on the device, including word of the all important release date. That’ll apparently come sometime in August (in the UK, at least), although there’s unfortunately still no word on prices. Otherwise, Crave has confirmed that the player will still be arriving in 4GB, 8GB, and 16GB varieties, and that it’ll be shipping with built-in DAB radio in the UK, as well as built-in Bluetooth and a dedicated (but unspecified) 3D acceleration chip to spice up the interface a bit. In case you missed ‘em the first time around, you can find our shots of the device (under glass) here.

[Thanks, Alsyl]

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Two things immediately sprang to mind when I saw this new invention: “Why didn’t I think of that?” and “Where was this when I was in high school?”

From what I know, these Wordlocks are the first combination locks that allow you to set your combination using words rather than numbers. If you’re like me, and can’t remember a number sequence, these are for you. With a variety of products from padlocks (great for lockers, toolboxes, etc.), bike locks and TSA recognized luggage locks, you’ll never need to remember a number combination again.

by Darren Murph, posted May 30th 2008 at 2:56PM
We’ve already seen Sanyo dish out this duo in Japan under slightly different model names, but Americans who were bawling at the thought of having to fly to Tokyo in order to grab one can put away those tears. The outfit has just unleashed the PLC-XC55 (3,100 lumens) and the PLC-XC50 (2,600 lumens) here in the States, both of which feature a 1,024 x 768 resolution and Sanyo’s own Active Maintenance Filter (AMF) system. These two mark the first “portable PJs” to be equipped with such a system, and if you’re interested in knowing — we know, you’re on the edge of your Aeron — it also boasts a built-in 7-watt speaker, DVI / VGA / component / S-Video / composite sockets and audio in / out jacks. Both units are landing in July, with the XC55 demanding $1,995 and the XC50 stickered at $1,495.

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Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment

by Darren Murph, posted May 30th 2008 at 6:30PM
With all this hubbub floating around about the elusive 3G iphone, let us not forget about the latest touchscreen smartphone to land at AT&T: LG’s Vu. After getting official earlier this month, we were able to sit down with the Mobile TV-supporting handset and form a few opinions of our own. Here, however, we’re interested in your take — do you feel the $549.99 (or $299.99 on contract) price tag is reasonable for what you get? Are you pleased with the hardware / software? Are you feeling buyer’s remorse like never before? Go on and spill it, we’re all friends here.

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Filed under: cellphones

D-Link DSM-750 MediaLounge Extender

Go ahead and bash Windows Vista (it’s fun!), but don’t knock its sweet, sweet Media Center app. Bundled with Vista Home Premium and Ultimate, MC serves up tunes, photos, videos, DVDs, and, if you BYO tuner, DVR-style TV. Just one problem: Who wants to gather ‘round the warm basking glow of the PC? Ballmer, maybe, but not you. Solution: living room-ready media extenders, which leverage your home network to bridge the gap between PC and TV.

The sleek, glossy, component-style DSM-750 rocks Draft-N (802.11n) wireless, so if you pair it with a similarly advanced router, you can cut the Ethernet umbilical cord and still stream high-def content. That’s the theory, anyway: Media merely dribbled between our Netgear router and the extender, even with only a single physical wall separating them. It was only when we synced the MediaLounge with D-Link’s GamerLounge router(hmmm), that we got video flowing like an avalanche. Able to operate at a higher frequency (5GHz) we were able to use the router to easily stream even high-def TV.

The DSM-750 does connectivity right with its HDMI, component video, and optical audio outputs, making it a good fit with high-falutin’ home theaters. It can stream most video and audio formats, including DRM-protected tunes. But what’s the deal with DVDs? The extender lacks a player, and dumb-ass copyright restrictions prevent you from streaming DVDs from your PC. If you want movies, you’ll have to download them from Media Center staple CinemaNow or rip your disc library.

As extenders go, this one works pretty well, though smart shoppers will look to the Xbox 360 instead. Yep, Microsoft’s game console doubles as a media extender, and it can download both movies and TV shows via Xbox Live. Plus, it plays DVDs. You’ll need a wired connection to stream video, but at least you won’t need a new router. —Rick Broida

WIRED Cinchy setup. Streams content from PCs and NAS drives. Supports live TV viewing, recording, and timeshifting, provided your PC has a tuner. Front-mounted USB port lets you play content from flash drives.

TIRED Video tops out at 1080i. Menus look a bit muddy. No volume controls on the extender remote. Can’t play DVDs. Wireless streaming demands high-end Draft-N router. Xbox 360 works equally well and plays games and DVDs to boot.

$320, dlink.com

(Photo by D-Link)

Asustek will be launching the Essentio CS5110 as part of their Eee Station series at Computex early next month. What this tiny multimedia desktop PC will have include an optional Blu-ray drive for folks who prefer to enjoy their high definition media in front of the computer instead of the living room. You will be able to choose from either white or black colors, with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor running at the heart of things. Depending on the overall system configuration, you are expected to fork out anywhere between $657 to $1,642 - no prizes for guessing which added component will see a significant price bump.

You never know which zoned out person today could just snatch your kid away at a busy mall, so it is always better to prevent something from happening than to look for a cure. The Link Child Locator concept device ought to be manufactured soonest possible, as it is capable of letting you track down your kid within a 100 foot radius - perfect for moms who already have a hard enough time trying to get the week’s groceries while managing her bunch of little ones at a local store. The child will wear one of the bracelets, while the parent will wear the other in order to view the direction and distance of the child at a glance. Definitely not something to wear when you’re playing hide and seek. Other than pixie magic, I guess this will rely on some sort of GPS signal if it were to be developed.

TiVo subscribers will soon have access to on-demand movies and shows from Walt Disney Studios and the agreement not only includes Disney-ABC, but CinemaNow as well.

The new services will be available to subscribers who have their TiVo DVR connected to the Internet via a broadband service. Video content will be available in standard definition and high definition for a 24-hour rental period.

The on-demand service will be offered to TiVo customers with Series2 or Series3 DVR boxes later this year.

TiVo has seen competition from satellite and cable operators who have been providing their own DVR solution in addition to on-demand services. That has led TiVo to enhance services it currently offers to subscribers by adding on-demand services including those from Amazon Unbox, YouTube, Music Choice and other content providers. Considering the wide attraction of video content from Disney, this is a great win for TiVo. It’s yet another reason current subscribers will remain loyal to TiVo and another reason for a new subscriber to sign up.

Read more from the joint press release.