Gadgets Future

First it was Starcraft 2 and now it’s Diablo III? It’s like my junior high years all over again. Now if only the most responsibility I had was still handing in homework. They’ve finally done it. After eight long years since the release of the hugely popular Diablo 2, Blizzard announced Diablo 3 at their annual Worldwide Invitational in Paris today.

No, it’s not going to be a traditional MMO like many were claiming it would be. Rather, it is relying on the same old hack and slash dungeon style of the first two games in the series. To the untrained eye, the new outing looks graphically similar to Diablo 2, much how Starcraft 2 resembles the gameplay of the original. But fear not fellow demon slayers. Don’t let the traditional Diablo UI turn you off.

Blizzard promises an experience which is built on “a new graphics engine that can display characters and hordes of monsters in lush, fully 3D environments. Powerful special-effects systems and Havok-powered physics allow the player to lay waste to the Hells’ minions in spectacular ways.”

Diablo 3 takes place 20 years after Diablo 2, so players of the original two games will get to immerse themselves in the lore of the new environment. Just from checking out the cinematic and gameplay previews makes me eager for this next release. There goes the next 5 years of my life.

Official Diablo 3 Page
Diablo 3 FAQ

via Joystiq

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Vizio will be offering three new HDTV models from both plasma and LCD varieties in its new XVT series that touts more features and extended performance without breaking the bank. The packaging will take a bold new look, featuring a distinct black/grey lave and gold Vizio logo. The first three models in the XVT series are the SV420XVT and SV47XVT LCD HDTVs that feature 120Hz processing while the VP505XVT Plasma HDTV is more than capable of offering full 1080p and HQV processing. Let’s take a closer look at these after the jump.

Both the Vizio SV470XVT and SV420XVT 120Hz LCD TVs feature full HD resolution, along with Vizio’s very own Smooth Motion technology that delivers flawless video frame after frame. With a superior refresh rate of 120Hz (twice the speed of many other LCDs that are stagnant at 60Hz), you can kiss goodbye to old problems such as motion blur from fast-action movies and video games. I suppose folks who also watch sports as well as nature programs in high definition programming will find this to be a great deal, as artifacts are resigned to history.

The SV470LF and SV420LF use SRS Labs’ TruSurround XT audio processing for premium virtual surround and they are also compatible with the VIZIO SV5.1 Upgrade Kit that adds 5.1 surround sound functionality with the inclusion of rear channel speakers and a wireless subwoofer. Both include the new brushed aluminum-trimmed VUR8 Universal Learning Remote with Picture-In-Picture keys, handsomely designed to control an entire A/V system. Each model provides side access HD Game Ports with two HDMI v1.3 inputs for fast connections of game consoles, camcorders and other portable sources, in addition to two HDMI ports on the rear panel.

You can pick up the new Vizio SV420XVT and SV470XVT this July for $1,499.99 and $1,899.99, respectively.

Press Release

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It looks like the MSI Wind is finally getting ready to begin shipping to US customers. The Wind, which was listed in the MSI Shop and then removed has since been re-listed and is now showing a shipping date of July 7.

Currently the Wind is simply just listed and is unavailable, with no pre-order option available. There are also limiting customers to a one Wind netbook per order because of limited quantities. The models listed will include the three-cell battery and they are retailing for $479.99.

Amazon, who also has them listed for $479.99 with the three-cell batteries is still reflecting a 3 to 5 week time frame before the Wind will ship. Still unknown is when the Wind will begin shipping with a six-cell battery, however it is rumored to becoming sometime in July, of course after all of the delays related to the three-cell model I would not be all that surprised when that gets pushed back even further.

Product [MSI Shop] Via [I4U News]

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Verizon Wireless and LG have teamed up to bring the LG Dare to the masses - at least those who are currently subscribing to Verizon Wireless’ mobile service. This summer looks set to be a hot one not only in terms of temperature (no thanks to global warming), but in the world of cell phones as well. While we all know that the 3G iphone is set to take the whole world by storm, this doesn’t mean we ought to overlook other handsets. The LG Dare features a roomy 3″ touch screen display complete with handwriting recognition, along with a host of other features found in high end handsets. It will hit Verizon Wireless Communications Stores from July 3rd onwards.

Features found on the LG Dare include the following :-

• V CAST Music-capable - access more than 3 million full-length songs from well-known and independent artists that can be purchased and downloaded over-the-air directly to the phone
• Music Player for .mp3, .wma, unprotected .aac, and unprotected .aac+ files
• microSD card memory port - with up to 8 GB support with an optional memory card
• USB Mass Storage - transfer files between microSD card and PC
• 3.2 megapixel Camera and Camcorder
• Schneider-Kreuznach certified lens for optimal picture quality
• Camera Resolutions: 2048 x 1536, 1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, 640 x 480, 320 x 240 pixels
• SmartPic technology and manual ISO adjustment for improved image quality
• Face Detection - detects a face when taking a picture
• Panorama, split shot and frame camera settings
• Scene Mode - automatically makes adjustments to camera settings for improved quality in different environments
• Zoom: up to 2x
• Image Editor - zoom, rotate, crop, add frames and icons and write over images
• Video Resolutions: 640 x 480, 320 x 240, 176 x 144 pixels
• Video Recording Speed: up to 120 frames per second for slow video playback
• Video Recording Time: 30 seconds (for sending); up to 1 hour (for saving) depending on memory
• Video Player for WMV, MP4, 3GP, 3G2 formats
• Customizable brightness, white balance, shutter sound, color effects, night and preview mode, photometry, self-timer
• Bluetooth Version 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)
• One-touch speakerphone
• Speaker-independent voice commands
• Voice Recording: 1 minute or 1 hour (standby)
• Music ringer support (clips from hit songs)
• HTML Web browsing with touch navigation and favorites
• Text, picture, video messaging-capable
• Mobile Email - access MSN Hotmail, America Online and Yahoo! accounts to exchange e-mail
• Mobile IM capabilities
• Speed Dial (up to 996 entries)
• Display: 260K Color TFT, 240 x 400 pixels, 3.0″
• Standard Battery: 1,100 mAh
• Usage Time: up to 280 minutes
• Standby Time: up to 360 hours

The LG Dare will retail for $199.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement.

Press Release

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by Darren Murph, posted Jun 28th 2008 at 10:04AM
Look folks, just because Dyson can build a motor with enough oomph to power a vehicle, that doesn’t mean it’s actually going to. At least that’s the message a company spokesperson wants you to believe. Contrary to earlier reports, James Dyson is not looking to enter the electric automobile sector in any way, shape or fashion. Said spokesperson was quoted as saying that “James Dyson did say that [Dyson’s] new digital motor could power a car, but it is not working on, and [we] have no plans to create an electric car.” Okay, but can you at least make the Ball 2.0 street legal?

[Via AutoblogGreen, image courtesy of Telegraph]

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by Darren Murph, posted Jun 28th 2008 at 10:04AM
Look folks, just because Dyson can build a motor with enough oomph to power a vehicle, that doesn’t mean it’s actually going to. At least that’s the message a company spokesperson wants you to believe. Contrary to earlier reports, James Dyson is not looking to enter the electric automobile sector in any way, shape or fashion. Said spokesperson was quoted as saying that “James Dyson did say that [Dyson’s] new digital motor could power a car, but it is not working on, and [we] have no plans to create an electric car.” Okay, but can you at least make the Ball 2.0 street legal?

[Via AutoblogGreen, image courtesy of Telegraph]

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by Nilay Patel, posted Jun 28th 2008 at 8:35AM
Progressive insurance has been testing out the MyRate driving monitoring system for a few years now (it used to be called TripSense), but it’s finally taking the system national, bringing pay-as-you-drive insurance into the mainstream. The little blue box plugs into your car’s ODB II diagnostic port (all cars made after 1996 have one), and studiously records your driving habits, wirelessly sending the data back to Progressive HQ (it’s not clear exactly how). Every six months, Progressive will crunch the numbers and issue a new rate for you based on how you drive — savings of up to 40 percent are possible. That’s pretty tempting, depending on your current rates and driving habits, but we’re not so sure we’re willing to share that much data for an unspecified discount — especially since we’re confident the MyRate box will get cracked almost immediately.

[Thanks, Mike; image courtesy of Aaron Landry]

Read - MyRate press release
Read - MyRate video
Read - How MyRate works

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by Nilay Patel, posted Jun 28th 2008 at 8:35AM
Progressive insurance has been testing out the MyRate driving monitoring system for a few years now (it used to be called TripSense), but it’s finally taking the system national, bringing pay-as-you-drive insurance into the mainstream. The little blue box plugs into your car’s ODB II diagnostic port (all cars made after 1996 have one), and studiously records your driving habits, wirelessly sending the data back to Progressive HQ (it’s not clear exactly how). Every six months, Progressive will crunch the numbers and issue a new rate for you based on how you drive — savings of up to 40 percent are possible. That’s pretty tempting, depending on your current rates and driving habits, but we’re not so sure we’re willing to share that much data for an unspecified discount — especially since we’re confident the MyRate box will get cracked almost immediately.

[Thanks, Mike; image courtesy of Aaron Landry]

Read - MyRate press release
Read - MyRate video
Read - How MyRate works

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by Darren Murph, posted Jun 28th 2008 at 5:33AM
Just think — Zappos has been shipping out shoes .9284 minutes after you order them for years with mere humans running the show. Now, your new kicks will likely be at your doorstep moments after you think of ordering them. Said e-tailer has just completed implementation of Kiva Systems’ Mobile Fulfillment System, which will see “a fleet of Kiva’s mobile robotic drive units and inventory storage pods” hit the company’s Shepherdsville, Kentucky facility. The move is being made to keep its distribution system in tip-top shape even with the addition of new products outside of just footwear, and unless some of those mechs grow a mind of their own, we’d say things should pan out just fine.

[Via CNET]

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Filed under: Robots

Earlier this month, Pandigital, maker of digital photo frames, released its multi-functional Kitchen HDTV/Digital Cookbook/Digital Photo Frame. From the most used room in your home, you can watch TV, view photos, and call up recipes on the 15″ LCD screen. The device comes with preloaded recipes, and additional recipes can be loaded into the TV’s internal memory. Photos can be loaded via the memory card reader or by connecting to Picasa, Google’s popular photo sharing site. The 512MB of memory stores 3,200 pages of recipes or photos. It supports a variety of media cards, and a wide range of audio, video, and image formats.

The exterior of the device was designed with the messy kitchen environment in mind. A glass seal protects it from water, oil, and whatever splatters in its direction, and makes it easy to wipe clean. Because everyone’s kitchen is a little different, it comes with three different faceplates (brush steel, black, and white), and can be mounted under a cabinet or on the wall, or placed on a countertop stand. Retails for around $400, and will probably show up on the shelves of large retailers such as Target and Amazon.com.

Via Kitchen Contraptions.