Betaenglish: pleier

      English: player

      Spanish: jugador


951. Opinion - What Microsoft must do now to compete against Apple’s new iPods

Realistically, Apple didn’t really need to do what it did on Wednesday to maintain its stronghold on the MP3 player market. After all, the iPod (in all of its variations) has something like a 75% market share. Other big names have attempted to challenge the iPod, but most simply could not compete against the marketing [...]

1661. Sony's NW-S710F and NW-S610F Walkman MP3 players

NW-S710F.jpgTwo new non-iPods are coming out from Sony under its Walkman badge. The 710 is the fanciest one, coming with built-in support for its supplied noise cancelling headphones, which actually give this Sony player a reason to exist. The 610 doesn't. Both have FM radios...  

1765. Mitsubishi to Unveil Electric Car With 3 Motors

Japan's Mitsubishi plans to unveil in October an electric car called the i MIEV Sport, which sounds like a media player and looks like a Volkswagen. Each of the front wheels has its own motor and a THIRD MOTOR powers the rear wheels. Mitsubishi's S-AWC (Super All Wheel Control), boosts performance, battery life and maneuverability. The rechargeable batteries are Li-Ion, just like your cell phone, and provide 124 miles per charge. (props to AutoBlog)

1888. Winamp - 10 years old and BACK to battle iTunes

winamp-updated-itunes.jpgPretty much everyone's first MP3 player back when the piracy scene exploded into life in the late-90s, it's been a little quiet for Winamp over that last few years thanks to everyone, bizarrely, preferring to pay for music and use things like iTunes instead. Well Winamp - and the 62 million people who still regularly use older versions - could be  

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1923. Halo 3 weapons and no online co-op

Untitled-1.gif Yeah, you read that right. As of right now, Halo 3 co-op remains an offline only experience. CVG has the scoop from the latest issue of EGM. According to Bungie's Frank O'Connor, the team is still working on a way to properly implement online co-op. As Frank puts it, it's possible for players to be nearly a mile apart at certain points in the game, which makes online co-op a challenge. He notes that measures could be put into the game to prevent such vast separations, but that it "would make it not feel like Halo anymore." He concludes by saying that "If we can make it happen in a way that works well, we will - and if it works badly, we won't." Considering that the Bungie crew is currently putting the finishing touches on Halo 3, we imagine online co-op won't make it into the retail disc. Any hope of such a feature likely rests in the possibility of downloadable content. So, if you've been waiting to try out some four player online co-op, you may be waiting for a while. Via

2168. Heavily Discounted Zune Outpacing iPod Sales

firegate writes "Yahoo Tech is reporting that the Microsoft Zune, having been heavily discounted for the holiday season, 'is currently Amazon's top-selling music player, beating out the new iPod Nano and the 80GB iPod on the 'Bestsellers in Electronics' list.' An Associated Press report even indicates that the Zune's newfound popularity has left it in short supply, sold out in many locations. Is this a sign that a true competitor, from Microsoft no less, has finally broken into the Apple-dominated MP3 player market? And will this spell more success for Windows-media based music subscription services like Napster?"Read more of this story at Slashdot.

2366. Evergreen's card-styled DAP: it's business time

Filed under:
As far as we know, Evergreen's Business Card MP3 Player doesn't come pre-loaded with Flight of the Conchords' most relevant jam, but you can't deny it'd be a great fit. This all-white, ultra-simplistic DAP checks in at 86- x 55- x 6-millimeters, weighs just 36-grams and includes 1GB of storage space. You'll also find a flip-out USB 2.0 connector, internal speaker and some sort of recording function. Slip one into your tight leather jacket pocket for a steep $126.19 -- it should make sorting the recycling much less tedious.

[Via AkihabaraNews] Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

2433. The Game Plan gets D-BOX Motion Code

The Game Plan gets D-BOX Motion Code Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment follows suit from 20th Century Fox signs a deal with D-Box Technologies to bring you the wildest motion-reality home theaters experiences with Blu-Ray. ‘The Game Plan’ will be the first D-Boxed Walt Disney Blu-Ray tittle releases on Jan 22, 2008. Owner of D-box motion device will be able to enjoy not only the true Hi-def audio and video quality from Blu-Ray but also experiences the action sequences from the scene. But ‘The Game Plan’ is not what I call a good action flick. D-box Press Release Relevant Entries on SlashGear


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2435. Elecom ASP-S750 portable speakers

How can you call a speaker set portable if it requires a power outlest? Regardless, these speakers are small, compact if you will, and crank out a total of 5 watts of sound from the pair. The right speaker has a power switch and LED for power indication. It also has a volume knob, and is likely the speaker that the AC adapter plugs into. These speakers would be good for your MP3 Player or laptop provided you had access to a power outlet. They’ll be available in December in Japan for about $45. Elecom ASP-S750 compact portable speaker system [via fareastgizmos] Relevant Entries on SlashGear


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2441. Microsoft finally launching Xbox 360 Video Marketplace across the pond

We’ve been enjoying the privilege of downloading movies and TV shows in both HD and SD formats for over a year now, but alas, our friends in the UK are finally getting a taste. They are starting out with just movies, with the newest one apparently being 300. The SD ones will cost you 250 points to rent, while the HD ones will cost you 380 points to rent. The rentals last for 2 weeks, or 24 hours once you actually start the film. I don’t have a monetary equivalency for the 250 points, but 380 of them are roughly £3.20. Once again, if you are going to make heavy use of this service, especially if you prefer HD films, I’d recommend upgrading that hard drive. However, since they expire 24 hours after you start watching them, you should be alright with the 20GB HDD as long as you don’t download too many films at once. Xbox 360 Marketplace Video Store arriving in the UK on December 11 [via TechDigest] Relevant Entries on SlashGear


Copyright © 2006-2007 SlashGear

2442. Eee PC USB Flash and Bluetooth Hack

Right now, 8GB is the most storage you can expect to find inside an Asus Eee PC, and in order to get one larger than 4GB, you have to have it imported. Good luck with that, since its hard enough getting a 4GB one these days. Besides storage, another great feature the Eee is lacking is Bluetooth. Well, a crafty user of the EeeUser forums decided to hack together a pair of internal USB ports onto the miniPCIe port and install a 16GB Corsair Flash Voyager and a USB Bluetooth adapter all comfortably nested away inside the case of the Eee. The best part about this hack is, it uses USB, so, you can change what’s connected, or even upgrade with considerable ease. Now it does appear Johnx had to remove the outer shells of both USB devices, but that’s a small price to pay for an Eee that now has Bluetooth and a usable 20 gigabytes of storage instead of the 4 it came with. Personally, Bluetooth isn’t that important of a feature for me, so I’d probably throw 2 flash drives in there. In case you are wondering, there is a complete parts list, some instructions, and links to the threads this guy used for info for his mod. The 20GB+ Eee PC mod [via Engadget] Relevant Entries on SlashGear


Copyright © 2006-2007 SlashGear

2450. Linutop v1.2: low-power Linux desktop Revisited

Tech reviews are very much a snapshot process, making a decision after a relatively short period of time and of a single incarnation of the product. Useful, yes, but not an exact facsimile of living with something day in, day out that you’ve bought yourself. If you’re lucky - and assuming that no manufacturer ever pushes out a product so perfect there are no possible improvements - you get a company that’s constantly tweaking and augmenting; if you’re really lucky, you get an opportunity to revisit their product and ring the changes. Back in May I spent some time with Linutop’s fanless, Xubuntu-based micro-PC, framing my review from the perspective of a Linux-naive home user, to see if the compact device would make a decent alternative to a low-end Windows PC. At the time I criticised how tricky, for a fledgling user, it was to add functionality beyond what was preinstalled; since then, Linutop have released v1.2 of their software package, and asked if we’d like to check out the changes. Linutop Linux-based compact PC The hardware is unaltered from when I last reviewed the Linutop, so you still get an all-aluminium case measuring 3.66 x 1.06 x 5.9-inches and weighing just 9.9oz (280g), containing an AMD Geode LX700 processor, non-upgradable 256MB of RAM, 4 USB 2.0 ports, VGA-out, 10/100 ethernet and audio in/out. Aside from the RAM, there’s no internal memory; instead, Linutop provide a 1GB USB memory stick containing the modified Xubuntu OS, preinstalled software and room for your own files. What’s been fettled, then, is the software: Linutop quote boot time has been halved, improved media playback including digital TV capabilities added (via online stream or a hardware DVB-T dongle), PXE boot (simply add a single line to the startup config file to boot from the network) and more. Linutop connectivity If you’ve read my original reviewthen you’ll know that boot time was a significant issue for the Linutop: it took around two minutes, and there were no ’sleep’ or ’standby’ options to avoid that. Thankfully whatever OS changes have been made have almost halved that; v1.2 takes around 1m6s from plugging in the power (there’s no switch, you have to yank the power cord) to the desktop being ready to use. Not exactly instant-on, but far more comparable to the sort of low-end systems users may be used to. You’re still presented with the settings screen, but now there’s more choice in display resolution, including catering for widescreen displays, and this time changing resolution and keyboard layout (then restarting) worked as it should. Similarly, running multiple programmes or switching between settings is quicker and seems to stall the CPU far less than when I tried it last. There’s a pause loading programmes, yes, but only a minor one and well within expectations. Linutop software Firefox, the Gaim instant-messenger and AbiWord word processor are still preinstalled, but they’re joined by the VLC media player which can handle just about any media format thrown at it. Video can be played full-screen, another improvement in v1.2, and you’re able to stream video and audio files from external storage, Web TV or shared Windows folders across the network. The Linutop is also compatible with Skype, although - I’m told for reasons of keeping down size - it’s not preinstalled; you need to download the installation script from the Linutop Wiki yourself. Straightforward, yes, but you’ll only know about it if you visit the Linutop blog. There’s a useful readme file stored on the USB key that outlines DVB-T use, network boot, system recovery and more, but again no link to it - it really needs to show up on the desktop, or even better automatically open when you boot the Linutop for the first time. Without it, you’d easily be at a loss as to how to access the digital TV functionality, which would be a shame because it works relatively well despite the system’s Spartan specs. There’s no dedicated software; just plug in the USB tuner (Linutop supplied me with a Hauppauge WinTV Nova-T, complete with tiny aerial) and type ’scandvbt’ in a Terminal window. You need to tell it your country and then, confusingly, identify your nearest regional broadcast tower (for which I had to look online), but after that it automatically scans the available channels and loads them as a playlist into VLC. You can then reorder and delete them, but you have to remember to save the playlist before exiting as the software won’t do it automatically. Linutop DVB-T digital TV Like all TV tuners, your mileage will vary more with signal quality than anything else; needless to say, when supplied with a reasonable signal (through an installed aerial rather than the portable one included) the Linutop managed both window and full-screen playback with no problems. One issue with the lack of dedicated software is the absence of a signal-strength gauge; there’s no way of telling whether moving the portable aerial around would have a beneficial effect on image quality. I tried using a Freecom USB tuner but the Linutop would not recognise it; there is a scant list of compatible hardware on the project Wiki. With VGA-out the only way of connecting a display, you’re limited if you want to hook the Linutop up to a TV or other large display. It’s a shame, because it would make a compact and functional alternative to a normal DVB set-top box. When I asked Linutop about this, they pointed out that most flat-panel displays have VGA among their connections and as such they’ve no plans to add S-Video or similar. However, I was told that HDMI “could be interesting” as a future development. There has also been some interest in the PVR community as to using it as a MythTV frontend, although consensus is that the hardware would only support standard rather than high-definition media. There’s no option to record DVB-T TV directly on the Linutop. Of course, the home market is only one area Linutop are aiming at; the silent, low-power (no more than 5-6W) device is ideal for digital signage and presentations. There are new options for looped webpages, photo presentations and Flash, and you can set these to automatically run on boot so as to minimise user involvement. Linutop - supplied with Firefox browser Documentation remains a thorny issue; the Linutop Wiki remains the first signposted port of call, but it lacks the sort of “new user” information so necessary when dealing with an unfamiliar OS. The same NAS problem I experienced in May remains - searching the Wiki results in no guidance, the readme file details accessing Windows shares on other PCs but didn’t work for my LaCie NAS, the Xfce desktop environment support didn’t help and I was again left to the mercy of Googling for answers. Is it too much to ask for a simple “type in your username & password” script to make common setup issues like these straightforward? My request from last time still stands: a few bookmarks to basic Linux tutorials would go a long way in rescuing new users. Linutop tell me that they’re in the process of re-examining their Linux documentation to better cater for those new to the platform, but that they also prize the fact that the OS implemented is “standard” so as not to require changes from more adept users familiar with Xubuntu. Linutop Despite all that, the upgrade to v1.2 is a significant one, and it certainly broadens the Linutop’s scope as a home PC. It’s interesting to look at the state of competition; in my initial review I compared the Linutop to a cheaper Dell Dimension desktop which far exceeded the former’s specs (albeit consuming many times the power even when idle), and the past few months have seen ASUS release it’s Linux-based Eee laptop. Although ostensibly aimed at significantly different markets, the Linutop and the Eee could both be viewed as basic home computers and here the Eee laptop (priced from $299) could edge ahead with what’s supposedly a particularly user-friendly GUI and battery-of course its battery-powered portability. When I put this to Linutop they confirmed that their target is more professional than home, and it’s true that in school, library and business settings the Linutop undoubtedly makes more sense than the Eee. It’s smaller and likely more robust, consumes less power and - most importantly - has access to the UBUNTU software library. Would I still recommend the Linutop for a home user? Again, it’s a qualified yes. Just as some are buying an ASUS Eee as a second machine for when their kids are wanting to go online but the main PC is occupied, the Linutop makes for a great, low-maintenance system that, out of the box, can quickly get up and running. It’s also a decent Linux learning platform, with the backup that most mistakes can be erased with a simple restore of the USB stick (which you can do from an optional boot menu on restart). For a home looking for their first computer, I’d still lean toward a full, traditional PC, if only for the flexibility it brings, but anyone else - particularly business or library/public service users - should certainly consider Linutop’s offering. Thanks to Linutop for the loan of the unit; it’s available now for €280, while the v1.2 OS can be downloaded from the site by existing owners. Rating:

    3.5 out of 5 stars

Relevant Entries on SlashGear
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2481. Nokia launches Come With Music unlimited download service

nokia-world.pngIf you read my Digital Music Trends post yesterday, you'll know about Total Music, an idea cooked up by major label Universal Music Group that involved mobile handset manufacturers and MP3 player makers paying a monthly subscription to the labels, to give their users free, unlimited music downloads. Well, Nokia's gone and done it. At least, I think they have.  

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2508. Venturer launches 'affordable' high definition HD DVD player

Venturer has launched the SHD7001, described as the 'affordable' HD DVD player, although no price for the player is currently available, perhaps because the price of said players is falling so rapidly, the landscape might be very different when it hits the shelves in late December.  

2518. Creative Zen with 32GB

Creative decided to add some new Zen models for the Christmas season, with the single change being a huge boost on the storage capacity, which means that the player is available with 32GB of memory, and a hefty price tag of €400 ($330). Sadly, it seems that this model will be a limited-edition, with only [...]

2527. Humongous Xbox 360 doubles as a cabinet

Filed under: , Hot on the heels of the enormous Wiimote cabinet comes an absolutely gigantic Xbox 360 that truly has to be seen to be appreciated. Thankfully, there's a video of the thing waiting in the read link, but this beastly player opens up to reveal the perfect storage area for periodicals and pamphlets that are sure to collect dust and rarely ever be touched by human hands again. Additionally, a light was added behind the power button (no, it's not red) for good measure, but last we heard, the original Xbox controller (a.k.a Duke) was no longer on speaking terms with its biological cousin (pictured).

[Thanks, J] Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

2536. Nokia gets offiicial with 3G 6263 for T-Mobile

Filed under: We already had a pretty good indication that this one was coming thanks to our pals at the FCC, but Nokia has just now gotten official with its 3G 6263 handset which, as we previously suspected, does indeed appear to be nearly identical to the Euro-centric 6267. Getting a slight downgrade from that model, however, is the camera, which now clocks in at just 1.3 megapixels as opposed to 2. You will get the same 2.2-inch QVGA display though, as well as the same built-in Bluetooth, microSD card slot, and usual range of internet and music player features. If that'll do, you should be able to grab one of these from T-Mobile right away.  Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

2571. Old English punkers Gang of Four to 'do a Radiohead', release next album online

This is slightly old-ish news from a few weeks ago, but nonetheless, still exciting for all fans of the English punkers - it appears Gang of Four will be attempting a digital-only release of their next album, their first proper album since 1995's Shrinkwrapped. On his blog, bass player Dave Allen made an announcement about their upcoming release, and gave his thoughts on the now tried-and-tested Radiohead route. "It can't be called...  

2635. Slacker Portable Player delayed until next year

Filed under: Not that next year is too far away or anything, but those of you who have been following Slacker's WiFi-enabled Portable Player DAP may be disheartened to learn that its release has been delayed until January 31st, 2008. According to an email received by folks who have already pre-ordered, Slacker has "adjusted" the targeted ship date of its streaming device away from December 13th "in order to deliver the best possible player." Customers who don't want to suffer another six weeks to get their slack on are welcome to cancel their orders, although you don't need to do anything at all if you're cool with waiting.

[Thanks, Matt B.] Permalink | Email this | CommentsOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

2640. Samsung's DB-UP5000 HD DVD / Blu-ray player: $799, shipping mid-to-late December

Filed under: Good news. This time, we won't be burdening you with more talk of delays to Samsung's DB-UP5000 dual format player. On the contrary, a Samsung spokesperson told Dealerscope that the much anticipated HD DVD and Blu-ray player is on target for a "mid-to-late December" launch. Better yet, the price is down from $999 to a more reasonable $799. That is, until you consider the combined cost of a $499 $399 PS3 and sub-$200 HD DVD player. Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

2645. Barbie B2 touchscreen MP3 player in pink and bearskin

Filed under:
If you've ever wondered how Barbie will prey upon the insecurities of the future generation of robot-assimilated little girls -- this is it. Somewhere in that Planet of the Apes, dystopian fembot horde sits the touchscreen Barbie B2 MP3 player. Unfortunately, without any clues for scale, the device is either the size of a fingernail, or giant Barbies with even more preposterous breast-to-hips ratios are invading Korea as we speak. We'll guess something closer to the former (while secretly hoping for the latter).

Update: We found the site pushing the B2. Of course, the makeup case design comes with a mirror to remind your little princess that she'll never quite meet the corporate beauty standard. Picture after the break.

[Thanks, MadHat]Continue reading Barbie B2 touchscreen MP3 player in pink and bearskin Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

2698. Polaroid shows off a portable DVD player with iPod dock, total lack of effort

Filed under: ,
Okay, we understand that the newest iPods have locked video-out, so we'll ignore the fact that the Polaroid DPJ-08580B portable DVD player with iPod dock only works with 5G models, but there's no excuse for the rest of the specs -- especially stretching 480 x 234 resolution across an 8.5-inch screen. Top it off with the usual overwrought portable DVD player design and a ¥28000 ($252) pricetag, and you've got a nice little bundle of fail just waiting to be put under the tree.

[Via Pocket-lint] Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

2703. iriver's new Mplayer stash raids the rainbow

Filed under:
Maybe we're not Korean enough to catch the appeal, but it seems like somebody is buying these Disney-branded Mplayers from iriver: the company just released ten new colors for the player in addition to the existing five available. Despite our stodgy form-factor reservations, we've gotta admit that it's a pretty sexy palette. No word on prices or capacities, so we'll just assume they're still sporting 1GB capacities and a $50-ish pricetag. There's another shot after the break.Continue reading iriver's new Mplayer stash raids the rainbow Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

2729. Mossberg previews the Slacker Portable

Filed under: ,
The short of it is that the Slacker is an intriguing concept and decent product with some serious bugginess in the prototypes -- which is why it's probably a good thing it's been delayed until next year. Walt Mossberg has been kicking around the "blocky" player and related service, and seems to think the idea has some legs. The player is basically a portable WiFi internet radio, but it ties in closely with the free ad-supported Slacker service to give you a bit more of control over your listening experience than a traditional internet radio station. You can navigate the device with either the touch-sensitive strip beside the screen or a scroll wheel on the edge of the unit, and Walt found the sound quality good and WiFi capable. Album art, related photos, artist bios and album reviews are all included with the music and shown off on an expansive 4-inch screen, and the stations are saved to the device for offline listening. You can create custom stations based on artists you like, and if you shell out $7.50 a month for premium service you get unlimited song-skipping (usually limited to six per hour), zero ads, and the ability to pick songs to save to the device and play as often as you'd like. You can of course load your own tracks, but that sort of defeats the purpose of being a "slacker." Mossberg thinks the formula could work as long as Slacker can work out the sub-par battery life, touch strip issues and connection problems before the January 31st launch.

[Via Orbitcast] Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

2745. Super Talent 256GB SSD uses SATA port to connect

256GB is huge in terms of SSD storage, and will probably cost you a small fortune, as such the price obviously isn’t listed, go figure. Super Talent has actually released two different 256GB SSD drives. The FSD56GC35M is the one we are talking about today, and it is an amazing drive. It comes in a 3.5-inch form factor, connects via SATA and is completely interchangeable with any other SATA drive. Furthermore, it is an industrial drive, with operating temps of -40 to 85 degrees Celsius. Lets not forget the inherent bonuses of all SSD drives, namely lower power consumption and the ability to handle bumps and vibration better due to a lack of moving parts and generally faster performance. Like I said, no word on price, and its likely only available if you can afford the price that’s so high they seem unwilling to give it out freely. Super Talent Launches 256GB SATA SSD [via PCLaunches] Relevant Entries on SlashGear


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2750. Blu-Ray Sucks! But they’ve somehow managed to nearly triple HD-DVD sales

2.7 million: 700,000 players is roughly the ratio, and don’t even get started on actual disc sales. Sure, you could argue for HD-DVD and say that 2 million plus of those players are PS3s, making the HD-DVD numbers seem more real, and for the most part that would be a fair assumption that PS3 owners aren’t buying Blu-Ray discs, but they are. And yes, before you ask, the HD-DVD player number includes the Xbox 360 attachment, but I won’t offer to eliminate that number for two reasons, the first, I don’t know what it is. The second is because a good argument could be made that they would have only bought the attachment to play HD-DVDs, not for anything else such as gaming. The disc sales are a pretty poor number too with both lying organizations claiming what they’ve sold, whether it’s true or not, I do not know, but the BDA is claiming 4 million discs of theirs sold, and the HD-DVD people are claiming 2.5 million discs of theirs sold. So, in summation, if the low, very low prices of HD-DVD players don’t start helping pick up the slack, HD-DVD might lose this war after all. I don’t have a personal preference or prejudice against either, I have never seen one or the other being played, and I’d buy a player, but I don’t have an HDTV, so that would be kind of pointless, no? I do like rooting for the underdog though, so I am hoping that HD-DVD will pull out of their slump and at least give the BDA a run for their money, make them lower their player prices a bit more. US Blu-Ray Disc player sales pass 2.7m [via reghardware] Relevant Entries on SlashGear


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2751. The Dolce Vita Laptop Bag

dolce vita laptop bagWith Christmas coming up fast, its time to finish up that shopping. If you still haven’t found a gift for that special girly in your life (even if that girl is you), this laptop bag is a decently priced gift. The Dolce Vita Laptop bag comes with a removable laptop pouch, just in case you might need the bag for books or an overnight getaway. If you’re into the messenger bag look, this bag’s unique artwork on the front flap definitely makes it stand out from the crowd. The bag comes in three Italian colors; Ristretto, Zucchero and Moka. All have removable flaps that you can change to make it a bit more personalized. Each bag is being sold for just under $102. All I want for Christmas.. is a Dolce Vita Laptop bag [via shiny shiny] Relevant Entries on SlashGear


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2753. The Voyager Arcade Machine features 36 vintage games

voyager arcade machineEvery geek in the world has at least the occasional wet dream about having a basement full of arcade machines. Especially the older more accomplished gamers who can’t go out into the arcade and play their favorite game. No one seems to carry Pac-Man anymore. This Voyager Arcade Machine has plenty of vintage games to keep you occupied for hours on end. This arcade cabinet is designed with the classic 70’s and 80’s arcade machines in mind. They have also kept in mind how much of a beating those machines got from frustrated gamers and therefore made their machine sturdy enough to stand up to a bit of abuse. Each cabinet comes with 36 different games, including Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Galaga and Wonderboy. It features a modern PC operating system, a lockable coin box, 8 way joystick, and on certain games a 2 player function. The arcade cabinet is being sold for $3,675. Voyager handcrafted arcade machine – with 36 games [via retrotogo] Relevant Entries on SlashGear


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2833. Panasonic to Release Two new Blu-Ray Players

Panasonic to Release Two new Blu-Ray Players Masayuki Kozuka, the general manager of Matsushita’s storage device strategy reveals company plan to release two new High-End Blu-ray players In January. No further information on spec or pricing but Masayuki also announced bundle package with current line of Plasma TV and Blu-ray player coming to your local electronic retailers such as Circuit City and Best Buy. [updated: We just found out Best Buy is selling the bundle online with $500 off Panasonic plasma TV and DMP-BD30K Blu-Ray player, what a sweet deal!] The most current line of Panasonic’s Blu-Ray player is DMP-BD30 and by far the best standalone Blu-Ray player has to offer. It’s 1.1 profile certified but only does HBR (High Bitrate Bitstreaming) for HD audio, that included the holy grail DTS-MA. There is no internal decoder capability for DD+, True HD or DTS-MA. To get the best out of BD30, one has to get an external processor or a receiver that’s capable to decode HBR. My speculation of the coming ‘High-End’ players is nothing but featuring Internal decoding for Hd-audio and DTS-MA with 7.1analog outputs. What they can do better is adding SACD (via DSD) and DVD-A capability or perhaps no region code and profile 2.0. We’ll see if that’s the case in CES 2008. Matsushita Manager: To Bundle Blu-Ray Players, PDP TVs In US [via Beurs] Best Buy deal Relevant Entries on SlashGear


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2835. The retro iPod Tote

I was instantly hooked when I saw this retro tote, featuring an old record player design on the front. Then when I found out it had speakers for my iPod, I had to resist buying myself an early Christmas present. retro iPod tote I have this issue every year, and then in the end I buy half the things I wanted for my 14 year old sister (we have extremely similar tastes). In case you’re like me and can’t stand to not have a strap you can sling over your shoulder, the bag has a longer strap that can be tucked away inside when it’s not in use. The amplified stereo speakers run off of four AA batteries, which are as usual not included. It measures 12”x14.5”x3.5” and is being sold for $60. iPod Tote [via likecool] Relevant Entries on SlashGear


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2878. LG's "Super Blu" BH200 HD DVD / Blu-ray combo player now available

Filed under: , After a slight delay and a false alarm, LG has finally announced that its "Super Blu" BH200 HD DVD / Blu-ray combo player is now available at retailers nationwide, for the not so low price of $999. In addition to playing both HD formats, the player also has the somewhat notable distinction of being the first player to support Blu-ray profile 1.1, although you'll still have to wait a while to take advantage of that particular feature. Otherwise, you'll get full 1080p support (including upscaling of DVDs), HDMI 1.3, component and composite video outputs, digital optical and analog audio outputs, and a LAN port, not to mention a USB port on the front for impromptu slide shows or music playback. Now, if only they'd work on getting the cost down to something less than the combined cost of an HD DVD and Blu-ray player, we'd be all set.  Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

2937. Switched On: Vudu starts on its to-dos

Filed under: , Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment.
Imagine a history in which broadcast television programming was not sent directly to television sets. Rather, it was sent to another, more expensive device in the home with a smaller screen. If you paid $40 per month, you could access at best only about 10 percent of the shows you really wanted. These shows were available on demand, but under ideal conditions needed a few minutes before you can start watching them. Furthermore, to watch them in the comfort of your living room, you had to rely on a slow, unreliable connection between the box and the TV set.

This bleak situation characterized the state of much broadband video at the debut of Vudu earlier this year. Vudu's $400 glossy black box sports a curvy perimeter that is a bit taller than an Apple TV. It delivers instant access to about 5,000 movies (with capacity for double that amount) using a slick and sophisticated combination of local caching and distributed computing. Rent or buy the movie and it starts playing. Vudu just introduced its first high-definition movies -- the Bourne movie trilogy, offering the high-definition media-free version of The Bourne Ultimatum for sale for the first time.

The physical version of that movie is available exclusively on HD-DVD, but with Vudu you don't have to worry about the alliances of studios or video rental chains. The company has struck deals with all major studios and the Vudu device is hundreds of dollars less than dual-format high-definition disc players from Samsung and LG Electronics. On the other hand, nearly all of its content is more of a quality match for the dirt-cheap and universally-supported standard DVD player today.
Continue reading Switched On: Vudu starts on its to-dos Permalink | Email this | CommentsOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

2938. LG's BH200 HD DVD / Blu-ray player gets reviewed

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Although we were able to get the BH200 to pose for a few glamour shots back at CEDIA, the recently released player has just now got around to checking in for a review. According to Home Theater Mag, the BH200 exhibited "stunning" image quality from both Blu-ray and HD DVD titles, and moreover, the video processing (DVD upconversion included) was "as good as any it had seen in a disc player." Unfortunately, the (high) praise essentially ended there. First and foremost, it made little sense to the reviewer to pay such a high premium ($999) for a dual-format unit unless you place a great deal of value on size and convenience. Beyond that, the player really dropped the ball on high-resolution audio playback, as HTM couldn't even get it to output Dolby TrueHD in multichannel form from "any output, at any resolution." Overall, the BH200 turned out to be a mixed bag, and while strict videophiles may find nothing to kvetch about, its inability to handle certain audio codecs was viewed as a "serious shortcoming." Nevertheless, there's much, much more where this came from if you're in the market, so head on over to the read link to catch the full spill.

[Via AVSForum] Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

2942. Magellan Maestro 3100 hacked to add file manager / media player

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Although we've already seen Garmin's c510 / c530 get hacked up earlier this year, now it's time for Magellan's Maestro 3100 to head under the knife. The engineering David Goeken managed to personalize his unit with a custom splash screen, a beefed up POI file, a file manager for adding / sorting through applications and a full-fledged media player for good measure. Granted, there's a laundry list of known issues to go along with it, but hey, what fun is a hack without a little troubleshooting? Before hitting the read link and rolling up your sleeves, you may want to grab a meal and a few hours of rest -- you'll need the energy just reading through the how-to guide.

[Via HackADay] Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

2949. Tomato rolls out Tomato Video PMP

Filed under: , It looks like Korea's Tomato has trotted out yet another decidedly un-tomato like PMP, with its new Tomato Video player offering many of the same features of the company's U24 model in a slightly more streamlined package. That includes the usual 2.4-inch display, along with an FM radio, an e-book reader, an integrated microphone and speaker, and an SD card slot -- plus all the PMP features you'd expect, of course. Also as with the U24, you can get this one in your choice of 2GB of 4GB models, with the latter setting you back €66 (or just under $100).

[Via Akihabara News]
 Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

2996. Samsung reveals wireless 8-inch SPF-83V digiframe

Filed under: , As if you weren't already inundated with digiframe options, Samsung is trying to make deciding even more difficult with the introduction of its SPF-83V. This 8-inch frame sports an 800 x 600 resolution display with a 500:1 contrast ratio and 200 nits of brightness, but the standout feature is its WiFi connectivity and the ability to sync up with Windows Live Spaces. More specifically, the unit plays nice with the Windows Live Photo Gallery, and it can also "communicate with Windows Media Player and open standards such as RSS." For whatever reason, Sammy doesn't bother telling us much else, but we're expecting it to come with 64MB of storage and a $230 price tag if Amazon's listing is to be believed.

[Via PhotographyBLOG] Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsOffice Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

3065. SAFA rolls out another forgettable PMP

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Sure, SAFA's latest portable media player is impressively small (and thin), and at least it looks like it was engineered in more than five or six minutes, but it's still nothing to phone home over. The all-black (or red, or white) player features a 1.8-inch LCD and plays nice with MP3, WMA, WAV, APE and FLAC file formats, and apparently, it also comes with a few built-in games in case the jams get stale. Moreover, there's a voice recorder, image viewer and a rechargeable Li-ion good for up to eight hours of playback, but we still don't see this thing bringing us too much joy after dropping between ₩89,000 ($95) and ₩109,000 ($116), depending on capacity. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

3067. Atari 1500XL laptop mod: the best of 80's tech in a convenient modern form factor

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Sure, we've got quite a few laptops kicking around the Engadget HQ, but we'd chuck them all in a heartbeat for a shot at this Atari 1500XL custom-built laptop from German modder Beetle. No expense was spared to give this thing an authentic look and feel, including the guts of three Ataris, a 1050 disk drive, 1027 printer, 1010 cassette player and a PC keyboard. Ben Heck might've done it first, but he's got some catch up to do on the aesthetics. Once Beetle gets an EV-DO card modded in there, our liveblogging experience will never be the same. There's video after the break.

[Via technabob]Continue reading Atari 1500XL laptop mod: the best of 80's tech in a convenient modern form factor Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

3075. Windows Mobile 6-based RoverPC P6 on sale in Russia

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It's been a tick since we saw the oh-so-snazzy RoverPC G5, and we must say, the RoverPC P6 cranks up the sexy by a few orders of magnitude. The Windows Mobile 6-based handset, which is sure to make those not in Russian mighty envious, sports a 300MHz Samsung 2442B processor, a 2.4-inch 320 x 240 resolution touchscreen, 64MB of RAM, 128MB of Flash ROM, a microSD expansion slot, Bluetooth, miniUSB, a 2-megapixel camera and a built-in media player to boot. Additionally, the phone checks in at just 15.1-millimeters thick, rocks a dark gray motif and touts tri-band GSM connectivity. So go on, pick one up for around 7990 rubles ($323) -- just don't rub it in when you do, alright?

[Via MobileWhack] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

3079. Navinside's NX-7 navigator handles DMB, too

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Another day, another all-in-one handheld for Americans to get envious about. As you've probably guessed, Navinside's NX-7 is reserved for those in South Korea, and it features such niceties as a 7-inch WQVGA display, a SiRFstarIII GPS chipset, DMB TV tuner, text viewer, AV in / out support and a built-in media player to boot. Unfortunately, we've no idea what kind of storage you can expect here, but it is slated to launch next month for a currently undisclosed price.

[Via NaviGadget] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

3105. Creative Travelsound Zen V - docking station

In case you have a Creative multimedia player (Zen V or Zen V Plus) and don’t have a dock for them, check out the TravelSound Zen V, which can be categorized as the “indispensable travel companion”, that is, if you enjoy listening to music all the time. Besides songs coming from the Creative players, you can [...]

3129. CES 2008: Samsung unveils more Bluetooth-enabled Home Theatre goodies

I am loving Samsung's decision to slap Bluetooth into absolutely everything this year. The HT-X710 is another compact 2.1 virtual surround system, designed to match Samsung's latest sexy looking HDTVs with A2DP and AVRCP Bluetooth included. The built-in DVD player will also upscale your movies to 1080p resolution.  

3135. CES 2008: Samsung YA-BS900 Hyper 3-Channel Bluetooth speaker system


What with the YP-P2 Bluetooth MP3 player apparently kicking up a storm in the non-iPod realms of MP3 players, Samsung is following up its success with a range of compatible speaker systems. The YA-BS900 is the flagship model, sporting a 30watt, 3-channel system. The 'Hyper' 3-Channel Surround Sound system with Euphony Technology lets the listener hear the centre of the sound regardless of what position they are in or where they are in the room.  

 

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1/14 | Idea conceived
1/17 | Semester starts
1/19 | Design completed