Archive for August, 2009
If Infinity Ward’s own Prestige Edition of Modern Warfare 2 isn’t enough to satisfy your lust for custom hardware, Mad Catz is ready to pick up the slack with no less than ten MW2-branded peripherals. The crown jewel to the set will be the Combat Controller, which will have a couple of extra buttons, but more importantly, is likely the controller Robert Bowling was tweeting about last month. Come this November, you’ll also be able to talk smack via a Throat Communicator on the 360 or a more mundane Bluetooth Headset on the PS3, add Skinz to your controllers and Microsoft console, and even your neglected PC can be enriched with an Elite Keyboard and Sniper Mouse combo.
[Via Joystiq]
Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals
Mad Catz doles out Modern Warfare 2 controllers for young (and old) whippersnipers originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Aug 2009 04:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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August 25, 2009
Steampunk modifications of existing gizmos are certainly worth looking at, but check out this USB flash drive that looks extremely attractive although we have no idea what warrants the $3,000 price tag slapped on it. Perhaps the owner loves it too much to part with it, hence the astronomical price - pretty much similar to what soccer clubs are doing to their prized players with Lionel Messi from Barcelona going for a cool 300 million Euros, while Frank Ribery of Bayern Munich can be prised away only for 100 million Euros and above.
Permalink: Steampunk USB flash drive costs a bomb from Ubergizmo | Hot: Wii, PS3 and Natal Motion Sensing
Still rocking that Palm Zire with your new Intel-based Mac? Then you might just want to reconsider that upgrade to Snow Leopard, as Apple has apparently decided to ditch its support for legacy Palm OS devices in the latest incarnation of iSync. That, as you may be aware, had previously acted as a conduit for Palm’s aging but still available Palm Desktop software, and let folks easily sync up their contacts and other data from their Centro, Treo, Zire, Tungsten, or even a venerable old PalmPilot. Of course, that doesn’t quite rise to the same level of controversy as the whole Pre / iTunes situation, especially considering that Palm itself has mostly moved on from said devices, and there are still some third-party sync solutions available for folks that want to keep the Palm OS dream alive.
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds, Software
Snow Leopard takes a bite out of support for legacy Palm OS devices originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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August 25, 2009
We’re huddled up in an obscure corner of the New York Public Library, waiting for Sony to drop its new Reader news on us. There are numerous publishing people here, and for our money we’d say a wireless-equipped, “daily” news sort of device is about to descend upon us, but we’ll find out for sure when Sony gets on the makeshift stage and tells all.
10:30AM: The President and CEO of the New York Public Library is up front, and he says the digital content of the NYPL will be available to Sony Readers for free.
10:34AM: Steve Haber, president of Sony’s Digital Reading Business Division is up now, and he likens the transition from books to digital books to vinyl to CD and film to digital photo.
10:38AM: Launching 3.0 eBook Library software. Mac and PC compatible, notes made on the touch edition can be printed.
10:40AM: Library Finder. You can register for a library card, and then check out ebooks from the “library” over the internet. Content expires in 29 days. No late fees!
10:43AM: Sony Reader Daily Edition! 3G, 7-inch touchscreen, $399. Picture is up top.
10:53AM: Check out some “hands-on” photos below. He didn’t let us touch it, and apparently this isn’t even a working prototype. Still, from our angle, it’s looking pretty slick!
Filed under: Handhelds
Sony’s ‘Daily Edition’ Reader launch event originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Aug 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
We’re willing to bet Wacom’s nextbeat NXT-1000 would feel right at home in a mockup spacecraft console (think Starfleet, not NASA), but more importantly, if you’re one of those “creative DJs” who simply must employ this alongside the rest of your audio equipment, it’s gearing up to put moves on you the likes of which have never been seen before. Launch dates are September 18th in Japan for 169,800 ($1,796) and September 25th for Europe, price probably comparable. No word on US release, but surely our Puritan heritage won’t discount us from joining the party eventually.
[Via Engadget Japan]
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Portable Audio, Wireless
Wacom’s nextbeat NXT-1000 hits the Japanese and European club scenes in September originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Aug 2009 01:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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August 24, 2009
The folks at Palm may think they’ve learned how to make some creepy commercials, but let’s face it, they’ve got nothing on Sony. The Japanese company has a long history of discomforting, unexplainable advertising that rivals a David Lynch movie — in fact, Lynch even directed his own television spot back in the PlayStation 2 days, itself reminiscent of UNKLE’s “Rabbit in Your Headlights” music video from years before. This latest set of videos for the PS3 Slim in Japan is no exception. Turn off all the lights, raise the volume of your speakers, and bow down before the masters of unnerving gadget promotion just after the break — we included the Lynch ad, too, in case you were interested.
Filed under: Gaming
Video: PS3 Slim’s Japanese commercials likely to cause fear, distress, and confusion originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Aug 2009 19:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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August 24, 2009
The IQUA smart badge Bluetooth headset is one unique device, where it ought to be a hit with huge corporations who want to merge the functionality of a corporate ID alongside a Bluetooth headset, assuming they pay their employees well enough to own a Bluetooth-capable phone in the first place, of course. Offering a talk time of up to 40 hours and standby time of 600 hours, the IQUA boasts vibration alert if you want to keep things discreet especially during important meetings, and it is also capable of handling VoIP calls in addition to a 3-way conference call. Multi-colored LEDs will tell you of whether the Bluetooth connection is active, current call status and low battery indicator.
Permalink: IQUA smart badge Bluetooth headset from Ubergizmo | Hot: Wii, PS3 and Natal Motion Sensing
August 24, 2009
Continue reading Nokia introduces Booklet 3G ‘mini laptop’
Filed under: Laptops
Nokia introduces Booklet 3G ‘mini laptop’ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Aug 2009 07:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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August 24, 2009
Admittedly, when we saw Game Informer’s survey that pegged Xbox 360’s failure rate at 54.2 percent, we were thinking that was a bit steep of a number, possibly bumped up a few digits from some possible sampling errors. So when we were gearing up to read Microsoft’s statement responding to the data, we fully expected some harsh rebuttal of the number. Turns out we got disappointed. A spokesperson for Redmond pointed to its superior entertainment value, its “best warranty in the industry” and its “constantly improving design, manufacture, and performance.” At no point is there a dispute or even direct reference to the findings, which is really something that could’ve helped public perception on a nagging issue. How about taking a page from Fujifilm, eh Microsoft?
Filed under: Gaming
Microsoft responds to Xbox 360 54.2 percent failure rate report, doesn’t dispute the data originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Aug 2009 01:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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August 23, 2009
The last video we posted of the Storm 2 doing its SurePress thing has been unceremoniously pulled from YouTube, but this new video really makes up for it. It turns out the screen uses piezo electronics to detect pressure at any point on the screen, instead of the all-or-nothing click button on the Storm 1, and our video host was kind enough to explain this in painstaking detail in the video embedded after the break. The screen actually stiffens when it’s off or locked, and has a sort of spongy give to it when alive. He also confirmed in no uncertain terms the GSM and CDMA versions of the device will be packing WiFi. According to his Twitter account, we should be expecting a video about the OS soon as well.
[Thanks, Kristjan]
Filed under: Cellphones
Video: Storm 2’s new touchscreen tech explained with mindblowing clarity, WiFi confirmed originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 Aug 2009 09:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
