Author: Andru Edwards

Sure, it’s only about six months too late, but Microsoft is finally ready to let a 64GB Zune HD loose, and it arrives on April 12. You’ll be able to purchase one from the Zune Originals site, as well as Amazon, Best Buy, and all the regulars for $350. Ordering from Microsoft directly lets you choose from platinum, black, blue, red, green, purple, and magenta colors.

The 16 and 32GB Zune HD models will each see an immediate $20 price drop as well.

Tags:
microsoft,
pmps,
zune,
zune hd,
zune hd 64gb,

Hey, are you one of those future iPad owners who decided to do an in-store reservation rather than relying on FedEx to get your new bundle of joy to you on day one? If so, here’s the scoop on how things will go down at your local Apple Store this Saturday, when the iPad will finally be unleashed. On April 3, Apple Stores will open at 9:00 am, at which time anyone standing in line with an iPad reservation will get to walk in and pay for their device. Apple will hold all iPads in stock for reservations until 3:00 pm that same day. After 3:00, all iPads that are left are fair game, and anyone can walk in and buy one, until they are all gone. So if you reserved and hoped to get one right away, make sure your calendar is clear this Saturday morning or afternoon, mmkay?

Tags:
apple,
apple store,
ipad,
ipad reservations,
tablets,

Apple has just unleashed iTunes 9.1 into the wild, and with it comes the ability to sync your iPad, as well as the ability to start managing ebooks. Interestingly enough, it looks like the iBooks store will only be accessible on the iPad itself, and not within iTunes, if we are understanding this correctly:

• Sync with iPad to enjoy your favorite music, movies, TV shows, books and more on the go
• Organize and sync books you’ve downloaded from iBooks on iPad or added to your iTunes library
• Rename, rearrange, or remove Genius Mixes

Remember, iTunes does support DRM-free ePub ebooks also, so if you have any, feel free to add them to your iTunes library after installing 9.1!

Tags:
apple,
ibooks,
ipad,
itunes,
itunes 9.1,
sidefeatured,
software,
software update,

Apple finally released Mac OS X 10.6.3 yesterday morning, aimed at providing fixes that enhance the stabilit and security of your Mac, but it seems that a few people are experiencing some major issues after installing. On the bright side, we’ve heard that manually downloading the update, rather than bringing it in using Software Update, results in no problems at all. Here’s the quick list of fixes you’ll find in 10.6.3:

• improve the reliability and compatibility of QuickTime X
• address compatibility issues with OpenGL-based applications
• address an issue that causes background message colors to display incorrectly in Mail
• resolve an issue that prevented files with the # or & characters in their names from opening in Rosetta applications
• resolve an issue that prevented files from copying to Windows file servers
• improve performance of Logic Pro 9 and Main Stage 2 when running in 64-bit mode
• improve sleep and wake reliability when using Bonjour wake on demand
• address a color issue in iMovie with HD content
• improve printing reliability
• resolve issues with recurring events in iCal when connected to an Exchange server
• improve the reliability of 3rd party USB input devices
• fix glowing, stuck, or dark pixels when viewing video from the iMac (Late 2009) built-in iSight camera

You can go ahead and grab it now if you’re running Snow Leopard.

Tags:
10.6.3,
apple,
ical,
mac,
mac os x 10.6.3,
operating systems,
os x,
quicktime x,
snow leopard,
software update,

Looking for a way to spice up those annoying conversations with some call-center hack in Puna, India who is trying to sell you a cel-phone upgrade?  Well look no further, Lando, your savior is here in the guise of the Star Wars Soundboard.  The soundboard contains numerous links to .wav files of your favorite characters most memorable lines, from everyone’s pre-pubescent fantasy Princess Leia, all the way to random only-nerds-know-who-the-hell-I-am-talking-about Aayla Secura.  So treat yourself!  Call up that cell phone call center and torture them with Wookie-talk interspersed with cursing from Han Solo.

Tags:
c3po,
eewok,
han solo,
luke skywalker,
r2d2,
soundboard,
star wars,
star wars soundboard,

Looks like Apple’s hopes that colleges and universities around the country will adopt the iPad as an educational tool may be coming to fruition. Seton Hill University, based in Greenburg, Pennsylvania, has just made it public knowledge that they will be giving all full-time students an iPad, starting with the next upcoming fall semester. Other schools have tried this with the Kindle, but in our opinion, the slowness of the Kindle screen refresh kind of killed that one. We don’t know that the iPad will fare much better, but it certainly has a better shot at success.

Tags:
apple,
college,
education,
griffin technology advantage,
ipad,
seton hill university,

We just got the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 digital camera in for review, and we must say, we are pretty stoked. We were big fans of last year’s DMC-ZS3, and the ZS7 improves upon that model with a 16x intelligent optical zoom, 12.1 megapixel images, much improved facial recognition, and GPS integration. We’re excited to put this one through the paces, especially with the built-in geotagging, and we will have that to you soon. In the meantime, we’ve put together a Lumix DMC-ZS7 unboxing gallery to show off the goods. Check it out!

Gallery: Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 unboxing gallery

Tags:
cameras,
digital cameras,
dmc-zs7,
galleries,
geotagging,
gps,
lumix,
panasonic,
photo gallery,
zs7,

If you’re a child of the 80’s like me, some of your fondest memories revolve around movies like ‘Real Genius’ or Hughes-ian bits of brain candy like ‘The Breakfast Club’ or, better yet, ‘Weird Science’.  Oh, for the halcyon days of wrist-watch calculators and pocket protectors—when nerds first began to rattle the bars of their cages and shout their skinny-armed superiority from atop a mound of servers—the true first days of ‘nerd-chic’.  These beer-steins of science are hand-crafted from Pope Scientific bench top dewar flasks which should ring-true for any hard core science geeks out there and help you drink your way back to your childhood.  So strap a bra to your head, fire a laser through the wall, and fill your favorite college prof’s house with popcorn. Then get trashed in the name of SCIENCE!!!!

Tags:
beer,
collectables,
dewar,
flask,
household,
mugs,
pope scientific,
science,
steins,

Want to piss off your friends with more than just your abrasive personality and obnoxious hygiene habits or complete lack thereof?  Yes, it is rude to clip your toenails in someone else’s living room, genius; what are you, five?  If you feel the need to step up your toxicity—to neutron bomb your friendships, poisoning the landscape for decades to come and leaving behind a barren landscape of people hating the very mention of your name in your wake—then look no further: the TV Poltergeist is the gadget for you.  The TV Poltergeist is a battery-powered and easily hide-able palm-sized piece of hardware with a tiny, flexible LED that you can point towards the TV of your intended victim.  Once you turn it on the TVP will randomly emit a signal via the LED and shut your future ex-friend’s TV off.  Works on just about any TV—CRT, Plasma, LCD—just not your Gramma’s 30 year-old knob-operated Zenith, though if you pull this stunt on your Gramma a) you’re an a$$ and b) expect to get written out of the will and hit with a cane.  That woman lived through 5 wars and walked 40 miles to kindergarten everyday.  Show some respect!

Tags:
funny,
jokes,
poltergeist,
pranks,
television,
thinkgeek,
tv,
tv poltergeist,
tv-b-gone,

Our inbox has been blowing up with a bunch of readers letting us know that the Netflix Instant Streaming discs for Wii have finally started shipping. Netflix has been sending emails to members who signed up to receive the disc, letting them know to expect it to arrive in the mail tomorrow. Exciting for Wii owners who don’t own any other Netflix-enabled device, since the Wii is pretty much the only modern Netflix streaming device that doesn’t support high definition playback.

Tags:
hdtv,
netflix,
netflix instant streaming,
netflix watch instantly,
nintendo,
wii,
wii netflix disc,

Looks like a couple of guitars, right? Look closer.

Closer still. We weren’t at NAMM or anything. See those little colored marks on the fretboard? Yup, those are real, honest-to-god game controllers. These Power Gig guitars were being shown off at the GDC by the fine folks at Seven45 studios. And by “shown off,” we mean they had their employees using them in an enclosure on a TV screen that nobody could see. Great marketing, that.

Apparently, these are real, functioning electric guitars. Between sets of an unseen music and rhythm game being developed by Seven45, the employees would plug the controller into an amp stack and shred for a while. And it sounded good! Oh lord, did it sound good.

Now, we didn’t have a chance to actually use one of these guitars or see the game they were playing (which apparently has Cult of Personality by Living Color as one of the songs), nor did anybody else – this was eyes only for the guitars, and ears-only for the game. We were told that these will, in fact, function as controllers for Rock Band and Guitar Hero, and you’ll play them in much the same fashion (though you can choose whether to pick a string or strum them all). Their proprietary game, though, has a mode that will involve hitting specific strings and notes, like tablature. (One source who saw the game in action voiced some negative opinions, but Seven45 isn’t showing anything else off until E3.)

A similar microphone and drum setup has been announced, but we have yet to see how they will differ from the current stable of music controllers.

Tags:
gaming guitars,
gdc,
gdc 2010,
guitar hero,
guitars,
instruments,
music,
music games,
power gig,
rhythm games,
rock band,

AT&T is finally ready to do something about the horrible reception that so many of us have been experiencing, as they are finally set to make the 3G Microcell available nationwide starting next month. The 3G Microcell is a femtocell unit that connects to your home broadband network. It acts pretty much like a mini cell phone tower, located in your home, and gives you five bars of coverage within 5,000 feet. Since it connects to your broadband network, it uses that to send and receive voice and data. It works with any AT&T 3G phone, and supports up to four voice or data users at one time. Only phones that you specifically allow to use your Microcell can benefit from it, so you don’t have to worry about your neighbors stealing your 3G signal. You can grant access to the device to up to a total of 10 lines.

The 3G Microcell will cost $149.99, but there will be a $100 mail-in rebate. So that is a $50 one-time cost to get a perfect AT&T 3G signal in your home. Yeah, it’s AT&T’s job to make sure all that happens anyway, but realistically, they don’t. That said, we think this is a nice value. No monthly fees to use the device, unless you want to subscribe to an Unlimited Microcell Calling plan, which basically lets you use the Microcell as much as you’d like, without affecting your calling minutes.

Tags:
3g,
3g microcell,
att,
att 3g microcell,
ctia,
ctia 2010,
femtocell,
sidefeatured,

Amazon is currently selling a Slyvania Blu-ray player for $59.99, which has got to be the absolute cheapest price we have ever seen for a standalone Blu-ray player to date. It’s compatible with all the expected surround sound formats, and can play back just about any kind of disc you can think of. It supports Bonus View Profile 1.1, so while it isn’t a 2.0 player, we think it is safe to say that not many people use those 2.0 features. For $60, this is a steal.

Tags:
amazon,
amazon deals,
blu-ray,
blu-ray players,
deals,
nb530slx,
sylvania,
sylvania nb530slx,

A quick clip from CNN as they go over the upcoming launch of the iPad, and the fact that Apple has just made deals with publishers Perseus and Workman to distribute books on the iPad. They also look at the pressure that Amazon is feeling as it pertains to the Kindle, as publishers want Amazon to mimic the Apple agreement method of selling eBooks.

You can pre-order an iPad now.

Tags:
amazon,
apple,
cnn,
ebooks,
ereaders,
ipad,
kindle,
perseus,
videos,
workman,

The newly released Eye-Fi X2 series of Wi-Fi-enabled SD cards is now shipping, and they offer some very nice improvements over the previous Eye-Fi models. If you are unfamiliar, Eye-Fi cards connect to your home network or a hotspot, and upload the images from your camera to your home computer so that you don’t have to physically sync your camera regularly. We have all the specs below, but we have to say, we are loving the “Endless Memory” feature the most. Basically, as you snap pics and they sync to your computer (Eye-Fi can also send them directly to social networks like Flickr and Facebook,) Eye-Fi will delete them from the card, so you never ever have to manually delete pictures.

Here’s what you can expect from the three new cards:

• Eye-Fi Connect X2 – At 4GB capacity, the Eye-Fi Connect X2 will automatically upload JPEG photos and videos to the computer and one of more than 25 online sharing sites, such as Flickr, Facebook, YouTube or Picasa, through a Wi-Fi network. MSRP: $49.99.
• Eye-Fi Explore X2 – At 8GB of capacity, the Eye-Fi Explore X2 will automatically upload JPEG photos and videos to the computer and one of more than 25 online sharing sites. It offers lifetime automatic geotagging so photos and videos arrive at the user’s computer with location information already included to identify where the image was captured.  Explore X2 also offers one year of hotspot access for uploading away from home at more 21,000 AT&T and Harborlink locations across the Unites States and through open hotspots. MSRP: $99.99.
• Eye-Fi Pro X2 – Unveiled at CES and winner of CNET’s “Best of CES” award, the 8GB Eye-Fi Pro X2 will automatically upload JPEG and RAW photos and videos to the home computer, and will send them to one of more than 25 online sharing sites. It also allows users to create an ad hoc connection directly to their computer to wirelessly upload photos and videos while away from a wireless router. Like Explore X2, Pro X2 offers lifetime geotagging and one-year of hotspot access to enable uploads away from home at more than 21,000 AT&T and Harborlink hotspots and open hotspots. MSRP: $149.99.

In addition to all that, Eye-Fi cards now have double the hotspot access that they had previously, starting on March 31, with the inclusion of any AT&T or Harborlink hotspot location (like Starbucks, Hertz Rental, Marriot hotels, and more) allowing users to simply turn their cameras on, and have the Eye-Fi go to work and do its thing.

We’ve got a video demo for you after the jump.

Continue reading Eye-Fi X2 cards bring 802.11n, Class-6 speeds

Tags:
802.11n,
endless memory,
eye-fi,
eye-fi connect x2,
eye-fi explore x2,
eye-fi pro x2,
eye-fi x2,
memory,
sd cards,
wi-fi sd cards,

Poor Mafia. When the first game released in 2002, it drew plenty of criticism for being too much in the vein of Grand Theft Auto. The game actually had a flair of its own and a distinct cinematic style, with plenty of interesting moments and glowing reviews. Some moments in particular (notably the one involving crashing a funeral) were altogether more memorable than anything in other open-world games.

Nearly a decade later, 2K Games has decided to bring the series to current-gen consoles with Mafia II. We got a hands-on sneak peak at the game at the GDC. Do your best Marlon Brando impersonation (note: please do not do your best Marlon Brando impersonation) and hit the jump to see how it stacks up to its namesake.

Continue reading Mafia II: Hands-on impressions

Tags:
2k games,
gdc,
gdc 2010,
mafia ii,
pc,
playstation 3,
ps3,
xbox 360,

Over at CTIA, Sprint just dropped the big announcement that we knew was coming, they will be launching the first 4G smartphone – the HTC EVO 4G – and they will be doing it “this summer.” The EVO 4G runs Android 2.1, and has a gorgeous 480×800 4.3-inch TFT LCD display and is powered by a 1GHz Snapdragon QSD8650 processor and 512MB of RAM. Onboard memory isn’t much to write home about at 1GB, but seriously, that is the only “flaw” we can find with the initial look at this device, if you want to even call it that. I mean, it ships with an 8GB microSD card, and is upgradeable to 32GB. Still, built-in is always nice.

Wanna talk about some of the more exciting stuff? Well, we’ve got an 8 megapixel camera on the back, which can shoot 720p HD video, as well as a 1.3 megapixel front facing camera. You know, the one we’ve been waiting for on the iPhone? Expect to be able to do video chatting on the EVO 4G. Also, expect to be able to view the content stored on it on a larger display, since this thing rocks HDMI out. 802.11b/g Wi-Fi support and an 8GB microSD card round things out, so as you can see, this thing is packed. Oh, and let’s not forget that whole 4G thing.

The HTC EVO 4G will be the first device outside of AT&T that will allow for both voice and data to be used at the same time, thanks to the phone running both EV-DO Rev. A and WiMAX alongside a CDMA antenna. Even cooler, in our opinion, is that this device acts similar to a MiFi or Overdrive device, where it becomes a mobile hotspot that allows you to share your 4G connection with your other devices wirelessly. However, rather than being limited to five connections, the EVO 4G can give that good 4G Internet lovin’ to 8 devices at once.

Sprint knows that those picking up a 4G device are going to expect a lot more from their connection their phones that are stuck on 3G, and they demo’d a few scenarios to show that they are serious. You can stream high definition content to and from the device, take pictures and stream them anywhere, get instant and live search results with Google Goggles, and much more.

Despite the torrent of info that Sprint provided as it pertained to the HTC EVO 4G, they did neglect to provide a solid release date, as well as the price of both the EVO 4G itself, or the associated 4G data plan.

Gallery: Sprint details HTC EVO 4G mobile phone

Tags:
4g,
4g smartphones,
adslice,
ctia,
ctia 2010,
evo 4g,
htc,
htc evo 4g,
mifi,
mobile hotspot,
overdrive,
sidefeatured,
smartphones,
sprint,
wimax,

Were the 90s awesome for you?  Did you own a literal ass-ton (it’s an official measurement) of Versace shirts, pointy-toed shoes and hair pomade?  Of course you did.  The world was your oyster, but at some point along the way, between losing all of your stock options along with most of your hair and dignity, you got saddled saddled with a wife and kids and had to give up the one thing that you based your entire ego around: your two-seat fire-engine red Ferrari that you nicknamed “Chicka-saurus Rex.”  Ever since that day it has been one long sad slide into middle age as you putt-putt along in your almost as douchey, but not quite as manly, Porsche Cayenne Turbo SUV or some-such.  Well, break out the striped shirt with the dragon embroidered on the back, paint yourself with enough fake-tanner to make an Oompa-Loompa blush and get ready for a return to the salad-days: Bugatti has announced the arrival of a 4-door version of the Veyron, the mascot-car of ass-hats everywhere, in 2012.  The 4-door Galibier will still feature the same gas-sucking 16 cylinder, quad-turbo engine that the Veyron has but will also allow you to pretend that you care about your family at the same time.  I mean, honestly, what says ‘family man’ more than strapping your wife and kids into a car that has the ability to smash into things at 230MPH?  Now all that you need to complete the picture is a house that has stripper poles and a Sesame Street swing-set.

Tags:
4-door,
bugatti,
cars,
four-door,
galibier,
luxury,
performance,
sedan,
sports cars,
transportation,
v16,
veyron,

Heads up, all you Xbox 360 owners that are constantly feeling the pinch when it comes to hard drive space – Microsoft has finally released the 250GB Xbox 360 hard drive as a standalone device! Previously, you were only able to get the drive with the purchase of one of the many special edition consoles, like Modern Warfare 2 or Final Fantasy XIII. The 250GB hard drive can be purchased now, and costs $129.99.

Tags:
250gb hard drive,
accessories,
microsoft,
storage,
xbox 360,
xbox 360 hard drive,

Just like the Barnes & Noble iPad app that we talked about previously, an Amazon Kindle app that is specifically made and formatted for the iPad is also on the way. The folks over at the New York Times were able to get a look at it, and it sounds fairly similar to what we saw from Apple with their iBooks app. You can control the speed of a page turn with your finger, and it has a couple of new ways for people to view their entire eBook library. One of those, above, shows books covers with a background of someone reading a book under a tree. The position of the sun in the background changes depending on the time of day, which is fairly cool.

We find the whole things with both B&N and Amazon rushing to get their eBook reader apps ready for the iPad to be very interesting. In a nutshell, the iPad is now the only mobile device that will let you read eBooks purchased from Apple, Amazon, or Barnes & Noble. All the other devices are tied to one store. Between the eBook stores, and apps like Instapaper, the iPad is prepped to be the most feature-rich eBook reader on the planet, and that doesn’t even take any of its other features into account.

Tags:
apple,
barnes and noble,
barnes and noble ipad,
ebooks,
ereaders,
ibooks,
ipad,
ipad apps,
kindle,
kindle ipad,