Gadgets Blog

by Joshua Fruhlinger, posted Jul 10th 2008 at 9:38AM

We’ve all dreamed of wire clutter-free home theaters for years (admit it), and Belkin is about to make things a lot easier with the FlyWire. The new wireless transmitter and receiver can send 1080p video over a 5GHz band. Belkin promises little to no interference and no latency even for you gamers. As for connections, we’re looking at three HDMI ins, two component ins, one composite, and one HDMI out. Remote control is done via IR, which should be welcome news to those of you with universal remotes. FlyWire will come in two packages: The FlyWire AV69003 at $999.99 is meant for a whole-home solution with an IR backchannel for multi-room control, while the FlyWire R1 AV69000 at $699.99 is meant for a single room without the IR backchannel. Not exactly cheap, but a heck of a lot cheaper than those custom wireless installs, and a lot more pretty than ripping a hole in your wall for cables. FlyWire should hit stores in October.

Gallery: Belkin FlyWire

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Filed under: Home Entertainment

Duke Nukem has long been a force to be reckoned with. Every adventure he has gone on has been an instant classic, and with the amount of expectations for his newest game, that trend could continue. Nobody’s sure when Duke Nukem Forever will be released, but at least console gamers will get a little Duke in their lives soon. If these screenshots are to be believed, Duke Nukem 3d will be on the XBOX 360’s Live service soon. It is already a confirmed title, but there have not been any announcements as to when the game is supposed to hit.

If you look closely at the shot, you’ll notice a couple of interesting tid-bits. Apparently, the game will be newly rendered in HD which spells nothing but fun. Second, the game costs 1337 dollars. Of course, that just means that somebody at Microsoft (a haXor) has a subtle sense of humor. Obviously, it’s just a placeholder and the actual price has not been depended on yet.

This release will be a huge hit when it comes out, and believe the hype. Duke Nukem 3D is a fun game and the thought of playing it with all of your friends online…on your XBOX 360… in high-definition is extremely appealing. It will, at least, hold us over for the next fourteen years that it takes for Duke Nukem Forever to be developed.

Read more at Kotaku

by Joshua Topolsky, posted Jul 10th 2008 at 8:47AM

When we first heard D-Link was sending its new DSM-210 Internet Photo Frame our way, we’ll admit we had some pretty Star Trekkian visions of what it might entail. The device — which is a 10-inch, 800 x 480 LCD display with built-in WiFi and ethernet connectivity — promises to upgrade the familiar static nature of its ilk with a handful of networking enhancements. The frame adds Facebook, RSS, and various photo site (Flickr, Picasa) integration, then couples it with weather reports and the standard slideshow options (using the 1GB onboard storage or SD / MMC / Memory Stick slot). What should be a killer combo — a frame that actually provides some interactive features — is unfortunately hampered by its clunky UI and painful navigation via its dimestore micro-remote. D-Link does provide a nice landing page to set up your various accounts, though there’s a cap on how many pictures can be in each stream, and it won’t let you add two of the same subscription services on the device (say, if you and your spouse have separate Flickr accounts). The weather application is a nice touch, but that fact that it displays advertisements is a bit of a detractor — do we really need to be bombarded with Dr. Pepper ads interspersed with photos from our peace-keeping missions abroad? All in all, it’s not a bad device, but for the $249.99 price tag, you may be better off buying a cheapo netbook for a little bit more cash and leaving it open on a table somewhere.

Gallery: D-Link DSM-210 unboxing, hands-on, and mini-review

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Filed under: Displays

by Joshua Fruhlinger, posted Jul 10th 2008 at 12:59PM

It seems adding a touchscreen to the Eee PC 900 is all the rage these days, and one lucky modder installed the Fido-Dido version with what look to be woot-worthy results. He notes that there’s no additional bulge, and a test video shows that the new screen is as responsive as one could hope. If you’re the owner of a Eee PC 900 and want to get your hands or stylus on your screen (or you’re just a curious little bugger), check the glorious video of the Fido-Dido in action after the break.

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Filed under: Laptops

by Joshua Topolsky, posted Jul 10th 2008 at 9:17AM

That’s right. If you’ve been dying for a round of Super Monkey Ball, now’s your chance. The firmware is available only through a direct link, not iTunes, so if you want it, follow the read link to sweet, succulent 2.0 paradise. We’re loading it up as we speak, so we’ll let you know what’s good ASAP. If you want to update, just download the file, then hold option when checking for an update in iTunes — find the file and let the party begin.

Update: Okay, all systems are go! Updating with pics after the break. We’re installing AIM and some other apps on to test — we’ll have photos in just a moment.

Update 2: Looks like our upload of Super Monkey Ball caused iTunes to crash out! We’ve got the wheel, folks.

Update 3: Alright, we’ve got it syncing again — but it’s taking forever. Hard to tell if this is due to apps uploading or not. It’s like watching paint dry.

Update 4: Our bad — music was syncing. Applications are up and running smoothly — take a look at the new batch of pics in the gallery below. Also, the update has been tested on both a jailbroken and non-jailbroken phone and it’s working as it should.

We’ve got more specific info on apps and changes after the break, so take a peak.

Gallery: iphone firmware 2.0 is live (plus hands-on)

[Via MacRumors]

So right now, it looks like AIM is working when the phone is sleeping, though it doesn’t seem to alert you to new messages until you’ve woken the device up and checked AIM. Then they come at you rapid fire, which is a little unusual. Thus far, we have discovered no way to turn off the sounds in AIM. If you know the sounds, you know how annoying that is.

Push email is kind of working, though it doesn’t appear to push changes from webmail to the phone (we can’t check MobileMe yet since it isn’t live), but Yahoo! Mail works just as badly as it did before.

Google Maps now has 3D buildings, which is a nice change, though little else seems to have been altered.

Most of the applications remain largely unchanged. Take a look at our App Store roundup post to see some more of the interesting downloads available.

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Filed under: cellphones

Belkin’s new GoStudio recorder is an iPod accessory that boasts a full-featured recording dock that is compatible with the ipod 5G, iPod classic, as well as both second and third generations of iPod nano. The GoStudio is able to record 16-bit 44.1kHz audio directly from a couple of integrated stereo mics or 0.25″ XLR and minijack inputs. The recordings are all uploaded into iTunes the moment you’re done. You will need to part with $119 for the Belkin GoStudio recorder, and this tool will cater specifically to podcasters.

Next time you make a mobile call there’s a group of individuals you should thank. They are the people who have to climb communication and mobile phone towers to complete installs or do maintenance. As a RCR Wireless News article reports, tower climbing is the deadliest job in the U.S., according to the head of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Edwin Foulke Jr.

Foulke states that many fatalities occur during a tower’s erection, retrofitting or dismantling, and tend to be due to climbers not being tied to a safe anchorage point or faulty personal protection equipment.

That’s why OSHA has been pushing the slogan “Tie or Die!” to help raise awareness of the dangers associated with not tying off to a secure point while climbing a tower.

We take for granted how easy it is to pick up a mobile phone and call someone from almost anywhere. The fact that we share that freedom can only be attributed to the hard work of individuals who put their lives on the line everyday. They are the ones that keep the necessary infrastructure required for mobile communications growing and maintained. We truly owe them a special thanks.

Read more at RCR Wireless News.

Amex Digital has just released the PD-K06e Portable Super Multi Drive that is extremely slim, making it an instant favorite with folks who travel a whole lot (and have tons of data to burn). It is USB-powered, so make sure you keep one of them ports free on your notebook, or you can always use the included power adapter as long as there is a power outlet nearby. The PD-K06e Portable Super Multi Drive boasts 20× DVD±R write speeds and 10× write speeds on dual-layer media, a 2 MB buffer, average access times between 130 and 150 ms, and is compatible with both Windows and Mac platforms. it will retail for $89 a pop - a good $10 less compared to the external macbook air SuperDrive.

Spain’s Movistar has at last posted its somewhat confusing iphone prices. The handsets start at €0 for the 8GB iPhone on the €60 ($94) per month plan, but on top of that €60 you have to pay another €25 ($39) for the data, which is a fairly decent 1GB per month.

If you choose to pay a little more for the phone, you can have a cheaper monthly rate. If you pay €360 for thew 16GB handset, you can get away with a tiny €9 ($14) voice plan, plus another €15 ($24) for the data (which at this end is just 200MB), coming in at a total of €24 ($38). Curiously, you can’t combine the big data plan with the small voice plan, which, as I speak such terrible Spanish that I never actually call anyone, would be perfect for me.

Another welcome departure from the norm is what happens when you hit your data limit. Instead of geting hit with extra charges, Movistar will just drop your data rate from 128 Kbps to 64 Kbps. As with most other country carriers, the plans give you fee access to Wi-Fi hotspots, in this case Telefonica. I’m actually quite relieved, considering how bad the other European rates are. Of course, this probably has something to do with the slap on the wrist the Spanish telcos recently received from the government for alleged price fixing. See you all at the store in the morning! I’ll be the one with camera and a hangover.

Product page [Movistar. Thanks Pieter!]

D-Link has just announced their latest digital picture frame, the DSM-210. Sporting a 16:9 format, 10-inch TFT display with an 800 x 480 resolution the DSM-210 features 1GB of internal memory with an option to expand on that with either an SD, MMC or Memory Stick card. The frame also includes Wi-Fi 802.11g, one Ethernet port, one USB 2.0 port and has support for JPEG images.

The frame can display images via the internal memory, a memory card, and even stream them directly from photo sites such as Flickr, Picasa or Facebook. It also has support for RSS feeds allowing you to get the latest news anywhere in your house.

In addition, for those with secured home networks the Wi-Fi offers support for WPS, WPA, WPA2 and WEP. And, finally the DSM-210 offers an auto-shut off feature that allows it to shut down when it does not detect any motion in the room, which also means that once you re-enter the room it will turn back on.

The D-Link DSM-210 is currently available and retailing for $289.99

Product [D-Link]

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