Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Sunday, March 28th, 2010
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Remember that DSi XL that’s coming out next week? Well, I hope you didn’t spend a bunch of money in the DSiWare store with your regular size DSi. Yep, turns out that you can’t transfer games to your new hand-held. That really sucks. Nintendo did confirm that this is a known issue , and they are looking into the problem. At this time though, they don’t have an ETA on when exactly you’ll be able to transfer games. The issue lies in the way the store is set up, and the fact that purchases are tied to a hand-held device, instead of an account. [via 1Up ]
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Friday, March 26th, 2010
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It’s been over four months since I last paid a visit to a robot store in Akihabara/Tokyo, namely the Vstone flagship store . But I have to say the Tsukumo Robot Kingdom [JP] is much cooler, mainly because the shop is larger and offers more robots than its rival. The Robot Kingdom is located on the 4th floor of the Tsukumo PC Store II in central Akihabara. Just like the Vstone store, the Tsukumo counterpart offers a plethora of different parts and bits for your robot pleasure: The humanoid on the left costs the equivalent of $1,100, while the right one sells for $1,300: No robot store without one of the most popular humanoids out there, Robovie-X (pictured below in the middle, price: $1,600): The humanoid on the left costs the equivalent of $1,000, while the one on the right is priced at $1,050: KHR-3 HV costs $1,300: $1,100, that’s the price for this cool Hello Kitty robot: Here’s a short video showing the store/kingdom (not made by me):
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Friday, March 12th, 2010
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Wait! Stop. Before you hand over Apple your credit card and pre-order the iPad , you may want to check out the other touchscreen options available now and in the near future. The iPad isn’t the only game in town. Sure, it might have a fancy-pants interface, but each of the follow seven tablets win the hardware fight, which is just as important to a lot of consumers. Of course the hardware only tells part of the story. The iPad has a leg up on all of these options because of the user-friendly iPhone interface, but it’s not like you’re dropping $600+ on a tablet for your parents, right? Currently available ModBook The ModBook is the original Apple Tablet — besides the Newton of course. Except it’s not made by Apple proper, but rather Axiotron who has been making them since 2007. Prices start out at $899, but customers have to provide a pre-polycarbonate unibody Macbook making the total price closer to $2,000. Advantages over the iPad Full OS X Multitasking Flash support Built-in camera Built-in optical drive 13.3-inch screen 120GB hard drive Windows compatibility Disadvantages No 3G modem No multitouch No access to the App Store Viliv X70 Viliv came out of nowhere last year — South Korea actually — and introduced a round of sleek portables with the X70 heading up the tablets. This widescreen 7-inch tablet has nearly every piece of hardware missing from the iPad. Prices start out at $597. Advantages over the iPad Windows Flash support Multitasking Unlocked 3G GSM modem GPS SD card slot Camera USB slot Haptic-feedback touchscreen Video out 128GB SSD Disadvantages No multitouch No access to the App Store Only a 7-inch screen Archos 9 PC tablet Archos has been a major player in the MID market since it started. The Archos 9 PC Tablet is the company’s largest slate device to date. It also proves that Apple isn’t the only one to out beautiful looking devices. Prices start out at $549. Advantages over the iPad Windows 7 Flash Support Multitasking Two USB slots SD Card slot Webcam A kick stand Optical trackpad nub Disadvantages No multitouch No access to the App Store Upcoming Viliv S10 Blade The S10 Blade is Viliv’s first product of 2010, and it’s a looker. It has a 10-inch multitouch touchscreen in a convertible notebook setup that’s not much thicker than the iPad. The Viliv S10 is shipping soon at a starting price of $699. (We just got our review sample yesterday so look out for a hands-on shortly) Advantages over the iPad Windows 7 Multitasking Flash support Unlocked 3G modem Webcam 2 USB ports SD card slot Video out Disadvantages No access to the App Store Notion Ink Adam News about the Notion Ink tablet broke late last year and many chalked it up to a fanboy dream. But it’s real and supposed to be coming this spring. Advantages Android Multitasking Nvidia Tegra 2 platform 10-inch Dual-mode display (full color to ePaper) Rear-facing trackpad USB and HDMI ports Unlocked 3G modem Tie Android Market to Apple’s App Store Multitouch HP Slate We joked that CES 2010 would be full of tablet computers. It wasn’t and only a few major players like HP and Dell showed off prototypes. Both take a totally different approach too as the HP Slate (the unofficial name, btw) opts for a Windows with full flash support. It should hit the market this year at a rumored price of between $500-$600. Advantages Windows 7 Multitasking Flash support Camera USB ports Disadvantages No access to the App Store No 3G modem (at least not yet) Dell Streak While HP decided to go with Windows, the 5-inch Dell Streak uses Android. The 5-inch Streak is clearly meant for a different market than the 9.7-inch iPad, but it’s also possible that we’ll see a larger version sometime soon, too. At least we hope we do. Advantages Android Multitasking Front and rear facing cameras USB ports Dual microSD slots Rumored unlocked 3G modem Tie Android Market for the App Store Neither support Flash Disadvantages Smaller screen No 3G modem
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Monday, March 8th, 2010
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Solid state hard drives are increasing in popularity mainly because more are reaching the consumer market, therefore driving down prices. But most are still a bit pricey. Active has a new 1.8-inch set, however, that’s a bit more affordable if you don’t mind forgoing storage capacity. The new 1.8-inch Turbo ZIF line are available in 32GB and 64GB sizes. Both drives can achieve 100MB/s read and 85MB/s write speeds. Sure, they aren’t the fastest in town or the largest, but at $169 and $299, they are among the most affordable 1.8-inch options. [ Amazon via PC Launches ]
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Friday, March 5th, 2010
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You’ll have to make do with this until April Get thee to the clickery! The iPad is hitting the streets on April 3 and you can start pre-ordering on March 12. As far as we can tell there was no real “delay” here, per se. As we discussed this week there was no month delay as promised and instead they picked a nice spring Saturday for the launch. The question is, however: will they have enough for all of us? iPad Available in US on April 3 Pre-Order on March 12 CUPERTINO, Calif., March 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple® today announced that its magical and revolutionary iPad will be available in the US on Saturday, April 3, for Wi-Fi models and in late April for Wi-Fi + 3G models. In addition, all models of iPad will be available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK in late April. Beginning a week from today, on March 12, US customers can pre-order both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G models from Apple’s online store (www.apple.com) or reserve a Wi-Fi model to pick up on Saturday, April 3, at an Apple retail store. “iPad is something completely new,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We’re excited for customers to get their hands on this magical and revolutionary product and connect with their apps and content in a more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before.” Starting at just $499, iPad lets users browse the web, read and send email, enjoy and share photos, watch videos, listen to music, play games, read ebooks and much more. iPad is just 0.5 inches thick and weighs just 1.5 pounds-thinner and lighter than any laptop or netbook-and delivers battery life of up to 10 hours.* iPad’s revolutionary Multi-Touch™ interface makes surfing the web an entirely new experience, dramatically more interactive and intimate than on a computer. You can read and send email on iPad’s large screen and almost full-size “soft” keyboard or import photos from a Mac®, PC or digital camera, see them organized as albums, and enjoy and share them using iPad’s elegant slideshows. iPad makes it easy to watch movies, TV shows and YouTube, all in HD, or flip through the pages of an ebook you downloaded from Apple’s new iBookstore while listening to your music collection. The App Store on iPad lets you wirelessly browse, buy and download new apps from the world’s largest app store. iPad includes 12 new innovative apps designed especially for iPad and will run almost all of the more than 150,000 apps on the App Store, including apps already purchased for your iPhone® or iPod touch®. Developers are already creating exciting new apps designed for iPad that take advantage of its Multi-Touch interface, large screen and high-quality graphics. The new iBooks app for iPad includes Apple’s new iBookstore, the best way to browse, buy and read books on a mobile product. The iBookstore will feature books from the New York Times Best Seller list from both major and independent publishers, including Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishers, Penguin Group and Simon & Schuster. The iTunes® Store gives iPad users access to the world’s most popular online music, TV and movie store with a catalog of over 12 million songs, over 55,000 TV episodes and over 8,500 films including over 2,500 in stunning high definition. All the apps and content you download on iPad from the App Store, iTunes Store and iBookstore will be automatically synced to your iTunes library the next time you connect with your computer. Pricing & Availability iPad will be available in Wi-Fi models on April 3 in the US for a suggested retail price of $499 for 16GB, $599 for 32GB, $699 for 64GB. The Wi-Fi + 3G models will be available in late April for a suggested retail price of $629 for 16GB, $729 for 32GB and $829 for 64GB. iPad will be sold in the US through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers. iPad will be available in both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G models in late April in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. International pricing will be announced in April. iPad will ship in additional countries later this year. The iBooks app for iPad including Apple’s iBookstore will be available as a free download from the App Store in the US on April 3, with additional countries added later this year. *Battery life depends on device settings, usage and other factors. Actual results vary. Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone. © 2010 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, Multi-Touch, iPhone, iPod touch, iTunes and Apple Store are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Friday, February 26th, 2010
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Remember that whole porn crackdown that nobody cares about anymore? Wonder why it happened? It wasn’t the money. It wasn’t hypocritical. It wasn’t about defending the rights of women to browse the app store unflustered. It was about image. Here’s Gruber’s cogent and true argument : I think what Apple was getting squeamish about wasn’t the sexy apps themselves, but the cheesiness that the sexy apps (and their prominence in best selling lists) was bestowing upon the general feel and vibe of the App Store. One thing I wasn’t aware of before the recent crackdown was the degree to which these apps were seeping into various non-entertainment categories. E.g., like half the “new” apps in the “productivity” category featured imagery of large-breasted bikini-clad women. These apps were shut down temporarily. They will be back, and the ban wasn’t about not offending our sainted mothers. It was about making a retail experience that people want to visit and, like Chef Ramsay shutting down Casa Roma rather than serve the rest of the night’s meals in a haphazard, sloppy way, Apple decided to shut things down and make their decisions. This, in turn, forces Apple management to make a decision. Think about it: sex sells and what percolates to the top of the App Store? Sex. When you buy an iPhone and open the App Store, you don’t see quality content for quality people. You see “Boob Dancer” and “Sassy Bikini Girl 2.0.” If this is your first experience with the App Store, you’re going to be put off. Quality, or at lease perceived quality, goes down. I think the boob apps will return under a new category that will be almost completely inaccessible until unlocked by a sentient adult. This, in turn, will reduce the number of boob apps visible to the average user. Think about your own App Store experience. I’m fairly sure you didn’t buy “Bikini Personal Information Manager 1.0″ when you first bought your iPhone. You probably bought iShoot or downloaded Yelp or rocked out with some Tap Tap Revolution. I think the vast majority of users follow this same path. The boob apps are for the febrile mind and downloaded more for yuks than out of actual interest. In the end, those poor, sad-faced app designers will get a new category and they’ll be able to sell their garbage again. Heck, some dumb app called Wobble which essentially lets you make people’s boobs wobble is back in the App Store. This is Apple’s world. We just live in it.
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Wednesday, February 24th, 2010
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Out here in the fields I fight for space meals I get my back into my monkey I don’t need to fight To prove I’m right I don’t need to a carabiner. The folks at ThinkGeek performed the intro to Baba O’Reilly (don’t call it “Teenage Wasteland,” dude) on gear from their store. They’re funny. To be honest, it’s a damn good song. via WHILL WHEATON