Cool toys and Gadgets

Section: Audio, Portable Audio, Video, HDTV, Computers, Desktops, Laptops, Gadgets / Other, Gaming, Console

Now that Black Friday and Cyber Monday are behind us, it’s time we enjoy those gadgets that we bought, whether it be a brand new HDTV, gaming system, MP3 player, or computer.  Of course for us techie people, we like to see how this year compares with previous years in terms of money spent.  With the economy in a slump, experts predicted this shopping season to be down, but Cyber Monday managed to persuade many consumers to open their wallets, punch in their credit card number, and eagerly await their arrival of their new gadget(s).

Statistically speaking, last year on Cyber Monday had bought in $733 million in revenue, and this year bought in a 15% increase - an astonishing $846 million spent, stated ComScore in a report.  This came as a relief to many retail stores because sales had dropped by 2% or $12 billion from November 1 to Cyber Monday of this year as compared to last year. 

Gian Fulgoni, Chairman of ComScore, had this to say about why Cyber Monday prospered:

“With Cyber Monday promotions beginning in earnest over the Thanksgiving weekend, consumers have finally begun to open their wallets, setting off a streak of four consecutive days of extremely strong growth.  This is an extremely encouraging development for retailers, and we can but hope that their aggressive discounting has still left room for profits.“

A bit of bad news - when retails formally announce their profits, it is expected to overall be down from last year, even though Black Friday and Cyber Monday both did exceptionally well In addition, it could be the overall worst holiday season in terms of profit in decades.  I noticed, and you might have as well, there are many more commercials and advertisements with deals in effort to promote the holiday season.  Also, holiday music that usually starts after Thanksgiving, I was hearing it on the radio a week before Thanksgiving, probably in efforts to make people spend more.

Cyber Monday has become especially big in the last few years because Americans are finding they can get as good as and in some cases better deals than on Black Friday.  All they have to do is click a buttons buttons, type in a few numbers, and let the website and its employees do the rest. 

Now, the big question that remains is how well will retailers do in the coming weeks.  Of course, it was nice to see this big shopping spree from Black Friday to Cyber Monday, but I don’t think customers are ready to splurge yet with the state of this economy. 

Read [Los Angeles Times]

Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

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We’re live in Milan today, covering Sony’s latest announcement. In fact, Sony showed off a brand new marketing campaign today that’s intended to demonstrate their latest technology behind their BRAVIA televisions. The tech is called Motionflow 240Hz and in order to show off what the latest in motion picture technology is capable of, Sony resorted to the oldest method of creating motion pictures: the zoetrope.

A zoetrope is a device that uses static images but when spun at high speeds, create the illusion of movement. The Sony BRAVIA-drome feeds off of this 19th century technology to make for a device that is 10 meters across and spins at over 40 kph.

The subject of BRAVIA-drome is soccer, and this acts as the perfect way to show off how Motionflow works. In actually gets rid of jerkiness and shows the ball traveling in the air smoothly. This reproduces the feeling of being there live at the game. The new ‘drome is the subject of a commercial that will be used worldwide. Filmed in Venaria, which is near Turin, Italy, it shows a soccer star within the images in the BRAVIA-drome.

The commercial itself shows the faces of those in the audience standing in awe of this massive device. And it’s no wonder people were impressed. The BRAVIA-drome is capable of reaching speeds of over 50kph, requires two 40-foot trucks to transport it and weighs in at ten tons. It’s believed to be the largest zoetrope ever built!

The Motionflow 240Hz technology helps smooth out the jumpiness experienced on a normal television set. This works by significantly boosting the number of images, thus the frame rate. A “transitional picture” is placed between images in fast-moving parts of video, providing for smooth picture that is more pleasing to the eye.

This transitional picture is actually created by this Motionflow tech. It works by examining the images that precede and follow a particular image–especially during fast moving parts of a sports event or during an action sequence in a movie. All of the quick cuts and fast movements can cause a problem with how the sequence is subsequently viewed. By examining the prior and following image, Motionflow then adds an image in between that can make that car chase–or the movement of a soccer ball, in the case of the new ad campaign–look natural without any noticeable gaps in movement.

It’s really rather impressive and the whole BRAVIA-drome effort shows Sony is serious about promoting their newest technology. Check out our video from the press event below:

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Most PC desktop/notebook now comes equipped with a HDMI output for external display or digital flat screen (unless you have Mac), there are alternate solutions if your equipment lacks the output in question, you can get a DVI-HDMI adaptor or try out Atlona’s AT-HDPix Universal USB to HDMI convertor.

Compatible with both PC and Mac platform; the Atlona Technologies’ HDPiX is designed to add a HDMI port to any computer, provides a quick and dirty HDMI connectivity to view content on any HDTV at a maximum resolution of 1600×1200 PC signal or HD content at 720P.

The unit has a unique design to preserve full bandwidth of its USB input for HD Video content. Audio input is separated from video path from a 3.5-millimeter stereo input jack rather than through the USB port. The HDPiX is slated to ship before Christmas with a MSRP of $179.

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I really like the idea of a HTPC in my living room. I would love to be able to watch A-Team or The Pretender on my big screen rather than my PC display from Hulu. The catch is that I don’t want a big and bulky HTPC machine in my entertainment center, I just don’t have the room, and I want HD capability.

Asus has announced a couple new Eee Box models that could be perfect for my needs. The models are the B204 and B206. Both of them offer HD capability thanks to a new discrete ATI Radeon HD 3400 series video card. The systems also offer HDMI output for connecting to HDTV sets. The B204 adds Bluetooth and an internal battery to act as an uninterruptable power supply.

Other than those two features, both models are the same. They use Windows XP Home, 1GB of RAM, 802.11n Wi-Fi, a LAN port, card reader, onboard audio with optical out, and a 160GB HDD. Both systems also include a wireless remote for accessing content from the comfort of my couch. Pricing and availability are unknown, but the new version shouldn’t be too much more than the existing Eee Box machines.

Asus

Section: Video, Computers, Desktops

With the impending release of the Eee Top, its easy to forget about Asus’s other Eee desktop offer, the Eee Box.  It carries about the same specs as the Eee PC, but the case is built as a standard computer, about the size of an tv.  Actually, with the new features that are being added to the Eee box, it is likely to replace the tv you may or may not have.

The new updates to the Eee box will essentially turn it into a home theater machine that can double as a PC, or the other way around.  The new features will come in two new models, the B204 and B206.  Possibly the biggest feature for the models is the inclusion of a Radeon HD 3400 GPU rather than simple integrated graphics. 

This will make it much easier to decode HD video on the machines for use in a home theater system.  To connect it to a home theater system, the new models have HDMI outputs so it can easily be connected to most any HDTVs.  The B204 will also have Bluetooth so if you do use it in a home theater there are no wires to trip over with the keyboard and mouse. 

The rest of the specs are the standard netbook/nettop fares with a 160 GB hard drive.  Asus hasn’t mentioned anything about price or release dates yet, but I’m hopeful that the price won’t be too much.  It would be nice to test out a computer media center in such a small package, especially one that is much more open than the tv.  The Eee box models will run Windows XP out of the box and use Eee Cinema for a media browser, but it shouldn’t be too hard to replace it with Ubuntu and Boxee if you have a license for it.

Read [Electronista]

Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

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The Creative Vado HD Pocket Video Cam is now available for pre-order at Creative’s website for $199 dollars. The Vado HD measures a mere 3.9 x 2.2 x 0.6 inches and weighs 100 grams with the battery – certainly small enough to carry in your pocket or hold in the palm of your hand. Features of the Creative Vado HD include:

• Capture video in 720p (1280 x 720)
• Start and stop recording at the touch of a button
• Flexible USB tab
• Included HDMI cable allows you to connect the Vado HD to an HDTV
• H.264 video compression
• 2 inch antiglare screen with 640 x 240 resolution
• 2x digital zoom
• Rechargeable lithium-ion battery – rechargeable via USB
• 8GB of memory
• 2 hours of HD+ quality; 4 hours of HD quality, and 8 hours of VGA quality
• Built-in speaker and microphone
• Built-in software
• 2 hour battery life

No word on when Creative will ship the Vado HD.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Creative Vado HD Pocket Video Cam

The new SageTV HD Theater media center extender device allows you to enjoy your videos, music, and photos in full HD on your HDTV sets wherever they are in your home. As with previous SageTV extenders, the HD Theater will allow you to watch live or recorded HD broadcasts from the PCs or Macs running SageTV Media Center software. Digital content can be played off of PCs, Macs, network storage devices, or even USB storage devices. 

In addition to local content, the HD Theater extender will be able to stream online video directly from sources such as YouTube, Google Video, and major TV networks without the need of a PC.

Here’s a list of the SageTV HD Theater Specifications:

Video format supported: MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, H.264 up to 1080p, AVI, MKV, MOV, ASF, VOB, WMV9/VC-1 up to 1080p

Audio format suppported: MP2, MP3, AAC, WMA, Vorbis (stereo only), AC3 (stereo down-mix/pass-through), FLAC, DTS (pass-through)

Video Outputs: 1 HDMI, 1 Component, 1 Composite, 1 S-Video

Audio Outputs: Left/Right audio output and optical S/PDIF

Maximum Number of SageTV HD Theaters: Limited only by your home network bandwidth, each HD video stream may use 20 Mbps or more of home network bandwidth.

TV Set Requirements:

• HDMI, Component, Composite or S-Video input (NTSC)
• Left and right audio input jacks, optical or HDMI audio input

Network Requirements:

• One 10/100 RJ-45 port on a Router, Hub or Switch network with DHCP server on network

  or

• Direct connect from SageTV HD Media Extender to PC running DHCP server via cross over LAN cable (not supplied)

You can purchase the SageTV HD Media Extender for $199.95 each.

 

[Check it out via eHomeUpgrade]

Technorati Tags: SageTV HD Theater Media Center Extender

Section: Gadgets / Other, Web, Websites

Slept in on Black Friday like me?  No fear, today Gadgetell is bringing you all the fresh deals for Cyber Monday.  First up is 6ave.com.  They have some significant deals going, check these out:

Bluetooth:
Aliph JawBone, now just $84.95 57% off

Cameras:
Samsung S860 now $79.95 21% off
Olympus E-Volt E410 $409 37% off

GPS
Tom Tom One 125 $99.95, 44% off
Magellan Roadmate 1212 $128, 35% off
Magellan Roadmate 1430 $154.95, 48% off.

HDTVs
Panasonic 42” 1080p Plasma $848, 34% off
Panasonic 50” Plasma $948, 32% off

Check out all the deals: [6ave.com]

Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

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Section: Video, Gadgets / Other, GPS/Navigation

Still hungry for bargains from the store that loves low prices?  Wal-Mart has pushed out these deals, and there are some good ones.  Here are the ones that caught my eye:

• Blu ray player by Memorex - $148 Full upconverting from 480 to 1080p plus Blu ray!
• Garmin Nuvi 760 -$246
• Samsung 42” Plasma HDTV bundle - $898 You get the HDTV, a surround sound set up, and upconverting dvd player.
• Garmin Forerunner 305 personal trainer GPS - $165
• 2 pack of 4GB SDHC cards, just $20

Many of these deals are online only while some do offer a free “ship to store” option that will make shipping free, but you’ve got to pick your items up at the local Wal-Mart.

Check out all Wal-Mart is blowing out today:  [walmart.com]

Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

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Missed this one last week. Blockbuster teamed up with 2Wire to introduce the 2Wire MediaPoint digital media player which allows users easy access to on-demand video content via Blockbuster’s ONDEMAND content. For a limited time, customers can get the 2Wire MediaPoint digital media player for free with the advance rental of 25 Blockbuster ONDEMAND titles for $99 dollars.

While it’s certainly easy to compare ONDEMAND to Netflix’s Watch Instantly service, it’s more akin to services from Apple TV and Xbox 360. You pay rental fees on a per title basis for as low as $1.99 each. This also means you can watch newer titles than those typically found on Netflix.

The Mediapoint digital media player connects to your network via Ethernet or Wi-Fi and allows you to fast-forward, rewind, and pause your on-demand video. Movies are streamed at DVD quality for now although the player supports HD video content and can be connected to HDTVs.

I think Blockbuster missed the boat on this one. We don’t need another on-demand video rental service. What we need is an all-in-one subscription based service that lets customers stream on-demand all of the movie titles they want on a flat monthly fee.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Blockbuster ONDEMAND, 2Wire Mediapoint digital media player