Diago’s Little Smasher puts a 5W guitar amp in a tiny carbon steel box (video)
December 9, 2010 No Comment
Sure, you can always plug your axe into a computer (or even an iPhone ) and make sweet, sweet music with software. But what about those times you need an honest-to-goodness amplifier? Diago’s Little Smasher is a full-fledged 5 watt guitar amp head that is only roughly the size of an effects pedal. The things is pretty basic — active bass and treble (which gives you more control of the tone than passive EQs), gain, volume, 4-16 ohm output impedance (should work with any speaker cabinet), and that’s pretty much it! We should probably also add that the carbon steel enclosure is a nice touch, and one that will be appreciated when you’re fighting off a stage invasion at the next Lilith Fair. But you probably want to hear how it sounds — and for that, we direct you to the video placed after the break. Available for $250 this January. Continue reading Diago’s Little Smasher puts a 5W guitar amp in a tiny carbon steel box (video) Diago’s Little Smasher puts a 5W guitar amp in a tiny carbon steel box (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 17:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …PlayStation Move Sharpshooter hands-on: a first-party SMG peripheral coming in February
December 9, 2010 No Comment
This isn’t the first PlayStation Move peripheral to replicate a firearm , but the Sharpshooter is brought to you by Sony itself, so you expect a higher degree of quality than from the third-party deluge . And if you’re the sort who like to accessorize, it’s a pretty good offering. We had a chance to check it out this morning over a brief round of Killzone 3 , which Sony says was the inspiration (along with the upcoming SOCOM ). Overall, it’s pretty light and sturdy. The Move controller slides into the front, and the buttons then become mapped around the gun: RL is under the grip, the Move button is just under the trigger, start and select rest on opposite sides of the barrel, and Square / Triangle are mirrored above the trigger, making it easier to reach regardless whether you’re right- or left-handed. There’s a cradle under the stock for the Navigation Controller to rest, the butt is adjustable, and the top has a mount for a scope (no details on that peripheral of a peripheral). There’s additionally a lock button and what seems like burst-fire mode that won’t be used by Killzone 3 ; the reps told us they spoke with various other developers to make sure the accessory fit their needs as well but couldn’t elaborate more. So, how did it handle? We’ll say the buttons were all easy to get to, but this accessory is fundamentally not for us. Having to move the entire submachine gun to aim felt more unwieldy than simply twisting a wrist like you would with the first-party Shooting attachment (or the Move controller by its lonesome). Speaking of which, the Sharpshooter is lacking in retro aesthetic, something we really liked in the “1950s laser pistol” replica that came out last month. We get the feeling this wasn’t made with us in mind, anyway. Sharpshooter should hit store shelves in February (same month as Killzone 3 ) for a penny under $40. Looking for something more traditional? A jungle green DualShock 3 is also coming in February for $55. Press release after the break. Gallery: Sony Sharpshooter for PlayStation Move hands-on Gallery: PlayStation Sharpshooter and Jungle Green DualShock 3 Continue reading PlayStation Move Sharpshooter hands-on: a first-party SMG peripheral coming in February PlayStation Move Sharpshooter hands-on: a first-party SMG peripheral coming in February originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 17:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Gmail for Android update improves Priority Inbox, adds additional compose and send options
December 9, 2010 No Comment
Hey, Google just rolled out Gmail for Android 2.3.2, which improves support for Priority Inbox and adds in a couple much-needed compose and send options. Priority Inbox gets some buffed-up views and controls to change importance settings, and Gmail can now send a notification upon receipt of an important email, which is incredibly cool. Even better, the compose screen now lets you specify any sending address you’ve setup in desktop Gmail, which is a slice of pure email heaven for those of us who juggle multiple accounts from one inbox. You can also respond to messages inline now and swap between reply, reply-all, and forward much more easily. Best of all, if you’re running Froyo you can hit that QR code and go grab the update right now since Google broke Gmail out into a Market app — no need to wait for your pokey manufacturer / carrier to roll out Gingerbread . (Then again, if you’re still waiting for Froyo you might not be quite as pleased.) Ain’t modularity grand? Gmail for Android update improves Priority Inbox, adds additional compose and send options originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 16:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Intel’s already boasted of its massive investment in a new 22 nanometer manufacturing process , and it’s now confirmed that it’s new plant in Hillsboro, Oregon, dubbed D1X will be ready to produce 450 millimeter wafers. Of course, “ready” seems to be the keyword here — Intel will apparently stick with 300 mm wafers for a while yet, but have all the necessary preparations put in place to kick start 450 mm production when the industry is ready for it. That shift promises to both increase efficiency and cut costs by allowing more chips to be produced at a time, but it will likely still be years before we see any actual results — one analyst speculates it could be 2018 at the earliest before 450 mm fabrication tools are ready. Intel confirms Oregon plant will be ready to make 450 mm wafers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 16:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Cypress Hill backup singer sees himself in Grand Theft Auto, sues Rockstar
December 9, 2010 No Comment
Our friends, this next post is fraught with danger, excitement, and West Coast rappers with names like B-Real, Sen Dog, and Michael “Shagg” Washington. Indeed, the latter is alleging that Rockstar appropriated his likeness for the character CJ, a hood in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas whose life apparently shares many details with his own troubled upbringing, “including how the teen-agers in his gang rode around on bicycles,” according to his lawyer. It seems that way back in 2003 the Cypress Hill backup singer met with reps from the game studio for a two hour interview “to talk about street life,” and the next thing you know, San Andreas is released and you have criminals riding around on bikes! Coincidence? Mr. Shagg doesn’t think so, and he’s asking for twenty-five percent of Rockstar’s profits from the game — approximately $250 million — because they’ve “stolen his image and never paid him.” Now that we think of it, isn’t there an obsessive gadget blogger in that game that looks awfully familiar? We’d better call our lawyers. Cypress Hill backup singer sees himself in Grand Theft Auto, sues Rockstar originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 16:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Well, we’ve got to hand it to LG for quickly doing the right thing here by keeping people informed and ultimately making the best decision for its customers. Just two days after a Facebook spat that suggested the Optimus series of midrange Android handsets wouldn’t be getting Android 2.3 Gingerbread thanks to a seemingly made-up 1GHz processor requirement, they’ve reversed the decision, saying that “all” of the models that fall under the Optimus One guise (presumably including the Vortex , Optimus T , Optimus S , Optimus M , and Optimus U ) would be getting upgraded. Here’s the full statement: “LG will upgrade all Optimus One smartphones currently using the Froyo OS to the next version of the Android OS, Gingerbread. Details of the upgrade schedule will be announced locally in due course. We sincerely apologize for the confusion and misunderstanding that was caused regarding this issue.” Respect, LG. Respect. LG commits to upgrading Optimus Ones to Gingerbread, angry hordes abate originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 16:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Looks like some Chinese manufacturers think they know what the next-generation iPad looks like — we’ve seen numerous pictures today of supposed cases all with the same features: a headphone jack, a hole for a camera on the back, just one dock connector ( not two ), and a mysterious slit on the bottom. So, what could that be? An SD card slot seems unlikely since the cutout predominantly strips away the back of the case, not the bottom edge. Our source speculates it might be the antenna — if all the manufacturers saw was the aluminum case design, the cutaway could’ve been made as a precaution, not knowing exactly what it’s for. (Then again, the antenna for iPad 3G is found on the top of the device). We’re thinking it might be for a revised speaker design — the cutout is located just above and behind the location of the current iPad’s speaker. Maybe we’ll find out for ourselves by April , and maybe we won’t — consult your own crystal ball for that one. Some more case designs in a video after the break. Continue reading Alleged iPad 2 cases show up with some interesting cuts (video) Alleged iPad 2 cases show up with some interesting cuts (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 15:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We can’t get enough of Sony Ericsson’s PlayStation Phone (also known as Zeus Z1), and we’re guessing neither can you. We were just sent a new video of the device in action, only now it’s running Qualcomm’s Neocore benchmark app. As you can see, the device managed 24.4 frames per second on average. That doesn’t seem like much — our Nexus S , for example, just pulled off 55.6fps — but bear in mind, this isn’t the final software (or hardware probably), so there’s no conclusions at all to draw from this benchmark right now. Just think of it as another nice view of the phone as we inch closer to a finish line we still can’t make out over the horizon. Sorry, no slide-out gamepad, but you saw that last week — don’t be greedy. Video after the break. Continue reading Exclusive: PlayStation Phone ‘Zeus Z1′ prototype benchmarked on video Exclusive: PlayStation Phone ‘Zeus Z1′ prototype benchmarked on video originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 14:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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It’s still not an actual product just yet, but upstart Snaptick has given Crave an early look at its eponymously-named internet TV system, which it says will challenge the likes of Google TV and Apple TV. The company’s hook is that it simply delivers the “full web” to your TV, which can be controlled using either your phone or a laptop. In the case of the company’s iPhone app, you can actually flick content from your iPhone to the TV, and even have multiple people control the same TV with their respective iPhones. Things get a bit more complicated when it comes to the actual device, though. It seems the company still isn’t sure what form it will take — it could be a separate set-top box like the prototype above, or it could be built-in into a Blu-ray player or TV. Given that state of things, it shouldn’t come as much surprise that there’s no indication of a price or release date, but the company is now accepting applications for a private beta, and you can get an idea of what might be in store in the video after the break. Continue reading Snapstick shows off iPhone-controlled internet TV prototype Snapstick shows off iPhone-controlled internet TV prototype originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 14:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Windows Phone 7 devices are being discounted by third parties, but it’s business as usual
December 9, 2010 No Comment
We’re seeing reports pop up that discounting — some of it heavy — off the full retail prices of Windows Phone 7 handsets by third-party retailers this early in the game could be a sign of trouble for Microsoft, but realistically, you can’t use that yardstick for guesstimating how well a phone (or a platform, in this case) is doing. Guys like Amazon, Wirefly, Simplexity (which runs a number of mobile stores, including Walmart), and Best Buy Mobile regularly undercut carriers’ first-party pricing on handsets immediately following release — or shortly thereafter — because it’s effectively a win-win: they’re given multi-hundred-dollar commissions for each new contract they bring to the network, giving them the wiggle room to apply some of that cash to the sticker price. The retailers win because they’re earning sales by offering phones for less than the carriers, and the carriers still win because they’re pushing on-contract units either way — and that means they’ve captured another long-term revenue stream, which is where the real money’s at. Popular Android devices like the Epic 4G and the Vibrant (among countless others) were handled the same way in the retail channel as these Windows Phone 7 devices are being handled. Of course, that’s not to say we know Windows Phone 7 is selling well — Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore dodged questions about numbers this week at D: Dive into Mobile , which seems shady at best for a platform that’s now been on the market for a solid month. We are saying, though, that you can’t use third-party discounting to steer the conversation either way. Call us when AT&T or T-Mobile starts blowing out Quantums and HD7s for a penny directly when they’re not tied up in some sort of holiday BOGO promotion, because that’s when you have to worry. Windows Phone 7 devices are being discounted by third parties, but it’s business as usual originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 14:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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