Incredibly, Panasonic’s been the proud parent of a 103-inch plasma since January 2006 . Here we are almost five years later learning off a 3D variant, model TH-P103MT2. The Full HD 3D plasma with 5m:1 native contrast ratio is expected to cost about 8.5 million yen or a bit more than $100,000 when Panny begins taking orders tomorrow, November 18th — and that still doesn’t include the cost to ship, handle, and install the 439 pound TV onto the wall of your country estate. At least it ships with one pair of active shutter glasses. Panasonic’s 103-inch 3D plasma hits for massive $100,000 price originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Nov 2010 01:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We spared you the “wireless” joke, but to be fair, that’s precisely what we’re looking at: Elecom’s Actrail headphones are wireless, Bluetooth-less ear muffs designed for your miniature Apple-borne MP3 player. Only the latest iPod shuffle is officially supported, but we’re betting some of the previous generations could fit in just fine. Or maybe even an iPod touch, if don’t mind applying scotch tape liberally to your noggin. Hey, it’s not like you really need to see the front as a makeshift watch, anyhow. Asking price is
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First Netflix , then Hulu Plus , and now VUDU . The movie rental service is making its way onto PlayStation 3 just in time for Thanksgiving later this month — November 23rd, to be exact. If you’re familiar with Walmart’s recently-acquired video service , you know the drill: on-demand HD titles streamed for a fee, up to 1080p and Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 surround sound. The interface will be the same as every other VUDU iteration — until mid-December, that is. That’s when, as we’ve been told, the company plans to roll out version 2.0 of its UI. In addition to being more streamlined, there’s ratings, recommendations, and most interestingly, support for PS3′s Move controller. Pictures below, press releases after the break. Gallery: VUDU hits PS3 on November 23rd, UI overhaul coming mid-December Continue reading VUDU hits PS3 on November 23rd, UI overhaul coming mid-December VUDU hits PS3 on November 23rd, UI overhaul coming mid-December originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Nov 2010 00:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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It doesn’t look like Toshiba’s going to put an end to its awkward hard drive naming convention anytime soon, but at least we can call the new MK1060GSCX the “24/7 durable one.” The 100GB, 2.5-inch SATA HDD is designed for “rugged operating environments” and continuous 24-hour operation. Obviously, Tosh has put this guy through the ringer — it claims that the drive can withstand -15 to +70 degrees Celsius as well as operate at expanded altitudes. The sacrifice you make for that, however, is in speed — the 4,200rpm drive has a 12msec seek time and 1.5Gbit/s interface speed. Of course, if you’re looking for something faster — one of Intel’s latest X25-M SSDs would run circles around that. Toshiba will also offer an even smaller 80GB MK8050GACY version with a PATA interface. No word on pricing, but Toshiba expects the new drives to hit sometime in December — hit the break for the full spec breakdown and press release. Continue reading Toshiba’s newest hard drive is designed for 24/7 rugged use Toshiba’s newest hard drive is designed for 24/7 rugged use originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Nov 2010 22:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Kinect hack explained: follow-along-at-home guide lets you reverse engineer USB, impress your friends
November 17, 2010 No Comment
So, there’s already an open source driver for the Kinect — who needs to learn how to reverse engineer USB all over again? Well, ladyada of Adafruit Industries , the folks responsible for the Kinect hack bounty and the USB logs used by the bounty winner to get a jump on his hack, has published a detailed guide on exactly how she sniffed the Kinect’s USB chatter. The guide isn’t for the faint of heart, but it’s not completely unintelligible to someone with a bit of time and determination. If anything it serves as an excellent bit of how-the-Kinect-was-won history. We’re not expecting Microsoft to reconsider its “Microsoft does not condone the modification of its products” stance on this issue, or its petty threat of law enforcement “to keep Kinect tamper-resistant,” but we do hope they’ve learned one thing by now: they’re fighting a losing battle. Kinect hack explained: follow-along-at-home guide lets you reverse engineer USB, impress your friends originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Nov 2010 22:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Aww, look at that cute little mouse cuddling up in its nest. Wait a tick… an inductive charging mat for the Magic Mouse ? You won’t find this Magic Charger at the Apple Store any time soon (if El Jobso approves at all), but the good folks at Mobee are finally taking orders for this intriguing product on its website. To mark this occasion, the Swiss company sent us a review unit for some sweet wireless charging action. Read on for our full review after the break. Gallery: Mobee Magic Charger review: wirelessly juice up your Apple Magic Mouse Continue reading Mobee Magic Charger review: wirelessly juice up your Apple Magic Mouse Mobee Magic Charger review: wirelessly juice up your Apple Magic Mouse originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Nov 2010 21:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Sure, Verizon has the lock on Gossip Girl product placement , but even the technological reality of CDMA must bow to plot development, and if that means Serena’s Droid X sprouts a SIM card so Lil’ J can steal it and surreptitiously swap in a new one, well, so be it. Of course, this clever plan assumes that Serena doesn’t text or call anyone using her new SIM, but, you know, just go with it. Video after the break. Continue reading Screen Grabs: A Droid X with a SIM card? XOXO, Gossip Girl Screen Grabs: A Droid X with a SIM card? XOXO, Gossip Girl originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Nov 2010 20:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Griffin gets in the iPod nano watch game with colorful, protective Slap wristband
November 16, 2010 No Comment
Find some of the current iPod nano watch options a bit too subdued for your style? Then you might want to consider Griffin’s new Slap wristband, which looks to be among the most protective and colorful options to date. Made entirely of a soft silicone, the Slap is available in no less than eight different colors, and it completely encloses your iPod nano (save for the headphone jack) but promises to still let you control the volume and sleep / wake buttons through the case. Still no word on a release date, but you can expect this one to set you back the same $25 that most other similar wristbands seem to be going for. Griffin gets in the iPod nano watch game with colorful, protective Slap wristband originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Nov 2010 19:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …SlingPlayer Mobile for iPad gets a walkthrough, reminds of all the daytime TV we’re missing out on
November 16, 2010 No Comment
We heard the iPad version of SlingPlayer Mobile was coming hot on the heels of SlingPlayer for Windows Phone 7 , and now we’ve got some video of the app in action. According to Mr. Video Narrator, the app has video quality “better than any mobile app we’ve ever done,” thanks to Apple’s fancy H.264 Live Streaming capabilities. The UI looks nicely responsive and unobtrusive, and the video does indeed look pretty great in the middle of a 360p YouTube video. It’s also clear that the iPad is really becoming a TV-consumption powerhouse, between Hulu Plus, Netflix, ABC, etc., so SlingPlayer looks like a natural fit. How well it will perform when it’s out in the wild is another matter, but we look forward to plunking down our $30 soon and finding out for ourselves. [Thanks, James] SlingPlayer Mobile for iPad gets a walkthrough, reminds of all the daytime TV we’re missing out on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Nov 2010 18:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Rumors: Samsung Nexus S using fancy curved display Sprint had to pass on, HTC EVO Shift 4G is the Knight?
November 16, 2010 No Comment
We’ve been fed some information by an established tipster today that paints an interesting picture of what sort of Android gear Sprint will — and won’t — be getting next. First, we’re told that the EVO Shift 4G trademark HTC recently filed for is the device known as the Knight , a downsized EVO 4G with a four-row sliding keyboard and a larger battery. Interestingly, as far as our tipster knows, the front-facing camera is off the table — but in light of all the buzz around video calling these days, we wouldn’t be surprised if it had been added back. Perhaps more interestingly, though, is some buzz around the display on the Nexus S . You might remember that we noticed it’s concave on the front during its brief reveal at the Web 2.0 summit yesterday, an extraordinarily unusual design element for a full-touch phone. Well, our tipster tells us Samsung’s been shopping this curved display technology to carriers for a while — as early as CES at the beginning of this year behind closed doors — claiming that its research showed such a design improved perceived usability over a perfectly flat display. Sprint bought the line and wanted to get a curved-display model on shelves in time for the holidays this year, but Sammy was apparently unable to deliver product in the volume it was asking for… so that’s where the Nexus S might come into play; seems the Google-branded model might be the first to get the technology. We’re unconvinced that it’s any better, but our judgment is fully reserved until we’ve got a device in our hands — which hopefully happens sooner rather than later. [Image via xda-developers ] Rumors: Samsung Nexus S using fancy curved display Sprint had to pass on, HTC EVO Shift 4G is the Knight? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Nov 2010 18:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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