First Microsoft Surface shipped international, brute-force unboxed
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Most unboxings don't require a forklift and crowbar. Then again, most of us aren't unboxing Microsoft's 125-kg (275-pound) Surface computer -- so big that one recipient quipped, "That's a big-ass box." How apropos. The recipient is Australian marketing agency Amnesia, making this the first international shipment of Surface we've heard about. That's good news as the platform seems to finally be taking off.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments


Pandora project demoed on video, shows off hardware, Linux, and Quake 2
Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds

It looks like the Pandora project is really coming together nicely. EvilDragon has just posted this video on the GP32x boards of a development model up and running. It's pretty exciting stuff if you're a homebrew fan (and we know you are), featuring demos of the device smoothly running emulators like PicoDrive, PSNES, booting up a build of Linux, and even getting its Quake 2 on (at high frame rates and looking crystal clear). It's still going to be awhile before we've actually got our grubby mitts on one of these, but this is certainly doing a good job of whetting our appetites. Watch the video after the break and see for yourself.
[Thanks, Chris]Continue readingPandora project demoed on video, shows off hardware, Linux, and Quake 2
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Video: Samsung's extraordinary i900 Omnia unboxing -- go ahead, press the red button
Filed under: Cellphones

Yeah, we know that the video posted after the break is a corporate promotion loosed onto the Internets in hopes of going viral. But damn if this Samsung Omnia (i900) unboxing doesn't match our vision of how these oft tiresome rituals should be. What started a few years back as a cultural goof to poke fun at eager fanboy fanaticism has now become an integral part of a product's launch identity. But this, this is the future.
[Thanks, Saad R.]Continue readingVideo: Samsung's extraordinary i900 Omnia unboxing -- go ahead, press the red button
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Microsoft intros SideWinder X6 keyboard and X5 mouse
Filed under: Peripherals

We had a hunch that Microsoft would be launching a SideWinder-branded keyboard this fall, and sure enough, the suits in Redmond are keeping the revitalized name alive with an all new September-bound input peripheral combo. The SideWinder X6 is hailed as the "first gaming keyboard created by Microsoft from the ground up, and the only gaming keyboard on the market with a switchable key pad." When not in gaming mode, the key pad transforms into a full-programmable macro pad. You'll also find two-color adjustable backlighting, mode switching and a $79.95 price tag. As for the X5 mouse, this critter packs nine buttons (five of which are customizable), a 2,000DPI laser tracking engine, six DPI settings (adjustable on the fly) and a $59.95 sticker. Full release is just after the break.

Gallery: Microsoft intros SideWinder X6 keyboard and X5 mouse
Continue readingMicrosoft intros SideWinder X6 keyboard and X5 mouse
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Swany's g.cell snowboard glove secretly doubles as Bluetooth handset
Filed under: Cellphones, Wearables

Bluetooth technology has been finding its way into ski gear for years now, but Swany has taken things to a whole 'nother level -- one that's only reachable via the heated quad-lift. Unless this description is positively inaccurate, there's actually a Bluetooth module, speaker and microphone tucked within one of the g.cell gloves. When it detects an incoming call, it gives your wrist a shake (read: there's a vibrate function) and enables you to quite literally talk to the hand. Swany asserts that it'll last for 12 hours on standby (4 hours of talk time), though your phone may crap out a few hours earlier in extreme temperatures. Now that we think about it, wrestling that mobile out of our deep coat pockets with frostbitten hands is pretty annoying -- maybe that $495 price tag isn't so staggering after all.
[Via bookofjoe, thanks llya]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments


NEC produces Wireless USB host controller, on the hunt for end products
Filed under: Peripherals, Wireless
Oh sure, Wireless USB products are out there, but they're pretty far out there. We're talking deep back shelf type stuff. NEC Electronics is hoping to get the cord-free version of the well known peripheral standard into more and more gizmos by cranking out the uPD720171 Wireless USB host controller. The unit was designed with the PCI Express bus interface in mind, and it can also provide laptops with connectivity via the ExpressCard slot. The company claims that the $10 device can handle transfers up to 480Mbps within a range of three meters, but you'll be waiting a little while yet before testing out said claim in a finalized product.
[Via SlashGear]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments


Lenovo's ThinkPad T500 gets previewed
Filed under: Laptops

Now that you're well acquainted with the specifications of Lenovo's ThinkPad T500, there are only a couple more hoops to leap through before pulling the trigger or calmly placing the mouse on the ground and walking away. Here to help you inch closer to one option or the other is NotebookReview, which has procured one of these rigs and given it a thorough inspection. Fans of the trademark design (read: plain, simple, boring / beautiful) will find oodles to love, and build quality (overall) was seen as satisfactory. Unfortunately, a good bit of flex was noticed in the keyboard, which could be a serious issue for fans of previous units. There's plenty more discussion where this came from, so head on down and give the full writeup a look if you're remotely interested in bringing the T500 into your loving abode.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments


Japan to push its whiz-bang handsets overseas
Filed under: Cellphones
With Japanese handset sales declining pretty much across the board (thanks,lower subsidies!), it follows logic that the government and Japanese-based handset makers would look internationally to pick up the slack. In a rather vague report, we're told that the nation is hoping to push its technologically advanced mobiles in other countries, though it'll have a tough time marketing mobile TV without sufficient infrastructure. One of the token handsets chosen to lead the parade is a Sony-made "wallet phone," which is only described as having cashless technology built in. Color us (very) mildly enthused.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments


iPhone 3G starting at $700 in India, lines to be nonexistent
Filed under: Cellphones
Though we can't definitively say this will end up being the priciest iPhone 3G this side of eBay, there's a good chance it will be. Word has it that Vodafone will be offering up Apple's latest 8GB handset for a mind-boggling Rs 31,000 ($712), or Rs 36,100 ($830) for the 16 gigger. Why so serious high? Because neither Vodafone nor Airtel will subsidize the phone, and to add insult to injury, there's not even a 3G highway up and running in India. Grey market operators to capitalize in T-minus 3, 2, 1...
[Via Cellpassion]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments


Apple replacing faulty MagSafe power adapters, too
Filed under: Laptops, Peripherals

First the iPod nano, now Apple's Mag(not so)Safe adapters. That look familiar? If so, Apple is ready to replace the faulty MagSafe adapter from your 13-inch MacBook or 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pro -- in warranty or out. You do live nearby an Apple-Authorized Service Provider right?Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments




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