The big RED announcement from two weeks ago made quite a rumble, and it was only a few days afterwards that Jim Jannard announced things were changing yet again. Well, the revision has arrived. Jim says they’ve taken over “all aspects of electronic design and sensor fabrication,” apparently allowing them to do some stuff to […]
The massive RED announcement from two weeks ago made quite a rumble, and it was only a few days afterwards that Jim Jannard announced things were changing yet again.Well, the revision has arrived. Jim states they’ve taken over “all aspects of electronic design and sensor fabrication,” apparently allowing them to do some stuff to upgrade the specs on a lot of the sensors. They’ve also announced a “reward” for their original customers with RED ONE units, saying they’ll get a really nice deal on a special setup if they want it, including a special sensor and bundled stuff at no extra charge.
Of note is the disclosure of 2K speeds up to 350fps on the bigger sensors, 250fps on the smaller, and the pricing of the “complete” Scarlet with a fixed lens at $3750, which is pretty reasonable.
It’s another one of those “huge images stacked on top of each other” announcements so click on through to see everything.
(I’ve re-encoded and split them for your convenience, the JPEG quality is pretty bad though. The originals are at Jim’s post.) (and thanks for the tip, dude)
Asus has stated they will be pushing their price point down in 2009, possibly to escape the overcrowded $300-$400 netbook arena and compete against the far less capable pocket Personal computers and smartphones that go for two Benjamins. They haven’t stated much aside from that, but could it be that the changes they’re making to the […]
Asus has stated they’ll be pushing their price point down in 2009, possibly to escape the overcrowded $300-$400 netbook arena and compete against the far less capable pocket PCs and smartphones that go for two Benjamins. They haven’t stated much aside from that, but could it be that the changes they’re making to the Eee Box are going to spread to the EeePC? A Celeron 220 processor isn’t exactly a step up, although it might help them reduce prices. Personally, I’d like to see innovation in form factor or interface, like HP is trying come January.
Damn, the headline should’ve been “Eee’s all about two Benjamins.” Get it? Ah well.
iPhone Linux Demonstration Video from planetbeing on Vimeo. After reverse engineering the original kernel, some hackers have gotten their own version of Linux to run on the iPhone, proving that the first gen iPhone will live on as a hacker and hobbyists tool for a decade. They’ve got BusyBox running on the processor and the team […]
After reverse engineering the original kernel, some hackers have gotten their own version of Linux to run on the iPhone, proving that the first gen iPhone will live on as a hacker and hobbyists tool for a decade. They’ve got BusyBox running on the processor and the team reports that the following systems are working:
- Framebuffer driver - Serial driver - Serial over USB driver - Interrupts, MMU, clock, etc.
What we’ve in openiboot (but hasn’t been ported yet):
- Read-only support for the NAND
What we don’t have (yet!):
- Write support for the NAND - Wireless networking - Touchscreen - Sound - Accelerometer - Baseband support
Black Friday can be a tiring, stressful, and overwhelming ordeal. Here’s a list of which stores have the ideal deals on some of the top items for the holiday shopping season, along with our picks for Ideal All-Around Store, Biggest Disappointment, Biggest No-Show Product, Most Ubiquitous Bundle, and Most Confusing Ad. If you see anything that […]
Black Friday can be a tiring, stressful, and overwhelming ordeal. Here’s a list of which stores have the best deals on some of the top items for the holiday shopping season, along with our picks for Ideal All-Around Store, Biggest Disappointment, Biggest No-Show Product, Most Ubiquitous Bundle, and Most Confusing Ad.
If you see anything that you think should be changed or added to this list, drop a note in the comments section. Let’s try to keep things to nationwide brick and mortar stores, please. The true Black Friday experience entails actually leaving the home.
Blu-ray Player
Magnavox NB500MG9 at Walmart for $128
Camcorders
Flash Memory: Panasonic SDR-7K at Best Purchase for $199
Hard Drive: JVC Everio GZ-MG230 30GB at Walmart for $249
Personal
eMachines desktop with 18.5-inch LCD at Best Purchase for $299.96
HP notebook with free Canon 3-in-1 printer at Ideal Purchase for $349.98
Consoles
Sony PS3 80GB with Ratchet & Clank + Casino Royale Blu-ray at Best Purchase for $399
Xbox 360 Arcade with Guitar Hero III and Wireless Guitar at Walmart for $199
Xbox 360 Pro with LEGO Indy/Kung Fu Panda + $60 Gift Card at Target for $299
Digital Camera Bundle
Kodak EasyShare C813 plus 7-inch Kodak digital frame at OfficeMax for $129.98
Digital Photo Frames (by size)
Pandigital 3.5-inch digital frame at Sears for $29.99
Nextar 7-inch digital frame at Sears for $37.99
Sungale 8.5-inch digital frame at OfficeMax for $59.99
Memorex 10-inch digital frame at OfficeMax for $89.99
DVD Player
Memorex compact player at Target for $24.99
External Hard Drives (by size)
500GB Seagate FreeAgent at Walmart for $69
750GB Western Digital at Target for $88.88
1TB Maxtor OneTouch at Staples for $139.98
GPS
Garmin nuvi 200 at Walmart for $97
LCD Televisions (by size)
Sansui 19-inch 720p LCD HDTV at Walmart for $178
Westinghouse 26-inch 720p LCD HDTV at Target for $299
Emerson 32-inch 720p LCD HDTV at Walmart for $388
Polaroid 42-inch 1080p LCD HDTV at Walmart for $598
Samsung 50-inch 720p Plasma HDTV at Walmart for $798
Monitor
Acer 19-inch at Ideal Buy for $99, Soyo 19-inch at Office Max for $99
Best All-Around Store: Walmart
Walmart’s got the ideal all-around deals if you can stomach the 5am start time and the ravenous crowds. If you can only make it to one store, you’ll get the best bang for your buck here. The prices on Walmart’s TVs are especially nice.
Biggest Disappointment: Best Purchase
What happened to Huge Blue this year? It didn’t bring its A or B game. That’s what happens when all of your competition goes out of business, apparently. There are some okay desktop and notebook deals, but you’ll have to get there early and snag a special coupon-type ticket to get your mitts on the best deals. Aside from a few gems, most of Best Buy’s Black Friday ad was pretty nonchalant about doling out deals.
Biggest No-Show Product: PlayStation 3
With aggressively-priced Xbox 360 bundles and Nintendo Wii consoles finally in stock, Sony’s best showing this year is a $399 bundle with Ratchet & Clank and Casino Royale on Blu-ray at Best Purchase? What’s that all about? When you can get an Xbox 360 with Guitar Hero III + guitar bundle for half the price at Walmart, it’s gonna be a slow holiday season for Sony. Yes, it has a built-in Blu-ray player. We know.
Most Ubiquitous Bundle: Digital Cameras
Look just about anywhere this year and you’ll find digital cameras either bundled with digital frames, printers, memory cards, cases, or a combination of those things. If you purchase JUST a digital camera this year, you’re not looking hard enough.
Most Confusing Ad: Kmart
Four circulars? Really Kmart? There’s the Thursday ad (yes, Kmart is open from 8AM to 10PM on Thanksgiving – sheesh), the Friday ad, the Friday and Saturday ad, and the Saturday ad, each with specific deals during specific times on specific days.
In case you’re in the market for a new TV, what with the digital switchover and all, it looks like Vizio’s got you covered. They’ve got some nice TVs out there, even though these aren’t necessarily those. Still, they’re a solid Television maker and you could do a lot worse than $700 for a 42-inch LCD […]
In case you’re in the market for a new TV, what with the digital switchover and all, it looks like Vizio’s got you covered. They’ve got some nice Televisions out there, although these aren’t necessarily those. Still, they’re a solid Television maker and you could do a lot worse than $700 for a 42-inch LCD right now. Read on for the whens, wheres, and hows.
Vizio sez:
• VIZIO 19” HD LCD HDTV (VA19) $199.99 at Costco Locations Nationwide through 12/7/08 with Member Only MVM Coupon • VIZIO 32” Plasma HDTV (VP322) $437.00 at Walmart effective Wednesday, 11/26/08 - New Everyday Low Value • VIZIO 37” HD LCD HDTV (VW37) $499.99 at Costco Locations Black Friday weekend while supplies last Friday-Sunday, 11/28-30/08 • VIZIO 32” Full HD 1080p LCD HDTV (VOJ32LF) $559.99 at SEARS Stores Nationwide thru Sunday, 11/30/08 • VIZIO 42” Full HD 1080p LCD HDTV (VS420) $698.00 at Sam’s Club Locations Nationwide now while supplies last for the Holidays.
“New each day low value,” huh? I think they meant low price. When a TV doesn’t have a lot of value, you don’t really want to broadcast that.
Short Version: An iPod amp that sounds great - until you try to use it. I’ll be honest. I couldn’t wait to review the Griffin AirCurve, not because I thought it would be good, but because I thought it sounded like the kind of thing that something that seems like a good idea until you actually build […]
Short Version: An iPod amp that sounds great - until you try to use it.
I’ll be honest. I couldn’t wait to review the Griffin AirCurve, not because I thought it would be good, but because I thought it sounded like the kind of thing that something that seems like a good idea until you actually build it . I know Bose is always going on and on about the Wave Radio, but the best of a hunk of plastic that amplifies your iPhone with just the shape of it and no additional power seemed stupid.
When it arrived, I eagerly unpacked it. The AirCurve itself is a brick of polycarbonate with a wavy acoustic channel that starts where the iPhone speaker is and winds around until it opens into a wide mouth at the front. The idea is that the shape of this channel alone will significantly amplify the sound coming from the tiny built-in iPhone speaker without any additional power required. No batteries. No plug. It does have a pass-through hole to run your own iPhone cable to provide power, but you do have to provide your own cable. It comes with two rubber inserts, one for the original iPhone and one for the 3G. You need a dockable case or just a naked iPhone to use the AirCurve. I inserted the correct adapter for my 3G iPhone, got some music playing, and put the iPhone in the AirCurve.
Wow. It really was a lot louder. I took out the iPhone. Put it back. Took it out again. I did this for a few minutes, just amazed at the difference it made. The next time I had friends over, I had one of them do the same thing with his iPhone. The expression on his face was priceless. He took it out. Put it back. Took it out again. You get the idea. “I might just have to get one of these,” he said.
I use my iPhone as an alarm clock, so I keep the AirCurve on my night table. It amplifies the regular alarm sounds so they’re loud enough to wake me up, and I’m a pretty sound sleeper. When I get up, I usually run Stitcher Radio to listen to news podcasts while I get dressed. It’s also easy to cart around the house and is fairly convenient as I don’t have to worry about power or batteries.
I’m really impressed with the AirCurve and have found it quite useful, however, it’s not perfect. While it does an impressive job of amplifying the sound coming from the iPhone, you are still amplifying that tiny speaker, so don’t expect a high fidelity experience. This shouldn’t be a significant concern as I’m guessing if you are considering any speaker system for twenty bucks, you’re not too concerned with having an audiophile’s experience.
The second flaw is in the cable pass-through. I knew that power was optional and that you needed your own cable, but assumed there would be a pass-through plug. You’d connect your cable to a port in the back which would be wired to the cradle part of the AirCurve so you could drop your iPhone into it like a regular cradle. Not so. The pass-through is a hole. You run the USB end through the AirCurve to your power source. There’s a small channel on the bottom of the Aircurve to press the cable into to keep the cable from getting in the way.
Unfortunately, the end that plugs into the iPhone isn’t held tightly by the AirCurve. You can easily pull the iPhone out, but to plug it back in, you need to feed a tiny extra cable from the bottom, plug it in by hand, place the iPhone into the AirCurve, and then pull the cable tight again. I wonder if a cable with a taller iPhone end, like the older iPod cables had, would be held in place better, but those older cables have a slightly thicker USB plug and cannot be fed through the AirCurve. Griffin advertises that they’ve a cable that will fit, and maybe that would eliminate this problem, but I think they should just have made the pass-through hole a bit wider. I’m tempted to get out my Dremel and either make the hole larger or one of my older iPod USB cables smaller.
Bottom Line: You’ll be surprised at how well this works. For $20, it’s a pretty cheap, yet elegant solution. Cable management is a mild nuisance when using the AirCurve to charge your iPhone. Good for podcasts and speech, but music quality is lacking.
We posted some rather complicated instructions over the weekend for users of the AppleTV augmentation app Boxee to manually upgrade. Of course, the official version would come out after only a day or two. Now those of you not terminal-inclined can enjoy the fruits of the box. Did that sound dirty just then?
We posted some rather complicated instructions over the weekend for users of the AppleTV augmentation app Boxee to manually upgrade. Of course, the official version would come out after only a day or two. Now those of you not terminal-inclined can enjoy the fruits of the box. Did that sound dirty just then?
Revising their previous target of 600,000 HTC G1s shipped by the end of 2008, HTC CEO Peter Chou has disclosed that the company now anticipates to ship at least 1 million of the world’s first Android handset by year’s end. While it’s not quite as mind-boggling as the 1 million iPhone 3Gs Apple sold in just […]
Revising their previous target of 600,000 HTC G1s shipped by the end of 2008, HTC CEO Peter Chou has disclosed that the company now anticipates to ship at least 1 million of the world’s first Android handset by year’s end.
While it’s not quite as mind-boggling as the 1 million iPhone 3Gs Apple sold in just 3 days after launch, pushing one million handsets in 2 1/2 months is no small feat.
MAKE has added Chemistry to their set of gift guides, and that’s just awesome. I know I had a ton of fun with my chemistry set when I was a kid, mainly checking the toxicity of various things and then trying to make the most poisonous concoction possible. If you’re interested in doing some sweet […]
MAKE has added Chemistry to their set of gift guides, and that’s just awesome. I know I had a ton of fun with my chemistry set when I was a kid, mainly checking the toxicity of various things and then trying to make the most poisonous concoction possible. If you’re interested in doing some sweet experiments with your scientifically-minded kid, look no further.
You a might also want to check out some of Lego’s more advanced stuff like Mindstorms. Gotta convert those kids early or they end up bloggers like us.
Everything you’ve heard is true: it IS the most wonderful time of the year. One of my favorite holiday traditions, Amazon’s “Customers Vote” promotion, is now live. For the uninitiated, Amazon offers several rounds of three-item deals, everyone votes on one of the three deals, and limited quantities of the winning items are sold at […]
Everything you’ve heard is true: it IS the most wonderful time of the year. One of my favorite holiday traditions, Amazon’s “Customers Vote” promotion, is now live. For the uninitiated, Amazon offers several rounds of three-item deals, everyone votes on one of the three deals, and limited quantities of the winning items are sold at various times and dates throughout the holidays to randomly selected voters.
Here are this year’s deals:
Round One – Go Blu- (voting ends November 26th)
Sci-Fi Bundle: PS3 80GB console, Firefly: The Complete Series (Blu-ray), and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for $199
Action Bundle: PS3 80GB console, James Bond Blu-ray Collection Six-Pack, Far Cry 2, Blu-ray remote control for $229
Family Bundle: PS3 80GB console, Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy (Blu-ray), LittleBigPlanet, Blu-ray remote control for $199
Round Two – Go Play (voting ends November 27th)
Eyeclops night vision for $39
U-Dance for $35
Razor PowerWing Caster Scooter for $49
Round Three – Go High-Def (voting ends November 29th)
Samsung 46-inch 1080p HDTV for $699
Samsung TL34HD digital camera for $139
Sony Blu-ray Disc Player for $99
Round Four – Go Mobile (voting ends November 30th)
Nokia N95 (unlocked) for $199
ASUS Eee Personal computer 900 with XP Home for $129
Flip Video Ultra 60-minute camcorder for $49
Round Five — Go Your Way (voting ends December 1st)
Navigon 8100T for $299
TomTom GO 730T for $245
GolfLogix GPS by Garmin for $149
Round Six – Go Crazy (voting ends December 2nd)
The Sopranos Complete Series on DVD for $130
The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Collector’s Edition for $50
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