Solid Alliance Strikes Again with an USB Engine Hub

As if I haven’t posted enough about stupid products from SolidAlliance, it appears as if they’ve done it again! This time, they’ve released a three-port USB Hub designed to look like an engine. Plus, as if the sticks-out-like-a-sore-thumb oversized hub wasn’t enough, it comes complete with sound effects as well as a kick start and gear shift pedal.

Check out the video below for a quick demonstration by the president of SolidAlliance. After seeing this $43 hub in action, I’m sure you’ll see why they expect it to be their “best seller in Japan and also worldwide.”

USB Engine HUB, plug an Engin to your PC
Uploaded by AkihabaraNews

[Via Engadget]

Brando Wii Light Gun

Here’s a two-part follow-up post. The first part is yet another Wii accessory from Brando. When I was checking out their page when posting about the Cooking Mama set, I noticed several other zany Wii accessories. They’re all pretty novel and fairly interesting, so I think I’ll be doing several posts about these random products. The second part of this follow-up is to the Wii-Blaster that I posted about a couple weeks ago.

Just looking at the Brando version of the blaster, it looks a lot sleeker. Its solid white design is a lot simpler and fits better into the Wiicessory look. Essentially the functionality is going to be the same because you’ll still be using the Wiimote and Nunchuck. The $17 price tag also gives it a $3 advantage over the Gamestop version. So, this one might be the light gun conversion kit to buy if you’re planning on getting the new on-rails Resident Evil for Wii.

The Brando Wii Cooking Mother Kit

Just in case you didn’t believe me when I said Brando made some weird stuff, here’s your proof. Brando has a collection of Wiimote accessories to spice up the Cooking Mama experience. Just incase your imagination is a little bit broken; the set will let you have a slightly more authentic gaming session.

According to Brando the set includes a “Frying Pan, Knife, spade & Fork” with odd capitalization choices included. I don’t exactly know what a spade is as far as cooking is concerned, although Google reveals that it might be an ice cream scoop. However, judging by the pictures on the Brando site their spade looks more like a spatula, or is it a Spatula? They also claim: “Making the game more realistic, increase the fun of the game.” So if you’re into wielding plastic cooking utensils for your Wii, the set is available now for a mere $17.00.

[Via Engadget]

Brando’s Solar Powered USB Charger

Hot on the heels of certain other solar powered products comes one that’s a little more compact, a bit more useful, and a hell of a lot less stupid looking. Brando (the king of many useless gadgets, like SolidAlliance) has released a compact solar powered USB charger. The charger unfolds to reveal two solar panels that can be used to charge your favorite USB gizmos, like an iPod or a cell phone. It also comes with an AC adapter to use it indoors and its wide variety of voltage settings lets you adjust it to fit your gadget.

The use of solar power makes this charger perfect for bringing along an iPod or a cell phone on a camping trip, if you want to rough it, but keep a few tech goodies handy. Plus, because it is relatively small it would fit easily into a backpack or any other luggage. It isn’t the cheapest of gadgets, but at $69 it is certainly affordable if you’re just dying to keep your tunes going on that long camping trip.

[Via Engadget]

Samsung X820 Takes a Beating

There isn’t a whole lot to say here. The picture just about says it all. I’ve always thought Samsung stuff (phones in particular) did a pretty solid job at standing up to a beating and this just about proves it.

[Via Engadget]

SunRed’s Solar Powered Motorbike

Equipping a car or SUV with solar panels would be relatively easy seeing as there is plenty of surface area. Just think, the latest incarnation of the box-like hummer sporting solar panels head to toe. Anyways, SunRed is attempting to create a motorbike that is fueled by solar power. The only problem is that motorcycles don’t exactly have enough surface area to cover with solar panels. The solution? Turn a relatively sleek craft into a big, honkin’, snail-esque, monstrosity.

That’s right. If you’re looking to cut your bike’s dependency on gasoline you’re going to have to sacrifice the wind in your hair and look like a total moron. What’s more SunRed claims that the bike’s new 25 square feet of solar paneling will harness enough of the sun’s energy to let you about 13 miles at up to about 30 miles per hour. Groundbreaking and world changing! Not quite. Most sport bikes today get average MPG somewhere in the 30’s and 40’s, not to mention they can go four times as fast. Plus, this means that I would hardly be able to make it to Wawa and back on this thing, and it would take me almost twice as long to do it. Plus because this thing requires sun to charge up you’ll have to leave it in your driveway for all of your neighbors to gawk at.

[Via Engadget]

Take Two Takes a Break on Manhunt 2

This news is a bit old now, but since I posted about Manhunt’s shaming earlier this week, I thought I would let everyone know that Take Two will be shelving Manhunt 2 for the time being. Reportedly a Take Two representative was quoted as explaining that the company “has temporarily suspended plans to distribute Manhunt 2 for the Wii or PlayStation platforms while it reviews its options with regard to the recent decisions made by the British Board of Film Classification and Entertainment Software Rating Board.”

Interestingly this news musters up a bit of speculation. The whole ‘AO’ rating debacle gave the game a ton of press. So, down the road when Manhunt 2 does get released as an ‘M’ rated game, (assuming it will) it will have garnered tons of publicity and will have the potential to sell in impressive numbers. While it will take a bit more time and money to revamp the game, it could end up making Take Two tons of money. However, because the game is currently being shelved there is no solid evidence that Manhunt 2 will ever see the light of day.

[Via Wii Fanboy]

Zune Addict!

You may remember last week I posted a picture of a man who you might call a Zune Fanboy. Well, if there was any question about the guy’s alliegence to the Microsoft Zune, this second picture confirms that he is indeed a Zune Zealot. It appears as if our favorite Zune addict has returned to the parlor to get yet another tattoo representing his favorite DMP.

[Via Engadget]

Lots of Trouble for Manhunt 2 on Wii

The Nintendo Wii is generally thought of as a family console because of a barrage of family oriented marketing and lots of fun and fuzzy cute games. So, it came as a bit of a shocker when Nintendo and Take Two/Rockstar Games announced Manhunt 2 for the pure and wholesome console. The game has been described as ‘a murder simulator.’ Combine the gruesome game play with the ‘hands-on’ controls of the Wii and Manhunt 2 is the next best thing to smothering that annoying guy down the street with a plastic bag.

Well, it’s a rough time for the publishers now. In a barrage of news today regarding the game, we find that Take Two is going to bleed some serious cash. The first revelation was that the game was banned in the UK for its extreme violence. David Cooke of the British Board of Film Classification was quoted as saying that “There is sustained and cumulative casual sadism in the way in which these killings are committed, and encouraged, in the game.” Further it was suggested that they had no suggestions to improve the content of the game so that the ban would be lifted.

The second blow to the publishers came as the ESRB gave the title an AO or Adults Only rating. This is essentially a death sentence for a game as far as mainstream success is considered. The harsh rating would keep the game off the shelves of almost all retailers and squash the game into obscurity. Not to mention the AO rating lumps Manhunt 2 in the same category of games like “All Nude Cyber,” “The Joy of Sex,” and “WET – The Sexy Empire.”

Just as you would expect, it was also reported today that Gamefly (the Netflix of videogames) would not be carrying Manhunt 2 because they enforce a no AO policy. This also goes for Blockbuster who has a no NC-17 policy regarding movies. The final blow came today as Nintendo announced that they would not allow the release of the controversial game with the AO rating.

To get Manhunt 2 out, Take Two is going to have to dodge the AO bullet by substantially editing the game to get the rating reduced to M (Mature). So, all of the work that has gone into the game is going to have to be redone to satisfy the ESRB and Nintendo. There is also the possibility that all of the flack that the game has already caught may lead stores to shun the game even if the rating is changed. The only other remaining option is for Take Two to simply cut the chord on the game and head in another direction.

I for one am disappointed by the whole situation. While maybe the game deserves the AO rating, I would still like it to be released. And if it did actually get out I was planning on buying a copy, because it was likely to become a rare game. Finally, I’d like to say that I’ve been playing games all my life, and while playing games I’ve killed countless of robots, ferocious animals, and people. But, guess what! I know how to separate reality from a game and I’m sure anyone who is right in the head can too. Even if it is a ‘murder simulator’ that doesn’t mean that people who play it are going to become murderers. By that logic when schools give demonstrations of what it is like to drunk drive, they would actually be driving all of their students to knock back a few and hop behind the wheel! Ridiculous isn’t it?

[Via Wii Fanboy]
[Via Wii Fanboy]
[Via Wii Fanboy]
[Via Wii Fanboy]
[Via Wii Fanboy]

Third-Party ‘Wii Blaster’ Coming Soon

Ever since the advent of the Wii there have been designs for a Wiimote toting gun running free on the Internet. Finally there is one design that is coming to market, and soon. The Wii Blaster will hit store [Gamestop only] shelves come June 27th. Thankfully the $19.99 price point is quite reasonable, because how much can they actually charge for a hunk of functionless plastic? I mean the Blaster doesn’t actually do anything by itself. In order to make it work you’ll need a Wiimote and Nunchuck, which, obviously, if you’re a Wii owner you have both. But, the Blaster, in itself, just some molded plastic.

Clearly they’re going for the nostalgia factor here. The Blaster looks a bit like the old Nintendo Zapper and is intended for use with light gun-like games, only with the use of the Wiimote. They claim that you’ll be able to use it with Duck Hunt, but there is yet to be any official word on Duck Hunt’s Virtual Console release. It seems likely that the Blaster would work with it when it does come out, but until then I think it’s a clever marketing ploy to increase sales a bit. I wonder how many people will buy it intending to play Duck Hunt on the first day and be sadly disappointed.

[Via Wii Fanboy]

Nintendo Dominates May Videogame Sales

I haven’t reported on NPD numbers in the past, but they’re always interesting so I’ll start sharing them. So, if you don’t know, NPD stands for National Purchase Diary and the numbers are calculated by The NPD Group Inc. Each month the numbers are calculated on various different types of products, but videogames are going to be my focus. The numbers come about a half-month after the end of the period which they are calculating and for video games they calculate hardware and software sales.

Hardware Sales:

* Nintendo DS: 423K
* Nintendo Wii: 338K
* Sony PSP: 221K
* Sony PlayStation 2: 187K
* Microsoft Xbox 360: 155K
* Sony PlayStation 3: 81K

Basically Nintendo is kicking ass and taking names and they have been for months, basically since November when the Wii was released. And the DS just continues to print money. Month after month the DS sells multiple times almost every other console or handheld on the market. Also, in relation to my last post, check out those stellar (notice the sarcasm) sales numbers on the PS3.

Software Sales:

* Pokémon Diamond (DS)
* Mario Party 8 (Wii)
* Spider-Man 3 (PS2)
* Pokémon Pearl (DS)
* Wii Play w/remote (Wii)
* Forza Motorsport 2 (Xbox 360)
* Guitar Hero II w/guitar (Xbox 360)
* Spider-Man 3 (Xbox 360)
* Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (Xbox 360)
* Guitar Hero II w/guitar (PS2)

As far as software goes, the wealth is spread pretty evenly between several systems, again, however, notice that the PS3 doesn’t even have a title in the top 10. Some other things that are interesting about these numbers are the popularity of PS2 titles, and Guitar Hero on both PS2 and 360. It’s hard to say that the PS2 (and its games) selling well is a bad thing (because it’s not) but it is interesting how Sony’s ‘last-gen’ system is overshadowing their latest and greatest. Also, Guitar Hero II is still continuing to sell a ton of units and at the premium $80 price with the guitar included.

[Via Wii Fanboy]

PS3 Price Cuts Coming! Eventually.

After saying that one potential (future) cause of the PS3’s failure could be it’s high price, Sony CEO Howard Stringer is saying that Sony is looking into reducing the price of the PS3. What he doesn’t say is just about all the relevant information. Of course, we all know that the price of the PS3 is going to come down, eventually, so you’d hope that maybe we’d get some details out of the guy.

However, as a business tactic you wouldn’t expect Sony to announce a future price cut officially or its amount because that would effectively kill sales of the PS3 until the announced date. This is especially true considering the fact that the PS3 isn’t exactly selling like hot cakes.

[Via Engadget]

Man Gets a Zune Tattoo

LOL, just LOL. I wonder if getting Zune ink makes you more popular in the ‘social.’

[Via Engadget]

Domains are Live!

Last night I registered technosyncratic.com and technosyncratic.info and today they’re live and directing to my blog!

So, for future reference, if you’re typing in the URL, you don’t have to worry about typing out http://technosyncraticblog.blogspot.com (although it should still work) it's simply www.technosyncratic.com. I’m not exactly sure how to make it so you don’t have to type in the ‘www’ at the moment, but hopefully I’ll get that sorted out so it’s even easier.

Domain Registration!

For years, basically since I knew what exactly a domain was, I’ve wanted to own a domain. When I started blogging I thought it would be cool to own the domains for my blogs. However, Bêtise was taken and so was Audiosyncratic. Now, however, I switched the name to Technosyncratic and guess what domain is available! Tonight I decided since domains are relatively cheap, and I have a Visa I would just go right ahead and register my domain! That’s right! Technosyncratic.com is now my domain (so is Technosyncratic.info, you can’t be that $0.99 price).

The domains aren’t live quite yet, since it takes some time to get DNS servers straightened out. But, in the next few days you should be able to get here by going to either of my new domains. It’s not much easier, especially since most of my traffic (not that much) comes from people clicking links, but I just think it’s damn cool to own a domain.

Difference Between LED and CCFL?

Yesterday I posted about the updated MacBook Pros. One of the points I relayed from Apple is that users won’t see any differences between the previous CCFL screens and the new LED backlit screens as far as brightness or contrast goes. Well just one day later Engadget has a whole bunch of comparison photos for you to gaze at.

While the difference isn’t astonishingly huge, it seems pretty clear to me. The old CCFL MacBook Pro is on the left in the image above while the LED model is on the right. It’s pretty obvious that there is a discernable difference between the models. So, on top of the speed boosts in the new models and the improved battery life, it looks like LED will also give you a slightly brighter image.

[Via Engadget]

Apple Updates MacBook Pro Today

So for a while now we’ve been expecting some updates to Apple’s laptops, since his Steveness announced that Apple would be using LED Backlit displays in the coming future. Well, today seems to be that day. While LED backlights will only be gracing the 15-inch model (for now at least) there’s a whole bunch of updated stuff thrown into these silver puppies.

For starters an extra $100 in the 17-inch model gets you the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics card which will provide up to 1920 x 1200 resolution (yes that’s full HD if you’re interested) Unfortunately there’s still no support for Blu-Ray, but all the DRM that would need to added in kind of holds that back. Perhaps with the release of Leopard this fall we’ll see some HD goodness coming our way.

Even better yet, the MacBook Pros now feature Intel’s latest Centrino platform ‘Santa Rosa’ if you’re interested, which you probably aren’t you can get all the technical details on that on the Wikipedia page. This also means that 802.11n wireless comes pre-enabled, which was an issue recently.

The biggest addition is really the LED backlit screens, but there’s not much that consumers are going to notice because of this. The most important factor in this change is the environmental benefit. Previously the LCD screens used a technology called CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent), which Green Peace gave Apple a lot of grief about. Apple said that LED backlighting could possibly provide somewhere between 30 minutes and 1 hour more battery life, but it depends on use. Other than this possibility, users won’t be noticing any increases in brightness.

The pricepoint for the MacBook Pro still comes in at $1,999, which is still pretty steep, but all the new additions definitely increase the value. Plus, Apple’s free Nano student discount is in effect again. So, if you’re laptop shopping for the coming school year, it might be time to make the switch because your Education discount can knock a few hundred off the price of the laptop and score you a free iPod.

[Via Engadget]

Various Nintendo E3 Rumors

I read a few days ago that somewhere there were rumors circulating about some Nintendo announcements coming up at this year’s (downsized) E3. At the moment I’m having some trouble finding the article about it, but I believe it was on Wii Fanboy. Anyways, as I remember, the rumor stated that Nintendo would announce the release dates for Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Mario Galaxy. The rumor also states that they will also be announcing the Wii iteration of Mario Kart and on top of that a new piece of hardware!

Since, dates for two already announced games aren’t exactly big news and everyone and their mother knows that Mario Kart will eventually be making its way to Wii, the most shocking (and partially unbelievable) speculation is a hardware announcement. When I first heard I was immediately thinking that it could be a slightly more powerful Wii or something, but it just isn’t feasible at this point.

However, today I saw an article on Engadget rehashed the rumors of an external hard drive add-on for the Wii. While Nintendo is saying this is only a rumor, it seems like this could possibly fit the ‘hardware announcement’ profile. It makes a lot of sense, seeing as the Wii only comes with 512MB of storage and the system has 2 USB ports just sitting there. And with the number of games on the Virtual Console ever increasing gamers are bound to fill up their storage sooner or later. Additionally, there are some more rumors going around that the VC could see games from Neo Geo, which could take up about 300MB each. So, while I wouldn’t put money on it, I’m going to say that if there is a hardware announcement at E3 from Nintendo, this could very well be it.

Yet another rumor pertaining to the Wii is the possibility of colored Wiimotes hitting the shelves sometime soon. Wii Fanboy reported today that a store clerk from the UK snapped a shot of an upcoming SKU with the description “Wii Remote Blue.” It’s not too much to go on, but it certainly seems possible since Nintendo has a long history of multi-colored products and of course colored Wiimotes were present at E3 last year.

[Via Wii Fanboy]
[Via Engadget]
[Via Wii Fanboy (Again)]

SanDisk SSDs to 64GB

This isn’t exactly ground breaking news but SanDisk just announced that they’ve doubled the size of their 2.5” and 1.2” solid-state disk drives from 32GB to 64GB. Mainly the good news is that as storage capacity continues to increase these more efficient drives will become more viable as options in more efficient laptops. The idea is that they access data much faster and use less power, so they’re perfect for a fast and energy efficient portable. Plus, the 64GB size puts these drives right into the ring with typical laptop drives that range from 60GB to 120GB.

One more application for these drives could be iPods or other portable media players. Currently iPods offer up to 8GB of solid-state memory in the iPod Nano and up to 80GB in the hard drive model. Using a solid-state disk in full-sized video iPods would do a whole lot of good. These drives are not only smaller but also use less energy (as I’ve stated) so that means longer battery life, plus they have no moving parts so you don’t have to worry about messing anything up when you go running with your tunes.

By the way, if you didn’t know, you’re not supposed to go running with your iPod (unless it’s a Shuffle or a Nano). Regular iPods and the old Mini’s have moving hard drives and the shock from running with them can screw things up inside and eventually lead to an untimely death of you several-hundred-dollar investment.

[Via Engadget]

Mii’s in the Wild

A couple of Mii’s seem to have escaped from their Mii Channel on a Nintendo Wii as they were spotted at an Anime convention in Canada.

I can’t say I’m much into the cosplay thing, but these Mii’s are just plain hilarious. Plus you’ve got to give them some credit the costumes are great.


[Via WiiFanboy]

The iPod Amnesty Bin

Flickr user, ‘fimoculous,’ recently Microsofts Zune HQ. He snapped this photo of the “iPod Amnesty Bin” by the enterance which seemingly beckons those entering the domain of the Zune to trash their iPod and switch over to an oh-so-well-selling Zune.

I get the feeling, however, in order to get their little joke of the ground, Microsoft had to run out to the store to buy a few iPods to chuck in there. So, to prove their anti-iPod point, they just wound up feeding the frenzy. Pretty funny, I thought.

[Via TUAW]

The Heated Keyboard

As soon as I came across this keyboard I knew it was just stupid enough to be worthy of posting here. V8 Tools, has released a heated keyboard to key your valuable digits nice and toasty in the cold winter months. It boasts “upgraded materials and components inside and out” to keep the innards safe from heat. It’s heating ability is rather impressive. It’s got a three-position switch, Off, Low Heat, and High Heat. Low heat is supposed to maintain normal body heat between 85 F and 90 F, while High cranks out between 95 F and 100 F.

While it’s a clever idea, there really isn’t much use for it indoors. While it’s marketed for use in the shop, office, and at home I don’t see it getting much action any where besides a garage shop. And maybe in the rough terrain of a garage the “upgraded materials” will also help combat the dust and debris. One last thing, it looks horrible. But I guess it would fit in perfectly with the beige boxes that with Windows 98 that dominate shop computers, too bad most of them don’t have USB ports that this thing uses. The good news, is this toasty typing peripheral is moderately priced at $43.59, with available discount for multiple orders at Tooltopia.

[Via Engadget]
[Via Tooltopia]

iPhone: AT&T Exclusive for 5 Years

Since the official announcement of the iPhone a few months ago we’ve known the device would be exclusively offered (at least at first) on Cingular (“The New AT&T”). However, what we didn’t know was how long the exclusivity deal would last. Today USA Today reported that the contract would last a whopping 5 years, yes one half decade. So, if you want an iPhone before 2012 you’ll have to switch carriers if you’re not already an AT&T customer.

What strikes me most about this deal is a concern about product life cycles. The first generation iPod was introduced in October of 2001, the second generation in July of 2002, and fast forward to the fifth generation Video iPod, October 2005. That’s 5 iterations in 5 separate years. The other iPods (Mini, Nano, and Shuffle) have also seen refreshes in approximate one-year intervals. If the iPod is updated on average once every year, where’s the logic in deciding that the iPhone is going to last 5 years? Most people don’t even have a phone for 5 years. People tend to break their phones or want upgrades about every two years, especially teenagers. After all, that’s where the “New After Two” plan comes in. While the iPhone has tons of cutting edge features that haven’t ever been all combined into one sexy package, who’s to say there won’t be better phones coming along sooner. For instance, Meizu already has an iPhone knockoff in the works in China.

Another interesting tidbit is that Verizon claims to have an upcoming phone to combat the iPhone. "We do have a very good response in the mill. You'll see that from us in the late summer," says Denny Strigl, Verizon CEO. One of the main problems with an iPhone-killer is that it isn’t an iPhone. This is the same rudimentary problem that MP3 players have they simply aren’t iPods. Apple has the inside advantage with the iPhone. It’s hard for other phone companies to make smart phones that cater to the needs of Mac users. However, Apple’s got all the rights they need to make a phone that integrates perfectly with iTunes, iCal, and any other Apple software. It’s an advantage that no other phone company will ever have, and that is why there won’t ever been an iPhone-killer.

[Via Engadget]

Seiko’s Car Power Strip

Seiko is introducing their EM-49 “In-car socket extender with USB.” It features three 12V inputs from the single one in your car’s console. In addition, it offers a USB port for charging any applicable devices. This is perfect for charging an iPod on the go or maybe a new cell phone that can charge through USB. Being able to charge a USB device in your car without paying for the most likely high priced car charger is always a plus. There’s no word (yet) on availability in the states, but in South Korea they’ll be going for 18,100 won, or about $19.

What I wonder the most, is will this device allow you to use powered USB devices in your car? There’s a vast world of useless USB devices out there, how cool would it be to bring these gadgets to the car? You could get a quick shave on the way to work with the USB Powered Shaver, keep your coffee warm with the USB Mug Warmer, or maybe keep your soda cold with the USB Beverage Chiller, spice up that backseat make out session a bit with the USB Mini Lava Lamp, or even declare war on other drivers with the USB Missile Launcher. The possibilities are endless!

[Via Engadget]

Optimus Maximus for Pre-Order

Back in March I reported on the Optimus Maximus keyboard from Art Lebedev Studio. Well just the other day it went up on their website for pre-order. Along with that change are some accompanying images that show off just how good the keyboard looks.

As was always expected the keyboard is smooth and sleek with a nice solid (looking) construction. The main drawback, as I previously touched on, it it’s price. They’re asking a commanding 43,990 Rubbles or about $1564.37, probably about twice the amount an average consumer pays for their entire computer. On top of this, it will only be shipping in limited quantities; they expect to ship 200 for late December and will reportedly be shipping 400 in the beginning on January.


I tend to wonder, however, if there will ever be a second run of the Optimus Maximus. While the hype and buzz is high, there’s no telling if there will be much of a demand for this overpriced keyboard. While it looks pretty and will likely be the envy of most computer nerds, only a very select crowd will have the funds to even think about buying one. Only time will tell if years of design and vapor status will turn this opulent keyboard into a success for Art Lebedev Studio.

Wii Play Drums

So for my first post in practically a month I’m going to cheap out and go with a video clip. It’s a demonstration of a Wiimote drum kit nicknamed “Wii Play Drums” by thisisnotalabel.com. It’s a pretty cool demo I thought and if I had a Wii and a PC with Bluetooth (or if they coded a Mac version) I’d definitely check it out. I hope to see some future functionality for a second Wiimote, but it’s still way cool. Check it out below and if you’re interested head to their site.

A Keyboard for Wii?

A few days ago news broke that Logitech would be joining in the productions of peripherals for Nintendo’s rather scarce gaming machine. Well, today WiiFanboy posted about a short blurb in the May issue of Game Informer. The tidbit claims that Nintendo is indeed looking into adding a keyboard to the Wii’s arsenal. This surely makes sense given the fact that you can browse the web using the Wii edition of the Opera browser. I think that it would certainly be a welcome addition for those who intend to surf the web with their shiny white machines. A full keyboard could also make in game chat for online games a very likely possibility. Check out a photo of the magazine page below, thanks to WFB.

More Dark Clouds for Vonage, May Have a Silver Lining

Hopefully you’re not tired of reading about Vonage, because the news continues to pour in about the struggling company, and I assume it will continue to. Plus, I’ve already got myself interested in the case so I think I’ll be continuing to cover it.

In a recent article, Engadget explained that things were looking worse for Vonage, when they requested a permanent stay on the Judges ruling about signing up new customers. The conclusions seem to say that they’re having trouble coming up with a workaround for the Verizon patents that they were found to be infringing upon.

They company was quoted as saying that if they “[were] somehow able to implement a design around, and was able to ultimately prevail on appeal, it would have no hope of regaining its lost customers, or its lost goodwill, and its loss of revenue would be permanent and…” Apparently they cut the rest of the statement, claiming that the material was confidential.

However, there is some potential light at the end of the tunnel. In an update to the same article, Engadget explains that there is a possibility that Verizon’s patents are unlawful. Word is that they patents contain some technology that was previously discussed by a number of communications companies to eventually become an open standard. If this is the case, it sounds like Vonage might be getting off the hook, although from the sound of what they’re saying some ill will because of these proceedings may permanently hurt their image.

There’s one more dark cloud looming, and that may be possible litigation from Sprint. According to another at Engadget, another suit is in the works to begin in September. However, this ominous cloud has its own potential silver lining. Rumors are spreading that Sprint may actually move to acquire Vonage, which would certainly serve any of their patent issues. If there were any truth to these rumors it would be interesting to see what a telecommunications giant would do with a company offering a competing technology. Only time will tell what becomes of this distressed VOIP company.

SolidAlliance Won’t Quit

I’ve already posted about Japanese company, SolidAlliances’s strange products a few times. It seems, however, that they still haven’t had enough of cheesy looking food themed USB devices. I really don’t have much to say about this USB Hub complete with 1GB attachment drives, aside from LOL. I just can’t see how there’s much of a practical market for this stuff. There’s no pricing available at Akihabara at the moment, but I’d assume, like the previous products, this stuff is bound to be expensive too.

TEAC Joins the Bone Conducting Party

Who would have thought that bone-conducting headphones would become one of my most blogged about technology here? I certainly wouldn’t have. But, after Thanko’s bone-conducting headphones and high-tech headband, it seems to have become a trend around here.

Well yet another Japanese company, TEAC, has come out with their own model. The HP-F100s are their entry into the market. You can check out more about their specs at this article from Engadget. But, the biggest differences between this set and Thanko’s Vonias are the addition of a standalone amplifier and the price. The HP-F100s come with a dedicated amplifier that can apparently push out .76-watts for each channel, impressive (snicker).



The biggest kicker however, is the price. They’re going for a staggering ¥52,500, which translates to $440, while Thanko’s Vonia headphones run a cool ¥9,800 or about $82. With no direct evidence as to which pair sounds better, it seems like TEAC’s headphones are a little bit on the pricy side, especially for such a miniscule market.

Things Continue to Look Bad for Vonage

Last week I reported that Vonage wasn’t in such great shape after a lawsuit from Verizon and a court order by a judge. The judge ruled that Vonage wouldn’t be allowed to signup any new customers, which seemed like a death sentence for the already flailing company. Luckily, since then they have gotten this ruling lifted and they can continue to expand their customer base.

(Photo courtesy of CNET)

However, this isn’t a great turning point for the company, they still face pretty tough odds. Engadget reported today that just as Vonage was announcing cost-cutting measures, the acting CEO Michael Snyder resigned. Things aren’t looking too good as the company has announced that they will be consolidating their operations and scaling back advertising. And as was inevitable, Vonage will be laying off some employees. It seems that with every passing day we are coming closer and closer to the not-too-far-off end of VOIP pioneer Vonage.

Apple TV Upgrade Kit

So, the Apple TV is out even after its delay. If you’ve got one, and some expensive white cables to go along with it, what else could you possibly want? Well, more storage space, that’s what. The Apple TV ships with a measly 40GB hard drive. And if you’ve got a nice collection of feature length movies and TV shows, you might be running out of space already! If you haven’t heard there’s about a bazillion ways to get hacking the Apple TV (already). If you’re the totally balls-to-the-wall do-it-yourself type, check out AppleTVHacks.net, as they’ve got a pretty decent collection going on.

However, if you’re looking to expand your storage capacity but can’t be bothered to rip out the drive from the Apple TV and doing some disk copying and restoring, WeaKnees has got your back! They’re offering up a 160GB drive (4 times the storage) that comes preformatted to work with Apple TV, for $199. While it seems a bit steep it’s really only about $50 more than it would cost to go out and buy a drive and enclosure yourself and performing all of the work. On top of saving you time, this premium service offers a six-month warranty, seeing as performing this surgery on your Apple TV will immediately void your manufacturer’s warranty.

So, if you’ve got an Apple TV and you’re jonesing for more space this service could be a godsend. They’ve got tons of info on the website to help you along the process to make sure that everything goes smoothly.

New Apple Commercials

Just in case you get a chuckle out of Apple’s Get A Mac commercials (like me) you’ll be pleased to hear that they’ve posted two new ones. The first, “Flashback,” features young PC and young Mac. The second is titled “Computer Cart” and is funny, like usual.

Check them out by clicking either of the pictures below.

SolidAlliance CEO Interview

As you may remember, last month I posted about the Omelet Mouse Cover from SolidAlliance. And it all came down to the fact that it was basically a huge waste of money ($70). Well Akihabara recently interviewed the CEO, Mr. Karahara. The interview isn’t exactly exciting, but he showcases their line of Sushi USB devices. They’re also quite the novelty, and by the way it’s also expensive (1GB Mackerel USB drives run about $68).

Anyways, if you’re interested in witnessing who’s responsible for these frivolous and expensive pieces of gadgetry check out the video below.

Meade’s Ray Gun, err Personal Planetarium

It’s really hard to complain about this product solely on the basis of its function. The Meade mySKY Personal Planetarium is a handheld GPS enabled device that allows you to identify a gaggle of heavenly bodies (they claim more than 30,000). It really is a useful device for any stargazing fans. In the Engadget article, they also explain that it can be used in conjunction with other Meade telescopes.

Basically it’s a good idea. I just wish they fired their designer and gone with something a little less 80s sci-fi. It just looks like a blaster out of a cheesy low production film. Either that, or something you might find in the toy section of your local CVS. And at $400 you’d better make sure nobody mistakes it for a cheap toy.

Anyone Can Comment

If you haven’t noticed, you're now allowed to comment whether you have an account or not. Just the other day I realized that comments were set to only allow Google or Blogger members to comment. So, in the spirit of letting anyone voice their opinion I set it to allow anyone to comment. Now if you’d like to comment, feel free to do so! This goes the same for Audiosyncratic. Have a nice day!

Nintendo Console Transformation

In the spirit of bringing a few enjoyable videos to the table, here’s one I found because of the Wii Fanboy blog. It’s a short video of the evolution of Nintendo consoles through nifty animated transformations. The creator, ptacnik, did it as part of a school (probably college) assignment. I’d say it came out really well and he’s probably got a future in advertising or design of some sort. Check it out below.

Vonage (like Europe) gets the Shaft

You may or may not have heard, that recently Verizon sued VOIP provider Vonage for patent infringement. You can read more about the case at Engadget, but in short, Vonage lost and had to stop using the technology they were infringing upon. To this Vonage said that their customers wouldn’t see a gap in service. It was a shame to see them in such trouble, but it sounded initially like things could work out if they were going to be able to get by without the patented technology.

However, in this article from Engadget, things aren’t looking so good for the VOIP provider. A District Court Judge, Claude Hilton, ruled that Vonage would not be allowed to sign up any new customers. Quite the death sentence it seems to me. I don’t even see how such a ruling could be handed down. In a free market economy how can a court decide that a company cannot try to attract new customers? I see that there should be a penalty for infringement, but I’d say disallowing the use of technology and paying damages sounds a bit more realistic, not to mention the fact that Vonage has already done that.

To top it all off the judge also put a $66 Million bond on the appeal. So, what began as a setback, that seemed to be recoverable, has turned into a potential death sentence. If they don’t win the appeal on this ruling, I doubt there will be much of a future for Vonage.

iPod Takes a Bullet

The headline basically says it all. A soldier was on street patrol in Iraq and was shot at. The old HP edition iPod got itself between the soldier and the bullet. For a more complete story check out the page on Flickr, until then have a look at the picture of the heroic iPod.

An Apple With 8 Cores

Well if an apple had eight cores I suppose it wouldn’t be much fun to eat, so it’s a good thing that this is an Apple. Today, Apple Inc. unleashed a new Mac Pro with the option to upgrade from dual two-core processors to dual four-core Intel Clovertown processors. While it’d certainly nice to have the bragging rights of such a beastly computing machine, I’m not sure if it warrants the extra (nearly) $1500 for the step up in speed.

The biggest reservation I have, as many would, is that applications these days simply aren’t optimized for computing with eight cores, most machines with two are hardly ever maxed out. The good news is, however, that right along side of these machines is the new Creative Suite from Adobe. Coincidentally (or maybe not so) CS3 applications are optimized for such mammoth of a computer.

On a side note, I have a brief story. Once upon a time there was a curse bestowed on Leo Laporte (former TechTV personality and current podcaster extraordinaire). As the story goes, shortly after Leo makes an Apple purchase, the product is replaced with a newer updated version. As luck would have it, it seems as if this curse is in effect if Leo is even present at the purchase of a Mac. So, two days ago Leo went to a nearby Apple store with a colleague of his. The man purchased a Mac Pro, with a measly four cores and two 24-inch Apple Cinema displays. Unluckily for this man, just two days later (today) Apple introduced the new speedier Mac Pro, and to make matters worse dropped the prices of cinema displays by $100. Quite bad luck I must say.

Razer’s Pro|Solutions Finally a Reality

For about a year Razer (a high-end input device company) has been tantalizing Apple users (and people with iPods who love white peripherals) with a keyboard with an iPod dock built in, plus a shiny white matching mouse as part of their Pro|Solutions series. The mouse has been around for a while (I’m using one right now with my MacBook), but Engadget just reported that the Keyboard is finally coming for fruition.

The Pro|Type keyboard is going to run about $130. Besides its white glory, it features an integrated iPod dock, plus a whole slew of media and programmable keys. In fact, the keyboard is able to switch between 10 profiles, which allows for even more customizable fun. If I didn’t already drop $29 on an Apple Keyboard I’d actually consider it, since I’m a fan of Razer and it would match my mouse. However, I’m not in dire need of an iPod dock, or an expensive keyboard. So, coolness aside I doubt I’ll be getting one anytime soon, doesn’t mean it’s not a sleek gadget though.

PSP Price Drop: Sony Shafts the Euros Again

While I’m not interested (at all) in buying a PSP, I’ve known for some time that it’s just too expensive for lots of people to consider, especially when its competitor the, Nintendo DS, is hovering just over $100. Well, also for some time, people have been actively complaining about the PSP’s $200 price point. As Engadget reports, it seems as if Sony is finally listening to its potential customers and doing something about it. While the article doesn’t make specific reference, the article they cite explains that the new price for the pack will be $179, which isn’t a huge cut.

The little bit of this news that sticks out to me is that Sony said “We have no announcements to make about the PSP in the European market at this time.” As you may remember I posted previously about Europe getting the shaft on backwards compatibility, not to mention the regrettably late launch of the PS3 across the Atlantic. I don’t know what it is about Sony and Europe, it just seems they like to give them the stick whenever possible, late PS3 launch, higher price for it, limited backwards compatibility, and now no plans to reduce the cost of the already pricey PSP. I’m not a big fan of Sony these days as it is, but if I lived in Europe, who knows what I’d think.

Colorful, Fashion Conscious USBCELL Batteries

I’ve you haven’t heard of USBCELL batteries, I’ll give you the lowdown. Essentially, they’re rechargeable batteries. However, instead of spending money on an expensive charger, you use any free USB ports on your computer to charge them. Last time I checked they had AAA, AA, and 9 Volt models. I know there’s a bit more of a trick the AAA size because a USB plug is a little bit bigger than the diameter of the battery, but the AA size have caps (on the positive side) that fold off to reveal the USB connector for charging.

They really are a good idea, and not too too expensive. I think they’re more than your ordinary battery, but as far as rechargeables go, they’re reasonable, especially taking into consideration the cost of typical chargers. Well, now as Engadget is reporting, USBCELLs will be coming in a variety of colors. Verity Wright, the design director is quoted as saying, “With virtually every other portable company launching fashionable pastel colored products, it's about time the Billions of AA Batteries inside caught up with the design and fashion concerns of modern consumers.” That’s just it, they’re on the inside, who cares? If they don’t cost the consumer any more to get a pack of colorful USBCELLs I can’t blame them, but if they plan on charging a premium for these tidbits of pastel portable power, then I’ve got a gripe.

Dude Wins a Wii

Two video posts in one day, wow. You know those stupid crane games (or others like them) that you never win? Well this kid won. It wasn’t some stupid old stuffed animal either; this guy won a Nintendo Wii. Pretty impressive I’d say. Check out the video below. If you’ve got a thing against cursing, I suggest turning down your volume before you start the video.

AP Reporter Takes It From The “Pain Gun”

I don’t exactly have the technical expertise or the desire to attempt to explain how the “Pain Gun” works, but if you’d like a briefing on it check out Engadget’s reporting on it from a while back. I can say, however, that the basic idea is that it gives whomever is it path of its beam will feel an intense pain, most likened to burning. The effect is that almost immediately the victim will want to get out of its way as quick as possible.

The press was invited to a recent testing session, and Elliot Minor, an AP reporter elected to have it tested on him, the video can be found below. I’ll just say from his reaction I plan to keep clear of this thing.

EMI and iTunes to bring DRM Free Content!

Last night there was a live webcast from London, by EMI and Apple CEO his Steveness. The big announcement was that EMI, one of the big four record companies; will be bringing higher quality DRM-Free content to the iTunes Store.

I’ve always been pretty under whelmed by the 128Kbps AAC tracks that cost $0.99 on iTunes. If I’m going to pay for my music I’d like to be able to do with it what I want (just like my movies) and I’d like it to be at a decent quality. 128Kbps just isn’t cutting it for me. So, now for $0.30 more, you’ll be able to find EMI tracks without DRM encoded at 256Kbps, lets just hope they’re not transcoded. In case you don’t know what that is, transcoding is the process of converting audio from one lossy format (i.e. AAC or MP3) to another. This further degrades the quality; so an AAC file transcoded to 256Kbps from 128Kbps, will actually sound worse. And when Apple increased the resolution for video downloads last year (I think) it was found out that they just upscaled a lot of them, which causes video artifacting.

The other bonus is if you’ve already got a whole slew of EMI tracks, you’ll be able to pay the extra thirty cents and get the DRM-Free version. Album’s will also be available without DRM, but at regular prices, sounds like an incentive to buy whole albums to me. Finally, EMI music videos will also come in DRM-Free forms, without a price hike. One of the best things to be heard from all of this is that Steve Jobs expects half of the tracks available on iTunes will be DRM free in the next year.

For more info, check out Engadget’s extended coverage.

The WiiHelm from Think Geek

To close out coverage for April Fools day, I have a second gag product, which can also be found at Think Geek. It is the WiiHelm. It (if it existed) allows you to play your favorite Wii gesture-based games with your head! Check out the above link for all the details, but until then check out this video.

Wii Goes Cruising with Norwegian

Since the release of the Nintendo Wii, there’ve been many stories of its acceptance by non-gamers, young and old. This story furthers the Wii’s market penetration. Norwegian Cruise Lines has taken the liberty of installing Nintendo Wii’s in several of their ships, including their newest boat. These ships all have a few playing rooms and even have one main room for public gaming, complete with a gargantuan screen. The picture below basically tells the entire story. If, however, you’d like to read more, including the full press release check this out.

Belkin Hubs for Desks

I saw the iPod dock version of these a couple days before I saw this article at Engadget. At first I just thought it was yet another iPod accessory, but after thinking about it, I’ve concluded that this line of computer hub accessories from Belkin is a damn good idea.

How often do you see someone with a computer and their desk in a work environment? Just about anytime you look at an office desk. Well how often do they actually make use of the holes build into desks to route cables? Not very often. Belkin’s new USB Hub (and iPod dock) line of products makes use of these unused holes, to give the customer plenty more USB ports.

I find it hard to explain just why I like these products, I just do. They take the clutter away from your computer and make use of space more efficiently. Their design is simple but attractive, and they’re doing something I’ve never seen done before. These products haven’t hit shelves just yet, but you can expect to see them fairly soon at $39.99 a pop.

Just In Case You Want To Harm Yourself

Art Lebedev (the design oriented company that is responsible for the incredibly expensive Optimus Keyboard) brings us a hilariously dangerous gimmick gadget. The Vilcus Plug Dactyloadapter gives you (and your fingers) direct access to your wall outlets, both American and European.

Think Geek (the gadget’s exclusive retailer) explains the wonders of this product’s features:

* Easily test any AC Power Outlet
* Fits any finger size
* Works with European style and USA type outlets
* Become more alert through free electroshock therapy
* Exclusive Russian Design

If you haven’t quite got the gag yet, this product allows you to purposely electrocute yourself. While I think the idea is great (for its comedic value) I just want to say that you should probably not test it out. If you’d like to purchase one, you can find it at Think Geek for $12.99. Or maybe before you try to give them your money, you should check out what day it is.

No PS3s in UK Jails

I’ve been sticking mainly to just analyzing tech hear (the purpose of the blog), but after seeing this article at Engadget, I decided that I absolutely have to throw a bit of my moral judgment into the ring. It seems as if the Home Secretary, John Reid, has declared that PS3’s will not be allowed into jails in the UK because of their possibility as communication devices. This is a very good reason, but I can’t help but think that there’s a better one.

To me, the best reason to keep PS3 out of jails is that it provides a luxury that many law-abiding people do not have, to convicted criminals. Honestly, if you’re in prison, you shouldn’t be allowed very many amenities at all. Call me cruel, but while you’re in jail I say that you should be allowed only a very few things, maybe books, news papers, and some sporting and fitness equipment, as well as food and that sort of necessary type of thing. I just don’t see how prisons and their administrators can possibly think it is a practical use of tax dollars to buy prisoners things that many citizens do not have. The point of prison is to punish criminals.

Honestly, if my life takes a turn for the worse and I’m left without a home, or family, or money, and jails continue to give prisoners things like cable television and high tech goodies such as gaming consoles, I might just commit a crime. When you’re living on the streets, it’d be hard to beat a free room, free food, and lots of time to bulk up and brush up on video game skills.

DVD Ripping Company Escapes Legal Battle

Engadget recently reported that a company called Kaleidescape has escaped from a lengthy court case, unharmed. Kaleidescape offers a jukebox program for home users that allows the consumer to stream digitized versions of their DVDs throughout a home. In addition to the software to do this, the company offers DVD digitization service; this is most likely where the legal troubles arose.

The DVD Copy Control Association brought the suit and it lasted over three years. Although I don’t know the specifics I can conclude that the problem they had is the copying of ‘locked’ copyrighted material, as it is a violation of the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act). While it is explicitly illegal, this is certainly not a case of piracy. It is actually much the opposite. The people who would use this service, would most likely be those who are not technically savvy enough to digitize their media on their own, or those who want to make use of its convenience.

It is very encouraging to hear that a company who is allowing the average consumer to make use of media (that they purchased) in a fair way. There isn’t much I like less than the idea of charging people each time they want to use content in a different way. The MPAA’s favorite scenario for distributing their content, is to make you pay to see it in the theatre, pay for it on DVD, pay for it so you can watch it on your computer, and pay to bring it with you on a device like an iPod. It is companies like Kaleidescape, which make it possible for consumers to make fair use of content, and that, is something that I think is worth defending.

Iomegea: King of Overpriced Storage

If you’re not familiar with the company, Iomega makes storage devices and for as long as I can remember, they seem to always be at the bleeding edge of capacity. Today, Engadget reported that Iomega has just announced the Power Pro Desktop Hard Drive. It offers up a whopping 2 Terabytes of storage. It’s essentially 4 500 GB drives shoved into one box. Interestingly, it offers optional RAID setup so you can mirror 1TB of data for extra security.

Over the years Iomega has had their fair share of proprietary formats that never really made it anywhere. For example: The Bernoulli, the Ditto, Zip, Jaz, Pocket Zip, ZipCD, REV, and the Peerless. While just about all of these had loads of storage for their time period (as does the Power Pro today) they never made it very far for a few reasons. The first, is that they are all proprietary formats. In order to make use of these you have to by an Iomega cradle or connector or drive depending on how the device worked and also you had to by the media from them, which eliminates competitive pricing.

Pricing is the single biggest barrier to entry for these products that I can think of. The REV drive, which offers a range of 35 to 70 GB of storage, goes for about $50 per cartridge. In addition to that you have to by the drive, which retails for $399 and comes with just one 35GB cart. Just like it’s companions and predecessors the Power Pro is also remarkably expensive, demanding a (nearly insane) $1,700. Wow, just wow is all I can say to that. Internal 500 GB drives run for well under $200 which prices one Terabyte something around $700, a full $1000 less, all you would need is a computer with space for the drives, or some external enclosures.

I’m not who decides Iomega’s pricing and product strategies, but I feel like they need to be fired. What is most remarkable is that they’ve been making overprices janky stuff for over 25 years now, and they’re still around.

Silverbrook has Revolutionary Printer on the Horizon

I’m not quite sure about the details, but there’s been some buzz that an Australian company, Silverbrook, has been working on an inkjet printer that can spit out about 2 pages per second. This printer dubbed the ‘Memjet’ is the culmination of years of study and research. From what I gather, their hopes are to contract out the technology (they have over 1,400 patents) to the major printer companies and watch the money roll in. Check out this short demo video, which I hope isn’t just an elaborate staging.

Check out the press link here.

Helio’s New Phone, the Ocean

So Helio, has got a new phone coming out early this summer, well I guess according to them, it’s not a phone, and they’re not a phone company, whatever. The phone is actually pretty cool looking. Engadget reports, the Ocean, as it’s called, is a slider that slides two ways. If you slide it up like you would most slider phones, it reveals the usual number keypad. If you turn it sideways and slide it again, you’ll find a full QWERTY keyboard; pretty nifty I’d say.

The main problem I see here, isn’t the phone (I mean non-phone), it’s the phone company (I mean non-phone company). Honestly, how good can the coverage be? I checked quickly on their website for New Jersey and the tri-state area, they claim there’s at least voice coverage everywhere, but the full service (data transfer and all the cool stuff they try to sell you on) is really spotty. Plus, just how accurate are those maps anyways? I’d assume almost everyone has taken a look at one sometime, and I’m also sure everyone has gone without service at one time or another. I’m sure it’s the same for the other trendy fad phone companies as well, i.e. Boost and Amp’d that’s what they’re called right?

Honestly, who cares? I’ve had Verizon for a while and they’ve treated me pretty well. The service is pretty thorough, I almost always have enough to send a text message or talk on the phone. And from what I hear Cingular and Sprint are pretty reliable too. Plus, they’ve got their fair share of hip phones too. I just don’t see these pop-up over night fad companies sticking around. How many people do you know who’ve ditched their (probably) reliable phone company to look cool? I don’t know of anyone. Also, from what I hear, they (at least Helio) aren’t making any money; in fact I’ve heard they’re losing wheelbarrows full of it. I just can’t recommend ditching your current service for one of these trendy companies.

Upgraded Xbox 360 in Black, Headed Down the Pipeline

So I’ve been slacking again, but finally here comes another entry. The news is a little bit late, but who knows if you’ve heard it or not. A few days ago Engadget reported that the new upgraded Xbox 360 is indeed reality. It took a day or so and they came up with a whole list of specs, but one of the most important bits of info about the new box, is it’s price. The new Xbox dubbed ‘Elite’ will be selling along side the current two models for an additional $80 over the Premium system at a hefty $479.

The rumor has it that this price is just temporary, along with the sleek black shell, and that after they’ve sold out, the system will switch back to white and the price will also drop. It just doesn’t seem like the right move to me. The slew of new features is smart; it ups the ante and takes a bit away from the PS3, especially considering the mounds of HD content available for download on the platform. But, upping the price is just the opposite of what Microsoft should be doing right now. The number one complaint about the PS3 seems to be that it’s too much money. Then, as a competitor, why would you ever consider closing the price gap by charging more for your console?

Instead, this new iteration, the ‘Elite’ should take the place of the Premium console in price. Meanwhile, the Premium should take a $100 price cut and the Core system should be phased out, this way, customers would be getting more for their buck and therefore there’s more of an excuse to chose Microsoft. They should have kept the new machine under wraps for a little while longer and stopped production of the Core unit and quietly let it sell out. It would have been hard to deny the rumors, but I think it would have been the right move.

The last kicker about the updated 360 is that it still doesn’t offer HD DVD playback out of the box, while the PS3 offers Blu-ray from the get go. However, I don’t blame them for not including this. Cramming in a $200 add-on along with all the updated features would immediately alienate all the customers who just shelled out 200 beans for the HD DVD player. But now, if someone pays almost $500 (the price of a low-end PS3) for the ‘Elite’ and wants HD DVD playback, they have to shell out another $200 bringing the grand total to almost $700, which is more than the top of the line PS3. All of the sudden, the PS3 is looking like the better deal at this junction. Only time will tell if this stunt by Microsoft pays off, it’s certain that some people will be so giddy about the idea of a black 360 that they’ll gladly pay a jacked up premium price for it.

Expensive Cables for your Apple TV

The delayed Apple TV is finally shipping, but unfortunately, it doesn’t ship with all the cables that you might want to hook it up to your lovely HDTV. Well, TAUW (The Unofficial Apple Weblog) reported today that Monster has got you covered. The new range of products is designed specifically for the Apple TV, what’s this mean? Absolutely nothing!

The biggest distinction to be made between these cables and others made by Monster, or just about any other cables, is that they’re white. Oh, and they’re branded for the Apple TV, just so you think you’ve absolutely got to have them! These white cables don’t come cheap though. Component video cables will run you $39.95, while HDMI comes in at a whopping $59.95. The optical audio cable goes for $29.95 and the analog (yes analog, plain old red and white cables) will cost you $24.95. One reason for the high prices of these cables, I would suspect, is that they have gold plated connectors, which promotes conductivity.

While I might not rush out to buy these cables, I do give Monster credit for their work. I’ve owned a fair share of Monster audio and video cables in the past, and they are well constructed and well insulated. They’ve got a lot going for them, but if you don’t want to spend the money, there are plenty of cheap alternatives to be had.