Gadgetstronics

While it may not be as fun as getting your hands on the real thing, if anyone was itching to give the new blackberry Curve 8900 a test run, I have just found a nice simulator that will allow you to do just that.  The simulator may just end up being a little more of a tease, but at least you will get to check out the latest 4.6.1 software.  Of course, these online simulators usually just leave me wanting to make a purchase, but maybe that is the point.  You can begin playing by clicking the “Read” link below and then selecting “BlackBerry Device Simulators v4.6.1′ for the 8900.”

Read [BlackBerry Simulator] Via [BlackBerryNews]

Keep up with the latest gadget goodness! - Subscribe to our feed →

U.S. customs agents have found $700,000 worth of fake Nikes in a shipment from China that allegedly pretended to carry $20,674 in kitchen cabinets.

There’s no word on whether the Nikes involved in the sting operation were the Hyperdunk shoes that the company tried to pass off as the real Mcflys from Back to the Future II, earlier this summer. The shoes are the company’s most trendy this year, and we wouldn’t be surprised if a criminal tried to make money off their popularity.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, 568 cartons of bogus Nikes were stuffed behind 30 cartons of industrial toilet paper. This is only the latest incident in the battle against trafficking of valuable gadgets and other merchandise in California ports.

Earlier this year, thousands of expensive counterfeit watches were seized in a Los Angeles port, and in May, $22 million worth of fake designer bags were also found in Oakland’s Port.

The Port of Oakland is one of the West Coast’s largest terminals for container ships, and is one of the busiest ports in the country. According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection office, about 20,000 to 30,000 containers come into the port each month.

According to the Chronicle’s report, the alleged counterfeit importer described the contents of the container as only kitchen cabinets, before arriving to the port. There is no word on whether the man has been indicted for the counterfeit or whether he was wearing fake McFlys at the time of his arrest.

Photo: Brooke Anderson/Flickr

See also:

• Great Scott! The 2015 McFly Sneakers Are Now (Somewhat) Real
• Nike Hyperdunks Make Disappointing Debut, Still No McFly

FROM GAMERTELL - Save $134 buying this bundle of games that includes The Orange Box, Half-Life 2, Portal and all the expansion packs.  Find out more about it on Gamertell…
MORE »

Keep up with the latest gadget goodness! - Subscribe to our feed →

by Darren Murph, posted Nov 13th 2008 at 11:15PMThis week’s episode of Ask Engadget takes things back into the living room — or the bedroom, or wherever you have a TV — and looks at the selection of HTPCs below the $3,000 range. And c’mon, who’s not into getting a bargain this day and age?

“My query is related to a what is commonly referred to as a Home Media PC. Recently I have gone through the wringer searching online for an HTPC which has the possibility of being upgraded when the time comes. I need it to do all the usual PC things (but on a 46-inch HDTV) and would also like to play RTS games, edit music / video and not go broke in the process. Looking online, most pre-fab vendors are charging upwards of $4,000 to $6,000 for potent media PCs — what are my options for getting one between $2,000 and $3,000 (or less)?”

We know, the bulk of you are just moments away from blurting out “DIY!one1!,” and while that’s obviously a perfectly reasonable response, feel free to share of pre-built machines that just might fit the bill here. Later, you can beam in a question of your own to ask at engadget dawt com, but only if you feel led. No pressure.

• Permalink
• Email this
• 135 Comments

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Media PCs

by Paul Miller, posted Nov 14th 2008 at 3:22AM
We were always curious as to why computers don’t make it easier to take advantage of that fancy little Bluetooth headset of yours — why buy a whole ‘nother headset for Skype and Counter Strike (is that what kids are up to these days?) when your ridiculously overpriced Jawbone will do just fine? Callpod’s newly released Drone USB Bluetooth adapter makes your Bluetooth headset look just like a regular headphone / mic combo to a PC or Mac, perfect for chewing out the kids from your hotel room over some long-distance Skype without messing with a tangle of wires. Callpod is also touting a 100 meter wireless range, and can naturally do regular, boring Bluetooth chores like transferring files and tethering your keyboard. The Drone is available now for $50.

[Via Crave]

• Read
• Permalink
• Email this
• 38 Comments

Filed under: Peripherals, Wireless

I’d rather not tell you how I found this exclusive deal that will save you $29.99, but I can tell you to thank Oprah.  It seems odd to talk about her again after doing so a couple of weeks ago when she was pimping out the Kindle reader from Amazon.  This time, Snapfish.com was on her show on ways to unclutter your messy home.  Oprah touts getting rid of all your kids artwork and putting them into a keepsake book.

Um, sure Oprah, that is what I am going to do.  Nope, I am half way through making a book from the thousands of images my digital camera took on summer vacation.  Thank God for digital film.

So how do you get your free 8″x11″ book free?

Here is the deal:

• Visit this link.
• Create an account or log in
• The credit will be added to your account, so you’ll see it at check out.
• upload photos, arrange, slap in some text
• click “order this book”
• pay shipping.  Sorry, Oprah doesn’t have any connections at the USPS.  Bummer.
• get book while reveling in the fact you beat the man this one day.

The catch

Sweet, right (aside from paying for shipping)?  You must visit this link and get the coupon added today. You have up to Sunday to create and order the book.  Not a huge catch, but act now.

I’ve made photo books with Snapfish before and have been happy with the results.  I’ll be even happier not shelling out $30.  A big thanks to Snapfish and Oprah!

Keep up with the latest gadget goodness! - Subscribe to our feed →

by Paul Miller, posted Nov 14th 2008 at 5:34AM
Those MAKE kids sure love their Arduino, and today’s creation has a fun musical bent. The Image Scanning Sequencer — a portable followup to the similarly-dubbed Image Scanning Sequencer — has a strip of photo cells that can trigger MIDI notes based on what they’re picking up. The darkness of the detected “note” sets the velocity of the note, and the location sets the pitch. The Arduino sits in between, making all the magic happen. If this all sounds completely meaningless and pointless, you’re probably right, but check out the video after a break for chance at making sense of it all. And simulated whale noises.

[Via MAKE, thanks Manny]

• Read
• Permalink
• Email this
• 11 Comments

Filed under: Misc. gadgets

While Google waits for it Android mobile operating system to mature, the search giant is launching a sophisticated voice recognition tool for iPhone.

The software, set to release some time Friday, will be part of Google’s free, long neglected mobile app [iTunes Link] on iPhone, and it will allow users to perform a Google search by simply dictating a query, according to a story in the New York Times. Examples: "When was Michael Crichton’s birthday?" or "Japanese restaurants in San Francisco," or "400 kilometers into miles."

Google’s app might sound groundbreaking, but similar speech recognition services are already available on iphone. DialDirections, a startup, recently released a free app called Say Who, which allows you to dial a contact by either dictating the phone number or a person’s name. Also, in October, DialDirections released Say Where, which enables users to look up business listings or Google Maps by dictating a city, state and address or name of business.

A major distinction in Google’s voice-recognition app is that it will use the iPhone’s GPS capabilities to pinpoint your location and display location-based advertisements. Google believes it can charge higher rates for such ads. Of course, that means Google is planning to release its voice-recognition software on other handsets after launching it on iPhone.

Google Is Taking Questions (Spoken, via iPhone) [NY Times]

The latest chapter in the Red One Scarlet saga has been announced. You may recall last September when CG reported that Red One head honcho Jim Jannard decided to scrap Red’s affordable 3K Scarlet video camera due to “changes in the state of the industry” and promised a new design which would have more the feel of a 2nd generation camera than a brand new, first generation design. This is after Red locked down the design of Scarlet and was on the verge of shipping it. They dumped Scarlet, and the Epic still camera, for a brand new design from scratch. What were these “changes” which prompted such a radical and costly decision? I think it was the upcoming release of the Canon 5D Mark II which shoots HD video in 1080p and makes it look like multimillion dollar blockbuster. Now, we see why. Jannard probably got a sneak look at the 5D and saw the handwriting on the wall and the word was “convergence.”

To that end, Jannard seems to have decided to take the Red Epic still camera and the Scarlet video camcorder (both based on the Mysterium X sensor and capable of shooting 3K and 5K video) and mashed them together. The result is multi platform camera system that is completely modular and upgradeable in every way. And Jennard is so committed to this design, that he’s giving current owners of the RED ONE nearly $18,000 in credit towards the new platform, or keep the Red One and get a 12% credit on a Scarlet system.

What this means is, Red has decided to dump the high end, yet affordable consumer market, and keep Red in the hands of the Pros with cash to burn.

Hat Tip - Engadget

• Email to a friend
• Leave a comment

Everything is being built to be more mobile these days, and even projectors have shrunk down to unbelievably small sizes compared to the ones of yore. Pico projectors that are meant to be used with netbooks and cell phones for impromptu presentations are starting to come of age, but those are still no substitute for a dedicated projector by any means. Toshiba has introduced yet another projector for business use - the TLP-WX100U which comes with wide resolution that will definitely be a boon to most educators, business users and consumers these days, since many of the notebooks in this day and age come with a widescreen resolution format. details on the TLP-WX100U are available right after the jump.

The Toshiba TLP-WX100U comes in a slim form factor that makes it a snap to transport, and this model will use 3LCD technology that provides outstanding color reproduction while offering an impressive 2,200 ANSI lumens that is bright enough for use in virtually any setting. It has a native (1,280 x 800) WXGA resolution with a sharp 600:1 contrast ratio accompanying it, giving viewers a superior and brilliant image that is more than capable of fulfilling professional presentation needs while keeping home theater buffs happy. Heck, you can even hook this up to your game console at home, but games running on full High Definition won’t be supported. personally find the blackboard function to be interesting, as it enables you to make presentations on non-screen surfaces such as a painted wall or blackboard as the TLP-WX100U is smart enough to auto-correct the color in its images, assuming you set the correct wall color.

The price to pay? Well, the TLP-WX100U isn’t exactly expensive as it doesn’t shatter the $1,000 barrier, retailing for $959 and accompanied by a three-year standard limited warranty. Throw in closed captioning function, WXGA resolution support and a blackboard function amidst all those mentioned above and you’ve more or less have a winner on your hands.

Press Release

• Email to a friend
• Leave a comment