CrunchGear |  |
- Logitech MK710 Wireless Desktop: Really nice and lasts a long time
- Bowlingual: iPhone app translates what your dog barks, posts it to Twitter
- ST-Ericsson’s new platform could spawn heaps of low-cost Android smartphones
- Review: Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 Wireless Speaker System
- Panasonic announces world’s first 1080/60p camcorder(s)
- Marines buy portable armor that comes in a flat pack
- Combination lock USB drive doomed to stay as a concept
- Daily Crunch: Drive On, Sailor Edition
- Aussies treat building like ugly date, put a bag over its head
- Does the Notion Ink Adam stand a chance against the iPad?
- The bleeding edge of sailing technology
- Wow, a solar-charging backpack that actually looks cool
- Hourtime Episode 13 – Pet Peeves
- BMW plus Sennheiser equals some sweet-looking headphones
- Review: Microsoft Sidewinder X3 gaming mouse
- The Timex Thumbnail Watch: Decidedly not real
- Video Review: Yeti USB Microphone
- LEGO Universe beta signup goes live
- Norwegians max out on iPad pre-orders
- BioShock 2: Great, good, or sorta meh?
| Logitech MK710 Wireless Desktop: Really nice and lasts a long time Posted: 10 Feb 2010 05:14 AM PST
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| Bowlingual: iPhone app translates what your dog barks, posts it to Twitter Posted: 10 Feb 2010 04:21 AM PST
Do you remember the Bowlingual, the portable dog language translator that was released in Japan last year? The basic concept behind the $250 device (which people living outside Japan can get here) will soon be used for an iPhone app that translates what a dog "says" into human language and emoticons in real-time. Japanese toy giant Takara Tomy markets the device as a gag product but also stresses its scientific component (it was jointly developed with an acoustics research laboratory and a veterinarian), meaning we’re in for a treat with the iPhone app that’s scheduled for release this summer [JP]. The developer, Tokyo-based Index, a (listed) mobile contents provider, will release a Japanese version fist, followed by the English app in mid-August.
The way it works is that you need to let your dog bark into the iPhone mic first. The app then uses a special algorithm to analyze what your dog wants from you and displays it on the iPhone screen. On the picture above (left half), for example, the dog says “Let’s play together”. What the Bowlingual device doesn’t offer is the “social networking feature” of the iPhone app. Press the bone-shaped button below your dog’s statement to post it to Twitter (see the Twitter conversation thread shown on the right half on the screenshot above), along with a profile picture of your dog. You can also add a comment before you tweet your dog’s message out, a feature that’s supposed to encourage dog owners to connect and communicate with each other on Twitter. The Bowlingual gadget has been sold over 300,000 times in Japan so far and won the Ig Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. Via Asiajin
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| ST-Ericsson’s new platform could spawn heaps of low-cost Android smartphones Posted: 10 Feb 2010 04:10 AM PST  ST-Ericsson, a 50/50 joint venture by STMicroelectronics and Ericsson, this morning announced its latest HSDPA platform built on the Linux OS. Dubbed U6715, the platform aims to aid handset manufacturers produce smartphones powered by Android - or other Linux-based operating systems - with a wholesale price of less than €100 ($138). ST-Ericsson says it anticipates manufacturers to launch the first commercial products based on its U6715 chip platform in the first half of 2010.
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| Review: Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 Wireless Speaker System Posted: 10 Feb 2010 04:00 AM PST
Pros:
Cons:
Review: Klipsch released these speakers back in 2000. This particular model however, is new this year. The only difference being the addition of wireless capability. The sound quality out of this rig is fantastic. The frequency response on the subwoofer only drops down to 31 Hz, so you won’t get that extreme rumble on the low end of the spectrum. But you’re not running a dance club on your desk are you?
But do you really need wireless desk speakers? If you’re keeping your computer at your desk, absolutely not. The range on the transmitter is only 30 feet, and isn’t designed to go through walls. The only other place in my room I sit with my computer is on my bed, and having a USB dongle in is a bit annoying. Plus, moving anywhere away from your desk will put out of the sweet spot of the speakers. And if you want to wall mount these, be prepared to shell out another $22.
If you’re a serious gamer, you probably have a surround sound system of some sort, be it speakers or headphones. So this system isn’t for you. If you just want great sounding desktop speakers, go find the non-wireless version of these. They’re exactly the same and go for something like 50 bucks since they’ve been around since the original Half-Life. Product Page: ProMedia 2.1 Wireless Speaker System
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| Panasonic announces world’s first 1080/60p camcorder(s) Posted: 10 Feb 2010 03:20 AM PST
It’s not everything about 3D for Panasonic these days. The company today announced the HDC-HS700 and HDC-TM700 [press release in English], which are the world’s first 1080/60p camcorders. Strangely enough, said press release mentions neither this bit of information nor release dates (the Japanese one does). The biggest difference between both models is the 240GB HDD in the HS700 and the 32GB of built-in flash memory in the TM700. However, it seems the US will get a trimmed down TM700: The English press release linked to above speaks of 32GB of internal memory, while Japanese buyers will get 96GB (pictured). And to add confusion, the HS700 has not been announced by Panasonic Japan today. The US-bound camcorders, according to Panasonic, use an advanced 3MOS technology “that produces vivid, true-to-life colors and excels in darkly-lit environments”. In addition to the built-in storage, both models feature a slot that supports SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards, which in the case of an SDXC card means a plus of up to 64GB of memory. The HDC-HS700 stores 102 hours of recording (in HE mode) on its HDD, while the 32GB built into the HDC-TM700 are enough for 13 hours and 40 minutes of video recording (in HE mode). Other specs include 12x optical zoom, 5.1 surround sound (five microphones are built into both models), a 3-inch touch screen, “Wind Noise Canceler”, and 35mm wide-angle Leica lenses. Panasonic doesn’t say when and for how much the camcorders will hit American stores, but in Japan, the TM700 (with 96GB flash) will go on sale on March 10 for $1,680.
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| Marines buy portable armor that comes in a flat pack Posted: 10 Feb 2010 01:30 AM PST
The McCurdy’s Armor (named after a soldier who died in 2006) comes complete with gun ports, steel plated armor, and different levels of construction for different tasks. The Marine Corps has already bought 14 of the reusable units, however there’s no word if they are actually in use in any conflict areas. Seems like a great concept to me. [via Gizmodo]
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| Combination lock USB drive doomed to stay as a concept Posted: 10 Feb 2010 12:30 AM PST
Secure USB drives are nothing new, they are just normally locked with a keypad, or a password system, not some mechanical dial. Of course, this is a concept, and will most likely never see the light of day, but it’s at least fun to look at. [via Gizmodo]
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| Daily Crunch: Drive On, Sailor Edition Posted: 10 Feb 2010 12:00 AM PST |
| Aussies treat building like ugly date, put a bag over its head Posted: 09 Feb 2010 10:00 PM PST
It sounds good, but as I said, it’s more of a concept right now. The “Tower Skin” creates a micro climate around the structure, and wraps completely around the building. Think of wrapping a sandwich with cling wrap, but of course your cling wrap won’t light up and night. Or create electricity from the sun. But you get the idea. Of course, is it really necessary? Is the UTS building that ugly that money needs to be spent making it look pretty again? [via Dvice]
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| Does the Notion Ink Adam stand a chance against the iPad? Posted: 09 Feb 2010 09:00 PM PST
It just might, with the proper support. The Adam looks to have better battery life, due to the fact that it’s based on the Tegra chipset, as well as a screen that actually works towards more efficient power consumption. Will it be enough to beat 10 hours? Notion thinks so, in fact they are tossing out numbers in the area of 2 to 3 times the battery life of the iPad. Notion Ink has also stated that the Adam supports HD, whereas the iPad is only capable of 576p/480p. Oh, and did I mention that the Adam supports Flash? It’s also worth noting that the Adam is physically thinner then the iPad. Steve’s Moses tablet is a beefy 13.4 millimeters, and the Notion’s product comes in at 12.9. It’s not a huge difference obviously, but it’s there. We don’t know any pricing or availability on the Adam, but Notion is expected to have quite a bit to say at the upcoming Mobile World Conference. We’re going to be there, so expect to hear more about it as information becomes available. [via SlashGear]
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| The bleeding edge of sailing technology Posted: 09 Feb 2010 07:40 PM PST
I suppose this tournament’s only limitations are “have a hull, a sail, and don’t be longer than x.” There are more “authentic” sailing cups to be won, but I think we have space for both. Even if you or I consider one or the other to be the true sport, I think we can agree that going fast on boats is awesome.
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| Wow, a solar-charging backpack that actually looks cool Posted: 09 Feb 2010 07:20 PM PST
Ahem. These backpacks do look pretty cool. Well, a couple of them do anyway. Mainly that white one, and it’s not really a backpack — the Soular Powers Back-Up Packs are really just add-ons for the regular backpacks they sell. I know, I kind of pushed it pretty hard on that guy earlier. Did you see his pack, though? Nerd alert!
[via Chip Chick and Green Diary]
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| Hourtime Episode 13 – Pet Peeves Posted: 09 Feb 2010 07:00 PM PST
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| BMW plus Sennheiser equals some sweet-looking headphones Posted: 09 Feb 2010 06:30 PM PST
Personally I’m always going to go with in-ears over earbuds, but the extra support from that ear-thing might be good for joggers or people on the move who still want to rock some chrome. The model numbers, from left to right, are: OMX-980, MX-980, CX-980. No word I’m pricing, but show me a bargain BMW. I’m guessing they’ll be around $150. [via DesignLaunches and LuxuryLaunches]
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| Review: Microsoft Sidewinder X3 gaming mouse Posted: 09 Feb 2010 06:00 PM PST
Pros:
Cons:
Full review:
The shape of the mouse is very comfortable. It’s got a good medium size and comfortable curve. There’s no shelf for your outside fingers but there is a small (but effective) one for your thumb, whichever way you hold it. DPI buttons are out of the way but quickly accessed. The thumb buttons, however, are just way too far up on the mouse. This is a very obvious design flaw: the thumb shelf indicates where your thumb should sit when you are holding the mouse, and the button is half an inch further towards the tip of the mouse. It’s just physically impossible to be resting your thumb on the shelf and still be able to reach the button; you need to lift the heel of your hand up and reach forward, and who’s going to do that? And of course, since it’s an ambidextrous mouse, there’s a whole button going to waste near your ring finger, which can’t really do anything with it. The sensor seems to work just fine. I thought I encountered a little jitter but right now I can’t replicate it, so it may have been just too much coffee on my part. Conclusion: I feel I’ve been saying this a lot lately. It’s not a bad mouse, but when you can get a Death Adder, G500 for under the price of this thing, there’s really not much else to say. Those are simply much better mice. It might be a good “gateway” mouse, as I noted in the intro, but it’s no better than the Kinzu in that regard, and the Kinzu has a much better layout. I’m afraid this mouse is the true runt of the Sidewinder litter. (do snakes have litters?)
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| The Timex Thumbnail Watch: Decidedly not real Posted: 09 Feb 2010 05:30 PM PST
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| Video Review: Yeti USB Microphone Posted: 09 Feb 2010 05:00 PM PST Review: The Yeti from Blue Microphones is a $150 USB microphone with four recording settings, zero-latency audio monitoring via a built-in headphone jack, and a 48 kHz sampling rate at 16 bits. The mic itself is solidly built – and by "solid" I mean that the combined weight of the microphone and stand is almost 3.5 pounds and the entire getup stands about 12 inches high.
One of the more intriguing features of the Yeti is the selectable pattern settings: stereo, cardioid, omnidirectional, and bidirectional. You can hear in the above video how the sound is affected when I switch between the various modes.
I found the microphone's recording quality to be good, although I'm absolutely positive that I wasn't able to get as much out of this thing as a true audio nerd would have. In my hands, it was pretty much on par with a high-quality headset from the likes of Plantronics. And, like most desktop microphones, get too close and it's going to crackle a bit, get too far away and it's going to sound too quiet. And the real-time audio monitoring, while a great feature, suffers a bit thanks to the Yeti being powered completely via USB. It just doesn't get loud enough to drown out ambient noises like you'd expect. It's a cool feature to use for recording in quiet spaces, though. A qualified audio engineer could probably make this thing sound angelic, though, given Blue's fervent following and reputation for high-quality recording products. I'm admittedly just a regular guy at a gadget blog. If you're a regular guy (or gal! Gals need mics too!) looking for a decent microphone, you probably don't need to spend $150. If you look at all the Yeti's features, though – THX certification, selectable recording patterns, etc. – and lick your chops, you're not likely to be disappointed. All in all, the Yeti is a handsome, sturdy USB microphone with a unique array of features. The recording quality is good and you're getting solid build quality, real-time audio monitoring, THX certification, and selectable pattern settings to boot. For $150, you get a lot of microphone – just make sure you'll be able to take advantage of it. Product Page: Blue Microphones – Yeti – The Ultimate Professional USB Microphone
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| LEGO Universe beta signup goes live Posted: 09 Feb 2010 04:30 PM PST
Do you want to participate in the LEGO Universe beta? You may be able to! Here’s the sign-up site, but there’s no guarantees you’ll be selected. LEGO Universe? It’s a LEGO-themed MMO. Could be fun, yeah. It’ll be released for the PC later this year if all goes according to plan.
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| Norwegians max out on iPad pre-orders Posted: 09 Feb 2010 04:00 PM PST
1. Norway is exceptionally optimistic about the iPad, it seems, with electronics retailer Apple House (Eplehuset) having to halt pre-orders because the demand has outstripped their ability to deliver. 2. In fact, the people of those far north countries are so enormous and virile that they are actually purchasing the iPad for use as a phone. Its 9.5×7.5″ size fits their brawny hands exactly, and with the handy accessory strap, it doubles as a small shield for those Norwegians who choose not to dual-wield.
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| BioShock 2: Great, good, or sorta meh? Posted: 09 Feb 2010 03:30 PM PST
So, BioShock 2. Presumably you’ve heard of it. It comes out today, and I really can’t figure out how I’m supposed to feel. I’ve read plenty of reviews—Rock, Paper, Shotgun’s is my favorite—and they’re sorta all over the place. We weren’t cool enough to get a review copy, but that’s not a big deal; Steam to the rescue. I think the general consensus is that it’s an OK shooter. The thing is, there does appear to be a bit of a split in the gaming world as to whether or not that’s enough, for it to merely be an “OK shooter.” There’s also a bit of a split with respect to the orignial game: was it great, merely good, or wildly over-hyped? That may well depend on your gaming history: if all you’ve played were “console shooters,” like Halo or Gears of War, then the game was probably good to great. If, however, you grew up on a steady diet of Deus Ex and System Shock then the game may have been a disappointment. How many times can you play “put-cursor-over-man’s-face-and-left-click” and still be entertained? It’s a question I find myself asking… myself. It’s a shooter, and not much else. Rapture is the same, if not a little shinier, but that’s it. The story is more straight-forward (ignoring the junk science), but we don’t really learn anything in particular, or anything interesting for that matter. The combat is more streamlined, but 2K Marin resorts to re-spawning enemies. (Why are we still dealing with re-spawning enemies in 2010?) It’s more of a shooter than the first game, if that makes any sense. The first game had adventure elements about it, perhaps enforced by the fact that it was our first time in Rapture, but this time around it’s all pew-pew-pew. Still, you’re better off playing this than subjecting your brain cells to Modern Warfare 2. Not even Tom Clancy could write such nonsense. Then there’s an underlying fear that 2K found itself with a hit game, and a good game, and immediately thought, “Let’s franchise this bad boy.” Hence, the appearance of a [tacked-on] multi-player mode to artificially extend its lifespan until the inevitable BioShock 3, which I hear isn’t half-bad for what it is. It’s no Team Fortress 2, but it was never going to be, either. Mass Effect 2 and Assassin’s Creed II were better sequels, it seems. I’m curious to hear what y’all think about the game. It’s a big game, yeah, and it’s “good,” sure, but did you expect more from it?
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The Short Version: You’ll be hard pressed to find a higher fidelity desktop audio rig than this. But the wireless capability is rather limited in its application, and the price runs a little high for a 2.1 system.
Now “wireless” is a bit of a misnomer with speaker systems. There are still wires running from the satellites to the amplifier, which is in the subwoofer enclosure. So if you were hoping to reduce the wire clutter on your desk, you’re out of luck. This rig only eliminates one line from the monstrosity of cables you probably have to deal with. That being said, the wireless system is a breeze to set up. I just plugged in the wireless USB dongle, set my audio output to the new speakers, and I was bothering my roommates in no time. The dongle is slightly oversized though, so if your USB ports are horizontally configured, prepare to lose one. Good news though, is that it’ll work when connected to an unpowered hub.
If the wireless transmission inherently compresses your audio to stream it, it wasn’t immediately apparent to me. And if you’re playing MP3s, it wont make a difference anyway.
One thing I don’t like about this system is the preamp connector Klipsch decided to use. It’s an 8-pin jack that I’m not familiar with, and doesn’t have the sturdiest feel to it. It doesn’t seem to want to sit in the connector. This is what connects the controls on the satellite to the amplifier, so if you bend a pin or something, you’re out of luck.
This is strangely cool. A defense contractor developed a type of steel reinforced armor that could replace the basic sandbag encampment. The armor assembles extremely quickly and is resistant to bullets, grenades, and IED blasts. It also takes about 10 minutes to put together without tools. It really is amazing the 
When I first saw the picture of this USB drive, I immediately thought, “Why am I being assigned to write about a pregnancy test?” Then I actually realized that it’s not a pee test, but rather a really bad idea for a secure USB drive. 
Sydney’s ugliest building, the UTS tower, is in process of updating its look. The project, well, more of a concept really, calls for placing a high tech mesh over the physical building. This magic mesh will generate energy, collect rainwater, and power the buildings ventilation. If someone can make it work.
It kinda sucks to be a tablet maker right now, what with that new kid on the block coming out with a new product to compete. I’m talking of course about the Notion Ink Adam vs. the iPad. When you start to compare between the two, the differences become obvious – but will they be enough to sway the Apple faithful away?
Whatever the process was that ended up in 
Just a short review for this one. The Sidewinder range of mice is Microsoft’s gaming brand, and they actually have done some pretty good work with both the X5 and the X8, the latter of which to this day sports the best wireless setup out there. The X3 is their baby brother, and it shows in the unimaginative design. The other Sidewinders had crazy buttons, were huge and angular, and pretty much screamed “freak mouse” to everyone who saw one on your desktop. But it was all good because they worked well. The X3 also works as well as can be expected, but the fact is for $40 you can get a better mouse.
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