CrunchGear |  |
- The iPad Supreme Edition is worth its weight in gold
- Celebrate National Photo Month with free stuff from CrunchGear!
- Sony burns Air Force by killing Linux on the PS3
- Even Thanko now starts offering 3D devices (a photo frame)
- Panasonic’s new VIERAs boast built-in Skype support, HDDs and Blu-ray recorders
- Daily Crunch: Dum Dum Edition
- Dell’s Streak micro-tablet to hit Europe in June, US “later this summer”
- Latest NPD numbers have DS soon becoming most-sold system of all time
- Acer to debut Chrome OS devices at Computex?
- Hulu not switching to HTML 5 for the iPad
- Portal corporate training program a huge success
- Is the Asus Rampage III Extreme the best motherboard ever or overpriced hype?
- RIM working on a Blackberry for the blind
- Review: Marvin M103 Chronograph
- The Sony NEX-7 will bring 1080p recording later this year
- Wal-Mart planning on selling iPads by the end of 2010
- Tie a knot for quick left/right ear identification
- Alistair Overeem will be in EA Sports MMA (then hide out in Japan for 3 years)
- Sony sales numbers reveal surging PS3, waning PSP
- Do do doot dodo doot! The NES Harmonica!
| The iPad Supreme Edition is worth its weight in gold Posted: 14 May 2010 05:32 AM PDT
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| Celebrate National Photo Month with free stuff from CrunchGear! Posted: 14 May 2010 05:30 AM PDT
We have three lovely prizes to give away, each to a different lucky winner. Sorry gang: we only have one of each to give away, and we want to make as many people happy as we can. That’s the whole point of National Photography Month, in case you didn’t know. Oh yeah, and the contest, like National Photography Month itself, is only open to U.S. citizens. (It’s not World Photography Month, after all!)  booq: Boa flow M/XL Full-featured laptop backpack designed to accommodate all the needs of the creative professional
To win the booq Boa, simply take a photo of your current camera bag.
To win the GorillaPod, simply take a photo of your current tripod.
To win the lensbaby, simply take a photo of your current camera lens. Sounds easy, right? Just take a photo of the thing you’re going to replace when you win this contest. In order to put a little spice into things, we require that your photo have something orange in it. Be creative. But remember, your photo won’t be considered if it doesn’t have some orange in it somewhere. As stated above, we’re going to have three different winners, but you’re welcome to submit a photo for each of these items in order to increase your chances of winning something. What do you do with the photos you’ve taken? You can send them to contest@crunchgear.com with a subject line of “National Photo Month”. Or you can tweet them with the hashtag #cgphoto. Or you can post them to the photo site of your choice and link to them in the comments. We’ll pick a random winner for each item on Monday afternoon, to give everyone plenty of time this weekend to celebrate National Photography Month!
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| Sony burns Air Force by killing Linux on the PS3 Posted: 14 May 2010 05:00 AM PDT
They didn’t make the 2300 units worthless, since the Air Force has decided not to upgrade to the latest firmware, but what happens when the hardware fails? Any units sent back for repair would no doubt be brought up the latest firmware version before they are shipped back, and any new units would be locked down as well. A statement released by the Air Force expressed their disappointment, and mentioned that they are aware of several class-action lawsuits against Sony as a result of this change. [via Tom's Hardware]
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| Even Thanko now starts offering 3D devices (a photo frame) Posted: 14 May 2010 04:24 AM PDT
Take this with a grain of salt, but I need to report that Thanko, the infamous gadget maker from Tokyo, has started selling a 3D photo frame [JP] today. The USB specialists say the 7-inch device, which they also call a “3D multimedia player”, doesn’t require users to view images in 3D. I’m somehow doubting that a gadget offered by Thanko really can produce high-quality 3D images, but I could be wrong. (The screen was probably made somewhere in China, not by Thanko itself.) The photo frame is battery-powered, can switch between 2D and 3D mode, and can actually display both pictures and video in 3D (according to Thanko). It’s compatible to JPEGs, MPEGS and AVIs (30fps max.), and features 800×480 resolution, 350 cd/m2 brightness and a contrast ratio of 400:1.
You can view content stored on SD/SDHC/MMC cards or USB sticks. The 3D display, which isn’t a touchscreen by the way (there’s a bunch of control buttons on the right side of the panel), also features a calendar and a clock function. It’s sized at 186×145×41mm and weighs 450g.
Thanko is offering the device for $325 on its Japanese website (the price includes a remote control and an SD card). Ask import/export specialists Geek Stuff 4U for help if you want to get one but live outside Japan.
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| Panasonic’s new VIERAs boast built-in Skype support, HDDs and Blu-ray recorders Posted: 14 May 2010 03:23 AM PDT
Panasonic announced [JP] a set of two new VIERA TVs for the Japanese market today, the 37-inch TH-L37R2B and the 32-inch TH-L32R2B. And they somehow managed to squeeze quite a few features and functions into the LCDs, most notably Skype support, a 320 GB HDD and a Blu-ray recorder. The main difference between the two TVs is that the smaller one only has 1,366×768 resolution, while the bigger one is full HD (both have IPSĪ± panels). Both models feature 20,000:1 contrast ratio and come with 16cm×4.2cm full range speakers, two HDMI ports, an SD/SDXC card slot, DLNA support, VIERA link, and LAN.
Users will be able to copy video stored on the HDD over to Blu-ray (but not the other way round) and video-Skype with other people in HD after getting Panasonic’s Skype-enabled TV camera. There’s are also support for a couple of video-on-demand services, for example YouTube, built into the devices. Panasonic plans to roll out both TVs in Japan on July 9. Prices: $2,600 for the 37-inch model, $2,100 for the smaller one.
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| Posted: 14 May 2010 12:00 AM PDT |
| Dell’s Streak micro-tablet to hit Europe in June, US “later this summer” Posted: 13 May 2010 06:46 PM PDT
At a demonstration for Citrix Systems, Michael Dell decided to let slip that
Well that clears things right up. He didn’t mention the larger versions, which may still be getting some UI polish. [via Engadget]
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| Latest NPD numbers have DS soon becoming most-sold system of all time Posted: 13 May 2010 05:30 PM PDT
That’s no joke — when you start talking about more than a hundred million units sold, it’s pretty much legendary already, but the PS2 has been out for several more years than the DS. I own both, so I don’t have a horse in this race. Besides, one of the horses is pretty much standing still. Not much of a race, if you ask me. According to the NPD, though, this April was a huge downturn compared with last April, DS sales included. Maybe that’ll affect when the DS overtakes the PS2, but not whether. I’m going to put my money on November. What, just because I don’t have a horse in the race, I can’t bet on it? Give me a break! Actually, if I had to choose one to live with forever……. I’d probably go with the PS2. What about you guys?
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| Acer to debut Chrome OS devices at Computex? Posted: 13 May 2010 05:00 PM PDT
Other than the bare idea of the devices (be they netbook, tablet, or other), there’s not much information. They have of course confirmed they’re doing a Chrome OS netbook, but it really makes sense to put out a tablet at the same time. Why not? The question on everybody’s minds will of course be whether these devices are made to compete with the iPad. I’d love to speculate but there are too many variables. If Acer really is working closely with Google, there could be some surprises come June. We’ll keep you informed, of course.
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| Hulu not switching to HTML 5 for the iPad Posted: 13 May 2010 04:30 PM PDT
Amusingly, the post was pulled shortly after it went up, but the news had already started circulating. Wei stated that the current Hulu player not only streams video, but also securing content, reports back to advertisers, and renders the video – all things that HTML 5 isn’t quite ready to do yet. Hulu is expected to come up with an alternative player for the iPad, however that particular service is expected to be part of a pay-only product that would require a monthly subscription. [via Apple Insider]
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| Portal corporate training program a huge success Posted: 13 May 2010 03:00 PM PDT Following the announcement that Portal is free on Steam, at least for a little while, [via Boing Boing]
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| Is the Asus Rampage III Extreme the best motherboard ever or overpriced hype? Posted: 13 May 2010 02:00 PM PDT
Moments ago, in our chatroom, I said that, if I had the money, I’d buy two Bit-Tech’s review (fun fact: Bit-Tech is one of the few tech sites I read for pleasure, not just because I have to), is that, compared to the Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R, the Rampage doesn’t justify its price. The Rampage retails for $379, which is not exactly inexpensive, while the Gigabyte retails for $199. For essentially half the price, you’re looking at nearly the same performance. That’s not to say that the board is rubbish or anything—four PCE-E slots, six memory slots, two SATA-III and USB 3.0 ports—but such components aren’t unique to the near-$400 board. In fact, you’ll find that the Gigabyte is much the same, if only half the price. That does seem to be the bottom line: a fine board, but it doesn’t do enough to justify such a price tag. (“Ultimately, for the vast, vast majority of users, the R3E fails to justify its extremely high price tag in the face of such stiff competition from Gigabyte and Asus' own range of non-[Republic of Gamers] motherboards.”) Then again, the people who are in the market for “enthusiast” motherboards may not be as tight with their money as the average person, so all these “not worth the money” complaints may not necessarily apply. But again, it sure does look nice.
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| RIM working on a Blackberry for the blind Posted: 13 May 2010 01:30 PM PDT  RIM recently filed a patent application showing a very interesting change to their basic Blackberry design. The patent talks about something called a "multi-tap keyboard user interface". The intent appears to be adding auditory feedback when pressing keys to help visually impaired users.
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| Review: Marvin M103 Chronograph Posted: 13 May 2010 12:42 PM PDT  There are a few classic watch styles. There's the GMT and there's the three register chrono. But one of my favorites is the day/date chrono powered by the Swiss ETA Valjoux 7750. That's the movement that powers the Marvin M103 and, at about $1,790 with a favorable exchange rate. The watch is a standard three-register chrono with a seconds hand and a 12-hour register. The action is quite smooth and the large, handsome crown offers a nice bit of steel to grasp for setting the time and date. Marvin has created a very sporty chrono here and, although I wouldn't take this particular model under water, it is water resistant to 5ATM.
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| The Sony NEX-7 will bring 1080p recording later this year Posted: 13 May 2010 12:30 PM PDT
It won’t come in the ultra-slim casing that makes the 3 and 5 model so appealing, but it shouldn’t be a monster either as it will also feature a mirror-less design with an APS-C sensor. However this one will be capable of 1080p@60, 1080p@24, and 720p@120/60 recording. That’s right, a slow-mo mode. The NEX-7 will also bring with it full manual control and in-body image stabilization, which partly explains the larger body. In all it seems like the NEX-7 will be a proper micro 4/3rds contender when it drops later this year. We can’t wait. [EOSHD via SlashGear]
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| Wal-Mart planning on selling iPads by the end of 2010 Posted: 13 May 2010 12:00 PM PDT
[via Apple Insider]
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| Tie a knot for quick left/right ear identification Posted: 13 May 2010 11:30 AM PDT |
| Alistair Overeem will be in EA Sports MMA (then hide out in Japan for 3 years) Posted: 13 May 2010 11:00 AM PDT
You wouldn’t know it, but Strikeforce, TNA to UFC’s WWE, has a big show this weekend, and it marks the first time that Alistair Overeem has fought in the U.S. for some three years. This is relevant to us here because EA has revealed that Overeem will, indeed, be in its upcoming EA Sports MMA. That’s him on the right. I thought that would have been a given, given that he’s the current Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, but here we are, treating this like it’s news. (Overoids, amirite?!) Right, so EA has added eight more fighters to the game’s roster, which already includes Fedor Emelianeko and Randy Couture. The just-announced additions are: • Andre Arlovski • Lyle Beerbohm • Roger Gracie • Alistair Overeem • Kevin Randleman • Vitor Ribeiro • Murilo “Ninja” Rua (Shogun’s older brother) • Fabricio Werdum I can honestly say I’ve heard of five of those guys, but I can understand how casual Spike TV viewers will be like “what?” Meanwhile, if Strikeforce gets thrown off CBS because of last month’s shenanigans, I really can’t see there being an EA Sports MMA 2(011). Please recognize that my Overeem barbs are jokes. I have nothing but respect for the man, and was quite upset when he didn’t win the K-1 World Grand Prix last year. Then again, Badr Hair is good too. Oh, everyone’s great!
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| Sony sales numbers reveal surging PS3, waning PSP Posted: 13 May 2010 10:30 AM PDT
Sony just released the numbers from the last fiscal year (April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010). The good news (for Sony and its shareholders, at least) is that PS3 sales were up quite a bit from the previous year, going from 10.1 million sold to 13 million this year. The bad news is that PSP sales have hit a bump in the road, going from 14.1 million in to 9.9 million. Translating those numbers into English, that means that the PS3 is doing a heck of a lot better than it ever was, and that the PSP, well, isn’t. This may mean a few things, or it may mean nothing at all, in which case I’m about to waste two minutes of your time. Not that this is breaking news or anything, but the PS3 Slim has been quite the success, which is to say that the price cut to $299 has been quite the success. The physical shape of the PS3 should have nothing to do with it—who sites there and says, “You know, I would buy it, but it’s too round for my liking”? As for the PSP, well, clearly the PSP Go wasn’t the best idea in the world. Or maybe it was the best idea, just not all that well implemented. I still cannot understand why the system, whose entire raison d’ĆŖtre was to usher in the age of digital download gaming, would only be outfitted with an 802.11b Wi-Fi connection. Not too many people would elect to spend 20+ minutes downloading Gran Turismo when they can drive to the store and back in the same amount of time to get the UMD version. At least then you get a manual and that important-to-some-people abstract feeling of “ownership” that comes with owning a physical product. Is music any less “good” because you bought it off iTunes instead of listening to a CD? But that’s a discussion we’ve had in the past. A rumor I’ve seen here and there is that Sony will introduce some sort of “proper” PSP 2 at E3 this year. I guess we’ll see in about a month’s time where Sony goes from here.
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| Do do doot dodo doot! The NES Harmonica! Posted: 13 May 2010 10:30 AM PDT
Pop over to Etsy for the full range including Duck Hunt/SMB.
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Remember that 
VP Eugene Wei might have overstepped recently when he posted to the 
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