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The quietest Tron toy video on the Internet

Posted: 22 Jun 2010 06:13 AM PDT

Our wee friend Peter Ha got to play with some new Tron gear including the slowest, quietest light bike you’ll ever have the chance to see. Here it is in all its poky glory.

TRON: Legacy Toy Line
Every product in Disney’s TRON: Legacy toy line lights up and is designed to bring the film’s characters and themes to life by boasting sleek design, eye-popping technology and endless opportunities for active play.

TRON Action Figures: The new TRON: Legacy action figures are the first to feature impulse projection technology, which brings the characters to life by projecting digitized, illuminated and moving faces onto the helmet just as in the film. The line features 7.5" figures and a special 12" Ultimate Sam Flynn figure. The characters also speak phrases from the TRON: Legacy film. With prices ranging from $15 to $40, TRON Action Figures are expected to immediately attract avid collectors and to shake up the toy aisle this holiday season. (Ages 4 & up).

TRON Core and Deluxe Vehicles: TRON Core and Deluxe vehicles are detailed replicas from TRON: Legacy that come to life when a character is inserted and they both light up. The Deluxe model features launching projectiles, tri-color light changes, pop-up air brakes (pop-up blasters on the Light Runner) and gravity tilt sounds, just like in the movie ($14.99 and $19.99, ages 4 & up).

TRON Zero Gravity Light Cycle: The TRON Zero Gravity Light Cycle features six-foot light-emitting trails and legendary Air Hogs technology allowing the vehicle to be driven on a wall or even upside down. Includes controller (SRP $34.99, ages 8 & up).

TRON: Legacy Electronics
Disney’s TRON: Legacy electronics line is designed to appeal to discerning gamers and audiophiles who seek out products that offer high quality and innovative design. Key licensees include Monster, PDP and Razer.

TRON Headphones, iPod® Dock from Monster: DCP and Monster, a leading manufacturer of high-performance headphones and A/V accessories, have collaborated to bring the ultimate set of headphones designed for the TRON fan, music enthusiasts and serious gamers. The new TRON Headphones capture the design aesthetic of the world of TRON. The Monster Tron T1 over-ear headphones feature Advanced Noise Suppression Technology and ControlTalk™, which enables easy and clear hands-free calling (SRP $349.99). The Monster/Disney Tron line will also feature an iPod dock inspired by the iconic data disk from TRON: Legacy ($249.99) and high quality in-ear headphones that will feature ControlTalk™ Universal and crystal-clear Monster Headphone signature sound technology ($99.99).

TRON PC Peripherals from Razer: Razer is a leader in high-end PC gaming and lifestyle peripherals and has an established reputation for creating the world’s most precise and advanced tools for gaming. The new TRON Legacy ergonomic gaming mouse featuring Razer’s 5600dpi 3.5g gaming grade sensor and gaming keyboard featuring programmable keys with macro capabilities as well as a detachable keypad, are designed to create the ultimate gaming experience, featuring highly detailed finishes and lighting effects. The product line will range in price from SRP $79-139.

TRON Game Controllers and Apple Accessories from PDP: Unique multiplatform TRON game controllers from PDP bring the look and feel of TRON: Legacy directly into the hands of gamers with light-up accents, perforated details and performance-enhancing contours and design. Playstation 3® and Xbox 360® controllers are corded with precision parts and vibration support; the Wii™ controller is wireless. Available in tandem with the TRON: Evolution video game release in December, the SRP for each is $49.99. PDP will also offer a line of iPod®, iPhone® and iPad® cases inspired by the world of TRON.

Surprise! Some pre-ordered iPhones will arrive on June 23rd

Posted: 22 Jun 2010 06:09 AM PDT

Back on Saturday, we did a quick post letting iPhone 4 pre-orderers know to check their inbox, as their iPhones had likely just hit the delivery truck. We warned, however, that just because they were on their way didn't mean that they'd be getting them early, citing Apple's tendency "to have tricks up their sleeves to keep these things locked down until the big day". Well, we were wrong. We just got a flurry of tips to our inbox, all indicating the same thing: a whole bunch of folks will be getting their iPhone 4s bright and early on June 23rd, one whole day before the rest of the world. Check after the jump for the full text of the e-mail.


He’s back: 60-foot Gundam is (almost) ready again

Posted: 22 Jun 2010 03:44 AM PDT

We spent quite a few posts on the uber-cool, gigantic Gundam statue that was erected in Tokyo Bay last year. The 60-foot robot statue was deconstructed in September, with Bandai quickly announcing plans to re-erect the big guy in Shizuoka soon. And now he’s almost ready.

Shizuoka is too far away from me to go and have a look at the big guy myself (it’s (125 miles west of Tokyo – where I live), but there are enough geeks living there, too. And thanks to two of them, we can show you the first photos of Gundam getting constructed.

As you can see (and as we reported earlier), Gundam already holds his “beam saber” in his right hand. According to Bandai, the weapon will start glowing when it gets dark.



If you have the chance to go to Shizuoka: Gundam will be on display from July 24, 2010 till January 10, 2011, right on East Shizuoka Square.


Via Buloblog [JP] and Troian [JP]

Daily Crunch: Ride the Lightning Edition

Posted: 22 Jun 2010 12:00 AM PDT

Dyson’s new air multipliers blow (in a good way)

Posted: 21 Jun 2010 10:00 PM PDT

Back in October, John reviewed Dyson’s original “air multiplier” (can you say fan?) and while he liked it, the pricing was a bit extreme for a something that blew air around a room. That being said, Dyson has come out with new line of “air multipliers” and this time they’ve added a few new tricks to the line.

The original “air multiplier” was intended to be placed on your desk, and came in two sizes (either 10 inch or 12 inch). The new product line includes a tower style, and a pedestal style. Both of the new fans move 9 gallons of air per minute, come with remotes, and will be retailing for for $429.99.

Altec Lansing’s Octiv Mini iPod dock actually looks quite cool

Posted: 21 Jun 2010 08:58 PM PDT


As I often point out when posting new iPod docks and other incredibly common devices, it’s hard to set yourself apart from the rest, even when you’re an established brand. Buyers will feel no compunction over saving $10 and getting another device that looks just like yours — it sucks, but hey, image is everything. So I’m pleased to recommend this Altec Lansing dock on appearance alone.

I’m sure the sound is fine — we’ve all had or been around AL gear and it’s just fine, and anyway if you’re really looking for good sound quality, a compact dock like this isn’t the answer. You want it to be simple, good-looking, and produce decent sound. The Octiv Mini M102 does that (not that I’ve ever heard it).

I like the look; I had to request some extra angles from AL to confirm that it actually does have that sort of weird swept-back angle. Doesn’t it look kind of fake in that picture on the right? But no, it’s an honest-to-god distinguishing look, and I for one like it.

It also includes a free app for your iPhone or iPod Touch, “Alarm Rock,” which (predictably) acts as an alarm clock and lets you wake or sleep to whatever songs you like. There are probably a hundred free apps that do it just as well, but it’s a nice addition.

The Octiv Mini M102 will set you back $60, which seems reasonable.

Square Enix considering adding Move support to Final Fantasy XIV

Posted: 21 Jun 2010 06:30 PM PDT

When the Move comes out this September, it’ll be the games that drive rather people actually buy the peripheral or not. Square Enix is already looking toward that future, and plans to add support for titles like Heavy Rain, SOCOM IV and Final Fantasy XIV.

In a recent interview on the Playstation Blog, Hiromichi Tanaka discussed the possibility of adding Move support to the MMORPG. He admitted that they haven’t had a chance to try out the Move, and while there are currently no “official plans” to add Move support, they are interested in the new device. With both the MMO and the Move coming out this year, I think it’s safe to expect an official announcement in the near future.

[via 1UP]


E-readers race to the bottom as tablet market solidifies

Posted: 21 Jun 2010 04:30 PM PDT


You must have heard that the Nook and the Kindle, two of the world’s best-selling e-readers, have dropped their prices to below $200 — down to $149 for the Wi-Fi Nook and $189 for the Kindle. It’s bad news for e-readers that recently placed themselves at low price points to compensate for fewer features (like the Kobo I just reviewed), but of course good news for everyone planning on buying an e-reader soon. When I considered secondary features and the possibility of “bulk” e-readers, I concluded that these devices would survive but find themselves marginalized both in price and market share. That seems to be just what’s happening, though of course the tablet market is still emerging, and Google may have a few cards up its sleeve. The brief age of “premium” e-readers is ending.

What can you expect from the e-readers? Well, first of all they can and must cut the hell out of the price, and that’s what we’re seeing now. This functions both as a wedge and a loss leader. I may have a bit too much faith in the idea of devices like this as loss leaders, but if Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo believe in the services they provide, they’ll enable the customer to take advantage of those services even if it costs the company money at the outset. Not everyone can do this equally: Amazon has money to burn and really wants to dominate. B&N likely has a bit less, considering it has brick and mortars to maintain — a risky business.

And Kobo, as a newer entry (but still with Borders backing), has even less to spend, not to mention the fact that they have introduced themselves as a less feature-packed device. Just an e-reader, not that there’s anything wrong with that. They’ll have to respond, though; your average consumer, seeing a Kobo and a Nook at the same price, will likely go with the Nook every time, and will be right to do so. They’ve made a good show of putting their e-reader app on as many platforms as possible and their hardware was custom OEM, so maybe they’re going to take the French leave from the hardware game? It’s hard to say.

In addition to being a loss leader, putting your product out there makes a wedge, as well. A customer who has one of your devices and enjoys it is more likely to upgrade when the next one comes out — and if the positioning is right, the price won’t matter nearly as much as the first one. After all, you’re selling a new version of something they already enjoy — you don’t have to sell the entire experience. Your consumer base will have self-selected, or at least that’s a reasonable hope.

The elephant in the room is iPad &co., of course. It’s unquestionably a more versatile device, but it’s unquestionably more expensive as well. This will be the case with all tablets for the time being. It’s the e-reader sellers’ job to make the e-reader a completely separate purchase from a tablet. If there’s feature overlap, play it down. Play up the low cost, the better screen for reading, the battery life, and of course the simplicity. The Kobo was nothing more than a pile of books. That’s what a lot of people want! The hard part is convincing them to pay for it whether they’re buying an iPad or not.

Here’s what I expect: the first mass-market reader (this means no random devices with extremely limited availability) to get below $100 will experience major sales; $100 is a magic number for impulse purchases, and the funny thing is that at that point, features don’t really matter. The main feature is e-book reading. They’ve all got that. Features like annotation and on-device browsing are a bonus people can do without, since it’s easy enough to sync and SD cards will hold hundreds of books. Exclusive book deals and that sort of thing will seem like cheap tricks to consumers, and they can always buy a paperback for almost the same price if they really want it. The premium e-readers will go down in price but unless they’re prepared to lose more money than the next guy (who has a cheaper device to begin with), they’re going to lose their shirts to single-serving devices that don’t try to do more than they need to.

That’s my fantasy, anyway. In reality, we’ve got the education market still waiting to choose sides, and new devices almost certainly on the horizon which may tip the balance of power. There’s one thing you can count on, though: e-reader makers will recognize the drive to beat tablets on features as quixotic, and will focus instead on value and usability. Not a bad choice if you ask me.

Confirmed: Kinect Bundles and a New $199 Xbox

Posted: 21 Jun 2010 04:13 PM PDT

At a Microsoft internal marketing Q&A session, representative proffer a little more details regarding the new slim Xbox. Announced last week at E3, the new slim design Xbox, comes with both WiFi and a 250 GB hard drive  all for $299. Right now Microsoft has reduced their price of the elite and arcade models to $249 and $149 respectively. As far as a new lower priced slim model similar to the arcade, Microsoft simply commented, “We will offer a $199 Xbox 360 this fall.”

Also mentioned are the new Kinect bundles. If you can wait for the new Xbox to come bundled with Kinect, you will save $50 off the standalone price of $150 for Kinect. Expect a Kinect bundle with the 250 GB Xbox to go for $399, and of course when that “arcade” model gets announced, look to spend $299 to see it bundled with Kinect.

California license plates may go digital, turn into billboards

Posted: 21 Jun 2010 03:45 PM PDT

Just when you think that there’s no way you could have any more distractions while driving, California comes up with yet another way to put billboards on the highways and streets. Of course, the state’s budget crisis is well known, and lawmakers are currently discussing the possibility of changing to digital license plates, and then allowing companies to buy advertising time on cars.

Currently, the plates would only display ads while the vehicles are stopped, and the license number would be displayed (admittedly smaller) on the plates at all times, but this still sounds like a terrible idea to me. Light up advertising on a license plate? This just seems like an incredibly annoying idea that should die in the California legislature.

[via Boston.com]

Nintendo 3DS graphics chipset revealed

Posted: 21 Jun 2010 03:00 PM PDT

While Nintendo is normally very closed-mouthed about the actual hardware used in their systems, there has been some news recently about the graphics chipset used in the 3DS. You might be surprised to find out that it’s not your typical NVIDIA Tegra, but instead some new PICA200 chip (yes, PICA, hold your giggles to the end please).

The DMP PICA200 (PICA200, I choose you!) appears to be quite capable to be honest, it’s a 200mhz chip that will put out 15.3 million polygons per second, 800 million pixels, and full screen anti-aliasing. All in all, a most capable graphic chip powering the next generation of portable gaming. Of course, we don’t have much other information about the 3DS (like the CPU), but overall it’s looking positive and should meet expectations.

[via Joystiq]

Pepper Mouth sits on your desk, sprays noxious fumes whenever you swear online

Posted: 21 Jun 2010 01:45 PM PDT


So they have these collars for dogs that spritz lemon juice or some weird smell in their face whenever they bark. They learn not to bark. Someone saw the opportunity there, but it turns out people aren’t really into buying stinky collars to put around their own necks. Luckily, so many of us are already leashed to our computers that it doesn’t matter — and so, a USB potty-mouth prevention device was born.

The Pepper Mouth sits on your desk, monitoring your input to the computer. When a bad word is typed (for shame!), it lights up for a moment, allowing you to retract the cuss, but if you won’t (or can’t), it releases the fumes. The inventor doesn’t really say what it smells like, but I can tell you this: it ain’t roses.

Charlie at Dvice suggests that this little guy be keyed not to swear words, but to writing cliches. Man, I agree. If they set up this thing to a reliable grammar check and it puffed up a stank-cloud every time you used the passive voice or failed to address a dangling participle, I would buy one for everyone on the team.

Kindle gets major price drop, now $189 (down from $259)

Posted: 21 Jun 2010 12:26 PM PDT

Hot off the presses: the venerable Kindle 2, which made its debut at $359 and was reduced to $259 eight months later, has had another price drop, bringing it down to a totally reasonable $189.

There is no news of recent orders being upgraded or money being refunded, but we’ll keep our ears to the ground. Did you order a Kindle 2 within the last week or so? Let us know if anything interesting happens vis a vis your credit card bill. Amazon says: “Customers whose Kindle was shipped in the last 30 days are eligible to receive the price difference as a credit.”

Could this indicate that a new Kindle is on the way? Obviously! Or… it’s about that nook thing.

Nike’s giant LED screen in Johanesburg has people Tweeting support for their favorite World Cup stars

Posted: 21 Jun 2010 12:00 PM PDT

Looks like Nike is up to quite a bit more in South Africa than making sure Landon Donovan (and the rest of Team USA) is well-dressed while taking first place in Group C. (Fingers crossed!) I just got word that the company has constructed the biggest interactive LED screen in the whole of Africa. It’s on the Life Centre skyscraper that’s in Johannesburg. Now, what would you want to do with an giant interactive LED screen in the middle of a major city?

The screen displays things like Facebook messages, Tweets, and messages from international social networks like Mxit and QQ.

The best part is, let’s say you Tweet something along the lines of "Go Cristiano!" Well, when your Tweet appears on the big display, a quick little video of Cristiano will be played.

It’s basically magic, yes.

Meanwhile, in other World Cup news, it seems Vicente Del Bosque has dropped David Silva to the bench today. That’s not good news for my fantasy team, no sir. (BUT VILLA JUST SCORED AND HE’S ON MY TEAM~!)

Verizon FiOS to No Longer Require Contract

Posted: 21 Jun 2010 11:59 AM PDT

Lately, Verizon has been attacked by cable companies for its aversion to contract-free services. To combat those statements, today, Verizon has announced a contract-free bundle that includes FiOS TV, internet and voice services for $99 a month. This new price will be guaranteed for one whole year. Previously, customers had to pay an extra $20 per month to be contract-free.

To see if you're able to get FiOS, check out Verizon's website.

New Xbox 360 feature: Red Dot Of Near-Death?

Posted: 21 Jun 2010 11:30 AM PDT


A NEOGaf forum user discovered over the weekend that while the new Xbox 360 slim (note to self: we have got to come up with a better name) is unlikely to fry itself and die in any permanent way, the threat of overheating is still a real one. The red bit isn’t as striking as the original, though. One might go so far as to call it… yellow.

That might be because it’s just a green LED with a red filter in front of it; the specs called for only green LEDs but there’s no reason they couldn’t modify the color in case of a fault. In this case it’s overheating; old Xboxen would blink some lights but not shut down as far as I know unless they actually died. Looks like the new 360s warn you and shut down if they reach a certain temperature, probably something like 10% above its maximum operating temperature. Or it could be fake, who knows? I’ll test it out later.

Yeah, you’ll probably lose your place in the game, but you should have thought of that before you tied pillows on both sides of your 360 to make it even quieter.

[via Engadget]

Spotted on eBay: Nintendo 64DD and all the games starting at $500

Posted: 21 Jun 2010 11:00 AM PDT

Many of the eBay auctions we write about are sorta "meh," but this one gets the incredibly valuable Nicholas Deleon award of "hey, this is pretty neat." It’s a Nintendo 64DD and every single game released for it. The bidding is currently at $500, or you can Buy It Now™ for $1,300. Come on, Mega Millions…

Arbitron’s Portable People Media 360 uses *cell technology*

Posted: 21 Jun 2010 10:30 AM PDT

Looks like the radio industry (well, pretty much media industry, actually, but I’m pretty sure radio is the biggest user of Arbitron data) has a new people meter up its sleeves. It’s called the Portable People Meter 360, and it’s designed to make reporting your radio-listening habits all the more easy. It reports to Arbitron HQ using cell technology. Just like you can download books over a cell network on your e-book reader, so, too can you tell The Man that you’re listening to The Fan as you sit in traffic on the LIE.

I don’t have the exact measurements of the new device, but Arbitron says it’s smaller than the average cellphone. So if you’re roped up in the Arbitron game, at least it’s should fit in your pocket or whatever.

Unfortunately that’s the biggest photo I have of the device. But don’t worry: a bigger photo is en route, so I’m told. Big enough for you?

I do wonder: how does radio use this type data? "Man, it looks like people are really responding to the segments with the OVERLY LOUD music beds, so clearly we need to run music beds every single second someone is on the air."

Heaven forbid you hear someone on the radio without "Poker Face" in the background…

Elgato EyeTV lets you watch live TV on your iPad

Posted: 21 Jun 2010 09:31 AM PDT


Elgato’s EyeTV just got a little more useful. The company has made TV tuners for Macs for years but now you can send the stream from any one of their tuners to the EyeTV iPad or iPhone app, allowing you to watch TV over Wi-Fi and 3G. The App is available for $4.99 and supports most Elgato products including the Elgato Turbo.264 HD converter that converts live streams into compressed video almost instantaneously.

Elgato Updated EyeTV App Now Support Streaming to iPad

San Francisco, Calif. – June 21, 2010 – Elgato announces the immediate availability of version 1.1 of their popular EyeTV app for iPhone which brings live TV streaming over Wi-Fi or 3G connections to the iPad. In updating the EyeTV app to support the iPad, Elgato optimized the app to take advantage of the iPad's much larger, high resolution screen and its superb video playback capabilities. The result is beautiful full-screen playback – on the patio or on-the-go. EyeTV 1.1 is a “Universal App” which works on both iPhones and iPads, and is a free update for existing owners.

Turn an iPad into the ultimate portable television The EyeTV app running on the iPad or iPhone works in tandem with the user’s Macintosh at home to stream high quality live or recorded TV anywhere. In addition, the app gives full access to EyeTV’s program guide for finding something to watch and the ability to remotely schedule upcoming shows for recording.

Setting up EyeTV for iPhone/iPad is easy: On a local Wi-Fi network no configuration is needed. When connecting from elsewhere, Elgato’s’ free “My EyeTV” locator service can automatically find the path to the Mac back at home.

Requirements
EyeTV for iPhone is a universal app and requires a Mac computer running EyeTV 3.4 and configured with a compatible TV tuner device. Streaming live TV requires an Intel Core 2 Duo processor. For sending the live signal over a 3G connection, Elgato recommends the Elgato Turbo.264 HD which enables “adaptive streaming” for the best picture possible under varying network speeds.

Availability
EyeTV for iPhone 1.1 is available from the App Store at a price of $4.99. The update is free for existing EyeTV for iPhone customers. EyeTV 3.4 is available as a free update for EyeTV 3 users. Elgato EyeTV tuners are available at the Elgato Online Store (www.elgato.com), at Apple retail stores and from local Mac resellers.


Chocri brings you CreateMyChocolate.com

Posted: 21 Jun 2010 09:30 AM PDT


What better way to enjoy your customized dress shirt than to nibble on your customized chocolate bar? I mean, you’re wearing a nearly one-of-a-kind shirt, why should you be burdened with the same chocolate bars devoured by all the other chumps in Abercrombie shirts? Chocri has you covered with CreateMyChocolate.com. You want white chocolate with banana chips and blueberries? Sure! Or how about dark chocolate with peanut butter chips topped with marzipan carrots? You got it!

chocri is a German startup, founded in September 2008, but launched in the US in January 2010. What we do is we allow you to customize your own chocolate bar here on our website. You get to choose a base chocolate white, dark or milk chocolate), and then your favorites out of more than 100 toppings. Those can be nuts and dried fruit, but they can also be real gold flakes, roasted almonds, pretzel, chive rolls, jalapenos… you name it! We hand-make the bars in Germany, and ship them to you.

Your minimum order is two bars, and you can expect to pay a couple bucks per bar plus shipping, but come on, these are your chocolate bars! Of course, bulk purchases are available for your company, your wedding, or your retail endeavors.
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