CrunchGear |  |
- Best Buy May Release Hostage iPad 2s In Nation-Wide Sale This Sunday
- E-Books See Triple Digit Growth As Paper Book Sales Dive
- Weekend Giveaway: An Authentic Darth Vader Costume
- Even More Next-Gen Nintendo Console Rumors
- Some Railgun Porn For Your Friday
- Motorola Droid X2 Demoed On Video, Still Looks Exactly Like The Droid X
- Review: Samson Meteor Mic
- Sprint’s First Eco-Friendly Android Phone, the Samsung Replenish, Coming May 8th
- The Finis SwimSense Watch Records Your Stroke
- Text While Driving In Connecticut, Lose Your License For A Day
- Pico Projectors On The Rise
- ‘Cowboys & Aliens’ Theatrical Trailer
- Update: Video Of The Kinect Chair In Action
- Because The World Needs An iGo Pico Projector Plated In 24 Karat Gold
- Let’s Work Together To Play Portal 2 Early!
- John Carmack: iOS Still Better Than Android For Mobile Game Development
- CrunchDeals: $299 Kindle DX
- President Obama Wants A ‘Cool’ Phone
- Sony Sells 8 Million Moves, 50 Million PS3s Worldwide
- Thanko’s Spy Pen Shoots HD Video, Detects Motion
| Best Buy May Release Hostage iPad 2s In Nation-Wide Sale This Sunday Posted: 15 Apr 2011 05:58 PM PDT
Will it be a crazy price? Free accessory? Or will they simply say “we’ve got ‘em, come and get ‘em”? It isn’t clear from the memo (leaked to Engadget) seen above. But they’re not manufacturing scarcity — the scarcity is real, and some stores will only have a handful to sell. If you’ve got one on reserve, this would be a good time to drop by, as stores should have inventory and this memo directs people to fulfill previous orders first. Look out for an ad in the Sunday paper; we’ll post it here if we see it. Or you could just skip out on Best Buy’s shady tactics, buy online, and wait a couple weeks.
|
| E-Books See Triple Digit Growth As Paper Book Sales Dive Posted: 15 Apr 2011 04:15 PM PDT
The parallels are clear, though the situations and reactions of the RIAA and AAP are somewhat different. Mostly in that the AAP and other booksellers aren’t being dragged kicking, screaming, and suing into the future, but are embracing it despite its implications. The attempt to push through that big deal with Google seemed to indicate willingness on the part of the publishers to be part of the new order of things. It got struck down by the judge as opportunistic and overreaching on Google’s part (a decision I agree with, personally, though the agreement was very forward-thinking), but the fact remains that booksellers are actually excited about the future of publishing, the money to be made, the markets to be reached, and so on. The fact that a report like this can be published without any kind of bitter commentary on the decline of paper books is telling. If the RIAA had issued a report saying that digital sales were up 150% but physical sales were down 25%, it would be accompanied by a few poorly-reasoned shots at piracy.
Piracy will in fact be a part of the bookmaker’s lot soon, as well; indeed, it’s already a problem, according to some. With greater sales of e-readers comes greater piracy and the threat of phantasmal “lost income,” as the music industry loves to say, but of course you can’t lose what you never had, and their disingenuous calculations of piracy’s effects poison their credibility. I imagine we’ll see a few quixotic stands by the booksellers as well, and battles like the pedophilia controversy and the 1984 remote detonation will continue for a few years as standards get hammered out. Right now, for instance, Harper-Collins is making a fool of itself by attempting to rip off libraries. Changing the container we get our words in is a natural change, and this level growth should continue, or even accelerate, over the next few years. A $99 Kindle, ad-supported or not, will push another few million of the things out the door, and technological advancements like flexible devices have yet to make their impact. And unlike the record industry, booksellers are itching to get their hands on these new product vectors. The market won’t begin to settle down until e-readers are as popular as mobile phones and PCs, which I believe will happen despite the threat of tablets. Once the device class reaches a reasonable level of saturation, then the real battle begins. This growth is the storm before the storm.
|
| Weekend Giveaway: An Authentic Darth Vader Costume Posted: 15 Apr 2011 03:47 PM PDT
How do you win? Comment below explaining what drew you, personally, to the dark side. Was it the robots? The choke holds? The cookies? Comment only once and include your email in the proper field. If you don’t include an email I can’t contact you and then you’ll scream in anguish like Anakin falling into the lava. I’ll pick one winner at noon on Monday. Thanks to HalloweenCostumes.com for the excellent prize.
|
| Even More Next-Gen Nintendo Console Rumors Posted: 15 Apr 2011 03:04 PM PDT
The first update is via GamesRadar’s evaluation of the various rumors. 01.net adds some specs to what we knew yesterday, saying that the new console will have a custom three-core IBM PowerPC CPU, a Radeon R700 family GPU, and at least 512MB of RAM. The controller, they say, has a six-inch touch screen and a user-facing camera (!) as well as a D-pad and some bumpers and triggers. This jives with what IGN’s Jim Reilly tweeted — essentially that the controller can stream games from the console like a miniature TV. I share GamesRadar’s qualms with the touchscreen thing, and I’m suspicious of the six-inch figure. That would make it almost as big as a Galaxy Tab or PlayBook. I’d guess they’ll keep it small and SD, since HD isn’t really possible at that size anyway at the moment. I’m going to wait for the dust to settle before attempting any kind of coherent opinion on all this stuff. Sounds expensive, though. [via GoNintendo]
|
| Some Railgun Porn For Your Friday Posted: 15 Apr 2011 02:20 PM PDT Back in December we heard about the “Mach 7″ railgun developed by the Navy. Looks like the private sector is hard at work on these things as well, as shown by this video. In fact, the two systems appear to be very similar: the “bullet” is flanked by a pair of break-away shells that help launch the payload properly. This one also shows the whole launch module more clearly, and the slow-mo bit of the projectile is pretty awesome.
I love that this thing went for seven kilometers after busting through a steel plate. It doesn’t go as fast as the Navy’s — but it looks to me like the actual railgun mechanism itself is more compact. I have to say this is a lot cooler than that laser from the other day. [via Gizmodo]
|
| Motorola Droid X2 Demoed On Video, Still Looks Exactly Like The Droid X Posted: 15 Apr 2011 02:13 PM PDT
Outside of the surprising removal of the camera button and an oh-so-subtle color tweak, the original Droid X and the thus-far unannounced Droid X2 are pretty much the exact same phone… on the outside. On the inside, however, it’s a whole different beast. The processor has been bumped from a single-core 1Ghz CPU to a 1.2 Ghz dual-core, RAM has jumped from 512 MB to 768 MB, and the screen resolution has climbed from 854×480 to 960×540. Alas, though it’s clearly a Verizon phone, there’s no mention of LTE/4G support. Care to see just what those specs can do? Check out the video after the jump.
|
| Posted: 15 Apr 2011 01:50 PM PDT
Pros:
Cons:
Full review:
The look is a cross between an old-school chrome microphone and a modern device. It has fold-out legs that let you stand it at any position you like, or fold them up completely to make it a little portable silver pellet. It’s really made of metal (well, it’s chrome-plated, anyway), which is reassuring when it’s going in your bag. Too often audio gear for computers (headsets and such) feels chintzy. Not this thing. There’s a 1/8″ out in the back so you can attach headphones and monitor your sound. Volume is controlled by a knob on the front, and there’s a mute button as well that saves you the trouble of turning off the mic in software. It’s a tidy little package, though it does look a little odd with the thick black USB cord coming out the back. As long as you’re doing things stylishly, Samson, why not a custom USB cord that’s a little more petite? It also works seamlessly with your iPad; no setup necessary, just plug it in and go. Note that when you plug it in, it counts as the iPad’s audio out as well as the audio in, so you’ll need to have some headphones plugged into the mic if you want to hear what you’ve recorded.
The most important thing is the sound, of course, and the Meteor Mic doesn’t disappoint there. It’s a far richer sound than you’d get from your webcam or built-in mic. Here’s a little sample, compared to some other devices: I’m sure you hear the difference. If you’re recording a podcast or video with lots of voice (as our video reviews generally have), it’s just better to use a mic that captures more range. Your voice sounds more natural, you can adjust it more easily, and so on. I detected a little bit of reverb that came along with too much gain, and I’d say the sound is just a little warm, though that’s easily adjustable. That said, a headset mic like that on the G35 headset I use produces perfectly usable sound for chatting or using in games. If all you need to do is make yourself understood, built-in mics and headsets work just fine. The question is why should you buy the Meteor Mic over cheaper options from Audio Technica, Behringer, or Blue, among others? Well, the design is part of it — the Meteor Mic really is a very convenient package, even coming with its own little sack. There are no drivers, and it works instantly on Windows, OS X, and iOS. Not having the other mics around me to test, I can’t speak to quality, which I realize takes some of the wind out of the comparison, but the Samson does its job well. Chances are different people will prefer the sounds of different mics, and if you can’t decide based on specs, it might be worth ordering two and returning one. It’s also worth noting that if you’re considering buying a microphone for music, it’s worth looking at a traditional XLR mic as well. You can get a classic Shure SM58 and a few adapters for the same price. Conclusion
Since I don’t have the Meteor Mic’s competition here to test it against, I can’t say anything like “buy this over that one,” but I can say that this is a solidly-built, convenient microphone that produces a perfectly decent sound. If you’re a podcaster or use Skype or another chatting service often, put this one on your list to check out. Also, If you’re an iPad-centric worker, and I know some of you out there, this makes for a nice accessory. Product page: Samson Meteor Mic    
|
| Sprint’s First Eco-Friendly Android Phone, the Samsung Replenish, Coming May 8th Posted: 15 Apr 2011 12:21 PM PDT
When Sprint launched their first “green” handset back in 2009, we assumed it was little more than a passing gesture. In 2010, they surprised us with a second installment in their greenlin. And this year? Sure enough, they’re back with another one — and this time, it’s an Android-powered smartphone.
|
| The Finis SwimSense Watch Records Your Stroke Posted: 15 Apr 2011 12:06 PM PDT
We’ve shown you running watches before; John just reviewed one a few days ago. But not all athletic watches are for running. This one from Finis called the SwimSense records data specific to swimming laps in a pool.
The watch uses motion sensing to detect different stroke types. It will record a variety of other data from the sensor like number of laps swum, total distance, calories burned, lap time, pace and stroke count. Cost is only $199 and you can get it here. Press Release FINIS, the Worldwide Leader in Technical Swimming Development and provider of select training equipment for the U.S. Olympic Swim Team, unveils the SwimsenseTM Performance Monitor (powered by SportSense), an intuitive device worn around the wrist while swimming. Using motion sensing technology, the Swimsense Performance Monitor automatically detects and distinguishes stroke types, records the number of laps swum, total distance, calories burned, lap time, pace and stroke count. With built-in automatic stroke recognition Swimsense is the first Performance Monitor in the world that can automatically differentiate between backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and Freestyle. Custom settings allow the user to configure Swimsense for unique pool sizes, and personalize calorie calculations by specifying gender, weight and age. "Most fitness enthusiasts and serious athletes who partake in swimming as part of their training routine can't remember how many laps they swam last week or how many calories they burned," says John Mix, President of FINIS. "With the Swimsense you can easily keep track of that and more. Simply get in the water and go, the Swimsense will automatically capture your entire swim workout as soon as you hit the start button. At the completion of your workout you can view your current swim session and any of your prior workouts for comparison." With a free online workout viewer, you can upload your workouts via a USB connection to review up to 14 past workouts/swims for easy monitoring of your progress for easy progress monitoring. For the more serious swimmer or professional athletes, FINIS will also offer a subscription Training Log. For a low monthly fee you can create and track goals, workouts plans and access and store an unlimited number of past workouts for performance analysis. The intuitive design and high resolution of the interface make reviewing your workouts easy, and the Training Log is fully upgradable with automatic software updates. For more information about Swimsense and the entire FINIS product line, including gear used by the U.S. Olympic Swim team, visit www.FINISINC.com About FINIS: Visit the FINIS Blog at http://blog.FINISinc.com/
|
| Text While Driving In Connecticut, Lose Your License For A Day Posted: 15 Apr 2011 11:29 AM PDT
I’m a pretty chill driver — there’s really not much that can set me off. Don’t use your turning signal? Meh. Driving slow in the passing lane? Eh, whatever. Text while driving, though.. do that, and you’re pretty much my least favorite person. You’re putting others lives at risk by driving a 3,000 pound missile blind, all so you can have conversations that are almost always forgettable and nigh meaningless. Stupid. Today, one state is increasing their punishment for texting-while-driving, while throwing in a bit of a special twist for repeat offenders.
|
| Posted: 15 Apr 2011 11:25 AM PDT
|
| ‘Cowboys & Aliens’ Theatrical Trailer Posted: 15 Apr 2011 10:15 AM PDT I hope my kids grow up playing Cowboys & Aliens. It’s a bit more imaginative allowing for cool weapons and bad guys, not to mention racially sensitive.
|
| Update: Video Of The Kinect Chair In Action Posted: 15 Apr 2011 10:01 AM PDT
|
| Because The World Needs An iGo Pico Projector Plated In 24 Karat Gold Posted: 15 Apr 2011 09:18 AM PDT
|
| Let’s Work Together To Play Portal 2 Early! Posted: 15 Apr 2011 09:14 AM PDT
What’s going on here? Over at aperturescience.com a fancy countdown timer just counted down, and now there’s a message up top that says "Help release Portal 2 early! Play the 13 games in the potato sack to reboot GLaDOS." Presumably if enough people play the games in the potato sack Valve will unlock the game before its scheduled Tuesday release date. (Considering pirated console versions have already leaked, it’s only fair that law abiding gamers get early access, too.) We now have a mission: play these games immediately. I’d like to play Portal 2 this weekend if at all possible. Actually, here’s what Valve has to say on the matter:
|
| John Carmack: iOS Still Better Than Android For Mobile Game Development Posted: 15 Apr 2011 09:00 AM PDT
John Carmack, the id Software co-founder who essentially created the modern first-person shooter genre from scratch, has once again said that the iOS platform is the best mobile platform out there when it comes to game development. He said as much last year at QuakeCon, but here we are one year later and iOS is still king. Sorry, Fandroids. The reasons for the superiority are largely the same as they were last year: Android is far too fragmented to develop for, both from a hardware and software point of view. How many Android devices out there still don’t have Froyo? Mine doesn’t! (It’s the Samsung Fascinate on Verizon Wireless, by the way.) And how many different hardware configurations are there between the various HTC, Motorola, Samsung, etc. devices? Compare that to iOS. An iPhone is an iPhone and an iPad is an iPad. (Nothing stops developers from saying "you need an iPhone 4 or higher to run this.") Plus, Carmack says developing for iOS is just "fun." Can’t beat having fun, can you? Carmack also says that he’s still constantly evaluating both mobile platforms, so, if for whatever reason, things change, well, he’ll be there.
|
| Posted: 15 Apr 2011 08:35 AM PDT
|
| President Obama Wants A ‘Cool’ Phone Posted: 15 Apr 2011 08:00 AM PDT There’s a good chance that your office or home is more tricked out, tech-wise, than the Oval Office. President Obama complained yesterday, in what the AP calls "off-the-cuff remarks," that what the Oval Office lacks is a "really cool phone." Can someone get the president a Droid or something? We’ve known from some time now that Obama is a bit of a BlackBerry addict, but apparently his technological nous doesn’t transfer to the Oval Office. He expressed remorse at the lack of "fancy buttons and stuff." It’s like, come on! I’m the president here! Even if the president had to endure this technological nightmare—where are the buttons?!—at least he had a working phone, something that couldn’t have been said about the mighty TechCrunch office. And here’s a free public relations tip: any company out there that makes "cool phones" would be absolutely foolish to not offer President Obama a completely free, tricked out phone. He doesn’t even have to accept it—are you allowed to accept gifts that come about as a result of your office?—but think of the tweets. "lol some-company sent obama its cool phone #awesome #followfriday #realtalk."
|
| Sony Sells 8 Million Moves, 50 Million PS3s Worldwide Posted: 15 Apr 2011 07:30 AM PDT
Things are going great for Sony. It settled that icky business with GeoHot, and now it’s flying high on the sales of its PS3 and accessories. The Move, which came out last September, has now sold 8 million units as of April 3. Compare this to Microsoft’s Kinect, which sold a cool 10 million units as of early March. The Sharp Shooter, the little gun-thing for the Move that has no relation to the Bret Hart maneuver, has a 40 percent attach rate with sales of Killzone 3 at "key retailers." Who are these "key retailers"? C’est un mystère! Oh, and there’s now 50 million PS3s out there worldwide. Just a sales tidbit, is all. And slightly unrelated, I’ve also noticed that the console versions of Portal 2 have leaked, but it’s PC gamers that are killing gaming, right? (Wrong.)
|
| Thanko’s Spy Pen Shoots HD Video, Detects Motion Posted: 15 Apr 2011 07:01 AM PDT
Tokyo-based USB accessory maker Thanko has updated one of its coolest spy gadgets, the so-called Slim Video Pen HD [JP]. As the name suggests, it’s a pen that houses a micro camera to shoot video in HD, namely in 1,280×960 resolution (and at 30fps). And in contrast to a similar pen Thanko introduced last year, this new one starts recording automatically when it detects motion (Thanko doesn’t specify from how far away).
The video is stored in the AVI format on microSD cards (32GB max.) and can later be transferred to a computer via mini USB 2.0. Thanko says the built-in battery lasts for about 75 minutes and that 1GB is enough to store 30 minutes of material. The company is already selling the spy pen on its Japanese website [JP] for $61. Ask Geek Stuff 4U if you live outside Japan and are interested in getting one.
|
Spring is upon us and a young geek’s mind turns to thoughts of love. And what better way to win the heart of the guy (or girl) of your dreams than to dress up like 
A few rumors 
| You are subscribed to email updates from CrunchGear To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment