Filed under: Audio/Video, Editor's Picks, TV, Switched Video, Video Junkie, Reviews, Holiday Gift GuideSurround sound home theater systems sound awesome, but all those wires and speakers can clutter a small room. The TV2 from Boston Acoustics might not deliver surround sound, but it does pack much more punch than your TV's built-in speakers as our very own Tom Samiljan demonstrates here. Related Links:Finally, a PC that can dress like a MacOur BEST HDTV Pick: The Pioneer Kuro Elite 50" PlasmaFour Cell Phones We Love for Under $100 Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Filed under: Audio/Video, Advice, Editor's Picks, iPod, Switched Video, Gadget Head, Music Hound, Creative Type, Man / Woman Who Has Everything, $50 and Under, Holiday Gift Guide, ReviewsFinally, a gift for the child who wants a puppy, a stereo and a robot for Christmas: The iDog Amp'd, quite possibly the strangest iPod accessory we've seen since the iCan't-keep-making-i-jokes-anymore. Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Filed under: Audio/Video, Computers, Advice, Editor's Picks, Switched Video, Style Maven, Domestic God / Goddess, $5000 and Under, Holiday Gift Guide, Reviews Finally, an all-in-one Windows PC with some style sense. Check out the video for more on the Gateway One. Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Filed under: Cell Phones, Green TechWhile the greatest concern over old consumer electronics products is how they often end up leaking mercury or toxic chemicals into landfills, there's actually a market that's growing and money to be made in old mobile phone handsets, at least according to the folks at ABI Research, who say that by 2012, recycled -- or in this case reused -- handset shipments will exceed 100 million units. That could mean as much as $3 billion in revenue generated from the repurposed devices just that year alone.Electronics companies, whether motivated by real concern for the environment or to avoid being embarrassed by green watchdog groups, have stepped up their efforts to get people to recycle their old products. A good example is the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation.But a real market for old cell phones? This is taking things a step further. According to ABI Research analyst Shailendra Pandey: "Mobile phone recycling companies such as ReCellular, Fonebak, and Eazyfone are witnessing good market growth, but increasing consumer awareness and retrieving used handsets at affordable prices are still key challenges."Count Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, and LG among the companies that are designing phones to be more easily recycled.Hey, we thought it was a big deal just to send our old phones to U.S. Soldiers serving overseas. (We still like that idea, too.)From Textually.org. Related Links:Apple Getting GreenerTech Tips for a Cleaner EarthEnvironment: What Can I Do? Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Filed under: Audio/Video, Advice, Editor's Picks, iPod, iPhone, Switched Video, Music Hound, $1000 and Under, Holiday Gift Guide, ReviewsIt may look a little strange, but the $600 B&W Zeppelin sounds perfect and sets a new standard for acoustics and ergonomics in the all-in-one iPod dock category. Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Filed under: ComputersIf you've been to Walt Disney World or Disneyland anytime in, say, the past 50 years, then you've surely seen the sleek monorails gliding (and clunking) around in an endless loop on their concrete rails. A wave of the future the slick trainl-like vehicles were supposed to be when they were introduced in 1959, but now, if anything, they're a quaint throwback to '60s-era visions of the future. That's changing, thanks to the first of a fleet of sleek new monorails that are being delivered to Disneyland.We don't have any details on the innards of the thing -- whether it's more enviro-friendly or comfortable or offers any sort of signficant update over the originals, but we do know that the new model sure looks sleek and impressive in its maroon/silver paint scheme. The fleet will get more new monorails by summer 2008.From BoingBoing and LATimes.comRelated Links: Anti-Piracy Coalition Forming on Friday Includes CBS, Disney, Fox Virtual Barbie World Sees Meteoric Rise Watch Disney Movies on Your Xbox 360 Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Filed under: Cell Phones, Computers, Celebrities, iPod, BlackBerryWe all know our presidential candidates must be carrying some serious techage with them. The Associated Press, of course, just simple had to know, which candidates prefer which gadgets.But leave it Asylum to try and figure out what it all means. Mike Huckabee, former Republican Governor of Arkansas, prefers his bass and amp? Well, that means he could never be President. Asylum asks: "Can you imagine a President John Paul Jones or Bill Wyman?" Clearly the answer is no. And what of Hillary Clinton's choice of the iPod? It's a safe and middle of the road choice, just like everything else she does! The survey of 12 to 17 year old boys and girls turned up some shocking information -- teens still prefer a good Joking aside, those menchildren over at Asylum might be on to something here. What does it mean that New Mexico Governor and Democratic hopeful Bill Richardson gave props to his "Crackberry?" Does it mean that Mr. Richardson is more current on his tech news and jargon? And what of Rudy Giuliani's response? The former mayor of New York City loves his CD player. Does that mean that a Giuliani presidency won't be able to acknowledge technology that came out after 1999?What do you think? Can the candidates responses to the favorite gadget question give us insight into how they and their administration would be run?From Asylum and the Associated PressRelated Links:Giuliani Staging Mid-Speech Cell Phone Calls?How Presidential Candidates are Using the WebBipartisan Gadgetry Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Filed under: Cell PhonesEvery time we write about this, we feel a little bit more like the apocalypse is imminent. Air France has officially taken the wraps off its cell-phones-at-30,000-feet service. At first, the service is being piloted on just one type of aircraft on certain routes -- the Airbus A318 on certain European routes -- and with only data capabilities for receiving text messages and e-mail. Then, after three months, the switch will be thrown on the voice capabilities. We hope that the high price (about $2.50 a minute) -- and the unavoidable eruptions of violence between yappy passengers and those who can't stand listening to the self-important jackasses next to them -- will keep this system from ever seeing widespread use.From The::UnwiredRelated links:JetBlue May Add In-Flight Text MessagingIn-Flight Cell Phones a Go in EuropeIn-Flight Cell Phone Calls a Reality Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Filed under: Green Tech, $50 and Under, Gift News, holiday gift, Holiday Gift GuideLooking for a way to spread a little holiday cheer without expanding your carbon footprint? Many are switching over to LED lights this season to save electricity, even NYC's Rockefeller Center. But, you can go even further. Check out these solar-powered, LED Christmas lights, which will light up your holiday season -- even if you're living completely off the grid.The $30 set from Hammacher Schlemmer includes 50 lights and a rechargeable base station. The base holds two rechargeable AA batteries, which it juices up during the day. At night the lights will glow for upwards of eight hours -- assuming of course the thing didn't get buried in the snow the day before. They're the perfect way to show your true holiday color: green (even though the lights themselves are blueish white).From Shiny ShinyRelated Links: Sony's Almost-Paper-Thin OLED-TV Coming to U.S. 10 Dumbest And/Or Funniest USB Gadget Gifts Exploding Piggy Bank Helps Kids Save? Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Filed under: Audio/Video, Advice, Editor's Picks, TV, Switched Video, Video Junkie, Features, Holiday Gift Guide, ReviewsFor thevideophile who's been really, really good this year, there's no better way to say "I love, but I'd like you to stop talking so much" than by giving the top-of-the-line Pioneer Kuro Elite 50-inch PDP-5010FD. With picture quality so pristine that, from 3.5-feet you can see the film grain -- but not the pixels -- this TV will leave anyone speachless. Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Filed under: Audio/Video, Computers, Gadget Head, Music Hound, Video Junkie, Man / Woman Who Has Everything, Gift News, Holiday Gift GuideYou're buying so many tech gifts this year, so wouldn't it be nice of those companies actually gave you a present in addition to their products? Yes, we thought so, too.We saw an interesting deal between Sharp and new video-on-demand service Vudu, where the purchase of a new Aquos LCD display gets you a free Vudu set-top box and $50 in download credit. You'll put that to good use, for sure.But instead of melting your brain on all that video, wouldn't it be nice if you actually read a book now and then? Click your way to Sony's site, where you'll find a deal that will put 100 classic books in your hands when you buy one of its Readers, a competitor to the Amazon Kindle. The books offered include such classics as Mark Twain's 'Huckleberry Finn' and H.G. Wells' 'The Time Machine.' Finally, if you're looking for an audio experience, buying the Microsoft Zune will garner you a $20 gift card from Best Buy or $15 in downloads from Amazon.com.Let's see, that's video, words, music... looks like we've covered our bases. Related links:Video Downloads Coming to PlayStation 3 Amazon's New Kindle Displays eBooks and Newspapers Zune Originals 8-Gigabyte (GB) Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Filed under: Cameras, Advice, BlackBerry, iPhone, Switched Video, Style Maven, Gadget Head, Domestic God / Goddess, $100 and Under, Holiday Gift Guide, ReviewsOnce upon a time, you were a nobody if you didn't have a Palm-powered PDA holstered beneath your power suit. With BlackBerrys and iPhones getting all the glory, can Palm's new Centro compete? Josh Fruhlinger reports. Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Filed under: Audio/Video, Video Games, CelebritiesIn what can only be seen as yet another indication that most Hollywood execs have never so much as been in the same room as a video game (let alone played one), a film based on Namco's Tekken franchise appears to be taking flight. Variety is reporting that the film will be directed by Dwight Little -- he of 'Murder at 1600' and Steven Segal's 'Marked For Death' fame. He was also apparently the director of 'Ground Zero Texas' (the 1993 full-motion video Sega CD game), so consider him on the video game ball. The Tekken ball officially starts rolling (downhill) on February 4, 2008, and is apparently about "a rebel who rises up against the Tekken Corp. to seize freedom for his people." Little's last movie was 'Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid,' and Tekken has all the narrative girth of a tuna fish sandwich. If this is anything resembling watchable, we'll eat our hats. From EvilAvatarRelated Links:Jerry Bruckheimer, MTV to Launch Video Game StudioSubway Beating Caught on Video Police Tracking Attackers Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
