Devices Site

Posted Feb 22nd 2008 5:07PM by Paul Miller
Filed under: Ask Engadget, Features, GamingMost of us are so firmly entrenched in supporting our next-gen console of choice that it’s hard to remember why we chose it in the first place. Or is it? Alex would like to know:

“I am interested in buying a gaming console but am stuck at which one. I’ve never gamed much before, so I want a consle that is well-rounded, with a good mix of games, and I do prefer a regular controller over other designs. I already have a PSP, which I use for movies, and I think it would be nice to use an Xbox 360 controller with my computer, as a replacement for my aging Flight Simulator joystick. Ability to play media over my home network would be neat, but not necessary. Price is not a major issue, but I’m not looking to invest a lot in accessories and add-ons. All the consoles have different features that appeal to me, but I am not sure which one to buy. Hope I can get some help.”

Obviously the format war aftermath has a bit of weight in this decision, and the PS3’s been picking up steam in other metrics as well, but he’s looking for a games machine so Blu-ray alone isn’t going to make the winner here, and the Xbox 360 has been on top for a while. Got any opinions? Come on, don’t be shy. Oh, and if you have a question of your own for Ask Engadget, send it on in to ask at engadget dawt com. Messages that begin with “Dearest Engadget” will receive extra consideration.

During CES 2008, LG announced their new GPS LN series, and they recently added a new model to it, called the LN845.

This new GPS sports a 4.3-inch touch screen, has 5 hours of battery life along with Bluetooth connectivity for hands free calling. The only difference it has from the LN855 is that it does not come with a TMC receiver, which provides traffic updates. Unfortunately, no word on pricing as of yet, however, it has passed the FCC so it should be on sale in the States relatively soon.

Via [NaviGadget]

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Did I miss the reports about the growing problem of people having just too much money? Because otherwise, I’m hard pressed to understand how someone like Peter Aloisson can make a business out of vulgarizing  tech gadgets.

His latest creation, the iPhone Princess Plus, takes a perfectly good iphone, studs it with about 17 carats worth of little diamonds, adds gold trim and slaps on a design that looks like a failed entry for a "The Golden Compass" logo. Price is 120,000 Euros (about $178,000), which does not include VAT tax, shipping, insurance or a reasonable explanation of why this seemed like a good idea at the time.

Apple iPhone Princess Plus [Peter Aloisson (via iPhone World) ]

Posted Feb 22nd 2008 11:48AM by Joshua Topolsky
Filed under: Misc. gadgets
Sure, it seemed like after the years of hard drinking, petty crime, and run-ins with the law, Elmo had cleaned up his act — but a shocking report out of Tampa Bay, Florida, says otherwise. A two-year-old’s life has been turned upside down by vicious talk coming from his favorite toy, Elmo Knows Your Name. It seems that after a recent battery change, the PC-interfacing doll began spouting death threats of “kill James” at the toddler, with seemingly no explanation as to how the new phrase entered his vocabulary. The situation came to a head when the boy’s mother heard her son repeating the twisted suggestion. Of course, what she didn’t hear was Elmo’s other threat: that he would “cut anyone who crossed [him] end-to-end with a Bowie knife,” and, “dine on their internal organs.” Fisher Price says it has a team of experts working on the case, and enough tranquilizer darts to put Elmo down, “For good.”

[Thanks, Jordan]

Read - Toddler’s Elmo Doll Makes Death Threats, Family Says
Read - Video of Elmo making death threats

Apple 8GB ipod Touch iPod Touch 8GB

Ok everyone, its really real. The 8GB iPod Touch has the revolutionary technology that made iphone famous. Multi-touch interface. Gorgeous 3.5 widescreen display. Wi-Fi. Safari. iTunes. And more. Get ready for your own pocket-sized amazement.

Technorati Tags: Apple

The Vuzix iWear AV920-C is one interesting video headset, capable of receiving video from just about any device with a composite video output, displaying it beautifully on the internal 640 x 480 LCD display. This is the equivalent of enjoying a 62″ display from as near as 9 feet away. Just in case watching video from up close and personal is not enough for you, you can even connect up to 4 such headsets in a daisy chain to a single console, bringing a new level of immersion to FPS gamers. At long last, you can no longer peek at your opponent’s screen during a 4-way fragfest where your 42″ LCD TV doesn’t look so big suddenly. If only they had this back in the days of Mario Kart on the SNES.

Hitachi’s finger vein authentication technology is now being ported over to the gym, courtesy of IT company Fukui Computer who has developed a new range of networked exercise machines known as “medimo”. Each of these come with Hitachi’s finger vein reader, where users will be able to identify themselves with a simple press of the finger. The machine will subsequently analyze such data and then adjust the weight resistance and seat position automatically after referring to the user’s previous set of preferences. Each “medimo” machine will retail for approximately $17,000 each - I wonder how many user profiles this machine is able to store before it runs out of memory.

Check out this unique looking device which is actually a digital clock, thermometer and memory card reader all rolled into one. Some of the features include :-

• Dustproof triangular design
• No adaptor required for M2/miniSD/microSD memory cards
• Supports auto-detecting slot with card inserted
• USB 2.0 High-speed transfer rate up to 480Mb/sec
• SDHC (4GB-32GB) memory card support
• Compatible with SD,MMC,RS MMC, miniSD, M2, MS, MS PRO, MS Duo, MS PRO Duo, T-flash, and microSD cards

This unique device retails for $15 a pop and comes in black, white and orange colors.

3DLABS will be parading its Windows CE BSP (Board Support Package) at Embedded World, Nuremberg, Germany, bringing the advantages of the DMS-02’s fully programmable media processing array and dual ARM architecture to the masses. The DMS-02 claims to deliver “unrivalled application and media performance for embedded and low-power consumer electronics devices such as connected media players, portable navigation units, service terminals, smartphones and gaming devices”. I don’t know how far its dual ARM 926 multi-core System-On-Chip processors are able to handle 2D/3D graphics and video encoding/decoding and image processing though, but it sure sounds promising in theory. [Press Release]

Rally Driving

You can have this for ?179.00