Clearly, this is a slow news day. Top 10 Weird All Videos [Srobbin] → Read More
It doesn’t even exist and I’m already tired of it. Due to some creative code reading of the Apple iTunes 7.0.1 update release it has been concluded that there may or may not be an Apple-brand phone on the way. Also, there’s word of a Cingular and Apple agreement for a new phone, making Cingular the sole carrier through mid-2007. Here’s a quick recap from some of the random speculation out there: I personally find the notion of Apple doing a mobile phone utterly ridiculous, since there is no clear intersection between the two target markets and there is already far too much bloat on phones. Furthermore, Apple would have to deal with a lot of regulatory (and technology) issues that are not part of their core business. iPhone [Tao of Mac] “4301.022″ = ” ^0 was not copied because the video format is not supported by the mobile phone ^1 .”; “4301.043″ = “Are you sure you want to manually manage music and videos on your mobile phone? You will need to manually eject your mobile phone before it can be disconnected safely.”; “4301.045″ = “Are you sure you do not want to manually manage music and videos on your mobile phone? All existing content on the mobile phone ^1 will be replaced with content from your iTunes library.”; Significance of this? Either an iPhone is coming soon, or new phones that support iTunes video, music and pictures is on the horizon. iTunes 7.0.1 Has Buttloads of Mobile Phone Mentions [Gizmodo] Look, I’d love an Apple phone. On this point, I’ll be delighted to turn out to be wrong. I think cellphones are as ripe for a radical rethink as the online music store was when Apple set up iTunes. But let’s not go all wiggy every time someone passes around an iPhone rumor on the Web. Odds are, it’s just there to get you riled up. iPhone Rumors [Pogue's Posts] Meanwhile, insiders say Apple is internally estimating that shipments of the iPhone will top a staggering 25 million in 2007 alone. Motorola’s RAZR, by contrast, has sold more than 50 million units since its launch in late 2004. Apple is betting a phone with Apple’s iconic design, elegant interface, and iPod-matching functionality will be a strong draw for users who currently carry both devices on them. Apple iPhone to be Cingular-exclusive at launch [Think Secret] → Read More
Bethesda Sotworks announced today that it will be releasing Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivions for the Playstation 3. They didn’t specify on any dates or how far along in development they are, so my guess is, it’s not going to be a launch game. It’s not so much of an issue though, since not many of us are going to have a chance to grab a console on launch day. Honestly, as powerful as the Playstation 3 is, there aren’t many amazing titles for the PS3 announced yet, so Oblivion is a great addition to the lineup. Bethesda Softworks also announced that it will be releasing Elder Scrolls Travels: Oblivion for the PSP at some point next spring—hopefully we’ll still be using our PSPs then. Oblivion For PS3 And PSP [elder scrolls] → Read More
Bloops. I guess we missed this news earlier. Looks like ESPN Mobile is officially closed and if you’re a subscriber you can use your ESPN phone until the end of the year but you won’t have ESPN mobile to push around anymore. The company has signed up only tens of thousands of subscribers since it launched the service in late 2005 and began advertising early this year, with commercial spots appearing regularly on ESPN’s cable TV broadcasts. Too bad for them. AP ESPN pulls plug on cell phone operation [AP] Earlier ESPN Mobile: First Half, Score 0-0 → Read More
In a few years, your PDA might be the size of a typical soda straw. That’s apparently the idea behind this nifty working roll-up LCD that some smartypants at Cambridge have come up with. At less than 1mm thick, and flexible, it rolls up to about the same diameter as the cardboard from a roll of paper towels. It’s still an early prototype, and is currently only capable of displaying black and white, but this could make the upcoming eBook war fairly interesting. It’s powered by batteries, and the electronics that operate the unit are contained in wooden (!?) handles at the sides. Inevitably, they’ll find a way to make a smaller, color version. When that happens, and they add WiFi/Bluetooth/EVDO/WiMax/Voodoo/Scientology to the mix, you’ll potentially see a whole marketplace centered around like devices. Roll up this laptop [C|Net] → Read More
Well, that didn’t take long. The same day that the Zune price-point and date were announced, Zune accessories start popping up. This is the Octavio, made by Australian company VAF Research. It looks astonishingly like the iPod Hi-Fi. How about that? The Octavio is the first accessory to bear the “Made for Zune” logo and will apparently be available in “late 2006.” No price yet though. Adelaide firm in select Zune group [Austrailian IT via Engadget → Read More
At 30 years of age, I’m experiencing what’s often referred to as “middle age spread”, meaning my size 32 pants no longer fit. I finally see why my fellow geeks wear T-shirts emblazoned with dragons and wolves and Geordi La Forge: it distracts the eye from the Mountain Dew belly. I don’t want to be one of those guys, I look bad in shirts with Xbox logos. But I spend ten hours a day sitting at a desk, and drive my ass everywhere (edit: Hickey has a drivable ass. – Blake). And I’m too busy for a gym. I’ve been hoping for a solution, and the nice people at Slim Geek have come up with a something that looks perfect. It’s a desk with a built-in recumbent exercise bicycle. It is a work of genius. Don’t let the circa-1997 Compaq 5800-series computer in the logo fool you, friends, these people obviously know their target audience. There’s even a girl in the photo. Yes, that’s what they look like, and after a few weeks at this desk, maybe you can meet one someday. Geek-a-Cycle [Slim Geek] → Read More
With Gears of War, BioShock and Halo Wars being shown at TGS and X06, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 has certainly taken its place in the next gen gaming world. Even hardcore gamers who swore by Sony have given attention to Xbox 360′s coming titles and features. If you already own an Xbox 360 and haven’t had a chance to get on Live and check out the TGS and X06 content, check it out! The coverage of the floor is worth the download, and you can delete it afterwards. Along with Microsoft, we at CrunchGear have covered quite a bit of Xbox 360 news this week. We’ve got info on all the new accessories, price drops, Xbox 360 international expansion, XBox 360′s HD DVD player, rumors, CPU upgrades and more. Whew. In case you missed any of it, hit the the links below to get on top of that Xbox 360 news! Guitar Hero 2 Coming To Xbox 360 Marvel Universe Coming Online Coming To Xbox 360 Xbox 360 CPU Upgrade Microsoft Teams Up With Peter Jackson Xbox 360 HD DVD Player At $199 Xbox 360 Reaches India Xbox 360 Price Cut? Talk Smack On Xbox 360 Xbox 360 Goes Black? Free Repairs For Broken Xbox 360s Xbox 360 Will Support 1080p Bringing It Home: TGS And X06 Live → Read More
Podcasting stats and ads company RadioTail is announcing prior to this weekend’s Portable Media Expo in Ontario, California that they are now offering their podcast stat tracking service Ripple for free to any podcaster. The company hopes that podcasters using the free service will sign up to let RadioTail sell or serve ads for them. Publishers who don’t want to use their web based dyanmic ad serving features are free to use the analytics at no cost indefinitely. Advertising and thus analytics in online multimedia are on the front of many peoples’ minds right now, but the field is relatively young and still forming. While some companies are clearly going for the big corporate bucks, RadioTail has the look, feel and name of a populist stat tracking service made by podcasters for podcasters. The company was founded by Greg Galant, the man behind the Venture Voice podcast. Galant worked at both CNN.com and Newlight Venture Capital in a former life. His new company’s list of publishers and advertisers to date already includes BusinessWeek, Nikon, Palm, McGraw-Hill Construction and Microsoft. There are a number of podcasting stats services available, but RadioTail is doing some good things with Ripple. The service works through a simple redirect at the file download level, so publishers can change hosts at-will, track browser plays in addition to RSS enclosure downloads and doesn’t ask anything of listeners. Ripple’s statistics are updated once an hour, include the geographic location of listeners amongst many other details, are available in RSS format (very nice) and are displayed in HTML (not Flash like some competitors) for easy printing. The stat viewing dashboard offers an unusually long list of ways to have your data displayed and the company is actively working on increasing the technical usefulness of the data in addition to its direct ad selling potential. Unfortunately, export in spreadsheet formats falls into the company’s lists of features they intend to build but isn’t available now. Likewise, full vs. partial downloads aren’t tracked by the free Ripple service, though customers of RadioTail’s ad placement service are able to see what percentage of listeners played entire audio files. Other players in the podcast analytics space include Podbridge, which targets high end big publishers, Podtrac (similar to RadioTail but with a different feature set), hosting service Libsyn and RSS vendor FeedBurner. Thanks go to the guys at consultancy Feedia.net for insight on the → Read More
, the Moto KRZR K1m. We also told you that it would happen any day now, and we’re happy to say that today is the day. So drop your Chocolate, go out and get your KRZR. Show your RAZR-totin’ friends what real style is. The specs were what we figured they would be: 1.3MP camera with video, Bluetooth and MicroSD. Oddly, VZ notes that the KRZR K1m doesn’t have a standard 2.5mm headset jack, but it comes with its own hands-free kit. They also note that it’s Bluetooth is compatible with DUN plans, and since this tiny, sexy phone supports EV-DO, you’re in good shape to tether to your heart’s content. Verizon is notorious for crippling Bluetooth on its devices, but they’re leaving this one alone. They’re calling it the MOTO KRZR K1m on the Verizon site, and it’ll run you $199.99 with a 2-year contract. Verizon MOTOKRZR K1m product page [Verizon Wireless] → Read More
Mouse pads are a dime a dozen, but we bet yours doesn’t have a four-port USB hub. Right? That is, unless you’ve already purchased one of these Lindy Illuminated pads, in which case we apologize profusely. The mouse pad not only lights up, but allows you to plug in your various iPod docks, USB fans, and fingerprint readers. Pick one up now for £14.99, or $28.46. Need some USB gadgets to plug into this? The SanDisk Cruzer, Buffalo TV, OCZ Roadster, Imation Flash Wristbands, USBCELL Batteries, and this Card Reader are all good choices. Product Site [Lindy via Pocket Lint] → Read More
Your PSP has one lousy card slot for your Memory Stick. You want two card slots. What do you do? Buy another PSP, that’s what, you immoral nerd. It’d be better than being seen by the rest of the town with this abomination attached to your gaming device. It’s got a dongle, see, that goes where your Memory Stick goes, and then two slots, for two Sticks. Your Memory Stick goes where your Memory Stick goes. Putting something else there, and then doubling up on them? It’s not natural, and not at all what God intended. Read your Bible. PSP Double Expand Memory Convertor [SuperUFO] → Read More
Coming in graphite grey, light brown, and misty silver, the K320i is SE’s newest low-end cellphone for the GSM market. It has a 4x digital zoom, VGA camera, Java support, tri-band GSM, Bluetooth 2.0, and 15MB of internal memory. If you’re not impressed with these specs, remember that we said it was low end. Despite being an entry-level phone, it still features the same K-series styling we’ve come to expect from Sony Ericsson. The only major exterior difference is that there are three colors to choose from. Press Release [Sony Ericsson] → Read More
Hop on over to the Meet-Up Page to RSVP. We’re going to hold it on October 13th – Friday the 13th, actually – due to a scheduling conflict and we’re lining up sponsors and giveaways as we speak. It’s turning out to be a great little event. Please join us. → Read More
, but do you know how they’re building it? If you guessed “by using the crew of a Star Wars Empire battleship”, give yourself five points. Then again, the Star Wars Empire didn’t have any Chinese people. In any case, here’s a secret look at what goes on inside the Zune factory. Inside the Zune Factory [Zune Info] → Read More
Microsoft has set a date with Zune for Tuesday, November 14. The eagerly anticipated DAP will be available for $249.99 at retailers nationwide. If you’ve been living in a hole for the past several months, the Zune expands on currently available DAPs by offering music sharing through WiFi. Whether this feature is enough to dethrone King iPod remains to be seen. Another possible advantage of the Zune is unlimited music pass offered through the Zune Music Store. Users can pay a flat $14.99 fee and download unlimited music. This is contrary to the iTunes plan where users must purchase each individual song or album. Microsoft has also finalized the media that will come preloaded on the Zune. You can read that after the drop: → Read More
watches, this Sony Ericsson MBW-100 connects to your phone via Bluetooth and can control music playback using the buttons on the side. Unfortunately, there’s no caller ID like the Fossil watches, but this looks a bit more stylish with the sleek silver and black. Double unfortunately, it costs $399. So you’re paying four-hundy bones for something to control your cell phone music playback and tell the time. How about pulling out your cell phone instead? Then again, that watch does look pretty attractive to the watch-hounds. John wouldn’t be able to keep his hands off me. Sony Ericsson Bluetooth Watch [Gizmodo via uber gizmo] → Read More
A station located in convenient locations so inkjet users can recharge their ink carts? That’s brilliant. This KIS Rechargink station was being demoed at Photokina, and is supposed to re-juice your ink stock in less than five minutes. There are ten sub-stations in each station, designed to work with different cartridges from different manufacturers. It pays to select the right one when you go. Depending on how much this station charges, it could either take off or be a huge waste of space. We’ll see once they deploy it via their subsidiaries in the United States. KIS Rechargink inkjet cartridge refill system [Legs Go Digital] → Read More
Hopefully the lighting will be better on this one. Here’s a quick video of the PepperPad 3 in all her glory. I know folks didn’t like the original Pads, but I have no problems with this one. It’s an Internet tablet, plain and simple, and inifinitely hackable thanks to Linux. → Read More
If you were looking forward to the Sirius Stiletto to listen to Sirius radio, you’ve got an alternative now. The Zing Player also uses WiFi to snatch access to internet and Sirius channels. It’s quite small as well, especially compared to the Sirius. There’s also a dock and a click-wheel, which wasn’t touch-based but still pretty cool. No pricing and availability information just yet. Exclusive Zing WiFi Music Player Photos, Smaller than Stiletto [Gizmodo] → Read More
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