Jul 10
Filed under: GPS, Transportation
A proposal made way back in February of last year is finally bearing fruit, as Microsoft and Fiat have finally made good use of their long-standing partnership. At the 2007 Geneva Motor Show, the two announced that the Blue&Me system would indeed be shipping in the Fiat 500 this year, and it was noted that “top-end” versions would get the system built right in, while entry-level 500 buyers could opt for it as a factory option for an undisclosed price. The do-it-all in-car technology system “guarantees owners an outstanding combination of intuitive, hands-free navigation, communications, and entertainment features,”and while exact launch dates by market weren’t noted, Italians can expect the newly-featured 500s to arrive first, while those in Germany and UK will get served by the year’s end. Click on through for a few more shots of the vehicle.
[Via TechDigest, images courtesy of Slashgear]
Continue reading Blue&Me-equipped Fiat 500 to hit Europe this year
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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
written by Darren Murph
Jul 10
Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio, Portable Video
For many of us, during all the hype, rumors, and speculation concerning Apple’s iPhone, there was one question nagging at the back of our minds, one question that had gone unanswered until now: will it blend? Well rejoice friends, because the day of reckoning is upon us. Those with heart conditions might want to sit this one out; the rest of you can find out if the iPhone blends after the break.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Continue reading Will it Blend: the iPhone smoothie
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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
written by Joshua Topolsky
Jul 10
Filed under: Handhelds, Tablet PCs, Wireless
Just when we’re in full-on video game mode, along comes a friendly tipster with some shots of the supposed successor to Nokia’s N800 Internet Tablet that snap us out of our daze and remind us that there’s more to life than Xboxes and PlayStations. No specs are available yet, but we can tell just by looking at this device that the Finnish giant has been listening to user gripes and thrown in a retractable QWERTY keyboard — a move that will surely win this product line its share of converts. We’ll keep our ear to the ground for more details, but until then you can enjoy a few more pics after the break…
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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
written by Evan Blass
Jul 10
Filed under: Robots
With
RoboCup now
wrapped up for another year, we thought it’d be worth taking some time to spotlight some of the thrills and spills of this year’s competition. Thankfully, there’s no shortage of footage to choose from, much of which has found its way onto YouTube. While it’s tough to pick a favorite, we were especially impressed with the match between the Darmstadt Dribblers and Team Nimbro, which not only featured ample amounts of hilarity, but a few actual displays of robot soccer skill (as seen above). Click on through for the complete video roundup.
Continue reading RoboCup footage roundup
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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
written by Donald Melanson
Jul 10
Filed under: Cellphones
Oh c’mon, it did sound too good to be true, did it not? To just about everyone’s chagrin, the hope-filled comments made yesterday by Kevin Chang have now been retracted by JP Morgan, and it looks like the iPhone nano will return to the depths of our imagination for the moment. According to a rebuttal put forth by the North America Equity Research division, the firm “has not been able to independently confirm” his comments with a second source, and also mentions that “a lower-end iPhone appearing in the near-term would be unusual and highly risky.” Notably, putting the rumors to rest wasn’t the only order of business in the writeup, as it was suggested numerous times throughout the document that JP Morgan believes a “high-priced, non-subsidized 3G model” will surface “in the first half of 2008.” Squashing one piece of scuttlebutt whilst conjuring up another (entirely more probable) report, now that’s the way we like it.
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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
written by Darren Murph
Jul 10
Filed under: Gaming
Like carrion to a corpse, so begins the influx of litigious Xbox owners wielding class-action lawsuits against the Redmond giant. Recently a case has been filed in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, alleging that the Xbox 360 caused scratching damage to discs during “reasonable, foreseeable, normal and intended use”, and while this is the first case we’ve seen since the company addressed the Xbox 360’s other problems, it’s certainly not the first of its kind. So how much is all this disc damage worth? About $5 million, according to the claim, which makes explicit reference to the warranty extension as well as the infamous Dutch TV report on the scratching problem, and offers damning testimony from users who were unable to play their lacerated copies of Madden NFL ‘07. It seems unlikely that Microsoft can hold its ground on this, judging by the recent events concerning the system’s build quality — but only the country’s richest lawyers know for sure.
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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
written by Joshua Topolsky
Jul 10
Filed under: Wireless
In a move likely to have far reaching implications for both businesses and consumers alike, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has stated that whoever wins the forthcoming auction for the much-coveted 700 MHz spectrum must provide a “truly open broadband network.” According to USA Today, Martin says that the only exceptions would be for “software that is illegal or could harm a network,” leaving the network otherwise open for anyone to “use any wireless device and download any mobile broadband application, with no restrictions.” The spectrum, being vacated by television broadcasters moving to digital TV, is expected to fetch some big bucks when it goes up on the auction block, with the FCC Chairman himself touting it as a “third pipe to the home.” While Martin doesn’t have any plans to extend the openness requirement to other parts of the wireless business, he does think this new move could pressure carriers to change their tactics, saying it “sends an important message.”
[Via Phonescoop, photo courtesy of USA Today]
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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
written by Donald Melanson
Jul 10
Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals
As the axe battle continues to heat up, here we have a first look at the Guitar Hero III controller for the Wii, which looks an awful lot like the first Les Paul-modeled iteration we saw — save for that handy Wiimote slot and Nintendo-esque toggle switch, of course. Reportedly, the white faceplate is also removable, but we know the most of you won’t want to disturb the color mojo that will be going on between your Wii and Gibson. Click on for an enlarged view.
[Via Wii Fanboy]
Continue reading Wii’s Guitar Hero III Les Paul unearthed
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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
written by Darren Murph
