Super Bowl XLV out the big game!

Super Bowl XLV out the big game! - It's been confirmed, Super Bowl XLV will not be the first one with a full HD 3D broadcast (no gimmicky 3D commercials this year either, you can put the paper glasses away) despite featuring a halftime show by James Cameron's BFFs, the Black Eyed Peas. Still, considering what happened the last time they tried 3D at the House That Jerry Jones Built it's probably for the best. Still, just because you don't have one of Cowboys Stadium's record breaking HD screens you should still enjoy the game in style. In 2011 that means going beyond just the screen, the sounds and the seats -- we'll tell you how after the break.



While 2011's best HDTVs have yet to make their debut you still have your pick of the finest technology 2010 had to offer. The Pioneer Elite line will return from hiatus later this year, at least in name, but for image quality the current top dog is Panasonic's VT25 line of plasmas. The bad news? High demand has drained most retailers of their supply in many sizes, but the 54-inch TC-P54VT25 seems to be widely available and currently can be had from Amazon for $2,160. Like most of the high end sets these days it also does 3D so our roundup of those sets isn't a bad place to start looking either. Totally committed to not dropping a single dime on anything 3D? Sony's edge LED lit KDL55EX710 can satisfy for the environmentally-conscious buyer and will be found practically anywhere this week for around $1,500, but what if your price range is a little lower? In previous years we've singled out Panasonic's lower end plasmas (S2, G2) but the budget conscious might do well to check out Samsung's PN50C550 which can be had for less than a grand and still offers impressive image quality at a large size.

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New Portable PSP2 from Nikkei

New Portable  PSP2 from Nikkei - Welcome to this week’s edition of the SlashGear Week in Review! If you are a PC hardware geek an AMD spokesman causally showed off an unannounced video card on Monday called the HD 6990. The card has dual GPUs and should be very fast. We heard a bit of early detail on the PSP2 from Nikkei that claimed the new portable would have an OLED touchscreen, 3G and a new CPU. That would make for a very impressive portable indeed.

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Logitech: The Revue Is Overpriced

Logitech: The Revue Is Overpriced  - I think the platform has more promise than any other software running on set-top boxes today. With the right vision and some fulfilment on promises Google has made in the past, I think it’s quite possible for the company’s platform to entirely change the way we enjoy entertainment in the living room. But in its current form, Google TV isn’t there.

Content providers aren’t playing nice with Google and running the platform in tandem with your cable provider’s DVR won’t deliver the same appeal that DISH customers enjoy. I view the software more as a proof-of-concept than a nicely thought-out implementation.

Realizing that, I just can’t see why Logitech continues to sell its Revue set-top box for a whopping $300. Yes, I know that it’s running Google TV, and the platform can do more than, say, the software running on the $99 Apple TV, but it’s clear now that the excitement everyone had about Google TV has died down. And it’s being viewed as what it really is: an under-performing entertainment platform.

As far as I’m concerned, the Logitech Revue should be selling for $150 at most. At that price, the company will be able to drum up some demand for the device, hopefully get most of its investment back, and at least have an installed base in place for when Google gets serious about its platform.

But the need for a price cut goes beyond demand.

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Kinect is Not Collecting Dust

Kinect is Not Collecting Dust - A few days ago a fellow SlashGear columnist Don Reisinger elaborated on how his Kinect was collecting dust. If I put myself in Don’s shoes I can relate to his article and his questioning of whether or not the Kinect can meet the needs of hard core gamers and a hard core gaming experience. I, however, in coming at it from a different angle, have a completely different experience with my Kinect.

Before I go much further, you need to know that for all intents and purposes I am a hard core gamer. I have grown up spending not an insignificant amount of time being entertained by video games. My father, being a long time analyst in the industry, worked on an early project with Nintendo and their first console. He brought one home during the project and I was hooked.

I’ve owned every major fixed and mobile gaming console since, and I can say video games are my guilty pleasure. That being said, after getting married my video game addiction became harder to maintain. To quote Brodie from Mallrats “Hell hath no fury like a woman’s scorn for SEGA.” How true this quote is, as video games – or more specifically me playing video games – instantly changes her generally cheery disposition.

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Duo pocketcamcorders van Samsung

Duo pocketcamcorders van Samsung - P300 en HMX-P100 zijn twee videocamera’s in pocketformaat zodat je ze gemakkelijk overal mee naar toe kan nemen. De One Touch Sharing-functie brengt de opgenomen video’s automatisch over naar je pc of laptop, zodra je de camera aansluit met de ingebouwde usb-aansluiting. Die zorgt er ook voor dat de batterij wordt opgeladen. Met de twee pocketcamcorders kan je naast video ook foto’s maken. De HMX-P300 biedt een fotoresolutie van 8 megapixel en de HMX-P100) een fotoresolutie van 5 megapixel. De pocketcamcorders gebruiken micro SD-geheugenkaartjes.

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OCZ quits DRAM on super-speedy SSDs

OCZ quits DRAM business to focus on super-speedy SSDs - OCZ, a company that started life a decade ago by churning out DRAM modules for enthusiasts to throw into their towering rigs, has now announced it's abandoning that market entirely. As PC Perspectivepoints out, it's grown increasingly difficult for companies to differentiate their products when it comes to memory -- most of it just works and most of it is pretty fast -- and continually declining prices have apparently forced OCZ's hand. The San Jose-based company's new primary breadwinner will be solid state drives, which already account for a substantial proportion of revenues and look set to grow exponentially as their own prices dip a little further into the range of the affordable. It's a shame we'll no longer have that bold Z to look at when picking out memory sticks for our next self-built machine, but maybe it's all for the best. Check out an interview with an OCZ VP at the source link below. 

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Beginning January 16th Verizon Axes New Every Two Upgrades

Beginning January 16th Verizon Axes New Every Two Upgrades - Verizon’s had their New Every Two upgrade program instilled for a long time now, but the wireless carrier has apparently decided to kick it to the curb. Verizon has confirmed with The Wall Street Journal that, effective January 16th, their New Every Two upgrade feature will end. That means that customers will no longer be able to take advantage of a credit towards a new device, which range between $30 and $100, on new equipment every two years.

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Tablet PCs iPad 2 begins shipping

Tablet PCs iPad 2 begins shipping from Foxconn in February - This phone or if we say "Tablet PCs iPad 2 begins shipping" is the newest and latest phone. The source is DigiTimes so take this rumor for what you will. Nevertheless, the Taiwanese tattle house is citing sources at local component makers claiming that Foxconn has been notified that it must ship Apple's "iPad 2" within the next 100 days or as early as the end of February. DigiTimes says that Apple's plan to start mass production in January had to be pushed because of ongoing firmware testing. Note that this doesn't mean that the second generation iPad will ship to consumers in February since Apple would be stockpiling units ahead of a global launch. The original iPad was announced in January and began US shipments in April before starting its relentless global march in May.

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Portable Media Recorder

Portable Media Recorder


How can you put a price on memories? Well, there are times you can, but for family and private memories it’s nice to have those moments to look back on. This is when it’s nice to have a modern digital media recorder handy. Whether it is a straight digital camera or a digital video recorder, having a small but capable recorder makes it easy to capture those fleeting moments.
They also make taking notes a snap, and many forms of desktop software (Microsoft OneNote, others) will even translate your spoken words to text. As for taking notes from a white board or an expressive presenter, a video recording lets you capture the whole picture. Even a simple picture can be worth, well, a thousand words when it comes to flow diagrams.
Today we have portable media recorders in many different forms. Many smartphones, such as the iPhone and the Android family of phones, offer different means of recording audio and video. Even multi use players such as the iPod Nano now records audio and video, making it great for note taking.
Stand alone dedicated units offer good performance with extreme ease of use. Point and shoot video recorders such as the offerings from Kodak and Flip give a solid picture with a relatively modest price tag… great for uploading your videos to YouTube.
Related posts:

1. Insane Gadgets or Genius: You Be The Judge
2. News and Links for February 1st 2010
3. News for 1-7-10- CES 2010 Edition
4. News for February 5th 2010
5. News and Links for 1/4/2010

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Portable Media Player

Portable Media Player


Practically everyone likes to listen to one form of music or another, and a portable media player makes it possible to take the tunes with you. With a player and a comfortable set of headphones you can transform the world into your private symphony. But Portable Media Players are good for much more than just that.
Portable players now also provide video for your enjoyment. Missed the latest episode of “Lost” or want to rent a new movie? It’s now possible with such portable media players as the iPhone or iPod Touch attached to a laptop running iTunes. Even your favorite videos and family home movies can be put on your portable player to enjoy privately or share with others.
Portable players open up a world of audio books that allow you to enjoy the latest works and favorite titles as you go about your activities. In fact, some titles can even be educational and you may even learn something along the way.
Speaking of learning something, iTunes University now offers an exhaustive array of audio and video titles for your continuing education. From actual college classes to more esoteric topics, it is now very possible to get a lot of knowledge from a Portable Media Player.
Related posts:

1. Insane Gadgets or Genius: You Be The Judge
2. News and Links for February 1st 2010
3. News for 1-7-10- CES 2010 Edition
4. News for February 5th 2010
5. News and Links for 1/4/2010

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