Sure enough, this lovely gem should be annouced officially by Verizon today for release to their customers. I am always a fan of the fixed keyboard, and that’s what really kept me away from the iPhone (although I officially recognize its awesomeness). This offering from Motorolla shapes up to be a real beauty; too bad I don’t have upgrade ready – maybe I’ll be lucky enough to have the retail price under $300.

Here are a few more links for ya! Nice site Phandroid.com!

http://phandroid.com/2009/05/28/verizon-android-phones-are-officially-coming/

http://phandroid.com/2009/10/06/verizon-to-make-an-android-announcement/

Iomega just expanded its StorCenter NAS line with the new-four bay StorCenter ix4-200d. Just like the smaller ix2, the ix4 can handle pretty much whatever you throw at it: filesharing over a laundry list of protocols, streaming to iTunes, an Xbox 360, handling your Time Machine backups — it can even take video directly off Axis-brand IP surveillance cameras. On the hardware side, you’re looking at dual Gigabit Ethernet ports, three USB ports for printer sharing and additional storage, and a “QuikTransfer” button that’ll let yo copy files directly from a flash drive to the NAS without a computer. The downside? You’ll have to pay for all that power: the 2TB version costs $700, and the top-of-the-line 8TB model will set you back a whopping $1,900. Yes, you can just get a dedicated server for that kind of money, but then you wouldn’t be able to say you were rolling with NAS, now would you?

Isn’t it a little sad to be living out your boyhood fantasies of excitement and danger vicariously, behind the wheel of your ’92 Buick Roadmaster station wagon? On the other hand, perhaps you’re ready to put away your childhood dreams and hit the road in a manner more befitting your average schlub.

The official Homer Simpson voice skin for the TomTom GPS features the voice of the iconic cartoon dad, including such gems as “Take the third right. We might find an ice cream truck! Mmm…ice cream.” Psyched? We bet you are. Hopefully, there is a “Doh!” when you miss that turn on a one way street without another turn for a quarter mile.

Oh god, I’m in viewing bliss. After buying a 22″ widescreen from Acer just weeks ago, I saw this baby at costco yesterday for only $10 more, and it’s got speakers! Forget about paying $400+ for a small lcd tv, just buy this thing and you’re good to go!

It’s got hdmi, vga, and dvi in, and wouldn’t you know it, they ship it will ALL THREE cables. I’ve had a smile on my face all day. Do yourself a favor though and put it at least 3 ft from you, it’s a little overwhelming at closer distances.

I just realized the other day that the amount I’ve spent on Logitech Equipment in the last few years would buy me almost two new laptops (Acer Aspire I @ $300/ea). Beyond the fact that this is a fantastic company that has produced phenomenal interface equipment, I found it interesting how much money I’ve spent not so much with this one company, but that my spending on devices and gadgets has gone through the roof over the last few years. I just read about a new development in the ‘Cloud Computing’ field of modular components for all gadgets, and realize how ludicrous that market is going to become in the next 3-5 years.

The article I read mentioned that there are a few companies working on modular components for all electronic devices, such as battery, cpu/processor modules, etc. I consider that great news, as I’ve gotten quite sick of how compartmentalized the device market has been ever since its inception. I mean, seriously, how many different connector types do they have to make to send essentially the same charge voltage to a Lithium-Ion battery on a cell phone? It’s things like these that need to go: charge chords, connectors, adapters, etc.

I look forward to the days that may lie ahead, where I won’t have a cellphone, mp3 player, remote, streaming media device, etc to have to keep track of, all I have is my other ‘Brain(s)’. For home, you can stack a few of the CPU and memory modules together for extra power serving up HI DEF media throughout the house, as well as using a (GACK) chord to just tap right into your home electrical service. From there, for recharging the portable module batteries – inductive surfaces (which can also be used for all of your movable kitchen accessories: blender, coffee maker/grinder, etc).

Market adoption of a set of standards for this which uses all current technologies as a base would be sweet, but I can’t hope too far in that area. If anyone has 500M they’d like to drop on me, I’d be happy to help

This is the log of the LG Voyager, Star Date… ok sorry just saw the new Star Trek, forgive me. The Story of how I came to Verizon recently and picked up this phone is interesting, however random. Do you really want to hear the story or do you want me to talk about this phone? Something tells me you’re here to learn about the phone

First off, after using this phone for the better part of a week, I really have sacrificed great software (Android) for great hardware. And that’s almost an even trade: the HTC G1 hardware is like a Ford Taurus, if that Ford Taurus broke in one year not 5. I was already on my first replacement G1 after only 4 months, and that one was starting to fail as well.

So that’s the short version of the story… although during this review I will be lavishing great praise on the Android platform; if the Voyager had a version of it, I would be in sweet phone tecchie bliss

The phone is lightweight but large enough to have a nice screen, the touchscreen feels solid, love the well done QWERTY touchscreen keys on the top display. The dual displays and Env. format of foldout to full QUERTY is well done and I can see LG made lots of improvements to the idea of the Env. The multiple volume control settings are great, almost overkill; QWERTY keyboard is spectacular, flip open phone for automatic speakerphone awesome, and I like the mouse nav on the foldout keyboard for browsing. I certainly miss the Androids Web Browser, I’m almost half tempted to keep the G1 as just an Internet device for now, but it’s too hot on the market to justify hanging onto its shoddy hardware that’s worth $300 +

The Voyager also has a nice 2 MP camera, which utterly destroys what is most likely the crappiest modern cellphone camera on the G1. Its fairly large, but feels good up to your ear, not the bulkiness of the IPhone or G1. I am utterly dazzled with the camera and video settings, very well done! Side keylock feature is great, and the construction of the shell is solid; you really feel like you have a $400 phone in your hands. (I got it for 1c on amazon)

Now onto the software: LG, please hire some designers, I feel like i’m looking at 1995 here. The touchscreen market is hyper competitive so step up to the plate and see what you can do. The reason I’m so critical of the design is b/c that’s really the main point I find lacking: menu system is good, it’s easy to find what you need to tweak in settings, get to web/email, text, etc, so that’s mostly there. Touchscreen controls can be a little off, but this phone is certainly no slouch on all around solid construction, excellent hardware, and ease of use. I would say the #1 thing I miss besides the easier web nav on the G1 is the lack of support for apps: Google maps wont run on this beast, laaaaame! (but the reason is Verizon wants extra money from you for the VZ nav, although it’s really worth it). There also does not appear to be any WIFI support, although I could be wrong. This is not as big of a deal though, as I’m now on the best 3G network, and paying less than half of what Tmobile was charging me to be on theirs. Paying more than twice as much for half as much? now you know why they lost a customer

Overall, If you want a new phone for elegant touchscreen features, either wait until android opens up to other phones, or get an Iphone. Att’s services are slightly more expensive, but they also have great 3G coverage, and the rollover minutes are always good.
I am going to miss android for while (as soon as this thing sells on ebay), but It wont be too long until it opens up to other hardware.

I was reading the new GameInformer and saw this newsclip about a new console. *Sigh* right? Not exactly. Go watch this movie and then come back. I really dont need to say much about this ‘console’ and basicly new way of playing games, other than YESSSS!!!!! Here’s why I think it’s gonna redefine gaming for everyone, not just console users:

1. Portability
   Anywhere there is broadband there is the service. Forget about toting around your console and games, they’re all online.
2. Upgradeability
   I haven’t researched the hardware in any great depth yet, but it looks like the games are delivered as a service, so you dont have to worry about your hardware going out of date as quickly as the consoles appear to (at least with XBOX).
4. Integrated Community
   PC and Console users together (at last?)
5. Easier to preview and purchase and/or rent games

More demos, A service which (I belive) allows you to play On-Demand style.

So if i said or hinted at anything incorrectly here’s a few links for you to check out.
NerdWorld, GameInformer

Either way this thing is Doooope! Hope it’s not a jillion dollers because I’m gonna want one!

Just read in the new Maximum PC about EFI now being available for OSX on any PC, sawwweeet! The price isn’t too too bad, considering what you will have access too, but I would honestly wait until it drops down as it takes more market share. Here’s the retail link to buy, keep an eye on this good stuff! I would honestly even look into buying the Motherboard combo from that company, looks like a solid deal all around. For the Uubernerds out there, check this article out from Intel. If anyone buys this hardware please add your comments here I’d love to hear about it! Happy OsX’ing!

Much of the iPhone OS 3.0 news seemed developer-centric, but there are certainly plenty of consumer implications down the road, along with long-awaited functions like copy and paste, A2DP, MMS and universal Spotlight search. Improvements include:

App and developer functionality

• Peer-to-peer connectivity over Bluetooth for gaming and other info-swapping.
• Paid apps will have the potential to be subscription fee-based, and can include optional paid content that can be bought from right inside the app.
• Developers can now build apps that call out to Google Maps, and can also finally bring Apple-blessed turn-by-turn to the phone.
• Devs can also connect with hardware accessories over in their apps now, such as a blood pressure monitor — or perhaps a keyboard? Connectivity works through the dock connector or over Bluetooth.
• Long-promised push functionality will at last be included, but apps won’t run in the background.
• Developers can add streaming video and audio to their apps, along with in-game voice use.

General functionality

• Cut, copy and paste. At last! You can shake the phone to undo and redo the action, and it works with both text and photos, allowing Mail to send multiple photos at a time.
• MMS, along with forward and delete for multiple messages.
• A2DP stereo Bluetooth.
• Unlocked Bluetooth functionality on 2G iPod touch.
• Spotlight has been added to a new home screen page to the left of existing pages, allowing for universal search on the phone.
• Tethering is built into 3.0, and Apple will work with carriers on that — who will have the last say on its implementation, most likely.
• App Store will be available in 77 countries.
• Parental controls for TV shows, movies and App Store apps.
• Auto-login for WiFi hotspots.

Apple apps

• A new app called Voice Memos which lets you record notes and reminders.
• A revised Stocks app, with news stories and a landscape view.
• Landscape view available for Mail, Text and Notes.
• CalDAV support has been added to Calendar, along with subscriptions support in the .ics format.
• Apple’s major apps have all been expanded with search functionality.
• Note syncing to Mac and PC.
• YouTube account support.
• Form auto-fill.
• Phishing protection.
• Shake the shuffle iPod playback.

A developer beta of OS 3.0 is available today, and the 3.0 update will be coming to consumers this summer as a free update to all iPhone 3G customers. It’ll also work for 1st gen iPhone owners, though they won’t receive A2DP or MMS due to hardware limitations. iPod touch owners will be able to update for $9.95, just like last time.

iPhone OS 3.0 Presentation

Check out the apple presentation here if our copy of the video is not working.

Wired reports “Panasonic has figured out a plan how to sell off its $70,000, 103-inch TVs in a tough economy. Sell them to companies in the business of building other niche applications, and have them put together a gadget that an even fewer number of people can appreciate.

That doesn’t sound economically feasible at all, you say. But I bet you didn’t take this into account: The plan’s begat a multi-touch version of air hockey! Sounds like a great plan to me.

First previewed at the Integrated Systems Europe 2009 show in Amsterdam last week (the European version of CEDIA), Multi-Touch Air Hockey is a venture between Panasonic and U-Touch. The hardware tweak was supplied by U-Touch, adding multitouch-capabilities, and the software was built by London-based ui Centric.

The way you play is by ‘holding on’ to a virtual air hockey mallet using your fingers, just like you would with the regular grip for air hockey. Already, some people have noted that the mallets don’t react fast enough to hand movements and that you probably don’t get the same satisfaction from hitting like in the real game.

What’s interesting about this is that using a touch screen changes up the spectator tension originally present in the game. Before, you’d watch in the off-chance that a hard-hit disc would spin out of the table and smack someone in the head. Here, players will inevitably use their upper body to put a lot of pressure on each of their touches, which will surely lead to fractured screens and too-excited players plunging through.

At the moment, the touch hockey game will be used as a demo at various functions to show off the technology. It isn’t yet on sale.

And to be fair, Panasonic actually has been more successful selling this giant TV in the last year than we’re letting on. They’ve fit in perfectly in various Las Vegas casinos, sports stadiums, and big-company headquarters. So don’t cry for them yet, and instead pressure them into building an ever bigger version of the table with their 150-inch TV. Giant touchscreen pong anyone?”

Something significant has obviously delayed the original September launch of push notifications, Apple’s solution to not allowing apps to run in the background. MacRumors hears that Apple is considering allowing real background processes instead.

Android and especially the Pre have made background apps and the true multitasking they allow look a lot sexier, and the iPhone’s one-app-at-a-time paradigm more restrictive, even with the innovative compromise of push notifications.

Push notifications, for the uninitiated, would allow apps like AIM to send you notifications (through Apple) of say, new IMs via an SMS-like prompt, even while the application isn’t running. So you could kind of think of the app as running in the cloud, essentially. Not multitasking by any means, but for some an acceptable compromise on battery-draining background apps.

MacRumors says that if what they’re hearing is true, and Apple allows apps to run in the background, it would happen with the iPhone 3.0 software. On the current iPhones, it would likely be restricted to one or two processes at a time, but with the beefier hardware of the next-gen iPhone, it’d be less restricted.

Having apps actually run in the background might actually be worth the longer wait.

Despite arriving months later, Research in Motion’s BlackBerry Storm is ultimately more expensive to make than its competitor from Apple, iSuppli says in a breakdown of the component costs of the two phones given to Business Week. The research group estimates that the Storm’s pure manufacturing costs come to slightly less than $203, or more than the $200 asking price for the phone online. By contrast, the iPhone 3G cost $174 as of July, less than its official $200 price.

Some of the price discrepancy comes from Verizon’s intention for the Storm to carry both CDMA and GSM functionality with 3G for both, which requires a $35 Qualcomm baseband processor. The iPhone currently works only on GSM and according 3G networks and so can use a less expensive component. A sharper 3.2-megapixel camera with autofocusing also adds about $13 to the price where Apple’s 2-megapixel, fixed-focus camera costs less. The Storm’s clickable screen contributes $15.

These cost increases are partly matched by technology from the iPhone, which has a more advanced multi-touch display and Wi-Fi that many believe Verizon forced out of the BlackBerry Storm to encourage using the carrier’s 3G network. Apple’s component pricing has also likely decreased as the parts become more readily available.

iSuppli’s analysis doesn’t include the cost of developing either phone or of marketing and selling the devices, either of which should push the price significantly higher. The higher Storm pricing suggests Verizon is subsidizing its handset through contract pricing more heavily than AT&T does the iPhone.

However, the use of CDMA potentially helps offset RIM’s costs by letting it sell the phone through carriers like Bell, Telus and Verizon in addition to those in Europe. Apple is limited to offering the iPhone through AT&T and Rogers if it wants full 3G support in North America, though its 3G is supported in more foreign countries.

Asus is introducing its latest Eee Keyboard. This keyboard is not just keyboard but a “fully functional PC” with full QWERTY and a mini secondary touchscreen. Its wireless HDMI will turn any television into a monitor complete with audio playback without taking much space. It is still unknown when this Eee Keyboard will hit the market. More details and images after the break.

The Asus Eee Keybaord PC will come with an Intel Atom 1.6GHz, processor. 1GB of DDR2 RAM and a choice of either a 16GB or 32GB SSD. Other specs include built in 802.11b/g/n Wi Fi, Bluetooth 2.0 and Ultra Wideband HDMI, on top of that there are 2 x USB 2.0 ports, 1 X VGA and 1 x HDMI, as well as a headphone and mic port.

The Asus Eee Keyboard PC is a self contained PC / keyboard combo with a built in 5 inch touch screen display, the whole unit weighs in at just 2 lbs. At least now we know the specifications of this cool looking gadget, as usual Asus are keeping the pricing details a secret for now.

I just got back from vacation and there it was on my doorstep, saweetA! My special thanks goes out to T-Mobile for getting this pre-order to me 2 days before they were supposed to. I’ve only spent a few hours with this beauty so far, but I’m in geek heaven. We have some photos after the jump.

I never really coded much in java, but the elegance of the Android framework is really making me want to sink my teeth into it and see what I can come up with. I’m very impressed with this first commercial packaging of the Android framework, and can’t wait to continue updating this handset as the community adds more polish, and ever sweeter apps to it!

First of all, this is NOT an iPhone, so if you’ve wanted that handset, I would still recommend getting one of those: there are very specific features to the iPhone that are very unique, and set it apart from the rest, such as the elegant browsing and zooming features for the web, and the automatic screen rotation when you turn the unit. The G1 does not have this, but I’m still ecstatic over this gadget, I’m confident that as I learn more about its capabilities, I’ll be happy with it despite its small lack of features that the iPhone does have. Mostly, it’s the open framework aspect of it that I like, and that the framework doesn’t have to be tied to the device, hence the name ‘Open Handset Alliance’ that the Android project falls under. So that being said, and me having gushed about Android, let’s get into the actual features of the handset.

The foldout screen and full Qwerty board was a big selling point for me. The trackball mouse is also very well done, and can get you places quickly, as well as help you with editing text. The combination of buttons and touchscreen is also very well done, and I think this is what sets this unit apart from the iPhone. One thing I never liked about Mac products is the idiotic mentality of, well, they only need one button, or no buttons at all. I’m a pc guy, I right click… and I like my buttons. I do use the touchscreen on this handset a lot however I also use it in combination with the buttons, and that’s just slick.

As far as memory is concerned, this is where the handset falls flat on its face. First of all, no internal flash memory? For $300, I should be getting at least a few gigs, 4 would be nice. This is a huge improvement suggestion for the next unit. Also, the microSD card is annoying, and hard to get to. I have 4 regular sized SD cards totaling 8GB of memory that I’d really like to use with this handset, but no dice. The one positive aspect of this is that flash memory is always getting cheaper, so I should be able to pick up a 4GB microSD card for about $30-$50.

The back of the unit comes off easily for battery replacement, and SIM card access… so no complaints there. The phone also comes with a full stereo headset, which I was so happy to have right out of the box. It also uses the micro USB port, which is great, as this opens up the device to be used with many other products that use this connector.

As you also might have guessed, the unit comes with bluetooth capability, and I’ve also already got it reading from my wireless network at home, setup was very easy. My next mission is to find out how to get skype running on this beast!

Check out the perdy packaging it comes in below:

The NYC Cupcake Decorating Championships were held recently in, you guessed it, New York City. Nick and Danielle Bilton walked away with the grand prize for their contribution; cupcakes arranged in a completely edible iPhone. This got me wondering…there’s a national cupcake challenge?

Now, I’ve seen the show “Ace of Cakes,” and I used to love the Food Network’s Extreme Cake Challenge, but I wasn’t aware that there was an entire category devoted to decorating cupcakes. Just the thought is rather adorable.

What I love about the iPhone cupcakes winning is that a.) I could eat them if I wanted to and not die and b.) they’re current, colorful, and anatomically correct. Each button is placed exactly where it should be.

So, what did some of the other entries look like? Apparently the runner-up was in the visage of the Starship Enterprise, but sadly I couldn’t get a photo of it. Here are a few other nifty entries, however:

The cuteness of this post astounds even me.

There are some things on the market that make sense however when it comes to HDMI sense is thrown out the window and the price sky rockets. Well low and behold I have found a sensible device worth reviewing.

My specific purpose of purchasing the1x2 HDMI splitter is for competitive gaming. I have always been annoyed when people uploaded youtube video or other videos of gaming and the quality was crap to begin with and flash compression amplified it. All good video professionals know to start from the highest of quality and then compress for specific use.

Well the HDMI splitter does a seamlessly transfer from my PS3 & Xbox 360 to my computer and TV simultaneously. I use the Intensity HDMI card for on my computer to record the raw HDMI stream that comes in and is not for the faint hearted since a single 10 minute CoD4 match will be about 4gb. I’ll go into further depth with HDMI recording in another reivew at another time.

None the less my experience have not yielded any cons to this device and would serve multi-room entertainment greatly if need be. This device does cause a delay in the initial display output however that is because it has an awesome built auto detection to if there is a valid output in the HDMI jacks. The only thing that comes to mind right now is sports bars. This device is simply superb and I highly recommend it.