September 30th, 2009

Bravo Gustavo iPhone app puts conductor's baton in your hand

Posted by Jennifer Bergen @ 1:11 pm

Categories: Gaming, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone original, iPod touch

Tags: Apple iPhone, App, Music, Bravo Gustavo iPhone App, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Smart Phones, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Jennifer Bergen

Maestro, if you please. For those of you who think games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band are full of the devil’s music, with all that crazy rock and roll, then this new iPhone app will be music to your ears. The Los Angeles Philharmonic has released Bravo Gustavo!, an iPhone app that lets you conduct a full orchestra.

Now, don’t get all Sorcerer’s Apprentice on us. The free app puts you in the shoes of Gustavo Dudamel, the LA Phil’s new music director, and transforms your iPod touch or iPhone into a conductor’s baton. You can then wave your phone around and pretend your conducting a symphony orchestra (or just look crazy). Also, you can set the tempo by tapping the screen.

If you don’t have an iPhone or iPod touch, you can play an online version, which is more like Guitar Hero. There’s only one song there too, but it’s a pretty fun way to pass a few minutes.

Hopefully both the online game and the app will add more songs soon! Check out both here.

September 30th, 2009

LaCie and Cabasse join forces to release Sound2 hi-fi speakers

Posted by Jennifer Bergen @ 10:08 am

Categories: Home Theater, MP3 & portable media players

Tags: Speaker, LaCie, LaCie Sound2, A/C Adapter, Jennifer Bergen

LaCie, a company that normally provides integrated storage solutions, announced today that it has teamed up with Cabasse, a company well-known for its high-quality hi-fi sound systems, to introduce the LaCie Sound² high-end speakers.

The speakers are intended to be used as computer speakers, but you can use the line-in connection to play sound from your iPod or other portable media device. The speakers come with a built-in USB cable so that you can control the volume while using your computer. An A/C adapter is also included, so you won’t be confined to using the speakers while plugged into a USB port.

The Sound² has a Class D digital amplifier, magnetic shielding, a bass reflex system, and a 30W total peak system output, as well as Cabasse’s own Wide Band Driver.

The LaCie Sound² Speakers will be available through the LaCie Online Store starting at the suggested retail price of $99.99. For more information, visit www.lacie.com.

September 30th, 2009

Gadget Gal's daily deals: Garmin nuvi GPS, HP Pavilion notebook, Canon flash camcorder

Posted by Jennifer Bergen @ 9:11 am

Categories: Camcorders, Cameras, Camcorders and Software, Canon, Cars and Automobiles, Computers, GPS navigation, Gadget Gal's Daily Deals, HP, Laptops, Toybox Highlights, Uncategorized

Tags:

A Garmin nuvi portable GPS navigator, an HP Pavilion notebook, and a Canon flash memory camcorder. Here are your daily deals for Tuesday, September 30, straight from the Gadget Gal:

1. Amazon’s Gold Box Deal of the Day is the Garmin nüvi 850 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator in Soft Black. The GPS system has a list price of $699.99, but you can get it today for $164.99. This slim model offers voice-activated navigation, a widescreen display, preloaded maps, and an FM transmitter, among other features.

[read the review] [find the deal]

2. Get a refurbished HP Pavilion dv7-1245dx Notebook PC from CompUSA.com for $579.97, down from $1,149.99. The laptop has a 17-inch screen, and a 320GB hard drive. CNET’s review says the dv7-1245dx has an attractive design, which skips the usual gray and black. It also has good battery life for a desktop replacement.

[read the review] [find the deal]

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September 30th, 2009

SanDisk announces new 16GB memory card in time for Sony PSP Go release

Posted by Jennifer Bergen @ 8:24 am

Categories: Gaming, Hard Drives and Storage, Nintendo, Portable Media, Sony Playstation, Uncategorized

Tags: Sony Corp., Card, Memory Card, SanDisk Corp., Sony PlayStation Portable, PSP Go, M2, Flash Memory, Games, Personal Technology

SanDisk announced a few new products today intended to increase the storage capacity of handheld gaming systems. For the first product I’ll talk about, SanDisk’s timing couldn’t be better. The Sony PSP Go will be available tomorrow, October 1, and SanDisk has just the thing for new PSP Go users. For those of you who own a previous PSP system, and don’t plan on buying the Go because we’re still in a recession, read on to see how you can have a “poor man’s” version.

The PSP Go comes with 16GB of built-in internal flash memory. As of today, SanDisk is selling the new 16GB Memory Stick Micro (M2) card, which is compatible with the new Go, making it possible to double the amount of space in your new gaming device. Having 32GB of memory on such a small and lightweight device means that you can literally have a library of material at your fingertips wherever you go, including games, music, and videos.

Tim Sutton, SanDisk’s worldwide product marketing manager, says that from SanDisk’s point of view, the memory side of the market, he sees an accelerated shift in terms of moving to digital content on the gaming side. We’ve already seen how popular smartphones have become, especially the iPhone, and people are using these devices more and more to download games, videos, etc., at the drop of a hat.

The PSP Go is the first all-wireless gaming device, so you need room to store all of your favorite files, like movies, music, TV, and of course, games. As Sutton mentioned, with the rise of portable devices, there is more material to be downloaded directly to those products, which means the need for more memory.

The M2 cards also comes in 2GB, 4GB, and 8GB capacities. Since the PSP Go is so light and compact, the memory card has to reflect the small size, which the M2 does. The tiny card is the same size as the one that fits into Sony Ericsson phones, and fits right into the Go’s M2 slot.

The 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, and 16GB M2 have an MSRP of $27.99, $44.99, $74.99, and $142.99, respectively, although some sellers may lower those prices.

But for those of you with PSP 3000 and PSP 2000 models, you can also use the new M2. It comes with an adapter which encases the tiny M2 card, and then fits into your older PSP system. You can transfer your own DRM-free files from your older model to the new PSP Go using the M2 adapter.

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September 30th, 2009

LG's 3-in. 'Pop' touch smartphone charges with solar power

Posted by Andrew Nusca @ 7:10 am

Categories: LG, Mobile, Cell Phones and Smartphones

Tags: Smart Phone, LG Electronics Inc., Keyboards, Cellular Phones, Monitors & Displays, Smart Phones, Handhelds, Hardware, Peripherals, Consumer Electronics

LG on Wednesday announced its GD510 “Pop” smartphone, a full touchscreen device that strips excess space and features for “the illusion of an uninterrupted sheet of glass.”

What that means is that LG minimized the 3-inch WQVGA screen’s bezel to just 4.8mm, anchored by a single button that does triple duty as menu, end and cancel keys (depending on the phone’s mode). A slim strip of light around the button shines either green or red to indicate the handset’s function.

Better still, the phone offers a replacement battery cover with a solar panel on it.

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September 29th, 2009

Queen offers new greatest hits album exclusively for Logitech Squeezebox Radio

Posted by Jennifer Bergen @ 1:24 pm

Categories: Home Theater, Logitech, Wi-Fi

Tags: Album, Radio, Logitech, Queen App, Advertising & Promotion, Marketing, Jennifer Bergen

I’m not usually one to put puns into my blog posts, but with the announcement of Queen’s “Absolute Greatest” being released exclusively on the Logitech Squeezebox Radio, one has to wonder if this is the real life, or if it’s just fantasy?

The new greatest hits album will be available on November 16, but those with a Logitech Squeezebox Radio can get the album seven weeks in advance. These people will have exclusive access to the complete “Absolute Greatest” album, along with track lyrics, and a number of photos that are available now for the first time. The Queen App also features track-by-track audio commentaries from band members Brian May and Roger Taylor explaining the composition and history of each hit.

Logitech says this is the first time in record label history that an album has been available exclusively in this format. Queen has a history of firsts in the industry, which includes being the first band to make a stadium tour of South America (in 1981), and the first band to commercially release a collection of videos. So, why not be the first to release a “new” album on a new medium?

Queen’s first “Greatest Hits” album is officially the United Kingdom’s biggest-selling album ever. Yes, it even outsells the Beatles “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” by almost a million copies. So, chances are, some die-hard Queen fans will splurge for the Squeezebox Radio, just to have the album and the extra features early.

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September 29th, 2009

New details on Apple tablet emerge; two versions, Jan. 2010

Posted by Andrew Nusca @ 8:22 am

Categories: Apple

Tags: Apple iPhone, Apple Inc., Tablets, Notebooks, Netbooks, Nettops & MIDs, Hardware, Notebooks & Tablets, Andrew Nusca

The folks at iLounge attest that they’ve spoken with someone trustworthy who can reveal facts or confirm rumors on Apple’s touch tablet device.

The goods:

• There are three distinct prototypes of the tablet.
• The screen will be 10.7 inches. Seven inches was deemed too small.
• It runs on iPhone OS and is intended to be a multimedia-minded device — not a netbook replacement.
• There will be two flavors: one 3G-enabled and one not.
• Yes, it will look a lot like the iPhone and iPod touch.
• Bigger screen means bigger resolution. Expect “720p or thereabouts.”
• “Apple is currently planning to announce it on or before January 19, 2010, and to use an iPhone-like hype buildup period to start selling it in May or June.”
• It’s awaiting Jobs’ sign-off.

Needless to say, if this is true, the iTunes environment and App Store is about to get very interesting.

September 29th, 2009

Gadget Gal's daily deals: Nikon Coolpix digital camera, QuickBooks Pro 2009, Altec Lansing Orbit portable speaker

Posted by Jennifer Bergen @ 6:44 am

Categories: Cameras, Camcorders and Software, Digital Cameras, Gadget Gal's Daily Deals, Home Theater, MP3 & portable media players, Nikon, Software, Toybox Highlights

Tags:

A Nikon Coolpix digital camera, QuickBooks Pro 2009, and an Altec Lansing Orbit portable speaker for MP3 players. Here are your daily deals for Tuesday, September 29, straight from the Gadget Gal:

1. Get the Nikon Coolpix S710 14.5 Megapixel Digital Camera for $199.99 at Amazon. The camera has a list price of $299.95. It features a 14.5-megapixel still image capture, which allows you to make crystal clear prints as large as 16 x 20 inches. Other features include AVI video recording, a wide-angle NIKKOR glass lens with 3.6x optical zoom, optical image stabilization, and a 3-inch LCD screen. The S710 is available in red, graphite black, and silver finishes. The deal is valid through Saturday, October 3.

[read the review] [find the deal]

2. Get QuickBooks Pro 2009 today only at Amazon for $69.99. The software has a list price of $199.95. Amazon describes it as: “…the easiest way to manage your small business finances.” There is a two-per-household limit. The same deal is being offered at Staples and OfficeMax today, so if it runs out at one place, check one of the others!

[read the review] [find the deal at Amazon] [find the deal at Staples] [find the deal at OfficeMax]

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September 29th, 2009

AT&T, Garmin finally announce nuvifone G60 GPS smartphone; $299

Posted by Andrew Nusca @ 6:32 am

Categories: AT&T, Cars and Automobiles, GPS navigation, Mobile, Cell Phones and Smartphones

Tags: Garmin Nuvifone, Smart Phone, Garmin Ltd., AT&T Corp., Nuvifone G60, GPS, Keyboards, Handhelds, Smart Phones, Cellular Phones

AT&T and Garmin on Tuesday announced the Garmin nuvifone G60, a smartphone that will marry the GPS navigation expertise of Garmin and the voice, data and mobile Web of a traditional smartphone.

The Asus-made nuvifone G60 has the same core features as a high-end Garmin nuvi GPS navigation device. It comes preloaded with maps and points of interest for North America, and the device comes with a dashboard and windshield mount.

But the real sweet spot for the device is turn-by-turn voice-prompted directions that adjust to changes as necessary.

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September 28th, 2009

Dell Latitude Z 16" thin-and-light revealed; Lamborghini angles hide boardroom muscle

Posted by Andrew Nusca @ 9:01 pm

Categories: Computers, Dell, Laptops

Tags: Dell Computer Corp., Dell Latitude, Latitude Z, Dell Latitude Z, Business Feature, Notebooks, Hardware, Notebooks & Tablets, Andrew Nusca

It’s the first Latitude with attitude.

Dell on Tuesday pulled back the curtain on the rumored Latitude Z thin-and-light laptop, a 16-inch slab of angular portability packed with an array of business-centric features.

First mentioned just 10 days ago as a high-horsepower executive power system, the Latitude Z makes quite an impression in person. I had a chance to take a sneak peek and manhandle the laptop last week, and it’s an impressive piece of kit.

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