Gadgets Blog News

by Ryan Block, posted May 30th 2008 at 2:32PM Whoa, hard to believe its been three years since the last internationalized version of Engadget launched, but we’re back and have a number of new sites in the pipeline — kicking off with Engadget in Polish!Why Polish, you ask? Well, besides the fact that we had some amazing talent waiting in the wings to blow it out, it’s also a smaller (dare we say underserved?) market to soft-launch in that allows us to work out the kinks as we prepare to do even more international versions of Engadget in the coming weeks and months.So if Polish isn’t your bag, just hang tight, you’ll be seeing even more localized Engadgets soon enough. (Read the full post about ‘Introducing Engadget Poland!’…)

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Maybe because it’s spring, season of green, here in the Northern Hemisphere. Or maybe because of climate change or the parlous state of the world’s finances — unless you’re a citizen of, say, Saudi Arabia. But the sudden interest in ecoproducts and other greenmatter is pretty astonishing. Here’s an entry that could hardly be more homely. Blogger DLTK lists 101 things to do with an empty cardboard toilet paper roll. Most of these are kid items, like making bowling pins for a birthday party game. But a few are suitable for a kid-free household that’s nonetheless undergoing both greenmindedness and frugality. For example, pencil cups. Wreaths (using 14-16 rolls per each, which is a lot of TP for a kid-free household. (Read the full post about ‘Green tech: Recycling empty toilet paper rolls’…)

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by Donald Melanson, posted May 30th 2008 at 4:41PMIt’s not confirmed by Sony just yet, but Videogaming247 says it has it on “good authority” that the upcoming version 2.40 firmware update for the PS3 will at long last bring with it in-game XMB, as well as the slightly less-anticipated trophy support. If those sources are to be believed, the update will be dropping sometime in June, with some speculation further pointing to a release in advance of Metal Gear Solid 4’s June 12th launch. (Read the full post about ‘PS3 firmware 2.40 said to be bringing in-game XMB, trophies’…)

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by Darren Murph, posted May 30th 2008 at 3:25PM Nothing too notable here — just that Toshiba is apparently fixing to unveil a brand new DVD player in the age of Blu-ray that will be “capable of producing high-resolution images from regular DVDs.” As you’re laughing heartily, ponder this: are we looking at a simple upconverting DVD player? Or will that Cell-based SpursEngine chip bring “super-resolution” to a standalone deck? (Read the full post about ‘Toshiba knows no shame, plans to release super-resolution DVD player’…)

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I don’t know about you, but I’m all thumbs when it comes to MP3 Player technology. I know that most MP3 players have some iTunes-like program to make music downloading and syncing easy, but I’m just not down with that. So wouldn’t it be easier if I was to buy my MP3 Player with tunes already programmed into it? This is the idea behind the REDI, a 1GB mp3 player that comes preloaded with about 250 tracks, or six hours worth of music. For example, one of the REDI models comes ready for exercise with the “Ultimate Workout Mix”. I’m not certain what songs are on this model, but I’m thinking that “Physical” by Olivia Newton-John has to be there somewhere. (Read the full post about ‘REDI MP3 Player’…)

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If you can’t handle having a radio in the kitchen that stands out a bit too much, you might want to check out these Dualit radios.  Looking very much like a retro toaster and made solely for your kitchen it keeps you entertained while stuck washing the dishes.  The radio features both FM reception and DAB and with each mode it has 5 different presets.  Even though it is a kitchen radio, it features an alarm and a snooze.  I don’t know, in case you fall asleep waiting for the water to boil.  That or, you could take the kitchen radio outside of the kitchen.  I know, that’s just crazy talk, no one would ever do that. (Read the full post about ‘Dualit’s retro Home Range Kitchen Radio’…)

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For fans of all things robotic, you’re probably no stranger to the name WowWee. Those of you who have been reading CG for a while might remember WowWee’s name mentioned numerous times in our Robot Toys Gift Guide from last year’s holiday season. If you couldn’t get enough of the WowWee Robosapien, Roboreptile, or Flytech Dragonfly, they’ve got a whole new bot coming out this summer. And lucky for you, we’re giving you an early look at what to expect from WowWee during the dog days of the sunshine season. The summer of 2008 might very well be the summer of Tri-Bot. WowWee’s Tri-Bot is an interactive companion which is programmed full of personality. (Read the full post about ‘WowWee’s New Tri-Bot’…)

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by Darren Murph, posted May 30th 2008 at 11:24AM In case you’re not swimming in Apple gear just yet (wait ’til the kids come…), Griffin Technology has just released a more modest solution to charging “just” a pair of iPhones / iPods or one of each. The two-port PowerDock 2 features a pair of universal docks and a collection of dock inserts to ensure that almost every ipod (and the iphone) can get a seat at the table. (Read the full post about ‘Griffin PowerDock 2 charges iPhones and iPods two-at-a-time’…)

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by Donald Melanson, posted May 30th 2008 at 11:47AM We got a chance to spend a bit of time with WowWee’s Tri-Bot way back at CES earlier this year, but the folks at RobotsRule recently got a chance to put the bot through all its paces in advance of its summer release, and they’ve now churned out a fairly thorough review. On the whole, they seem to have been mightily impressed by the bot, and they think it’ll appeal just as much to more DIY-minded folks as it will to kids, thanks in no small part to its unique wheel base and tilt sensor-equipped remote control. (Read the full post about ‘WowWee’s Tri-Bot gets an early review’…)

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With gas prices climbing even mowing the lawn has started to break the bank. So unless you have the world’s smallest lawn getting an electric mower is kind of obnoxious. Besides that, if you have a solar lawn mower you can seem eco-friendly and much more cool than your neighbors. Hopefully you’re good at small DIY projects though, because that is exactly what this is. That or you could slide this website under the nose of someone that is and try to con them into giving it a try. If I actually had a lawn to mow I’m sure I’d consider trying to coerce someone else into doing this for me. Me trying to alter a lawn mower in anyway would likely end up in a small explosion. (Read the full post about ‘Three different DIY solar mowers to save you cash’…)

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