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Thursday, March 25, 2010

Re universal remote dongle for iPhone now available

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/24/re-universal-remote-dongle-for-iphone-now-available/

Most of prefer to keep our eyes on the TV when in couch potato mode -- which kind of makes the smooth glass interface of a touchscreen remote out of the question. But who knows? Maybe you're some sort of Alpha control freak who needs to be able control damn near every A/V and/or home automation devices in your stifling McMansion. In that case, you're in luck -- the Re IR dongle for iPhone / iPod touch is now available -- officially and internationally. The App is free but the hardware will cost you a cool $70 -- hit the source link to get started. PR after the break.

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Re universal remote dongle for iPhone now available originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 18:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung's ST5000 and WiFi-infused ST5500 digicams emerge in Korea

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/24/samsungs-st5000-and-wifi-infused-st5500-digicams-emerge-in-kore/

How's a company to follow-up on a point-and-shoot camera with two LCDs? Why, by tossing out a new one with integrated WiFi, of course! Originally teased last month, Samsung has gone ahead and rightfully introduced its new ST5000 and ST5500 over in South Korea, both of which tout 14.2 megapixel sensors, a 7x optical zoom and your choice of black or orange color schemes. The ST5000 gets gifted with a 3.5-inch rear touchscreen, while the ST5500 steps it up ever-so-slightly with a 3.7-inch AMOLED panel. The both of 'em can handle 720p movies at 30fps (H.264 format), and the HDMI output ensures that these will easily pipe footage to your nearby television. If you're looking for built-in wireless for uploading or emailing pictures sans a PC, you'll need to focus on the ST5500, but most every other internal feature on the big boy is also on the lesser guy. These seem to be headed out to South Korean shops as we speak, and we know that they'll be landing within the next month over in Britain for £279.99 ($417) and £349.99 ($521), respectively. As for you Yanks? Be patient, we guess.

Samsung's ST5000 and WiFi-infused ST5500 digicams emerge in Korea originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NVIDIA to get official with Fermi GPUs, will 'more than double the performance' of existing cards

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/24/nvidia-to-get-official-with-fermi-gpus-will-more-than-double-t/

It's sure taken 'em long enough, but the Wall Street Journal is reporting that NVIDIA will finally allow the long-awaited Fermi design to reveal itself to the world. We're guessing that the GeForce GTX 470 and GTX 480 that we've been hearing (and hearing) about will be the flagship GPUs to get launched, but whatever the case, the WSJ assures us that the new line will "more than double the performance of its current products." As you'd expect, the Fermi cards -- which will ship with ~~512~~ 480 or 446 cores (depending on model), three billion transistors and a whole heap of expectations -- will support 3D titles along with the latest video processing software, but they'll also be aimed at more unconventional markets like "medical research and oil-field exploration." Sounds gnarly, NVIDIA, but we're just interested in seeing our frame rates hit triple digits in Crysis 2 -- got it?

NVIDIA to get official with Fermi GPUs, will 'more than double the performance' of existing cards originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 20:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TiVo Premiere review

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/24/tivo-premiere-review/

When we first heard rumors of new TiVo hardware back in April of 2009, our imaginations started racing. The current TiVo HD and HD XL have been the best DVRs on the market for their entire three-year run, and while they've received significant feature updates in that time, the overall experience of using a TiVo simply hasn't kept up with the explosion of online content and the revised viewing habits of consumers -- in fact, the interface has remained largely unchanged for nearly a decade. So while the actual TiVo hardware has actually gotten smaller and simpler, it's the software that's received a substantial makeover this time around -- it's migrated to Flash, and the main elements have been totally redesigned for HD displays and the invisible integration of online video services. Is it enough to keep TiVo afloat in a sea of cheap cableco DVRS? It is worth upgrading from an existing TiVo HD? There's only one way to find out -- read on for our full review.

Gallery: Tivo Premiere unboxing and hands-on

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TiVo Premiere review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 21:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pegatron showing off miniature Tegra 2-powered home theater PC

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/24/pegatron-showing-off-miniature-tegra-2-powered-home-theater-pc/

If all these tablet and smartbook shenanigans haven't won you over, but you still feel the call of Tegra 2, Pegatron might have your number. We spotted this details-scarce nettop-ish home theater PC lurking around the NVIDIA booth today, just looking to be loved. The thin plastic box is topped by what looks to be bamboo, with HDMI, Ethernet, microphone and speaker plugs around back. We're very much in the dark as to supposed capabilities or software, but Tegra 2 gives us a good hint: the chip can decode 1080p and Flash video, runs Android or Windows CE, and is the same thing under the hood of the Boxee Box. We imagine something like this going for $100 (though no price or release date has been mentioned) or so and acting as a great little home theater PC for the right sort of user if and when it hits the market.

Gallery: Pegatron showing off miniature Tegra 2-powered home theater PC