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Filed under: CellphonesSeriously though, how many are surprised to hear that Motorola's Chief Technology / Strategy Officer Richard Nottenburg is jumping off the sinking ship? Apparently dude "left to return to the New York area to be with his family and pursue other opportunities," which is code for a) he was passed over for CEO of the new mobile devices company, b) he was fired, or c) he finally wised up to the direction the company's taken. Either way, we can't really blame him.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio We fully expected that Ferrari logo and lacquered paint job to add a stuff premium to Meridian's F80, but this is undeniably insane. The "transportable home entertainment system," which has been hovering about since last March, is at long last ready to be purchased. Finding prospective buyers, however, will likely be challenging. The unit is now available in silver, yellow, white, black and the obligatory red, and each one will set you back a dumbfounding $2,995. We're thinking the unit itself would go for around three bills sans branding, but apparently Italian ponies aren't cheap.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

AP - Guest lineup for the Sunday TV news shows:

Filed under: Misc. GadgetsApparently HP's gotten so desperate to connect with the youth market that they've actually hired on a "teen council" to help design a new line of products -- likeliest PCs -- from top to bottom. Will it be another bomb like the hip-e? Guess we'll find out when the line launches this fall.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Wireless Wondering what kind of radios are inside all those WiMAX-enabled laptops, ultraportables and MIDs (and, uh, sheets) we've been seeing lately? We've got a hunch they've all got something a lot like Intel's 5350 WiMAX / WiFi card tucked away in there, and now that it's hit the FCC, we're being treated to some class-A photography of the lil' bugger. Yep, still useless without a network -- but if that $12B Clearwire deal pans out, you might get to get familiar with the user manual located just beyond the read link.[Thanks, Stephen]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Peripherals iKey's done this whole rugged keyboard thing a time or two before, so when it builds one meant to operate like a champ around environments laden with grease, you know it means business. The new line of Membrane keyboards -- which arrives in a trio of flavors -- boasts a stainless steel enclosure, or customers looking to integrate can snag the OEM edition and do as they please. The board possesses a "hard-coated, textured, polyester film that is more rugged than industrial silicone rubber keypads," and it's designed to withstand "directed hose water, disinfectants and environmental contaminants." Seems as though you'll have to phone up iKey to find out what this Apocalypse-approved device will run you, but it should get along quite well with that impenetrable Iron Drive of yours.[Via Coolest-Gadgets]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

AP - For an illness shared by so many, clinical depression should be better understood and more openly addressed.

Filed under: Laptops With its minute keyboard, the Eee PC can be tough to use in the dark. Imagine, then, if yours had a backlit keyboard. The folks at Popsci have come up with -- and explained -- a way to add one of your own. And get this: you can do it in 3 hours for just $13.50. But before you go ripping apart your new Eee PC, mind this: this isn't the easiest mod in the world. You have to be cool with removing the keyboard, slipping some wires, and doing some light soldering. In addition, the hack plops a Techno Flash luminescent wire inverter on the outside of the case, so if you're big on minimalism, this might be a skip.[Via Pimp My UMPC]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Reuters - Could it be? The man behind the show seen in millions of TV homes each week is, himself, camera shy? "American Idol" creator Simon Fuller admits that it's true.

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops Dell's plans for Alienware and the XPS line are getting a little clearer, even as rumors swirl -- a post on the company's Direct2Dell blog today says that the XPS and Alienware dev teams are going to be integrated, and that the XPS line will go in "new directions," hinted at by the m1330 and XPS One. Furthermore, you can now buy the Area-51 m9750 gaming laptop direct from the Dell website in addition to the Area-51 m15x, which doesn't seem all that wild to us -- we're more interested in why Dell picked the super-geeky XPS brand to be its "premium" line. Ever heard of friendly, guys?[Via CNET]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Digital Cameras Like pretty much every other Digital ELPH preceding it, Canon's flagship SD1100 IS garnered nothing but the utmost praise in a recent Imaging-Resource review. Okay, so maybe critics did kvetch about slight noise at ISO 800, a somewhat confusing interface, and a not-particularly-useful digital zoom, but this point-and-shoot managed to get it right in the areas that matter most. Build quality and design were both smiled upon, the image stabilization performed as advertised and the image quality was deemed "excellent." Of note, they did find very minor chromatic aberration in the wide angle shots, but considering the size of this shooter, results were seen as fantastic. Overall, it looks like Canon has produced yet another winner in the pocket-friendly camera department, but feel free to take a gander at the in-depth review waiting in the read link below.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video Just like that obscure Burt Bacharach album, some DAPs just need a little time to grow on you. Now that SanDisk's comparatively inexpensive Sansa Fuze has been out and about for a couple of months, we're imploring you dear readers to cast out your opinions on the minuscule device. Are you satisfied with the interface? Have you been disappointed by the sound quality? Was this thing just one feature away from being perfect? 'Tis a shame SanDisk didn't phone you up before mashing the green button and sending these on their way, but here's your shot to tell all who will listen what could be done better in revision two.Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Peripherals Considering that you've already spent way too much on that totally over-hyped Killer NIC, why not humor yourself further by snagging a sound card with Johnathan Wendel's prints on it. Proving once again that everyone does indeed have a price, famed gamer Fatal1ty has placed his highly respected seal of approval on a new duo of sound cards from Creative. The PCI Express Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional Series and PCI Express Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion Series devices boast the X-Fi enhancements you've come to expect, vivid new designs, unmistakable packaging and the assurance that the latter is the "official sound card of the CGS." As for pricing, the Pro edition is available to pre-order for $149.99, while the CGS model adds in an internal I/O drive and demands $199.99. Hit the read link for more detailed specifications and way too much gloating.[Via CustomPC]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds Rumor has it that E-TEN will be unveiling a new Windows Mobile set at Taiwan's Computex next month that sports -- count 'em, one, two SIMs. The so-called DX900 (pictured) in the glofiish series should be quite a powerhouse, too, with triband HSDPA, quadband GSM, 3 megapixel autofocus cam, FM radio, 256MB of ROM with microSDHC expansion, GPS, motion sensor, and that all-important VGA display that's probably (hopefully) going to come to define high-end WinMo devices from here on out. We don't see any particular reason why this one wouldn't come to fruition; dual-SIM phones are pretty commonplace in Asia, though the presence of triband HSDPA is a pretty rare feat in that bunch. Anyone feeling an itch to import one of these stateside?[Via the::unwired]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

AP - Daytime's "The View" will rerun one of its shows in two weeks from an entirely different view that lets fans know a little about what goes on backstage.

Filed under: Displays, HDTV It's been a tick since we've seen anything new from AOC, but today the outfit is introducing a new bargain-bin LCD HDTV in its Envision series. The 42-inch L42H761 features a 1080p panel, twin HDMI ports, S/PDIF digital audio out, a PC input (with audio), digital ATSC / ClearQAM tuner, 172-degree viewing angles, 3-D comb filter and "color enhancement / noise reduction features" sure to treat your eyes right. All wrapped up in a glossy, sleek black enclosure, the set dons a MSRP of just $1,049.99, and if history has anything on the present, we'd guess you can find it around for a good bit cheaper than that.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Cellphones See how easy it is everyone? All that's required to snag a BlackBerry Bold well before its public release is to become a Grammy award-winning artist, sell out shows worldwide, date a smattering of superstars and convince Fender to create and sell your own branded guitar. While you're off working on step one, John Mayer is living it up with his brand new BlackBerry Bold. Granted, he can't claim to be the very first with said handset, but it's likely the first completely legitimate edition let loose. Of course, once you've landed the Curve and MacBook Air before everyone else on the planet, snagging a Bold is just child's play.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Cellphones Yeah, let's get this out of the way first, the SGH-i900 does share a design aesthetic with another handset we hear about all the time. That aside, the SGH-i900 seems set to bring everything we could ever hope -- or need, to be honest -- for in a Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro package. Measuring a scant 112 × 56 × 13, the i900 is finished in shiny metal, only features two buttons on the face, and what appears to be a fingerprint reader or perhaps a touch-sensitive pad. Loaded with HSDPA, a 3.5-inch 400 X 240 display, 5 megapixel cam with auto focus, 16GB of onboard memory, microSDHC support up to 8GB, TV-out, FM radio, Bluetooth, WiFi -- see what we're saying here? This thing could almost be a mini media center -- it'll definitely please our pockets. It also seems like two versions will be in the offing, the i900 branded as Samsung and the i908 branded as Anycall -- but sadly we're at a loss on how they differ. We'll definitely be keeping our eyes wide open watching for updates here, but in the meantime, follow the link for pages of pretty pictures and poorly translated Chinese.[Via UnwiredView] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

AP - It's true: "Desperate Housewives" will flash-forward five years.

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets Bags that charge your gadgets aren't exactly a new concept, but that apparently hasn't stopped Philips from trying to patent the idea, as evidenced by its recently-revealed application for a so-called "Smart Handbag." This bag is somewhat unique, however, in that it has separate compartments for your various gizmos, each of which contain their own electric conductive circuit that's used to top off the devices as needed (the bag itself is apparently charged simply by plugging the strap into a power outlet). As if that wasn't enough, the other end of the strap would apparently be outfitted with a USB connector, which'd let you plug the bag into your computer and instantly have access to all the devices contained within it. Of course, that's assuming computers still have USB ports whenever this thing actually makes it off the drawing board.[Via Unwired View] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments