Sony expanded their Memory Stick product lineup this week with the introduction of the new HX series of MS media, a new Memory Stick Entertainment Pack, and new Memory Stick Micro M2 Media.

The new Memory Stick HX series comes in either 4GB or 8GB capacities and includes a USB adapter. HX media have read speeds of 20 MB/s and write speeds of 15 MB/s – three times faster than regular Memory Stick PRO Duo media. The price and availability for the new HX series are:

• Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo HX (4 GB), October, $54.99
• Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo HX (8 GB), October, $99.99

Sony added a new version of their Memory Stick Entertainment Pack. The Entertainment Packs let users choose one of four bundled movies from Sony Entertainment. The new pack includes “Surf’s Up”, “The Da Vinci Code”, “Talladega Nights: The Ballard of Ricky Bobby”, and “Benchwarmers.” Users can unlock one title from the pack and then transfer it to their Memory Stick media. The movies are compatible with the PS3 and the PSP. Memory Stick Entertainment Packs are available in 2GB or 4GB PRO Duo capacities.  The price and availability of the new packs are as follows:

• Memory Stick Entertainment Pack (2 GB), September, $34.99
• Memory Stick Entertainment Pack (4 GB), September, $44.99

Finally, Sony’s new line of Memory Stick Micro M2 media come in storage capacities of 1GB, 2GB, 4GB and 8GB. They’re designed for use in Sony Ericsson multimedia phones and come with USB adapters. The price and availability list for the new M2 media are as follows:

• Memory Stick Micro M2 (1 GB), October, $24.99
• Memory Stick Micro M2 (2 GB), October, $34.99
• Memory Stick Micro M2 (4 GB), October, $44.99
• Memory Stick Micro M2 (8 GB), October, $79.99

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Sony, Memory Stick HX, Memory Stick Entertainment Pack, Memory Stick Micro M2 media

AT&T announced today that they will launch the iPhone 3G handset in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands on October 17th. If you’re planning to port your number over from another wireless carrier, AT&T recommends you bring a copy of your bill from your current provider to AT&T. You’ll need to provide the following info:

• Account number
• Name of the account holder
• Account holder’s SSN or Tax ID
• Billing address
• PIN or password if applicable

The iPhone 3G will be available for the same prices as here in the states – $199 for 8GB model and $299 for the 16GB model. The same eligibility requirements apply for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: AT&T, iPhone 3G, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, October 17th, 2008

As we finish up the back to school season and start entering the holiday shopping season, Microsoft has kicked off their largest advertising campaign EVER for the Xbox 360 console. We’re talking about larger than the original Xbox 360 launch and larger than the Halo 3 launch folks. The new campaign is known as the “Live Your Moment” campaign and is targeted towards the “casual and social segments” of the market. Basically, Microsoft is trying to fill in the blanks – attract the ones who have yet to purchase the Xbox 360 console.

This new ad campaign also nicely ties in with the upcoming launch of the New Xbox Experience – the new Dashboard user interface for the 360 console. In general, Microsoft is emphasizing the notion that the 360 is more than just a gaming platform – it’s a platform for online communities, and for entertainment as a whole. 

The new ad campaign will feature television, billboard, and print ads around the world. You can check out the TV spots for the new Xbox campaign here at MySpaceTV.(Yes.. the new 360/Rock Band 2 ad does kinda freak me out)

[Check it out via Reality Wired, Kotaku, and Edge Online]

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, Xbox 360, Live Your Moment Ad campaign

Toshiba has a new ultra-portable notebook lineup out called the Dynabook NX series. These colorful ultra-portable notebooks feature an Intel Core 2 Duo processor (up to SU9300),  a 12.1 inch LED backlit display with a 1280 x 800 resolution, 3GB of RAM, a 128GB SSD or a 160GB HDD, DVD burner, Wi-Fi (with Draft-N support), eSATA port, three USB 2.0 ports, a built-in webcam, an SD reader, and a built-in fingerprint reader. No word on pricing or availability as of yet.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Toshiba, Dynabook NX

Good news for Xbox 360 buyers out there – it appears that Jasper enabled Xbox 360 consoles are now hitting the store shelves around the country. What’s so special about these Jasper motherboards you ask? The new mobo’s feature an improved graphics chip which is smaller and less expensive to manufacture. The end result for consumers and for Microsoft? Hopefully less Xbox 360 hardware failures such as the famous red ring of death (RROD).

Now if you’re interested in getting one of these new Jasper enabled Xbox 360 consoles, JOEyGADGET states that the “key things to look for” is a “manufacturing date (MFR) as early as 2008-08-06, Lot 8031 and up”. You can read more about these versions over at the Xbox 360 DVD Drive Database,

PLEASE KEEP IN MIND, Microsoft has not confirmed this at all so don’t blame any of us if you don’t end up with a Jasper based console. I for one would be interested in getting a new Xbox 360 simply to get the HDMI output.

[Check it out via News.com, Venture Beat, JOEyGADGET]

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, Xbox 360, Jasper Motherboard

We’re pretty psyched around the office – the Lenovo IdeaPad S10 netbook finally arrived yesterday and preview/unboxing pictures are now up on NetbookTech.com (our sister site dedicated to everything netbooks). Here are my early impressions of the S10:

• Shipping packaging stinks!
• Bright beautiful display
• Comfortable keyboard though the right shift key is small and the left ctrl key is awkwardly placed
• Touchpad is a tad bit small but at least the mouse buttons are below the touchpad
• Feels responsive even though it comes with 512MB of RAM (we’ll be upgrading this)
• Comes with an ExpressCard slot
• Only has two USB 2.0 ports

Ah but the real taste test involved my coworkers in the office. Here are some excerpts:

• “Wow that’s small!”
• “I want one!”
• “I’d trade up my notebook for that”
• “Does it come in other colors?”
• “Can I have it?”

So far so good.. the IdeaPad S10 has some flaws but it’s a good alternative to the increasingly crowded netbook market. Here’s a comparison picture of the S10 and the Acer Aspire One netbook:

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Lenovo IdeaPad S10, netbook

Firefly Mobile is the first pay-as-you-go service provider to design mobile phones specifically for kids with the introduction of the glowPhone and the flyPhone. Both phones come with features that kids will want as well as safety controls that parents will want. Here’s the breakdown of features and specs for each of the phones:

The flyPhone:

• Designed for kids 9 – 12
• Multimedia handset with full color 1.5 inch 128 x 128 display
• Dual band GSM support
• Built-in camera
• Allows kids to make calls, play games, listen to MP3s, watch videos, and text
• Electro-luminescent morphing keypad that automatically switches between game controller, MP3 or video controller, and number pad
• Comes with games, ringtones, wallpapers, and sample music and video
• 6 hour talk time and 250 hour standby time
• microSD slot
• Removable lithium ion battery
• Measures 107 x 44 x 16mm
• MSRP of $99.99

The glowPhone:

• Designed for kids ages 5 to 8
• Full color 1.5 inch 128 x 128 color screen
• Dual band GSM support
• Built-in games
• customizable ringtones
• wallpapers
• SMS support
• 5 hour talk time and 210 hour standby time
• Stereo headset
• Dedicated mom and dad keys
• 5 button keypad
• Removable lithium ion battery
• Stores up to 50 programmed numbers
• All in/out calls can be controlled by parental password
• MSRP of $49.99

You’ll be able to purchase these phones at Target or at the Firefly Mobile website – www.fireflymobile.com

The only question I have left is.. do you really want a 5 yr kid to have a mobile phone??? (yes.. I know.. the kid can always call home for help or something… but still!)

Technorati Tags: Firefly Mobile, glowPhone, flyPhone

Can you tell I’m a fan of the HP Slimline PC? Every time I see a review of it, I just feel compelled to link to it here on Krunker. This time it’s PC Mag’s review of the latest Pavilion Slimline – the s3600t. This small form factor multimedia machine comes with an Intel Core 2 Quad processor, 2GB of RAM, 500GB of storage space, NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GS graphics, an HD DVD/Blu-ray combo drive, and a 20 inch widescreen display – all for $1316. Now of course, as with any SFF system, you’re rather limited with what you can do once you put together the system. There’s really not a whole lot more you can add internally though you can always add things externally via USB. I have several Slimline systems in the home office and they utterly rock (though not nearly as powerful as this quad processor system).

Here’s what PC Mag thought of the system:

The HP Pavilion Slimline s3600t is just the ticket for space-constrained multimedia mavens. It makes a few concessions for its small stature, but on the whole it’s a good media PC that can work in a variety of environments.

Now it should be noted that I can’t seem to find the s3600t on the HP website as of yet..

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: HP, Pavilion Slimline s3600t, Review, PC Magazine

Ever wish you could bring the TiVo user interface to the PC platform? Well soon you’ll be able to do so thanks to the upcoming Nero LiquidTV | TiVo PC package. LiquidTV | TiVo PC is essentially another DVR application for the Windows OS except this one happens to bring along the famed TiVo user interface. If you’re one to record and watch TV content on your desktop PC, then you definitely might be interested in this package.

Major features of the Nero LiquidTV | TiVo PC package include the following:

• Features TiVo’s user interface
• Watch and record shows in HD or SD format on your TV or PC
• Export shows to portable media players
• Burn shows to DVD or save them to your hard drive
• Schedule TV recordings online
• Pause Live TV on your PC
• Includes 12 month subscription
• Features TiVo KidZone, Season Pass and WishList etc

Now keep in mind – this isn’t exactly a full on replacement of Windows Media Center. The Nero app won’t manage your music or photo collection for you like Windows Media Center can. However, if you’re just interested in recording television shows and having a near endless amount of storage space for TV shows, then the LiquidTV app is certainly something you should consider (along with Media Center and any number of other competing DVR applications). Now if you MUST have the TiVo interface, then heck.. this is your only way to go on the PC platform.

As this PC Mag review notes, LiquidTV is not a replacement for the TiVo DVR device. This is a package that’s designed for folks who are ok with the notion of watching and recording TV on their PCs. Also – remember that LiquidTV supports OTA ATSC which means you won’t be able to record premium HD channels unless you hook up a cable set-top box to your PC (you’ll also record lower quality video via S-Video).

Speaking of the PC Mag review, here’s what they thought of it.

Nero’s LiquidTV brings the top-notch TiVo interface and all its talents to your PC. While it’s not a replacement for a traditional TiVo DVR, it’s a solid attempt at convergence between your computer and your living-room entertainment.

Nero LiquidTV | TiVo PC will be available in two packages. There’s a $199.99 hardware/software bundle that includes the software application, a 12 month subscription to TiVo, a TV tuner card with A/V cables and antenna, a TiVo PC remote control, and an IR blaster and receiver. If you don’t need the hardware, there’s also a $99.99 software package which includes the application and a 12 month subscription to TiVo.

[Check it out via News.com]

Technorati Tags: Nero LiquidTV | TiVo PC

It appears T-Mobile temporarily stopped taking pre-orders over the weekend for the new T-Mobile G1 Android-based handset. The first handset to use Google’s Android platform, the G1 was introduced last Tuesday with T-Mobile taking pre-orders from customers for $179.99 (you must agree to a new two year contract).  Apparently over the weekend, T-Mobile stopped taking pre-orders as folks who went to the site saw a message that said:

“Sorry! Due to the overwhelming popularity of the new T-Mobile G1, upgrades are temporarily unavailable. Please try again later”.

However, it appears everything is back up again. (This was probably a system outage than a pre-order outage). In any event if you’re contemplating getting the G1, then you might want to consider pre-ordering it now.

[Check it out via News.com]

Technorati Tags: T-Mobile G1, Google, Android