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Get ready for a new look for Xbox Live this week when Microsoft debuts a completely new look for its gaming platform.

The date: November 19.

The new look will include customizable avatars, an iPod-like display and easier viewing of Netflix downloads.

According to Microsoft, the upgrades are meant to turn a somewhat static user interface into “a social media entertainment hub.”

So tune in later this week and let’s hear how you like it (or how you don’t).

Get more at USA Today.

Tags: avatars, ipod, microsoft, netflix, xbox live

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Copyright VoIP &amp Gadgets Blog

Original post by nafiz

Filed under: Cellphones, Misc. Gadgets

We’re going out on a limb here and assuming that the Haute Diggity Dog iBone comes jailbroken and ready to rock, or at least that’s the impression we get from checking out that heretofore unseen bevy of icons. Customized for the “tech savvy dog on the go,” this here iPhone chew toy gives dear Fido access to bark / hand-shake training, posture lessons, Washington Huskies sports updates (it’s the Clemson Tigers in all honesty, but work with us here), a mysterious fitness app and a bone application for times when supper just seems too far away. You know your pup’s worth the $11.95, you just know it.

[Via textually]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio, Wearables

If you’re scouting the strange, the weird and the weirder, you’ll find plenty to get absorbed in over at the research facilities of NTT DoCoMo. The Japanese giant is at it once more, but this time the invention is actually somewhat down to Earth. It’s mission? To create a method for easily controlling a music interface (on a PMP or cellphone) with just your eyes. By rolling one’s eyes and jerking them from side to side, the outfit is hoping to have the corresponding music player change tracks and get louder / softer. If you’re not exactly keen with freaking out fellow citizens on the street with completely erratic eye movements, you may also appreciate a similar technology it’s working up which can detect a user’s finger tapping to achieve to same goal. Of course, said technology would be halfway useless on the smash hit-packed ZVUE Journey (no way you’re bypassing any of those tracks, son), but we guess you could check out your toes every now and then to keep from constantly staying at 11.

[Via ShinyShiny]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

What do you know? Yet another outlet for you to happily blow $179. As of today, Popcorn Hour’s heralded A-100 HD media streamer is finally available for the public at large to pre-order. Previously, folks had to actually sign a list just to be blessed with the privilege of placing an order, but now it seems supply is at long last flowing in nicely. The company has even set up a forum to keep customers informed of order status, but we wouldn’t dillydally around — these are still being sold on a first come, first served basis.

[Thanks, leland]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Wireless

Apparently MediaGate heard the “What? No HD?” cries from you folks during yesterday’s PC-on-TV DPG-1200 shipment announcement, as it has just opened up the flood gates and allowed its MG-450HD entertainment server to start filtering out to end users. If you’ll recall, this wireless HD media streamer can also play on wired networks and with USB devices such as digicams and flash drives, and you’ll also find HDMI, composite, S-Video and component video outputs to complement the stereo L / R, optical / coaxial digital and analog 5.1-channel audio ports. Of course, you’ll be asked to provide your own internal hard drive, but considering that it managed to shed $20 from its initial price tag (down to $229 now), it’s still squarely in bargain territory.

[Via SlipperyBrick]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Laptops

It’s just been a few short days since Nicholas Negroponte seemed to make it clear that his role at OLPC would soon be changing, but it now seems like that may not be the case, with Nick Neg telling Laptop Magazine that his role will “not be changing drastically” once a new CEO is put in place. He also went on to say that “replacement” is not the right word, and that he had never held the CEO title nor used it, adding that he′ll now go under the title of “Chairman and Foreign Minister.” With that out of the way, Negroponte also dropped word that “a Windows operating system is in the process of being fine-tuned on the XO as we speak,” and that it “should be available on the XO in less than 60 days,” which is about the firmest word of a release date we′ve heard so far.

 

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Original post by Donald Melanson

Filed under: Household, Wireless

It’s hard to pinpoint the most ridiculous thing about the Urban Tool perCushion which we first peeped as a concept. Is it the vendor’s not so flattering name, the marketing shot above, or the fact that Urban Tool will be charging about $500 for their Bluetooth mono-speaker cushion when it begins shipping sometime between October and Christmas? We had the chance to try the perCushion out at CeBIT ourselves. The pillow itself is rigid — think martini lounging, not bedtime — and constructed with enough finesse to support your Bluetooth audio streaming or cellphone handsfree adventures in sloth. In its defense, Urban Tool knows that the perCushion is destined to be nothing more than a novelty product at that price range. It’s simply meant to bring attention to the rest of its product catalog. Still, we’re not sure this is the type of attention they wanted.

 

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Original post by Thomas Ricker

Yesterday we looked at the layout of the keyboard and battled with the installation.
Behold! Let the light show begin!
Once we started using the keyboard, we quickly forgave its installation quirks, and marvelled at the space age glowing lightshow on our desktop.

Original post by Mike Slocombe

We take a look at Logitech′s futuristic super slim keyboard.

Original post by Mike Slocombe

Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals, Wearables

Finally someone has combined the two things we love most — Bluetooth headsets and microSD storage — into one, sweet package. Enter the Bluetrek Bizz, a marriage of seemingly disparate products that actually kind of makes sense. On the headset side, you get up to seven hours of talk time, ten days on standby, and a customizable color panel. When you crack it open, you’ve got direct USB 2.0 connectivity, as well as a slot for a microSD card up to 8GB. You can charge the headset directly from any USB port, thus making your efforts to keep it at the ready a little bit easier. The headset weighs around 10 grams, and is slated in sell for around £40 (or roughly $80). Check out the totally jazzed-up video after the break to see what it’s all about.

[Via Mobility Site]

Continue reading Bluetrek’s Bizz Bluetooth headset improves your memory

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Original post by Joshua Topolsky

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Remember all that Walkman hotness that Sony hit Japan with last week? Well, as anyone might’ve guessed, it’s headed Stateside soon for your earbud consumption. In addition to the new NWZ-A820 series flagship (pictured), Sony has the NWZ-A720 series, which cops the looks and specs, but loses the Bluetooth of the A820 players. Both players have roughly 10 hours of video battery life, and 36 hours for audio, with 2.4-inch QVGA screens and capacities ranging from 4GB to 16GB. Meanwhile, the new NWZ-S710F skimps on the sexy looks, and only sports a 1.8-inch QVGA screen, but adds built-in noise canceling. Codec support for all the players includes protected WMA, unprotected AAC, MP3 and H.264 video. The full model rundown is as follows, everything will be available in March:

• NWZ-A828K - 8GB, black, Bluetooth, DR-BT21G Bluetooth wireless headphones, $270
• NWZ-A829 - 16GB, black, Bluetooth, $320
• NWZ-A726 - 4GB, black and pink, $150
• NWZ-A728 - 8GB, black and pink, $200
• NWZ-A729 - 16GB, black, $300
• NWZ-S716F - 4GB, silver, red and black, $150
• NWZ-𔜆F - 8GB, black, $200

One more shot after the break.

Continue reading Sony debuts 𐄜, 𐂸 and S710F series Walkman players in the States

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Original post by Paul Miller

Filed under: Portable Audio

We already thought that 4G iPod Bluetooth mod was pretty sweet, but Fstedie has managed to top himself, cramming a BT adapter into a 5G video iPod without altering the stock appearance, apart from that clear third-party faceplate. The basics of the hack are pretty similar — replace the hard drive with a CF card, wire up a Bluetooth adapter — but the cramped internals of the 5G case makes it much more difficult to pull off, apparently. If you’re feeling brave, instructions are soon to come just beyond the read link.

 

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Original post by Nilay Patel

Filed under: Peripherals

Watch out Walt Mossberg, Al Roker’s got your number on this whole “technology pundit for the common man” thing. He teamed up with Cat Schwartz on the Today Show to get to the bottom of this whole Bluetooth sensation that’s sweeping the country. Will something finally dethrone infrared from its dominant role in our wireless lifestyle? Only time will tell. Video is after the break.

Continue reading Bluetooth: the Next Big Thing?

 

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Original post by Paul Miller

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Wireless

Maybe it’s just us, but the integration of Bluetooth into a CB radio is long, long overdue. Thankfully, Cobra is stepping up to the plate and introducing the 29 LTD BT, which will go down as its first ever CB radio to include integrated BT technology. Essentially, it allows users to accept and terminate calls with a simple button press on the radio itself, and also enables handsfree conversations — undoubtedly littered with 10-4s and good buddies — via the noise canceling microphone and five-watt speaker. Granted, the transmission was a touch fuzzy, but we heard it’ll be available at travel centers and dealers this summer for $189.95. Copy?

[Via Blast Magazine]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio

Sony’s still got that spark that can make a boring old HDMI switcher into a fashion statement. The four port SB-HD41R (pictured) isn’t doing anything special, but it does it in style. Meanwhile the SRS-BT100 and the DRC-BT15 (pictured after the break) help you get your Bluetooth on, with the BT100 working as an autonomous 30W speaker for you Bluetooth-capable music players, while the DRC-BT15 acts as a Bluetooth adapter, pumping out whatever comes in the minijack over EDR / A2DP. Unfortunately, we don’t really need any of this stuff, since that home entertainment center of ours is looking messy as it is, but luckily we don’t have to make a decision just yet since these are only announced for Japan at the moment.

Read - SB-HD41R
Read - SRS-B𔢄
Read - DRC BT15

Continue reading Sony announces sexy HDMI hub, Bluetooth paraphernalia to clutter up our life

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Original post by Paul Miller