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I hate to say I told you so, but today’s PriceGrabber.com gadget report on Black Friday sales, once again proves my opinion that this Christmas will be a “black” Blu-ray Christmas! My opinion goes against conventional wisdom that Blu-ray won’t succeed, and that streaming HD using Roku/Netflix, and cable providers offering HD content is now closing the window of opportunity for Blu-ray. I’m not buying that theory. Additionally, several other articles, including CRN’s Consumers Not Planning a Blu-Ray Christmas article and Register Hardware’s ‘A Blu-ray Christmas? Don′t bank on it’ don’t believe my opinion that it will be a Blu-ray Christmas.

The most popular products on Black Friday - specifically look at #3, the Blu-ray player:

1. Nintendo Wii Console
2. Ugg Australia ‘Classic Short′ Boot (how about that!)
3. Sony BDP-S350 1080p Blu-Ray Disc Player
4. Samsung LẬA650 52″ LCD TV
5. Nintendo Wii Fit
6. Panasonic TH-42PX80U 42″ Plasma TV
7. Sennheiser HD 555 Headphones
8. Canon EOS Rebel XSi Black SLR Digital Camera Kit
9. Acer Aspire One AOA110-1295 Notebook
10. Canon PowerShot 𐀶 IS Black Digital Camera

Out of all the possible gadgets in the world, a Blu-ray player ranks #3.

Also, as previously blogged, here are the Top 10 categories and percent growth over Black Friday 2007. Once again look at #3, which sports a 147% increase!

1. Women’s Boots - 203%
2. Watches - 202%
3. Blu-ray/HD-DVD Players - 147%
4. Women’s Sleep & Lounge Wear - 415%
5. Games & Puzzles - 151%
6. Women’s Jackets - 110%
7. Music - 96%
8. Headphones - 103%
9. Women’s Dresses - 107%
10. Women’s Casual Shoes - 143%

As I mentioned yesterday, I’m l keeping my eye on Amazon for any Blu-ray specials. (see: Amazon Blu-ray player special prices). Today, I see a Sony BDP-S350 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player for just $198! I might just get my brother-in-law a nice Blu-ray player after all!

Tags: 1080p, Blu-ray Christmas, Blu-ray Disc Player, blu-ray player, gadgets, Sony BDP-S350

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Original post by nafiz

“Ludwig van Beethoven, the famous 18th century composer who was partially deaf, discovered Bone Conduction,” asserts the Audio Bone Web site. “Beethoven found a way to hear music through his jawbone by attaching a rod to his piano and clenching it in his teeth. There have been many attempts at bone conduction listening since Beethoven, but none have provided true high fidelity quality sound–until now.”

Following in Beethoven’s footsteps is certainly a lofty prospect. Attempting to one-up him just seems downright crazy. But Japan-based company Goldendance claims to have done just that with the release of the Audio Bone: bone conduction headphones that sit in front of your ears and amplify your music by vibrating your skull.

We first saw the Audio Bone headphones at CES back in January. We, of course, were eager to get our hands on a pair. Bone conduction holds a number of advantages over earbuds: First, and perhaps most important, they’re less likely to contribute to hearing loss than traditional headphones–particularly earbuds–because they bypass the ear drum.

Also, since the headphones don’t obscure the ear canal, they don’t drown out ambient noise. Users are able to keep an ear out for their surroundings while listening to music. AirDrives had a similar idea when it placed its headphones’ speakers just in front of the ear canal, allowing more ambient sound to sneak in.

Also, interestingly, the Audio Bone headphones are completely waterproof. Combined with an iPod enclosed in an Otterbox case and “Eye of the Tiger,” these could become a staple for any swim team.

The Audio Bone looks like a fairly standard set of wrap-around headphones: It’s sporty, slim and lightweight, and come in black, blue, orange, and white. For $219 you can choose from “special edition” colors, including pink, lime, taupe, and purple. The spot where the speakers traditionally sit is a small black piece of plastic about the circumference of a penny. This piece vibrates with the music, ultimately resonating in your skull.

The sensation isn’t off-putting at all. In fact, once you get used to the idea of wearing headphones in front of your ears, it feels a lot like listening to a standard pair of headphones. The sound quality, however, is not so great. The headphones are quiet–you’ll have to turn your audio source up a lot louder than you normally would.

The music is also a bit muddier–it’s not dissimilar to the sensation of listening to music over a speakerphone. It doesn’t take an audiophile to note the differences between the Audio Bone and standard headphones. The company’s claims of “high fidelity″ sound are exaggerated at best. Interestingly, I found that the headphones conducted a lot better when I had a pair of earplugs in my ear canals–though that sort of defeats the whole ambient sound aspect.

At $189, they′re also fairly pricey–particularly for a pair of headphones that output lower-fidelity sound than your standard $20 headset. Of course this is a relatively new technology in the world of headphones, and as we’ve seen many times, first-generation technologies are often expensive and not quite all there in terms of quality.

That said, there’s no denying that there’s potential in bone conduction. The Audio Bone, however, is not there yet.

Original post by Brian Heater

What can a self-proclaimed audiophile expect from a portable $49.99 iPod boom box? Much more than I thought, when it comes to the Memorex miniMove Boombox for iPod. This pint-sized player, which comes in pink, teal, silver, and black, packs a punch with all the features you would expect from a well-thought-out iPod accessory.

In addition to the expected charging iPod connector and wireless remote, the miniMove has a digital FM radio, four EQ presets, and a line-in jack for connecting almost any audio device. Throw in four AA batteries, instead of using the power plug, and you can take the boombox on-the-go. The built-in display features a bright backlight that is easy on the eyes and rubberized player buttons that have a soft yet satisfying click when pressed. I suspect the rubber coating will help keep unwanted dirt and sand out of the player during those weekends at the beach.

Having all these features is great, but the real purpose of a boom box is to project your favorite music. How does the miniMove stack up?

Pretty well, given its size and price. Of course, you won’t get earth-rumbling bass, and cranking up a rap tune to full volume will show you the weakness of a player this size, but the mid and upper ranges are clear, crisp, and open. At mid-volume, rock songs sound powerful, and acoustic solo music really shines, with a warm, lively feel. All music sounds upfront, but not annoyingly so.

I was even surprised at how punchy and extended the bass was on some songs–within reasonable volume levels. Any louder, though, and a bit of low-end distortion creeps in. Outside of that, the only real improvement I would like to see is a custom EQ setting, to really tailor the sound.

If you’ve been searching for a cheap, portable iPod boom box with decent sound, features, and the all-important slick looks, then the Memorex miniMove is one to consider.

As a note of caution to iPhone users, plugging one into an audio dock like this one prompts you to put the phone into Airport mode before use. Apple did this to limit the radio-wave interference that would otherwise disrupt your listening pleasure. Just remember that you may miss some calls that way.

Original post by Andrew Frankel

Filed under: Laptops

We′ve seen tons of Eees modded with touchscreens, and it looks like ASUS is taking the hint — it’s saying that it expects to launch touch-enabled Eee PCs next year, as long rumored. It’s not clear whether the new models will run XP or a special Linux build, but we’ll find out soon enough, since the company plans to show them off at CES in January. Unsurprisingly, we should also be seeing dual-core Atom 330 chips make their way into the Eee line as soon as they’re available in quantity, but the best piece of news is probably that ASUS will be getting aggressive on price with a sub-$300 Eee. Now just wrap all that up in the S101’s case and we’re all set — that would be just about perfect.

[Via Electronista]

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Original post by Nilay Patel

Filed under: Handhelds

If you′ve been following the new iRex reader, the 1000 series, you′ll be disappointed to know — as we were — that the high-end 1000SW will not come equipped with 3G connectivity as we previously reported. Apparently jkOnTheRun got in touch with iRex rep Loeki van der Lee after unsuccessfully searching for hard evidence on the feature, and he confirmed that the device will sport WiFi and Bluetooth, but nothing more. Honestly, based on his short responses and the information we snagged from Forbes the day before the announcement, it sounds as if plans might have changed at the last minute. Still, it won’t alter the fact that the $849 device won’t provide the same functionality as a $359 Kindle… though it does have that snazzy Wacom stylus.

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Original post by Joshua Topolsky

Filed under: Displays, Portable Video

It seems like it wouldn’t be a Monday without another pocket projector sighting, no matter how fleeting. This specimen was recently spotted in Korea, and while we have no idea who the manufacturer is or what it’s called, we do have some specs. This device features 640 x 480 resolution (scalable up to 1280 x 800), 4:3 aspect ratio, manual focus, accepts both NTSC and PAL sources, and projects a maximum of 70 inches. The projector sits on an adjustable tripod and gets up to 40 minutes on a single charge… now all it needs is a name, price, distributor, and release date!

[Via About Projectors]

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Original post by Joseph L. Flatley

Filed under: Displays

It’s official: the age of the pico projector has arrived. And we’re not talking the age of pico projector announcements, we’re talking about launches. Just after Toshiba came clean with its LED Pico Projector, along comes 3M (of all companies) with one of its own. The MPro110 pocket beamer got handled by PopSci, and the results were pretty much as we′d expect. Decently bright, extraordinarily novel, but not exactly world-class. Brightness (the lack thereof, actually) was an issue, and a few movie scenes were deemed “indecipherable.” Additionally, it has no built-in speaker, but for just $359, we suppose that’s an omission we can live with. Best of all, this one’s set to ship on September 30th. To America. Woo!

[Via AboutProjectors]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Displays, Portable Video

We’ve waited ages for a real-deal pico projector from Toshiba (or anyone reputable, quite frankly), and it’s looking all the more likely that we’ll be absolutely bombarded with them come CES 2009. At any rate, Toshiba is apparently close to putting the finishing touches on its LED Pico Projector, which weighs in at 100-grams and measures 10- x 4.5- x 1.7-centimeters in size. Outside of that, specifications are few and far between, but you can catch a video of its powers in the link below.

[Thanks, Jan]
Read - Toshiba’s LED Pico Projector
Read - In-action video

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Desktops

ATI just announced its new mainstream graphics cards, the Radeon HD 4670 and 4650. At the heart of both cards is a 55nm 320-core TeraScale GPU, which is a modified version of the RV770 chip found in the Radeon HD 4800 series — it’s a lower spec chip, but it has essentially the exact same feature set. The $80 HD 4670 has 512MB of GDDR3 RAM, while the $60 HD 4650 uses 512MB of GDDR2 memory; both are relatively power-sipping with 60 watt and 50 watt draws respectively under full load. Should be out soon — HotHardware just tested an HD 4670 and found it to be quite a performer, check it all out at the read links.

Read - ATI Radeon HD 4600 series PR
Read - HotHardware test

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Original post by Nilay Patel

Filed under: Gaming

Sony and Microsoft may have sorted things out with Anascape (otherwise known as the self-proclaimed ruler of all analog sticks) before things got too out of hand, but Nintendo has been busy fighting it out with the company in court, which resulted in them being ordered to dish out a hefty $21 million earlier this year — a ruling that Nintendo naturally appealed. The big N is now facing another setback, however, as a US District Judge has rejected Nintendo’s request for a new trial, which could potentially result in a ban on sales of Wii Classic Controllers, WaveBirds, and GameCube controllers (not to mention GameCube systems). To avoid that, Nintendo will apparently either have to post a bond or put royalites from the controllers into an escrow account. For its part, Nintendo seems to be remaining defiant, saying that it “was already planning to appeal this case to the Federal Circuit court,” and that this new ruling “does not impact that decision.”

[Via Slashdot]

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Original post by Donald Melanson

Filed under: GPS, Handhelds

We’ve always wondered exactly what people were supposed to use UMPCs for, and now we have at least one answer: as GPS units. Yep, that’s right: OQO and Garmin have released an official kit to turn your $2,000 OQO 02 into a $400 Garmin GPS unit. For $237. No, we have no idea who would buy this, but if you’re feeling like throwing some bills around, you’ll find a Garmin Mobile PC unit, car mount, and power adapter in the box, as well as a small note from us with an address you can send your additional silly money to for proper disposal.

PS. - Yes, we know you can also buy the Garmin adapter for $99 and the mount for $59, but it’s the ridiculous bundle pricing that’s got us all hot and bothered.

[Via Boy Genius Report]

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Original post by Nilay Patel

Maybe our math is off, but we’re fairly certain 44.7-millimeters equates to around 1.76-inches. Strangely enough, LG is claiming that its Scarlet 42LG61 is actually the world’s thinnest LCD HDTV, and we all know Hitachi’s definitively thinner 1.5-inch family just started shipping to US consumers last week. Of course, maybe it just meant the slimmest it has ever produced, but we digress. The set is apparently loose in South Korea, featuring a 1080p panel, 120Hz technology, a 600,000:1 contrast ratio and four HDMI ports. Granted, the previously veiled set won′t run you cheap, as you’ll walk away ₩2.5 million ($2,427) poorer should you choose to take one home.

[Via AVing]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Laptops

It looks like the rumors of HP launching the sexy 2133 UMPC today were off the mark, but it certainly does seem like the diminutive laptop is coming soon — placeholder pages for an “HP 2133 Mini-Note PC″ have popped up at Amazon and other retailers. That’s the first we′ve heard of the Mini-Note name, which is interesting in terribly uncreative way, but we′re slightly more intrigued by the addition of a 1.0GHz SuSE model with 4GB of flash instead of a hard drive — we′d originally heard that the 2133 would come in such a configuration, but none of the specs we′d seen so far had mentioned it. Of course, an empty Amazon product page with no pricing information doesn′t make the 2133 any more official, but we’ve got a feeling it’s pretty close — come on HP, we know you’re confident, let’s see what you′re hiding back there.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Read - Amazon product page for the 1.2GHz / 120GB config
Read - Amazon product page for the 1.0GHz / 4GB flash config
Read - Product listing on compsource.com

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Original post by Nilay Patel

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

We’ve seen initiatives all over the globe created in an attempt to beat blindness, but researchers based at MIT are feeling fairly confident that their development is within a few years of being able to “restore partial sight to people who have slowly gone blind because of degenerative diseases of the retina.” The bio-electronic implant, which is about the size of a pencil eraser, would actually sit behind the retina at the back of the eyeball, and images would be transmitted to the brain “via a connector the width of a human hair.” As it stands, an FDA grant application is already in the works, and the scientists are hoping to have it implanted in an animal as early as this summer. Still, the solution only works for folks who “were once able to see and have partially intact optic nerve cells” — those who were blind from birth or suffer from glaucoma are unfortunately ineligible for the procedure.

[Thanks, Rusty]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

As part of their investigation into the company’s alleged abuse of its market position at the expense of rival AMD, EU competition regulators have raided chip giant Intel’s offices in Munich, Germany, along with those of Metro AG-owned Media Markt and other unnamed PC retailers. The European Commission has been keeping a close eye on Intel since last summer, when the company was formally accused of offering rebates and making payoffs to customers and retailers in exchange for preferential treatment — charges that Intel has repeatedly, although somewhat obtusely, denied. It’s not clear at this point what material, if anything, was confiscated in these latest raids, which come exactly a month prior to a closed hearing the megacorp faces on this matter in Brussels.

[Via BBC]

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Original post by Evan Blass