Okay, so he doesn't have a
thinner Xbox 360 than the rest of us -- at least, not one that's been captured on camera -- but Paul Thurrott still knows his way around Redmond, so when he utters the phrase "Zune Mobile," the cellphone-using world probably ought to sit up and listen. Rumors of
Microsoft's so-called Project Pink have failed to quiet down, but the latest intel seems to suggest that we're looking
not at a Microsoft-branded device but an entire software and service platform -- something Danger's pretty good at managing, and something Microsoft had said it liked when it closed the acquisition earlier this year. How does that tie into Zune Mobile, though? It seems that Pink might include Zune support as part of its offering, which could translate into a Zune Mobile software package for Windows Mobile (prior to the mythical version 7, says Thurrott) that would bring far more robust media support than any Microsoft-powered phone before it, and maybe -- just maybe -- a wireless download store. Ballmer's
already said Zune support would filter down to Windows Mobile eventually, and for what it's worth, those
alleged Windows Mobile 6.5 shots sure look Zune-ish, which would make true Zune support fit right in -- and Danger's in the
PMX group alongside the Zune peeps, so that adds some credence to the potential Pink tie-in. Is it enough to resurrect WinMo from the brink of obsolescence in the consumer space? Likely not, but it's a heck of a start, and might just quiet down those endless Zunephone rumors for a wee bit.
Read - Paul Thurrott mentions Zune Mobile
Read - Project Pink includes Zune support?
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds, Portable Audio
"Zune Mobile" gets mentioned, plot thickens for Project Pink originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Dec 2008 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Every once in a while we're reminded that Garmin's
Nuvifone -- announced
nearly a year ago -- still exists, and this time around it's none other than the FCC doing the reminding. The curiously-named "Calf" from ASUS turns out to be the Nuvifone once you click through to the label diagrams, and test documentation reveals that 3G is being tested on both Bands II and V -- that's North America-friendly 1900 and 850MHz, for those who aren't up to snuff on their spectrum terminology. With gub'mint certification under its belt, maybe we can push that 1H 2009 release window to 1Q, eh, Garmin?
[Thanks,
cl347bv]Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, Handhelds
Garmin Nuvifone gets FCC approval originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Dec 2008 11:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Right, so we've spotted some
fairly gorgeous LCD-into-GameCube integrations before, and we've even seen a couple that came dangerously
close to
making us laugh, but it's rare to find a respectable LCD infusion on video. Thus, we present to you Liuhuparta's own GameCube mod, which weds a Sony PSone LCD screen, an integrated Wavebird receiver, loads of wiring / spray paint / blue LEDs and a pinch of TLC with a classic black GC console. Hop on past the break to see portions of the build process and a brief demonstration of it in action.
[Thanks,
Sami]
Continue reading Video: LCD retrofitted onto Nintendo GameCube
Filed under: Gaming
Video: LCD retrofitted onto Nintendo GameCube originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Dec 2008 11:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Is it any wonder
Philips is opting out of making a stop at CES this year? If it showed up with this line, it'd literally be laughed right out of Vegas. The outfit's dedicated "showing" in San Francisco this past week consisted of two Streamium Network Music Players (NP2500 and NP2900) that we were already
well aware of, a refreshed
DLO iBoom JukeBox ($200) that now plays nice with iPhones and two other mildly interesting pieces. First up is the January-bound DC350 Docking Entertainment System ($150), which bills itself as an iPhone / iPod dock "with hands-free conference call functions and the ability to sync with business calendars on your PC." Finally, we've got the 2.1 SPA5300 sound system (pictured), which has evidently been introduced in less traveled corners of the world but is just now making itself visible in the US. On second thought, maybe "underwhelming" is being too generous.
[Via
iPodNN]
Filed under: Peripherals, Portable Audio, Portable Video
Philips underwhelms with lackluster iPod / iPhone accessory line originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Dec 2008 08:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments There's a good possibility you felt some sense of jealously when eying RDC's meticulously
modded Xbox 360, and now you can act on said envy thanks to the supreme convenience of the online auction house known as eBay. That's right kids -- the slot loading Xbox 360 that was shown here just under a month ago is now on the auction block, and the $250 minimum bid means that you're paying a ridiculously small premium for all the blood, sweat and tears that were undoubtedly poured into this creation. Of course, that figure is apt to head skyward in a hurry, but maybe that would encourage you to get off your keister and craft one yourself. No time like the present to beef up that weakening
DIY muscle.
[Via
Xbox-Scene, thanks Aguiluz]
Filed under: Gaming
Slot loading Xbox 360 enjoys its 15 minutes, heads to eBay originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Dec 2008 05:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
Thanko's last MP4 watch was, um, less than gorgeous, but this one can actually be worn in public without automatic public humiliation. Sure, it's still a bit stocky, but we're confident that fashion-forward nerds could still pull it off. In between the two (p)leather straps sits a 1.8-inch 160 x 128 resolution color display, a multimedia player with MP3 / WMA / AVI / JPEG support and a video camera capable of logging VGA-quality clips. You'll also find a mini-USB port and an internal speaker, and there's 4GB of internal memory to go along with about 3.5 hours of music playback time. All yours (if you live in Japan) for ¥14,800 ($163).
[Via AkihabaraNews]
Filed under: Wearables
Thanko's latest MP4 watch boasts 1.8-inch display, video camera originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Dec 2008 02:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Everything goes down
on Twitter these days, (memes happen, people,
memes!) and now there's another kid on the scene, literally. Lil' @kickbee is hitting us from the womb, thanks to his / her nerdy father. Kickbee Sr. wrapped his expecting wife's belly with some piezo sensors to detect baby kicks, with an Arduino Mini transmitting the info via Bluetooth to a MacBook Pro, which beams the info on up to Twitter, making him officially the dorkiest dad since Wayne Szalinski. Next step for this little A-lister? Gadget blogging.
[Via
Gadget Review]
Read - Kickbee project page
Read - Kickbee's twitter feed
Filed under: Wearables
@kickbee OMG, this Twitter / baby-tracking hack is so great. Keep on kicking mommy! http://snipr.com/81153 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Dec 2008 22:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Combining huge screens with usable keyboards in a pocketable package is the challenge phone manufacturers are eternally doomed to try to solve, leading to an endless stream of (mostly comical) patent applications for ridiculous form factors that will never see the light of day. That's where we think -- well, we hope --
Nokia's latest app comes into play, combining a portrait-oriented QWERTY keyboard with a wide display that somehow swivels behind the body of the phone when you only need a little bit of screen real estate. Looks cool on paper, but realistically, we think this thing would be the most unwieldy Frankenstein of a handset since the
MPx were it ever to be produced. Tilt-slide on the
N97 looks fine, guys. Seriously.
[Via
Cellpassion]
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds
Nokia patent app suggests N97's form factor isn't complicated enough originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Dec 2008 20:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments The been-there-done-that competition of the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii are a total yawn this holiday season, so we thought we'd give you a console war with a few more
interlocking plastic building blocks mixed in to keep things interesting. These two otherwise-unrelated
case mods each bring their own strengths to the competition: while the Lego PSX mod might be more technically impressive, it looks totally amateurish next to the classy Lego NES stylings. But, like with all things in life, there can only be one winner. This is America, after all.
Read - PlayStation in a LEGO castle
Read - Console Nintendo NES LEGO Red Project CaseMod
Filed under: Gaming
Lego console wars: NES vs. PSX... fight! originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Dec 2008 17:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments You're bound to face a few hiccups when you're a no-name brand trying to source an Android handset from a no-name ODM buried deep inside a Shenzen industrial park, and it seems
Kogan's going through those growing pains right about now. The Australian company still says the
Agora and Agora Pro will ship before the end of January (barely), but it looks like they're down to the wire with tweaks to the phone's design. For starters, the soft keys are gone -- not much use for those in Android anyway, last we checked -- replaced with a decidedly WinMo-esque set of home and back keys; the keyboard's been redesigned, too, and the d-pad is looking more usable than it had been before. For the Agora's price point, we're still sold on this thing -- but only if we can get something more than a printout of a pretty render delivered to our doorstep.
[Thanks, Big Mike]
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds
Kogan's Agora gets tweaked ahead of release -- in Photoshop, anyway originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Dec 2008 15:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments Described to us once by those in the know as "a project that would've been," this
Helio-badged, Samsung-built, multimedia-happy slider just surfaced on the Heliocity forums. Samsung shipped tweaked versions of this handset (based on the Samsung F400) with
B&O and
Armani branding, but there's no telling if "Helio by Virgin" still has plans to bring this to market. More shots after the break.
Continue reading Unreleased Helio slider surfaces
Filed under: Cellphones
Unreleased Helio slider surfaces originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Dec 2008 14:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comments 
By sitting there and getting ran over by motorcars, that is. In an effort to best other power-generating highway options that involve solar panels and enlarged blender arms, Britain's Environmental Transport Association is looking to test a prototype highway that's embedded with piezoelectric crystals. Essentially, the process would work much like the power-generating Tokyo station floors we saw earlier this week; each car that squishes a crystal would contribute a tiny bit of energy, and the collective effect could be enormous. In fact, it's estimated that a single kilometer of roadway could generate 400-kilowatts of energy, or enough to power around eight small cars. And we're no rocket scientists (nor physicists), but we're assuming these whiz kids already made sure these magic crystals weren't friction-generating, too. Right?
Filed under: Transportation
Prototype piezoelectric road could generate power by simply sitting there originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Dec 2008 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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