1. Introduction I was thinking for a while to make the transition to 3D, but I...
Slingbox Pro-HD Review SB300-100 – Watch Live TV on your PC, iPhone, iPad, WP7 and other Android smartphones and tablets
As the number of mobile devices in our house increased, our reliance on them also increased. Both me and my wife barely touch our PCs anymore (maybe when we do a quick Age of Empires III showdown on our home network, but with two kids, those days are fewer and long in between).
Our family also cut the cable cord quite a while ago, when the Dish Network wanted to increase our bill yet again. While we don’t have a full fledged cable subscription anymore, having Internet service from Time Warner comes with some perks, most notable the free included digital local channels (clear QAM), PBS and a bunch of other free channels as well including NBC sports.As part of my TV watching setup, I am using my Windows Media Center 7 as a local DVR, a number of XBOX 360 consoles as DVR clients to access the live/recorded TV around the house and the only thing missing would be the access of the same channels live and mobile, both from around the house and during my daily 1.5 hours train commute, via my tablet/smartphone over a 3G connections. What to do?
Well, let me tell you I have long searched for a cheap/good software only streaming solution since I already have my MCE server chugging quietly 24/7. I tried ORB and several other solutions that claim to be able to stream Live TV over the internet, but all the solutions found share one major caveat – they don’t work with digital TV tuners. Why? I have no idea, but that’s the way it is. I started to look around and the only reasonable priced solution came from Sling Media (now belonging to Dish Network) and their Slingbox Pro-HD SB300-100, their only model with an embedded ATSC/NTSC/QAM tuner. I built an entire ecosystem around it, streaming to PC, notebooks, iPhone / iPad / Nook Color / HP TouchPad running Android CM7, HTC Vivid and Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket both on my home network and away, and the result of this comprehensive experience is detailed in this review.
1. Slingbox Pro-HD box content
Kindle goes brick and mortar – many retailers to sell Amazon readers starting Nov 15th
In a never ending process to acquire market share, Amazon starts spreading Kindle love (albeit not for free) in brick and mortar stores, in a move similar with what Barnes and Noble did earlier in the year. No doubt, to make everybody happy for the holidays.
You heard that right, starting Nov 15th, you’ll be able to play and eventually buy any of the Kindle, Kindle Touch, Kindle Touch 3G and the one tablet to rule them all, Kindle Fire at over 16,000 retail locations in US, including Best Buy, Target, Walmart, Staples, Sam’s Club, RadioShack, Office Depot and some smaller ones as well. The prices will be similar with the ones on Amazon’s own website so unless you like paying sales tax, we don’t really see the point for now. Maybe later when Amazon will start collecting local sales taxes for California, we’ll get more into local shopping ourselves.
Check after the break for Amazon’s full Press Release.
Japanese e-Commerce giant Rakuten acquires Kobo
In an unexpected turn of events, the e-Commerce giant Rakuten announced it purchased the well know eReader manufacturer Kobo. Well, maybe not that unexpected considering that Kobo faces stiff competition from both Amazon and Barnes & Noble in the eReader market. For thos that don’t know who Rakuten is, they are among top 3 e-Commerce companies by revenue, and, as of last year, they also own Buy.com. Rings any bells?
The amount is $315 million US, cash only transaction. It will certainly be interesting to find out what exactly Rakuten intends to do with Kobo to compete better against Amazon/B&N giants.
Check the full press release after the break.
Deal of the day – $339 – Westinghouse 42″ LED-LCD 1080p 120Hz HDTV (1.54″ ultra-slim) LD-4258
The best price I have ever seen on a 1080p LED LCD TV and I really doubt we’ll see much better for Black Friday, especially when you factor in the headaches inherent to shopping in that particular day.
Walmart has this Westinghouse 42″ Class LED/LCD 1080p 120Hz HDTV - here are the technical specifications: Continue Reading →
Genius Wizard Stick Review – Motion gaming joystick for Gaming PC
Introduction
With the introduction of its innovative motion controller, Nintendo Wii changed forever the way we interact with our games (until the launch of Kinect, that is). It didn’t took that long until accessories producers copied the concept hoping to also copy the success Nintendo had. Probably the most well known PC motion sensor controller is the Genius Wizard Stick manufactured by Genius and based on the AIWI software platform, controller that makes the object of today’s review.
Unpacking
Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet officially launched, better technical specs than Kindle Fire
The mighty successor of the second best selling tablet (after iPad) Nook Color, was officially launched today and for the price, it delivers a significantly better kick than its predecessor. Barnes & Noble newest toy, Nook Tablet claims to be the Reader’s tablet and to offer the best in entertainment, with a strong orientation toward HD. Priced at a similar price with the first model Nook Color, Nook Tablet doubles pretty much everything from the storage memory (16GB vs 8GB), RAM (1GB vs 512MB) and CPU (dual core 1GHz vs single core 800 MHz) the new model should be quite a thrill to use.
Nook Tablet won’t include Amazon or Android Markets, unless you root / jailbreak it, something that I am sure will happen shortly after the launch. However, it will include a number of applications at launch including Netflix and Hulu Plus HD variants, Pandora, a Flash supporting web browser and e-mail clients, games, magazines, etc.
Its main competitor is obviously Amazon’s Kindle Fire. The two tablets are almost similarly priced ($199 for Kindle Fire vs $249 for Nook Tablet) and also share some similar specifications, with few differences. While both are lacking a camera, Nook Tablet includes double the memory of Amazon Kindle Fire for a vastly improved multi-tasking, double the storage (16GB vs 8GB) AND the inclusion of a microSDHC slot to expand the storage up to an additional 32GB for cheap. The Nook Tablet is also slightly lighter than Amazon Fire, 14.1 ounces vs 14.6 for Amazon Fire. The display seems to be an improved IPS screen at 1024 x 600 with a remarkable 89 degrees viewing angle and the battery life is stated at up to 11.5 hours of reading and 9 hours of video (wireless off, of course).
Does this worth the additional $50 in the price over the Kindle Fire? It is up to you to decide, but don’t forget that for similarly spec’ed devices, it is the eco-system that makes or breaks a platform. We will review both devices shortly after we will receive them, so check back to our site for details, in-depth reviews and also a detailed comparison of the two tablets.
The new Nook Tablet is available for pre-order right now at B&N website for $249 and scheduled to ship on November 17th.
Check after the break for video / photo gallery / detailed technical specifications.
HP will keep making personal computers for now
Breaking news today folks – HP just announced that they won’t spin off the PC unit after all, reversing the last CEO Leo Apotheker decision. Hewlett-Packard’s current CEO Meg Whitman said that “keeping the unit within the company is right for the company, its customers, shareholders and business partners”. Another reason can be that Leo’s decision to sell it instantly devaluated it and HP just couldn’t find the right buyer.
To be honest, we were a bit sad to see an entire successful division go so keeping it is a bit of good news. Now, if only HP does some magic and ports Windows 8 onto their cheap (and recently discontinued) HP TouchPad line, we could really say that we are completely satisfied, and that wouldn’t be a small feat.
Read the full HP Press Release after the break
Deal of the Day – Cheapest Surveillance DVR I have ever seen Night Owl NONB-4DVR for $69 shipped
If you are interested in a dirt cheap Surveillance DVR (Digital Video Recorder), the lowest price I have ever seen is this Night Owl NONB-4DVR 4 x BNC Compact H.264 Digital Video Recorder with Smart Phone Access at Newegg. They have it right now for only $69 but it doesn’t include the hard drive. In my opinion this is actually a good thing since you can get a SATA drive for really cheap nowadays.
Obviously, at this price you can’t expect HD quality, but for $69 you can’t really go too wrong. Just remember! It doesn’t come with a hard-drive so you’ll have to get a SATA one separately. Has a mouse, remote control and you can connect it to your TV for instant 4 in 1 camera viewing. I got one myself so expect a review quite soon. there is tax in California, of course so expect it for $75.06 shipped.
Amazon’s free Android App a Day – OfficeSuite Pro 5 (was $14.99)
Today’s free Android App of the Day in Amazon’s App Store is quite a treat – and I am talking about OfficeSuite Pro 5 with a regular daily price of $14.99.
The suite lets you create, view and edit Word and Excel documents and offers viewers for PowerPoint and PDF files. If you need to use the cloud, Google Docs are supported and well integrated in the application. Both old version and new version (XML based) of Office formats are supported. Works nicely on my CyanogenMod 7.1 enabled Nook Color and HP TouchPad.
The deal is only good for today, so grab it while you still have the chance.
via Amazon App Store
Startup Hatch & Co releases The Skinny – World’s Slimmest iPad 2 Keyboard Case
A direct competitor to the popular ZAGGmate by Logitech Bluetooth keyboard for iPad 2 (full ZAGGmate review here) surfaces, this time from the start-up Hatch & Co. Dubbed the World’s Slimmest iPad 2 Keyboard Case, SKINNY weighs 10.4 ounces, lighter than the ZAGGmate’s 12.2 ounces and only 0.6 inches thin. The keyboard itself? An impressive 0.07 inches!!! Other technical details include 2 weeks of battery life at normal daily usage and 6 weeks in standby, Bluetooth, dedicated multimedia keys and, similar with the smart cases, it wakes/put to slip your iPad 2 when you open respectively close the case. The technology is also different than a normal keyboard, Hatch & Co replacing the standard chiclet keys with ultra-thin touch technology, similar with the one used in mobile phones.
The keyboard case is available now at Amazon for about $89 shipped, we’ll try to get ours for a full review and to see how it compares against the competition. For the photo gallery and full press release, jump after the break.
