scattered technology news

Verizon Announces The LG Slim enV2 - Monday, March 31, 2008

Earlier today, one day before CTIA Wireless 2008 begins, Verizon Wireless and LG Electronics announced the enV(2). This new phone is an upgrade to LG VX9900 (aka LG enV) which was first made available towards the end of 2006. The enV2 features V CAST Music/Video, VZ Navigator, Bluetooth 2.0, microSD Expansion, Stereo Speakers, Two Displays, 2.0 Mega Pixel Camera, and a QWERTY Keyboard.

“We know the texting audience wants a mobile device that is compact enough to slide easily into pant pockets and handbags without compromising the integrity of the phone’s features. The slimmed-down enV(2) offers everything consumers loved about the enV with the added benefit of a larger, more spacious internal screen with large easy-to-text keys.” said Ehtisham Rabbani, LG.

The enV also has a built in Email Client and a Instant Messenger Client (AIM, MSN, & YAHOO). It is a fully functioning MP3 player and can support holding up to 8GB on a microSD. The enV2 is about .4 ounces lighter and about .10 inches thinner than the LG enV. The front of the enV2 is reminiscent of the Samsung UpStage, which was partially a disappointment. Overall the enV2 has a entirely new look compared to the enV, however it doesn’t seem to have any new features. The phone will be available next month for $130 after a $50 mail-in-rebate and a two-year contract.

Links: Verizon Wireless

UPDATE: Full VX9100 enV2 Review Here!

PlayStation Store Gets Revamped - Monday, March 31, 2008

There have been numerous rumors and mockups that have hit the web over the past few weeks regarding a whole new look that is coming to the PlayStation Network Store. We can set all those aside since SCEA has now officially put out a statement along with a few neat screen shots.

“The new design will deliver a hugely improved navigation system, much greater scope for categorization and a dynamic new user interface.”

According to PlayStation, the update will be released by mid-April, which is just two weeks away. A software update to the console will also accompany the new PSN Store. The bad news in all of this might be the fact that no new content will be available until this upgrade is pushed out. Fortunately this shouldn’t affect PlayStation Network game play, accounts, or virtual wallets.

Update: According to the PlayStation Blog, no new content will be added to the PlayStation Store for the next two weeks. (North America) However with the re-launch, plenty of new content will become available including a demo of the highly regarded Gran Turismo 5 Prologue!

Links: us.PlayStation.com

Upgrading To Vista Service Pack 1 - Thursday, March 27, 2008

When Microsoft Released Service Pack 1 for Vista to Windows Update on March 18th, I upgraded immediately. The process took a while to download since the servers were being hit hard by the large amount people trying to get a hold of the update file. After the download it took about one and a half hour to completely install. It required a few clicks of the “next” button to begin the installation. The computer will be unusable during the process. After it was complete, I was disappointed to find that it was now taking over 5 minutes to start up my machine. It normally took about 2 minutes. In addition there were absolutely no recognizable visual changes. After a few days of use, the performance of my machine drastically changed. Since the upgrade had deleted Vista’s pefetching, caching, and indexing databases, they had to be rebuilt. Today my machine starts up at least 30 seconds faster than it did before SP1. Shut Down, reboot, and suspend speeds have also improved greatly. Launching applications such as Phtotoshop CS3 has become much faster. The best part is that my system hasn’t crashed even once since upgrading. Previously I usually sat staring at blue screens at least a couple of times each week.

Beginning next month, Service Pack 1 will automatically be installed onto your system if you have Auto Updating enabled. However if you want to go ahead and get it now, just launch Windows Update from Vista’s Control Panel and click on check for updates. If it doesn’t appear make sure you have all the critical updates installed. Once you hit install it will close all your programs and then begin the process. The duration it will take to complete will vary depending on the performance of your machine. I was lucky not to run into any major issues whatsoever, however some have complained about major fatal errors. Despite those complains, the majority of those who have upgraded have done so successfully.

Links: Windows Vista Blog

Belkin USB Plus 4-Port Hub (Review) - Wednesday, March 26, 2008

After reviewing the Belkin USB Plus 7-port Hub earlier this month, I thought it would only be appropriate if I also reviewed it’s smaller sibling the 4-port USB Plus Hub. The Belkin 4-port hub retains the same style and theme as the larger one. It accepts power from an AC Adapter so too much stress won’t be placed on your machine’s bus. And since it’s self powered, as a bonus, USB powered devices can be charged if connected to the hub even when your computer is off. A neat little rubber clamp on the right side acts as a holster to keep cables neatly organized and from running loose.

The Belkin 4-port USB Plus Hub worked without any issues with just about any USB gizmo. Two of the USB ports along with the input and power supply are found on the back. For easy access, the remaining two ports have been placed on top of the unit for flash drives. There are LED indicators embedded into the casing, which indicate which ports are connected and when the power supply status. The hub was able to retain a full data throughput that the USB can support, which is all that we can ask for. It will slow down if too many data intensive devices such as external Hard Drives are being used. Read More

Logitech VX Nano Mouse (Review) - Tuesday, March 25, 2008

The Logitech VX Nano is a tiny portable wireless mouse which features many of the controls a standard desktop mice usually have. The VX Nano has an impressive build quality, is durable, looks stylish, and has true functionality. This product is most notable for it’s unusually small transmitter.

The Buttons - 4/5 stars
The VX Nano houses the standard left and right click buttons which have a good tactile feedback. The scroll wheel can be “frictionless” meaning it can be flicked up or down to quickly drop through pages or can have “notches” so that you can feel each bump while it’s rotating. All you have to do is push in the button to toggle between the two modes. The entire wheel can also be leaned left or right for horizontal scrolling. The search key directly below the wheel functions as a middle-click button. The mouse also features back and forward keys, however they are awkwardly placed on top of the mouse which takes some getting used too. The mouse could have allowed more productivity if those to buttons were moved to the sides.

Transmitter - 5/5 stars
The RF transmitter which plugs into the USB port on you computer is probably one of the most impressive aspects of this product due to its size. Since the receiver is so small, it can be left in the USB port while laptops are placed into a bag without having to worry about it snapping off. In addition the receiver also pops into the battery compartment under the mouse for storage. In addition I’ve been told that if you do happen to loose the transmitter, Logitech sells replacements for an reasonable price. The mouse has a fairly good range and worked when I was over 15 feet away from my computer. Read More

Every South Park Episode, Now Online - Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Ever wanted to watch any episode of South Park? Well now you can, thanks to South Park Digital Studios, a joint venture between South Park and Comedy Central. SouthParkStudios.com features every full-length episodes from all twelve seasons which can be legally streamed to your computer for free. This seems to be a new trend which many studios are following. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, also a part of Comedy Central, made a similar move last year making every clip ever filmed available online at no cost to the viewer. Hulu, a News Corp and NBC Universal project, went public earlier this month offering hundreds of high quality full length episodes of TV shows.

“We got really sick of having to download our own show illegally all the time so we gave ourselves a legal alternative.” said Stone and Parker, when asked about the launch of the new site.

This move is beneficial to viewers since they won’t have to deal with downloading content illegally and to studios since they can rake in extra profits through ad revenue. At this time the content will unfortunately not be available for viewers in other countries rather than the United States due to contract issues, however they are working to change that. New episodes of South Park will appear on the site as soon as it is aired on TV, however will be removed after 7 days. The episode will become permanently available 30-days after the original air date. Lets hope more studios follow what Comedy Central has done with South Park and the Daily Show and NBC has done by launching Hulu.

Links: South Park Studios
Related: Hulu Goes Public

Kensington Bluetooth Stereo Headphones (Review) - Sunday, March 23, 2008

Kensington recently released new Bluetooth Stereo Headphones and as promised here’s our review. The headphones, also entitled the BT3071, sports the Bluetooth 2.0 protocol and uses the A2DP profile to wirelessly steam audio from any compatible device. These stereo headphones are fairly affordable and function a whole lot better compared to the previous generation of Bluetooth headphones.

Device Compatibility - 5/5 stars
From some tests, I found the Bluetooth Headphones to work seamlessly with the array of devices I paired it with. It was compatible with the Bluetooth built into a Sony VAIO running Windows XP, a Dell XPS M1530 running Windows Vista, and a Apple iMac running OS X Leopard. In addition it played nicely with the LG enV and LG Muziq mobile phones. And to top that, it also worked with the Sony PlayStation 3! If you’ve got a fairly modern Bluetooth-enabled gadget, chances are that you won’t have any problems.

Headset Functions - 3/5 stars
The Stereo Headphones also feature a built-in microphone allowing it to double as a wireless headset.. This means you’ll be able to answer calls when paired with a mobile phone and can be used for VOIP when paired with a computer. The downside might be that the audio to contained a bit too much static, which I didn’t experience with other Bluetooth headsets. It shouldn’t be much of an issue for taking calls occasionally, however you probably would want to get a different headset unless you wish to irritating the person on the other end of the phone.

Read More

Hulu Goes Public & Gets More Content! - Wednesday, March 12, 2008

After about a week of unofficial hints and rumors, early this morning Hulu opened themselves up to the public. Anyone located within the United States can visit Hulu.com and watch high-quality TV shows, nightly highlights, full length movies, full games, and short clips. Hulu limited to a audience of private beta users since October 2007. In addition to previous studios partnerships, Hulu now features content from Warner Bros. Lionsgate, NBA, HHL, and 20 other new providers. All content is viewable right through your browser without any additional plugins or software other than Adobe Flash. And to clarify the content isn’t user uploaded content, but rather high quality shows such as Family Guy, The Office, 30 Rock, House, Heroes, 24, and Late Night with Conan O’Brien.

“Today, Hulu is crossing a milestone in its mission to help people find and enjoy the world’s premium content, when where and how they want it,” said Jason Kilar, CEO of Hulu. “With full-length episodes of current and archived television shows, feature films, sports and news, we believe the Hulu service is a step forward in giving consumers entertainment on their terms.

In return for access to the premium content which is freely available on Hulu, viewers will be required to watch short 15 and 30 second ads a few times throughout each show. From most of the content I’ve viewed, there were only around two to three ads for a half-hour show which is a whole lot better than TV commercials. Hulu seems to be a big winner at the moment. With services such as these, the amount of illegally distributed copies of these shows should drop drastically. Due to the fact that Hulu was a joint venture between News Corp and NBC Universal, they were able to gain support from a lot of production studios which other competitors such as Joost failed to do. Plus with the freedom to embed full episodes onto any web page or social networking sites, I expect Hulu to spread faster than ever!

Links: Hulu.com
Download: Hulu Programming Guide

Pre-Order The DualShock 3 Controller - $49 - Tuesday, March 11, 2008

When the PlayStation 3 was originally launched Sony ran into a patent infringement with the rumble feature in their new controller. So instead of naming it the Dual Shock 3, which would be logical since it would have been a wireless version of the Dual Shock 2 for the PlayStation 2, they ended up naming the non-vibrating controller the SIXAXIS. When the patent issues were all settled by mid-2007, however the first Dual Shock 3 controller didn’t hit the market in Japan until November 2007. North America and Europe have an official launch date of April 15, 2008 at a MSRP of $54.99.

As always retailers are already taking in pre-orders for the controllers and Amazon seems to have a pretty darn good deal. Amazon is charging $49.99 for the Dual Shock 3 with free (super saver) shipping and no tax. In addition if you are worried the the price might drop, Amazon guarantees to offer you the lowest price it reaches between the time you place your order and the launch date. It’s a fairly good deal considering that the SIXAXIS Wireless Controller still runs at around $40-45. In addition you won’t have to wait for most games to become rumble-compatible. Over a hundred titles including best sellers such as Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, and Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots already fully support it, while other titles should get patches.

Pre-Order: Dual Shock 3 Controller - $49
Links: More DualShock 3 Info

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Review Roundup - Sunday, March 9, 2008

Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Nintendo Wii was finally released today in the United States. Brawl was preceded by Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee. The first version, Super Smash Bros., was first released in 1999 and became the 5th most sold game for the N64. It’s follower, Super Smash Bros. Melee, which hit the market in 2001 became the most sold game for the GameCube. Super Smash Bros. Brawl is the best of the series and just about every review it has received have earned it a near-perfect if not perfect score. Unfortunately didn’t yet have a chance to post our own review, however here’s a roundup from some major gaming sites:

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Info:

• Platform: Wii
• Release (US): March 9th, 2008
• Players: 1- 4
• Game Type: Fighting Action
• Developer: Nintendo

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Review:

• Gamespot - 9.5 / 10
• IGN - 9.5 / 10
• 1UP - A
• Destructoid - 9.5 / 10
• Thunderbolt - ten / ten
• Game Player - 10 / 10
• Games Radar - 10 / 10

Since Brawl utilizes the Wii’s WiFi, players have the ability to enter a match with up to a total of four players connected from different consoles in different locations. With the N64 version selling ~5 million copies and the GameCube version selling ~6 million, we’ll have to see if Brawl will live up to it’s name. If you own a Wii, are you going to get this game? Would you consider buying a Wii just for this game?

Links: Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Buy: Super Smash Bros. Brawl (via Amazon)