Nintendo DSi announced, US Gamers Set Reminders for One Year from Now

As excepted Nintendo has announced their refresh of the DS. The Nintendo DSi.

"The displays are slightly larger, at 3.25 inches apiece, and there's an external three megapixel camera as well as a front-facing camera located on the inside hinge. The DSi has an SD slot and internal storage, photos taken on the card can be transferred directly to the Wii Photo Channel."

"Nintendo is also launching... an online "DSi Shop," which will sell content directly over WiFi, including a free browser app and "DS Ware" games. The company will offer free wireless connectivity at "Nintendo Zone" hotspots located in select Japanese McDonalds locations. As currency, the shop will use the newly-renamed Nintendo Points (formerly Wii Points). A 1000 will come free with the handheld until March 2010, and content will be priced in 200 / 500 / 800 point brackets."

"The DSi will be offered in white or black finishes, and will cost ¥18,900 ($178) when it launches in Japan on November 1st -- the rest of us will have to wait until next year." Which should be plenty of time to save up that money you make selling candy on the train.



From Engadget
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TSA Ready for 'Checkpoint Friendly' Laptop Bags

The TSA has gotten flack, as of late, for not being slack enough on travelers toting laptops. In short, the TSA is asking every laptop owner to open up and boot up... while also facing them with possible seizure of their equipment without just cause. Never fear, they have a very clear set of guidelines that should allow you to glide through the checkpoint straight to the tarmac - without your laptop seeing the light of day.

Too bad it will eat up more time looking for a bag that meets these requirements, than just opening your bag in the first place. But, hey TSA thanks for trying.

Effective tomorrow, for a bag to be considered checkpoint friendly it should meet the following standards:

• A designated laptop-only section
• The laptop-only section completely unfolds to lay flat on the X-ray belt
• No metal snaps, zippers or buckles inside, underneath or on top of the laptop-only section
• No pockets on the inside or outside of the laptop-only section
• Nothing packed in the laptop-only section other than the computer itself.

Here's a new market ripe for conquest... TSA Ready Laptop Bags, investors I'm waiting.

TSA PR
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Archos 605 Becomes the Ultimate Travel Companion

A week from today, Archos plans to announce they'll be adding GPS to their already feature heavy personal media player, the Archos 605.

Unfortunately, for those of us in the New World, the news of this announcement comes from the island nation of Great Britain, via Pocket-lint. So, you shouldn’t expect this GPS functionality stateside until at least the end of the summer; by then the ‘hommes et femmes’ over at Archos should be able to hammer out an agreement with a GPS provider, in the United States, to become their partner in mapping.

Who knows really? We’re talking about a French company after all. They might get too caught up drinking wine and eating baguettes to remember about us silly Americans.

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Slingbox Solo Keeps you in the Loop

Are you a media junkie? Chances are if the idea of going without your favorite television programming sends you into a tizzy than you answered yes. So, what are folks like you to do if you’re traveling or just not around the house to get your media fix? Well, Sling Media's Slingbox Solo is sort of like an intravenous media drip that helps you maintain your composure by satisfying that insatiable media appetite you’ve developed. It’s an inexpensive device for broadcasting your DVR recordings, satellite/cable transmissions, or any of your media playing devices over the internet, using your home network.

Basically, you plug in your selected fountains of media, setup the Slingbox solo on your network (via Ethernet only), then go to your Slingbox home page on your laptop or Palm/Windows smart phone. On this webpage you will find a remote control which allows you to access the devices you’ve set up to interface with Slingbox. It’s TV on the go.

The only trouble is the Slingbox is a control freak. If you change channels on your web interface…the channel at home changes as well. The person actually sitting in front of the TV has no control over the channel selection. This slight setback is easily overcome by using the Slingbox on the cable or satellite receiver that is less used by those that would be home.

The other limitation of not being Wi-Fi capable is somewhat unforgivable considering most users don’t have their broadband modems in the same room as their home entertainment centers. Although, with a bit of shuffling this could be overcome this too. You could stow you modem near the TV and then plug the Slingbox into the Ethernet port of a Wi-Fi router, of course you’d connect the modem to the router too. Then, assuming your computer is Wi-Fi ready, the router would send the broadband signal to your computer.

These slight workarounds are a fair trade, the Slingbox solo it’s inexpensive and really cool. I mean who, in their right mind, could stand to be without “their stories” just because they’re on a European excursion?

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Archos 605, Wi-Fi PMP for the Techie

The Archos 605 Wi-Fi PMP, isn’t going to score you any cool points in the eyes of hipsters, they're hypnotized by shiny apples. But, as far as you and your cohorts are concerned this Wi-Fi enabled touch screen PMP is straight off the pages of Buck Rogers, and excruciatingly hip. Its elegance is not in its presentation. The beauty lays in its functionality, functionality that isn’t tied to a one-way file transfer or DRM video content from the manufacture’s own media store. Archos 605 mounts its internal memory as a drive on Mac or PC via USB, pretty basic (for any non-Apple PMP). You can then transfer whatever media or data files you wish, to and from the player’s memory. The memory offerings, which are substantial, come in 30, 80, & 160 Gigs capacities.

Screen size is always a draw with portable video players. Archos 605 has one of the largest on the market at 4.3-inchs. It displays in 800x480 resolution, so movies, pictures, and WebPages look the same as they would on your PC. They’ve also made the touch screen smudge resistance, somehow.

The best design features on any electronics are practical ones and because nothing screams impracticality like having to hold your video player while watching a two hour movie, this player has a sturdy metal stand built in. Also built into the unit is a speaker for sharing your movies in group viewing sessions. Archos 605's design drawbacks are the proprietary USB connection, its scratch magnet of a case and dirt prone white front buttons.

Archos 605 is a standalone player for music, videos, photos, and PDFs. The content portal, which is like online store, allows you to buy or rent movies and music from different providers, (how novel, competition in digital media distribution).

As with many devices from Archos, the 605 is a base for many add-ons. Marketing fluff aside, what you get in the box isn’t going to allow you to fully utilize the player’s capabilities. But then you wouldn't want to pay extra for stuff you might never use. At 20 bucks a pop, plug-ins allow for high definition playback, Wi-Fi internet radio, reading multiple video file formats, and more. If you plan on using Archos’ Wi-Fi connectivity to browse the net you need to purchase Opera web browsing software, $30. This mobile browser is highly rated and the flash plug-in gives you more of the web than Mobile Safari browser, which has no flash plug-in.

The most expensive, and consequently the most useful, add-on is Archos DVR Station, or dock. It adapts the video signal to your television, then, turns your digital video player into a digital video recorder, hence the DVR in the name. The DVR allows you to record and playback your favorite television content on the portable player, or on your television. Why pay a charge to watch shows on your PMP that you’ve already paid for in your cable subscription? Archos DVR Station also includes a physical keyboard on the DVR’s remote making web surfing and emailing while lounging in the EZ-Boy much more viable.

Archos has released a versatile, relatively inexpensive, customizable portable player that is unmatched in screen resolution. You may have to drop some additional cash to enhance functionality, but the investment is completely worth it, especially when you travel. If you are thinking iPod consider what you’ll be giving up, drag and drop hard drive support, wirelessly rent movies and music, and DVR. Sure the presentation is a bit lacking, but do you buy PMPs to impress others or yourself?

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iLive Travel iPod Speakers

Travel is hectic enough as is. Your travel gadgets shouldn’t put any extra burden upon your travel worn bones. Gadgets are always getting smaller, but when shopping for speakers logic dictates the more speaker you have the more sound you’ll get. This equation doesn't fit well with the lifestyle of the seasoned traveler. So, is there a happy median? It is doubtful anyone, aside from Bose, has found that perfect blend of compact size and big sound, yet. Though, iLive IC2807 has gotten closer than I’ve seen in a while.

iLive IC2807, (will the “i” era end?) is a lightweight, tote worthy, speaker system delivering a full sound…all in a slick foldable case that takes up less of the precious free space in your luggage. iLive has blended a travel alarm, with an iPod speaker. What’s better than waking up to your morning playlist to dissipate those home sick feelings? If you’re an audiophile, or rich, or both, go for the Bose SoundDock, it sounds amazing, but for the rest of us iLive speakers rock our heads hard enough...while sparing our wallets to boot.

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