Gadget Access

Spark Universe is showing off their latest PMP, the cp-11s. A very UMPC looking device with some strange specs. The cp-11s runs Windows CE 5.0 and features a touchscreen 16:9 display, built-in Wi-Fi, USB 1.1 port and SD/MMC card slots. The cp-11s has support for Skype, MSN Messenger, Windows Media Player, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF files. Sadly it only comes with a low 64MB of RAM.

The cp-11s can handle AVI, WMV, ASF, 3GP, DivX, Flash and MPEG-4 videos, MP3, WMA and WAV audio files, JPEG, BMP and GIF images, and Flash, 3D and NES/FC games as well as an e-book reader. No word on availability or pricing.

Via [SlashGear]

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Posted Feb 1st 2008 10:00PM by Nilay Patel
Filed under: Gaming
Naturally curious as to why Xbox 360 Elites are so difficult to find, we went straight to the source — and Microsoft tells us that demand is simply outstripping supply on the 360 Elite right now, and that no model lineup changes are planned at this time — especially since the Elite is their hot seller. Well, so much for that conspiracy — guess we’re back to reading the PS3 tea leaves.

Posted Feb 1st 2008 8:51PM by Nilay Patel
Filed under: Gaming
We’re chalking this up to mixed PR signals, but a spokesperson for PDP — makers of that Rock Band Premium Microphone we caught the other day sporting a Wii logo — just let us know it was an accident, and that the mic isn’t compatible with the Wii after all. Of course, the only reason we cared is that the logo signaled the arrival of Rock Band on the Wii — which we now know is happening anyway — so the only people disappointed here should be those of you who wanted to experience Wii Rock Band with “premium” third-party accessories. So… too bad for three of you. We regret your loss. Now if you’ll excuse us, we have to get back to mastering the drums on “Tom Sawyer.”

TigerDirect has completed the purchase of 16 of the CompUSA retail locations as well as the inventory and website. According to a statement from TigerDirect, the “best CompUSA retail stores” will be integrated within a few weeks. According to a tipster over on the Consumerist the locations will include the retail locations from Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, of course there has not been any confirmation on that. Having been to a TigerDirect retail location before, this news, at least to me does not sound really good. Of course with some of the bad experiences that I had while shopping at CompUSA, it may just be like no changes were made.

Via [Consumerist]

Today, we made history!

A journey that started early last year culminated at 9:31 PST today, in the signing of a definitive agreement to purchase the CompUSA™ brand, website, up to 16 of their best stores, and many other valuable assets. In the next few days, http://www.compusa.com will be ours.

The value of the CompUSA brand is enormous and its potential is limitless. At one point, CompUSA achieved revenues of nearly $5 billion a year, with a “household brand name” status. Included with this acquisition will be millions of loyal customers who know and love the CompUSA brand. We anticipate many experienced CompUSA employees will fold into our company, joining our ranks, and our new improved company will be stronger and better.

The future is what we make it.

The new and improved CompUSA will operate within our family of websites. All web traffic, sales calls, service calls and orders will be taken, processed and shipped within our current systems. In a few weeks, we will begin to integrate 16 of the best CompUSA retail stores into our operations.

Integrating CompUSA into our operations will be a great challenge, no doubt. But everything we’ve done previously has prepared us for this event, and I know we will be successful.

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If you’ve had a particularly long day at the office and just want to relax in your pad with some soothing music, the Room Palette will definitely help usher in that peaceful feeling by beaming summer ocean lights onto your walls and ceiling, thanks to the thick gel-like substance stored within the adjustable cylinder. It is powered with a quartet of AA batteries, so having some rechargeable batteries lying around the house would definitely be handy. The Room Palette measures 13cm × 18.5cm × 11-22cm and retails for $42.50.

Product Page

In case you’re one of those people who likes everything small and efficient, you might want to consider checking out this new HP laser printer. HP touts that this is the smallest ever, and it was announced this past summer, but starts shipping now.

The LaserJet P1005 takes up the same area as a 15.4-inch notebook, so I would imagine it really is as small as HP claims. Additionally, when in PowerSave mode, it can spit out a piece of paper in around 8.5 seconds. Also, it has an average speed of 14 pages per minute, which isn’t too bad considering it’s size. Furthermore, it looks like HP has some special ink “formed from perfectly spherical particles”, which they claim to have better quality than other inks. It is available on Amazon right now for $145.

Via [Crave]

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Yes, we’re all still coming down from the Macworld announcements high and now we’re looking at the cold, hard reality of what we really got from this year’s Macworld. Take the AppleTV, for instance. Sure, you can use your iPod and navigate music and videos and even rent movies through it. It’s still quite expensive for not having any DVR capabilities or the ability to read media on a disc.

There’s a great alternative that you can use on your television to watch your videos and music from your iPod. The Tekkeon NavDock is (according to the official website) “a Home Media Center with On-TV Navigation for iPod.” The NavDock “lets you navigate your iPod through an on-TV menu to play videos, photos and music on a connected television.”

The NavDock also supports the following models of the iPod:

• iPod classic
• iPod nano (3rd generation)
• iPod (video)

The following models are compatible with NavDock, but do not support video on-TV navigation. NavDock’s on-TV navigation of music is supported.

• iPod touch
• iPod with color display
• iPod 4G
• ipod nano (1st and 2nd generation)
• iPod mini

Also, the on-screen interface can be customized to use one of four colors: green, blue, orange, or pink. iLounge has a great review of the NavDock and shows you very detailed photos of the unit itself and what works well and what doesn’t - a great resource if you’re considering the NavDock. Granted, you can’t rent movies on the NavDock like you can with the AppleTV, but isn’t that what Netflix is for? But you can pick one up for $130 when its released soon.

Full Feature list:
Dock

• Remote navigation of videos and music via on-TV menu
• Play slideshow on TV
• Now playing screen with album art, song info, and status bar
• Viewable song lyrics
• On-screen display of iPod user name
• User adjustable screen savers
• Customizable color schemes
• Access to equalizer presets
• Multilingual menu: English, Spanish, Japanese
• Charges iPod

Remote Control

• One-touch mode selector for videos, photos, music and settings
• Five-way navigation pad
• Home key
• Volume control
• Mute
• Play/pause
• Skip next/back
• Fast forward/backware
• Shuffle
• Repeat

[Tekkeon via iLounge]