Samsung offers price and ship date for R1 and R0 PMPs

I mentioned the Samsung R1 PMP last summer when it landed in Europe. We expected the player to come to the US soon, but that never happened. Samsung has finally announced availability and pricing information for the R1 and its sibling the R0 PMPs.

The R1 will come in 16GB and 8GB versions that will both ship in April for $149.99 and $179.99 respectively. The R0 PMP will also be offered in 8GB and 16GB versions shipping in April for $99.99 and $129.99 respectively.

The R1 features a 2.4-inch TFT LCD touchscreen with drag and drop media loading. The R1’s battery is good for up to 50 hours of audio playback and four hours of video per charge. It also features a FM tuner and recorder along with support for Bluetooth headsets. The R0 has a 2.6-inch LCD and has enough juice for six hours of video and 30 hours of audio along with a microSD card slot for storage expansion.

Pioneer DJM-2000 pro DJ mixer debuts

I once won some tickets to an event from a radio station and when I went to to pick them up the number of knobs and buttons in the studio was impressive. I could never be a DJ, I have a tendency to push buttons to figure out what they do rather than read instructions. Pioneer has a new pro DJ controller it is unveiling today for those that know what all the buttons and knobs are for called the DJM-2000.

The device has the industry’s first 5.8-inch multitouch screen effects, Evolved Beat Effects, Pro DJ Link, and MIDI controls. The color LCD also lets the DJ set up seven different dynamic audio effects with touches and movements on the screen.

Other features include Pro DJ Link to link the Pioneer CDJ-2000 or CDJ-900 turntables to the mixer and a Live Sampler for taking sounds from as mic or master output to use in the mix. A 3-band EQ is built-in and the Cross fader function can be assigned and adjusted. The DJM-2000 will ship in June for $2,999

OWC Mercury Elite-AL Pro mini quad interface storage solution revealed

OWC has a big range of external storage solutions and other gear that is typically aimed at Mac users, but often work with Windows machines as well. The latest OWC offering is a new external storage solution called the Mercury Elite-AL Pro mini. The storage solution is hailed as the industry’s first quad interface 2.5-inch 1TB HDD.

The mini is available to order now with ten different models ranging in storage capacity from 250GB to 1TB. All of the models have FireWire 800/400, USB 2.0, and eSATA interfaces with data speeds up to 300MB/s depending on the interface used.

The drives are all housed in an aluminum enclosure. Some versions of the external device have 5400 rpm drive; some have 7200 rpm drives, and SSD versions are offered as well. Prices range from $119.99 to $299.99 for the 5200/5400 rpm drives, 7200 rpm versions are $144 for 320GB and $189 for 500GB. SSD versions are $299 to $849 depending on capacity. All versions are powered by the USB bus.

Samsung offers pricing and availability on new Blu-ray home theater systems

Samsung is into home theater in a big way with all sorts of products including some of the most popular HDTVs around. Samsung is set to start selling its 3D TVs and will offer product demos in Sears stores this summer. Samsung has unveiled the pricing and availability on some of its new home theater systems that were on display at CES to go along with its new TVs.

Among the new home theater systems is the HT-C6930W shipping in April for $899 supporting 3D surround sound. The system also has wireless rear speakers. The HT-C7530W is a 5.1 surround sound system with wireless rear speakers, WiFi, 1GB of embedded storage and more for $999 with shipping starting in May.

The HT-C5500 and HT-C6500 home theater systems are for small spaces with 5.1 surround sound, advanced calibration options, and iPod docks. The C5500 will ship in March for $499 and the C6500 will ship in March for $649. The difference is that the C6500 will have 1GB of storage and dual HDMI inputs along with upgraded speakers.

OWC Mercury Elite-AL Pro mini quad interface storage solution revealed

OWC has a big range of external storage solutions and other gear that is typically aimed at Mac users, but often work with Windows machines as well. The latest OWC offering is a new external storage solution called the Mercury Elite-AL Pro mini. The storage solution is hailed as the industry’s first quad interface 2.5-inch 1TB HDD.

The mini is available to order now with ten different models ranging in storage capacity from 250GB to 1TB. All of the models have FireWire 800/400, USB 2.0, and eSATA interfaces with data speeds up to 300MB/s depending on the interface used.

The drives are all housed in an aluminum enclosure. Some versions of the external device have 5400 rpm drive; some have 7200 rpm drives, and SSD versions are offered as well. Prices range from $119.99 to $299.99 for the 5200/5400 rpm drives, 7200 rpm versions are $144 for 320GB and $189 for 500GB. SSD versions are $299 to $849 depending on capacity. All versions are powered by the USB bus.

Office Max to launch Engage store brand for tech gear

There are so many options for technology products on the market today that you can find gear just about anywhere. More options is not a bad thing though and Office Max has announced that it will be offering its own line of tech gear under the Engage brand. Here’s hoping Captain Piccard is featured on the packaging.

The first products in the Engage line will be a wired optical mouse and a wireless optical mouse. The wired version of the mouse will sell for $16.99 and will be offered in black or blue colors. The mouse has five buttons and a scroll wheel.

The wireless mouse is offered in purple, red, black, and bronze colors for $19.99. The mouse also has five buttons and a scroll wheel. Both Engage mice support Mac and PCs and are available right now.

Happy Hour Watch may be best gift ever for booze hounds

I have been running across a bunch of strange and cool watches recently. The coolest, and most expensive, has to be the 4N watch that I ran across this week with mechanical operation and limited to only 16 pieces. A new watch today isn’t expensive and isn’t handmade. The thing is called the Happy Hour Watch.

If you like to drink adult beverages that need a bottle opener this is the watch for you. The face of the watch has a digital display for time, the day, and an analog display that has normal hands and operation with red markings for 5p.m., also known as happy hour.

The buckle on the band of the watch is the unique bit here. It is designed to allow you to open a bottle without hunting for a bottle opener or using your teeth. The watch is available now for $49.95 on sale with the normal price being $69.95.

LG LX9900 LED TV Hitting Stores in May

And with it, will come 3D. That’s right, we bet you didn’t see that coming, right? LG is expanding their current 3D TV portfolio, and hoping that the competition doesn’t bog down the selection too much. There are plenty to choose from, but we do have to say that this model from LG looks sleek as all get out, and we wish we could muster the courage (for our wallets) to pick one of these bad boys up.

LG has been pushing out some models of their 3D TV line-up over the last few months to some locations in the UK, mostly pubs, but all of that is about to change. The company is pushing for home use now, so that its customers can enjoy 3D TV in May on the comfort of their couch. The TV (LX9900), coupled with LG’s Blu-Ray Disc player (BX580) would make your home movie night just about the best one on the block. Unless, you know, someone down the street has the better surround sound.

The TV will come into variants: 47-inch and 55-inch, and utilize active shutter glasses for the 3D technology. There’s also TruMotion 400Khz, 10,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, Bluetooth, DLNA, wireless AV link. And luckily enough for you, LG wants to make sure that you see their Blu-Ray player right next to the new TV, so they’re releasing the player at the same time as the TV. Price wise, while still officially unconfirmed, have been murmured to be about £2500 – £3000 for the 47-inch variation, and £3600 – £4000 for the 55-incher. The Blu-Ray player is said to go for about £350. So, start saving now, or you might miss out on one of the sleekest 3D TVs out there.

Microsoft Zune HD2 Already in the Works, Could Come This Year

There’s a pretty distinct set of reasons why, for the most part, it’s a good thing or a bad thing to be an early adopter of any piece of tech that comes out. On the one hand, you’ve got the latest and greatest gadget on the planet, and you can happily show it off to all your friends. On the other side of the coin, you’re usually faced with software/hardware glitches of some kind, and then there’s that impending feeling that sooner than later, your device will be obsolete. We’re not saying that’s happening here with the Zune HD, but if these rumors are true, we may have to strike our words.

According to the rumors floating around, the Zune HD2 would be more like an iPod Touch, whatever that means. Size, perhaps. Considering the HD2 has arguably (or not) better hardware than the iPod Touch, that’s really the only thing we can say that insinuates. If the sources speaking with ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley are to be believed, than the Zune HD2 is certainly on the way, and has a real shot at being released later this year. And, we all know what other thing is launching at the end of this year, and, whoa, look at that! They’re made by the same company!

We don’t think that would be a bad thing. Yes, the Zune HD came out last year, and yes, it’s a great Personal Media Player. But what Microsoft needs is more than just a few phones coming out at the end of this year rocking their Windows Phone 7 Series mobile Operating System. Just like Apple has done with their iPhone Operating System, Microsoft can capitalize on the fact that WP7S looks and works great on a bunch of devices. And sometimes, even across those platforms. There’s also the glaring fact that the current Zune HD won’t be playing those nifty XNA Game Studio 4.0 titles, so it’s time to update anyway. Right, Microsoft?

MSN Video Player Released to Compete with BBC iPlayer

Streaming videos isn’t the new thing. Although, we would say that it’s becoming ever more popular as the weeks progress into the 2010 year, and we’re wondering if all those cable and satellite providers out there are shaking in their boots yet. Watching TV on your computer, or even from your computer to your TV is becoming something of a regular in most houses, and MSN is looking to jump on the bandwagon with a free alternative. And, despite the fact it’s free, there’s some juicy goodness in here.

When you get a free thing, sometimes your first thought is that it won’t be everything you want it to be. Or, more likely, that it doesn’t have all the features you might want it to have. That’s why they make premium content, right? Apparently MSN didn’t get that memo (thankfully), because they’re all set to launch the first serious BBC iPlayer rival tomorrow: MSN Video Player. MSN is going to have it launch with somewhere in the ballpark of 1,000 hours of video, which is fantastic. The player is apparently aimed at the youth, young families, and professional market, so we’re likely to see a broad swath of videos therein. And, unlike the BBC iPlayer, MSN isn’t going to have a time delay or limit on their collected episodes. With the Video Player, you’ll be able to enjoy full seasons of your shows, front to back, like Skins, Wife Swap, and Peep Show.

The service itself, as we mentioned above, is free, but customers will have to watch 30-second advertisements before, during, and after their program. Other services, like Hulu and Crackle, both take this method, so we imagine that it won’t be that big of a deal to a lot of customers in the UK. And, unfortunately, that’s where this service is solely situated: No word on any availability of this streaming platform here in the States. And while Microsoft has managed to work together with some of the biggest TV studios and broadcasters, they aren’t stopping there. They are currently in talks with movie publishers to bring a broad movie selection to the service as well. The service is set to launch tomorrow, so if you’re in the UK, let us know how it goes. We’d love to hear your feedback.

Asus Cine5 Speaker Brings Surround Sound to a Small Package

We can still remember the days when you needed a whole bunch of wires, strung up along the wall or hidden beneath the carpet, and speakers placed methodically throughout a living room or bedroom, to recreate that beautiful surround sound experience we all love so much in theaters. Over years that’s changed in one way or another, and even more recently these sound bars, a single bar with set speakers within them, seem to be taking up all the attention. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that they usually look like something from the future.

In this case, we’ve got the Asus Cine5, which is a smaller take on the more familiar sound bars out there. This model, which isn’t designed for the big TVs on the market, should fit pretty nicely right on your desk, if you like enjoying your music in a more robust kind of way. The Cine5 measures in at about 15-inches, but it’s got the typical five speaker set up under the hood. It’s also managed to squeeze a 28W max amp. There’s even a 3.5mm audio jack, if you feel inclined to plug your headphones in.

As we said, we love the looks of the majority of these surround sound bars, and the Asus Cine5 is no exception. It’s got a sleekness that captivates us. We’d even go as far as to say that it’s shiny, and that’s one of the best things about gadgets. Unfortunately, we don’t have any word on pricing or availability date, but we’re crossing our fingers that it’s sooner than later. We’re thinking a few people out there are going to want to take this thing home.

Razer Plans Future Mac Support, Also Adding Existing Products

It’s only been a couple days since the official announcement heard ’round the world: Valve is releasing Steam for Mac. That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, one of the biggest reasons Mac users were running BootCamp on their systems has now come their way in a far more native approach. So, while everyone is clearing out their hard drives, Razer wants to make it perfectly clear that they, too, are going to start supporting the Cupertino-based hardware/software combo.

Razer announced today at the on-going Gamer Developer’s Conference (GDC) that they are going to issue drivers for Mac users, so that they can install and use all upcoming Razer accessories. But, just to make sure that their current customers aren’t given the shaft, they’re also releasing the driver software for previously released hardware as well. To confirm their diligence, they released the Mac driver for the Naga MMO mouse today, as well as the DeathAdder.

The company is one of the best when it comes to gaming peripherals. Devices like the Naga MMO mouse and Razer DeathAdder have become well known to the gaming universe. And now that Mac has some how launched itself out of the gaming afterlife, and shown that they are back in the game (pun intended), it’s no surprise that the peripheral manufacturers out there are going to jump on board as well. Welcome back, Mac. It’s been a long time coming.

Quirky unveils crowd designed Cloak Undercover case for iPad

I think many of the products Quirky produces are cool and I like the fact the company lets visitors to its website help design the product. The latest product for sale at Quirky is a cool case for the iPad called the Cloak Undercover.

Quirky is taking pre-orders on the Cloak Undercover now for $36 each and only 620 will be made. The Cloak is a case with a lid that flips back to protect the screen of the iPad. The iPad is held inside the case with a friction grip after it is slid into the case.

The Cloak has a stand that will hold the iPad up in portrait mode and the lid can be used to hold the tablet up in landscape mode. The case is cool and you can pre-order yours right now.

MSI debuts new Wind12 U230-033 and U230-040 notebooks

MSI pulled the cover off its Wind12 line of AMD powered ultraportables a few months ago. We saw the original U230 on video back in November of 2009. MSI has unveiled a couple new models for the Wind12 line called the U230-033 and the U230-040.

The new models for the line weigh 3.3 pounds each and have 2GB of RAM along with a 6-cell battery. The operating system for both models is Windows 7 Home Premium and both have 12.1-inch 1366 x 768 HD resolution screens. Graphics on both models are via Radeon HD 3200 GPUs.

The keyboards use keys 51% larger than those on standard keyboards do for typing comfort and pack in a 1.3MP webcam, HDMI out, USB 2.0 ports, and a memory card reader. The difference in the two models comes in storage and CPU. The U230-033 has an Athlon Neo MV-40 processor and 250GB of storage with the U230-040 getting an Athlon X2 L335 processor and 320GB of storage. The 033 sells for $429 and the 040 sells for $479 with both at Newegg now.

Smart Kid baby furniture is useful once the kid can climb

I have two kids and both are years outside the baby bed today. I can remember putting the beds for them both together only to toss them out in a few years when they learned to scale the side of the bed. Andensen Furniture has a new design concept that is perfect for the new parents looking to get some mileage out of their furniture.

The Smart Kid furniture starts out as your average crib with drawers under and beside the crib. You need lots of storage for diapers and maybe extra clothes for you until you learn to dodge the urine stream if you have a boy. My son always held a bit back to use the instant the wiener hit air.

Once the baby is too old for a crib, the whole thing can be transformed into a variety of other useful devices for an older kid’s room. The setup can turn into a toddler bed with a desk and a green thingy that appears to be Velcro. It can also turn into one of those baby jail cells for when you need some time without chasing a toddler. Kid Smart has to be the coolest baby furniture ever.

HP adds MediaSmart Expander for TiVo to MediaSmart Home servers

HP has been offering its interesting line of MediaSmart Home servers for a while now. The line of servers runs Microsoft Windows Home Server software and allows the user to store all sorts of digital content from their network in one place for management and streaming to other machines on the network.

HP has announced a new and cool feature for the MediaSmart line that adds the capability to manage TiVo HD DVRs directly from the MediaSmart server with HP MediaSmart Expander for TiVo. Users that have a TiVo HD DVR can transfer recorded programs from the DVR directly to the MediaSmart server and then send them back to the TiVo if needed.

The recordings can be managed directly from the HP server and recordings stored on the server can be sent to any PC on the home network for viewing. The service can be accessed from the Windows Home Server Console on EX90, EX495, and Data Vault servers at no additional cost.

Cisco ushers in “next-generation internet”, routing platform scales up to 332 Tbps/s [Video]

After a momentous announcement yesterday that it would unveil something today that would “forever change the internet”, Cisco has introduced its internet changer, the Cisco CRS-3 Carrier Routing System. Let’s just say that it won’t quite change your world, but it’ll deliver your slice of the internet quite a bit faster.

“The Cisco CRS-3 triples the capacity of its predecessor, the Cisco CRS-1 Carrier Routing System, with up to 322 Terabits per second, which enables the entire printed collection of the Library of Congress to be downloaded in just over one second; every man, woman and child in China to make a video call, simultaneously; and every motion picture ever created to be streamed in less than four minutes.”

So it’s faster, but only by three times the speed. That’s not enough to be labeled life-changing in my book, but it certainly will be appreciated.