Meet my new favorite phone. The Samsung Blackjack from Cingular is a veritable wunderkind amongst the sea of comparatively ordinary competitors. Not only will it turn heads every time you whip it out, but it’ll outperform any other smart phone in the building, block, neighborhood, etc.
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Since the original classic controller peripheral for the Nintendo Wii was announced, I was instantly wondering what the hell we would use it for. Then, Nintendo talked about the Wii’s “virtual console,” which lets you download NES, SUPER NES, N64 and Genesis games onto your Wii. At that point, it all made sense, until I took another look at the controller. The controller actually has two Z buttons on the bottom, meaning there is one more button on the classic controller than the GameCube pad. Chris Kohler over at Game Life also has noticed this problem, and decided to try and use the classic controller with GameCube games, which would really make a lot more sense seeing as how the classic controller is better designed for GameCube games over classic games. As it turns out, the classic controller doesn’t work for GameCube games. So, what the hell are all the buttons on it for?
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Microsoft received a lot of bad press when it first launched the Zune a couple of weeks ago, making the Zune seem like it wasn’t going to be the big iPod-slaying product that we were waiting for. It turns out that the Zune was actually the second highest selling portable digital player in the first four days of its release. The numbers were generated by market research firm NPD Group, which also stated the Zune had a very good first-week showing. The numbers only correspond to major U.S. electronic retailers, as online sales of the Zune placed it behind both Apple and Sandisk portable digital players.

It’s no surprise the Zune isn’t doing so well online as consumers who are more likely to buy a product online probably caught on to all of the bad press and reviews Microsoft had received regarding its new product. Henry Chen, of Current Analysis, stated Microsoft needs to come up with an improved Zune with touched-up features to be a strong competitor in the portable digital player market.

I have to disagree with Chen, I feel that the features on the Zune are already there and Microsoft needs to figure out a way to utilize them better. We don’t want Microsoft to release a new Zune every few months the way Apple does its iPod. The Zune is still fresh, and if Microsoft fixes the little problems the Zune faces, we may very well have a strong contender against the iPod.

Edit: I should point out that being the number two ranked player is less impressive because all of Apple’s sales are spread out across several iPod devices.

Zune May Stand A Chancel [cnn money]

CoolIT Eliminator: Gets Rid Of CPU Heat, Not Raw Sewage
The Sign of the Times: MP3 Doorbells
Lucid Dreaming for the Poor
NEC Develops Prototype Phone To Cater To Gumby
Commenter Appreciation Begins

TiVo está viniendo a las gracias de México a errr I mean TiVo is coming to Mexico City thanks to Cablevision. The company will distribute Spanish-speaking TiVo-based DVRs to Mexico City customers beginning in the first half of 2007.

Zatz scooped the story, but current information is limited. So no word yet on pricing or how fast service will spread beyond Mexico City. It is at least interesting to see TiVo creating a presence amongst our neighbors to the south.

TiVo Heads South Of The Border [Zatz]

As CrunchGear enters its fifth month of existence, we wanted to start something to honor you, the readers, who continue to make this possible. So I’d like to announce our new ongoing commenter appreciation series.

The concept is much the same as our CrunchRace 2000 contest, except this one will be ongoing. Prizes will be given at random on a weekly basis. All you have to do is comment and use a valid email address.

And since I don’t think this would be a very good announcement without a winner. CrunchGear commenter webonics has been selected as the very first winner of the series for his continued commenting. He will receive a brand new 2nd Gen iPod Shuffle.

This is just the first of many, many prizes though. So lets get those comments rumbling.

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Rockbox [Website, via Zune-online]

Sony PlayStation 3 users are reporting their SIXAXIS controllers are no longer detected by their PS3s. To get the controller to be recognized again by the console, users have to repeatedly plug in the controller via USB to sync it to the console. I haven’t had problems with this yet, but it could be a bug that came in when users downloaded the new 1.11 firmware update that was released yesterday. Sony’s obviously still trying to get things ironed out with its new console, but the controller problem is something users really shouldn’t have to deal with.

Another thing I’ve been wondering about is what exactly Sony fixed with the 1.11 firmware update. The high definition scaling problem isn’t fixed, the browser is still slow, consoles are still crashing when visiting the online store and now controllers are freezing up. From the looks of it, the only thing I see different is the user account feature that lets you add more money into your “virtual wallet.”
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We like us some camouflage when it’s done right and the new Sony-Ericsson Z530i is no exception. This phone comes in stylin’ black or pink camo and is perfect for those of you who are street soldiers.

Sony-Ericsson partnered up exclusively with Boost Mobile to produce this phone that comes with features like a VGA camera, MP3 player, and Bluetooth. Seems you can pick it up online for about $140.
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Because Nintendo Wii users are losing control of their Wiimotes, the official Nintendo website has decided to update the safety instructions for the Wii on its website. If you own a Wii, you’ll find most of the safety precautions the same as when you start up a game on your console, for those who haven’t managed to get a Wii yet, check out some of the things you have to be careful about. My personal favorite is:

In Wii Sports bowling, the proper way to let go of the ball while bowling is to release the “B” button on the Wii Remote—DO NOT LET GO OF THE Wii REMOTE ITSELF.

The other safety precautions include holding on to the Wii remote firmly, always wearing the wrist strap when you play (apparently the strap has been breaking on users) and giving yourself plenty of room so you don’t accidentally hit something or someone. I can’t wait to see what Nintendo puts up on its site when Super Smash Brothers Brawl comes out. Probably something along the lines of “Do not use the Wiimote as a weapon.” I doubt anyone will listen.

Nintendo Updates Wii Safety Instructions [Nintendo]

Second Life residents get virtual mobile phone [SlashGear]

Peltier-Seebeck effect the cooler’s patented MTEC technology uses multiple thermoelectric coolers to chill the liquid below your ambient temperature.

The big benefit to this is that the liquid isn’t being cooled by fans, so there’s much less noise. The system comes pre-plumbed too, factory sealed and ready for more than 50,000 hours of maintenance-free operation.

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For the past year, we’re sure that the OLPC team has been hard at work designing the $100 laptop for poor kids in Africa. We’re proud that they’re so committed to the job, but everyone needs a break once in a while. In comes the classic FPS Doom to keep the team entertained. Seems Christopher Blizzard (total porn name) and his buddies over at the OLPC offices threw Doom on the OLPC and had a ball.

Doom looks, sounds, and plays great on the OLPC and the controls are sweet thanks to the d-pad on the side of the laptop. Peep the video above to see a bunch of dorks shooting up Imps whilst giggling like schoolgirls.

Doom on the OLPC XO [OLPC News via Boing Boing]

NetStreams Digital Doorbell [Home Toys]

some of the hyped Black Friday, brick-and-mortar deals. Wal-Mart was apparently the only one that delivered, beating online prices of an RCA 5GB MP3 player for only $88.72, or 40 percent lower than the lowest price found online, at $156.57.

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It looks like North Korea won’t be getting its version of the iTunes Music Store anytime soon. Because of, ya know, that stunt it pulled awhile back, the Bush Administration has imposed sanctions on all luxury goods heading into North Korea. This means no iPods, no Johnny Walker, no Trojan Magnum XLs, no Harleys, or anything else, from companies that operate inside the greatest country ever founded, will be available to Kim Jong Il and his peeps.

Says the AP:

“The U.S. government’s first-ever effort to use trade sanctions to personally aggravate a foreign president expressly targets items believed to be favored by Kim Jong Il or presented by him as gifts to the roughly 600 loyalist families who run the communist government,”

So basically, if you want to make a quick buck faster than selling a PS3 on launch day, buy a few dozen iPods and sell them on the black market in North Korea. Personally, I’m glad to see sanctions taken against a country that threatens us. It just goes to show that these colors don’t run.

U.S. to North Korean leader: No iPods for you! [CNN]

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The millionth 42-inch Ambilight FlatTV has been produced at Philips’ manufacturing facility in Burges, Belgium. How’s that for a milestone? Hopefully it was made to Flemish cheers and rounds of Stella. Frankly I’m surprised they’ve produced so many of these beasties.

The Ambilight system is said to contribute to the viewing experience by casting ambient light from the rear of the set. I’m sort of on the fence about the utility of these feature, but I’ve yet to actually see it in action, so I don’t really know first hand.

Product Page

Digital Lifestyle Outfitters announced today an onslaught of Zune accessories. Foremost among the newline is the Power Pack for Zune.

The Power Pack is one charging device that can charge via AC, DC or USB. It is available for $39.99.
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