Rumor has it that the Pixi is dropping on October 20, just in time for pre-holidays sales. Not much more on pricing or availability but expect it on Sprint.

BGR notes that Best Buy will also be carrying the phone and brings up an interesting point:

The question is, with the original Palm Pre, iPhone 3GS already out and the Motorola CLIQ, BlackBerry Storm 2 and Bold 9700 coming soon, does anyone care?

Hot Hardware gave it a spin and it came in with some extremely impressive benchmarks. Most impressive was a record breaking 75.6 FPS on Crysis. Remember, this is the game that many people felt was written for hardware from the future, not the CPU’s and GPU’s that were available at the time. Well, the future has arrived.

Of course with Alienware, there’s always that other shoe that drops. You know, the price? Well, the Aurora ALX comes in at a wallet-plundering $4074, as tested. Ouch.

Next is Final Fantasy XIV. The graphics look better than XI but certainly nowhere near XIII. That’s to be expected from an MMO. Still, this brand-new world they’re bringing in will probably be the cradle for a lot of interesting new games.

Last is PixelJunk’s Shooter. I highlighted this before but this trailer shows off even more cool gameplay mechanics, like picking up chunks of ice or working with a partner. This game just looks beautiful and original — between FF XIII, Valkyria Chronicles and this, I may just have to pick me up a PS3 Slim.

They didn’t drop all of a sudden as some hardware is wont to do, and the rumored specs have been around for a while, but of course, we don’t comment on rumors here at CrunchGear. Too much integrity.

The new flagship card runs at the same core clock speed as the old one, but it has twice the stream processors and texture units and a much-improved memory clock speed. Judging from the transistor count, it looks like the new 40nm process basically just allowed them to fit a huge amount more of the same stuff on the same card without worrying as much about heat or power draw. So this is less a revolutionary step and more a dangerously turbo version of the old 4800 series.

Of course, they’re also DirectX 11-compatible, and they’re at least working on making the most popular GPGPU protocols work with them as well. OpenCL and such, you know.

Anandtech’s review of the 5870 suggests that while this is certainly the fastest single GPU solution available today (for gaming and such at least), it’s not the leapfrog that was expected, and you can get more performance from putting a couple older cards into crossfire. At any rate, I’m not interested in the flagship models. The 5850 is the sweet spot: $260 MSRP for a huge improvement over the last flagship design, and you’ll probably be able to get it for much less once the novelty wears off and prices drop. Do I have my next video card picked out? Very possibly.

Update: The Inquirer has a pretty exhaustive list of reviews if you want to get dirty.

Dell’s got a handsome deal on an unlocked Nokia 5800 XpressMusic phone at just $240 with free shipping. The offer is good for two days only, from today until Saturday the 12th at 5:59 AM Central Time.

It’s a GSM phone with a 640×360 touchscreen, 3.2-megapixel autofocus camera, Symbian OS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and assisted GPS. The 5800 is built for music, too, with a 35-hour playback time (according to Nokia).

NOKIA 5800 XpressMusic Unlocked Smartphone [Dell.com]

We’re live at Microsoft’s Xbox 360 press conference at E3 in Los Angeles.

No need to refresh the page — everything updates automatically.

• 1:10 PM: Doug Aamoth Peter is waiting in line for the conference to start. I’m sitting in a comfy faux-leather office chair in Boston ready to help him post stuff. How do we simultaneously cover an event when we’re in two different places? THE FUTURE IS NOW!
• 1:13 PM: Doug Aamoth The show starts at 10:25 Pacific, 1:25 Eastern, so you have time to run out and grab a Mr. Pibb before everything gets underway.
• 1:22 PM: Doug Aamoth
• 1:26 PM: ThePeterHa And away we go!
• 1:27 PM: ThePeterHa The Beatles animated clip is playing.
• 1:29 PM: ThePeterHa A really long animated The Beatles Rock Band clip is being played.
• 1:29 PM: ThePeterHa Oh, it was the opening cinematic
• 1:30 PM: ThePeterHa The Beatles launched a tech revolution?
• 1:30 PM: ThePeterHa On 9/9/09 the entire Beatles catalog is being rereleased/remastered
• 1:31 PM: ThePeterHa The Harmonix team is playing A Hard Day’s Night
• 1:32 PM: ThePeterHa
• 1:32 PM: ThePeterHa Maybe not a hard day’s night
• 1:32 PM: ThePeterHa i don’t know
• 1:32 PM: ThePeterHa
• 1:34 PM: ThePeterHa
• 1:34 PM: ThePeterHa 10 of the 45 songs are being announced today.
• 1:34 PM: ThePeterHa The first official trailer is going up now
• 1:34 PM: ThePeterHa I Saw her standing there
• 1:34 PM: ThePeterHa I want to hold your hand
• 1:35 PM: ThePeterHa Looks like Rock Band to me
• 1:35 PM: ThePeterHa but with beatles
• 1:35 PM: ThePeterHa “i’m in love with her and i feel fine” that song
• 1:35 PM: ThePeterHa Day Tripper
• 1:35 PM: ThePeterHa Taxman
• 1:35 PM: ThePeterHa I am the Walrus
• 1:36 PM: ThePeterHa Back in the USSR
• 1:36 PM: ThePeterHa There was something about a “unison bonus” on screen. Is that a normal RB thing?
• 1:36 PM: ThePeterHa Here Comes the Sun
• 1:36 PM: ThePeterHa “Octupus’ garden” that song
• 1:36 PM: ThePeterHa Get Back
• 1:37 PM: ThePeterHa The game will also feature DLC, like full albums
• 1:37 PM: ThePeterHa Abbey Road will be the first album to download in its entirety
• 1:37 PM: ThePeterHa All You Need is Love will be an exclusive Xbox song and proceeds from that song will go to Doctors Without Borders
• 1:38 PM: ThePeterHa Danny Harrison is on stage
• 1:38 PM: ThePeterHa and then he just left
• 1:38 PM: ThePeterHa Lots of shout outs to Apple Corps
• 1:38 PM: ThePeterHa Yoko Ono and Olivia Lennon ar eon stage
• 1:39 PM: ThePeterHa But I’m in the nosebleed section so I can’t get a clear shot
• 1:39 PM: ThePeterHa Paul and RIngo are here!
• 1:40 PM: Doug Aamoth
• 1:40 PM: ThePeterHa
• 1:40 PM: Doug Aamoth There’s your shot of Yoko, buddy.
• 1:40 PM: ThePeterHa Ringo says, “the game looks good, the graphics look great…”
• 1:40 PM: ThePeterHa “We love it!”
• 1:41 PM: ThePeterHa “God bless, peace and love”
• 1:41 PM: ThePeterHa hahahahha. Thanks, Doug.
• 1:41 PM: ThePeterHa John Sschappert is coming on
• 1:41 PM: ThePeterHa he’s the corp vp for xbox
• 1:42 PM: ThePeterHa ‘Everyone wants to have fun now’
• 1:42 PM: ThePeterHa ‘from the living room’
• 1:42 PM: ThePeterHa YES! No actual numbers talk
• 1:43 PM: ThePeterHa 10 world premieres today!
• 1:43 PM: ThePeterHa ‘new ways to connect with your friends’
• 1:43 PM: ThePeterHa ‘revolutionary new experiences for everyone’ he says
• 1:43 PM: ThePeterHa Tony Hawk Ride
• 1:43 PM: ThePeterHa Tony Hawk is here!
• 1:43 PM: ThePeterHa Here come the numbers
• 1:44 PM: ThePeterHa accelerometers on the board
• 1:44 PM: ThePeterHa detects your hands if you’re going for a nose grab or whatever
• 1:44 PM: Doug Aamoth
• 1:45 PM: ThePeterHa world exclusive trailer is going up
• 1:45 PM: ThePeterHa Sheckler, Hosoi, and other skaters are in the video
• 1:45 PM: ThePeterHa They’re just talking about how much they love to sakte
• 1:45 PM: Doug Aamoth fun fact: Tony Hawk is 41 years old
• 1:46 PM: ThePeterHa Robomodo made the board
• 1:46 PM: ThePeterHa crazy
• 1:46 PM: ThePeterHa the board senses everything you do on it
• 1:47 PM: ThePeterHa it even mimics the player pushing off
• 1:47 PM: ThePeterHa Activision will ahve them available to play on the show floor
• 1:47 PM: ThePeterHa Next game is…
• 1:48 PM: ThePeterHa a shooter
• 1:48 PM: ThePeterHa surprise
• 1:48 PM: ThePeterHa Something from Infinity Ward
• 1:48 PM: ThePeterHa Can’t tell if it’s first or third person shooter yet
• 1:49 PM: ThePeterHa it looks badass whatever it is
• 1:49 PM: ThePeterHa Modern Warfare 2
• 1:49 PM: ThePeterHa 11/10/09
• 1:49 PM: ThePeterHa Jason West and Vince Zampella are on stage
• 1:50 PM: Doug Aamoth
• 1:50 PM: ThePeterHa from IW
• 1:50 PM: ThePeterHa Gameplay now
• 1:50 PM: ThePeterHa Captain MacTavish is traversing an ice cliff
• 1:51 PM: Doug Aamoth
• 1:51 PM: ThePeterHa
• 1:51 PM: ThePeterHa So you actually climb up the face of this ice cliff
• 1:52 PM: ThePeterHa with ice axes and the whole lot
• 1:53 PM: ThePeterHa
• 1:54 PM: ThePeterHa
• 1:54 PM: ThePeterHa A lot of the same thing we’ve seen from shooters
• 1:55 PM: ThePeterHa shoot, move on
• 1:55 PM: ThePeterHa rinse and repeat
• 1:55 PM: ThePeterHa It looks good
• 1:55 PM: ThePeterHa But nothing new
• 1:56 PM: ThePeterHa Ohhhhhh
• 1:56 PM: ThePeterHa Now you can snowmobile and shoot your pistol like a gangsta
• 1:56 PM: ThePeterHa you know, tilted to the side
• 1:57 PM: ThePeterHa Two map packs for MW2 for the xbox
• 1:57 PM: ThePeterHa Square Enix folks are coming on stage
• 1:57 PM: ThePeterHa producers from Final Fantasy
• 1:58 PM: ThePeterHa
• 1:58 PM: ThePeterHa FF has been around for over 20 years
• 1:58 PM: ThePeterHa 85 million copies sold
• 1:59 PM: ThePeterHa They’re about to demo FF13 on the Xbox
• 1:59 PM: ThePeterHa i
• 2:00 PM: ThePeterHa i’ll have video later
• 2:00 PM: Doug Aamoth
• 2:00 PM: ThePeterHa but i’m sure it will be available soon
• 2:00 PM: ThePeterHa “four active time gauges”
• 2:01 PM: ThePeterHa Oden
• 2:01 PM: ThePeterHa
• 2:02 PM: ThePeterHa Spring 2010 release for FF13
• 2:02 PM: ThePeterHa
• 2:02 PM: ThePeterHa Epic is coming up
• 2:02 PM: ThePeterHa Cliffy B1
• 2:03 PM: ThePeterHa
• 2:03 PM: ThePeterHa Cliffy B is wearing a Bill Gates mug shot t-shirt
• 2:03 PM: ThePeterHa Shadow Complex
• 2:04 PM: ThePeterHa You’re meant to use all of the environment
• 2:05 PM: ThePeterHa Campaign is over 10 hours
• 2:05 PM: ThePeterHa “cool boss levels” says Cliffy
• 2:05 PM: ThePeterHa
• 2:05 PM: ThePeterHa XBLA title coming this summer
• 2:06 PM: ThePeterHa Joy Ride
• 2:06 PM: ThePeterHa Avatar adventures!
• 2:06 PM: ThePeterHa yay
• 2:06 PM: ThePeterHa NOT
• 2:07 PM: ThePeterHa “new social experience”
• 2:07 PM: ThePeterHa free
• 2:07 PM: ThePeterHa You can share race tracks you’ve purchased with friends
• 2:07 PM: ThePeterHa regardless of whether or not they’ve purchased the track
• 2:07 PM: ThePeterHa coming this winter
• 2:08 PM: ThePeterHa
• 2:08 PM: ThePeterHa Another shooter coming up
• 2:08 PM: ThePeterHa Whoa
• 2:08 PM: ThePeterHa Crackdown 2
• 2:09 PM: ThePeterHa Zombies!
• 2:09 PM: ThePeterHa not in crackdown
• 2:09 PM: ThePeterHa IS this Left 3 Dead 2?
• 2:09 PM: ThePeterHa * Left 4 Dead
• 2:09 PM: ThePeterHa coming November 17
• 2:09 PM: ThePeterHa set in NOLA
• 2:10 PM: ThePeterHa Ubi world premiere coming up
• 2:11 PM: ThePeterHa shooter
• 2:11 PM: ThePeterHa Splinter Cell Conviction
• 2:12 PM: ThePeterHa Sam’s pissed
• 2:12 PM: ThePeterHa going after his daughter’s killers
• 2:12 PM: ThePeterHa He’s fighting some dudes in a bathroom
• 2:13 PM: ThePeterHa The story unfolds in real time
• 2:14 PM: ThePeterHa Sam is the “ultimate predator”
• 2:14 PM: ThePeterHa your options in infiltrating are vast
• 2:14 PM: ThePeterHa there isn’t one set path
• 2:15 PM: ThePeterHa darkness is Sam’s friend and where he is strongest
• 2:15 PM: ThePeterHa he likes to sneak up on ppl and shoot them in the face
• 2:15 PM: Doug Aamoth
• 2:15 PM: ThePeterHa EMP grenades are some of sam’s new gadgets
• 2:16 PM: ThePeterHa
• 2:17 PM: ThePeterHa exclusive this fall on xbox 360
• 2:18 PM: ThePeterHa a new racing game is coming up
• 2:18 PM: ThePeterHa In October, Forza Motor Sport 3 is shipping
• 2:19 PM: ThePeterHa “definitive racing game of this generation:
• 2:20 PM: ThePeterHa
• 2:20 PM: ThePeterHa New graphics engine
• 2:20 PM: ThePeterHa 60FPS
• 2:20 PM: ThePeterHa over 400 cars
• 2:20 PM: ThePeterHa one-button driving
• 2:21 PM: ThePeterHa player created content through XBLZ
• 2:21 PM: ThePeterHa *XBL
• 2:21 PM: ThePeterHa Mister Cartoon!
• 2:21 PM: ThePeterHa he’s a tattoo artist
• 2:21 PM: ThePeterHa he’s tricking out forza cars
• 2:22 PM: ThePeterHa create and upload HD video
• 2:23 PM: ThePeterHa MS is really pushing ‘community’ features on publishers
• 2:24 PM: ThePeterHa Forza 2 was the highest rated racing game
• 2:24 PM: ThePeterHa biggest online community for Forza 3
• 2:24 PM: ThePeterHa Halo 3 ODST
• 2:24 PM: ThePeterHa Joe Staten is on stage
• 2:25 PM: ThePeterHa “buckle up and prepare to drop”
• 2:26 PM: ThePeterHa
• 2:26 PM: ThePeterHa dropping bombs
• 2:26 PM: ThePeterHa You’re a rookie ODST separated from his team
• 2:26 PM: ThePeterHa there’s “unexpected help” along the way
• 2:27 PM: ThePeterHa ODST’s have sound suppressed weapons and visors that others don’t
• 2:28 PM: ThePeterHa The story seems pretty compelling
• 2:28 PM: ThePeterHa
• 2:28 PM: ThePeterHa you can flashback to other ODSTs and play as them
• 2:29 PM: ThePeterHa
• 2:29 PM: ThePeterHa the visors appear to highlight enemies, ammo, etc. for you
• 2:30 PM: ThePeterHa 9.22.09
• 2:30 PM: ThePeterHa That’s not all!
• 2:30 PM: ThePeterHa new bungie project
• 2:31 PM: ThePeterHa Oh, it’s Halo Reach
• 2:31 PM: ThePeterHa
• 2:32 PM: ThePeterHa when you buy ODST
• 2:32 PM: ThePeterHa you get a multiplayer beta invite for Reach
• 2:33 PM: ThePeterHa
• 2:33 PM: ThePeterHa Sam Lake is on stage
• 2:33 PM: ThePeterHa Alan Wake
• 2:35 PM: ThePeterHa
• 2:36 PM: ThePeterHa in game footage being shown
• 2:36 PM: ThePeterHa rather
• 2:36 PM: ThePeterHa it’s being demoed
• 2:37 PM: ThePeterHa Alan is looking for Alice
• 2:37 PM: ThePeterHa
• 2:38 PM: ThePeterHa
• 2:38 PM: ThePeterHa Demo over
• 2:39 PM: ThePeterHa Alan Wake is coming in spring 2010
• 2:39 PM: ThePeterHa Now onto Xbox Live updates
• 2:39 PM: ThePeterHa music is coming to Xbox Live
• 2:39 PM: ThePeterHa Last.fm is coming to xbox
• 2:40 PM: ThePeterHa Launching later this year for Gold members
• 2:40 PM: ThePeterHa
• 2:40 PM: ThePeterHa Netflix update
• 2:40 PM: ThePeterHa browse and add to queue from your xbox!
• 2:40 PM: ThePeterHa finally!!!
• 2:41 PM: ThePeterHa Sky TV is bringing content to the UK and Scotland this Fall
• 2:41 PM: ThePeterHa Live TV from Sky on your Xbox
• 2:41 PM: ThePeterHa like, cricket and footy
• 2:42 PM: ThePeterHa something about HD videos
• 2:42 PM: ThePeterHa HD video library is being updated to full 1080p
• 2:42 PM: ThePeterHa All movies and TV shows are being streamed instantly
• 2:43 PM: ThePeterHa More countries are being added
• 2:43 PM: ThePeterHa launching this Fall
• 2:43 PM: ThePeterHa One more feature to Xbox Live
• 2:43 PM: ThePeterHa You can share movies, TV shows, music with your friends
• 2:43 PM: ThePeterHa Live Party
• 2:43 PM: ThePeterHa Didn’t they announce this last year?
• 2:44 PM: ThePeterHa Partnership with Facebook
• 2:44 PM: ThePeterHa
• 2:44 PM: ThePeterHa Felicia Day is here
• 2:45 PM: ThePeterHa to talk about Facebook on XBL
• 2:46 PM: ThePeterHa Friend Linker showcases FB and XBL friends in one view
• 2:46 PM: ThePeterHa View photos
• 2:46 PM: ThePeterHa see updates
• 2:47 PM: ThePeterHa FB connect
• 2:47 PM: ThePeterHa upload screen shots and such
• 2:47 PM: ThePeterHa Twitter is also coming
• 2:48 PM: ThePeterHa
• 2:48 PM: ThePeterHa
• 2:48 PM: ThePeterHa Both are coming to XBL this fall
• 2:50 PM: Doug Aamoth Don Mattrick takes the stage
• 2:50 PM: Doug Aamoth “we’re missing one crucial piece of the puzzle”
• 2:50 PM: Doug Aamoth Metal Gear Solid! Hideo Kojima sneaks onto the stage
• 2:51 PM: Doug Aamoth Metal Gear Solid franchise coming to Xbox 360
• 2:51 PM: Doug Aamoth Metal Gear Solid: Rising
• 2:51 PM: Doug Aamoth development currently underway for Xbox 360
• 2:51 PM: Doug Aamoth no Solid Snake?
• 2:52 PM: Doug Aamoth “completely new Metal Gear experience”
• 2:53 PM: Doug Aamoth the next wave for Xbox…
• 2:54 PM: Doug Aamoth can you add a motion controller? of course we can
• 2:54 PM: Doug Aamoth but here’s the problem
• 2:54 PM: Doug Aamoth for far too many people, the controller is a barrier separating players from everyone else
• 2:54 PM: ThePeterHa Motion controllers are coming!
• 2:54 PM: ThePeterHa
• 2:54 PM: Doug Aamoth can we go beyond the controller to deliver games that everyone can enjoy?
• 2:54 PM: Doug Aamoth can we make YOU the controller? we can
• 2:56 PM: Doug Aamoth demo video of people controlling games just by leaning and driving cars with invisible steering wheels, etc.
• 2:56 PM: Doug Aamoth looks WAY too responsive to be true
• 2:56 PM: ThePeterHa You can “scan your own gear”
• 2:56 PM: ThePeterHa like a skateboard
• 2:56 PM: ThePeterHa
• 2:56 PM: ThePeterHa you can video chat with friends
• 2:56 PM: ThePeterHa WTH is going on?!
• 2:57 PM: ThePeterHa voice recognition
• 2:57 PM: ThePeterHa swipe through your netflix queue with your hands
• 2:57 PM: ThePeterHa you don’t need a controller for anything
• 2:58 PM: ThePeterHa Project Natal
• 2:58 PM: ThePeterHa that’s what the motion controller is currently called
• 2:58 PM: ThePeterHa tracks 3D movements, recognizes voices
• 2:58 PM: ThePeterHa works with every 360 sold when it launches
• 2:58 PM: ThePeterHa No new consoles
• 2:59 PM: ThePeterHa Steve Spielberg is on stage
• 3:00 PM: ThePeterHa
• 3:01 PM: ThePeterHa Spielberg was shown Natal two months ago
• 3:01 PM: ThePeterHa They’re discussing how you can bring gaming to everyone
• 3:01 PM: ThePeterHa ‘It’s not about reinventing the wheel. It’s about not needing the wheel.’
• 3:02 PM: ThePeterHa Natal means Christmas in Portugese
• 3:02 PM: ThePeterHa says Nicholas Deleon
• 3:02 PM: ThePeterHa our resident linguist
• 3:03 PM: ThePeterHa Facial recognition that automatically signs you into your Xbox account
• 3:04 PM: ThePeterHa swipe through the entire deck by using your hands
• 3:04 PM: ThePeterHa up, down or side to side
• 3:05 PM: ThePeterHa ricochet is like 3d brickbreaker
• 3:05 PM: ThePeterHa virtual dodgeballs are being thrown at the girl demoing Ricochet
• 3:05 PM: ThePeterHa she’s flailing around with arms and legs
• 3:05 PM: ThePeterHa batting back balls
• 3:05 PM: ThePeterHa OHHHHH
• 3:06 PM: ThePeterHa they just knocked on Nintendo
• 3:06 PM: ThePeterHa saying you have to stand up and be active and not on the couch
• 3:07 PM: ThePeterHa Natal recognizes how fast you’re moving
• 3:07 PM: ThePeterHa so the faster you kick the faster the ball goes
• 3:07 PM: ThePeterHa Now they’re demoing some sort of art game
• 3:07 PM: ThePeterHa there’s a big canvas that you can throw paint at
• 3:08 PM: ThePeterHa the voice recognition brings up whatever color of paint you want
• 3:09 PM: ThePeterHa
• 3:09 PM: ThePeterHa By saying “pose” you can take a snapshot of yourself in any position to embed into your painting
• 3:10 PM: ThePeterHa
• 3:11 PM: ThePeterHa Here’s an elephant
• 3:11 PM: ThePeterHa Peter Molyneux is now on stage to show you what you can do the Natal
• 3:13 PM: ThePeterHa The Fable guys have created an interactive boy named Milo that recognizes players
• 3:13 PM: ThePeterHa and interacts with them
• 3:13 PM: ThePeterHa it’s quite astonishing
• 3:13 PM: ThePeterHa Milo reacts to tone of voice
• 3:14 PM: ThePeterHa the lady in the video just asked Milo if he had finished his homework
• 3:14 PM: ThePeterHa he sheepishly walked away and said no
• 3:15 PM: ThePeterHa Milo just virtually threw Claire a pair of goggles and she reached for them and ‘put them on’
• 3:15 PM: ThePeterHa they’re at a lake
• 3:15 PM: ThePeterHa and she’s looking into the water
• 3:15 PM: ThePeterHa she’s making ripples in the water by just using her hands
• 3:15 PM: ThePeterHa now they’re both drawing something
• 3:16 PM: ThePeterHa WHOA
• 3:16 PM: ThePeterHa Claire just drew a picture of a fish onto a piece of paper
• 3:16 PM: ThePeterHa She put the image in front of Natal
• 3:16 PM: ThePeterHa and Natal scanned it and passed it onto Milo
• 3:17 PM: ThePeterHa Molyneux says Natal is a landmakr in entertainment
• 3:17 PM: ThePeterHa I think we’re wrapping up
• 3:17 PM: ThePeterHa All in all, nothing surprising has come out of the press conference
• 3:18 PM: ThePeterHa everything was leaked ahead of time
• 3:19 PM: ThePeterHa and that’s a wrap
• 3:19 PM: ThePeterHa we’ll back at 2PT with the EA press conf
• 3:19 PM: ThePeterHa thanks for tuning in

Here’s a nostalgic look back at the items we’ve recently reviewed here at CrunchGear…

Review: WickedLasers Photonic Disruptor

“We’re a WickedLasers family. We enjoy shooting them at napkins to make them burn and zapping friends legs while they’re sitting at our picnic table.”

Review: TuneUp for iTunes

“If you’re like me, your entire music collection has been downloaded/ripped willy-nilly between hits of nitrous oxide and sips of Colt .45.”

Review: EA’s Need for Speed Undercover for the iPhone, iPod Touch

“For whatever reason, I can’t stop playing the iPhone version of EA’s Need for Speed Undercover, which is why it’s taken me this long to review it. I can’t say that I’ve ever been a big fan of the console series, but EA nailed it on the head with the handheld port.”

Review: QuikPod Pro camera extension arm

“The QuikPod is an easy-to-use extension arm that is designed to let you take your own photo in front of sites you’re seeing.”

Review: Motorola Stature i9

“The good news (at least for Nextel subscribers) is that they are starting to move away from this brick phone style design, and more towards a sleeker, sexier look.”

Review: Verizon MiFi 2200 – We love everything but the bill

“We’ve loved the MiFi mobile router since we first laid eyes on it back at CES. After a few days of playing with the Verizon MiFi 2200, we still love it just as much – but with one hangup: the nasty monthly bill.”

Review: Radius Atomic Bass Earphones

“Call me a snob for liking my $150+ Ultimate Ears, Shure and Etymotic earphones, but they sound fantastic and fit perfectly. Oh, uh, excuse me while I remove the egg off my face.”

Video Review: Movaic iZel Smartphone Stand

“It does everything we’d expect of a cell phone stand, and it does it well.”

Video Review: Funky Monkey Fruit Chips

“Mmmmm… tasty fruit chips! It’s a slow day and I got some fruit chips in the mail.”

Review: HP Pavilion dv2 ultrathin notebook

“Almost as small as a netbook, and almost as powerful as a regular laptop, they said it would be the best of both worlds. Of course, the risk was that it would have the worst of both worlds instead. That turns out not to be the case, and the dv2 is a smart little machine — but it’s still far from perfect.”

Review: Flip UltraHD camcorder

“Joining the ranks of the Flip family, the UltraHD is one of the easiest-to-use digital camcorders on the market. This version features 8GB of storage, high-definition video capture, the ability to use an included rechargeable battery pack or off-the-shelf AA batteries, and HDMI output.”

Review: Innergie mCube90 Universal Adapter

“A thoughtful universal power adapter that can charge your laptop and a USB-powered device simultaneously, the Innergie mCube90 features a tiny secondary DC adapter that detaches from the main adapter for use in cars and airplanes.”

Review: Nokia XPressMusic 5800

“I’m sorry that I doubted Nokia. The 5800 is one of the nicest little touchscreen phones I’ve used in a long while and, aside from a few quirks, it’s one of the better implementations of touchscreen on the Symbian platform I’ve seen in a while.”

Review: Ipevo Kaleido R7 digital frame

“I’d rather listen to nails on a chalkboard all day than review a digital picture frame. What’s the big deal with these things?”

Review: Kodak Zx1

“Tell yer ma and tell yer pa if they need a little, handheld video camera for taking high quality shots of the cousins messing around in the yard, then the miniature Kodak Zx1 is for them.”

Two Minute Review: Ford GT40 Series Car Mouse

“The Ford GT40 Series Car Mouse from RoadMice.com is a $50 wireless mouse stuffed in a replica Ford GT.”

The Clickfree Traveler: The backup device that’s the size of a credit card

“This is probably the easiest review I’ve ever had to write.”

Video Review: SuperSmoker Blue

“The SuperSmoker is an atomizer that sends the taste and nicotine of a four cigarettes into your gullet without flame, smoke, or even any of the nasty chemicals usually found in cigs.”

Review: HP Firebird 803

“The Firebird is a sort of companion piece to the Blackbird: quieter, more compact, less powerful but still potent, and significantly less expensive.”

Video: Wherein Maestro Dobel Diamond Tequila is reviewed

“The Booze Fairy brought me some tequila the other day—tech, tequila, same difference right?”

Review: Maximo iM-590 headphones

“A great set of high-quality headphones at a reasonable price, Maximo’s $60 iM-590 “iMetal Isolation Earphones” strike a nice balance between features and affordability.”

Review: PPC locking HDMI cable

“An HDMI cable that snaps into place and cannot be pulled out without pressing the little lock. It works.”

Review: Moxi HD DVR

“Think of the Moxi HD as a hot, new Hollywood actress. She might have the look and desire to be the next big thing, but she just doesn’t have the goods to hang with the real starlets.”

Review: Online-Mastering.com

“Having your song professionally mastered is a good thing and Online-Mastering.com does it even better.”

Review: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX37

“It’s got a wide-angle Leica lens, image stabilization, 720p HD video recording, and a 4x zoom. That’s a pretty compelling list of features for such a small camera.”

Quick Review: Tiger Woods PGA Tour for iPhone

“For ten bucks, Tiger Woods PGA Tour on the iPhone/iPod touch is absolutely, hands-down, the best deal going when it comes to portable golf games.”

Review: Kodak Z980

“My initial conclusion? I’m going to say this just to get it over with: I miss my DSLR.”

All Reviews

What is the N97? Well, it’s one of the most highly anticipated Nokias out there right now. The bugger comes complete with pop out keyboard, touchscreen, and 32GB of built-in storage. It also uses much of the same software found on my fave Nokia, the 5800.

Rock out to our full N97 coverage here.

While some phones stay true to a single flick (take Sony Ericsson handsets and any Bond movie ever, for example), some leap around Hollywood like a heiress on a booze binge. One example of the not so loyal? The Nokia 5800. After making its ultra-early debut in The Dark Knight, it’s jumping over to the Star Trek camp.

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Gather ’round for the time-honored American tradition of pretending to be outraged by something. (If we’re to believe that outlet of faux populist outrage, the Drudge Report.) It’s one of those airport security body scanning devices, this time going on trial at the Salt Lake City airport. The left two images show a woman, while the right two are a man.

My question is, are any of you out there actually offended by this? It’s not a new device, but it was deployed for the first time at the luxurious Salt Lake City airport for the first time this month, as this local news report explains. Its whole purpose, if you haven’t already guessed, is to look for contraband underneath your clothes. Of course, there’s always the “oh my God my privacy” concerns, but the TSA has gone out of its way to ensure that you have nothing to fear. For one, your face is blurred out; no one will know who you are. Second, the TSA guy with you at the booth isn’t the guy who will see the 3D scan; nope, someone in a room, behind closed doors, gets to see the scan. And, lastly, you have to volunteer to be scanned. The TSA is using the machine as part of a pilot program, and it’s not guaranteed that it will make its way to your local airport.

And yes, if using this machine would make going through that airport security line any faster I’d use it, in a heartbeat.

I won’t get into the details here, mainly because if you’re in the graphics business you’re going to be doing a lengthy examination of these suckers on your own. But I think it’s good to note that the Quadro line (not meant for gaming, it should be noted) comes in flavors running from the $150 380 to the $3500 (!) 5800, and everything in-between. So if you’re not Pixar but you do need to do a lot of rendering for your Poser art gallery, there’s something for you in there.

More information is available at Nvidia’s site.

Nokia hasn’t had the best luck with the XpressMusic line so far; the 5610 XpressMusic had bad screens, and the 5800 XpressMusic had no shortage of problems at launch. Ignoring the fact that the XpressMusic name is apparently cursed, Nokia has announced 3 more “Comes With Music“-focused handsets.

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Calling the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic’s North American launch a rough start would be a bit of an understatement. After inventory issues, faulty speakers, and reports of connectivity woes, it looks like the 5800 might be returning to the shelves soon. Nokia has issued a statement confirming that the lingering 3G issues were caused by improper firmware configuration, and have since been fixed.

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The launch of the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic North American model hasn’t been too smooth. First they had trouble getting the things out the door due to a broken inventory system at the flagship stores. Right as they patched that up, word got out that a whole lot of 5800’s had faulty speakers, and it wasn’t (and still isn’t) clear whether or not this problem plagued the North American model. Within hours, folks who braved the possibility of a shoddy speaker were complaining of 3G connectivity issues. I’d imagine that Nokia’s reps are probably getting a bit tired of talking about the 5800’s problems by now, but they’ve just said a bit more about this latest one.

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You remember those 1 million 5800 XpressMusic handsets that Nokia proudly announced they’d shipped back in January? Yeah, most of those are probably going to break.

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If you packed your picnic basket, loaded the family into the car, and hauled over to the Nokia flagship store yesterday as a result of our post yesterday on the Nokia 5800 going on sale, we officially apologize. Chances are, you were turned away. As of this morning, Nokia 5800s aren’t actually on the shelves; they have them in stock, mind you – they just can’t sell them yet.

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It’s been a long time since we saw the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic sneak into 10 seconds of The Dark Knight. At long last, Morgan Freeman isn’t the only North American who can get one.

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You’d think that the music industry would be grateful for Apple, which, with the launch of the iTunes Store in 2003, pretty much saved its keister. Not so, according to the old gray lady! In the negotiations leading up to tiered pricing and the removal of DRM on iTunes, Steve Jobs and Sony’s music chairman, Rolf Schmidt-Holtz, got into a little bit of an argument over the phone, which the paper described as “tense.” (Knowing the New York Times, “tense” probably means some pretty salty language, like in a Tarentino film.) It seems the Sony man wasn’t satisfied with the timing of the new pricing structure, and made his opinion known to Jobs on Christmas Eve. Jobs, as is his wont, had none of it, and thoroughly laid into Mr. Sony.

Needless to say, Jobs got his way, and Sony’s DRM-free music launched with the rest of the major labels’.

Now, why did Apple let the companies get away with their tiered pricing scheme? One word: iPhone. Apple, rightly, saw cellphones as the future for music distribution, and wanted to ensure that iTunes+iPhone had a good start. (You’ll also note Nokia’s Comes With Music.) Get enough people using their iPhone to download off iTunes, of which Apple gets approximately 20 cents per 99-cent song, and you’re golden. Then, for better or worse, the music labels have to deal with Apple everywhere they turn.

(That the music industry desperately wants something like Amazon MP3 to take off shouldn’t surprise anyone.)

It’s like, iTunes is pretty much up there with Q-Tip, Kleenex and Xerox as being synonymous with its product. Digital music = iTunes.