Gadget news

From the floor--ShowStoppers NYC

ShowStoppers is billed as "Hot products. Cool Companies." This show was in NYC this week, playing off the buzz of DigitalLife and showcasing some neat products.

The good thing about shows like these is that you get to see a lot of stuff all at once. Plus, you get the meet the people behind the e-mails that you've been getting all year long. There are even a few people who thank you for featuring their product in The Queue.

magicJack is one of them. I can't remember how I originally heard about this, but I think … Read more

Novint Falcon to swoop down on CompUSA

NEW YORK--Novint Technologies' 3D virtual feeling game controller will be available at CompUSA stores this October, the company announced Thursday.

The Novint Falcon, which originally debuted at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, creates a more realistic and natural experience of movement when playing video games. It allows players to virtually feel things like texture, weight, dimension, 3D motion and force.

The Novint Falcon will be available in October 2007 at CompUSA as a limited edition bundle package for $239. The package will include 24 games and a sports pack that includes bowling, table tennis, basketball and baseball. Like the … Read more

iRobot not just phoning it in

It's not quite Rosie yet, Mr. Brooks, but we'll concede that the company you founded is a step closer to The Jetsons world of communications.

iRobot is expected to unveil this ConnectR communications robot, aka a physical avatar, at DigitalLife 2007 on Thursday.

The ConnectR for $499 is a robot you control on your behalf from anywhere in the world using a Web-based application. With a VoIP speakerphone and one-way video, it allows you to carry on a conversation as if you are right in the room. You can also control where it goes.

The video camera mounted … Read more

Palm Centro for Sprint gets official

Well, it wasn't a complete secret, but today, Palm and Sprint officially took the wraps off the Palm Centro at the Digital Life event in New York. It's the first non-Treo, as well as the smallest and lightest, smart phone from Palm, and the company hopes it will attract a new customer base of those ready to make the jump from cell phone to smart phone. Measuring 4.2 inches long by 2.1 inches wide and 0.7 inch deep and 4.2 ounces, the Centro has more of a cell-phone-like form factor but still has … Read more

Mio C720t does directions, traffic, pictures--everything but drive

It seems like there's a new company hopping on the GPS bandwagon every week, trying to loosen the grip that big boys Garmin, TomTom, and Magellan have on the market. Truth be told, these three companies have been in the industry for a while, and they know what they're doing, so these newcomers have a tough task ahead of them. However, we've been pretty impressed with one company in particular: Mio Technology. With the exception of the Mio C220, which had a horrible screen, it has consistently churned out some solid portable navigation systems and always packs … Read more

SlingPlayer for Symbian cell phones now available

The SlingPlayer for Symbian S60 phones is out of beta and now available for sale. The software allows a selection of Nokia phones (the E65, N75, and N95 in the U.S., and the E65, N73, and 6120 elsewhere) to stream TV from the full range of Slingbox models. Previously, the Symbian software was only available pre-installed on models sold by British wireless provider 3. Furthermore, the new standalone software delivers full-screen playback and Wi-Fi streaming not available on that previous edition.

The Symbian software will be available on Sling Media's Web site soon. It will cost $30 in … Read more

Linksys bows two Vista-friendly Media Center Extenders

Linksys is tossing its hat into the 2007 Media Center Extender ring with not one but two models. The DMA2100 is a small form factor MCE, while the larger DMA2200 offers a built-in upconverting DVD player. Both models attach to a standard or high-def TV to stream a variety of digital media--live and recorded TV, video files, music, and photos--from networked Media Center PCs located elsewhere in the home. Like the rival D-Link DSM-750, the Linksys models offer dual-band 802.11n wireless connectivity (for optimal streaming of HD video) and HDMI outputs. Interestingly, the DMA2200 has the same overall look … Read more

D-Link DSM-750 combines Media Center Extender, online video service

Networking companies are beginning to deliver the new Vista-friendly Media Center Extenders that Microsoft outlined earlier this month. D-Link's entry in the race is the DSM-750. Like competing models, the DSM-750 attaches to a TV (standard or high-def) and streams live and recorded TV, video, music, and photos from networked Media Center PCs located elsewhere in the home. An update of the older DSM-520, the 2007 model adds dual-band 802.11n wireless (which has the speed and bandwidth for optimal streaming of HD video) as well as compatibility with the popular DivX and XviD video file formats. Unlike similarly … Read more

Sling tries for a Solo home run

After hitting a veritable grand slam with its sale for $380 million Monday, Sling Media is back at the plate already, hoping to connect for another hit with its next Slingbox.

Still buzzing from the news of its acquisition by EchoStar, the Foster City, Calif., company is expected to release a new model of its place-shifting gadget on Thursday. This version will be called the Slingbox Solo, and its features and price fall right between the high-end Slingbox Pro and low-end Slingbox A/V, both released exactly one year ago. (Sling also confirmed that it will not be refreshing the … Read more

Ask me about Apple, Thursday at 11 a.m.

It will be open season on anything related to Apple on Thursday morning on CNET.

I'm going to be hosting an "Ask the Editors" session in the CNET Forums starting at 11 a.m. PDT, 2 p.m. EDT. Travel over here to submit any and all questions you might have about Apple, from Macs and iPods to iPhones and the iPod Hi-Fi. (Remember that?)

I'll try to get to as many questions as I can before noon, when the chat will close and I'll be given an opportunity to soak my fingers in ice. … Read more