When Should You Buy Your Next Gadget? 
Aussie IT Pricing Inquiry Now Taking Submissions 
What Are The Most Stylish Laptops And Ultrabooks? 
Laptop Buying Guide 2012: How To Find The Right Laptop For You 
Spotify Finally Makes Its Australian Debut 
Top 10 Pervasive Tech Myths That Are Only Wasting Your Time After the first round of our iPod Dock Bracket competition, here are the winners who will be moving on to fight another day. There were upsets, as I for one expected the AudioStation to beat the aging Bose system. And the Altec Lansing products have done extremely well thus—though they admittedly make a ton of docks, most of which we included. For a complete updates, hit up our bracket homepage. And don’t forget to place your bets for round two in our comments.
Ohh…that new iPhone you got is really nice. Yeah, really! Did you stand in line? Good thinking, even if it cost you your job. What’s this I have here? Oh, nothing. Just something I call the iPhone. No, of course it doesn’t look like yours. I would never be caught with consumer-grade tech. Is it better? Of course it’s better. Let me ask you a question: does your iPhone play UMDs?? Didn’t think so.
The iPSP software allows you to not only skin your PSP, but links you to handy portals like IM clients. Still, our favorite feature has to be the “turn your PSP” command. The download is free, and besides, what else are you doing with your PSP?
WildCharge has finally announced their first production unit—the Motorola RAZR. For $89.99, you get the starter bundle including charging pad and phone adapter. The adapter is really a back plate replacement for the RAZR that has a “charging arm” that plugs into the phone. In other words, wires are involved, just not between the charging pad and the phone itself. Expect sales to begin sometime this month, possibly tomorrow if they are on schedule.
The second device to be produced by WildCharger will work with the iPod Nano. Pricing will be the same as for the RAZR, and it will be available in August. The only way the WildCharger is economical, or even practical, is if you can use it with all your mobile devices. Hopefully the company will ramp up production and introduce units more often than one/month.
[wildcharger] Thanks John!
In highly technical communications to the FCC, a man named Michael Hartleib makes a strong argument for the possibility of current satellite radios becoming interoperable—or gaining the ability to switch between Sirius and XM as easily as traditional radios do AM and FM. A firmware download could be all that’s needed to upgrade the players…that is, if XM and Sirius followed FCC regulations and produced interoperable receivers in the first place. From the way Hartleib tells the story, XM and Sirius are more interested in selling you newer, “dual-mode” tech…
Word of a potential $100 PS3 price reduction has turned from rumor into denial into confirmed-but-still-rumor. Luckily, our sister site Kotaku has been following the story closer than anyone else on the web, and here is the epic tale according to them:
The European Commission has opened an investigation regarding hi-def discs, demanding access to Hollywood movie studios’ files regarding Blu-ray and HD DVD agreements. Because some believe that the Blu-ray Disc Association has signed studios in contracts that aren’t only exclusive, but anti-competitive.
Many are citing that the clear evidence for Blu-ray’s alleged cheating is that HD DVD is selling more standalone players throughout Europe, yet Blu-ray is maintaining huge studio support. While this sales figure may be true, the PS3—while not a runaway hit—isn’t necessarily included in “standalone players.”
Since Sony Pictures, Disney, Twentieth Century Fox, Lionsgate and MGM are all Blu-ray exclusive, any findings would be a massive win for HD DVD, as these studios might be forced to produce movies on both formats (…I wonder if that would apply to Sony).
I love my hi-def DVDs as much as the next guy, but I can do without the federal drama. Let’s just get downloads going.
[tech.co.uk] Thanks Andrew!
For those who haven’t seen the project, designer Edwin Tofslie assembled nearly every Apple product from the company’s history into one giant picture. And studying the trends while they’re all laid out is like re-watching The Sixth Sense—pretty obvious in retrospect.
My critical analysis: square, circle, square. And though there are a few abnormalities in the line that show even Apple didn’t know when the taste tides were changing, like 1996′s abnormally curvy Performa, the statement is ultimately quite cohesive. It’s like paging through old fashion magazines, but way, way, way geekier (yes, we just used “way” three times in a row). Hit the link for a gigantic version that you can actually appreciate.
