Crave

This latest installment of our campaign for wireless speakers seemed almost too good to be true--until we saw the price.

The "Planets" from France's Elipson not only claim to provide top-quality sound, but they're also built with Bluetooth modules that allow the speakers to detect and couple with each other wirelessly and automatically, Ministry of Tech says. The versatile orbs, which can receive and transmit digital and analog signals, will work with all manner of devices, including computers, MP3 players and cell phones, as well as amps and tuners.

But we almost forgot--the cost. They're … Read more

What would a true Mac loyalist want if stranded on a desert island? The "i-Trunk," of course. (Presuming that a solar charger or other power source was available.)

French designer Pinel & Pinel not only makes luggage but delivers its pieces fully equipped and "custom-finished to your specifications and preferences," according to Cool Hunting--in this case, with a 20-inch, iMac, JBL speakers and Canon printer. But the best part is the design of the case itself, which resembles a giant iPod when open.

Other models, which come in 51 colors, are outfitted with such equipment as … Read more

Like what you see? At least a few Dell employees (or several from marketing) are excited about the company's new 27-inch LCD wide-screen flat-panel LCD monitor. Someone spilled the news pre-CES.

The story making rounds in the blogosphere is that this leak was due to a misposted image on Dell's Web site. Kudos to Electronista for grabbing this one before it was taken down. Since the "accidental" leak, Dell has replaced the image with an image diagramming the 2007WFP Wide-Screen Black Flat Panel Monitor, its 20.1-inch version.

Couldn't find any pricing for you, but (… Read more

Only a day after fellow Craver Michael Kanellos noted that the little guys were driving much of digital TV market, one of the giants has decided to step in with a new tactic. Rather than just compete in the brutal price wars of recent months, Samsung will introduce a whole new line of thinner rear-projection TVs that The New York Times says will cost 30 percent less than the plasma screens on the market today.

Samsung, the second-highest seller of plasmas and LCD sets in North America, plans to make the new TVs in some of the largest mass-market sizes (… Read more

For every trend, it must be assumed, there will be a backlash. But we've noticed one of the more curious forms of this axiom in inexpensive cameras that use film--not for quality or aesthetics, but for novelty items.

Just as the "Split Cam" intentionally cuts bodies in half, the film-based "Oktomat" from Lomo seems designed only to create an odd special effect. "Just press the shutter once, and eight tiny lenses fire in turn and create a multi-frame mini photo," as Shiny Shiny says. We would have no interest in this ourselves, but … Read more

If the "Roomba" and "Scooba" had a parent--a morbidly obese one--it might well be this cleaning monster from Japan. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry named it the "2006 Robot of the Year" for its vacuuming prowess, which spanned "3,000 square meters in four hours on a single charge," according to Plastic Bamboo.

You won't find one of these behind the counter at Walgreen's, though: Co-creators Sumitomo and Fuji Heavy Industries put its cost at $170,000, for replacing the work of two full-time humans--and without coffee breaks. … Read more

Fujifilm is gearing up for the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas by announcing a handful of new cameras just a week before the show. Budget-minded shooters will be pleased by news of two new FinePix A-series, while fans of family photos can look forward to the face-detecting follow-up to the FinePix F20. Finally, scientists and law enforcement professionals have a sub-$1000 infrared camera to look forward to in the coming months.

A pair of budget shooters replace the FinePix A600, the FinePix A800 and the A610. Both sub-$200 models are simple cameras, with the 3x optical zoom … Read more

It goes without saying that these days, we're all living the digital life. But sometimes it's still pretty cool to see the small and not-so-small ways in which technology permeates the world we live in. And that's why I'm launching Crave's latest feature, a weekly video blog in which I find the coolest techno-happenings in my beloved home city of New York and document them with a handheld camcorder and a video crew consisting of...me.

This week, for my inaugural post, I check out the creative, innovative, and often totally absurd fusions of art … Read more

We suspect that some New Year's Eve merriment was involved in the bidding, but the much-hyped albino PlayStation 3 sold for $1,425 when it finished its eBay run Dec. 31. Nevertheless, the lucrative auction definitely proved that there was a market for the console in custom colors.

Now, we're shocked to find that the same guy who sold the white PS3 will be offering even more colors--shocked because it took an entire three days before it was announced. Joystiq says Michal Berecki of PS3 Center will add red and silver consoles to his repertoire "in the … Read more