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Exclusive: Slacker Portable Player slide show

If you're curious about the new portable device made to work with the Slacker Personal Radio service, check out our slide show of the Slacker Portable Player, where I've posted a handful of up-close and personal shots as well as some more info about the player. And if this particular device doesn't float your boat (it is awfully large for a flash player, after all), you'll be pleased to note that Slacker is talking to other device manufacturers about making both its free and premium services available to non-Slacker portables. How freakin' sweet is that?

Your yacht needs an HD satellite

Now that you've ordered your Porsche yacht, what will you do in it when not racing? Raymarine has just the antidote to your boredom with its satellite HDTV system.

The seagoing dish is made specifically to work in boats, according to Gizmowatch, with antennae that continually change angles for optimal reception. The package, which includes an HD DirecTV receiver, is designed for uninterrupted signals even in extreme weather and oceanic conditions.

Depending on the model, it can cost as much as $9,000. But that's a drop in the Atlantic compared with the $300,000 you'll be … Read more

Circuit City has the Samsung Nexus 25 512mb MP3 Satellite Radio for $21.99, after a $58 savings and a $50 mail-in rebate, plus free shipping.

Circuit City has the Samsung Nexus 25 512mb MP3 Satellite Radio for $21.99, after a $58 savings and a $50 mail-in rebate, plus free shipping. >> Regular price is $129.99 >> Offer ends 3/31/2007 >> Click here for deal

Will explosion faze DirecTV's launch of 100 HD channels?

This particular launch may have ended in a ball of fire, but DirecTV says its planned launch of 100 new HD channels by year's end is still on track. Yesterday a Zenit-3SL rocket operated by a company called Sea Launch exploded on the platform. Although the rocket did not contain a DirecTV satellite, the company plans to use Sea Launch to put up the second of two new "birds" later this year. DirecTV spokesman Robert Mercer told TVpredictions.com that the explosion would have no impact on the company's high-definition plans; he wouldn't elaborate. Mercer'… Read more

Audiovox wants to one-up other XM satellite portables

Shhhhhh! Audiovox has been displaying the XM2Go/MP3 portable in its copious CES 2007 booth, but the company isn't quite ready to discuss details. Scheduled for a late-summer release, the X2G100B will offer a similar feature set as other XM/MP3 portables such as the Delphi SkyFi3--live and recorded XM playback, MP3 playback, storage, and so on--but company execs say they are taking some time to make sure they can equip the player with enough cool features to really differentiate it from other XM/MP3 portables.

It will likely have at least enough memory to store up to 50 … Read more

Dish Network gives away HD-DVR with new subscription plan

The headline on Dish Network's press release says "free high-definition DVR," but the fine print is a bit less exciting. The company introduced two new programming packages, called DishDVR Advantage and Dish DVR Advantage HD, that are said to reduce the cost of items purchased separately--as much as seven percent for the first package (woo hoo!). The "free high-definition DVR," a ViP-622 normally available for $199, is part of the HD version. For the reasonable cost of $69.99 per month, customers will receive the DVR, the satcaster's 30 national HD channels (more info), … Read more

DirecTV promises 100 HD channels and satellite to go

In a major announcement at CES this year, DirecTV said it would expand its national HD channel offering to 100 channels by the end of the year, far surpassing the HD channel offerings of satellite rival Dish Network and of cable providers. The "100" number sounds suspiciously round to me, but the company's press release mentions it has "signed agreements, or agreements in principle, with more than 70 major networks including: A&E, National Geographic, Bravo, NFL Network, Cartoon Network, SciFi Channel, CNN, Speed, Food Network, TBS, FX, the History Channel, HGTV, the Weather Channel, … Read more