Livio broke onto the Wi-Fi radio scene with the Livio Radio, featuring a "less is more" design philosophy that focused on Pandora's streaming music service. Today the company has announced a new Wi-Fi radio in the same vein, The NPR Radio ($200), which puts the focus on easily finding NPR content.
The backbone of The NPR Radio is the NPR menu, which is programmed by NPR and aggregates all of the company's content into a single menu, so you can easily find the NPR station you're looking for without having to know the station's call letters. Bringing up the menu is as easy as hitting the NPR button on the front panel and your saved stations pop up when you hit My NPR. You'll also have the ability to stream NPR podcasts, which is nice if you prefer on-demand listening rather than tuning in at a specific time.
Aside from NPR programming, The NPR Radio is still capable of accessing the thousands of other Internet radio stations freely available. The design and feature set of The NPR Radio is nearly identical to the Livio Radio; a remote is included, and there's an auxiliary input on the back. Livio told us that the company intends to add Pandora streaming functionality to The NPR Radio (and, conversely, add the NPR menu to the original Livio Radio), but it couldn't give us a specific date of when that functionality is expected.
If you're a techie, it's easy to be cynical about The NPR Radio; you can get all the same streams on better-featured products like the Grace GDI-IR2000 and Logitech Squeezebox Radio. Still, we can't deny that The NPR Radio's straightforward/simple approach has appeal, especially for those who love NPR's content, but are less comfortable with technology.
The NPR Radio is currently available for preorder on NPR Shop and is expected ship in November.
Wi-Fi radios would seem to be a perfect bedside companion, but surprisingly few of them are designed to work as an alarm clock.
The Acoustic Research ARIR200 is one of few that is designed to (at least try to) wake you up in the morning, with a big snooze button on top and easy access to the alarm via buttons on the top. In addition, the ARIR200 is packed with many features not seen even on more expensive radios, including the ability to record stations to its internal memory, Slacker streaming, and weather updates--all for a very reasonable street price of about $100.
So why the half-hearted praise? Unfortunately we ran into some connectivity problems (although only at the office) and the ARIR200 tends to emit a hissing sound that's annoying even at this price. We were also disappointed that Acoustic Research didn't throw in dual alarm functionality, especially because it's available on the competing Aluratek Internet Radio.
The Acoustic Research ARIR200 doesn't have any deal-breaking flaws and the price is right, but a few critical improvements would have made us like it a lot more.
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The year was 1983--the last De Loreans were produced, the final episode of M.A.S.H. aired with more than 125 million viewers tuning in to watch, the "Just Say No" anti-drug campaign debuted, Jaws went 3D (don't know why), and the A-Team released so much ammunition without ever hitting anyone--Oh, What a Feeling!
I take good care of my stuff.
(Credit: Matthew Fitzgerald - CNET)This time portal has been initiated because I've dug something up from my closet. Not a skeleton, but a working 1983 original Game & Watch Nintendo Popeye tabletop system. For those who don't know how the Nintendo tabletop models worked, the LCD is mounted on the top of the game and reflects onto the mirror. It is illuminated via an opaque panel on the top, which works as a natural light source in order for the game to be visible. Color is simulated with a colored film placed over the LCD. The convenience of a rechargeable battery pack or adapter didn't exist. Instead, two "C" batteries powered it. The tabletop also doubled as a clock, hence the name Game & Watch.
Back when the adorable factor was high and worries nonexistent, I was an arcade-playing fiend. A single quarter and it was on like Donkey Kong; taking down anyone who put their quarter down on the machine to battle. The extent of the obsession showed every Sunday, after church, when I detoured to the only eatery known in the neighborhood to house arcade games, on the way home. Imagine an angelic little girl, in her Sunday dress, shiny Buster Brown shoes, and ribbons in her hair, feverishly slamming on the fire button while rolling a track-ball back, forth, up, and down, with such psychotic focus in her eyes. How adorable is that?!
So, when the opportunity came to purchase something that emulated the coin-operated arcade experience, in the form of a portable tabletop, I was there. The next three Christmases I got one; Galaxian, Donkey Kong Jr. (Nintendo version), and Popeye. However, the honeymoon was short-lived once the NES console came into the picture.
Popeye was a single-player game and the plot was simple: Bluto has kidnapped Olive Oyl, tied her up, and Popeye must save her. The goal is to box Bluto on the landing till he falls off. With each win, Olive Oyl kicks a can of spinach toward Popeye. Eating the spinach allows Popeye to knock Bluto out, onto a hanging hook, with one punch. There were two levels: Game A (easy) and Game B (adding in a shark to sporadically come up from the water to poke Popeye in the--err--bum, sending Popeye back a step.). For 8-bit graphics on a 4.5-inch screen, the colors were rich and vibrant, and the gameplay was neverending.
Ironically, Popeye was the least favorite of the three, but it was the only one I've found thus far. In the meantime, some co-workers have been playing with it relentlessly, while waxing nostalgic. Amazing how something so simple can be so addictive.
Dream Authentics Tabletop Arcade
If the need to recapture those moments has hit close to home, check out the Dream Authentics Tabletop Arcade (MSRP $2,495.95). Although it's helluva lot of money, it does include 160 arcade classics--Asteroids, Bubble Bobble, etc.--in one machine, on a 19-inch flat-screen LCD.
In case you missed its one-night gig at Caesars in Vegas last month and are still dying to see it, Microsoft's "Surface" is reportedly scheduled to make a debut in four cities today.
Already delayed for months and still a pipe dream for consumers (until at least 2011), the company plans to display the much-anticipated touch-screen tabletop computer at a handful of AT&T stores in New York, Atlanta, San Antonio, and San Bruno, Calif., just south of San Francisco, according to Boy Genius Report. The exact addresses are listed here.
Unfortunately if you wanted to use it to order wine, you may have missed your chance.
(Credit:
Kufner Futures)
It's probably safe to say that, even when Microsoft eventually ships its "Surface" touch-screen tabletop computer, it won't be destined for the average household. In fact, if the "Interactive Media Wall" is any indication, it might be seen only in mansions for awhile. That's why we think the insufferably named "_able" multimedia table from Kufner Futures would be an appropriate complement: Not only can it accommodate various sizes of screens and computers, but it can be made of "any material of your choice: glass enameled, printed, stone, wood"--including 23k gold leaf, according to BornRich. By the way, the table is fully customizable and can be ordered with just about any computer desired, not just the Surface. But there's yet another reason that makes it ideal for a residence of the rich and famous: The reinforced tabletop is "completely partyproof."
Consider the i765 a pint-sized home theater system
(Credit: Cambridge SoundWorks)When we first saw the Polk Audio I-Sonic, we dubbed it a "home theater in a shoebox." But now the all-in-one I-Sonic finally looks to have some competition in the form of the Cambridge SoundWorks i765. At first glance, the product looks like a doppelganger of the company's Radio CD 745i, but adds DVD playback and a top-mounted iPod dock to the AM/FM radio, CD player, and dual-alarm system found on that earlier model. The price is a hefty $500, but that's $100 less than that of the I-Sonic, which lacks the iPod dock but includes digital HD Radio and support (with an add-on antenna dongle and monthly subscription) for XM satellite radio.
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Polk Audio has taken the wraps off the I-Sonic Entertainment System 2, the follow-up to the company's impressive 2006 tabletop AV system. The new ES2 model gets the iPod dock that was missing from the original I-Sonic, but it loses the Swiss-Army-knife luster of that all-in-one model: gone are CD/DVD player and XM satellite radio support (though an auxiliary line-in port lets you connect any external device of your choosing). Video output (for the increasingly burgeoning number of video-capable iPods) remains, as does the dual alarm clock and HD Radio tuner. And it's the interaction between the HD Radio and the iPod where the new I-Sonic debuts a first-of-its-kind feature called iTunes Tagging.
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The TouchTable lets users wave their hands over the projected image to shift the view sideways or to zoom in and out.
(Credit: Northrop Grumman)Microsoft made a splash earlier this year with a tabletop PC called Milan. Designers and developers there might have been spared building their 85 early prototypes, however, if they'd just gone shopping at defense contractor Northrop Grumman instead of Ikea.
As it turns out, Northrop Grumman--best known for missile systems and other military gear--for several years has been hawking the similar TouchTable as part of what it calls an "integrated collaboration environment." It'll be showing off the technologies next week at a defense conference in London, and last month delivered a TouchTable to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The TouchTable is a projection display with, as the name implies, a touch-sensitive screen. Move your hand across the table to shift the image sideways; move your hands together or apart to zoom in and out. (Kinda like the iPhone, really.) The ICE setup, meanwhile, taps into satellite imagery and marries that with maps and other data sources.
Northrop Grumman's Jammie McCoy (left) demonstrates the TouchTable to Mike Brown, the director of the FAA's Office of Information Systems Security.
(Credit: Northrop Grumman)The FAA plans to install the table tech in its Cyber Security Incident Response Center. The TouchTable could let security staff control CAD images of a building where a cyber "event" is happening or access relevant data through a live feed from a security system, according to Northrop Grumman.
The uses aren't always out of the 24 playbook. The military-industrial giant has also supplied a TouchTable to CNN for Wolf Blitzer's The Situation Room program.
There are two versions of the TouchTable--one with an 84-inch screen (1600x1200 resolution), the other with a 45-inch screen (1920x1080 resolution). The larger system also includes dual external displays. The technology was created by the Los Angeles-area design firm Applied Minds, and it's marketed by the eponymous Pasadena, Calif.-based company TouchTable.
The Chestnut Hill George: now cheaper (thanks to a price drop) and better (via firmware upgrades)
(Credit: Chestnut Hill Sound)Remember George? The iPod-friendly tabletop radio from audio start-up Chestnut Hill Sound garnered mostly positive reviews when it debuted earlier this year, thanks largely to its unique wireless remote control, but the $550 sticker price limited its appeal. Well, as of today, it's a decidedly better deal. Chestnut Hill has lowered the price to $500 and will bundle in the outboard remote charging stand--pretty much a must-have accessory--at no extra cost for units sold through the end of the year. To date, the charging stand cost an extra $50 as well, so the net savings on the new deal is a cool $100. Still pricey, to be sure, but right in line with plenty of other luxury label tabletop offerings from Bose, Tivoli Audio, and Boston Acoustics--none of which offer the George's cool remote.
In addition to the price drop, there's more good news for current and prospective George owners. The long-promised "skins" (side panels and speaker grilles available in different colors, as seen on Chestnut Hill's website) are now on track for October availability; they're expected to retail for $100 apiece. And the company has continued to make good on its pledge to keep updating the product, with the latest of several free firmware upgrades adding a variety of tweaks and improvements to the product. Meanwhile, the company is still planning to deliver the promised HD Radio add-on before the end of the year.
