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The Barbie Girls MP3 player doubles as a dress-up doll.
(Credit: Mattel)NEW YORK--Who's running things over at Mattel?
The Barbie Girls MP3 player that doubles as a paper doll with plastic clothes is now out.
First, I don't think parents should pay $59.99 for an MP3 player with 512MB of storage, even if you can dress it up. For that price I'd recommend spending a little more and getting their child the "big kid" iPod Nano or Shuffle you know they really want. To be fair, the device can hold a microSD card of up to 2GB.
But that's not my real problem with this tech toy.
Plugging the MP3 player into a computer grants the owner entry into new places in the BarbieGirls.com virtual world that non-buyers of the device won't have access to. It also gives you access to "exclusive" virtual purses and pets.
Seriously?
While I understand Mattel's desire to offer some sort of reward for buying the device, the concept of creating a virtual velvet rope seems destructive to the Barbie image the company has been struggling to improve.
"It's the next-generation fashion doll. We've always evolved with how girls play. It's all about music, being online and fashion," Lauren Dougherty, director of PR/Communications for Mattel Brands, told CNET News.com from the floor of DigitalLife 2007.
If Mattel is serious about reinventing Barbie's image and keeping up with the Webkinz of the world, maybe it should think about the overall picture.
As this writer was once a little girl who drooled over the outfits created for Barbie by some of the coolest fashion designers, I'm not anti-Barbie in the least. I just wish she was a little more Brenda Starr and a little less Paris Hilton. This is 2007, right?
Of course, this is the same company that in 1992 thought it was a good idea to make "Math class is tough" one of the lines for its Teen Talk Barbie.
We all know how well that went over.
(Credit:
Candace Lombardi/CNET News.com)
Namco attached phones to arcade games to show off mobile gaming.
(Credit: Candace Lombardi/CNET News.com)NEW YORK--It seems people like any excuse to play any video game.
While Halo III and Guitar Hero may be drawing a crowd at DigitalLife 2007, so were classics like Ms. Pac-man.
Namco had a large space at DigitalLife to remind gamers that video games of the '80s are now available for their phone.
Namco offers games like Ms. Pac-Man, Pac-Man, Dig Dug, Mr. Do, Popeye, Snoopy and the Flying Ace, Galaga and even board games like Scene It?.
The games are available, regardless of your carrier, for the Palm OS, Windows Mobile phones, the iPod and the Sidekick, as well as others.
To show this off, the company had working cell phones attached to arcade machines for the corresponding game.
Do you think people would really flock to play games they've played hundreds of times before on a large screen, just to try it on a cell phone?
Apparently, lots of people love just that.
People did not seem to mind at all that they were standing at an arcade machine, yet playing on a 2-inch screen.
The Namco area has been drawing a crowd for two days, which I can only imagine will grow as the show is opened to the public.
(Credit:
iRobot)
NEW YORK--Gadget-freak homeowners may never have to face the gunk of fall fallout ever again.
iRobot's CEO Colin Angle is expected to unveil two new robots at the DigitalLife 2007 consumer electronics show in New York on Thursday.
The Looj, which was accidentally leaked in August by the Federal Communications Commission Web site, is a remote-control robot that cleans out the gutters on the outside of a home.
(Credit:
iRobot)
The $99 robot's mobile base was based on that of iRobot's military PackBot, only on a much smaller scale. The robot can be slid into a gutter and then driven by remote control. An auger drills into the mess of leaves and debris, while paddles scoop it out and fling it...we're not sure where. A small brush sweeps up any remaining crumbs.
"It's a safer, faster way of addressing that job that's otherwise neglected...It takes a nasty job and brings it to the domain of acceptable annoyance," iRobot CEO Colin Angle told CNET News.com in an interview.
Millions of teenagers may be rejoicing that they no longer have to face the gunk of fall fallout, but someone is going to have to clean up the wet nastiness that gets flung to the ground.
(Credit:
iRobot)
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.
(Credit:
iRobot)
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 on the ConnectR allows the user to have wide-angle views and zoom in close enough to read text.
Think of it as a really advanced VoIP speaker/videophone that can move around the room.
ConnectR works over a local wireless network that the robot finds and prompts the owner to choose upon setup. Visitors are required to enter a unique access code in order to inhabit the ConnectR, but homeowners can also control access to the robot with a privacy button.
And here it is, officially, the Gateway One.
Touting the slim, all-in-one desktop as the first move toward a new strategy focused on industrial design (is there any PC manufacturer that isn't doing that these days?), the once-mighty Gateway described the minimalistic machine as an ideal centerpiece for the digital home.
The announcement was made Thursday morning at a press breakfast at the DigitalLife consumer technology convention in New York.
It's a striking-looking machine: black with a glass front and brushed-aluminum back that evokes none other than Apple, the company that remains the leader in aesthetically inclined PCs. The One is intentionally decluttered, with a single cable connecting to a power brick, a wireless keyboard and touch-sensitive mouse (which executives called a "river rock mouse"), a detachable 1.3-megapixel Webcam that connects to a USB port atop the monitor, speakers integrated into the front panel, and a power button located on the back of the 19-inch LCD display.
As for specs, three models of the One are available: a $1,299 version with a 320GB hard drive and a 1.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor; a $1,499 version with a 400GB hard drive and the same 1.5GHz processor, along with a higher-end ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600 graphics card; and a $1,799 version with a 500GB hard drive, a 2GHz Core 2 Duo processor, the ATI graphics card, and an analog-digital TV tuner.
All three versions weigh slightly under 22 pounds and come with Windows Vista Home Premium. The upper and lower models of the Gateway One are sold through an exclusive retail partnership with Best Buy; the $1,499 version is sold directly through Gateway's Web site.
Rich Brown of CNET Reviews offers his hands-on take here.
A pair of Linksys Digital Media Extenders will hit stores in November.
(Credit: Linksys)
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 and feel as the KiSS 1600, a European model from Linksys' European-based sub-brand.
Linksys is highlighting the software "plug-in" functionality of its Media Center Extenders, which will enable additional future features, such as DivX and XviD support, as well as interactivity with other networked devices in the home. But high prices will remain an obstacle to mass market adoption: The DMA2100 will retail for $300, while the DVD-enabled DMA2200 will cost $350. The latter price is the same cost as a 20GB Xbox 360. The Microsoft game console doesn't have built-in wireless, but it, too, can double as a full-fledged HD Media Center Extender--not to mention play games and HD video downloads from Xbox Live Marketplace. Both Linksys models will compete head-on with the Xbox--and Media Center Extenders from rival manufacturers--when they hit stores in November.
UPDATE (9/28/2007): Since this post was originally published, a Linksys spokesman contacted us to clarify that both the DMA2100 and 2200 will support the streaming of DivX and XviD videos straight out of the box--no additional downloads necessary.
On Sale Now: $320.99
View the latest prices for Linksys Media Center Extender DMA2100
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View the latest prices for Linksys Media Center Extender DMA2200 - DVD player / digital multimedia receiver
The three antennas should help guarantee smooth audio and video streaming.
(Credit: D-Link)
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 equipped products from rival Linksys, however, the DSM-750 will also offer access to active-TV, a service that provides access to more than 200 "channels" of on-demand Internet video content, including free (ESPN, YouTube, AOL Video) and premium (CinemaNow, MovieLink) services. (Owners of the DSM-520 will also get active-TV access, thanks to a forthcoming free firmware upgrade.)
The wireless-N speeds and active-TV content are a nice step up for the D-Link streamer, but the DSM-750 will have its work cut out for it, thanks to a whopping $350 price tag. That's the same cost as a 20GB Xbox 360. The Microsoft game console doesn't have built-in wireless, but it, too, can double as a full-fledged HD Media Center Extender. And unlike the D-Link, it can also play games (Halo 3, anyone?), DVD movies, and HD video downloads from Xbox Live Marketplace. The D-Link will go head-to-head with the Xbox and Media Center Extenders from rival manufacturers when it goes on sale in November.
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