Archive for May, 2009

Unconfirmed: Zune HD Launch Is September 5, Says Microsoft ‘Guru’ [Unconfirmed]

Posted by DesignShrineHost in Gadget News on May 31st, 2009

Microsoft "guru" Paul Thurott says the Zune HD launches on September 5. Mind you, this info comes fresh from the Zune forums, so we'll slap a rumor on it for now with the caveat that it matches our earlier post about a September launch window. [Zune Forums - Thanks Joel]


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Will You Be Prime? [Bling]

Posted by DesignShrineHost in Gadget News on May 31st, 2009

In the tradition of the Atari ring comes this gold Optimus Prime ring from deviantartist =Dans-Magic.

It's the perfect gift for that special someone. That same special someone who's willing to wait hours and hours in line with you at a premiere so you can go into the theater to watch Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and ogle Megan Fox half-naked on a motorcycle. [Geekologie]


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Energizer Energi To Go Line Now Boosts iPhone Battery Life, Sucks Up Solar [Batteries]

Posted by DesignShrineHost in Gadget News on May 31st, 2009

The folks at Energizer are updating their Energi To Go line of rechargeable battery life extenders to encompass the iPhone 3G and solar power.

The first new entries, two form-fitting, rubberized AP Charger battery packs for the iPhone, had me thinking of Incase Power Slider.

They're not as eye-catching as the Incase, but they're not as expensive, either. It's $50 for the AP1000 and $80 for the beefier, longer-lasting AP1500. Weigh your options, battery pack wants and desires accordingly. Also, in the case of the AP1500, Energizer promises to double the battery life of a typical iPhone charge. Updated: As some commenters have noted, and I'm inclined to agree with, that branding front and center is fugly at best. Definitely not subtle.

In the aforementioned solar power category comes the SP1000 and SP2000, for $50 and $100, respectively. Boasting 500 charges each, these solar cells include a set of tips so that you can charge all manner of GPS devices, MP3 players and cellphones out in the wilds of suburbia. Or camping in the woods too, if that's your thing. More tips are available online, should the included six not meet your needs. The SP line even charges via indoor light sources, although not as quickly as the advertised 6-hour charge time in direct sunlight.

In all, there will be about 10 new additions to this line of battery packs and chargers coming in June, Energizer tells us, courtesy a new partnership with XPAL Power. Not much else to say on XPAL save a brief mention in our glorious Gadget Deals of the Day series.


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Smile: The First Six-Astronaut Crew Ever at the ISS [Space]

Posted by DesignShrineHost in Gadget News on May 31st, 2009

Right now, orbiting at 250 miles above Earth's surface, we have a permanent crew of six astronauts at the International Space Station, a first in the history of space exploration.

Both the Russian MIR and United States' Skylab had a permanent crew of three. The International Space Station also had three astronauts until last Friday, when ESA astronaut Frank De Winne, Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Robert Thirsk arrived onboard the Soyuz TMA-15. Together with the other three existing members, they have become the Expedition 20 mission crew, the first 6-member resident crew ever in a orbital outpost. [Hyperbola]


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The Fallen, Of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Fame, Revealed In Full [Transformers]

Posted by DesignShrineHost in Gadget News on May 31st, 2009

From the upcoming Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen we've seen the new Devastator robot, Megan Fox disrobing, and various trailers. But what about, you know, the Fallen? Well, this image is him.

Admittedly, this is not as cool as a trailer. And it certainly doesn't elicit the tingling sensation Megan Fox gives you when she fixes an engine or graces the cover of Esquire.

But it's apparently a first look, procured by MTV to promote this evening's MTV Movie Awards, and the thing looks legitimately bad ass (is that an Egyptian style headdress going on up in there?).

And it looks slightly different too, right? Shia LeBeouf explains:

Basically, the Fallen is to them what cavemen, Neanderthals were to us. He's the ancestor, the first version of this exoskeleton. He's the first version of this sentient being. That's what he is. He's the origins of what they came from.

He also says the Megatron answers to the fallen thanks to a sort of "Emperor and Darth Vader ... kind of situation."

So long as we're talking Emperor-Vader from the Return of the Jedi, and not that "Noooo!!!" abomination at the end of Revenge of the Sith, that sounds cool enough. [MTV via Film School Rejects]


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