September 15th: Sony Ericsson claims, “the way you listen to music changes forever” on September 21st. September 21st: Sony Ericsson announces the MH907 motion-controlled headphones and 99.999999999999% of the world will continue listening to music the same old way. Don’t get us wrong — the new “SensMe” technology SE introduced today is kind of nifty. Basically, it allows you to control music playback and call handling by removing and replacing one of your ear buds. Ok that’s cool we suppose, but it begs the question: Is removing and replacing an ear bud to control your headset more or less convenient than simply tapping a button? We’re going to go with less. The novelty factor is certainly there though, so if you have a Sony Ericsson phone — yes, this headset will only work with SE phones — at least you have something interesting to look forward to. No pricing or release information has been made available.

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It’s always annoying when products get over-hyped by marketing agencies, but we suppose they wouldn’t be doing their jobs if they didn’t go overboard. Case in point: Sony Ericsson’s upcoming ‘Put your ears in control’ event. Peculiar sentence structure aside, a new SE microsite invites us all to “Come back here on the 21st of September to see how the way you listen to music changes forever.” Fair enough. The webcast registration page refers to a “ground-breaking new product” that will be demoed live, meaning it looks like this is a product-based announcement as opposed to some new service the JV has cooked up. So is Sony Ericsson going to change the way we listen to music forever on Monday? We highly, highly doubt that. Sony Ericsson has always done a bang up job where music is concerned though, so at the very least we hope the company announces something interesting and unique. Of note, the seldom-wrong Eldar Murtazin says “SE Headset for Sept, 21 isnt so great, turn on music/radio when you wear it, nice but so niche. Could put review now, but let them announce.”

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Time to get your world traveling on, Verizon Wireless subscribers. Big Red has just announced the latest addition to its global roaming-ready mobile broadband lineup and as long as you can handle the rather loud choice of coloring, it’s not a bad option at all. The ZTE AD3700 USB modem packs just about every type of connectivity you could possibly need at the moment — EV-DO, GSM, GPRS, EDGE and UMTS are all covered in a single, relatively small package. The modem also features a USB connector that swivels to suit any and all laptop designs. As far as pricing and availability, the ZTE AD3700 will hit stores starting tomorrow for $79.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate on a new 2-year mobile broadband contract.

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After what was a pretty terrible June for the video game industry, Nintendo looked to July’s highly anticipated Wii Sports Resort release to revitalize casual gamers — and their wallets — and reverse the steep slide the company saw at the start of summer. Fast forward: It did. Nintendo announced this past week that the sequel to its ever-popular Wii Sports title sold over 500,000 titles during its first week of availability beginning July 26th. For those keeping score, that’s about one copy sold every 1.5 seconds. At $50 a pop, it’s also about $25 million in gross revenue. Wii Sports Resort packages 12 mini games onto one disc and includes a MotionPlus accessory, which “brings unmatched accuracy to games that have been specially designed for it.” In other words, it improves upon the revolutionary concept popularized by the standard Wii controller and makes it much more accurate. So, did anyone pick up a copy of Sports Resort this past week or are you all still too busy drooling over preview videos of Project Natal?

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In the immortal words of Johnny 5… “Does not compute.” Back when WildCharge first came out on the scene, the ambitious company definitely made some waves. Yes, its charging pad accessory looked a bit odd, but cell phone manufacturers were sure to jump on board and crank out some WildCharge-ready handsets because the product was just so damn cool! Right? Right? Not so much. Here we are several years later and the company has yet to produce the breakthrough wireless charging solution we were all hoping for. This latest effort, the WildCharge PowerDisc, is probably the most inexplicable solution yet. It involves carrying around a small disc on a loop along with a connector cable that joins the disc with your portable device. You then place the disc on the WildCharge pad and viola! You’re charging. In other words, they’ve taken one part — a charger — and replaced it with four parts: the PowerDisc, the connector cable, the charging pad and the adapter that connects the pad to a wall outlet. Riiiiiight. The bottom line it that people just don’t want it. They don’t want the strange eye sore that is a WildCharge skin, they don’t want a hideous WildCharge universal adapter and, if we were betting folks, we would wager that people don’t want a wired wireless charger either. It really is a shame — if OEMs had jumped on board we could have had cool wireless charging products like the Touchstone a long, long time ago. Instead, we have a PowerDisc.

[Via Gizmodo]

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Sprint announced a pair of wireless routers this morning that will surely grab the attention of subscribers who frequent various WiMAX-covered regions, both present and forthcoming. The Personal Hotspot PHS300S (pictured above, left) and the Cradlepoint MBR-1000 each support 3G (EV-DO Rev. A) and 4G (WiMAX) connectivity and combine to cover consumer and enterprise markets. The PHS300S is a 3G/4G portable hotspot that supports up to 4 simultaneous WiFi connections. Think of the MiFi as Barry Bonds before steroids and the PHS300S as Barry Bonds after steroids. The MBR-1000 on the other hand, is designed for enterprise use and is more of a stationary solution. It too supports 3G and 4G, and it allows up to 32 simultaneous connections. The Personal Hotspot PHS300S goes for $159.99 via telesales, online and in retails stores while the Cradlepoint MBR-1000 costs $249.99 via business channels. Both are available immediately and require a 3G or 4G data plan ranging from $39.99 to $79.99 per month.

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Sure it’s not a Tuesday but Apple apparently decided to switch things up and intro the new and improved Time Capsule duo this morning. What’s new? Space. The old $300 500GB model has gone the way of the Dodo and the 1TB model slides into its price slot (down from $500). Of course Apple wouldn’t be Apple without offering a “bigger and better” model carrying a significantly wider profit margin, so a 2TB version of the Time Capsule makes its debut in the vacated $500 slot. Time to get your backup on, Apple fans.

[Via Giz]

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Woh there George Jetson… Did you take your flying car to a remote studio on Mars to record this interview? WiTricity Corp. CEO Eric Giler sat down with the BBC for a (very) quick chat about the future of power. His vision of the future is pretty intense — where you park your electric car above a mat in your garage that powers it up while you go inside and munch on some Soylent Green wafers. We need immediate gratification however, so we’re much more interested in his cell phone charging solution for the time being. Within 12-18 months, Giler suggests that consumers will be able to purchase an accessory that will enable wireless handset charging. We’re talking truly wireless, contact-less charging here; none of this Wildcharge/Touchstone nonsense. Unfortunately, Giler danced around the all-important ‘cost to the consumer’ issue a bit, but he did seem to imply that it would be a while before WiTricity technology is affordable. Early adopters who are willing to pay a premium however, could be able to open those wallets nice and wide for some WiTricity sexiness before 2010 is through. Hit the jump for the BBC’s interview.

Thanks, Will!

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To be perfectly honest, it’s hard to know whether or not we actually care about the possibility of LG’s upcoming GD910 watch phone touching down in the US. If the pricing comes in as high as had been rumored a few months ago — $1,500 or more — then the answer is most definitely no. If LG can manage to simmer down a bit and hit a more realistic price point… Well, it might be fun to play with for a minute. Whether or not the GD910 will officially hit US soil is still an unknown but its stroll through the FCC halls at least makes it a much more likely possibility. As far as frequencies covered in the FCC documents, don’t get too excited. GSM/GPRS/EDGE 1900 is all we’ve got so far but it still looks like there are still a bunch of documents that haven’t been released yet so maybe LG will surprise us with some US 3G. And maybe not. Hit the jump for the label as found with the patent app.

[Via Engadget Mobile]

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A quick break from our regularly scheduled programming to bring our photogs in the audience some steamy gratuitous camera leak action. It looks as though Nikon’s dSLR and lens roadmap for the remainder of 2009 through the end of 2010 may have come to light and to say there are some juicy morsels lined up is a gross understatement. New bodies, 14 new lenses from Q3 2009 through Q3 2010, Full-HD video recording galore, a 30.2 megapixel beast likely in time for the 2010 holiday season… Suffice it to say this rumored roadmap is not lacking in the action category. In short, if this is the real deal — we likey. Hit the jump for the skinny and if anything manages to catch your eye, we highly recommend you start saving today.

August 4 introduction: (Apparently the end of July presentation is for compact cameras)

• Nikon D3000
• Nikon D300s with Full-HD movie 24 fps, improved AF, self timer + mirror-up, cf + sd-slot
• AF-S DX 17-65/3.2-4 G VR with 72(!) mm filter

October 15 presentation:

• Nikon D700x with 24.5 MP, Full-HD movie 24 fps, improved AF and self timer + mirror-up
• AF-S Nikkor 24-135mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR (The FX-dream-walk-around-lens?)
• AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II (What everybody waited for! 82 mm filter, 1530 g)
• AF-S Nikkor 35mm f/1.4G
• AF-S Nikkor 85mm f/1.4G (No VR?)

Q1/2010:

• AF-S Nikkor 14-28mm f/3.5-4.5G ED
• AF-S Nikkor 120-450mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR II (Replacement for 80-400? 82 mm, 1480 g)

Q2/2010:

• Nikon D4 with 15.7 MP, improved 1 EV, Full HD-movie 30fps
• Nikon D400 with 13.8 MP, improved 1 EV, Full HD-movie 24fps

Q3/2010:

• AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4G VR (On the waiting list for many!)
• AF-S Nikkor 400mm f/5.6G VR (Have been missing a long time!)
• AF-S Nikkor 70-240mm f/3.5-4.5G VR (The missing medium size telezoom!)
• AF-S Nikkor 105mm f/2G DC (A small surprise. No VR?)
• AF-S Nikkor 24-85mm f/4G VR
• AF-S DX Nikkor 60-95mm f/2G VR (The DX dream-telezoom!)
• AF-S DX Nikkor 17-60mm f/2.8G VR (Replacing 17-55 with addition of VR)
• Nikon Coolpix P1DX with DX 12.3 MP stabilised sensor, 28-85/3.5-5.6 zoom (comparable to FX, actually 18-56), 2.9 inch 920k-display, movable upwards for macro.

Q4/2010:

• Nikon D4X with 30.2 MP with 1 EV improved sensitivity

[Via Nikon Rumors]

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Following AT&T’s recent and repeated claim that it is on schedule with a 3G femtocell solution to be released before the year is out, Sprint’s VP of device and technology development Mathew Oommen has officially thrown down the gauntlet:

Just like Sprint was the first with 2G, we’ll definitely be the first in the 3G space as well. We’re not talking about trials; we’re talking about full commercial service.

Pow… Take that, AT&T. For those unfamiliar with the technology, a femtocell is basically a small base station that provides a bridge between cellular and wired broadband connections. Long story short: It’s your own personal cell tower. Sprint’s Airave was indeed the first 2G femtocell to hit the scene and according to Oommen, Sprint’s 3G offering will follow suit. What’s more, Sprint is apparently prepping both a consumer solution and an enterprise solution. EV-DO Rev. A femtocells at home and at the office? Mmmm.

[Via Phone Arena]

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Since the introduction of its first Bluetooth headset, Aliph has set a new standard where background noise reduction and cancellation are concerned. The California-based start up introduced its Jawbone headset in December of 2006 and almost instantly, long-standing giants in the Bluetooth headset business found themselves playing a game of catch-up. It has been about two-and-a-half years since then and in the world of consumer electronics that’s about seven lifetimes. Aliph has released two more Jawbone headsets with last month’s Jawbone PRIME launch being its latest feat, and the competition continues to rain new models all over the marketplace. Now that noise cancellation has taken center stage as the main differentiating factor in separating the men from the boys, is Aliph still the undisputed champ or has the competition caught up? Hit the jump as we pit Jawbone’s latest against one of the hottest headsets of recent history, the Jabra BT530.

Jawbone PRIME:

Kicking things off with our general impressions of the Jawbone PRIME, it’s awesome. The size and weight are ideal and the look of the handset has finally been toned down to our liking — it’s actually pretty elegant now where headsets are concerned, as opposed to odd and ostentatious as was the first Jawbone. The sleek look of the handset is not without sacrifice however, as Aliph was only able to fit two buttons in the design: an on/off/send/end button hidden beneath the pattern on the side of the headset and a NoiseAssassin/volume button on the back. You read that right; one button for volume control. It’s not the worst thing in the world but it does take a bit of getting used to. Rather than having the ability to raise and lower the speaker volume, repeated presses of the sole volume button cycle the audio incrementally from lowest to highest and then back to lowest.

Beyond the less-than-ideal button configuration, our only remaining complaints are depicted in the two images above. First, the rubber compound Aliph chose for its PRIME earbuds. A) It can be a bit uncomfortable after wearing the headset without the optional ear loop for a long period of time. B) It attracts and holds onto dust like no other earbud we’ve ever used. Second, Aliph still insists on a proprietary power connector. It’s great for maintaining fluid lines on the headset but terrible when you lose your charger.

Jabra BT530:

Jabra’s BT530 is without question one of our favorite Bluetooth headsets of all time. It’s small, light, well-designed and has a great look to it. The BT530 is also remarkably comfortable to wear and seemingly lasts forever on a single charge. All of the buttons are well placed and we love the presence of a small sliding power switch on the bottom of the device that is quick and easy compared to holding a button down for X seconds to turn the headset on and off. Lastly, while it might not be quite as pretty, the BT530 uses the standard microUSB port we all know and love to take a charge.

NoiseAssassin 2.0 vs. Noise Blackout

Noise Blackout is Jabra’s catchy name for a great little dual mic system designed to eliminate background noise. Anne Rasmussen, VP of Mobile at GN Netcom — the company behind Noise Blackout — says of the technology, “Our Noise Blackout technology is a completely new and proprietary technology that not only allows crystal clear sound but eliminates the ‘tinny’ sound that many noise cancellation headsets are plagued with.” The system basically uses a unique directional technology to differentiate and eliminate sounds coming from around the headset while allowing sounds from in front of the headset (the user’s mouth) to pass through.

NoiseAssassin 2.0 on the other hand, attacks background noise from a completely different angle. Using a small white Voice Activity Sensor (VAS) that touches the wearer’s face coupled with two electret mics, the Jawbone PRIME combines audio from various sources to assemble the single stream of speech it delivers. The VAS also allows the headset to accurately distinguish between background noise and speech to provide extremely effective noise cancellation. The system worked quite well in Aliph’s first two Jawbone headsets and this latest iteration seems to work even better.

During our tests, the Jawbone PRIME was the clear winner where noise cancellation performance is concerned. It was able to completely eliminate low to moderate background noise and dampen louder background noises to the point where they did not interrupt conversations at all. Where the PRIME shines even brighter however, is in the wind. Jabra’s BT530 performed very well in low and moderate noise situations, but it seems the wind is the BT530’s weakness as it does little or even nothing to dispel wind noise while on the street or in a car with the AC on.

As much emphasis is put on noise cancellation these days however, we found that the PRIME’s terrific performance in that department didn’t necessarily translate to a better overall user experience. Where the BT530 really set itself apart from the PRIME in fact, was audio quality. On the recipient’s end, we got no complaints about either headset where audio quality is concerned. Both headsets managed to deliver great speech, though the PRIME was better at filtering out everything else as we mentioned. On our end however, we found the audio on the PRIME to be very tinny despite the company’s claim to the contrary. Yes, compared to older Jawbone models and even other noise canceling headsets, the quality is much improved on the PRIME. Compared to the BT530 however, it’s no contest. Jabra’s headset delivers terrific, well rounded sound to the wearer and the PRIME is no match. Audio on the BT530 is deep and crisp as opposed to thin and tinny, and it’s a real pleasure to use.

So which would we recommend? Both, actually. For users who commute or are constantly in situations with high levels of background noise, the Jawbone PRIME is the clear choice — provided the $115-$130 price tag doesn’t scare you away. For users who want good noise cancellation but are more concerned with great sound and affordability, the $45-$70 Jabra BT530 can’t be beat.

Jawbone PRIME product page
Jabra BT530 product page (page is down right now; main headsets page)

While light mobile broadband users are busy eying Virgin Mobile’s new prepaid offering, those of you who travel constantly might be interested in Verizon Wireless’ latest USB stick. Dubbed the USB1000, Big Red’s new mobile broadband dongle packs all the connectivity you can handle — CDMA/EV-DO Rev. A, GSM/GPRS/EDGE and tri-band HSPA are all accounted for. As for pricing, the stick itself will run $149.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate. Global data plans on the other hand, are a bit less attractive: $129.99 per month for 100MB of data and $219.99 per month for 200MB. Both plans will run you $0.005 per KB over the allotment and they include 5GB of data in the US and Canada ($0.05 per MB overage). You can also opt for the standard 5GB/$60 plan and pay $0.002 per KB in Canada, $0.005 per KB in Mexico, and $0.02 per KB for international roaming in over 175 other countries. If you’re a true international man of mystery, you should be able to warrant the expense of VZW’s global plans. Occasional travelers on the other hand, might be wise to examine other options. The USB1000 will be available online starting tomorrow.

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If you’ve been itching for some new Nokia gear lately and live within driving distance of one of Nokia’s US Flagship stores, you might be in for a treat this weekend. Nokia sent out a bulk email yesterday evening alerting customers to some pretty big happenings over this coming weekend, May16th and May 17th. Deals include 25 percent off of all accessories, $100 off the sexy new E75 in black and 20 percent off all handsets currently in stock (excluding current clearance and Vertu) which pushes both the 5800 XpressMusic and E71 under the $300 mark. Also, and as is the case with online pre-orders, anyone who slaps some cash down to score an N97 as soon as it’s released will get a free BH-804 Bluetooth headset delivered with his or her new Nseries. All in all, it’s a pretty big deal that brings several prices down to “shady importer” territory. If you don’t live in the New York or Chicago areas, well, say hi to the shady importers for us. Hit the jump for the full text from Nokia’s email blast.

Thanks, John!

Good Afternoon!

Wanted to let you know about our Semi-Annual Sale and some awesome deals going on at the Nokia Flagship Stores both in Chicago and New York City. Right off the bat, ALL accessories and service packs are 25% off. What’s this mean? Nokia’s slimmest Bluetooth headset BH-804 is no longer $99.99 but rather it’s $79.99! You can also get a handsfree speakerphone for your car like the HF-200 or any other accessory you’ve wanted to buy.

We’ve also taken $100 off the NEW NOKIA E75!! That’s right, it’s now $429 for this stylish side-slide qwerty (currently available in black)! We’re also taking 20% off all devices in stock that are not already on clearance (and not Vertu). These include the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic (now under $300) and Nokia E63 (under $225) as well as WIRED’s “2008 Test Best” for Cell phones – the Nokia E71 (now under $290)!!

This two-day sale starts Saturday, May 16 at 10:00 am and ends Sunday May 17 at 6:00 pm and is valid only on current stocks (no rain checks).

One more thing – Anyone who preorders a Nokia N97 on these days (May 16 and May 17) will be given a free Nokia Bluetooth Headset BH-804.

(Quantity restrictions apply, Nokia Bluetooth Headset BH-804 will be given to consumer when they receive their Nokia N97, not at time of purchase.)

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It looks like Verizon Wireless wasn’t the only company that took a liking to the sleek design of Novatell’s MiFi 2200 mobile hotspot. Beginning the first week of June, Sprint customers will also be able to pick up the snazzy little device online and in stores. If this is the first time you’re seeing the MiFi 2200, it’s essentially a personal Wi-Fi access point that uses Sprint’s data network for connectivity. Any Wi-Fi enabled device can connect to it just as with any other Wi-Fi access point, giving users the freedom to roam and retain connectivity across several devices. Security is covered as well, as the unit makes use of WPA2-PSK, WEP and an SPI Firewall. The MiFi 2200 from Sprint will run $99 with a 2-year contract after a $50 mail-in rebate and will require a data plan of $59.99 per month or a Simply Everything plan of $149.99 per month (both plans carry a 5GB data cap and will cost 5¢ per megabyte for overages). Hmm.

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While there is a rumor that there is a lot more to Palm’s Touchstone line than just an inductive charger, a few accessories for Palm’s upcoming Pre have surfaced in Best Buy’s inventory system. While the picture does not show the actual pricing, the source claims that the Touchstone charging dock is listed at $69.99 (which jibes with previous rumors). He also states that there are currently five cases in the system, including one aptly labeled “Palm Pre case” and three made of acrylic and one of leather. Of particular interest is the fact that the picture shows an in stock date of May 10th which means either: 1) Best Buy knows something that Palm doesn’t, 2) Best Buy is getting some accessories nearly a month early, or 3) we’ve all been had. Then again, perhaps we’re all just a little too cynical because of giant shroud of secrecy that has been thrust upon the Pre. Either way, we want it and we want it now.

[Via PreThinking]

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While we were at WES, we had the opportunity to sit down with RIM’s Antoine Boucher, Vice President, Accessories Integration. During our meeting, we were briefed on some upcoming BlackBerry accessories so we thought that we would share the goods with everyone. Hit the jump to read about what everyone’s favorite Waterloo-based smartphone company has in the pipeline. We promise you won’t be let down.

New Bluetooth headset

• Codenamed “Alpha 1″
• Black with chrome BlackBerry logo (text is omitted)
• Dedicated on / off switch
• Dial / hangup button
• Over the ear loop design with ergonomically molded in-ear bud, slightly smaller than both the Jawbone PRIME and barely larger than the BlueAnt Q1
• Noise cancellation technology
• Emphasis on ease of use and simplistic design
• microUSB charging port (the new standard for all RIM devices)
• Ability to listen to music (mono) and listen to voice command-enabled GPS navigation apps
• Possibility of text to speech and speech to text sometime in the future
• “Competitively priced”

When discussing how well the Alpha 1 fits in the ears compared to competitors, Boucher told us that the Alpha 1 is as good if not better than any headset currently on the market but was careful to note the reality which is that it’s impossible to design a headset that will fit everyone perfectly. In fact according to Boucher, who worked closely with a company who specializes in all things audio, there are 30 distinct shapes of human ear and means a lot of work went into designing a headset that can accommodate the most common shapes within the population.

Bluetooth Vehicle Visor Mount

• Referred to as Bluetooth Vehicle Visor Mount
• First seen at CES 2009
• Attaches to sun visor in automobiles
• Built-in FM transmitter to allow MP3s stored on BlackBerry to be beamed from Bluetooth Vehicle Visor Mount to automobiles’ radio
• Simple, sleek design with all black color scheme and subtle gray BlackBerry logo
• Targeted for June / July release

*Possible* Bluetooth watch

The next one is quite interesting. While sitting down with Boucher we noticed that he was wearing a Sony Ericsson Bluetooth watch, something which does not work with any BlackBerry. When we brought it up, Boucher winked and said he could not discuss that matter. But when we continued to ask questions about it, it was revealed that yes, it is indeed possible to modify the SE Bluetooth watches to display when a new emails, BlackBerry Messenger messages, texts, IMs, Tweets, Facebook messages, etc arrive on the device — something that could be very beneficial for those situations when it would be considered very rude to pull out ones BlackBerry. When we asked whether or not RIM was looking into developing such an accessory, Boucher simply said that “we are exploring many accessories that would surprise people.” Hmm.

*Possible* TV-out gateway

As our meeting with Boucher was nearing an end, he asked us what we look for in an accessory and what sort of accessories we would like to see that would help us better use our device. We mentioned that we would love to see a way to get TV-out on our devices especially considering that microSD cards now reach 32GB and are hot-swappable. Boucher asked what we envisioned such an accessory would be like, and not wanting to sound overly demanding, we said that we’d be fine with a simple cable that hooks into a TV or computer. Boucher then smirked and asked why we wouldn’t prefer such a device to be an updated BlackBerry Music Gateway…

Strategy

Halfway through our talks, we asked Boucher what his thoughts were on the growing amount of third-party accessory companies that have products for BlackBerry. We also asked if RIM would ever try to move in on companies that make the most popular accessories. Furthermore, we wondered about companies such as OtterBox whose rugged cases and skins were seen in the hands of a surprising number of the 5,000 plus BlackBerry users in attendance at WES. Boucher said that RIM is more than open to collaboration (a buzzword that came up a lot during our meeting), but for niche products such as OtterBox who make “great products, but ones that most people don’t have a use for” there is very little sense for RIM to lend a hand. Boucher added however, that RIM would not rule out working with accessory companies “if it makes business sense to us. If it doesn’t make business sense, then there is no point for us.”

Also of note was Boucher’s vision of what a good accessory should do. In his view, which is essentially that of RIM, a good BlackBerry accessory should make you use the product more and in more beneficial ways. For example, there is a set of BlackBerry headphones that feature multimedia controls for audio and video which, in combination with a high-capacity microSD card, means that BlackBerry users can leave their iPod at home and travel with one device. And when they do return home, they can sit at their desks and beam music to their stereo systems with the BlackBerry Music Gateway. In short, it’s all about encouraging more and more BlackBerry use in daily life with the goal of making life much more simple and convenient.

Well there you have it. The first two are definitely coming alongside a new accessory push slated for June / July, but the last two are just things that we’d be willing to bet some serious money are being tested pretty thoroughly right now. After all, what good is a feature-rich smartphone with “dumb” accessories?

Nintendo’s got it, Sony should have it soon enough and now Microsoft is apparently getting ready to unveil its take on motion-controlled gaming. Unlike Nintendo and Sony’s solutions however, Microsoft looks to be taking an entirely different approach to the concept by removing a physical remote from the equation and using the actual gamer as the controller — at least where motion is concerned. The solution reportedly entails a sensor bar that observes gamer movement and uses it to control compatible games. You move, it moves. You kick, it kicks. You trip over your coffee table and bust your face, it… Well, we’re not sure what happens then. The bottom line is that this could very well be a tremendous leap where motion-controlled home gaming is concerned and from the sound of it, it could definitely eclipse Sony’s solution which sounds more like catch up than anything else. In both cases however, motion control will definitely be a nice value-add for PS3 and Xbox 360 owners. We just hope Sony and Microsoft aren’t viewing these solutions as game changers — especially where sales are concerned. Sure, the Wiimote might not be as unique once these new products hit the market but its just once piece of the equation as far as Wii appeal goes. Remember, the Wii isn’t stealing the market from Sony and Microsoft. It’s creating an entirely new and much broader market.

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Yes. Performance Designed Products has just unveiled the Wii accessory every Wii user has been waiting for — even if he or she didn’t know it. That’s right people, say hello to the Energizer Induction Charging System for Wii. PDP’s Energizer-branded line of accessories packs a few gems but none as sweet as this new Wiimote charging dock, which makes use of wireless induction charging technology to facilitate contact-free charging of Wiimotes. Badass. Users won’t even have to remove the protective sleeves or wrist straps from their Wiimotes; just plop that sucker on the charging dock and let induction do its thing. The dock can also be laid flat so Wii MotionPlus users won’t even have to disconnect the adapters to juice up their controllers. Fantastic. The Energizer Induction Charging System for Wii is slated to hit stores next month for $49.99 — a bargain at twice the price.

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As we weigh our options in seeking out an alternative to the USB modem that completely and utterly failed us in Vegas, a new option has just presented itself in the form of a nifty little hybrid broadband card from Sprint. Announced this morning, the Sierra Wireless AirCard 402 features a unique design that allows Sprint to cover users with PC Card slots and ExpressCard slots in one swing. The design places a broadband ExpressCard within a PC Card shell — as you can see in the image above, the two pieces join when a PC Card is required, but they can also be separated to support newer, smaller notebooks and netbooks requiring an ExpressCard. Very clever. The AirCard 402 supports EV-DO Rev. A of course, giving users access to “typical upload speeds of 350-500 Kbps with peak speeds of 1.8 Mbps and typical download speeds of 600 Kbps – 1.4 Mbps with peak speeds of 3.1 Mbps where EV-DO Revision A is available.”

This little guy is definitely a nice solution for users with both a notebook and a netbook where one type of card might not fit in both. It’s also great for those of you sporting an older notebook with a PC Card slot, but who will likely be upgrading to a newer laptop in the future. The Sierra Wireless AirCard 402 is available right now and will set you back a pretty reasonable $99.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate.

[Via Press Release]

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Every so often an interesting story surfaces that has regrettably been passed over. One such story is the case of the Palm Touchstone, the wireless charging dock for the upcoming Palm Pre. During CTIA, tnkgrl was getting briefed on the Pre by a Palm marketing manager when he let it slip that the Touchstone is not just a wireless charger but is also the name of a whole series of products and accessories for the Pre. What makes this interesting is that the name Touchstone alone implies that the rest of the series in the Touchstone line-up will feature inductive technology. So what can we expect to see — a USB dock, TV-out dock, stereo speakers, car kits? Who knows, but for now we’re pretty satisfied with reverting to a childlike state of imagination.

[Via PreThinking]

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Tucked away in the giant Ericsson booth at this year’s show was a tiny little two-sided Sony Ericsson display showcasing a handful of handsets and accessories. With the difficult time the JV is having these days, it’s no surprise that SE didn’t make much of a showing at CTIA. All the same, we wanted to give them a little love and check out the newly announced T707 — Sony Ericsson’s latest clam shell feature phone. While the handset definitely has a nice size and feel to it, there really isn’t anything new or exciting to be said about the T707. Same old UI, same old specs, new package. We wish there was something about the T707 worth more attention but truth be told, we can’t think of anything. The hidden LED display on the cover maybe? The 3.2 megapixel camera? Nope, without Maria Sharapova standing next to it we’ve got nothing. Hit the jump for more images of the T707, sans-Sharapova, along with a few Bluetooth watches (not watch phones, watches) Sony Ericsson had on display.

T707:

MBW-150 Bluetooth Watch:

MBW-200 Bluetooth Watch:

Motorola had plenty of handsets and accessories on display this year but the one that caught our eye, aside from the Evoke of course, was the MOTOROKR S305 Bluetooth stereo headset. Think of this headset as the S9-HD’s first cousin — Moto basically wanted an over-ear option for its customers with pricing and functionality that would position it well along side the in-ear S9 headset. The over-ear design also allows Moto to spread device controls out and really removes the need to ever touch your handset while listening to music. Power, rewind, fast forward, play/pause and a volume rocker are all spread across the right ear piece along with a send/end button and a mic; yep, the S305 is equipped to handle all of your Bluetooth calling needs to avoid the need to fumble for your phone when a call comes in. As far as sound goes, it’s difficult to judge the audio quality while standing in the middle of the CTIA show floor. The music we sampled sounded pretty clear and bright though, and the volume definitely gets loud enough to drown out most surrounding noise. Pricing for the ROKR S305 stereo headset will be between $40 – $70 and it is already shipping to distributors around the country. Hit the jump for more hands on images.

It took a while, but it’s finally here: T-Mobile has announced the launch of the 3G webConnect laptop USB stick. While other carriers have already been offering similar products for quite some time, T-Mobile users can enjoy 3G speeds with one from their very own carrier. Of course, we all know that T-Mobile’s 3G footprint is young and rather small, but the USB stick is compatible with EDGE if you can handle those speeds. The webConnect stick can be had for $49.99 with a 2-year contract, or $99.99 with a 1-year contract, and if you’d like to pay month-to-month without contracts, it’s $249.99. Quite pricey, if you ask us. Like other carriers, there is a 5GB limit per month for $59.99 a month. The USB stick also allows you to connect to 802.11b/g WiFi hotspots and doubles as a memory stick with an 8GB capacity. If mobility is critical to you and WiFi isn’t always available, it might not be a bad option.

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Put off by the £1,000 price tag LG and Orange will reportedly attempt to fetch for the upcoming GD910 watch phone? Don’t fret, English brothers, as your dreams of hitting the streets Dick Tracy style are not dead in the water just yet. Hyundai has just confirmed it will soon be launching a new watch phone of its own and just as the company has done in other markets, the touchscreen MB-910 watch phone is all about undercutting the competition. The MB-910 is much less capable than LG’s offering of course, but it does have a few advantages. Price, first and foremost, and a slightly better display resolution of 132 x 176 pixels — though it only supports 65K colors. The unit also has a 400mAh battery rated by Hyundai at 70 hours of standby and three hours of talk time. It will support voice, SMS, MMS, email, video playback and music playback, though its 128MB of internal memory will certainly limit the usefulness of any video and music capabilities. Finally, no 3G to be found unfortunately, though we’re not so sure it’s necessary just yet in a watch phone. Hyundai’s MB-910 will be released in the UK some time in Q2 and will run a respectable £200 ($277), including a Bluetooth headset.

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Are you a frequent flier in need of high-speed laptop connectivity around the world? Is AT&T’s troubled 3G network causing you too much pain here in the US? Do you love hearing distant screams of agony from the accounting department each time you submit an expense report with international roaming charges? Say hello to your new best friend — the ZTE A3700, coming soon to a Verizon Wireless retailer near you. Having just made its way through the FCC approval process, the A3700 makes up for its bulk by sporting nearly every kind of connectivity you might need in your travels. EV-DO, GPRS, EDGE and HSPA, all packed into the ugliest yet most versatile USB modem you’ve ever set eyes on. It’s a bit too early for pricing details but you’re just going to expense it anyway so it doesn’t really matter. As for a formal announcement, perhaps we’ll see this little guy debut at CTIA early next month.

[Via Engadget Mobile]

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There you have it folks — done and done. The Apple Store is back up, new gear is live and credit card portals are wide open. Keeping things nice and simple, Apple has taken one of its two standard routes and simply tossed out a bunch of refreshes sans-hullabaloo. Here it is, now buy it. So what have we got?

iMac:

• $1199 (only 20″ model) – 2.66 GHz, 2GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M, 320GB HD
• $1499 (24″) – 2.66 GHz, 4GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M, 640GB HD
• $1799 (24″) – 2.93 GHz, 4GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GT 120, 640GB HD
• $2199 (24″) – 3.06 GHz, 4GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GT 130, 1TB HD

Mac Mini:

• $599 – 2.0GHz, 1GB 1066 MHz DDRS SDRAM, GeForce 9400M, 120GB HD, 8x SuperDrive, Mini DisplayPort, mini-DVI, 5 USB Ports, FireWire 800 Port
• $799 – 2.0GHz, 2GB 1066 MHz DDRS SDRAM, GeForce 9400M, 320GB HD, 8x SuperDrive, Mini DisplayPort, mini-DVI, 5 USB Ports, FireWire 800 Port

Mac Pro:

• $2499 – 2.66GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon 3500 processor, 3GB of RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GT 120, 640GB HD
• $3299 – Dual 2.26GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon 5500 processors, 6GB of RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GT 120, 640GB HD

Apple definitely gave its desktop lineup a bit of an adrenaline shot, though it really didn’t come through with anything too Earth-shattering. What do you guys think? On a completely overshadowed note, Apple is now offering a 1TB Time Capsule for $500 (500GB for $299) and the AirPort Extreme Base Station, now capable of running two networks simultaneously, will run you $179 (old model is going for $159).

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There’s nothing an Apple fan loves more than a yellow sticky note that reads “We’ll be back sson” and following a massive flurry of rumors, Apple has closed its online store this morning in the US and a variety of other countries. Countless fingers are crossed as several new part numbers had been discovered last night, allegedly covering refreshed iMac and Mac Mini models. What’s more, a new Time Capsule and AirPort Extreme were recently seen passing through the FCC which of course leads us to believe we’re in for more than just new computers this morning. So much for that March 24th event — it looks like Apple is as anxious to push out its refreshed gear as Mac users are to shell out cash for it. What are we most excited about? A potential end to the seemingly infinite speculation and rehashing surrounding the iMac and Mac Mini refreshes. Please Apple, get it over with already.

Everyone’s favorite gear customization outfit has just announced a new addition that will definitely excite all you audiophiles out there. Yep, Beats by Dre headphones have indeed been added to ColorWare’s repertoire, giving owners of what are likely the hottest casual over-ear headphones a way to separate themselves from the pack. Anyone who has sampled the renowned headphones spawned from a partnership between premium gear-maker Monster and Dr. Dre will tell you they’ve got the goods sound-wise, and now the option to spruce up the look of these beasts seals the deal. ColoWare breaks Beats by Dre down into 11 unique customizable areas and of course all 35 available colors can be mixed and matched however you like. As for pricing, sending in a pair of your own will run $249 and buying a brand new ColorWare-ed pair will run $525. Hit the jump for the full press release.

ColorWare Launches Beats by Dr. Dre Headphones Custom Colored.

WINONA, MN March 2, 2009 — Perhaps you’ve already seen you favorite NBA player sporting a
custom made set of Beats by Dr. Dre already. Well, they got it from ColorWare. You can now get a set of you’re very own.

The color choices and options are practically limitless. You can color them in your favorite team
colors, pimp them out in a gold or silver color, keep them clean in all white, or come up with you own color concoction. You have the option of sending in a set you already own for customization or you can simply buy a new one directly from their website by selecting the “buy new” option.

Check out the ColorWare design studio and play around with all of the possibilities. You can also play available videos that include a review of the custom headphones and Monster Cable giving custom sets to an entire NBA team.

Colorware continues to lead the way by offering the most fashionable electronics worldwide.

“Colorware Your Lifestyle”.

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Here at BGR, we’ve learned several truths over the years: What happens in Vegas does not always stay in Vegas, you really shouldn’t eat yellow snow and most importantly, there is no such thing as a phone with a big enough battery. Discounting those first two for the time being, we’re long-time Proporta portable battery users as having that extra 3400 mAh of juice in reserve can be a life saver. Last month however, we were made aware of an alternative option from London-based Devotec Industries and our interest was immediately piqued. While Devotec’s offering holds 47% less juice than our Proporta battery, we couldn’t help but get reeled in by a key feature that no other portable charger we’ve come across in the sub-$40 price range can tout — solar. Needless to say we scooped up a handful of them and went to town. Hit the jump to read our impressions of the Devotec Solar Charger after a few weeks of abuse from the BGR staff.

First things first – what exactly is this thing? Devotec’s Solar Charger is a small pocketable battery that will charge your mobile phone or other portable devices on the go. It holds 1800 mAh of power, more than enough to give just about any handset one full charge with a bit left over just in case. The entire face of the charger is a solar panel, thus allowing the battery to be charged by the sun as opposed to sucking power from the grid. This also means if you’re out and about for an extended period of time, using the unit for multiple charges is possible without having to stop and find a power source. Just leave it sitting on the dash in your car or anywhere else it can see the sun and a few hours later you have a full 1800 mAh waiting for another go. Leaving it in the sun as it’s charging a device will also drastically reduce the battery drain of course, stretching that 1800 mAh cell out much further than any non-solar portable charger could dream of.

The unit is built quite solidly; the area surrounding the solar panel is standard black plastic while the rear half of the case is metal. Admittedly, we’ve dropped the unit a short distance several times already and there isn’t a scratch or scuff to be found. One end of the charger is home to a single DC-out port and the other end holds two LED indicators and a USB port. Why a USB port, you might ask? In the event you have a trip to Seattle or just want a quick burst of juice, the charger can be plugged into a wall outlet or any computer with a USB port (Extended pack is available with a multi-country travel charger).

Devotec’s Solar Charger ships with a short cable and a variety of tips that should be able to charge just about any handset along with any portable device that can be powered with a standard USB cable — as you can see above, the center tip on the top row is a standard USB port. It also comes with a small leather-like case which, oddly, is the cause of our only real complaint. The case is nice and it keeps the unit from getting scratched or scuffed while in transit but it’s only big enough to house the charger itself, and barely. We would have preferred a case that could also hold the tiny charger cable and maybe even a few tips so that everything is kept together and organized.

In terms of performance, a portable charger is the type of thing that either works or it doesn’t. There’s really no room for middle ground so in short, the Devotec Solar Charger works. Surprisingly however, we found that it works a bit better than the Devotec Website states. The company’s site claims charging the unit from empty will take approximately 12 hours of sunlight, while the documentation included with the unit claims 4-6 hours. During our testing we found the reality to be somewhere around 4 hours in direct sunlight. The other thing you might notice is that in each of our pictures of the unit there is a blue LED shining, indicating that the unit is currently charging. That’s no mistake — we were very surprised to find that artificial light charges the Devotec charger as opposed to just sunlight. Of course we doubt a standard house bulb will charge the unit anywhere near as quickly as sunlight, but it’s still nice to know.

In the end, we would definitely recommend the Devotec Solar Charger to anyone in the market for a portable charger. The $39.99 price point puts it exactly in line with our Proporta unit and while its capacity is 1800 mAh compared to the 3400 mAh of the Proporta, the green-factor and convenience of solar technology more than make up for it. Whereas the Proporta or a similar non-solar unit might be able to refill your handset twice before having to be refueled by a wall outlet or computer, the Devotec charger can keep refilling your gear without touching an outlet as long as the sun keeps rising every morning. If the sun stops rising, well, you’ve got bigger problems to deal with than recharging your phone. With that, we’ll leave you with a few comparison shots to give you an idea of the size of the unit, along with a link to Devotec’s product page.

Devotec Solar Charger product page