Even though I didn’t get to attend CES this year, the fine folks over at Engadget did, which means you get the news: WiMax is confirmed for Sprint this year, and its coming to the Eee PC. The general idea is that WiMax, a long range wireless technology which “kinda” bridges the gap between mobile wireless and home wireless, is being rolled out by Sprint in the US this year. ASUS, wanting badly to be on the leading edge of something cool, announced that they would be WiMax-enabling a lot of their gear, including the hot little Eee PC. They also took the opportunity to unveil a new WiMax-ready UMPC which features built-in GPS, TV tuner, and two cameras. Neato!

written by Tyler Regas

Though it was earlier this week, Belkin has rolled out two new lappy bags just in time for MacWorld. The first is the Ceylon Messenger Bag which features a slick look, clean looking strap arrangement with an integrated mobile pocket, and the ability to stand on its own. Its available now for US$50 and takes up to 15.4″ widescreen laptops. The second is the Belkin Sling, a single strap bag which looks like it has several pockets, accepts up to 15.4″ lappys, and is also available now for US$50.

written by Tyler Regas \\ tags: accessories, MacWorld 2008, mobile

Its time to get ready for the second big event of 2008, the MacWorld Expo being held in San Francisco, CA. in the sizable Moscone Center. The first thing I’ll tell you is to step back, take a deep breath, count to ten, and read this:

The Keynote is on Tuesday the 15th at 9AM PST

Yup. Today, the 14th, is when the conferences get fired up. The expo floor itself isn’t open and everyone at Moscone Center are in a bunch of little rooms, sitting in chairs, staring at projector screens, and listening to people talk about all things Apple. Its not all that exciting. Trust me. Maybe everyone can stop flooding the site and give the MacWorldExpo.com site admins a chance to add some more servers.

Apple does have a bunch of banners up at the site, though. They all say, “There’s Something In The Air.” 9to5Mac is speculating that this means the rumored ultra-portable MacBook Pro will be dubbed the MacBook Air.

written by Tyler Regas

Belkin, which is generally known for its cables, has announced a new line of iPod-oriented recording devices aimed at podcasters and musicians. I have to admit, this TuneStudio is very cool, even though I’ve not actively played in over 15 years. The US$399 TuneStudio device takes various models of dockable iPods and turns them into digital audio recorders. The remainder of the unit provides a ridiculous array of features, including phantom power XLR inputs, four tracks with 3-pot EQ each, pan and gain controls, and it even works as a USB audio interface for Mac and Windows-based systems. The unit is available in the US now, and will be available soon in Asian, European, and Australian markets later this year, though I was unable to locate it on Belkin’s site at the time of this posting (aside from the above linked press release).

written by Tyler Regas

Motorola has announced their new ROKR E8 music phone, which features a wide range of new-ish technologies. First is their interesting ModeShift technology which changes the user interface at the touch of a button. Next up is their FastScroll wheel, which allows users to quickly move through music and the phone itself. Finally, there’s the fact that they jumped ship from Apple’s iTunes Music Store and signed on with Microsoft’s Windows Media Player 11 because they can’t make a decent media handset and Steve Jobs can’t handle failure? Hmm. TMI?

written by Tyler Regas

If Sony can update the PSP, then it certainly can’t hurt to re-up the semi-popular Mylo. The Mylo2 is a web tablet device, not a phone. You can  use Wi-Fi at a hotspot, but its not a phone. It is a web tablet which supports VoIP, IM, browsing, games, video, and audio. Think of it as a PSP without the Playstation part and a built-in keyboard. It comes in black or white and runs for US$300. It should be available now and it looks like SonyStyle is offering free shipping. The original Mylo is still available, at least in black. The white model is out of stock.

written by Tyler Regas

Sony has finally wrapped up all of its PSP announcements, so here it all is in one go. Sony has updated the PSP. The new unit is thinner and lighter, and the new firmware adds a number of new features. Sony has also announced their new relationship with psuedo-VoIP provider, Skype. Using the unit’s built-in Wi-Fi capabilities, you can make calls. Finally, Sony has finally rolled out the long anticipated GPS adapter, which turns the PSP into a GPS, ASAP. How’s that for acronyms!

written by Tyler Regas

While I don’t normally pair up the terms “Fun” and “Microsoft”, Gates does have a sense of humor and has a fondness for rendering that to video. Since this recent keynote was his last one, he had another funny video whipped up, and this one is entertaining. Trifilms produced it, so its on their site as a promotional video for their services. Take a gander.

written by Tyler Regas

Panasonic and cable giant Comcast have jointly announced that they are preparing Panasonic’s new TZ-LC100 portable digital video recorder, likely only for Comcast subscribers. There is no available information regarding release date or cost, though its equally likely that Comcast may offer some kind of subsidy deal. Aside from being a standard 8.5″ portable DVD player, it also incorporates a 60GB drive which can be synced with DVR shows from your home DVR device.

written by Tyler Regas \\ tags: CES, mobile, television

Here’s a roundup of the little stuff which doesn’t really warrant entire pieces on their own. SanDisk has announced a new 12GB microSDHC card the popular form factor used on mobile handsets. Hauppauge has rolled out a US$50 PCI Express TV tuner card which has been validated for Windows machines. Sling Media is now offering a version of is Sling Player Mobile for the popular Blackberry handset line-up. JBL, the guys who make speakers, have hung a shingle for their new iPod dock slash alarm clock dubbed, you guessed it, the Time Machine (Apple won’t have a problem with that!).

More to come…

written by Tyler Regas