All 4 Toys

Right on schedule, PlayStation 3 firmware 3.0 is now out and being fed directly into your console (should you opt to download it, at least), offering a number of changes to the user interface and Trophies section and animated themes with avatars. Be sure to come back and let us know what you think!

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We might already have all the specalicious details on the new EeeTops from ASUS, but it never hurts to see one in action, right? Taking center stage here is the voice-activated widgetry ASUS has added to its Windows 7 install, allowing you to check the weather, play music, and even initiate Skype calls solely via the awesomeness of your voice. Expected to retail at €599 in Europe, the 20-inch ET2002T definitely looks sleek, though its screen is glossy enough for the camera girl to wave at us surreptitiously a number of times. Check it out, but be warned, there’s a small bit of salty language midway through, which is as inappropriate for the office as it is hilarious.

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Looks like smartbooks really are the new netbooks, after all. Aptly exemplifying déjà vu, German company Smartbook AG has issued a cease-and-desist to Netbooknews.de, claiming it owns the trademark and copyright on the term “smartbook” and that its use on the news site is damaging to the company’s reputation and credibility. The letter demands that within two weeks all instances of the word be stricken from both the German and English-language versions, despite the latter being hosted in the US, outside of German jurisdiction. Of course, the logical thing would be to go after a company like Qualcomm who’s been using the designation all along, and not the outlets who report on it, but why let a little common sense get in the way of some good ol’ fashioned internet drama, eh Smartbook? By our count, it was almost exactly six months between Psion sending out its first cease-and-desist on “netbook” to media outlets and its eventual acquiescence and settlement with Intel, so consider the clock here officially ticking.

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The new Sunno S880 smartphone is about to make its mark in China soon, and at first glance, it looks more like a redesigned Sony Ericsson Idou a.k.a Sony Satio smartphone instead. The phone features a 3.6-inch WVGA display, 8-megapixels camera, WiFi, GPS, an 806 MHz processor, and 128 or 256 megabytes of RAM. What makes the Sunno S880 more special from the cloned mobile phones from Chinese companies is that it the smartphone is able to dual-boot on both Android and Windows Mobile. No idea on pricing, but the S880 is expected to be available for Chinese customers by October 15.

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Remember that RedneckTechie and his insanely great GameGun idea? Well, he’s back with another “slick” demo video, along with some news for us: he’s putting together a retail version that will be ready by Christmas. The gun will also be compatible with Xbox 360, PS3, Wii and Windows and a plug-and-play device. We’re incredibly short on details, and the pre-order page isn’t live just yet, but if Mr. Redneck can pull this off, we’re gonna fall all over ourselves to nab one no matter what the price is. New vid is after the break.
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Something about Le Petit Prince, the mobile, plant-loving greenhouse robot makes us indescribably sad. Is it his one, massive adorable eye? Or merely the fact that he’s named after one of the most depressing books ever written? Either way, we can’t really argue with his usefulness — the concept can carry about plants and care for them, all the while ravaging the terrain for further specimens. He’s also designed to learn about the optimal growing conditions of the plants he collects, which really makes us want one to care for a certain, finicky houseplant we won’t call out by name (but we’re looking at you, Venus Flytrap). Check out the darling video after the break. Read more »

It’s been a crazy week of news, so get ready for an equally-crazy live podcast. We’re getting things ready to start broadcasting at 3PM EST, so settle into the chat below! Read more »

We were pretty skeptical of gScreen’s plans to produce a line of dual-screen laptops rocking when we first heard about them in February, but here we are, looking at the first picture we’ve seen of the Spacebook laptop. We’re told it has two 15.4-inch displays — since the company knows you don’t always need both screens, the second stows away behind the first and slides out when you need it, just like the Lenovo W700ds. Except, you know, with a full-size screen. Inside, you’ll have a selection of Core 2 Duos, 4B of RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 900M GT graphics, and a 7200rpm drive — all of which explain why it’s expected to cost just south of $3,000. gScreen’s planning on having this on sale by the holidays, along with a dual-13-inch model — let’s hope the company can pleasantly surprise us yet again. Read more »

Folks living in the US who have longed for the MSI Wind Top AE2010-02SUS will now be able to get their hands on this 20″ all-in-one desktop PC that will features an AMDs Athlon X2 Dual Core 3250E 1.5GHz processor, 4GB DDR2 memory, ATI Radeon HD 3200 Graphics with 128MB VRAM, 320GB hard drive, and a tray-load DVD SuperMulti burner. As an additional features include 4-in-1 card reader, a 1.3 Megapixel webcam, 3Wx2 speakers with SRS Premium Sound, an eSATA port, six USB ports, WiFi 802.11b/g/n and Ethernet LAN. The display itself boasts a resolution of 1600900 pixel. As for Operation System, the MSI Wind Top AE2010-02SUS will runs on Windows Vista Home Premium and the customers also will get free Windows 7 Upgrade coupon.

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Right on schedule, the Palm Pre has started shipping to Bell Mobility customers. The Bell exclusive marks the first international launch of Palm’s little savior and to celebrate, we’ve got commercials — a pair of knee-slappers featuring real live Canadians. And you thought that the mirror on the back of the Pre was only for the ladies. Read more »