This Japanese pricing of 8,800 Yen ($75) for the WiiFit should give you a good idea of how much that Nintendo Wii balance/exercise/yoga board is going to cost in the US. It’s going to go on sale December 1 in Japan, and if Nintendo wants to cash in on any kind of Holiday sales at all, you know they’re going to try and pump it out before December 25 here as well. In comparison, the Wii is 25,000 Yen in Japan ($213) as opposed to the $249 here, so you could probably expect the WiiFit to go for a bit more than $75 when it swims over. [Famitsu via Kotaku]

Original post by Jason Chen

This USB drive holds 512MB of doggie data like pictures and its favorite diet, which is perfect for attaching to an actual dog so whenever it gets lost, people can use it to figure out exactly where to return the dog to. Of course, a slip of paper with your address and phone number would be the same, but since when did crazy ass Solid Alliance worry about practicality. The best part is that it’s chewy and rubbery, so if it ever gets eaten it’ll come out the other side relatively intact—unlike other USB drives. [Rakuten via Tokyo Mango]

Original post by Jason Chen

Filed under: Robots
C’mon, who couldn’t adore someone, er, something with a face like that? Pictured to the right is YABO, a conceptual robot that was apparently designed for “lonely, unmarried persons.” If brought to reality, it would sport a myriad sensors including one for hearing, feeling and infrared, while also featuring a built-in camera, internal speaker, wheels and an LCD display. YABO can communicate with its (presumably single) owner by rotating and changing the color of its face, or it can just snap back responses if it’s feeling talkative. Moreover, the bot could reportedly disable unused devices and adjust the temperature to save energy while you’re out trying to find an actual human to love. Sounds like a real winner to us.
 
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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Original post by Darren Murph

The summer Xbox 360 HD DVD promotion that offered you five free HD DVD movies of your choosing (out of a pile of their choosing) has been extended to February 28, meaning you can still get in on this free film deal if you’re planning on going high def for Christmas. Bettter yet, they’ve added additional movies from Swordfish (lousy film, topless women!) to Troy (lousy film, topless men!) to The Frighteners (pretty decent film, topless Michael J. Fox!). Best to check out the list if you’re even thinking about this deal.
Category A
Aeon Flux
Babel
The Italian Job
Category B
Hulk
Pitch Black
The Thing
Category C
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Swordfish
Full Metal Jacket
Category D
Firewall
The Frighteners
U2: Rattle and Hum
Category E
Black Rain
Darkman
Troy
Only one disc per category. [Xbox via Kotaku]

Original post by Jason Chen

Filed under: GPS
Lowrance’s XOG isn’t the first from the company to feel at home away from the beaten path, as this 3.5-inch navigator was built to handle everything from in-car vacations to weekend treks through the forest. Sporting a rugged, weatherproof enclosure, this unit touts a 320 x 240 resolution backlit touchscreen, 2D / elevated 3D maps, a 12-channel GPS antenna, NAVTEQ maps, three million POIs, support for the firm’s FreedomMaps, Fishing Hot Spots PRO, LakeMaster ProMaps and NauticPath options, an integrated MP3 player / JPEG viewer, SD expansion slot and a rechargeable Li-ion for good measure. Mum’s the word on pricing as of now, but it will apparently be “available soon” and will come bundled with a device cradle, in-car mounting kit and a mini-USB cable.
[Via NaviGadget]
 
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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Raytheon sure loves its lasers, and it’s proving so with the crowd-repelling Silent Guardian. The device, which is part of the Directed Energy Solutions program, is reportedly designed to be mounted onto a military vehicle where it can “throw a wave of agony nearly half a mile,” penetrating enemy skin just 1/64th of an inch and not causing “visible, permanent injury.” Essentially, the invisible beam has the ability to inflict “limitless, unbearable pain,” which seems to stop just as soon as you’re able to get out of the ray’s path. According to its maker, the machine could be used in “various commercial and military applications including law enforcement, checkpoint security, facility protection, force protection and peacekeeping missions,” and it’s ready to calm the masses as we speak.
[Via InformationWeek]Read - Silent Guardian product pageRead - Silent Guardian hands-on
 
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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 […]

Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Portable Audio, Transportation

Ford’s Sync infotainment platform may not be helping/distracting all that many drivers just yet, but Keyspan isn’t ignoring those early adopters out there, with it now introducing what may well be the first accessory for the platform. That distinction, as you might expect, goes to the company’s new iPod Sync cable, which’ll work with everything from the first generation iPod mini to the recently-released iPod touch. In addition to displaying iPod content on the Sync’s screen, the cable will also let you control the iPod from the Sync media system, and it’ll even charge the iPod while it’s connected (although only when the vehicle is running). You will have to fork over a somewhat hefty $50 for that convenience, however, which Keyspan will gladly take from you right now.

 
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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the […]

Original post by Donald Melanson

Sony offered details on their updated PC Blu-ray burner today, with 4x speeds that can write 50 GB in 45 minutes. The BWU-200S connects to the motherboard via SATA and will burn HD formats to standard DVD as well. The drive also burns to DVD at 16x (one of the first Blu-ray drives to do so), and uses Cyberlink BD for all its playback, editing and burning needs. The BWU-200S starts shipping next month for $600. [Electronista]

Original post by Adrian Covert

According to AppleInsider sources, Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard has been finalized and well on target to make its rumored October 26th ship date. However, MacRumors’ sources say that Gold Master hasn’t been declared yet and “builds are still progressing.” This comes in addition to the news that Apple has finished two new builds of Mac OS X 10.4.11–which are likely to be the final update to the Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger operating system. [Mac Rumors via AppleInsider]

Original post by Sean Fallon

Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment

Those wild ‘n crazy kids over at Dream Arcades are at it again, and just when you thought you had your holiday budget ironed out, along comes the four-player cocktail Dreamcade 2.0 to put you back in the red. This arcade cabinet features an “integrated trackball, lighted buttons, a Windows-based DreamPC and a collection of more than 145 licensed games including classic titles from Midway, Digital Leisure, Atari, Namco and Capcom.” The 2.0 version of the Dreamcade boasts a 21-inch “real arcade monitor,” tinted safety glass and the ability to connect your own console. Sure, it’ll cost you $1,899, but that’s a small price to pay for all this retro.
[Via I4U News]
 
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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Original post by Darren Murph