by Darren Murph, posted Aug 30th 2008 at 7:14PM
Be honest here, GoLive2’s Stix didn’t stand a chance at being taken seriously, and even when one reviewer attempted to have fun with the unashamed Wiimote knockoff, he failed epically. The Stix 200 looks strikingly like Nintendo’s accelerometer-packin’ controller, though this 2D-only rip was seen as “a set of slightly unresponsive, highly inconvenient arrow keys” rather than an exciting new controller. (Read the full post about ‘Stix 200 Wiimote wannabe reviewed: it’s just as awful as we imagined’…)

FROM GAMERTELL - Even though the PSP continues to show strong hardware sales, Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Patcher thinks the new hardware changes are signs of a much larger problem… MORE » Keep up with the latest gadget goodness! - Subscribe to our feed → Tags: hdtv, robots, gadgets, gps (Read the full post about ‘Analyst describes PSP as “no-man’s land” for developers’…)

by Nilay Patel, posted Aug 30th 2008 at 5:02PMHP has always been confident that the 2133 Mini-Note would sell quickly, to the point where the company planned to build some two million units this year, and it sounds like that bet’s paying off — China’s Apply Daily is citing sources at HP Taiwan quoting worldwide sales growing 50 percent monthly. (Read the full post about ‘Demand for HP’s Mini-Note growing fast?’…)

Philip’s always impressive surround lighting technology has progressed another step to the new Philips Aurea II.  The Aurea 2 technology will first be available in the 42-inch Philips 42PFL9903 and the 37-inch Philips 37PFL9903 models.  Philips make vast improvements in their ambilight / Aurea technology every year and the new Aurea II is the very best yet. Philips Aurea II makes uses of an improved glass (no longer plastic) active frame which surrounds the 1080p LCD screen to extend and reflect the colors on the screen into the frame and project around the screen.  This leads to a more effective and impressive display and viewing experience. (Read the full post about ‘Philips 42PFL9903, 37PFL9903 | Aurea II’…)

by Paul Miller, posted Aug 30th 2008 at 2:01PM We won’t belabor these two: X-Fi has been spotted plenty of times before, and the Zen Mozaic “is a crap,” as our friends at Engadget Spanish put it. There was no functioning WiFi to test out the X-Fi’s networking features, but they looked pretty tedious on the surface, and the player is otherwise okay but unimpressive. Meanwhile, the Zen Mozaic is just another in a long line of shoddily built — if interesting looking — low-end DAPs from Creative. (Read the full post about ‘Creative’s Zen Mozaic, X-Fi players hands-on’…)

by Paul Miller, posted Aug 30th 2008 at 2:52PM HiVision (also known as Shenzhen), a Chinese OEM exhibiting at IFA, is completely unabashed about its collection of netbook look-alikes, which range from 400MHz ARM-based computers that could retail for as little $150, to full featured VIA-powered affairs. Everything was as plastic as could be, of course, but the HP Mini-Note rips were almost passable as sexy. (Read the full post about ‘Keepin’ it real fake, part CXXXVIII: HiVision knows that even netbooks need fake friends’…)

Look, I’ve never had, even once in my life, had the desire to decapitate anything. So, no, this doesn’t fulfill one of my childish dreams, but I find it terribly cute anyways.

For sure, a lot of people would be weirded out. But growing up with my younger neighbours decapitating my dolls anytime they get a chance, I don’t even find this remotely weird. Yep, the protrusion you see from the laptop is the body of a teddy bear that’s turned into a USB drive. Sure, the 1GB capacity is lackluster, but I’ll gladly pay the 8 for a teddy bear that’s actually a USB flash drive.

(Read the full post about ‘The Decapitated Teddy Bear USB Drive is Grotesquely Cute’…)

No need to scour the interwebs for hot gaming news, Gamertell‘s already done that for you!  Here’s a look at this week’s top stories… Olympic Video Games: The not so wonderful world of sportsUse your own MP3s in the downloadable version of Music CatchGamertell Exclusive: Photos of game-skinned car at Scion Slammer Car Show, Fort BraggThrustmaster’s Dual Trigger Gun NW a revolutionary Wii gun frameSpore pre-order, pre-load now available for PC, Mac Keep up with the latest gadget goodness! - Subscribe to our feed → Tags: dvr, DAB, mobiles, cellphone (Read the full post about ‘Hot gaming news for the week of 8-24-2008′…)

Just over a week ago we reported on the tip of a new Philips Essence LCD HDTV to be announced at this years IFA. It turns out that most of the information in the rumors were correct, and the Essence is a 42-inch LCD model called Philips 42PES0001. Philips has taken a similar route to Sony, where they have designed a minimalist and stylish thin HDTV which can be wall mounted and look like a picture frame. The Philips 42PES0001 has one of the slimmest frames (21mm) I have seen on an HDTV, given it a great look with a glossy black aluminum frame. The 42-inch 1080p LCD HDTV is just 33mm / 1.5 inches deep and makes use of a connectivity hub, so that only one cable connects to the HDTV, sending the video, audio and power. (Read the full post about ‘Philips 42PES0001′…)

Earlier this month, Sony entered the PMP market in China by shipping out their PMX-M80. Today, they have announced another PMP that they plan to sell there as well, however, this is one is more affordable than the PM-M80 and will accompany the PMX-U50 and U53. The PMX-U55 sports a 2.4-inch screen with a 320 x 240 resolution, supports a few formats including MP4, H.264/AVC Baseline profile, AVI, MP3, WMA, and AAC. It’s only 7.5mm thick, so it’s pretty thin. Battery life isn’t too bad - 12 hours of audio and 5 hours of video playback. The 2GB model is already available, however, it is only available in pink at this time. It will sell for 498 Yuan, which is about $73 US. (Read the full post about ‘Sony adds another PMP to the Chinese market, the PMX-U55′…)