Filed under: Portable Audio

If you’ve been tickled or otherwise delighted by the sheer cuteness of iriver’s little Mplayer in its multi-colored, gold, or pink-bow variations, this one might send you through the roof. The company has introduced a new riff on its Disney-branded music machine, and it’s dubbed the “Mplayer eyes.” The device comes sporting ten LED “eyes” (naturally), 2GB of storage, and can be picked up for around $50 in light pink and baby blue. Of course, the player — which was shown off at this year’s IFA — is only available in Korea right now, but with looks like these, we have a feeling you’ll be importing. [Warning: read link is in Korean]

[Via Akihabara News]

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Filed under: Home Entertainment

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment.

The oldest of the “three screens” — television - is generally far from the wisest. Sure, an endless array of set-top boxes and AV components packed with processors have appeared in the last few decades to use its screen as a surrogate, and now a high-definition, display for video games, PC content, Web pages, multimedia, videoconferencing and other entertainment. But while much television programming — especially news and sports programs - has become cluttered with contextual trivia and tickers, the core TV viewing experience has remained stubbornly passive. Now, though, with backers citing the need to reclaim appeal from PCs and cell phones — especially among multitasking kids, teens and young adults — the first screen is fighting back.

Correctly recognizing that upconverting DVDs posed a serious challenge to high-definition discs, the backers of HD-DVD focused on the mandatory Internet connectivity of its players and support of it in some of its late content (the movie 300 was one of the best showcases). In HD-DVD’s defeat, the Blu-ray camp has picked up the cause via BD-Live, part of the Blu-ray 2.0 specification. A forthcoming title that will take advantage of the Internet connectivity is Disney’s 50th anniversary platinum release of its classic Sleeping Beauty. And it is not your wicked stepmother’s princess.

Continue reading Switched On: Net-enabled movies pit a blue ray versus a true way

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Filed under: Robots

So it’s a full $59 more than we were expecting, but with Wall-E’s tremendous success at the box office, we have a feeling Disney can get away with it. The Ultimate Wall-E remote control robot is now up for pre-order, promising kids and adults-longing-to-be-kids alike hours upon hours of fun. For those who missed this creature frolicking on video, here are the highlights: he can chat with his owner, dance, play music, dazzle you with those eyes and even sense / avoid obstacles. Unfortunately, all $249 will buy you is a place in line, as this fellow isn’t expect to ship until October 16th.

[Thanks, Toadlet]

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Filed under: Portable Video

var digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/movies/Amazon_Video_on_Demand_store_to_take_on_iTunes’; The New York Times is reporting that Amazon is scrapping its Unbox service in favor of a new online TV and movie store called Amazon Video on Demand. Unlike iTunes and Unbox, Amazon’s new digital store-front will stream any of 40,000 movies and television programs to customers. According to Bill Carr, Amazon’s VP for digital media, “Our goal is to create an immersive experience where people can’t help but get caught up in how exciting it is to simply watch a movie right from Amazon.com with a click of the button.” In this regard, the first 2 minutes of every video will begin to play when customers visit the video’s product page. Movies can be purchased and downloaded to your hard drive or stored in an Amazon video library allowing you to stream the content to other (any?) Internet connected devices. Films and TV shows from “almost all the major studios and television networks” will be available for sale or rental in the US at undisclosed prices — only Disney and its ABC subsidiary are holding out for uh, obvious reasons (Steve Jobs is Disney’s largest individual shareholder).

Amazon also plans to bring the service directly to the living room through a deal with Sony (and others) which will ultimately embed store access into future Bravia TVs. For now, Amazon’s VoD store will be available through Sony’s $300 Bravia Internet Video Link device. The store goes beta-hot today for a limited number of “invited” US Amazon.com customers before going a live later this summer.

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Filed under: Robots

Alright, so maybe the recently announced Ultimate WALL-E robot doesn’t actually get down and dirty on video, but he does maintain a pretty positive attitude after being poked, prodded and generally invaded for a full five minutes. The latest collaborative effort from Disney and Thinkway Toys was spotted recently at Maker Faire, and if you’re interested to see what exactly $190 will net you later this summer, head on past the break and click play.

Continue reading Disney / Thinkway Toys’ Ultimate WALL-E robot cleans up on camera

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Okay, before everyone flips out, these chicks are LEGAL. Don’t worry, I wouldn’t send you guys to jail - yet. Anyway, I was about to pack it in for the weekend when I stumbled across this little piece TMZ uncovered. It turns out Disney, who balked at the mere showing of Miley Cyrus’ bare back, is in the business of selling lingerie in China with girls made to look like a jail-bait bonanza:

TMZ has turned up Disney ads marketing lacy, sexy lingerie by models who are made to look underage. They’re hawking bras, undies and lacy boy shorts. They are nothing short of seductive. The photos are being used by Shanghai Zhenxin Garment Company to sell Disney clothes in China.

Now that’s good old-fashioned hypocrisy. In the meantime, I can’t really get turned on with Winnie the Pooh sitting on that chick’s shoulder quietly judging me. C’mon, Pooh, a man’s got needs. Like that time you and Eeyore got stuck in a snowstorm. Dude, don’t act so surprised. You had his tail stuck to your stomach for a week. No joke. None of us had the heart to tell you. Plus it was pretty damn hilarious - donkey fucker. BURN! Aww, I kid. Let’s go find Christopher Robin and get him to steal beer from his dad’s fridge.

Filed under: Robots

Need some irony with your angst-battered diet this morning? Swell, try some of this. Disney and Pixar are set to release their latest animated blockbuster, WALL-E, this summer. The premise of the film finds WALL-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter - Earth-Class) cleaning up the Earth’s trash after rampant, unchecked consumerism made the planet uninhabitable. So how do they promote the film? You got it, they launch a new line of plastic WALL-E robots developed in partnership with WowWee and Thinkway Toys which no child could possibly live without. Ultimate WALL-E will list for $190 when launched sometime this summer and feature 10 motors, a remote control, and plenty of sensors to avoid obstacles, respond to touch, and feel the mocking satire of its own existence. The bot will be joined by a $25 iDance WALL-E (think i-Species) and a $40 FlyTech Tinker Bell when they make their May 29th debut in San Mateo at the Maker Faire.

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Filed under: Transportation

Although the mention of a magnetically levitating train outside of US borders won’t grab too much attention, saying that phrase here most definitely perks up ears. Sure enough, a maglev project that would shuttle folks from Disneyland to Las Vegas at up to 300 miles-per-hour is now jousting with a cheaper diesel-electric alternative (dubbed DesertXpress) for support. Reportedly, the latter would cost “just” $3- to $5 billion to construct — compared to $12 billion for the former — but rather than escorting folks from Anaheim or even Los Angeles, its origin would be planted in Victorville, California. Still, the trip from there to Vegas would only take three to four hours including the 1.5 hour drive to Victorville, but that still doesn’t sound nearly as nice as “well under two hours” for the maglev. As it stands, there’s quite a bit of red tape to wade through before either option goes forward, but kicking back on a whizzing train sounds an awful lot better than staring at pavement and blasting the air conditioner for five or so hours.

[Via Gadling]

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

The Disney parks have been getting all kinds of upgrades lately, and the latest is the revival of the “House of the Future,” which originally opened in the 50s and showcased such space-age household technologies as microwave ovens and plastic furniture. The new attraction eschews the original’s pod-shaped exterior, pictured above, for a more traditional look, but it’s inside where the action is: Disney, Microsoft, HP and LifeWare spent over $15 million on hardware and software designed to give visitors a glimpse of a hyper-connected future. Tech on display will include home automation, automatic networking, Surface and touch-based computing, and smart appliances — all things the designers envision as being five to 10 years away. The new House of the Future is set to open in May at Tommorrowland — any guesses how long it takes before someone builds a complete replica?

Read - New House of the Future
Read - Original House of the Future (with pics)

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Filed under: Gaming

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Filed under: Portable Audio

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/tech_news/10_Swarovski_Encrusted_Mickey_Mouse_MP3_player_Unveiled’; iriver’s been playing a lot of peek-a-boo with some pretty hot gear at its CES booth, but it’s probably for the best that they left these ridiculous Swarovski-coated Mickey Mouse MP3 players locked safely away, since they basically ruin any credibility devices like the Spinn and Wing bring the company. Yep, there they are, just a-glittering away: 1GB of storage and a whole lot of trashy.

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Filed under: Portable Video

Reports keep on pouring in with promises of juicy info on Apple’s upcoming video rental service for iTunes. The latest news comes from Variety, and claims that the rentals will last a mere 24 hours before becoming unplayable, but it’s unclear if that includes multiple plays within the 24 hour window. Prices will start at $2 but range all the way up to $5. Variety also syncs with previous reports stating that Disney and Fox are the only studios confirmed so far for rentals, with Lionsgate, MGM and Paramount as candidates and Sony, Universal and Warner Bros. as perennial holdouts.

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Filed under: Transportation

Earlier this year, Disneyland got a little more zany with the Muppet Mobile Laboratory, but as soon as the park opens up early next year, guests should notice a bit of an upgrade on the monorail. Reportedly, the famed park will be running its first all new monorail car in a score, and while details are scant on the actual engineering upgrades, we do know that the electric cars will sport all new hues. The first in line will feature blue glass and red stripes that “change color in the sunlight,” while the next two will be blue with purple glass and orange with blue glass. So yeah, it’s probably not enough to make a special trip out to Anaheim for, but if you needed just one more excuse to don those those iconic black ears and pretend you’re young again, you’ve got it.

[Via Switched]

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Disney just finished refurbishing the iconic Spaceship Earth attraction at Disney World, and it looks like a certain board member gave a little shout-out to a friend: there’s (animatronic) Woz in the garage, diligently hacking away on what appears to be the mutant offspring of an Apple I and the Lisa. Anyone else see this yet? We’re dying to know if there’s a check made out for $350 with “Breakout” listed in the memo line.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Portable Audio

Maybe we’re not Korean enough to catch the appeal, but it seems like somebody is buying these Disney-branded Mplayers from iriver: the company just released ten new colors for the player in addition to the existing five available. Despite our stodgy form-factor reservations, we’ve gotta admit that it’s a pretty sexy palette. No word on prices or capacities, so we’ll just assume they’re still sporting 1GB capacities and a $50-ish pricetag. There’s another shot after the break.

Continue reading iriver’s new Mplayer stash raids the rainbow

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Cellphones

You know what they say: nothing gets you over the last one like the next one. Apparently, Disney is totally signed on to the aforementioned mantra, as just under seven weeks after Disney Mobile hung its US-based ears in shame, the Japanese unit of Walt Disney Company will reportedly be firing up similar operations in its neck of the woods. Apparently, the outfit has “reached a basic agreement” with Softbank Mobile to lease telecom networks and start providing nationwide service to those interested. Furthermore, it will be buddying up with Softbank to “develop handsets and consign its output to other companies,” and if all goes to plan, Disney hopes to sign up “more than one million subscribers.” Oh, and if that wasn’t enough to make you scrounge up that decade-old Mickey Mouse figurine and give it a long overdue hug, users of the service will also have exclusive access to “animated film downloads.” Regrettably, there’s no word on an actual launch date just yet, but we’ll be keeping a (grossly oversized) set of ears to the ground.

[Via Yahoo / Reuters]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Displays, HDTV

If you feel like your kid is single-handedly keeping Disney in business, get ready for another blow to the wallet. Up next on your youngster’s must-have list is Uniden’s TL20DXD, a 20-inch LCD HDTV that boasts that big-eared goodness you’ve come to expect along with a digital / analog TV tuner and a pair of HDMI inputs. Furthermore, you’ll find a 1,366 x 768 panel, 500 cd/m2 brightness, an eight-millisecond response time, two component inputs, a single S-Video jack, audio / headphone outs and a pair of three-watt speakers to boot. Judging by the looks of things, it’ll be available in your choice of black or champagne gold early next month for around ¥99,800 ($870).

[Via AkihabaraNews]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Cellphones

Perhaps Disney hoped that its MVNO bearing the corporate name would fare a little better than its doomed sibling, Mobile ESPN, but it was not to be. Making good on some ominous verbiage last week from CFO Thomas Staggs, Disney Mobile has announced that it will “cease its wireless operations” as of December 31, 2007. MVNOs have generally had a tough time navigating through the dog-eat-dog world of profitable wireless service, and Disney Mobile was dogged from the very beginning with tough competition on kid-friendly features and hardware from larger rivals and a dearth of quality handsets. Though it seems that existing subscribers will be able to continue to use most or all features of the service through then, folks are being encouraged to pack their bags and move elsewhere by November 30 to ensure plenty of time to get numbers ported. Furthermore, hardware purchased directly through Disney Mobile will be subject to a reimbursement of some sort, with details going up early next month.

[Thanks, Paul D.]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!