jessica's blog

Okay, Beatles fans! The date has been announced – The Beatles: Rock Band will be in stores on 9/09/09…just six long months from now. It will be released worldwide for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and Wii gaming systems.

The Beatles: Rock Band will be available as standalone software and hardware and they will also have a limited edition bundle. The game will be compatible with all Rock Band instrument controllers, but if you want to rock it Beatles style, a limited number of instruments modeled after those used by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr will be available. Read more

ZillionTV just rolled out a beta program of their new personalized TV service. With this service, you will be able to watch what you want, when you want…free. How does it work? You access the ZillionTV Service via a free device that connects to both the TV and your home network. A motion-sensing remote control is also included. Once connected, a setup wizard guides you through the activation process. After that, just turn on your TV, choose your programming and you’re good to go!

I’m sure you’re wondering how they can offer this free service. The way they do it is by having you select the advertising content that you want to watch which will be shown during the programming. Don’t want to view ads? They also have an option to view programming sans ads (for a fee, of course). Read more

It seems that T-Mobile has quietly rolled out its $50 per month unlimited voice plan in the United States after a brief trial period in San Francisco. With this deal, you can get unlimited voice, text and data for $85. Not bad, considering other companies have similar offerings for about $99 per month. There is a catch though…in order to get this deal you have to have been a T-Mobile subscriber for at least 22 months.

T-Mobile has not officially confirmed that they have rolled out this pricing plan, but many customers have been able to sign up for this deal outside of the San Francisco area. Hmm…I’m a T-Mobile customer…I may just see if I am eligible.

[Via RCR Wireless]

At PMA, JVC announced a new Hybrid camera – the Everio GZ-X900 – which can simultaneously shoot full HD video and digital still images. Yes I know, other cameras do this, but what makes the Everio X different is the quality of images it produces – nine megapixels if shooting stills alone, and 5 megapixels if shooting video and stills at the same time. It is just like having a separate digital camera and camcorder! And at only 0.66 pounds, the Everio X is one of the lightest cameras to shoot 1920 x 1080 Full HD AVCHD video.

The Everio GZ-X900 (better known as the Everio X) will be available in June for $999. Read more

PENTAX just announced the 12 megapixel X70, a digital camera with a whopping 24X optical zoom lens. With SLR styling, it is a great camera for those who want a compact digital cam, but also want the features of a DSLR. Some of those features include aperture/shutter priority and metered manual modes, face detection, 2.7-inch LCD monitor, 720p HD movie mode, true hardware sensor-movement Shake Reduction, a high-speed burst mode that captures 11 images per second, and of course, the 24X megazoom lens. The PENTAX X70 will ship in April 2009 for $399.95.

PENTAX also announced a new lens for their DSLR cameras - the smc PENTAX DA 15mm F4 ED AL Limited ultra wide-angle lens. It features an aluminum lens barrel finish and has a unique ultra wide-angle perspective. The lens will ship in April 2009 for $649.95. Read more

MSI Computer’s new GT725 Gaming Notebook is the first gaming notebook pc to include the ATi Radeon HD4850 video card. Other features include Intel Centrino 2 Processor Technology, a Blu-ray player and a 17” 1080P HD LCD. And with 4GB of DDRII, you will be able to run 3-D gaming titles (unlike some other notebook computers in the marketplace).

The sturdy GT725 has a brushed aluminum case with stamped aluminum sheeting and runs on a 9-cell battery. Its Turbo Drive Engine Technology and ECO Engine Management function is activated by two touch centers that are placed above the keyboard. With a weight of just over seven pounds, it is still (semi) portable.

Other features include a 320 GB hard drive (with fast 7200 RPM speed), DVD±RW drive (which also burns CDs), Draft-N Wi-Fi networking (802.11b/g/n), Gigabit Ethernet, 2-megapixel webcam, an eSATA/USB combo port, Dolby Digital Live surround sound via two integrated speakers, multi-format memory card reader, and pre-installed Windows Vista Home Premium operating system. Pricing is around $1599.

At PMA this week, Samsung has unveiled what they call a ‘hybrid’ digital camera. The company says new NX Series will have the image quality of a DSLR, but will be compact and easy enough to use as a compact point-and- shoot.

Like a DSLR, the NX Series uses and APS-C sensor but without a mirror box. Instead, it uses an Electronic Viewfinder which allows the camera to be approximately 60% smaller and lighter than your normal DSLR.

The first model of NX Series will be available in the second-half of 2009. Pricing has not yet been announced.

Fans of the 1980’s TV show Knight Rider will appreciate this GPS from Mio. The Knight Rider GPS features the original voice of the car from the show, actor William Daniels. Every time you start it up, K.I.T.T will greet you by name and its active LED display moves in sync with the voice, just like it did on K.I.T.T.’s dash on Knight Rider. How cool is that?

The GPS comes preloaded with maps of U.S. and Canada and over 4 million points of interest. It also features a 4.3" interactive widescreen touch-screen display, a built-in card slot that supports Secure Digital and MultiMediaCard formats (media cards not included), built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery with up to 2.5 hours of battery life, and comes with a windshield mount, car charger, USB cable and software CD-ROM.

The Knight Rider GPS is available now for about $180. But check around…I’ve seen it even cheaper than that.

Nokia just announced that the touch screen Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is (finally!) available in the United States. Why have people been waiting for this one? Here is a quick rundown of its features.

The 5800 XpressMusic has a 3.2" widescreen display, 16 by 9 aspect ratio, 30 frames-per-second playback and recording, 3.2 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens, and a virtual QWERTY keyboard. The Contact Bar lets you have four of your favorite contacts on your home-screen to easily track text messages, emails, phone logs, photos and blog updates.

On the music side, the 5800 includes a graphic equalizer, 8GB memory, a 3.5mm jack, and built-in surround sound stereo speakers. It also supports all main digital music formats. Access your music (video, web and photos too) through the handy Media Bar drop down menu.

The MSRP on this baby is not cheap at $399, but for a limited time it will also come with a $50 voucher for Amazon Video on Demand. One month of free turn-by-turn voice guided navigation through Ovi Maps is included as well.

To celebrate their 90th Anniversary, Olympus has announced the 'Olympus Space Project'. During this Space Project, photographs will be taken of the Earth from Space using the company’s E-3 DSLR camera and ZUIKO digital lenses on the next Space Shuttle Discovery mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The Project is designed to examine how the Earth is today and to consider the global environment tomorrow.

Dr. Koichi Wakata, a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut, will be on the ISS for three months taking images of the Earth using Olympus E-3. You will be able to view the photos at the Olympus Space Project Website.

The Olympus E-3 is a perfect choice for this project with its splashproof, dustproof, magnesium-alloy body. The E-3 also complies with NASA’s standards for use in space. Get more information on the E-3 DSLR camera at www.getolympus.com.

More details on the ISS, JAXA, the Japanese Experiment Module, Dr. Wakata and the next mission of the Space Shuttle Discovery are available at www.jaxa.jp/index_e.html.