Here’s the story: I’m in love with the Wacom Intuos 4 Wireless tablet. Free from cables, it’s the best graphics tablet experience I’ve ever had. Smoother Than the Smoothest Thing The Wacom Intuos 4 was quite a leap from the Intuos 3. It doubled the pressure sensitive levels, and it added multifunction Touch Ring trackpad, on-screen radial menus, and eight user-definable buttons with OLED tags—called ExpressKeys—in a thin, ultralight 2.2-pound package. The Wacom Intuos 4 Wireless has all those characteristics, and they work equally as well over the Bluetooth connection. With a sightly smaller working surface than the Medium model—8 x 5 inches versus the 8.8 x 5.5 inches of the cable-bound model—the wireless tablet is a pure joy to use.

In today’s Remainders: headaches. Microsoft’s browser ballot is a headache for the little guys; CereProc talks about the painstaking process of rebuilding Ebert’s voice; WiMax taxis in Taiwan get me a little steamed; a magical migraine-diminishing wand, and more. Talk To Me Since we first read about the Scottish company CereProc and their effort to give Roger Ebert his voice back , we’ve been eager to get the scoop on the tech behind the scenes. Ebert’s computerized voice was debuted on Oprah earlier this week , and while it was far from a perfect recreation, no one could deny that at some points the voice was distinctly his own. Now, CNET has an in-depth talk with CereProc which sheds some light on the process behind their incredible product. It has some interesting bits, like how they usually require 15 hours of recordings to recreate a voice, though they rebuilt Ebert’s from only four hours of clips

When we saw Vizio’s gargantuan QWERTY remote at CES, we knew a new era was upon us. Now TiVo debuts their premium QWERTY remote slider and, yes, the day in which you change the channel with a Sidekick has come. Joking aside, TiVo’s upcoming QWERTY remote is an interesting evolution of their classic peanut. Popping out like a slider, the backlit keyboard allows easy text entry for new TiVo Premieres. It’s a bit large in your hand, which means it feels a tad less perfect than the classic TiVo remote

Enough time has passed since the diNovo Edge wireless keyboard debuted that perhaps it’s time for a low(er) priced tribute — a Knickerbockers to Logitech’s Beatles, if you will. To that end, check out the Rapoo 2900: it sports a built-in touchpad, a rechargeable Lithium-ion battery and docking charger, and a Bluetooth / USB dongle. It’s a slight little thing (check out the comparison with a full-sized keyboard after the break) and it’ll cost you about $86. The best part? Now you have an excuse to say “Rapoo” over and over again.

It’s not like your two ears really need 7.1 channels of audio, but what your home theater does need is simplicity and an eagerness to support the third dimension. In truth, we can only safely say that those beliefs are shared by Pioneer , who has today introduced a new pair of 5.1 AV receivers that offer Bluetooth streaming, HDMI 1.4 and an unmistakable “3D ready” label. There’s also the obligatory Works with iPhone certification on the VSX-820-K, which enables it to transfer iPod navigation control and on-screen graphics from the remote back to the Apple device. Outside of that, most everything else is identical between the two, as they each offer five channels of 110 watts, at least 3 HDMI sockets and rather reasonable price tags. Speaking of, you’ll be asked to pay $229 for the 520 and $299 for the 820 when they splash down later this month

We’ve seen Segways built partly from Legos before , but a Segway built entirely from the Legos in a standard NXT 2.0 set? That’s something special. What’s particularly cool about the NXT Segway is how it balances itself: instead of using a gyro sensor, it leans on the NXT Color Sensor in light sensor mode to detect its angle relative to the ground. It’s controllable via Bluetooth, and has that certain Wall-E-esque feel that makes me feel all fuzzy inside. Complete instructions to make your own are riiiiiggghhhht here . [ NXT Programs via The NXT Step via Make ]

Bluetooth technology really is handy and wonderful. Wearing Bluetooth headsets, though, can be a bit of a fashion and comfort nightmare. Enter the Jabra Clipper , which discretely gives any pair of 3.5mm headphones the Power of Bluetooth. The controls are in the 20-gram Clipper itself, which you can, well, clip to your clothes. It connects to two devices at once, but if you’re listening to music from your PMP, calls will automatically override the song. You also get six hours of talk time and eight hours of standby

Is the N900 the most hacker-friendly phone ever created? All sources are pointing to “yes.” Just two short months ago, we saw one determined code monkey turn his N900 into a PS3 controller ; today, we’re looking at someone who did the exact opposite. If you’ve memorized the Debian source code and aren’t afraid to dabble in the wild and murky world of N900 modding, you too can one day use a spare SIXAXIS controller in order to dictate gameplay on your Nokia handset. All the instructions you need are there in the source link, and for everyone else just looking to have a watch from the sidelines, hop on past the break and mash play. Continue reading PlayStation 3 controller used for N900 gaming (video) PlayStation 3 controller used for N900 gaming (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Feb 2010 10:04:00 EST.

Yesterday we saw the Samsung Wave from afar, today we get our first close look at Samsung’s first Bada-powered handset. The Wave is indeed the S8500, the first handset to receive Bluetooth SIG certification for the new Bluetooth 3.0 standard. Ironically, Bluetooth was left out of the list of leaked specs but we will presume that Bluetooth 2.0 and possibly 3.0 is on board. Besides Bluetooth, the Wave will offer a 3.3 inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen display, five megapixel camera with autofocus and flash, 720p video, DivX support, 2GB internal memory with microSD expansion, HSDPA connectivity, Wi-Fi, 1 GHz processor, 3.5mm headphone jack, aluminum body, 1500 mAh battery, and the Bada OS with Touchwiz 3.0. The Wave has the typical appearance of a Samsung phone with two flush front buttons, a triangular four way navigational button, triangular camera and flash, and brushed metal accents. Other than the performance of the Bada OS, which will have to wait until the first hands-on video is released, all that is left to find out about this handset is its launch date and geographic availability, a not so trivial fact we hope is announced when Samsung officially unveils this handset next week at MWC

Texas Instruments says that their WiLink 7.0 is the first chip with four wireless radios in one: FM transmission and reception, GPS, 802.11n Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. What does this mean for you, gadget lovers? In theory, a wholalot goodness. Texas Instruments claims that mobile gadgets using this chip would be able to do all those four functions for less money—30 percent less—in less space—50 percent—and consuming less energy than the current alternatives. [ PR Newswire ]