I was surprised to be picked to share a user-review for the Yamaha NeoHD. I had no idea what NeoHD was, and just thought that it was one of those average things that just makes an entertainment system look good. For a hefty price of US$500-US$800 I said “this has got to be a joke” because there are universal remote controls for under US$20 at RadioShack, Walmart and even Walgreens. I soon found out that it wasn’t just a remote, not even a super-remote, but a high tech entertainment system that doesn’t only look good but ACTUALLY MAKES my entertainment system work a whole lot better! And silly me to think that Yamaha will join the average tech product line. Silly silly me.

Four days after being picked, the UPS van parks in front of our home, the NeoHD delivery. Thinking it was just a small package I motioned the UPS guy to come in. He says “no… I need to get my dolly, you’re getting a box.”

The Yamaha NeoHD comes as an entire system which includes the neoHD (YMC-500), and the neoHD System 2.1 (YMC-S21), a complete surround sound and system control solution that matches the YMC-500 Media Controller with two high-quality speakers and a subwoofer. You read it right…. it’s not JUST A REMOTE. It’s a system console, a media controller and a speaker set! Un-boxing it was a glee, setting it up was really, really easy: connect the neoHD to the TV and connect all my devices to the neoHD… done. There’s a great video introduction and set-up tutorial right here. And the package comes with a comprehensive easy-to-use manual too.

Powering up the neoHD automatically turns the TV on. I was presented then with 3 convenient menu options of “Watch”, “Listen”, or “Play”. Oh my, even my 11-year old would easily use this. Hitting any of these 3 options allowed me to be more specific with my choice (such as Watch Movie, Watch LiveTV, Listen CD, etc) at which time icons for the appropriate video, audio or video game components (such as Blu-ray players, CD players, cable boxes, iPods, game consoles, etc.) will appear. Selecting the component choice powers it up and is fully operational via the NeohD remote and on-screen interface. Yes, your TV becomes your menu screen. No need to use separate remotes (keep them in your drawers), no hassle in setting up the remote with codes too, because it does it all automatically as most component remote control codes are embedded for immediate compatibility and control. NeoHD controls them all.

I’m an iPod fanatic, when I buy a movie DVD I watch it on my iPod. Sometimes I connect my iPod directly to the TV and watch it there too (a little troublesome though as I have no way of remote controlling my iPod if I want to stop, rewind, fast forward to a scene). NeoHD allowed me to do that, which I thought was really convenient for me.

My daughter loves her Wii, dad though hates to be called to set it up for her. :) With the NeoHD, I think my 11-year old will quickly navigate thru the on-screen menu to play her Wii… while dad in delight goes “weeeee”.

I love the sound, for a 2.1 system the Air Surround Xtreme System is probably one of the best I’ve experienced. While there is a NeoHD model for a 5.1 audio system setup, for my basement entertainment area the 2.1 audio system setup is exactly what I need.

Over-all impression… an excellent product!

You can get the chance to win your own Yamaha NeoHD. There’s a great contest running, just visit this website for the contest rules. Getting the chance to win starts by leaving a comment regarding this post saying why you desperately need a Yamaha NeoHD. Easy eh? You can also enter the contest by tweeting “I just entered to a win a #neoHD b/c I have too many remotes, visit this link for more details!”.

Product link: Yamaha neoHD
Participate to the free give-away competiton: official sweepstake rules.

This time the color is metal blue, and it does (in my opinion) suit the hand held console quite well.

Unfortunately, like most new PSP models nowadays, there is a catch. You will only be able to acquire this model if you purchase the upcoming “Madden bundle” that comes with Madden 09, “NFL: In Just One Play” UMD video, 1gb memory stick and a coupon to download Beats from the online store, for $200.

It’s not a bad deal, but I don’t think I’d ever play Madden more than once to try it out so I wouldn’t be picking this one up.

What’s great about the flick is that geeks are easily able to convince their “cooler” friends and significant others to accompany them.  This is made simple because of a slick trailer, an A-list actor and lots of begging.

Iron Man falls in line as a close second – behind Spiderman – for a comic book debut at the movies.

Fans, Marvel and the studios can remain happy; all of the main players signed a three-picture deal.  Isn’t it nice when something actually lives up to the hype?

Box office competition will continue to be weak in the coming weeks, except for Speed Racer (which I’m just not feeling).  Look for Iron Man’s repulsor rays to keep him on top for quite a while.

The three new colors, baby blue, lime green, and light pink, are all very light and bright, which might make them more appellative to women than friends, but overall, they don’t make or break the product’s image.

If you are interested in seeing the other two colors you can do so in the original article.

This week Yatzee, who is possibly the world’s funniest game reviewer, decided to pick up the latest version of Brawl and review it, giving a lot of focus to the multiplayer part, which, should be the most important part of this game, but ends up being not as fun when they realize they had to previously unlock a lot of the game content.

Personally I don’t think that the game is bad, but there are some really wrong aspects about some multiplayer games, like this one, which Yatzee bluntly put out. Still, I think he could have mentioned the soundtrack, which is probably the most varied one yet (in terms of different musicians) and is what I was looking to forward to hear, or hear about.

If they had gone the extra mile to remove some of the less polished scenes, like the ones with Ganondorf for instance, I could have certainly passed as the “real deal”.

The idea is great, and I’m certain that the fan-base alone would be alone to support this idea.Let’s hope Nintendo takes the hint and brings this to the next (real) level. If they did it, although terribly, for Mario, it shouldn’t be much harder to do it for Zelda. They can probably even get some of the old props from Lord of the Rings on discount.

Your eVites are all responded to. Your Roomba is charged up to take care of the messy aftermath.  And you’re ready to go on and on about the importance of 1,080 lines of interlaced vertical resolution.

It must be Super Bowl Sunday.

The funny part is, you couldn’t give a crap about the game.  You have two things on your mind.  1) You pray that everyone is impressed with your fried mayonnaise concoction. 2) You are looking forward to getting a sneak peek into the underground garage of billionaire industrialist Tony Stark and his armored and bulletproof suit.

The latest Marvel/Stan Lee superhero adaptation will be unveiled in a trailer during the Super Bowl, giving both geeks and sports fans something to look forward to.  There have already been some images and clips leaked, so we’re unsure if this trailer will offer anything startlingly new.  Either way, we’re psyched.

You see, sports fans and geeks are often thought of as being at opposite ends of the nerd spectrum.  However, let’s not forget that baseball cards are often sold where they have comic books and vice versa.  We’re all closer on the evolution chart than we’d like to admit.

Today the New England Patriots aren’t the enemy.  It’s Obadiah Stane, played by Jeff Bridges who becomes Iron Monger, Iron Man’s nemesis.

There’s something about repulsor beams and Gwyneth Paltrow that has me particularly psyched for this flick.

So there’s been a lot of junk written about Microsoft valuing Facebook at $15 billion dollars. That’s a really great story – the only problem is that it’s not even remotely true.

Tech Soapbox explains it. Yes, Microsoft spent $240 million and got 1.6% of Facebook – but what everyone seems to be missing is that in addition to that the ad relationship was expanded and extended to 2011.

That changes things a bit. See what Ahmed had to say about it right here.

Ok, this is just funny. Fellow Bloggy Network blog Tech Soapbox reports that the domain Cowboys.com was up for sale during the TRAFFIC live auction. One of the Dallas Cowboys attorneys was a phone-in bidder, offering up the generous sum of ‘$275′. The aucioneer assumed he meant $275,000 – but, in fact, he only meant $275.

For cowboys.com. That’s insane!

Bobcat.com recently sold to the NBA team for $50,000 – and the Dallas Cowboys are 10 times the global brand that the Bobcats are. Plus, and this is odd, apparently Cowboys.com has a TM (trademark), and is the only domain to have ever been granted a TM. I wonder how they pulled that off…

This awesome little USB Mini fridge can keep one can of soda chilled to perfection at your desk – but what makes it truly awesome is that this bad boy is a heater as well! So it will keep your coffee warm, and you cokes cold, so you can absorb enough caffeine to kill a buffalo at maximum tastiness.

It’ll run you $32 bucks.

via USBGeek

Kangaroom’s Game Storage Units maybe be the perfect thing for the gamer that needs some organizational help. The units run about $120 for the model shown, and can hold one “standard sized console”, a couple controllers, and 37 games. They are also stackable, so if you have a few consoles in the house, and want a cabinet for each, you can build a tower of gamedom that will make your friends wish they were as cool as you are.

Click here to get one.

This $799, 5 foot tall statue of an animated version of Princess Leia is sure to delight the most frightening of Star Wars fans – filling their evil minds with horrible thoughts. For others, it may make a cool addition to their collections. Either way, it’s coming in May of 2008 – and you can own it – just don’t do anything to it that could get you hurt or arrested.

via Gizmodo.

Coming this November, Art Asylum will be adding another Enterprise to the mix…this time, it’s a replica of the ship from Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan. The ship features a brand new paint job, and sound effects from the movie.

It will set you back about $45 bucks.

click here to check it out.

CrunchGear had a hard time describing this tape deck that dispenses tape. I can describe it very simply:

freakin’ awesome.

If you want to be one of the coolest people in the world, you can click here to get yours.

Microsoft managed to make the list twice (hence the humor since this is on MSN.com). The first item of theirs on the list? None other than Windows 1.0.

It’s not hard to see why, is it?

The second item on the list, is the little MP3 player that could (as long as it was for 3 days or 3 plays)…that’s right, the Zune. The poor little guy, I would seriously feel bad for it if it were alive. With its brick-like body and squishy brown skin…is there any wonder it made the list? Not from me…

You can see the full article here. Other notables on the list include Nintendo’s Virtual Boy, and the ugliest Mac in the history of time.

You may remember that earlier this year, Captain America was assassinated. Well, you comic book geeks out there will, no doubt, be interested to know that a new Captain America is finally making his way into the comic pages of the Captain America monthly comic in January of next year.

This new Cap was designed by Alex Ross, and everyone involved assures us all that the fact Cap is running around with a gun and knife are, in no way, a statement about America as it is today.

Yeah…right.

The design is an interesting one, but I don’t think I care for the shiny metal look of the colored parts of the costume.

So far, this “Death of Cap” storyline has been fascinating, and I look forward to seeing just who this new Captain America is…but I remain confident that Steve Rogers will be rearing his head before too long, and we’ll be getting the real Cap back. I honestly wish they would keep him dead, and move on with a new guy – but this all feels very temporary…like most things in comics.

There are two more pictures of the design after the jump

via CBR

3 Chinese friends dropped about $8,000 to construct this Bumble Bee looking robot they call Autobox X2. It’s their very own Citroen C2 Transformer – except, of course, that it doesn’t Transform.

Still, it’s an amazing piece of art.

So what are these three friends going to do with a giant robot statue? Who knows…but they are already working on their next project….Optimus Prime!

via Oh Gizmo!

So it looks like that Xbox360 Arcade pack that has been rumored is actually happening. This image from Gamespot, shows the Xbox360 Arcade pack details. The system comes with a 256mb Memory Card, 5 Xbox Live Arcade Games, and a Wireless Controller for $279, the same price as the current Core system.

This bundle appears to be targeted at the Wii buying audience, it’s a pretty darn good deal. I don’t think I’d buy a 360 without a hard drive, but if you’re on a budget, the Arcade pack may be the best way to go.

Gizmodo captured some spy shots of the LG CU920 Prada phone that is coming to AT&T. That’s right, AT&T is going to be the home of LG’s iPhone knock off/rival. The Prada phone is supposedly 3G, although Gizmodo said it took forever to load up their site. The phone features the same zoom functionality of the iPhone on webpages, but apparently isn’t as easy to use.

Frankly, this phone looks like a cheap iPhone knock-off to me, Prada or not. It’s also rumored that it has an antenna – which is just weird.

Korea’s primary telecom operator, KT, and Sony are teaming up to add more value to the PS3 for Korean customers. They are planning to launch an Internet TV service that will run on the PS3. Right now that’s all the information that we have. Neither company is willing to give up any additional info at this time.

The real question for those of us that don’t live in Korea is…will we be getting something similar down the road? An IPTV solution for the PS3 would be a real value-adder in my opinion, if done properly.

The PS3 seems to be a pretty interesting device…as long as you don’t want to play games on it. Right now there is very little that is exclusive to the console, game wise, and it still seems like a hard purchase for me. However, the rumored price dropped 40 gb model, IPTV possibilities, and the fact that Blu-Ray is doing well sales wise…all make me more interested in the PS3 than I’ve ever been.

Still not enough to buy it…but they’re getting there.

So it looks like this whole “Vii” thing might actually happen. It’s one of the most blatant rip-offs I’ve EVER seen of a game console, and I’m sure there will be some sort of lawsuit when this is all said and done, but the Vii looks to even sport “Vii Sport” games including bowling and tennis…and, uh…craps.

Seriously.

Right now it doesn’t appear as though you get to make your own “Mii” styled character…but really, that would be a little much to expect from this thing, right?

via Engadget

Dalek Sec was a human/Dalek hybrid that appeared in the Doctor Who episode “Dalek’s in Manhattan”. If you don’t know who Doctor Who or the Daleks are – you just lost 20 Geek-creds, and you need to go do some Googling. Don’t worry, I’ll wait.

…ok, now that you know who they are, this $50 to $60 mask (depending on if you pre-order or not) changes your voice to sound like a Dalek, while also giving you six creepy, phallic appendages coming off your face. This item is expected to be HUGE this Christmas in the UK.

Personally, I hated this episode of Doctor Who, and didn’t care much for the look of Dalek Sec, but I freakin’ LOVE Doctor Who – so I had to mention it.

via Gizmodo

My money is on the Hedgehog…

I love, love, love cocktail styled arcades. LOVE THEM.

Did I mention I love them?

I do. I really love them. SO – you can imagine that I’m very excited to see the Dreamcade 2.0 cocktail arcade. This is NOT A KIT, but a full built, PC based, cocktail arcade that comes with a ton of LEGAL games already installed (but you can add your own games too). The system is easy enough for kids to get in and enjoy, but expandable for the hardcore geek that is more likely to buy it at its $1899 pre-order price tag.

Some of my favorite of the included games include Centipede, Spy Hunter, Joust, Dig Dug, Mappy, Space Ace, both Dragon’s Lair games, and dozens more. Honestly, I don’t think I would even need to add any of my own games…heck even Street Fighter II is included!

Pre-orders begin shipping on October 21st…and man, oh man, do I wish I was one of them. Sadly, I do not have an extra $1,899 laying around…but one day, this shall be MINE!

click here to get your own

This cutsie version of Darth Vader (the very same Darth Vader that slaughtered a legion of children in Episode 3) is a seriously cool flashlight for those kids who will be trick-or-treating this Halloween, and have chosen to go with a Star Wars theme.

Only problem is, this bad boy is so popular, it’s already sold out just about everywhere. So if you see the little guy on a shelf somewhere, grab him quick.

Parents, be warned, though, every time your child pops that mouth open to reveal the light, it’s going to play Star Wars sounds effects and there is NO WAY to control the volume or turn them off.

So that’s gonna get old REAL quick. Still, of the two Darth Vader themed gadgets I’ve posted about today, this one is far cooler than the other.

via Oh Gizmo!