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On The Bleeding Edge: Bleeding Edge TV 322: Motorola DROID Review

Bleeding Edge TV 318: Xbox Live Fall Dashboard Preview: Facebook, Twitter, Last.fm, Zune 1080p

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Full Episodes, High Score, Features, Internet, Podcasts, Software, Video Games, Videocasts, Videos

We got our hands on the new Fall 2009 Dashboard update, which features Facebook, Twitter, Last.fm, and Instant-on 1080p movie streaming from Zune. You can get the full scoop in the video, but in a nutshell, here are our thoughts:

  • Facebook: Facebook on Xbox 360 is integrated well into the console. We like that you can see which of your Xbox 360 friends are on Facebook, and which Facebook friends have an Xbox 360 account. The problem is that the Xbox 360’s ridiculous friend limit really stands out here. You have a limit of 100 friends, and if you have a bunch of friends on Facebook that you want to connect with, you will quickly find that you have to pick and choose. You see what I mean in the video. Other than that, being able to view profile data and photo galleries of friends is a nice touch. Updating or commenting sucks if you don’t have a Chatpad.
  • Twitter: Twitter, on the other hand, is way too simple for our liking. It shows you the last 50 tweets from people you following, trending topics, and basic profile info. You can also send tweets out from the Xbox 360, but it’s frustrating to do, unless you have a Chatpad handy.
  • Last.fm: This works as expected. You sign in, and you get access to all your channels, and you can create new channels on the fly. What sucks? You can’t see your Last.fm friends, which is something I miss. Even worse? The music only plays when you are actually in the Last.fm area. If you leave, the music stops. This means you can’t carry it over to the dashboard, or in-game. So really, what’s the point?
  • Zune Instant on 1080p: This was awesome. Definitely blew me away. We streamed a portion of the movie 300. After a bandwidth test, the Xbox 360 confirmed we were good to go for instant 1080p streaming, and it delivered. Fantastic. The best streaming video quality we’ve seen from any service.

There are a few other new details as well, and we give you a detailed look at it all in this video. Sit back and enjoy!


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Bleeding Edge TV 313: Sonos Controller 200 CR200

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Full Episodes, Gizmatic, Accessories, Features, Home Entertainment, Music, Podcasts, Product Reviews, Videocasts, Videos, Wireless / WiFi

Tom Cullen of stopped by to give us a first-hand look at the new Sonos Controller 200 remote control. A marked improvement over the original Sonos Controller 100, the CR200 is a full touchscreen device that allows you to interact with music from a vast amount of sources and services, both on your network and from the Internet, with relative ease. We give you a look at how it all comes together in this episode.


Bleeding Edge TV 295: Sonos iPhone app, Sonos 2.7 features

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Full Episodes, Gizmatic, Apple, Cell Phones, Features, Handhelds, Home Entertainment, Music, Podcasts, Videocasts, Videos, Wireless / WiFi


So this morning we gave you the scoop on the new Sonos 2.7 features, along with the news of the new (and free) and iPod touch, but we figured you’d be interested in seeing how all this worked. Luckily, Sonos CEO John MacFarlane was able to stop by to give us a first look at all the announcements. In this episode, John walks us through all the new hotness that Sonos announced this morning. That includes a walkthrough of the new iPhone app, which incorporates and supports all those slick new Sonos 2.7 features that we’ve been raving about so early in the morning over here. If you are a music fan, you owe it to yourself to look into Sonos, if you haven’t already.

Oh, and be sure to check our Sonos for iPhone gallery if you wanna see some screenshots of the app in high resolution.


Bleeding Edge TV 250: Slacker Internet radio and Slacker Portable

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Full Episodes, Gizmatic, Features, Internet, PC / Laptop, Podcasts, Portable Audio / Video, Videocasts, Wireless / WiFi


Slacker Internet radio is going portable!  Slacker offers free, sponsored Internet radio with 1 to 2 minutes of interstitial ads per hour.  In its free service, Slacker allows 6 skips per hour per station, but with over 100 genre stations to be listened to (working out to the ability to skip 600 songs per hour), even the most skip-happy listener can satisfy their urge to get to the next song quickly.  Slacker’s Premium membership offers unlimited skips and saving and replaying favorite songs starting at $7.50/month.

Slacker Portable is Slacker’s companion personal media player.  Available in 2, 4 and 8 gig models (translated to 15, 25 and 45 stations), Slacker Portable fills itself from the user’s favorite stations every time it’s synced.  Not only is the music on the player, but anything available from Slacker’s site is available on the Slacker Portable, including artist bios, reviews and album art.  Because Slacker Portable isn’t constantly connected to Slacker’s HQ, there’s no cutout when a listener enters a subway train, goes into a tunnel, or anywhere that a signal would be lost with an FM or a satellite radio.  And if you can’t live without that certain album at your disposal at all times, Slacker Portable allows you to load mp3’s from your own library.


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