Even after the street adjustment to £500 ($782), JVC’s recently-announced NX-BD3 may not be the cheapest Blu-ray HTIB, but the crew at TrustedReviews found a lot to like with the package. The 2.1-channel starter system — there are taps for four speakers even though you only get a L/R pair in the box — has good aesthetics, solid video performance that holds its own next to the Pioneer BDP-LX71, and audio that keeps up with the visuals. Pity that Dolby True HD and DTS-HD MA didn’t make the cut, though. Ah well, hopefully this deck’s claim as the first dedicated Blu-ray deck with DLNA 1.5 support will ease the sting as you pull content from across your abode through the deck’s ethernet jack. All in all, it’s a better use of that port than BD-Live features, we say.

We won’t even front: we questioned the value in Toshiba’s super-upscaling XD-E500 DVD player, but the company is making the pill a lot easier to swallow for those on the opposite side of the pond. Starting now, those who purchase the player and register it within seven days are blessed with a full year of DVD rentals from Lovefilm (a British DVD rental company). The year of rentals is technically worth £100, thus making the net cost of the player itself just £20 (£120 minus £100) if you’re keen on twisting your math. So, Tosh — when can we Americans expect a similar deal with Netflix?

[Via CNET]

They’ve been keeping tabs on dogs around MIT for a few years now, but it looks like the activity-monitoring SNIF Tags are now finally making their public, and commercial, debut. Unlike some other devices that track your dog’s whereabouts with GPS, these make use of an accelerometer and some motion analysis software to determine exactly how active your dog is, all of which gets logged online via the included SNIF base station that connects to your router.

Even more ambitiously, the tags also promise to let you and your dog engage in a bit of social networking, with the tags able to recognize when they’re close to another tag and record the encounter online when you get back home which, of course, depends on plenty of other dogs having the tags as well. Their $200 introductory price (or $300 after November 24th) won’t exactly help those chances, however, nor will the $10 a month fee for the premium membership (a year of service is included with the starter kit). If that’s not a deterrent for you though, you can get your order in right now by hitting up the ready link below.

As you can see above, this one is a tad less portable than some other handheld SNES mods we’ve seen (it also apparently needs to be plugged in), but it does at least do better job than most at staying true to the SNES’s (or, more accurately, the Super Famicom’s) instantly-recognizable appearance. There’s no plans available for building your own, unfortunately, but you can check it out in action in the video after the break.

[Via Nintendo Wii Fanboy]

ViewSonic’s half-heartedly announced a pair of 8-inch digital photo frames for your all of your half-hearted holiday shopping needs. The DPG801BK and the DPG807BK are basically the same product, with 800 x 600 resolution displays, a 500:1 contrast ratio, and 512MB of internal memory.

If that’s not enough memory for your um… memories, you can of course load in a memory card or USB drive (there’s no wireless integration in either frame). The DPG807BK also has a remote control, which is going to be handy when you want to quickly cycle past photos of your “lovely family” from across the room. They’re both available and the DPG801BK will go for $119 while the DPG807BK is $159 — a small price to pay for the gift that says “I got this for you last night and you’re lucky I even thought of it at all.”

Read - DPG801BK
Read - DPG807BK

 It’s got a 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, twice the storage and memory of its lesser sibling, integrated NVIDIA GeForce 9300, and a roomier 19-inch, 1440 x 900 display. Both systems are due for release in Asia next week, the P4000 at S$1,899 ($1,270) and the P6000 at S$2,499 ($1,675). The latter is clearly the better deal, but they’re both expensive compared to bulkier alternatives — desk space is at a premium these days. Pic of the P4000 after the break.

[Via PCLaunches]

The whole shebang can be controlled with the included RF remote, from your iPod / iPhone or from any PC or Mac sporting iTunes and the included Wireless USB dongle. The base accepts a bevy of inputs and outputs, including RCA audio, video and composite video out — and if that weren’t enough, each speaker can be controlled separately using the included motion sensors, allowing hands-off volume and equalizer control. Something like that must be seen to be appreciated, so make sure you check out the video after the break. No price yet, but these guys should be hitting the street in early 2009.

[Via Engadget Spanish]