Svelte Piixl EdgeCenter 3770 Media Center Hides Behind Your HDTV [Media Center]

Like Kate Moss, this crazy thin EdgeCenter media server from Piixl (who?) is nearly invisible when viewed from the side. And that's precisely the point, as the pricey unit is meant to be hidden behind your HDTV.
From there, out of sight and mind, the EdgeCenter supports up to four TV tuners and 7.1 audio surround. It's configurable, with processor options ranging from Core2 Duo to two-way Core i7's. Windows 7 and a 'durable' aluminum chassis come standard, as does the high $4,000 starting point. Add some options and that price point can go much, much higher.
[Gizmodo via Piixl via Engadget]

Sony A-Series Is the Thinnest Walkman Yet, Has OLED Screen [PMPs]

The pretty player has a 2.8-inch OLED screen (240x400), FM radio, TV-out, noise canceling, and is beautifully thin at 7.2mm. Oh, and it only weighs 2.2 ounces. But unlike the failed X-Series, the A has no touch screen or Wi-Fi.
Along with standard codec support, there's also new drag and drop feature that auto-transcodes video from your computer. And in Japan at least, the player comes with premium MDR-EX300SL earphones. Battery life is listed as 29 hours for music, and 9 hours for video.
No word on U.S. availability yet, but if the recent S and E series Walkmans are any gauge, the wait won't be long after it hits Japan on October 31. Pricing there will be: 16GB (Y24,000; $226), 32GB (Y30,000; $332), and (Y40,000; $443).
Enough to tempt you away from the more powerful $280 32GB Zune HD or $400 64GB iPod touch? I just don't know about those Mickey Mouse like controls myself... [Sony Japan (translated) via Akihabara News]

ODROID in the Wild, Demo’s HDMI Output [VIDEO]

Remember that Android-based entertainment device from a couple of weeks ago called the ODROID? It’s back today in the form of a demo video. The clip below shows how Android looks running through an HDMI cable out to a television. We get to see a little gameplay, the Transformers 2 trailer, and typical Android navigation running at high definition.

We have to admit it – playing games might be pretty fun with something like the ODROID. Hopefully we see more devices like this come to fruition and spur development for Android games.

Zune HD Promo Video Offers Quick Peek at Hardware's 3D Gaming Capabilities [Zune Hd]

As the Zune HD launch looms ever closer, a smorgasbord of purported launch videos have offered up what appears to be the best demonstration yet of the sleek, sexy portable's 3D gaming capabilities.
The 3D gaming example, Forza 3, debuts at about the 30 second mark in the video above. It's a fleeting glimpse, but it's solid evidence nevertheless.
For authenticity's sake, we tell you that Microsoft PR reportedly asked the leak's originator, Buy TV, to take the videos down, but not before brigands at sites like Neowin were able to upload them to YouTube, where they spread like a New York Times homepage virus.
Zune HD drops in two days. [Neowin, Buy TV via ars technica]

Creative Zen X-Fi 2 Trades Buttons for a Touchscreen, High Price for Low [PMPs]

It's a new model name, sure, and the distinctive button panel has been booted in favor of a touchscreen, but the most important part of the X-Fi update has nothing to do with hardware, and everything to do with dollars.
Aside from the slightly larger, ever-more-fingerable TFT screen, the X-Fi 2 supposedly adds improvements to sound quality, which are down to murky machinations inside Creative's X-Fi audio processing system, as well as TV-out, which is particularly useful considering the player's generous video codec support. The rest of the specs are more or less unchanged: There's an FM radio, built-in mic, a microSD expansion slot, and syncable calendar, task list, contacts and RSS reader apps. It actually looks like the player has lost a feature since v1 too, since the prior model's Wi-Fi access is nowhere to be found. Not that it ever did much, but still.

Anyway, price! It's pretty low, considering what you get: It's 230 for the 32GB model, $180 for the 16GB and $130 for the 8GB. The highest price point seems like a dig at the iPod Touch, and it could be a clever one: The two players offer completely different things, and if you want to do more than play music and videos, the iPod is the clear choice. On the other hand, if that's all you want to do, a 32GB touchscreen PMP makes a case, if not a particularly strong one. It's available for preorder now, and should ship within a few weeks. [Creative]