Most who have seen their favorite content in 3D have seen the light, but still find it hard to look past the glasses. Any 3D glasses are worse than no glasses at all, but expensive 3D glasses make even less sense to most. So while all the consumer 3DTV glasses so far have been of the expensive active shutter variety (which keeps the price of the TVs more in line with the 2D versions), RealD announced at the 3D entertainment summit that it would license its ZScreen technology (pictured above) to 3DTV manufacturers. This means that the same inexpensive 3D glasses used in theaters could be used at home. The big question of course is how much will these 3DTVs cost, and how will the 3D quality experience compare to what active shutter glasses can offer. But to those who hate heavy, expensive 3D glasses that require batteries, this is could certainly be good news.

So, Apple's talked about putting the iPhone on Verizon, Verizon wants the phone... why can't we get these two crazy kids together? Well, Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg touched on that topic in a talk to investors at the Goldman Sachs conference today. "We don't feel like we have an iPhone deficit. We would love to carry it when we get there, but we have to earn it," Seidenberg said, walking a fine line between complimenting the phone and making it clear that Verizon still has a good lineup. Ivan also mixed in a basketball analogy to sweeten the deal: "This is like the Knicks getting Carmelo Anthony. Like it would be very good if the Knicks got Carmelo Anthony. But they have to play the game whether they get Carmelo Anthony, right?" Ivan hinted heavily that Verizon's forthcoming 4G LTE network could be the golden ticket, and while this isn't a new theory, it's unclear (and a little disconcerting) if he's just as in the dark as we are as to whether or not Apple will come around once LTE is up and running. Still, he put on a brave face: "At some point, Apple will get with the program." Our suggestion? Bake Steve a cake. Couldn't hurt!

That's EPIC, mind you, not necessarily epic. Sure, Red's experiment in HDR video looks like it'll be a help to filmmakers that want the power / flexibility of RAW in post and some tools to war against motion blur, but so far they aren't showing any of that ultra-surreal HDR stuff we known so well from Flickr. What's that you say? You don't want all your videos to look like they're populated by radioactive creatures on a planet with a dying sun? You disappoint us, person. Go to your room. EPIC can shoot up to 18 stops of dynamic range in motion, with an "HDR" mode for in camera processing and an "HDRx" mode (seen here) for manipulation in post. Hit up the source link for the full res download and in-depth discussion about the tech, or hit below the fold for an embedded copy of the vid.

[Thanks, Andrew F.]

It was only a matter of time before someone released a speaker system with an iPad dock, but there is more to Speakercraft's new lineup than a way to listen to music. The FloBox, its miniature version, and the Vital amp can also stream music via Apple's AirPlay, DLNA or Speakercraft's own Nirv system. The two FloBoxes also include a mini USB port to sync your i-device with with iTunes. The Vital 250 is only available in black and will sell for $699 when it hits in the forth quarter. The two FloBoxes will be available in a black, white, silver, red or yellow high-gloss, piano finish with no word on price, but are also expected in a few months.

We all need a little more Roomba in our lives. PIRO's Windoro promises to do for windows what the Roomba does for floors, with a flat, autonomous robot free-roaming across a surface and cleaning it in the process. Of course, it's a little tougher to cling to a window than to crawl across carpet, so Windoro is a two part bot, connected to its reciprocal cleaning companion via neodymium magnets. Unfortunately it seems like it'd be a bit of a pain to get these two started and to switch windows -- for windows that don't open it would require two people, and for windows that do open it would still be pretty treacherous. Maybe something has been lost in in translation, or maybe we just don't get it, but PIRO expects 50 billion won in sales (about $43 million US). No word on how much the bot will cost, video of the bot's streak-free results are after the break.

HP has done plenty of its own teasing of the HP Slate, but in-the-wild spottings are few and far between. Now our favorite YouTuber and yours, x313xkillax, has a video of an HP Slate prototype. (There's some speculation that this is a fake, but from everything we know about the tablet we're pretty sure this is the real deal.) The hardware looks similar to what we've seen before, though perhaps a bit further along than version Conecti.ca "reviewed" back in April. We're pleased with the boot time of the device and seemingly fine Flash performance, and x313xkillax calls the touchscreen very responsive, but as you can see in the video after the break, Windows 7 still isn't really designed for finger operation. Just like HP seemed to realize when it bought Palm and bumped this tablet from a consumer launch to a niche enterprise product.

And you thought Ricoh's G700 was fully featured. Premiering at Photokina this week, the souped-up G700SE is a modified version of the G700 that appeared last month, with this guy able to accept add-on modules that can boost functionality by a good bit. The prototype unit here in Germany was showcased alongside of the GP-1 GPS dongle and a BR-1 bar code scanning module, with the latter meant more for governments and enterprises. It's still encased in a dust- and water-resistant shell, and it packs integrated 802.11b/g WiFi and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR to boot. All of the other specs remain the same from the original G700 (which you can peek here), and if you're looking to buy one, you'll have to wait until the earlier half of 2011 for it to splash down at around €799 ($1,070) -- according to booth representatives, anyway.

Oh, and for fans of the GXR series, we stumbled upon an A12 28mm f/2.5 lens module that'll slot right into the company's interchangeable camera starting in Q4. So long as you have €649 ($869) to spare.

There's something so romantic about just-a-little-bit-too-expensive ear buds, a product that's easily worth every penny and yet easily lost, easily misunderstood, and incredibly difficult to rid of ear wax. Shure is adding a new model to its hallowed line of 'buds, the new SE315 Sound Isolating Earphone. The headphones have a single MicroDriver, as opposed to the dual drivers in the SE425 and triple drivers in the SE535, but otherwise is very similar to those family members, including the investment-protecting detachable cables. Oh, and of course the price it a good bit more attractive, with a $200 retail price, while the SE425 and SE535 go for $300 and $500, respectively. Still, attractive enough? We'll leave the handwringing to you.

The company that invented in-wall speakers wants to make sure your sound system in your backyard looks and sounds as good as the one in your house. The BoomTomb subwoofer with integrated 250 watt amp gets buried in the ground with only the port exposed -- and hopefully somewhere it isn't likely to be tripped over -- where it can accompany your Ruckus speakers that look like rocks. It'll start shipping in the fourth quarter for a yet unannounced price, which means you might have to wait until the spring for the ground to thaw for those in the colder parts of the northern hemisphere.

Remember Panasonic's Toughbook CF-U1? Yeah, so it's been a while (2008, in fact) since it was unveiled and then reviewed, which is exactly why Panny thought the time had come to update the rugged UMPC. Its Toughbook U1 has the same magnesium alloy chassis -- we're told it's still the most rugged Toughbook of them all -- but has been updated with "enhanced sunlight viewability." It's no PixelQi display, but the TransflectivePlus screen can be cranked up to 6000 nits for checking e-mails and other pertinent information in the bright light of day. Internally, the U1 has acquired a newer 1.6GHz Atom Z530 processor, 2GB of RAM, and a larger 64GB SSD with Windows 7. The optional two megapixel front-facing camera has also been tweaked with better auto-focus and white balance features. However, the updates aren't just hardware-based: screen icons have been enlarged, and there's a new virtual right click button and larger virtual keyboard with a zoom mode. Of course, military grade doesn't come cheap -- the street price has been set at whopping $2,799. That still makes it one of the most expensive Atom device out there, but then again can you really put a price on something that's Rammer-resistant? We didn't think so.

The Ferrari of the projector world kicks off its version of 3D at CEDIA with the 3Dimension Series projectors which surprisingly use passive glasses instead of the battery operated active ones. The big catch of course is the price of $49,995 for the D-73 pictured above, and the fact that the glasses are proprietary and not the standard RealD glasses you've used at your local cinema. Obviously there are a wide range of inputs and controls including HDMI 1.4 (no 1.4a?) and RS-232 for the home automation fans. The D-73 starts shipping in the fourth quarter for those lucky enough to afford such luxuries and the full press release is available after the break while you wait.

Tucked away at the bottom of a news story about who'll be carrying the 7-inch Galaxy Tab in Ireland this year is the promise of a 10-inch Tab (presumably for the whole world) next year. This comes straight from local General Manager Gary Twohig, who seems to have casually disclosed his company's plans for a 10-inch Android slate in the first half of 2011. Beyond that, all we know is that it'll include the V8 JavaScript Engine that first showed up as a touted feature in Froyo, though if we had to bet our Led Zep record collection, we'd probably say this 10-incher will be holding out for Android 3.x -- either Gingerbread or Honeycomb -- for an experience better optimized to run on larger screens. In fact, that may be the likeliest reason why this new tablet didn't debut with its 7-inch sibling: waiting on a better OS.

[Thanks, Iain]

Joby has pretty much set the standard for portable, flexible, curious looking tripods, and while it has evolved over the years to include support for bulky DSLRs, it hasn't really made the same strides to cover the burgeoning pocket camcorder realm. Until today. Here in Köln, the outfit used Photokina as a launching pad for their newest portable tripod, the Gorillapod Video. For all intents and purposes, this is a classic Gorillapod with an omni-directional positioning video head, an extension arm for pans and tilts and magnetic feet for connecting it to your nearby barn. There's a small button on the head that allows the swivel arm to collapse for even easier travel, and during our moments with it here on the show floor, we were duly impressed with how it held the pocket camcorder strapped on top of it. It's available to order right now for $29.95, with shipments expected within the next fortnight. You know the drill -- gallery's below if you're craving more.

It's not quite the law of the land just yet, but the European Commission has just laid out some far-reaching new broadband rules that, if implemented, could have some wide ranging implications. Some of the basic rules were first announced earlier this year in the so-called Digital Agenda, including a mandate for basic broadband access across the EU by 2013, and a 30Mbps minimum by 2020. Perhaps most notably, however, is that the Commission has recommended that spectrum in the 800MHz band between 790-862MHz (being vacated as TV broadcasters make the switch to digital) be set aside for mobile broadband use by 2013. Just how much will it cost to implement the recommendations? Between 180 and 270 billion euros, or between 240 and 360 billion US dollars. That's obviously not going to come easily, but the Commision apparently thinks its doable, and notes that a number of measures have already been put in place to increase funding

Big surprises, eh? Sony Ericsson has been playing fast and loose with its calendar yet again, as it has just announced that the hotly (and by now angrily) anticipated upgrade to Android 2.1 for its X10 family of devices won't be happening until late October. We were given the gravest of assurances that the end of September would be the time our tragic wait would end, but nope, apparently "we need a couple of more weeks before we are ready to start the roll-out." Just so we're clear, this isn't Android 2.2, which is Google's current highest iteration and has been around for months now -- this is the upgrade to 2.1, aka Eclair, aka the software that's not too far away from its first birthday. SE is trying to console users with promises of HD video and continuous autofocus bundled into the Xperia X10 update, but then there's also word that different configs of the phones will get the update at different times. So don't be surprised if your French-speaking X10 Mini is still doing the Donut deep into November.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

This one's been expected and rumored for a long time. Now it's official: Blockbuster has initiated "pre-arranged" chapter 11 proceedings. Under the plan, Blockbuster's debt would be reduced from $1 billion to about $100 million when implemented. The press release states that Blockbuster is currently evaluating its US store portfolio as part of the recapitalization process. For the time being, all 3,000 stores will remain open. However, we've been told by a trusted tipster that up to 1,000 could be shed before things are said and done. Now make no mistake, Blockbuster is still open and wants you to know that it's business as usual during the restructuring -- the details of which you can read in the press release after the break.

Marvell's decided to whip out the "game changer" tag for its latest slice of silicon, but when you read the spec sheet that accompanies it, you might be willing to forgive it. Just this once. The new Armada 628 application processor delivers three cores, two of which crank along at 1.5GHz, and enough graphical prowess to churn 200 million triangles a second. You might remember we were once impressed by the Hummingbird's 90 million -- yeah, not so much anymore. The 628 is capable of 1080p 3D video and graphics (meaning it can sustain two simultaneous 1080p streams, one for each eye) and pledges to have an "ultra" low power profile: more than 10 hours of 1080p video or 140 hours of music playback are on offer. If that's not enough, it's also the first mobile SOC to include USB 3.0 support, adding yet another speed crown to its bulging resume. Now if it can also be SuperSpeedy in coming to market, that'd be just swell.

If you're looking to don a pair of NVIDIA's 3D Vision specs, a 120Hz monitor is your ticket to the game, and BenQ thinks that its LED-backlit variation on the familiar 23.6-inch 1080p panel is the most gamer-centric you'll find. While the base doesn't seem to swivel like the Alienware OptX AW2310 nor component video in like the ASUS VG236H, it does feature adjustable height, allegedly low input lag for split-section reaction times, not to mention a bevy of display scaling modes for VGA, DVI and HDMI. There's also the always-desirable picture by picture mode so you can have two inputs pumping out video content side-by-side; BenQ helpfully suggests you use it to entertain yourself with a movie while you wait for that perfect headshot. Boom? Find it in Europe this October, and "worldwide thereafter" at an undisclosed price. Press release after the break.

[Thanks, John N.]

Announced just before CES, tested by us at CES, and launching... erm, right about now: the Tunebug Shake, everybody! This helmet-attachable speaker has certainly taken its time to reach a marketable state, but let's look on the bright side -- it's now priced at $99.99, $20 cheaper than it was in January, and it remains a pretty unique piece of kit for the active gadget maven. The Shake uses SurfaceSound technology to channel vibrations into whatever it's attached to, using it as a de facto enlarged speaker surface. We weren't exactly blown away by the sound quality when we tried it, but time heals a lot of wounds (and product flaws). If you're sufficiently intrigued, you'll find video of the retail box contents after the break and orders can be placed at the source link below.