Jason Chen, Author at Gizmodo

Xbox 360 HD DVD Available for Preorder

The 360 HD DVD player may not be available just yet, but you can get some breathing room on everyone else this Xmas by pre-ordering yours today. Amazon has it only $199 with a release date of November 7. Goes great with the recent 360 update that enabled 1080p, but broke 360s, then was re-released.…

Tech News Jason Chen

Wal-Mart’s Zune Displays

His Zuneness has landed at Wal-Mart, home of schlock and ladies giving each other massive internal injuries over $30 DVD players. These pictures were taken with a cameraphone and thus, as clear as putting sandpaper inside your eyelid. But it does show us that the black and two brown players are visible at Wal-Mart. What,…

Tech News Jason Chen

Rant Response: The Comcast DVR Isn’t So Bad

John Battelle hates his Motorola-made Comcast DVR. He compares it to his TiVo Series 1 and 2 (which I don’t have personal experience with, but I have used Media Center extensively) and says it stinks. My own experience with the Comcast DVR? Not so bad. Battelle has some valid points: fast forward and rewind are…

Tech News Jason Chen

Parking With Frickin’ Lasers

Always putting dents in your garage walls because you park too far forward? Sure, you can use a tennis ball on a string, but that solution has a distinct lack of lasers. This Dual Laser Park works on an AC adapter and 3AA batteries, which shines down onto your hood when you’re deep enough inside…

Gadgets Jason Chen

Tennis Ball Robot Hits With a Racket

Unlike traditional tennis ball launchers, this tennis robot hits with an actual racket. This makes judging when the ball is hit and where it will land a whole lot easier. The balls are launched between 20kph (12.4mph) and 70kph (43mph), which isn’t that fast, but is good enough for practice. Seriously, as a guy who’s…

Tech News Jason Chen

Zune: The Gallery

As promised, the Zune gallery. It really is a sexy player, something which may not have come across in photographs on other sites. Seriously, it’s up there with the iPod in terms of bone-ability. After you scope the pics, make sure to read our review. https://gizmodo.com/zune-first-full-review-212255 Gallery [Gizmodo]

Tech News Jason Chen

Zune: First Full Review

Click to viewMicrosoft was kind enough to get us some hands-on time with the Zune, not batting an eye as we eagerly slided the player down our pants, enjoying the material it was made out of. Our thoughts first, then a gallery later. https://gizmodo.com/zune-hands-on-skin-all-sexy-and-smooth-209198 The outside is made out of a rubberized plastic, which goes…

Reviews Jason Chen

Apple Touch-Screen iPod Doc Was a Typo

Your parents are getting divorced. Santa killed himself back in 1974. The Easter Bunny is a hermaphrodite. The iPod TouchScreen isn’t confirmed. Sorry to be the bringer of bad news, but the iPod “touch-screen” was supposed to be “touch-wheel”. Go back and see the original document and compare. https://gizmodo.com/official-apple-document-refers-to-touch-screen-ipod-212037 [Ed: Oh sure, all the letters…

Tech News Jason Chen

Home-made Mac Mini Portable

Peter Green is too good for laptops. MacBook? Too unoriginal. He prefers a self-made Mac Mini touch-screen device that has a 3-hour battery life and its own stand. We admit, three hours is more than our PowerBook gets, so that’s kinda cool. The only bad part is, everyone on the train thinks he’s a big…

Tech News Jason Chen

Gizmodo Gets Hands On With The Zune

Microsoft was kind enough to provide us with some hands-on time with all three flavors of the Zune today. We’re still digesting the Zune-osity, but here are some shots (full gallery to follow later) to hold you over while we process our review. Pop the trunk and hit the jump to see more pics. Lots…

Tech News Jason Chen

Microsoft Changes Vista Licensing Terms

You may know the official ship date of Vista (for corporate customers), and you may know what the packaging will look like, but do you know Microsoft’s licensing scheme? Originally, Microsoft was going to allow only one transfer of Vista between devices—not good for people who frequently upgrade computers. https://gizmodo.com/official-microsoft-vista-ships-nov-30-211919 Enough people complained to convince…

Tech News Jason Chen

Five Zune TV Spots

Sneak peek at what will undoubtedly be playing during The Daily Show, Adult Swim, and other youth-centric programming from now until Christmas. See the other four after the jump. All Videos [YouTube via Zune Insider]

Tech News Jason Chen

Brando Dock Docks Everything

Why dock one thing when you can dock everything? This multi-functional dock from Brando not only docks your iPod (3G and up), allowing it to sync with iTunes and recharge, but there’s support for Sony Ericsson phones, Nokia phones, and PSPs. It’s not quite the everything that we had hoped for, but since Brando releases…

Tech News Jason Chen

Cingular Planning Cellphone Music Download Service

Cingular, the only 3G provider without a music service, is planning to release a music service (we don’t count T-Mobile because their service is only hypothetical until we can use it). Cingular plans to officially announce the service tomorrow, and will let users transfer songs from Napster, Yahoo, and various subscription services to users’ phones.…

Tech News Jason Chen

Xbox 360 Fall Dashboard Update Fix Coming

It seems like the irregularities with the Xbox 360 dashboard update released yesterday weren’t just imagined. John Porcaro of the official Microsoft Gamerscoreblog says they’re going to release an updated version in the next 12-24 hours. https://gizmodo.com/microsoft-and-the-case-of-the-1080p-sony-hijinks-211581 We’ll let you know when it goes up. Fall Update Fix Coming [Gamerscoreblog]

Tech News Jason Chen

Etymotic Ety8 Wireless iPod Earphones

We’ve been waiting for wireless earphones for the iPod for a while, but these Ety8 earphones from Etymotic unfortunately look a bit silly. These earphones are wireless in that they don’t need to be connected to your iPod, but they do have a cable running between the two that wraps around your head/neck. That’s great,…

Tech News Jason Chen

Extended Warranties: NY Times Says Boo

Almost half of readers decided that extended warranties weren’t for them, and they’d be happy with the manufacturer’s limited warranty. Another 30% say they do like warranties, but only for big purchases. What does the NYT say? “A sucker’s bet.” https://gizmodo.com/the-truth-behind-extended-warranties-205442 Reader Patricia writes: I don’t quite follow the math here: For example, a recent…

Tech News Jason Chen

Blockbuster Online’s ‘Total Access’ Lets You Return DVDs To Stores

In an effort to stop competitor Netflix from totally crushing it, Blockbuster Online is instituting a “Total Access” plan that lets you return online-rented movies in stores. When you give them your rental, you get one free in-store rental, which works just like regular in-store rentals and carry standard late fees restocking penalties. In addition,…

Movies Jason Chen

MadCatz Offering Xbox 360 Gears of War Accessories

Gears of War, is about to launch (November 7), and Mad Catz is getting in on the action with a few interesting console accessories. The first is the faceplate plus “Console Skinz”, which are graphic coverings for the side of your 360 shown above. This is $29.99. Then there’s four limited-edition faceplates that you can…

Tech News Jason Chen

Research Says 58% of iPod Users May Choose Zune Over iPod

As surprising as it may sounds, ABIResearch’s latest poll says 58% of current iPod users said they were “somewhat likely” or “extremely likely” to pick a Zune player over any other player? WTF? We tried to take a look at the actual survey results, but realized they cost $3,000. Yeah, no, that’s ok. We’ll pass.…

Tech News Jason Chen

Jason Chen

Xbox 360 HD DVD Available for Preorder

Wal-Mart’s Zune Displays

Rant Response: The Comcast DVR Isn’t So Bad

Parking With Frickin’ Lasers

Tennis Ball Robot Hits With a Racket

Zune: The Gallery

Zune: First Full Review

Apple Touch-Screen iPod Doc Was a Typo

Home-made Mac Mini Portable

Gizmodo Gets Hands On With The Zune

Microsoft Changes Vista Licensing Terms

Five Zune TV Spots

Brando Dock Docks Everything

Cingular Planning Cellphone Music Download Service

Xbox 360 Fall Dashboard Update Fix Coming

Etymotic Ety8 Wireless iPod Earphones

Extended Warranties: NY Times Says Boo

Blockbuster Online’s ‘Total Access’ Lets You Return DVDs To Stores

MadCatz Offering Xbox 360 Gears of War Accessories

Research Says 58% of iPod Users May Choose Zune Over iPod

Apple Offers Rare Olive Branch to Liquid Glass Haters

Mamdani Lifts NYC TikTok Ban for City Employees, but with Some Unusual Restrictions

Tesla Goes Ahead and Admits Its Robotaxis Are Sometimes Fully Human-Controlled

School Forced to Replace Toilets After Kids Flush Vapes

‘Scream 7’ Just Won’t Stop Making Money as ‘Scream 8’ Gets Started

The Curtain Has Closed on Meta’s Movie Rating-Inspired Content Filters

Good News! You Can Finally Change That Ridiculous Gmail Address

ExpressVPN Just Launched ExpressAI: Your Prompts Are Now Invisible

VR Just Took Another Massive Body Blow

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset