iPod, iTunes, iPhone and more Gadgets

There’s no doubt Bug’s getting closer to launching its open source modular gadget kits, but for those wondering when we’d see some physical hardware, today’s your lucky day. We got a chance to check out an early BUGbase unit and the full complement of BUGmodules. While we didn’t get to see it up and running, we did get to fool around with the whole experience of plugging (and unplugging) modules, and got a good feel for how things work. Some details:

• The BUGbase uses a bus with four module slots, each with the base atomic size of 2 x 2-inches.
• Multiple BUGbases can be physically conjoined and communicate wirelessly for greater than four simultaneous devices, but there is no system for bus expansion.
• While it can charge via USB, there’s also a backup power input should you use the USB for an external peripheral.
• Bug settled on MMCmicro instead of microSD because it’s open source. We’re torn about this one.
• Yeah, that’s a standard camera mount you see on the side. Nice addition.
• The modules we looked at included a display, GPS receiver, motion detector, digital camera, and 3G radio. Obviously those are just a few listed on the site.
• The LCD module apparently uses the exact same QVGA LCD panel as the iPod classic. If that matters at all to you.
• The modules are colored according to purpose: input, output, or input-output. For example, the light blue modules are output only (like the 3G module above); dark blue modules are input-output (like a touchscreen), while white modules are input only (GPS receiver, etc.).

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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It looks like a Best Buy in Marina, California was a little confused about what “floor model” meant and accidentally put a boxed 360 version of Rock Band out for sale instead of setting it up as a demo unit — and the eagle-eyed Tim Menz managed to spot the oversize box poking out of the Guitar Hero 3 display and “casually” purchase it. Apparently the UPC was already in the system but didn’t raise any flags when it rang up for $169. Tim didn’t bother with any of that silly rock music nonsense and skipped straight to selling out on eBay, but pulled the auction when EA called him and politely asked him to return the kit to the store. He hasn’t done that yet, since it’s a little unclear whether Tim got a full copy or just an in-store demo — anyone out there know the answer?

Update: Tim got back to us and says it is in fact the demo, but he’s put it back on eBay for all you desperate to rock.

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Yeah, we already got our P2 touching on back in those heady days of August, and we even saw this sucker unboxed in September, but now Samsung has made everything official and thrust it into some impenetrable plastic packaging for our own unboxing pleasure. Seriously, this thermoformed plastic was some of the worst we’ve ever encountered, and due to a sudden absence of scissors at the Engadget HQ, we were literally risking life and limb to get this thing open. Once we broke in, it was smooth sailing. The device is pretty slick, and Samsung seems to have tweaked the touch sensitivity a bit more to our liking. The default scrolling menu is still pretty bad, but it’s easy to switch to a basic grid interface. The preloaded songs were of course smooth jazz bad techno, but it was no trouble at all getting some of our Rhapsody tunes onto the device — no installation necessary, we just plugged it in and it worked, and we got similar results with Windows Media Center for some TV transfers. It’s hard to get used to that little round dot at the bottom of the player not being a button, but the screen controls are easy enough, and the side buttons are a nice touch for when you’re operating the device without looking. The included headphones are naturally horrible, but you’re going to be picking up some stereo Bluetooth headphones for this one anyways, right?

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