Pioneer Inno XMp3 reviewed: great, save for reception hiccups

You've gotten a face full of the Pioneer-built Inno XMp3, but aren't you eager to find out how the bugger performs? Knowing that your head is wildly bobbing up and down as if to say "yes," we present to you CNET's take on the latest portable XM Radio. Overall, the compact unit fared pretty well in testing, as it proved to be easy to operate, easy on the eyes and just downright easy to live with. The only knocks came from the lack of photo / video viewing (yes, that includes album art for library music) and the occasional reception issue. It should be noted, however, that this "reception issue" is kind of a big deal given the nature of the device, and that quirk alone knocked it from the ranks of the elite. Still, critics felt the unit was a worthwhile purchase if you're willing to deal with a few drops, and the way we see it, those just give you ample opportunities to hone your freestyle skills. Word?

Walmart, Kmart announce Black Friday-esque deals for days other than Black Friday

Want to get a jump on your holiday shopping or find a couple of insane bargains to keep for yourself? A few retailers are offering what they've dubbed "Black Friday-style" price cuts for tomorrow -- Saturday, November 8th. Walmart's got a sweet 15.4-inch Compaq CQ-139WM (with 2GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive) laptop for $298, in addition to a PlayStation 2 bundled with a $30 WalMart gift card for $129, and a PlayStation 3 with a $100 gift card for $399. Over at Kmart they're offering up a rad 32-inch Sylvania LCD HDTV for $439.99 (they usually go for for $550). They also have several deals for Sunday, November 9th, including the Wii Fit for $89.99. Is it safe to assume that every Friday (not to mention Saturday and Sunday) until Christmas will be "black"? For the full, mind-blowing rundown, hit the read links.

JVC, Sensio team up on high-end consumer 3D projection system

Far from being the first (or second, or third) partnership aimed at getting 3D in the home, JVC and Sensio have jointly chosen EHX Fall 2008 to announce their loving new union. By joining forces, they're purporting to introduce the "very first high-end 3D solution available on the consumer market." Granted, this so-called solution won't be cheap nor simple, as it will require a pair of JVC's costly D-ILA projectors and a media server integrating Sensio's 3D decoding technology. At the show, the pair demonstrated the forthcoming system by utilizing two $9,000 (yes, each) DLA-RS2 beamers (pictured), though it's never stated whether or not any gaudy goggles are required for visualizing the third-dimension. At any rate, the kit won't be available until sometime in 2009, but it's quite possible we'll get a sneak peek at CES in January.

ASUS adds N80V and N50V to its ever-expanding family of laptops

Yesterday ASUS stunned and pleased our eyeballs with the announcement of the 12-inch N20A laptop, and today two more get added to the crew: the 14.1-inch N80V and the 15.4-inch N50V. Both have the option of T9400 / P8600 / P7350 Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, up to 4GB of RAM, and each pack NVIDIA's GeForce 9300M GPU with 512MB of VRAM. The N80V has an up to 320GB hard drive capacity while the N50V goes up to 500GB. The N80V boasts a WXGA display and the NV50 offers WXGA / WXGA+ / WSXGA+ options. There's also a stunning selection of ports, including eSATA and HDMI on both of these bad boys. For unequaled spec-reading pleasure, hit the read links.