hand

Hand-crafted audio artistry from NYC

Blackie Pagano's skills as a repair technician and designer of one-of-a-kind electronics and speakers have ensured a steady stream of happy customers. He started in New York City, relocated to LA and lived there for seven years, but now he's back in NYC. He's played guitar and bass since he was 11, been a roadie, then a live sound engineer, a recording engineer, and a studio tech; through it all, he's been just a guy who loves building stunning works of not just art, but art that also sounds great.

Pagano mostly makes his living repairing … Read more

Here's what Batman: Arkham City on Wii U plays like

LOS ANGELES--Two Wii U games stole the show at the Nintendo press conference on Tuesday, Ubisoft's ZombiU and Warner Bros. Interactive's Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition. I was able to sneak in some time with the latter on Wednesday and found out what exactly "Armored Edition" means.

To be clear, the Wii U version of Arkham City is mostly the same game you've played on the other consoles. Sure, all the DLC available up until now is packed in, but those looking for a separate experience different than Rocksteady's epic won't find it. … Read more

Our 10 most anticipated games to see at E3 2012

Next week the CNET team hits Los Angeles for E3 2012 in search of the best the show has to offer. We've gotten the early word that consoles won't be the focus this time around (aside from the Wii U), so it'll be the software's time to shine.

Even so, major blockbusters like BioShock Infinite and Metal Gear Rising won't be at the show, so which titles are we most looking forward to getting our hands on? Click through our slideshow to find out.

HandAble: Avoid a smartphone death grip

As smartphones get smaller, flatter, sleeker, and shinier, they also get harder to hold onto. The HandAble holder is one way to avoid developing a smartphone death grip.

The accessory market is a crowded one, but HandAble is just clever enough and simple enough to warrant a look. It attaches to the back of the phone and consists of a retractable disk that you slip your fingers under, keeping the phone snug against your hand.

HandAble is the brain child of Aaron Block, a 78-year-old inventor. The accessory was originally a Kickstarter project, but one that failed to reach its funding goal. An unfunded Kickstarter project doesn't mean the idea has to die. HandAble is proof of that.… Read more

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 hands-on

SAN FRANCISCO--The announcement that Samsung's follow-up to its Galaxy Tab 10.1 would be receiving some downgrades from the previous entry, filled me with a mixture confusion and disappointment.

I just couldn't wrap my head around why the sequel to one of the premiere Android tablets would launch with a less impressive spec list than its predecessor.

Today, Samsung revealed that the Tab 2 10.1 would be released on May 13 for $400. That's $100 lower than the original Tab 10.1's list price and it fills the logic hole I believe Samsung was falling … Read more

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 hands-on

SAN FRANCISCO--Going into today's Samsung media event in San Francisco, there was one device that I was having trouble wrapping my head around: The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0.

The 7.0 Plus released last year was quite a good tablet and not four months later, here was Samsung showing what it called the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0. Surely this device would be thinner, sexier, and more powerful than any Samsung tablet before it right? Wrong.

Samsung announced that the Tab 2 7.0 would house a 1GHz CPU (down from 1.2GHz on the 7.0 … Read more

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 actually gets a competitive price

Today at a Samsung media event in San Francisco, the company unveiled pricing and release dates for both its Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 tablets. We took a brief look at both tablets at Mobile World Congress in February, but this is the first time they've been officially shown in the U.S.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 will be released on April 22 for $250 with 8GB of storage. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 follows a few weeks later on May 13 at a price of $400 for 16GB of storage.

While the $400 price … Read more

CNET Labscast 23: When to buy a laptop, greatest gadgets ever, and a big goodbye

Well, it's been fun, but along with the rest of the weekly CNET Live lineup, the CNET Labscast (formerly known as Digital City) is being sent to the great podcast studio in the sky. For this final episode, the whole gang shows up, as we debate the right time to buy a laptop, and list our picks for the most influential gadgets of the modern era. … Read more

Razer to hand over new gaming mouse for lefties

Computer peripheral maker Razer posted a question on its official Facebook page late last month asking if fans wanted another mouse built for left-handed gamers. The company requested at least 10,000 "Likes" on the post within a month to give the idea serious consideration. It only took a week to reach that number.

Several years ago, Razer launched a basic five-button gaming mouse for left-handed folk, the DeathAdder, giving everyone an equal opportunity at the perfect headshot.

Now, after the recent affirmative votes from Facebook-ers, Razer plans to release a left-handed mouse based on the Naga, which is designed specifically for massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs).… Read more

Take that, Dr. Dre: AT&T ships $99 non-Beats wireless speaker

If you've been watching "American Idol," you've probably seen a commercial or two for the $399 Beats by Dr. Dre Beatbox Portable audio system, which allows you to stream music wirelessly from your Bluetooth-enabled smartphone or tablet and is available exclusively through AT&T stores. But few people know that AT&T actually has its own portable Bluetooth speaker sans Beats logo. And it's shipping now.

It's called the LoudSpeak'r.

No, that's not a typo. The LoudSpeak'r follows in the footsteps of the Casio G'zOne (see 20 worst-named tech products for reference), … Read more