Electronics Gadget Review , Digital camera reviews, Electronic Price comparison

SKYPE HITS THE PSP

January 30th, 2008


Skype arrived on the PSP today and ArsTechnica took it for spin on a slim PSP.  They said the Skype layout was well implemented on the PSP platform and sound quality was top notch.  One catch though:  you must have the headphones plugged in via the Slim-specific remote control otherwise it won't work.  For $30 you can pick up the Slim-specific remote and headphones.

"STAR WARS: THE FORCE UNLEASHED" VIDEO IS UNBELIEVABLE

January 30th, 2008


There aren't too many times that I post about video games, but "Grand Theft Auto IV" and this are totally, totally warranted. "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed" sets an all new benchmark for video games by incorporating 3 different physics engines: Havok which is a bomb physics engine for objects; Euphoria which is "actual biomechancial AI" and essentially means characters react at will to their environment; and DMM (Digital Molecular Matter) which makes glass, wood and more shatter as if it were real. The real kicker is that the engineers were able to get all three engines working in concert. So if you toss a barrel at a Storm Trooper he'll put his hands up to protect himself. When he's launched into a glass plate window as a result of the barrel, the glass will shatter in accordance to how the Storm Trooper and barrel land upon impact. Sick, isn't it? Even sicker is the video explaining it all.

Official site here.

Thanks Dan

Hit 'more' for video and additional screen shots

USE NOKIA'S ACCELEROMETER TO OPEN MESSAGES

January 30th, 2008





ShakeSMS isn't the most practical application to install on your Nokia, but it sure does pique and speak to the level of innovation we should see coming from Apple's SDK coming in February. So how's it work? Install the Symbian based app/addon. When you receive a 'text' you simply shake your phone bringing you to your newly received text message. Note, you must have a Nokia with a built-in accelerometer. Symbianfreak (via MobileMag) makes a valid point: what happens if your jogging or jostle your phone while in your pocket?

PAYING WITH YOUR CELL PHONE FINALLY HITS US SHORESAGAIN?

January 30th, 2008


NFC, or Near-Feild Commuincation has been used for a long-ass time in many Asian countries. According to MobileBurn Sprint Nextel will soon begin trial runs of NFC with the BART (San Fran's 'Bay Area Rapid Transportation') and participating Jack In the Boxes. In addition to paying for subway rides and burgers, Sprint customers with the appropriately equipped handsets, will be able to receive advertisements and discounts. Compatible handsets are manufactured by Samsung and the payment system is ran by Western Union. Philips ran some trial runs of this back in 2005, but I'm not sure if it really went anywhere. SanDisk also announced memory cards that included the NFC technology back in May, 2006, but that's the last I saw of this.

This news comes on the heals of Inside Contactless announcing an initiative to rollout contactless payment to 1.3 billion users throughout the world, including the US.

INTEL TAKES EQUIVALENT OF 185,000 CARS OFF THE ROAD

January 30th, 2008

Believe it or not, but Intel has become the "largest purchaser of Green Power in the U.S" and they're boasting about. Posted on the Press Release portion of their site, Intel says they bought more than 1.3 billion kilowatt hours a year (yes BILLION) of renewable energy certificates. This makes Intel the single largest corporate purchaser of green power in the U.S. If you're wondering what the hell 1.3 billion kilowatt hours equates to, then you'll be glad to know it's the equivalent of taking 185,000 cars of the road each year!

Complete press release here via Digg.

GM INSTALLS USELESS "ON STAR" SYSTEMS IN VEHICLES

January 30th, 2008

GM has been hit with a class action law suit. According to Gadgetell and OnStarClassAction.com, GM installed analog On Star systems that became useless Dec. 31, 2007 thanks to an FCC ruling. Unfortunately, the only people who get rich off class action suits are the lawyers - at least that's what I've been told.  In the case of disgruntled GM On Star customers, it might just be the sweet taste of vindication victory and if they're lucky, force GM to upgrade their vehicles.  Believe it or not, but apparently GM told these On Star customers that they'd have to purchase or lease a new vehicle.

40 HOUR RECHARGEABLE LITHIUM ION BATTERY

January 29th, 2008

According to Popsci, researchers have crafted an lithium ion battery that's battery life lasts up to almost two days. How so? Apparently they incorporated silicon nanowires in the battery, which extended its life. The technology is still in the 'lab' stage.

Citing a research paper they wrote, published in Nature Nanotechnology, Cui said the increased battery capacity was made possible though a new type of anode that utilizes silicon nanowires. Traditional lithium ion batteries use graphite as the anode. This limits the amount of lithium-which holds the charge-that can be held in the anode, and it therefore limits battery life. (excerpt from News.com)

ANOTHER PERSONAL, INTERNET BASED ALARM SYSTEM: INGRID

January 29th, 2008


Yesterday I wrote about Alert Me. Well, I guess the folks at Ingrid are ultra diligent because they contacted me today with their offering. It turns out InGrid is far more affordable (kits range from $129 - $399 and they offer discounts with a yearly contract). The monthly service fee is a bit more, though, $29/month. I don't see a Key Fob system, which made Alert Me 'creepy cool', but InGrid does offer a fully integrated cordless handset. From the handset - there's also a console - you can name each respective sensor, monitor a baby's room, make phone calls, store up to 99 contacts, arm or disarm the system and more. Much like Alert Me, InGrid will send you an email or text in the event that the system is alerted.

To buy or find more info go here.

Click 'more' for additional pics

ANOTHER PERSONAL, INTERNET BASED ALARM SYSTEM: INGRID

January 29th, 2008


Yesterday I wrote about Alert Me. Well, I guess the folks at Ingrid are ultra diligent because they contacted me today with their offering. It turns out InGrid is far more affordable (kits range from $129 - $399 and they offer discounts with a yearly contract). The monthly service fee is a bit more, though, $29/month. I don't see a Key Fob system, which made Alert Me 'creepy cool', but InGrid does offer a fully integrated cordless handset. From the handset - there's also a console - you can name each respective sensor, monitor a baby's room, make phone calls, store up to 99 contacts, arm or disarm the system and more. Much like Alert Me, InGrid will send you an email or text in the event that the system is alerted.

To buy or find more info go here.

Click 'more' for additional pics

MIT TO TEACH ANDROID SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

January 28th, 2008

Starting Spring semester 2008, Massachusetts Technical Institute will offer a class focusing on Google's open platform mobile phone software/firmware Android.  The class will utilize Google's Android SDK.

More info here.

INKLESS PRINTING HITS THE CONSUMER MARKET

January 28th, 2008


The biggest scam in home computing has to be the printing. Sure printers are cheap, but you'll fork over your kid's college fund to print the family album. Plus, it's a total pain to manage since half the ink cartridges get clogged and don't last that long. ZINK technology, , or Zero Ink technology, removes the ink and bundles it in a piece of paper. No word on cost just yet (probably not cheap, though), but Polaroids got a mobile printer using the technology. Here's how it works:

ZINK Paper™ is at the heart of ZINK™ Zero Ink™ Technology. ZINK Paper is an advanced composite material with cyan, yellow, and magenta dye crystals embedded inside and a protective polymer overcoat layer outside, enabling true ink-free prints. Before printing, the embedded dye crystals are colorless, so ZINK Paper looks like regular white photo paper. A ZINK-enabled device uses heat to activate and colorize these dye crystals.These crystals, named Amorphochromic™ crystals, represent an entirely new class of molecules, invented by ZINK Scientists through a rigorous discovery process. The properties of each dye crystal were finely tuned to achieve the color palette and image stability required for beautiful, full-color digital prints. ZINK™ scientists also invented a way to activate each of the crystals independently using heat pulses of precisely determined duration and temperature to achieve any color under the rainbow. The printing process is now radically simple.



More info here and originallly found here.

THE INTERNET ALARM SYSTEM FOR YOUR HOUSE: ALERT ME

January 28th, 2008


Alert Me sounds like a good idea, but the reality of it is that it's flawed. First let me tell you what it is before I start trampling all over the product. Alert Me is essentially a water downed alarm system for your home (aka personalized alarm system). It uses the power of the Internet, sensors and key FOBs. You simply setup the home base, connect it to the Internet, set your preferences and 'whamo', you're in business. Easiestly the coolest feature are the key FOBs. The system will detect when the FOBs are in range confirming a verified presence. If your kids don't toss the FOBs in the river on day one, then you'll also be able to see when they've arrived home safely through Alert Me's website - you can view all your alerts and status updates there as well.



Included in the package are a number of sensors that you can place through out your home to detect unsolicited entry. If someone does decided to perform a good old 'smash and grab' (my ode to "Oceans 11) Alert Me will send you a text message notifying you of the situation. Now here is where it get's flawed. Alert Me suggests that you have neighbor and/or friends receive the text messages as well. They can then go and check and see if everything is a-okay and call the police, or fire department as necessary. Personally, I wouldn't wanna be the neighbor risking my neck only to find an axe murder stealing silverware, and end up a chopped bloody mess all because my neighbor was too cheap to get an alarm system (deep breath). In the event that your broadband or power goes out (yes, it requires those) the system will utilize battery power and the old school cell phone based Internet - GPRS - (not sure if it's built-in or you have to plug in a cell phone to it) to communicate with the Alert Me servers.





According to OhGizmo, it'll cost you $790 and $23 a month.

More info here.

ANN ARBOR TO GO ALL LED STREETLIGHTS IN THE NEXT YEAR

January 28th, 2008


When most people think Michigan they definitely don't think 'wave of the future'. But, starting now (actually Nov. 2007) and rolled out over the next 2 years, Ann Arbor will replace all street lights with LED lights. The city set a precedent by testing 25 LED lights over 3 years proving a 50% cut in energy use, and in turn calculating a complete return on investment ($630k) in 3.8 years for all city street lights replaced. Best of all it will reduce CO2 emissions by 2,425 tons annually, which is equivalent to 400 vehicles off the road.

Picture above is the best example I could find.

Official announcement here and originally found here.

YOU A BIG SKYPE USER? THEN YOU NEED THIS KEYBOARD

January 27th, 2008




The Buffalo BKBU-SKJ109/SV is your standard USB keyboard (109 keys) but includes a mini phone (yes, the pic looks ridiculous) for Skype or other VoIP calls - it's apparently Skype certified. According to Gadgetell is won't be available until October and cost $65.

WALKING DESK

January 26th, 2008

The Tread Desk is apparently just one of the many walking desks on the market with built-in treadmills (ask Crave). At first glance it appears to be just a desk and a treadmill, right? Wrong. In addition to providing flooring to insure a seamless tread installation, the Tread Desk actually incorporates a 'desk elevation control' allowing its user to adjust the height from 28 to 48.  Cost's can vary and according to Tread Desk's website can run anywhere from $1,500 to $4,000 depending on setup.



More info here.

HTC TOUCH DUAL PICS

January 26th, 2008


I snagged this from the guys at Phonearena. The new HTC Touch looks pretty promising with a sexy form factor and a supposedly intuitive touch screen control (we all know how these can go). It runs Windows Mobile 6 and includes a slide out keypad with a few additional hard buttons such as instant email and Windows access.

* 4.2 x 2.2 x .6 inches
* 4.2 oz
* 5 hour talk time
* 180 hour standby time
* 65k color screen at 2.6
* Includes styles and handwriting recognition
* 2 megapixel camera
* MicroSD
* I guess you can get a 20 key QWERTY keyboard (it's optional)



Big pics on the 'more'

NOTHING SAYS 'HAPPY VALENTINE' LIKE A PINK IPOD NANO (GEN3)

January 22nd, 2008


Apple's got Valentine fever already.  Starting today you can pick up a pink iPod Nano (8GB Video/Gen3)  for $199.  As usual, graving is included.  Colorware released pink versions of 'Gen1 Nanos August 2006.

SONY UNVEILS 8 NEW DIGIS

January 23rd, 2008


Sony announced 8 new digital cameras today for all four series: S, H, T and W. The new models: S series S780 and S750, the H series H10, the T300, and four new W-series cameras: the W120, 130, 150, and 170. Prices will range from $150 to $400.

Check out the following PCMag article for complete details. Apparently this release is in anticipation of the PMA

.

RICHARD BRANSON'S HEAD DUDE SAYS COMMECIAL SPACE FLIGHT WON'T BE AS SAFE "AS THE MODERN AIRLINER"

January 23rd, 2008


Here's the full quote from Mr. Rutan, Richard Branson's head of Virgin Galactic space flight operation: "Don’t believe anyone who tells you that the safety level of new spaceships will be as safe as the modern airliner". That's probably exactly what you DON'T want to say when trying to sell the-yet-released million dollar-a-ride commercial space flight program. Nonetheless, Virgin Galactic already has over 200 "firm reservations" and $30 million in deposits. More importantly, and hence the true purpose of this article, is that Rutan revealed Virgin Galactics new space craft today (as seen above) called SpaceShipTwo. Although flights won't begin until 2009 or 2010, Branson's space planes are more then half way to completion. Space PLANES you ask? SpaceShipTwo will carry the actual passenger in space, while WhiteKnightTwo, a glorified carrier plane, will carry SpaceShipTwo high into the sky for release. Currently, Virgina Galactic is putting some of it's tentative passengers through G force testing as I recently saw on MSNBC.

GLOWING SKATEBOARDS

January 23rd, 2008


These glowing skateboards are the real deal and the 'patent pending' proves it. The company that's blazing the glowing skateboard way is Photon Light Boards. You can buy boards prefitted with LEDs in a variety of setups or rock a custom setup. Prices (without trucks and wheels) range from $95 to $200 - the more expensive and the more complex the setup. Best of all is that all the boards are rechargeable and include a sleekly mounted powerpack and plug. I checked out their video (below) and couldn't help but noticed the boards looked a little heavy with respect to the height the guys in the video were achieving during olly and ramp jumps - I'm no skateboarder so who am to say.

MACBOOK AIR REVIEW

January 24th, 2008


First and foremost, let me be honest and say the Macbook Air review isn't available just yet. But what I can promise is that PCMag will have a review here very shortly. How soon I don't know, but they've got their hands on the Macbook Air as the pictures you see here detail.

Other reviews:

WSJ MacBook Air Review

Gizmodo Macbook Air Review 

CNET Macbook Air Review



More pics of their unveiling here.