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Flexible Paper phone

halo — Mon, 09 May 2011 14:32:12 +0000

The Human Media Lab at Canada’s Queen’s University have created a fully-functioning paper computer using E-Ink smartphone. Tthe Paperphone can do things like making and receiving calls, storing e-books, and playing music. However, its unique physical properties allows it to be flexible like paper and write on with a pen says Roel Vergaal, director of the Human Media Lab.

It is 9.5-cm (3.74 inch) thick with flexible E-ink display. The sensors allow it to be recognized differently based on bending gestures while navigating menus, making phone calls, selecting music, or other common smart phone functions. It does not even use electricity when not being used. The team also created a similar device called the Snaplet that can be worn on the wristband.

Via Gizmag

InnoPocket launched HexaPose Stand for Apple iPad

Quang Ly — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:42:47 +0000

InnoPocket have launched HexaPose Stand for Apple iPad. The HexaPose Stand is made of solid aluminum and tough polycarbonate with a chic design tailor-made for the Apple iPad. It comes with a rotatable pivot which can allow you to freely rotate your iPad horizontally or vertically. The pivot can also be adjusted 3 ways for different viewing angles for surfing, reading, gaming or movie viewing. HexaPose Stand is the perfect gadget for your iPad if you use iPad at home just as your PC. It makes your iPad look like an iMac.

Features

Clip-on, sleek looking table and desktop stand for your iPad
Solid and strong aluminum base
Precision molded polycarbonate frame to hold the iPad securely
Hold iPad in both landscape and portrait orientation
Multiple viewing angles for surfing, reading or movie viewing
Cutout gives access to iPad’s dock connector for charging and syncing

MSRP: US$49.99

About InnoPocket

Founded in 1999, InnoPocket designs and manufactures a complete line of custom cases for laptop, PDA, smartphones, MP3 players and gaming devices.

GadgetMETER’s Take

This would be great for a keyboard and desktop solution as well.

Contact
InnoPocket
Website: http://www.innopocket.com

Philadelphia Apple Store Grand Opening on Walnut Street Friday, July 30

Quang Ly — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:05:48 +0000

After years of rumors, Apple will finally open an Apple Store in Philadelphia on Walnut Street! I walk by here almost every day. It’s amazing how Apple can keep its store openings and product releases so secret.

Apple will hold the grand opening celebration for Apple Store Walnut Street in Philadelphia on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 5pm ED

Address: Apple Store Walnut Street
1607 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103

The Apple Store Walnut Street is the best place to learn about all the latest products from Apple, including the new iPhone 4 featuring FaceTime, which makes the dream of video calling a reality, and Apple’s stunning new Retina display, the highest resolution display ever built into a phone. Customers can experience Apple’s entire product line hands-on including the magical new iPad that lets users browse the web, read and send email, enjoy and share photos, watch videos, listen to music, play games, read ebooks and much more. Visitors to the store can also try the updated MacBook and MacBook Pro with the NVIDIA processor for up to 80 percent faster graphics, and the incredibly popular iPod touch with access to more than 225,000 apps offered on the revolutionary App Store.

Every Apple Retail Store offers a range of free services designed to help customers get the most out of their Apple products, including face-to-face support and advice at the Genius Bar, hands-on workshops and special programs for kids. Customers who buy a Mac®at the Apple Retail Store or Apple’s Online Store can also join the popular One to One program. For just $99, owners of a new Mac get Personal Setup to customize their computer and transfer files from their old Mac or PC, plus a year of Personal Training sessions and Personal Project support on a wide range of topics, from getting started on a Mac to advancing their digital photography or moviemaking skills.

UPDATE BY JAY: Here are some more pictures I took when the family and I stopped by after dinner on Friday night. As you can see, quite the mad press!

And the requisite panoramic view!

Apple Unveils iPhone 4

Quang Ly — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 19:40:14 +0000

Apple finally unveils iPhone 4 to the masses. Steve Jobs introduced the new iPhone on Monday, complete with an all-new, thinner design, camera flash, front-facing camera called FaceTime for video calling, a second noise-canceling microphone, multitasking, HD video recording, iMovie App for iPhone, iOS software, and a gyroscope for six-axis motion sensing.

iPhone 4

Steve Jobs says the new iPhone is beyond any consumer product that’s ever been seen, only 9.3mm thick and 24 percent thinner than the iPhone 3GS, making it the “thinnest smartphone on the planet.”

Availability
The new iPhone 4 arrives on June 24, while preorders begin on June 15. It is available in the same prices and capacities as last year’s model: $199 for 16GB, and $299 for 32GB. The iPhone 3GS will be available for $99.

Internals
The new hardware also has a larger battery that offers longer uptime, including 7 hours of talk time 3G, 6 hours of 3G browsing, 10 hours of Wi-Fi browsing, 10 hours of video, 40 hours of music, and 300 hours of standby.

Dual cameras
The iPhone 4 also includes a whole-new camera system that includes LED flash with a 5 megapixel lens that records HD video. The new rear camera will record 720p video at 30 frames per second. Users can also use built-in video editing to trim their HD clips right on the phone.

The handset’s forward facing camera can be used for video chat with the application FaceTime, allowing users to see someone using another iPhone 4 as they talk to them. Videos can also be edited using the new iMovie application, which will cost $4.99 on the App Store.

Corky, the sustainable kinetic mouse

Sarah — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 13:13:25 +0000

These days every small thing I can do to eliminate waste is of interest to me. One of the few things that really get on my nerves are batteries. Rechargeable are great, but they are still toxic. And E-waste is getting to be a bigger and bigger problem. So when I saw Adele Peters’ Corky mouse I got pretty excited.

It’s one of 18 finalists in this year’s Greener Gadgets Design Competition. The mouse uses kinetic energy to power it and is also made from 100% recycled plastic components and recycled and biodegradable cork. The Corky mouse uses piezoelectricity to generate energy every time you click, use the scroll wheel, or even move it around.

Plans for the mouse include regional sourcing and assembly, product take-back and recycling, and disassembly data will be easily accessible for recycling centers. So this mouse seems all around to be a more sustainable option. And cork feels nice, doesn’t it? Much nicer than plastic any day.

Go vote for it at Greener Gadgets Design Competition!

Via Inhabitat.com

Grenade shaped USB drive

Sarah — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:40:36 +0000

After watching the series finale of Dollhouse (which made me very sad and also a firm believer that Joss Whedon should finally give the Fox Network a huge middle finger) I found this little treasure, which to me would be exactly the kind of tech that would belong in such a dystopian future.
A grenade shaped USB drive!

It’s tiny and malicious looking, and perfect for the nerdy rebel in me that fantasizes about overthrowing the current corporate paradigm that would allow such destructive tech loose on the planet in order to mind control the populace.
Wait. Sorry. Did I get carried away? Man that show was good.
But back to reality here.

Seriously though. Grenade shaped USB drives that can hold up to 8GB of your most important data. I’m sure Topher Brink would approve.

Via ThinkGeek.com

BassJump adds dimension to MacBook speakers

Sarah — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:21:01 +0000

I’ve always thought the MacBook built in speakers were pretty good, considering. But as we all know they lack oomph. Those tiny speakers just can’t produce those long waveforms we like to call bass. So as I sit here and listen to the latest Marbert Rocel through my MacBook speakers (because AirTunes is a consistent disappointment and it saddens me to sit here at look at my lovely Klipsch speakers just sitting there, silent) I remember seeing a GadgetLab post that could solve my issue.
The BassJump Subwoofer.

All it requires is access to a USB port and the installation of a preference pane and BAM! You have BASS!

So whether you are sitting around the apartment listening to the latest Massive Attack while writing macabre short stories (like me), or surfing the internet while taking a trip down memory lane with The Pharcyde’s Bizarre Ride II (also like me), you won’t be missing out on half of what makes both of those album’s great, i.e. the bass-line.

Via Wired’s GadgetLab

Cool Screenshot – Happy New Year and Resolution!

Quang Ly — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 15:41:40 +0000

Captured at 1/1 11:11

Happy New Year to everyone from the folks at GadgetMETER. GadgetMETER is now officially 1 year old and I am proud of what we’ve accomplished in that time.

One of my New Years resolution consists of simplifying my online and offline lifestyle.

Get rid of junk in my house I haven’t used in years
Eat less or no meat.
Reduced the number of RSS subscriptions.
Deactivated my Facebook account. (I’ll talk more about this later).
Discovered http://mnmlist.com and http://minimalmac.com. These are two great websites if you feel you are too distracted with todays bombardment of information.
Run a 10k
Enrolled at UPenn for Graduate School.
De clutter my MacBook desktop and menu bar

Now, if you are wondering how this screenshot is appropriate for this post. Well, I just happen to look at my iPhone at exactly 1/1 11:11pm so I quickly captured it. The background is a picture of Monica Belluci on my jail broken iPhone. Pretty cool huh? It must be a sign because I see it as a way to reset our tech lifestyle and look back at what’s really important: family, friend (true friends, not the persons you don’t know on your Facebook), health, and the environment. Today, we have way too many distractions in our life that really clouds our judgetment on what’s really important. Let’s take time to get rid of online and offline baggage and welcome the New Year!

So I propose this New Years Challenge for you.

Go take a walk.
Meet with a friend for coffee.
Enough with Twitter already. It’s really just for celebrities!
Delete contacts on Facebook you don’t ever engage with. Heck, deactivate your Facebook account like I did!
Delete LinkedIn. Who really uses this anyway?
Stop texting while having lunch or dinner with someone. Enjoy the moment.
Volunteer at a community center or shelter.
Donate to a charity: time, money, clothes, food. It can be anything.
Read a long form book.
Go camping or hiking.
Call up a friend. No texting!

Dots Gloves – A Review

Jay — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 20:00:24 +0000

In case folks around here hadn’t noticed, it’s gotten rather cold of late. And one of the difficult things about being cold is that using electronics in the cold is just a rotten experience. In tech’s never ending quest for miniaturization, designers seem to forget that there may be impediments between your tech and your hands that prevent proper usage. I speak, of course, of the glove, bane of gadgetlovers everywhere there is snow and ice and freezing rain. This problem is a lot worse with devices that use capacitative screens, such as the iPhone/iTouch. Those devices rely on the electrical resistance provided by skin to do their thing. In the case of the iPhone, you can’t even make an emergency call without touching the screen. DOTS gloves were designed to address this issue.

The company itself is a couple years old. I remember reading about them last year but by the time I’d gotten around to ordering them, they were out of stock. They also only had one model last year if I remember correctly; this year they have three. And this year, I went and ordered my pair early before winter really started so that I could be assured of having a set.

The DOTS gloves work by providing a small patch of thermally conductive fabric on two fingers plus the thumb portions of the gloves.

(Please excuse the crud on the gloves – the large animal in the background enjoys gloves for breakfast and dinner, and it’s a constant battle to ensure the gloves survive their daily use.) If you look closely, you can see the two dots on the tips of the first and second fingers of the glove. A similar dot adorns the thumb.

The conductive patch allows the gloves to pass electrical resistance from your skin to your device while keeping your hands warm and comfortable. They come in three sizes – small, medium, and large. My advice is to err on the smaller side.

I purchased the D200 model, which is their warmest one. I originally ordered the medium and then ended up switching them for the small. It’s critical to have a tight fit with these gloves, and the medium made me feel like my hands were swimming inside fabric. Even with the smalls, my hands still have plenty of room, and therein lies the problem.

The gloves themselves do OK at keeping your hands warm. They aren’t going to be a lot of use in really intense cold but then again, few mass market gloves will, so that’s not a big problem. I’d rate them at about the same level as a good pair of Isotoners. But in terms of letting you use your iPhone while gloved, I’d have to rate them as only so-so. I don’t know if other reviewers had really big hands or if there’s a smaller size I could have gotten that would have fit better but I just couldn’t get the gloves to be tight enough against my skin that the dots would consistently make contact. And without that contact, it’s like wiping a microfiber cloth against your screen – nothing happens.

I freely admit that I have delicate hands – my piano teacher called them bird hands they were so thin. But in a way, I represent a subsegment of the potential user base that DOTS is eventually going to have to figure out how to handle, namely women. I can’t imagine that women would find the size small versions to be a good fit. I know girls who have hands even smaller than mine, and there’s no way they would be able to use these gloves in the way they were intended. Even women with big hands could be challenged because in general, women tend to have thinner fingers than men. Maybe the other DOTS models provide better fit and contact, but in my daily use, I ended more often than not taking the gloves off, working my iPhone, then putting the gloves back on. I think if they could incorporate some Lycra into the gloves so that the fit were tighter and if they made the dots bigger so that they contacted more skin surface, the gloves would work better across a wider range of people.

I like the concept of these gloves, but now that conductive thread has come out, I’m tempted to get a really close fitting pair of regular gloves and sew a couple of big fat patches onto the fingertips. Better fit and bigger usable surface.

12 Things Xmas list, fin

Sarah — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 13:38:54 +0000

OK, my final post about Xmas gifts. These last two both have to do with time, and would be excellent gifts for anyone, regardless of weather they are into “being green”, like me, or not.

First, the Citizen “Eco-Drive” Solar Powered Watch.

This super stylish watch has a solar panel background that keeps the watch running for months at a time. It’s $131 with a quality name to back it up. I know they say this is a man’s watch, but it could be unisex, easy.

Via Inhabitat’s Green Gift Guide

Finally the Water Powered Clock by Green Stamp.

About $16 these clocks run off water, not batteries. So instead of tossing and buying batteries every year, just fill up the can.
I like the green one, btw.

Via Coolest Gadgets

Screenshot – Google Phone Confirmed

Quang Ly — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 01:22:18 +0000

Google Phone

The rumors of the upcoming Google Phone has been laid to rest. Here is a screenshot of the Google Phone running Android 2.1 operating system. It is a Google branded phone but built by HTC. It is expected to be available as unlocked GSM in early 2010 on both AT&T and T-Mobile. Google apparently had a lot of influence on how the phone should be designed and operate since it is essentially their brand.

This comes only a few months after Verizon’s successful launch of their iPhone competitor Droid which also runs Android but version 2.0. Seems like iPhone competitors are coming out before the release of the next generation iPhone 4G which will be a bloodbath.

Via TechCrunch

Video – SixthSense Technology Is The Real iPhone Killer

Quang Ly — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:58:47 +0000

Sithsense Paper Laptop

I have been following Pranav Mistry’s SixthSense technology since his debut at TED conference in which he had a standing ovation. SixthSense allows for an ultra portable and interactive augmented reality based on genstures. It enables interactions between the real world and digital information.

His latest invention which he displayed at TED will kill any iTablet rumor from Apple or likes. Better yet, it is the introduction of the paper “laptop”. It works by attaching a microphone on the paper to sense the touch. Check out the whole video.

Via Engadget

LED Eyelashes by Soomi Park

Sarah — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:15:57 +0000

I recently came across Soomi Park’s LED Eyelashes on Gizmodo.

Without knowing anything about Ms. Park’s design philosophy it would be easy to dismiss these as just some weird Asian quirky accessory that a niche subculture would wear when going clubbing (think Japanese Ganguro). As several bloggers and commenters have stated, wearing these would be like a special form of torture for the fairer sex. And they would be. Which isn’t to say I wouldn’t find a way to design them into one of my own costumes. I could think of at least 2 events a year I could wear these to. As noted on Gizmodo, they are strangely hypnotic.

But then I read this on her website: “Her artwork utilizes the increasing banalization of plastic surgery in many countries around the world, including in Korea.”

I then remembered that the number one form of plastic surgery in Japan and Korea is the kind that makes the eye more round. And these LED Eyelashes very obviously change the shape of the eye, at least to the observer.
So it’s not about fashion. It’s art making a statement. So right on Soomi Park!

Here is a video for your viewing pleasure (note: no need to watch the entire video, it’s awfully long… you’ll get it after the first 30 seconds).

Via Gizmodo

The Nook. No, it’s not new slang for something.

Jay — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:58:13 +0000

Get your minds out that gutter.

Just as I write up a post lamenting the poor state of tech, a zinger comes from left field. Barnes and Noble, of all companies, announces the Nook, their competitor to the Kindle.

(image courtesy Gizmodo). I’ve long been fascinated by the Kindle (lusted after one, actually) but could never justify the expense. Now that the price has dropped, I was going to start hinting that a Kindle would make daddy very happy around the holidays. But looking over the Nook, I’m thinking that maybe I want one of these instead.

The great thing about the Nook (man I love saying that name) is that it one-ups the Kindle in many ways. First, it uses AT&T’s network rather than Sprint’s. That could be a good or a bad, depending on your coverage, but I’ve got no complaints about AT&T coverage in Philly so it’s a net plus. Second, it has two screens (and we all know two is better than one right?). The smaller screen allows for full color browsing of book covers cause, as we all know to our secret shame, we DO judge books by their covers. Heck, my kids are baldfaced honest about it. If I offer them a book with a dull jacket, they won’t read it until I bludgeon them repeatedly. And that’s bad for their future development.

The device also has WiFi, which is important because you can get free WiFi access at any B&N you bring this little honey into. You can customize it to display pictures and it has an MP3 player. A built-in mono speaker allows you to listen to podcasts and audiobooks you download over the ether. Very cool.

Most importantly, you can SHARE YOUR BOOKS. An ebook can be lent for up to 14 days at a time to (intriguingly) other electronic devices, not just other Nooks. B&N already has an iPhone app – it should be possible to let your Apple fanboys borrow the newest book slamming/worshipping Steve Jobs. It also opens up the intriguing possibility that online lending libraries could start up where you pay an annual membership for access to a vast library of e-books. I would totally be up for that since I don’t tend to re-read a lot of books.

Dayum, B&N – good on ya for a home run on your first at-bat. If they don’t mis-manage the pricing of ebooks, they may have a Kindle-killer here.

UPDATE: I can’t find it again but I could have sworn that I saw something about the Nook being able to read any e-book via WiFi when you’re in a B&N. If this means what I hope it means, it completely justifies the in-store experience of a B&N vs. the cloud and really shows that they are thinking about how to leverage their physical footprint. It makes total sense – if I can walk into a B&N and read any book I find on the shelf for as long as I’m there, then why can’t I do the same with my Nook e-book reader? It’s a competitive advantage that Amazon can’t duplicate. I really hope this is true.

UPDATE 2: Haha! I was right. Core77 confirms the ability to browse e-books while you’re in a B&N. Brilliant!

Electronic smoking device

Sarah — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 12:15:05 +0000

I’ve been on hiatus from GadgetMETER the last few weeks. I was working for the Fantastic Fest Film Festival here in Austin. It was pretty fantastic. Nothing like watching a bunch of film makers, critics and bloggers smoke themselves into oblivion between screenings and then watch the homeless dude walk by and scrounge for butts after they have all gone back inside. That was the less glamorous side. But I think I have found a solution that is both nerdy gadget cool and combustion free!

The E-cigarette!

The E-cigarette is a tube that includes electronic components and a heating element that essentially vaporizes liquid nicotine (and yes, the liquid does come in multiple flavors).

Now, I’m not a smoker (I used to be, ages ago), but I have a lot of friends that are and boy do they love to whine about the smoking ban. Well, E-cigarettes have no second hand smoke. They have no smoke at all. Wouldn’t this be a great way to get your fix without having to wander outside to the grubby smoking section of the local bar? And there is plenty of anecdotal evidence that suggests E-cigarettes can be used to aid in quitting smoking by slowly stepping down your nicotine intake. No official studies on this have yet been done which is why the FDA has not approved these devices for this specified purpose.

There is plenty of controversy around this little item. But with the issue of second hand smoke non-existent, and the fact that it eliminates cigarette butts, I really fail to see what the big deal is about.
It makes smoking less intrusive to others, eliminates cigarette butts, and can help people quit smoking. Sounds pretty good to me.
And there is a whole new market for designer E-cigarette tubes. I think I know what online business I’ll be starting up.

Via popsci.com

PowerCurl – Cord Management for Apple MagSafe Adapters

ethan — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 06:35:19 +0000

I am not a MacBook owner so I don’t pretend to know how much of a nuisance transporting the cords and adapters are. However, I can tell you that transporting the adapter for my Vaio notebook is quite an affair. Between rigging up the cords to stay put around the adapter and then untangling the mess that unwinded in my bag, it becomes quite a process. I don’t want to draw any conclusions too quickly, but I can’t imagine the process is too much different for those who wield a Mac.

In just 24 hours, the community over at Quirky.com has developed a solution to the cord management for Mac adapters in both the 60W and 85W varieties – called the PowerCurl.

The PowerCurl fits around the adapter box and includes a clip to keep the cord tight and manageable. The supersweet design of the PowerCurl also keeps the adapter elevated to keep the unit from overheating. Orange, sexy, and practical, and only $9.99 the PowerCurl is affordable as well.

Get Your Pre-Order of Mac OS X Snow Leopard Right Now

Quang Ly — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:04:06 +0000

Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard is now available for pre-order. It will be shiipping this Friday August 28, 2009. One of the biggest advantages is that it frees up 7 Gigs for disk space and performs faster. The reason being is that Apple decided to toss out support for PowerPC chips and go solely on Intel (Universal Binary).

Mac OS X Snow Leopard

The price is only $29 for an upgrade? Much more reasonable than the headaches and price you get from Microsoft Upgrades.

Mac OS X version 10.6 Snow Leopard

Spy Camera Finder

Quang Ly — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 14:02:39 +0000

Remember how high-tech hidden cameras were in action movies? These rogue tools are now accessible to almost everyone. Miniature cellphones come with video recording capabilities like the iPhone 3GS. The iPhone 3G can also record video after it has been jailbroken with the Cycorder or Video Recorder app from the Cydia store. These devices are small enough to be hidden almost everywhere. ESPN Reporter Erin Andrews was recently a victim of a spy camera.

KJB Security SF-103 Spy Finder Personal [Misc.]

The Spy Camera Finder will help you find hidden spy cameras in your hotel, locker room, or next vacation. Just look through the view finder and scan your room to detect the location of hidden cameras (even if they are off). It works by using “optical” augmentation” to locate video cameras.

For $87, it is reasonable and affordable way to protect your privacy. It is also small and lightweight enough to be portable.

Via Gadget Grid

Review – AutoStitch Panorama Generator

Jay — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:00:39 +0000

I recently returned from a family vacation in Puerto Rico. Aside from having a great time and seeing some great sights, I was able to play around with an iPhone app I’d installed some time ago. I say “play around” but really the app became a core part of my vacation photography. AutoStitch is one of the most impressive photography apps I’ve seen on any platform, iPhone or otherwise.

You may remember my review of an app called Pano. AutoStitch one-ups Pano by removing the need to manually align subsequent photos to create the panorama. Before I go into detail, let me show you a couple of the pics it created. (All panoramas have been reduced to 60% of their original size to help them fit better on most screens. Click on the images to see them in their full glory.)

The image quality is not bad at all, considering I took these using the iPhone 3G’s junky camera. This app actually made me want to upgrade to the higher resolution/quality of the iPhone3GS, because I think the same pictures would have turned out even better.

If you recall, Pano used its own interface to the iPhone’s camera to do its thing. You took a series of pictures that overlapped guidelines that Pano provided. While I originally really liked Pano, I found it really difficult to use in real life because it’s tough to get the overlap Pano needs to make its panorama. I also found that Pano was slow to snap and save successive images, making picture taking a pain. AutoStitch solves both those problems.

When you launch AutoStitch, you are greeted with a very simple screen.

You have your list of photo folders plus the iPhone default Camera Roll. I wound up using mostly my Camera Roll as my source (I’ll explain why later). When you select a folder, you get a thumbnail view of all the pictures in the folder.

You just tap on two or more pictures to begin the process. Each picture you tap on gets added to the “Photos to Stitch” area.

You can remove pictures from the stitching area by just tapping it. Once you’ve selected your set of pictures, you tap the Stitch button to start the process. To show you the output, here’s the three pictures I’m stitching together:

You can get a sense of how those three pictures might overlap to create a single image, no? Well so can AutoStitch, because here’s the output of its manipulation of the above three images.

(Click on the image to see it in full size). Pretty impressive, no?

AutoStitch doesn’t use the iPhone’s camera directly. Instead, you snap pictures using the Camera app and then just select them in AutoStitch to generate the panorama. This makes picturetaking blazingly fast. The iPhone’s camera app is pretty quick to take and save pictures, so you can snap off a series of images to stitch together in no time. (This is why I say you’ll probably use the Camera Roll most of the time – you just snap pictures into the Roll and then select them for stitching. I recommend you do this quickly after taking the sequence – it becomes difficult to remember which images went with what panorama if you let too much time pass.)

Another benefit of AutoStitch is that you’re not limited to just six images like Pano. Instead, you can use as few as two or as many as 20 to create the final frame. AutoStitch recommends that you let each picture overlap by at least 30% to ensure the best results, but I didn’t really pay much attention to that after my first few stitches. I just kind of did a fast pan-and-snap and trusted in the app to do its thing.

Once AutoStitch creates the panorama, you can crop the image to remove top/bottom fragments that result from AutoStitch doing the overlapping necessary to generate the image. The crop area suggested by AutoStitch can be overridden by you but I found that I didn’t really need to do that – the app did a great job of finding the maximum size photo that could be extracted from the stitched images.

As my final showoff of the app, take a look at this gallery of thumbnails:

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

And here’s the final output:

I’m totally impressed by AutoStitch and highly recommend it to anyone who wants to create panoramic images from iPhone snapshots.

Leaked Photos of Google Chrome OS

Quang Ly — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 19:52:45 +0000

These appear to be the leaked photos of the upcoming Google Chrome OS during a demo of the alpha version. A Google representative supposedly demonstrated the private beta build of the OS on an Acer laptop. The photos below were taken during the reps distraction.

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

Highlights of the demonstration break down as follows:

The install on Acer Extensa 4620Z laptop took about 10 minutes and 1 minute to restart. Better than Windows XP or Vista installs
Reboots in about 25 seconds.
Fast performance in its stripped down beta form. We suspect performance will still increase as they tweak the OS
The blue orb functions essentially as the Start menu.
Navigating the file system can be done in “exploration” (like Windows explorer) or “browser” (search based) modes
The Chrome Bar can also host a search ba.
Future Chrome OS netbooks will feature an iconified Chrome key on the keyboard similar to the Windows flag key

Via Engadget

NetFlix Streaming iPhone App Rumor

Quang Ly — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 14:41:20 +0000

NetFlix Streaming iPhone App

Let’s talk about an amazing brand called Netflix. It has been able to stay relevant being a completely online movie delivery service even while Blockbuster has the straddle strategy (online and brick and morter). We think that Netflix’s success has a lot to do with the abundant LongTail collection of niche films as well as popular ones. In addition, they were really the first company to deliver movies through the mail and online.

A search for Blockbuster’s iPhone app yielded no results on the iTunes App Store at the moment.

There is now a rumor that Netflix Watch Instantly streaming service would be available on Apple’s App Store as well as available on the Nintendo Wii.

This is something I’m sure a lot of Netflix subscribers would love to have. The biggest question is if AT&T would allow such bandwidth utilization of streaming video on their 3G network. Afterall, they seem to have an unofficial hand in dictacting Apple approval of iPhone apps that competes with their core business like Google Voice. Ironically though, AT&T and Apple do allow the MLB At Bat app to stream video over the network. Let’s not forget the iPhone also comes with a YouTube player that can stream both on 3G and Wi-Fi. According to AT&T, it doesn’t want all this video streaming to further clog its pipes, which could be the reason why the rumored Hulu app is not released yet.

The next question would be if Apple themselves would allow such a service to compete with its movie downloads. Then again, Apple does offer radio streaming apps like Last.FM and Pandora which theoretically competes with its iTunes Music Downloads. Apple’s app approval still seems unpredictable despite its disclosure.

Via TechCrunch

Seth Godin On Social Networking

Quang Ly — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 23:19:03 +0000

Accordin to Seth Godin, networking is always important when it’s real and a useless distraction when it’s fake. We all know the Facebook or MySpace guy or girl with over a thousand friends. A “friend” on social networks like Facebook or MySpace requires commitment by the recipient to accept. This has been played out so much that it really doesn’t mean anything if there is no continuing engagement between the two parties. Twitter is slightly different in that it has “followers”. You can follow a person’s update status without commitment from the other to follow you. Facebook, similarly, now has Pages with fans which work the same. You can become a fan of a Facebook celebrity, artist, or business page without the page having to follow you.

Via Brand Infection

Watch Phones are coming!

Sarah — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:00:35 +0000

In the UK there once was a mobile carrier called Orange. They partnered up with an innovative electronics company called LG (maybe you’ve heard of them). Together they are about to release some crazy tech in the UK next month.
Check it:

LG GD910

It’s the LG GD910 Watch Phone. The gadget blogs are all aflutter with this news. Some dissing it by calling it “cool but impractical”, but most embracing it despite the rumored cost of near £1000 (about $1600 US). This is definitely an awesome gadget and the inner nerd in all of us techies seriously desires it, mostly because it’s cool and futuristic giving us an actual excuse to act like super spies or intergalactic heroes (as if we needed another reason).
But just the fact that they are getting there with this technology is exciting to me.

Here is a quick overview of the features done by T3.com at the CES2009:

Another less well known company has come out with their own watch phone. It is also pretty cool with a nice touch screen AND a keypad on the side (though some people might think this detracts from it’s aesthetics a bit).
The company is called Phenom, and the model pictured is called “Special Ops”.

I like the more industrial design of this watch phone. And I like the price a whole lot more (between $200 and $300).
Both watch phones include bluetooth, touch screen, video conferencing and MP3 capabilities, and a micro SD slot. The LG also offers “high speed browsing” while that is not on the included list of features for the Phenom.
I can’t wait to start seeing people with these things on, but so far it looks like this Phenomenon will be limited to the UK, for the time being.

Via BoyGeniusReport

Elecom SoundBlock iPod speakers

Sarah — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:00:34 +0000

It looks like those kawaii-loving, tech savants over in Japan have developed yet another cute iPod accessory. To me they look a bit like LEGOs, especially in the product photo all laid out together in all their multi-colored glory. One to match every color of the iPod nano, apparently.

If I were to guess I would say the speaker quality and output volume would be somewhere in the vicinity of an iMac internal speaker, which is fine if you want to quietly listen to your music at your office, not interrupting the worker in the neighboring cubicle (or the neighboring apartment if you happen to live just about anywhere in Japan, which, incidentally is the only place you can currently buy this product).

It’s cute to be sure and is compatible with just about all the iPod models (iPod 5G, iPod Touch, iPod classic and iPod Nano). And I’m sure has it’s uses and a market, somewhere.

Though for $40 it seems a little puny, even though it does appear to have both left and right channels (wow, tiny stereo!).
I wonder what the drain on the iPod batter is like?

Geek Stuff 4 U is taking pre-orders from people living outside Japan.
¥4000 is approximately $42 American.

128 GB capacity USB flash drive!

Sarah — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 09:00:05 +0000

Lately I’ve been shopping around for a USB flash drive. I’ve not had much of a need for one before, but seems like I do now. And I came across this…

That’s right. 128 GB USB flash drive. This one is by Kingston. But I found another made by DiskGo (though it doesn’t look quite as cool). I hadn’t thought I would need such a high capacity USB drive, but now that I know it exists (it was just a matter of time really), well now I really REALLY NEED one. Though at $546.00 for the Kingston and $389.95 for the DiskGo I might need to rethink the need part a little.
They both have the ability to password protect, though sadly only on Windows (for now, hopefully).
But ultimately I like the Kingston better for the simple fact that it has a sliding USB connector. Great idea:-)
They come in 64GB and 32GB versions as well for significantly cheaper. I’ll probably have to go with one of those until I strike it rich with my brilliant screenplay. Heh.

Via OhGizmo!

Finger Drums

Quang Ly — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:59:05 +0000

Finger Drums

Turn your drumming dreams into a reality with this touch sensitive Finger Drum Kit. Complete with a bass drum kick and cymbal, this desktop drum kit has both a record and a freestyle function.

The perfect gift for any drummer, talented or otherwise, the Finger Drum Kit is a must-have.

Not only does it provide a great way to exercise your fingers, you can turn yourself into a superstar drummer without leaving your desk. You could even play games with your work buds, friends and family by asking them to name the tune. Prepare to be swooned over by adoring fans, followed by groupies, and emails to flood in from world class booking agents… OK, a guy can dream, can’t he?

I just love playing the drums. Unfortunately, it is probably the least portable instrument out there. What if we can just miniaturize the drum set. Well, my wish has come true. the Finger Drum Kit lets you rock out with the touch of your fingers. It comes complete with a bass drum kick, cymbal, and toms. You can also record your finger beats and also features a freestyle function.

The Finger Drums also give your fingers excercise burning tons of calories (ok, maybe not that much). Become a rockstar at your office. Too bad it doesn’t come with Finger Groupies. Hmmm…

Via http://www.bluw.com/finger-drums.html

MP3 Touchscreen Mirror

Sarah — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:30:29 +0000

It seems like each day we are moving close and closer to the imaginary future world envisioned by the likes of Philip K Dick, William Gibson, and to a degree, Steven Speildberg. This MP3 mirror by Stocco, which is actually in production and not just a concept, is just one more step in the journey. Pretty soon people’s homes are going to resemble Chief John Anderton’s from Minority Report.

Stocco Maitre MP3 Touchscreen Mirror

And that is just fine by me. This mirror integrates touch screen controls for your iPod (or other MP3 player) as well as a radio, clock and barometer (presumably for checking the weather in order to determine which hairstyle will work best in the current humidity).

No word on price yet. And it doesn’t say whether there are built in speakers or if you have to connect to separate speakers through the iPod headphone jack. Hopefully not the latter (see previous post about my aversion to cables).

via Wired GadgetLab

Gunnar Optiks lenses enhance your screen experience

Jay — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 10:15:02 +0000

Do you spend your entire day staring at a computer monitor, barely blinking, captivated by the latest porn….errr Excel spreadsheet? If you’re a typical gadgethound, you probably spend the better part of 8 hours a day eyelocked onto your screen. (I of course, am lounging about watching my supermodel friends playing in my pool.) Well that sort of staring can cause serious eyestrain. Enter Gunnar with their Optik line of Digital Performance Eyewear.

Gunnar makes a line of stylish non-prescription glasses designed to enhance your computer viewing experience. Gunnar calls their technology i-AMP and it consists of a series of innovations that are designed to help you see the screen better. The lenses geometry mimics nature by focusing light and increases humidity through tight curvature around the eye. The lens material is ultralight and designed to be flexible and durable. The lenses are coated with a special anti-reflective filter that cuts glare and reduces smudging and fingerprints. And the tint is intended to tune the artificial light of most office environments to soften them and remove many of the higher frequency non-natural spectrum.

Sounds complicated, but reviews and independent studies have confirmed that the Optiks do indeed help enhance your ability to stare at the computer all day and all night. Looking like Bono is just a side bonus.

Picture Projection Spectacles

Sarah — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 08:30:31 +0000

This is just about the coolest news I’ve heard since they transported that atom a fews years ago!

Engineers at Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems (IMPS) have designed a pair of glasses with an embedded head-up display and eye tracking technology. The images, projected by a 19x17mm CMOS chip embedded just behind the hinge, are directly projected onto the retina and appear as though they are about 1m from the user.

What makes this different from previous attempts at HUD spectacles is it’s interactive abilities.
The eye tracking allows the wearer to change the projected content by moving their eyes and focusing on a specific point. So no hands needed! Which will be super convenient for a number of folks I’m sure.

To deal with ambient lighting issues they have designed the glasses to use OLEDs (organic light emitting diodes), which ensure the display can be seen clearly against changing backgrounds.

Primarily this tech is targeted at the medical and engineering fields. However, once they’ve had their turn I personally can’t wait to try them on, especially if they are really as stylish as the picture makes them out to be. I’ll be navigating the virtual world like one of William Gibson’s cyber-punk miscreants in no time.

See the Fraunhofer website for more info.

The SlingBack – Wire. Less.

ethan — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 22:44:30 +0000

To show you how truly cutting edge GadgetMETER is in reporting on the newest gadgets of all shapes, sizes, and purposes we have decided to feature a product that is not even in production yet. Enter the SlingBack.

The SlingBack is the latest and greatest in cable and wire management. The SlingBack is a universal wire retractor geared toward making your cords and cables easier to manage in a stylish and fun way. Wire retractors are no new product, however they all come with wires pre-encased and only exist for one specific purpose. The SlingBack is out to change all of that. The Slingback comes without a cord preloaded in the device. It is up to the user to choose which cable or cord to manage and shorten.

To use the SlingBack, simply pry open the casing (don’t worry about breaking it, it is held together by magnets) and place a cord in. Put the casing back together, and give one side of the cord a pull to let it retract and coil inside of the SlingBack. The SlingBack comes with rubber pads on the bottom so that it does not slip and slide all over the place, and also contains stackability features with the inter-locking flower design. The SlingBack is not yet for sale in stores. When it is released to stores it will cost $15. However, if you are a smart shopper you will order one at the SlingBack presale for only $9.99!

Converter takes your old pics and makes them digital

Jay — Fri, 29 May 2009 20:00:02 +0000

If you have lots and lots of pictures from the pre-digital age, then you know what a pain it is to try to get them organized. I have boxes and boxes of pics of my supermodel girlfriends from back in the day when supermodels were just getting started. I’ve been wanting to scan them in for blackmail…err…I mean archival purposes. But using a conventional scanner is a royal pain. Well from those random gadgeteers at Hammacher Schlemmer comes this nifty gadget.

Rather than scanning the picture, the Photograph to Digital Picture Converter (nifty name I know) actually just takes a 5MP picture of your picture. The snapshot can be as high as 1800dpi in resolution and up to 10bit color. The digital files transfer over to your XP/Vista PC via USB, where you can tag and label and file them as neat as you please. Tres cool, tres simple. Now where did I put those pictures of Cindy before she became famous….??

Flipping for the Flip

Sarah — Fri, 29 May 2009 08:30:59 +0000

I was roaming downtown Austin during the annual Pecan Street Fair a few weeks ago to go see a DJ friend of mine and the band he was performing with. Said DJ gave my boyfriend a tiny gadget and asked him to film the set so he could post it up on his website. It was the size of a cell phone and captured video in HD. I was instantly in love. It was the Flip MinoHD.

I currently use the Panasonic HDC-HS9. It’s got a 60 GB built in hard drive, a 3CCD sensor and the video is full 1920×1080 resolution. But even at it’s soda can size it’s cumbersome to carry around all the time. I only take it out when I know I’m going to use it. I wouldn’t just carry it around with me on the off chance that I might see something film worthy. Especially not on my bike (one crash and that’s a thousand bucks I won’t be getting back). The Flip MinoHD, however, is so tiny I could keep it on me at all times. It’s got 4GB of memory for about an hour’s worth of footage and it takes totally acceptable video, in HD, that is perfect for web broadcasts. And it’s already in H.264 format!
It seems a bit like a waste to use my Panasonic for stuff I’m just putting up online anyway. That should be reserved for something a little more serious.
The Flip MinoHD is $229.99 and comes in two colors, silver and black. They have a non HD version and a few other models as well to suit your needs and budget. And both versions of the Mino are “designable”.
Check it out: The Flip

Travel Honey GPS detector finds your parked car

Jay — Wed, 27 May 2009 18:00:57 +0000

While I am elephantine in many ways, memory is not one of them. I am constantly wracking my brain when it comes to remembering where I’ve placed my keys or my wallet or my girlfriend. And finding my ride in a megamall parking lot is a royal pain. Until now.

Travel Honey GPS detector

This handy dandy little gadget is a multifunction GPS tagger and location finder. Can’t remember where you parked your car? Well just remember to hold down its little locator button before you leave your car. A two-second press will lock the current GPS coordinates into its little brain. Then when you’ve loaded yourself down with consumerism goodies, use the direction finder to navigate yourself back to the set coordinates (and your car).

But that’s not all. It is connectable (and rechargable) via a micr0-USB port. When connected, the dongle acts as a GPS unit for your PC, meaning you can use software like Streets and Trips to navigate yourself to your next megamall destination. It is constantly recording your GPS coordinates so you can plot all that data using Google Maps or Google Earth. It even provides software to allow you to attach pictures to GPS points.

Travel Honey GPS detector

All that for only $54. A bargain.

First Store 4 U GPS Receiver + Location Finder + Data Logger + Photo Tagger

Via Chinavasion via Geekalerts via DVICE.

Safest table saw EVER!

Sarah — Tue, 26 May 2009 14:30:19 +0000

I’m no master carpenter (or carpenter at all really), but I have two friends that are. I suspect they like the fact that their hands are intact. Also, I saw Sicko. You remember that guy with two fingers that were sawed off and he could only afford to reattach one of them?
Well, if you like to build things (or just saw wood apart very rapidly) then you should check this out.

This table saw (which comes in industrial, professional and contractor versions) has the ability to detect when the blade comes in contact with flesh and then shut off the blade within milliseconds leaving a slightly bloody finger, but an intact one. The blade carries a small electrical charge that is constantly monitored. When skin contacts the blade the signal changes and the brake is engaged immediately (within milliseconds!).
Check out the hot dog demo:

Granted, you’ll be dropping upwards of $1500 (the industrial version is over $3000). But reattaching a finger is about $12,000 without insurance. And it hurts. A lot!
via SawStop.com

The Transformers Ravage USB Drive

Quang Ly — Sat, 23 May 2009 13:24:06 +0000

Soundwave was probably my favorite Transformer. First, he has the coolest voice electronically processed. Secondly, he transforms into the ultra cool walkman. Thirdly, he had a bunch of minions that transforms into cassette form which he can store in his chest. One of them is Ravage which transforms into the black cat.

Transformers Ravage USB Drive

Now, instead of transforming into a cassette, Ravage transforms into a USB drive which is more suitable in today’s time. Who owns a walkman or cassette anymore? It can hold up to 2Gig of storage and compatible with both Windows and Mac OS operating systems.

It will not ship until September though. Long after the sequel Transformers: The Revenge of the Fallen appears in theaters. Ravage is slated to be in it along with his master Soundwave and from the trailer clips, he looks pretty bad ass and of course more than meets the eye!

You can get it here

Sony Ericsson w350

ethan — Fri, 22 May 2009 23:47:10 +0000

As mobile phones evolve the lines between electronic devices become thinner. With Apple’s iPhone blurring the lines between PDA, cell phone, music player, and internet browser, many other companies have felt the pressure to follow suit. Mp3 capable phones are nothing intrinsically new (think LG Chocolate) but Sony Ericsson has recently re-entered the scene by releasing their w350 as a mashup between mobile phone and Walkman media player.

The most notable thing about the new Sony cell piece is not its integrated phone and media capabilites. Rather, the most notable things about Sony Ericsson’s w350 is the design. It seems that in an effort to combine capabilites and gadgets, the have opted to add in the retro flip element. The flip mouthpiece is something that has not been seen on cell phones since the late 90′s and perhaps first year after 2000. The only functionality the flip piece provides are the controls for the Walkman feature – which could have, and should have, been easily integrated into the keypad of the device. The retro flip piece is an unbecoming feature to the phone, and makes it appear to be rather “cheap”. It is a shame too, becuase Sony Ericsson did have a pretty good thing going…

via Tech Reviews and Social Media News | Techsplosive.com

Fix Your Posture, Batteries Not Required

Sarah — Fri, 22 May 2009 13:30:51 +0000

I have terrible computer posture. I start out okay but within minutes my shoulders are hunched and my neck is craned forward. After several minutes I’ll notice and self correct but by the end of the day a visit to the chiropractor is in order. If only I had something that would remind me sooner. A device of some kind that could monitor my posture and warn me immediately when I start to slack.
Fortunately for me there is just such a device. Introducing the Visomate:

The name has a little something to be desired but as noted over at Boing Boing the device looks eerily similar to those little dudes from Batteries Not Included (that movie with Jessica Tandy that I LOVED when I was 8 years old). And it’s USB powered (so literally, batteries not included because none are required), so I’ll overlook the name this time.

For only $21.69 on Uxsight.com it’s well worth it. You can make that up by NOT needing to visit the chiropractor twice a month like I was doing back in the day when I had that soul sucking tech support job.

Here’s the full description:
• Posture Alert Reminder is your smart companion that reminds you with flashing LEDs and chimes once you are closer than
the recommended visual distance ( 35cm-60cm ) from the monitor. (That’s between 13 and 26 inches for us metrically
challenged folks).
• Interactive distance detcecting with program.
• The Vision Posture Reminder works with ultrasonic sensor.
• Flashing LED signal of the Vision Posture Corrector indicates correct distance away from monitor.
• CHIME ON/OFF selection for personal setting.
• Blue lights means your head is positioned within a moderate visual range. Red light flashes when your head is closer than
35cm from monitor and it means too close.
• Easy to use: Just place it on your monitor, plug it to the USB port. No battery and no maintenance needed.
• This USB Vision Posture Corrector is powered by USB port, no battery needed.
• Size: 6 cm long( at the longest ), 5.5cm wide( at the widest ), 1.5cm thick ( at the thickest ).Approx.
• Length of the USB cable: 149cm long.
• Color: White and Black.
• Weight:120g.

via Boing Boing
Product page: Uxsight.com

Induction charging for the Wii

Jay — Fri, 22 May 2009 02:17:34 +0000

My poor Wii. It hardly gets used anymore. Now that my son has solved Zelda (rescuing that damn princess again – sheesh, you’d think she’d learn to stay out of trouble!), beaten all the Super Smash Brothers, ripped up Mario Paper (another annoying princess who can’t stay out of trouble), and saved everyone in Super Mario Galaxy (ditto), he’s pretty much done with the unit. I’m sore tempted to sell it but I know there’s gonna be another Zelda coming out for it that he’s gonna want to play. So basically, charging those Wiimotes isn’t really a problem right now. But for when that system finally sees some action, I am planning to get him this.

This is the Wiimote Induction Charging System, by Energizer. It’s designed to recharge your Wii’s controllers via invisble energy fields. That means you can leave the grip surfaces (or whatever silicone junk you put on your Wiimotes to protect them from your grubby sweaty hands) and just leave them on. The induction field charges the controllers right through the plastic. This is the wave of the future, my friends. The Palm Pre is using similar tech via an optional charging dock. Oh god, the iPhone is behind! Why isn’t Jobs all over his design team about this failure!?!?!?!

via Gizmodo via IGN

Spy Ear. For when you really just need to know.

Jay — Thu, 21 May 2009 02:09:26 +0000

Anyone who knows me knows I trust no one. NO ONE! Including my girlfriends. All five of ‘em. So I gotta keep track of them, ya know? And this little baby allows me to do that with my handy dandy iPhone.

This is the handy dandy Spy Ear, available via Brando. Basically, this is a microphone attached to a SIM card. You dial its unique number and the microphone activates and transmits any sounds it picks up. This is how I found out girlfriend #3 was sleeping with girlfriend #5, which made for one happy blogger a couple weekends ago. But enough about my fantastic personal life. This little baby can come in all kinds of handy. It’s rechargable and works over GSM networks, meaning it’s portable worldwide.

via Boing Boing Gadgets

Liquid Image Undwater Digital Camera Mask 5.0MP

Quang Ly — Sat, 16 May 2009 23:25:48 +0000

Scubadiving and snorkeling are wonderful recreational sports. You get to see another world full of plants and animals you don’t normally find on land. Before, it was only for the rich that could afford to take pictures underwanter. Now you can take pictures underwater for less than $100.

Liquid Underwater Digital Camera Mask 5.0MB

But wait, this is not an ordinary underwater camera. The camera is built within the mask leaving your hands free to swim, touch, and grab life forms underwater.

Soon, you can take pictures with Aquaman and show your friends who didn’t believe you before.

Liquid Image Undwater Digital Camera Mask 5.0MP

MiFi is WiFi with 3G from Verizon

Quang Ly — Fri, 15 May 2009 12:54:47 +0000

If you are like me and always need to be mobile and online, the Mi-Fi is for you. I don’t know why universal mobile wireless Internet is taking so long.

MiFi 2200 portable EV-DO router

Now you are not limited by Hot Spots or just local coffee shops. You can take it with you while driving your car. Although we don’t recommend you using your laptop surfing while driving in traffic. You don’t want to be that guy.

The MiFi 2200 is from Verizon Wireless and supports 802.11b/g and EV-DO Rev standards. The router supports up to five various WiFi devices at the same time. The battery life has a standby time of 40 hours and up to four hours of continuous use.

Your data plans includes $40 monthly subscription for 250 MB and 10 cents per MB overages. Does anyone really track their network usage? A more reasonable deal is the $60 for 5GB and 5 cents for 1MB overages. The DayPass which does not limit your data goes for $15 and lasts up to 24 hours.

MiFI 2200 will be available May 17th and will run $100 after a $50 rebate.

I think I will be waiting for Mi Cheap Fi.

Star Trek inspired communication device?

Sarah — Thu, 14 May 2009 20:06:00 +0000

After seeing the latest Star Trek film (and loving it, I might add) I thought I’d post about a few Star Trek inspired items. First is the iTRAVL handheld language translator. It’s like your own personal pocket-sized Uhura (though admittedly not quite as sexy as Zoe Saldana (not by a long shot).

Learning languages is difficult. And it’s not just the memorization or recall that makes it so. Language is so entangled within culture that often it is difficult to distinguish the two. This was my experience in Japan and SE Asia. It would have been nice to have had a portable translation device for the various languages I encountered making it easier to say what I really wanted to say instead of stumbling through the few phrases I manages to memorize without really understanding their meaning. Attempting to understand another’s language and speak it in turn, even if it is just a few phrases here and there, can help you go far in building relationships or just make it easier for you to get around.
The iTRAVL includes voice recognition for instant translation of words and phrases as well as a personal language tutor.
With over 30 languages to choose from you can customize an SD card with the language combination of your choice.
And that is just the start of all the bells and whistles this item’s designers thought to include to make the traveler’s life just a little bit easier.

Specifications:
• Extensive bilingual translating dictionary with voice synthesis
• Audio Travel PhraseBook recognizes and speaks 14,000 travel-related phrases
• iHELP pronounces Emergency or frequently used phrases instantly
• CIA World Factbook for 180 countries around the world: Maps, Flags, Country Profiles, People, Geography, History,
Economy, Essential Statistics, International Organizations and Groups and more
• Consistent Full-text Machine Translation
• 70,000 WordNet English explanatory dictionary
• Windows CE powered for advanced functionality and responsiveness
• Hi-resolution touch-screen and hands-free speech navigation functionality
• Mp3 player, games, calculator, metric converter, and word time clock utilities
Check out the website here: iTRAVL Translation device
With the base model starting at $319.95 you’ll be spending about the same amount trying to learn as much of the language as you can in advance of your trip using The Rosetta Stone software, and you can’t take that with you in your backpack everywhere you go! So I’d say the price is just about right. However, each language you want will add another $59.95 to your total so watch out!

EyeClops Bio Cam For Kids

Quang Ly — Sun, 10 May 2009 14:02:29 +0000

I got Lasik about 4 years ago and it was one of the best decisions. I can see so clearly without contact lens or eye glasses. However, I did not get the 400x Zoom package procedure done to see into objects at the micro level. Well, at least now I can get the EyeClops Bio Cam to let me do that. Actually, it’s probably more suited to entertain and educate kids.

EyeClops Bioni Cam

The EyeClops BioniCam Video Microscope from JAKKS Pacific let’s kids (Ages 8 and up)have fun by exploring their microscopic world by easily taking pictures and videos.

Bioni Cam

It runs on five AA batteries (not included) that are inserted into the blet clip battery pack. You also use the included USB memory ontop of the BioniCam to store videos and pictures.

The camera has an ergonomically shaped handle for long hours of fun. You can focus ona number of everyday objects like clothing, fur, hair, soil. EyeClops then shows you the images in real time and full color on your LCD screen. You can also use the menus on the screen to manage your video and photos.

The zoom dial works in either 100x, 200x or 400x magnification modes. You focus on an image by twisting the I.R.I.S. lens attachment until everything is in perspective. It does take some practice mostly due to shakes of your hand, but afterwards, you’ll be focusing soon.

EyeClops BioniCam

Ghoulish USB memory sticks

Sarah — Fri, 08 May 2009 11:23:27 +0000

Nothing says more about a person’s personality than the kind of USB memory stick they carry around with them, right?
Ok, that might be stretching it. But today I found these little gems that at least 80% of my friends would like (that is, if any of them needed memory sticks).

USB Geek Ghoul Series USB Drive

Ghoulish USB memory sticks

I’m partial to Mr Black myself. But all are ghoulishly cute with a practical 2 GB storage capability too!

Pacemaker Pocket-Sized DJ Tonium P666

Quang Ly — Thu, 07 May 2009 11:18:20 +0000

I love music and used to DJ at a local college radio station (WKDU) in Stockton, New Jersey. Unlike my fellow DJ’s I never liked carrying around luggage of records and CDs. I love the iPod and iPhone but even their interface is limited in how you interact with the music. When I went to CES 2009 I got to demo the Pacemaker Pocket-Sized DJ Tonium P666

Pacemaker Pocket-Sized DJ Tonium P666

It functions basically like 2 micro digital turn tables so you can mix and scratch your downloaded music (legally right?). The Pacemaker has two seperate audio channels so you can play two tracks by side. I was never good at beatmatching. If you aren’t either, you’re in luck, the beatmatching is easily done by the click of a button. The Pocket DJ also comes with world class audio effects and crossfader to spice up your mixes.

Pacemaker Pocket-Sized DJ Software

You can even save your mixes and edit them with their free desktop software Pacemaker Editor. Once you’re done, you can upload them to their online community and share it with everyone. Doesn’t everyone have their own social network these days?

The price to DJ ultra-portability doesn’t come cheap though. I was a bit shocked of the price the $499.99 price. But if you are a professional DJ, the Pacemaker will pay for itself. No more bad beatmatching that breaks people’s legs while they dance on the floor unless you plan on playing NSYNC on a Goth/Industrial night.

Tonium P666 Pacemaker Pocket-Sized DJ System, 60 GB

FEATURES

Auto beatmatch – Instantly sync tempo and phase of two loaded tracks by the click of a button.
Timestretch – Alter and set the tempo of a track +/- 100% without affecting pitch/key.
Pitch speed – Alter and set track tempo +/- 100% and pitch/key +/- one octave in parallel.
Bend speed – Nudge a track into phase.
Beat graph – Visually monitor relative drifting in tempo and/or sync.
Loop – Create synchronized loops on the fly; set and adjust in-point and/or end-point, split from in-point or end-point, double from in-point or end-point, exit loop and re-loop. One loop per track will be permanently saved until altered.
Reverse – Flip playback direction
Cue play – Play track from cue point and revert to cue point when releasing cue button.
Cue control
Vinyl pause – Track is halted in a vinyl-like pause letting you scrub, search and define cue point.
Headphones crossfader – Dynamically adjust what channel blend to listen to in the headphones.
Effects control – Hi-cut/Lo-cut, Wah and Crush, to +/- 1.0.
Beat FX – Add and adjust two-parameter audio effects Echo, Delay, Trans and Roll to dry/wet + 0-100% and Time at 1/8, 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, 3/4, 1, 3/2, 2, 4, 8, and Reverb to dry/wet + 0-100% and size to + 0-100%.
Key – Temporarily adjust the two-parameter function Key; transpose a track key +/- one octave in increments of halftones, and/or tune a track pitch +/- 100% one halftone.
Kill-all – Instantly mute or re-engage activated audio effects.
Effects crossfader – Optionally incorporate +/- 100% Bass or +/- 1.0 Filter effects into the crossfader.

Cutify your workspace

Sarah — Wed, 06 May 2009 19:10:42 +0000

Having just come home from a year in Japan only a few weeks ago, my mind is still wrapped up in Kawaii culture. In case you don’t know what that means Kawaii is Japanese for “cute” and boy do they take it to the extremes over there. This is exactly the kind of thing my former co-workers and students would just love…Tiny USB powered animal shaped fans…

USB Cow Frog Fan

Again from USB Geek (quickly becoming my fave accessory site)…Now if only they had a devil kitty version…

USB POWERED CD DVD DESTROYER

Sarah — Wed, 06 May 2009 11:02:00 +0000

What do you do when you have a CD or DVD with sensitive data on it that you don’t need anymore? Usually I put it in the microwave because electricity is pretty and I have no common sense when it comes to danger. But the guys at USB Geek have come up with something better (though admittedly it would be much cooler if it rotated the CD faster, like a circular saw)…

USB POWERED CD DESTROYER

USB Powered CD/DVD Destroyer

I don’t know how much more useful it is that you just plug into your USB port vs a wall socket, but whatevs.

Kindle For Textbooks

Sarah — Tue, 05 May 2009 23:02:32 +0000

Most people I know, when I mention the new Kindle, are like “yeah, that’s cool but whatever.” I suspect that is because they don’t read nearly as much as I do. Seriously, I’m running out of space for my ever growing book collection and can’t wait to get a Kindle of my own.

Kindle 2: Amazon's New Wireless Reading Device

This fall Amazon is going to be testing a new version of it’s Kindle on 6 university campuses. No word on how much digital textbooks could potentially cost, but if I were a student I’d be jumping up and down with glee for the simple fact that I wouldn’t be toting around 50 pounds of books in my ratty punk rock Jansport anymore.

Some have commented that this would take a bite out of the thriving used book market. It’s been about 8 years since I sold my last text book. I bought it for $150 and sold it for $5. If the digital versions are cheaper than the paper ones (which logically they should be), I think most people would give up the hassle of text book selling. And the trees… could somebody please think about the trees!?!?

Kindle 2: Amazon’s New Wireless Reading Device (Latest Generation)

Via WSJ Kindle For Textbooks

Wearable Technology Gives You Real 6th Sense

Quang Ly — Mon, 04 May 2009 09:03:00 +0000

Do you remember the Tom Cruise movie Minority Report when he used hand gestures to navigate his computing needs? Well, this technology is now a reality! Not the Cogs, but visual gestures that lets you interact with information physically in the real world.

The technology is actually made up of a cellphone with Internet connection, camera, a projector, and specially designed wearable finger devices. The camera scans objects in the real world such as items at a grocery, it can then look up the item based on your buying behavior and the project displays either a buy or not buy on the product. This is absolutely amazing.

This Minority Report technology is the brain child of Prana Mistry from MIT. He created a lot of buzz at TED. The application and uses of unified technology are endless. Parrie Maes who gives the introduction also states that the price is only about $300 since the technology already exists today.

Schlage LiNK system controls who gets in

Jay — Sun, 03 May 2009 15:07:53 +0000

I stumbled across this product line while looking for a new deadbolt for my house. I’m a big fan of wireless and remote control appliances, so the new Schlage LiNK system caught my eye immediately.

The LiNK system is a wireless remote access network system that allows you to control access into your home. Ever lock yourself out of the house? Ever needed to let a child in because they forgot a key? Want to let a petsitter take care of Fido? Well now you can take care of all those situations using remote access via the Internet or your iPhone/cell phone. The LiNK system consists of a bridge module that connects to your wireless network. The bridge module allows control over a line of Schlage locks. It also controls a remote-enabled wall plug so that you can remotely activate lights, appliances, etc.

Tres cool. And given the nature of the technology, it can be expanded to include other types of remote automation, making this the basis of a home where you don’t have to get off your couch to do anything. Well, most things. Why is no one working on the remote control mobile toilet?!?!?