April 2008 Archives

Weather Underground has announced their new Wundermaps feature that superimposes precipitation maps and radar on the familiar Google maps interface.

They go way beyond what weather.com offers by also including all the weather stations that upload data to their service so you get a realtime picture of temperature and wind at multiple locations in the area.

Full press release:

According to the Korea Times Samsung SDI has signed a deal to provide laptop batteries to Dell and HP.

The new batteries have 7.7% more capacity, 10% more in-use time, and recharges quicker than the 2600mAh batteries currently in use.

Samsung also plan on an even more powerful 3000mAh battery in the near future.

(more at koreatimes)

Sony is going to be making big price cuts in their LCD TVs next month in order to try to gain market share.

It appears that Sony's big competitors Toshiba, Sharp, Sansung, LG will follow suit.

It is also likely that the lower end producers such as Westinghouse and Vizio will cut their prices to remain competitive.

What does this mean? Sony's planned cuts of 20-25% could spread across all TV manufacturers and top quality 1080p sets will be under $1200.

(via hdguru)

Now this is a neat house gadget for any ultramodern city dweller: it looks like a window but press the magic button and it folds out to become a balcony.

The bloomframe balcony designed by Hofman Dujardin Architects won a 2008 Red Dot Design Award and can be customized and made to order. There is no price listed but I doubt it is cheap.

(bloomframe, via likecool)

CNET got a Psystar Open Computer running MacOS Leopard to review.

They don't have the full review posted yet but they have put up a slideshow and an unboxing video:

slideshow
unboxing

The full review should be up later today.

It seems like despite all the naysayers who thought it was a scam the product is real. The next part of the story though will likely be the lawsuit against Psystar by Apple.

Now this is a smart idea for those people who feel that their hybrid car lifestyle just isn't good enough for the environment.

The SEV solar module for 2004-2006 Toyota Prius cars generates 215 watts of power which the makers claim provides up to an extra 20 miles of gas-free travel a day and a 29% better fuel economy overall.

They claim it will pay for itself in 2 to 3 years, but only if you take liberties with a Federal energy tax credit by buying it at the same time as a residential solar system and conveniently include the price in with your residential system.

(via redferret)

TabletPCReview found out about an unannounced tablet pc shown recently by Fujitsu in Germany. Here's what they know:

"At this point the following specifications are known: Intel Core 2 Duo P8400, 13.3" passive digitizer Display, Accessories in the same design.

It looks as though it could be a replacement for the T2010 tablets or maybe we are in luck and Fujitsu has a completely new design. No word on pricing yet either, but we hope more information will start trickling out."

more at tabletpcreview via engadget)

Boing Boing posted about this $30 pet porthole from Hammacher-Schlemmer.

That is the last thing I would put in my fence: I don't want my dogs to see what is going on outside the backyard - if they see things (mailman, UPS truck, someone walking by, a cat) they bark, I don't want the little *bleep* barking all day.

(via boingboing)

X-Bit Labs have posted a review and face-off between six newer 24" LCD monitors from Acer, Dell, NEC, and Samsung.

We were rooting for the Dell 2407WFP to win as we have two of them on the PC we use to write ShinyPlastic but here's what they concluded:

"Although four out of the six monitors tested for this review are based on TN matrixes, I'm not disappointed. The main drawback of this technology is small viewing angles, but those of modern TN matrixes are suitable for most users. Of course, if you prefer to watch movies while lying on a sofa (with the monitor above your head level) or if you are just sensitive to minor deviations in contrast, you should consider models with *VA or S-IPS matrixes such as Dell 2407WFP-HC and NEC MultiSync LCD2470WNX or those we tested earlier."

In other words they didn't pick any one as being the best.

(full reviews at xbitlabs)

Toshiba's laptops with "fusion finish" (the U400, M300, A300 and P300) will now come with facial recognition software that won't let you login unless your face (or whatever other part of your anatomy you waved at the webcam during setup) matches a database of stored user images.

In unrelated news police expect the number of decapitations associated with laptop thefts to increase.

"Hand over your laptop or else!, hold on that's one of them fancy Toshiba ones, sorry mate I'm just going to have to decapitate you as well."

(via hothardware)

Watchismo Times got photos and video of the $400k HD3 Complication Vulcania watch that last year topped a list of the world's most complicated watches.

It definitely has a unique look to it, I'm not sure if I would wear one, but as they say: beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

(more at watchismotimes)

MSI has announced a new Mini-ITX basebones PC that would be a perfect base for a media center pc or a car computer.

The Titan 700 is just 7.3" x 9.4" x 2.7" and comes with the VIA® CN700 + 8237R+ chipset, 60w power supply, slim DVD burner, 2.5" drive, and Gigabit LAN.

(more at msi)

"Taipei, Taiwan, April 30, 2008 - Catering to users who require extreme graphical support and robust performance, ASUS, leading producer of motherboards, has today released the new ASUS Crosshair II Formula Motherboard. This powerful motherboard includes innovative technologies like CPU Level Up, Hybrid SLI and 3-Way SLI for the best performance and graphical support. It is also ready for AMD® Socket AM2+ Phenom™ FX / Phenom X4 / Phenom X2 / Athlon™ X2 / Sempron™ and legacy AM2 processors; and features up to 5200 MT/s via HyperTransport™ 3.0-based system bus speeds for AM2+ CPUs. "

The great looking touchscreen samsung glyde looks like it is going to be available on Verizon sooner than previously thought.

According to unwired view it will be available in May and will cost $299 with a two-year enslavement, or $429 without the aforementioned blood contract.

The Glyde not only has that 2.78" touchscreen goodness it also has a slide out full keyboard, 2 megapixel main camera, plus a front camera for video calls.

(via unwiredview)

Digital Trends has reviewed the $480 Gateway FHD-2400 24-inch LCD monitor.

Here's what they thought:

"All in all, the FHD2400 is a well-rounded display with a lot of excellent features and gorgeous image quality. You'll find the unit easy to setup and calibrate, and its wide array of ports make it compatible with HD optical drives as well as PCs and game consoles too. Occasional design quibble aside (see aforementioned DVI cable issues, and note that vertically-oriented ports can be difficult to access), once it's up and running, you'll have few issues apart from being unable to rotate the panel left or right. And that's what we call a good look. "

(full review at digitaltrends)

Eeepc.net has come out with a couple of nice charts that compare features of both 7" and larger ultraportables listing displays, CPU, RAM, storage, WiFi, lan, webcam, USB, card reader, battery, weight, OS and cost.

7 inch chart

8 to 10 inch chart

The U110 wasn't the only ideapad laptop announced by lenovo yesterday: they also announced two less exciting new members of the ideapad line.

The Ideapad Y510 is a pretty standard 15.4" laptop for $669 and the Ideapad Y710 is a higher performance 17" laptop for $1099.

Full press release:

The Samsung p960 is the first cellphone outside of Asia to receive and show over the air digital TV broadcasts.

This little slide phone sports a 2.6" QVGA (240x320) screen, GSM 900/1800/1900, HSDPA 2100, bluetooth, and microsd card.

The Europeans gets to play with this phone but hopefully there will be something similar in the US soon (are you listening blackberry and apple?)

(via gizmodo)

Full press release:

Alienware has announced their new Area-51 m17x gaming laptop, a massive laptop that is their fastest ever featuring Intel Core 2 extreme processors, dual SLI GeForce 8800M GTX graphics, 4GB RAM, up to a terabyte of storage space, 1200 x 1920 pixel 17" LCD. TV tuner draft-n WiFi, and much more.

The m17x starts at $2,199, but for top performance max out all the options and cough up a little over 6 grand.

(more at alienware)

Boy Genius sure is getting all the scoops on the Blackberry 9000. His lastest info is the final specs of this much anticipated fix for the crackberry addicts.

Radio - GSM/GPRS/EDGE/UMTS/HSDPA, Bands - Quad-band GPRS/EDGE: 800/850/1800/1900MHz, HSDPA: 850/1900/2100MHz, Expandable memory - microSD, Display - HVGA Color LCD (480×320), TrackBall Navigation, Camera - 2MP, Wi-Fi - a,b,g, A-GPS, Battery - 1500mAh, "High quality material, high-end finish" and Software - 4.6

The launch carriers will be AT&T, NTT DoCoMo, and Vodafone with AT&T launching forst as the US exclusive carrier.

Looks like T-Mobile is flipping the switch on their 1700MHz 3G data network tomorrow.

Initially it may only be turned on in New York but it may also be switched on in other large cities around the country.

(via boygeniusreport)

Sharp has announced a wireless option for their super-thin X-series LCD TVs.

For about an extra $800 your TV comes as the screen plus a separate tuner/control box that communicate wirelessly with each other at a range of up to 100 feet. Plug your cable and DVD boxes into the control box and hide the whole package away somewhere for a clean crisp minimalist TV viewing experience.

(either that or buy a regular tv and run a conduit inside your wall to hide the cables like we did).

Full press release:

The Register has reviewed the $250 LG GGW-H20L HD combo drive, they seem to feel a drive that supports HD-DVD is still needed but we disagree.

Here's what they thought:

"Blu-ray writing has a certain appeal but ultimately it's a bit pointless. Most people can't read a Blu-ray video disc, especially on their PC, and the format doesn't have enough capacity and write-speed - an a low enough cost - to put DVD-R in the shade.

For movie playback, a combo drive with both Blu-ray and HD DVD in a high-end media centre is a winner, but the GGW-H20L falls betwixt and between, as you pay £50 for a feature that may only get occasional use."

(full review at theregister)

Fortune magazine is reporting that AT&T plans to subsidize the price of the next generation 3G iPhone by up to $200 in order to make it less attractive to unlockers.

If it does end up subsidized that could bring the price down to $199 (plus the average of $100/month that iPhone users pay for data and calls).

According to the same source the new iPhone will be 2.5 mm thinner than the 11.7 mm original. The iPhone will also have a GPS chip for navigation and other location-based services.

(via fortune)

Sealife have announced a new camera waterproof to 300 feet that features color correction modes specifically designed for underwater photos.

The $549 8 megapixel DC800 also features a 4x optical zoom, 2.7" LCD, and a removable outer shell that leaves you with a smaller camera for use away from water.

Full press release:

PopPhoto have reviewed the $800 Sony A350 14.2 Megapixel digital camera.

Here's what they thought:

"In all, the A350 has impressive features, specs, and price. But it's still too early to tell whether it will lure serious shooters away from the new Canon EOS Rebel XSi or Pentax K200D. Though we haven't tested them yet, both promise to control noise well in low light and high ISOs. And the Canon is likely to capture more detail.

As for stealing customers from Sony's own A700? We doubt it. That camera will continue to attract hard-core shooters. The A350 is aimed at those moving up from a compact or for those who want (and can afford) more from an entry-level DSLR than Sony is offering in its new A300 ($600, estimated street, with 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6 lens), Nikon in its new D60 ($630, street, body only), or Olympus in its new E-420 ($500, estimted street, body only). For such photographers, the A350's increased image quality and overall performance will be amazing, and the extra features -- especially live view -- will be reassuringly familiar."

(full review at popphoto)

Megapixel has reviewed the $300 Fuji FinePix s8000fd with image stablized 18x optical zoom.

They liked the excellent outdoor and indoor performance, rock steady image stabilization, and good video but disliked confusing function labeling, awkward division of menu system between F key and Menu/OK button and unnatural view of shots in electronic viewfinder.

(full review at megapixel)

Trusted Reviews took a first look at Adobe's beta of Photoshop Lightroom 2 software for working directly with the RAW file output from high-end digital cameras.

Their verdict?

"This is by no means a full and finished product, but it's coming along nicely thank you very much. Adobe has listened to users and by letting them continue to try the beta is sure to provide a very useful and elegant imaging solution on final release.

It's still not perfect - there's a few file handling issues, I'd like to see more web gallery options and I personally would like the camera LCD display from Bridge to quickly see camera settings in the Library. As it stands now though, I can't wait to get my hands on the final version. If you're a DSLR user Lightroom is proving to be an essential."

(more at trustedreviews)

Trusted Reviews has reviewed the 42" Toshiba Regza 42XV505BD LCD TV.

Here's what they thought:

"Toshiba's 42XV505DB is a solid TV: surprisingly affordable, with pictures that can look good and occasionally even great. But for the most part, aside from looking exceptionally cute, it just doesn't do anything truly outstanding, and as such struggles to stand out from the crowd."

(full review at trustedreviews)

Yesterday we told you about the world's first half-Terabyte 2.5" Portable Hard Disk Drive featuring an industry standard 9.5mm Z-height drive from Verbatim.

The drive will cost $300 and be available in Q2 2008.

Here are some photos, and I like the way it looks:

Verbatim have announced the world's first half-Terabyte 2.5" Portable Hard Disk Drive (HDD) featuring an industry standard 9.5mm Z-height drive.

The drive will start shipping in Q2 2008 and the drive and it's case will weigh less than 6 ounces and measure 3.38" x 5.38" x 0.63". The drive will be available with a USB connection or a combination USB/Firewire connection and prices start at $300 for the USB only version.

Full press release follows.

Intel's new P45 chipset should be getting released in the next few weeks and Hot Hardware got their hands on one of the first motherboards to use it: the Asus P5Q Deluxe.

The P45 chipset bring a few good enhancements to the table: support for 1600MHz FSB processors, PCI Express 2.0 and 65mn manufacturing (reduce heat and power). SATA connectivity is also improved due to a new ICH10 southbridge.

Hot Hardware don't have it up and running yet but they have posted some pics.

(more at hothardware)

This has to be the craziest idea I have seen all day, and I have just spent the last 12 hours trying to find stuff to post here on ShinyPlastic.

The ticketime concept from Yanko Design is a combination boarding pass and watch. First you use it as a boarding pass, then the little seethrough magnetic watch part is set to show the time of your return flight, you keep the little watch as a reminder of when you need to be back at the airport for the return flight, when you get back to the airport you use the watch as your boarding pass for the return flight.

Do they think people don't already have watches?
What happens if people lose their magnetic watch, or it is stolen?
Isn't it just easier to print your return boarding pass online or at the airport?
What happens if the time of the return flight changes and it is delayed or canceled?
What happens if you change your return flight?

I give this idea 10/10 for drugged out stupidity.

(more at yankodesign)

Well despite months and months of testing Windows XP service pack 3 it appears that Microsoft screwed things up.

Service Pack 3 breaks a piece of Microsoft software called "Dymanics RMS" that is a retail chain management software solution for small and medium businesses. Because that is broken everyone has to wait.

I wonder if someone in Microsoft's QA team is looking for a new job tonight?

Telefonica let the cat out of the bag in regards to HTC Touch Find specs:

Quad band GSM 850/900/1800/1900, GPRS, EDGE, 3.6 Mbps HSDPA connectivity, 2.8″ QVGA 240×320, 65K color display, 128 MB RAM, 256 MB of ROM, Qualcomm MSM7200, 400 MHz CPU, 3 megapixel camera with autofocus, front camera for video calls, Built-in GPS, Tom-Tom navigation software, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, FM Radio, microSD memory card slot

In other words the HTC touch find is a repackaged HTC Touch Cruise.

(via msmobiles)

Boy Genius Report got the scoop on the software enhancements showing up in the Blackberry 9000, from browser enhancements, to improved wifi tools, to security enhancements, and much more.

He also heard that the launch date is now July not August but everything still seems up in the air on that.

(more at boygeniusreport)

You may be worried about the damage ear buds do your hearing, and you may be looking for an alternative, but please do not buy the soundwalk: you have awful taste in music and I don't want to listen to it.

Yes, now you can subject everyone nearby to whatever musical masterpiece is currently in your playlist. Whether it is Miley Cyrus or Nine Inch Nails I can guarantee your choice will annoy someone.

The soundwalk is coming to the Koreannovation in New York soon, a whole show just for wield Korean stuff that we thought the Japanese had a monopoly on.

(via gearlog)

Digital Trends has reviewed the $26 Navigon 2100 Max GPS Navigation System.

Here's what they thought of it:

"The Navigon 2100 Max is a solid, well-performing GPS that's easy to recommend. At about $260 USD street price (as of April 2008), it proves well worth the investment for features such as the terrific Reality View option. By comparison, the new Garmin nuvi 205W with a similar 4.3-inch screen is due soon for $266 USD and lacks this feature, not to mention spoken turn commands. Since both use NAVTEQ maps, there really isn't that much difference in terms of day-to-day performance as well. Navigon also has traffic alerts for $99 lifetime versus MSN Direct at $129 lifetime (or $49.95 annually) on the Garmin. However, MSN Direct gives more info such as movie times and stock quotes, so this is pretty much a wash. All told though, the Navigon 2100 Max takes the prize. And, better still, we love the fact it doesn't nag us..."

(full review at digitaltrends)

Computerworld ran some tests to see if the speed difference between SSDs (solid state disks) and regular hard drives are worth the large price difference.

The disks compared were the 32GB Crucial Internal 2.5-in. SATA Solid State Drive, the 32GB Ridata 2.5-in. SATA SSD, the250GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 3.5-in. SATA hard drive, and the 200GB Seagate Momentus 7200.2 2.5-in. SATA hard drive.

The results were surprising with the SSD only slightly faster than the regular disks at most tasks.

(more at computerworld)

TomTom has revamped their entry level one and XL products to make them lighter and more portable.

Each also has an S version (for $50 more) that adds text-to-speech reading of directions.

The new TomToms should ship in may and will cost $200/$250 for the TomTom One and $350/$300 for the TomTom XL (with larger screen)

(via crave)

Now this is a nice looking portable media player, too bad it appears that it will only be available in Korea.

The TG Sambo has an 800 x 480 pixel 4.8" touchscreen display, 801.11b/g WiFi and lots more features that make the most of it's alchemy AU1250 700MHz processor.

Lets hope it gets released in the US.

(more at aving)

As promised Windows XP service pack 3 is now available for download via Windows Update as a 70MB download.

Not the most exciting update ever but worth installing to make sure you have all the latest bug fixes.

Of course to download it Firefox users will have to start up IE and hope they can avoid spyware and malware while online the Microsoft way.

(windowsupdate)

Photoreview Australia have reviewed the SLR-sized 11.1 Megapixel $740 Fujifilm FinePix s100fs with 14.3x optical zoom, 2.5" lcd, and both xD and SD card slots.

Here's what they thought of it:

"The FinePix S100fs has just been named as the Best Superzoom Digital Camera for 2008 by the European Technical Image Press Association (TIPA). We are also nominating it as an Editor's Choice for the Advanced category of compact digicams - although with some reservations. Our main concerns lie with the high lateral chromatic aberration we found with the test camera's lens.

However, the sporadic failures of the autofocusing system and poor quality of images shot at the top ISO sensitivity are also of concern, as is the lack of any ability to switch noise-reduction processing off and on. If these issues are of little or no relevance, the S100fs will be an excellent and rewarding camera choice."

(full review at photoreviewaustralia)

According to a report in the Taiwan Economic News the next generation iphone will be smaller, nearly a third lighter, and will have a 2.8" screen instead of the current 3.5".

In addition, the casing will be plastic instead of aluminum-magnesium.

Sounds like a step backwards to me.

(more at cens)

According to a report in the Taiwanese newspaper Apply Daily Intel is having a supply problem that will lead to it only delivering half the ordered Atom processors in the next month.

This will result in delays for manufacturers pinning their hopes on Atom to power ultracompact PCs to compete with the Eee PC 900 and the HP Mini-Note.

(via electronista)

Samsung have announced two new compact laser printers and are claiming one of them is the world's smallest color laser printer:

"The CLP-315K which is 20% smaller than the previous generation the CLP-300, 45dB, a resolution of 2,400 x 600 dpi, 32MB of internal memory, 16 pages per minutes (Black) and 4 pages per minutes (Color). Finally Samsung also announced that they drastically improved the photo output quality of this new generation.

The CLX-3175FNK, an All in one laser color printer with a build-in scanner (Black & White, Color) and a Fax. Here Samsung succeed to reduce up to 40% the size of this model compare to the previous generation the CLX-3160. On this model you can easily scan document to an USB Key or even print document store on the very same USB key without the need of a PC"

I tried getting more information from the Samsung home page in Korea but they just have pictures of women, apples and butterflies.

(via akihabaranews)

Steve's Digicams has recviewed the $180 8 megapizel Panasonic Lumix DMZ-LZ8 digital camera with 5x optical zoom, image stabilization, and SD card slot.

Here's what they thought of it:

"Bottom Line - Panasonic's Lumix DMC-LZ8 is a compact 8-megapixel camera that will suit the needs of anyone in the family. The Intelligent Auto mode makes it easy for anyone to take excellent pictures and the full manual mode gives freedom to the more experienced photographer. Although the shooting performance was a little slow, the quality of the images is good and the camera is loaded with useful features to assist you in your picture taking fun. If the slower performance does not bother you, the DMC-LZ8 is a great deal at about US$180 or less."

(full review at stevesdigicams)

The Lenovo Ideapad U110 is now available for purchase. The full specs of this $1899 laptop are:

Intel Core 2 Duo 1.6GHz (4 MB cache, 800 MHz FSB), 2GB PC2-5300/667 MHz RAM (up to 3GB supported), 120 GB 4200 rpm PATA HDD, System ships with two batteries: 4-cell and 7-cell, plus an external USB portable DVD burner, 2.4 lbs weight, 11.1-inch 16:9 LED-backlit WXGA screen (1366 x 768), Intel X3100 integrated Graphics, Aluminum etch cover and Magnesium Aluminum case, Frameless screen, Touch-sensitive controls, Vista Home Premium, Dolby Home Theatre Speaker System, Veriface security authentication, Integrated 1.3 megapixel camera, 3 USB 2.0 ports, 6 in 1 card reader, Express Card slot, and Mini-PCIe slot.

We saw Samsung's HT-X810 Home Theater Sound Bar with wireless subwoofer and integrated slot-in upconverting DVD player at CES and it is now available for purchase.

It blends in nicely with flat TVs, and has a 300W output including the wirelessly connected subwoofer.

Portable music players can connect wirelessly via bluetooth, and the HT-X910 also plays CD, DVD-Audio, DivX video, and MP3/WMA, upconverting video to 1080p on request.

(via electronichouse)

Trusted Reviews has reviewed the tiny 8.1 megapixel Casio Exlim EX-Z80 digital camera.

Here's what they thought:

"The Casio Exilim EX-Z80 is a remarkable camera in many ways. Not only is it the smallest 8-megapixel camera on the market, it has a number of advanced technical features not found on rival models. Design, build quality, performance and handling are all very good, and the AF system is amazing, but these attributes are somewhat let down by rather sub-standard image quality. Nonetheless, as a convenient pocket snapshot camera it's hard to beat, and represents good value for its low price."

(full review at trustedreviews)

The Izona CookSurface from Fisher & Paykel is an innovative blending of the beauty of a glass ceramic cooktop with the efficiency and controllability of gas compared to electric cooking.

Turn on the gas and the burner rises up out of the ceramic cooktop along with 5 pan supports, when you're done cooking the burner and supports disappear back into the cooksurface.

The only negative we see is that space isn't used efficiently with the large cooksurface only offering 3 burners.

(fisherpaykel via appliancist)

Steve's Digicams has recviewed the $300 8.1 megapixel Panasonic Lumix DMZ-TZ4 digital camera with 10x optical zoom, image stabilization, and SD card slot.

Here's what they thought of it:

"Bottom Line - Panasonic has put together a winning combination of portability and versatility with the Lumix DMC-TZ4 "Super-zoom". With an 8-megapixel imaging sensor, 10x Leica optical zoom lens (with MEGA O.I.S.), compact and durable body as well as one of the smartest, easiest to use auto shooting modes available (iA mode), the Panasonic TZ4 is a great camera. Whether it be for someone that likes to travel or one who needs the versatility of a much more expensive camera in a compact package. All this combined with class average performance, great image quality and ease-of-use make the DMC-TZ4 a steal with a price of US$300 or less."

(full review at stevesdigicams)

Falx Air Vehicles are preparing a prototype of a single or twin-seat hybrid-electric VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft that uses a combination of a 100hp engine and solar panels to achieve fuel economy of about 2.5 gallons per hour of flying.

They hope to have the prototype up by this summer but I expect they have a long way to go to achieve anything more than a simple mock-up.

(more at gizmag)

The register has reviewed the Lenovo A61e green pc (called a green pc because of low power requirements).

Here's what they thought:

"The ThinkCentre A61e is very basic and while it does a competent job it seems terribly expensive compared to a better-specced Dell Vostro."

(more at theregister)

A couple of days we told you about i-LIMB - a bionic hand that is already being used by disabled servicemembers, and now another bionic hand has shown up on the scene.

The Fluidhand seems to have similar features to the i-LIMB and we say the more bionic hands out there helping amputees lead more normal lives the better (and I for one welcome our new bionic overlords!).

It looks like a guy over at OQO Talk has "modified" his OQO so that it runs MacOS Leopard.

Bluetooth works, WiFi works, sound and power management all work, and for the skeptics out there there is even video posted (after the jump).

"The Leopard install is legitimate and works quite well. However, I am still working on two final issues which are video resolution, presently limited to 800x480, and wwan which I have not yet attempted. Sound, wifi, power management, and usb are working fine and the system is very responsive. When I have completed these final tasks I will post a review with further details."

(oqotalk via engadget)

Netgear has announced some new ReadyNAS network attached storage servers.

The 6 bay servers have Intel Core 2 Duo processors, 1BG RAM, 128MG flash for the OS, gigabit ethernet, and RAID 0/1/5/6.

The ReadNAS pro comes in three sizes: 1.5TB, 3TB, and 6TB, and prices start at $2k.

(full press release after the jump)

It's gone now but for a few hours last night there was an auction on ebay for the upcoming blackberry 9000.

Here are the pics included with the auction, there is some speculation they are fakes but they look pretty realistic to me.

(via engadget)

When apple announced the iMac upgrade yesterday people were excited to see that the top of the line model boasted specs equivalent to the upcoming X9100 Montevideo chip not the expected Penryn chip.

It turns out Apple didn't get the first bite at Montevideo, instead they are using overclocked Penryn chips that use 55W of power instead of the Montevideo's 44W.

With that kind of overclocking I wonder how that affects the chip's lifespan. No worries though, the mac fanatics will be upgrading next year to the new new iMac running the new new mac operating system.

(via tgdaily)

Engadget is reporting that the first products using PureDepth's Multi-Layer Display technology will be hitting the street soon.

Puredepth uses displays that have two or more stacked LCD screens with a common backlight to give the impression of depth.

(more at engadget)

The Truth About Cars has posted some rumors about the next generation Toyota Prius that is likely to debut at the 2009 Detriot Motor Show.

The next-gen hybrid is likely to be 3 to 4 inches longer, boast 50 more horses under the hood, and get better fuel economy than the current prius.

(autoobserver via thetruthaboutcars)

The New Scientist reported on a headset that can read people's brainwaves. It is powered by thermoelectrics and solar panels and can transmit brainwaves over wifi.

"A lightweight battery-free headset can continuously monitor human brainwaves, and is powered by body heat and sunlight.

The portable electroencephalogram (EEG) device resembles a set of headphones. It could provide wireless monitoring of patients at risk of seizures, have cars or other machinery respond to stressed users, or provide new ways to interact with computer games."

(more at newscientist)

Digital Home Thoughts has reviewed some speakers I had never heard of before: the Orb audio Home Theater Speaker System that retails for $549 and up.

Here's what they thought:

"When it's all said and done, the bottom line is that the Orb Audio speakers impressed me so much that I'm going to purchase my own set of these speakers. There's no higher recommendation I can give than to say that this is the product I personally want to use. The Orb Audio speakers are not only smaller than the Harman Kardon speakers I had before, they sound better, look better, and made me never want to set up the old system again. While the overall package can get a bit pricey if you need two pairs of their HOSS stands, if you're looking for a quality system - or an upgrade from that horrendously bad Home Theatre In-A-Box system you might have - Orb Audio has a range of solutions at every price point that will allow you to enjoy movies, music, games in ways you never have before. And because their system is so modular, you can start with a minimal Mod1 system and as long as you get the right kind of stands or mounts, you can add more speakers to your system over time. That's a powerful advantage that I haven't seen in any retail speaker solution, and is the cherry on top of what is already a luscious mix of tasty audio."

(full review at digitalhomethoughts)

Jeff Atwood at coding horror decided to improve on his existing homemade home theater pc by taking advantage of the simplicity and low power of the AMD 780G platform.

He ended up with a small form factor home theater pc with directx 10 support and dual TV tuner, and you can copy his setup for around $500.

(full instructions at codinghorror)

DXG have announced a new high definition camcorder, the DXG-569V, that offers 1280 x 720 recording at 30 frames per second.

It also take 5 megapixel still images, has a fold-out rotating 3" LCD screen, 32mb memory plus a SD card slot, and a built-in digital voice recorder.

What is it missing? an optical zoom, image stabilization, and a high price. The DXG-569V is available now in silver and black from Radio Shack for $169.

(press release after the jump)

Alienware has announced that they are now offering 4 GPU CrossFireX graphics using a pair of Radeon HD 3879 X2 cards on their Area-51 gaming PC.

Alienware are famous for their high performance gaming PCs and this enhancement helps keep them at the top of the field.

(press release after the jump)

(via engadget)

Trusted Reviews has reviewed the Asus P320 Windows Mobile phone.

Here's what they thought:

"It all goes together to make a well-rounded smartphone that's just about the most pocketable Windows Mobile PDA phone you're likely to come across. Unfortunately, though, there's no getting around the fact that the P320's small screen makes using Windows Mobile Professional even more fiddly to use than it normally is. But if you don't mind getting the stylus out occasionally and want the push email and office document features of a Windows Mobile device without the bulk, it's a very solid option. And the inclusion of a GPS receiver in a device this small is just the icing on the cake."

(full review at trustedreviews)

Hot Hardware has taken a close look at the Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 Processor. This $270 chip is the replacement for the Q6600: the most popular member of intel's product line in terms of speed compared to value.

Here's what they thought of it:

"We would recommend this chip for those who want an inexpensive and low-power quad-core option for desktop or workstation usage. For gamers, we would recommend opting for a higher-clock speed dual-core model like the Core 2 Duo E8500, which can deliver better stock performance compared to the Q9300 in a gaming environment. If you want quad-core and top-notch gaming performance, we would recommend opting for one of Intel's higher-end quad-core models with a full 12 MB of cache, like the Q9450 and up."

(full review at hothardware)

Verizon must be living on a different planet as they have decided the economy is so healthy that they can raise prices for their TV service.

Meanwhile the number of people giving up home phone lines and relying solely on cellphones has increased: Verizon's number of residential phone customers has dropped 10.9% over the past year.

(more from fortune)

Nvidia has quietly launched a new entry level graphics card.

The Nvidia GeForce 9600 GSO is SLI capable and features 96 processor cores, 550MHz core clock, 1375KHz shader clock, 800MHz memory clock, 384MB of RAM, 192-bit memory interface, a memory bandwidth of 38.4 GB/sec, and a texture fill rate of 26.4 billion/sec.

Pretty impressive for a card that is expected to compete directly with the $120 ATI Radeon HD 3830.

(more at nvidia)

Memorex has relaunched it's MMP line of media players with two models:

The Clip & Play (pictured) is a very small square media player with a two line OLED screen, graphic equalizer, and FM radio tuner. It comes with 2GB of memory and costs $50.

The MMP8590 is larger with a 1.5" OLED screen, displays jpeg photos, and has a voice recorder and stopwatch. It too comes with 2GB of memory and costs $60.

(via electronista)

I expect the MPAA lawyers are already working on lawsuits to sneak some tracking code into this device.

The Planex DigiJuke network attached storage device cost $525 for a 1GB system with gigabit ethernet. It's big selling point is that it comes with a little browser for searching and tagging youtube videos and torrents for download directly to the DigiJuke.

(via engadget)

The second half of the "AMD Business Class" comedy duo has just reared it's head.

HP jsut announced two new desktops that support the exciting "next-generation AMD Business Class processors" that are much more stable than every other nasty unstable AMD processor out there. Way to shoot yourself in the foot AMD.

If you ignore the marketing babble the PCs themselves aren't bad: good features at a very good price.

(full press release after the jump)

Everyone knows apple always does stuff on Tuesday, so why are they messing with our heads by releasing the iMac update a day early?

The update itself is as expected:

Entry level $1199 20" iMac with 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo Penryn processor, 1GB memory, 250GB hard drive, 128MB ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT graphics.

High-end $2199 24" iMac with 3.06GHz Core 2 Duo Penryn processor, 2GB memory, 320GB hard drive, 512MB Nvidia GeForce 8800 GS graphics.

(full press release after the jump)

Another gadget intended to make the lives of frequent travelers easier: this dual ac to usb charger allows you to charge two devices at the same time.

It comes in 4 colors (white, black, pink and blue), is 59×51×18.5mm (2.32" x 2" x 0.73") and weighs just 43 grams (1.5oz).

(via akihabaranews)

The power goes out, it is 100 degrees outside, your weird neighbor is already outside on the porch in his underwear while his wife tries to cool him with a newspaper, how do you stay cool?

With your solar powered fan of course!

The $70 portable solar fan from Maplin not only operates a 4W fan for 6 to 8 hours on full power it doubles as a lantern, alarm clock, and phone/mp3 charger.

(maplin via ubergizmo)

The Gadgeteer has reviewed the $40 Cardo S800 bluetooth headset.

Here's what they thought:

"Overall, I like the Cardo S-800 bluetooth headset. Its stylish, high-tech design, good call quality, noise canceling technology, and massive list of high end features and capabilities makes this device very tech-worthy. Add to that the fact it can be found for under $40, the S-800 is also a very good value."

(full review at thegadgeteer)

Digitimes is reporting that Asus is considering splitting off Eee as a separate brand:

"Asustek Computer is considering making Eee an independent brand with a lineup products including the original Eee PC notebook, as well as the previously reported upon Eee TV (E-TV), Eee desktop (E-DT), and Eee monitor which are all expected to be introduced by the end of the third quarter this year, according to industry sources.

In other news, in addition to the Eee PC 900, the company will launch the Eee PC 1001 with a 10-inch panel as well as an 11-inch model by the end of this year, market sources have revealed."

(via digitimes)

Photograplyblog has reviewed the $1150 14.6 megapixel Pentax K20D camera.

Here's what they thought:

"Despite the half-baked Live View mode and an increase in price over the K10D, the Pentax K20D is a significant improvement on its predecessor. The shutter release mechanism and auto-focusing system are still noisy, and we'd upgrade the supplied 18-55mm kit lens as soon as possible to get the best out of the sensor, but overall the K20D remains one of the most innovative DSLRs currently available, which we can once again highly recommend."

(more at photographyblog)

A Portuguese company Biodevices S.A. has come up with a shirt that continuously monitors your heart.

It works the same way as the electrocardiogram (EKG) test you get at the hospital but monitors continuously and either saves data to a SD card for future review or transmits via bluetooth to a phone or PDA for real-time monitoring.

It even has a built-in vibration alarm to alert you if you heart rate exceeds a user defined level.

The Vitaljacket will be available soon for 399 euros (about $625).

(vitaljacket via talk2myshirt)

Do you worry about bad breath? ever go to kiss someone and have your horrendous halitosis reduce them to tears? does your wife or significant other keep hinting by ging you mints or gum?

If so then you might need this $19 "kiss me" personal bad breath detector. It detects gases on your breath and has 5 leds to display various levels of grossness.

(via slipperybrick)

More info is leaking out on the iMac update that is expected to happen tomorrow.

Prices are staying the same (at $1199, $1499, and $1799) but the hardware is supposed to be updated with:

Intel's latest penryn chipset
More memory
Bigger hard drive
and possibly an upgraded graphics card

(via slashgear)

Creative have brought out two new colored versions of their ZEM portable media player.

The new red and pink versions are otherwise identical to the existing versions with 2.5" 320 x 240 pixel screen, 4 to 32GB storage capacities and SD expansion slot.

The red version is available at buy.com and the pink is a walmart exclusive.

If you are just looking for the black version there are good deals available directly through Creative's refurbished store.

(Via slashgear)

Trusted Reviews has reviewed the $220 Samsung Pebble Syncmaster 2232BW 22" lcd monitor.

Here's what they thought:

"Samsung's SyncMaster 2232BW Pebble draws you in with its great looks and smooth curves, but from the moment you assemble it to the instant you install it on your desk, you realise it's a case of style over substance. It still manages to entice with its picture quality, but for the money there are better alternatives out there. If you are willing to sacrifice two inches, you can even get LG's DisplayLink-enabled Flatron L206WU for your money, which apart from the design is superior in every respect."

(review at trustedreviews)

AMD just put out a press release announcing "AMD Business Class", "designed with business in mind".

Seems like a marketing invented phrase with no real substance behind it. Most of the press release is about the launch of a "new line of commercial stable AMD Athlon(tm) and AMD Phenom(tm) processors" "with up to 24-month stability".

Um, you mean their regular processors aren't stable?

Their marketing department just backfired again. Maybe if AMD stuck to flying in coach they would be more profitable and successful.....

A bunch of other sites posted about this new RAM from PQI today. It was actually released a month ago but you know how the internet is: someone posts something, other people copy the post without checking the facts etc.

Another example was the "new" combination microwave/toaster that was all over the gadget sites last week.... we have had one of those in our office for the past year (mini review: it feels cheap but does a good enough job).

Anyway, back to this RAM.... I can't tell if that heatsink is on steroids or viagra, either way it looks pretty impressive. The specs of the 4GB memory kit aren't bad either (see the full press release after the jump).

According to fareastgizmos Sony has announced plans to double production of Bravia LCDs TV at their plant in Slovakia.

The plant produces the full range of Bravia TVs for sale in Europe and the increase in production capacity will lead to the creation of 4 million LCD TVs in 2008.

(more at fareastgizmos)

Nokia has announced 3 new phones they are calling "beautiful to use".

The 275 Euro Nokia 6600 fold has a 2.13" OLED screen with 16 million colors, 3G support, and a 2 megapixel camera.

The 250 Euro Nokia 6600 slide has a 2.2" display, nokia maps, and a 3.2 megapixel camera.

The 175 Euro Nokia 3600 slide is the first Nokia phone with background noise cancellation. It also has nokia maps and a 3.2 megapixel camera.

(full press release after the jump)

Lenovo has confirmed that their Ideapad U110 ultraportable will be available in the US on April 29th, direct from Lenovo, for $1899.

Specs are likely to be a 1.6GHz Core 2 Duo L7500 processor, 3GB of RAM, 120GB hard drive, and an 11.1-inch WXGA (1366 x 768 pixels) display.

Other features include Intel GMA X3100 integrated graphics, a 1.3-megapixel web camera, Ethernet LAN, Intel 4965AGN wireless, and Bluetooth, and a battery life of up to 8 hours.

Not bad considering the lenovo ideapad u110 is only 2.3 pounds and 0.7" thick.

We love in-car GPS navigation systems, we've used then for at least 7 years now, and we would be completely lost (literally) without them.

Suzuki apparently feels the same way as they are making the Garmin T.R.I.P flip-up GPS nav system a standard feature in all 2009 SX4 sport and SX4 crossover vehicles.

(press release after the jump)

(via autoblog)

Pioneer has just announced a new projector as part of their high-end Kuro line of A/V equipment.

The Kuro 9000-FD is a LCoS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) projector capable of 1920x1080 pixel resolution on a 14.5 x 8 foor screen.

Other features include a 2x zoom lens, 30,000:1 contrast ration, 600 lumens brightness, 2 HDMI 1 component 1 composite 1 S-video ports, and a remote with backlit buttons.

The Pioneer Kuro 9000-FD projector will be available in Europe in May for about $12,000.

(via electronista)

The Panasonic maker hopes to boost global sales of plasma display panel TVs by about 40 percent to over 6 million units, while increasing sales of LCD (liquid crystal display) TVs by more than half to about 5 million units.

(full news story after the jump)

In the lawn mowing business time is money: the faster you can mow an acre the more lawns you can mow in a day.

The Dixie Chopper Xcaliber probably has a lot of lawn guys excited, not only because it's 38hp engine 15mph top speed and 74" cutting deck give a mowing capacity of 9.2 acres an hour, but also because it comes with springer forks, electric deck lift, and a 12 volt adapter for an ipod, cellphone, or portable beer fridge.

How much will all of that set you back? $11,000!

(dixiechopper, via i4u)

These days more and more gadgets are using a USB connection for charging, which makes emergency recharging extremely convenient.

The hand crank USB power charger from National Geographic allows you to recharge your phone or other USB charged gadgets anywhere there isn't power, and if power is available you can plug it in with it's AC adapter so you don't need to carry multiple chargers.

It is small (2.5" x 4" x 1.5"), light (6oz) and includes adapters for most Motorola, Samsung, Nokia, and LG phones.

(buy for $40 at national geographic)

ihacked has created a long range smart wifi snooper for piggybacking off distant free or unsecured wireless routers.

It uses about $150 in parts (some of which you may already have lying around): a DD-WRT compatible router such as the Buffalo WHR-HP-G54, a Hyperlink 2.4GHz 14.5 Yagi Antenna, a cheap tripos, and some screws/velcro.

Construction of this seems really simple, although it is a big too big to carry on business trips to take advantage of nearby free hotspots instead of paying the hotel $15 a night for their internet.

(full instructions at ihacked)

Liliputing just received a HP Mini-note eee pc lookalike and they seem pretty excited: posting 5 articles about it so far from unboxing to comparing XP startup speed to an eee pc:

Unboxing video
First impressions
Comparison to eee pc slideshow
Windows XP startup speed video
Impressions on SUSE linux

Mobile Gazette snooped around the FCC website and found the specs on the Motorola A810 cellphone.

It appears to be a basic touchscreen phone with a linux based operating system, 2.2" 240 x 320 pixel screen, 2 megapixel camera, bluetooth, and microsd card. No GPD, 3G, or WiFi.

(more at mobilegazette)

Unwired View has reviewed the Sony Ericsson Z770i.

Here's what they thought:

"Z770i is a 3G model with support for HSDPA protocol; you can use the phone as a full-blown 3G modem for your laptop. There's no built-in camera for video calls, and these are not supported at all; nevertheless, the phone is perfect for 3G data transfer. If you are looking for a functional and stylish clamshell and you like Sony Ericsson, I suggest you consider this model."

(full review at unwiredview)

Pedometers have just been made obsolete by the Seiko Slimstick.

It doesn't just count steps it has built-in dual-axis accelerometers that track the intensity of a workout to provide a more accurate readout of calories burned.

Unfortunately it is only available in Japan at the moment for around $55. It measure 0.8" x 2.5" x 0.35" and weighs just half an ounce. It comes in a variety of brushed aluminum finishes: silver, pink, or gold.

(via technabob)

PC Mag has reviewed the small form factor Falcon Northwest FragBox 8500.

Here's what they thought:

"All things considered, naming the Falcon Northwest FragBox 8500 the new Editors' Choice in this category was a no-brainer. Most important, you can play Crysis on it. It's the system to buy right now if you're interested in a Wolfdale-powered gaming PC but don't want to break into the $3,000-plus stratosphere. You'll be paying a bit more than budget gamers for performance and portability, but you won't regret it. The FragBox is here to kick ass. Let it be your opponent's."

(full review at pcmag)

Gizmodo reviewed the Casio Exlim EX-F1 megapixel point-and-shoot digital camera with the capability to shoot at an ultra fast 60 frames per second, rapid flash function up to 20 continuous shots at a speed of up to 7 frames per second, high speed recording at up to 1,200 fps and a 2.8-inch wide TFT color LCD.

Here's what they thought:

"So ultimately there's just this small issue of the $1000 price tag: Is it worth it? My answer is this: if you're looking for a great video camera that also takes decent stills, then yes, it's worth it. But if you're looking for the perfect still camera, it's a far cry. But you might miss it when you go on safari, or to a baseball game, or when you're lighting off fireworks, or when your pets are doing goofy shit, or when... Okay, maybe it is worth it, no matter what your purposes."

(full review at gizmodo)

According to VR-Zone Nvidia is going to release the 9900 as soon as July to keep ahead of Radeon and their HD4800. Here's what they had to say:

"It seems Nvidia has decided to launch them as early as July to counter RV770 and steal the performance crown away. Nvidia has earlier confirmed GT200 existence and revealed that the GPU has about 1B transistors. Our sources are suggesting a 512-bit memory interface with GDDR3 memories for GeForce 9900 GTX using P651 PCB and a 448-bit memory interface for the GeForce 9900 GTS."

(vrzone, via engadget)

MSI has released a bunch of "large" (600x500 pixel) photos of their EeePC-like Wind ultraportable.

The Wind will have Intel processors between 1GHz and 1.6GHz, 1GB RAM, 80GB hard drive, 8.9 inch 1024 x 600 pixel screen, 3 USB ports, VGA output, SD card reader, Windows XP Home, WiFi, Bluetooth, 1.3 megapixel webcam, and should be available in June.

(more pics at engadgetchina)

It is true what they say - the British always talk about the weather (because it changes so much over there), and using the weather as a conversation starter is becoming easier thanks to the Oregon Scientific Meteo weather watching watch.

The watch has a built in barometer that displays one of 4 icons: sunny, partly cloudy, cloudy and rainy, so instead of looking at the sky to see if it is sunny you can look at the watch instead.

Imagine the uses: you are out sunbathing in the park next to an attractive girl, your watch alerts you that rain is on the way, you can immediately jump into action, save her from the impending rain and suggest you head back to your place instead.

(via biosmagazine)

Eprice in Taiwan obtained a spec sheet of the upcoming successor to LG's touchscreen Prada phone.

The specs include: Quad-band GSM (850/900/1800/1900). WCDMA 900/2100, 7.2 Mbps HSDPA connectivity, 3″ WQVGA 400×240 px TFT touchscreen, 5 megapixel camera, front camera for video calls, Wi-Fi b/g connectivity, USB 2.0, Bluetooth, Full HTML browsing, FM-Radio, TV-out, microSDHC memory card slot (up to 8GB), slide-out QWERTY keyboard.

Looks and sounds good but expect LG to be trumped again by Apple and a new iPhone.

(via unwiredview)