Gadgets Base

Posted Jan 24th 2008 10:57AM by Donald Melanson
Filed under: Laptops
It’s taken a while, but it looks like folks in Japan can now finally get their hands on Asus’s diminutive and eminently-hackable Eee PC, although not exactly the same models we have ’round these parts. Dubbed the Eee PC 4G-X, the Japan-centric laptop is apparently identical to the regular 4G model, with the notable exception that it now comes pre-loaded with Windows XP Home Edition as standard instead of the usual Linux OS. That, of course, takes up a hefty chunk of the 4GB of internal storage, so Asus has thoughtfully 4GB SDHC card with the laptop as well. Look for it to be available in your choice of black or white for ¥50,000 (or about $468), with free access to NTT’s WiFine hotspot network thrown in for good measure.

Posted Jan 24th 2008 7:56AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: LaptopsWhoa Dell, what’s this? An exclusive, XPS M1330 in Germany sporting an Ubuntu 7.10 pre-load with full DVD and webcam support? Where’s the Stateside love, yo?

[Thanks, Roland K.]

This is one of those gadgets that you think to yourself… “damn, I wish I would’ve thought of that!” The MagnoGrip is simply a magnetic wristband guaranteed to securely hold nails, screws, drill bits, fasteners and tools. It allows professionals and do-it yourselfers to finish jobs in less time and with less frustration. The magnogrip is built to handle the most rugged of jobs. Its fabric construct consists of durable heavy duty canvas, industrial grade velcro and high-powered magnets that are strong enough to hold a hammer.

Brilliant… yet so simple.

Gimmie!

Suggested Price: $14.99

Posted Jan 24th 2008 6:13AM by Evan Blass
Filed under: Misc. GadgetsIsrael is reportedly developing a sophisticated piece of software meant to help troops make quick decisions during battle and, under the right conditions, autonomously manipulate the nation’s defense systems. First reported in Defense News (subscription required), the unnamed system would primarily be used for tactical decisions during periods of heavy bombardment, although in a worst-case scenario, the complex algorithm would supposedly be capable of taking over total military control. Yes, we know what you’re thinking, but don’t worry: Israeli officials have already sworn up and down that “there’s no way we’re letting this thing go Terminator on us — no freakin’ way.”

[Via Danger Room]

Posted Jan 24th 2008 4:14AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: HDTV, Laptops
Check it Blu-ray on-the-go fans. Sony just gave the Penryn bump to their VAIO AR series of media laptops. Sweet, powerful, 2.5GHz of cool running, long lasting, Core 2 Duo T9300 processing and 512MB of NVIDIA GeForce Go 8600M GT graphics now at the heart of this 17-inch, 1,920 x 1,200 resolution lappie. Your $3,300 pre-order should be greeted by a Jan 29th ship date if you’re lucky.

[Thanks, Zainuddin Z.]

Back in early December, Birmingham, Alabama had become the first school district in the U.S. to purchase the XO laptops from the OLPC project. It now seems they may not have put as much thought into having these actually work as they did when placing and negotiating the order.

The city was seemingly unaware that Wi-Fi must be in place before the laptops can go online. Sadly this has also lead back to the “inappropriate Web content” argument, it seems that Board member Virginia Volker is more worried about the kids looking at p0rn than actually learning. In response Bob McKenna, who is Langford’s liaison to the City Council has stated that filters would be added to the school routers and that parents need to be “on the lookout as well.”

In the mean time the city is planning to “make the whole city Wi-Fi.” This will begin with the churches, fire station and even on the top of City Hall. Hopefully they will remember to include the schools as well. The laptops are expected to be in the hands of students beginning in March.

Read [Everything Alabama Blog]

Posted Jan 24th 2008 4:51AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: Displays, HDTV
In an odd yet titillating contest to offer the world’s thinnest TV, Sharp just took gold. Their 34.4-mm (1.35-inch) thin LCDs comes in 46-, 42-, and 37-inch models. These lookers aren’t just skinny though, they’re dense as a product waif too. Each comes stuffed with a 120MHz panel offering a 15,000:1 dynamic contrast, 450 cd/m2 brightness, and 12-bit BDE color value rendering for smooth image quality. Add to it a 1-bit digital amplifier, 3-way 8-speaker system, and a vast suite of jacks including 3x 1080p HDMI 1.3a inputs, DVI for your PC, Ethernet, and Firewire and you’ll seriously consider setting aside the dough for a new set when these hit Japan in March. How much? Nothing announced… but does it matter?

Gallery: Sharp’s 46/42/37-inch AQUOS X series grabs world’s thinnest title

Posted Jan 24th 2008 3:03AM by Paul Miller
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
USB-based musicality is great and all, but sometimes you want to cut the cord and play live. IK’s StompIO USB stomp box is apparently the ticket to such a life of freedom, since it packs in a good amount of software amps and software controllable switches and the like, but it also does all its own amp modeling when away from the computer. The bad news is that freedom comes at quite the price: StompIO is available now for $1,050.

Posted Jan 24th 2008 2:34AM by Ryan Block
Filed under: Cellphones
Mobile World Congress isn’t for a bit yet, but Sony Ericsson is getting the party started early with four new lower-end devices aimed at developing nations. Not that you’ll be too interested, but here are the eight new variants of the four new models (T270, T280, R300, R306):

• T270i - GSM / GPRS 900 / 1800
• T270a - GSM / GPRS 850 / 1900
• T280i - 1.3 megapixel camera, FM radio, GSM / GPRS 900 / 1800
• T280a - 1.3 megapixel camera, FM radio, GSM / GPRS 850 / 1900
• R300 Radio - VGA camera, Bluetooth, GSM / GPRS 900 / 1800 / 1900
• R300a Radio - VGA camera, Bluetooth, GSM / GPRS 900 / 1800 / 1900
• R306 Radio (pictured) - 1.3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, GSM / GPRS 900 / 1800 / 1900
• R306a Radio - 1.3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, GSM / GPRS 900 / 1800 / 1900

Gallery: Sony Ericsson low-enders

Posted Jan 24th 2008 12:46AM by Paul Miller
Filed under: Laptops
We’re still on waiting for the official 20,000 word review from John Mayer before we make our final decision, but tech journo heavyweights from USA Today, Wall Street Journal and Newsweek (with Pogue of the New York Times notably absent) have had their MacBook Airs for about a week now, and true to form are espousing some opinion on the slab of metal. Turns out there are few surprises, and you could probably draw the same conclusions from reading the spec sheets and drooling over the press shots like the rest of us losers. Battery life could be the biggest trouble point, with a couple guys rating it around 3.5 hours with heavy use, and even less when watching a movie on iTunes — Apple’s five hour prediction seems a bit optimistic. Nobody’s thrilled about the stuff Apple cut out to get the size down, but it’s hard for these guys to poo poo Apple’s decisions outright (Levy’s comparison to circumcision is downright uncomfortable, to say the least) since there’s an undeniable sexiness to holding and using the Air. One nice perk of the underwhelming power is that the laptop doesn’t run as hot as Apple’s other portables, making it a winner in the “laptop” department. Oh, and 3G? Edward Baig says he asked Jobs about the much-rumored feature, and the idea was apparently tossed around, but eventually dropped due to the desire to give consumers a choice and to keep things slim. 160GB HDD? Again with the slimness. So if you need the sexiest and slimmest thing going, there’s no question the MacBook Air fits the bill, but it certainly looks like Apple excluded a lot of potential customers with the compromises made.

Read - Edward Baig “Given the compromises, I don’t expect anyone to use Air as their only computer.”
Read - Steven Levy “The things that Apple left on were the ingredients for a quality computer.”
Read - Walt Mossberg “If you rely on spare batteries, expect the usual array of ports, or like to play DVDs on planes, this isn’t the computer to buy.”