Gadgets Base

Posted Jan 26th 2008 10:11AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Portable VideoCES 2008 brought us plenty of gimmicky 3D-related gadgetry, a bit that was respectable, and apparently, the TDVisor-HD. Nearly three weeks after the show concluded, TDVision Systems has just now gotten around to tossing out a press release boasting about how much fun was had by folks stopping by and checking out the “world’s first portable, all digital, high-def 3D visualization system.” Unfortunately, we’re left to ponder on precisely what this thing is, but as best we can tell, it’s yet another Virtual Boy-esque device, ‘cept this one does 720p (and 3D). Per usual, a price and release date are conveniently absent, but considering that we can’t even recall the last time we wore anything with “visor” in the product name (well, besides that one time…), we suppose it’ll be alright.

Posted Jan 26th 2008 8:06AM by Joshua Topolsky
Filed under: Gaming
Finally, you can relive your really good youthful memories via the Wii and its latest Virtual Console addition: the Sega Master System. That’s right, if you happen to be nostalgic for a certain Z80A kind of action — and you live in Japan — you need only look to Nintendo’s cash-cow for help. Starting this February, you can play Fist of the North Star and the hallucination-inducing Fantasy Zone to your heart’s content, though just like other VC offerings we expect to see more games and more territories included later on. What’s important for Nintendo to know is this: the sooner we’re deep in a game of Wonder Boy in Monster Land, the happier everyone will be… so step on it.

[Via Digg]

An alarm clock is the only thing that helps us to wake up in the morning. Hardly someone can get to work or university on time without using it. Nowadays the fact that everyone needs this device encourages producers to design a great number of different alarm clocks in order to meet consumers’ needs. As a result we have a lot of various alarm clocks to fit any taste. For example, it’s even possible to use your favorite song as an alarm. Yet, it doesn’t mean that no innovations should be made in this domain.

Thus, given gadget represents an absolutely different approach to the question. The main difference consists in the fact that it doesn’t wake you up by means of annoying loud alarm, helping not to disturb people who don’t need to get up. Device has quite a strange form that is of a ring. So, you just have to set the alarm for a certain time and put it on your finger. When the time comes, it starts vibrating. The only way to turn it off is to get out of your bed and put it back in place. Actually, this gadget consists of two alarm clocks because there are two rings, which can be set for different times. Another thing that should be mentioned is a modern stylish design of the concept.

However, there is one significant disadvantage of these “rings”. It’s not a fact that this gadget would be able to wake up people who sleep like a log, because they may throw it away - “let it vibrate”. Nevertheless, this gadget can be regarded as a good substitute for usual alarm clocks by light sleepers.

Although we’ve heard a lot about the development of compact projectors that enable transmitting images or videos to any surface, there is still nothing of that kind. Yet, even now many companies say that they are about to produce these devices. One of such reports has been recently made by 3M Corporation. According to the given information this company designed a tiny projector, which can be integrated into the cell phones and transmit an image of VGA-quality.

This gadget represents a very small projector that has about 1,3cm in width. But developers are sure that the diminutiveness of this device will not have an impact on its quality. Thus, given concept will be able to ensure VGA-quality of the image that can be considered as quite a high achievement in this domain. Moreover it is said that the diagonal of the image transmitted by this projector will reach 40 inches or even more. As Mike Kali, executive vice-president of 3M Corporation, declared their “project has finally reached compactness, efficiency, reliability and image quality that make it possible to speak about the appearance of a new competitive product”.

So, at least now there is no possibility to reveal positive and negative features of this gadget and the only thing we can do is to hope that all the characteristics that were mentioned above are true. Of course, it would be great if some cell phone producers started to produce their devices integrated with such a useful concept, but it’s not the fact yet.

MTV TV Shows for PSP

The Portable PlayStation from Sony will receive new content in the near future, that will come in the form of UMD, also known as Universal Media Disc, which is a format made specifically for the PSP that didn’t become very popular.

So in order to give more fame to the potential format, Sony decided to start offering TV shows in UMD, most part coming from MTV programming. With that being said, here are some of the upcoming shows: Beavis and Butt-Head, Viva La Bam, Jackass, and Wildboyz. As you can see, this is true MTV material made available to target some PSP users.

New Mobile YouTube

The first mobile version of YouTube was put live on November 2006, but the Google-owned company has released a new and improved version, yesterday.

The main difference is the quantity of content available, on the past version, there wasn’t much, but in the recently launched model, there are “tens of millions of videos”. Another new feature is the community functions that didn’t exist before, like adding friends, posting messages in special boards, and more.

Believe it or not, another important change is the exclusion of advertisement, in other words, this mobile YouTube won’t have ads. According to Mr. Walk, from YouTube, this move was made in order to gain more audience, and to turn YouTube users, into mobile YouTubers.

But not everything is good in this announcement, the small notes mention additional charges made by your mobile service provider, that is, unless you have an plan with unlimited data transfer, otherwise it might be too expensive to watch YouTube on the go.

PS - http://www.m.youtube.com

Sources - Reuters and NYTimeso

Guest post by Tiago of Gadgetizer

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Posted Jan 26th 2008 6:01AM by Nilay Patel
Filed under: Misc. GadgetsIt’s no secret that Apple Legal is, ah, aggressive when it comes to protecting its various fruit-flavored intellectual property, but a company called BlueAir just filed a lawsuit accusing Apple’s lawyers of outright harassment over BlueAir’s AirPOD air purifier, pictured at right. Seems BlueAir has been trying to register a trademark on the product, and instead of filing an opposition with the USPTO based on consumer confusion with the iPod, Apple’s attorneys have just been sending BlueAir angry letters and threatening massive legal fees. Of course, that’s pretty much what lawyers do, but BlueAir’s asked the court to step in and rule definitively on the subject before pursuing their trademark application any further. Seeing how protective Apple’s been of the “-pod” suffix in the past, that could lead to some interesting rulings — we’ll be keeping an eye on this one for sure.

Disclaimer: Although Nilay is an attorney, super guy, and snappy dresser, he’s not your attorney, and this post is not legal advice or analysis and should not be taken as such.

Thanks Anne P. for the groovy suggestion for Gizmos for Geek’s Gizmo of the Day! Granted, as you mentioned, it’s not quite a gizmo but the laptop case is pretty cool for geek’s who likes retro stuff (like you!).

While younger geek’s would probably have no clue what “Pan Am” is other than from movies like “Catch Me If You Can” or one of the Bond flicks like “Dr. No”, “From Russia With Love”, “Casino Royale”, “Live and Let Die” and “License to Kill” (I’m a Bond geek), the slightly older crowd will recognize the name, may have even been on a flight run by the Miami-based airline until their demise in 1991 but definitely know about the terrorist attack against Pan Am Flight 103.

Whether retro is your look or you actually remember the days of Pan Am, this kitchy laptop bag is a chic way to carry your laptop with a water-resistant PVC outer shell that is embossed with the infamous Pan Am logo and complemented with a printed cotton/nylon lining. There are added pockets for a cell phone or pens and a roomy exterior front pocket. Fly away with Pan Am blue, flight blue (turquoise), or retro white.

Gimmie!

Suggested Price: $99.00

Posted Jan 26th 2008 2:02AM by Joshua Topolsky
Filed under: Cellphones
If our solemn word wasn’t enough to convince you of trouble in retail-ville for Palm, take this news as empirical. According to the smartphone-maker, it is officially shuttering all of its retail locations but one over the next five weeks. Originally, we thought that the airport locations would steer clear of the axe, but news today is that 34 stores total — 26 airport-based and eight branded stores — will be saying adios before long. Sure, this news doesn’t sound real hot, but Palm claims they want to cut costs and focus on its next-gen phones, which is what we’ve been asking them to do all along… so maybe this is a blessing in disguise?

No, these striking images weren’t made using Photoshop trickery. They were actually taken using a unique process which involves placing photographic paper onto an object, placing them both on a high-voltage plate, then cranking up the juice.

Referred to as Kirlian photography, the technique dates back to a 1939 discovery (by a man named Kirlian, of course) that when an object is placed on an electrified plate, tiny coronas around the item can cause photo paper to expose in unusual and beautiful ways. Over the years, the effect has been co-opted by various new-age charlatans and snake oil salesmen with claims that the images were indications of some sort of paranormal “aura”. What a bunch of hokum.

Up until now, there wasn’t a good way to produce your own Kirlian images without building your own homebrew high-voltage rig, risking life and limb in the process. The $250 Kirlian Photography Device lets you to make your own electrified images without having to hack together your own. The metal imaging plate can be used with any 4X5 color or black & white sheet film and paper or even Polaroid film. Different film types and frequency adjustments create a virtually limitless array of image effects. You’ll need a 4×5 camera to use this out-of-the-box, or you can spend an additional $99 on a transparent plate which lets you capture the images with a standard 35mm or digital camera.

Now keep in mind that this thing isn’t a kid’s toy. It’s a serious electrical device, and you actually have to sign off on a disclaimer form before you can buy one. For some reason, I doubt these things are UL-approved.

read more about:

arc, electricity, image, kirlian, photo, voltage

Posted Jan 25th 2008 11:58PM by Joshua Topolsky
Filed under: Cellphones
What would you do if the US patent office gave you the go-ahead on a far-reaching, non-specific application filed for a “mobile entertainment and communication device”? If your answer was that you would immediately draw up lawsuits against almost every major electronics manufacturer that even looked at a smartphone funny, you get a cookie. Yes folks, as impossible as it is to believe, the holders of the aforementioned patent have just sued Apple, Nokia, RIM, Sprint, AT&T, HP, Motorola, Helio, HTC, Sony Ericsson, UTStarcomm, and Samsung… amongst others. So eager was this company to sue, in fact, that legal papers were filed a day before the patent was granted, and subsequently had to re-submitted. The real sucker-punch here is that the patent simply combines a list of prior technologies jumbled into one product, a practice which has recently been ruled against by the Supreme Court. Still, we doubt it will stop the holders from trying to nab a few dollars in settlements, staying the work of real innovators, and generally making a mockery of our patent system. Bravo!

[Via Slashdot]