Gadgets Base

Sprint has announced the availability of the Samsung ACE SPH-i325 global smartphone. The ACE features EV-DO, a 1.3-megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth, microSD storage, GPS, Sprint TV and access to the Sprint Music Store.

The Samsung ACE is set to ship with Windows Mobile 6, no mention on whether or not it will be upgraded to Windows Mobile 6.1. The Samsung ACE is currently available and retails for $199.99 with a two-year agreement or $449.99 with no agreement.

Read [Sprint] Via [Phone News]

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Posted Feb 18th 2008 1:37PM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment
Nah, Samsung’s M310 isn’t nearly as diminutive as its MBP-100, but it’s still quite the cutie. Hailed as an Ultra Mobile Pocket Imager, this DLP device features a 1,000:1 contrast ratio, 150 ANSI lumens, VGA input, SVGA native resolution and a pleasantly small footprint. Mum’s the word on an official price / release date, but we’ve all ideas this is one case where more won’t cost less.

[Via AboutProjectors]

Producers and designers from all over the world try to introduce different innovations in every domain of our life. In some of these domains such innovations at first sight may seem to be a little bit strange, however, they still remain very useful ones. Thus, at present you have the opportunity to turn your bathroom into a really high tech place, and an absolutely new concept from Unique Automation will help you to do so.

Given gadget is actually a digital bath filler named Bath-O-Matic that performs an impressive amount of functions. With the Bath-O-Matic arriving in the bathroom your bath times will probably become more pleasant and pricey. By design the concept lowers the plug, fills up the bathtub to a predetermined temperature and depth, and can even add bubble bath and fragrances to the water. It also includes a motorized plug so no water is wasted, and adjusts to pressure and outside temperature. For contol, the Bath-O-Matic connects to AMX and Crestron systems (using RS-232 or TCP/IP) and has a touch screen interface. There are a couple of options from the maker to adjust to your bath rooms and needs. So if you think you cannot do with this automatic system that helps you spend a perfect bath time, then be ready to pay /,000 for it.

In my view it’s quite a good idea to use such a multifunctional and easy-to-operate device in the bathroom. With the help of this gadget things become much easier: just forget about everything and take a delight in having a bath. Yet, its price is not a moderate one, so just well-to-do people will be able to afford it.

Related:

• Waterproof CD player
• Illuminated showerhead
• Aqua vision towel rail TV

Posted Feb 18th 2008 12:35PM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Displays, HDTV
Don’t look now, but those delicious looking LCD TVs we saw grace the depths of the FCC’s database last week have apparently surfaced across the pond, and they’ve brought a line of PDPs with ‘em. ‘Course, we already got a whiff of these at CES, but it’s always reassuring to have a model number to cling to, no? The LG6000 LCD HDTV series consists of 32-, 37-, 42- and 47-inch iterations that boast a 15,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, “invisible” Mark Levinson speakers, automatic brightness and color optimization, four HDMI 1.3 inputs, a USB 2.0 port and TruMotion 100Hz technology on the largest two sets. As for the 42- and 50-inch PG6000 plasmas, you’ll notice a 30,000:1 contrast ratio, THX Display certification and most everything else previously mentioned on the LCD siblings. Regrettably, there’s no word on a price or release date, but we can’t envision such good looks coming sans a premium.

I remember as a teenager back in the eighties the quick phenomenon of “kid leashes”. These were dual bracelets that attached with some phone-cord like line, designed to keep the kid a safe distance. This was a market that I was glad never took off.

However, I am a parent now and know the general feeling of complete nervousness that occurs every time my children just up and run off in a public place. I think the only thing that keeps me from purchasing a “kid leash” are my not-so-fond memories of controlling parents.

However, there is a technological alternative: the In-Reach Child Tracking System. This device has an ankle bracelet that is reminiscent of those under house arrest or parole. There is a child sensor belt for the parent.

Apparently, you set a boundary for your kids so that if they go outside it, an alarm will sound. This boundary can be as low as 10 feet or high as 300 feet. I found that the Product Page is very unspecific about everything that it can do, but it comes with a Child Panic and Parent Alert Button.

If you are a nervous parent, perhaps this will calm your nerves. It is available at the Security Safety Spy site for about $44.95.

Posted Feb 18th 2008 11:40AM by Paul Miller
Filed under: Gaming, HDTV, Home EntertainmentMicrosoft hit us up with a statement today regarding its Xbox 360 HD DVD player in light of the format’s current woes. The company seems to think the news won’t have “any material impact on the Xbox 360 platform or our position in the marketplace.” Microsoft goes on to reiterate its line about the largest next-gen games library and its belief that “it is games that sell consoles.” For those of you hoping for some sort of Blu-ray attachment for the 360 — or a sense of purpose for that increasingly obsolete hd dvd player currently hooked up to your 360 — Microsoft does say that “we will wait until we hear from Toshiba before announcing any specific plans around the Xbox 360 HD DVD player,” which seems to imply there’s something to announce once HD DVD finally kicks the bucket, but at this point the prospect of a Blu-ray add-on still seems rather optimistic.

Posted Feb 18th 2008 4:42AM by Thomas RickerWhile owners of new HD DVD gear might be miffed at Toshiba’s plans to scrap their HD DVD format, investors are stoked. Toshiba’s shares are up nearly 6% in mid-day Tokyo trading on unusually high volume. A clear sign from investors that it’s time for Toshiba to cut its hd dvd losses and run. Now go ahead Toshiba — investors, consumers, retails, and the content owners all agree that it’s high time to end this format war once and for all. We’re all just waiting for you to make it official.

[Thanks, Karl]

Posted Feb 18th 2008 7:51AM by Chris Ziegler
Filed under: cellphones
Marking the end of a remarkable era in cellular technology, the FCC is officially letting American carriers decommission their legacy analog networks as of today, February 18, 2008. Few of us still own a phone based on AMPS — Advanced mobile phone System, ironically, despite the fact that there’s been nothing “advanced” about it for many years — but we owe the very existence of the world’s modern wireless infrastructure to the introduction and overwhelming success of the Bell Labs-developed technology. So successful was AMPS, in fact, that it eventually covered virtually 100 percent of the continental United States, a statistic CDMA and GSM have only recently begun to approach.

In the US, Verizon, AT&T, and Alltel operate AMPS networks, and it’s no secret that they’ve been itching to flip off the switch just as soon as the government would allow in order to free up cell sites, bandwidth, and maintenance dollars for modern digital systems (in fact, AT&T will be taking the opportunity to shut down its first-generation digital network as well). Verizon and AT&T begin closing their doors on cellular history this week, while Alltel will take a more gradual approach, phasing out its AMPS operations through September of this year.

So on that note, if you’ve got a late-model vehicle equipped with OnStar, DynaTAC, MicroTAC, Lifestyle, or some other relic from Motorola’s glory days lying around, give it a proper send-off: light it up one last time, let it handshake with the airwaves it’ll never see again, and in the unlikely event you still have an active account, place a call. Then take a second to marvel at how far we’ve come and go back to that Voyager, Tilt, or iphone, knowing that in another 25 years, we could be doing it all over again.

Posted Feb 18th 2008 10:59AM by Paul Miller
Filed under: Gaming
We spotted this Guitar Hero clone while strolling the floors of Toy Fair 2008. It’s hard to really get up in arms about “Guitar Fever” swiping intellectual property with Rock Band all copping Guitar Hero’s style, and it’s great that you can pick up one of these for $50 and plug it straight into your TV with no console required. In fact, all could be forgiven if it weren’t for the fact that we’ve heard scads of user-composed Commodore 64 tunes that sounded higher-fidelity than what this was pumping out.

Gallery: Keepin’ it real fake, part CXI: Guitar Fever’s only prescription is more cowbell

Posted Feb 18th 2008 7:04AM by Ryan Block
Filed under: GamingSo analysts at research firm iSuppli are projecting that the Wii will overtake the 360 as the dominant current-gen console this year, as projected sales would put Nintendo at over 30m units, compared to Microsoft’s expected 26m. The PS3 is also mentioned as having the greatest growth potential if it hits projections of 25.7m total units sold this year, but that seems a little optimistic if you ask us. Sony fans might have the last laugh though, as ultimately iSuppli sees the PS3 as the market leader as we enter the next decade. Hey, who knows, Sony might just catch up and recapture that crown — anything’s possible.