Gadgets Base

Posted Feb 19th 2008 10:10PM by Darren Murph
Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment
The writing was already on the wall, but it looks as if Onkyo actually won’t be pursuing the long lost HD DVD format any longer. According to a Japanese report at Yomiuri Online, the firm will be discontinuing production of hd dvd players following Toshiba’s own decision to abandon the format, but it will continue to provide service for customers that already snapped up the DV-HD805. Interestingly, there was no mention of Onkyo’s plans in regard to Blu-ray, but nevertheless, yet another red supporter has definitely waved its white flag.

[Via Widescreen Review, image courtesy of Bret Philpot]

With the Nokia N810 still pretty new it seems a little early to already have spotted an N830. The image comes courtesy of a Best Buy mobile ad and leads to the speculation of just what the N830 will include. Will it be a minor refresh or some new colors or could it be the highly anticipated WiMAX equipped tablet? This could possibly be set for a CTIA announcement this April.

Keep reading for the full ad image below…

Via [TabletBlog]

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If you’re a big fan of the Disney Fairies franchise, it is time to rejoice as the House of Mouse aims to make that franchise fly to new heights this year. Disney has introduced a breakthrough concept when it comes to the next-generation Internet-connectivity with Disney Fairies toys that boast Clickables technology. This is an exclusive toy courtesy of Disney and Techno Source teaming up, where Clickables technology allow girls to extend their virtual playtime in Disney Fairies Pixie Hollow. For parents who have no idea what the Disney Fairies Pixie Hollow is all about, it is actually Disney’s latest online virtual world where you will be able to keep in touch with offline friends in the real world. Playtime is all about magic, and it seems that this latest line of toys isn’t short of its charms and wiles.

According to Chris Heatherly, vice president of technology and innovation, Disney Consumer Products, “The future of toys is about connecting online and offline play. Kids and tweens are quickly embracing virtual worlds and, while there are several Internet-related toys in the market today, the play ends when the computer gets shut down. With our new line of Disney Fairies toys featuring Clickables technology, we’re bringing the fun of social networking, collecting, and trading into the real world so that girls can extend the fun of the enchanting online world of Pixie Hollow to school, the park, or wherever they may be.”

Some of the Disney Fairies line that feature Clickables technology include :-

Pixie Dust eJewelry Collection - Comes with a magical jewelry box, a charm necklace and three exclusive Disney Fairies charms powered by Clickables technology. When a girl touches a charm to the Clickables center of her jewelry box, Pixie Dust sparkles and music plays as the jewelry box comes alive. Each charm unlocks a unique fairy gift at www.PixieHollow.com, including exclusive clothing, and décor. Girls can store their Disney Fairies jewelry sprinkled with magical Clickables technology in this enchanting box where it will be protected by the magic of fairies.

Tink Friendship eBracelets - Bring girls and Disney Fairies characters together with the mere touch of a band powered by Clickables technology. The magic begins with the creation of a Fairy Friendship Kit online at www.PixieHollow.com where a girl can select her fairy avatar, a special message and a gift, then save it onto her Tink Friendship eBracelet to be shared offline with friends. When a girl touches her band to her friend’s and presses a button, her band will glow to confirm that a Fairy Friendship has been made – no cords, no computer, just a touch of Pixie Dust! Just like the girls, their online fairies are friends too and can easily find each other in Pixie Hollow.

Tink’s eCharm Bracelet - Features a customizable charm bracelet and three themed charms for girls to create their own fairy style. Powered by Clickables technology, each charm unlocks a unique, exclusive fairy gift at www.PixieHollow.com. Girls can share these gifts with each other by simply touching a charm to a friend’s Pixie Dust eJewelry box or Tink Friendship eBracelet so they can all have the charm’s gift in Pixie Hollow. Girls can collect and trade the actual charms too.

Press Release

The first time I laid eyes on this device, I felt a strong appreciation for what it can do.

Being allergic to cigarette smoke, something like the eneloop air fresher could be of big help. This is the latest in the line of Sanyo’s “eneloop universe.” It only needs water to activate its ‘virus washer’ function, which suppresses viruses, bacteria, allergens like pollen, and yes, even odours such as cigarette smoke. Best of all, it can run on batteries, the car cigar jack, or on electricity when plugged in an outlet. Best for homes with babies and ill occupants, the eneloop air fresher will be available in Japan starting February 21, 2008 in Marshmallow White.

via

Posted Feb 19th 2008 4:37PM by Nilay Patel
Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment
We’ve certainly seen our share of devices to bring your computer and TV together, but the HDTV Suite-HDMI from Asus brings it back the other way, providing a TV tuner and a variety of TV-oriented inputs for your computer monitor. The box accepts a host of inputs from HDMI to coax, converts, finesses and upscales the signal up to 1080p, and outputs over DVI or VGA, turning your old display into a viable television. The multiple inputs and TV tuner support PIP, and there’s also a bundled remote to control the on-screen menus, completing the TV makeover. Sadly, there’s no word on price, but PAL and NTSC support hints that we might see this box hit our fair shores — looks like it’s time for a monitor upgrade, eh?

[Via PCLaunches]

Posted Feb 19th 2008 4:59PM by Joshua Topolsky
Filed under: Robots
Tokyo University engineer Tsuyoshi Horo has developed a novel system for controlling robots (or in this case, a moving stool) using a simple set of hand and body gestures. The researcher is utilizing a circular array of cameras to track and detect body movement within a controlled environment, and then translate those movements to actions for an automaton. The cameras are used to create a real-time, 3D, volumetric model of objects or people in the space, which is then converted into a psychedelic stack of virtual cubes which are read and processed as data. Viewed movement allows a user to control something like the direction of a bot simply by pointing which way they’d like it to go. Sure, that’s all well and good, but we’re more interested in getting ourselves Tron-ed into a highly complex Rubik’s cube — where do we sign up? Watch the videos after the break to see the system (and the blocks) in action.

[Via technabob]

A few months back I gave Toshiba some advice on how HD-DVD could win the format war. Perhaps it was too little, too late, or it was sound advice that fell on deaf ears. Either way, Toshiba has packed up camp and announced it will no longer be manufacturing or marketing HD-DVD players and ending the long format war once and for all.

It’s estimated Toshiba sold over one million HD-DVD players and three-hundred thousand personal computers with HD-DVD drives. Painful as it may be for early adopters, there will be no rebates, refunds, or credits toward Blu-Ray devices for anyone that bought in to HD-DVD early.

What brought the demise of HD-DVD? Though a full autopsy may be in order to find the detailed answer, I chalk it up to three things:

Read the rest at TechLore >>

The well-received Eee PC by Asus, the mini PC with the mini price tag that Laptop Magazine called “the best value-priced notebook on the planet,” has inspired competition, including the soon to be released Kojinsha E8 subnotebook. It runs on Windows XP, with a AMD Goede LX800 processor and 512MB of memory. Other features include touch screen (1024×600 resolution), built-in stereo speaker, memory card slot, USB port, and 3.5 hours of continuous use time. Due to be released at the end of this month, it’ll be priced between $529 and $635, which is over $100 more than the price of the Eee PC, which sells for $399 at Amazon.

Via Aving.net.

Product: Plantronics Explorer 370 Bluetooth Headset
Price and Availability: $79.95, Retail availability beginning in March 2008.
Rating: 8/10
Pros: Good sound quality, very solid and rugged design.
Cons: Headset fit was slightly uncomfortable, which could have been more of a personal issue.
Overall: Overall a nice sounding, durable and easy to use headset.

We were lucky enough to get our hands on the Plantronics Explorer 370 headset during CES and it had proven to be solid headset. The Plantronics Explorer 370 was an overall nice headset to use. It was paired easily and quickly with an Apple iphone and also a Palm Centro. The headset was paired and used with both phones and we had no trouble with either model phone. The headset comes with a wall power adapter to charge and also a lanyard. To be honest, we felt even geekier wearing the headset on the lanyard hanging around our neck then just wearing the headset on our ear. The lanyard may be a nice addition, but not something I can see many using. The headset itself has a rugged design with a call control button on the outside, along with the volume up and down controls up top. The call controls are pretty standard, the 370 can answer or end a call, redial the last-number called, and also has voice-activated dialing. The Explorer 370 offers up to seven hours of talk time and eight days of standby time. The Explorer 370 felt (and looked) big and bulky initially, but after some comparison to our current favorite (the Jawbone) it was actually very close in size and proved nice once in use.

Bottom Line: If you are looking for a quality made headset that you can toss in your pocket or backpack without having to worry then this should be a great option. In addition to the rugged and solid feel, it offered a good sound quality and had easy to use controls.

Keep reading for more pictures of the Explorer 370, along with some comparison shots with the Aliph Jawbone and Apple’s Bluetooth Headset…

Read [Plantronics]

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