Gadgets Base

Posted Feb 21st 2008 1:24AM by Paul Miller
Filed under: Peripherals
Watch out Walt Mossberg, Al Roker’s got your number on this whole “technology pundit for the common man” thing. He teamed up with Cat Schwartz on the Today Show to get to the bottom of this whole Bluetooth sensation that’s sweeping the country. Will something finally dethrone infrared from its dominant role in our wireless lifestyle? Only time will tell. Video is after the break.

A new Sony Ericsson clamshell handset image has been leaked, this time we have very little details about the phone or the specs. The image of the new phone is part of either a “print ad” or possibly a “manual” and shows a handset that has a keypad that looks like the W980 along with similar qualities from the Z series. Oh, and it also apparently has a built-in GPS receiver, which comes only from the “Always know your location” text from the image. Gotta love the leaks, either way this looks to be a low to mid-range offering.

Via [SE Fanatics] Via [IntoMobile]

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CNET reviews the Samsung SGH-G800 and writes, “Like many camera phones of its caliber, the SGH-G800 is designed to look like a camera but offer cameralike ergonomics. A sliding cover protects the camera lens and xenon flash. Opening the cover starts the camera automatically, and closing it turns off the camera. There’s no self-portrait mirror, but it’s not needed. The SGH-G800 has a second VGA camera just above its display. This second lens is so inconspicuous that we didn’t even know it was there until we saw an option for it while scrolling through the camera menus. When you’re taking a photo with either lens, and you’re holding the phone horizontally, you’ll find that the left spine volume rocker and camera shutter are now on the top of the device. It feels just like a real camera. You can use the volume rocker to control the zoom.”

Read more about the Samsung SGH-G800.

Posted Feb 20th 2008 6:48PM by Paul Miller
Filed under: Wearables
This is frankly brilliant. A hands-free umbrella is perfect for walking to work while yapping on your phone with one hand and cradling a cup of coffee with the other. Unfortunately it’s just never going to make it past the “my friends will laugh at me” stage, because they will. They will laugh so very hard. It’s a cruel, backwards society we live in, and it’s no wonder we don’t have flying cars yet. That said, you can destroy your own fashion credibility today for a mere $59.99. Maybe the fanny pack types will accept you, but we can’t make any guarantees.

[Thanks, Chris]

Sony has announced two new additions to the A820 Walkman series. The new additions are the NW-A828 which has 8GB of storage and the NW-A829 which offers 16GB of storage. Both models are fairly standard models and have a 2.4-inch display and built-in noise cancellation. A nice feature for both models is the built-in Bluetooth which offers support for wireless headphones.

The A828 and A829 will be available in Japan beginning March 20, as of now a US release date has not been announced. The A828 8GB model will retail for around $260 and the A829 16GB is expected to be around $350.

Via [CrunchGear]

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PC graphics cards have long been touted as the cutting edge in terms of videogame visuals.  But according to British engineering site The Engineer Online, they also could serve another purpose: the medical field.

In 2006, the researchers found they could do image reconstruction faster via a cluster of networked 64-bit supercomputer, which costs £15,000 (approximately US$30,000).  However, they found a far more cost-effective way to speed it up when they used PCs armed with the newest graphics cards…

Read [Gamertell]

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Posted Feb 20th 2008 6:52PM by Ryan Block
Filed under: Features, Gaming
We got a chance to check out the first functioning games for Zune and were able to answer a few — but not many — questions about how this thing’s bound to play out.

• For starters, first-gen Zunes don’t appear to be ruled out by any means, but it’s going to be dependent on the game controls. Zauri, the sample space shooter game demoed today, uses the Zunepad, thus wouldn’t work (as well) on a Zune 30. Nothing has been decided as to whether games will universally require 2nd-gen Zunes, though.
• Use of the Zunepad in Zauri was as a trackpad and omnidirectional — it wasn’t just up / down / left / right, as in the menus.
• Right now the system partitions a mere 16MB for storing games, although this might change.
• Right now there isn’t a professional-grade SDK to announce; all titles should initially be done up in XNA Studio.
• Means of distribution (i.e. games loaded through an installer, through the Zune desktop app, or through Zune Marketplace?) has not yet been decided.
• The first beta development tools will be out this Spring.
• There are no plans for Zune game sharing (yet), so to play with a friend wirelessly you both must have the game on your Zune.

There was plenty more we wanted to know but Microsoft definitely stressed that this is an incredibly early announcement, and many of the details we’re all lusting after are still being hammered out. Again, we’ll know more in Spring and Summer.

Gallery: Games for Zune details, hands-on

Amazon has officially announced their support for Blu-ray. This news almost seems like an announcement that was made just to add further insult to the already dead HD DVD. In addition to pledging their support they have also stated they will “more prominetly” display Blu-ray players and movies on their website.

“The high-definition landscape is rapidly changing, and consumers are looking for guidance on how to make the best high-definition buying decisions,” said Peter Faricy, vice president of movies and music at Amazon.com. “Our customers have clearly voiced their support for the Blu-ray format. Blu-ray titles have increased from just over half of our high-definition sales to over three-quarters of our high-definition sales since early January. In order to best serve our customers, Amazon is recommending Blu-ray as the preferred digital format and will continue to carry the ‘Earth’s Largest Selection’ of Blu-ray products.”

The Amazon announcement also offers a little more insight on the previously mentioned 50% off sale, it now seems clear they are just trying to get rid of their current hd dvd inventory.

Via [I4U News]

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