Gadgets Base

Right, now April 1st has been and gone, we can get on with the real mobile news - thankfully! Apologies to regular readers for the lame April Fool’s joke on April 1st. Everyone else was doing it, but that’s no excuse, and after finding myself bored senseless by reading lame joke after lame joke, I realized that I’d committed the same sin on my own blog! So, no more April Fools from now on!

Anyway, on with the news. A newcomer to the mobile phone world, ClarityLife, has released a new mobile phone that offers, well, nothing at all! As you can see from the pic, you get four huge buttons, a monochrome screen, and a one touch emergency button on the back…and that’s it.

The point of the phone is to make it as simple as possible to operate so that kids and the elderly can use it without being overwhelmed by features. Oh come on, who are they kidding…since when did anyone under the age of 12 have any problems with technology?! It’s for older people, pure and simple.

Perhaps to reinforce this fact, ClarityLife have decided to make the screen a violent shade of orange. Allegedly, this is to make it much easier to read than a standard black and white display, and I guess it is…if you have cataracts!

Yeesh, if this is what I have to look forward to when I get old, I might as well give up now!

[Source: SlashGear]

Everex has unveiled their next generation Cloudbook during CTIA, dubbed the Cloudbook Max. The Max, unlike the Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition adds more than just the addition of WiMAX, but improving quite nicely on the overall specs as well.

Upgrades from the current Cloudbook are seen in just about every area of the notebook, ranging from the larger display with higher resolution, a faster processor, larger hard drive and multiple added connection options. Also notable is the have included a ‘normal’ trackpad and have still managed to keep it pretty close to the original Cloudbook in weight. The Max is being listed as weighing less than 1kg, while the current model weighs 0.91kg.

The Cloudbook Max will feature a 1.6GHz VIA processor, 8.9 inch display with a 1024 x 600 resolution, 80GB hard drive, 2GB of RAM, two built-in 2-megapixel webcam, S-Video output, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, integrated GPS receiver and of course the WiMAX support. The Max will also come with a 4-hour battery life and will be running Windows Vista.

Everex has yet to release any pricing information, but its safe to say that it will be retailing for a few bucks more than the current $399. While it seems like a great offering, its going to be a little while, the Cloudbook Max is “expected to be available in a year.”

Read [Via]

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With CTIA going on this week there are a lot of new phones being announced. One of which is the MOTO Z9 for the AT&T network. This sleek slider is packed with enough features to keep almost anyone happy.

The new MOTO Z9 is the first to feature the in-car GPS dubbed AT&T Navigator for those times where you’re lost or in unfamiliar territory.  It will give you turn-by-turn directions as well as locate hotels, restaurants, gas stations and more so you don’t find yourself driving around looking for one.

If you’re a media junkie the you’ll appreciate the Video Share feature which will let you send streaming videos to your friends straight from the phone. The phone is also compatible with Windows Media Player 11, so you won’t have any trouble getting your audio and video files to play.

3G connectivity ensures that you’ll be able to quickly look up information and receive mail on the newest handset. This is also one of the first phones to come with the Opera Mini 8 browser, which from personal experience, is far superior to most other mobile browsers out there.

Finally, the Z9 includes Motorola’s award-winning CrystalTalk technology which ensures that you’ll be heard clearly even in the noisiest of environments. These are available now from AT&T for $249.99 with a 2-year service agreement.

Parrot has announced a brand new 7″ digital photo frame which it proudly claims to be “global”. The main reason for doing so being it accepting photos sent to it from a GSM cell phone through MMS, which means you will be able to update your digital photo frame for your family and friends to see despite being half the world away. Sounds like a pretty nifty idea, but make sure your phone’s digital camera is pretty decent to start with (VGA quality will just not do these days), and also ensure you are on some sort of cheap data roaming plan (now that’s an oxymoron if I ever saw one) since sending MMSes isn’t exactly the most pocket-friendly action to take while you’re traveling.

This is made possible since the Parrot DF7700 digital photo frame comes with its own integrated SIM card and a dedicated call number, just like your cell phone. I wonder whether one can remove the SIM card and place it inside a handset - will it then be able to receive incoming calls? But I digress, the DF700 will be able to receive MMSes as long as it is turned on, supporting a host of multimedia objects like images, audio, video, rich text. The entry requirements are pretty low - you will need a handset that supports MMS regardless of whether it is a CDMA, GSM or 3G phone. Secondly, you will need to know whether the area where you are placing the DF7700 will be able to receive MMS over a quadband network.

Other features on the DF7700 include USB connectivity and an SD memory card slot that makes conventional photo transfer a snap. Images will be automatically resized in order to optimize memory, while the built-in flash memory can hold up to 500 photos of your choice. There is no word on pricing, but the Parrot DF7700 is currently available in France. Parrot is talking to cell phone operators in the US, so keep your fingers crossed that they will come to an agreement pretty soon.

Press Release

We have forks and spoons, and now here’s a brand new eating utensil known as the Knork. It makes the many millions around the world who love cutting food (especially cakes) with the side of their fork happy, and the Knork was specially shaped in order to cater to that habit. Plastic Knorks are sharp enough to cut through raw carrots, and from the picture above it apparently makes a pretty good opponent against a juicy slab of steak. One thing though - whenever I cut my steak, I’ll normally need a fork to hold the meat in place while the knife gets to work…something to ponder upon here. Watch the video of the Knork in action here.

Posted Apr 2nd 2008 12:31PM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Wearables
Right on cue, Nike’s making things official with its oft-rumored (and still unpriced) Nike+ SportBand and even had the time to toss in details about Nike+ Coach, too. The band, which opens up features at the NikePlus website along with enabling runners to check out distance, pace, time and calories burned, is indeed marketed as a standalone device for those who’d prefer not to have a DAP flanking their arm when exercising. Moreover, the outfit’s online Nike+ Coach system will allow runners to have the information they need to appropriately train for long distance events or achieve customized goals. Get those kicks cleaned up prior to April 10th — after all, that’s the day you’ll be sprinting out to pick this thing up, right?

Gallery: Nike+ SportBand, Coach gets official

Publishing 10 million articles across 250 languages is not an easy task, but Wikipedia has managed to do exactly that. OK, maybe collectively millions of volunteer workers from around the world did the job for them, but still, this is an event that cannot go uncelebrated. And to think, a lot of other web sites are struggling with just hitting their 1-millionth article mark.

Wikipedia is happy that it has reached it’s 10-millionth article with a Nicholas Hilliard write-up, made by user Pataki Márta on the Hungarian Wikipedia web site. And while it’s nice to see Wikipedia steadily increase in popularity and volume of content, one can’t help but feel bad for them knowing that they are barely able to sustain their growing business from within. If you haven’t noticed, Wikipedia serves entirely advertising-free pages, which could’ve possibly raked them millions in ad revenue every single month. But remaining true to its noble causes, Wikipedia strays away from the prevalent digital media route, and instead asks users for donations and volunteer service (which, obviously would not be enough for a multi-million page view per day kind of Web site like Wikipedia).

Still, I hope Wikipedia reconsiders its position with regards to the possibility of online advertising being served on its pages, or at least comes up with a viable alternative. I have a feeling that if Wikipedia doesn’t adapt to best suit its needs, it will fail. Because when a company runs out of money and goes broke, no amount of inquisitive page views or number of eye balls can help it get back. Not 1 million, not 10 million. To survive in business, you need cash. And you won’t have any, Wikipedia, unless you let advertisers in on your site. You can quote me.

Read [Wikimedia Foundation] Via [Cyber Net News]

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Some may say that Artificial Intelligence has advanced by leaps and bounds in recent years, but perhaps a very practical use for this has been discovered by a group of Tel Aviv University students. They have combined pinpointing software with physiological research. Amit Kagian, the program’s developer explained, “Coordinates are used for calculating geometric features and asymmetry”.

To put it simply, the software gauges the distance and symmetry as well as texture and tone of the face. While Artificial Intelligence will perhaps never match human intuition, this could be useful for picking models, as well as facial-recognition software.

Read [ZDNet]

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We’ve all seen the Robo-Dog. Unfortunately, it’s made for the military, so us civilians can’t even dream of owning one. But then, there’s G-Dog, and all my woes were whisked away.

Well okay, I don’t exactly dream of owning a robot dog which can shred me to bits. Cute and cuddly is more like it. But if you want a not-so-friendly-looking robot pet, G-Dog is one fine option. It’s actually a DIY machine, and comes as a kit that includes seven motors, 7.2 V battery, and AC adapter, RPU-11 controlling unit, software for motion programming, and 3 axial acceleration sensor. the body of the dog is made of resin and everything else, I presume, is metal. No word on pricing or availability, but as usual, our Japanese friends would most probably get a first crack at it, as it’s developed by HPI Japan.

via

Looks like Verizon Wireless customers have been going text frenzy over the past couple of years. Seven years after the network launched its basic text messaging services; Verizon Wireless customers have sent and received 10 billion messages in a single month in June 2007. Barely a year after, the number of text messages sent and received doubled up to 20 billion in February 2008.

“The volume of text messages being sent and received by Verizon Wireless customers is growing exponentially, Whether it’s sports scores, news updates, the latest weather forecast, or the ‘joke of the day’, text messages are a tremendous way for anyone to stay on top of what’s happening in the world,” said Mike Lanman, chief marketing officer of Verizon Wireless.

Knowing that its subscribers are going more into text messaging, Verizon Wireless has also made sure that their customers are well protected from wireless spam and unwanted texts that consume their mobile air time charges. Verizon has initiated three programs to counter text spam from victimizing their customers. These include Vtext.com, premium SMS blocking and V-Block.

With only three months into 2008, we are sure to see the number of text messages to go up even more towards the end of the year, as more and more good mobile phone packages and promotions are thrown in by Verizon in the coming months.

Read [Verizon Wireless]

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