Gadgets Base

The folks over at the se-nse blog have leaked yet another image of the sweet looking Paris handset from Sony Ericsson. The latest image comes as a follow-up to the original two leaked images and shows off a video being played in landscape mode. Just to recap the details that we know so far, the P5 will feature:

• UIQ 3.3
• QWERTY keyboard that will slide-out below the display
• Large touchscreen display
• 3G support
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
• Bluetooth
• USB
• Built-in GPS
• 5-megapixel camera on the back with a second front camera for video calling
• Opera Mobile 9.5, Google Maps and possibly WayFinder 7.0 pre-installed.

Aside from the features, the P5 is expected to be announced this May with retail availability late in Q3 2008. The P5 certainly looks like a hot phone, let hope they leak that video soon so we can see it in action.

Via [se-nse]

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Chinese Internet users from Beijing and Shanghai are reporting that they can now access the English-language version of Wikipedia after it was blocked by the Chinese authorities a couple of months ago. However, the Chinese version and other sites which have politically sensitive topics such as Tibet and Tiananmen Square remained restricted at this time.

The decision to remove the restriction followed after an inspector from the International Olympic Committee (OIC) told the Beijing Olympic organizers that the Chinese government should remove the restriction even just for the duration of the 2008 Olympics. According to the inspector, continually blocking the access to Wikipedia might reflect a bad impression about the host country.

If you remember, Wikipedia is one of the several sites that the Chinese authorities have blocked to avoid sparking dissent in the region. Yahoo’s Flickr photo-sharing site and Google’s YouTube were also a victim of Chinese Internet censorship before.

And since Wikipedia’s more than 2 million articles in English contain politically sensitive subjects such as Tibet and Taiwan independence, the banned Falun Gong spiritual group and the bloodily suppressed pro-democracy protests of 1989, it is but understandable that the Chinese authorities blocked the site from Chinese users.

Well, it seems that Chinese Internet users would have to thank the Beijing Olympics for having access to Wikipedia again, even if it will just be for a couple of weeks.

Read [Reuters]

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If the word on Howard Forums about T-Mobile’s 3G network launch holds true, we might be seeing the Motorola Z10 as one of the flagship 3G handsets. And though this news is mostly speculation and rumor for now, it could be an interesting development for T-Mobile, as well as a much needed break for the ailing handset maker, Motorola. In case you don’t remember, the Motorola Z10 is a 3.5G phone in a slider form factor. And not just any slider form factor, mind you, the Motorola Z10 comes in a crescent style slider design, which is something new for Motorola, and slider handsets in general. It also has a 3.2-megapixel camera with an auto-focus lens, and it shoots video at 30 FPS, which makes it a great camera phone for making videos on the fly. It supports microSD cards up to 32GB and A2DP Bluetooth streaming too, so it will probably be one of the best bets in multimedia telephony this year. Let’s wait for an official announcement from T-Mobile and pray Motorola gets this deal on the table now.

Via [Boy Genius Reports]

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What better way to lower your monthly electricity bill than rely on good ol’ solar power that never runs out (at least until our sun decides to explode)? The Torpedo Solar Spotlight makes a good candidate to spruce up your garden long after sundown at an affordable price.

Make a walkway safer, uplight a tree or highlight garden art without the hassle of running extension cords or digging trenches for wiring. These garden spotlights are solar powered! Each 2¼” reflective lens has three bright LEDs that never need replacing, and an integrated solar panel that pivots and swivels to catch the best rays. Lights come on at dusk and shine for up to eight hours.

Each purchase retails for $24.95 and it comes in a set of 2.

My birthday’s in May, and already my loved ones are asking what I want. So I’ve got a moral dilemma. I don’t really need an audio player because I’ve got two perfectly good iPods. OTOH, they are elderly and not equipped for video. I really would like a handheld video player, and I would like to have usable handheld Internet access.

I don’t need an iphone because I adore my Centro, which combines a decent phone with the Palm PDA software that’s kept me in approximate order for years. It was also really, really cheap: $99 plus the inevitable 2-year contract. My adoration, however, doesn’t extend to the Centro’s screen, which is really, really tiny, no good for either videos or the Web.

An obvious solution is the ipod Touch. But here’s my moral dilemma: am I going to let my lust for an iPod Touch overpower my desire to keep my loved ones from spending $300-$500, depending on gigabytes?

Ever took a stroll along the banks of a river, only to catch a glimpse of a pretty large fish making its way through the murky depths? Why, the fishing bug within you is stirred and you mutter your frustrations under your breath that you did not bring all your fishing equipment with you. The Pen Fishing Rod aims to alleviate this guilt, allowing you to have a go at impromptu fishing.

Ok, this clever little gadget is about the size of a large marker pen at only eight inches long, and yet opens up to become an aluminium alloy 4ft fishing rod, complete with a left and right handed reel (packed separately), a 5lb breaking strain line, and even includes a triple hook spinner. Never again will you be caught short when you spot a fish rise, and it’s small enough to carry with you everywhere!

Now’s the time to walk the talk as you no longer have the excuse “I don’t have a fishing rod with me at that time” with the £24.99 Pen Fishing Rod.

Posted Apr 4th 2008 8:47PM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Misc. gadgetsBelieve it or not, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen software created in order to determine whether a subject is drop-dead gorgeous, but scientists at Tel Aviv University have seemingly concocted a program of their own that can “interpret attractiveness in women.” Before you ask, the researchers have yet to perfect the art of computing the beauty of males, but they’re attributing said omission to the difficulty in “defining” attractiveness in dudes. Nevertheless, the software was purportedly able to reach nearly the same conclusion as humans about how lovely (or not) a hundred different ladies were, as it broke down features like face symmetry, smoothness of the skin and hair color. We’re told the development could eventually be used in “plastic and reconstructive surgery and computer visualization programs,” but c’mon, this is totally meant to automate the grueling Hot or Not process.

[Via Physorg]

Posted Apr 4th 2008 9:43PM by Nilay Patel
Filed under: Misc. gadgetsHey, remember that Microsoft / Alcatel-Lucent patent fight from 2006? Yeah, we didn’t think so — but the two companies have been duking it out in court over about ten different patents for a couple years now, and a jury ruled today that Microsoft infringed two user interface-related patents and owes damages to the tune of $376M. The two patents both cover touchscreens, with one describing a system of form data entry, and the other describing stylus data interpretation. Sexy, we know. The jury also found that the Microsoft had not infringed two other Alcatel-Lucent video-decoding patents, but the rulings doesn’t mean this is all finally over — Microsoft is planning on immediately appealing the decision, and there are still several other video-related patents being litigated. Yeah, we’re on edges of our seats here — tune in next time for another excitingly dull installment of Marshall Justice.

Posted Apr 5th 2008 12:15AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Storage
Though it’s not the first box we’ve seen built to take your local backups elsewhere, the Datto Backup NAS drive could certainly fill a gaping security hole at many small / medium-sized businesses that are currently operating without any kind of off-site storage. Said devices come in 100GB and 500GB versions, play nice with Windows, Mac or Linux setups and pipe your data to secure external servers (using AES+ SSL key-based encryption, too) in order to keep the process load off of your machine(s). Granted, the annual service fee is $99 for 100GB and $249 for 500GB (monthly plans available), but that does include free support, 24 / 7 backup monitoring and the promise of bringing you back up to speed in under 24 hours should disaster strike. Both drives are available now for $399 and $599, respectively. [Warning: PDF read link]

We first featured the AeroGarden a looong time ago when they essentially only had 1 model and since then AeroGrow, the manufacturer has launched a number of additional models including this new $100 model.

The AeroGarden 3 has everything you need to grow your own organic herbs and vegetables, using CFLs and less energy than a single 60W bulb. Using its built-in computer, the AeroGarden monitors and adjusts the nutrient delivery, light and water for specific plants. There’s also a reminder system to tell you when you need to add more water and nutrients.

Gimme!
More info from the manufacturer
Price: $99.95
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

via Kitchen Contraptions

Posted in Gizmo of the Day, Home Automation, Miscellaneous