Gadgets Base

Apple TV, look out! You will receive a rival from Blockbuster pretty soon as word on the street has it that Blockbuster is working secretly on a device that enables video content to be streamed directly to a TV. Apparently, this mystery device will be launched later this month although very little is known about its hardware specifications, let alone a pricing structure. What we do know, however, is that the available content will be provided by Movielink, a former joint-effort of MGM, Paramount, Sony, Universal and Warner, which was acquired last year by Blockbuster. Movielink alone has a library of 6,600 movies, so the chances of not having something nice to watch in your living room is virtually nil.

Apple TV isn’t exactly the success that Steve Jobs expected it to be, but apparently the concept must have a pretty sizeable market to warrant Blockbuster coming up with their own device. Perhaps the killer use for such a device has yet to be stumbled upon, but one can see that Apple is more serious this time round by introducing a newer, cheaper version accompanied by movie rentals on iTunes (without much success, I must add). Hopefully Blockbuster’s effort will be able to do better. They will have to gird themselves up though, since Netflix and LG themselves will be coming up with a similar device of their own as well, where Netflix has the advantage of allowing subscribers to stream a selection of films to their computer screens at no extra cost currently. With more than 90,000 titles on DVD and around 6,000 titles via the Internet, their library is definitely a threat to Blockbuster’s aspirations.

So what will it be for you? Streaming video content to your TV directly? Not everyone has a blazing fast Internet connection, so physical movie rentals won’t die out anytime soon but it is encouraging to see a virtual environment gaining more clout among the more developed areas.

Source: eFluxMedia

Memory card readers come in all shapes and sizes these days, but few rely on a rechargeable lithium battery to power their . . . built-in cash note verifiers. Yes, this innocent-looking ladybug 3-in-1 reader ($16) is absolutely unforgiving against counterfeit currency. Don’t ask me how it works (I couldn’t tell you if you did), but the 2.2″ x 1.4″ x 1.0″ ladybug is packing a black light (?) somewhere under those wings that “illuminates” the security strip embedded into U.S. dollars.

If you’ve never questioned the legitimacy of the cash in your wallet, you can still make use of the ladybug’s integrated USB charging cable and ability to read T-Flash, microSD, and microSDHC cards.

Via GeekAlerts.

More and more, it seems that what comes up at the top in browser search results is determined by factors having little to do with what I’m really looking for. Google search results may be comprehensive, but what I’m looking for may be buried so deep that I’ll never find the one thing I’m looking for. I might accidentally come across just the right keyword to bring up some relevant results, but it’s often hit or miss. Human-powered search engines such as Mahalo and iRazoo aim to create and “curate” search results to get around this diving-in-a-garbage-can feel of the big search engines. But humans are flawed and prejudiced, so you’re not going to get objectivity with this method, nor will the results always be current (how do a few humans keep up with the volume of new content that comes on daily?).

I’ve been trying out Surf Canyon, a browser extension that works with Google, Yahoo!, and MSN. This browser add-on (which currently works with Internet Explorer and Firefox) gives you the option to narrow your search results by clicking a bull’s eye icon next to a relevant search result to get more link recommendations that you might otherwise not see until you’ve clicked many more pages into your search results (which, for me, is usally never, as I get impatient after 3 or 4 pages). Using “real time semantic personalization technology” (how’s that for a mouthful?) Surf Canyon “sits atop” your search engine to help you hone in on what you’re looking for.

I do a lot of my computer work on the road from my laptop. When I need to print a document, I have to go through this frustrating process of saving the document on a thumb drive, and then transfer it to a desktop with a printer.

Wouldn’t it be easier to have a portable printer that could give me hard copies on the go? This is precisely why the Canon Pixma iP100 portable printer was invented.

The Canon Pixma iP100 can print up to 20 pages per minute on normal 8.5 x 11 inch paper. It’s hard to believe that something this small can print in color, but the Pixma iP100 can even do color at a high resolution of 9600 x 2400 dots per inch.

The iP100 also uses two black inks. The first is a pigment-based black ink that delivers sharp text, and the second is for photos. That’s right, the iP100 can print photo-lab quality prints of many sizes, and can even touch them up using Auto Image Fix technology.

As for power, the user can use a car’s cigarette lighter, or purchase an optional LK-62 Lithium Ion battery for about $90. As for the price of the portable printer itself, the Canon Pixma iP100 is available for about $249.99.

Source

Gadgets made for the Apple player are always popping up, that is why Coolest gadgets has over 250 posts on the iPod Gadgets category, right? This special light is just another item on that big list, but at least it is original and has useful functions.

Priced at $100, the Entertainment Light is also known as E-light and can be used indoors, or outdoors. If you pick the outside, consider using it with an umbrella pole, but if chose the inside (of your house) just use it “normally”.

So, why is the E-light so special? Because it is a cordless light that can be easily recharged, but that is not all… Since it has a headphone jack, you can connect almost any kind of audio source, be it a ipod, other MP3 players, CD player, stereo system, etc. Obviously, it comes with speakers so you can listen to the music.

Another feature that makes it unusual, is the inclusion of six powerful LED lights, that will create a “glowing” effect on the table/spot where it is placed.

As for the battery life, it seems to be rather good: 12 hours when working separately with the light/sound functions, or 6 hours if both features work together.

Product Page

PS - it works with 4 AA NiMH batteries.

Guest post by Tiago of Gadgetizer

If you want to teach your kids about saving money, there are a variety of ways to do that. While I won’t pretend to know a lot about banking and investments, but why not get them their own hi-tech safe to get them started?

This safe looks realistic enough that your kids will feel like they own a bank. They will be able to program in their own secret code which will open the door. It has a separate compartment which will catch change as it is inserted into the safe, while a larger compartment can store other valuables.

Sure, it probably won’t teach them the fundamentals of saving money, however, it’s better than a piggy bank. This safe will set you back $39.

Source: RedFerret

Toshiba has added a new notebook to its product catalog, the Portege R500-12Q. The new Toshiba notebook is being touted by the company as the world’s lightest notebook weighing just a mere 2.15-pounds (by standard notebook weight, which pretty much is light indeed). Toshiba is also brandishing the Portege R500-12Q as the only notebook with the slimmest optical drive at 7mm, the world’s first notebook with the transflective LED 12.1-inch widescreen display and one of the world’s thinnest notebooks at 0.76/1.0-inches in height.

Aside from being the first in so many notebook aspects, it will be important to note the Portege R500-12Q is packed with a whooping 128GB SSD. In simple terms, that’s tons of storage capacity for a notebook of this caliber. Other features of the Portege R500-12Q include; Core 2 Duo ULV U7700 processor, 2GB RAM, dual-layer DVD writer, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and pretty much other standard notebook fare.

The Toshiba Europe site did not specify pricing information yet for this new notebook baby. The “where to buy” link is not pointing to anywhere as well.

Product [Toshiba] Via [Engadget]

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If you spend most part of your day alone, sitting in front of a computer with no one to chat, and at the same time love USB gadgets, check out the Tengu.

Basically, the small toy has bright LEDs that responds to different sounds, by displaying (14) various faces. Tengu can sing along while you’re listening to your favorite tunes, and also has a function to lip sync as you speak. I think Tengu is suppose to make that lonely feel go away, because you’ll start interacting with it, but I don’t know if a gadget like this will work with everyone.

To get it working just blow on his face, and if you want to see another facial expression, simply blow on the mic.

Watch the Tengu in action with the Around the World song from Daft Punk.

Price? 20.

Product Page

The Personal Locator Beacon is one interesting gizmo as it targets those who tend to live life to the extreme, going about their duties with a variety of outdoor activities such as four-wheel driving, boating, camping, off-road motorcycling and even snowmobiling. Unfortunately, such activity is often accompanied by a wider range of risks, including breaking a random body part, getting bitten by an animal such as a snake, or being in a position where it is nigh impossible to get out of without some external help. This is where the Personal Locator Beacon comes in as it is capable of transmitting your current location (in GPS coordinates, of course) on internationally recognized distress frequencies monitored by companies such as NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and the Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking System (SARSAT). Should you be unable to be under the umbrella of a GPS signal, there is always the less advanced (but accurate) option relying on the Doppler for your current position.

I guess Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) would definitely be worth every penny - after all, how much value do you place on your own life? Everyone has been created to be wired with a survival instinct, so it doesn’t make much sense to not do your bit whenever engaged in such outdoor activities. PLB will cost anywhere from $499 to $699 each, but the best thing is there isn’t any annual or subscription fees to worry about. The following are some of the specifications for your perusal.

Source: Gizmag

An eBay auction for four limited edition HTC Touch handsets is currently in the works, with the lowest bid positioned at a measly 1.05 Singapore dollars ($0.78 US) and the highest bid at a still fairly cheap 151 Singapore dollars ($111.49 US). Proceeds from the sales of these four unique handsets will go straight to the bank of the Children’s Cancer Foundation, which is proof that HTC knows the right way to fairly share its blessings.

Other than being helpful to cancer patients and adding publicity to its HTC Touch handset line, I can’t find any other reason why HTC might want to do something like this? Looking to attract more fashionable users? That could be a good theory. But maybe they just want to show the world that they’re not really all business, all the time. The HTC also knows how to play, and has a bright side. Which is a good sign that the company is currently in good times.

Unfortunately, in order to take part in this smartphone fund raising event, you’d have to be located somewhere in Singapore, where HTC would gladly ship any of the four uniquely-styled handsets to your home, provided that you win the auction, of course. So I guess if you really want a jolly version of the HTC Touch such as these, your best bet would be to just look for a Nicholas designer Nic Wong counterpart from where you come from. Or move to Singapore. The choice is yours.

Via [SlashPhone]

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