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Mirror reviews the Samsung F110 miCoach and writes, “The phone itself boasts a 2MP camera, GPRS, EDGE and Bluetooth connectivity (but no 3G), 1GB of storage and an FM radio. And, while it’s no substitute for a flesh-and-blood personal trainer, the shameful stats the miCoach provided this reviewer with certainly helped motivate him to start working out more regularly…Relatively easy to use, the fitness features are certainly no gimmick, and anyone looking to get in shape should find it useful.”

Read more about the Samsung F110 miCoach.

by Darren Murph, posted May 6th 2008 at 10:02AMWe knew it was coming, and after waiting for quite some time for FreeSat to go from concept to reality, television viewers across the UK can finally indulge. If you’ll recall, a recent survey found that just 5-percent of Europe’s HDTV owners actually bothered to tune into HD programming, but now that number is likely to change. Effective today, 98-percent of the UK can fork out a one-time fee of £49 ($96) to £120 ($234) in order to acquire a FreeSat set-top-box, and after an £80 ($156) installation, users will have subscription-free access to BBC HD, ITV HD (coming soon), Channel 4’s digital service and around 70 other TV / radio channels. Better still, that number is slated to rise to 200 before the year’s end, and unsurprisingly, the launch is expected to boost available high-def offerings in the region. Anyone across the pond have their equipment set up already? How’s the service?

[Thanks, Ivan]

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

by Paul Miller, posted May 6th 2008 at 9:10AM
We’ve got some hands-on shots and impressions with the newly announced HTC Touch Diamond that we’ll be sharing with you shortly, but here are some official press shots to whet your appetite. Tell it to us one more time, HTC. VGA? You really do love us.

Gallery: HTC Touch Diamond all gussied up and official

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Filed under: cellphones

Another recent FCC discovery is showing off a new mobile handset coming from HTC, dubbed the Census. The FCC document, unfortunately did not reveal many details about the Census, and we can mostly just make assumptions about its features based on what we see from the accompanying picture. Based on the image, the Census appears to have a fingerprint reader and bears a logo for the wireless technology company Harris. Likewise, the handset seems to have a touch-sensitive display as no keyboard can be seen, and the keypad is also not a standard numeric style.

The FCC docs also revealed that the HTC Census will be using a Qualcomm MSM6500 chipset and and have a microSD card slot. Taking a closer look at the front view of the HTC Census, the fingerprint reader seems very similar to the HTC Shift UMPC’s fingerprint technology. Likewise, no camera is noticeable, so we could again assume that the Census would be released as a basic mobile phone, perhaps aimed at the business market.

Other than these fairly noticeable features, there’s nothing much that the FCC docs offered that would give us any other details of the Census. Hopefully, HTC will release more information about the Census as it gets FCC approval.

Via [Register Hardware]

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Yes, Minority Report–that Tom Cruise flick. Apparently, a collaborative project called the Micro Autonomous Systems and Technology (MAST) Collaborative Technology Alliance is developing spy robots inspired by the said Holloywood movie.

Britain-based BAE Systems is one of the major collaborators for the project. In fact, the company just signed a 19 million deal with the US Army to develop surveillance micro-robots. And these micro-robots are not just ordinary robots–they’re to be designed in the makings of insects, arachnids, and small animals. The first design on the line seems to be the spider which you can see on the picture. Others include bees, geckoes, hummingbirds, and flies among others. And no, they’re not just made to look like these critters, the robots will be made to act and behave like them too. According to the researchers, the first of the lot will probably only be equipped with basic movement abilities and a camera for surveillance. Subsequent models will be equipped with more spy functonalities as the robotic parts become smaller and take less space. Scientists are also reducing energy consumption of the robots for them to be more viable for field use. Not bad. So next time, if you happen to squash a fly and it turns out to be a robot, you’d know someone is spying on you.

via

Parrot’s latest digital photo frame is possibly the most expensive digital photo display that you could find on the market today. And aside from the fact that it was designed by an interior designer named Andree Putman, there’s nothing extra ordinary about this frame to merit such a high price tag. Putman was also responsible for interior design works on some posh hotels, so if that fact excites you then you may be pleased by the digital frame she designed for Parrot which is retailing for a whopping $500.

And what do you get from that price? Nothing much really, except for a typical digital photo frame that was built with a large plastic bezel. You’d also get a 10MB of storage capacity for around 400 of your digital photos, an SD card slot just in case the 10MB storage is not enough for your needs, and a power switch that turns the digital frame into a clock.

And yes, as with other Parrot digital photo frames, the Putman-designed photo frame also comes with Bluetooth, so you can send or transfer photos from any Bluetooth enable device to the frame without the need for annoying USB cables.

Anything more? Actually, no, that is just about it for Parrot’s 7-inch Putman-designed digital photo frame. Still interested in snagging one of this $500 frames? Good luck finding one, as this model is said to be available only at UK-based concept store Few and Far. But after checking the site, we could not find any digital photo frame in their product list. Even Parrot UK’s online store doesn’t seem to carry it. But we’re sure, this digital photo frame is available somewhere. Do tell us if ever you find one.

Via [Crave]

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Smoke alarms are such effective tools for keeping you and your family safe that they are actually mandated by law to be in every room of your home. Your most important priority (or at least it should be) is to keep your family safe, and because of the smoke alarm, many lives have been saved, spared from being engulfed in flame.

Smoke alarms have come a long way from their introduction into the household, but for are still a decent ways away from being a foolproof safety plan. Hardly completely reliable. And while style might not be the main concern for smoke alarms, they certainly are a damper on some home decor.

The slim-line Silhouette Smoke Alarms by Kiddie introduce a new sleek design of alarm to be integrated into your interior decor, which uses a low-profile form factor to better integrate into your home, yet incorporates the safety features of past smoke alarm designs and then some for a full-on smoke alarm revolution.

Aside from the Silhouette being only a half an inch thick, it’s powered by an alternating current (AC) with a lithium sealed battery, which is said to last the full-life of the smoke alarm itself, which is given a 10 year warranty. The battery recharges itself automatically, so when there is a power outage, possibly due to flooding or other natural disasters, you’re not left in the dark safety wise.

The Silhouette can also be interconnected with other safety gadgets around the home to incorporate a full safety system, while looking pretty darn good at the same time. Installation of the Silhouette might be a little more difficult than your average smoke alarm, due to the AC power supply, but the outcome seems well worth the effort.

Product Page via Gizmag

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No, we’re not having problems with our servers today. That purple blob of an image you see above (the one you’ve been waiting to come into focus) is, in fact, already fully loaded and ready to accept the position of accessorizing your outfit.

The Pixelated Posey Necklace hangs from a lilac lace strap and is available from Mod Cloth for $25.

Via Shiny Shiny.

by Nilay Patel, posted May 5th 2008 at 8:47PM
Archer Quinn promised the world a working demonstration of his homemade free energy device called the “Sword of God” by June 20th, but it looks like we’re getting a sneak peek a little early: Quinn’s detailing the build on his blog, and it’s just about as pigs-in-trousers insane as you’d expect. It’s hard to even pick one quote as an example here — Quinn rails on about how he destroyed his first machine because he didn’t want Arab nations to starve without oil money but then a picture of Dubai’s opulence changed his mind, how “gravity wheels” are perpetual motion machines, how Nikola Tesla presented BS theories, how Australian Nazis are reading his email, and on and on. Most importantly, however, he continues to update on how his project is going. We’re not sure if he’s done yet or what (it’s not exactly easy to follow) but it looks like something’s ready — anyone want to bet if it works? We also have a very nice bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.

[Thanks, Curt]

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Filed under: Misc. gadgets