Gadgets Base

So you think that having the fancy pants (and soon to come) 3G iPhone or HTC Touch Diamond is the ultimate goal in life? Well sorry to burst your bubble mate, but not everyone thinks of a cell phone as a status symbol. Which explains why the middle class and entry level markets teem with handsets that sport but the most basic of functions, and it is definitely a market that does not seem to slow down anytime soon. Hop-On, Inc. is certainly aware of such a huge market and aims to capitalize on the potential volume by releasing its latest GSM cell phone known as the Hop1800. The Hop1800 is readily available throughout the US for a surprisingly low, low price of just $10. Yes sir, for 10 clams you will now be able to pick up a handset that works worldwide, making it the perfect backup cell phone especially for folks who tend to travel a whole lot. Sure, it might not double up as a 3G modem or feature WiFi connectivity, but at least you can be sure it will make and receive calls no matter where you are (subject to signal strength, of course).

Surely the iphone would be a superior alternative, but you won’t get anything as cheap and as functional as the Hop1800. It is only $10, for crying out loud, and will be able to work with just about any local SIM card, making it compatible with more than 40 domestic wireless carriers. There will be two variants available - a Dual-band 850/1900MHz or the 900/1800MHz for Europe and Asia, and both will tip the scales at a mere 77 grams, boasting a talk time of u pto 4 hours, 150 hours of standby time and polyphonic ring tones.

The final cost of the handset itself might even be just $5 since the company offers a $5 rebate if you decide to return it for recycling purposes.

Press Release

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These cuff links are the perfect gift for the game enthusiast. Scrabble game pieces that are attached to gold or silver cuff links can make you the talk of the party. You get to choose the letters personally. This is definitely a unique idea that will spell out your fashion style. These cufflinks are sure to be a conversation starter no matter what party or event you will be attending.

In case that wasn’t enough, they will be mailed in a velvet cinch pouch.

Gimme!

Price: $15.99
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

Posted in Gizmo of the Day, Miscellaneous

by Joshua Fruhlinger, posted May 25th 2008 at 1:31AM
There are all sorts of creative uses for GPS, but here’s a fellow who says he sent a self-designed GPS “device” in a briefcase to DHL with express travel instructions. He plotted the shipment’s movement and ended up with the drawing you see above. We’re a bit confused. First, he says he developed a GPS device with extended tracklog and battery time. Okay, but… using what, exactly? Also, we’ve received some things from DHL, and we have a hard enough time just getting them to deliver stuff to the right address, let alone make circles in the Caribbean in the name of art. To be fair, his documentation looks complete, so serious kudos to him if this is all for real. Peep the travel instructions document that he says he gave to DHL along with shipping receipts and video after the break.

[Via Hackaday]

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Filed under: GPS

The term “computer desk” generally refers to a desk that was made for people using a computer, right? You’ll see things like a keyboard drawer, maybe a monitor riser and perhaps even some CD holders. However, the designer of this desk has taken the term in the literal sense, and created a desk that is also a computer.

While I couldn’t ever switch to something like this, I think it is an awesome concept for high-end offices. It removes all traces of the computer, save the monitor. When upgrades or repairs are needed, just simply open the lid (I’d keep it locked to prevent employees from just opening it up and poking around) and you have complete access to all of the vital components. The only thing that appears to be lacking is a feature found on almost every simple computer desk; a keyboard drawer. Perhaps you just can’t see if from this angle, but I would hope that they included one in their design.

Source: Dvice

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by Darren Murph, posted May 25th 2008 at 4:52AMThis just in: don’t believe anything you hear regarding an official 3G rollout date in China. After quite a bit of rigmarole, the Chinese government has finally announced that it will issue a trio of 3G licenses. Notably, the announcement comes with a bit of baggage — it’s also calling for a merger between China Unicom and Netcom, two of its four biggest telecommunications providers. Furthermore, it stated that it would call on China Telecom, the nation’s largest fixed-line carrier, to “purchase Unicom’s CDMA network.” Unfortunately (though not unexpectedly), there’s no time frame given for implementation, but some analysts are asserting that “a full launch of 3G services is [still] years away.” Baby steps are better than no steps, we reckon.

[Thanks, James]

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Filed under: cellphones

by Darren Murph, posted May 24th 2008 at 11:35PM
When Rock fell under administration earlier this month, we honestly had no idea if we’d ever see that swank Pegasus 210 hit the market. Today, we still have no clue about the latter, but we do know that the failed company has been caught by the most impeccably named suitor Planet Earth has to offer: Stone. Reportedly, Stone Group will dish out “an undisclosed sum” for Rock, after which the two will meld together and form an all-powerful, completely unstoppable boulder. Watch out Mount Rushmore, you’ve got some serious competition now.

[Via vnunet]

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Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

by Joshua Fruhlinger, posted May 24th 2008 at 9:27PM
Heads up, spec hounds. PC Microworks’ Edge with Centrino 2 (aka Montevina) is a powerhouse that cannot be denied. This speedster sports a 15.4-inch WUXGA screen, packs a Montevina Quad Core Centrino 2 CPU, 2gb of DDR3 at 1333MHz, nVIDIA Gefore 9800M GTX, HSPDA, and up to 4TB of 7200RPM drives. Don’t go running to the credit card gods just yet, though, as the Core 2 Extreme Quad Core QX9300 (2.53GHz/1066MHz/12MB) version won’t be available until the end of July. What’s more, this baby all decked-out will run you a cool $8,265.

[Thanks, Matthew]

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Filed under: Laptops

Whether you are into the recent popularity of the ultra-portable notebooks that have been swamping the market lately, or just sitting back and waiting for it to finish, its hard to deny that some of the pre-loaded operating systems are less than desirable. While the pre-installed OS on the Eee PC from Asus is limited and seems slightly child-like, its very functional, especially when compared the the gOS that comes loaded on the Everex Cloudbook that is slightly painful to use.

Given the options available lots of people have been choosing to install an older, albeit still very functional OS, Windows XP. However in some good news coming from the Linux front, Mark Shuttleworth, the CEO if Canonical has given up some excellent information in a recent interview with The Guardian. Its news that should make any ultra-portable and Ubuntu fan very happy, they are planning on launching a new flavor of Ubuntu, dubbed the “Netbook Remix.” The OS, which is being worked on closely with Intel is expected to be announced during Computex, which takes place during the first week of June. Luckily this is just a short time away, hopefully the Netbook Remix OS will be available shortly after the announcement with drivers to support the wide variety of ultra-portables currently on the market.

Read [The Guardian] Via [Gizmodo]

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While the MSI Wind is expected to be available shortly, new details are clearing up the operating system options and pricing. We have already learned that the Wind will feature (in the US) a 10-inch display with a 1024 x 600 resolution, and have other options to include a built-in 1.3-megapixel webcam, 4-in-1 card reader along with Wi-Fi 80.211 b/g and an 80GB hard drive.

It is now clear that the Wind will also be offered with your choice of either Windows XP or Novell’s SUSE Linux pre-installed. The Windows XP based model will retail for $549 and offer a 1.6GHz Atom processor, 1GB of RAM, Bluetooth and a six-cell battery that is expected to give up to six-hours of life. The SUSE based model will be priced a little lower, coming in at $399 and offer up 512MB of RAM, however it will be missing the Bluetooth and also come with just a three-cell battery which is expected to give around two and a half hours of life.

Hopefully the Wind will launch as expected on June 3.

Via [CrunchGear]

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by Nilay Patel, posted May 24th 2008 at 7:09PM
Some interesting electric car developments went down in England recently — Liberty Electric Cars announced plans to covert “tens of thousands” cars and SUVs to electric operation, starting with the Range Rover, and NICE previewed a scissor-door concept it’ll be showing at the London Auto Show. Liberty’s pumping £30M ($59.3M) into a new factory that will start converting Range Rovers to electric vehicles using a “state-of-the-art” drivetrain good for 200 miles on a single charge. You’ll have to pay for the privilege, though — pricing is expected to run between £95,000 ($188,128) and £125,000 ($247,537).

Similarly, English outfit No Intenal Combustion Engine (NICE, very cute) is previewing an all-electric sports car that it plans to show off at the London Auto Show in July. Although it’s just a prototype, the company says that it hints at a future production model. Details are pretty light, but here’s hoping those hot scissor doors make in into production.

Read - Liberty electric Range Rovers
Read - NICE prototype

[Via Electricpig and InventorSpot]

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Filed under: Transportation