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I believe that we have covered Mio GPS products before, such as the Moov 310 and the C720t. Mio’s latest GPS is more than just your average upgraded GPS with a new number.

No, Mio has developed a new GPS based on none other than Knight Rider. It seems like an obvious marketing plan to model a GPS after this show. After all, Knight Rider introduced us to K.I.T.T., the car that talks back, and GPS units have been talking to people for quite some time now.

In fact, when you boot up the Knight Rider GPS, you will hear it say: “Hello Michael, where do you want to go today?” Oddly enough, the company somehow got the voice of William Daniels, the original voice of K.I.T.T., to be on this GPS. In case you don’t know, Daniels was also a regular cast member on such shows like St. Elsewhere and Boy Meets World. I have no idea why he isn’t the voice of K.I.T.T. on the newer version of the series.

Speaking of the new version of the show, did you know that it is actually planned for a new season this fall? I know you can’t help but wonder why, and I feel the same way. However, if Knight Rider is your secret guilty pleasure, you should be able to purchase the Knight Rider GPS for about $270.

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I don’t really get the whole thing about deer hunting in modern times, but I do understand where Robin Hood came from back in the medieval age as he and his merry men needed to stay alive so that the poor have a fighting chance. Instead of participating in that sport today, why not take a more peaceful route with the deer head puzzle? Available in various configurations, this unique jigsaw puzzle uses recycled cardboard that were laser cut so that they can fit into each other without any hassle. Perfect to build up that trophy collection without shedding a single drop of blood. Depending on the type of cardboard puzzle, you will have to fork out anywhere from $14 to $46.

Source: American Inventor Spot

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by Donald Melanson, posted Jun 24th 2008 at 4:42PMSeagate has already made its intentions about jumping into the SSD game pretty clear, and one analyst now says he sees two clear options at the company’s disposal if it wants to seriously make a go of it, each of which involve Seagate shelling out a good chunk of cash. According to Lazard’s Daniel Amir, one option would be to buy out Intel’s 49% stake in the IM Flash Technologies joint venture it has with Micron, which would reportedly cost anywhere from $1 to $2 billion (not to mention put Seagate on the outs with Intel). More likely than that, Amir says, would be an acquisition of or partnership with SanDisk, which he says would be an ideal fit given Seagate’s expertise on the enterprise side and SanDisk’s retail knowhow. Amir doesn’t put a price tag on that option though, but you can be sure it wouldn’t be cheap.

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Filed under: Storage

Robots are definitely one of those things that tends to get lots of love in the geek world, well this little guy is perfect for all robot loving geeks. I have to admit, I too get sucked into loving all things robotic, which means I find this guy adorable. Especially with the cap being a little helmet for him. The best part has to be the flexible arms holding the cap, because that way you will never lose it.

It seems like the cap for my USB drive is the first thing to go, followed by the entire USB drive at some point. The keychain will be nice for those that have the same problem, since they can just attach the drive to their keys or a purse (if you’re female). The robot comes in two different sizes, there’s a 1G version as well as a 256MB version. Even better the robot happens to be 10% off, at least for today that is. It is being sold by e-Corporate Gifts for $28.50 for the 256MB version and the 1G version for $36. Although they are a bit cheaper for those that want to buy them in bulk.

Source: shinyshiny

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Continuing on with the Microsoft Surface hands on series, here is the latest group of images. These are from the collection of early Surface tables. As you can see, the Surface has come a long way from where it began. It was a neat arrangement to be able to check out. Personally my favorite style was the futuristic Jetson’s looking table, but some others were interesting as well. For example the lighter colored wooden table was actually made from an Ikea table, I guess you could call that a special edition.

The taller, red colored table (stand) was also a really interesting one to check out, built by hand, that table has a slot towards the bottom that a laptop slide in and out of. A laptop you ask, yup, a laptop because that is what happened to power that particular model. You can also clearly see the Dell box sticking out of the Ikea table, just goes to show you how much simpler they were when the project was first coming along. While they would not crack open a new (final) Surface for us to poke around in, I am quite certain that its quite a bit more evolved now.

Keep reading to check out the images, with appologies in advance for some of them being a little dark. Also, don’t forget to check out the previous posts in this hands-on series.

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Toshiba has announced that it will be offering some of its Satellite series laptops with the AMD’s notebook platform. Toshiba’s Satellite laptops which include the P300D, A300D, M300D, U400D, L300D and L350D will now be available with either AMD’s Athlon Dual Core QL, Turion Dual Core RM or Turion Ultra ZM processors.

In addition some of the models from the mentioned Satellite series will now have the following standard features most Toshiba laptops; a built-in FM tuner, facial recognition sleep-and-charge USB ports, eSATA port and the Toshiba fusion finish. These Toshiba laptops aside from having the AMD platform will also come packed with Harman Kardon stereo speakers, while some will come equipped with Toshiba REGZA LINK technology.

The Toshiba Satellite series is currently available and pricing will vary depending on the laptop’s configuration.

Read [Business Wire]

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The blackberry Kickstart is what is aiming to be a highly anticipated BlackBerry, for some they are anxious to use one, and for some its just a curiosity factor as this will be RIM’s first venture into the world of flip-style phones.

One thing that is for sure is that, at least up until now, there has not been any shortage of live sightings of the Kickstart, and the latest leaked images even show off some comparison shots with not one, but two Bolds. Sadly while the comparison shot is decent, the rest are in the typical leaked image fashion—blurry. We do however also get a pretty good glimpse of the front exterior display, which in this case shows of a nice looking “analog” clock. Personally the Kickstart is a little taller than I expected.

As far as the specs, so far we have learned that it will feature a 240 x 320 internal display, a 160 x 128 external display, a 2-megapixel camera, a SureType keyboard, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g and has quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support. It will also be running OS 4.6 and not the previously rumored 5.0.

Via [BerryShack]

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Blue Telephony, the company known for manufacturing the Onyx product line including Liscio (the phone on the pic) is collaborating with CPS Group Italia to develop a new breed of mobile phones.

While mobile phones heretofore are equipped with the usual features and some with more specialized ones like calorimeters and similar, the phone Blue Telephony plans to design has the ability to detect the presence and measure the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. Great for people who are allergic to smoke or those with asthma, or perhaps it could be used as a gauge if it’s time to raise a bit more plants around the house.

via

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 24th 2008 at 2:37AM
You don’t have to be a science buff to understand that atoms in gases move around a heck of a lot more than those in solids. For instance, text on a paper page isn’t apt to just reshuffle itself when no one is looking, but printing the latest Harry Potter novel on thin air could prove just a touch more difficult. Said challenge isn’t too much for physicists from varying institutions in Israel, as they have recently demonstrated how to ever-so-briefly store images in a warm atomic vapor. Reportedly, the gurus have figured out how to “store complex images for up to 30 microseconds in rubidium vapor,” and if mastered, the process could help unlock secrets of “quantum information processing and even quantum communication.” If your interest meter just shot through the roof (you geek, you), head on down to the read link to slurp up more on how it’s being done.

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Filed under: Misc. gadgets

by Thomas Ricker, posted Jun 24th 2008 at 6:07AM
So long GX100, hello GX200 and your new 1/1.7-inch 12 megapixel CCD sensor. Ricoh’s bridge between point-and-shoot cameras and DSLRs also features new Smooth Image Engine III processing to better control noise, a larger 2.7-inch LCD, and a 5fps continuous RAW shooting mode. The 24 to 72-mm (35mm equiv) wide-angle lens, SDHC slot, RAW image support, thin 25-mm chassis, and removable tilting electronic viewfinder all carry over from the predecessor. Available next month for £350 (about $689) or £400 (about $788) if you find that viewfinder a must.

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Filed under: Digital Cameras