Gadgets Base

Brother has introduced its newest inkjet multifunction printer, the MFC-6490W. Although it may seem just your usual high-end all-around printer, for Brother this printer is the first in their product line which can print, copy, scan, and fax on an 11-inch by 17-inch sized paper, which is the same size a fully spread tabloid newspaper.

Features of the MFC-6490W include USB ports for connecting USB flash drives that allow for direct printing, PictBridge compatible ports, external multimedia cards, built-in auto-document feeder, dual paper input trays, four ink cartridges, a 3.3-inch color LCD which also serves as a control center for the printer. For its color printing speed, the MFC-6490W gives out up to 35/28 ppm (Mono: 450×300dpi, Color: 600×150 dpi).

This printer will be available sometime next month and it will retail for $299.

Via [Crave]

Keep up with the latest gadget goodness! - Subscribe to our feed →

It looks like the MSI Wind is finally getting ready to begin shipping to US customers. The Wind, which was listed in the MSI Shop and then removed has since been re-listed and is now showing a shipping date of July 7.

Currently the Wind is simply just listed and is unavailable, with no pre-order option available. There are also limiting customers to a one Wind netbook per order because of limited quantities. The models listed will include the three-cell battery and they are retailing for $479.99.

Amazon, who also has them listed for $479.99 with the three-cell batteries is still reflecting a 3 to 5 week time frame before the Wind will ship. Still unknown is when the Wind will begin shipping with a six-cell battery, however it is rumored to becoming sometime in July, of course after all of the delays related to the three-cell model I would not be all that surprised when that gets pushed back even further.

Product [MSI Shop] Via [I4U News]

Keep up with the latest gadget goodness! - Subscribe to our feed →

Motorola wants to rock your world with a new cell phone, the Motorola ROKR E8. This handset will be released a few days earlier than the highly anticipated 3G iphone, that is, on July 7th. This cell phone isn’t just a communications device, as it helps you get your entertainment chops in as well, being a rather formidable mp3 player in its own right. In addition, it will be the first Motorola device that boasts the company’s breakthrough ModeShift technology which was pretty hyped up at this year’s CES in Las Vegas.

Here’s a list of its features :-

• ModeShift technology transforms the device from phone to music player with the touch of a button
• Innovative haptics technology provides tactile response when a virtual key is pressed
• FastScroll navigation wheel allows for scrolling through thousands of songs with the slide of a thumb
• Patented CrystalTalk technology delivers outstanding call clarity even in noisy environments
• Windows Media Player 11 compatibility enables easy transfer of tunes from the PC to the device
• Includes pre-loaded music tracks and album art from Interpol, The Starting Line and The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

According to Jean Pierre Le Cannellier, senior director of North America marketing, Motorola Mobile Devices, “With ROKR E8, U.S. music lovers no longer have to settle when it comes to using their mobile phone as a music player and vice versa,” said. “ROKR E8 is an exciting blend of innovative design and technology that harmonizes music and phone features into a single mobile device.”

With the ROKR E8, it will also mark the first time Motorola’s new FastScroll navigation wheel makes an appearance, being a variable-speed touch control that lets consumers easily scroll through all of the content stored on the device. All it takes is a gentle slide of the thumb, where the wheel will quickly scroll through your music (music mode), contacts (phone mode), calendar (phone mode), or multimedia (imaging mode) content. With a 2″ QVGA display, all the relevant information is easily viewed.

Press Release

• Email to a friend
• Leave a comment

Verizon Wireless and LG have teamed up to bring the LG Dare to the masses - at least those who are currently subscribing to Verizon Wireless’ mobile service. This summer looks set to be a hot one not only in terms of temperature (no thanks to global warming), but in the world of cell phones as well. While we all know that the 3G iphone is set to take the whole world by storm, this doesn’t mean we ought to overlook other handsets. The LG Dare features a roomy 3″ touch screen display complete with handwriting recognition, along with a host of other features found in high end handsets. It will hit Verizon Wireless Communications Stores from July 3rd onwards.

Features found on the LG Dare include the following :-

• V CAST Music-capable - access more than 3 million full-length songs from well-known and independent artists that can be purchased and downloaded over-the-air directly to the phone
• Music Player for .mp3, .wma, unprotected .aac, and unprotected .aac+ files
• microSD card memory port - with up to 8 GB support with an optional memory card
• USB Mass Storage - transfer files between microSD card and PC
• 3.2 megapixel Camera and Camcorder
• Schneider-Kreuznach certified lens for optimal picture quality
• Camera Resolutions: 2048 x 1536, 1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, 640 x 480, 320 x 240 pixels
• SmartPic technology and manual ISO adjustment for improved image quality
• Face Detection - detects a face when taking a picture
• Panorama, split shot and frame camera settings
• Scene Mode - automatically makes adjustments to camera settings for improved quality in different environments
• Zoom: up to 2x
• Image Editor - zoom, rotate, crop, add frames and icons and write over images
• Video Resolutions: 640 x 480, 320 x 240, 176 x 144 pixels
• Video Recording Speed: up to 120 frames per second for slow video playback
• Video Recording Time: 30 seconds (for sending); up to 1 hour (for saving) depending on memory
• Video Player for WMV, MP4, 3GP, 3G2 formats
• Customizable brightness, white balance, shutter sound, color effects, night and preview mode, photometry, self-timer
• Bluetooth Version 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)
• One-touch speakerphone
• Speaker-independent voice commands
• Voice Recording: 1 minute or 1 hour (standby)
• Music ringer support (clips from hit songs)
• HTML Web browsing with touch navigation and favorites
• Text, picture, video messaging-capable
• Mobile Email - access MSN Hotmail, America Online and Yahoo! accounts to exchange e-mail
• Mobile IM capabilities
• Speed Dial (up to 996 entries)
• Display: 260K Color TFT, 240 x 400 pixels, 3.0″
• Standard Battery: 1,100 mAh
• Usage Time: up to 280 minutes
• Standby Time: up to 360 hours

The LG Dare will retail for $199.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement.

Press Release

• Email to a friend
• Leave a comment

Vizio will be offering three new HDTV models from both plasma and LCD varieties in its new XVT series that touts more features and extended performance without breaking the bank. The packaging will take a bold new look, featuring a distinct black/grey lave and gold Vizio logo. The first three models in the XVT series are the SV420XVT and SV47XVT LCD HDTVs that feature 120Hz processing while the VP505XVT Plasma HDTV is more than capable of offering full 1080p and HQV processing. Let’s take a closer look at these after the jump.

Both the Vizio SV470XVT and SV420XVT 120Hz LCD TVs feature full HD resolution, along with Vizio’s very own Smooth Motion technology that delivers flawless video frame after frame. With a superior refresh rate of 120Hz (twice the speed of many other LCDs that are stagnant at 60Hz), you can kiss goodbye to old problems such as motion blur from fast-action movies and video games. I suppose folks who also watch sports as well as nature programs in high definition programming will find this to be a great deal, as artifacts are resigned to history.

The SV470LF and SV420LF use SRS Labs’ TruSurround XT audio processing for premium virtual surround and they are also compatible with the VIZIO SV5.1 Upgrade Kit that adds 5.1 surround sound functionality with the inclusion of rear channel speakers and a wireless subwoofer. Both include the new brushed aluminum-trimmed VUR8 Universal Learning Remote with Picture-In-Picture keys, handsomely designed to control an entire A/V system. Each model provides side access HD Game Ports with two HDMI v1.3 inputs for fast connections of game consoles, camcorders and other portable sources, in addition to two HDMI ports on the rear panel.

You can pick up the new Vizio SV420XVT and SV470XVT this July for $1,499.99 and $1,899.99, respectively.

Press Release

• Email to a friend
• Leave a comment

Shoppers who head towards the Georgia Wal-Mart will be pleased to know that there is the EyeSite kiosk available, making it a snap for folks to get their eyes checked while they’re busy shopping for their weekly groceries or simply taking a stroll through. The EyeSite kiosk is the brainchild of Atlanta entrepreneur Bart Foster, and his start-up company, SoloHealth, is currently working hard at testing the self-service vision screening device in several markets. Foster hopes to raise the awareness among people concerning the importance of visiting their eye care professionals for regular eye exams. After all, studies have shown that those who used the kiosk were in the end, recommended to pay a visit to an eye care provider in the immediate future so that their vision will not deteriorate any further.

SoloHealth plans to launch its kiosks in high traffic retail locations, such as Wal-Mart stores. After all, Foster has mentioned that “We know that Wal-Mart is committed to providing affordable, accessible solutions to America’s healthcare challenges, and joining with them gives SoloHealth an opportunity to offer Wal-Mart customers a convenient first step on the road to better awareness and eye health.” I guess teaming up with Wal-Mart is a potent combination for just about any vendor. Just bear in mind that this kiosk is not meant to be a short cut, offering a replacement for an actual eye exam. The printout of the results will show eye health and product information, while referring the user to a nearby participating eye care professional. This sounds like a win-win situation to me, both for the consumer and the eye care professional.

Do keep a lookout for the EyeSite kiosk the next time you pay a visit to Wal-Mart. It would be interesting to see how a nationwide roll out will impact our visual health in the long run. I’d start with playing less video games…

Press Release

• Email to a friend
• Leave a comment

by Nilay Patel, posted Jun 28th 2008 at 8:35AM
Progressive insurance has been testing out the MyRate driving monitoring system for a few years now (it used to be called TripSense), but it’s finally taking the system national, bringing pay-as-you-drive insurance into the mainstream. The little blue box plugs into your car’s ODB II diagnostic port (all cars made after 1996 have one), and studiously records your driving habits, wirelessly sending the data back to Progressive HQ (it’s not clear exactly how). Every six months, Progressive will crunch the numbers and issue a new rate for you based on how you drive — savings of up to 40 percent are possible. That’s pretty tempting, depending on your current rates and driving habits, but we’re not so sure we’re willing to share that much data for an unspecified discount — especially since we’re confident the MyRate box will get cracked almost immediately.

[Thanks, Mike; image courtesy of Aaron Landry]

Read - MyRate press release
Read - MyRate video
Read - How MyRate works

• Permalink
• Email this
• 14 Comments

Filed under: Transportation

by Nilay Patel, posted Jun 28th 2008 at 8:35AM
Progressive insurance has been testing out the MyRate driving monitoring system for a few years now (it used to be called TripSense), but it’s finally taking the system national, bringing pay-as-you-drive insurance into the mainstream. The little blue box plugs into your car’s ODB II diagnostic port (all cars made after 1996 have one), and studiously records your driving habits, wirelessly sending the data back to Progressive HQ (it’s not clear exactly how). Every six months, Progressive will crunch the numbers and issue a new rate for you based on how you drive — savings of up to 40 percent are possible. That’s pretty tempting, depending on your current rates and driving habits, but we’re not so sure we’re willing to share that much data for an unspecified discount — especially since we’re confident the MyRate box will get cracked almost immediately.

[Thanks, Mike; image courtesy of Aaron Landry]

Read - MyRate press release
Read - MyRate video
Read - How MyRate works

• Permalink
• Email this
• 14 Comments

Filed under: Transportation

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 28th 2008 at 10:04AM
Look folks, just because Dyson can build a motor with enough oomph to power a vehicle, that doesn’t mean it’s actually going to. At least that’s the message a company spokesperson wants you to believe. Contrary to earlier reports, James Dyson is not looking to enter the electric automobile sector in any way, shape or fashion. Said spokesperson was quoted as saying that “James Dyson did say that [Dyson’s] new digital motor could power a car, but it is not working on, and [we] have no plans to create an electric car.” Okay, but can you at least make the Ball 2.0 street legal?

[Via AutoblogGreen, image courtesy of Telegraph]

• Read
• Permalink
• Email this
• 4 Comments

Filed under: Transportation

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 28th 2008 at 10:04AM
Look folks, just because Dyson can build a motor with enough oomph to power a vehicle, that doesn’t mean it’s actually going to. At least that’s the message a company spokesperson wants you to believe. Contrary to earlier reports, James Dyson is not looking to enter the electric automobile sector in any way, shape or fashion. Said spokesperson was quoted as saying that “James Dyson did say that [Dyson’s] new digital motor could power a car, but it is not working on, and [we] have no plans to create an electric car.” Okay, but can you at least make the Ball 2.0 street legal?

[Via AutoblogGreen, image courtesy of Telegraph]

• Read
• Permalink
• Email this
• 4 Comments

Filed under: Transportation