Gadgets Base

Independent.ie reviews the Samsung U900 Soul and writes, ” What really impressed me was the five-megapixel camera. With autofocus and image stabiliser, you could easily take snapshots good enough to send to family and friends…There’s even a macro function to capture objects up close and you can do some serviceable photo editing on the go…Our resident photographer Conor said it was the best onboard mobile camera he had tested to date.”

Read more about the Samsung U900 Soul.

Philip’s new premier line of large LCD HDTV is the very attractive looking Philips 9700 series. The 9700 consists of three larger sizes 1080p LCD models, all offering impressive specifications and Philip’s latest Ambilight Spectra 3 technology. This technology helps to engage the viewer in a more immersive viewing experience by identifying dominant on screen colors and then projecting them from the sizes of the HDTV. This lighting effect doesn’t just look great, it also helps to reduce eye strain while viewing in all lighting environments.

The Philips 9700 Series also features “Perfect Pixel HD” image engine to provide excellent image quality by providing vivid colors, enhanced details and sharpness and reduced noise. Each individual pixel from the source is enhanced to better match the surrounding pixels to produce a more natural image and boosting sharpness.

Available as the 42-inch Philips 42PFL9703, 47-inch 47PFL9703 and the 52-inch 52PFL9703. All of the Philips 9700’s have a very high dynamic contrast ratio of 55,000:1 which provide very deep blacks and rich colors, and Perfect Natural Motion along with 100Hz Clear LCD (2ms) to keep the images judder free, smooth flowing and sharp during high motion scenes.

Other features include a Wide Color Gamut LCD, a DVB-T tuner for both MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 formats, DLNA network support, 24p and four HDMI 1.3 inputs.

Philips 9700 Series

• Philips 42PFL9703 | 42-Inch
• Philips 47PFL9703 | 47-Inch
• Philips 52PFL9703 | 52-Inch

Epson has a brand new portable home entertainment projector known as the EH-DM2 that was unveiled at IFA 2008, bringing together both a DVD player as well as a surround sound speaker system. Epson relies on its innovative 3LCD technology to provide clear and sharp images, with the following features to accompany it :-

• 1,200 ANSI lumens lamp
• Two 8 watt stereo speakers
• DVD player with DivX compatibility
• USB connectivity

No idea on pricing for this model though.

Source: AVing

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A while back there was the odd little DIY project that resulted in a VHS tape being turned into a 4-port USB hub.  Well now someone has made a smaller USB hub but with just as old of technology.  Sadly I don’t believe this one is created from recycled cassette tapes, but at least it is created to look like one.  The only difference is that instead of being stuffed full of tape to record your music on, it comes with filled with four USB ports.  Yes, they managed to get all four into an object far smaller than the VHS tape.  It also looks like a much cleaner job.

Plus there is the extra perk that if you have no DIY skills, it’s okay since you can just pick one of these up at an online shop.  Pick yourself up one of the cassette tape flash drives and you’ll have a nice complimenting set.  One that although may look like outdated technology, they easily hide their true nature on the inside.  To pick one up it will cost you £12.99 or about $23 from I Want One of Those.

Source: OhGizmo

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Rumors have abounded that Amazon has been poised to release a new version of the Kindle. Amazon is reported squelching such rumors by saying a new version wifi enabled e-book reader are unfounded.

The rumor going around was that Amazon was planning a stripped down, cheaper version aimed at the student market. The idea being that with more universities opting for PDF copies instead of expensive books for students, that an eBook reader would be a hot item as students get ready to return to school. But in an interview with the Gray Old Lady, Amazon’s Craig Berman squashed that rumor saying that the earliest a new version of the Kindle could come out would be sometime in 2009.

“Don’t believe everything you read,” said Berman, “there’s a lot of rumor and speculation out there about Kindle. One thing I can tell you for sure is that there will be no new version of Kindle this year. A new version will come out sometime next year at the earliest.”

Berman wouldn’t confirm that a new Kindle would be aimed at the student market, but it seems that if it were, then the timing would be for a new Kindle to be released in time for parents and students shopping for new school supplies in preparation for school, not afterwards when the demand would be noticeably lighter.

Hat Tip - Digital Trends

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The Pew Internet and American Life Project has been undertaking research into US Internet habits for a few years now, and according to its latest information, podcasts are increasing in popularity, with 19% of web users downloading them (but more of those are men than women: 22% versus 16%).

FROM GAMERTELL - Life with playstation is going to be a free service that can be accessed from the XMB (Xross Media Bar). It will deliver streaming news and weather updates while showing a 3D representation of the Earth…
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Disco balls have got to be the ultimate shiny object and this one even has glowing red eyes.  It also even comes in the shape of a spooky skull.  It’d be great to pick up for either this year’s Halloween party or just anytime you’re in the mood for a goth themed dance.  After all the goth kids can’t have just any normal disco ball, it has to be slightly different so as to not get confused as one of the other average joe dances.  The mosaic glass may look the same as it does with every other disco ball, but thanks to glowing eyes and an odd shape it sets itself apart from the rest.

The skull itself is 8 inches, so it’s not very big.  It’s more meant for smaller dances within your home than those the size of prom.  It requires an odd mixture of batteries to keep it spinning all night.  It uses one D battery and three AA.  That’s and, not or, and of course they’re not included.  However, it does include a motor that spins the ball on the string for you.  It will cost you $39.99 from the Fright Catalog.

Source: NerdApproved

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A new deals website pays you to submit deals on popular products (currently only in 6 electronics categories and 511 products). BeatThat.com also simply rates the vendors in 3 categories (green, yellow and red) based on their rankings at a few other big sites such as Amazon.com and Shopping.com.

No idea how much you get paid for submitting deals, so I’m guessing that they want to keep that quiet until you submit stuff, probably because it’s not that much!

Posted in Miscellaneous, Networking & Internet

Bad news for all PlayStation gamers waiting for the Life with PlayStation feature for the PS3; it’s been delayed.

Although Sony promised an August release date, it seems some paperworks set the release date back. Sony, however, announced that Life with PlayStation will be offered for FREE. Yes, for nothing at all, you get a 3D Earth that contains news and weather information from where you are and from everywhere in the world. Life with playstation also offers interactive content and music. We don’t know when the new release date will be, but here’s to hoping it will be soon and it won’t be delayed for a second time.

PS Blog via i4U