Gadgets Base

by Tim Stevens, posted Sep 4th 2008 at 10:11AM
Sports photogs aren’t compensating for something by swinging gigantic, monopod-mounted lenses; they need the focal length. Focusing and zooming on outfielders usually means glass far from the camera body, but not so when using so-called “origami optics,” flat lenses being researched at UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering that use internal reflection to achieve long focal lengths. Only the outer ring actually captures the image, while the others bounce it around before depositing light onto the film or sensor. The military is sponsoring this research, wanting better eyes on its UAVs, and we’re hoping for improved optics in our gadgets — though we were equally jazzed about liquid lenses, and those haven’t exactly revolutionized mobile photography yet. A snooze-inducing Engineering TV clip after the break explains it all in more detail, so don’t click on until you’ve had your morning cuppa — or two.

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

by Joshua Topolsky, posted Sep 4th 2008 at 1:00PMIf you’ve been wondering what former editor-in-chief (but current editor-at-large) Ryan Block has been up to since he left the site, wonder no more! He and Engadget founder Peter Rojas have just soft-launched their latest foray into the world of gadgets, fittingly (and simply) named… gdgt. Right now they’re just getting off the ground, but they’ve got a new podcast up, and we expect some great content to follow. It should be noted that Peter and Ryan have reached out to various voices in the tech community (yours truly included, along with Gizmodo editor Brian Lam) to advise and input on the new property, which should provide for spirited mashups about all the technology you know (or don’t know yet) and love. Hit the read link to check it all out!

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Filed under: Meta

In addition to the rolling out of the Inspiron Mini 9, Dell has also announced a special deal that will allow users to get their new netbook for just $99. Of course that price comes with a catch, and in this case it requires the purchase of another computer. Customers will have to purchase either the Studio 15, XPS M1530 or XPS M1330 laptop in order to grab the Mini 9 for the highly discounted price.

This deal however does not last forever and is valid only from 7am (EST) on September 5 until 7am (EST) on September 9, it is also valid only for US customers. So far Dell has not specified the specific model you will be getting for $99, but its only likely that it will be the lower priced Ubuntu based model that retails for $349, which is still a very nice deal.

[Direct2Dell]

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Panasonic has announced its 4th generation Blu-ray players dubbed DMP-BD35 and DMP-BD55. According to Panasonic, both players are capable of reproducing movies with colors that are exceptionally faithful to the original. This feature can be attributed to the players’ PHL Reference Chroma Processor Plus video processor which was developed for more than 15 years. When these Blu-ray players are connected to a Panasonic VIERA HDTV they can display movies in sharper and more vivid color.

Of course, what good is a Blu-ray player if sound quality is not equally good. Fortunately, the BD35 and BD55 also provides good sound quality with their HD Audio Decoder TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus and DTS-HD Master Audio Essential. All these sound settings support the 7.1-channel surround sound which was recently adopted by Blu-ray discs. But the most notable feature of these two Blu-ray players is their BD-Live compatibility which let users to connect to the Internet to download images, subtitles and other data as well as participate in interactive activities and multi-player games which come as bonus materials of select Blu-ray discs.

Finally, both the BD35 and BD55 support SD memory cards, AVCHD video format, JPEG stills in 1920 x 1080 resolution and offer compatibility with Panasonic’s VIERA Link function which allows them to be controlled by the VIERA HDTV remote control. Pricing information and release date of these two players are still unannounced.

Read [Panasonic]

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Miss the slots? Get ‘em on your iphone. Griffin’s latest iTunes app, Double Bonus Slots, - takes off from their initial two offerings, Lucky 7 Slots and the poker app 5-Card Touch, which were hugely popular (compatible with iPhone and ipod touch).

Double Bonus Slots tracks winnings and starts each person off with 1,000 credits. Gamers place their bets then tap the screen to set the reels rolling. Griffin added “wilds and variables” to double the chances of winning big.

Double Bonus Slots Features:

Easy to play slots simulator
Fast animation and graphics
Large, wide-screen view in landscape mode
Keeps track of your winnings won and lost
Compatible with iPhone, iPhone 3G and iPod touch
Requires iPhone 2.0 Software Update

$1.99 at iTunes. Now if they could just deliver a cocktail with an umbrella in it . . .

Here at Popgadget we get hundreds of press releases each week. But recently I got one that I not only read all the way through, I laughed my head off. It’s for the new BT530 Jabraheadse,t but the “headsetetiquette” is for all of us (kudos to Mike Rush at 360 PR):

Sure Bluetooth headsets increase efficiency, but how do you know you or your loved one won’t be an abuser? By following a few simple rules, you can be hands-free and stylish without being “that guy” :

1) Never incorporate your Bluetooth headset into your hairdo
2) Keep the hand waving and shouting to a minimum in public to avoid looking crazy
3) Never whisper sweet nothings into a loved one’s ear while someone is talking into your own
4) You or your dentist can sport a headset, but never psychiatrists
5) Ditch it at wedding ceremonies, but feel free to tune out during divorce proceedings

The new titanium, lightweight Jabra headset features their proprietary “Noise Blackout technology” which uses dual-microphones, DSP technology and Audio Shock Protection to cancel out background noise and preserve voice quality in the process.

On a busy street I could hear my girlfriend clearly, and when she yelled “@#$&*” at someone who cut her off, it didn’t blow my eardrum off because of the Audio Shock Protection. Obviously, that feature is going to come in handy for me.

While it’s very comfortable in the ear -and comes with “eargels” to customize the size and wear without the earhook - the dedicated on/off controls on the side of the earpiece are so small I had to take it off to activate. Once in action, however, the tap controls (take a call / end a call / reject a call) on the front are intuitive.

Easy to pair with your device (yes, it works with the iphone 3G); up to 5 1/2 hours talk time; 250 hours standby time. $99.

And don’t get caught looking like Princess Leia. Enough said.

Ok, so 250 gigabytes of traffic is a pretty high limit, especially compared to some other providers, but why such a cap if they say that the average usage is 2 to 3 GB? Well, it’s their call, but if you’re going to have a limit, you better make sure you give users a way to check their usage.

I can hear it now… somewhere around the end of the month “Sorry honey - I didn’t get your e-mail or pay the bills as we’re over our bandwidth limit for the month.”

Posted in Miscellaneous

Well, there are a lot of good projectors out there, and the Panasonic PT-AE3000 is the latest to join the line.  I suppose the AE3000 could be a sequel to the PT-AE2000U which showed up a CEDIA last year. 

Features of this 1080p projector include a 60,000:1 contrast ratio and 1,600 lumens of brightness.  It also has Frame Creation Technology which is designed for large-screen viewing and a Lens Memory Load that is able to memorize and restore zoom or focus potions for “multiple aspect ratio flexibility.”

Another shining feature is the Detail Clarity Processor Version 2.0 that can sharpen up images.  The Split Adjust mode allows the user to cleave the screen in two halves so you can make picture adjustments on one side and see the results on the other.  As for the ports, there are two component terminals and three HDMI 1.3 sockets. 

The Panasonic PT-AE3000 LCD home theater projector will be available in Japan in October 2008 for a price of $3,499. 

Via [Engadget]

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The thought of getting carpal tunnel is a terrifying one if you spend a large amount of time on the computer.  Therefore products that help prevent it become extremely necessary to prevent this from happening.  Well now you can pick up a set of two severed body parts to make sure your wrist stays well cushioned.  The foot looks a little more awkward to use, since it looks like it could be easily knocked over.  Yet, does it really matter as long as you have your fake squishy body parts to rest your wrist on?

The hand looks easy enough to use and you could always lay the foot out at different angles.  I’m sure it would get you some odd looks from your coworkers at least.  These of course come from the infamous Brando.  The wrist rests can also be sold in wholesale if you want just a giant box of body parts lying around in your apartment for Halloween.  Which of course, everyone does.  To pick up the set of two it will cost you $17.90.

Source: Geekologie

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I’m not certain whether this latest spy gadget should really be branded with the “CSI” initials, as it is more like something the NSA would use. However, I’ll humor Paraben, the company that makes the CSI Stick, with an episode of CSI where the CSI Stick comes into play.

Let’s say that Grissom has a suspect, and in order to find out more information about him, they attach the CSI Stick into the suspect’s cellular phone. They will soon have access to the incriminating data on that cell phone.

This is premise of the CSI Stick, and now Grissom will be able to see any calls placed or text messages sent or received. The CSI Stick can also make a logical copy of this data for further investigation, if needed.

The CSI Stick has settings for just copying text messages, call logs, or phone books. It can also do photos and movies, if need be. Of course, there is that whole privacy thing, and at this point, it doesn’t look like you need a license to carry a CSI Stick.

The CSI stick costs about $199, and comes with the CSI Stick base unit, two Motorola tips, one Samsung tip, a remote charger, and a carrying case.

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