Gadgets Base

Most of us have luggage or suitcases that can roll for our convenience, but those little wheels can only go so far. Especially when it comes to gravel or worse, the dreaded stairway.

I suppose it is only logical to create rolling luggage that can handle all terrains, and designer Roozbeh Mousavi of the Art Center College of Design has solved that problem by creating a rolling bag that is all wheel.

This appropriately named Rolling Bag, or OBAG, is designed to effortlessly glide over terrain as the user holds on to the retractable handle. It has already won the Reddot design award for this year.

Indeed, it is a good idea, but I will have to question how much space is available inside the OBAG. I believe that the circular section in the middle is designed to pull out like a drawer, and there is an opening on the other side. Either way, I don’t see a lot of space.

So how much can you actually fit in this? I suppose it would be good for an overnight bag, but it had better fit in the overhead compartment on a plane.

Well, the OBAG is merely a concept now, so we are a long way away from every piece of luggage on a plane becoming circular. However, that would be handy for airline luggage carriers, as they could stack the OBAGs like tires on a rack.

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At CEATAC Japan 2008, NTT DoCoMo Inc. introduced a concept cell phone that could easily change things as we know it. This phone, known as the “Separate Keitai” is not one phone, but two.

Actually, the Separate Keitai is one phone that can be split into two parts. Each part is synced with each other via Bluetooth wireless technology, and can attach and reattach by a simple magnet. In all honesty, I didn’t think I would ever need such a phone, until I heard what it could do.

The Separate Keitai can attach vertically (image on the left) or horizontally (image on the right). As you can see, the vertical attachment brings up a numeric keypad, while the horizontal attachment brings up a QWERTY keyboard. It is even possible to turn this horizontal function into a gamepad for some mobile video game action.

While a user is making a call, he or she can check their email or electronic schedule on the separate unit. They can even use the separate unit as an mp3 player.

Well, I sure want one of these now. Unfortunately, the company has stated that the Separate Keitai is “a concept model so we have not decided a schedule for practical application”. Too bad.

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A few more images of an upcoming Walkman handset from Sony Ericsson have recently leaked out.  This time the images are of a red slider-styled Rika.  It was not that long ago when we first saw the G705 make an appearance, of course, in addition to the new color, these latest images also clearly show the Walkman branding.

As of now, an official release date has not been announced. Unofficially, we are hearing that it will be coming sometime in October with sales beginning a little closer to the holiday shopping season.

Just to recap, the Rika, or G705 is expected to feature a 2.4-inch display, a 3.2-megapixel camera with flash, built-in GPS as well as 128MB of internal memory with a memory card slot for extra storage.

Via [se-nse]

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There are many Facebook Applications out there created by regular people or companies.  Some of these apps are actually useful and cool and some are just, well, plain old stupid and pointless.  This app, depending on its popularity, could actually be pretty useful and work the way the company, Smarter.com, intended for it to work.  Smarter.com is, in case you didn’t know, a website which shows comparisons between products and helps you make an educated purchase.

The new app, called “What would you buy?” is a poll in which you ask your friends whether they would buy this product or this product and why.  For example, a person can poll their friends on whether they should buy T-Mobile’s G1 or Apple’s iphone and hopefully their friends would be nice enough to comment why they chose the cellphone.  Users can add the product of their choosing from any website using a form on the App.  Smarter.com touts that the purchase doesn’t even have to be something big such as a cellphone, it can be something small such as a Halloween costume.

In case you didn’t want to poll all of your friends on what you wanted to buy/wear for Halloween, you can set some privacy restrictions and have the App only poll your close friends or whatever you choose.

Paul Willmes, MeziMedia’s vice president of product management, had this to say about the new App:

“The Smarter.com ‘What would you buy?’ application for Facebook is an exciting new offering for MeziMedia, with the goal being to incorporate many of the social aspects of the offline shopping experience into the online medium, and I think we’ve hit the mark.”

Like I said before, this App could potentially be very useful if many add the App and participate in the polls their friends make. If you want to get this App for your Facebook, then hit the Facebook link below. Let us know what you think of the App and if it’s worth getting.

Read [Facebook] Via [Business Wire]

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I’ve always had a soft-spot for the Sony AIBO, the “Artificial Intelligence roBOt” pet.  Imagine my surprise when I saw a press release stating AIBO was coming.  It turns out that this new AIBO is actually a set of video glasses from iMovee. 

The AIBO model will have VGA (640×480) resolution and iMovee claims the experience is like watching an 80-inch screen from about 8 feet away.  The video glasses will work with iPods, mobile phones with video out like the Nokia N95, Zunes and a whole lot of other devices.

This new set of video glasses will also have a headphone jack so you can listen to your audio using your own headphones.  The AIBO should be available in October and should cost about $350.  Video glasses are interesting, but they’re no robot dog. 

Company Site: [i-movee.com]

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Most computers don’t really smell bad, but I’ve never found their scent alluring either.  I’m sure some enjoy the smell of fresh plastic or something, but the general public probably won’t say they love that computer smell.  Well with this USB drive you may very well start enjoying being around your computer just for the smell.  That little flower actually warms a fragrance to fill your office.  Since you can’t always just have a candle sitting next to you as you would in your own home.  At work sometimes they have rules against that.

The flower is still a concept design that was designed by Fredrik Perman.  As of now there isn’t talk of it making it into stores, but hopefully it will soon.  Apparently he has gone as far as to work on the internal workings of the USB drive and it is factory-ready.  Now all he needs is a manufacturer to snatch up the idea.  Any fragrance can be put into the flowers, so hopefully if this ever gets sold there will be several fun options.

Source: Ubergizmo

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Dell seems to be experimenting on its LCD product line.  Their new S1909WX and S1709X LCDs use the more traditional 16:10 aspect ratio (with a 1440×900 resolution) instead of using the new standard LCD aspect ratio of 16:9.  Still, these two new LCDs sport some of the features of other Dell LCDs, such as a detachable stand that will allow users to use a VESA mount the display on a wall.

These two new LCDs have differing features.  The 19-inch S1909WX has a 1000:1 contrast ratio while the 17-inch S1709W has a contrast ratio of 600:1.  The S1909WX is geared for a wide audience and also features a 300cd/m2 brightness with a HDCP-supporting DVI input for video.  It also boasts 5 Milliseconds Response Time for fluid and fast video.

The 17-inch model, the S1709W, features a 250cd/m2 brightness, 8 Milliseconds Response Time, and an option to add a multimedia soundbar which is also available for users.  In addition, Dell claims that the S1709W is environment friendly as well, since it is said to consume less electricity and does not produce as much heat compared to CRT monitors.

The Dell S1709W and S1909WX LCDs will set you back for $179 and $199 respectively. Both are available at the Dell site now.

Product [Dell] Product [Dell]

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Nero and TiVo have teamed up to create Nero LiquidTV which is software version of TiVo that runs on your PC. LiquidTV has most of the same features as a regular TiVo box plus some additional ones that you can only get on a PC. Not only can you watch shows that you recorded on your PC on your PC, but also on your TV in your home network as well. HD recording is included and you can also burn your shows to DVD or transfer to portable devices like your ipod or PSP.

Of course, you’ll need a subscription to TiVo to get the guide info. LiquidTV will be available in about 2 weeks. It will come in 2 versions: 1 is just the software that you can download for $99, and there’s also a retail package that includes a WinTV-HVR-950Q TV tuner card from Hauppauge.

Posted in Miscellaneous

by Joshua Fruhlinger, posted Oct 1st 2008 at 2:20AM
We got all down and dirty with DoCoMo and Fujitsu’s prototype “Separated phone” today at CEATEC, and we can confirm that the device does, in fact do what they say it does. As reported earlier, the device uses Bluetooth to communicate between the phone’s two magnetized halves, enabling configurations in everything from standard clamshell to gaming landscape formats. Perhaps the most compelling configuration is one that allows the phone to be held to the ear while one accesses data on the another half, complete with neck cramps. The touchscreen, Symbian S60-based UI was easy enough to use (albeit in Japanese) and features a hearty media playback element, but we were unable to squeeze any commitment to a launch date, price, or probability of seeing the unit on the market. That all said, the demo units were very much operational as you can see for yourself in the video after the break.

Gallery: DoCoMo Separated Phone

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Filed under: cellphones, Portable Audio, Portable Video

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 1st 2008 at 1:33AMWe’d swear this had to be some sort of spoof on the impeccable James Bond, but sadly enough, the whole thing is true. A secondhand Nikon Coolpix camera which sold on eBay for a mere £17 ($30) turned out to be a real bargain once its new 28-year old owner completed his first image dump. Along with decidedly decent snaps from his US vacation, he also found a number of “top secret” images, diagrams and sketches that have since been confirmed as MI6 material. We’re talking photos of rocket launchers, hand-drawn graphics of terrorist links and all sorts of other information not at all intended for civilian eyes. ‘Course, the whole thing could just be the act of one talented Photoshopper, but we highly doubt the agency would be so fortunate.

[Via Digg, image courtesy of WWII Airplane Model]

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Filed under: Digital Cameras