Gadgets Base

by Nilay Patel, posted Oct 2nd 2008 at 6:33PM
When every company out there is cranking out the same 10-inch 1.6GHz Atom netbook, there aren’t many ways to make your product stand out: the obvious trick is to go low on price, but ASUS isn’t messing with its profit margins. Instead, it’s apparently going negative in the most adorable way possible — check this hit piece on the Acer Aspire One. If all these frowny faces are to be believed, using the Aspire One will basically be awkward and unergonomic for a short while, at which point you’ll burst into flames. Not only that, but ASUS can’t even bring itself to spell out “Aspire,” instead starring it out like someone might catch them saying it out loud. Very mature. Still, if anything can revive our flagging enthusiasm for the entire netbook category, it would be one of these WINNER crowns packed in with every Eee — now that’s a real differentiating factor, ASUS. Full image in the gallery.

Gallery: ASUS Eee vs A***** 1

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Filed under: Laptops

In an effort to expand its device business beyond the borders of just the corporate crowd, The Wall Street Journal just announced that Hewlett Packard is getting ready to release a new smart phone that is also going to be marketed to the “average joe consumer.” It will be sold by a (yet un-named) mobile carrier in retail stores and will debut in Europe.

The new smartphone will be the latest in the line of HP’s iPaq devices.  The most recent iPaq smartphone, which was geared toward the business crowd, was launched this past June.  The company began selling iPaq-branded devices in 2002, when it acquired Compaq Computer Corp; although earlier iPaqs focused more on businesses and weren’t usually sold in retail stores.  So, they are obviously trying to make a leap into a broader market.

The phone is going to have the usual smartphone touchscreen and keypad, and will run Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 6.1 OS. You’ll be able to access the ‘Net, and send and receive emails.  Not much more is out there on what else separates this phone from their previous versions and no info on pricing.  We know that it is due to come out in Europe in the next two months, then will hit the States shortly thereafter.  Stay tuned for more details as they come in.

Via [techmeme] and [wsj]

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This is where we call out by names the actions and companies that seem odd, out of touch or just plain straight up smokin’ crack.  Technology is an odd realm where PR speak doesn’t hold a lot of water if the 1s and 0s don’t line up.  This week sees posturing, positioning and flat out insanity.  Here is what caught my eye this week:

Copyright Royalty Board

While the digital music world teetered on edge, raised arms emerged from the meeting shouting, “all is OK, go back to downloading.” While iTunes may have hung in the balance, these nut jobs decided to play chicken with the biggest seller of music.  Guys, the only thing keeping me from torrenting everything is that I am lazy.  $1 a song, I’ve rationalized (especially after going to a store to purchase a CD and coming home feeling ripped about dropping $22).  iTunes makes it too easy for me to do otherwise.  Mess with this formula and you’ll find more and more of us moving off your radar.  You know, until Johnny Law comes knocking about my download sizes.

Editor Iyaz and Associate Editor Robert

These two guys got together and chatted a bit about why the netbooks are succeeding and the UMPCs and tablets failed.  You both are on crack; tablets are alive and well.  I’ve got news for you: my ipod touch is a tablet.  And it kicks butt.  I thought this was my little secret but it seems everyone from Ryan Block, now with gdgts to these crackhead itouchfans all agree this is the gold standard for portable Internet.  Forget form factor, Apple has nailed it with the touch.  Need something bigger?  You have to know Apple is going to bow to my demands and make a tablet/netbook in a form factor like this.

I was really pulling for the new touch to come with a 3G connection.  I could almost believe I could get away with texting everyone, email and IM on that.  It would be an almost perfect device.  Oh with GPS, too, please.  Voice is for suckers and crackheads.  Though a VOIP solution might be real interesting.  I’d argue the iphone is a web tablet as well.

Real Networks vs. the MPAA

Real, you know I think you are great.  But come on.  You must have come up with this idea binging in White Castle ‘cause it don’t make sense anywhere else.  Even better, the Real rep at an industry press event wasn’t even slightly worried that it may never see the light of day.  What am I talking about?  RealDVD of course.

The deal was, you scan your DVD into your machine.  Real even adds another anti-steal encryption.  But the MPAA says no freaking way.  The MPAA is so 1986 at this point, I don’t even know why we bother talking to them or listening for that matter.

blackberry

Could you have a few more models please?  I can’t keep track of the Storm, Thunder, Flip Pearl 3000, Hailstorm, good old 8820 and the zillion others you’ve introduced in the last 6 months.  I need a family tree or something.  There is a reason most Americans have exactly two children: it is easy to remember their names.  Unless you start going by Thing 1, Thing 2, Thing 3; you are going to lose me.  I do love that you’ve moved off numbers though.

And finally,

Nokia

Thinner is not always better, at least that is what I tell my doctor.  No, your “Tube” 5800 phone looks thin.  Too thin.  The key to this is the Internet and squishing it lots makes for wicked tough viewing.  Learn from the Samsung Instinct which I though was too thin.  Maybe Euro’s love the thin, but look around the USA, you’ll fine a lot more not-thin than you will uber-thin (and yes, we are still talking about phones).  If you want to crack the USA, it is time to team up; cracker.

That’s what I found this week, what did you see?

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Cellular phones with two screens aren’t really new. The LG Voyager sports a touch screen on the inside and unfolds horizontally for another non-touchscreen with a QWERTY keyboard.

According to my source, Samsung has recently unveiled “the very first dual 2.2 inch screen cellular phones”, the SCH-W570 and SPH-W5700. I believe that I already mentioned the LG Voyager, which I’m guessing is not a dual 2.2 inch screen cellular phone. I’m wondering if Samsung is using some interesting wording here so they company can say they have the first of something. Something that actually exists already.

The purpose of the dual screens is to replace the traditional OLED on front. The external face will allow access to music videos, mail, plus any and all data stored on the cellular phone. Of course, having two screens will drain the battery life a little more, which is the reason why many cellular phones have an OLED on the front in the first place.

These two phones are clamshell in design, and, when flipped open, will display a cellular phone user interface. Three is apparently a magic number with the SCH-W570 and SPH-W5700. These two phones are equipped with 3 Megapixel cameras, and are 3G compatible.

Since the SCH-W570 and SPH-W5700 have only just been unveiled, they are not on the market as yet, but will be very soon.

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A long while ago there was the brick maker that turned your stacks of newspaper into little bricks to make starting a fire much easier.  It was condensed newspaper so it didn’t just burn all up immediately, it burned a little slower but was still easy to light.  Well now there is this device which rolls the newspapers for you and I have to admit I’m a little torn.  These are more meant to be used as logs, which is nice because that means no more trees need to be cut down.  It would be especially great for anyone who saved a lot of newspapers and didn’t really burn a fire that much.

Maybe they’d light a fire for the occasionally chilly night and that’s it.  Now if you were to actually heat your house off of these, I think it would become a lot more complex. Mostly because it’s going to take several pieces of newspaper to make one of those logs.  Now one nice thing is that you might be able to cut costs on buying wood, which anyone that heats their house by burning wood usually has had to do at least once.  Yes, perhaps you could roll up your own newspapers, but I question if by hand you could get it as tightly wound as with this little device.  It’s at a cheap price ($33.97) so if nothing else you could at least give it a try.

Source: bbgadgets

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by Donald Melanson, posted Oct 2nd 2008 at 4:25PM
It looks like those DIY 9-cell Wind batteries could soon be a thing of the past, as some seemingly legit pictures of a supposedly official 9-cell battery for the netbook have now turned up on the Eee PC News website. Apparently, the pictures (more of which are available at the link below) came straight from an unnamed battery manufacturer and, yes, it’s still in prototype form, which hopefully means there’s still some refining to be done. There’s no indication of a release date, unfortunately, but Eee PC News seems confident, for one reason or another, that the batteries could find their way into Winds as soon as November.

[Via Laptop, thanks Kevin]

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Filed under: Laptops

So, most of us probably already use the easy route of auto locks for our vehicle and the familiar “beep-beep” as we walk away is nothing new.  The thought of actually having to fumble around and (gasp!) insert a key in the lock is an almost foreign concept these days.  But the new smart key offers oh so much more than that.

From as many as several hundred yards, drivers are able to send information to their vehicle to set their seat position to just where they like it, program the radio to their favorite station, even exchange navigation destinations downloaded from a computer.  The key has a mini-screen which can display information like whether the vehicle doors are locked, if the alarm is turned on, how your tire pressure is doing, and whether you soon need to stop for gas.  Nice little reminder for those who tend to forget that rather important little tidbit.

No, that’s not all.  You can check if your windows are open, crack your windows, start the ventilation system, plus a bunch of the “boring stuff” like have it tell you your license plate number and VIN number, and how soon you’re going to need maintenance.  Information can even be exchanged between keys, which is useful is you have your kids borrowing them and you need to change the info you have programmed.

The Valeo smart key was displayed at the biennial Paris Motor Show which is held in Paris Expo in Porte de Versailles.  A pretty nifty little gadget, now all we need is one that drives the car for us.  No mention of price or availability at this time, stay tuned for more info as it becomes available.

Via [prnewswire] and [motortrend]

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You probably remember sitting in a movie theater, wearing those crazy blue and red glasses, the big monster seeming to come off the screen right at you.  Well, 3D has come even further, and is even more amazingly lifelike.  And one of the latest steps forward is actually a step into the past to Ancient Egypt.

Dolby Laboratories just announced yesterday that their 3D Digital Cinema was chosen to present the Giant Screen Films’ “Egypt 3D: Secrets of the Mummies.” This is a companion movie to “Tutankhamun and the Golden Age,” the National Geographic exhibition that tours all over.  VP of Worldwide Sales, Products and Services of Dolby Labs, John Carey, said “It’s an honor for Dolby 3D to have been selected by Giant Screen Films to present the movie Egypt 3D developed to accompany the exhibit.”

Obviously, a known name in the digital and sound industry, the Dolby 3D system was a “natural choice,” according to the VP of Business Development for Giant Screen Films.  They are taking 3D, making it digital, and adding the quality of Dolby’s clarity and depth to really pack an amazing punch to the visual display.  Dolby will be utilizing Digital Cinema servers and DMA8Plus Digital Media Adapters to offer the 3D visual and 5.1 surround sound experience.  They are using Barco for their DP-2000, and Dolby 3D equipped projectors which feature Texas Instrument Digital Light Processing technology.

Dolby uses standard white screens, and eco-friendly reusable 3D glasses.  Their color-filter technology is licensed from Infitec and offers up great realistic color reproduction and sharp images. Bryan Harris, VP of Marketing and Sales, Arts, and Exhibition International says that “Being able to offer exhibition-goers the chance to view Egypt 3D in Dolby 3D Digital Cinema allows for a deeper exhibition experience and is yet another way for visitors to be wowed.”

I’ve seen the Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs exhibit when it came to Philadelphia last summer, and I think the addition of the 3D show would be a huge plus that would be amazing to experience.  You can get more info on the tour itself by checking out their official site; and find out more about Dolby here.

Via [businesswire]

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