Fresh Gadget News

Waterproof Fujifilm FinePix Z33WP Digital Camera

2009-02-23T06:40:00.000-08:00

Fujifilm is getting all wet behind the ears with the release of the waterproof point-and-shoot FinePix Z33WP camera next month. The 10-megapixel “Life-Proof” camera will be available in three color schemes including black, green or pink.

The Z33WP can withstand depths of 10-feet, but it isn’t shockproof. Some other features include a 3x optical zoom lens, Face Detection Technology, Automatic Red Eye Removal, SR Auto (auto scene recognition) and blog mode, which automatically resizes images to 640×480. You can purchase the Z33WP next month for $200.

The rechargeable Li-ion battery will give you enough juice for up to 200 shots.

iPhone with iFrogz

2009-02-23T06:35:00.000-08:00

The onslaught of iPhone 3G cases continues with several recently announced offerings from iPod accessories maker iFrogz. These new cases are the Wrapz, Treadz and Luxe. The first two price around $15, while the Luxe is around $20.

All three cases are available now in a variety of colors. iFrogz says the basic design of the Wrapz case offers 100 percent silicone encasement, while the Treadz case offers an “extra-thick” silicone casing and a tire tread design. The Luxe case, meanwhile, provides protection with a hard, plastic shell, finished with a metallic facade and a “soft touch” feel, that slides around the iPhone 3G while still allowing access to all ports and sensors.

AT-AT Boombox

2009-02-23T06:25:00.000-08:00

While the AT-AT boombox is easily stopped by a headphones cord wrapped around the legs, it will destroy the morale of any rebels within earshot. Hoth bases easily fall to this beast when it’s cranking some Barry Manillow or Yanni.

This thing not only looks like an AT-AT Walker from the Star Wars movies, it actually functions as a boombox, complete with tape deck, speakers, and antennas.

Had the rebels faced gadgets like this, things might have turned out different.

Philips 52-inch LCD get Priced in UK

2009-02-23T06:21:00.000-08:00

I’ve been following this one for you for awhile now. And why wouldn’t we? Philip’s 52 inch LCD has us drooling. Now we have some price info to drop on ya, along with a June release in the UK.

The 52-inch ultra wide Cinema display will cost you £3535/$5044. It’s slightly expensive in cost per viewing inch, but it does offer a true anamorphic widescreen aspect. Now all we have to do on this side of the pond is wait.

We wouldn’t be surprised to see a $4000 or less price tag by the time it reaches the US.

D-Link’s D-Life Web-Based Home Surveillance Camera

2009-02-22T06:27:00.000-08:00

D-Link’s D-Life Web-Based Home Surveillance Cameras are making the rounds again. We first told you about them way back in July. Monitor any room in your house from anywhere over the Internet with these D-Life Web-based home surveillance cameras.

The D-Life is actually three products, the DHA-390 Surveillance Camera Starter Kit, an internet camera that connects to home network, the DHA-310 Expansion Kit and the DHA-330 video player, which is an internet camera viewer for monitoring all D-Life cameras connected to the network.

D-Link’s DHA-390 Surveillance Camera Starter Kit, DHA-310 Expansion Kit and DHA-330 video player are priced at $249.99, $209.99 and $199.99.

Philips Luxe Bluetooth MP3 Player

2009-02-21T06:29:00.000-08:00

The new Luxe MP3 player is the latest addition to the Philips GoGear line. It features Bluetooth 2.1 functionality so you can use the the audio device with your cell phone. It will allow you to pause your tunes so you can answer a call. It also features 10-hours of playback time and 100-hours in standby. The Philips Luxe comes with 2GB of storage space and a built-in FM radio. The sparkling and prism-like outside is different and available in red or white, priced at about $95 when it’s released in Singapore next month.

JVC's new boomboxes

2009-02-20T06:34:00.000-08:00

JVC was feeling nostalgic, so it has upgraded that most classic of urban audio fixtures, the boombox. Make no mistake, this ain’t your grandaddy’s boombox. This is a boombox for the 21st century. How do I know this? Because it boasts an iPod dock and touchscreen of course.

Even the way that you wake the device from standby mode is futuristic. You wake it up from standby mode by waving a hand in front of the system, which illuminates all of the controls and the LED display. That’s not all, there’s a bunch of gestures and motions you can apply to the touchscreen to do stuff like control the sound.

This is a really smart and modern design. The days of boombox toting may be long behind us, but if anything were to bring those days back, it would be this boombox. It should retail for just under $200 when it’s available this March.

NVR 102-Network

2009-02-19T06:38:00.000-08:00

QNAP Systems has unveiled a new network-based instant surveillance system which combines a video recorder and two IP cameras for home or office security. It is known as the NVR-102.

The QNAP NVR-102 provides what is described as “professional grade live video recording and real-time remote monitoring/playback.” It is run off of Linux and can reportedly be setup quickly. All functions can be configured through a Web browser such as Internet Explorer and no additional software is required.

Features of the NVR-102 kit include 2-way communication with the subjects on the camera side, live video streaming to any 3GPP-enabled handset, MPEG-4 and MJPEG recording of up to 4 channels simultaneously and storage of upwards of 2 TB total. Plenty of storage and features indeed to run your own Saw experiment.

Kapten: Screen free GPS

2008-08-19T01:02:00.001-07:00

Here’s something you don’t see everyday. A GPS device without a screen from French company Kapsys. It seems at first like a horrible idea, but speech can be just as powerful. It’s a one-of-a-kind mini portable GPS device with a voice recognition interface.

It’s designed mainly for pedestrians who need directions, and also includes a text-to-speech feature. It might also help you keep your eyes on the road. TeleAtlas will offer the map information, while Kapsys provides still more city-related information on their website. Features a SiRF Star III GPS receiver, Bluetooth, MP3 player, FM Radio and hands-free capability. As far as storage it has 4GB of internal memory. Expect it around mid-September for 150 Euros.

More information:
[Navigadget]

NVIDIA bring OpenGL 3.0 Drivers

2008-08-19T00:58:00.000-07:00

If there’s one thing NVIDIA has been known for over the last several years, it’s being late to the game with drivers. However, NVIDIA has been working hard this week to announce several new drivers, which gamers have been waiting for.

Earlier this week, NVIDIA announced the drivers to enable PhysX on its eight series and higher GPUs that gamers have been anticipating since NVIDIA bought PhysX. NVIDIA has now announced that it is first to ship OpenGL 3.0 drivers, just two days after the OpenGL 3.0 standard was announced.

The drivers supporting OpenGL 3.0 are still in beta, but NVIDIA says they are available to download now for both Windows XP and Windows Vista. NVIDIA says it will be releasing production drivers using the OpenGL 3.0 specification as part of its regular driver development program. There is no word on when non-beta drivers supporting OpenGL 3.0 will be available.

More information:
NVIDIA

Street Fighter limited edition iPhone

2008-08-18T00:54:00.000-07:00

Here’s the latest limited edition iPod emblazoned with Street Fighter characters. For those who don’t want an X-Files iPod or 90210. Relive the classic game while listening to your tunes. Chun Li is bound to be popular. No word on pricing yet. Buy two and make them fight by throwing them against each other while saying phrases from the game!

The character that can still be recognized through all the dents, dings and scratches on your iPod is the winner. Now fight!

More information:
[Kotaku]

New Sony Walkman PMP

2008-08-17T00:51:00.000-07:00

A new breed of Walkmans has hit Sony’s New Zealand website and they are colorful as a bag full of skittles in a Leprechauns pot o gold. The new models are the NWZ-E435, NWZ-E436, and NWZ-E438. They all feature a 2-inch QVGA LCD display, FM tuner, codec support for MP3, AAC, WMA, and Linear PCM files, and clock in a very small package of 8.5mm.

The devices will be available in 2GB, 4GB, or 8GB sizes, each model having various color options, the NWZ-E438 being the exception as it only comes in black. Supposedly the PMPs are compatible with both Windows Media Player and iTunes, with a drag and drop interface. Nothing on price yet or what country will see it first. Not even a release date, but expect them on the next month or two. We’ll let you know when we hear more.

More information:
[Sonyinsider]

LumiTop Lighting Bra

2008-08-17T00:48:00.000-07:00

Want your girlfriend’s boobs to look like a luminous butterfly from a drug commercial? So does French design house Lumigram. Meet the Lumitop bra. It will illicit responses like “I’m up here!” as it seems to hypnotize you not with what lay behind it for once, but with it’s bright luminescent shine. Because there’s nothing sexier then a futuristic, luminescent babe right?

The bras are part of Lumigram’s new collection - light for style. It’s powered by 1.5V replaceable batteries, which will cause boob-shine for more than 12 hours and sports a small on/off switch. Current pricing is from 100 to 170 Euros. If I may, in my current state of euphoria, paraphrase from a Neil Diamond song. “Turn on your bra-light. Let it shine wherever you go. Let it make a happy glow, for all the world to see…” hahahaha...

[inventorspot]

Cygnett Bluetooth speaker

2008-08-17T00:22:00.000-07:00

Cygnett recently unveiled a new Bluetooth hands-free speaker which has some interesting design appeal to it. It is called the Cygnett GrooveTooth Talk and you can pick one up for around $80.

The Cygnett GrooveTooth Talk works with Bluetooth-enabled cell phones, inclduing the iPhone 3G. It makes use of Bluetooth 2.0 and offers an auto detection range of around 30 feet. The built-in speaker is 1.5 watts and you can get about seven hours of talk time out of this device.

Other features include a magnetic clip, noise suppression, echo cancellation and one-touch operations. It will be available shortly.

Cygnett GrooveTooth Talk

iPod Touch getting 64GB and GPS

2008-08-01T05:35:00.000-07:00

Now there is much speculation that the iPod Touch will soon be geting 64GB capacity and possibly even GPS. I would say it’s very likely. Even probable. More storage is a must. And if you’ve got some form of GPS already in your ipod, that’s all many people need.

It’s just keeping the product up to date and competing. A GPS in an iPod will take a bite out of many other GPS devices, so long as pricing is nice.

Fujifilm presents 10 megapixel pocket camera

2008-08-01T05:22:00.000-07:00

Fujifilm is showing off a stylish new little digital camera geared for those who find silver or black body designs boring. The new Fujifilm FinePix Z200fd is priced around $300.

The Fujifilm FinePix Z200fd is a 10-megapixel shooter which is fairly thin in body size. It sports a 2.7-inch display and offers up to 1600 ISO. It also sports Fujifilm’s face detection technology, making it capable of monitoring up to 10 faces at the same time.

Other features of the Z200fd include a self-timer mode which snaps a shot when two faces come close together, dual image stabilization, a rotary dial menu and special scene modes. It will be available in September.

Fujifilm FinePix Z200fd

Dual screen display by Plica phone

2008-08-01T05:19:00.000-07:00

The iPhone may have some competition if this dual screen display concept is ever realized. It’s called the Plica phone and it’s like the Nintendo DS of phones. One of the screens is a touch screen keyboard, the other functions as a touch monitor. You can also view an entire web page on a single display or have them spread out across both.

Designer James Piatt’s idea was no doubt inspired by the DS Lite and has a ton of potential. It’s one concept that has a decent chance of seeing the light of day. I’d say that if Nintendo were going to build a phone, it would be something very similar to this rather then a Wii phone.

[Newlaunches]

LG BD300 Network Blu-ray player streams Netflix

2008-08-01T05:17:00.001-07:00

It has been several months now since the Blu-ray camp made HD DVD tap out in the ultimate HD fighting championships. Now that Blu-ray is the HD standard, we are starting to see more Blu-ray players hit the market with new and interesting features to set it apart from the Blu-ray masses.

LG has announced the first Blu-ray player to offer the ability to stream movies instantly from Netflix. The player is called the LG BD300 Network Blu-ray Disc Player. Netflix subscribers can use the player to instantly stream any of the 12,000 TV shows and movies from Netflix to their HDTV.

The streaming service from Netflix the LG player accesses is the same thing that Xbox 360 owners recently received access to. Other features of the BD300 include BD Live, support for 1080p resolution and the ability to upscale standard DVDs to 1080p resolution. Pricing and availability for the BD300 are unknown at this time.

One million Flip Ultra camcorders has been sold

2008-08-01T05:14:00.000-07:00

It seems like everyone is making videos for YouTube or MySpace these days. This video making revolution has led to some really small and totally digital camcorders hitting the market that make getting the videos onto video sharing sites easier.

By far the most popular video camera for this segment f user is the Flip Ultra. The makers of the Flip Ultra camcorder — Pure Digital Technologies — have announced one million of the camcorders have now been sold.

Research firm NPD lists the Flip Ultra as the top selling camcorder in the US. The low $149 price tag for the Flip Ultra helps sales too. The Flip Ultra got a new sibling in the product line recently called the Flip Mino that is a bit more expensive at $179 and adds some new features.

GMC Noblesses K-2 Ebony ATX case

2008-08-01T05:11:00.001-07:00

Korean manufacturer GMC recently unveiled the somewhat sexy Noblesses K-2 EBONY ATX case that comes with some pretty cool features, like an integrated media panel with Soundgraph iMEDIA HD support.

The case also displays your computer’s health by giving you info on fan speed, CPU temp, system temp, etc. But the main thing is that it sports those features and at the same time doesn’t look horrible. It will give you all of the info you could possibly want right there.

Duracell Battery for PDA

2008-08-01T05:06:00.001-07:00

Chances are you’ve been out with your phone and it runs out of juice. It’s annoying. We put men on the moon for God’s sake.(That was a long time ago) Well, Duracell wants to make sure you always have plenty of power in your USB gadgets. If your device uses mini USB to charge, Duracell’s new PowerSource Mini has you covered.

You can get it in two different versions. One is designed to power your iPod and the other is for Blackberry. Both have a mini USB connector. The PowerSource Mini stores power with an internal rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack. Apparently it has a second USB port that lets you charge another device at the same time. It ships with an AC adapter and DC charger that each have a USB port, and the PowerSource Mini. Never be powerless again.

[Everythingusb]

Best Buy Vending Machines

2008-07-30T05:26:00.000-07:00

Check out this Best Buy vending machine spotted in the Dallas/Forth Worth airport, keeping flyers in gadgets and sucking up money like a black hole in a square box.

Travelers are always forgetting their gadgets or breaking them, even losing them. Which is why these machines are a smart idea. The machines are in several terminals, insuring that an iPod leaves on every flight. Expensive spur of the moment purchase? Sure. Gadget addiction ain’t cheap.

Zepto Mythos and Nox Notebooks

2008-07-22T06:30:00.000-07:00

Boutique computer manufacturer Zepto USA is unveiling two new gaming laptops, the company said today. These are the Zepto Mythos and Nox notebooks and they look to be available now for a starting price of around $1,530 for each.

Zepto said these new laptops, depending upon choices made, can be customized to include Centrino 2 technology, up to a 2.8 GHz Dual Core processor, 8GB of RAM and a 500GB hard disk. Each includes a 15.4″ WSXGA screen as well as a graphics card with 512MB dedicated DDR3 RAM, a HDMI connection and Blu-ray.

Also of note for the Mythos and Nox laptops is a “Night LED” mode, which lets you switch off all indicators to “optimize the movie-viewing experience in the dark,” and a special keyboard. This keyboard includes dedicated shortcut keys for accessing specific system functions.

Zepto USA

Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LX3

2008-07-22T06:27:00.000-07:00

Panasonic has finally answered the clamors of those seeking a successor to its popular DMC-LX2 digital camera by introducing the Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LX3. This updated model, pricing at around $500, will be available in August.

The DMC-LX3, according to Panasonic, includes enhanced CCD technology, a LEICA lens and what is described as a “wide range of manual shooting controls.” This camera effectively offers 10.1-megapixels and, with the special CCD, “sensitivity is almost 40 percent higher and saturation is increased by 35 percent.” This reportedly means picture quality is better while also supporting a wider range.

Other features of this Panasonic shooter include advanced signal processing technology, ISO up to 6400 when in a special mode, joystick operation and a three-inch LCD display. Like similar digital cameras it can also record in HD-quality video at 24fps.

Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LX3

Kinesis Ergonomic Keyboard

2008-07-22T06:24:00.000-07:00

Kinesis has dropped a pair of new accessories that will make their Freestyle keyboards more ergonomic. You be the judge. The Freestyle V3 accessory clips beneath the base of the keyboard and gives you three different slope settings, while the Freestyle Ascent Multi-tent will let you set each half in ten degree increments all the way up to 90 degrees. It will lock them in at the desired distance apart from one another and could probably let you use your keyboard as bookends if you wanted.

The V3 costs $25 and the Ascent comes in at a whopping $200. Great way to play with your keyboard and type sideways.

[Engadget]

Zero-Gee Workstation

2008-07-22T06:22:00.000-07:00

I’d like you to meet my new chair. It’s not a smart chair. It’s the Zero-Gee Ergonomic workstation and by the looks of it, you’ll do a ton of resting and get very little work done. It’s got almost everything you need built in. Like a computer monitor, keyboard, swing out tray thing for your drinks and snacks. About the only thing missing is an onboard toilet, but I guess you can get up for that chore.

Ahhh, a blogger’s dream come true. I could have a little siesta between every article. Doesn’t it make you sleepy just looking at it? Unfortunately, the reality is that not many people are going to pay an outrageous price when you can just park yourself on the couch with your laptop.\

[Bornrich]

Suo Xin ZT888

2008-07-22T06:19:00.000-07:00

The Suo Xin ZT888 is a nice looking mobile phone from China that comes with an extra genuine leather case/battery for some reason. This caught my eye because of the call buttons. I’m pretty sure Apple doesn’t approve and I can only guess that they are trying to fool some morons into thinking that this is the new iPhone they’ve heard so much about.

This luxury phone comes in white and black, both with gold and sports a 2.4 inch display and 2.0-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, Dual SIM slots, microSD slot and other basic functions like Calculator, Calendar, Memo, Alarm, World time, stopwatch and games. It will cost you $115.43. Probably the cheapest phone with an Apple logo.

[ipmart]

Nintendo Wii MotionPlus for The Wii Remote

2008-07-20T01:31:00.001-07:00

Nintendo today issued a press release to introduce an unexpected accessory to the Wii Remote controller, called Wii Motionplus. The new attachment is designed to give even more accurate responses to a players hand and arm motions and we hope will lead to a lightsaber game in the very near future. According to Nintendo, the new controller add-on connects to the bottom end of the Wii Remote and will do a better job of “reflecting motions in a 3-D space”.

The attachment works in conjunction with the existing accelerometer in the remote and the Wii Sensor bar to track the players hand and arm motions and give what Nintendo is calling a true 1:1 response, which is sure to be a welcome feature for those interested in first person shooter games or anything requiring a little more precision beyond shaking or waving the remote wildly. The Wii remote currently with the game console does a great job of sensing more general motions, twisting and waving but sometimes can be a little shaky with the direct pointing. The Wii MotionPlus is sure to be an improvement and open up the Wii to less frustrating times at games requiring more precision.

Just from the photos it appears that the Nunchuck will be able to pass-through connect to the Wii Remote, and Nintendo plans on revealing more details about the Wii MotionPlus accessory during its media briefing at E3 Tuesday morning, but at this point has not revealed any pricing or a timeline for release.

Star Wars MP3 Player

2008-07-20T01:28:00.000-07:00

So you’re chillin’ with your Clone Trooper laptop, wearing your flannel like George Lucas and waiting in line for that new Ewok action figure that has a big release today. But what you need is some tunes.

This is what you want right here. A Star Wars mp3 player. The front features a close-up of Darth Vader with glowing red eyes, which is cool, but sadly, this MP3 player only features 512MB of memory and a display that looks like it’s 30 years old. It does come with a built-in radio however. It’s currently out of stock at Amazon.co.uk, but ForbiddenPlanet will release a similar product shown above for about $80 US at the end of the month.

[Geek Alerts]

Fish TV Underwater

2008-07-17T19:06:00.000-07:00

Fish TV makes fishing more like a police stakeout. You’ll still be bored for hours, but the device will let you see what’s going on in the murky depths while you smoke away and eat take out food. Occasionally you’ll say to your buddy, “Subject is coming in to have a look. He’s thinking about taking the bait. Wait. Negative. Suspect fled.”

Fish TV gives you up to 50 feet of camera cable and the camera itself is equipped with infra-red lights that boost image brightness in the water. Your show will not be in color though, but black and white. The device retails for $99.99.

[Fish TV]

Toshiba Qosmio F55 With Garmin GPS

2008-07-17T19:04:00.000-07:00

Toshiba earlier this week introduced a new laptop series that integrates Garmin GPS technology into the fold. It is called the Toshiba Qosmio F55 and pricing starts at around $1,400.

The Toshiba Qosmio F55 sports a 15.4-inch screen and is powered by the Intel Core 2 Duo CPU and NVIDIA GPUs. The integrated GPS technology by Garmin lets you do all the things you’d typically do with a free-standing GPS system and the system include face recognition technology as well.

Other features of these laptops, depending upon configuration, include two Harman Kardon speakers, a subwoofer, HDMI, three “sleep-and-charge” USB ports and a DVD SuperMulti drive. These laptops should be available now.

Toshiba Qosmio F55

Nail Watch

2008-07-17T19:00:00.000-07:00

Timex recently teamed up with Core77 and held a design competition called 2154: the future of time design. It was Timex’s way of celebrating 150 years of making watches. The runner up is a fascinating concept that’s not for nail biters.

Like nails on a…clock board…The TX54 would be worn on your thumbnail, and would remain clear except when you activate it. Then all you do is what you do now. Glance at the time. One thing though. Even those with large hands might find it difficult to read the time on their fingernail from say, half an arm’s length away. Pretty nifty though.

Lego Snack and Stack

2008-07-17T18:57:00.000-07:00

Fred and Friends has a cool-looking fake Lego cutlery set that will hopefully make it to market. Although judging by the picture, they believe that everyone uses utensils to eat apples and bananas for some reason.

These have a great look, but what’s really cool is that the handles are silicone and they snap together just like Legos. So, let’s say you’re eating steak. Attach the knife to the fork in opposite directions, for awesome cutting then stabbing action. It’s also great for playing at the table while waiting on dinner. You could construct a bunch of cool cutlery things. Better then a Duplo set.

Google App Engine Web Application Host

2008-07-15T19:11:00.000-07:00

Google has announced the launch of App Engine, a new tool allowing developers to create web applications that can be hosted on a Google’s own infrastructure. The idea of making a hosted development environment isn’t necessarily new as Salesforce has had the Appexchange platform for some time now, along with a few others companies offering similar services. One of the major things that makes Google’s App Engine stand out from the rest however is that it’s free.

The App Engine platform is launching as a “preview release” with all the expected features of the service not quite complete yet. It’s also going to be available only to the first 10,000 developers that sign up, which at the point of this writing appears to be already full. (You can get on a wait list, though).

The free preview service does have some limitations as well. It is limited to 500MB of storage through Google’s Bigtable and GFS, 10GB of bandwidth per day and has a limit on CPU use per day as well. Google estimates that most applications would be able to get around 5 million pageviews per month with the free restrictions. The idea is that developers can build applications on the platform and host them for free until they become more successful and gain lots of visitors. At that point the platform allows for scaling into larger hosting, potentially for a price.

Google expects the preview release services to remain free of charge as it rolls out to more developers and they expand the features. The initial launch is limited to the first 10,000 but said that more would be added in soon.

Google App Engine

Google Maps Adds Geotagged Photos, Wiki's and Real Estate

2008-07-15T19:06:00.000-07:00

The folks at Google Maps have recently released a pretty cool upgrade to the mapping service incorporating geo-coded photos, entries from Wikipedia and even some real estate listings from local and national real estate companies.

The next time you use Google Maps to look up a location you will notice a ‘More’ button next to the ‘Street View’ and ‘Traffic’ buttons on the map. Click the ‘More’ and you’ll have a couple of options for both photos and Wikipedia. Selecting the Photos check box brings in small geotagged photos from Panoramio right onto the map. Checking the Wikipedia box, just as you would expect, brings up little “W” icons representing geotagged Wikipedia entries. Clicking on the Wikipedia entries then brings up an excerpt of the article and a link.

Selecting the ‘More Search Options’ next to the Search button reveals a drop down list of result categories, defaulted to ‘Everything’. With it you can select Real Estate and view mapped listings from both local and national real estate companies, no doubt cutting into the shares of all those different mapping tools that real estate companies use to help find their listings.

Google consistently adding features like this just makes their tools more useful and certainly more enjoyable to use. I can see myself spending way too much time viewing photos and finding information about places I’ve been or would like to travel to on Google Maps. I hope they bring these features to the Maps API soon, too!

Wii Music

2008-07-15T19:00:00.000-07:00

Nintendo just announced Wii Music, a new music game that will let you use the Wiimote, Nunchuk and the Wii-Fit Balance Board to create music. It’s not like Rock Band or Guitar Hero, which are based on precise timing. Instead, this one lets you mash buttons and swing the remote around like a crazy Jedi to create some original tunes. Your motions and button mashing will make beautiful music.

It’s like Beamz but with a wiimote. Hopefully less dorky. Users can play different instruments and their are a lot of options like guitar, drums, saxophone and violin. Plus you’ll be able to create music videos as well. You like? I’m not so sure it can compare to pure rocking like Guitar Hero. We’ll see.

New Kodak Digital Frames Stream Photos

2008-07-15T18:53:00.000-07:00

Kodak is introducing some new wireless digital frames which are Internet-connected for display Web-based content. These new frames - the Kodak EASYSHARE W1020 and W820 Wireless Digital Frames - will be available later this year at a yet to be anounced price.

The Kodak EASYSHARE W1020 and W820 Wireless Digital Frames allow consumers to wirelessly connect through the Internet to photo-sharing sites including Kodak Gallery and Flickr and Internet content manager FrameChannel. These 10- and 8-inch frames allow one to view photos from the selected photo sites, as well as letting one access through some 200 FrameChannel feeds the latest news, weather, traffic, sports scores and more.

Other features of these frames include image display in 16:9 HD format, wirelesss streaming of photos from a PC and storage of up to 4,000 photos in its built-in memory.

Kodak EASYSHARE W1020 and W820 Wireless Digital Frames

uControl Security System With Media Streaming

2008-07-14T05:09:00.000-07:00

Here’s a decent alarm system with a slick interface. uControl is a fairly new company in the home security arena. They took a year developing and refining a platform called SMA (Security, Monitoring and Automation) and a TouchScreen control panel that both works as a fresh system install and can also integrate with your existing alarm. That means you are covered no matter what.

The company says that it will replace any control panel or alarm box in an existing system, bringing together all the existing functionality of equipment, sensors and wiring. In a new install, the 7-inch WVGA TouchScreen is a stand-alone wireless alarm system that communicates with wireless peripherals and sensors. It also offers remote control from any browser or cellphone, alerts via email or SMS, redundant connectivity (WiFi, ethernet and built-in GPRS cellular), cameras and compatibility with home automation setups.

Interestingly, there’s a modular GUI to manage video, photos, web-content and social networking apps throughout the house. Did I mention that it streams media and even links in with thermostat and lighting controls. You’ll be able to see uControl at Cable Show ‘08 in New Orleans.

[uControl]

Apple iTunes, The Largest Music Retailer in America

2008-07-14T05:04:00.001-07:00

The digital music revolution is definitely here, all you need to do is look around and it seems that everyone is using an iPod or other PMP device. Digital tracks have quickly outpaced traditional CD sales and online digital music sales have skyrocketed.

Back in February we reported that Apple’s iTunes store was the second largest music retailer in the United States. Apple announced this week that it was now the top music retailer in America, surpassing Wal-Mart.

Apple says that its iTunes service has over 50 million customers and has sold over 4 billion songs along with having the largest music catalog of over 6 million songs. Apple’s claim to the top spot comes from data from the NPD Group based on the amount of music sold in January and February of 2008.

Apple

Apple iTunes Sells Movies on DVD

2008-07-14T05:00:00.000-07:00

Apple today announced the immediate ability to purchase movies through iTunes the same day that they are released to DVD. This takes away another hurdle that Apple needed to get over to increase the number of online movie rentals through iTunes, and comes only months after the initial launch of the ability to purchase movies at all through the online service.

Apple says they will be providing new releases for sale from 20th Century Fox, The Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Lionsgate, among a couple others. The new release purchases are priced at $14.99 each and can be viewed on a Mac, PC or any iPod with video and require iTunes version 7.6.2 which is available now as a free download.

The iTunes movies are only available in the U.S. and the catalog of over 1,500 non new release films sell for $9.99. New release rentals will go for $3.99 each while the catalog titles are still at $2.99. Some of the new releases that Apple iTunes already has available include “American Gangster”, “I Am Legend” and “There Will Be Blood”.

iTunes Movies

Wordlock, Keep Safe Your Bag

2008-07-14T04:58:00.000-07:00

The Wordlock Combination Lock will keep your stuff safe from those who can’t spell. And we all know their numbers are growing. Sort of like a speak and spell for locks, without the speaking. More like a Secure & Spell. It’s basically the first combination lock that allows you to set your combination using words instead of numbers. It eliminates the need for remember numbers altogether. Cause numbers are hard compared to letters. I can’t help thinking that the inventor came up with the idea while watching Sesame street for some reason.

I’m no expert on numbers or letters and it’s been awhile since I had any fancy book learnin’, but I would imagine this is more easily cracked by a thief, as I think we visualize words easier then numbers. Unless that thief is illiterate. Still, pretty neat invention. And any thief worth the time he’ll do in the pen will have to try the naughty words first.

[wordlock]

HBO Shows Up on iTunes

2008-07-14T04:55:00.000-07:00

iTunes has officially started offering HBO series episodes available for download online through iTunes. This is a welcome announcement for many who would love to get episodes of the Sopranos, The Wire and Flight of the Conchords onto their PMP’s, but it comes at a price.

The price is actually what makes this announcement most interesting. Apple, who seems to have previously been with the belief that all series shows are priced equally, seems to have made a concession with HBO. The series episodes of the Sopranos is priced at $2.99 each, which is a whole dollar more than the usual $1.99 rate for a TV show.

The downsides are that the episodes are not going to be available on iTunes right when the show airs. They are also not going to be available just after the show airs, or even the next day. In fact they aren’t going to be available until the episode series is out on DVD. iTunes is offering a little better deal when you buy a whole season which prices it a little better than a physical season box set, but then you have to keep your own physical backup, the quality is probably going to be a little less. This is a move in the right direction but we suggest that they’ll have to keep trying to get these online video downloads to catch on like music.

Apple's iTunes Store Serves 5 Billionth Songs !

2008-07-14T04:52:00.000-07:00

Apple is touting themselves as the world’s largest online music retailer and these numbers are tough to argue with. As of Thursday the company announced that iTunes has reached the 5 billion mark and beyond for the number of online song downloads since their launch in 2003. It seems like it was only a year ago that they reached the 3 billion mark. In fact it was not quite a year go last July when they announced they had reached 3 billion downloaded songs.

To get an idea of just how many songs that is, customers had to have downloaded a little over 2.5 million songs per day on average since the site launched. In reality 2 billion of these were done in just the last 10 months, making it over 6 million per day for the past year.

Apple’s press release couldn’t forget to mention the online video they’ve been pushing this year, however. According to the company they are seeing over 50,000 movies purchased and downloaded each day as well. We definitely will be filing that under the “impressive” category.

Apple iTunes

Keep Safe Your Nintendo DS With GameChains

2008-07-14T04:46:00.000-07:00

From the “I cooked this up in my garage” department comes word of a rather interesting new gaming accessory designed to help you not lose those pesky little Nintendo DS games. It is called a GameChain and prices around $10.

The GameChain idea is rather simple - a keychain like design which keeps your small DS games tethered together so they don’t get lost in your sofa or on the train. The system is described as consisting of “laser-cut tabs, powder-coated metal chain, and aggressive, but non-permanent, adhesive pads.”

GameChains were apparently developed by an inventor and his nine-year-old daughter, who reportedly wrote the tag line for this product: “You don’t carry your keys without a key chain, why carry your games without GameChains®!” Enough said we guess - available now.

GameChains

Sony PS3 Firmware 2.41

2008-07-14T04:39:00.000-07:00

According to the Sony Playstation blog, the company has released firmware version 2.41 for the Playstation 3 which is expected to be a smoother update than the 2.40 version they released last week and had to pull shortly after. Apparently some folks who installed the 2.40 version experienced problems getting to the XMB when booting up and were stuck with a bricked console, at least temporarily.

I had heard that Sony would get a fix for the 2.40 firmware out sometime this week and their blog entry late last night said it would be available shortly. According to a number of reports the 2.41 version is available now with much, much fewer problems.

Both the 2.40 and the 2.41 firmware updates for the Playstation 3 game console bring some new features including in-game access to the XMB and a new Trophy system for awarding players.

Hasselblad H3DII-50 Digital Camera 50 Megapixel

2008-07-14T04:34:00.000-07:00

Hasselblad is known for making some high-end photography equipment and it appears that they are not going to disappoint today with the introduction of the 50-megapixel H3DII-50 camera. The company is boasting the world’s largest sensor with this latest product. It’s made by Kodak and measures 36×48mm, which is twice the size of the largest 35mm DSLR sensors.

The H3DII is capable of capturing images at 1fps while creating 300 MB files with an ISO range of 50 to 400. The camera has a laundry list of other features and accessories as you might expect including a wide range of lens choices, 3″ display, CCD cooling sink for noise reduction, GPS accessory and choices for file output and media cards.

If you’re wondering why you don’t see a lot of Hasselblad cameras in people’s hands when your out and about I think I may have your answer. It’s not because it’s a bad camera, but the price on this baby can be a little tough to swallow for many. Hasselblad hasn’t released the price for the H3DII-50 yet but we know that the H3DII-39 was upwards of $35k, and the company is saying that when the new model comes out you can trade up and just pay the difference.

Hasselblad H3DII-50

Kodak Adds 10 Megapixel Shooter to Z-Series Cameras

2008-07-12T06:22:00.000-07:00

Kodak has announced the introduction of a new 10-megapixel, “ultra zoom” digital camera to its Z-Series line up. The new Kodak EASYSHARE Z1015 IS Digital Camera will price at around $350.

The Kodak EASYSHARE Z1015 IS Digital Camera offers, among its key technologies, a 15X – SCHNEIDER- KREUZNACH VARIOGON Optical Zoom Lens with image stabilization, automatic adjustment of camera settings based upon a scene and an ISO setting of up to 6,400.

Other features of this new Kodak Z-Series digital camera include a “click-to-capture” speed of less than 0.22 seconds and advanced settings such as program, aperture and shutter priority, as well as full manual mode (PASM). It will be available in September.

Kodak EASYSHARE Z1015 IS Digital Camera

Let Ewoks Protect Your iPhone

2008-07-11T07:52:00.000-07:00

There are tons of ways to protect your iPhone. But hippies and Ewoks are going to want something different. That something is wood. Why not go all natural with your iPhone 3G? Miniot’s form-fitting iWood cases are all natural hardwoods like oak, cherry, mahogany, walnut and something called padouk.

One downside to adding natural beauty to your iPhone is the price tag. At $125 each, they’ll cost almost as much as the iPhone 3G itself. If the price is a bit steep for ya, you can always try your hand at whittling your own, but I shudder to think what the end product will look like.

Maxon R9 Power Racer

2008-07-11T07:45:00.000-07:00

MAXON announced their free update for Cinema 4D in May and they’ve got a lot of fans. It has nearly 40 improvements over R9.5. Some people are crazy about it!

One of Maxon’s fans went to a lot of trouble to create a bike inspired by the technology. The Power Racer sports a Maxon themed body, two large jet engine looking cylinders and an awesome look. I don’t know about Maxon, but I know I want this bike/trike/jet thing in my garage!

Samsung Instinct, The BEST BUYS Selling Handset

2008-07-11T07:40:00.000-07:00

All of the mobile phone makers want to grab their share of the touchscreen mobile phone market. This has resulted in a slew of would be iPhone killers hitting the market and so far not one of the iPhone me too’s has really made much of a dent.

When Samsung introduced its sprint exclusive Instinct handset it even looked a lot like the iPhone and many wondered if it would be another disappointment. It only took a few weeks after the Instinct’s introduction to see that it was a hit with Sprint saying it was breaking sales records and due to its popularity the device was hard to find.

Now Best Buy is saying that the Instinct is its top selling handset and has sold more than any other handset in the last 2 years. Best Buy says that over the last year it has seen demand for high-end smartphones like the Instinct increase 10x. With the new iPhone going on sale tomorrow it remains to be seen if the Instinct can compete with the new iPhone 3G.

Best Buy

Adidas Darth Vader Shoes

2008-07-11T07:35:00.000-07:00

What am I always saying? If you want a geek’s money, brand it Star Wars and put it in a bubble on a card. Geek money is now your money. The Adidas Superstar X Star Wars shoes come in black or white, black being much cooler since they are accented to look like Vader’s helmet.

They are a very limited edition and probably gone already. They did a great packaging job since this is gonna remind every geek of the action figure packaging. I’m sure many will buy these just to keep them in the package and take up more space in their mother’s house. Hmm just for collection, hehehe...

Giant Watch Table

2008-07-11T07:25:00.000-07:00

I guess watches are scheduled for extinction at some point. We can get the time from any of our gadgets after all. So, with that in mind, why not honor the watch by letting it take other forms. Like a large table for instance.

Oh, it will still give you the time and date, never fear. But now you can also put stuff on it and feel important. It measures 80cm x 230cm and runs on 240 volts. Just like a real watch it comes in more then one color, either silver, chrome or gold. What a cool table!!!

Belkin Announces New iPod Recording Accessory

2008-07-11T07:21:00.000-07:00

Belkin unleashed a slew of new products today. One of these is a new portable recording solution for those wanting to use their iPod as the storage medium. The new Belkin GoStudio prices around $120.

The Belkin GoStudio lets you record full podcast episodes, interviews, lectures, music, or short clips directly onto your iPod. You can do with this audio what you will, be it uploading to iTunes or storing on your computer.

Features of this device include recording in 16-bit, 44kHz digital audio quality, audio playback through a built-in speaker, two built-in omnidirectional stereo microphones and an included tripod mount. The GoStudio ships in this fall.

Belkin GoStudio

Garmin Prepares New Outdoor GPS Mapping Handhelds

2008-07-11T07:15:00.000-07:00

Garmin is introducing a new series of handheld GPS units for outdoor lovers which matches a touchscreen with rugged design. It is called the Oregon series and pricing will range from around $480 to $640, depending upon the model.

Garmin said these new outdoor mapping handhelds are waterproof and sport “a high-resolution, color 3-inch screen that reacts as users tap or drag through menus and options.”

They all make use of a “HotFix” feature for calculating and storing satellite information for later pinpointing a position without waiting for new satellite interaction. Each of the models is detailed a little after the jump and all will be available later this year.

“The Oregon 400t gives hikers preloaded U.S. topographic maps in state-of-the-art 3D elevation perspective. The Oregon 400i offers anglers shoreline details, depth contours and boat ramps for U.S. inland lakes and navigable rivers. The Oregon 400c is a saltwater specialist, providing chart coverage for the coastal U.S. and Bahamas. The Oregon 300 features a worldwide basemap with shaded relief. The Oregon 200 provides a basemap that can be easily supplemented with additional mapping or charts for your adventures on land or at sea.”

Garmin Mapping Handhelds

Who Wanna Ride This Longest Cycle ?

2008-07-11T07:10:00.000-07:00

Apparently the creator of this monstrosity took a page out of the electric bike train book. It’s for those with a large family or lots of friends who have no bike of their own. If you’re a biker in Utah and you’ve got like ten wives, why not take them all for a spin.

This thing has about 15 seats and looks like a giant erector set project. I’m guessing the turns are taken really wide, with everyone’s feet involved. And how much power does it actually have lugging all that extra weight around? I have no idea. But it sure is long. Yep. Long and yellow. Wanna try it?

In Australia Nobody Wants The White iPhone

2008-07-11T07:02:00.000-07:00

In Australia at least, nobody seems to want the white iPhone? It looks like all of the late arrivals in Sydney were being told earlier that they might have to take a white 16GB version because they were running out of the black model.
Now, if the same thing happens here I imagine some of you are going to be not too happy about it and you’d rather have no iPhone at all. I wouldn’t want white. For me the Black iPhone cooler than the White one, and I’m not sure what the ratio of white to black iPhones being shipped to stores is.

iPhone 2.0 Software Already Unlocked !

2008-07-11T06:49:00.000-07:00

Not only has the iPhone 2.0 software been released a day early for first-gen handset owners, bringing functionality like push email, but it’s already been unlocked. The iPhone Dev Team have in fact been working on early builds of Firmware 2.0 since it went into beta testing, and reached an unlock and jailbreak solution before Apple even released the official version.

The team is now promising a publicly-available release of their infamous Pwnage tool, which will allow anybody to unlock and jailbreak their handset for use with unsigned apps and any SIM card. There’s no release schedule as of yet, though.

Of course, the necessity for such a hack is somewhat reduced as Apple is releasing the handset in a greater number of countries and partnering it with the App Store, which will make third-party software official. Somewhat worrying, though, is the fact that some users are experiencing problems with their iPhones and the new firmware, including interface lag, crashing apps and hard resets. There are rumors that the build was only intended for the iPhone 3G and that Apple has planned a different release for the original handset.

Sony VPL-CW125 LCD Projector

2008-07-11T01:32:00.000-07:00

Sony introduced another projector on its infoComm08’s booth, VPL-CW125. Priced at a whopping $3,070, the device offers an impressive image quality with natural colors and unsurpassed brightness, along with a handy networking capability. Evenmore, its Side Shot Digital Horizontal Shift function guarantee that the projection will be perfect in any room, no matter how awkward its obstruction is. Check the detail specs after the jump.

Sony VPL-CW125 LCD Projector Key Features

* 3000 Lumens, WXGA resolution, full network 3LCD projector
* Thanks to newly designed ACF (Advanced Crisp Focus) Lens - crisp and beatiful images are reproduced right to the very corners of the screen
* Networking capabilities with content delivery over IP
* Easy lamp and filter replacement - no need to uninstall
* Support direct power On / Off, Off & Go

Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FZ28

2008-06-22T06:33:00.001-07:00

Panasonic unveiled today the LUMIX DMC-FZ28, an action focused digital camera with what the company says is a long zoom and 27mm wide-angle lens. It prices at around $400 and will be available in August.

The Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FZ28 is a 10.1-megapixel shooter with an 18x optical zoom, enhanced auto mode and new auto focus tracking which which lets you automatically track a subject while it moves. This reportedly keeps it in focus without needing to hold the shutter halfway down. Up to 15 faces can be focused upon with this feature as well.

Other functions of the DMC-FZ28 include digital red eye correction, automatic ISO adjustment, 13 shots per second in high speed mode and an integrated SD memory card slot. Software bundled with this camera will allow you to, among other things, edit and develop photos in the RAW format.

Panasonic