Gadget Access

Posted Jan 31st 2008 2:12PM by Steven Kim
Filed under: Digital Cameras
Basic point-and-shoot digicams is what the Stylus line is all about, and the trend continues. Up here are some shots of the 840, 850SW and 1030SW. 8-megapixels on the 840 and 850SW with 5x and 3x zoom, respectively. And if you vacation includes some light snorkeling (or you like taking pics in the rain), note that the 850SW is shockproof 1.5-meters and to waterproof to 3-meters. Need more megapixels? Step on up to the 1030: 10.1-megapixels and a 3.6x zoom and waterproof to 10-meters.

Gallery: Hands-on with the new Olympus Stylus lineup

Alltel has officially added the red blackberry Pearl 8130 to its lineup. The red 8130 joins the ‘regular’ amethyst model and carries the same features. The Pearl offers a 2-megapixel camera with flash and video, GPS and mapping, Bluetooth and microSD card slot. The red Pearl 8130 is currently available and retails for $149.99 after a $100 mail-in-rebate along with a 2-year agreement.

Read [Alltel]

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These days “touch” technology seems to be infiltrating most a-list gadgetry. In some cases, however, touch-free is just as snappy. Simplehuman’s sensor soap pump dispenses soap without any of the usual mess (you’ll avoid cross-contamination).

Soap dispenses automatically when the sensor is triggered by hand motion. The optional LED light timer helps you get super clean, blinking for 20 seconds to indicate how long to lather for germ-free hands.

There are four volume settings that allow the pump to dispense preset amounts of soap or lotion. Operates on 4 AA batteries (not included).

Price: $39.99 at simplehuman.com

Casio just bagged top honors from JD Powers Ultra Slim Camera Usage and Satisfaction Survey according the company’s latest press announcement.  Almost 7500 camera owners responded and rated Casio’s offering highest.  The survey was open to owners who purchased their camera between June and July 2007.

The study, based on responses from 7,493 digital camera owners, measured four factors to determine customer satisfaction: picture quality, performance, operation and appearance and styling.  On a 1,000 point scale, the EXILIM Zoom series rated an 802 in the customer satisfaction index ranking, higher than any other digital camera in the ultra slim segment.

You can see what Casio has in store for 2008 here at our Press Conference briefing from CES.  I like the form factor of the Exilim line so much, I bought one for my brother recently (neither he, nor I were part of the survey).

Check out [JD Powers] and [Casio]

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Just a quick notice: looks like AT&T is experiencing difficulties with data service nationwide.  Word from on high is “they are working on it”.  Interestingly, five states are immune from the data outage.

AT&T Business Customer Service can be reached at 800-222-0400 or at their site.

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Posted Jan 31st 2008 11:31AM by Donald Melanson
Filed under: Misc. gadgetsThey’re about as far from myths as you can get, but MythBuster Jamie Hyneman nonetheless took it upon himself to explore seven tech headaches that many of you are likely all too familiar with in the latest issue of Popular Mechanics, and he’s offered a few suggestions on how companies could fix ‘em. Those headaches include the ever-popular cordless tools with endless varieties of battery packs and chargers (which he suggests should be replaced by stackable 6-volt modules), fancy flashlights that use pricey batteries (which he thinks we’d be better off without), and cars with obnoxious electronics and near-impenetrable encasements. Of course, cellphones and their myriad of charges and connectors aren’t spared either, although Hyneman sees some hope in the Open Mobile Terminal Platform that aims to make micro-USB the standard, and, as you might have guessed, he pays particular notice to computers that come pre-loaded with scores of unnecessary software. On that last note, he also offers some action consumers can take themselves: switch to Ubuntu.

[Thanks, Niall]

One of our aims for 2008 was to finally break into the top 1000 blogs according to Technorati (which is based on how many other blogs link to you), we’ve been petering on the edge for a while and finally broke in this afternoon at position #998.

I would like to thank every blog and blogger that has ever given us link credit to our stories, we will always strive to do the same. So in no particular order (though the sites in bold are the ones that I see a lot) I’d like to say a big cheers and thanks to:

• s2999
• Geek Chic
• Compradiccion
• Noantri
• Ektopia
• Slash Gear
• Gizmodo
• Digital Drops
• Geek Alerts
• Gadgettastic
• Grupo Geek
• Gadget Reporter
• Gear Log
• Geeky gadgets
• Tip of the Day
• Zedomax
• Tech News 2 U
• Monster Works
• No Puedo Creer
• To all the others that I missed, thank you and I’ll try to include you next time

The next target for 2008 is to get our subscriber base up to 100,000 so if you haven’t subscribed to our feed yet here it is .

Those of us who do our fair bit of reading will know that having light reflect off paper can be quite annoying. The Soft Light concept offers the reader with a luminescence which can be positioned according to the user’s needs. In addition, it can function as both an indoor or outdoor lighting, offering unprecedented flexibility to the user. The slim and flexible body allows a person to adjust its “neck” accordingly for optimal lighting. As for the lamp holder, it functions as a charger that helps juice up the lamp for outdoor use. Anyone wants to see this concept realized?

Concept Page

Moving into a new home can be very exciting - but getting all the right measurements can be quite the pain! Just like scales and even the speedometer, it is best to get something more accurate in a digital format compared to an analog dial, and this is where the Digital Measuring Tape comes in.

The Digital Measuring Tape features a large easy to read display that is capable of memorizing your measurements with the push of a button. It can give measurements in either feet and inches or metric units and will even display fractions of an inch (as small as 1/16th) just like a standard tape measure. There is also a setting for adding the case length for taking inside measurements. The Digital Measuring Tape turns on and off automatically, when the tape is extended (on) or fully retracted back into the case (off).

You get 16 feet with the Digital Measuring Tape along with five different measurement formats. ThinkGeek is carrying it for $24.99.

Unless you’re under a rock, you know Valentine’s Day is coming up. You can’t go into a store without seeing the acres of red and pink and hearts and all the other things that go along with this sappy holiday designed to sell boxes of candy and keep the greeting card industry afloat.

But what if you could give a crap about Valentine’s Day? Is there a “Bah Humbug” phrase for the anti-Valentine crowd? Or are you newly single and have a lot of angst for anything to do with this sickeningly sweet holiday? Well, have I got the thing for you.

Think Geek is selling Despair, Inc.’s (the creator of the fantastic Demotivators) Bittersweets. They have three different “themes”: Dejected, Dysfunctional, and Dumped. Reminiscent of the traditional candy hearts, these Bittersweets don’t have cutesy sayings like “BE MINE” or “LUV U”, but more sinister platitudes like “RATHER DRINK” and “TRADIN YOU IN”. Here’s the full list of each set:

Dejected sayings include:
I MISS MY EX | PEAKED AT 17 | MAIL ORDER | TABLE FOR 1 | I CRY ON Q | U C MY BLOG? | LOSS LEADER | A FINE WHINE | MOMMY ISSUES | DIGNITY FREE | DORK MAGNET | PURE NAUSEA | WE HAD PLANS | MAIL ORDER | SETTLE 4LESS | I’M HOT INSIDE

Dysfunctional sayings include:
ANNULMENT | I BEEN CREEPIN | HE CAN LISTEN | GAME ON TV | CALL A 900# | P.S. I LUV ME | DO MY DISHES | BOOTY INFL8N | PAROLE IS UP! | AWFUL INLAWS | SUB PRIME | I WANT HALF | RETURN 2 PIT | NO FIX 4 DUMB | RATHER DRINK | MUTUAL DISGUST

Dumped sayings include:
I GOT SOBER | HE FIT U FAT | U LEFT SEATUP | USED U 4 FUN | JUST A FRIEND | BACK 2 KENNEL | DORKA PHOBIC | U HAVE A BLOG | RUSSIAN BRIDE | CELEB8 THX2U | DOG IS CUTER | TRADIN YOU IN | FORGET WE MET | KISS A FROG | SHE IS 22! | HE HAS A JOB

Each heart-shaped tin contains at least 37 of the (I’m assuming) sweet-tasting Bittersweets for $9.99. If you buy 2 or more of the tins, you also get 20% off - so collect them all!

[Think Geek]