Gadget Access

Posted Jan 15th 2008 11:49AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio, Portable Video
If you saw the 1.1.3 leaked firmware then this isn’t a surprise. The new iPhone firmware features Google maps with location, up to 9 total home screens, Webclips, the ability to SMS multiple recipients, and more. That more being lyrics, subtitles, languages, chapters, in your iPod media. To customize a screen you just touch and hold the icon for a couple of seconds and it begins to “shake.” Right, just like we saw in the video. Flicking your finger across the screen moves to the next screen. iPod touch users, it’s all yours (minus the phone related apps, naturally) for $20. No, we’re not kidding.

Cellklear. This simple lens cleaner for mobile phone cameras is just one more piece of evidence, if more were needed, that the world of photography is changing inexorably around our heads. I, for one, salute our new mobile imaging overlords and wish them long life, happiness and an endless supply of badly lit party snapshots. $8.95.

 Designed specifically for camera lenses found on cellular camera phones. # The remarkable cleaning compound removes fingerprints, smudges, and grease marks with ease. # Safe for all displays, including multi-coated surfaces. # Unique cleaning compound will not spill or dry out. # Environmentally friendly and non-toxic.

The World’s Smallest USB Charger is perfect for charging up your iPod Nano. OK, so we’re not sure that’s right, it just sounded good. You know, small and nano? Hey, you try writing this drivel day after day while still managing to sound fresh, young and exciting. Yeah, scared now aren’t ya? $14.99.

 World’s smallest (5.5cm, when with the plug, it is7cm for US type) - Sleek surface - energy-saving, when your device is fully charged, it will turn off the power consumption - Lightweight Compatibile with: - All USB powered devies. - iPod and iPhone products (see below)

Iomega already has the eGo portable hard-drive on their catalog for quite some time, but the good news is that during Macworld they decided to improve it, in two ways: features and storage capacity.

The upcoming 2.5-inch drives will become available in 160GB or 250GB, and use the USB2.0 interface. The prices can go from $140 to $210, depending on the model.

As for the new features, they can be seen on the Dual Interface edition, that adds FireWire400 on top of the usual USB connection. The storage capacities are the same, but the prices are higher: $160 and $230. All the drives are available in 4 different colors.

Via Engadget

Ah, a day in the life of a platforming plumber. Just when you thought it was safe to jump down another green drainpipe in search of a secret stash, out pops one of those annoying piranha plants to ruin your day.

Fans of the Super Mario franchise can now enjoy their very own mini piranha plant, complete with big pointy teeth.

This 6-inch tall version of Mario’s flowery nemesis was needle and wet-felted by Toronto artist FoulFowl. Only one of these handcrafted felt plants is listed on her Etsy shop, so if you want it, you’d better move quick before it’s gone.

read more about:

craft, etsy, felt, mario, nintendo, plant

Posted Jan 15th 2008 5:44AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Robots
The absurdity of that photo is usurped only by the stupidity of those who think that shaking a baby is effective child rearing. Enter the re-purposed (and tricked out) $28,200 crash test dummy which the University of Olso will use to better understand the trauma inflicted on an estimated 2,000 shaken babies each year in the US — half of whom die, the other half suffering brain damage. If research is successful, the resulting forensic evidence will help prosecute those guilty of this senseless abuse while defending those wrongly accused. Fine, now could somebody please research the trauma inflicted on babies dressed like iPods? That can’t be good.

Posted Jan 15th 2008 6:28AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: LaptopsWhile rumors swirl of an impending Penryn delay, DigiTimes is reporting on a spate of new 45-nm Penryn processors set to launch in May. The new procs support Intel’s 5th generation Centrino platform with optional WiMAX integration dubbed Montevina. Right, the 40% smaller successor to Santa Rosa. That lines up with earlier rumors mumbled back in August. Of the 15 new processors, 7 CPUs are destined for laptops while 8 of the procs feature a smaller 22-mm package size for subnotebooks and ultra-portables. Sorry, not MIDs, those are waiting for Intel’s Menlow-platform based on the 45-nm Silverthorne CPU. Got it? Good. Now feel free to click-through for all the rumored techno-gore you can stomach this early in the morning.
35-mm package size with 1,066MHz FSB:

• Core 2 Extreme QX9300 with 12MB L2 cache and TDP of 45W (unknown clock)
• Core 2 Extreme X9100 (3.06GHz, 6MB L2 cache and TDP of 44W)
• Core 2 Duo T9600 (2.8GHz, 6MB and 35W)
• T9400 (2.53GHz, 6MB and 35W)
• P9500 (2.53GHz, 6MB and 25W)
• P8600 (2.4GHz, 3MB and 25W)
• P8400 (2.26GHz, 3MB and 25W)

22-mm package size:

• SP9400 (2.4GHz, 6MB, 25W, 1,066MHz FSB)
• SP9300 (2.26GHz, 6MB, 25W, 1,066MHz FSB)
• SL9400 (1.86GHz, 6MB, 17W, 1,066MHz FSB)
• SL9300 (1.6GHz, 6MB, 17W, 1,066MHz FSB)
• SU9400 (1.4GHz, 3MB, 10W, 800MHz FSB)
• SU9300 (1.2GHz, 3MB, 10W, 800MHz FSB)
• U3300 (1.2GHz, 3MB, 5.5W, 800MHz FSB)
• Celeron 723 (1.2GHz, 1MB, 10W, 800MHz FSB)

Posted Jan 15th 2008 5:30AM by Paul Miller
Filed under: LaptopsAccording a message purportedly sent from a Lenovo rep to resellers today, Intel’s T9500, T9300, T8300 and T8100 Penryn chips are going to be delayed, affecting the laptop industry worldwide — and obviously Lenovo’s latest in particular. The word is that a thermal sensor issue is to blame, and supply on the chips will be tight through February. Nothing official from Intel yet on the matter, so we’re going to keep this in the rumor category for the moment — but don’t be surprised when that shiny new Penryn laptop of yours ends up taking a few extra weeks. Be strong, we can make it through this together.

Posted Jan 15th 2008 12:34AM by Joshua Topolsky
Filed under: Gaming
If you’re the kind of cat or kitten that listens to “reports” on “things,” then you’ll want to turn your furry ears in this direction. Apparently, a stray Target receipt containing some elicit information made its way out onto the internet today (you know how those get around). Just what does this slip of paper tell us? According to the supplier (a Target employee), the store has begun listing the Wii as “White” in color, as opposed to just “Wii-colored” or “sold-out.” The suggestion is that with the sudden delineation of color, more than “White” may be on the way — speculation due mostly in part to Target’s receipt-prescience on things like iPod deletions and the like. Of course, we’ve been hearing this kind of stuff for awhile, so we’re not holding our breath on the issue, and suggest you do the same. Er, don’t do. Don’t hold your breath.

[Via The Boy Genius Report]

Posted Jan 14th 2008 7:31AM by Paul Miller
Filed under: Features, Gaming, Peripherals
So, we got some more information from Patrick Goschy so he could set his story straight, and were surprised to learn he still had the original prototype controller! According to Goschy, he really has no plans — or venue — to sue Nintendo, since Midway owned all of his patents, and as far as he can tell, Nintendo bought the patents from Midway, since Nintendo references one of the patents in its application for the Wiimote. Apparently he just wants the recognition: “I just wanted to people to know. Wanted the truth to come out. Did this 8 years ago, and the Wii has been such a huge deal, I wanted the truth to get out there. It wasn’t these two or three Japanese guys that came up with this thing.” His guess is that Nintendo saw the video demo he did — which was seen by hundreds of employees of Midway — and probably payed a pittance for the technology, thanks to Midway’s mismanagement. Right now Goschy is doing engineering consulting work to pay the bills, and when asked if he could take a few shots of his controller alongside Nintendo’s, told us that he “can’t afford a Wii.” He’s going to do a redo of the original video — hopefully with pants this time — if he can scrounge himself up a working Dreamcast.

Gallery: Exclusive shots of Goschy’s prototype “Wiimote” controllers