Gadget Access

Why do we have to envy European phones?  An Italian website exposed (and promptly removed all reference to) this i900 from Samsung.  Samsung probably concludeds a smoking fast, touchscreen phone with a real camera and access to the business community apps couldn’t do very well in the small US market.  Perhaps my bitterness is showing through?

Looking to the be the next generation Prada/KG80 phone, if its rumored specs are to be paid any attention, this thing kicks:

• 7.2Mbps HSDPA
• a 5mp camera
• Windows 6.1
• 8GB memory

Wishful thinking?  Heck yeah!  I’ll keep my eyes peeled for more info to bring you on this as it develops.

Read [CoolSmartPhone]

Dell has made their new 24-inch 2408WFP monitor available. The new 24-incher is an Ultrasharp model that offers 1,900 x 1,200 resolution, a 178-degree viewing angle and a 1,300:1 contrast ratio as well as more ports than you can imagine. The available ports include HDMI, 2 DVI, VGA, DisplayPort, Composite, Component, S-Video, 1 USB upstream and 2 USB downstream. The 2408WFP is currently available and retails for $748.

Product [Dell] Via [Engadget]

We have already shown you the new Skullcandy SD card headphones, but these new earbud style headphones deserve some attention as well. Skullcandy, from personal experience make good quality headphones at good prices.

Their latest are the iPhoneFMJ headphones, which were first announced at CES 2008. They are earbud style headphones that are designed for the iPhone, or perhaps more important they are made to work with music phones so they will work equally well with other phones such as the Blackberry Curve. The iPhone FMJ headphones feature a solid feeling “tightly-wrapped, coiled metal cable” and an in-line microphone. They are available in black, silver or chrome and retail for $79.95, they can be found online at Skullcandy.com. I had an opportunity to see these headphones first hand on the show floor during CES and can say they appear to be very nice, based on experience with other models I can imagine they will sound equally well.

Product [Skullcandy]

Posted Jan 17th 2008 10:11AM by Joshua Topolsky
Filed under: Storage
Your good pals at Buffalo are injecting some new storage options into your life, so you might want to pay attention (especially if you’re a Japanese citizen). The company is introducing a new line of RAID 0, four-drive models called the QSIBSU2 HD / R, featuring eSATA, USB, FireWire 400 / 800, and TurboUSB functionality. A 1TB version of the array will run you ¥74,300 (or around $695) and will be available in at the end of the month, while the 2TB model clocks in at ¥106,300 ($995) and will ship in late February.

[Via Engadget Japanese]

I was pretty harsh on Apple’s new Macbook Air yesterday, which feels a little odd for me. I’m generally an Apple enthusiast and give them the benefit of the doubt on new products. However, that doesn’t mean that I won’t go on a rant when they release something like this that just doesn’t seem like a logical purchase. Anyway, I thought I’d give an update on one negative feature that I pointed out in my post yesterday concerning the battery.

While it is true that the battery is not user-replaceable, Apple isn’t going to charge you an arm and a leg to get it replaced. The cost for a new battery is $129, which includes installation. I know a lot of people (myself included) were worried that it would cost several hundreds of dollars just to have something like this replaced.

Unfortunately for road warriors that like to carry around a spare battery, you’re still out of luck. On the bright side you will be able to squeeze five hours of work time out of it.

Source: Ubergizmo

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…you totally dig this Space Invaders jacket that comes emblazoned with hundreds upon hundreds of pixelated aliens from the arcade classic. Thanks to Scandanavian designer Junk de Luxe, you will be able to deck yourself in one of the geekiest clothing ever without looking silly as it is particularly stylish (somehow them Scandanavians seem to be pretty good with design). Unfortunately, it is only available from Trendlovers in Denmark at this point in time.

Source: Technabob

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Posted Jan 17th 2008 1:59PM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
It’s no secret that gadget aficionados like ourselves have mounds of kit that was hot stuff in its heyday, but figuring out what to do with it once its prime has passed is still a mystery to some. ‘Course, the entrepreneurs in the crowd simply offer their previously loved wares up to the world via eBay (or similar), but for those lacking the time / motivation to do so, rest assured, companies are on the prowl to totally take advantage of you. TechForward and NEW are two firms that are looking to make a mint from entering the gadget buyback realm, and as you’d probably expect, the cash doled out to suckers individuals who bite on this is woefully less than market value — but then again, it’s ultra-convenient, shipping is free and it’s guaranteed, hassle-free money. Sounds like the pawn shop just got with the times, eh?

[Image courtesy of PlanoPawnShop]

Posted Jan 17th 2008 12:33PM by Joshua Topolsky
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
According to a highly dubious study recently released by a maker of paper-shredders, 47-percent of Americans said they would “like to be Bill Gates.” The other 53-percent said they preferred being powerless, poor, and not knowing what to do with Visual Basic.

The Cloudbook (CE1200V) with the 7-inch display is not even in stores Wal-Mart as of this posting and it is already being reported by Computerworld that Everex has a new model with a 9-inch display in the works.

With little details being made public as of yet a few things are certain, the display will be 9-inches and they are planning a price tag of $500 or less, which would most likely mean $499. Hopefully they will include a larger hard drive, higher resolution and possibly some more RAM at that price. If that were the case I may be tempted to trade my current Eee for the future Cloudbook.

Via [jkOnTheRun]

Posted Jan 17th 2008 9:49AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Video
When it comes to iPod docking alarm clocks, few can face-off with XtremeMac’s Luna. Now there’s the Luna X2. Normally we’d shred the puffery found in phrases like “world class iPod audio system,” “crystal clear display,” and a design meant to “complement any room’s decor.” However, their first-generation Luna was so well received that we tend to believe their boasting. For the moment, anyway. Your $120 (pre-order) gets you a pair of fully customizable, independent alarms, aux-in, AM/FM radio, and same audio performance found in the original Luna. Only now in a newly designed chassis which reflects the new iPod reality: the white iPod is dead.

Gallery: XtremeMac’s Luna X2 is ready to rule