Gadget Access

Black and gold are the sexy way to go in the new line of glamorous mobile phones from Samsung. The L310 is sure to dazzle and enthrall all divas (and wannabes) with its chic flair and stylish design. Looking more like a fashion accessory than a cell phone, when flipped open, the ‘S’ shaped, gold-colored metal hinge renders an extra little dash of dazzle. It probably should have stopped there (all this dazzle), but it didn’t. For a bit more splendor, the camera on the cover is also glittered.

There are some cool specs that come with this glitzy new phone. Distinctive patterns and a hidden message icon indicate incoming calls and MMs. Multi media features include a 2.0-megapixel camera, MP3 player, external memory slot and Bluetooth connectivity. It also has a shopping list, which enables users to add and edit shopping items, calculate calorie consumption and also a fragrance type feature customized to the user’s favorite food and beverage.

In short, you can do almost everything with the Samsung L310 except eat this phone.

Coming along just in time for the day of the valentine, the Samsung L310 will be available in Russia and Hungary from February onwards for 240 Euros, which is around $350. Later it will be expanded into other European countries and hopefully, the US.

Read [New Launches]

Posted Jan 25th 2008 3:02AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Household
Admirers of Macs and Z-Wave have longed for the day in which they could finally use their two dearest loves simultaneously, and thanks to Wayne-Dalton, that day is upon us. The WDUSB-10MAC is hailed as the world’s first Z-Wave-enabled home control system “designed specifically for the Mac OS X operating system.” Mac users simply plug in the USB dongle, install the bundled Houseport software and go wild creating and managing their home network. When all is said and done, OS X users will be able to “control light switches, appliances, electronics, thermostats and other Z-Wave-enabled devices from their computers or through the internet” — a feat previously only achievable by booting into Windows. Not too shabby for $87, eh?

[Via CEPro]

Once upon a time, when animation was in its infancy, cartoons were much more dangerous to watch. Each frame was painted on a section of cave wall. In order to see the animation, you’d have to run down the cave at a constant speed blinking your eyes repeatedly. Many lives were lost as folks tripped, ran into cave walls, or were eaten by giant, cave-dwelling lobsters (it’s true - look it up). Eventually, the zoetrope was created, which saved a lot of lives. And in 1877, a man by the name of Charles-Émile Reynaud invented the praxinoscope. It was an improvement on the zoetrope (it kept the viewing area still and only moved the images), and a great improvement on being eaten by lobsters.

We’re pleased to offer you this desktop praxinoscope kit to celebrate this piece of somewhat forgotten, cartoon history. It’s easy to assemble, so you’ll be watching animations within a minute or two. You get 12 double-sided discs - half have animations printed on them, half are ready for you to draw your own (that is, blank). Switch on the little amber LED for an added old time, “at the flickers” feel and give the praxinoscope a spin. The images will be reflected on the spinning mirrors and thanks to our friend “persistence of vision” you will see an animated image. The Praxinoscope Kit is a great thing to do on boring days trapped in the office. Pop a little popcorn, dim the lights, and party like it’s 1877!

Gimmie!

Suggested Price: $12.99

Posted Jan 25th 2008 6:42AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: Digital Cameras
The pre-PMA 2008 madness ushers in this trio of new Samsung shooters. The 8.1 megapixel i80 (pictured left) brings a standard 3x optical zoom and biggie 3-inch LCD with face recognition and integrated MP3 player. The i100 (pictured center) increases the load with a 10.2 megapixel sensor, optical image stabilization (instead of digital alone), ISO 3200 sensitivity, and a built-in “World Tour Guide” function for instant access to travel information in 30 countries. The entry-level S1060 ratchets the zoom up to 5x while dropping the LCD back to 2.7-inches. No prices announced but all the cams are expected to launch this spring.

[Via TechDigest]

Read — Samsung i80
Read — Samsung i100
Read — Samsung S1060

Posted Jan 25th 2008 4:54AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: Peripherals
We think it’s dark and it looks like rain. The wind is blowing like it’s the end of the world, you said. It’s so cold, it’s like the cold if you were dead. And then you smiled for a second, and told us the $19 Evergreen Goth keyboard is available in Japan only. Sigh.

Gallery: Evergreen’s Goth Keyboard for “meat-loving people”

Posted Jan 25th 2008 5:44AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: Wireless
According to Reuters, the 700MHz “C” Block has received an opening bid of $1.24 billion. Unfortunately, a minimum bid of $4.6 billion is required to trigger the open-access rule. The rule which requires the victor to open that long-propagating and basement-penetrating spectrum to any and all mobile devices and software applications. It’s so important that Google, Verizon, and others have been battling over it even before the FCC auction began. No worries, the auction has several weeks to go. If no one else steps up, Google is on-deck with that minimum bid.

Everyone either made a whirlybird out of paper or had a wood/plastic toy version when they were a kid. The concept was pretty simple. Rub the stick body of the whirlybird between one’s hands and toss it up into the air (the paper version was merely dropped from on high). Using auto-rotation, the whirlybird would land under its own control anywhere from a few feet to several yards away. It was a fun toy for the helicopter pilot in all of us. Now, (thanks to our friends at Yankoo Design) one designer has taken that whirlybird concept and created a camera platform out of it.

Dubbed the “Flying Stick Camera,” it uses kinetic energy built up by rubbing the stick together between one’s hands like it’s smaller toy variant. The difference is that the Flying Stick Camera stores that energy and actually flies up into the air like a helicopter. When the energy is dissipated, it auto-rotates back down to the ground. Meanwhile, while it’s soaring high above one’s head, the Flying Stick will snap off an array of digital shots at a preset interval. And with face detection built into the digital design, the subject is always in focus.

No word on resolution, price, or when we all can get one, but this is certainly a design that’s more toy than functional camera platform, but there’s nothing wrong that. It keeps the fun in digital photography.

<!– ch_client = “gadgets”; ch_type = “rpu”; ch_noprice = “1″; ch_width = 468; ch_height = 90; ch_color_title = “#B40505″; ch_non_contextual = 1; ch_nosearch = 1; ch_default_category = “89″; ch_font_title = “Arial”; ch_font_text = “Arial”; ch_sid = “Coolest Gadgets RPU”; ch_alternate_css_url = “http://www.coolest-gadgets.com/rpu2.css”; ch_target = “_blank”; var ch_queries = new Array( ” Flying Stick Cam – aerial surveillance … er photography for everyone” ); var ch_selected=Math.floor((Math.random()*ch_queries.length)); if ( ch_selected

Sometimes I wonder if there’s just too much Space Invaders craft out there. But can there ever be too much of a good thing? You be the judge, but I happen to think these Invaders accessories are just perfect for that girl gamer in your life.

Created by Melbourne, Australia crafter contributor Pardalote, these hand-beaded earrings and necklaces feature the likeness of your favorite pixelated aliens from yesteryear.

Whether you’re a fan of the original Taito arcade classic or the Atari 2600 version, they’ve got you covered.

Prices for the pieces range from $15 for a simple pair of earrings up to $45 for a multi-part necklace. You can find all these pieces in the artist’s Etsy shop.

read more about:

bead, craft, earring, etsy, jewelry, space invaders

For the latest info on the coolest gadgets, emerging technology and wired madness, subscribe to our full news feed or have it delivered to your inbox. Always free. Always unique. Thanks for visiting!

The week is not even over and already 2 different Macintosh fan documentaries are starting to to surface on the internet. I came across the first one on Monday called Macheads the movie and today I discovered, Welcome to Macintosh - The Movie, both thanks to The Raw Feed. All the people featured in the documentaries easily would make the Apple fanboy list. Both videos are located below for your viewing pleasure.

Welcome to Macintosh - The Movie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6mblc1_Yzg

Macheads the movie

Can’t see the video? Click here.

Panasonic has plans to release the CN-MP50D in Japan, which is basically a GPS navigation system of the Panasonic Strada Pocket series. Sadly, this is a Japanese release only, set for February 12.

As you can expect from gadgets for the Asian market, the latest Panasonic GPS system has a couple of goodies: if you like music, the 1.5-watt speaker is an attractive bonus, and if you like to watch TV while in the car, there is the 1Seg (mobile terrestrial digital audio/video broadcasting) service.

Priced at $660, the CN-MP50D also has a memory slot for SD cards, and the battery life can hold on for 2 hours while using 1seg, or 4 hours if you use GPS.

Via Coolest Gadgets