Gadget Access

We all know Valentine’s day is coming up. And men all over the world are scurrying around trying to find the right gift for their Valentine that won’t disappoint them. (We all know men have given up on trying to find the perfect gift, because that will never happen). It’s hard enough trying to find a gift for the average woman, but what do these poor guys do when faced with a woman who is a geek/nerd? Most guys fall back onto the default of chocolate and flowers, but this year, there’s a great alternative for your geeky Valentine.

Think Geek is has come out with the Chocolate Molecule T-Shirt just in time for Valentine’s Day. Well, technically it’s not Chocolate, but the chemical Theobromine. The description from Think Geek:

…Theobromine, and she’s the tasty little number who puts your mind in a happy place while you are eating chocolate. Molecularly similar to caffeine, but with just enough differences to make her a much smoother date, Theobromine is slower to burn out of your system and induces gentle, sensual stimulation to your muscular and cardiovascular systems.

Granted, you can’t eat this lovely chocolaty brown t-shirt with the Theobromine molecule imprinted in a lovely Valentine’s raspberry pink and get the same chemical effects on your body - but your geek girl may just swoon over the geekiness (and your thoughtfulness) of this nearly perfect gift. Also, the t-shirt has no calories, so your sweetheart can wear this t-shirt proudly without gaining an ounce (well, technically only 6.1 oz, but that’s how much the shirt weighs).

I’m pretty happy that this t-shirt has a looser “classic” cut than a traditional babydoll tee, because let’s face it, only stick figures can fit into a babydoll tee. The t-shirt is 100% combed ring-spun cotton with a common 1×1 rib will make the (nearly) perfect gift for the nerdy love of your life. Pick one up for $17.99.

[Think Geek]

Nikon certainly isn’t going to let up when it comes to new releases of digital cameras, and the Coolpix S600 is one of the latest offerings from its stable. This stylish new camera comes with a speedy start-up time (perfect to capture an ongoing moment even when you’re not prepared - losing out on a couple of seconds could mean the magical moment is gone, never to be repeated), advanced functions, and superior photographic performance, all crammed into a slim, stylish body. For further details on the specifications, kindly head on after the jump.

According to Bill Giordano, General Manager, Marketing, COOLPIX for Nikon Inc., “We are very excited to offer the COOLPIX S600, as we feel the camera embodies the stylish design and advanced imaging capabilities of the COOLPIX Style Series. With the COOLPIX S600, consumers will be able to take stunningly sharp photos, faster and easier than ever before.” With the inclusion of full-time Optical VR Image Stabilization technology, one will be able to capture images that already have camera shake compensated for, while ISO capabilities up to 3200 lends provides an excellent range for low-light performance. Other features include a 4x Zoom-NIKKOR lens for capturing everything from vast landscapes to intimate portraits, and a 2.7″ high resolution LCD display that makes it a snap to preview and check out snapped images.

With a start up time of just 0.7 seconds (the fastest in its class according to Nikon), the S600 has superior shutter response as well as autofocus speeds for quick and responsive photo opportunities. The S600 boasts Nikon’s very own image processing system for enhanced noise reduction, known as EXPEED. In addition, this is truly a family man’s tool as it allows one to capture fast moving kids thanks to the Active Child Mode as well as over a dozen other scene modes that come standard in the Coolpix range. The Nikon Coolpix S600 will roll out this March for $299.95. Image courtesy of LetsGoDigital.

Press Release

Posted Jan 31st 2008 5:17AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: Misc. gadgets
It might interest you that shortly before Google went public in 2004, Larry, Sergey and CEO Eric Schmidt made a 20 year pact. According to an interview in Fortune magazine, the trio says, “We agreed the month before we went public that we should work together for 20 years.” If the promise is carried to fruition, Schmidt will be 69, Page 51, and Brin 50 before they’re eligible to retire. Of course, none of this is legally binding. But isn’t a gentleman’s agreement more desirable in a world where “do no evil” is a fundamental axiom? Sure, dreamers.

[Via Reuters]

Posted Jan 31st 2008 6:15AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: Misc. gadgets, Peripherals
Tidy, huh? If you’re an iMac or Apple Studio Display owner then you’ll see the immediate appeal of this LowKey Stand from Macessity. Constructed of 0.1085-inch thick steel “power-coated” to match your rig, it neatly hides your new slim Apple keyboard from view. There’s also a powered 4-port USB port up front which helps to offset the stand’s $60 price a tad.

Gallery: Macessity’s LowKey Stand for Apple neat-freaks

The last time I saw such a brilliant blending of Pac-Mania and illumination was the amazing Pac-Man Christmas tree that showed up on the streets of Madrid over the holidays. Now you can have your own personal Pac & Pals light show thanks to these fun colored light blocks.

Designed by French lighting company Remake Design, these clever interlocking light blocks now come in Pac-Man inspired styles, including colored ghosts, dots, and of course the pie-shaped yellow guy we all know and love so much.

The company offers a variety of snap-together colored lighting fixtures which can be combined to form unique pixel-like structures in any space. Pricing for their solid colored lights is around $300 for a set of four blocks, but pricing hasn’t been announced yet for the Pac-Man series.

If you’re not into Pac-Man, why not try some Tetris?

read more about:

france, ghost, lamp, light, pac man, pixel

Posted Jan 31st 2008 12:03AM by Ryan Block
Filed under: Misc. gadgets, GPS
Geotaggers, take note: with PMA today Sony is upgrading its CS1 GPS unit to support geotagging video footage through new versions of its Picture Motion Browser and Image Tracker software, giving it an armband, and renaming the whole thing GPS-CS1KASP. (It’s out again next month for $150.) Also happening tonight are two new dye-sub printers, the FP95 and FP75, which will run $200 and $150 in April, and feature 3.6 and 3.5-inch displays, respectively, HDMI out, and a filter function on the 95 for kooky effects like fish-eye and sepia.

Read - Sony updates CS1 [Via Let’s Go Digital]
Read - Sony intros FP95 and FP75 [Via Let’s Go Digital]

Posted Jan 31st 2008 2:22AM by Steven Kim
Filed under: Digital Cameras
It seems like big boys Nikon and Canon DSLRs have been slugging it out since, well, before the “D” was even a thought. This year, it’s a fight over the entry-level end of the DSLR market with the Nikon’s D60 facing off against Canon’s EOS Rebel XSi. On paper at least, Nikon’s offering is little changed from from the D40x: 10.2-megapixel CCD, 3-fps shooting, sensor dust reduction, and of course, Eye-Fi enhancements. Of course, the real tale is in the images, so we’ll hold judgement until we see the results of the EXPEED image processing concept.

Gallery: Hands-on with the Nikon D60 DSLR

Eye-Fi’s claim to fame would be to create the first wireless memory card for digital cameras in the world, and it comes as no surprise that the company has just announced that it will be working with Nikon Corporation to deliver “enhanced integration of the Eye-Fi Card with Nikon’s new D60 digital SLR camera”. Sounds pretty exciting to all you shutterbugs out there, doesn’t it? Anyways, Eye-Fi will also throw in Nikon’s “my Picturetown” online photography community to its Eye-Fi Service as yet another photo sharing option for users - as if there aren’t enough of these available in the market already today.

This collaboration will see Nikon’s D60 digital SLR make life much easier for photographers to wirelessly upload images via an Eye-Fi Card to their computer or favorite online photo sharing site. I like the hassle free environment instead of cursing oneself for not bringing the correct cable, especially if you’re a few hundred miles away from home. The recently introduced Nikon D60 DSLR will also hold the honor of being the first camera to be part of the “Eye-Fi
Connected” program. I guess that sometime down the road, there will be other digital cameras joining the D60’s rank where Eye-Fi endorsement is concerned.

According to Tadashi Nakayama, General Manager of Marketing for Nikon, “Nikon has been on the forefront of embracing wireless photography and finding innovative ways for users to share memories. By working with Eye-Fi, we’re making it easier than ever to save and share pictures without the inconveniences of wires and cables.” Amen to that, brother. Nikon’s D60 is smart enough to detect the Eye-Fi card when it is inserted, automatically adjusting its power timer settings to ensure that photos upload effortlessly for sharing and storing without having you to lift a finger.

Press Release

Nowadays, every gadget is trying to be a multi-tasker. Take the iphone - it’s trying to be a portable computer, a music and video player and a phone (amongst other things). Not to be outdone, Garmin just presented the teeming throng of gadget hounds with the nuvifone, a cellphone that is also a GPS. Here is how nuvifone is being described: “[nuvifone] is the breakthrough product that cell phone and GPS users around the world have been longing for — a single device that does it all” No mention of the fact that there are many other options out there to do that, but I’ll reserve judgment on this device until it gets some use.

The nuvifone doesn’t have many details out yet, but is slated to be released in the 3rd quarter of 2008. Here’s a list of features:

• Google local search
• Garmin Online services - traffic, weather, fuel prices, hotel discounts, etc.
• n vi-like navigation on the road or in pedestrian mode
• Email, text, IM functions
• Camera, video camera, MP3 and MPEG4/AAC

However, it brings up an interesting point when it comes to GPS devices: they’re being viewed more and more as one-trick ponies or mono-tasking devices and unless they innovate (and pack in a few more features into the one package), it’s going to be really hard for any GPS maker to survive in the coming years. Chip are getting small enough that soon every phone will have a GPS – just like they (almost) all have Bluetooth. That’s just they way technology is.

But jumping on the cellphone bandwagon won’t be enough to guarantee their survival. Just look at how Motorola is struggling. There are ways to delay the point where phones will take over: larger displays, better design, faster computing. But in the end GPS makers will be squeeze from two sides: GPS car integration and GPS phone integration.

I guess we’ll see how this irons out.

[Garmin via Gizmodo] and Ubergizmo

Posted Jan 31st 2008 1:47AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: Digital Cameras
Why hello darlin.’ As we had hoped, Sigma’s DP1 just got a release date. Come Spring, we’ll finally see what that 14 megapixel FOVEON X3 sensor found in Sigma’s SD14 DSLR can do in a compact’s body. That’s about 7 to 12 times larger than the sensor found in ordinary compacts. The biggest compromise you’ll be making though, is with the lens. A fixed, 16.6-mm F4 lens designed exclusively for the DP1 illuminates each 7.8μm pixel on that 20.7 x 13.8-mm sensor. If you’re still game then rounding things out are Sigma’s new “TRUE” image processing engine, a 2.5-inch LCD, pop-up manual flash, hot shoe, manual or 9-point autofocus modes, and QVGA movie recording to SDHC cards. All this in a 4.5 x 2.3 x 2-inch body weighing 8.5-ounces. We remain intrigued.

Gallery: Sigma’s DP1 DSLR in a compact’s body (almost) shipping this Spring