Gadget Access

The latest in the never ending supply of USB flash drives is the USBee, which makes not only perfect sense name wise, but also has a “bee like” yellow and black exterior. Along with the fancy name and coloring the USBee drive actually has some nice features that go along, first off the drive is made from silicon and aluminum and has a flexible design to prevent accidental damage.

In addition to a thoughtful and hopefully damage proof design the USBee also has a cooling system built into it’s stripes to keep it from overheating and a detachable cap that will snap on to the other end when the drive is in use.

The USBee drive is not yet in production, so of course we have no idea on just how much it would retail for or any available storage options. But in good news it did recently take first prize in an MS Industrial USB Competition held by a Seriban Design Community forum.

Via [Yanko Design]

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Dell’s innovative and stunning desktop system, the XPS One has arrived in UK, French and German stores. Although four months later than it was released in the Japanese and US markets, the inspiring Dell machine should still hit it big in the European market. Not only because of its power packed features but also because of the noble cause that comes with buying a unit of the XPS One. More particularly the XPS One PRODUCT (Red) which has an attached social cause in every units sold.

The campaign which started when it was released in the US market allots $80 to the Global Fund for every XPS One Product (Red) sold. Proceeds of the Global Fund will be used to eliminate AIDS in Africa. That $80 dollar is equivalent to more than 6 months of antiretroviral treatment for one person afflicted with AIDS. So when you buy the Dell XPS One, you just don’t get to enjoy its multimedia and computing features but you get to save lives as well.

The Dell XPS One boasts of standard specifications that includes Core 2 duo processor T5450, 2GB RAM, 500GB Serial ATA HD, fixed 8x DVD+/-RW Slim Slot Load Drive, integrated graphic media accelerator, 20-inch LCD display, 8-in-1 card reader and wireless keyboard and mouse.

But those specifications are more or less standard features of other Dell XPS Desktop System. What makes the XPS One stand out from all the other Dell XPS Desktop units is its Crimson red color. Plus of course the social implication that goes with buying every unit of the Dell Desktop XPS One PRODUCT (Red).

Product [Dell Europe] Via [Shiny Shiny]

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Geico has launched a spoof dating and match website called iHeartCavemen.com. It’s basically a mock dating website for users on the web. Other than those normal features such as photo albums and a user profile section, this portal steps out from other dating portals with its special features. Morphing is one of them and this is how it works, male site visitors can be morphed to look their best as caveman suitors. Other than that, for female site visitors, they can have a glimpse on what their cavebaby might look like. It also features an entertainment portal for video profiles and dates of the pining caveman. The tools are easy to navigate and with all the special additional features, this makes the iHeartCaveman site fun to mess around with for a while. This also serves as a follow up to Geico’s previous Caveman’s Crib that was launched just about a year ago.

Read [iHeartCaveman.com] Via [Business Wire]

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Posted Mar 15th 2008 12:48PM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video
Oh sure, iPods have found their way outside of our atmosphere before, but there’s just something magical about spotting one front and (off) center on the Space Shuttle Endeavour. Dollars to donuts it’s perpetually repeating the discography of Air.

I’m surprised about this new Verizon phone, almost all phones that I know of come with a camera, whether it is a good or a bad one is another story. A camera on a cell phone is usually very useful and fun to play around with, however, this new phone doesn’t seem to come with a camera. Basically, this phone is an addition of their popular Motorola RIZR Z6. The weird thing is that it comes with less features than the Z6c, which is basically the lack of the camera.

So far, this phone has already gone live up on the Verizon Wireless site, but there’s not too much of a difference between this phone and its brother, the Z6c. It has been reported that all the “x” on the Motorola RIZR Z6cx stands for is no camera. Also, this might just be Motorola’s way of appealing to those companies that do not allow their employees to carry phones. The standing price of the Motorola RIZR Z6cx is $179.99 dollars, which if course is after rebates and including a contract.

Via [IntoMobile]

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What if you could talk… without really talking? Aside from saving you all the effort required to move your lips, don’t you agree that it would be the sexiest thing in mobile communications since the RAZR? Well, Ambient Corporation promises to give you just that, the ability to say words without opening your mouth. Just think of all the possibilities this will bring. Now, you can continue to annoy your peaceful old neighbors without even moving your lips, you talkative freak of nature you.

In a recent conference held by microchip manufacturer Texas Instruments, Michael Callahan of Ambient Corporation demonstrated how “Audeo”, the groundbreaking technology developed by their company, can let a user “speak without speaking” via a neckband and a nearby computer. The neckband is used to interpret the nerve signals in the user’s vocal cords and then wirelessly transmits it to the computer to be spoken aloud by a robotic voice. It doesn’t read your thoughts, though, but only the words that you “want to say”. I believe this is a significant step forward in the field of wireless communications. You have to see it for yourself to believe it (keep reading for a video demonstration).

Interestingly enough, this technology was not developed to aid cellphone users or any other kind public speakers with their endeavors, but rather to help those afflicted with motor neurone disease in voicing out their thoughts and opinions. As of now, the system can only recognize a limited set of about 150 words and phrases, but the company promises to further develop their technology so that a user can successfully say whatever they want in the future.

Product [Audeo] Via [New Scientist] Via [OhGizmo!]

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It seems with all the excitement surrounding the Eee PC 900, Asus had also introduced their desktop Eee PC, the EP20. We first heard rumors of this back in November, sadly it does not seem like it was worth the wait.

So far just a few details that have emerged, what we can tell you is the EP20 will feature a 1.87 GHz Intel dual core processor and include a standard 2.5-inch hard drive as opposed to the SSD’s in the Eee PC notebook. No mention of the storage size for that hard drive or any RAM amount. Also, while their has not been any confirmation, it is expected to be running the same modified version of Linux as the Eee PC notebook lineup.

The EP20 is expected to retail for 200€ (around $312 US). And perhaps best of all, according to Asus the EP20 will be quiet and also offer “good enough performance.”

Keep reading for a few more pictures of the EP20…

Via [EeeSite] Via [matbe]

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The point of anything that doesn’t work as advertised always evades me, and the case of this USB mouse speaker is no exception. Worth $14 and an ounce of your patience, Brando’s USB mouse speaker will play music from any ipod, PC, laptop, CD player, mobile phone or any other compatible sound source via a standard 3.5mm plug. It has a handy switch for turning it On/Off, as well as for adjusting the volume. A rechargeable lithium-ion battery powers it, and a complimentary neck strap is even included in the box for added “convenience” and “portability”. It’s got the basic features of your average portable speaker covered so far, but one thing it doesn’t do it act as a real computer mouse. I guess the exterior was done all in the name of style, then. If you can call its violet “headlights” stylish.

Via [GeekAlerts] Via [Coolest-gadgets]

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This past week, giant video game publisher Electronic Arts placed a hostile bid of $2 billion to take over fellow publisher Take-Two. Take-Two is the maker of the controversial but mega-selling franchise, Grand Theft Auto. So what does this mean if EA does in fact buy out T2? Well, it’s not as if there won’t be other video game makers, large and small, remaining. There are still literally dozens of them out there.

Every day, some kid wakes up and dreams of making their own video game, and some will. There will always be a niche for small game outfits, and large publishers like EA or T2 will gladly buy and/or publish those games to a national or international market. Video game development is no longer just the realm of bit monkeys who know assembly language so they can get the most out of game consoles.After all, I’ve seen game development for consoles (like Playstations and XBoxes) take place on Windows boxes with Microsoft’s Visual Studio, Photoshop and Autodesk’s Maya. Certainly the latter two pieces of software aren’t that cheap, but relatively speaking, acquiring the knowledge to use them is cheaper than the equivalent 20 years ago. Heck, I even know of a small game company that started just within the last year!

The gaming industry will continue whether EA and T2 merge or not.

Posted Mar 15th 2008 3:25AM by Joshua Topolsky
Filed under: Portable Audio
Yeah, there’s a lot of good, civically-minded things you could do with your cash… but wouldn’t it be more fun to blow it on a 1GB ipod? If you’re dying to prove how little £20,000 (or around $40,000) means to you, here’s your chance. A jeweler named Thomas Heyerdahl has created an 18 karat, diamond studded, white and pink gold iPod shuffle, meant to be auctioned at a charity in London. We’ve seen an almost identical version which appeared to be selling just for the heck of it — at least this one seems to be going to good cause.

[Via Mobile Magazine]