Gadget Access

One of the many things I love about Google is it’s design. Every design interface of each app and product is innovative and user-friendly, which is why more and more websites are copying its simplicity. Recently at the WritersUA conferece, Google’s User Designer for Google Apps John Wiley, shared the design guidelines they follow at Google.

Here are Google’s Design Guidelines:

• Useful: focus on people - their lives, their work, their dreams.
• Fast: every millisecond counts.
• Simple: simplicity is powerful.
• Engaging: engage beginners and attract experts.
• Innovative: dare to be innovative.
• Universal: design for the world.
• Profitable: plan for today’s and tomorrow’s business.
• Beautiful: delight the eye without distracting the mind.
• Trustworthy: be worthy of people’s trust.
• Personable: add a human touch.

No wonder Google’s homepage looks really simple. No too much information and clutter unlike it’s rival Yahoo. Google’s guiding philosophy is to “focus on the user and all else will follow.” For example, Google adds a human touch with the doodles and the “I’m feeling lucky” feature. Such makes user experience a very productive and easy one. 

Much has been said about how Google designs delight the users. But only one thing will remain true: Google is everything described in the guidelines.

Via [Google Operating System]

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Not much is known about Motorola’s upcoming Motorola ZN5 except that it’s supposed to be a 5-megapixel Kodak camera-equipped candy bar handset with a Montavista Linux 2.6.1 OS. Unwired View is reporting about a few additional, if a bit disappointing features including 2.5G GSM/GPRS connectivity, 320×240 QVGA display, so-so multimedia capability (Mpeg4 playback) and a bulky camera mechanism. But Motorola has been mum on the issue so far and even that leaked video showing the upcoming Moto phones has been taken down. So right now, the details about this phone are really scarce. Now I’ll be honest with you, I’m curious about this new Motorola phone and all the others because I still believe Motorola can do a comeback even after scoring second to the last in a recently conducted survey of user satisfaction, and not to mention the dismal sales of their then precious Motorola RAZR2 V8. So I did a little digging and well, I found what I was looking for. Not rumors, but official specs of the Motorola ZN5 supplied by the manufacturer’s web site itself.

From Motorola’s web site, this handset is officially called the Motorola ZN5 with Symphony Browser 1.0. Symphony is an open source browser with features that are comparable to the Opera 8.5 browser pre-installed in other models (supports page scaling, font adjustment, Fit Screen mode, multi-window browsing, bookmarks are shown in folder trees and it has a built-in pop-up blocker). Moving on, Motorola’s web site confirms the following features: 240×320 pixel screen resolution, Montavista Linux 2.6.1 OS (like the ROKR E8), Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, and a max MMS resolution of 1920×2560 pixels (equating to roughly 5-megapixels), which confirms the details of the camera on this baby. But other than these, I found a few other things about the Motorola ZN5 from Motorola’s web site. And these other things are quite intriguing.

To be sure that I understood what I was reading correctly, I opened up the spec sheets of two other cellphone models, the Motorola L7 and Motorola ROKR E8 and tried to match what I was reading against each of the documents for comparison. Here’s what I found:

• The current bearer service supported is only GSM_GPRS_IPV4, and the list of supported bearers only includes SMS, CSD, and GPRS. Meaning, the Motorola ZN5 really won’t be having 3.5G, and not even 3G, after all.
• There are two officially supported languages: English and Chinese.
• Even though I mentioned earlier that the Motorola ZN5 will have Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, Motorola’s web site strangely says “none” in the portion for its Bluetooth Profiles.
• “We are not supporting the connection oriented Push. So no Push characteristics are included” is written at around the halfway point of the document.
• It supports a slew of many different file formats, and these include JPG, PNG, GIF, BMP, MP3, AAC, M4A, MPG, 3GPP and even Real Audio.

Aside from what I’ve previously mentioned, the document I found makes no other reference to the supposedly Kodak-supplied 5 megapixel camera phone. And frankly I don’t think what we have here would be enough to salvage Motorola’s weakening mobile handset business. I guess I got what I came for, but it isn’t exactly what I expected. But of course, these specifications could change at a later time since the product has not been made official yet anyway. You never know. What do you think?

Read [Motorola ZN5 RDF]

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Posted Mar 23rd 2008 11:01AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: RobotsGranted, Macroswiss’ 4WD Spybot is quite capable of handling most everything warfare can toss at it, but as these things always go, great is never good enough. Reportedly, said outfit is now working with the US Army Rapid Equipping Force to develop a 6×6 SpyRobot with the ability to carry four times its own weight and fit snugly within a backpack. The aforesaid critter will be “an important new tool for the detection, recognition and identification of targets from a distance,” and of course, it’ll be packed to the brim with sensors of all varieties. Per usual, there’s no word on when the finalized unit will be ready to hit the sand running, but word on the street has it that numerous versions are currently being toyed with.

Dream of all dreams, HTC has announced their first Android-based handset will be called the Dream. The phone obviously, will run Google’s much-awaited Android software and is expected to feature a large touchscreen display with navigational controls below and full QWERTY keyboard. The keyboard is expected to either slide or swivel out. Unfortunately an image of the Dream has not been leaked, but sources say that it measures in at around 3 x 5-inches.

And just as you would expect, there has not been any word coming from HTC.

HTC represented Maggie Cheng, when asked more about the subject simply replied: “We cannot comment on this product.”

At least, they already gave it a name. All we have to do now is just wait and hope that our “Dream” will be fulfilled. 

Android, being an open source platform, will have many developing a phone that will eventually compete with the Dream. Rumors are also speculating that Samsung has their own model in the works. Looks like there will be some tough competition in the mobile phone market when phone makers begin introducing their Google phones.

Read [Yahoo! News]

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These plant examining glasses bring technology developed by NASA and the Department of Agriculture and brings to your humble backyard. Put these on and you’ll be able to see areas of your lawn that may need a little help long before you’d observe the problems with your naked eyes. The lenses block out the green reflected by chlorophyll in the healthy areas of your lawn and garden, causing those areas to show as black or gray. Any unhealthy spots, deficient in chlorophyll, will show up as pink, red or coral colors. It’s the plant equivalent of full-body MRIs that detect problems before their symptoms surface. So what if you look like Rick Moranis in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, surveying your backyard in these dorky glasses that look like they came out of a box of kids’ cereal? Your verdant backyard will thank you for it.

Available from environmentally friendly online gardening store, Clean Air Gardening, for $49.99.

We have seen more than our fair share of mini PC’s hitting the market lately. This latest coming courtesy of Asus is their Nova Lite Mini 2L PC.

The Nova Lite Mini 2L PC is super small measuring in at 9.09 x 7.24 x 2-inches and lightweight at just 3.3-pounds, but Asus was still able to pack in a solid set of specs. The Nova Lite Mini 2L PC features an Intel Mobile CPU, 1 or 2GB of RAM, an 80 or 160GB hard drive, DVD Super Multi drive, Ethernet, four USB 2.0 ports, DVI and VGA, audio in, audio out, built-in Hi-Fi speakers and optional 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi.

It is only loaded with a single fan which according to Asus should lead “to an amazingly quiet and tranquil user experience” not to mention the power savings thanks to the CPU running at just 18W while in operation and only 5W when idle. Thanks to the energy savings on the Nova Lite Mini 2L PC you could hopefully cut down on some of those huge electric bills, and yeah, save more desk space with this one. Currently Asus has not announced and pricing information or a release date.

Read [Asus]

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Ever wished you could go around much faster while underwater during your dives so that you can take as many pictures as possible? The Reef Rider Sea Scooter does just that for you when underwater.

The REEF-RIDER SEASCOOTER packs thrust for a speed of up to 2.2mph/3.5kmh in a very compact, lightweight design. With safety features including protective grille and auto shut off, the Reef Rider is great for kids (recommended 8 years and older) and adults alike. The Reef-Rider is essentially a stripped-down version of the Sea-Doo range of sea scooters, combining performance and safety with ease of use and lightness. Now you can lark in the pool or get down with the fish easily. The Reef Rider will operate to a depth of 3 metres, and a full charge will give you a run-time of up to 50 minutes - plenty of time to bond with the undersea world and discover the wonders of the not too deep.

The Reef Rider Sea Scooter can be yours today for £99.99. Why not get it as an early summer gift for someone?

If you haven’t heard of Cricket Wireless, you should be sorry my friend, because you are missing an absolutely awesome deal by being oblivious to them. Cricket Wireless is a smaller and lesser known wireless carrier compared to the likes of AT&T but they also offer unlimited Internet access just like the big players in the industry. The only difference is, compared to AT&T for example, you don’t pay a small fortune for Cricket’s wireless data plan. Instead you pay $35. I’m not kidding. Admittedly slower than what you’ll get with much more expensive plans with other providers, Cricket offers truly unlimited service with no limits or secret caps on the traffic. Probably the only caveat for would-be Cricket customers is that although the service is unlimited, unfortunately it’s not uninterrupted. The terms of service state that a user is prohibited from using the network “continuously, with or without breaks, so as to create the functional equivalent of a telephone line dedicated to continuous use.” Which is fine, considering your PC needs rest from time to time anyway. But one last thing to remember about this is that it’s only available in some US cities. So pray that it is in yours.

Via [Gear Log]

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LG Electronics has just rolled out a new home appliance, notably the SteamWasher with Allergiene cycle, touting it to be the first washing machine that has been given certification for being asthma & allergy friendly by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA). Apparently, LG hopes that this new home appliance will be able to do its part when it comes to helping out consumers and patients with asthma and allergic diseases. Sounds pretty nifty to me, but is it really that effective as claimed? Only real-world use of it will tell with time,but for the moment let us check out additional details concerning this LG offering after the jump.

The combination of a washer and dryer into one compact unit is ideal for consumers who want to do laundry at home and benefit from the allergen-reduction cycle, but do not have the space for both a washer and dryer or an external venting source necessary for conventional dryers. This unit runs on standard voltage electricity and is great for placement in closets; it’s also the perfect solution for space constrained apartments, businesses and vacation homes. At 4.2 cubic feet, this model is the largest capacity front-load combination unit available, enabling users to do larger loads of laundry, thereby saving time and energy.

The LG SteamWasher and Dryer Combo with Allergiene cycle utilizes LG’s TrueSteam Generator for real steam in the wash tub. The steam technology allows the wash to reach the appropriate temperature necessary to breakdown and wash out allergens - without harming fabrics. The Allergiene cycle has been expertly designed to effectively remove more than 95 percent of allergens and gently clean clothes. The use of steam technology offers exceptional cleaning power for outstanding performance and includes other features such as:

• SteamWash - feeds hot steam into the top of the wash drum through a spray nozzle to penetrate the fabrics; removes dirt and stubborn stains; and better dissolves cleaning agents without causing excessive wear and tear on garments.
• SteamFresh - the SteamWasher’s 20-minute steam-only cycle uses steam to freshen and reduce wrinkles on clothes- resulting in less ironing and fewer trips to the dry cleaner.

The LG SteamWasher and Dryer Combo with Allergiene cycle will come in a white finish, retailing for $1,999.

Press Release

How many buttons does your mouse have? Many people would say three, while plenty of others  might say five. However, if you were using this next mouse, you’d proudly answer with 11. I can understand using a few extra buttons when gaming, or even for multimedia purposes, however, this 11 Button Multimedia Mouse just seems like overkill.

It looks like there are buttons for volume, play/pause, page forward, page backward, internet and even double-click. I’ve really never found it all that difficult to click on the Firefox icon, but I guess it would save you around a second or so of hard work. However, I can’t possibly understand why someone would need a button to double click for them. You’d think it would take more time and effort to train yourself to press the double click button than just click the left mouse button twice. If you need more buttons on your mouse than your keyboard, you can pick this one up for just $14.99.

Source: RedFerret