Gadget Access

I visited NYC for the first time last November, and let’s face it - that city has everything. Well, almost everything. While New York state can lay claim to some stunning water scenery, the water in Manhattan has always been a little… flat. I mean, it just kind of lies there.

So why not bring waterfalls to New York? That’s what New York’s Public Art Fund thought, and that’s what they are about to do.

From July to October this year, you’ll be able to see man-made cascading water features in lower Manhattan, Brooklyn and on the north shore of Governors Island. The specially-commissioned installations will be 90 to 120-feet tall, operate from 7 AM to 10 PM, seven days a week, and will be lit after sunset for an even more impressive effect. What’s more, the waterfalls have been designed to protect water quality and aquatic life and could apparently bring an extra $55 million into New York’s tourism economy (they certainly make me think about a return trip…)

Here’s what the waterfalls will look like when they are up and running:

Via Pretty In the City and NYC Waterfalls.

In our last episode, you may recall, I was hunting around for an ipod Touch substitute that would be cheaper - and perhaps even better, in some ways, at playing videos and Web surfing. And I thought I might have found it: the Archos 605 WiFi, which the CNET reviewer liked a lot.

But even at $200 less than the Touch, that’s still serious bucks to nag my loving family into spending on my birthday. So more research was indicated. Which gave me a reason to try out a new search engine, name of Retrevo.

Oh no, not another search engine! Oh ho, yes indeedy. But Retrevo is not just another search engine. It’s a search engine designed for one of Popgadget’s deepest avocations: Shopping. Shopping for electronic items, to be precise.

Precise is just the word for Retrevo, in fact. Plug the eProduct (or iProduct) of your dreams into Retrevo and up come reviews, blog posts, manufacturer info, and buying sites, all neatly organized and categorized for your researching pleasure. It will also search for solutions to problems you’re having with a technotoy, and it finds manuals for you, too. No more excuses for not being able to RTFM!

Overview

Hitachi, world’s leading electronic and digital product manufacturer, has come up with their new DZ-BD70A Blu-ray/DVD Camcorder. Enjoy lifelike and rich color images with the CMOS image sensor and HD quality 12-element lens system of Hitachi DZ-BD70A Blu-ray/DVD Camcorder. With Hitachi DZ-BD70A Blu-ray/DVD Camcorder you can easily record videos at 1920 x 1080/60 Hz and still images at a resolution of 2400 x 1800 pixels.

Features

• Photo Capture.
• High Resolution Image Processing LSI.
• 5.3 mega pixel ½.8” CMOS Image Sensor.
• 8cm BD-RE/-R/DVD Drive.
• Built-in Interactive Guide.

Incorporating features like Disc Navigation and Widescreen 2.7” LCD View Finder, Hitachi DZ-BD70A Blu-ray/DVD Camcorder is just perfect to capture those memorable moments. Hitachi DZ-BD70A Blu-ray/DVD Camcorder comes with a 16:9 Widescreen Recording option. Not only this, it takes just 1 minute to start this camcorder quickly. Its one-touch finalize button can create or play DVD with a single touch of a finger.

Box content

The box comprises of Hitachi DZ-BD70A Blu-ray/DVD Camcorder, Remote Control, Battery DZ-BP14S, USB Cable, Quick Start Guide, PC Software for Video Authoring, 1 Year Limited Warranty, Disc Cleaning Cloth and User’s Manual.

Price

Hitachi DZ-BD70A Blu-ray/DVD Camcorder is available at a price of $ 849.95.

Via: Hitachi

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It looks like the modest pc mouse has finally decided to join the “rat” race. Well, what else could it be, especially when continued “innovation” in the pc peripheral market has produced a mouse with – hold your breath – 11 buttons!

With the 11-button optical mouse, most of your frequent operations can be accomplished with a single click. Volume up/down, page forward/backward, play/pause, 4-levels of speed adjustment, launching your browser, plus the normal right/left click functions have been integrated into this unique fella. The greatest achievement of the mouse is perhaps that it manages to retain a sleek look while sporting all this added fuctionality, with buttons placed quite cleverly. However, for simpleton users like me (who cannot use one extra button even on the keyboard), the buttons only make it bottom heavy. Taking the risk of sounding conservative, I must say that I can find better use for $15.

Via The Red Ferret Journal.

Overview

Bearing advanced features like Tough Solar Power and multiple alarms, Casio Waveceptor FTW100D-7V Watch is one of the trendiest watched brought out by Casio, world’s leading electronic manufacturers. Apart from watching time on this watch, you can even record time up to 30 records. After full charging, its battery life is up to 7 months.

Features

• Tough Solar Power.
• Bearing Sensor.
• Atomic Timekeeping.
• Auto EL Backlight with Afterglow.
• Sunrise/ Sunset Data.

Casio Waveceptor FTW100D-7V Watch works even in 100mt deep water. With Casio Waveceptor FTW100D-7V Watch you can even see world time of 29 times zones, i.e. 30 cities with their city code displays. It’s auto on and off system saves daylight. You can also choose to select 4 daily alarms and 1 snooze alarm on this trendy Casio Waveceptor FTW100D-7V Watch.

Box content

The box comprises of Casio Waveceptor FTW100D-7V Watch and User’s Manual.

Price

Casio Waveceptor FTW100D-7V Watch is available at a price of $ 99.95.

Source: Casio

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If you live in a place like mine, you find that space is a necessity that you simply do not have. Therefore, it might be good to take what little space you have and make it multi-functional.

This is where the TurnOn Multi-Functional Spinning Wall comes in. Basically, it is a room that uses the one part you never use: the ceiling. All you need to do is get into this giant wheel and roll it into place.

As you can see, it can function well as a table for two. Spin it again, and it is a lounger. It looks like that is about all it can do unless you want a bigger wheel.

I’ve seen a lot of people who complain that this device is impractical, but I don’t think so. The problem is that we may need to become a society who needs to conserve space.

Anyone remember a movie called The Fifth Element? In that flick, Bruce Willis played a futuristic taxi driver in a cheap New York City apartment that was completely modular. The refrigerator became the shower, and the bed became the couch. All designed to conserve space in a greatly overpopulated society.

In other words, we might not like the Spinning Wall, but if space is limited, it might have to be used. Perhaps we should all get used to it. Let us see what the future will bring.

Source

Overview

Easing you off talking while driving, bluetooth headsets are pretty useful devices. BlueAnt Z9 is one such innovative bluetooth headset that has also won the International CES Innovations 2007 Design and Engineering Award. BlueAnt Z9 comes packed with advanced features like near-field sensing with Automatic Gain Adjustment. This innovative bluetooth headset sports a tie clip that can be easily attached to shirt, cuff, collar etc when not in use.

Features

• On-the-fly switching between devices.
• World class Digital Signal Processor (DSP) software.
• Abnormal Disconnection Notification.
• Echo suppression and noise cancellation.
• Auto connection and reconnection.

With BlueAnt Z9, you get to enjoy up to 7 hrs of talk time. Its 2 microphones deliver pure speech with every use. You can even select a different ring tone for contacts and for unknown callers on your BlueAnt Z9. Its firmware is upgradeable by USB and it has an exceptional ability to be paired with multiple devices at a time.

Box content

The box comprises of BlueAnt Z9, AC Adapter, 3 Replacement Ear Hooks, and User’s Manual.

Price

BlueAnt Z9 is available at a price of $ 99.95.

Source: BlueAnt

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Competing with the milipede with the most number of shoes worn at one time, the walking bike is a novel, intriguing, and funny bicycle design.

Designed by Max Knight, this one of a kind bicycle replaces its tyres with eight trainers per. Of course, I very much doubt this’ll ever be produced in mass, but the walking bike actually (kind of) works! You can see the video below. The rides a bit bumpy, but with the bike running on shoes, I reckon most of us would be quite forgiving. Now if only we can see a walking car, I’ll be one of the most amused people on earth.

via

Posted Apr 7th 2008 6:37AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: Misc. gadgets
var As expected, Yahoo has responded to Microsoft’s 3 week ultimatum this morning. The bottom line is pretty clear in a letter signed by Jerry Yang (CEO) and Roy Bostock (chairman). In the “Dear Steve” response to Ballmer they state, “we will not allow you or anyone else to acquire the company for anything less than its full value.” They go on to state that, “We consider your threat to commence an unsolicited offer and proxy contest to displace our independent Board members to be counterproductive and inconsistent with your stated objective of a friendly transaction.” Make no mistake about it, this is corporate war and will likely end with Yahoo’s best engineers working for Google.

In a couple of decades, normal beds will become something of the past, and everyone will start using the Sphere. But for now you can only dream about it…

This advanced sleeping system consists of a huge bed that has some goodies in the inside, those being a 32-inch TV with the option to install a theater system, a massage system to relax after a long day of work, and a champagne holder if you want to go crazy.

The Sphere was designed by Karim Rashid, and will be made in cooperation with Hollandia International. Sadly there is no information about the price.

- Covered LED Florescent canopy-top lights
- Outside back vanity mirror

Product Page

via