Gadget Access

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 29th 2008 at 7:39PM
For most, Alienware’s AlienNetwork debut was somewhat of a letdown. Nevertheless, at least one good thing did come out of the whole event, and that’s the availability of the m17x gaming monster. This 17-inch beast of a laptop finally has its own dedicated page, and yes, you can get your order in starting today. Packed within, you’ll find your choice of Intel Core 2 Duo processor, twin GPUs for that sweet SLI action, a WUXGA (1,920 x 1,200) display, up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM, oodles of hard drive space, a dual-layer DVD writer (or optional Blu-ray burner), enough ports for you and your cousin and a 12-cell battery that’ll likely last an hour on a good day. Sadly, this Crysis destroyer starts at $2,949 (and breaks the $5k mark with ease), and it looks as if units won’t start arriving until late May at best.

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Filed under: Laptops

I wasn’t aware that there was such a mobile phone designed specifically for senior citizen users, until now, however, AHD has introduced the Emporia Life Plus mobile phone. If you’re wondering what the “Plus” is all about, that is to signify that this is already the second generation of the Emporia Life mobile phone.

For its second outtake on providing a mobile handset for the older generation of mobile phone users, AHD is giving them a simple-as-you-like handset that has all the basic features that would answer their mobile phone needs. These features include; a “super loud speaker”, oversized display and buttons, built-in flash light, hearing aid compatible ear piece and a quick ICE (In Case of Emergency) access key.

In addition, this mobile phone handset for our dear 50+ year old folks has a 250 hour standby time and weighs only 138g. Likewise, to make the Emporia Life Plus more appealing to our parents and possibly to our grandparents, AHD is releasing the handset with a retail price of around $287. It might not be that cheap, but hey, the Emporia Life Plus would be a useful device for staying in touch with our folks, right? The Emporia Life Plus will be available through PAYG sometime in May.

Via [ubergizmo] Via [Trusted Reviews]

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Suzuki has recently announced that they will be incorporating a free Garmin GPS in every 2009 SX4 as a standard option. Within the car will be a special compartment called “T.R.I.P”, in which the GPS will be housed. T.R.I.P stands for Travel, Real-time traffic, Information and Play, hey that’s clever, Suzuki. Otherwise, the GPS comes with Bluetooth functionality, for hands free calling, traffic updates, and MSN Direct, however, the MSN Direct feature is still unconfirmed as of now. Some speculation is that this Garmin GPS is a customized Nuvi 780. If you don’t want to purchase this car, and get another car, the same type of GPS will set you back $500 when purchased by itself. This sounds like a good plan to me to boost Suzuki car sales, however, I doubt people would be buying the car just for the GPS. Although, for customers on the fence about this car, throwing in the GPS might make people go for it. More important hopefully other car makers will see this as a good move and follow with similar offerings.

Via [NaviGadget]

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If you are in the hunt for a camcorder that is not so heavy on the pocket but still wallops some decent features, then the DXG-569v entry level camcorder which was recently released might be just what you are looking for. Retailing for only $170, this cheap camcorder offers 720p (1280×720) video quality aside from other powerful features that you’d think would not come in such an inexpensive camcorder.

These features include full speed video recording, direct video editing using various software and direct upload to YouTube without altering its native format. In addition to being a nifty camcorder, the DXG-569v also doubles up as a decent photo snapper able to capture still images at a 5-megapixel resolution. It can even record voice memos, which allows users to annotate their photos. The camcorder comes packed with 32MB of internal memory with support for expansion via an SDHC memory card slot that can accommodate up to 8GB of additional storage.

One lowdown of the DXG-569v though is the lack of optical zoom and in its place is a 2x digital zoom with LED flash for focus. But the lack of an optical zoom is understandable since DXG wanted to lower the retail price of the camcorder as much as it could.

Via [electronista]

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Along with the Nokia 6600 Fold, Nokia also unveiled its alternative, the Nokia 6600 slide, for those who prefer slider phones over clamshells.

Just like the Nokia 6600 Fold, the slider version also has the double-tap feature. Tapping the phone twice displays the time, shows alerts, and even rejects incoming calls. The Nokia 6600 slide is equipped with a 2.2-inch QVGA display as well as a 3.2 megapixel camera which takes high quality pictures that you can send through Internet connection of MMS. Devoid of 3G functionality, the Nokia 6600 slide goes for a slightly lower price of 200.

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 29th 2008 at 9:44AM
Those looking for another good reason to set up camp in Sweden have just found it. Okay, so maybe Manodo’s oh-so-informative display isn’t that astonishing, but it certainly gives a select few apartment residents in the country access to an enviable amount of information. Reportedly, the screen is being installed in several Swedish cities as part of a larger pilot project, and aside from dishing out details about the next available train, who exactly is standing outside their building and how much energy folks are currently consuming, it also serves up data on how many pounds of CO2 you’re responsible for releasing while kicking back in your pad. Unfortunately, we’re not sure if said solution is available en masse (or if it ever will be).

[Thanks, hl]

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Filed under: Household

It appears that Perpetual Kid, a site designed to “entertain your inner child”, has lived up to their slogan with the Lego speakers for the iPod and iPhone.

These Lego speakers have a connector that is fully compatible with the iPod Classic, Nano, and Mini. I can only assume that the sound comes out of those big plus signs that you see on the front. What you don’t see are the volume controls that are apparently “camouflaged” by design.

This contraption apparently requires no batteries, so I can only guess that it gets its power from the iPod or iPhone itself. This could result in a short time of use, but the site doesn’t say how long the Lego speaker will play off of a fully charged device.

Apparently, this is not a registered product of Lego, which makes me wonder if this brick could fit together with my other Lego bricks. I can think of some spaceship models that could be greatly improved by a little iPod attachment.

Maybe some of Lego maniacs out there can try it out, and let me know if it works. It is available at the Perpetual Kid site for about $24.99 in Yellow, Black, Red, Green, Blue, or White.

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In order to complete Jedi training and become a full-fledged Jedi you must build your own lightsaber. This is just how it is done. If you lived long ago and far away and had just finished your Jedi-learning, you would be stopping by the local W’Al M’artt and buying yourself an Adegan crystal. Then you’d cram it into your saber hilt along with a power source, add a little bit of loving care, and voila: a lightsaber fit for a Jedi. Alas, there are no more Adegan crystals for sale. But don’t cry - we have the next best thing. The Star Wars DIY Force FX Lightsaber Kit.

This Saber Kit is just what you need to build your custom saber. One main saber unit with a tri-color blade (flip a switch and choose red, green, or blue - each with corresponding and different sound effects) and a slew of parts let you assemble the saber you’ve dreamed of. All the parts are based on actual screen-seen components, so your saber will look like an awesome mashup from the movies. And the coolest part is, you don’t have to choose between the Jedi and the Sith - because you can switch back and forth with the flip of a . . . well, switch.

Gimmie!

Suggested Price: $99.99

Posted in Gaming & Toys, Gizmo of the Day

by Joshua Fruhlinger, posted Apr 28th 2008 at 8:39PMIf you’re waiting for broadband over power lines (BPL) as an alternative to cable or DSL in your area, it may be time to finally give in to one of the big companies. The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) — a group of amateur radio enthusiasts — has sued the FCC over its plan to speed up BPL’s expansion, citing concerns that the service’s radio emissions provide too many interference risks to the hobby / ham spectrum. While the FCC conducted a favorable study on BPL’s potential problems, their published report had so many redacted sections that the ARRL wants to know what they missed. A D.C. district court agrees with the League, and plans for further rollout have been tabled until the FCC can come up with more facts.

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Filed under: Networking

The song “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” take on a whole new meaning with this new technology developed by Japan’s NTT called “Firmo.”

A revolutionary techonology from Japan couls transmit data through one’s skin. And no, it isn’t a prototype of some sort which you can avail of in the next 20 years. This is an existing technology offered by NTT. The “Firmo” technology consists of a receiver which doles out data, and a transmitter in form of a card-sized device carries in pockets of the users. Say for example, you touch a device loaded with the receiver, the data is turned into weak AC electricity which travels through your body until its reaches the transmitter with converts the electricity back into data. Preliminary uses of the device include the functionality to open locked compartments or doors with just a touch. No more keys or swipe cards–all you need is the transmitter and your body. Unfortunately, a single receiver and 5 transmitters currently cost 4,000,but NTT is currently developing a more affordable device for future use.