Gadget Access

Posts on my hunt for a cool mp3 player-plus-Web-access that was also less expensive than the ipod Touch brought in comments suggesting other ways to shop. Knowing that the appetite for shopping tools is near-insatiable in these precincts, I have now gotten around to checking those suggestions out.

For my trial runs on all the sites I have searched the Archos 605, an MP3 (and video) player with Web access and a touch screen that has gotten splendid reviews but lists for $200 less than the comparable Touch. (It appears that I am getting one for my birthday because this morning my SO asked for the model number. Goody.)

John wanted me to try out the shopping site he co-founded, Bountii.com, which covers electronics and accessories for same. On the basis of my one tryout, this seems like quite a nice place to shop. It found all the retailers of the 605 that had turned up on Google and CNET, and then some.

I was devastated when I saw that one of them was selling the 605 for a dollar less than the best price I had found. But a lovely feature of Bountii.com is that it lets you compare taxes and shipping costs as well as the item’s price. So it was easy to tell that, with taxes and shipping, the “low” price was actually several dollars more. Whew!

Bountii.com is a clean design, well-organized and intuitive to use. A big section of the site covers price drops, and you can track them easily by adding it to your feed reader. I am too ignorant to comment on what powers the searches, but - whatever it is - it’s clearly excellent. Oh, and one last bit of praise: Bountii is very fast. I plan to come back.

Every kid wants to learn how to drive a car before he or she even goes to school, but Driver’s Education is any kid’s least favorite class. I never thought driving could be made so boring.

Fortunately, teenagers today can now learn Driver’s Education from this great game on the Nintendo DS called Drivers Ed Portable. Developed by DreamCatcher Games and JoWooD, it offers a “fun way for new drivers to study the material”.

This game features two modes: Test and Train. The Test mode has some sample tests from all 50 states for the written part of the driver’s license examination. It also has tests from 13 Canadian provinces and territories, as well as tests from other countries such as Spain, Italy, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. As players take these tests, the game tracks a player’s progress so that he or she knows what areas are needed for improvement.

As for the train mode, they include some fun and educational mini-games. Those had better include some serious parallel parking and backing around a corner games, because those were my weak points.

Hopefully, they made this game fun. Maybe they can incorporate the gameplay into the latest Grand Theft Auto game. You can see for yourself when Drivers Ed Portable comes out in the Fall.

Source

• Email to a friend
• Leave a comment

Subscribe because know why (via email or RSS)!

Related Posts:

• Rumor: Nintendo to do away with DS Browser
• Nintendo Power Mints for that sugar rush
• Seven Inch Nintendo Wii lcd monitor
• The Nintendo Revolution
• SNES Style Wii Controler for Retro Gaming Fun

When I saw CNET’s Natali del Conte (one of my top women in tech) recommending her favorite time-saving sites on the Today show recently, it tripped a memory switch and I realised there was something I should share with Popgadget readers.

That thing is a service called OpenTable, which I used when I visited New York last year.

OpenTable’s website makes dining out a breeze by allowing you to make a reservation at any of 8,000 restaurants across the U.S. and Canada (from wherever you happen to be). Simply log on, select the restaurant plus the time and date of your choice, and you’re good to go. On the day of your reservation, you’ll receive a call to remind you of your dinner plans (at your hotel if you’re on vacation - they’ll even leave a message which there’s no obligation to return). OpenTable basically makes it easy for anyone to reserve a seat - especially foreign travellers like myself.

Oh, and if you’re wondering, the table I reserved was at the Marriott in Times Square, and it was one of the best meals of my life.

Thanks for the reminder, Natali!

Batman mp3 player i-Bean Head Mounted Video System OneTouch UltraLink Meter approved by FDA IOGEAR has slew of new products Wireless Display Electronic Scale D-Link wants to personalize your router Price revision for Xbox 360 and PS3 in Asia Competition Time - Win a shiny new Bluetooth Sony Walkman! Track your power usage with the Cost Controller Power Strip Alesis Multiport: Recording directly to your iPod Sharp eliminates the wires from your HDTV Throw Alarm Clock Lego Speakers for iphone and ipod Samsung Techwin launches new VLUU i Series Barbegrill merges dual functions UFO Combo Card Reader + 7-Port Hub Thumbnail gallery plugin by SoftSift

• Email to a friend
• Leave a comment

Subscribe because know why (via email or RSS)!

Related Posts:

• Little Image Summary
• Another Thumbnail Summary
• Mini Image Summary
• Gadget Thumbnail Summary
• Gadget Glyphs Summary

Remember the MacGyver TV show where the character got himself out of harrowing situations with a piece ot dental floss and a paper-clip? This is his watch.

The MacGyver watch sports a 5-mode audio equalizer, 3-D stereo sound, built-in voice recorder, integrated USB cable, and thumb drive to store and transfer data, and . . . it transforms to a getaway vehicle (okay, just kidding about the last one).

Made by Skullcandy, a company known for their audio-integrated lifestyle products, such as backpacks with built-in speakers and snow helmets with ipod controls, this watch continues the tradition of music on the go.

It plays both MP3 and WAV files, comes with USB 1.1 flash storage, is equipped with an automatic power-off battery (handy if you’re tied up?), is shock proof/static proof (shark tank?), and sports a built-in microphone/voice recorder (for taping the bad guys’ confessions?).

At $199, it’s perfect for the MacGyver in your life. The TV character could save the world with this thing.

Score one for the UMPC hacker community again, for just recently, a hacker named TFR revealed in OQO Talk that he successfully installed and ran Mac OS X Leopard on his little OQO e2 UMPC. Taking into account that his device came with Windows Vista pre-installed, it’s not that hard to imagine why he’d want to do something like that and run Leopard on the poor thing. As of this time’s writing, the hacker still hasn’t provided any details on how he performed the trick because he’s still not finished with the project and needs to take care of two final issues: video resolution and wwan. However, he promises that he will do so once he gets done. For now, you can take joy in viewing a photo of his Leopard-toting machine (log-in/register to view) and watching his YouTube video proof. Psystar should hire this guy.

Read [OQO Talk] Via [Tech Radar]

Keep up with the latest gadget goodness! - Subscribe to our feed →

With the hotly anticipated summer launch of Apple’s 3G equipped iPhone, Fortune is reporting that AT&T has plans to subsidize the next generation iPhone by $200 for new customers that purchase the phone through AT&T stores, not Apple stores. Which in my opinion, doesn’t make sense. Why would Apple sell their product for more money when their partner, AT&T, is offering the same product with a $200 rebate? However, if the rumor holds true, the discount plummets the cost of the iPhone to $199, a deal that is undeniably attractive. Fortune notes that the subsidy will only be applied to new two-year contract signups. Furthermore, they continue to claim that the new iphone will have GPS and be 2.7mm thinner.

Apple is expected to have two versions available: a 8GB and 16GB model for a base price of $399 and $499 respectively. Apple’s official 3G iPhone announcement is expected to be delivered at the 2008 Worldwide Developers Conference, which begins on June 9th.

Read [Fortune]

Keep up with the latest gadget goodness! - Subscribe to our feed →

Some new images have recently surfaced of the just released Asus Eee PC 900, except these latest pics are of a black model. While it’s not exactly earth shattering information, as the Eee PC 701 has a wide variety of colors, it is nice to see the 900 available in something other than the white, which up until now has been the only color to surface. At least buyers will have a color option, no word on what market this has been released.

Images [Flickr] Via [jkkmobile]

Keep up with the latest gadget goodness! - Subscribe to our feed →

Let’s face it - D-Link routers are dime a dozen, and most of the time they come in that dreary drab grey color. Why not add some spice into your geeky life with D-Link’s Skinit skin? There are thousands of designs to choose from, ranging from your favorite sports teams to entertainment, college, and fashion icons amongst others. Should you sift through the thousands of available skins and find nothing that strikes a chord with you, there is always the option to create your own skin by using your favorite photos. Sounds like the perfect birthday gift for that geeky partner of yours! Other than routers, there are many other devices like cell phones and MP3 players which you can give a similar treatment.

• Email to a friend
• Leave a comment

Subscribe because know why (via email or RSS)!

Related Posts:

• WiFi Gamer router set to hit stores
• May 1st Thumbnail Summary
• Hey Amigo, you lookin’ like an Xbox 360
• Apple’s new Airport Extreme Router
• Link, master adventurer, cast in poly-stone

It may have taken Rogers a year or more to land the iphone deal, but they are not holding back with the Nokia N95. While the N95 is not a new phone, they are still beating the US giant AT&T, who is not expected to launch the N95 until Q2 2008. The handset will be the standard (non-8GB) model and is expected to be available on May 2, 2008, no word yet on any pricing.

Via [Engadget Mobile]

Keep up with the latest gadget goodness! - Subscribe to our feed →