Technically Speaking: Gadgets

USB thumb drive have come some way since they first hit the market. Their storage capacities are increasing at a great pace and along with that they are becoming quite feature rich. DiskOnKey, by RedCannon, has created a thumbdrive with the following features:

The Sysadmin can define user policies and auditing of which documents and files are transferred to and from the drive, and client-side security exists with 256-bit AES encryption, secure file deletion, compression, and self-repair.

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Perhaps now companies will allow the use of thumbdrives in their organizations.

This is supposed to announced either today or very soon after. Delphi has created a gadget that will allow you to take your satellite radio with you where ever you go.

Portable XM satellite radio will become a reality when Dephi releases its new Roady portable adapter. The unit will sport the usual XM radio controls such as category, display, memory, and favorites buttons. It will use the headphones as an antenna, which is a cool use of space, but might also make using headphones of one’s own choice a bit difficult. We don’t know much else about it except that it is supposed to have a hard drive inside for recording, but supposedly the big announcement should be tomorrow.

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Sandisk Photo Album is a multi-media card reader that allows you view your digital photos on a TV. This device can take eight types of storage media as well as portable flash drives. One of its key features is that it can stores images in a format optimal for television viewing. This is done with additional CF cards that you must supply. The Sandisk Photo Album is also equipped with a remote control and will retail for around $49.99.

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Now you can your iPod in any color beyond the standard white. ColorWare, a company made soley for making computers in whatever color you want allows you to do it to your iPod as well. And all it will cost you is $65 more. Take a look at the company’s info page.

Color-Ware Inc., established in 2000, is an industry leader in altering the color of existing products. The idea behind Color-Ware started with transforming the ubiquitous beige computer into a custom-colored work of art. Color-Ware is growing in excess of 48% a year and is presently expanding into custom colored business computers, home entertainment systems, and the office interior design field. Our focus: “We will continue to create and transform our products beyond what the original manufacturers intended.” Thank you for visiting our website. We hope to supply you with some truly unique products.

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Look at the products page, you can get just about anything you have colored.

Bose decides to get a piece of the iPod pie. Knowing Bose’s reputation for exquisite sound, this is sure to be a hot seller.

The SoundDock uses an integrated system approach, with matched amplifiers, equalizers and speakers . The SoundDock system integrates with third and fourth-generation iPods, as well as the iPod mini. For flexibility and convenience, the included infrared remote can control iPod from across the room. The iPod and SoundDock system can also be operated without the remote. When an iPod is docked, all of its controls are accessible, with one-button volume controls available on the SoundDock system’s enclosure. The system charges the iPod while in use, or when docked.

The SoundDock features quick installation and intuitive operation: plug the power cord into a wall outlet, insert the iPod into the docking cradle, and play.

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Here is a specialty item for the people that need to accessorize their iPods to the max.

Japan’s toy company Kubrick offers the iKub iPod holder. The iKub is a iPod holder in the shape of a white robot.

The Kubrick iKub has movable arms and legs so you can create different positions for your iPod.

The iKub from Kubrick for iPod is one time only special edition item only available from HMV Japan.

Audio Cubes has reserved 98 units!! from HMV ready for dispatch on November 7th, 2004. The price is $89.00.

Rerserve a Kubrick iKub iPod Holder before they are gone.

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If you are the type of person that keeps breaking their thumb-drive then this is the gadget for you. The Cruzer Titanium reportedly can withstand up to 2000 lb. weight. Now unless you have a severe weight problem, you should be able to break puppy by merely sitting on it, and I would suspect that sitting on your thumb-drive would be a leading method of destruction.

SanDisk Cruzer Titanium Review
Sandisk Cruzer Titanium really makes a great first impression. With its USB connector concealed, someone could have mistaken the titanium-coated device as a Sandisk-branded lighter. But it turns out to be a rugged 512MB Hi-Speed USB flash drive that is able to withstand up to 2000 lb. weight. Suffice to say, the Cruzer Titanium won’t fail on you in case a 250 lb. guy steps on it.

Full Review

Basic Specifications
Released date: May 2004
Connectivity: Hi-Speed USB
Platforms: Windows 98 SE / ME / 2000 / XP, MacOS 9.1, MacOS X
Dimension: 2.95″ x 0.82″ x 0.34″
Capacity: 512MB
Read performance
Average substained rate: 15MB/s
Write performance
Average substained rate: 13MB/s
Data protection method: Software password lock
Software: CruzerLock, Cruzer PocketCache, CruzerSync
Complete Specifications

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Archos new media player is now displayed on the Archos site. 20GB, hard drive based, Gmini 400 adds the ability to play video, making it a small portable video player.

The 20GB Gmini 400 has a 2,2″ LCD screen with 220x176 pixels displaying 262k colors. The Gmini supports MP3, WAV and WMA file formats. The new Archos comes with USB 2.0 and Compact Flash Card interface. It measures 106 x 60,3 x 17 mm and weighs 160g. It features a TV-Out connector for viewing Video on TVs.
The little portable media player also features Mophunâ„¢ game engine.

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Motorola has brought to market this really cool looking phone. It’s 14mm thick, with a titanium casing, built-in digital camera, Bluetooth, a 4,096 color external LCD, and a 262,000 color main LCD. Due out in September with an expected price somewhere around $700.

Mobile-Review has the goods on this piece.

Interesting new phone by T-Mobile, allows the user to connect via traditional GSM networks or by Wi-Fi. I’m not sure if it will be released in the US.

Brief: T-Mobile’s latest PDA phone will let users in Germany connect over mobile networks and Wi-Fi

T-Mobile has launched a new version of its Mobile Digital Assistant (MDA) that incorporates support for Wi-Fi, but as yet there are no official plans to sell the device in Britain.

The MDA III supports GSM and Wi-Fi, and includes a retractable QWERTY keyboard that slips within the device when not in use. It will go on sale in Germany this September, where T-Mobile says it has already captured 40 percent of the PDA phone market with the MDA II.

“Thanks to integrated W-LAN technology, the MDA III allows very fast data exchange via wireless local networks, or at T-Mobile and T-Com HotSpot locations,” said the company, adding that battery capacity has been increased by about 25 percent compared to the MDA II.

A spokesman for T-Mobile in the UK said that “nothing had been announced yet” regarding the launch of the MDA III in Britain.

Combining access to mobile phone networks and 802.11b is a key part of T-Mobile’s strategy. In the UK it operates a string of Wi-Fi hot spots as well as its GSM network, and it is due to launch 3G services this summer.

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The latest from Pretec, Ultra-highspeed CF cards, sporting a metal case for more durability.

These can be operated between -40 and 185 degrees Fahrenheit.
I’d like to find a digital camera that can operate at temperatures that high.

Solid Alliance Limited will release the “Platinum GB (Gigabyte)” series of high speed CF cards, manufactured by Pretec Electronics of America, beginning o­n the 24th. The two drive sizes to be available are 1GB and 2GB.

Prices are set at 34,800 yen for the 1GB model, and 69,800 yen for the 2GB. Also set to be available are 1GB and 2GB “industrial versions” with operating temperatures between -40 and +85 degree Celsius (185 degrees Fahrenheit for you imperial folks) for 48,900 yen and 97,800 yen.

The Platinum GB series are products of Pretec Electronics America. Since it has a metal case, they are said to have 3 times the resistance to bending than conventional CF cards. Also, they contain the “Cheetah” high speed controller.

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The going price is $450 for the 1GB, and $650 for the 2GB.

Creative has added another version of it’s Nomad line to the ranks. This one is a revamped Muvo, made to be slim and sleek. It doesn’t appear to have the much sought after Micro-Drive that its predecessor has and it holds considerably less music, weighing in at 128MB to 256MB

MuVo Slim is a stylishly sleek digital music player. The super slim profile means you can slip it neatly into your pocket, briefcase or purse and enjoy up to 8hrs of music wherever you go. And, with a built-in FM tuner you can also enjoy and record all your favorite radio shows on-the-go. MuVo Slim also works as a personal voice recorder, using a built-in mic for recording up to 16 hours of those all important notes or conversations.

Being a mass storage device, MuVo Slim is so easy to use - no drivers or software are needed to get started. Just plug it in and simply drag and drop your files between MuVo Slim and your PC or notebook. What’s more, its removable Li-ion battery recharges via the USB port, so you’ll never need batteries again or if you want, carry a spare to extend your play time.

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Welcome to WordPress. This is the first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

What you see in the picture are the accessories that go along with the new Personal Media Drive (PMD) by Hewlett-Packard.

This new little gem from HP will store 500 gigabytes or more worth of movies, TV, and music, and it’ll function, essentially, as an extremely high-powered, portable, external hard drive.

Designed as a PC add-on, the PMD goes where no portable or removable mass-market drive has gone before. Powered by an array of sliver-thin magnetic hard-disk drives, the PMD can hold dozens of feature-length films in high-definition format or store tens of thousands of songs all in a device about half the size of a shoe-box.

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Heads up display in a Star Trek-like visor. This gadget may change the way we all do things, such as read or watch TV. It may take some time to see the fruits of the labor but it is sure to be really cool.

Microvision’s display products demonstrate the capabilities of the company’s proprietary scanned beam technology to deliver superior displays in a variety of formats with high resolution, high contrast and excellent color saturation. Unlike conventional flat panel displays using a matrix of pixels, Microvision’s scanned beam displays are created with just four primary components: drive electronics, light sources, scanner and optics. The image is created a single pixel at a time and may be scanned directly to the eye, eliminating a monitor or screen altogether. Highlighted as the cover feature story in the May issue of IEEE Spectrum as the “Ultimate Display,” the low power and elegant architecture of Microvision’s scanned beam displays provide an extremely efficient way to deliver an image, and have the potential to revolutionize displays for everything from cell phones and gaming glasses to laser televisions.

Microvision will be exhibiting and demonstrating for the first time in public its MicroHUD™ automotive head-up display. This pre-production prototype laser-scanning display for automotive applications displays navigation, performance and other vehicle information by reflecting a very high-contrast image off the car’s windshield, so drivers can keep their eyes focused on the road ahead. Designed as a standard module to adapt to a wide range of vehicles, the MicroHUD has unique abilities to meet the demanding packaging, cost, performance and reliability requirements of the automotive industry. Prototypes have already been delivered to OEM automakers and Tier 1 suppliers around the world.

Additionally, the company will showcase the Nomad Expert Technician System, which is now in commercial production and being shipped to customers. The Nomad Expert Technician System is the world’s only wireless wearable computer with a head-worn, head-up display. With a unique “connect and work” capability, the Nomad Expert Technician System enables automotive service technicians to superimpose text and diagrams from online and Internet service manuals directly over their workspace at the point of task, hands-free. Trials with leading automotive companies show up to 40 percent gain in productivity, as well as improvements in quality of work, increased training efficiencies and rapid return on investment.

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Don’t plan to rush out and buy this gadget yet, for it’s priced at $4000.

Click to enlarge.

Very interesting concept, but is it practical? As of now, I don’t think so. When the sensors are not so obvious then I think they will finally be on to something.

Check out the details.

Source: Slashdot

This isn’t an actual tablet pc, it is a pen-operated, wireless-enabled Windows XP machine for mobile media.

The consumer electronics giant is billing the Vaio VGN-U70 as the world’s smallest full-function Windows PC. The unit measures 16.7 x 10.8 x 2.6cm and weighs just 550g. Much of the machine’s face is taken up by an 800 x 600 transflective colour LCD. The display can also operate at up to 1600 x 1200, but at this stage it’s not clear if that’s a native resolution.

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The U70 is operated using a stylus, but the OS is Windows XP Pro rather than Tablet PC Edition. Sony supplies a cradle into which the U50 can be placed and connected to a Palm-style full-size foldaway USB keyboard and have its battery recharged. The U50’s stylus is an unusual design Sony calls “fin-shaped", which can be attaches to the machine or kept separate. It ships with Japanese character recognition software.

Driving the U70 is a 1GHz Ultra-low Voltage Pentium M and Intel’s i855GM integrated chipset - so yes, it’s a Centrino machine. And, indeed, we find the machine has an 802.11g Wi-Fi adaptor built in. It also has a 20GB hard drive and 512MB of memory. There’s a USB 2.0 port, and CompactFlash and MemoryStick Pro ports for expansion.

The unit is powered by a slimline Lithium Polymer battery capable of providing around two-and-a-half hours’ operating time. Japanese consumers will be able to up that to 5.5 hours, courtesy of an alternative, ‘extended’ battery. But it added 145g to the weight.

The U70 will ship on 29 May for around ¥210,000 ($1871). Sony will also offer a lower spec. model, the U50, for ¥179,000 ($1595), which contains just 256MB of memory and a 900MHz ULV Celeron processor. It ships with Windows XP Home Edition.

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This an impressive looking machine, but I don’t know if it is really worth $17G.

You decide:

The MaxPac8200X is ideally suited for users requiring maximum I/O bandwidth and two or three integrated 19″ LCD monitors. The PCI-X slots support the needed high bandwidth for applications capturing uncompressed video. Up to 5 SCSI HD at 146GB provide more than 700GB internal to the MaxPac and sustained video transfer rates of 200MB/sec.

Typical applications include uncompressed video applications such as Video Toaster and HDTV video capture and editing or any application requiring disk bandwidth in excess of 100MB/Sec and multiple LCDs. Each of the LCD monitors supports an additional S-Video input as well as a computer video out for a projector.

This configuration is typically configured with a slim DVD-R/RW.

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You can view the complete specs here.

This home theater receiver is the next wave of the future. Its looks alone deserve much praise, but let’s see what it can do.

The HTR-2400 is network capable eight-source, eight-zone multi-room amplified 7.1 Dolby Digital and DTS home theater system. It is also the first receiver to feature a standard FM/AM/Weatherband radio tuner and XM Satellite Radio tuner. The HTR-2400 features a 7-inch (16x9 aspect ratio) Color LCD display and its front panel controls offer operation of the entire home. It can be controlled by ADA keypads, PCs, or touch screen controllers.

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Check out what ADA’s Press Release has to say about it.
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I4U highlights the announcement of this really hot Technics turn table. I thought that I would post it so that it can touture you with its hidden features. The features are hidden to most of us because the original announcement was in Japanese and I for one can’t read it. But the turn table is truly eye-catching.

From what I4U can tell, this unit is equipped with a SD Memory Card slot.

SD Cards move into DJ equipment with the Technics SL-DZ1200 digital Turn Table. CD and SD Memory card can be sources for audio signals that can then be mixed and scratched with the turn table. Multiple digital effects are available including simulating vinyl. The SL-DZ1200 will go on sale on June 21st in Japan. Price is not set yet.

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Matsushita press release

Transcend Information, Inc. (Transcend) releases its 1.8” USB 2.0 portable hard drive this month, April 2004. Although roughly the size of a standard business card, it has more than enough capacity (20GB/40GB) for your data storage needs. No need to carry around another troublesome power brick either; it is powered directly from the USB port. This pocket drive is perfect for the person always on the go.

Data transfer rate is up to 480 Mbps (USB2.0). This device is fully compatible with USB2.0 and backwards compatible with USB1.1 specifications. Unlike CD-RW’s, which require special software, pocket drives will appear as just another hard drive. There isn’t any extra driver software to worry about (except for Win98SE). Using the included ExBoot software, your entire computer can be backed-up and restored at a moment’s notice. Weighing only 4.2oz (118g) for the 20GB HDD and 4.6oz (130g) for the 40GB HDD. Transcend’s portable hard drive is as rugged as it is lightweight. Smaller and more convenient than a 1.44MB floppy diskette, this hard drive is ready to go wherever and whenever you need it.

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Panasonic’s new D-Snap is called a digital entertainment center because it is a camera, videocam and a MP3 player. It is about the size of a cell phone and uses an SD Memory Card to store hundreds of 2-megapixel snapshots, up to 11 hours of MPEG4 video, and plenty of MP3 tunes or voice recordings. The SV-AV50A goes for $399 and its bigger brother, the SV-AV100, has DVD quality video and goes for $999.

Comparison: Panasonic D-snap SD Digital Video Cameras Model SV50 & SV100

This futuristic keyboard is fact and not fiction. iBIZ Technology Corp. is preparing to bring their keyboard to market in the up coming months and it is listed at a great price, $100. I haven’t read any reports on its usability so I can’t comment on that, but the overall idea of this gadget may revolutionize the keyboard industry as we know it.

The Virtual Keyboard leverages the power of laser and infrared technology and projects a full-size keyboard onto any flat surface. As you type on the laser projection, it analyzes what you’re typing by the coordinates of that location.

Unlike many small snap-on keyboards for PDAs, the Virtual Keyboard provides a full-size QWERTY keyboard including Function keys. It is also smaller and more convenient to use than the folding-type keyboards made by some manufacturers and similar to them in functionality.

There are no mechanical moving parts whatsoever in the Virtual Keyboard. It provides a projected image that is the perfect portable input device for PDAs. It’s similar in responsiveness to regular keyboards, but extremely futuristic looking.

The Virtual Keyboard requires no special training. The light-weight device weighs only two ounces and is similar in size to a disposable cigarette lighter. The Virtual Keyboard includes a self-contained, user-replaceable rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery. It provides the Virtual Keyboard with its own internal power supply, so it doesn’t drain any battery power from the PDA or PC. The battery lasts three to four hours, more than enough time to do some instant messaging and SMS messaging from the handheld device or to update calendar and phone book entries.

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Some time in the fourth quarter of this year, BIZ Technology Corp. will be introducing a virtual keyboard that will work with cell phones. I am really looking forward to that model.

Japanese toymaker Takara has created a gizmo that well help you craft the perfect dream for the evening. The invention is a work in progress but the preliminary results have been very promising, indicating that the gadget can greatly improve the odds of experiencing a desired dream. The steps you have to go through to get it to work properly seem to be able to create dreams all by itself.

First, users attach a photograph or image of a desired dream to the Yumemi Kobo.

Then the hopeful dreamers concentrate on the image, playing out the desired dream in their head while making a voice recording of key words describing their fantasy.

Next they insert one of the dream machine’s scents in the fragrance dispenser and select accompanying music from the tracks offered in the device’s database.

“These (selections) are based on research done by sleep researchers who have an idea of what fragrances and music relaxes people the most – so there is a logic behind the selections,” Harwood said. “For most, listening to Guns N’ Roses is not the way to go.”

Now the dreamers are ready to hit the sack. They turn on the dream machine, and it starts to lull them to sleep with soft lights and serenades.

During the next eight hours, while the Yumemi Kobo’s owner snoozes, the device is set to activate periodically in accordance with the user’s REM sleep, the period associated with dreaming, during which the sleeper’s eyeballs jerk rapidly.

“REM occurs for around an hour, an hour and a half. The machine estimates when most people achieve this,” Harwood said.

This is when the dream controller is at its most active. It plays the selected music, releases the fragrance and repeats the recorded phrase. All are geared to trigger the desired dream in the sleeping subject.

Despite all this activity, Harwood said, the would-be dreamer doesn’t lose any beauty sleep.

“You would think it would be distracting, but the key is that it operates on a timer that coincides with REM. It basically doesn’t do anything until you are in REM phase, and then these things are very low-key,” he said.

Eight hours later, sleep time is over. The dream machine gently awakens its owner with dim lights and soft music to avoid startling the sleeper and causing the dream to be forgotten.

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This item will be selling in Japan sometime in May and it will probably make it to the US in early 2005.

This is a very interesting gadget for it helps those that have too many credit cards. It helps them by minimizing the number of cards they have to carry. The Chameleon Card, that accompanies the Pocket Vault, allows you to encode your collection of cards onto this one Chameleon Card. It even has a special security feature, a thumb scan.

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If you and your friends are looking for a way to satisfy your masochistic pleasures, this is the game for you. This item will test the nerve of your bravest friends. This is Shocking Roulette. What is the point of this game, you ask? I guess that there really isn’t a point, it is just a relatively safe way to play Russian Roulette.

Each player (max 4 players) inserts a fingertip into one of the four electric chambers, and then one player presses start…..this starts the incredibly nerve racking countdown sequence of beeps and lights which finishes with one of the players receiving the full electric shock treatment!

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Main Features:

• Suitable for 2-4 players.
  
• Not suitable for children.
  
• Includes 3 x AAA batteries for testing.
  
• Do not use if you suffer from epilepsy, a heart condition or similar…
  
• 14cm Wide, and 6cm high.
  

This game is sure to be the hit at any party and you can buy it here for only $19.99.

What I will try to attempt here is to highlight some of the cool technological gadgets. Most of the items you will find here will be, most likely, high ticket items, for they are usually the most interesting. Some of the items listed on this site will come from my own personal collection. On these items, I will be able to give my personal account of usability. Alrighty then, let’s see how this all turns out.