Computer Gadgets New

Samsung has unveiled their latest ultra-portable notebook. The P200 features a 12.1-inch display with a 1280 x 800 resolution, an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, ATI Radeon Xpress 1250 graphics card, Bluetooth 2.0, a built-in 1.3-megapixel webcam, 6-in-1 card reader, an ExpressCard slot and two USB ports. Aside from a decent set of specs the one downfall is the 4.1-pounds that it weighs in at.

According to Samsung the P200 will give you over 3 hours of real world battery life, of course I am sure with some true user testing we could expect to see that a little bit lower.

Sadly the P200 does not look like it will be landing in the States anytime soon, instead headed for the European and Korean market. The P200 is currently available and retailing for €999 (around $1,517 US).

Via [electronista] Via [ubergizmo]

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Here’s a tough nut of a tablet pc from MobileDemand, known as the xTablet T8700. You get the following features that will be able to last up to seven hours before the battery requires a trip to the nearest power outlet.

• Intel Core Duo ULV U2500 1.2Hz processor
• 2GB of DDR2 RAM
• 8.4″ daylight-readable touch screen display (800 x 600 resolution)
• 80GB 2.5″ hard drive/Solid-state disks in 8GB/16GB/64GB capacities
• Networking: LAN — Gigabit Ethernet WLAN — 802.11a/b/g PAN — Bluetooth 2.0 (optional)
• Integrated fax/modem with RJ11 connector
• 2 x USB 2.0 host
• 1 x serial port
• Docking connector
• Microphone in and speaker out
• CompactFlash Type II slot
• PC Card slot, CardBus 2.1 compatible

The xTablet T8700 retails for $3,800 and ships with an operating system of your choice - Windows XP Tablet PC Edition or Windows Vista Business Edition.

Even though we know that creating backup files is a very important task, most of us do not actually do it regularly for a lot of reasons. Some simply forget about it but others find it very tedious. Now, there is a new and easy-to-use device called SanDisk Flashback Adapter which aims to streamline this process.

Developed for Windows-based laptops with an ExpressCard slot, this adapter instantly copy and encrypts your important files to any SD or SDHC memory card. No need to schedule your backups, burn your files to CD/DVDs or save to your external hard drive. A simple yet effective solution since we really don’t know when our laptop will crash or petty accidents will happen.

All you have to do is install the software included in this Flashback Adapter and select the files or folders you like to backup regularly. Don’t forget to insert the SD card to the adapter as well (sold separately). After that, Flashback Adapter will automatically copy and encrypt as soon as there is any change in any of the files you selected.

SanDisk Flashback Adapter comes with a price tag of $29.99 without the memory card and will be available worldwide beginning in Q2 2008.

Read [SanDisk] Product [Flashback Adapter]

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Great - first we have air guitars, and now the company of air drums are here to break whatever remnants of silence and peace all around. The VBeat Air Drums from Silverlit is pretty much self-explanatory.

When human beatboxing just won’t cut it anymore, the V Beat Drum still lets frustrated drummers lay down some rhythms. With different sound styles and pre-programmed rhythms as well as an instructive guided learning feature, these slick sticks are an awesome way to make some noise! Motion sensors in the sticks detect the beats without any need for you to actually hit anything with them. So, they’re just the thing for anyone who wants to practice their drumming without the need to for an expensive and cumbersome set of drums.

The VBeat Air Drums retail for £29.99 a set.

Product Page

Posted Mar 5th 2008 4:25AM by Nilay Patel
Filed under: Misc. gadgets

Printed solar cell tech keeps getting closer and closer to reality, with a Massuchssetts company called Konarka Technologies today announcing that it’s now able to manufacture solar cells using inkjet printing. There’s not a ton of information available about the process, but Konarka’s already demonstrated it and published details in a trade journal called Advanced Materials — which sounds like scintillating reading, if you ask us. Konarka says the process makes fabbing solar panels extremely easy, since it doesn’t require a clean room, and the resulting cost reductions could lead to an increased number of applications for solar power. Of course, the economics of inkjet printing have lured more than one company to the dark side — we wonder if Konarka is eventually going to start selling solar ink cartridges for more than the printers themselves?

[Via The Raw Feed]

Posted Mar 5th 2008 12:56AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Robots

If Pleo’s holiday behavior mode left you thirsty for more, chances are the first bona fide update to its Life OS won’t disappoint. Version 1.0.2 enables your dino to explore its surroundings more, engage in fits of singing when encountering groups, and hear erratic noises when sleeping softly. Of note, UGOBE promises the update won’t change your Pleo’s existing personality, so apparently, there’s nothing to lose (but more spare time). Go on, hit up the read link and start that download — right after you tell Pleo to expect a treat, of course.

Seven Deadly Sins Chocolate
Never before has sinning been such an utter self-indulgent joy.

You can have this for ?14.99

In a move that clarifies the current cutthroat nature of the high def TV business, as well as the larger standing of LCDs, Pioneer announced that it would stop manufacturing Plasma panels by the end of the year. In addition, the company said that the recent revenue growth in Plasma was lower than expected and will formally announce a new business plan in a conference this upcoming Friday.

According to a report on Reuters, Pioneer will start using displays made by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. and slowly transition out one of its main building plants while transferring the other two (along with 600+ workers) to an assembly-only role. That is, until they make the super-fast nanotech-enabled robots that will kick those workers to the curb.

Yet while we worry about the working lives of our Japanese friends, the first thing that came to our heads had much darker overtones: What will happen to the upcoming Project Kuro ultimate contrast displays?

While the use of someone else’s manufacturing might not affect the secret sauce that promised the drool-worthy ultimate blacks, it seems inevitable that it will cause delays in the Kuro’s release schedule. And if they scrap the plasma business and the Project Kuro altogether, then what will happen? Surely some soul-searching, a bit of black belt-level PR jujitsu, and uncontrollable weeping by movie lovers. As we noted in our previous coverage of the Kuro, ultimate blacks are a critical component of a more immersive and beautiful picture. In fact, the new Kuros were so impressive up-close that we started calling it "The Angelina."

Overall, the business of making Plasma televisions has been getting harder on several fronts, but mainly, the increased quality and available sizes of LCDs, which are cheaper to produce, has been the biggest force to cut into its market share.

What do you think will happen to Pioneer’s Plasma business and why do you think it happened? Will they move in full bore to LCDs or OLEDs? Will they move ahead with the Project Kuro ultimate contrast TVs?

We’ll see you back here when Pioneer makes its announcement.

Photos: Jose Fermoso/Wired

Its never a nice post when its related to someone passing away, but sometimes its nice to celebrate a little bit of what that person may have accomplished. In this instance the “father of the role-playing game” Gary Gygax who was the co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons has passed away.

For some of the younger readers around here, D&D was originally founded 1974 and is the game that started the role-playing phenomenon, it was also one of the best selling games of all time. Its sad to see someone like this pass away, it is being reported that he had been suffering for several years from various health issues and passed away in the comfort of his own home.

A sad day indeed, I will admit D&D was a huge source of entertainment when I was younger, well that and another role-playing game called Star Frontiers. Yes, I was always a geek at heart.

Via [Boing Boing] Via [Wikipedia]

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Posted Mar 4th 2008 4:10PM by Darren Murph
Filed under: cellphones, Wireless

It seems as if Tata Communications is out to one-up BSNL — or at least claim its share of the limelight, anyway. More specifically, the outfit has teamed up with Telsima in order to roll out the “world’s largest commercial WiMAX network” in India. Over 5,000 enterprise / retail customers are already connected in ten cities, and there are plans in place to secure nearly a quarter million customers in retail alone during fiscal year 2009. Furthermore, we’re hearing that the services should be stretched to 110 cities for enterprise users and 15 cities for the retail segment by the year’s end, but users in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Cochin, Chandigarh, and Kolkata are the only ones celebrating at the moment. Not a bad way to grab a bit more market share from Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, eh?