Computer Gadgets New

One of the main reasons why I’m holding off on buying the new Nokia N95 is because I don’t want to get frustrated every time I run out of batteries while I’m on the road. I consider myself a power user and I know for sure that with all the features the N95 is packing under the hood, I’ll suck the batteries dry before I’m even halfway home. But then Brando, who seems to have been reading my mind lately, has come up with this very helpful new gadget that will definitely be included in my to-buy list next week. It’s a solar-powered key chain cellphone charger, that can um, charge you cellphone using solar power.

For only $22.00, you get the convenience of never having to worry about where to next plug in your cellphone charger for power. Plus, it’s summer so this will come extremely handy while you’re up and about, hanging with the ladies in the beach. Just don’t get it wet, though.

It’s actually more of a portable charger, and aside from working with power from sunshine, you can also pre-charge it through your computer’s USB port or through an ordinary wall power outlet. The standard package includes the following:

• One Mini Key Chain Solar Charger
• One USB cable
• One A/C adapter (110V~220V)
• One extended cable
• Five connector adapter (Sony Ericsson Fast Port, Samsung, Mini USB (for Motorola/HTC/Dopod/MP3/MP4) , Nokia (2mm), Nokia (3.5mm))

This will be great while we’re waiting for the Green Cell battery concept to materialize. For now, this is as green and environment-friendly as it can get.

Via [The Gadget Blog]

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After Nine Inch Nails, Radiohead and other musicians have utilized the power of the web to promote and sell their music along comes REM with their latest album Accelerate. REM is making their 14th album available through audio streaming at a social music discovery service iLike.

To promote the release of REM’s album on its online music service, iLike will be holding a Worldwide Listening Party beginning March 24 and will be running through March 26, which is a full 6 days before the album will be release in North America on April 1, 2008.

The best-selling band will be recording an exclusive video message to introduce and promote their new album. The message will be distributed as well through iLike’s music service. REM band lead singer Michael Stipe said that the planned album release via web audio streaming is the bands way of keeping with the spirit and immediacy of their new album.

“We wanted to do something superfast and super real. Music, art, and pop culture are about right now, and nothing else matters. Accelerate is our turbo-charged response to the times we live in,” said Stipe.

The WorldWide Listening Party and REM’s video message will be made available on iLike’s website, as well as a sidebar desktop plugin on iTunes and Windows Media Player. Also to attempt in reaching a wider audience, these will also be available on various social networking sites such as Facebook, Bebo, hi5 and iphone as part of the iLike application.

To listen to REM’s Accelerate and watch the band’s exclusive video message, please visit: REM on iLike.

Read [Business Wire]

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Guess nothing is sacred when it comes to Hello Kitty. This mouthless, pasty-faced feline from Japan is now available in the form of a phone charger, and you can hook it up to a handset with exhausted batteries in order to let it do what it is supposed to do - juice up your cell phone. Unfortunately, it is sold with Japanese cell phone-type batteries only that caters only to folks in Japan. There is some light at the end of the tunnel though, since the manufacturers have graciously included a miniUSB plug that lets you juice up USB-based devices as well. No idea on how much this costs though.

Following the much hyped released of its rival web browser IE8, Firefox has, as expected released version 3 beta 4 of its web browser. Unlike IE8 which allowed anyone to download the browser even in the early stage of its version, Firefox explicitly recommend that the beta 4 version be downloaded only by testers and developers.

Firefox 3 beta 4 milestone releases has the following 4 new features:

• Improved users interface which includes, enhanced search support in the download manager, ability to zoom in an entire page or just the text, and over all improvement in interface when running on Windows Vista, XP, MAC OS X and Linux.
• Richer personalization feature which includes location bar using an algorithm based on site recency and frequency for better matching of history and bookmarks and an adaptive learning algorithm that matches user browsing habits.
• Enhanced platform feature including support for HTML5’s windowpostMessage and window.messageEvent, Javascript 1.8 improvements and offline data storage for web application.
• Improved performance of web based applications running even faster than in the previous releases. Memory consumed during long web browsing time is dramatically reduced as well.

For users who can’t wait till version 3 is officially released, exercised caution when installing this beta release.

Read [Mozilla Blog]

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Panasonic has recently launched its first ever phone to work with Skype, officially called the Panasonic KX-WP800, this Skype phone features it own access point so even if the PC is turned off you can still make and receive voice calls. The KX-WP800 Skype phone offers 4.5 hours of talk time and 55 hours of standby time, and since Panasonic has worked with FON, you can make calls using a FON hotspot wherever you may find one available.

While Skype fanatics in Japan are rejoicing with the release, there is no word yet on when or if the Skype phone will be available in the US or Europe. Panasonic’s Skype phone will retail for ¥29,800 (around $293 US).

Read [akihabara news]

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Asus is toying with the idea of including bamboo as part of its construction material in these new concept products at CeBIT 2008. Some of these include a couple of bamboo laptops, a bamboo monitor and a bamboo-covered PC. I think these are nothing but fire hazards, as wood (technically bamboo is a grass…) is definitely much easier to catch fire from overheated laptop batteries compared to a standard plastic and metal case that we currently have.

Top 5 of car gadgets

Mar 10, 2008 I think your car needs a few useful devices. I present you top 5 of car gadgets. Some of them will make your driving more comfortable and pleasant, but others will help you to protect your car.

Number 5. It seems to me that no one can drive without music. It makes our mood better and the road - shorter. Sirius satellite radio has more advantages than other radios. The first one is that you can enjoy favorite music via this radio at home or in office.

The second advantage of the gadget is that it can provide you about 130 radio channels. The company opens unique possibilities, so you won’t be able to hear all these stations anywhere else. The device has large multi-colored display that was designed for your comfort and easier use.

Then, the radio also has handy and interesting functions to make your listening to music more pleasant. For example, the device has S-Seek Alert, that will help you not to miss preferable songs, news or other radio programs. In comparison with other car radios, this one has extra-features you may enjoy.

Number 4. Security car system is a very important gadget for your car. If you don’t want to be nervous about your car, remember about a lot of great security systems that were designed for this aim. For example, there is a Chinavasion security system.

This wireless car security system is operating on the GSM mobile phone bandwidth so you can supervise your car and remotely control, to feel yourself calm about the car. It has a lot of advanced features. For example, the super loud alarm turns on in cases of robbery or damaging.

Number 3. There was created an interesting and simple anti-theft system. The system works in the following way: if someone tries to steal the vehicle and just touches your steering wheel, it stars turning very fast from side to side. Moreover, if you are a thief, there is no way you can stop it, because it will simply break your arms. The system works in a cruel, but fair way.

Number 2. SmartPad is the easiest way to hold all your gadgets. SmartPad Silicone Grip Pad is the newest line of non-slip accessories that provides you the easiest way to hold all your necessary things.

Everything you need in your car: keys, mobile phone, ipod, sunglasses, photo will be right in front of you. Actually, the SmartPad might be handy for you whenever you are: at home or in office, for example.

Number 1. The number 1 today is one of the most unusual car gadgets. I bet you haven’t even dreamed about it. But here we are: sandwich maker for your car is at your service. As I understand it was created to make a breakfast for yourself right in your car if you are in a hurry.

On the one hand, it might be rather handy and useful. If you go in a trip, you’ll be able to make nice sandwiches. But on the other hand, that must be the craziest and the most extravagant gadget for you car.

Hope you kept the original box your Eee PC came in because it looks like a lot of of these systems are going to be finding their way to eBay soon. That’s right, there is some official news on the new versions of the Eee PC.

Laptop Mag’s blog has lots of good information on the 8.9-inch Eee PC 900 and the future of the notebook, all based on an interview with Asus CEO, Jerry Shen. The big news is that we will see an 8.9″ 1024×600 version of the Eee PC in the very near future. The projected release is April, but that is assuming there are no delays, like those we saw with the original date. This version will be available with Windows XP and 8GB of storage. Xandros versions will be available with 12GB of storage or even a a 20GB SSD.

If that was not enough news for Eee PC fans, Shen also said that the Eee PC will be going the Diamondville route in Q2, most likely in May. Regarding this Shen said, “From my view point, Diamondville is the better choice, because it uses the 45-namometer processor. And pricewise it is very competitive. In my planning I will continue to use Intel’s Diamondville. And for the VIA one I think from the power point of view, Diamondville is still better.”

Also on Asus’ to-do list are high-fashion versions with “New York City and London city style” so if you a don’t like the plain white/black you might be in luck. Accessories including web storage, TV tuners, Skype phones, and handwriting tools were also discussed which was expected given Asus’ intentions to push the Eee brand.

It’s a long interview so if you are interested in the Eee PC or low-cost notebooks give it a read. If you are tired of hearing about the Eee PC drop a comment. The low-cost laptop race is very interesting, but it’s generating tons of news and even more speculation.

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Wallet Mirror By Wallet Essentials
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See price

Posted Mar 10th 2008 5:42PM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Storage

LaCie’s been known to launch a few products under the cover of darkness before, and sure enough, it’s decided to do just that with a trifecta of new externals. Starting from the top, we’ve got the 1TB Desktop Hard Disk, which sports a USB 2.0 port (only) and an exceedingly simplistic black design. Next up is the more compact 250GB - 500GB Desktop Hard Disk, which sports the same name (and sole USB socket) but a much less bulky chassis. Lastly, the Mobile Disk comes in 80GB, 120GB, 160GB, 250GB and 320GB sizes, fits in most cargo pockets and gets all the juice it needs from your machine’s USB port. Word on the street has both the Desktop and Mobile drives starting at around €80 ($123), and if you look hard enough, you can actually grab these right now.

Read - LaCie 1TB Desktop Hard Disk [Via Gizmos]
Read - LaCie 250GB - 500GB Desktop Hard Disk
Read - LaCie Mobile Hard Disk [Via Gizmos]