Computer Gadgets New

I suppose this is not a surprise given how many users Facebook has, but will it be successful? Will the millions of IM users currently on Yahoo!, AIM, MSN and even ICQ and GTalk also use the Facebook platform for Instant Messaging? I say Facebook needs to ensure that they’re Jabber compatible so that we can plug yet another IM service into one of the all-in-one IM clients (like Trillian, Pidgin, etc.). Once upon a time, I only had Yahoo Messenger, then once my IM friend space grew to more than just YIM, I simply had to throw away the model of having a separate application for each service. Enter Trillian (BTW, I can’t wait for the new version).

Now a lot of people already use Facebook’s messaging as if it were e-mail, and if they’re addicts, you could even say it’s a bit like IM. The only benefit to me is that perhaps this will encourage my Facebook buddies who are not IM-aficionados to get on the IM train.

Some interesting information has popped up on the AT&T website referencing two models for the upcoming LG Vu. Under the model numbers CU915 and CU920 it looks to offer differences and in good news it appears that its more than just your typical color changes. Based of these still yet-to-be-confirmed details it looks like the Vu will be released in one version with MediaFLO and another without.

Via [EngadgetMobile]

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

Barricade Transformers Light Up T-Shirt

Transformers The Movie is one of the biggest releases of 2007 with award winning director Michael Bay and Co Producer Steven Spielberg.Show your ultimate allegiance to the forces of the Autobots or Decepticons. The Autobots have arrived on earth to fight off the evil forces of the Decepticons.The Light Up Transformer shirts are one of the most exciting t-shirts available! When switched on they totally transform from a normal T-Shirt to a fully functional light up T-Shirt that glows, illuminates and flashes in different sequences.The shirts are made from 100% cotton and contain a small battery pack, that when switched on activate the panel on the front of the shirt to give amazing effects. Great for night time parties, cinema events and fan memorabilia. Features ?         Officially licensed Transformers Movie merchandise?         Very bright light up shirts ?         Real light up effects ?         Looks excellent in day and night ?         Various flashing sequences ?         100% cotton shirt ?         Small and light weight battery pack?         Requires 2 x AAA batteries?         Hand wash only ?         Ideal for Children and Adult fans!. Size Guide                       Chest cm         Chest Inches Small                   92                    36 Medium               99                    37 Large                  104                   42 X-Large              115                   45 

Technorati Tags: Tech Toys

Posted Mar 17th 2008 12:36PM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

If you were wondering if you’d ever hear another peep about that Freescape digital media ecosystem that Polaroid trumpeted in January, here’s your answer. Quietly launched on the firm’s own website, the Freescape 4360 (also known as the MPU-043315B) is a WiFi-enabled portable media player packin’ a 60GB hard drive, a rechargeable Li-ion good for 16 hours of audio playback (just 4 hours with video), a 4.3-inch 480 x 272 resolution LCD, an FM tuner, TV output and support for MPEG4, WMA, WMV, MP3 and JPEG formats. Mum’s the word on a price or release date, but without handling a few more formats, we can’t see any Archos / Cowon / iriver lovers switching sides for this.

[Via ShinyShiny]

Canon has a spanking new digital camera in town - the IXUS 970 IS. This 10 megapixel digital camera will boast the longest ever zoom lens in the range at 5x optical zoom, and is accompanied by an enhanced version of Canon’s lens-shift type optical Image Stabilizer (IS). Check out the exhaustive list of features right after the jump - while the camera might look pretty normal from outside, it is actually a heavyweight on the inside that makes it sound like a bridge between folks who want to make the jump from point and shoot cameras to something a little bit more serious.

Canon Digital IXUS 970 IS features :-

• Uncompromising Digital IXUS style and build quality
• 10.0 Megapixel image sensor
• 5x optical zoom lens
• Enhanced lens-shift type optical Image Stabilizer (IS) delivering a 4-stop advantage
• High ISO Auto with Motion Detection Technology
• Face Detection Technology now with White Balance and Face Select & Track
• Automatic Red-Eye Correction in shooting and playback
• DIGIC III with Noise Reduction Technology
• 2.5″ PureColor LCD II plus optical viewfinder (OVF)
• Enhanced auto focus performs at up to 1-stop darker
• Multi Control Dial
• 18 shooting modes including new Sunset mode and My Colors photo effects
• Extensive movie options including VGA 30fps, Long Play and Time Lapse movie modes
• Optional accessories include Soft Case and High Powered Flash
• Easy printing with PictBridge and quick print order settings in playback mode

I believe the above mentioned features are pretty much self-explanatory, and what is interesting to note is the Canon IXUS 970 IS’ menu features which empowers users to manipulate their images in-camera without actually needing to install computer software. This will save a whole lot of time, as you no longer need to lug a notebook around to make edits to your newly taken images, but it must also be said that functionality on a digital camera alone won’t offer that much flexibility compared to what an image editing program on the computer/notebook can.

Source: Let’s Go Digital

There it is, the world’s smallest DSLR — the Olympus E-420 (left) — snuggled up next to its slightly bigger E-410 bro. Note that the E-420 on display at CeBIT is a near-final, fully-functional engineering prototypeWhat more can we say, it feels great in hand and the space and weight savings are certainly welcome. However, without any images to compare the best we can do is ogle the gallery until the reviews roll in.
[ Source ]

Gone are the days when $1000 could not even get you a desktop PC, let alone laptops. Having a budget of $1000 today can easily get you a more-than-decent laptop from well known players in the laptop market.

In any case, if you haven’t taken the plunge yet and are considering one, this latest round-up of recommended laptops under $1000 from PC World could be a good starting point. Topping the list with an exceptional battery life is the budget HP Pavilion dv2660se at $900, which can play a CD/DVD without booting into Windows. If you are looking for the lowest pricing, there is the $699 Toshiba Satellite Pro A210-EZ2201, which means you will have to contend with a low battery life as well. Nevertheless, it sports some amazing features at that price - a DVD writer, a FireWire port, and great sound.

My personal favorite of the lot happens to be the Dell Inspiron 1525. At $999, it is lithe, sleek and completely customizable - down to the color of its lid. Check out the PC World website for the complete review.

Image courtesy: PC World

All electronic devices need energy to run. As they develop, they need more and more electricity to remain operational. The battery life is a very important parameter for gadgets, knowing it will make you able to say, how long your gadget will help you without recharging. When in a city, where outlets are almost everywhere, this is not a huge problem, but when you are left with no power in the middle of the forest or field - it becomes a huge problem indeed. There are ways to solve this problem: to carry some additional batteries for the most important devices or to have some special tools that will help to charge your portable electronics with some other methods than from outlet. One of them is this gadget.

Weza, as this device is called, looks like a foot-powered pump often used by drivers. It has a small generator inside, which collects energy from lever and transforms it into electricity. It has a battery inside, so power produced will charge the internal battery at a 40-watt rate, which then can power up almost any electronic device. Its output is 12V, so it will be enough to start an engine if your car battery is completely discharged.

Interesting enough, it can even be used to watch a small TV while constantly stepping down on the lever - a good exercise to lose weight - and you will have a good reason not to stop exercising! A line of LEDs on the front shows you your charge rate while pedaling and battery level with the touch of a button - so you will know is it enough already or not.

Charging the battery fully need complete dedication, so do not expect immediate results. But if you are stuck with no outlets around, and you need to power up some of your devices, this portable generator will do the job.

In an ultra-mobile that mimics both the Cloudbook and the Tango X, the new device that will be hitting the Japanese market offers a nice ‘upgrade’ of specs over the US released Cloudbook.

The Japanese Cloudbook features the same sized 7-inch display but offers it as a touchscreen and also includes Bluetooth and 802.11a right out of the box. In addition it retains the Via C7-M ULV processor, 30GB hard drive, 512MB RAM, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, and the 0.3-megpixel webcam. The Japanese Cloudbook is set to be released on March 22 and retail for ¥59,800 (about $600 US).

[Update] The Japanese version will take on the model number of CE1200J as opposed to the US model number CE1200V, it will also come pre-installed with Windows XP as opposed to gOS.

Via [akihabara news] Via [Ultra Mobile Life]

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

I’m not a coffee drinker, I really can’t stand the stuff. I prefer to take my caffeine in Mountain Dew form. Frankly it tastes much better, and you don’t have to deal with those nasty coffee grinds at the bottom of the cup. Of course, that also means that I don’t ever have a reason to buy cool coffee mugs like this one.

While I wouldn’t actually buy this one for myself, I still think it’s a pretty cool design. The idea is that the further down you drink your coffee (or whatever is in the mug) the clearer the shape of a heart becomes. Since the outside of the cup looks quite ordinary, it would be a sneaky way to tell someone “I love you” well after you’ve left the room (after bringing them a fresh cup of Joe).

It’s only a concept design for now, but it is simple and brilliant. You know someone is going to make a mint off of these, as they would make great gifts.

Source: Yanko Design