Panasonic has announced a new D-Snap music player that features the ambient noise cancellation (like the Sony Sony NWS705) and 100 hours of battery life. While noise reduction in the mp3 player does not work as well as noise reduction in the headphones themselves, it still helps a little. Other features
Posted Mar 18th 2008 11:01AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: cellphones
Oh sure, we’ve seen alleged criminals wriggle out from under the strong arm of the law, but this one takes things to an entirely different platform. Reportedly, a truck driver in Germany was pulled over for yapping on his cellphone while cruising, but apparently, said trucker actually wasn’t talking when the boys in blue saw his handset upside his melon. As the story goes, the 43-year old was actually using the freshly recharged mobile to “warm his ear” in an attempt to alleviate an earache. Astonishingly enough, he was even able to provide “an itemized telephone bill proving he had not been using the phone at the time he was stopped,” thus, a court in Hamm accepted the excuse and let him go sans penalty. Something tells us this guy’s got friends in low places.
[Via Switched]
Ramar of China has a new GPS navigation system known as the Navistar 3522. What makes it unique is the fact that it comes with a home docking station that enables the GPS unit itself to recharge whenever docked, while the pair of speakers ensure you will be able to enjoy better sound quality in your room. Should you want to head out of town, just bring it with you to your car and you’re good to go, making this one nifty all-rounder. Of course, since everyone else and their dog already has an ipod and some sort of dock in their homes, the Navistar 3522 can be seen as a secondary portable media player instead. Powered by Windows CE.Net, other features include a Centrality Atlas GPS receiver and compatibility with TMC traffic information.
I’m surprised that no one on this site has covered this yet. After all, NASA’s repair robot Dextre has got to be one of the coolest gadgets ever made.
The Dextre robot is designed to repair the International Space Station with a lot less risks to the astronauts. Instead of an astronaut going out in space in a suit and oxygen, they just send out the robot. Kind of like R2D2 during his introduction in The Phantom Menace.
You can’t really tell how big it looks from the picture, but Dextre is actually about twelve feet long with eleven foot arms. Even with all of its…bigness, Dextre can still manipulate objects smaller than half a fraction of an inch.
Astronaut Richard M. Linnehan compares the Dextre with a Star Wars prop, but I have to admit that the Dextre is better than anything George Lucas imagined for Episodes I, II, or III. It’s nice to know that science has finally built something that is cooler than science fiction.
Normally, I end my articles with a price and availability date. Even though I can think of several uses for Dextre in my own house, I don’t think NASA will mass-produce them. I also don’t think I can shell out $219 million for one, which is the approximate cost for this one.
Source
If you love an al fresco environment, then this pair of Spy Camera Sunglasses is perfect to record all the goings-on while sipping on a cup of cappuccino.
These camera sunglasses certainly aren’t x-ray specs, but they do capture 1.3 megapixel still images (at a resolution of 1280×1024). The included RF remote-control is ideal for easy, stealth-style photo shooting. High-quality lightweight frame material and UV400 polarized flip-up lens. A polymer li-ion rechargeable battery provides a battery life of up to 9 hours (shooting 1 photo/minute). USB 2.0 interface via a standard Mini USB port for data upload and download & re-charging the battery.
If you aren’t using this pair for people watching (and recording), why not put the 1GB of internal memory to good use by listening to your favorite MP3 tunes? $99.99 from ThinkGeek.
The United States is no longer the nation with the largest number of internet users. China overtook the US last month in users for the first time, according to the state-run China Internet Network Information Center.
Researcher BDA China Ltd. estimates there are now over 220 million internet users in China, compared with 217.1 million in the U.S. Online ad revenue continues to lag in China, however, totaling $1.3 billion in 2007 compared to e-Marketer estimates of $21.4 billion in America.
Maybe it’s time for me to start promoting the Chinesse translation of my blog.
methodshop
AT&T and Research In Motion have announced that AT&T business subscribers now have a new BlackBerry model to consider when selecting a handset: the Blackberry Pearl 8120. If you’re a regular blackberry user then you’ll definitely want to consider the BlackBerry Pearl 8120. The biggest feature that sets the phone apart from other BlackBerry handhelds is the fact that it has built-in Wi-Fi.
Adding some style to the phone, the BlackBerry Pearl 8120 will come in a sapphire-blue color. Increased productivity comes in the fact that you can simultaneously access voice and data services when using the Wi-Fi connectivity. Proving that there is not all work, but some play out there the 8120 will also support the AT&T Mobile Music subscription services. Of course, the fact that your employer can access you within a moment’s notice using the AT&T unlimited Push To Talk service will remind you that the handset is primarily for work.
The handset will be available for US$199.99 with a two-year contract which includes an unlimited data plan and a US$39.99 a month voice plan. Push To Talk service will add another US$9.99 a month with a qualifying voice plan.
Read more from the joint press release.
Brian’s Opinion
I’m really impressed with how fast RIM has been able to catch-up to its competition. It use to be a RIM mantra that their handhelds were for business and didn’t need video or music support. Luckily, RIM was smart enough to listen to the customer and quickly addressed the shortcomings in the BlackBerry line up. The fact that the 8120 has Wi-Fi support shows that RIM continues to listen to customers and is ready to take its handhelds to wherever customers demand.
Intel is ready to drop some quad-core mobile chips in a few months. The chips are part of Intel’s Extreme line and will cost just over US$1,000 apiece, but you do get four cores for that. The Core 2 Extreme QX9300 tops out initially at 2.53GHz and will have a 1066MHz front side bus and 12MB L2 cache.
The chips have a maximum Thermal Design Power (TDP) of 45W and will be manufactured on a 45nm process as you might expect for minimum power usage. You may not one in your ultra-light yet, these will probably find a home more in high-end performance workstations and gaming laptops. We’ve got to start somewhere…
Read more at Digitimes.
The famous Ben Heck has just lifted the veil on its brand new Xbox 360 controller mod that allows you to play your favorite Xbox 360 games with just one hand. Unfortunately, this controller needs a couple of AA batteries to function, so it might end up being heavier than what some people are comfortable with. If the D-Pad that you see here looks familiar, that’s because it has been ported over from the playstation. Apparently Ben Heck is slaving away on a mass-produced version which will be pronouncedly different compared to this model.
Source: Crunchgear
Posted Mar 17th 2008 10:45PM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Digital Cameras
Not quite able to squeeze into a size 2 chassis before PMA, Pentax’s Optio V20 now has the runway all to itself. This 8-megapixel point-and-shoot isn’t anything spectacular, but the 5x optical zoom is a nice complement to the 3-inch lcd monitor, face recognition, blink detection, USB 2.0 connectivity, video out and VGA movie mode. You’ll also find a SD / SDHC expansion slot in case 52MB of built-in memory just isn’t enough, and the rechargeable Li-ion is said to be good for around 200 clicks on a full charge. On board? Start pinching those pennies now, as this one will set you back $279.95 when it runs aground in May.
[Via CNET]
