Gadgets and New Technologies

If you happen to be one of those folks who have tons of USB flash drives lying around and want to get your life a little bit more organized, then might I recommend the SpaceStation from Ultra. This unique device comes with half a dozen USB ports on the back, and being the same size as a credit card certainly adds to its desirability. You will be able to plug in all those USB flash drives for instant extra storage space on your computer/notebook. Too bad the SpaceStation does not consolidate all those drives into one logical drive, so you will just have to work with six individual drives when connected. The 12GB version retails for $89.99 while the 6GB model costs $30 less. (Read the full post about ‘Ultra SpaceStation For USB Flash Drives’…)

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Posted Mar 13th 2008 9:10AM by Thomas RickerFiled under: Gaming, Handhelds See that? You’re looking at a picture of the printed circuit board for Pandora. Ok, it’s hardly a completed product. In fact, it’s chipless. Still, it’s a measurable step away from product vapor and one step closer to the $320 (damn dollar!) $330 GP2X gaming computer we’re expecting to land in March or April. [Thanks, Argor] (Read the full post about ‘Pandora’s ultra-portable orders take-out PCB, forgets chips’…)

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High-tech lock maker Kwikset has announced the SmartKey. Its banner feature is anti-bumping technology, which supposedly makes the lock un-pickable (bumping is about the quickest and easiest way to break a lock, involving a hammer, a dummy key and, well, that’s it).

But we don’t care for the security so much as the convenience. The SmartKey lock can be re-keyed by the owner. You put in your old key, hit a “learning” button inside the lock and then swap in any key. That key is now paired with the lock. Very neat, and very easy, allowing a single key to be used in a multitude of locks. The downside?

(Read the full post about ‘Super Safe Lock Lets You Swap Out Keys’…)

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Posted Mar 13th 2008 3:53AM by Thomas RickerFiled under: Desktops, LaptopsGreat news for those of you enrolled in Microsoft’s Windows Feedback Program. In exchange for giving Microsoft access to your computing habits for the last 3 months, your free copy of Windows Vista Ultimate, Office Ultimate ‘07, Money Plus Premium, Encarta Premium or Streets and Trips (depending upon your enrollment selection) should be delivered in the next 4 to 6 weeks. Oh sure, the price for the most popular choice — Vista Ultimate — has dropped $80 since you flittered away your privacy. It’s not like the MyFaceSpaceBook types have anything left to hide anyway. And free is free no matter the cost, right? (Read the full post about ‘Free Vista Ultimate headed to Windows Feedback exhibitionists’…)

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I can’t help but be awed by the svelte beauty of Acer’s latest laptop baby, the Gemstone Blue, aka Acer Aspire 6920, and while reading its technical specifications and features, I can’t help but wonder whether Acer has created a mobile computing machine or a mobile multimedia entertainment product? The Aspire 6920 breaks away from the laptop norm and moves towards the direction of the latest media consoles. From it’s 16-inch full HD 1920 x 1080 Cine Crystal TFT LCD to its DDR2 667MHz memory, you can easily ascertain that Acer is actually launching a portable multimedia machine rather than a business computing laptop. It has a touch-sensitive CineDash Media control which is said to respond quickly to the lightest contact. (Read the full post about ‘Acer launches the Gemstone Blue’…)

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Indie musicians have a new shortcut to reach megastar status: Having their music picked up for an Apple commercial., “New Soul”, by Yael Naim, was featured in the ad for the macbook air. The song just debuted in the Billboard Hot 100 at number nine. Not bad for somebody nobody had heard of a few months ago. In this regard, Apple is following in the footsteps of Levi’s. Through the 1980s and 1990s, the jeans company broke many new acts with its famous TV commercials. In the UK, having a song featured in a Levi’s spot pretty much guaranteed a number one hit. And Apple knows this. Famous for driving hard deals, the Cupertino company pays a lot less than usual for its music rights. (Read the full post about ‘Is Apple The New Levi’s?’…)

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It is with great pleasure that I announce the actual NavJacket (we covered a sneak peek last December), offering skiers a flexible display on the sleeve to know exactly just where they are at the moment, along with audio instructions being relayed via the hood. It boasts navigational capabilities from MyGuide and is designed by O’Neill Europe. and navigational capabilities are brought in by MyGuide.

(Read the full post about ‘NavJacket Is Very Real’…)

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The Korg-approved DS-10 synthesizer from AQ Interactive will soon make its way to DS’ in Japan, featuring a couple of patchable virtual synths with two oscillators each, a drum machine, a sequencer, and an entire range of effects among others. Word has it that you can also hook up with several systems by taking advantage of the DS’ wireless capability, playing a tune together or exchanging sounds and songs. Music buffs who tend to take gaming breaks with their DS Lite will be able to pick up the DS-10 synthesizer for less than $50 if they import a copy from Japan come this July. (Read the full post about ‘Korg DS-10 Synthesizer’…)

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Its name says Picto, DigiArt, and i90. The company used three different terms to identify this new gadget, and yet none of these is camera, digicam, or videocam. That’s because this new do-it-all can’t really fit into any one of those categories, seeing as how many different features it packs under the hood. It’s got an mp3 player, a voice recorder, a 30fps MPEG-4 video recorder, a 1GB SD memory card included in the retail package, and it’s a 7-megapixel camera with face detection and anti-shake technology. Currently selling for ₩179,000 (or about $185) in Korea, this is about as all-encompassing as a point-and-shoot digital camera can get. (Read the full post about ‘Picto DigiArt i90 comes with, seems to do everything, really’…)

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LucidTouch, Microsoft’s see-through touch screen concept is definitely going to be revolutionary when it comes out, although it remains to be seen just how much of an impact it can make in the consumer electronics industry. In order to further aggravate our Pavlovian response to all things gadgety, Microsoft has released a photoshopped mockup of a tablet pc that uses LucidTouch and I can say that I’m sold. The only problem with mockups is this - the final product is rarely as cool and tantalizing as what was shown in renderings, and as we all know, there will be a camera located at the back to detect your hand and finger positions. (Read the full post about ‘LucidTouch Mockup’…)

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