Gadgets and New Technologies

(Photo: Daniel Dumas/ WIRED) In time, the Wired Gadget Lab rock band will be most triumphant. Our songwriting is legendary, our plucking prowess is vast, and our stage presence is electrifying. But the truth is, we will never be a complete group until we have Eddie Van Halen on guitar. Yet, despite all of our sonic triumphs, he will not return our calls. No matter, the Guitar Hero Air Rocker will be both our carrot and stick for one Mr. Van Halen. This may look like a simple belt buckle forged within the darkest circle of hell in a collaborative effort between Lucifer and Les Paul, but, in actuality, this accessory provides arena worthy sounds without the need for actual talent or even a physical guitar. (Read the full post about ‘Guitar Hero Air Rocker Transforms Us Into Arena Gods’…)

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Toshiba has just unveiled the Cosmic Shiner handset which is actually a standard FanFun 815T cell phone that comes studded with diamonds. There will only be a thousand of these available, which means they will be highly sought after. Models will only be issued through an invitation-only scheme, whereby owners will benefit from a Prestige Gold membership service. Each of these handsets will retail for $4,000, and chances are you will be able to fetch more during an auction. (Read the full post about ‘Cosmic Shiner from Toshiba’…)

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Posted Mar 21st 2008 10:29AM by Paul MillerFiled under: Wireless No surprises here, but boy is that going to be a difficult expense to justify on the ol’ corporate card. AT&T says it’ll pay a $1.3 billion down payment to the FCC within the next 10 days to get a lock on that spectrum it just won, $500 million of which was paid up front before the auction began. The company will be pushing the remaining $5.3 billion over the counter before April 17, and is financing the purchase with funds from operations and a good bit of debt. (Read the full post about ‘AT&T forking over a $1.3 billion down payment for auction wins’…)

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I remember seeing this ad in a newspaper that claimed: “Now there is an easy answer. Laser Hair Removal!” It showed a pretty woman with great legs, and I can only assume that her bikini wax was somehow done with lasers. Well, I have no idea how lasers can remove hair, but apparently they can restore hair. This is exactly what the X5 HairLaser is designed to do. This little gadget is designed to fit in your hand like a tiny scalp massager, and can blast “15 distinct points of coherent laser light directly to your scalp at the optimum power and wavelength”. Somehow, all these lasers are supposed to promote hair growth. However, it doesn’t work all at once, but it is a treatment that requires 10-15 minutes, three times a week. (Read the full post about ‘X5 HairLaser’…)

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The Asus M50 entertainment notebook will come in a couple of variants - the M50Sv-B1 model features an Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 1.2GHz processor and a hd dvd optical drive (what the?!) while the M50Sv-A1 has a T9300 2.5GHz processor and a standard DVD burner. Both of them will be powered graphically by the GeForce 9500M GS 512MB dedicated video card which packs more than a decent punch, while you get a 15.4″ 1,440 x 900 display. 3GB RAM, a 250GB hard drive and Altec Lansing stereo speakers round off the list of features. Asus also allows you to replace the GeForce 9500M with the ATI Mobility Radeon HD3650 1GB video card if your budget provides. Both Windows Vista-powered models will retail from $1,499.99 upwards. (Read the full post about ‘Asus M50 Entertainment Notebook’…)

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Posted Mar 21st 2008 12:20PM by Ryan BlockFiled under: PeripheralsOur latest micro-series, Screen grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today’s movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dt com. You’d think a car with AI sophisticated enough to carry on a lengthy conversation with its driver would kind of obviate the need for a keyboard, but hey, maybe that’s why we’re not in the TV business.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in] (Read the full post about ‘Screen grabs: KITT the chatty car somehow still needs an Apple Bluetooth keyboard’…)

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Sprint and Telus look set to receive the upcoming blackberry Curve 8830 that will feature GPS navigation, accompanying the original GSM model in the process. Other than the addition of GPS functionality, word has it that RIM will also augment the current storage to 80MB so that you won’t have to fill up your microSD memory card that fast. Other features include a 2 megapixel camera, while the Sprint version will see black navigation buttons make a debut. There is no word on pricing from Sprint, but Telus wants to sell the 8830 for $200 with a 3-year contract or $480 as a standalone handset. (Read the full post about ‘Sprint, Telus to get Curve 8830 with GPS’…)

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In what seems to be the hot handset of the moment, the XPERIA 1 from Sony Ericsson has had some more details revealed courtesy of a recently released white paper, which came courtesy of the Sony Ericsson website. The XPERIA X1 has not had any shortage of available information leaked up till now, but these are the official details. Its hard to even begin, the official white paper is a 40-page PDF document that is just full of goodies. Some of the highlights include: Information on the pre-loaded panels for the XPERIA interface, which will include a Sony Ericsson Panel, Media Experience Panel, Slideshow Panel, Microsoft Today Panel, 3D Fish Panel and some user customizable panels. (Read the full post about ‘Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1; official details revealed’…)

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Nokia’s ”Comes With Music” offer sounds real nice up front, but it does have its limits, most notably the DRM, which a lot of current services seem to be moving away from. The service was originally announced last December and is still expected to launch in mid-2008, but an official date has not been announced. Joining Universal, EMI has just jumped on board as the second major label. So now with two major labels on board the service seems to be shaping up, but there is another key item that still needs some clarification, the “Comes With Music” service is reported to be paying $80 per handset per year for the unlimited download account. (Read the full post about ‘Nokia picks up EMI for their “Comes With Music” offer’…)

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Nokia announces that the Nokia N95 8GB is now available in the United States. The 8GB Nokia N95 already started to ship in Europe last October. The Nokia N95 8GB features HSDPA connectivity on 850/1900 MHz networks in the Americas and is now shipping to select locations across the United States with six months of free navigation service included with Nokia Maps. At an estimated price of $749, the Nokia N95 8GB will be available through Nokia Nseries retailers across the United States, such as the Nokia Flagship stores in New York City and Chicago, as well as many online e-tailers. (Read the full post about ‘Nokia N95 8GB ships’…)

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