Gadgets and New Technologies

by Chris Ziegler, posted Jul 10th 2008 at 7:55AM A number of shots have surfaced of an upcoming Sidekick that we’ve alternately known as the Gekko and Gecco, but the rumor du jour on the naming front is that we’ll actually be calling it “Sidekick 2008″ by the time it launches (later this month if we’re lucky). The grainy photography shows a device looking roughly like what we expect the new model to look like — but more interestingly, it shows the phone wearing a variety of different shells, some of which rock as much bedazzlement as a Swarovski one-off. Pretty cool. (Read the full post about ‘Sidekick Gecco to be christened Sidekick 2008?’…)

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by Joshua Topolsky, posted Jul 10th 2008 at 9:57AM Finally, the 14 people who have been waiting patiently can now get their hands on HP’s iPAQ 910 Windows Mobile-based phone. There’s not much to say you haven’t already read — the HSDPA, WiFi, and GPS equipped device can be purchased unlocked from HP’s online store for the tidy sum of $499.99. They’re shipping now… (Read the full post about ‘HP’s iPAQ 910 smartphone now available’…)

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Next time you make a mobile call there’s a group of individuals you should thank. They are the people who have to climb communication and mobile phone towers to complete installs or do maintenance. As a RCR Wireless News article reports, tower climbing is the deadliest job in the U.S., according to the head of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Edwin Foulke Jr.

Foulke states that many fatalities occur during a tower’s erection, retrofitting or dismantling, and tend to be due to climbers not being tied to a safe anchorage point or faulty personal protection equipment.

(Read the full post about ‘Climbing a communications tower is the most dangerous job’…)

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For a number of years now Japan has been considering introducing a new tax on digital music players dubbed the “ipod tax”. If put into law it would mean up to 3% of the price of a new music player would go directly to the music industry for re-distribution to copyright holders and musicians.

The idea has this week been dropped, however, mainly because the group discussing its implementation have come to a stalemate. This is not the first time it has happened either, with a similar crossroads being reached in December 2005.

(Read the full post about ‘Japan decides against iPod tax’…)

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Ever wonder what goes into making a Toughbook? These are not your typical notebooks so, as you probably guessed, they are not designed or built like that 15.4-inch boring book you are typing away on right now. I recently stopped by Panasonic’s Toughbook factory and design facility in Kobe, Japan and took some shots of the testing procedures. Read on to see what makes a Toughbook so tough. Toughbook Y7 Before getting into the testing its worth mentioning that Panasonic’s notebooks come in three durability levels: fully-rugged, semi-rugged, and business-rugged. The durability level is determined by just how much punishment these systems can take while still operating. (Read the full post about ‘Feature: Tour of Panasonic’s Toughbook Testing Facility’…)

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Gadget mavens Brando are at it again with the SATA HDD Multimedia Dock. This model is able to work with any 2.5″ and 3.5″ SATA hard drive as long as you have a free USB port on your computer. It makes backup and data transfer a snap, and best of all is, there is a Media Player function integrated into the entire device. You will be able to play media files directly off your SD memory card on a TV without the need for a computer, although it won’t be in High Definition. Compatible with both PCs and Macs, the SATA HDD Multimedia Dock will retail for $84 after factoring in shipping costs. (Read the full post about ‘SATA HDD Multimedia Dock’…)

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I find it interesting that Japan and Korea are two countries that are really big when it comes to electronic dictionaries, with JCHyun having released the Udea Expert 300 recently in Korea. Features of this Internet-enabled multimedia electronic dictionary include :- Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity 82 kinds of dictionary and language content Video playback mp3 player T-DMB support Integrated FM radio Voice recording capability TV-Out USB port SD memory card slot You are expected to fork out $420 for the Udea Expert 300. Gotta love the small form factor. (Read the full post about ‘Udea Expert 300 Electronic Dictionary’…)

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Folks in Japan will be able to enjoy the Asus U2E laptop that features a bright LED display at 1,366 x 768 resolution. Measuring 11″ across, this tiny and highly portable device will be powered by Intel’s Core 2 Duo U7600 1.2GHz processor, running on Windows Vista Home Premium. Other features consist of a 32GB SSD, an integrated camera and fingerprint recognition. You can pick up this 1.39kg for approximately $3,000 after conversion. I wonder how many cows were slaughtered for the leather case. (Read the full post about ‘Asus U2E Leather Laptop hits Japan’…)

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Creative’s Zen X-Fi is old hat now (the news, that is), and it has just gotten official. It looks pretty much like the Zen albeit with a whole lot more buttons and less plastic, featuring an SDHC memory card slot and a similar screen resolution. What makes the Zen X-Fi outstanding would be Wi-Fi connectivity (save for the 8GB model), but that is countered by the lack of a Web browser despite supporting chat clients like Yahoo! and MSN. Other features include XviD and DivX video support. You can pick up the Creative Zen X-Fi in either 8GB, 16GB and 32GB capacities. Battery life is rated at 5 hours for non-stop video playback and 36 hours for continuous audio. No idea on how much it will cost though. (Read the full post about ‘Creative Zen X-Fi is Official’…)

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Belkin’s new FlyWire offers full High Definition resolution (1080p) by hooking up Blu-ray players, receivers, video game consoles and set-top boxes to HDTVs and projectors without the need for wires. This wireless transmitter will operate on the 5GHz band, and it boasts the ability to transmit video content without latency as you won’t experience any loss in video quality since it avoids video compression like the plague. Belkin hopes to clears up common misconceptions and misunderstandings concerning wireless transmission where high quality video is concerned with the FlyWire, as even video games work smoothly without a hitch. There will be a couple of models available - the FlyWire and FlyWire R1 that retail for $999.99 and $699.99, respectively. (Read the full post about ‘Belkin FlyWire’…)

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