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We told you guys about Data Robotics Drobo storage robot a few months back. The little hard drive enclosure that will hold up to four 3.5" drives. Well we've been trying out our very own demo unit for the last week or so. What do we think? Jump on in and find out.
At last, here are the new Santa Rosa-based Apple MacBook Pros, loaded with faster Core 2 Duo processors. Same design but with LED-backlit LCD screens, increased processor speeds, more memory and zoomtastic NVIDIA 8600M GT graphics at the same $1,999 and $2,499 prices. And all this shaving 0.4 pounds off its weight. Full specs and information about the also-revamped 17" model, with optional 1,920 x 1,200 pixel screen, after the jump.
After all the rumors and waiting, Alienware is officially launching the Hangar18 HTPC today. The new system comes equipped with dual TV tuners (you can have up to 4), an onboard 5.1 amp, HDMI out, and an AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core CPU. You can cram it with up to 4GB of memory and 2TB of storage space and choose between a 720p or 1080p capable system. There's even a Gyration remote to replace your pesky mouse. The system is available today with a starting price of $1,999.
AU: It's a shame the Australian arm of Alienware is rather dead at the moment. A visit to the site gives no desktops (they're 'coming soon', yet the US site has the usual array available). Just workstations and notebooks. Seems the Dell takeover has only crippled local access to their stuff. We'll chase up with Dell and try to get some word on what's going on with Alienware.Product Page
Here's Porsche Design Mobile Group director Stephane Bret holding up his company's latest prototype, a clamshell cellphone that looks fast even while it's standing still. Not much information accompanied these pics, but as you can plainly see, this Porsche Design Mobile Phone P'9521 is a flip phone and has a squared-off design that might be attractive, but we'd have to hold one in our hands before we could really tell.
Take a look at the clamshell opened up, and see what you think.
Today at the VIA Technology Forum in Taipei, people get the first glimpse of VIA's ultra mobile PC reference design, the NanoBook. Though the term "reference design" might suggest "concept product," this design is actually being picked up. In Europe, Packard Bell will ship it, and VIA will announce its US partner later this month. The ultra-sweet selling points: 1.87-lb weight, up to 5 hours in battery life, and a projected price tag of $600.
Here's the HTC Touch shaking its little tush on the catwalk. Not iPhone-level yummyness, but yummy nonetheless. And it comes in green, if you are into that sort of thing or your addiction to capirinhas makes you want to buy everything that comes in lime. Product page [HTC]
Previously known as the Elf, the HTC Touch is the next generation in the Taiwanese company's line of Windows Mobile phones. The Touch takes Windows Mobile 6—which is already pretty usable—and integrates what everyone's fawning over the iPhone and the Prada for: finger touching.
AU: FYI, HTC gear gets released out here under different brands, like Dopod. We'll keep an eye on local fronts for when stuff like this is going to land.
Ooooh, zexy. This is Sony's new CD-Tuner-Alarm Clock, the ICD-F7000. It's got a double alarm, so that your gimp can get up before you and get your brekker ready for you. And there's a stereo input, so you can also plug your gimp into it and have it sing for its supper. Did I type gimp again? Sorry, I meant to say DAP. Available in black and white (see the gallery below), its blue neon fabulousness will cost you $79.
Product Page [OneCall via PC Watch through Google Translate]
In its first incarnation, Lala.com focused on helping people trade and buy CDs cheaply, all the while building a community of music listeners and a catalog of preferences. Today, newly revamped Lala is launching a free service that scans your digital tracks—everything you own from ripped CDs, iTunes downloads or any other means—and then lets you log into the website anywhere to access that music. You can even sideload tracks to your iPod when you're far away from home.
AU: Nothing in the site says anything about regional exclusions, so Aussie peeps should be able to dive in. Trading won't work, though, as shipping fees aren't going to cover it.
From the looks of it, you'd think the Latte Boom was one of Samsung's new MP3 players (especially with its built-in speakers), but this tiny, bar-shaped handheld is actually a cellphone. And not a good one at that.
The folks at infoSync put it through the test and found out that the $240 phone has little (if any) redeeming qualities. Looks-wise, it'll set itself apart from the rest of the pack, but for practical purposes, the phone fails all around. Call quality on it is bad, texting is difficult (due mainly to the small keypad and screen), and even as a boombox, sound isn't top notch. We'd spend our dough one one of these phones instead.
Latte Boom Music Phone [infoSync]
An AT&T employee who works on Operations tells us that the carrier ordered a last-minute beefing up of its EDGE throughput, latency and coverage in anticipation of the iPhone. The operation, internally referenced as "Fine Edge" will continue until... Read More »
No, it's not a USB Squid stick. Unlike that monstrosity, this USB Squid is useful for more than a three second chuckle. It's designed like the power squid, which means it takes one USB port and turns it into four for your convenience.
Since it's arranged in a tentacle-like fashion, the your USB devices won't be bumping against each other no matter how large they are.
Product Page [Think Geek via Coolest Gadgets]
Ha! The RIAA, the group that everyone loves to hate, is getting accused in court of both extortion and conspiracy.
AU: The magic of 'fair trade' means we are more and more under threat by RIAA nutters. So you gotta love seeing someone fight back. Let's just hope they've got the balls/funds to take it all the way.
Good news Europeans. Those reports last week with Ballmer stating that Microsoft had no plans to import the Zune to Europe were mistaken, thanks to a mistranslated German article.
AU: This has pretty general application to us Aussies too, I'd say. Not that I'm exactly shaking with anticipation on Zune, but new gadgets are always good for the general market.That picture on the left? That's Ballmer telling people to hold the fuck up and pay attention to what he really said:
Now you can smirk smugly as you tell your houseguests that you've got a "wall clock". See, it's a clock that only has a center piece for the mechanism and the hands, plus twelve dots you stick onto your wall.
Sure, it's kinda cool, but if you ever want to move the clock a foot over to the right it's a gigantic hassle and will take chunks off your wall.
Product Page [Amazon via Nerd Approved]
I've got one of the first N76 review unit here. The 2MP, clamshell phone running the smartphone symbian 60 OS, isn't that different from the N75, so here's a short list of what makes it different.
First of all, it's the hardware is much sturdier in this phone than any other Nokia I've seen in awhile. Credit goes to the steel chassis.
Wanna bring Wi-Fi to your entire neighborhood? Meraki's $99 outdoor repeater lets you share your Internet access up to 700 feet (when paired with Meraki's $49 Mini router). The repeater can be installed on a wall outside your window or on a pole and because it's solar-powered, it doesn't need to be connected to an outlet. After setting up the repeater, you have the option of charging users (they pay Meraki and Meraki pays you) or granting them free Net access (we'll vouch for the latter). The outdoor repeater will debut later this summer.
Press Release
Even with our extreme weekend Pokemon binges, the DS Lite usually doesn't have to be charged more than once every few days. Which means this DS Lite battery pack isn't for us. But for those of you who go on long car trips or plane rides, this could mean the difference between catching them all or being bored to tears.
Zune Insider just shouted to the world that the red Zune—seen much prettier here in their official ad shots—will be available via Target and Amazon starting June 10. If there's one thing we have to hand to Zune guys,... Read More »
Did you know 855,000 phones are flushed down the toilet every year in the UK?
Asus is hoping to steal the show at Computex tomorrow, releasing not one, but two new Internet stereos. The flagship AIR 3 will be able to stream music from the Internet while also docking your iPod and doubling as a pair of external speakers.
The stereo will sport a USB port for playing music off of flash drives (oddly, it won't play music from non-iPod MP3 players). Price-wise, it'll sell for $400, which is why we're leaning more toward the AIR 1, the AIR 3's younger sibling.
This fan fiction ad shows the iPhone sitting in for the Monolith in this 2001: Space Odyssey mashup. I don't need to see more fake iPhone ads, when the hype is already so high. But the attention to detail in this one is phenomenal. It dials Mission Control, shows the moon on Google Maps, scenes from Space Odyssey, and freaks the astronauts out when it starts playing music. New iPhone Ad [Youtube via Reader Cliff]
Is the gigantic price tag on the LG Prada not enough to convince users that it's a "high end luxury phone"? Then how about free insurance if the phone breaks, even if it's due to the owner's stupidity?
LG's 60,000 customer policy goes into effect immediately, and will give you up to 200,000 South Korean Won if you break your phone. The bad news: 200,000 Won is only $215. The phone is $700. Try not to break your phone.
LG Offers Free Insurance for Prada Phones [Chosun]
Considerate smokers (har, har) looking for an ashtray to deposit their refuse into can take a look at the ashcan. It's a personal ashtray that's shaped like a cigarette that lets you deposit your ashes inside while at the same time keeping the smoke from bothering others.
The only downside to this is that it costs $2.40 per ashcan, so you'll have to either clean them out afterwards or invest in a lot of ashcans.
Product Page [Ashcan via Geekologie]
HP's trying to make it a little easier to go green with the introduction of its new rp5700. The tree-hugging PC is 95% recyclable, and according to HP it uses 80% less energy than a standard desktop. So what kind of corners had to be cut? Not many. You can configure the rp5700 with a variety of Intel CPUs including a 2.13GHz Core 2 Duo CPU.
Those of you lured into buying an LG Chocolate by its good-looking exterior but shafted by its hard-to-use touch controls have a new option coming soon. The soon-to-arrive LG VX8550 looks to be an upgrade of the old Chocolate,... Read More »
Okay guys, we know how hard it is to lift the toilet seat and then lower it back after you're done. Here's a solution to this age-old dilemma: the Peacemaker Toilet Seat Lifter.
This is a very shaky rumor, but Computer and Video games claims they have some info about an upcoming hard-drive add-on for the Wii.
They claim that since Neo Geo's Wii Virtual Console games are up to 330MB, there's not a whole lot of space on the console's current storage system to hold it. Therefore, Nintendo is going to release a hard-drive add-on.
Seems reasonable to us, but until there's some solid info to back this up with, we're going to call this a big fat rumor.
Wii hard drive on the way? [Computer and Video Games via Kotaku]
If Panny's new Toughbook is too big for your taste, General Dynamics today unveiled the GoBook MR-1, a pint-sized UMPC built to take a beating. The unit is essentially a repackaged FlipStart with a brushed aluminum cover, built-in WWAN, and an Intel Core Solo CPU. All this inside a 2-pound frame. But the smaller they are, the more they cost. The MR-1 will sell for $4,450 when it debuts this September. Personally, I'd save the cash and splurge on a souped-up ultraportable.
General Dynamics Launches Rugged Laptop, Handheld [PC Mag]
If you're the environmentally concerned type, you'll get an eco-boner over this Melt sustainable umbrella design. The umbrella is made out of biodegradable agricultural film that will, "under the correct conditions, melt into the soil." We hope the correct conditions isn't getting wet.
The canopy is made out of waterproof garden film and the frame is made out of waxed cardboard or bamboo. All of this will probably come together to make the whole umbrella cost a pretty penny. If you're that worried about the environment, why not go Gilligan's Island and use a gigantic leaf as an umbrella?
"Melt", Sustainable Umbrella [Yanko Design via Crunchgear]
Man, you guys love to Photoshop David Pogue. I received over 100 entries to my challenge to make the NY Times tech guru cool, and it was a lot of fun going through them all. Mr. Pogue himself offered... Read More »
We're not sure what kind of lousy restaurant you'd have to go to for them not to supply you with a fork and knife, but if you're ever hunting and killing your own super-boar, this credit card cutlery set is the way to go.
It's a metallic credit card that houses a miniature fork and knife for you to punch out and use whenever you feel it's absolutely necessary. The point? There is no point, other than the fact that you always have a set of utensils handy.
Then again, this is to the fat guy as a flask full of Jim Beam is to the alcoholic—an essential survival tool. We'll take eight.
Product Page [Cooperhewittshop via make via boing boing]
HiPe PC has just released the Daisho 2.0 and the K-Tana 2.0 FX, two high performance PCs for gaming or just showing off.
The Daisho 2.0 is way more interesting. With two networked PCs inside and case that looks bigger than a VAX, the Daisho includes the Daito, "a Geforce 8800 SLI-Ready gaming PC with up to 4GB DDR2 memory and 4 Terabytes of hard drive space" and the Shoto, a dedicated integrated motorized LCD touchscreen.
The K-Tana 2.0 FX is more about overclocking...and photos with semi-nude female ronins.
Meet Jo, a sexy babe masquerading as a plumber at the Kohler website—but we think she's a sultry little temptress. "Flushing is fun," she coos. "Pick an item." I got your item, right here. We're in love.
Click on an object in the scene, and then she sashays over, picks it up and drops it in the toilet, ready for you to flush. We especially like the way she giggles and asks you to "stop tickling" her when you mouse over her cuteness.
The point of all this? Kohler Class Five technology needs very little water to flush down even the biggest pinched loaves. That fancy toilet still has a hard time with that rubber ducky, though.
Jo wants to meet your friends [Kohler, via Neatorama]
One of the main complaints about PS3's backward compatibility for PS2 games is the inability to use custom PS2 controllers like the DDR dance pads and the Guitar Hero guitars. For $14.99, Pelican gives you a cheap way to get your old controllers to work with your old games on your new system.
On the whole, standard PS2 controllers worked fine for us in games like Final Fantasy and Shadow of the Colossus, but for some reason one of our really old Dualshock controllers was super-sensitive when in the adapter. Using a new controller fixed the problems. The big "but" in this setup? No rumble.
The Speed Dial 800 may not have Mac OS X, a multi-touch screen and an uncanny ability to find seafood restaurants in San Francisco, but it can transform into some kind of robotic cockroach. Unfortunately, it's not a real cellphone but a toy. Bad for Hasbro and good for Apple, because in my book this is the only cell that could actually drive the iPhone out of the market before it is even introduced.
Fortunately it's age 5 and up, so I will be able to spend the $6.99 and pretend that people are actually calling me. Just like I was planning to do with the iPhone, but for a lot less money.
Product page [Hasbro]
Episode 90 of Coolness Roundup with Gizmodo's Charlie White and Sci Fi Tech's Stephen Schleicher takes you into weirdsville, with a grand tour of the world that is USB accessories. And hey, it's not all humping dogs—they even find some USB pluggables that are useful.
The Gurus of Cool also talk about the iTunes Plus rollout, debating whether it's even worth it to have your music in 256kbps, but praising the removal of DRM from the downloads. Plus, Stephen shows you how to create other-worldly HD time-lapse movies with a digital still camera and more on this week's Coolness Roundup, a free netcast download from the iTunes store or you can get it straight from the show's official website.
Program Site [Coolness Roundup]
The richest man in India is building a 60-story home for himself and the 600 people who serve him. Yeah, 600. It'll include 6 floors of parking space for his cars, 3 helipads, elevated gardens, and a health club. The square footage is greater than that of Versailles, and while the architecture looks pretty cool, it's excessive to the point of being really disgusting.
It's seeing things like this that make me admire Bill Gates and his foundation even more. Talk about contrast.
Mumbai Mirror [via Core77]
Here's a microphone described by Akustica as the first HD digital output mic, a tiny device destined to be designed into laptops and broadband mobile devices. The company says this AKU2103 mic is the first to "guarantee compliance with the TIA-920 audio performance requirement for wideband transmission in applications such as Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP)."
It's also immune to radio frequency (RF) and electromagnetic (EM) interference, letting laptop or cellphone designers locate it just about anywhere on the device, even if it's near a Wi-Fi antenna or LCD screen. But what exactly is meant by "HD audio wideband," anyway?
LG has been busy revamping its LCDs lately and the company's latest model, the 22-inch M228WA, appears to be the star player with am HDMI port and 1080p capability. In addition, the LCD can be easily paired with another display via its USB interface (there's also DVI). Add to that a speedy 2ms response time and 3,000:1 contrast ratio and you got yourself a mighty fine display (even though we wish it were slightly bigger in screen size).
LG M228WA: 22-inch LCD Monitor with HDMI [PC Launches]
Following the steps of Darth Tater, here's another useless but irresistible piece of colored plastic: the Optimash Prime. I don't know who comes up with those names at Hasbro, but only for that I will give them the $9.99 they ask for it.
Product page [Hasbro]
This M60M watch concept might get you flustered at first, because when you look in the middle, there's nothing there. It's not exactly the most precise watch in the world, with one rotating disk around its perimeter that shows you the approximate time, where each tick mark represents a quarter hour.
The best part of this concept is its band, a spring-loaded design with click stops to tighten it as much as you like, and then a single button push releases it. Created by Roger Kellenberger, it's a design concept so far, but don't be surprised if you see it joining some of those other oddball watch designs from TokyoFlash.
M60M Watch [Yanko Design]