Monday, April 21, 2008
GPS
AVIC-F High-End Navigation Systems from Pioneer Rocks Voice Control
11:45PM Addy Dugdale | Talking to your gadgets is the first sign of madness, but people who insist on doing it should look at Pioneer’s AVIC-F systems. The three models, the AVIC-F700BT, AVIC-F900BT and the AVIC F90BT all have a type of voice control developed by Pioneer alongside VoiceBox Technologies, which filters out the “um” and “ah” in everyday conversations to decipher your commands.
Hardware
Western Digital Velociraptor Is New “Fastest Hard Drive Ever”
11:43PM Mark Wilson | Western Digital has announced the Velociraptor (US$300 retail), their latest and greatest in speedy storage. Connecting through 3GB/s SATA, the 300GB, 10,000RPM Velociraptor is actually a 2.5″ hard drive with a massive “Icepack” heatsink that makes it large enough to fit in a 3.5″ bay. Maximum PC already got their hands on a preproduction unit. So how fast was it? Real fast.
Gadgets
Casio Futurist Watch Would Get Goldfinger All Excited
11:20PM Gizmodo US Edition | The Futurist golden watch certainly seems to be going along with the retro design trend Casio’s been exploring recently. The LA-2002G wouldn’t look out of place on the wrist of any Bond villain of yesteryear, we think. Inside that matte gold case it’s not exactly brimming with features, but it does have a stopwatch, timer, 29 time-zone clock and up to five independent daily alarms. Originally only available in Japan, TokyoFlash is making it available here for US$149. Cackling and saying “At last we meet, Meester Bond!” as you strap it on is up to you. [TokyoFlash via Technabob] More »
Peripherals
The Original Messenger Bag Might Still Be the Best
10:58PM Mark Wilson | While we are adorned with the latest and greatest in trendy, designer messenger bags, J.Crew has recreated and rereleased the original. Modelled after the U.S. Postal Service’s standard bag from 1868 until the 1970s (before they ditched timeless style and durability for blue nylon), “the original” leather postal messenger features fine leather reminiscent of the favourite baseball glove we never had, along with a secure buckle strap to keep your valuables safe. At 15″ wide, we think it will fit many ‘a laptop. But for US$795, a less-historical-more-practical inner lining would be nice. [jcrew via gizmodude] More »
Computers
My Vigor Evo HD Will Beat Up Your iMac
10:31PM Mark Wilson | Next Computing’s Vigor Evo HD isn’t the most elegant all-in-on PC we’ve ever seen, featuring a 17″ LCD monitor sort of glued on to the side of its tower, but it’s not afraid to get its nails dirty, either. Because this handled beast protects its 2 processors, 4 PCI-X slots and 3 TB of storage in a floating chassis, which can take bumps and bruises in stride. There’s no doubt that the Vigor Evo HD is intended for the rigors of construction environments—a necessity for when you bring down the house with your uber pwnage. [nextcomputing via hothardware] More »
Gadgets
Kindle Finally Back in Stock on Amazon
10:22PM Addy Dugdale | At last! Amazon is finally restocked with Kindles, after Jeff Bezos’ front-page confession that he was fresh outta e-Books. US$399, folks. [i4U] More »
Computers
Ten-Inch Version of Eee PC to Come, Says Asustek CEO
9:45PM Addy Dugdale | The Eee PC will be available in a ten-inch version, says Asustek CEO. Speaking at the launch of the Eee PC 900 in Taiwan, Jerry Shen said that customers were clamouring for bigger keyboards for the lightweight laptop. “The feedback we’ve received from users has been great,” claimed the CEO at a press conference. “Many have asked us for bigger screens and better usability. That’s what made us start developing the Eee PC 900.” Although he declined to name a release date or a potential price for the ten-incher, the larger size will probably bring the price up quite considerably. [PC World] More »
Gadgets
VitalJacket: Heart Monitor And T-Shirt in One
9:38PM Gizmodo US Edition | Some of the same kind of health telemetry that the French army may be using could be yours in the new VitalJacket product. It’s a smart T-shirt with a built-in electrocardiogram monitor, designed for both medical diagnostics and sports fitness uses. It’s supposed to be less awkward than conventional devices, as well as more comfortable. The HWM200 version sends data on the wearer’s heart over a Bluetooth link to a phone or PDA, allowing real-time monitoring. The 100 version stores it on an SD card for later analysis on a PC and allows the wearer to define heart rate limits which trigger a vibration alarm in the shirt. Both editions are available for pre-order for around US$635. [Vitaljacket via Talk2myshirt] More »
Gadgets
Auto Healther Does Complete Body Massage, Robotically
6:01PM Gizmodo US Edition | Remember the massage pants? Well, automated massage seems to have taken a step further on from those with the Dainichi Auto Healther Reiz DZ-270: it’s a robo-table that can massage you from your head to to toe. You just select your program from the touchscreen, lie back, pull the hood over, switch on some music on the built-in audio system and let its robot kneaders wiggle around under the bed surface. It’s even clever enough to adjust its speed and pressure to suit which bit of you its dealing with, and has heating too. If you prefer your relaxation delivered with robotic precision rather than the fingers of a trained person, then you’ll have to fork out around US$13,500 for this. [Akihabaranews] More »
Phones
1:59PM Nick Broughall | Forget about Hydrogen cars – they’re too big. You need to start small when it comes to saving the planet. That’s why Samsung’s creation of a mobile phone battery that’s powered by good old H20 is so exciting.
The battery, which Samsung reckons will be in phones by 2010, converts the water to Hydrogen gas and Oxygen (who else is remembering their year 9 chemistry) when the mobile is switched on by reacting with metal inside the fuel cell.
According to Oh Yong-soo, vice president of Samsung Electro-Mechanics’ research centre, this is how it works:
“When the handset is turned on, metal and water in the phone react to
produce hydrogen gas. The gas is then supplied to the
fuel cell where it reacts with oxygen in the air to generate power.”
Hit the jump for a diagram half in Korean illustrating the process.
More »
Samsung Creates Water-Powered Mobile Battery
1:59PM Nick Broughall | Forget about Hydrogen cars – they’re too big. You need to start small when it comes to saving the planet. That’s why Samsung’s creation of a mobile phone battery that’s powered by good old H20 is so exciting.
The battery, which Samsung reckons will be in phones by 2010, converts the water to Hydrogen gas and Oxygen (who else is remembering their year 9 chemistry) when the mobile is switched on by reacting with metal inside the fuel cell.
According to Oh Yong-soo, vice president of Samsung Electro-Mechanics’ research centre, this is how it works:
“When the handset is turned on, metal and water in the phone react to
produce hydrogen gas. The gas is then supplied to the
fuel cell where it reacts with oxygen in the air to generate power.”
Hit the jump for a diagram half in Korean illustrating the process.
More » 