Gadgets 2008

At first glance, you wouldn’t think that HP’s new Elite Autofocus Webcam is actually a webcam. It looks more like desk lamp minus the fluorescent lighting. But yes, the product spec sheet does say that the odd-looking device is really a webcam, and a powerful one at that.

In fact, the HP Autofocus Webcam touts of a 12-megapixel still image capturing feature using software interpolation. It’s got a 3-megapixel sensor with autofocus and will let users get high-definition video quality which are sharp and focused.

The Elite Autofocus Webcam is compatible with AIM, Windows Live Messenger, Skype and Yahoo Messenger. Using an instant chat button, users just need to tap a button that will automatically fire up any of those IM clients, depending on user’s preference. Complementing this chat feature is the Elite Autofocus Webcam’s integrated stereo microphone and plug and play USB connection, making it easy for anyone to install the device on their machines.

Now, going back to the odd look of the Elite Autofocus Webcam, HP must have not designed the webcam that way if not to serve a purpose. It look like the webcam was designed that way to make the stable, secure and easy to attach on the monitor’s edge.

Adding value to the the Elite Autofocus Webcam are 4 resolutions of varying speed – 640×480 with 30fps, 800×600 with 20fps, 1280 x 920 with up to 8-9 fps and 1600 x 1200 with 5-6 fps.

Finally, the HP Elite Autofocus Webcam comes with software to help users manage their online chat. The included programs are ArcSoft Magic-i to capture, edit and share short videos and HP Photosmart Essential for editing and retouching purposes.

Via [Digital Home Thoughts]

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In keeping with today’s apparent theme of customizing, hp has just announced three customizable computers in their lineup.

The first is the m9200t, which is designed “for the ultimate entertainment experience”. This particular model features an HP Easy Backup button to back up all those files, plus many options including one terabyte (TB) of hard drive space and a Blu-ray DVD writer. There are also some extra storage options including two built-in drive bays for backing up photos, music, and videos. In other words, this model will live up to its tagline.

Another big-ticket item is the HP Pavilion a6400z, which has a very low configuration price as low as $299. The options for this is a 1.8 GHz AMD Dual-Core Processor, NVIDIA GeForce 6150 graphics cards, 1 GB worth of memory, a 250 GB hard drive, as well as some software tools for working with video clips and still photos.

There is also the HP Pavilion a6460t, which is an ENERGY STAR qualified device that features an 80 PLUS power supply which is not only cost-efficient, but energy-saving as well. The options on this model include an available Intel Core 2 Quad Processor, wireless LAN card, as well as a TV tuner for watching, recording, and pausing live TV.

All three of these models are available for you to custom at the HP Shopping site right now for varying prices.

Source

Motorola has been working on a 5 megapixel camera phone in collaboration with Kodak for what seems like years. Finally, the partnership might be about to bear fruit with the launch of the new Motorola Zine ZN5 camera phone at the CTIA Wireless conference in Las Vegas tomorrow.

The Zine will be the first phone released since Motorola split itself in two in an attempt to stop the company’s mobile phone division slipping even further into the red. This won’t make the Zine any good, though, as it still comes from a company whose last innovation was to paint the RAZR pink and sell it as a new phone!

More pics and derision after the jump.

Indeed, you get a sense of how bad the new Zine will be when you read that it looks like the ROKR E8 (see the above pic - it’s the phone on the left), which didn’t exactly set the world on fire, and despite having a 5 megapixel camera (which will therefore lead to some pretty huge files), will only come with EDGE connectivity. Yup, that’s right - not even 3G let alone HSDPA, just super-slow EDGE, which gives data transfer speeds not all that dissimilar to ye olde dial-up!

So, prepare for a lot of Motorola hype tomorrow when CTIA Vegas opens its doors, but expect to be sorely disappointed. Motorola’s mobile handset division is in deep trouble at the moment because it failed to compete in terms of style, features, marketing and any kind of understanding of what the consumer actually wants; don’t expect all that to change just because the company has spun off its mobile handset division.

[Source: UnwiredView]

The official specs for the LG Vu are in and it seems the recent speculation about two versions was correct. The Vu will be available as the CU920 with TV support and the CU915 without TV support. Both models will, of course, feature the large 3-inch WQVGA 262K color touchscreen.

Other features that are shared between both models is 3G support, a 2-megapixel camera and HTML web browser. The Vu has just 120MB of internal memory, but also has a microSD slot with support for up to 4GB of additional storage. The Vu measures in at 4.25 x 2.16 x 0.51-inches and weighs just 3.16-ounces. The included 1000mAh battery is stated to give up to 3-hours of talk time.

Although it has not been officially confirmed, an announcement is expected to come very shortly, perhaps during CTIA which runs April 1-3, 2008.

Via [IntoMobile]

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I’m the kind of guy that loves customizing his computer. No boring beige box and single monitor for me. I’ve got a nice window in the side of the case to show off my awesome hardware and liquid cooling system. The two wall-mounted LCDs help me stand out a bit too. However, one thing I haven’t really thought about is customizing my keyboard. Sure, I can program a few function keys to my liking, but nothing like this DX1 keyboard.

The DX1 is about as customizable as you can get. While it has only 25 keys, it’s not really meant for typing, but rather as a tool to aid you in whatever line of work (or play) you’re doing. Each key can be placed anywhere on the board, and moved on a whim. You’re welcome to assign shortcuts and macros to each key, however, you don’t need to worry about how it interacts with multiple programs as it will remember your preferences for each. This customizable keyboard will set you back more than most, at $139 it is a bit salty, but would be well worth it to some.

Source: UberReview

It is always fun to report on gadgets that aren’t really gadgets per se, such as this Diary Shower Curtain. There are no electronic parts here, but I would have to say that this item is downright useful.

I suppose that this product really speaks for itself. As you can see, someone has gone and invented a shower curtain that you can write on. I guess you can write on any shower curtain if you have a waterproof pen, but this one is specifically sectioned off with the 12 months of the year for that purpose.

The curtain also has the days, so you can mark off anyone with the obligatory waterproof pen. This is perfect for that contemplative time that you spend in the shower. After all, I generally remember at least three things that I have to do while I’m soaping myself. It would be good to write them down before I forget them.

The only problem is then I might forget to write them down later in my organizer. I suppose that I’d have to get my organizer and enter the appointments off the curtain once my shower was over. Of course, I’m assuming that I will be looking at my writing from the outside of the shower, which will be backwards since I wrote my notes standing on the inside. (I know that’s a little confusing, but think about it, really.)

So, maybe someone can make an electronically digital version of this, and make it so I can transfer the files into my notebook. Now that would come in handy. Until then, this will have to do.

You can get this item now at firebox.com (UK version) for about £12.95.

Source

If you were an early Windows Vista adopter, you might have had a rough time with Microsoft’s newest operating system last year. Crashes? System hangs? BSODs? Shockingly, Microsoft isn’t at fault for your less than perfect experience. Ars Technica has reported that a 158-page bundle of email correspondence (PDF) regarding the ongoing “Vista Capable” lawsuit has been made public. The data reveals that NVIDIA accounted for 28.8% of Windows Vista crashes last year. In total, 1,663,748 system crashes had been reported to Microsoft in 2007 and NVIDIA was the problem in 479,000 of those cases. In comparison, Microsoft was responsible for 19.9%, ATI took 9.3%, and Intel with 8.8%.

Microsoft was quick to release a statement:

“Microsoft takes exhaustive steps in testing hardware compatibility internally, as well as by working directly with our partners, to address compatibility long before customers experience an issue,” the software maker said. “However, testing can only be conducted under so many different circumstances, particularly with such an exceptionally complex code that graphic drivers have. Understanding this, Microsoft has set up a system to help quickly identify the problems, work to fix them and, if warranted, potentially push them through to customers via Windows Update. NVIDIA has taken similar steps, and since launching Windows Vista, Microsoft has seen great progress in addressing potential issues by NVIDIA.”

I find it quite in good faith for Microsoft to retain itself from blasting NVIDIA for possibly being the root of Vista’s public impression of being unstable. But who is really to blame here? NVIDIA or Microsoft? I place fault equally between the two companies: NVIDIA for releasing drivers that lacked proper testing and Microsoft for their failure to provide adequate support to its third party vendors. While the data is an eye opener, it is important to note a few points:

1. Companies are pretty much guaranteed to suffer issues whenever they launch a new product, particularly software. NVIDIA is no exception and their eager venture to make drivers for Microsoft’s newest operating system was impossible to be bug free early on.
2. Before the ATI fanboys rave in, NVIDIA owns a larger portion of the graphics card market than ATI. So, it shouldn’t come to a surprise that NVIDIA has caused the most problems.
3. The information released is a year old. NVIDIA, as well as the other vendors, have since made significant improvements to their drivers. In fact, NVIDIA has responded to the news by creating a website that allow users to easily report any driver issues they come across.

The information came into light after a federal judge gave the green light for a class action suit to continue against Microsoft, which was filed in April 2007. The lawsuit argued that the software giant misled consumers with its “Windows Vista Capable” promotion program. In 2006, the program placed “Vista Capable” stickers along with a “Premium Ready” phrase on various retail computers that gave the impression to consumers that the machines were capable of running Vista, including the top-of-the-line version of the OS. However, that proved not to be the case, as consumers began complaining that their Vista-capable machines could not run more than Vista Basic—a clear misuse of the company’s use of the “Premium Ready” notation. The early emails that were submitted as evidence revealed that Microsoft caved in to Intel by lowering Vista’s graphics requirements, making it easier for computers integrated with Intel’s weak graphics chip to get the Vista Capable sticker.

Read [Ars Technica]

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Legendary British nature documentary maker David Attenborough (you may be familiar with his work if you saw the groundbreaking and epic Planet Earth has developed an oddly effective new way to film his favourite subjects - reclusive wild animals - in their natural habitat.

For his new program, Tiger - Spy in the Jungle, currently showing on BBC1 in the UK (and no doubt in America and the rest of the world soon), he got exclusive footage of tiger cubs, and was able to follow them from newborns to adulthood thanks to an inventive new filming technique. Trunk cams.

Yes, somehow Attenborough and his team got elephants to film the action in India’s Pench National Park, using cameras made to camouflage with their trunks. (I swear this isn’t an April Fool).

You can read more about this revolution in nature documentary making here, but I still don’t understand how the elephants were persuaded to participate. I hope they at least got union rates.

I guess these have been around for quite a while now since the Spiderman 3 movie has long ended its run at the cinemas, but they’re still cool enough to warrant a mention here.

Two realistic Spiderman masks with an intercom duplex system that allows you to talk and listen to your partner at the same time. Features: flexible microphone arm and adjustable intercom mask strap. Requires 2-9V batteries (not included).

They won’t come cheap though, and since you’ll need at least a couple of these, the £34.99 price tag could be rather prohibitive.

Product Page via GeekAlerts

There is a new Suunto Core watch in town, and this one, like its predecessors, cater to folk who love the great outdoors, especially climbers, mountain bikers and other adventure sports enthusiasts. It allows you to track both your altitude and bearings while being smart enough to alert you of oncoming storms so you won’t be caught unawares. All this is made possible by Suunto’s own ‘ABC functionality’ mantra that includes an altimeter, barometer and compass. The compass itself is electronic, so there will be less chances of it malfunctioning compared to a standard model. The new Suunto Core watch comes in a choice of half a dozen colors and has different straps to choose from.

Press Release