Gadgets 2008

Duracell has just introduced two new portable and pocket sized power sources. The My Pocket Charger, which is available in two models and the PowerSource Mini.

The My Pocket Charger offers a model with a connector for your MP3 player and a second model with a BlackBerry connector. The PowerSource Mini, which is a little more universal features a miniUSB connector on a pivot arm along with a second USB port, which would allow you to charge two devices at the same time.

Both models are “small and versatile” and designed to offer a convenient way to “reduce the number of extra cords, chargers and device-specific batteries required for mobile devices.”

The My Pocket Charger comes with two Duracell CopperTop AA batteries and the PowerSource Mini features a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, which can be charged just about anywhere to include a cars DC power socket, a standard wall AC power adapter or even a computers USB connection.

Both items are listed at Tiger Direct, however the My Pocket Charger is currently listed as not available, the PowerSource Mini is available and retailing for $49.99.

For $50 bucks the PowerSource Mini seems like a pretty good option, it will work with just about any device that has a USB or miniUSB connector and can be recharged just about anywhere.

Product [PowerSource Mini] Product [My Pocket Charger] Read [PR Newswire]

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George Lucas and co. has confirmed that they plan to 3-Dize the 6 Star Wars movies. Nuff said. Apparently costs between $50k and $100k per minute to convert. Dang.

Fans are divided - some say spend the money on new projects. Others say bring it on. I say, hell yeah, I’ll go see at least 4 of those movies again in 3-D. Actually, I may not have liked the 1st 2 prequels much, but the CGI scenes were pretty stunning.

Posted in Miscellaneous

by Darren Murph, posted Aug 2nd 2008 at 4:22PM
Surely you feel like buying an all new TuneCast Auto just months after picking up the original, right? Trust us, we can hear the groans from here. For the scads of iPhone 3G owners who are downright perturbed by the inability to charge the thing with some older accessories, you’ll be none too pleased when handing over $79.99 for this. But unless you flex your DIY muscle and come up with some other solution (please share, will you?), buying an iPhone 3G-friendly alternative looks to be the only solution. This FM transmitter boasts ClearScan technology in order to hunt down and lock into the best FM frequency (good luck with that), but as we’ve already pointed out, the biggest boon is the iPhone 3G charging ability. Hey Apple, Belkin says “thanks.” Whatever that means.

[Via I4U News]

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Filed under: Peripherals, Portable Audio

by Darren Murph, posted Aug 2nd 2008 at 2:52PM
We can’t fully express the awesomeness of RoboStool with mere words, but we’ll try. A product of Norris Labs, this robotic foot stool can be navigated in a trio of ways: by using a remote control, by actually tapping into a satnav or by utilizing a thermal sensing system to make it follow its master around. We don’t suppose you need more than one guess to pick which of the three is our favorite, and there’s a nice demonstration video of said choice waiting after the jump. IKEA, you on this or what?

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Filed under: Robots

by Darren Murph, posted Aug 2nd 2008 at 3:20PMDon’t rule out the possibility that this is a complete and utterly disgusting fib, but a recent writeup in The China Post about HTC’s financial situation very clearly states when the hotly-anticipated Touch Diamond is coming to Sprint: this month. If you’re looking for the play-by-play, the article proclaims that the “company released its Diamond phone in Asia in June and will begin selling the handset through Sprint Nextel Corp. in August.” Look, we’ve seen a CDMA version of this thing donning Sprint garb, we’ve watched it fall into the capable hands of the FCC and we know it has to arrive sometime. If all of this doesn’t add up to Sprint getting the Touch Diamond in August, well, we’ll let you do the math.

[Thanks, Sumit]

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Filed under: Cellphones

Aside from the recently announced and fashionably stylish EX310 laptop, MSI has also unveiled the ultra-lightweight PR201 laptop PC. And when we say lightweight, we mean 3.97-pounds including battery with its clean and sleek-looking magnesium alloy casing. But of course, aside from beauty, this portable powerhouse also carries with it several features and specs to compete with the rest of the current Core 2 Duo-powered laptops available in the market today.

The MSI PR201 boasts of features such as a fingerprint reader for data security, HDMI capability for high-quality video output, Al Array Microphone and a built-in 2.0 megapixel webcam. For its technical specifications, the PR201 would give us a powerful machine with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, Intel GM 45+ICH9-M chipset, a 12.1-inch TFT WXGA display, up to 4GB RAM, up to 320GB of hard drive space, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth, a DVD super-multi drive and several standard I/O ports to include a memory card reader, mic-in/headphones, USB 2.0, RJ11/RJ45 and Dsub.

Similar to the EX310, pricing and international release details about the PR201 are yet to be announced. But with its specs and features, the MSI PR201 laptop is a piece of hardware that we all should look out for in the coming months.

Read [MSI News]

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by Joshua Fruhlinger, posted Aug 2nd 2008 at 1:29PM
If you’ve been waiting for Gateway’s P-7811 FX gaming laptop, the wait is almost over: it will begin shipping August 14, that is, if an open-lipped Best Buy is to be believed. As for specifications, you’re looking at an Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 (2.26GHz, 3MB L2 cache with 1066MHz FSB), PM45 Express chipset, 15-inch WUXGA display at 1920 x 1200, Nvidia GeForce 9800M-GTS with 512MB GDDR3, 200GB 7200RPM spinner, 8x DVD burner, HDMI 1.2, eSATA, a 5-in-1 media card reader, 1.3MP camera, and a 9-cell Li-ion battery. The $1,499 machine weighs in at 9.2-lbs and will be ready for your Crysis, Spore, etc. in a couple weeks.

[Via NotebookReview]

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Filed under: Laptops

by Darren Murph, posted Aug 2nd 2008 at 10:28AM
We already had a glance at NVIDIA’s newest low-ender, the GeForce 9500 GT, but the outfit clearly wasn’t done. In case the previously mentioned card was just a tad too weak for your needs, you can also check out the GeForce 9800 GT and / or 9800 GTX+, which feature 112 / 128 stream processors and support for HybridPower and PhysX. Both cards can be found just about everywhere right now for $149.99 and $199.99, respectively, with 512MB of RAM on board.

[Via Hardware Revolution]

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Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

Are you looking for an affordable gift that doesn’t look too cheap and yet manages to keep the recipient happy? I suppose the Busbi Digital Video Camera would fit the bill perfectly.

Slimmer than a dieting supermodel, the battery-operated Busbi has just 4 buttons: On/Off, Delete, Playback and Record. Even your nan could use it (once you’ve told her it’s a camera, not a newfangled remote for her heated rollers). A 2″ LCD screen means you can inspect your film masterpieces immediately and the nifty playback mode allows you to view/delete the last video captured. If you want to watch all the videos captured, simply USB the Busbi into your computer. You can even hook it up to the telly using the included AV cable. The head-scratchingly inexpensive Busbi comes with a 1GB SD card, giving around 60 minutes recording time, but for truly epic nights out you can upgrade to a 2GB card. Quite what you’re going to capture over the course of 2 hours is enough to boggle the mind. But don’t waste time rubbing your hands together in gleeful anticipation, get ordering and start Busbi-ing away for real. And…cut!

After all, what can £34.95 really get you these days? Guys won’t want to add yet another handbag to their ladies’ already formidable collection, making the Busbi Digital Video Camera the logical choice.

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Recently, Sharkoon has launched its new eye-catching enclosure for the 2.5” hard drives. Earlier the Sharkoon Rapid-Case was available only for 3.5” hard drives, but now the case is also available to people having 2.5” hard drives. Easy to install, Sharkoon Rapid-Case 2.5″ is available for both IDE and SATA hard drives.

Features

• Sturdy Aluminum Case
• Supports USB 2.0.
• Access your data on any PC.
• Data transfer rate: max. 480 Mbit/s.

Operating systems supported by Sharkoon Rapid-Case 2.5″ are none other than Windows ME/2000/XP. You can use these HDDs in horizontal as well as in vertical position. Simply plug and play using Sharkoon Rapid-Case 2.5”. Sharkoon Rapid-Case 2.5″ is at present available in red, blue and black colors.

Price and Availability

Sharkoon Rapid-Case 2.5″ is available at a price of 13 Euros. The box content comprises of Rapid-Case 2.5”, USB Y cable splitter, Manual, Set with mounting screws, Screwdriver and Transport bar.
Source:Sharkoon

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