Gadgets 2008

Pocket-lint does a first look review of the Samsung Omnia and writes, “Promising full touchscreen functionality with a business rather than consumer focus, the Omnia sports a 3.2-inch screen, comes with HSDPA 7.2Mbps and Wi-Fi connectivity, a 5 megapixel camera, accelerometer and will come with two memory options 8 or 16GB…It might feature a large touchscreen, but an iPhone competitor this isn’t; nor is the i900 likely to stand up to any Android handset prototype we’ve seen to date down to the unimaginative user interface.”

Read more about the Samsung Omnia.

by Nilay Patel, posted Aug 13th 2008 at 7:41PM
Gadgets for the visually impaired are nothing new, but the Touch Sight camera is one of the most unique we’ve seen. Designed to be held against the forehead, the camera doesn’t have an LCD, but instead displays a three-dimensional representation of the image on a built-in Braille screen and records three seconds of audio to assist users in locating and managing shots. Just a concept for now, but let’s hope it makes it to market — it seems like it’d be a fun toy for the sighted as well.

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FROM GAMERTELL - Wright had a feeling that the religion creation mechanic in Spore might stir up some controversy from various religious groups but ironically enough, it was atheist groups that had a problem with it…
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Orange in the UK has followed the recent announcements from T-Mobile in Germany and Movistar in Chili and has become the latest to announce an availability date for the BlackBerry Bold, customers will have to wait just a few more days, with the Bold expected to be in stores on August 16.

Although we are still awaiting the official release details from Orange, it is looking like the Bold will be free as long as customers sign the required 18-month agreement. Not only is the release of the Bold good news for UK customers, but it has also been rumored that the £45 per month calling plan will also include unlimited data.

Via [Telegraph]

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Jabra has unveiled their latest Bluetooth headset, the BT530, which is expected to retail for $99.99 and be available beginning this September. The BT530 is a small and lightweight headset coming in at just 0.35-ounces, it also ships with eight size options for the ear gel to allow for a better fit and has an ear hook that is removable.

Aside from the small size and options for fit, the BT530 does also have some nice features, to begin with it offers up to 5.5 hours of talk time with up to 240 hours of standby time. In addition the headset marks Jabra’s first with it’s new Noise Blackout technology, which uses dual microphones in an effort to eliminate “the ‘tinny’ sound that many noise cancellation headsets are plagued with.” The BT530 headset is also able to be paired with multiple devices and has support for A2DP for stereo sound. When available, it will ship in the black with silver as pictured.

Via [electronista]

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Offering you great HD compatibility with your DVD player and other similar components, Bose Lifestyle V20 Home Theater System is the latest buzz in the electronic world. Experience realistic surround sound with the new Bose Lifestyle V20 Home Theater System is capable of automatically synchronizing the correct audio and video with a touch on the universal remote.

Features

• Automatic video upscaling
• Bose Link
• ADAPTiQ audio calibration system
• Acoustimass Module
• Automatic audio/ video synchronization

Bose Lifestyle V20 Home Theater System incorporates direct or reflecting cube speaker arrays and horizontal center-channel speaker array. It features an aspect ratio control to enable you adjust the TV picture according to your taste. This new home theater system provides you with a proprietary videostage 5 decoding and post-processing circuitry for an exceptional sound experience.

Price and Availability

Bose Lifestyle V20 Home Theater System is available at a price of $ 1,999.00.
Source: Bose

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Bowers and Wilkins, best known as the manufacturer of high quality speakers, has launched their subscription-based Music Club this summer.  The service allows subscribers to download high quality music, recorded in (former lead singer of Genesis) Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studio, in Bath, Great Britain.  Each month, a new album, from a selected artist, is released.  Some of the past featured artists include, Gwyneth Herbert, Little Axe, and Brett Anderson.  Subscriptions can be purchased in 6- or 12-month varieties, for $39.95 and $59.95, respectively.  After using the service for a few weeks, I have some mixed feelings.

The Good

• High quality music available for download in Apple Lossless or FLAC formats
• Songs have no DRM
• Inexpensive; albums for $5-7, depending on length of subscription
• Digital cover art and CD inserts included, in PDF and JPEG format
• Site is fairly simple and easy to navigate

The Bad

• Only one album a month
• Albums only available for a month, meaning no back catalog
• Almost no choice — either you like the month’s album, or lose money
• Subscription only — no a la carte purchasing
• No desktop application for organizing music
• Downloads managed by site’s own pop up window — no support for browser download manager

Conclusion

Honestly, I personally did not have too much fun with this service, because of the lack of music choice.  Other than that, it is honestly quite a bargain, for those interested in a subscription based service.  This month’s album, by Gwyneth Herbert, was not exactly my cup of tea, but was still quite a complete and decent album.  What really blew me away was the music quality, which is almost better than CDs I’ve ripped to Apple Lossless, let alone to the regular slew of 128/192kbps files.  In all, it is definitely a great value for those who love all types of music, especially high quality that is exclusive to the club.  I give it a 3 out of 5.

Check it out [Bowers & Wilkins Music Club]

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Kingston’s Elite Pro line of SD cards just grew a little larger, now topping out at 32GB of storage. The new 32GB card joins the already existing lineup, which included a 4, 8 and 16GB card, and will retail for $308.

Personally, its a little expensive for my taste, but with today’s camera and camcorders capable of higher and higher qualities, it sounds like an option to at least consider. The 32GB Elite Pro SDHC card will be able to capture and store around 6,000 still images at a 10-megapixel quality or eight hours of video at a 6Mbps HD Extended recording quality.

Read [Kingston]

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These days, it seems that MP3 players have to do more than just play audio files.  No, they have to be portable media players capable of playing video files, photo viewing, audio recording, as well as ebook readers.  Now, someone has decided to put another feature on the traditional MP3 player: scent. 

That’s right, someone has finally made an MP3 Player that smells.  Yes, this Strawberry Shortcake technology has been placed on the iCool MP3 Player, so that you can get a whiff of chocolate, rose, lemon, and even marijuana while you listen to your favorite tunes. 

Don’t ask me too much about the Mary Jane scent.  I’m guessing that it is an artificial odor, or a lot of people are going to be subject to search and seizure.  All of these scented MP3 players (including the pot-scented one) come with a replaceable embossed faceplate, and a 3D holographic lens. 

The MP3 players have very little memory, at only about 256MB, however they come with expansionary memory slot that is compatible with SD/MMC memory card reader.  They play multiple formats including MP3, WAV, and WMA. 

I believe that these are available on the Audiotronic website, but I don’t see a price.  In other words, I see a lot of evidence showing that these scented MP3 Players exist, but not enough info to purchase one.  I’m beginning to think that someone is bamboozling us, and the marijuana flavor is enough to convince me. 

Via [Gadget Miss]

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These days, it seems that MP3 players have to do more than just play audio files.  No, they have to be portable media players capable of playing video files, photo viewing, audio recording, as well as ebook readers.  Now, someone has decided to put another feature on the traditional MP3 player: scent. 

That’s right, someone has finally made an MP3 Player that smells.  Yes, this Strawberry Shortcake technology has been placed on the iCool MP3 Player, so that you can get a whiff of chocolate, rose, lemon, and even marijuana while you listen to your favorite tunes. 

Don’t ask me too much about the Mary Jane scent.  I’m guessing that it is an artificial odor, or a lot of people are going to be subject to search and seizure.  All of these scented MP3 players (including the pot-scented one) come with a replaceable embossed faceplate, and a 3D holographic lens. 

The MP3 players have very little memory, at only about 256MB, however they come with expansionary memory slot that is compatible with SD/MMC memory card reader.  They play multiple formats including MP3, WAV, and WMA. 

I believe that these are available on the Audiotronic website, but I don’t see a price.  In other words, I see a lot of evidence showing that these scented MP3 Players exist, but not enough info to purchase one.  I’m beginning to think that someone is bamboozling us, and the marijuana flavor is enough to convince me. 

Via [Gadget Miss]

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