Minigizmo

I-O Data Mini Bluetooth Phone Keyboard

admin — Thu, 29 May 2008 08:45:00 +0000

Typing out long messages on my Samsung i600’s thumboard is hard enough - I can’t imagine going back to the traditional candy bar form factor or even the on-screen keyboards of iPhones and PDAs. If you suffer from Blackberry-thumb too, check out this bluetooth mini-keyboard from I-O Data. It looks like a mini version of an aluminium iMac keyboard, and is slightly larger than an iPhone, and connects to your phone via bluetooth.

Secret Dell Mini-Laptop, Goes Faster Too!

admin — Thu, 29 May 2008 01:15:00 +0000

Here’s the hush-hush scoop from Gizmodo on a mini-laptop from Dell:

I bumped into Michael Dell at All Things D after his interview, and he was nice enough to show me this laptop that he was carrying that he said no one’s seen before. It’s a small form factor notebook, just like the Asus Eee and the HP 2133.

No word on specs or pricing, but love the colour!

Earth Trek Handy Projector

admin — Tue, 27 May 2008 12:54:17 +0000

You can never go far wrong with having a projector handy, especially one that fits in your pocket. With the Earth Trek Handy Projector, presentations and home cinema are a cinch when you can bring them with you. The unit measures 105 x 58 x 25 mm and is equipped with a 2-hour lithium battery, SD/Transflash card slot and integrated speaker. All in a 160 gram package! No note regarding brightness though.

Fitness Gadget Tech Roundup

admin — Tue, 27 May 2008 12:15:59 +0000

My mobile phone already wakes me up every morning, tells me to get a haircut via a reminder - I wouldn’t be surprised if it nagged me at each mealtime if I didn’t eat enough greens. One step closer to this vision, gadgets are now trying to be an integral part of your workout and fitness regimen. Here are some of the latest:

1. Samsung Adidas F110 miCoach

This slider phone looks innocuously like a mobile phone, but with the Adidas logo prominently located under the display, you know something special is afoot. The miCoach F110 has a heart-rate monitor and stride sensor which connects wirelessly, and the phone software creates custom workouts and prompts you via audio instructions. Once you’ve finished your workout, you can sync the training data with the miCoach website which allows you to track your fitness goals. Finally, you can listen to your favourite tunes while toning up.

2. Garmin Forerunner 405 GPS watch

The GPS manufacturer has usability to a new level by incorporating a unit into a watch - the Garmin Forerunner 405 measures and records your speed, distance, elevation and even your heart rate, while looking like an everyday sports timepiece. With touch controls, wireless connectivity and fitness tracking software on the PC, the Forerunner 405 is certainly an impressive addition to the workout arsenal.

3. Vital Jacket - wearable heart / ECG monitor

The Vital Jacket, apart from looking like a prop from the movie Tron, continuously monitors electrocardiogram (ECG) and heart rate for use in high performance sports and fitness applications. It comes in two models - the HWM100 stores data in a SD card for post-analysis on a PC, while the HWM200 sends data to devices via bluetooth.

Finally, we leave you with some tips to track your fitness progress with some free tools, courtesy of LH. Enjoy!

Disposable Tech - Hop-On $10.00 USD Mobile Phone

admin — Tue, 27 May 2008 10:27:38 +0000

One of the things the convergence of technology, mass production and economies of scale leads to is disposable technology. We’ve seen it for a while now with cheap, disposable cameras and now, mobile phones are next. The Hop-On Hop 1800 is a USD $10.00 prepaid mobile phone with no screen, and is ideal for a cheap backup phone or for travellers.

The cute phone weighs less than 3 ounces and will be sold through retail outlets such as convenience stores. Greenies need not fear - the company offers a $5.00 rebate for returning the phone for recycling.

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ASUS Eee PC Review from a Photographer’s Perspective

admin — Mon, 26 May 2008 02:15:38 +0000

Shuttertalk takes a look at the ASUS Eee PC - the nifty Linux ultraportable that takes mobility to new heights - from a photographer’s perspective.

Every photographer dreams about having a portable computer on a shoot. We take a look at the ASUS Eee PC – an ultra-portable from the that boasts a 7 inch screen, compact form factor and reasonable battery life.

Inside a NewEgg Warehouse

admin — Mon, 26 May 2008 01:42:27 +0000

The major gadget e-tailer, Newegg.com’s goal is to be able to ship via UPS ground to its customers within 1 - 2 days, hence the creation of these warehouses across the US. The New Jersey warehouse is able to reach customers in NY within a day and most other places on the East Coast within two via UPS ground.

AnandTech takes us on an awesome tour of their New Jersey facility. If you’ve ever wondered how one of these high tech routing and shipping centres operate - here’s your chance!

New GPS Navigation Roundup

admin — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 02:23:18 +0000

Sick and tired of being lost, and don’t want the hassle of flicking through paper street directories? The latest GPS gadgets will definitely whet your interest then.

Altina A680

This Taiwanese model offers a wide 4-inch 480 x 272 screen, with impressive features such as a FM transmitter to hear voice directions over your car audio system, an AV input jack, MP3 player and MP4 movie player. If that’s not enough, there is also a 2MP camera and SD card slot for additional storage.

ASUS GPS-enabled P series Phone

Rumour has it that ASUS is working on a GPS-enabled smartphone based on the Windows Mobile 6 platform. Features include 520MHz PXA27x processor, 256MB of ROM, 128MB of RAM as well as WiFi, Bluetooth and FM transmitters.

Takara GP4

Priced affordably for the European market, the Takara GP4 offers a 3.6-inch screen for £125 or €180, and offers a pedestrian mode as well. The maps come on an SD card which is preloaded with maps of United Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, and Italy.

Lenart Studios Surf Radio

If you can’t bear to be lost while surfing, here’s a gadget with a twist - a GPS enabled surfboard, with a built in radio. It uses both to “give surfers updated information about their location, rip currents, and building swells”. It also functions as a walkie talkie between surfers; and in extreme situations, sends out a distress call in emergencies.

ASUS R600

The ASUS R600 boasts an auto light sensor to adjust the backlighting of the LCD panel according to the lighting situation. It offers a 4.3-inch 480 x 272 Pixels display, MP3 playback as well as video and photo viewing, and built in Bluetooth 2.0 handsfree integration with mobile phones. It also comes with 128mb built in memory with SD card expansion.

LG LN790

Another one to support 4.3″ touchscreen and Bluetooth pairing, the LG LN790 has all the North American maps preloaded, streaming live traffic data from 50 US cities. It allows playback of MP3s, videos and photos via the SD slot. Expect in in September at a list price of $699.

Sanyo NVM-4070 and NVM-4050

Two new models from Sanyo offer a 4-inch touchscreen, built-in Bluetooth, MP3/WMA/WAV support, and pre-loaded maps of the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico. They’re priced at $500 and $400 respectively, with the $100 premium for the benefit of a Traffic Message Channel support for real-time traffic data, as well as music streaming through the built-in FM transmitter. Nice!

With all these new gadgets for GPS navigation being offered, there’s now really no excuse for being lost when you’re out and about.

New MP3 Player Roundup

admin — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 03:56:51 +0000

Amidst rumours of new iPods Nanos and such, the competition is continuing to churn out new and cool looking music playing devices. I for one can’t complain - let’s take a closer look at some of them:

Sony Network Walkman NWD-B100

This USB-plug type MP3 player is coming to Europe in August (no US release date yet) and the best thing about is that Sony have finally gotten rid of their proprietary ATRAC format, in favour of more conventional MP3 and WMA. Now we can finally ditch the dismal Sonic Stage for transferring songs. The NWD-B100 comes in 1GB and 2GB models, and features a FM tuner, mic/voice recorder, up to 12 hours of battery life.

Microsoft Zune, Take 2

One million units later, the Zune still isn’t doing very well according to the critics. Hoping to address that concern, Microsoft will be releasing a new version in time for the holiday season. The details and features are a little sketchy (read entirely based on rumours and heresay), but one of the cool things planned is upgradable firmware for future-proofing the device in terms of new software features.

Cowon iAudio 7

Engadget has a roundup of reviews of this portable media player, which has supposedly “better audio quality” than the iPod. With 4GB and 8GB versions, and an interesting looking “swing touch” interface, and FLAC and OGG support, there’s a lot to like about this little fella.

Toshiba Gigabeat MET401

Not much here, but the latest Gigabeat portable music player from Toshiba has been filed with the FCC. One noteworthy feature is that it is equipped with Wi-fi, ala Zune, but hopefully not as lame.

Yamaha BODiBEAT

I’m still undecided whether to throw this one in the gimmicky or useful bucket yet, but this music player from Yamaha claims to be “the first music playback device that synchronizes your music to the movement of your workout”. Apparently it monitors your pulse and then selects a song that matches the pace of your exercise.

Finally, if all that hasn’t satisfied your appetite for the latest portable music players, here’s a roundup review article from Wired of the latest flash players. Enjoy!

Fashion Tech - Hot or Not?

admin — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 13:15:18 +0000

The more I think about it, the more our technology is straying into the realm of Star Trek. Thankfully we’re not all donning skin-tight spandex suits yet, but when we start wearing our technology, someone has to make the hard calls on what’s fashionable and sexy. Hot or not? Read on for our verdicts!

NEC Leather Belt Phone

This concept phone from NEC doubles as a leather belt, I’m hoping you can answer the phone without taking your belt off each time. Just try not to check your phone screen too often though, otherwise people might start thinking that you have an unhealthy obsession about your crotch.

Verdict: HOT in a not-so practical kinda way

Arriva/iPod Shuffle Wireless Headphones

The designers at Arriva probably thought they were onto something when they combined a neckband type headphone unit with a 2nd-gen iPod shuffle, thus making it “wireless”. Kudos for simplicity, not so for coolness. Hey buddy, is that a iPod Shuffle stuck to that back of your head?

Verdict: Definitely NOT, unless you’re intending to be the target for schoolyard bullies.

Lord of the GPS Rings

A British Royal College of Art designer dreamt this up, no doubt after a marathon session of watching A.I. and Men In Black I and II. This GPS navigation unit has two rings that you wear on both hands, and they vibrate to tell whether to turn left or right. No, E.T. you can keep your ugly alien tech, thank you very much.

Verdict: NOT in a million years!

THiX RE Dual LCD Watch

This one doesn’t do much other than tell the time and sit on your wrist and look pretty, but oh how very pretty it is. It has a dual backlit LCD that can be set to different time zones, functions (day/date), and has other cool features such as a stopwatch, multiple alarm settings, and being water-resistant up to 100 feet.

Verdict: H-O-T, with a capital-H!

Well there you have it folks, the latest from the world of wearable technology, complete with our recommendations on whether to match these with your Armani suits, or whether you’d be sitting ducks for the fashion police. Don’t say we didn’t warn you…