Archive for October, 2008

Toshiba A605 ultraportable now available in the US

Posted in Toshiba by Shane McGlaun on October 22nd, 2008

Toshiba Portege A605Notebooks are still one of the most hoped for items on many holiday wish lists despite the poor economy. Many who hope to get a notebook as a gift want a small and portable system like the one Toshiba has introduced to the US.

The Toshiba Portege A605 Laptop is a 12.1-inch ultraportable that weighs 3.3 pounds and measures 1.18-inches thick. Battery life is promised to be 6.9 hours and the system carries a retail price of $1399.99. A nice feature on the machine is the Sleep-and-Charge USB port that makes charging your USB devices easier to do.

T-Mobile G1 is officially available to purchase

Posted in T-Mobile by Shane McGlaun on October 22nd, 2008

T-Mobile G1Unless you live under a rock in the ocean between Patrick and SpongeBob, you have heard something about the G1 smartphone. The G1 is the first Google Android device to hit the market and compete against the iPhone and the other smartphone players.

T-Mobile announced today that the G1 can now be purchased. According to T-Mobile, you can walk into any T-Mobile store and walk out with the G1 ready to go. the handset can also be purchased on the T-Mobile website. In some 3G T-Mobile areas the G1 can also be purchased at select third party retailers.

Walking House: The Gypsy caravan of the future

Posted in Robots by Conner Flynn on October 21st, 2008


Sure, when the oil shortage becomes oil-no-more, it would be nice to drive around in search of fuel like Mad Max, but what would be even better is to have your own movable home to wander the wasteland in. Something on legs that can roam anywhere. Something like this. But faster.

It’s made to be a “modular dwelling system that enables persons to live a peaceful nomadic life, moving slowly through the landscape or cityscape”. It’s even environmentally friendly according to its designers, thanks to its use of solar energy, small windmills and a wood stove. So it looks like nomads of the future, or gypsies if you will, will be wandering the landscape in this contraption. I look forward to this new breed of hippy and I’d like to be the first to tell them to get this beast the hell off of my property. Damn long-hairs. But I guess I’ll just have to wait.

New HP iPAQ DataMessenger & VoiceMessenger Phones

Posted in HP by Conner Flynn on October 21st, 2008

HP iPAQ DataMessenger & VoiceMessenger PhonesHP has two new smartphones in their iPAQ range: the iPAQ DataMessenger and VoiceMessenger. The first handset runs on Windows Mobile 6.1, has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, 2.8 inch display, Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity, Wi-Fi and HSDPA support, quad-band GSM, aGPS, a 3.1MP camera and microSD memory card slot. While the iPAQ VoiceMessenger has a smaller 2.4 inch display and a SureType keyboard. The VoiceMessenger and DataMessenger will cost you €399 and €499. Both will be released in November via Vodafone.

Save some clams with an interactive fish

Posted in Toys by Conner Flynn on October 21st, 2008

Save some clams with an interactive fishThe idea behind this gadget is that it’s never too early to teach kids the value of a dollar with a freaky fish banker. Every time your kid inserts a coin into the bank, a fish named Gill (haha) will reward your kid with an animation. Thing is, with Cartoon network available to your kid, I don’t think he’s gonna give a tuna what some gameboy-colored fish has to say.

Anyhow, the money they deposit is automatically counted and the total savings is displayed on screen. If that’s not enough, your kid will now be responsible for feeding old Gill and keeping his tank clean. Yeah right. It was nice knowing you Gill! This is gonna be either way too much fun or hardly any for $52. I call the latter.

MK V Shutter watch

Posted in Watches by Conner Flynn on October 21st, 2008

MK V Shutter watchHere’s a simple and yet interesting watch. This MK V watch from Storm London incorporates a working metal shutter that hides and reveals the face. They should have done this with a James Bond watch since it’s how the movies open. Pretty cool, though it might get old having to click a button to see what time it is, but then again when a pretty girl asks for the time, imagine the impression you’ll make. It’s available in black, slate or rose gold finish with a rubber strap and stainless steel case for $171 to $188.

Taxi Walker Pedometer shows you how much you save by walking

Posted in Exercise Gadgets by Conner Flynn on October 21st, 2008

Taxi Walker Pedometer shows you how much you save by walkingThe Taxi Walker Pedometer from Japan gives you the usual calorie and distance measurements of a standard pedometer, but what’s interesting is that it integrates a meter displaying how much money you are saving by walking rather then taking a taxi the same distance. A good gadget to have in this economic climate.

Apparently, it’s fully programmable, and will calculate cab fares depending on your geographic location. You can even set it to make sound effects whenever a cab fare increases. The device is available in yellow, orange, white, or black for $29.00. Yeah, but will it yell at you in a foreign accent and honk an imaginary horn?

The iBangle bracelet MP3 player

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on October 21st, 2008

The iBangle bracelet MP3 playerThe iPod pretty much owns the day in the world of MP3 players, but that doesn’t mean they can’t give it a drastic upgrade in the future. Designer Gopinath Prasana prefers a wearable player and so created the iBangle concept. Wearing it is better then carrying an extra gadget after all.

This MP3 player is in the form of a bracelet or bangle, hence the name. It features a multi-touch track pad so you can control your playlist. It’s pretty small, so you won’t be watching videos or movies, making this like the iPod shuffle. Since everyone has different wrist sizes, the iBangle adjusts by inflating a cushion so it will fit snugly.

H2O Audio iDive For deep sea tunes

Posted in iPod Accessories by Conner Flynn on October 21st, 2008

H2O Audio iDive For deep sea tunesWell, not that deep. H2O Audio is known for their waterproof products, and here’s their latest way to bring tunes underwater. The iDive “Deep Dive” Waterproof Housing and Over Ear Speakers lets you enjoy your iPod and continue viewing/listening to your favorite media files up to depths of 300 feet below sea level. The integrated amplifier is powered by 3 AA batteries. The H2O Audio iDive Waterproof Dive Housing and Over Ear Speakers will cost you $349.99.

ASUS Eee PC S101 available in the US November 1st for $699

Posted in ASUS by Conner Flynn on October 21st, 2008

ASUS Eee PC S101 available in the US November 1st for $699ASUS’s new Eee PC S101 will be landing in the States on November 1st. Landing with a thud thanks to it’s hefty $699 price tag, not due to it’s weight. You’ll get a new super-slim enclosure that’s just 0.75-inches thick, but the specs are pretty standard.

It sports an Atom N270 processor, 1GB of RAM, matte 10.2-inch 1024 x 600 LED-backlit display, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0, multi-card reader, multi-touch touchpad, VGA webcam, 5.4 hours of quoted battery life that you can believe when you see it and Windows XP. No Linux option in the States. It all weighs only 2.3 pounds. This expensive laptop comes in copper brown and graphite varieties. Are you impressed?

Custom-made Metal Gear Solid 4 PS3

Posted in PS3 by Conner Flynn on October 21st, 2008

Custom-made Metal Gear Solid 4 PS3Konami’s limited edition Metal Gear Solid 4 PS3 seems absolutely plain when compared to this custom-made system built by Morpheon Mods. It’s absolutely drool worthy and available for auction on eBay. Some of the features include a laser-cut, stainless steel MGS4 marquee, a laser-etched image of Solid Snake himself, a carbon fiber Fox Hound logo on the back, and 14 white micro LEDs to light it all up. That’s Hideo Kojima’s autograph as well.

It’s a fully backwards compatible 60GB PS3. You know it isn’t going to be cheap. Bidding is already up to $2,550.00 with six days left. You’ll also get some other Metal Gear goodies with it, and 15% of the proceeds will go toward the Child’s Play charity. That is one beauty of a PS3. Go bid.

Motorola Aura: A watch trapped in a phone’s body

Posted in Motorola by Conner Flynn on October 21st, 2008

Motorola Aura: A watch trapped in a phone’s bodyWhat is this new pretty thing? Surely that’s too nice to be a phone. It’s Motorola’s latest, the premium Aura handset, and it’s all about design. It was inspired by high end swiss watches. The phone’s switch blade design all by itself is driven by over 200 parts and 130 of them are ball bearings used to open the handset up to an estimated 100,000 times before failure. It doesn’t end there.

The display is the work of fine engineering too. Just 1.55-inches in diameter, it’s the “world’s first” circular cellphone screen and features 16 million colors and 300 dpi clarity. I guess it doesn’t hurt that it’s coated with 62-carat sapphire crystal too, in order to prevent scratching. The phone is quad band with GPRS and EDGE featuring 7.3 hours of talk time, 2GB, AGPS, stereo Bluetooth, microUSB port, and 2MP camera. It will be available starting December 4th for $2,000. Fine watch quality, fine watch price.

AT&T’s Samsung Epix now official

Posted in Samsung by Conner Flynn on October 21st, 2008

AT&T’s Samsung Epix now officialSamsung and AT&T have made it official. The i907 Epix looks nice and features Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, 3.6Mbps HSDPA, WiFi, Bluetooth, 2-megapixel cam, AGPS with AT&T Navigator, Video Share support, 320 x 320 2.5-inch touchscreen display, and an “optical mouse” for some reason. You can get it now for $99.99 on a two-year contract. One thing that you definitely notice about this one is the extra screen real estate that could have been…If not for the overly large area that displays the AT&T logo. Otherwise, it looks good.

Toshiba’s $4k Qosmio X305-Q708 gaming laptop

Posted in Toshiba by Conner Flynn on October 21st, 2008

Toshiba’s $4k Qosmio X305-Q708 gaming laptopToshiba is laying the smack down on Alienware, revamping its flame emblazoned Qosmio X305 by introducing the Qosmio X305-Q708, which features a Core 2 Extreme QX9300 CPU, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, a 128GB SSD, 320GB 7,200 RPM SATA drive, dual-layer DVD writer, twin NVIDIA 512MB GeForce 9800M GTS graphics cards, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR and Windows Vista Ultimate. It’s also got a full-sized keyboard with a ten-key number pad, four Harman Kardon speakers, HDMI / DisplayPort connectors, 1.3-megapixel webcam, Wireless USB / USB Sleep-and-Charge technologies and a 17-inch TruBrite LCD (Unknown resolution).

It should be available by the time you read this for around $4,199.99. But if I were you I’d pay extra to get rid of the whole fire motif. With those specs, it’s a damn shame Toshiba is so set on making you look like a flaming dork.

Solid Alliance offers goth 2GB skull rings

Posted in Apparel by Conner Flynn on October 21st, 2008

Solid Alliance offers goth 2GB skull ringsAre you Goth? Whether you take it so far as to sleep in a coffin or just paint your nails black, you’ll want to pick up some of these skull rings. Like the human skull usb drive, these rings will offer up 2 GB of storage. Great for Halloween or when you just want to punch somebody in the face and leave a lasting impression. Which you’ll want to do when you find out that one will set you back $145.