Archive for June, 2009

Belkin announces new iPhone 3G S cases

Posted in Belkin by Shane McGlaun on June 16th, 2009

belkingripergoWith the iPhone 3G S coming there are a glut of cases coming to the market. If you are upgrading from the iPhone 3G, you really don’t need a new case, but who wants to put their shiny new phone into an old scratched up case?

Among the new cases that Belkin is offering are the Grip Cases and a line of BodyGuard cases. The BodyGuard cases aren’t available in North America for some unknown reason. The other cases are available now in America and Europe.

JBL and Roxy unveiled more headphones and earphones

Posted in Accessories by Shane McGlaun on June 16th, 2009

jbl_roxymusicstuff-sbThere are so many headphones and earphones on the market that you can find a set in just about any color or style that you want. Most of them work well and sound better than the stock headphones that ship with your iPod or iPhone.

JBL and Roxy have announced that they have teamed up for more earphones and headphones that will be sold through Roxy stores around the country. The line will include the Reference 230, Reference 250, and Reference 430.

Kingston announces 128GB flash drive

Posted in Kingston by Shane McGlaun on June 16th, 2009

kingstondt128gb-sbI remember when flash drives first started to come onto the market. The things at the time had capacities measured in low megabytes. Today the flash drive is a popular and widely adopted device with storage capacity rivaling many SSDs on the market.

Kingston has announced a new flash drive today called the DataTraveler 200, the first 128GB flash drive on the market. The drive features a capless design that uses a retractable USB connector to prevent damage and the user doesn’t have to worry about a lost cap.

Meade launches fully automatic telescope

Posted in Meade by Shane McGlaun on June 16th, 2009

meadeetx-ls-sbSummer is here and one of the things that many like to do in the summer time is look at the night sky. Astronomy has been a summer staple for decades and the best way to do it is with a telescope. Looking at the moon and other things in the night sky is cool.

Meade announced its new ETX-LS telescope is now shipping. The telescope is fully automated and uses LightSwitch technology to orient the telescope for viewing in the user’s specific location. The device also features a built-in speaker, video-out jack, and a multi-media Astronomer-inside that takes the user on a tour of the night sky.

ASUS Eee PC T91 shipping in US this week

Posted in ASUS by Conner Flynn on June 15th, 2009

ASUS Eee PC T91 shipping in US this weekThe ASUS Eee PC T91 has officially debuted on the company’s US website, and according to one dealer it’s set to hit stores this week. The 8.9-inch convertible touchscreen netbook is already available in the UK and features Intel’s Z520 1.33GHz Atom processor, 1GB of RAM and a 16GB SSD.

It also sports ASUS’ Super Hybrid Engine, which can be used to boost battery life to up to 5hrs, and optional HSDPA cellular connectivity. Standard wireless includes WiFi draft-n and Bluetooth. Other options are a TV tuner and GPS receiver.

If you download IE 8, Microsoft feeds someone for $0.14

Posted in Microsoft by Conner Flynn on June 15th, 2009

If you download IE 8, Microsoft feeds someone for $0.14While downloading Internet Explorer 8, users found the following message: “Only complete downloads of Windows Internet Explorer 8 through browserforthebetter.com from June 8, 2009 through August 8, 2009 qualify for the charitable donation to Feeding America. Microsoft is donating $1.15 per download to Feeding America up to a maximum of $1,000,000. Meals are used for illustrative purposes only. Meal conversion is effective until June 30th, 2010.”

When you do the math and split $1.15 among 8 users, it means $0.14 per meal. How is that feeding anyone?

Beer in a pouch: How Astronauts get drunk

Posted in News by Conner Flynn on June 15th, 2009

Beer in a pouch: How Astronauts get drunkPresumably. I’ve never actually seen an Astronaut drink beer in space. But if they did, it would be in a pouch. It seems like a strange idea, but supposedly it tastes a whole lot better. No aluminum can taste for one. The CarboPouch by the Beverage Pouch Group is designed for those fancy artisan beermakers.

The idea is that they would fill you up a six pack to go on-site. This way smaller brewers don’t need to buy any cumbersome beer-filling assembly line machines to sell their buzz-juice.

Supermarket uses power-generating parking lot

Posted in News by Conner Flynn on June 15th, 2009

Supermarket uses power-generating parking lotEngland is a very innovative country. They’ve created such things as Policemen in tall hats, Palace guards that don’t flinch, Time-traveling Police boxes and now they are powering their supermarkets with their own parking lot.

At least one supermarket in England is setting up a high-tech parking lot that will generate energy simply from cars driving back and forth on it. The energy created will power things like cash registers and lights inside the store. It may even “power your savings”… At least, that’s how I would pitch it to customers.

The system will work using a series of plates that, when driven over, will create a rocking motion underground which turns generators. As more cars drive over it, more energy is created. About 30kw of energy an hour. It’s a smart idea. Hopefully …

B-Touch: A phone for the blind

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on June 15th, 2009

B-Touch: A phone for the blindThis isn’t the first phone concept for the blind that we’ve seen, but it’s an interesting one. It’s from designer Zhenwei and it’s called the B-Touch. The idea is to help the blind communicate more effectively in a mobile friendly way with family and friends.

It features a touchscreen display for Braille, thanks to blind touchscreen technology and uses a combination of voice systems and programs to make it fully functional. It even sports other features, like a navigational system, an e-book reader and an object recognizer.

Buffalo 4-Port USB Hub/Power strip

Posted in USB by Conner Flynn on June 15th, 2009

Buffalo 4-Port USB Hub/Power stripAt first glance, this 4 port USB hub from Buffalo looks ordinary. But it isn’t. Notice how it resembles the powerstrips that you already use in your outlets. We find it cute in a geeky way. Yes, those are individual switches for each port that enables easy selection of which devices you want to use or not use.

It even features an LED light indication for when it’s dark. The hub itself will come in four colors, with an AC adapter and four USB cables that measure 1.5m in length.

Split Screen Fashion Watches

Posted in Watches by Conner Flynn on June 15th, 2009

Split Screen Fashion WatchesThe Split Screen Fashion Watch from 01 THE ONE will turn your boring old binary style watch into a completely different watch. A watch that is on the cutting edge of hotness, not to mention hipness. Those looking to bling out their wrist space this summer have three new colorful designs.

All three were specially constructed to be water resistant up to 99 feet. Don’t be a daredevil and go for that 100 depth. They will feature a binary timing system, along with month and date functions as well.

USB Solar Charging 4-Port Hub

Posted in USB by Conner Flynn on June 15th, 2009

USB Solar Charging 4-Port HubHere’s a unique 4-port USB hub with the ability to juice up almost any compatible USB device. It even comes with a whole bunch of USB connectors to handle virtually anything you throw at it. Having a solar powered USB hub is awesome because you won’t add a single cent to your power bill thanks to that solar panel in the middle.

On cloudy days you can always hook it up to your car’s cigarette lighter outlet as an alternative power source. Only $20 and it’s a useful device. It’s like the K3 generator, without a windmill.

Akai AISS010 All-in-one Home Theater System

Posted in Home Theater by Conner Flynn on June 15th, 2009

Akai AISS010 All-in-one Home Theater SystemThis Akai AISS010 All-in-oneHome theater system has it all. We’re not sure, but there may even be a place that spits out movie tickets, in case you miss the theater.

Some features include: Docks and charges iPod, Compatible with CD/ DVD/CD-R/CD-RW/MP3/WMA/VCD/JPEG/DIVX/MPEG4, AM/FM radio with digital readout, HDMI 1080P, Supports USB and card audio playing, Built-in DVD player, LCD clock display, Composite video, S-video, Y, Cb, Cr video output, Supports all iPods, Digital coaxial & optical audio output, VFD Multi-function display, Automatic age lock and screen protection function, Remote control unit, 2.1 + 1 track power output (double sub-woofer), 4″ x 4 + 5″ x2 bass speaker 40w + 20w*2 (RMS 10% THD).

Anti-Stab Knife prevents “accidental” kitchen stabbings

Posted in Kitchen by Conner Flynn on June 15th, 2009

Anti-Stab Knife prevents "accidental" kitchen stabbingsIt’s no wonder that we didn’t come up with the first anti-stab knife here in the states. We have more than enough guns to kill whomever we choose. But in the UK, gun laws are a little stricter. That means more stabbings using the common kitchen knife. But now the first anti-stab knife is ready for sale there.

The designer says that the knife will cut vegetables, but will supposedly make it almost impossible to stab someone to death and will also reduce the risk of accidental injuries.

T-Mobile myTouch 3G spotted

Posted in T-Mobile by Conner Flynn on June 15th, 2009

T-Mobile myTouch 3G spottedWhat’s this? A branded myTouch 3G? Yep. The first T-mobile branded MyTouch 3G shots in the wild. Can a launch be behind? Maybe. Who knows when.

According to the poster on Android Forums, this device was handed out by someone at Google, not T-Mobile. Not much else going on here though. It looks like a nice successor to the G1.