Archive for November, 2009

Pocket Radar takes the gun out of the radar gun

Posted in Radar by Shane McGlaun on November 11th, 2009

pocketradar-sgI can think of a few uses for a radar gun around the house. For instance, I would like to see exactly how fast that teen girl flies up my street as she sends a text message. It would also be cool to see how fast the kids can ride their bikes down the hill out front. A new gadget called the Pocket Radar has been announced that will let you do these things and a lot more.

Pocket Radar can be used to get the speed of any object with accuracy to one mile per hour. The working range of the device is a full mile. The manufacturer says that NASCAR fans can even use the radar from the stands to see how fast their favorite driver is going.

OCZ and SandForce team for new SSDs

Posted in Storage by Shane McGlaun on November 11th, 2009

ocz-logoSSDs are slowly starting to replace the traditional HDD in computers and notebooks. The SSD is faster and uses less power to operate making for longer battery life on notebooks. The catch is that the typical SSD is still too expensive for most computer users. OCZ makes a line of lower cost SSDs and has announced that it has a new family of SSDs coming to market using SandForce SSD processors.

The new SSDs will debut in the coming weeks leading up to CES 2010 in January. The drives will be offered in enterprise and consumer versions using 3Gbps SATA or 6Gbps SAS interfaces. The drives will be built with both MLC and SLC NAND memory inside.

Bang & Olufsen unveils BeoVision 7 55-inch HDTV

Posted in Bang & Olufsen by Shane McGlaun on November 11th, 2009

beovision7-55-sgBang & Olufsen is a high-end purveyors of home entertainment products including home theater and audio gear. The company offers a line of products that are very expensive putting them in reach of only the wealthy for the most part. Today the company has unveiled its latest HDTV offering.

The TV is called the BeoVision 7 55-inch and will be offered in late November for $18,700 including the floor stand and center speaker. For that much loot, you get a 55-inch HDTV supporting full 1080p resolution with a 120Hz refresh rate. The TV has a speaker bar and a built-in Blu-ray player as well.

Withings WiFi body scale learns to Tweet

Posted in Scales by Shane McGlaun on November 11th, 2009

web-2-connected-bodyscale-perspI know there are many people out there that protect the information about how much they weigh better than they protect their ATM PIN number. That cool Withings scale that we talked about last month may be pushing your limits already with sending your weight to the Internet and your iPhone.

Withings announced a new update for the scale today that gives the thing the ability to Tweet your weight and your weight loss or gain goals to Twitter for the unwashed masses to read. The new update does this automatically and you don’t have to do anything to post to Twitter.

First Android Wireless Digital Photo Frame

Posted in Digital Photo Frames by Conner Flynn on November 11th, 2009

First Android Wireless Digital Photo FrameWant to spend a cool $650 on a feature-rich digital photo frame? Today is your lucky day. This one is the first digital photo frame to be powered by Google’s Android. It will do RSS feeds and weather updates, along with the usual displaying of loved ones.

This 10.4-inch digital photo frame even has a dedicated email address of it’s own, allowing you to send your pictures to it for display. It will also grab images from sites like Flickr and Picasa. You can deliver your pictures to the device via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB or SD card.

Project Natal shipping in November 2010: 14 Games, under $80?

Posted in Microsoft by Conner Flynn on November 11th, 2009

Project Natal shipping in November 2010: 14 Games, under $80?Looks like someone from a respected UK gaming publisher may have outed some Project Natal launch plans early, which come from closed-door Microsoft meetings in the UK . The information says that Microsoft will be manufacturing 5 million Natals for a worldwide launch in November 2010. Some are standalone, some in 360 bundles.

Natal will apparently cost anywhere from $50-$80 with 14 games included. The price is certainly in the ballpark and doesn’t surprise us. But it’s all just rumor and speculation until Microsoft says it officially.

Walmart offering $100 gift card with BlackBerry purchase next week

Posted in BlackBerry by Conner Flynn on November 11th, 2009

Walmart offering $100 gift card with BlackBerry purchase next weekSo you’ve put off that purchase of a Blackberry, right? You’ve been waiting for a deal. Well, don’t wait any longer than next week. That’s when Walmart shoppers will be given a $100 gift card if they purchase nearly any BlackBerry phone on a 2-year contract from AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile or Verizon Wireless.

The offer starts at 8AM local time this Saturday and is in effect through November 20th.

Fridge Locker locks up your food for life, shelf life

Posted in Home by Conner Flynn on November 10th, 2009

Fridge Locker locks up your food for life, shelf lifeOk this is clearly for you folks who have obese roommates that steal all of your food. Which you pay for. This thing ought to keep your food secure and out of Jabba’s grasp. Great for helping you or someone else stick to your diet too.

Sure it looks like food jail, but your food is being protected not punished. And it’s only $20 and fits inside your refrigerator, secured with a chrome metal lock which you can set to any combination you want.

Softbank unveils new Hello Kitty phone

Posted in Hello Kitty by Conner Flynn on November 10th, 2009

Softbank unveils new Hello Kitty phoneAnother day another Hello Kitty phone. This one is all lit up like the Kitty went to Vegas and had a good old time. Probably counted some cards, drank too much, got into a knife fight, had a three way with some dancers and narrowly escaped a mob hit.

The 942H KT is pretty much an average flip phone, but when opened the pink highlights and Hello Kitty logo show up. Some other features include: 1-Seg television viewing, 3D gaming, GPS, electronic wallet features, and 3G. Nothing on pricing, but when the kitty shows up, girls empty their wallets.

Intel Reader photographs text, then reads it to you

Posted in Intel by Conner Flynn on November 10th, 2009

Intel Reader photographs text, then reads it to youThe new Intel Reader released today, is a compact camera-computer that takes photos of text and converts them into MP3s that it reads aloud in a synthesized voice.

It uses an Atom processor, a 5-megapixel camera and Intel’s Linux-based Moblin OS, it converts text instantly when the picture is taken. Obviously it’s designed for the visually impaired, but can also assist those with severe Dyslexia.

T-Mobile offers up Nokia 3711 budget phone

Posted in Nokia by Conner Flynn on November 10th, 2009

T-Mobile offers up Nokia 3711 budget phoneT-Mobile has your back in this economy and hey, they didn’t get a bailout either. The company is offering a simple, yet fugly looking 3711 clamshell from Nokia. iPhones laugh at it. Long and hard. Then complain that they can’t breath.

As far as features, it sports a 2-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, FM radio, microSD card expansion and a QVGA display. Also GPS, which gives it some cred. If you get an Even More contract, you’ll be able to pick it up for $70. With the Even More Plus plan, it’ll cost you $160.

Netflix PS3 streaming now live

Posted in Netflix by Shane McGlaun on November 10th, 2009

netflix-ps3-disc-reservationWe talked earlier this month about the announcement that the PS3 would be getting Netflix streaming service. Today marks the official live date for the PS3 Netflix deal. If you were wondering how Netflix got around that deal with Microsoft, Blu-ray is the answer.

The Blu-ray disc that has to be in the PS3 at all times uses BD-Live to access the Netflix streaming catalog. As long as the disc is in the PS3, you can stream until your heart’s content. The service is free to all Netflix members, but you have to request one of the discs.

Yahoo to offer free Wi-Fi

Posted in Yahoo by Conner Flynn on November 10th, 2009

Yahoo to offer free Wi-FiGoogle recently made a gift of free WiFi to 47 airports across the US. Now Google’s nemesis Yahoo, also wants to be a part of the free Wi-Fi game, so they are offering it up in New York’s Times Square next year.

Yahoo says: “While Yahoo! is the place where your world meets the world online, over 500,000 of you take in Times Square each day and it’s become a central spot for New Yorkers and people around the world. We and our partners at the Times Square Alliance think it’s the perfect place to bring you free Wi-Fi service.”

Corsair offers new Flash Survivor GT flash drives

Posted in Corsair by Shane McGlaun on November 10th, 2009

corsairflashsurvivorgtFlash drives are growing in capacity almost as fast as hard drives are for our computers. Corsair makes all sorts of flash drives from high-end massive capacity units to cheap drives that hold small amounts of data.

Corsair announced a new pair of flash drives today called the Flash Survivor GT line. The new drives are ruggedized and are water resistant and shock resistant. Just like the normal Flash Survivor line, the flash drive is secured inside a sealed aluminum tube to protect it from damage.

Asus EeePC T91MT netbook turns up on video

Posted in ASUS by Shane McGlaun on November 10th, 2009

asus_eee_pc_t91The Asus Eee T91MT turned up a while back and its best feature is certainly the multi touch capability it offers. The machine is a netbook that uses a convertible tablet form factor and has a capacitive touch screen.

The netbook has an 8.9-inch screen and runs an Intel Atom Z520 CPU. It also has 1GB of RAM and stores data to a 32GB SSD. The machine runs Windows 7 Home Premium and is available for pre-order at a price of $549.