Archive for May, 2010

Samsung MP3 player gets 60 hours on a single charge

Posted in Portable Meda Players by Conner Flynn on May 10th, 2010

It used to be a fairy tale dream for your digital audio player to give you more than two full days without needing a charge. These days we are living the dream, but it’s still not that often we see a DAP with 60 hours of battery life.

Especially one that features a 3-inch, QVGA TFT LCD that plays ten hours of DivX, Xvid, WMV and H.264 video to boot, like Samsung’s YP-RB. Looks like the player comes in 4, 8 and 16GB varieties. Here’s hoping we see this one hit stateside soon.

Dell unveils compact WM311 wireless mouse

Posted in Dell by Conner Flynn on May 10th, 2010

If you’re looking for something new in a mouse, check out Dell’s new WM311 wireless mouse. It’s compact and not bad looking, plus it’s nice and cheap at just $30.

This handy travel-friendly mouse delivers 1000 dpi optical tracking, a nano USB receiver with “concealed, fold-up storage,” and comes in black, red, white or blue. As far as cheap mouse products go, you could do much worse.

Robot Matryoshkas

Posted in Robots by Conner Flynn on May 10th, 2010

Robots don’t always have to be scary. Sometimes they can be cute and geeky, like these awesome robot Nesting Dolls (Matryoshkas). It’s a new take on the classic old Russian Toy.

These nesting dolls have been designed to look like cool retro robots. And when you have robots within robots, does anything get any funner? Maybe I’m just a nerd, but I like these and at just $14.99, I have money left over to buy other robots too.

Nintendo Home Theater PC casemod

Posted in DIY by Conner Flynn on May 10th, 2010

What would a HTPC have looked like circa 1985 if Nintendo had made one? You’re looking at it. If you have a spare NES system at home, why not make one yourself? That’s what this person on Etsy has done. This mod uses a Zotac motherboard, dual-core 1.66GHz Intel Atom N330, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M and 2GB RAM stuffed into the original NES casing.

That’s a whole lot more powerful than the original NES system. There’s also an Ethernet port, Wi-Fi b/g/n and a 4GB flash drive with Ubuntu 9.10 installed.

Sony Vaio P second generation photos surface

Posted in Sony by Shane McGlaun on May 10th, 2010

Sony has many different machines that it offers for netbooks to notebooks. The one universal feature that they all tend to share is a large price tag. Some information on a new second generation Vaio P has surfaced.

The new Vaio P machines have a strange form factor similar to the original P2 with a narrow and wide style in bright colors. The rigs run Intel Z530, Z550, or Z560 processors and offer SSDs for storage. Those SSDs can be had in 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB capacities.

Turn your iPhone into a laser, fan or flashlight

Posted in iPhone by Conner Flynn on May 10th, 2010

Your iPhone just became even more versatile. Now you can turn it into a fan, a flashlight, even a laser, thanks to German company HMB TEC, who has created peripherals that plug into the headphone jack, controlled by special apps.

The fan costs 19.90 € with no app needed to control it. The laser costs 20 € with $5.99 for the app. Some other accessories HMB TEC has come up with include a flashlight, thermometer, heart monitor, infrared remote, microphone and stethoscope. Now there really is an app for everything and your iPhone can do it all.

Sonos adds stereo pair mode to ZonePlayer S5 speakers

Posted in Sonos by Shane McGlaun on May 10th, 2010

The Sonos ZonePlayer S5 speakers have been on the market since late last year and are among the less expensive of the Sonos multi room music offerings. Sonos has announced a new software update is coming this month that will add an interesting new feature to the S5.

The S5 will get the ability to be used as a pair of stereo speakers. That means that users with a single S5 in multiple rooms can bring the speakers together for superior music quality when needed. The software allows the speakers to be synced for no latency issues.

MacBook Air update rumor surfaces

Posted in Apple by Shane McGlaun on May 10th, 2010

A month or so back Apple finally updated its line of MacBook Pro notebooks with new processors from Intel. The MacBook Air is still chugging along with the processors that it has had for a long time. That may change this week according to a rumor.

MacWorld Australia reports that the MacBook Air is getting an update this week. The rumor comes by way of a tipster that was right on with a tip that the MacBook Pro line was being updated.

Jailbroken iPad hack supports Magic Mouse

Posted in Apple by Shane McGlaun on May 10th, 2010

I really like my iPad and most of the time I like the fact that it has performance like a netbook but the input features of my iPhone. However, a few times I have wished that I could use a big keyboard and mouse with the thing.

A new hack for jailbroken iPads has surfaced that allows the user to use the Apple Magic Mouse with the iPad via Bluetooth. The only real downside is that the iPad has to be jailbroken and many folks don’t want to do that.

Kobo eReader available for pre-order, ships June 17th

Posted in ebooks by Conner Flynn on May 10th, 2010

If you don’t need the power of an iPad, Kindle or Nook, than how about the Kobo eReader for $150?

It’s now available for purchase at Borders, and shipping on June 17th. It’s a no frills 6-inch E Ink slate that gets the basics right, even if it does lack 3G and has a distraction large blue button. Go on and make a purchase for Father’s day. Dad shouldn’t mind this one too much. It’s better than a tie.

Barbie X170 Core 2 Duo Notebook

Posted in Samsung by Conner Flynn on May 10th, 2010

Samsung has released a Barbie Special Edition of its X170 Notebook in Korea. I guess Ken just has to share hers. The very slim and powerful Core 2 Duo with its 4GB of RAM and 500GB HDD will be available in Black or Pink.

And it also comes with a huge amount of Barbie stuff ranging from logos, screen saver, desktops icons, an eating disorder for your teen and likely a subscription to some fashion mags.

Nintendo 3DS handheld to have switchable 2D mode

Posted in Nintendo 3DS by Conner Flynn on May 10th, 2010

Nintendo DSi 3DS announcementGood news for fans of “backward compatibility”. Nintendo’s new 3DS handheld won’t force you to play in 3D. 3D gameplay can be switched off. The confirmation comes directly from Nintendo president Satoru Iwata. So if you experience headaches or nausea, no worries. Just switch it off.

It’s good to have the option. We suspected as much, but now we know for sure. How many times can you see Bowser jump out of the screen anyway? 2D is True-D that’s what I say. Bah-humbug.

Keyhole for drunk people

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on May 9th, 2010

Much like the handicapped, drunk people need special help. Bars on a restroom stall, so they won’t fall in, etc. Unlike handicapped people, their impairment will pass after a night full of puking, stumbling and people laughing at them.

One thing we can do to help these common-sense impaired numbskulls is to make it easier for them to get into their home and away from the rest of us. That’s where this keyhole comes in handy. It would be hard for anyone to miss the keyhole with a device like this on your door.

The Smartphone Guitar

Posted in DIY by Conner Flynn on May 9th, 2010


This guy created a music app and installed it on multiple Android and WinMo phones, and even an iPod Touch. Then taped them together to make a bizarre looking guitar, on which he can play Cracklin’ Rose.

It wasn’t easy. He ended up writing it three times: in java for android, in C# for windows mobile and in Objective-C for iPhone. To play them all at once, he just taped them on a piece of wood together with a battery powered speaker, then added lots of audio cables.

Homemade 16TB NAS drive

Posted in Storage by Conner Flynn on May 9th, 2010

Check out this awesome Homemade 16TB NAS. In fact, this one looks much better than some of the current NAS drives available on the market. This homemade NAS drive features 16TB of RAID 5 storage and a 1.66GHz Intel Atom processor, in a hand built steel and aluminum enclosure.

If you are itching to try your hand at something like this, then head on over to Will U. Design for full details on how this awesome 16TB NAS Drive was made. It’s a thing of beauty.