Here’s a great design if you dare to be different. The Vintage iPod Tube Amp/Charger has the cool somewhat steampunk/Sci-Fi look of a mad scientists lair. According to the manufacturer, you ca enjoy your playlists with the “warmth and richness only a vintage tube amplifier can provide”. I don’t know about that, but I love the design.

Many musicians believe that the harmonic richness and the pure tone of tube-based circuitry can’t be beat. That’s their thinking with this device. Just plug your iPod into the Vintage Amplifier/Charger, sit back with the included remote, and browse through your playlists. They claim that audio details that have been lost in MP3 files through compression, dramatically re-emerge through the 25 watts RMS per channel, all-tube pre-amp system. It will cost you a hefty $800 to find out if they are right. No doubt some of us don’t mind missing out on the differences we can’t hear anyway, at that price.

This credit card sized digital voice recorder is not only anorexic, but white as a hospital. A splash of color wouldn’t have killed them, would it? Anyway, despite it’s ultra white sanitary look, it’s pretty easy on the eyes. In fact, it reminds me of why I love Nurses, all dressed in white, nice curves…

It measures just 6.5 millimeters thick and has 1GB of built-in storage, a handy flip-out USB connector, and flush-mounted controls. But it’s not just a Voice Recorder, it can also be used as an MP3 player and USB flash drive. The recording is in high quality WAV file format and files can be handled easily, just copy or delete like a typical USB storage device. Of course the advantage with this device is that you can take it just about anywhere. Pick one up for $69.99.

According to a press release, BiTMICRO will be amazing some people for sure, with their new 2.5-inch solid-state drive with an amazing 832GB of NAND flash. The 3Gb SATA drive is a new addition to their E-Disk Altima line, and uses a technology they are calling multi-level cell (or MLC) memory, which doubles the number of bits stored per memory cell when compared with single-level cell (SLC) NAND. Apparently this increases data density and allows them to keep the price low.

Looks like they will be shipping in the 3rd quarter of 2008. That’s when we should see capacities ranging from 32GB all the way up to 832GB.

Today Asus announced the launch of its award-winning GPS smart phone in the U.S. early this year and will be showing the P527 at CES 2008. The Asus P527 already won one of the CES Innovation Design and Engineering awards for 2008.

It’s a pretty nice looking device and has several versatile functions, but the most unique ones have to be Travelog and Location Courier. Travelog lets users record travel routes and export data to Google Earth, while Location Courier acts like an S.O.S. beacon and is at the ready to send a user’s GPS position to up to five preset numbers. Basically, the Asus P527 has the features of a cell phone, navigator and PDA.

Stereoscopy is being brought into the digital age, with the Loreo 3D Lens in a Cap. It’s a stereo lens compatible with most film and digital SLRs. It comes with a choice of 7 mount types for Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax K, and Minolta cameras. Basically, it’s a 38mm lens with an f/11 of f/22 aperture that takes two images of the same scene from slightly different perspectives. Your brain being the powerful tool that it is can reconstruct depth information from the two images. Hence 3-D.

The best part is that it couldn’t be easier. Just attach the lens. They also sell a $24 3D viewer that takes 4×6 printouts of your stereo photos, so you can see the cool effects. The lenses cost from $48 and $117, depending on the model.

The CompactFlash Association will be unveiling a CFast connector package at CES 2008, and the SATA interface will give you data rates up to 3Gb per sec. That’s quite a jump over the current 133MB/second that PATA provides right now. As usual, there is no word yet as to when it will hit store shelves after CES 2008.

Mr. Shigeto Kanda of Canon and the CFA chairman of the board thinks that “The development of a CompactFlash card with a SATA interface will maintain the dominance of CompactFlash in the non-consumer (embedded systems, single board computers, data recorder, etc.) markets as well as promote its use in other applications such as digital SLR cameras and professional video cameras.”

I’m pretty sure the Coneheads own this weather forecaster from Oregon Scientific. If they don’t, they should see if they have a baby missing. This one has 2001: A Space Odyssey type good looks for sure. It’s definitely a flashback to 1960s space-age and Eames era decorating style. The BAR210 features easy-to-read numbers, and you can switch easily between time and temperature with a wave of your hand.

Colorful weather forecast icons will light up to indicate sun, rain or clouds, so you’ll know what the weather is like with just a glance. It will show you either indoor or outdoor temperatures with the included wireless temperature sensor. Time is automatically set with a remote atomic clock, so the time can’t get more accurate. The price is $47.95.

Goodyear is a name you recognize when it comes to tires, but now they’ve entered a license agreement with The NCC, who will be launching its first line of Goodyear branded, driver-friendly GPS navigation systems at CES 2008 in Las Vegas, January 7-10. They are calling it a “rugged GPS system,” and all eight models will have features never before seen on mobile navigation systems, like remote control to access hands-free communication, via a single quick-touch button to answer and hang up calls. It’s clear they are betting on safety and convenience.

The remote control can be fastened to the driver’s side visor, or next to the gear shift, or anywhere convenient for that matter. Certain models will also feature MSN(R) Direct, which will provide useful info like live traffic updates, local gas prices, weather reports, as well as local movie times. In addition, other features are 4.3″ LCD touch screens, speaker-quality sound, High Sensitivity receivers, text-to-speech navigation for spoken street names, millions of points of interest (POI’s), MP3 and video playback, A/V inputs for MP3 players, TV tuners, or DVD players. Comes with 2GB of internal memory and removable SD storage.

Compact flash cards are slowly becoming a thing of the past, being replaced by SD cards, but there are still alot of cameras that rely on the older format. So RIDATA is looking out for you. They just introduced what they call the SMART compact flash card.

They are SMART because the have a new internal data monitoring system that ensures you never experience any data loss. It’s nice to have alot of storage in your camera, but not a pleasant feeling when you lose an important file. The cards also have embedded error correction code (ECC) which I believe is a fancy way of saying that it has “back up power Captain”, should something truly go wrong.

The Palm Foleo was a small laptop that was severely panned, belittled and put down when it was first announced. It’s image was so bad that Palm killed it before it could be released, hiding it away like abused child it was. As happens sometimes, another company is taking a shot at it, if you actually wanted one. The Celio Redfly SIS is pretty much the same thing.

It’s more or less a smartphone with a bigger screen and a keyboard for when you have to do some serious work. The price is a hefty $499, but you’ll have to wait until this month’s CES to discover the release date.

This flexible Keyboard & Skype dial pad with USB hub is super versatile, bendy, multimedia coolness. They claim that it’s a virtually indestructible, washable, roll-up keyboard with a Skype dial pad, built in microphone and speaker as well as having 2 USB ports.

A plus for alot of people is that, being washable, this keyboard will be very hygienic. That means less getting sick. Just wipe up any spilled liquid with a damp cloth and it’s clean. Since it’s bendable, it’s ultra Portable and easy to store. Just shove it in a backpack or briefcase. It has a bunch of great qualities for only $59.99.

Here’s one of those gadgets that seems to take advantage of new mothers. Or maybe it just takes advantage of those who need a little too much information. kickTrak can automatically count your baby’s kicks starting at 24 weeks and apparently give you a reliable way to track the movement pattern, and reduce the risk of stillbirth.

One other use is that it can be used at the onset of pregnancy as a rough countdown timer for your due date and can time your contractions when labor begins. Plus it has little tiny feet on the display screen. I’m not sure that this would really help prevent a stillbirth, but I’m just a dumb guy blog writer. More likely, this would be used by the overbearing sports father wanting to gauge the kid’s field-goal kicking abilities from day zero.

Netflix is set to launch their set-top box with the help of LG electronics. The union will allow subscribers to watch movies directly from the Internet to their TV’s. Netflix presently has upwards of 7 million subscribers, many of which have been waiting for this service. They are hoping to launch the set-top box by mid 2008. The price will range between $4.99 to about $16.99 a month, all inclusive of rates. Apparently, LG would embed the receiver into its $799 dual-DVD player, which supports the competing Blu-ray and HD-DVD high-definition DVD formats.

Vudu Inc, which already offers a set-top box for $399 lets consumers buy or rent movies from a selection of about 5,000 titles. Netflix on the other hand has about 90,000 titles available through their online mail order service. Netflix Chief Executive Reed Hastings sees it as a huge opportunity and said the LG partnership was the first of many such deals for the company.

If playing with your Star Trek putter on the golf course isn’t enough for you, or if you’re tired of waiting for the sweet geek release of death to enjoy your Star Trek coffin, then geek out your vehicle with the Wolo 485 Star Trek Air Horn.

You’ll have 5 air trumpets playing the most recognizable notes of the Star Trek theme at the touch of a button, and with 118 decibels of power. It wires directly to your battery to replace your existing car horn. The set includes a 12 volt compressor and impact-resistant plastic trumpets, tubing, relay, mounting hardware and instructions. It’s powered through your vehicle’s 12 volt cigarette lighter. Your inner geek will be happy, but don’t expect to win over the ladies with this one. You know, unless they are the sort that dress up like Klingons and attend all the conventions. In that case…Score!

Maxian E900T is a new PMP from Korea. Some of the features are a 4.3″ TFT touch screen, interface buttons on both sides, comes in a 30GB and 60GB version. Has the usual memory slot for SD cards, and a Li-Ion battery that has 4000mAh capacity. It has both music and video playback, a DMB receiver, GPS navigation, even a dictionary.

The Windows CE-based system boasts an 800 x 480 4.3-inch touchscreen, support for WMV, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DiVX / XviD, H.264, WMA, AAC, MP3, and OGG formats. The E900T is capable of outputting 720p HD video, sports Dolby Digital and DTS surround sound, and Burr-Brown audio circuitry which outputs via S/PDIF. In it’s car mount it turns into a full featured GPS navigator. Basically, this is an all in one PMP that looks pretty promising.