Mobile Devices

Kingston Technology is renowned for their flash memory products, and the company forges onward by expanding its line of USB flash drives by introducing the DataTraveler HyperX (also known as the DT HyperX) and the DataTraveler 110 (DT110) models. Both of them aim to leave the competition in the dust, designed for ultra-fast read/write speeds without breaking the bank. Both the DT HyperX and DT110 drives come in varying capacities, maxing out at 8GB.

According to Joe Teng, Flash memory product manager, Kingston, “Taking its cue from our HyperX line of industry-setting high-speed memory modules for gamers, enthusiasts and overclockers, the DataTraveler HyperX offers exceptionally fast read and write speeds, whereas the DT110 provides an economic way to transfer and transport data whenever and wherever you travel.”

The DT HyperX boasts a theoretical data transfer rate of 30MB/sec. read and 20MB/sec. write, and was specially designed to run on any Windows Platform but would probably fulfill its potential on Vista-based systems since it has already been enhanced for Windows ReadyBoost. As for the DataTraveler 110 , this targets the more budget conscious markets (can you say students and average office workers?) without sacrificing on performance. The DT110 also does away with the risk of you losing the cap, since it employs a capless, retractable USB connector for ease-of-use and safe housing.

Features and specifications of the Kingston DataTraveler HyperX USB Drive include :-

The DTHX/2GB 2GB HyperX, DTHX/4GB 4GB HyperX, and DTHX/8GB 8GB HyperX will retail for $74, $131 and $266 respectively.

Press Release

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This 13.3” laptop from LuvBook looks good and uses an Intel Penryn processor. It’s a recent model using a more advanced manufacturing process that gives it a better price-per-performance ratio and more consumer-friendly properties. Curiously, our friends from Aving mention 12GB of mass storage, so I can only assume that it’s a SSD (solid-state drive).

Highlights

• 1280×800 display
• 2GB Memory
• 12GB (SDD?)
• $1120

Posted Jan 28th 2008 4:43PM by Donald Melanson
Filed under: Transportation While they didn’t put it though quite the same rigorous tests that the feds did, our pals at AutoblogGreen did recently get to spend a fair bit of time being the wheel of Tesla’s much-hyped Roadster, and they’ve now thankfully churned out a fairly thorough review to make us all a little jealous. As you might expect, they readily admit that the car is “not for everyone” (even among those that can afford it), but for those that know what they’re getting into, they say you can expect a “hard-edged sports car that fits like a pair of good leather driving gloves.” That extends in no small part to the car’s Lotus roots, which AutoblogGreen found evident in everything from the car’s “cozy” interior to its non-boosted steering system, which they say provides “amazing feedback to the driver.” If that’s not enough to convince you, you can hit up the link below for the complete review and, of course, plenty of pictures.

Johnny Chung Lee of Carnegie Mellon ought to see an offer letter coming from Nintendo pretty soon, considering how he came up with the Wiimote Desktop VR system that allows you to move through a room or scene in the game complete with full perspective depending on where your current position is. As they say, a picture paints a thousand words, but you’ve got to watch the video for yourself to see how this system could potentially bring gaming to the next level. Imagine what would happen if Sony actually picked this guy up for their next console - Nintendo executives had best give this guy some love…ASAP!

1. Make its MP3 store global.

2. Make a WWAN-equipped MP3 player hooked into the music store, a la Kindle.

3. Profit. Profit like God-damned crazy.

It’s an obvious plan, when you make it look this simple. Eliot van Buskirk pointed out to me what a damned good idea a WWAN-equipped music player would be. Given slick integration with Amazon’s music store, this is the real category killer everyone thinks the iPod already is. An Amazon device might well as be as "functional"-looking as the mockup above, but that’s just how the winners usually are.

The labels will love it because Amazon lets them name the price. The listeners will love it because they have permanent access to every song most of them ever cared about, from their MP3 player, accessible on-demand as a subscription, or as one-click purchases if they want to own actual files. The nature of the beast means that storage isn’t a big deal: a few gigs of flash will be enough.

And then onto TV, movies, the lot. Boom. And it burns a $10 a month hole in millions of Americans’ pockets the way iTunes never, ever will.

They could call it the Spindle.

Mouse Computer of Japan has dropped a new laptop called the P551 M-Book. It’s Penryn powered and features a Core 2 Duo T8100 or T9300, 120/160GB HDD (SATA), GeForce 8600M GS and a 15.4 inches LCD monitor (WXGA). $1,283-$1,465.
[Source]

Posted Jan 28th 2008 8:50AM by Joshua Topolsky
Filed under: GamingAccording to Ars Technica, Sony has some big plans for a PlayStation 3 refresh, starting with a phase-out of the 80GB model. According to an “inside source” — which Ars claims has been consistently right on video game-related predictions — the console-maker’s new plot is starting to take shape, holding fast to a two-SKU approach on packages, upping the hard drive capacity on systems, and including the Dual Shock 3 controller. The new bundles will take the high / low road, with the source stating that the 40GB model will remain on shelves, while the 80GB, Spider-Man 3-inclusive system will disappear, only to be replaced with a 120GB or 160GB configuration. Of course, right now these are just words on a screen, though in light of Best Buy’s recent stock changes, there certainly is an air of movement over at Sony.

Back in the day, I did my stint designing lighting and sets for community theater companies, so I’ve seen more than my share of wooden acting. But this is the first time I’ve ever seen metal acting.

The RoboThespian is a life-sized robotic puppet, designed with one mission in mind — to entertain. Created by UK interactive exhibit builder Engineered Arts, the robot can do spoken parts, singing, story telling, and even some dance maneuvers. Now sit back and enjoy as RoboSapien performs some classic movie moments.

Here he is doing his DeNiro:

click to view this video clip

And no robot act would be complete without some Aaahnold:

click to view this video clip

How about a little salty old Robert Shaw from Jaws:

click to view this video clip

RoboThespian does his best C3P0:

click to view this video clip

I like to think this is a scene from A Clockwork Orange:

click to view this video clip

While RoboThespian won’t be winning an Oscar anytime soon, he’s might be good enough to pull off a People’s Choice or a Golden Globe.

If you happen to live in the UK, you should be able to check out some of these guys performing at The Eden Project in Cornwall. Otherwise, Engineered Arts rents and sells these robots for use in special events, museums and entertainment facilities, so you might run into one the next time you head out to get some some culture.

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act, animatronic, dance, programmable, robot, sing, speech

Joan and Henry from The Smart Show learn about alternative energy sources from Ben Luce in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Joan: How come we’re not completely solar and wind powered?

Ben: We have to overcome a 150 years of tradition of producing power from coal, uranium, and sources like that. You can make giant solar farms which could power entire cities. It would only take an area of 59 by 59 miles to provide all of the energy for the United States. We actually have the means to do this.

A swath of land 59 miles by 59 miles is HUGE. Really, Ben? Would it really ONLY take an area of 59 by 59 miles? Are YOU willing to give up that much? What about the beautiful wild areas near your home town of Santa Fe? Are you willing to put a gigantic black square on the face of your state between Santa Fe and Farmington?

Ben Luce has worked hard in New Mexico with the New Mexico Coalition for Clean Affordable Energy to help get the state running on cleaner fuels. Solar power is an alternative and adding a panel or two to your home would certainly help keep your footprint lighter, but the biggest problem is that adding solar panels to homes is difficult and expensive. We’re not trying to overcome 150 years of tradition. We’re trying to overcome the costly and complicated process of adding solar power to our homes.

The best use of your time, Mr. Luce is to work with a manufacturer to create solar panels that are EASY to install and work EVERYWHERE, not just sunny climates like New Mexico. Fighting against legislation is just a waste of effort.

Fancy a cell phone concept that looks into the past? This is what designer Seungchan Lee came up with, calling it CulArt (pronounced as Cool Art). This handset comes with all the regular smartphone trappings, including a touch screen display, a camera of unknown megapixel value, wood paneling, Bluetooth connectivity and knobs to control the phone’s most basic functions, all crammed into a slim physical design. Probably if some fashion company decide to pick up this design, it ought to sell a fair number of handsets.