Mobile Devices

Posted Feb 7th 2008 4:53AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Handhelds
While executives can blow-hard the success of their goods ’til blue in the face, one of the best measurements of market acceptance is the appearance of the third party accessory. Here’s the first we’ve seen: Kindle Cases from WaterField. Starting February 12th you’ll have your choice of a $27 slip case, $39 sleeve case, and $49 travel case offering varying degrees of protection unmatched by any dust jacket. Then again, a book doesn’t require much protection does it?

The whole situation still makes me a little nervous about just how nice the shopping experience will be, but there is a slight bit of good news for CompUSA fans. Those 16 retail store locations that we mentioned the other day, they are going to be retaining the CompUSA name. Systemax, the parent company of Tiger Direct is also planning on re-branding the existing 11 Tiger Direct retail locations with the CompUSA name and use Tiger Direct only for their online sales. The deal is said to cost $30 million and is an all cash deal.

Read [Trading Markets] Via [SlashGear]

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In an effort to better brand themselves Grisoft will be changing their name to better reflect their current product line. Their name will be changed to AVG Technologies, which is a name that more people will recognize thanks to their current AVG software line. They are the makers of the great and free “AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition” a reliable and trusted anti-virus software program.

In a lead up to the name change, Grisoft has spent the previous several months purchasing the AVG domains in various markets around the world and hope to have a smooth transition. The name change is currently being reflected on the website, although the domain name is currently still grisoft.com, no mention on when the domain names will switch over.

Via [Geekzone]

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If you have trouble keeping count of how many coldies (tall boys not tinnies) you crack on a bevvy, (Australian: how many beers you consume whilst partaking in the excessive consumption of alcohol) then the Beer Tracker is just the ticket. It is a $10 bottle opener with an LCD screen incorporated in the handle. It will count your beverages for when you can’t. I can see these being a real winner at places where irresponsible consumption of alcohol is actively encouraged.

Price $10

Geek Alerts

DLO Action Jacket (pink) for iPod nano 3G Neoprene case with armband/belt clip for iPod nano

Action Jackets are stylish, padded cases that feature a play-thru design so you never have to remove your iPod nano to get to its controls. Even your click wheel is protected. The comfortable, workout-ready armband fits any arm size from toothpick to telephone pole; and the rotating belt clip securely attaches your iPod almost anywhere.

Technorati Tags: DLO

Is it a real spy camera?Feb 07, 2008

The creators say that Spy Button Camera is almost invisible. With its help you can secretly make videos of your friends and, maybe, enemies. Let’s find out if it is true..

If the camera is called spy, then it is implied that it must be very small or disguised like it is any usual object. But this camera is not as small as you might expect from a spy gadget. Then, there is one more big inconvenience. In order to use it you should hide somewhere PMP/MP4 player beforehand. It is not very compact and the size is not very small, so I’m not sure you’ll be able put it in your pocket, for example. In this case it is necessary to have a special accessory for it.

Generally, the camera has 1 GB of internal memory. I consider that a modern camera needs more memory. The spy camera is just to have fun, to distract a little, to treat your friends, to make funny video.

If you need a nice camera of good quality, I’d not recommend you to buy it. All the latest and the newest cameras have better features than this one. But if you have already a nice one, you may have this gadget to create unexpected videos or to spy on somebody.

But be careful, because if your child, for example, finds it and decides to spy on you, I bet, you won’t be very pleased.

Posted Feb 7th 2008 12:01AM by Sean Cooper
Filed under: Cellphones
Mystery solved, modu is of course, a modular cellular handset — the answer was in the name the whole time, clever. The fun begins with the idea that the actual handset can be slipped into “modu jackets” which let users completely change the look of their handset without having to replace it — we see the potential for way too much glittery gem-encrusted foolishness here. The other half of the deal is slapping the modu into different modu-enabled consumer electronics, or “modu mates” — think car stereos, photo frames, DAPs, and whatever else you can dream up. If we were betting types, we think modu is on to something pretty interesting here, and it seems with likes of Blaupunkt, Universal Music, and SanDisk already onboard, the Q4 launch might prove to be something special. We don’t have any pics showing detail or any technical specs handy just now, but rest assured, we’re going to be all over them at Mobile World Congress for more info.

We don’t have one with which to confirm, but we’ve heard that Worldgate, which took over Ojo from Motorola a ways back, has finally disconnected service. This after a report yesterday that the company was well on the road to bankruptcy. Surprising? Not so much, the grandma-videocalling market is remarkably small, and Ojo was never much of a technological eye-catcher, especially considering that monthly service. Ojowners, you having issues? Is this the end of the line for Ojo?
[Source]

AT&T have announced their plans to do some expanding in 2008. They are looking to take their high-speed wireless service into 80 additional markets, which would bring their total to 350 “big U.S. markets.” Currently AT&T is the largest U.S. mobile provider, but sadly they have been slower than rivals in building and offering high-speed wireless access. No word on which areas would be covered in those 80 they have planned.

Read [Reuters]

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Posted Feb 6th 2008 11:34PM by Paul Miller
Filed under: DisplaysSo CeBIT ‘08 is just around the corner, and Acer’s warming up for the monstrous international tradeshow with this little gem. The H5350 projector blasts out a 1280 x 720 image at 2000 ANSI lumens, a 2000:1 contrast ratio and a 28 dB noise level. It can accept inputs up to 1920 x 1080 in resolution from its HDMI input, and boasts a 4000 hour lamp life. No word on price or exact release date.