Mobile Devices

Its hard not to compare similar styled and priced UMPC’s to the Asus Eee PC. The Eee seems to have a good thing going, fair price along with a good setup and most important a loyal following, however the newest competitor may fall a little short. The Dreambook Light IL1 features a 7-inch display at 800 x 480 with a 1GHz Via C7-M processor and up to 1GB RAM, you can also choose between either a 2GB, 4GB or 8GB flash-based storage or a 1.8-inch 40GB hard drive. So far it sounds pretty nice, but there are a few things missing, the most important is the lack of built-in Wi-Fi, the price is also a bit high as the base model starts at $449 AUD or $446 US. Another seemingly nice option is the choice of OS, you can pick either Windows Vista or Ubuntu. While its nice to have an option I am not sure who would want to run Vista on a machine with those specs. Nice try, but Asus has this one.

Via [jkkmobile]

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Posted Feb 9th 2008 3:43AM by Ryan Block
Filed under: GamingIt’s not the first we’ve heard of the Wii being used for rehabilitation context, but it would appear “Wiihab” is becoming increasingly frequent. According to the AP, hospitals in states like Missouri, Illinois, and North Carolina, and even Walter Reed Army Medical Center are all incorporating the Wii into physical therapy routines. Just in time, too, it would be really weird if Wiiitis or a nasty Wiinjury landed you in the hospital in the first place, your doctor used a Wii to hone his steady hand, and you didn’t actually get to use a Wii to get your ass well enough to be discharged. Ah, what a world.

KOSS PortaPro Headphones

Don’t miss a note when you’re running or roller-blading with the Koss SportaPro stereo headphones, which can wrap around the back of your head during activity. With a rated bandwidth of 15 Hz to 25 kHz, the 2 1/4-ounce SportaPro is said to provide the low-distortion reproduction of home headphones. It has a mute switch on its cord and can collapse into a small ball for easy storage and transport. Features: ? Dynamic element design for deep bass performance ? Comfort Zone? setting on temporal pad for comfortable, secure fit ? Multi-pivoting earplates and adjustable headband for added comfort ? Collapsible for maximum portability when listening on the go ? Includes convenient carrying case ? Includes 1/8″ and 1/4″ stereo plugs for home and portable use ? Straight, dual entry 4 foot cord Technical Specifications: ? Frequency Response: 15-25,000 Hz ? Impedance: 60 ohms ? Weight: 2.1 oz ? Sensitivity: 101 dB SPL/1mW ? Distortion: <0.2% ? Ear Cushions: open ? Cord: Straight, Dual Entry, 4ft ? Plug: 3.5 mm/6.4 mm

Technorati Tags: Headphones

Looks like there’s another Penryn-powered laptop being released in Japan by Mouse Computer. This laptop goes by the name of LuvBook PL300X. The PL300X features a Core 2 Duo CPU, a T8100, 1GB of ram and 80GB of SATA HDD and lastly a Multi DVD recorder. Unfortunately, the LuvBook isn’t going for cheap because Mouse Computer wants a retail price of $1,298.
[Source]

Posted Feb 9th 2008 12:57AM by Ryan Block
Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video
As it turns out, Microsoft may be breaking a few hearts by not being able to fulfill all its Zune 80 Valentine’s Day Originals shipments, but not all is lost for their loving customers. Users who haven’t already gotten their units will apparently get a full refund — as well the player they ordered. Aw, isn’t that candy-heart sweet? And should you wind up with one of these for V-Day, you might try every so gingerly asking for dinner with that $250 your special someone saved.

[Thanks Sean and Mike]

The Eee PC has certainly turned into a sort of rallying point for obscure laptop manufacturers and OEMs, and now Pioneer Computers Australia is getting in on the action. From what we can tell, the DreamBook Light IL1 is a relatively unique shell wrapped around VIA’s reference C7-M design. The 7-inch LCD runs at 800 x 480, and the 1GHz processor is backed by up to 1GB of RAM. Most interesting here is the absolute configurability, from OS choice (including Vista, XP and Ubuntu) to connectivity, but unfortunately it comes at a price: the $499 AUD ($446 US) base model doesn’t even include WiFi. Looks like this round goes to ASUS, but we like where this all is headed.
[Source]

Let’s face it, most belts are boring. The only saving grace for these boring belts is to sass it up with a custom belt buckle. Problem is, most belt buckles either range from the death skull (or the ones that say “f*ck”) to giant rodeo style buckles that would feel more at home on the back of a bull or bronco than walking down the street. And let’s face it, no self-respecting geek would be caught dead in a rodeo style belt buckle.
So what’s a geek who has dreams of having an awesome belt buckle to do?

You go to Think Geek and pick up one of the three (hell, get all three!) Geek Belt Buckles. From the website:

These delightful belt buckles come in three varieties that are sure to please any dedicated geek. Nintendo controller for the retro gamer in you, Darth Vader for the Star Wars fan and Transformers for the Optimus Prime lovers out there.

- Transformers 2.75″ tall by 2.5″ wide and will fit a belt up to 1.5″ wide
- Nintendo 2″ tall by 4.5″ wide and will fit a belt up to 1.75″ wide
- Vader 3.5″ tall by 3.5″ wide and will fit a belt up to 1.5″ wide

Seriously. How much cred would you have in your IT department if you were wearing an Autobot belt buckle with your khakis and polo shirt? Then you show up the next day with Darth Vader? And for “Casual Friday”, you kick it old school with the classic NES controller. You would become a legend. Awesome.

Priced at $14.99 each, you can afford to pick up all three. And why wouldn’t you?

[Think Geek]

The Gateway M-series Notebook is a very trendy slender laptop. It is embraced with the dazzling multimedia performance. The 15.4 inch Gateway color-infused M-series Notebooks are available in four alluring colors: Silky Silver, Pacific Blue Solid, Artic Bloom and Garnet red Solid. It is integrated with 802.11 a/b/g/draft-n connectivity powered on Intel Next-Gen Wireless Technology. Further, it has a 2.0 Bluetooth adapter and operates on operating system of Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium. It has a brushed-metal precision-touch multimedia control panel for provision of touch sensitive volume adjustment and smooth-cut keys.

The Gateway color-infused M-series laptops are provided with HDMI connectivity to add more pleasure to your entertainment world. Get great lucidity in sound and picture quality. For the security-purpose, it offers you biometric fingerprint reader with the password manager. Moreover, it comes with the Intel Core 2Duo Processor. The 15.4 inch high definition widescreen offers a terrific brightness and clearance at a resolution 1280×800. Additionally, you also get 1.3 mega pixel integrated camera which can be set up for video conferences or for capturing the pictures.

<!– ch_client = “mmliewcf”; ch_type = “mpu”; ch_width = 468; ch_height = 180; ch_color_title = “0065CE”; ch_non_contextual = 1; ch_default_category = “200001″; var ch_queries = new Array(”Gateway M-series Notebooks”); var ch_selected=Math.floor((Math.random()*ch_queries.length)); if ( ch_selected

It’s quite a well-known fact that the color can change people’s mood and attitude to something. A lot of researches were made in order to obtain more detailed information about the influence of the color on people. So, at present scientists know a great deal about it. That’s why architects, producers and designers have started to pay even more attention to the color of buildings, goods and etc. Taking into consideration this fact Philips decided to produce a device that would give people an opportunity to change the color of the light whenever they want.

Philips novelty represents a lamp that enables you to change its color by using a remote control and is named Living Colors lamp. This gadget will definitely brighten up your home in ways you have never imagined before, bringing the full range of a rainbow into your living place. Given concept will help you a lot in relaxing after an exhausting working day. Device has quite an original design, so most likely it won’t spoil your interior. In addition to that it’s perfect for those non-talking moments with your beloved person when you want to communicate just with the help of body language.

Thus it’s quite a useful device that performs an unusual function. Moreover despite the limited warranty of this concept, using it will probably give you a lot of pleasure.

Posted Feb 8th 2008 7:25PM by Paul Miller
Filed under: Digital Cameras
Well doesn’t OutKast look silly now. The brand synonymous with instant film is killing off the Polaroid film format and attempting to reinvent the brand so it “lives on for the next 30 to 40 years.” In the short term that means closing factories in Massachusetts, Mexico and the Netherlands, cutting 450 jobs, and breaking the hearts of hipster-photographers the world over. Obviously the concept of Polaroids was never going to be much more than a niche in the age of digital photos, and the Polaroid / Zink Digital Instant Mobile Photo Printer is filling the instant development void left behind, but it’s still sad to see a format with so much history and fond memories die, especially since Polaroid spends the majority of its time these days slapping its de-valued logo onto rubbish commodity electronics.