Mobile Devices

by Nilay Patel, posted May 22nd 2008 at 11:44PM
Alright, so you weren’t exactly waiting on pins and needles for Fuji to release yet another entry-level FinePix digital camera, but might we interest you in yet another entry-level digital camera with totally average specifications? We thought so. We think you’ll find the FinePix A850 offers a uninspiring 8 megapixels of image-stabilized resolution, a delightfully adequate 3x optical zoom, and a solidly-middling ISO 800 maximum sensitivity. But don’t get too excited digging change out of the couch just yet — Fuji’s not going to announce pricing on this pinnacle of yesterday’s technology until it gets closer to launch in July.

[Thanks, Mark]

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

It is unfortunately that Humpty Dumpty did not have the luxury of three soldiers carrying him around, as surely the King’s horses and the King’s men won’t have the dilemma of reporting nothing but a cracked, empty shell at the palace. Created by artist Reiko Kaneko, all the soldiers here wield a knife with concentrated looks as they carry such a delicate passenger. Definitely one of the more attractive home ideas to have, especially for folks who have a sense of humor.

Gone are the days when I judged watches at least partly based on how easy it was to read the time from them. Now, the time of day flashes everywhere - on our cell phones, computer screens, TVs. Try ignoring the time for half a day without taking yourself to the middle of the woods with no electronic connection to the rest of the world. Really, it’s hard to get away from it without drastic measures.

Online store Tokyoflash Japan, which trades on the idea that these days, telling time from a wristwatch is rather beside the point, sells watches with sometimes complicated LED displays which are fun to look at but challenging to read time from.

They say that nothing can make people relax more than simply watching fish. The problem with fish tanks is they require constant care. I mean, you have to keep the temperature at a constant level, then you have to feed the fish too. If you forget even one of these things, you’ll wake up see your fish doing the backstroke.

Maybe you should get yourself some sort of Virtual Fish Tank, so you can watch the fish without any maintenance but electrical power. Some of you might even have one of these Virtual Fish Tanks on your screen saver.

But if you’re looking for something bigger, you would be hard-pressed to find one larger than the 32 million dollar Virtual Fish Tank in Beijing. This one measures 30 by 250 meters, which is slightly larger than a football field. You know it’s got to be big if I’m using football fields for a size comparison.

This Virtual Fish Tank is mounted six stories in the air between two shopping malls. I’m not certain why the creators of this Virtual Fish Tank chose to mount this contraption high on the ceiling. I would much rather see fish tank in a traditional wall setting.

I suppose people could lie on their back and watch the Ceiling Fish Tank. That would make them feel really relaxed. At least until the shoppers step on their faces, that is.

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Photo [Malias/Flickr]

George Bush has announced that US citizens will now be able to send cellphones to friends and relatives in Cuba, an extension of the current rules which allow other gifts to be sent. We’ve covered Raul Castro’s opening up of the technology markets in Cuba before (links below), and Bush sees this as an extension of that, although he’s not sure Castro will play ball:

If Raul is serious about his so-called reforms, he will allow these phones to reach the Cuban people.

Cuba uses a GSM network, so most phones will work there, although with contracts running at around US$120 just to sign up, cheap handsets might be more of a political dig from Bush than a real help to the Cuban people. Bush again:

Through these measures the United States is reaching out to the Cuban people, yet we know that life will not fundamentally change for Cubans until their form of government changes.

The embargo is a joke, although not a very funny one. US citizens just pretend to be Canadian and take vacations, and Havana cigars are freely available (we’re guessing the Bill Clinton wasn’t smoking anything but the best). For the Cuban people, though, it means they can’t join the modern world. And that’s a subject close to our hearts here at G Lab. The upshot of Bush’s whole scheme here is most likely to be the boosting of a black market in cellphones for Cuba’s rich. Unlocked Cuban iphone, here we come.

U.S. to allow Americans to send cell phones to Cuba [Reuters]

Cubans Go Gadget Crazy [Gadget Lab]

Cuban Cellphone Market Opened Up To Locals [Gadget Lab]

Western Digital recently launched My Passport Studio hard drives designed for Mac with faster FireWire interface and Time Machine support.
 
All of the My Passport range comes with FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 interfaces, a clever capacity gauge and include a soft drawstring carrying bag for protection from scratches and dirt.

The My Passport Studio portable hard drives are offered in capacities of 320 GB and 250 GB.Both hard drive models weigh in less less than 5 ounces.

With an elegant silver metallic finish that perfectly complements other Mac products, My Passport portable drives feature a shock-resistant enclosure to provide protection from the bumps and jars.

Ultra portable, these drives are USB-bus powered which eliminates the need for an external power adapter.

LG Display paraded a prototype at the SID 2008 event, where its 2.2″ (160 x 120 resolution) and 15″ (2,048 x 1,536 resolution) models featured reflectivity of 20%, with the ability to show different images on both the front and back sides of the glass substrate - perfect for couples who argue over which show to watch on TV. Unfortunately, such a display isn’t available on a commercial basis just yet, and there has been no concrete release date even. Still, it would be nice to see something like this hit the market as it offers unprecedented flexibility to viewers.

USB Phone Charger
Never pull an unidentified plug out of a socket so you can charge your mobile. You never know what you may be switching off. Instead plug in the USB Phone Charger.

It’s either the perfect Father’s Day gift or the perfect excuse for initiating divorce proceedings: ESPN has announced the coming of its branded Ultimate Remote, a $299 universal remote control designed to give the sports fan quicker and easier access to games, stats and excuses not to engage in “honeydew” chores on weekends.

The ESPN press release doesn’t give a launch date, just that it will be available in time for the third Sunday in June and can be pre-ordered at Amazon.com. But a list of cool-sounding features is there: Wi-Fi Internet access, text and email, quick setup that doesn’t require a nearby PC, the ability to let sports fans surf games on TV, surf team standings and info on the web, the ESPN logo at the top of the device, and the Sportscenter jingle (dah-dah-DAT, dah-dah-DAT) every time you press a button.

Okay, I made up that last feature. I’m not sure I want to give the ESPN marketing gurus any more ideas. As it stands, the Ultimate Remote has a better chance at success than the initial version of the ESPN-branded cell phone if only for the fact that sports fans have a much closer relationship with their TV’s and home theater systems than their phones on game days.

Read [ESPN Media Zone]

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One of the greatest complaints about the Wii up until this point has been the lack of DVD support. Hapless parents and roommates across the country have tried and failed to play their favorite movies on the little white box that could.

While DVD support still might be a while off, SEGA has stepped in with their solution to watching “games,” instead. They are releasing what is known as a “sound novel” for the Wii entitled 428. Sound novels are stories that can be somewhat interacted with. This will probably only be of interest to the Japanese among us, but it could be a sign of things to come. There are many sound novels out now for the PS2 (which does, coincidentally, have DVD playback), and it seems only natural that the people out there who have a desire to watch a story on their Wii could want more of these in the future.

428 is being developed by Chunsoft, of the loftly Dragon Quest and Mysterious Dungeon games and stars Yuto Nakamura, Hironari Amano and Narumi Konno.

Read more at Kotaku