Gadgets Comp

Philips is entering the MP3 player market with something vastly different from what they used to do in the past, and this time round the Luxe might not come with a whole lot of internal memory (just a paltry 2GB), but it is interesting as it can also function as a Bluetooth headset, allowing you to interrupt your music session with incoming calls seamlessly. The one line LCD display lets you know who is calling while your cell phone remains tucked away in your pocket. Sounds pretty redundant though, since cell phones are pretty capable MP3 players in their own right these days, so separating that function onto a Bluetooth headset is more of a novelty. (Read the full post about ‘Philips Luxe MP3 player’…)

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For those that are a little worried about self defense, you probably have carried pepper spray before.  My problem with pepper spray is I worry about having the time to dig it out of my purse or just flat out not having it on me.  Well this cool Flashlauncher has a slight edge in that department at least at night.  It also has a built-in flashlight.  Which means it’s already in your hand, so all you have to do is aim and flip a different switch.  At least I hope it’s a separate switch, they don’t actually say. (Read the full post about ‘The Firstlauncher Starter Kit for self defense’…)

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FROM APPLETELL - Apple has slowly been killing off Firewire on the ipod—first removing the ability to transfer music, but keeping the charging capability.  Now it appears even that is on the way out. MORE » Keep up with the latest gadget goodness! - Subscribe to our feed → Tags: dap, design, gadgets, DAB (Read the full post about ‘Apple killing off Firewire on iPods’…)

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Last month, I asked whether Google would start to play favorites with respect to designing and upgrading their products now that the Android phone was out.  Today, I learn that Google Earth for iPhone became available yesterday as a free application from the App Store.  There is no Android version, yet.

(Read the full post about ‘Update: Google *not* playing favorites with Android’…)

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I have a weird compulsion to buy mini-flashlights- keychain LED lights, key covers, closet stick-on lights, booklights- I just can’t help it. It’s been an obsession so long that I suspect, that like in a plot line from an M. Night Shyamalan big-budget B-movie, it will prove to be significant when the aliens invade. Those little aliens will seem indestructible until I defeat them with the giant floodlight I create with my millions of tiny LEDs. Last night I discovered that I can now turn every object I already own into a miniature flashlight. Sylvania has been making Dot-it stick on LED lights for years now, but they’re yo-yo sized and meant to be permanently mounted in a single location. (Read the full post about ‘Sylvania Dot-it light bugs’…)

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Usually, MP3 players serve only a few purposes such as playing audio and probably video.  It is pretty rare to find good Bluetooth embedded in an mp3 player.  However, Philips has recently announced their new MP3 player that incorporates Bluetooth 2.1 technology for hands free calling.  The GoGear LUXE is a MP3 player that pairs to your handset via Bluetooth.  If you play a lot of music on your phone, you know what a battery drain that can be—the LUXE would alleviate that problem. (Read the full post about ‘Philips announces Bluetooth capable GoGear Luxe’…)

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Although I love the Wii, Guitar Hero, and the Lego Mindstorm, there is something to be said about the simplicity of play which require the most basic of materials. The Public Art Fund and artist Klara Hobza are hosting, The New Millennium Paper Airplane Contest. The event will be held in the Great Hall at the New York Hall of Science on November 1, 2008 and was inspired by the storied 1967 contest at the same location. Hobza’s work deals with communication, performance, and documentation. Based in New York, her work has been shown internationally. The planes must be made from a sheet of 8.5″x11″ or A4 paper or smaller. Categories include: distance flown, duration aloft, beauty, spectacular failure, children (under 13) division, and a “surprise” category. (Read the full post about ‘The New Millennium Paper Airplance Contest Take Flight’…)

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FROM GAMERTELL - An IDG spokesperson confirms that the organisation’s “focus now turns to E3.” MORE » Keep up with the latest gadget goodness! - Subscribe to our feed → Tags: cool gear, Ogg Vorbis, digital, video game (Read the full post about ‘Say “buh bye” to the E for All Expo’…)

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by Nilay Patel, posted Oct 26th 2008 at 11:52PM The T-Mobile G1’s Google Maps Street View implementation is one of the slickest features of the first Android phone, but it looks like Apple’s going to keep feature parity — the latest builds of iphone OS 2.2 seeded to developers have Street View, as well as the ability to give mass transit directions. That’s pretty useful for cityfolk like us — and we’re also stoked that line-in audio is now supported in the SDK, giving devs the ability to create voice recorders and other interesting audio apps. Of course, there’s no word on when 2.2 will actually arrive, but until then we suppose we’ll live with regular, non-data-augmented streets. Lots of screen (Read the full post about ‘iPhone software 2.2 features Google Street View, mass transit directions’…)

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by Darren Murph, posted Oct 27th 2008 at 4:52AM Last we heard, IBM was busy extending optical lithography down to 30-nanometers in order to keep Moore’s Law intact, and some two years later, the process is still being honed by engineers at the University of California, Berkeley. Reportedly, gurus there with IQs far greater than ours have developed a new patterning technique (plasmonic nanolithography) that could make “current microprocessors more than 10 times smaller, but far more powerful.” Additionally, professor Xiang Zhang asserts that this same technology could eventually “lead to ultra-high density disks that could hold 10 to 100 times more data than disks today.” The secret to the madness is a flying plasmonic head, which is compared to the arm and stylus of an LP turntable; the setup enables researchers to “create line patterns only 80-nanometers wide at speeds up to 12-meters per second, with the potential for higher resolution detail in the near future.” In layman’s terms? (Read the full post about ‘Flying plasmonic lens system could lead to denser chips / disks’…)

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