Gadgets Blog

I have a bike, but right now it is out of commission. At this present time, I would be a good customer for Bixi, a bicycle sharing program.

It works by going to one of the bike stations that you see in the picture here, and borrowing one of the bikes. All a user needs is a credit card, and then the user can ride around freely as they normally would with their own bike. Once the user is done, he or she simply returns it to another bike station.

I am not certain how Bixi keeps track of all of its bikes, but I’m told that the setup is “computer-chip based, solar-powered, and Wi-Fi enabled”.

Montreal is the first North American city to host this program, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t the last. I’ve never heard of Bixi before, but it really is a program that is ingenious in its simplicity.

In fact, this bicycle sharing program has to be big in certain regions of Asian countries like China. I’ve seen pictures of Asian bicycle racks that rival parking garages in the Western world. If Bixi doesn’t have presence in places like these, then it really ought to.

But hey, who am I to offer advice to a bike lender? Right now, I am in need of one. Too bad I’m not in Montreal.

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Just to let you know, this product here, complete with picture, is a rumor. The source of this story comes from Team Xbox, who say that Microsoft is working on this Digital Entertainment Handheld. This is what it is: an Xbox 360 with a Zune. Your two favorite things in one package? Well, maybe not the Zune, but one out of two ain’t bad. (Not another “Zune slam”, stop it already.)

Anyway, the project is codenamed “xYz”. I am assuming the “X” comes from the Xbox 360 and the “Z” comes from the Zune. As for the “Y”, the answer to that is “because they can, and it would make money”.

Other facts are pretty sketchy at this point, but we do know that the xYz will come with a WVGA touchscreen. Assuming, of course, that it gets created.

Normally, I don’t report on something unless I have a viable source (or sources), but I am reporting on this to generate buzz. You see, I am hoping that all the chatter about this product will create a demand for an Xbox 360 Zune, and the company will make it to meet this demand. Hey, I can dream, can’t I?

Seriously, does anyone out there know if this is legit? If so, feel free to chime in with a comment.

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Parents often find themselves needing to get other things done, but their infant needs rocked to sleep.  Well if you need just a few moments of peace or just have to deal with your older child, this would be a nice gadget to have around.  It’s actually an electronic item that rocks your child’s stroller back and forth.  Putting them to sleep and giving you just a few moments of sweet silence.

It’s a German product, so it’s not all over just yet.  However, it’s easy to see this taking off in other parts of the world.  The device itself can run anywhere from 2 hours on up to 4 hours.  You can of course adjust the intensity of the rocking to meet your child’s needs.  It attaches to the stroller with a couple Velcro straps.  As of now this is being sold in Germany for $174, so it is a bit pricey.  The more broke parents might just opt to do the rocking themselves.

Source: OhGizmo

A few weeks ago, I reported on the SlotRadio from SanDisk. I believe that I said something about it being a Portable Media Player (PMP) that your mother or grandmother could use because of its simplicity. I mean, who wouldn’t like a PMP that comes preloaded with 1,000 hit songs?

Now there is the Sonix7 Media Pro. This one PMP has an outstanding feature: a very long battery life. How many other PMPs have 20 hours of video playback (30 hours of audio) on a single charge? Not only that, but it has a 3.2 inch touchscreen with an “easy to use animated menu”.

You think that is cool, then listen to this: it supports MP4, AVI, and Xvid formats. It also has eBook capability, and even has a digital and video camera! Yeah, don’t ask me how that was put in. I don’t really see a lens on this.

Like Coolest Gadgets, this Sonix7 Media Pro comes from the land of Britain, and it costs $136 (£90) for the 8GB model, and $159 (£105) for the 16GB version. According to Sonix7, it has a 77 percent bigger screen than an iPod Nano, and costs £42 cheaper than an iPod nano. Nice!

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If you tend to wear shirts on a regular basis with highly plain black buttons, then you could have a little fun and wear this spy cam.  Of course for those of you that don’t have a shirt filled with black buttons, you’d have to go out and purchase one.  The spy cam just attaches to your shirt and you can then begin taking pictures of deviant activities.  It’s unlikely that anyone would ever be able to spot the camera on you.

You put the ring on and then to activate the camera, you just place the ring near it.  Then when you’re not using it, you can just casually wear the ring.  Of course, the ring might look a little odd on women and they don’t list the size.  So there could be issues there.  The video resolution is 608 x 488 pixels and the image resolution is 1200 x 1600 pixels.  It has 4GB of built-in memory, audio and a rechargeable Li-on battery.  You can pick it up for $96 through Brando.

Source: Crunchgear

VTech Communications, Inc. has just made available its latest release to those who reside in the US - their pride and joy, the IS9181. At first glance, the IS9181 might not seem as though it amounts up to much, but upon closer inspection, you will realize that the $199.95 price point does offer a rich feature set that is value for money, being a Wi-Fi music streaming device that was concocted to function as a complete music hub for the home, leaving you one less device to purchase if you’ve just moved into a new pad. For those who have already been rocking to Internet radio for quite some time already, the IS9181 takes this to a new level, where you need not remain glued to your computer just to check out what’re the latest tunes those virtual DJs are spinning, since the IS9181 is equally adept at pulling audio streams wirelessly, pumping it out for your aural enjoyment via the integrated 3W front-facing tuned stereo speakers, accompanied by the rich bass afforded by its 10W subwoofer with class D amplifiers. With over 11,000 free Internet radio stations worldwide, you’re definitely spoilt for choice once the IS9181 is connected to any compatible wireless network.

For ‘virtual’ music exploration, IS9181 users can search for stations by country, state or genre using the one-touch access button or remote control, or by visiting the comprehensive online music guide offered on www.vtechphones.com. The IS9181 un-tethers music lovers from their computers with sound quality unparalleled by PCs so digital music from around the globe can be enjoyed in the living room, bedroom or anywhere in the home.

Each purchase of the VTech IS9181 comes with a one-year limited warranty, and with the ability to hook up other MP3 players or portable media players through its 3.5mm headset jack, one might dare venture to call the IS9181 as being the all-round home entertainment hub (where audio is concerned) that will be around for a long time to come.

Press Release

After a while, I’ve grown tired of the jumbled mess that ends up at the bottom of my laptop bag.  Not only that, but there’s always the joy of unzipping three different pockets just to figure out which pocket I put a particular cord into.  I tend to enjoy things somewhat organized though, not perfect, just an easy visual set up to make it easier to grab out exactly what I’m looking for.  This laptop case may get people making comments about you being OCD, but you’d save yourself a lot of effort by being able to easily find what you need.

This laptop bag comes with a Grid It sheet, which is a panel with interwoven rubberized elastic strips.  That allows for you to find the ideal spot to place your various gadgets and cords.  The 15” Neoprene sleeve is removable, which would be nice when you need to put your laptop in a different larger bag.  The sheets themselves can be purchased on their own or combined in cases, totes and messenger bags.  All depending on what exactly you need, it will cost you anywhere from $30 on up to $130.

Source: GadgetLab