Gadgets Blog

Submarines are silent predators of the sea, although older ones that do not run on nuclear go about being as clumsy as they possibly could when picked up using sonar technology. Good thing for nuclear power though. The strategic importance of having nuclear submarines roam the seven seas are vital for any powerful nation in order to keep their enemies guessing where an attack could come from, and needless to say being underwater for so long can only mean one thing - these puppies are highly durable and waterproof. Nice to see the latter quality being incorporated into the waterproof submarine K-95 USB flash drive that will be available in green, white, red and black colors. It won’t be able to carry a few hundred crew on board, but can hold 1GB and 2GB worth of sensitive data if you like.

Source: Like Cool

How many of you out there use video eyewear to view your favorite movie in a compressed format? I think it is pretty useful especially when you’re on a plane and would just want to shut the world out while being tricked into thinking that you’re sitting in your very own flying theater (or on the ground if you happen to take a long road trip through rail and asphalt). Not only that, you can always watch naughty videos without having other people catching you doing it. The downside would be being unable to see what’s going on around you, but that’s no biggie when you’re on a long haul flight, right? Myvu Corporation has long released a line a video eyewear that have improved over the years, and their latest addition to an ever growing family would be the Crystal EV which debuted at InMotion Entertainment airport stores nationwide.

The Crystal EV, being the latest release from Myvu, would naturally come with upgraded technology to make it stand above the shoulders of its predecessors. Improvements over the original Myvu Crystal include the addition of Myvu’s SolidOptix technology, bringing a 64″ equivalent screen size right in front of your eyes, which is a vast 30% increase over the original Crystal. In addition, you don’t have to worry about incompatibility problems concerning Apple products and the Crystal EV since Myvu is the only video eyewear company to achieve Apple iPhone Certification and Nokia Forum status.

There is no word on just how much the Myvu Crystal EV will cost, but it sure sounds cool enough to wear for long hours on end without suffering from pains or aches. What you see above is a past Myvu product, and we are pretty sure that Myvu will continue to retain the sleek lines and design that made them so attractive in the first place.

Press Release

Mention portable media players and most probably the first thing that comes into your mind would be Apple’s iPod family, be it the Classic, nano, touch or shuffle. Well, many other players have tried to grab a slice of this apple pie (forgive the pun), but failed miserably not for the lack of effort, but simply because Cupertino’s design and user experience was ahead of everybody else. Microsoft too, entered the portable media player market some time back with their line of Zunes, although they weren’t too successful in the end. This time round, Microsoft aims to improve on their previous showing by coming up with the Zune HD that will hit retail shelves next month on the 15th, featuring powerful playback technology, touchscreen capability (finally!) and a host of software as well as online services to offer a rich and meaningful connection to music, videos and podcasts among others. We sure hope the Zune HD will be able to offer more of a challenge, and like how the Xbox 360 made a strong case for itself in the world of video games, this second generation hardware ought to “finish the fight” - with Master Chief cheering in the background.

You will be able to place your pre-order for the Zune HD from a variety of sources, with the usual suspects such as Amazon.com, Best Buy, Walmart and Microsoft all in it together. The 16GB model will come in black, while the 32GB model is laced in platinum color for that added touch of elegance (and superiority whenever you whip it out). Microsoft will also make available five other colors for both models in due time, although they have not yet mentioned what those color choices are. In the meantime, you can also opt for one of 10 new engravings on the Zune HD courtesy of guest artists to take personalization of the device to a greater degree.

Microsoft has slated the Zune HD 16GB to go for $219.99 while the 32GB Zune HD 32GB will peg you back by $289.99.

Press Release

If you’re tired of all your gadgets having a nice clean sterile look, there’s one Etsy seller you should definitely check out.  I’ve never been that into wooden gadgets, it’s one of those thing you either like them or you don’t.  I do understand the desire to have a gadget that doesn’t always look so clean cut though.  This wooden dock brings nature indoors and still manages to look somewhat tidy.

The dock is hand made out of cedar and is compatible with any of the iPhones as well as all iPod devices.  That is except the Shuffle of course, but then you don’t really need much of a charging dock for it since it is so small.  Each chunk of wood will differ slightly, since it depends on the piece of wood as to how it will look.  Each one is a custom order so it will take up to 3 weeks to create it and ship it out.  You can purchase it for $119.

Source: bbgadgets

If you have a son who loves his sports as well as music, this would make for a great headboard.  There is also one non-sport version that just has a simple design and is completely black.  So this could also be a gift for those that aren’t that into sports.  The headboard has speakers that are placed just above the head of whoever is in the bed.  It also has a spot to store the MP3 player while it’s hooked to the speakers.

These come in three different forms total, the baseball one, the basketball and then of course the black headboard.  Each of them is meant for only a twin bed, making them ideal for a child.  That or perhaps an adult that for some reason enjoys sleeping in a twin bed.  The headboards also features padded upholstery for added comfort.  The MP3 player is stored in a side pocket alongside the volume control.  Each one will cost you $220 from the Homelegance furniture store.

Source: Gizmodiva

We had fun reporting on Nikon’s S1000pj, the first camera with a touchscreen, and it would appear that Samsung is doing something unique with their cameras with the unveiling of the ST500 and ST550, two cameras with a display on the front.

In fact, the front display is a touchscreen, allowing the user to touch and take a self-portrait. I suppose this is a response to all those cameras that have the flip out and turn around screens. They usually don’t work well on cameras of this type, do they?

Both the ST500 and ST550 have a 12 megapixel sensor, 4.6x optical zoom, and a front display of 1.5 inches. The only difference seems between the two models is that the ST550 has a 3.5 inch rear display, while the ST500 has a 3 inch one.

Sadly, this is all the information that I have on this particular product. A lot of this info is taken from press embargoes that shouldn’t have been broken, but it is really big news, so I just had to report on it.

In other words, I don’t have a price or release date. However, having a camera with two screens raises a big question of whether a front and back display will become an industry standard. Chime in with a comment to let me know what you think.

Source

Usually my flash drive has the most bland of material stored on it.  There’s never anything that I really need to keep hidden.  At times I really wish that I had some top secret file to hide away, but so far, no such luck.  Well if you do tend to store top secret files or just want to pretend like you do, you’re going to need a way to protect those files.  This Flash Drive Lock Range will make sure that the only way they can get in is through a 3-digit code.

They market this towards civil servants specifically, but I more see teenagers picking up on these than anyone else.  Be it because they don’t want someone (their parents) to see what’s on their drive or just to have it to show off to classmates at school.  It’s more likely more people will buy it as a novelty than as a serious contraption.  The lock will work with any standard USB drive.  You can purchase it for £5.95 or about $10 from The Verdict.

Source: CrunchGear

Just when you thought that a rudimentary device could not get “techno-fied”, along comes the Digital BBQ Tongs.

The Digital BBQ Tongs are more than just ordinary barbecue tongs with a LED display, but they have special sensors in the tips to detect the meat’s temperature. So in case you are wondering if the burgers or chicken really are cooked all the way through, just listen to the tongs.

Yes, these tongs will actually tell you, with an chimed alarm, when the meat is done. In fact, it has seven preset meat types and one custom setting. No more eating undercooked food and risking terrifying health problems ever again!

Not only does it come with a backlit LCD display, but it also has an LED flashlight for times when…actually, I can’t think of a time when you would use the LED flashlight. I mean, if you are barbecuing at night, then move your grill underneath the porch light! At least the LED flashlight might give you that extra light if it is needed.

If you like the concept behind the Digital BBQ Tongs, and want one of your own, feel free to go to the Taylor Gifts site and lay down $40. By the way, it comes with the 3 AAA batteries that power it.

Source

I’m sure that many of you have had photo prints sent to you with the words “Do not bend” on the envelope, only to find that the postman ignored the instruction. You then discover that your prints have creases that ruined what could have been perfect photos.

Fortunately, HP is working on a process that can remove that accursed crease from your photo prints. Best of all, the process requires no special equipment but an ordinary flatbed scanner.

Most scanners use two separate lights to artificially capture the color of a photograph. If these lights move independently from each other, then two separate images can be captured. The software can then kick in and do the “infilling” process of removing pixels inside the scanned crease, replacing them with pixels outside the crease.

There is still a lot of bugs to be worked out of this process, as any defects that lie against the glass cannot be detected, and bigger creases could be a problem.

Still, it is good to see that someone is thinking ahead when it comes to restoring old photo prints. I’m sure we all love the Red-eye removal feature, so why not come up with a process that removes those creases?

Source

If you aren’t familiar with Russian Designer Art Lebedev, then perhaps you have heard of the Optimus Maximus, the keyboard with a screen for every key.

It would appear that the innovative designer is working on another device that has become common: the GPS device. His “Navigarius” uses a round display as opposed to the traditional square models. It also includes touchscreen controls, USB connectivity, a microSD reader, as well as a cigarette lighter adapter.

I can think of other features that my source does not list off. For example, voice recognition. However, that’s starting to become a standard on many GPS devices these days, especially with those cars with it built-in.

At the risk of gadget-gushing, I will have to say that I love it. Personally, I think this design will probably be picked up, and quite soon. In fact, I think that its design is so revolutionary, that I could easily see it on every dashboard in the future.

So are we looking at an age where we see a GPS device with a rectangular screen and say: “oh, that is so quaint”. Do you remember just ten years ago, when all of our computer displays were huge and square. Flatscreens changed all that, and I see the same potential for the Navigarius.

Source