Gadgets Blog

Western Digital seems to be on a roll lately, rolling out its new My Book Elite desktop external drives that boasts something most of other external hard drives from different manufacturers don’t – a customizable e-label which will remain visible even when there is no power supplied to the unit. Yes sir, this means it allows you to check out at a glance what is on the drive exactly alongside how much storage space you have left available to upload those naughty pictures you copied from the office server to your thumb drive while you’re at work. Users who pick up the new My Book Elite will also benefit from the inclusion of WD SmartWare software that offers automatic and continuous backup to make sure all your data within remains safe and sound most of the time (there are no guarantees in the world, but we’re pretty sure for most folks, this is as safe as it gets for a commercial solution). Accompanied by 256-bit hardware-based encryption, you can be sure that the new My Book Elite desktop external drives won’t disappoint when it comes to performance and capability.

New users will be pleased to know that whenever the My Book Elite drive is plugged in for the first time, a simple and intuitive first backup process will initialize. It features a real-time visual interface of WD SmartWare software that offers users a reassuring view of their backup as and when it happens. Once the initial backup system runs, users’ files will be backed up automatically every time there is a change or a file is added to a particular directory. To up the ante security-wise, you will find a combination of user-selected password protection with 256-bit hardware-based encryption to be more than sufficient to prevent unauthorized data theft.

Depending on your budget, you can bring home the new My Book Elite drives in various capacities that range from 1TB to 1.5TB and 2TB, where each purchase will be accompanied by a 3-year limited warranty. Depending on the My Book Elite drive of choice, you will have to prepare yourself to fork out anywhere from $169.99 to $279.99.

Press Release

Western Digital has just rolled out its latest My Book Studio desktop external drive that will come with updated features, with one of them being particularly outstanding to stand head and shoulders above the rest of the external hard drive crowd. We’re talking about a customizable e-label here, ladies and gentlemen, where it will remain always visible even when there is no power being supplied to it, making it a snap to know just how much space you have left in the drive and what contents there are within at a glance. Targeting Mac users and creative professionals, the new My Book Studio drives will boast a FireWire 800 interface that makes it a snap to transfer data and super fast speeds compared to the USB 2.0 standard, making folks who deal a whole lot with photo and video editing and graphic design happy.

Western Digital also shows concern for the environment by incorporating WD GreenPower Technology that helps lower internal drive power consumption by up to 30%, while a sleep mode will reduce power during idle times, alongside a power-saving feature that turns the drive on and off depending on the status of your computer. All of its packaging were also produced from recycled materials as a nod to Mother Nature.

You’ll also be pleased to know that the new My Book Studio drives are TimeMachine compatible, where they will come with automatic, continuous backup courtesy of WD SmartWare software. This means all your data will remain as secure as it can get for a commercial-grade data storage device, thanks to 256-bit hardware-based encryption that will provide a high level of security. All of the new My Book Studio drives will come formatted for the Mac platform and will be available in various capacities, ranging from 500GB to 1TB, 1.5TB and 2TB. Depending on the storage capacity, you will have to fork out anywhere from $149.99 to $299.99.

Press Release

There are several times I make a point to disconnect from the world, which means no laptop, no phone, no nothing.  Just get away, even if it’s just for a little while, so that I can feel somewhat recharged.  It’s one of those things that I’ve found is necessary for me to function.  However, there are those that are the polar opposite of me.  They absolutely need to stay connected to the world, otherwise everything seems to fall apart.  Well for those that need that connection, there is now this bath tub friendly phone that will allow for you to keep on chatting even while you’re soaking in the tub.

It has speakerphone so there’s no worries about getting a handset wet while you’re in the tub.  This Bathphone, were it to ever be turned into a real phone, I would hope would be waterproof.  However, being a concept design, it’s a little skimpy on the details.  One thing’s for sure, it would be elderly-friendly with the size of those numbers.  It’d probably also allow those that have to take off their glasses while in the shower to still be able to read the numbers.

Source: Gizmodiva

Today must be Elecom day, because this is the second product from the Japanese company that I am reporting on this fine Friday. Unlike the TK-TCT005BK, this particular product has a name, and it is very important that you learn it.

It is called the “Sundries PLAYBRICK”, not “Lego headphones”. I would imagine its called that to avoid any lawsuits. I’m sure that users everywhere will call them that anyway, but I’m going to try to avoid that if I can.

This isn’t the first time Elecom has had a Lego, I mean, a building block style product, as they recently unveiled the Soundblock, an iPod dock connector speaker.

The Sundries PLAYBRICK comes in six colors including blue, red, white, black, pink, and mixed colors. Now, what I want to know is: can you attach actual Lego, ahem, building bricks to these phones?

If that is the case, maybe I can make an arch of building blocks to cradle my head. Maybe I can attach wingtips to make me look like The Flash. The possibilities are pretty limitless here.

You should be able to get the Sundries PLAYBRICK for about $23, but only in Japan. It should be noted that my source doesn’t tell me how these headphones sound. I guess it doesn’t matter, because customers will use it for the Lego, I mean, PLAYBRICK!

Source

The winner of last week’s coolest gadget competition is the Nikon Coolpix S1000pj Digital Camera with Built-in Projector.

The Nikon Coolpix S1000pj Digital Camera is the world’s first digicam with a built in projector. This 12.1-megapixel resolution camera features a 5x wide-angle Zoom-NIKKOR glass lens; 5-way VR image stabilization system and a 2.7-inch high-resolution LCD. But the best feature is that ultra-small 10 lumens bright projector that can throw a 5-40 inch image anywhere from 10 inches to 6.5 feet away. Great for instantly sharing your slideshows and movies with everyone.

Congrats again to Craziest Gadgets.

In second place we have the SmartMeasure Cup With LCD Display.

There aren’t too many instances when I need to weigh my liquids, but nonetheless the Taylor Digital Measuring Cup and Scale can do just that. As we wrote in August the SmartMeasure Cup got picked up for actual retail sale and now it is here and available from Amazon for just $30.

Finally in third place comes the Video Camera Pen Captures Conversations From Your Shirt Pocket.

The Video Camera Pen is a covert spy device that records audio, color video and even writes just like a regular ballpoint.

Thank you to everybody who voted, submitted, commented or told a friend. The randomly drawn winner of the $50 Think Geek vouchers is:

tru (truovrld@…), congratulations.

Thanks again everybody and good luck with the next CGOTW contest which will be published shortly.

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If you write for a gadget themed blog and wish to be included in next week’s contest check out the CGOTW instructions page.