Gadgets Future

London Tube Map Wallet

You can have this for ?4.95

Posted Mar 29th 2008 1:18PM by Paul Miller
Filed under: cellphonesHaving some blackberry troubles? You’re not alone, we’ve been receiving some sporadic tips on the subject, and some forum users have reported outage trouble as well, though for other users it seems just fine. Let us know how your service is doing. Or don’t — this might be just the chance you were looking for to ditch work email and get a start on that spring tan. We won’t tell a soul.

We first saw Verizon announce the rugged G’zOne Type-S Series back in June of last year, but at the time it was only available in black. The main feature of the phone was its ability to last in really bad conditions. While the features remain the same, the G’zOne now sports a shiny black and silver exterior. Along with the new color is a lower price, just $80 after an ‘online discount’ along with a two-year contract. If you are the type to go rough on your phones, this may be a good model to consider.

Product [Verizon] Via [EngadgetMobile]

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Convergence devices are great and all, but how many of them are actually useful? Methinks the One Battery Emergency Mobile Charger Torch tries too hard, as it seems to place the humble AA battery on a sky high pedestal. Sure, you can slot in an AA battery inside, which the manufacturer claims is enough to power your cell phone battery for an additional hour to two of talktime - perfect for those emergency moments. Each $21.50 purchase will come with five tips for Nokia, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson handsets among others. If you don’t have any dead batteries to charge, you can always use it to annoy your friends with the built-in torchlight function.

Canadians are getting antsy about not having an iPhone yet. It’s a question with some history, wrapped up in local trademark concerns and Apple’s easy-does-it approach to internationalizing its iPodification of phones. What can you do about it, Canadians?

"PhoneWorld.ca and our friends from iPhoneInCanada.ca, the two largest Canadian iPhone news and information portals … bring you The Great Canadian iPhone Petition."

It’s a lovely thought, but the Fakesteve post kind of writes itself in your head the millisecond your "fan petition" neuron and your "Steve Jobs" neuron link up.

The Petition [Petitionsite]
The Great Canadian iPhone Petition [iphone World]

Original Photo: AP/Paul Akuma

Goodbye hd dvd, hello Blu-ray. Standalone Blu-ray players used to cost a bomb (some of them still do, which was what made the Sony PS3 all the more attractive if you were looking for a firmware upgradeable Blu-ray player instead of a gaming machine first), and laptops that came with Blu-ray drives actually required you to sell off a kidney in order to own one. With the pseudo format wars behind them and Blu-ray emerging the victor in their tussle with Toshiba’s HD DVD, it is easier for companies to make a commitment as to include the winning format’s technology into their products. Take Dell, for example. This Texan computer giant has finally taken the plunge in the world of High Definition, offering a Blu-ray laptop that does not break the bank - retailing below the magical $1,000 mark. The laptop in question is the Inspiron 1525, featuring an optional Blu-ray optical drive with prices starting from $879 upwards.

Getting a Blu-ray optical drive doesn’t mean you have to start purchasing all your DVDs over again in the new format, as this optical drive is fully backwards compatible and boasts the ability to make backups onto standard DVDs and CDs if the need arises. There is also an option to purchase the Inspiron 1525 with a Blu-ray burner drive, although that will set you back by quite a fair bit - but think about the benefits from owning such a drive, you will be able to store way more data on a single Blu-ray drive (50GB) compared to a standard DVD which holds 8.5GB of data at most.

Other features of the Dell Inspiron 1525 include a 15.4″ high definition wide aspect display at 720p resolution, an HDMI port for convenient connectivity to HDTVs and other high resolution displays, an integrated graphics card and a built-in dedicated accelerator to help out in high definition video playback. You can choose from Chill, Blossom and Commotion designs, or from Sunshine Yellow, Midnight Blue and Ruby Red colors.

Press Release

Microsoft will soon be releasing Service Pack 3 for Windows XP. How soon is soon? Reports have it coming as early as April and will be released in two groups. Service Pack 3 (SP3) will come first for those users with the Simplified English, Chinese, French, Korean, Spanish, and Korean versions with any remaining versions to follow about 3-weeks later.

Microsoft has also confirmed that SP3 for Windows XP Media Center and Windows XP Tablet Edition will not be available as an integrated version, meaning those users will only be available to update to SP3 using Windows Update. Its also safe to say that this will be that last major update Microsoft will push out before they stop selling XP this June. Which hopefully becomes a point where users will finally feel comfortable enough to make the move to Vista.

Via [Gizmodo]

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USB devices are dime a dozen these days, and it can get pretty tricky trying to get all of them hooked up to your computer or notebook which has extremely limited USB ports. If you happen to want a USB port of sorts, why not consider the USB Star Hub II? Here’s the product description, in completely broken English (I’ve left it unedited to contribute to the quirkiness of the entire device).

USB Star Hub II allows you to connect 4 different USB devices at the same time. Each port can turn 180° that make you more convenience to use and the colourful design can help to decorate your desk.

The USB Star Hub II retails for $12 a pop.

Is this ever a funky piece of transportation - the Motorized Monocycle from Hammacher.

Drawing upon a robust history of development that began with an original design conceived in Marseilles, France in 1869, this is the motorized monocycle made in the Netherlands that propels a single rider up to 25 MPH. Powered by a 31cc, four-stroke 1 1/2-hp engine, the wheel operates by using a centrifugal clutch on its inner steel frame to engage the larger 67″ diam. outer flywheel that actually makes contact with the ground with a rubber tire. The ingenious device is steered by leaning to one side or the other, and it can safely negotiate any dense surface such as pavement or grass. A fiberglass frame encloses the engine, drive train, and fuel tank, and provides a cushioned seat and convenient footrests for riders up to 6′ 3″ high when i n a sitting position. The hand-holds have a finger throttle that provides progressive acceleration and a brake that provides confident stops for riders up to 275 lbs. (minimum weight of 110 lbs. suggested for proper counterbalance during acceleration and braking). It can run for up to two hours on less than a 1/2-gallon of gasoline.

No point in picking one of these up if it isn’t a street legal vehicle. Well, unless you want to drive the Joneses up the wall as they try to keep up with your lavish $12,999.95 purchase.

Sakar has a couple of new MP3 players that seemingly target the pre-teen segment of the market. These won’t be able to save you from bankruptcy should you default on your loans for a few months in a row, and even pawn shops won’t want to take this in. Covered in fake jewels, you can choose from pink or purple colors. These Sakar MP3 players will carry just 512MB worth of songs inside, which is paltry considering today’s storage standards. Pricing details are conspicuously missing as well, but it shouldn’t hit your wallet for too much damage anyways.

Product Page via Chip Chick