Gadgets Future

DLO TransDock Black TransDock FM Transmitter, Charger, And Cradle With Video Out

Take your iPod library on the road with the TransDock. It uses your existing FM radio and 12-volt auto power outlet to transmit music from your ipod to your cars FM radio, giving you full control.

Now, the TransDock takes mobile entertainment to the next level with a Video Out port that lets you channel iPod video downloads through popular flip-down screens or in-headrest monitors in your vehicle.

Fits iPod Nano, iPod With Video, iPod With Color Display, iPod and iPod Mini

Rhythm Sticks
If you've ever played air drums (that's everybody, isn't it?) then these are just the best things ever - really, ever.

You can have this for ?9.95

ThinkGeek is carrying the PTeq USB Pregnancy Test Kit which allows you and the missus to check whether the past few days’ night time romps in the bedroom have borne fruit. You will need to use it just like any other pregnancy test kit, and once done with your liquid disposal, plug it into the USB port and the PTeq will get to work straight away. It uses an electrospray ionization process on the device in order to create a spectograph of your urine. It works on both Mac and Windows platforms, and is a good April Fool’s hoax at $17.99 a pop.

Plasma TVs might beat out on LCDs when it comes to image quality, but next-gen LCD TVs ought to do much better as they bring brighter colors and a virtually infinite contrast ratio to the table, thanks to the efforts of Dolby and Sim2. Their new prototype LCD TV features a high dynamic range which utilizes a backlight unit from Sim2 comprising of 1,838 LEDs, capable of maintaining 1080p resolution in a 16:9 aspect ratio. The prototype has been rated at 4,000 cd/m2 in terms of brightness, and has a uniform luminance of 95% throughout the display. According to Dolby, this TV is able to deliver a “picture quality that matches real-world visual perception of depth, detail, and color.” No word on pricing or availability, but it won’t be cheap - I can guarantee you that.

Posted Apr 1st 2008 5:45PM by Chris Ziegler
Filed under: Handhelds, Wireless
Having trouble telling the difference between this and a garden-variety N810? Yeah, don’t worry about it — that’s okay, and it’s actually by design. We had an opportunity to tool around with Nokia’s just-announced N810 WiMAX Edition today, and it stays very true to the original N810’s formula, substituting a darker case and keyboard (both of which look very handsome, by the way), and physically, that’s about it. The real magic happens deep within this thing’s innards, where the addition of a WiMAX radio keeps things speedy when WiFi hotspots are out of reach and Bluetooth tethering to a 3G phone is too much of a hassle. The software necessary to support XOHM activation isn’t complete yet, but Nokia’s reps tell us that the process of signing up for WiMAX service will be seamless and entirely doable from the N810 itself — no pesky phone calls or visits to a store necessary. They likened it to purchasing hotel internet service; there’ll probably be hourly, daily, or continuous subscriptions available, making it possible to only shell out XOHM coin when the situation demands it. It works just like any other data connection on the device, too, so getting your wide-area broadband on is pretty much as painless as it could possibly be. Check out some shots (including a side-by-side with the original N810) in the gallery!

Gallery: Hands-on with the Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition

Posted Apr 1st 2008 8:14PM by Ryan Block
Filed under: Features, Laptops, Wireless
Damn, Everex clearly stepped up their game with the Cloudbook MAX. Not that we want to harsh on the original Cloudbook or anything, but this thing is definitely in a different class — and the integrated XOHM WiMAX doesn’t hurt, either. Check out some hands-on shots taken at CTIA below.

Gallery: Everex Cloudbook MAX hands-on

After hearing that Engadget was (on April Fools day, yes) threatened by T-Mobile/Deutsch Telekom, I was tempted to slap up the recolored Gadget Lab logo we cooked up the last time T-Mob’s owners claimed ownership of the color magenta.

However, it looks like Eng has things well under control. Even if it does remind us that Magenta is perhaps the last color anyone in their right might would want to trademark.

Sound card maker Creative Labs, which warned driver modder/hacker Daniel Kawakami to stop distributing fixed versions of its broken Vista drivers, ‘fessed up to its PR disaster today and says it doesn’t want to be a spoilsport.

"We have read the strong feedback about Creative’s forum post regarding driver development by Daniel_k and other outside parties.  Creative’s message posted on our behalf by our Company spokesperson tried to address our concern about the improper distribution of certain software which is the property of other companies.  However, we did not make it as clear as we would have liked that we do support driver development by independent third parties.  The huge task of developing driver updates to accommodate the many changes in the Vista operating system and the extensive testing required, including the lengthy Vista certification requirements for audio, makes it very difficult for Creative to develop updates for all past products.  Outside developers have been very helpful to Creative and our customers by developing updates for many of our Sound Blaster products, and we do support and appreciate these efforts.  This however does not extend to the unauthorized distribution of other companies’ property.  We hope to work out a mutually agreeable method for working with Daniel_k in supporting his efforts in driver development.  Going forward, we are committed to doing a better job of working more closely with third parties to support their development for our products and our customers."

Why don’t you just stop deliberately crippling your official Vista drivers?

Forum Post [Creative]

So the marketing department at Nokia wanted to make the point that, using the WiMax capabilities on their new N810, you could surf the Web almost anywhere. So they hooked up an overengineered picnic table to a crane and hoisted a bunch of us up into the air. True to their promise, we were surfing the Web at broadband speeds with our feet dangling 15 stories above the parking lot at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Then they told us that we were actually on WiFi, because there is no WiMax in Las Vegas. Duped again! Too bad CTIA isn’t in Baltimore… wait, did I really just say that? Anyway, thanks for the ride, Nokia.

See another photo of this death-defying boondoggle—also by our ace shooter, Isaac Brekken—after the jump.