Gadgets Future

by Nilay Patel, posted May 13th 2008 at 4:58PM
We’ve seem some impressive wind power tech, but a new breed of small, high-power wind turbines could potentially bring efficient wind power home. Developed by an inventor named Doug Selsam, the new turbines have rotors just 14-18 inches in diameter, but can produce 200 watts in a 20MPH wind, and much more than that at higher wind speeds. The trick is using high-strength carbon-fiber materials that allow several rotors to be hooked up as one — in strong winds a thirteen-rotor system can produce enough juice to blow out a bank of car headlights “like flashbulbs.” That’s pretty impressive — especially since the system is light and balanced enough to be held up with one hand. No word on when or how we might see these hit the public, but we can see some pretty sweet applications — laptops in the park, anyone?

[Thanks, Yocheved]

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Filed under: Misc. gadgets

Sony today unveiled two new Xplod in-dash CD receivers that feature an intuitive user interface with USB flash media support for Sony’s Quick BrowZer technology, the new CDX-GT920U and CDX-GT620U models deliver 52 watts x 4 high-power output and three additional pre-outs to satisfy drivers who want explosive sound and flexibility.

Sony Explod CDX-GT920U
The CDX-GT920U car stereo features a motorized fold-out detachable faceplate and switchable blue, green and red key illumination on a large full-motion florescent display.

The multi-line display offers smooth, clean, solid movement of graphics and a higher resolution at 30 x 39 dpi and eight degrees of contrast for improved readability. A rear USB flash drive input with Quick BrowZer allows for quick and simple playlist navigation employing a user-friendly menu system.

In addition, the CDX-GT920U provides ipod player, HD Radio and satellite radio compatibility.

Sony Explod CDX-GT620U
The CDX-GT620U head unit features a flip-down detachable faceplate with blue illumination on a black LED display. The front USB input supports Quick BrowZer functionality.

Both of the new car stereos feature an auxiliary input on the faceplate to connect a portable music player using a standard 1/8-inch mini jack cord (sold separately) and offer MP3, non-DRM AAC and non-DRM WMA playback via CD and USB. A supplied wireless card remote makes it easy to control the music from the front or back seat.

MSI has released its pricing details for the Wind ultra portable laptop. As it will be going up against the Eee PC 900 12G (Linux) model, MSI has shrewdly placed a $399 price tag on their Wind model that runs on Novell SUSE Linux and has 512MB RAM and an infinitely more spacious 80GB hard drive. For folks who prefer 1GB RAM and Windows XP, they will have to fork out an additional $150, which brings the final price to $549, breaking the psychologically important $500 barrier when it comes to impulse purchases. The MSI Wind will be out this June 3rd. Which camp are you on?

What’s the difference between a BlackBerry and an iPhone? A keyboard. Once Apple ships the iPhone 2.0 software, with proper Exchange support and push email, the only real difference between the the handsets is the BlackBerry’s physical input. But it looks like RIM will be ditching it’s one advantage in a rumored new handset, the BlackBerry Thunder.

According to the Boy Genius Report, the new handset will be RIM’s first true touchscreen phone, with just four physical buttons. Available sometime in Q3, it will be an exclusive to Verizon (in the US) and Vodafone (Europe). The eagle eyed amongst you will have spotted that this requires support for both GSM HSPA and CDMA radios, which means this thing will work pretty much anywhere in the world. The picture above is not a leaked shot but a fantastical conjuring from the depths of Photoshop.

We doubt that this is the end for a real QWERTY on the CrackBerry. Instead, it shows that blackberry is feeling the heat from the iphone and possibly releasing a copycat device. Let’s just hope there’s a decent web browser and an ipod in there too.

BlackBerry Thunder, the touchscreen BlackBerry we’ve all been waiting for [Boy Genius Report]

The Gizmondo must surely be one of the most problematic handheld consoles ever to be made, missing their original May launch date only to provide everyone with a late 2008 launch instead. I suppose the extra time has something to do with the introduction of improvements such as a separate graphics card from NVidia as well as Windows CE 6.0 as the operating system of choice. Despite seemingly superior hardware, I think the entire console will just tank when released - this should go the way of the Phantom as it would be better for everyone.

There are more details filtering out for Guitar Hero IV, and this time round Activision’s hot selling franchise will follow Rock Band more closely by offering a slew of new instruments such as a bass, microphone and six-piece drumset which is accompanied by two cymbals. There is no word on whether both Guitar Hero IV and Rock Band instruments will be cross-compatible, but kudos to the developers if they make it so. After all, not doing so will only lead folks to take sides, which is not exactly a good thing. At press time, you can expect tracks from Van Halen, The Eagles, Sublime, and Linkin Park to make the grade. Guitar Hero IV will hit the Xbox 360, Wii and PS3 before the year is over.

LG has seen the light and will cease production of its hd dvd/Blu-ray combo player when fall comes around, following Samsung’s footsteps in producing only Blu-ray players. Well, I guess folks who have jumped on the HD DVD bandwagon earlier on will have to take better care of their players as playback options are starting to dwindle down at a rate faster than the government spends our tax money frivolously.

Still doubt that the 3G iPhone is coming soon?

This settings screen with a 3G toggle switch (see image below) was found in the latest beta release of the iPhone’s 2.0 firmware.

Why would you want to turn off 3G? Because 3G drains cell phone batteries very quickly. In this screenshot, Apple has included a toggle setting to turn 3G off, and use AT&T’s slower but more battery friendly EDGE network instead. Probably a very useful feature if you are almost out of juice.

When can we expect to see a 3G iphone and how much will it cost?

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Sharp has just let loose a pair of new sizable and feature-packed LCD TVs, although you’re more likely to find one of ‘em in a kiosk or a conference room than a home theater. Intended primarily for commercial use, the 46-inch TL-M4600 and 52-inch TL-M5200 each boast a full 1920 x 1080 resolution, along with a “sub-6ms” response time, a full range of ports (including DVI-D and HDCP-compatible HDMI), optional speakers, and a 1,500:1 contrast ratio on TL-M4600 and 2,000:1 on the TL-M5200. Both also boast fanless internal cooling systems to keep the noise down and, perhaps most notably, LAN connectivity complete with a built-in web browser. Of course, just because Sharp’s targeting businesses and the like doesn’t mean it won’t sell you one, although you’ll have to drop a hefty $4,000 for the 46-incher or $5,000 for the 52-inch model.
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All hail fuel cell - it is advancements like that that will make concepts such as the BakVac possible, but not anytime soon though. Instead of dragging around a vacuum cleaner with the very clear and present dangers of tripping yourself up, why not carry the BakVac vacuum on your back instead? This is definitely the more convenient method of doing things, and at least you know you won’t be tripping up anytime soon. Unfortunately, such a concept can only be realized once fuel cell technology has caught up in order to be of such practical use. Whatever the case is, the future is definitely an exciting one.