Gadgets Future

by Donald Melanson, posted May 26th 2008 at 3:11PM While it likely won’t hold onto the (slightly dubious) title for long at the rate mini-projectors are cropping up these days, Hong Kong-based Earth Trek has nonetheless gone out and proclaimed its new 90-805R projector to be the “world’s smallest” and, indeed, it is small. Measuring about 4 by 2 inches, the projector can apparently pump out a 22-inch diagonal image (no word from what distance), with an SD card slot and an A/V input provided via a 3.5 mm jack, not to mention a built-in speaker. No word on a price or release date just yet, but we’d assume they’d want to get it out relatively soon in order to beat the inevitable cellphone projector rush.

• Read
• Permalink
• Email this
• 4 Comments

Filed under: Displays

For US-based workers today is a holiday, which means you are either at home tending to your barbecue or sitting at your desk tanning under the fluorescents and pretending to work. Either way, here is something brilliant to help you pass the time.

The whole Super Mario World custom levels/automatic levels thing has been around for some time, but this is the best I have seen, by far. It’s basically a extended, custom Mario stage designed to match a set of anime tunes. I won’t make believe that I am familiar with any of the songs, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the video.

Happy Memorial Day!

Qualcomm has announced a breakthrough in regards to mobile displays at the SID 2008 conference. The company has pioneered the first Interferometric Modulation (IMOD) color mirasol display. What sets the IMOD color display apart from other display technologies is that it requires no backlighting and reflects light allowing for low power consumption and viewing no matter the lighting condition.

A 0.9-inch IMOD color display is expected to first be used in a new “next-generation” mp3 player to be produced by Freestyle Audio. Besides MP3 players, the new display technology has also been designed for use in mobile phones. More information about the new display technology can be found at http://www.mirasoldisplays.com.

Display technology is literally the window to the mobile world so any improvement in the technology has a trickle down effect on new mobile technologies. Now we’ll be able to see richer colors when it comes to mobile phones and MP3 players without the sacrifice of power. That’s a nice combination and a win-win for mobile device manufacturers.

Read more from the Qualcomm press release.

Smokers are among the most persecuted demographics in America today. More and more states are passing laws daily to prohibit cigarettes inside public areas. While they might have a point about the second-hand health hazards and the customer complaints, what about the smoker’s needs?

Smoking is an addiction. Once you pick up the addiction it’s hell to lose it. The SuperSmoker is a product that could help smokers rebel against the constant persecution by providing the same feel of lighting up a cancer stick, though totally smokeless and electronic.

The SuperSmoker contains no tobacco, doesn’t need a lighter or any sort of flame to “light” up. Instead the SuperSmoker uses a vaporization chamber and a disposable cartridge (which lasts about as long as 15-20 conventional cigarettes) which holds a liquid made up of a brew of food products, creating a tobacco flavor to hold you over.

As soon as the smoker takes a puff, the liquid is vaporized. When you exhale, a smoky haze does appear, though without the typical smoke scent and minus all of the dangerous secondhand hazards. Even better, the SuperSmoker can be legally used in public areas (at least in the UK).

You can grab your own SuperSmoker cigarette for £79 (around $155), with each pack of six refills going for £7.95 (USD$16).

Product Page via Gizmag

• Email to a friend
• Leave a comment

When I think of a convergence device, I usually think of a mouse with three functions of a toaster that makes coffee. However, one doesn’t usually think about a walking stick with more than meets the eye. Sure, you can sneak a dagger or a pool cue into one pretty easily, however, wouldn’t a telescope be cool too?

This Telescope Walking Stick features a handle, which, when pulled out reveals a small telescope. Mind you, something this small is going to have only a 3x magnification, but that’s still enough for someone watching birds or hiking in the woods. I suppose that something like this would have been a little more useful in a time where there was still much undiscovered land, however, it still makes for an interesting piece. The staff is made from a 1” thick one-piece African rosewood, and will set you back $89.95.

Source: RedFerret

• Email to a friend
• Leave a comment

Want to use MS Office to open and save ODF spreadsheets, word processing, and presentation documents, but don’t want to wait until 2009 to do it?  Sun has got you covered.  Microsoft recently announced that native ODF support would be coming to its popular Office 2007 productivity suite with the release of Service Pack 2, currently scheduled for early to mid 2009.  Users who either can not or do not wish to wait that long have an alternative though, and it comes from one of Microsoft’s chief competitors in the market for office productivity software: Sun Microsystems.

Sun has taken the open source OpenOffice suite of productivity applications, and offers a branded version called StarOffice 8.  The productivity suite, which includes word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, drawing, and database capabilities (think Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Visio, and Access) costs far less than typical licenses for MS Office, and offers nearly the same functionality.  Major advantages include full compatibility with both ODF and popular MS Office formats, including .doc/.odt, .xls/.ods, and .ppt/.odp, as well as significant cost savings versus a typical installation of MS Office. 

Building on this open architecture, Sun is currently offering the Sun ODF Plugin for Microsoft Office v 1.2.  The plugin integrates seamlessly with the Open and Save dialog boxes in Office, allowing users to choose one of the ODF document formats whenever they open or save a document.  In addition to delivering the plugin nearly a year ahead of Microsoft, Sun also touts the plugin’s compatibility with earlier versions of Office, including Office 2000, Office XP, and Office 2003, in addition to Office 2007 SP1.  The only version of MS Office not supported is Office for Mac, but this is because Sun has never delivered a Mac version of StarOffice (though rumors of a Java-based version for OS X persist).  Microsoft has made no indication of its intent to support ODF in older versions of Office.

Via [ghacks.net] Via [Sun Office Productivity]

Keep up with the latest gadget goodness! - Subscribe to our feed →

This is one of the coolest inventions for those who play golf. This little gizmo is the newest gold caddy available. The technology is not new, but the ability to commercialize the product is a first. What’s so great about it is that it will follow you wherever you go with out having to use a remote. You simply use a transmitter that attaches to your body.

The shadow caddy carries your golf clubs behind you and even has a park mode so it will not follow you onto the green. This is great for any golfer who wants to enjoy the walk as well as the game itself. There is no better gift for the avid golfer. No more wasted money on a regular caddy who can not keep up anyway.

via Gizmag

Posted in Sports, Health & Fitness, Outdoors

by Donald Melanson, posted May 26th 2008 at 8:44AM There aren’t many sorts of vehicles that haven’t been solarized, but it looks like Dutch company Czeers has managed to find one, with it now showing off what it claims to be the world’s first solar powered speedboat. Dubbed the MK1, the solar panel-ensconced vessel can apparently reach a top speed of 30 knots (or roughly 35 miles per hour), all the while operating in relative silence. The company doesn’t seem to have overlooked the other parts of the boat either, with it also boasting touchscreen-based control system and a suitably luxurious leather interior. No word on a possible price or release date just yet, naturally, but you can catch a glimpse of it in action in the video after the break.

[Via Uber Review]

• Read
• Permalink
• Email this
• 24 Comments

Filed under: Transportation

by Thomas Ricker, posted May 26th 2008 at 8:16AM
There you have it, Sonos’ reputed ZP120 zoneplayer mounting its chubby ZP100 Appalachian cuz. The new amplified zoneplayer adds 802.11n to the mix while ditching the analog outs. Also rumored is an un-amplified, 802.11n ZP90 to replace the ZP80. When? We have no idea but you’ll know when we do. Backside front after the break.

• Read
• Permalink
• Email this
• 8 Comments

Filed under: Home Entertainment

by Thomas Ricker, posted May 26th 2008 at 3:52AM
Remember when Samsung was pumping out cameraphones with increasingly ridiculous megapixel counts? At the moment, phones top-out at about 5 megapixels. Until this, the 8 megapixel C280 with 3x optical zoom and claimed 1600 ISO support (right) from the previously unheard of K-Touch. Ironically, it might very well be using a CMOS sensor from Samsung. Perhaps more interesting though is the fact that it’ll be using Canon’s own DIGIC III image processing when it hits the Chinese market.

• Read
• Permalink
• Email this
• 24 Comments

Filed under: cellphones, Digital Cameras