Gadgets Future

Here’s one USB device that could be practical: a portable-USB back massager that can be used whilst at home, or even in the car (with the bundled in-car adapter). It can be used to relax your tired back, lumbar, leg and also neck muscles - at least that’s what the manufacturer claims, we have not tested it. It features four massage modes, which include kneading, tapping, shiatsu and rolling. Massage strengths and rhythms include high, medium and low. Said massager also features a remote control, which can be used to control the massager. The cost owning this personal masseur is £39.99 (about $79).

For those who don’t frequent watering holes, here’s news for you. A beer tube is a simple device that harnesses the power of gravity so that your brew will be dispensed in a jiffy. Fast pouring beer equals to fast drinking, and fast drinking normally translates to you being unable to walk in a straight line shortly thereafter. With the Beer Siren around, it makes sure the local bartender will remain sensitive to your thirst as it will alert the bar and everybody else in the room, as they start to whisper among themselves regarding the job you’re in which is so stressful that you need non-stop alcohol to cope with the situation. The Beer Siren will retail for $19 a pop.

Sony has just announced that they are opening up their Sony Reader to be compatible with other booksellers. An update, that is expected to be available today will allow Sony Reader owners to purchase books in the protected EPUB format from any retailer and not just the Sony e-book store.

The EPUB format is supported by publishers which include Simon & Schuster, Penguin Group, HarperMedia, Hachette Book Group, HarperMedia and Harlequin Enterprises Ltd.

This will, at least from Sony’s perspective make the Reader a little more attractive as compared to some others currently on the market, namely the Kindle which has more than 140,000 books available. Sony’s online e-book store has just about 45,000 available.

Of course, I have to point out that while this does make the Reader a much more attractive purchase, it is still lacking the instant access to purchase a book directly from the device like the Kindle.

In addition, Sony also announced that the PRS-505 is now available for pre-order in the UK, of course it will not begin shipping until September, but its still nice to see them get the availability, especially its been available here in the US for quite a while now.

Read [Yahoo! News]

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The BookEndz Docking Station targets PowerBook, MacBook and MacBook Pro owners by offering all the similar ports save for power and ExpressCard, of course. All you need to do is plug your precious notebook into the dock and you’re good to go. Below is the pricing for the respective models to suit your fancy.

• 17-inch MacBook Pro - $319.95
• 15-inch MacBook Pro - $299.95
• 13-inch MacBook - $159
• 17-inch PowerBook G4 - $299.95
• 15-inch PowerBook G4 - $274.95

They certainly aren’t cheap, but seem to do their job pretty well.

Samsung aims to launch a serious assault in the world of LCD HDTVs (not that they already aren’t trying their darndest best at the moment) with the new Series 9 LED LCD HDTVs. This flagship line is the second generation LCD HDTV from Samsung to utilize LED SmartLighting technology which merges both LED and 120Hz technologies for some truly stunning specifications and performance in the living room. More of these features will be listed down in detail after the jump, but to kickstart the entire new range, we will cover a couple of models - the 46″ and 54″ in this post.

As Samsung’s second generation LCD HDTV to use advanced LED SmartLighting with local dimming technology, the Series 9 LCD HDTV is able to achieve dramatic contrast levels and express “actual black levels” by completely shutting off a pixel’s light source, eliminating the grayish black picture plaguing many LCD HDTVs. Conversely, groups of pixels can be locally controlled to produce more light increasing the brightness of the Series 9’s picture when necessary. Furthering the Series 9’s ability to show deeper black levels, Samsung’s improved Ultra Clear Panel technology eliminates ambient light reflection that may affect picture quality, ensuring perfect picture clarity even in bright viewing surroundings. By enhancing color reproduction level, Samsung’s Ultra Clear Panel technology also lets consumers enjoy the detail and vibrancy of colors. Adding to the superior picture quality in the Series 9 is Samsung’s Auto Motion Plus 120Hz technology that reduces the motion blur caused by fast-paced content. It’s ideal for diehard sport fans, avid gamers, and movie mavens alike.

Specifications of the Series 9 950 LED LCD HDTV include :-

• 46″ and 55″ screen sizes
• Full HD 1080p resolution
• 1,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio
• 4ms response time
• LED SmartLighting technology
• Auto Motion Plus 120Hz technology
• UltraClear Panel
• Wide Color Enhancer 2
• DNIe Pro (Digital Natural Imaging engine) technology
• 46”: 10-watts per channel, 2 channels
• 55”: 15 watts per channel, 2 channels
• 4 HDMI (HDMI-CEC) version 1.3 inputs (3 rear, 1 side)
• 1 side USB 2.0 port (WiseLink Pro)
• 2 component inputs
• 1 composite input
• 1 S-Video input
• 1 PC input
• 1 Headphone jack
• 1 Ethernet connection (for InfoLink, and DLNA connectivity only)

You can pick up the 46” and 55” models for $3,199.99 and $4,199.99, respectively.

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After a week of testing the MobileMe service on two Macs, two Dells and two iPhones, Walt came away with a bad taste in his mouth for MobileMe. It seems not only did it not sync from his desktop instantly (Apple confirmed this as a known issue) but it also sometimes didn’t sync at all or reordered his bookmarks, or mangled his contacts to some degree, or … the list goes on and on.

I, too, tried MobileMe and first I watched as it randomly crashed applications on my Mac and then it sort of synced, but then sometimes I couldn’t even get into the web-based applications to see what had actually come through. I’ve since changed the sync settings to manual and have continued to use Microsoft Exchange as my primary way of syncing my Calendar and Contacts.

The most shocking thing about this news is that the Apple experience and Apple “special sauce” traditionally inherent in everything the company does definitely missed the mark with MobileMe.

If Walt doesn’t give it the thumbs up, millions of consumers won’t try it either. We’ll see what Apple does next to counter.

On a positive note, I’ve been publishing pictures and movies to the gallery portion of MobileMe without issue, so maybe Apple should stick to its core and leave the Calendar, Contacts and e-mail fun to Microsoft for now?

Read more of Walt’s scathing review at allthingsd.com

Leaving a power cable plugged into an outlet without even turning it on will still sip some power from the grid, and when you think about it on the larger scale, that will definitely affect your power bill at the end of each month, although the effect is not quite pronounced and more subtle instead. Designer Paula Oh decided that enough’s enough, coming up with a plan to prevent that from ever happening again - by unplugging them. That’s a no-brainer, but what Paula did differently was offer the Hang On Outlet that holds your loose plugs so that you won’t get unsightly cords and wires lying all over the place in a haphazard manner.

So we’ve all been there. That rush of panic when we’ve lost (or at least momentarily think we’ve lost) our cell phone.  When our phone contains lots of confidential data like bank info and emails, the panic level tends to rise even more quickly. Now we don’t have to just worry about Joe Finder using up our minutes, but now Joe Finder could access our bank accounts and read all those spicy emails we sent to Suzy at the office, uh-oh. This not even counting in the fact that the money spent on the phone is now down the drain.

Enter your possible savior, the cell phone Superhero! Nope, it’s not some guy sporting a cape and a mask (regardless of their logo), but a new service just launched yesterday in the US and Canada from YouGetItBack.com. Claiming to be able to protect your confidential data and aid in safely returning your gadget, YouGetItBack.com may just be a lost cell phone users new best friend.  The way it works is that once a phone is lost or stolen, subscribers of the downloadable software simply go online and remotely lock their mobile phone. This will prevent anyone else from being able to make calls or access information on the device. Subscribers are also able to retrieve contacts from the phone via the internet.

The only call that is able to be made from a found phone is to the YouGetItBack service, which then works with the finder to get the device back to the owner. A finder is also able to log onto the company website to return the lost gadget.  In the instance of the finder being Internet-illiterate (or so honest as to not even open the phone), the company sells adhesive security tags with unique device numbers and a toll-free return number. The tags, which start at under $10 for three years of use, can be used on any mobile gadget or even luggage. 

YouGetItBack CEO Frank Hannigan believes that most people don’t have nefarious purposes upon finding a lost phone.

“Industry research indicates that most people want to do the right thing, And if you make it easy and risk free for them…they are more than happy to see that a found item is reunited with its owner.”

The YouGetItBack service costs $20 annually and works with many phones, though not all at this point. It should be noted that compatibility with the popular iphone is still in the works. They also run a laptop service, but that one currently only works with Windows XP.

If the software and tags are unsuccessful, the lost device will be replaced. The company said that about 75% of it’s tagged and registered gadgets are returned to their rightful owners. At 20 bucks a year, especially depending on what you carry in your phone, this may just be a superhero you want on your side.

Read [CNet]

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Cisco has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately held Pure Networks.

Pure Networks and Cisco are no strangers since the company provides the software infrastructure and tools used for the Linksys Easy Link Advisor (LELA). Cisco believes that the acquisition of Pure Networks will provide the company a fully integrated home networking-management solution, which will result in new applications for setting up networks within the home or office.

Cisco will pay US$120 million to purchase all outstanding shares of Pure Networks stock. The deal is expected to close during the first quarter of Cisco’s 2009 fiscal year pending closing conditions. Pure Networks’ employees are expected to join Linksys under Cisco’s ownership and for now will remain in Seattle where Pure is currently based.

Cisco was clearly impressed by what Pure Networks had to offer in brain power and intellectual assets. The acquisition will no doubt strengthen Linksys as a company and as a brand. Most of all, the new acquisition further bolsters Cisco’s position in the consumer market.

Read more at the Cisco press release.

LG Electronics is going to launch its Atom-based notebook in October, known as the LG X110. The laptop itself is manufactured by Micro-Star International (or MSI) which have successfully with their Wind, and hopes LG too. The highlight features include a 8.9-inch panel. 2GB memory, 120GB hard drive, and running under Windows XP. The X110 will cost around NT$19,000-24,000 (US$625.5-790.11).
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