Gadgets Future

Is there room for a mini projector in our society these days? I personally think so - after all, it ain’t too much fun sharing a movie with several friends over the tiny display of the ipod touch. With the QingBar MP101 mini projector dock from Honlai Technology, you’ll be able to throw a 640 x 480 resolution image to a nearby screen or wall. That isn’t high at all by any standards, but it is understandable judging by the size of the device. The image size projected ranges from 15″ to 27″, and comes with a contrast ratio of 200:1 and a brightness of 10 to 15 lumens. You can also hook up your own speakers via a mini AV jack. Details such as pricing and availability are unknown.

Source: OhGizmo!

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by Darren Murph, posted Aug 10th 2008 at 1:17PMThough we expected Dell’s ruggedized Latitude E6400 ATG to have already launched by now, we suppose late is superior to never. As of this very moment, said laptop is available to order from the outfit’s Small & Medium Business division, and the baseline machine comes with a 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo P8400 CPU, Vista Home Basic, a 3-year warranty, 14.1-inch WXGA LED-backlit (and outdoor viewable, too) display, Intel’s GMA 4500MHD graphics, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, an 80GB 5,400RPM hard drive, 802.11b/g and a built-in combo drive. The machine we just described can be ordered up for $2,399, but those with a higher spending limit can opt for integrated WWAN, a 64GB SSD, a respectable amount of memory and a 2.8GHz T9600 processor. Sadly, the estimated ship date is September 29th, but you can feel free to get in line before that figure slips well into Q4.

[Thanks, Anthony]

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Filed under: Laptops

by Chris Ziegler, posted Aug 10th 2008 at 2:35PM
An all-too-brief, all-too-fuzzy video of a device alleging to be none other than HTC’s Dream has surfaced on YouTube, showing a white smartphone of healthy size running Android and sliding horizontally to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard. From what little we can make out, we’ve got to say that it’s not the sexiest thing we’ve ever seen — and the Dream has been so built up in our minds at this point that we’re expecting to have our socks knocked off hard by the time it’s officially unveiled. The silver lining here might be that the phone in the video bears an uncanny resemblance to a “reference design” made by “a partner” of Google’s that was demonstrated by none other than Google’s own Andy Rubin back in February of this year. Of course, that reference design could be getting refined and retooled to end up becoming the HTC’s inaugural Android effort anyway, but we’re hoping and guessing that the real Dream’s going to be at least a little more dreamy than this.

[Via Boy Genius Report]

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Filed under: cellphones, Handhelds

by Chris Ziegler, posted Aug 10th 2008 at 2:35PM
An all-too-brief, all-too-fuzzy video of a device alleging to be none other than HTC’s Dream has surfaced on YouTube, showing a white smartphone of healthy size running Android and sliding horizontally to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard. From what little we can make out, we’ve got to say that it’s not the sexiest thing we’ve ever seen — and the Dream has been so built up in our minds at this point that we’re expecting to have our socks knocked off hard by the time it’s officially unveiled. The silver lining here might be that the phone in the video bears an uncanny resemblance to a “reference design” made by “a partner” of Google’s that was demonstrated by none other than Google’s own Andy Rubin back in February of this year. Of course, that reference design could be getting refined and retooled to end up becoming the HTC’s inaugural Android effort anyway, but we’re hoping and guessing that the real Dream’s going to be at least a little more dreamy than this.

[Via Boy Genius Report]

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Filed under: cellphones, Handhelds

by Paul Miller, posted Aug 10th 2008 at 10:21AM
Granted, we’re biased, but it seems to us that Ben Heck’s PS3 Laptop could teach this young pretender a thing or two. That said, this here 3 month project by PS3HaX modder “Pirate” utterly unscoffable, and certainly wins some points for that LED-lit window up front. He’s hoping to build another version now that he’s worked out the kinks in the 1st gen model, and plans to work in more portability and slimness into the new version. Hey, maybe he could slap on a cellphone and a touchscreen while he’s at it? Just riffing here. Video is after the break.

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Filed under: Gaming, Laptops

by Paul Miller, posted Aug 10th 2008 at 10:21AM
Granted, we’re biased, but it seems to us that Ben Heck’s PS3 Laptop could teach this young pretender a thing or two. That said, this here 3 month project by PS3HaX modder “Pirate” utterly unscoffable, and certainly wins some points for that LED-lit window up front. He’s hoping to build another version now that he’s worked out the kinks in the 1st gen model, and plans to work in more portability and slimness into the new version. Hey, maybe he could slap on a cellphone and a touchscreen while he’s at it? Just riffing here. Video is after the break.

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Filed under: Gaming, Laptops

by Paul Miller, posted Aug 10th 2008 at 7:10AMIt’s been a real roller coaster ride of emotions with SSD. The once lauded (at least in our hearts) savior of all things computing has, in real life, provided us with lackluster and even controversial performance gains, while battery improvements haven’t been revolutionary and the prices still aren’t exactly wallet-friendly. Most of that is unlikely to change in the next couple of years, but there’s still plenty to be fixed in the short term. Samsung is working with Microsoft to define optimum packet sizes and best practices for reading and writing files to SSD as a potential update for Windows Vista, which is particularly optimized to work best with traditional hard drives. Sun is also working to improve SSD support with its next-gen ZFS file system, which in addition to powering its Solaris OS should be making an appearance in Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, at least in the server version. There’s clearly still plenty of untapped potential in SSD, let’s just hope the powers that be figure this stuff out sooner rather than later.

[Via Mac Rumors]

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Filed under: Storage

Hobos might pretend they don’t mind their cardboard homes, but we’re smarter than that. We can see right through their booze-ridden glazed eyes and garbage can stench. Of course, they would much prefer an alternative to cardboard. Perhaps a material better insulated from the elements of nature.

Buried deep in the hobo culture is a sub-branch of homeless life. This hobo demographic is known as the rag pickers. They run around cities, gathering any recyclable material they can muster and turn them in for pocket change. These hobo’s are actually providing a service. They are inadvertently producing a green environment. Wouldn’t it make sense to aid them in any way we could? Aside from buying them a home, of course. The Shelter Cart does the trick, doubling as shelter and a gathering cart for recyclables.

Composed of a collapsible design, the Shelter Cart ensures that everybody wins. While the rag pickers are provided with a much better shelter than they might be used too, they now have an excellent cart to stock up on any recyclable material they might come across on the streets. Meaning a greener experience for everybody.

The creators of the Shelter Cart aren’t pretending that they can fix the problems that plague the homeless. All they are doing is providing a way for everyone to better coexist within our communities. Keeping everybody relatively healthy and at least moderately happier.

Source

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Toyota announced The Winglet - Personal TransporterAug 09, 2008 Only a year after taking control of Sony’s robotics business, Toyota announced a mechanized vertical scooter. This personal transporter was intended to help people move about in public areas.

It was called the Winglet because of its fleet nature. It is the first gadget to duplicate the celebrated, navigation system of Dean Kamen’s Segway Transporter.

However, this scooter is not up to par to the Segway in speed or ruggedness. The new Segway model can go up to 12.5 miles/hour, and the slightness of the Winglet’s frame probably wouldn’t survive a Police chase.

According to Toyota, they will test three different models at Japanese airports later this year. The feedback received from customers will help determine whether Toyota will mass-market the gadget for sales.

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It’s been a few weeks since Nokia officially announced the E71 business-targeted qwerty smartphone and we just got our hands on one. The E71 comes fully loaded in a .39” thick body with: GPS, Wi-Fi, 3.2mp camera (that takes video), and 3G. The Nokia E71 is available now for an unsubsidized retail price of approximately USD 500.

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Check out the gallery: Gadgetell Peep Show: Nokia E71