Latest Gadgets, Tablets and Smartphones
The Apple iPhone has been very successful which has led Microsoft to rethink their stance on the possibility of a Zune phone. Recently they stated that it is not unreasonable for them to create a phone based on the Zune music platform. Sounds good to me although if Steve Ballmer has input it must have a keyboard. This along with the Google Phone could lead to some nice competition over the years to come.
Via: CellPhoneDigest
The Braille CD-R is a great idea from Mitsubishi. It allows blind people to know which CD they are holding and in turn, makes it easier to find the music that is wanted. The Braille bumps are created from high viscosity ink which has a height of 0.1mm from the surface of the CD. This is small enough to not get jammed in the drive, but large enough to be able to feel the Braille marks on the disc. The technology is currently compatible on CDRs and it shouldnt be a problem to port the bumps to DVD, HD-DVD and Blu-Ray discs also.
I am surprised that this wasnt thought of long ago with CD just hitting its 25th birthday recently.
Via: Gizmodo
This MP3 player is a concept idea that is based on a Mickey Mouse design. It is built in Korea and is 3cm in diameter and weighs 17 grams. Compatible formats are all the regular ones such as MP3, 1, 2, WMA, ASF, WMA. A unique feature of this MP3 player is the twist mode which allows you to change volume by twisting the mouses left ear. By twisting the other ear you can skip tracks. To skip through a track you can twist and hold the ear.
Its kind of a bizarre MP3 player that if sold at a good price it would be great for kids.
Via: ngadgeti
Made by Hohner, this harmonica is fitted with 5 brass bells which produce the sound. The huge trumpets, or bells on the end should crank up the volume of it too to frighten the life out of you. The harmonica is taken from a 1907 design and is built from solid pear wood which does not swell.
For a few more details on what it is made of and how it works, go and check out Random Good Stuff.
This is a picture of a cool office slide at a company I believe is called Infosys. It sure does beat using the lift or stairs. 2 more pictures after the jump.
The Plasma ball has been around for years. They used to cost an arm and a leg if I remember correctly and then they dropped in price quite a bit. For those who need their plasma ball fix you can now get a USB version which works just like a regular plasma ball that is plugged in. The USB port can provide sufficient power to light up the gasses inside and create a dazzling display of plasma type stuff.
The USB plasma ball stands about 6 inches tall and can be switched on and off by either unplugging it or by the switch located on the base. All we need now is the USB Plasma Ball Flash Drive with cosmic data fragments floating around inside.
Product Page
The rugged mobile keyboard comes from iKey Inc and is designed for mounting in vehicles. It has full travel keystrokes and has universal mounting holes. It was specifically designed for mounting in police cars, emergency vehicles and marine vehicles. The shape of the keyboard is designed so that it can be easily swung around in a small space. For night time use the keyboard is LED backlit and there is also an integrated touchpad in there too. The keyboard is also sealed so that drinks can be dropped on it and not cause any problems.
Product Page Via: MobilitySite
This digital pen was created by a company in Israel and comes with a USB flash drive and receiver which stores the image and pen movements on to it. The pen eliminates the use of paper copies of text. The pen has sensors in which can work out what you are writing and then duplicate and transmit the data. The pen is set to cost $79.
Via: Crave
NeatReceipts.com is showing off a cool little scanner which keeps all of your shopping receipts safe. If you are like me then you have a wallet and filing cabinet full of receipts, but when something breaks you can never find the one receipt you are looking for. This portable receipt scanner allows you to scan the receipts and file them safely on your computer. I would just add 1 recommendation which is that you should also back up the data. No doubt you will aware of the risk when loosing a hard drive.
The NearReceipts is capable of cropping, sizing and rotating the images scanned. It can scan in grayscale or colour if needed. It doesnt look like a bad idea to be honest and could be a great way of keeping organised.
Product Page Via: NeatReceipts
If you want to know how a bus is made then watch the short video above. It doesnt cover too much detail, but what it does cover is the main structure and why they choose the particular materials so that they can get up to 20 years out of the bus with low maintenance.
Via: TechTreak
The guys over at MakeZine have instructions on how to make your own Rubiks cube with dice, magnets and epoxy resin. According to Make, the original Rubiks cube was connected with magnets, and shortly after they introduced the mechanism that can still be found in Rubiks cubes today.
These Rubiks cubes made of dice actually look real cool and I am tempted to go make one my self. I will post pics if I get around to it.
Via: MakeZine
This Casio is a prototype which is capable of capturing 60 frames per second at 6 mega pixels. If you jump back to VGA quality it can even record at 300 frames per second which allows capture of some cool stuff to play back in slow motion. The lens is capable of 12 x optical zoom which is a nice amount too allowing for some good shots at long distances. The camera has a 2.8 inch LCD screen and the CMOS sensor is believed to come from Sony and is a 1/1.8 inch sensor. The camera measures 127.5 x 79.5 x 130.9 mm and weighs 650 Grams.
No information is available yet on what storage is used and how the images are transferred.
Via: Engadget
