Archives for September 2009

Personal Air Conditioner – The Handycooler

handycooler_personal_air_conditionerThe Handycooler is a Personal Air Conditioner that allows you to stay cool when away from your chilled air conditioned office.

The device lets you take cool air with you by the way of evaporative cooling. All you do is drop a few ounces of water on to a sponge and squash the sponge in to a hand held unit a little larger than a mobile phone and switch it on to enjoy some cooled air. [Read more…]

Deal of the Day: Samsung SC-MX20 Flash Camcorder – 34x Optical Zoom

Samsung-SC-MX20The Samsung SC-MX20 is a flash based camcorder that has an impressive 34x optical zoom built in and the option of using a 1200x digital zoom. Amazon currently have the camcorder on offer today with 54% off the standard pricing bringing it down to $129.99 and a saving of $150 which makes it a bargain.

The Samsung camcorder allows you to capture up to 16 hours of video if you choose a 32GB memory card. Also, a 3 hour battery life makes it the longest battery life in it’s class. [Read more…]

Panasonic Lumix GF1

Panasonic-Lumix-GF1-1Over at IFA in Berlin the Panasonic Lumix GF1 was on display. The camera is a Micro Four Thirds camera that has a compact body, a built in flash and can shoot HD video at 720p.

The camera ditches the optical viewfinder and due to the GF1’s small profile it makes it the lightest Micro Four Thirds camera available with a built in flash. [Read more…]

HTC Touch2 Launching October 6 with Windows Phone (6.5)

htc-touch2HTC have announced that they will be launching the HTC Touch2 on October 6th which coincidently, is the same day that Windows Mobile 6.5 (or Windows Phone as it is now called) is going to be launched.

This means that the phone will run the new Windows Phone OS along with HTC’s TouchFLO overlay. If you are wanting a new mobile phone running the latest Windows OS then this is well worth waiting for. The new operating system is a huge leap for Microsoft and actually could be quite good if the hardware runs it well. Specs are unknown for the hardware at the moment, but expect that software wise it will make full use of all the features such as Exchange support. [Read more…]

Amazon Kindle 2 Hacked to run Linux

Kindle-Hack-LinuxJesse Vincent has managed to hack the Amazon Kindle 2. His Kindle 2 now runs Ubuntu 9.04 ported to ARM running in a chrooted environment.

To achieve this the Kindle was hacked in to using a USB networking debug mode that Amazon left open on older Kindle 2’s. Full details are below… [Read more…]

Sony VAIO X Series 11 Inch Netbook

sony-vaio-x-seriesOver at IFA in Berlin, Sony have announced the new VAIO X series netbook. The Sony Vaio X has an 11 inch screen and is very thin. The casing is made from carbon fibre that houses an aluminium keyboard. As the Vaio X uses lightweight materials it also is very light at just 700 grams.

Right now the display model uses an Intel Atom processor and the machine runs Windows 7 with 2GB of ram and a 31Wh battery. However, Sony have also said that the Atom processor is just one of the options and could be changed in the near future when production models are made (or when more options are made available). The details are being kept very secret at the moment. Interestingly enough, the netbook should launch at the end of the month and cost a usual Sony premium price tag of $2000. [Read more…]

Nebudroid Controller for Android Phones

nebudorid-nes-controller-android-appA great application for Android based phones has been created. It is called Nebudroid and it turns your Android phone in to an NES controller that works with NES emulators and also racing games on the PC.

As well as having the standard D pad and a couple of buttons it also makes use of the accelerometers built in to the phone and can then be used as a steering wheel allowing you to more realistically drive around a track in a game. [Read more…]

LG Chocolate BL40 – Mini Review

LG New Chocolate BL40_Image3I attended the press event for the LG BL40 Chocolate phone this evening and had a chance to have a quick play with the phone to see what it’s all about. The key feature of the BL40 is the 21:9 aspect ratio screen that measures 4″. This makes the phone longer than your average phone, yet after seeing the phone and holding it, it isn’t as long as expected and the dimensions work well. The phone is quite thin measuring just 10.9mm while the width of the phone is 51mm and length 128mm. The screen is covered in tempered glass to give it a nice sleek look.

The phone is capable of speeds up to 7.2Mbps and functions on GSM and HSDPA networks. The BL40 has a 1000mAh battery that allows about 5 hours of calls to be made on a 3G network with up to 360 hours of standby time. [Read more…]

Garmin Edge 500 Cycling GPS Launched

Edge500Garmin are launching the Edge 500 Cycling GPS that features a GPS receiver and provides cycling statistics in a light-weight unit that sits on a handlebar mount.

‘Using feedback from the best focus group imaginable the Pro Tour cyclists of Team Garmin-Slipstream, we’ve developed a lightweight cycling computer that’s powerful enough for the pros yet simple enough for beginners, said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales. ‘Sitting sleek and snug on a redesigned handlebar mount, Edge 500 streamlines your cycling statistics for a fraction of the cost of comparable head units.

[Read more…]

Samsung WB5000 Coming this Month

samsung-wb5000Samsung have announced that they are launching the WB5000 compact digital camera. It has a 12.5 megapixel sensor along with 24x optical zoom and a 26mm wide angle focal length. By having a 24x optical zoom it is capable of a focal range of 624mm.

The camera is also capable of capturing images in HD at 720p in H.264 format.

‘Photographers of all skill levels are going to be drawn to the WB5000’s features, said Choong Hyun Hwang, Vice President of Strategic Marketing at Samsung Digital Imaging Company. ‘The versatility of the lens gives any user, whether you’re a soccer mom on the sidelines or an enthusiast looking to create a stunning image, the ability to be prepared for just about any shooting scenario.Serious shooters will gravitate toward the WB5000’s aperture and shutter priority modes as well as full manual control and RAW support. For the entry-level shooter, Samsung’s Smart Auto takes simplicity to a new level, ensuring a great shot every time without having to be concerned about camera settings.

[Read more…]

Nokia N97 Mini Introcuced

Nokia-N97-miniIt’s a busy day for Nokia news today. More from Nokia Conversations provides details on the Nokia N97 mini that was unveiled just this morning over in Stuttgart.

The new N97 mini has new homescreen widgets as well as some usability improvements. 8GB of storage can be found inside and it has a decent sized 3.2 inch touchscreen as well as a full QWERTY slide out keyboard.

The N97 mini measures just 14.2mm in thickness and has the same design as the regular N97 apart from it being slightly smaller. [Read more…]

Nokia Booklet Hands-On Video

Nokia-Booklet-3G-VideoNokia Conversations have posted a quick hands-on video with the Nokia Booklet 3G. The video is more of a promotional sort with funky music and dodgy camera angles, but you do get a good idea of the size and functions of the booklet.

To see the video, hit the more link right here… [Read more…]