Archives for January 2010

Samsung LED 9000 Ultra-Thin TV Unveiled

January 6, 2010 by 1 Comment

Samsung have unveiled a number of TV’s over at CES 2010. The top of the range TV to be revealed is the Samsung LED 9000 series ultra-thin screen that achieves it’s thinness by cramming a lot of the innards in to the pedestal it sits on.

The screen it’s self looks great and runs at 240Hz to allow for smoother video to be run. A unique remote control was also launched that is capable of showing content on it’s screen from other video sources making it very unique.

The TV follows on with the 2010 theme of 3D and will be capable of transforming regular 2D content in to 3D (somehow) as well as being able to play 3D content that’s due out later this year. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Displays

Google Nexus One Teardown

January 6, 2010 by Leave a Comment

iFixit managed to quickly get their hands on the new phone from Google [GOOG] called the Nexus One that was announced and put on sale yesterday.

The Google Nexus One has a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor inside and has a very nice 3.7 inch 480 x 800 WVGA AMOLED screen that has capacitive touch. Google describe the phone as being a “superphone” due to a few features not currently found on other Android phones.

As always, iFixit were very quick to break apart the $530 phone to see what was inside. Tools required to get the phone apart included the iPod Opening Tools, a T4 Torx Screwdriver and a Philips #00 Screwdriver. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

Pocketheat iPhone App that Warms your Hands

January 6, 2010 by Leave a Comment

If you live in a house where the heating doesn’t really warm your hands then this iPhone application is designed for you. Pocketheat is an application that you can download that runs processes forcing your iPhones CPU to run at 100% while switched on. When running the processor at 100% the iPhone warms up slightly and can in theory keep your hands a tad warmer.

Reviewers have described the application as providing a pleasant but brief warmth to your palms.

The screen of the Pocketheat application looks like a heater and has a knob where you can turn the temperature from low to high, I assume taking the iPhone to various levels of CPU usage depending on how warm you want it to get. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

M-Edge Waterproof Amazon Kindle Case

January 6, 2010 by 1 Comment

M-Edge have created a new case for the Amazon Kindle called the Guardian. The Guardian is capable of protecting the Kindle from scratches as well as water. With this case around the Kindle you can take the device in to depths of up to 1 meter.

The case it’s self is designed to float too should you drop it in water. Another function allows the Kindle to float upright allowing you to read in water without holding on to the device. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cool Gadgets

D-Link Wireless N Pocket Router

January 6, 2010 by Leave a Comment

D-Link have announced a new wireless N pocket router that as the name suggests, is pocket sized allowing it to be packed up for travel. The router is capable of creating a wireless N network (802.11n) or can be used as an AP as part of an existing wired network.

The Pocket N router also has an Ethernet port allowing a PC, XBox or similar device to connect up to a wireless network. The device also uses SharePort technology that allows users to share USB devices. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Computer Gadgets

Amazon Kindle DX Goes Global

January 6, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Amazon have announced the Kindle DX will be shipping with Global Wireless enabled allowing it to function in over 100 countries. The new version of the Kindle DX will start shipping on January 19 at a cost of $489.

The Kindle DX is an eBook reader that comes with a 9.7 inch eInk screen. Wireless connectivity is built in allowing you to download eBooks anywhere you can pick up a mobile phone signal.

Downloads take about 60 seconds to complete and once downloaded are stored on the device for you to read at any time. The DX is capable of storing around 3,500 books allowing a very healthy library of books to be carried in your bag. Other features of the Kindle DX include auto rotation to put the books in to landscape mode automatically if required. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Computer Gadgets

Rollei Flexline 100 inTouch P&S Camera

January 6, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Rollei have launched the Rollei Flexline 100 inTouch that measures 15.6mm thin and comes in three colours of glossy black, blue or glittering metallic pink. The corners of the camera are smoothed and the trim is aluminium.

On to the technical side of things, the camera has a 10 megapixel CCD sensor along with 3x optical zoom, face and smile detection.

The Flexline 100 has an integrated image processing feature that allows you to retouch pictures captured on the camera to perform basics such as red eye removal and changing the lighting. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Camera Gadgets

Microsoft Tablet to be Announced Today

January 6, 2010 by Leave a Comment

We have heard on a weekly basis about Apple [AAPL] building a tablet device probably to be called the Apple iSlate. What we haven’t heard much about is Microsoft [MSFT] creating a tablet other than a couple of mentions of the Microsoft Courier a few months ago that’s more of a split screen booklet rather than a tablet. What we hear today though is that Steve Ballmer will be unveiling a tablet at CES during his keynote speech.

If this happens it will come weeks before a rumoured unveiling of Apple’s iSlate which could either be a good or a bad thing. If done right then it wont be another “me-too” type device and hopefully this is the case. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Laptops

ioSafe Solo SSD Revealed

January 5, 2010 by Leave a Comment

If you look back a few months you might remember the fireproof and waterproof harddrive we reviewed from ioSafe that was capable of withstanding temperatures of 1550F for 30 minutes as well as being dunked in 10 feet of water for 3 days. If your house caught fire and you wanted safe data then an ioSafe is a fantastic option.

ioSafe have now introduced a new version of the drive that runs an SSD drive rather than a harddrive inside. It is called the ioSafe Solo SSD. ioSafe say that the external water and fireproof SSD is the first of it’s kind. The drive comes in capacities of up to 256GB and connects to a computer via an eSATA/USB interface.

The material used to keep things safe on the drive is called ArmorPlate that is a military grade steel casing. By using the grade of steel it does the drive receives protection from shock and protects it from being crushed. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Computer Gadgets

Lenovo Skylight Smartbook Revealed

January 5, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Lenovo have announced details of the Skylight smartbook that is very thin and light. The Skylight is a 10 inch screen device that has a decent battery life of 10 hours allowing for all day usage between charges.

The smartbook weighs under two pounds and runs a version of Linux from what we can tell that uses a system of widgets on the home screen that are updated real time from the web. Connectivity for the Skylight is provided by a built in 3G connection and wifi is also available to use.

One of the unique features of the Lenovo Skylight is an integrated USB memory stick that sits between the keyboard and the screen. This can be removed if required by simply rotating it out of the smartbook and disconnecting it. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Laptops

Human Tissue Printer – Print Human Tissue on Demand

January 5, 2010 by Leave a Comment

A company called Invetech have created what looks to be a human tissue printer that works in a similar way to how 3D printers work. The system is capable of building up human organs cell by cell to create scaffolds that liver cells could be placed on.

Regular 3D printers use plastic that is built up layer by layer over the course of the printing session to create unique 3D objects. The new system replaces this “3D ink” with living cells so that Dr’s can print human tissue on demand.

‘Scientists and engineers can use the 3D bio printers to enable placing cells of almost any type into a desired pattern in 3D, Murphy said. ‘Researchers can place liver cells on a preformed scaffold, support kidney cells with a co-printed scaffold, or form adjacent layers of epithelial and stromal soft tissue that grow into a mature tooth. Ultimately the idea would be for surgeons to have tissue on demand for various uses, and the best way to do that is get a number of bio-printers into the hands of researchers and give them the ability to make three dimensional tissues on demand.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Cool Gadgets

Light Touch Interactive Projector from Light Blue Optics

January 5, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Light Blue Optics have created a new interactive projector called Light Touch that can turn any surface in to an interactive touch-screen.

The projector is capable of throwing a 10 inch image on to a surface such as a table and is also capable of detecting when the image is touched. The system uses what’s called holographic laser projection technology that can create bright and high quality images that always stay in focus regardless of the distance between the desk and laser. The Light Touch also uses HLP that is able to throw a very wide angled image allowing the projector to sit close to the desk. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Computer Gadgets