Is Apple building a handheld Game System?

February 13, 2008 by Leave a Comment

apple-games-console
I wasn’t expecting to hear of a patent by Apple with them jumping in to the hand-held gaming arena. The recent application speaks of toys, games and playthings and refers to hand-held units for playing electronic games. This patent interestingly enough follows on from a multi-touch gaming interface also which got many people’s attention.

Apple are doing well with their product launches and maybe this multi touch gaming device could become a PSP beater. No doubt this will spark rumours all over the web followed with artists impressions of what this “iGame” device could look like.

Via: Coolest-Gadgets

Filed Under: Computer Gadgets

HTC P3470 looks Swish!

February 13, 2008 by Leave a Comment

htc-p3470
HTC have introduced their latest smartphone which is heading to the European market. It is the P3470 and measures 108 x 58.3 x 15.7mm. The screen is 2.8 inches and touch screen and the device, as to be expected, runs the Windows Mobile OS.

Features

* Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR
* Quadband GSM/EDGE/GPRS networks
* 2 Megapixel Camera
* 200MHz TI OMAP 850 Processor
* QVGA Screen (Touchscreen)
* 256MB ROM, 128MB RAM, microSD card slot for memory expansion
* USB 2.0 connectivity (more then likely used to charge also)
* GPS

On the downside there is no 3G or wireless networking which is a shame. Both of those really do need to be standard for this type of device. If you can get over that then HTC have created a great looking device with a nice amount of features.

Via: lifeatmost

Filed Under: Cell Phones

Blackboard Wall Clock

February 13, 2008 by Leave a Comment

Blackboard-wall-clock
Look back a few years to your school days and you will remember the good old blackboard (or chalkboard as it should be called these days). This new wall clock is built with a blackboard face which you can chalk on to. There is a small holder along the bottom of the clock which will hold the chalk, but you will need to get your own eraser for it.

The blackboard wall clock costs $80 and is available from Eco-Artware.

Via: Likecool

Filed Under: Home Gadgets

Analogue GPS made of Lego

February 13, 2008 by Leave a Comment

Lego Analogue GPS
The Lego contraption was built as an analogue GPS unit. It has a 1.6m roll inside which includes images. If it’s dark then LED lighting will switch on to give you a better picture and there is a plastic cover over the top so rain doesn’t damage the images. On the downside, it’s just a single route from someone’s home to school in case he gets lost. Still quite unique though and I must admit, quite creative.

Analogue GPS

Via: Flickr

Filed Under: Crazy Gadgets

Mobile Phone’s with Blu-Ray?

February 13, 2008 by Leave a Comment

Vmedia Spice phone and discs
Just as you thought your phone had every feature crammed inside it’s little case, a company has to come along and say “hold on, there’s no Blu-Ray in that phone yet”. Vmedia have created an amazing 32mm diameter optical disc that can fit a full feature length movie on to it in 576p resolution. The tiny optical disc is to be found inside a small cartridge in a similar way to Sony’s Mini Disc (but smaller) and it uses blue laser technology. The capacity of the first single layer discs will be 1GB and this will be doubled to 2GB when the dual layer version becomes available which is expected to be in 2009.

Vmedia have made the whole system be available as a package to mobile phone manufacturers. The component is easy to integrate and is designed to be used in mobile phone, hence, it can be beaten up, dropped and should still function. Power for the device shouldn’t be a concern as it has been designed with low power consumption in mind. Later in 2008 a newer 2nd gen player will be launched which will be just 9.5mm thick.

Vmedia slim drive open

Normally I would recommend waiting for such a device to mature and iron out all the kinks. However, in the UK we generally change our contracts every 12 months which mean if we buy the first gen as soon as they are available, then by the time the 2nd gen or 3rd gen dual layer are out, we could easily pick up a new phone with that technology in.

Although this is exciting news I am still wondering how they will compete with microSD cards which are increasing in capacity and are well over the 2Gb capacity at affordable prices. The good news is that the quality stored on the disc means it can also be inserted in to a player and put on to the big screen, but will it do well? I am not too sure. For some reason the whole idea sounds cool though of having Blu-ray discs on your phone.

Press Release

Filed Under: Cell Phones

Wireless Networking for Hardcore Gamers

February 12, 2008 by 1 Comment

linksys-gaming-router
Gamers hate to see lag on their networks. Lag lowers their chances of becoming champion of their chosen game. To fix this problem, Linksys have created an out of the box Wireless Gaming Router named the WRT330N which is optimised specifically for gamers. Built-in wireless runs up to IEEE 802.11n (draft) speeds and the 4 wired switch ports will allow up to Gigabit Ethernet speeds. These alone should sort out your home network problems. It doesn’t stop there though and Linksys has also added QoS (Quality of Service) which is pre configured to prioritize traffic on ports that are needed for online gaming. This setup ensures that no problems are present on your home network. All you need to then worry about is making sure you have a good enough broadband connection to not get a bottle neck as it leaves the router.

The price tag is a little higher then your average wireless router, but for $159.99 you are getting a top quality wireless gaming router which should see your online gaming experience improved.

Product Page Via: GearCrave

Filed Under: Computer Gadgets

Perfect Rice Every Time

February 12, 2008 by Leave a Comment

satake_rice_checker
For those who eat a lot of rice, it is important to get the consistency right. Nobody wants soft, squidgy rice and likewise, nobody wants hard undercooked rice. A rice maker tends to sort out most of these problems for you if you measure the right quantities. A company named Satake are still not happy that the rice is just right though and have created a rice checking gadget which rates the rice and adjusts it accordingly. Measurements taken include the aroma, flavour, firmness and viscosity. Once the data is gathered the results out of 100 are given. At a hefty 5.775 million Yen from what I understand, that is just short of $55k USD which is about 54.9K more then I would be willing to spend on perfect rice. Clearly this is aimed at large producers rather then those who eat it.

Via: kilian-nakamura

Filed Under: Kitchen Gadgets

Now you can cheat at Powerball

February 12, 2008 by Leave a Comment

dynaflex_dock
The Powerball is a gyroscopic exercise tool which is used to build hand and finger strength. It works by moving your wrist in a circular motion. Getting the powerball started it an art form in it’s self and then comes the harder part of keeping the motion going and speeding the thing up. If you are in the former category and struggle to even get the powerball moving right then this powerball docking station will sort you out. It’s a device which allows you to cheat as it rotates the powerball for you so you can just pick it up and get exercising. The scary part is how fast this thing can spin the ball. It actually allows for speeds up to 18000 RPM which is quite frankly a mental speed.

If you are not sure what 18K RPM feels like then this video shows a record attempt of someone hitting 16081 RPM. Check out the forces it puts on this guy holding it at that speed.

The Powerball Docking station costs $59.95 and includes a powerball with it.

Via: OhGizmo

Filed Under: Cool Gadgets

Amazing Golf Simulator

February 11, 2008 by 1 Comment

full-swing-golf
If you have a spare $55 grand to spare as well as a 20 x 13 x 10.5 feet room spare then this golf simulator is perfect for you. It allows you to practise your golfing skills from the comfort of your own home. The large screen is powered by a windows based PC which can take you around many golf courses from around the world at the touch of a button. The large picture is projected on to screen which can take the force of a golf ball hitting it. Two 360 degrees curtains of infra-red beams emit 60000 pulses per second and can track the trajectory, speed and other details about the ball you actually just hit.

It does look seriously cool and would fit well in to my home although I do lack the space and money. Oh well! Enjoy the video below.

Via: GeekAlerts

Filed Under: Computer Gadgets

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1

February 11, 2008 by Leave a Comment

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1
The XPERIA X1 is made by Sony Ericsson and is built in response to Apple’s iPhone. Will it be an iPhone killer though? From initial thoughts it certainly does look the part. Apple’s iPhone was criticised by some for not having a real keyboard. Rather, they opted for an on-screen keyboard which actually works quite well. The XPERIA X1 has a full QWERTY keyboard which slides out to the side in a similar way to what a HTC Tytn does. This allows it to integrate well with Windows Mobile 6 which is the OS that powers this device.

The screen is 3 inches wide and supports VGA resolution which is 800 x 480 pixels. As can be expected, the display is touchscreen. Connectivity on the device includes A2DP Bluetooth, aGPS, WiFi and it connects on quad-band (GSM/EDGE) and UMTS, HSDPA and HSUPA. The camera on the device is 3.2 megapixels and includes a flash. Memory can be expanded from it’s standard on-board 400Meg via a microSD card.

Overall a seriously nice looking phone which seems to have all the main desired features packed in to it. With it running WM6 it allows for a large variety of software to run on it which is an advantage over the iPhone. Definitely a phone to look out for.

Via: Fosfor

Filed Under: Cell Phones

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue

February 11, 2008 by Leave a Comment

The long awaited GT5 is still in production. But, GT5 Prologue has been created and will be available soon to buy in the US. There are a number of cars to choose from in this version of the game. The Japanese version comes with 37 vehicles to choose from and the US version could have up to 60 cars in this cut down version. As well as the fancy graphics and upgraded AI, the game also has the ability to download real time weather reports of all tracks around the world so you are driving in “real time” weather conditions. A video section is also included which allows you to watch video’s of cars and the making of GT5.

Filed Under: Tech News

Nano Bluetooth Dongle

February 11, 2008 by Leave a Comment

Nano-Bluetooth-Dongle
If a bluetooth transmitter/receiver can fit in your phone then why do USB Bluetooth dongles need to stick out the side of your PC a couple of inches? The nano bluetooth dongle sorts that problem out. It is about the size of a British pound coin and only protrudes enough so it can be taken out of your PC or laptop. This means that it does not need to be removed for travel. It is dubbed as a “plug it and forget it” device. Although it’s very small it does not lack features either and has V2.0 of Bluetooth with EDR.

Via: 7Gadgets

Filed Under: Computer Gadgets