Gadgets Blog

by Chris Ziegler, posted Jul 4th 2008 at 11:37AM

In HTC parlance, the “Neon” codename denotes a device of the Touch Dual form factor — original Touch styling plus a slider keypad, a drill we all know by now. This particular form factor seems to be a pretty popular one, too, considering the sheer number of variants HTC’s turned out; at this point, we have one for Europe, one for North America, and one for Japan, and a new FCC filing suggests that there’s still at least one more trick in that pony. The so-called NEON400 doesn’t give much away from the ID label document that we see here, but test reports indicate that it’s sporting CDMA 850 / 1900 — just right for launching on Sprint, Verizon, Alltel — you get the idea — and obviously, we’ll see EV-DO in there as well. Against the Touch Diamond, the Dual is starting to look just a little dated, but it gets that all-important keypad that the Diamond lacks — so even networks that end up launching the Diamond can realistically make room for this one in the lineup when it’s announced. By someone other than the FCC, that is.

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Filed under: cellphones, Handhelds

There have been some invitations flying around from the good guys at Archos, inviting websites to their press event on July 10 in London. On the invitation, it says that there will be an “exciting announcement.” Such a phrase has led to the reports of a new Archos 6th generation portable media player with 3G connectivity. Around this same time last year, Archos has announced the availability of its 5th generation of players.

If Archos does announce a new PMP with 3G connectivity, it will certainly give them an edge in the market, as they can compete with Apple and Microsoft for the top spot. UK’s managing director of Archos, Tony Limrick, is set to deliver the good news. Hopefully, Archos does announce new 3G capable PMP’s as that would also surely please many current Archos fans. Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.

Read [DAPreview] Via [PMP Today]

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In just a few years, it could be a lot harder to get out of a speeding ticket as your car will be the tattletale. A British subsidiary of General Motors, called Vauxhall Motors, has devised an auto safety option that is like having a co-pilot watching for speed limit signs while you are driving.

This new safety option uses a camera that snaps 30 frames a second on the road ahead. The system then analyzes these pictures using image recognition software and determines the speed limit signs off to the side of the road. This information is then displayed front and center on the dashboard to keep the driver informed of the current road limit.

Initially, the new speed limit sign detctor option will be available for Vauxhall’s Insignia sedan when it goes on sale in Europe in the Fall. US models of cars may have the new option available to them in 2010.

Makes me wish I had this option back when I was a teenager. I would have saved thousands of dollars in speeding tickets and car insurance.

Read more at Kicking Tires, found via OhGizmo!

With the deal closed on the Dictionary.com purchase, Ask.com has now become, at least according to comScore, the ninth-largest web property. The all-cash deal originally began back in mid-May and had Ask.com purchasing Lexico Publishing Group LLC. The web properties that were included were Dictionary.com, Thesaurus.com and Reference.com.

Ask.com is reporting that this will give them an increase of around 15 million additional users on a month basis, which would put them up to a monthly audience of around 145 million. Terms of the acquisition, such as how much was paid were not disclosed.

Read [Reuters]

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by Donald Melanson, posted Jul 4th 2008 at 2:37PM

Well, it looks like Group Sense’s once mighty line-up of Palm OS-based handsets has finally been shown the door with the whole lot now replaced by a single, Linux-based device. From the looks of it though, it doesn’t seem like the new handset is about to work any wonders for the company, with the “real smart” Xplore WF100 boasting only a 1.5-inch 128 x 128 display, and such exciting features as a built-in antenna, speed dial, and “call shock.” No word on price or availability just yet, but we’re guessing most folks won’t have much trouble containing their excitement over this one.

[Via The Inquirer]

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Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to come home and top off the day with your favorite mixed beverage, but without the mess or fuss of dealing with liquor bottles and measuring ingredients?

Maybe you want to keep your favorite alcohol stored away from unwanted moochers, or are worried about giving the wrong impression by keeping your liquor bottles out in the open? Well have I got a gadget for you. Meet the Super Sidebar.

Part faucet, part bartender, this beverage dispenser can pour 5 different non-carbonated beverages from bottles stored up to 10 feet away. It manages this by using tubing that can be run through walls or under cabinets. If that wasn’t cool enough, the unit can be programmed to dispense measured amounts of ingredients so you can literally press a button and have the Super Sidebar mix you a drink on the spot.

Five seperate high-torque pumps with flexible tubes ensure that your ingredients can’t be inter-mixed until they hit your glass. Suitable for both indoor or outdoor use, the unit can run on either 110 Volts AC or 12 Volts DC

Prices for the Super Sidebar start at US$499 for DC powered units with a black or white spout, but can run up to US$579 for those with chrome or brass spouts. For AC powered units, add US$25 more.

Read more at Super Sidebar, found via Unplggd.

Yep! You read it right – ‘Visual Internet’. You can now see your search results ‘visually’ on your desktop and you can use a number of search engines to see the search results. Ergo is a desktop search tool that lets you see the search results in a number of ways.

In order to use this desktop search tool, all you need to do is to download the small application and then insert the keywords, query for search and after that, select the search engines that you want Ergo to use. You can use popular search engines like Google, Yahoo! And you can even search your own computer and the YouTube, Wikipedia and many more sources. After you’ve selected the sources, hit the enter key and wait sometime for the completion of the search. Once the search is complete, you can see the results in a number of amazing ways. You can see the results as simple lists or you can see the results in a connected form. However, only one of the visualization can be used at a time but you’ve the freedom to change the views as often as you want to.

Different views are made available so as to allow you to analyze the results efficiently. You can see topics and sub-topics in one view whereas you can see the thumbnails in the thumbnail view. You can also perform certain document tasks as the tabs are provided on the right side to perform document tasks. Apart from this, it also has a pen mode and an ink mode that allows you to write text on the document or to highlight some text on the page. Another important thing is that you need Windows XP or Windows XP in order to use this amazing tool.

Overall, Ergo looks a great tool that can be used efficiently so as to improve the web viewing experience.

Do you remember back when only the super-wealthy could afford to have video cameras? Now, with today’s cheaper digital camcorders, practically everyone has one. Of course, the one trouble that everyone has is transmitting digital formats directly to DVD.

Fortunately, Sony has created the DVDirect DVD Burner, a device that is starting to gain some popularity in the consumer video camcorder market. The DVDirect DVD Burner allows the transfer of content from other media straight to a DVD without the PC middleman.

The Burner has a 2.5 inch color screen that allows you to preview your material. It also has five memory card slots for transferring digital video content, and has a dual recording mechanism to store up 8.5 GB of footage on a DVD+R Dual Layer Disk. It even has an automatic DVD tilting along with menu creation in four different design styles.

Not only can you connect your camcorder to the DVDirect DVD Burner, but you can connect your VCR or DVR as well. There is the option of recording clear photo slideshows and videos in high definition AVCHD video from Sony HDD or Memory Stick camcorders to DVD format, which is playable in Blu-ray compatible devices.

You should be able to purchase the Sony DVDirect DVD Burner for about $229.99.

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(Image courtesy of Xinhuanet.com)

Watch out you Segway cruising mall security guards. The Chinese Police are showing you guys up and proving they have mad Segway skills.

Recently, Chinese Security Squads were photographed performing counter-terrorrism drills on the self-stabilizing, 2-wheeled, electric transporters, proving that they could be used as a mobile shooting platform and counter-terrorism tool if the situation calls for it.

With the Beijing Olympics just a month away, it’s not surprising the Segway is being considered by the Chinese as they can be used to quickly mobilize troops around a dense urban setting in a crisis scenario. The question is whether the terrorists would stop what they are doing because of initimidation by the 2-wheeled opposing forces, or from the incapacitating laughter created by seeing an onslaught of approaching Segway troopers. Works either way.

Read more at CNET.

by Donald Melanson, posted Jul 4th 2008 at 2:37PM

Well, it looks like Group Sense’s once mighty line-up of Palm OS-based handsets has finally been shown the door with the whole lot now replaced by a single, Linux-based device. From the looks of it though, it doesn’t seem like the new handset is about to work any wonders for the company, with the “real smart” Xplore WF100 boasting only a 1.5-inch 128 x 128 display, and such exciting features as a built-in antenna, speed dial, and “call shock.” No word on price or availability just yet, but we’re guessing most folks won’t have much trouble containing their excitement over this one.

[Via The Inquirer]

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Filed under: cellphones