Gadgets Blog

Becker, recently upgraded their older GPS, the GPS Z101, which was announced back in May and the upgraded version will be called the Becker Z100, which is also known as Crocodile. If you take a look at the picture above, you will see the that casing looks a bit odd and sort of resembles the skin of a crocodile, hence the name.

Moving onto the specs, it comes with a 4.3-inch touch screen display, Navteq maps which cover 40 countries in Europe, the maps are stored on a 2GB SD memory card, live traffic updates via RDS/TMC Premium. The Z100 runs on a SiRF Star III GPS receiver and uses SiRF InstantFix II. This piece of technology gets faster satellite readings, meaning maps will load faster and more accurately. Navigon also provides for the navigation software as well as 3D RealityView, which means advanced guidance. It even can show upcoming turns that are located in a special part of the overall screen.

It looks to be a good GPS, however, there is no word on pricing or availability at this time.

Via [NaviGadget]

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The Stuck Up magnets are chewed gum replicas which you don’t have to worry about fingering by accident. If your hand brushes up against one of these ABC (already been chewed) wads of gum, there’s no need to compulsively wash your hands (as long as you don’t have some OCD disorder).

Chewed gum is the foundation of every public school. Look under any desk in a public area and you’re sure to see an assortment of flavors and brands plastered onto each surface. It’s really gross when you realize you’ve accidentally rubbed up against some stranger’s deposited chewing gum. But the sticking powers of dry gum are incredible. In fact, I sometimes wondered whether schools rely on this incredible adhesive to remain standing for so long.

The Stuck Gum is almost indistinguishable from those gatherings of gum we’ve come so accustomed too from are years of public education. Designed by Winnif Pang, each pack of Stuck Up magnets comes with 4 different flavors, including bubble gum, spearmint, peppermint, and tutti-frutti.

Each Stuck Up gum wad has a high powered magnet encased inside of its design. So try as you might, it’ll be pretty rough distinguishing your magnets from real pieces of ABC gum. For even more realism, add a little spit for some extra sheen.

Design Page via Gear Diary

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by Nilay Patel, posted Jul 19th 2008 at 5:04PM

It’s only been on sale for six days, but the pricetag on the Eee PC 1000H just dropped by $100, down to $549. We’re not sure if early buyers will get that extra Benny back, but it certainly can’t hurt to ask — and ASUS, while you’re at it, how about taking a little off the 901 as well?

[Via Mobile Stylus; thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Filed under: Laptops

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 19th 2008 at 2:47PM

Fair warning: this here post is nerdier than usual, and those who begin to feel nauseous at the mere mention of data-bending may want to refrain from continuing on. For you brave, hardened souls that are following through, feast your eyes on the “first piece of software ever sold by Apple.” The Apple I BASIC cassette wasn’t even included with all of the 200 Apple Is produced eons ago, but a few engineering souls have managed to extract the data and create an MP3 of the wave structure. Not surprisingly, the tone resembles that of a 1200 Baud connection, and if we should say so ourselves, would make for a wicked ringtone. Believe us, it gets even weirder in the read link, but you’ll have to determine whether venturing down is something your brain can handle.

[Via BoingBoing]

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Filed under: Misc. gadgets

There are a number of ringtones available on Internet and they’re available under different categories. Everyone uses ringtones for their handsets and usually, they set it to reflect their mood. You may use a song, tune, instrumental sound as a ringtone but if you’re someone who’s still a kid at heart or if you’re an old person who still love to hear those old cute tunes then you should definitely try out a gummy bear ringtone. A gummy bear ringtone will take you back to your childhood days every time someone calls you. Even if you’re looking for a light ringtone for your cell phone, you should consider a gummy bear ringtone as it’s really a light ringtone that can even make you smile.

You can even use these ringtones to play around with your kids as they’re likely to give you a cheerful smile on hearing the lovely gummy bear sound and any parent would love to see that smile. That being said, these ringtones are not that childish as anyone who’s young at heart can use them on their handsets.

A ringtone like that reflects the cheerful mood and anyone sensible around you would be pleased to hear this cheerful sound as you don’t really need to be a kid to enjoy these cute ringtones. So, make a search on your favorite ringtone site and download a gummy bear ringtone for your kids, friends and for yourself!

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 19th 2008 at 12:21PM

If you thought Velocity Mobile just rolled over and died after showing off a few handsets at CTIA earlier this year, you’d be exactly wrong. The outfit’s Windows Mobile-powered 103 has just surfaced in the FCC’s lair, giving us a smidgen of hope that a US release is but moments / weeks / months away. Unfortunately, this filing doesn’t spill the beans on any other specifications, but the 67 page User Manual does dive into great detail on changing the battery, inserting microSD cards and navigating around within the operating system. C’mon Inventec, give us the good stuff.

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Filed under: cellphones

Although Sony has announced its next generation Blu-ray player, the BDP-S350 as early as February, it is only now that the player has started arriving in US retail stores. For those who have been waiting for the BDP-S350, the wait may well be worth it after all since like we reported before this player is fully compatible with various disc formats including BD-R/RE, DVD+R/+RW, DVD-R/-RW, CD, CD-R/RW and JPEG on DVD or CD recordable media.

In addition, the BDP-S350 also features BonusView (Profile v1.1), BD-Live (Profile v2.0) and Sony’s Precision Cinema HD Upscale feature which is a technology that converts standard-definition signals (4801) to 1080p. These signals are then outputted in full HD equivalent resolution signal to 1080p TVs through HDMI port. The player also has an Ethernet port and can handle up to 70.1 channels decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DD+ along with 7.1 channels bitstream output that includes DTS-Ma.

Finally, Sony has added an environmental footprint on the BDP-S350 to make the product a little more environmentally friendly. Sony has reduced the overall unit size of the player by 55 percent, reduced the packing material by 52 percent and reduced its total weight by 38 percent. With this, Sony was able to reduce the CO2 emissions when shipping the BDP-S350. Likewise, Sony has also made the player’s energy consumption a little less than the usual.

The BDP-S350 is available now in Sony retail and various online stores for around $399.99.

Product [Sony]

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Is the Neo FreeRunner a limited niche gadget or an intriguing first version of the future of cell phones?

In the second episode of the Gadget Lab videoblog, Dylan Tweney and Jose Fermoso have a first look at the open source Openmoko Neo FreeRunner, the multimedia phone built with the GNU/Linux platform and the object of desire of tinkering software developers everywhere.

If the video is not working, please click on the following link to view it: Our First Look at The Openmoko Neo FreeRunner.

This episode of the Gadget Lab Videoblog was created by Annaliza Savage (producer), Niall McKay (camera), and Michael Lennon (editor).

by Ryan Block, posted Jul 19th 2008 at 6:02AM

Microsoft’s been touting its “fastest annual revenue growth since 1999,” which resulted in a princely $60.42 billion dollars in its last fiscal year, but the number that has us rapt? Vista licenses sold since launch about 18 months ago: 180m. Damn, not too shabby a clip — especially considering that they moved 20m licenses moved in month one, 40m licenses moved after the first 100 days, and 140m licenses by last April. But at roughly 10m licenses per month, that means Vista’s still a couple years out before it surpasses XP, and with a bit of luck, by then we’ll have already moved on to Windows 7.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Samsung’s TL9 (NV9) is an ultra compact, 10.0 megapixel digital camera highlighted by a large 2.7 inch LCD, internal 5x optical zoom as well as Dual Image Stabilization. The latest digital camera in Samsung’s digital camera arsenal to feature MP3 and PMP capability, the TL9 sets itself apart from the crowd as a multimedia powerhouse. The Samsung TL9 (NV9) incorporates a unique design element which graces the top of the camera’s body - dual analog gauges. The small gauges, located next to the power button, display remaining battery life and memory capacity in a way that’s easy for the shooter to access while on the go.
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