GadgTechWorld.blogspot.comInternet and high-tech gadgets have already penetrated in our life to an unbelievable level: cameras in belts, Bluetooth watches, electronic car keys finders and high technology is coming to our kitchens and bathrooms
Well we're getting down to the wire now...I think the mail is moving pretty well this year though so hopefully everyone will be getting these in time for the holidays, at least folks in the US at any rate.
I have a tiny batch of Titanium Atwrenches available. These have been stamped with my antique diemaker stamps and are all different. And they are anodized all different colors as well. There are only a dozen of these so it will be one per customer and the price is $70 plus shipping. To keep it simple I'll just pick one unless you have a strong preference which can be indicated by email or comments field in the shopping cart. As always, thanks for stopping by today. :)
Hope you had a great weekend! It was good here. I didn't think about working for 4-5 days so it was nice to have a few days completely off. Anyway, I have a couple of things I want to get done before the end of the year...
I have a small batch of bead blasted Metwrenches available. Less than twenty pieces so I'll make it one per customer and the price is $60 plus shipping.
Thank you so much for all your interest and support this year. I am truly blessed and I owe it all to you! :)
I wish you the very best Christmas and New Year's filled with much happiness and prosperity. Be safe and stay tuned for an interesting and exciting 2010.
The Atwood Business Cards encountered a glitch so will not be ready this week. Hopefully we'll get them squared away for next year.
As you can see the dingdongs left off the beginning and the end marks on the ruler scale. I purposely made a ruler scale that was supposed to be centered in the space on this tool. That way if the machine marked it a little to the left or right then it would not matter if it lined up with the end of the ruler or not. I had to trash a few of the rulers earlier this year because they missed a mark.
But, they used the files for the old rulers which do not have the end marks that we specifically created for the ABC. The end marks should be spaced one increment over on either end and they are the same length as the 1 and 2 hashmarks. Same thing on the reverse of the tool which is metric. However, they say that they can run them through again and add the marks so we'll see...this sample is bead blasted but I'm hoping most of them would end up stonewashed. Otherwise, it's a nice tool. :)
From the insert card:
The Atwood Business Card combines 21 wrench functions in a single wallet sized 420 stainless steel card tool. Features include six SAE sizes: ¼, 5/16, 3/8, 7/16, ½, 9/16. Metric sizes include 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16mm in the center set and 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15mm in the righthand set. ¼ and 5/16 nut driver openings and 5/16 bottle opener are included. Two rulers complete the package.
Finally got around to shooting some pics of these cute little fancy Chiggers with Face Grinds and glow dots. I have just 14 of these and they will be $65 each plus shipping. The Sign Up Sale will run until 7PM Eastern Time today, Sunday, December 20th and winners will be announced shortly after.
Looks like we dodged the bullet as far as the big snow storm is concerned. We didn't even get a dusting! I'm grateful because I was dreading all the cleanup and we already have lots of snow on the ground with much more to come no doubt. Best of luck digging out to the folks south of here though.
Anyway, I have two dozen MetWrenches available with extra grip Face Grinds. These are pretty cool looking. Because there's a small number I'll keep it at one per customer and they will run $65 plus shipping. As always, thanks for stopping by and hope everyone is having a relaxing weekend.
I have half the batch of MetWrenches done and ready to go. These are 5/32" thick S30v steel and feature Metric wrench sizes 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15mm. Also a heavy duty prytip/screwdriver and a bottle opener with distinctive M shape to denote that it is a Metric tool. There are no lefties, no titanium pieces, no stamped pieces and no glow dots on any of these. Pretty much a straight ahead batch this time.
Metwrenches are $60 each plus shipping. Thanks for taking time to stop by and hope your holidays are pleasant so far.
Good Morning folks. Sorry for the delay there...I had a bunch of family holiday related preparations and events to attend to. Finally got the SlotShot portion of this BigShot batch finished.
These have the same diamond knurl on them but feature three slots milled into the top ring. They are sized to accept the standard colored self lighting 1.5 x 5mm gas glow tubes that many of guys enjoy. I am not supplying the tubes, you will have to procure and install them yourselves if you want these. Alternatively, the slots could be filled with epoxy and glow powder mixture if you don't want to mess with the tubes or left alone, they look great left open too. The best current tube source is Bart on the Candlepowerforums Marketplace:
OK, I have some BigShots available with diamond knurling. These are really beautiful and I'm kicking myself that I didn't do some with diamond knurling before. Anyway, I didn't make a whole lot of them this time around but I'll certainly keep this style in mind for any future batches. Diamond Knurl BigShots are $55 plus shipping.
I have not yet finished the SlotShot version but hope to work on them later today for release tomorrow. They cost me a bit more to make so will be priced accordingly.
I'll be finishing up the next batch of BigShots today. These have a heavy diamond knurl on them. They look and feel terrific. A portion of the batch are SlotShots and feature 3 milled slots in the top knurling ring that are sized to accept 1.5 x 5mm self lighting gas tubes. I will not be filling these slots but users can obtain their own tubes if desired and epoxy them in. There are sources on Candlepowerforums for the tubes.
Yesterday I sent out the Metric Atwrenches to be heat treated. We should see those completed around the end of next week.
The Atwood Business Cards are coming along well and should be ready to send to the laser engravers by the end of this week for the rulers to be applied. I'm not sure what the turn around time will be on those but hopefully it is about one week.
I have another SUSale coming in a day or two as well.
Once again the turnout was terrific for this one. Thanks to everyone who signed up! I wish I had enough of these for everyone but alas there are only nine...
14 rockfen 85 del 109 sidb 132 Figurado 180 wrightbrain 255 MarkR 298 spaceecho 370 Atomu 376 Better late than never
I will send emails out shortly, thanks again folks.
I finally got around to making some sheaths and finishing up these talonite MSOPThings that have been sitting on the shelf for the past two years. For those that aren't familiar with talonite it is an exotic cobalt based alloy that is completely salt water resistant. It is rare, expensive and a pain to work with. All of these tools have Glowcord handle wrappings and feature my antique satin finish, kydex sheath and bead chain.
Anyway, I have only nine of these little knives available and that is the end of the batch of them. The price will be $250 plus $15 shipping in the US or $30 for Express Mail International. The Sign Up Sale will run until 9PM Eastern Time tonight, December 3, 2009. Remember, one entry per person please, duplicates will be discarded before the drawing. As always, thanks for stopping by!
These are pretty much the last pieces from the recent G3 Prybaby batch and there are only a few available. I will keep it at one per customer once again...price is $70 plus shipping. After these are gone I will be moving on to something different and will post a production update very soon. Some good stuff coming this month so stay tuned and as always, thanks for stopping by!
Hi Everyone, hope you've been having a great Thanksgiving weekend.
I have a small number of steel G3 Swordbabies with extra grinds and my sword hilt stamp completed. These will be $70 plus shipping and since there are only a handful it's one per customer please.
I certainly have a lot to be thankful for this year, not the least of which is the support of you, my many fans. Thank you so much folks, your enthusiasm and generosity never ceases to amaze me.
Hope you all have a terrific holiday weekend filled with the 3 Fs: family, friends and football. :)
This is the last of the stainless steel Tipplers. Tipplers have a capacity of one single shot. Price is $55 plus shipping and I only have a small number remaining.
I just got a batch of steel G3 Prybabies back from heat treat yesterday. These have the nice semi shiny Stone Aged™ finish on them for a cool instant antique look. The finish feels buttery smooth in the hand and resists scratching very well. Also, this batch is slightly thicker than the previous ones so the pieces are extra beefy. Improvements to this batch include larger teeth for better grip. Wrench sizes include 1/4, 5/16, 3/8, 7/16, 1/2 and 9/16. There are no lefties in this run, sorry.
Today I'm offering the very last of the S30v Steel Mini Prybaby XL batch and these are the fanciest. These special pieces feature my antique satin finish and are embellished with glow dots and decorative stamps. I only have the twelve pieces pictured below and the price on them will be $85 plus shipping.
The way I will do this Sign Up Sale is at 9PM Eastern Time tonight I will do the drawing as usual. I will post the drawn numbers with the winner's screen name next to it and send emails to the winners. The winners can choose which piece they want in the order that I receive the replies. So, the lucky winners should reply to me with first choice, second choice, etc. As the payments are received and the pieces are chosen I will update the winner list on the blog with each person's selection.
Please read the SUS rules posted below. No duplicate entries are allowed, one entry per person please. Dupes will be discarded.
Drawing will be held at 9PM Eastern time and results posted shortly thereafter. Thanks everyone, I always appreciate your interest and participation!
Drawing has ended, results will be posted shortly. Thanks to all who signed up, it was an amazing turnout!
I have about two dozen bead blasted Basic Minis available. These are exactly like the Mini XL pictured below but without the bend...this will be pretty much the end of the batch with 20+ pieces.
Either one of these bead blasted Basic models are $45 each plus shipping.
I have a very small number of bead blasted Mini XL Prybabies available. They are the thick stock S30V steel version. The Mini XLs are $55 plus shipping and one per customer please.
I have several dozen Mini Prybabies available that are decorated with my antique diemaker's stamps. These are Original Minis so they are small, thick and hefty. I have many different stamped images and also different finishes including stonewashed, antique satin and bead blasted. So due to the great variety I have decided to avoid confusion and try to keep it simple...if you want one of these I will send you what I send you and there is no choice available, it's just too complicated to try to let people choose. Many of these are one of a kind and with some of the others such as the crowns, maple leaves, thistles and clovers I have several of each available. They are all pretty cool though so I think folks will like them.
These are $55 plus shipping and it is a one per customer sale.
I have a new wave of fancy DotShots available. Also a small number of the Original BigShots as well but I will get to those in a future sale. For those who may be unfamiliar with this product, these are 3 fl oz capacity stainless steel shot glasses, just the right size for a couple of ice cubes and a splash of your favorite libation. Turned and milled from a solid bar of 303 stainless steel, they weigh in at a hefty 1/2 lb each. If you're looking for an unusual Christmas gift for person who has everything then this would be a great one.
The only change made to this run was a slightly rounder and beefier lip to match the smaller Tippler shot glass a bit better. Otherwise they are identical to the previous batches. These are $55 each plus shipping and due to the weight I am only offering the Express Mail option for international buyers. Thanks!
Alrighty then. I have some plain unanodized titanium Perforated Prybabies available today. These have a stonewashed finish. They are $90 plus shipping.
I still have more pieces to process from the batch so there will be more waves beyond this one. I'll probably do some green ones next.
Thanks for stopping by folks, much appreciated!
These are gone for now but there are more on the way, thanks!
OK, I have the first wave of the ti Perfbabies done. They are slow going to finish them so the quantity is limited, hence I am keeping it at one per customer please. I will be having several waves of these in various colors over the next few days though so there will be several chances to get one.
For my international customers: This is an expensive item so I am giving you a choice of Priority Mail International shipping for $13 but there is no tracking and no insurance possible with this method of shipping. You may choose Priority to save a few bucks and it's no problem, but realize there is no recourse if the package is lost. I also will offer Express Mail International for $28 which does offer tracking and insurance so I leave it up to you. Titanium Perfbabies are $90 each plus shipping.
I sent out the titanium Perforated Prybabies to the tumblers earlier this week. For those unfamiliar with this tool it is a titanium version of the swiss cheese Prybabies that I made a few years ago. The old batch was made in steel. These titanium ones are the thickest Prybabies I have ever done at 3/16 thick and they look very similar to the original design although I did tweak the holes a little. The holes make the Perfies incredibly light at only 1/2 oz each. Speaking of holes, there are 37 per piece and both sides had to be countersunk so they were quite a bit of work besides the usual grinding and milling steps. Due to the extra work involved, the material costs and the waterjet costs these will come in at $90 each plus shipping. I will have them finished and available by the end of next week. As soon as I get them back from the tumblers I will snap a few pictures. I'll be doing a variety of colors.
Other projects: I'm working on some steel G3 Prybabies as well and should have them going in about 2-3 weeks. The next batch of WingNuts will follow that. Another batch of BigShots has been started and I will have regular ones with knurling and also some of the fancier DotShots with knurling. Also in the works is another small batch of Chiggers. And I will be revisiting the original Atwrench design in late November or early December but this time with a metric wrench set, the largest of which will be 15mm.
These are also some more Sign Up Sales coming with a variety of odds and ends in between the larger releases.
OK, I was originally concerned about the inability to create mailing lables if someone sent me funds via the recently added "gift" option in Paypal. That problem was solved when I learned about a different way to create the labels. However, I talked to my accountant and it seems that I should not accept payments via the gift option because it could be construed by Paypal as a violation of service terms. So, if anyone sends me a payment with the gift option I will be refunding it and contacting them to resend the payment as "goods". It might be anal but I want to stay out of trouble.
Alright boys and girls, I have just 15 stonewashed Chiggers with extra grinds available. These have what I call "face grinds" and I think they give the tools a nice look as well as a little extra grip. These will be $55 each plus shipping and the Sign Up Sale will run until 7PM eastern time this evening, Saturday October 10th. Remember, one entry per person please and if you are not familiar with the rules please read them from the link below.
Chigger Sale is over, thanks to all who signed up!
Happy Wednesday! Hope everyone is having a great week.
I have less than two dozen bead blasted basic Chiggers available. They are $45 each plus the shipping and because of the small quantity it's one per person.
Last winter I offered some titanium Ring Tools. I have a few more Ring Tools available right now, anodized green. These are made of 3/16" thick titanium and the opening is equal to a standard size 12 ring so will fit onto small to medium sized fingers. There is a 1/4" hex opening on the tool and an O ring and screwdriver bit are included. These run $35 each plus shipping. I do have a few that are blue and some rose gold anodized as well.
I have just two dozen of these Original Mini Prybabies available in stonewashed finish. There are a few more coming but they will be bead blasted. Anyway, because there are only a handful I'm limiting it to one per customer please. They are $45 plus shipping.
Well, maybe the Atwood Chigger™ will help you scratch it. :D
The simple design of this cute little tool pays homage to the classic key ring screwdriver/pry tools of the past but adds a bottle opener and 5/16" wrench. The large 3/4" hex opening makes it easy to slip onto a keyring and helps provide grip. The Chigger™ is made of 5/32" thick CPM S30v steel, is 2.25" long and features a stone washed finish. These are $45 plus shipping.
Thanks folks, these are gone for now! I very much appreciate it.
After a couple of days of laying around and sleeping I seem to be feeling a little better. So it's time for a sale.
I have the remaining Mini+ Prybaby XLs ready to go. These are bead blasted. I don't have a whole lot of them so I'm going to keep it to one per person so that some of the folks who missed the stonewashed release get a chance at them.
I have a few FunnyBone wrench tools ready to go. These are stonewashed and there just a few dozen. They are $50 each plus shipping and the link to purchase is here:
Stonewashed are sold out, a few more bead blasted ones will be coming soon. Thank you!
Paypal is doing something weird and for some reason I'm not able to view any transactions from today in my transactions list. So I will not be able to do a sale today until they get it straightened out. I'm able to accept payments and the balance is correct but no listing comes up with my transactions. Very odd. They have been doing some maintenance recently and obviously something is messed up.
I am going to try to get to some bead blasting today. Hopefully will get to the rest of the minis and also some FunnyBones in the next day or so. Thanks for your patience!
OK, I have a portion of the Mini Plus XL batch completed. Exact same specs as the Mini Plus but they have a small bend for extra leverage. The bend does not significantly change the length of 2.5".
OK, I have some Minis ready to go finally. This is the first wave only. I have several wave's worth of these coming over the next few days with several different flavors. This group is the largest and I'm calling it the Mini Plus Prybaby® to distinguish it from the Original Mini Prybaby®. The only difference between the two designs is the 1/4" hex in the body and also the Mini Plus is slightly lighter stock at 1/8" thick. These are all S30v steel.
A word on the tumbling. These have a nice satin stonewashed finish but are not quite as shiny as my recent batches of tools. Also, everything that came back from this tumble has some remnants of bronze heat coloring on the edges and inside surfaces and in the name stamps. This is the result of the tempering oven cycles and usually I don't see this. Not quite sure what they did differently but I want to make it plain up front so that folks don't email me thinking there is rust on any of these pieces. It's NOT rust, just heat coloring.
I will also be doing a portion of these with a bead blasted finish just like the original Minis. So more of them will be coming as I get them done. The straight Mini Plus group with stonewashed finish is what I have done right now so they are up first. XLs will be coming probably tomorrow afternoon. I did not get to any lefties yet. Thanks for checking in folks! :)
Mini Plus Prybabies® are $45 each plus shipping. Link is here:
So, I just spoke to my heat treat guy. They are all done and have been tumbled with the shiny Stone Aged finish. He is shipping the first batch of Mini Prybabies out to me today so I should have them on Monday's UPS. That means Tuesday will be the first wave of sales. I expect to be able to offer these in several waves over several days as I get them sorted, cleaned up and packaged up. Thanks for your patience folks!
Howdy Folks! Hope your weekend has been a relaxing one. I've been working for some of it and kicking back for the rest of the time.
I have a few titanium G3 Prybabies available. I marked these with one of my 19th century antique die maker's stamps in the shape of a sword hilt with D guard. I only made two dozen and they are all anodized green. They are $75 each plus shipping and I'm keeping it at one per customer because of the limited stock. Purchase link is here:
Just wanted to let you know that I am grinding and milling this week. Will have Mini Prybabies coming up next but realistically it will be about two or three weeks before completion. There will be some XL (with a bend for extra leverage) versions included in this next batch. Could be a lottery before that too... and there are also some other tools coming so stay tuned. ;)
It's been ages since I've done a lottery so I thought it was time to finish a few pieces just for this purpose. These are steel G3 Prybabies with extra grinds and glow dots. I know someone will ask but there aren't any titanium G3s with glow dots coming, only these steel ones. Anyway, I have just 16 of them and the price will be $80 each plus shipping. The lottery will run until 8PM eastern time tonight, Friday, August 7th. The 16 winners will be announced shortly thereafter and I will send emails out at that time with purchase instructions.
Please remember only one entry per person and if you haven't signed up for one of these lotteries before please read the rules, link is below. Thanks folks and hope your summer has been going well!
Lottery is over and winner will be announced shortly. Thanks to everyone who signed up!
The iPhone changed the way we think about how mobile media devices should look, feel and perform. The design is exceptional inside and out: It's got a slick glass-and-stainless steel case and an elegant touch screen loaded with eye candy. It's an iPod and a 2-megapixel camera. Images and video clips display vertically or horizontally — they reorient themselves depending on how you hold the thing. When the phone detects a wireless network within range — your own home wi-fi set up or somebody else's — it lets you tap once to connect, and then proceed with your Web surfing, Google mapping, emailing and other activities that can otherwise be painfully slow over AT&T's cellular network — the only one, unfortunately, that carries iPhone calls.
Have you ever maxed out your digital camera's memory card midway through a vacation? The 8-megapixel Nikon Coolpix S51c point-and-shoot is tricked out with built-in wireless capability, so you can email your images or beam them directly from the camera to your Flickr account or to Nikon's own online photo bank. It's also got a 3x zoom and a roomy 3-in. LCD screen — and it comes in black.
This cordless wi-fi phone comes with Skype software already built in, so you can log in to an existing account and start making cheap Internet calls immediately. If you've never used Skype before, do not fear: It takes a few moments to create a new account and you can do it right from the phone's keypad. Phone will also work at most public hotspots (including T-Mobile's) so if you have lots of friends overseas, you may not want to leave home without it.
Do you secretly covet your friend's smart phone while dismissing it as way overpriced? The new Palm Centro provides an opportunity to get all the essential smart-phone features without breaking the bank. This light and bright device supports Web surfing, emailing, instant messaging and text messaging, and sports a 1.3-megapixel camera and a touch screen that works best with a stylus. A mobile version of Google Maps comes preloaded. The qwerty keypad is seriously small, but the bubble-like tactile design of the individual keys makes them easier targets.
The CX7 records rich high-definition footage straight to a flash memory card (Sony's Memory Stick PRO Duo), so it feels light and compact in your palm, and the 2.7-in. LCD screen features touch controls for set up and playback. Should you get the shakes while shooting, the CX7 has the ability to stabilize the image (using optics, which is more effective than a digital correction) and smooth out the action. A built-in HDMI port lets you connect the camera to an HDTV and watch your home movies in all their high-def glory.
The slim and sexy P2 sounds terrific and plays a variety of music file formats: MP3, WMA and songs from subscription services like Rhapsody and Yahoo Music. The pretty 3-in. screen has touch controls for viewing photos and watching videos, which are displayed at a DVD-quality rate of 30 frames per second. The device also works with BlueTooth headsets and speakers, and soon you will be able to receive forwarded calls from a BlueTooth cell phone. (You'll have to download what's called a firmware upgrade from the Samsung website, but don't worry, it's not as difficult as it sounds.) Comes with 4 GB of memory for $200, or 8 GB for $250.
This ultra thin-and-light notebook is a dream machine for road warriors. It runs on an Intel Core 2 Duo processor and offers 2 GB of RAM, an integrated DVD burner and graphics card and built-in wireless capability (both wi-fi and Bluetooth). The 12.1-in. widescreen LED-backlit display is super slim and displays in high-definition (1280 x 820 pixels). With the S5004 model you get a solid-state hard drive, which means no fragile spinning parts, so the machine is less likely to suffer damage if dropped or bumped. Total weight: 2.4 lbs.
WowWee's flying insect soars, dive-bombs, hovers and glides using authentic flapping-wing action, which makes it the first commercially available toy ornithopter. It's lightweight (about 1 oz.) yet sturdy, and sports a 16-in. wingspan. The two-channel radio remote lets you control wing speed and tail rotor speed and doubles as a charging base (a 20-min. recharge gives you about 6 min. of flying time). The kids will love it — if you can bear to let them have it for a while.
Who knew file storage could be so chic? The 160 GB eGo has enough room to hold up to 640,000 digital photos, 2,900 hours of music or 240 hours of video (depending, of course, on the compression rate). A new dual-interface version works over USB or FireWire and comes with both types of cords. If you accidentally knock the eGo off your desk, the shock-absorbing case will protect the important documents and precious media stored inside.
Though the new "N" wi-fi standard, which carries data signals faster and farther than its predecessor "G," isn't expected to be officially ratified until next year, it's far enough along that you can buy certified N products with confidence that they will work with your computers and other hardware. Belkin's audaciously designed N1 Vision router stands vertical and reports on network activity in your house so you can see if your kid is downloading video games when he should be doing his homework. It is designed to configure itself the first time you connect it to your cable modem or DSL, and computers still using older "G" adapters will still be able to connect.
Like a video game, the Smart Cycle from Fisher-Price sends children into a make-believe world full of quirky characters, but it can't be played while sitting on the couch. Plug the tot-sized stationary bike into the TV and children can pedal themselves along, developing problem-solving skills and learning to identify numbers and letters along the way. Recommended for children ages 3 to 6; $99.99.
Like a pebble that has been rounded over the centuries by the gentle splashing of the ocean waves, Halo 3 has become the perfect hardcore first-person combat simulator. By dint of painstaking labor on the part of its developer, Bungie, it has been refined over three installments to the point where it delivers only pure, unadulterated gaming bliss. Every combat is even-sided and complex and can be waged in multiple ways, using an arsenal of long- and short-range weapons, plus grenades and hand-to-hand moves. Every level is perfectly paced and balanced and graced with soaring architectural compositions. Plus it's graphically gorgeous. The epic storyline and the stirring score don't hurt either. In one of the greatest years video gaming has ever seen, Halo 3 is the very best of the bunch.
A New iPhone
Whether it's the iPhone 3G Part II or the rumored iPhone nano, it's not hard to imagine Apple releasing another new iPhone this year, maintaining their trend of releasing an iPhone per year to stay competitive in the everchanging post-RAZR cellphone market. It's no secret that most of Gizmodo loves the iPhone, so we're pretty excited to see what's next. (Juicy rumors of a new Mac mini and iPod Touch XL are going strong, too.)
4G Networks
3G is alright but we're looking forward to even faster 4G wireless networks soon. Intel-backed WiMax launched in a few locales by carriers Sprint and ClearWire. The wide-area network currently promises peaks of 10 megabits per second but on paper it's capable of over 70. We will likely see slow but steady expansion of the service through 2009. Meanwhile, AT&T and Verizon (and eventually T-Mobile) are gearing up LTE technology. The Nokia-driven GSM-based "Long Term Evolution" may actually whomp WiMax with download speeds of over 300Mbps—though its presence probably won't be felt in the US before 2010.
A Decent-Sized OLED TV
The Sony XEL-1 OLED television rocked our world when it was released this year, but there was a catch. Its screen size was a measly 11 inches. And while we can't expect 50-inch Kuro killers just yet, we do anticipate a very expensive mid-sized set—27 to 32 inches—to hit the market in some form this year. (Sony actually showed off a prototype that was 27 inches at CES 2008. Stay tuned for what we see at CES this year.)
Wireless HDMI
A multitude of companies have various wireless HDMI technologies, but there's no set standard (two warring factions need to settle the fight before we can have interoperable products). The technology is there, now it's just a matter of logistics and handshaking. With luck, by next Christmas, you'll be able to add it to a sub-$2000 1080p projector for the ultimate no-mess home theater.
USB 3.0 Devices
Wireless HDMI may not be quite cooked yet, but the eSATA-crushing USB 3.0 standard is ready to roll. Look for a multitude of products announced within the next week with blazing transfer speeds of 4.8Gbps (moving a 25GB file in under a minute). They'll also benefit from USB 3.0's higher electrical power output.
iPod
Since its launch on October 23rd 2001, the Apple iPod has revolutionised the way in which we listen to music on the go. Designed by Jonathan Ive at Apple, the digital media player allows users to enjoy music, videos, photos, and games on a single portable device.
Content is easily transferable to your iPod through the Apple iTunes software which is compatible with most Apple Macintosh and Microsoft Windows operating systems.
All Apple iPod models apart from the iPod Shuffle feature the popular touch sensitive scroll wheel in the user interface, which has seen the iPod become the most user-friendly media player currently available. It can also claim to being the best selling digital media player in history, with over 165 million iPods sold, worldwide.
To date, there have been several various iPod models - these are the Classic, Photo, Mini, Nano, Shuffle and Touch.
Cancel that next-day air shipment from Panasonic Japan, those in need of cables today that are compatible with the 4K and 3D displays of tomorrow can get NXG Technologies Black Pearl Series HDMI v1.4 cables. Not installing cables inside a wall or under a floor? You can probably wait for more reasonably priced (or not so reasonable, if that's what you prefer) alternatives. At around $44.95 for 1m up to $380 for a 20m cable, these available-to-dealers-only connectors promise (despite lacking certification, promised once testing is completed) to future proof custom home theater installations for beyond-1080p resolution, HDMI Ethernet Channel, Audio Return Channel and other HDMI 1.4-only features that should start rolling out in HDTVs, receivers and other equipment early next year.
We'd love to believe you, Toshiba. Really, it would give us nothing but pleasure to sit expectantly for the next 60 days while you deliver wonderful, life-changing fuel cell technology to our front door. Unfortunately, we've been burned one too many times by your shattered promises, and we've developed a bit of a complex, to tell the truth. If you were being straight with us this time we suppose we'd be looking forward to a DMFC (direct methanol fuel cell) device capable of topping off small rechargeable devices like phones and PMPs, with extra juice just a cartridge replacement away. After that we could anticipate with bated breath your long awaited entry into directly DMFC-powered devices, claiming your rightful place as power generator for our phones and laptops. You tease.
Looks like those Sony 2TB memory sicks we warned you about way back in January are finally coming to pass, and Sony Insider has dug up the details. As appearing on Sony's oss-formats.org site, the Memory Stick XC keeps the current form factor for memory sticks (most likely these guys will be backwards compatible) with the XC series (XC Duo, XC-HG Duo, XC Micro (M2 XC), XC-HG Micro (M2 XC-HG)) using the exFAT file system, and the PRO series (including the PRO Duo, PRO-HG Duo, Micro (M2), HG Micro (M2-HG)) using the tried and true FAT12/16/32. Memory freaks can thrill to the specifications for the new class after the break.
We know what you're thinking, and no, we also have not a clue what Royche was thinking when it designed the RAPOO 3800. The wireless mouse, which ships in black or white along with a "nub" style USB dongle, lays completely flat and boasts what appears to be a few multimedia keys below a totally-too-small scroll wheel. We get that the space constrained traveler may be fond of the approach, but our ergonomics instructor is screaming bloody murder here in the corner. Mouse at your own risk, kids.
Believe it or not, this is far from the first time we've heard of a liquid cooled GPU; in fact, NVIDIA was tossing the idea around way back in 2006, when Quake III and Unreal Tournament were still top titles in the FPS realm. BFG Technologies, which currently holds the greatest name for a graphics card company ever, has today introduced its GeForce GTX 285 H2O+ and GeForce GTX 295 H2OC cards, both of which boast ThermoIntelligence Advanced Cooling Solutions (read: self-contained liquid cooling systems). BFG swears that both cards are completely maintenance free, with the GPUs kept around 30°C cooler under load as compared to standard air cooled models. There's no mention of pricing just yet, but both should be available any moment at NewEgg. Good luck resisting the sudden urge to upgrade.
As we've seen with the slight resurgence of new and improved incandescent light bulbs, the amount of energy used to actually light up the bulb isn't necessarily the whole measure of energy efficiency. There's also the small matter of producing the bulb, shipping it around the world, and eventually disposing of it. With that in mind, the Siemens Corporate Technology Centre for Eco Innovations conducted a study that compared regular compact fluorescents to LED lamps -- using one 25,000-hour LED lamp as a constant, compared to 2.5 10,000-hour compact fluorescents (and 25 1,000-hour incandescents). While it's still holding back on some of the finer details, the group did apparently find that LEDs are no more or no less energy efficient than compact flourescents when the entire lifecycle of the bulb is taken into account, although it is quick to point out that LEDs should eventually win out as they become more efficient to produce.
Ah, those crazy-beautiful multi-purpose navigation devices of South Korea, is there anything they can't do? If your answer is that they can't teach you English, think again. The iQ Special features a language trainer built on voice recognition software from its predecessor, the FineDrive X700, alongside the usual fare of goodies we westerners rarely get to see: SiRF-based GPS, DMB digital TV, video and music playback, and even TPEG traffic alerts. Priced at 469,000 KWN ($384), this PND is available today, and it's probably redundant to note that it won't be making its way to English-speaking countries any time soon -- not that we doesn't need it, mind you.
While you'd expect the first hands-on shots of INQ's new sociable Mini 3G and Chat to emerge on Twitpic, it's TechRadar doing the honors. Both of these featurephones are fairly attractive in their own right, with each being suitably slim and chock full of status updating power. In fact, we'd say the Mini 3G's red and black QWERTY keypad is amongst the sexiest we've seen. Why not judge Like™ for yourself by giving those read links below a look?
Glossy black gadgetry lit only by the very table on which it rests isn't exactly an ideal situation for photography, but when it's our first sighting of the Zune HD video dock, we'll do our best. Microsoft had a small booth set up at tonight's gdgt launch party in San Francisco, where they were showing off the device (no shots of the UI allowed, even if it's largely unchanged since our last handling a month back). The dock was connected to flat-panel screen via HDMI and output 720p. A separate remote is provided for navigating through your videos from the comfort of your couch while leaving the media player docked, but once we got our hands on that, it was at this point that a rep made us put the camera away. Bummer. Hopefully we can get a better glimpse soon, but for now, images in the gallery below.
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute have developed a small device that can be used to check the freshness of fruit, telling the interested parties whether it's ripe or not. Based on previous technologies which measure, for example car emissions, the device measures the volatile gases emitted by the fruit and analyzes its makeup to determine the state of freshness. The team already has a working prototype, and sees the device, which would cost somewhere in the thousands of dollars range, as having widespread application for businesses that supply food to grocery stores. So far the device has only successfully been used to test the freshness of fruit, but researchers see possible future applications in testing meat as well.
As it turns out, those Sony Reader leaksfrom earlier this week were spot on. The company just went official with the PRS-300 and 600, which will more affectionately be known as the Pocket and Touch editions, respectively. The latter (pictured left, not to scale) is the 6-inch resistive touchscreen model replacing the PRS-700, with Memory Stick / Duo and SD card slots. The backlighting layer from its predecessor has been dropped to improve touch responsiveness and to alleviate concerns of glare. It also comes packing a stylus and a digitized copy of the Oxford American English Dictionary and will be available in red, black, and silver. The Pocket Edition, on the other hand, is your standard fare with no touchscreen or expandable disk port, and palettes including blue, silver, and rose. Both models have USB 2.0, 512MB internal memory, and no WiFi whatsoever -- Sony assures us a WiFi version is coming and there'll be news on those coming soon, but this isn't it. There's also Mac compatibility, a first for the series, that's trickling down to older models via a firmware update. Touch and Pocket will be available by the end of August and will retail for $299 and $199, a substantially more competitive price point than its previous generation. Speaking of which, as of tomorrow, the Sony's e-book store is dropping the prices of its bestsellers from $11.99 to $9.99. A win all around, but will it be enough to make a dent in Kindle's stronghold? Things are certainly getting more interesting.
We've been messing around with Kodak's latest pocket camcorder, the Zi8, and find the shooter to be an interesting hybrid. With a flip-out USB plug, HDMI out and an easily accessible SD card slot, this is clearly a "premium" mix of features for the class, but the $180 pricetag keeps the device firmly grounded in Walmart-friendly reality. Other odd perks like a line-in jack and 1080p have us scratching our heads -- but in a good way. Overall, we'd feel pretty comfortable saying the footage is about the best you can obtain at this pricepoint. Colors are great, the image stabilization isn't a gimmick (sorry, Flip), and if you squint hard enough you can almost believe the 1080p is 1080p. Still, the camera is hampered by its cheap approach to processing and compressing the footage it's taking in -- despite its limitations, we'd say the iPhone 3GS is besting most cheap pocket camcorders on this front, motion just looks much more fluid. But don't take our word for it, check out a couple of video samples after the break.
The just-announced Nikon Coolpix S1000pj digicam / pico projector has been blowin' up the Interwebs this morning, and we have the video to prove it. First of all, there is a hands-on provided by What Digital Camera over in the UK, and aside from the projector they've uncovered a pretty straight forward digital shooter: 12 megapixel, 5x optical zoom, pretty standard dimensions, and a 2.7-inch LCD. However, the projector itself seems to do the job quite admirably. Sure, it's not an extensive demo, but the image looks clear and crisp. The reviewer deems it "a very, very clever party trick." And if the straight ahead tech demo doesn't get you in the mood to snap pictures and project them onto something, advertisers have offered us two visions of the future: take your pick from a spirited get together choc full o' photogenic American actors, or a somewhat subdued, more elegant affair in the presence of photogenic French actors. All that fun (and more) is to be had after the break.
Well, wouldn't you know it? Those off the wall concepts of what appeared to be a next-generation USB-driven Mimo monitor seem to have found their way into the production line, as the outfit made suddenly famous for its secondary displays now has a new model on tap. The 710-S "Mobile Slider" edition is really just a tweaked version of the aforementioned 7-inch panel, but it has been completely redesigned into a "sleeker, foldable and more portable unit." We hadn't really given much thought to bringing one of these things along in a laptop case, but this critter just might change our opinion on the usefulness to road warriors. Hit the read link to get in line; you'll have the opportunity to part with $149.99 in exchange for one later this month.
There once was a time when a 12 megapixel cameraphone would have been laughed at, and, though many are still smirking (guilty), they're now a reality -- a reality that Altek wants desperately to be a part of with its T8680 handset. Its face looks rather like a PMP with a 3-inch WQVGA LCD, but on the back is the standard sort of 3x pop-out zoom that you'd expect on a compact shooter, sitting next to a tiny xenon flash. It'll capture unnecessarily high resolution images while being crippled to VGA video, play back MP3 and AAC files, and tune into the Weekly Top 40 over FM. Yes, it'll even make calls, but with only tri-band GSM/EDGE support don't expect to e-mail those gigantic pictures directly from the phone. The T8680 is expected to hit Chinese retailers in about a month for 3000 yuan (about $440), and probably won't be making much of an appearance elsewhere.
Mmm, storage. With megapixels on the rise and the storage ceiling nowhere in sight, Toshiba has joined the likes of Panasonic and Pretec in announcing an SDXC card of its very own. The 64GB device is expected to begin sampling this December, and if all goes well, it should begin pulling in 35MBps write and 60MBps read rates en masse early next year. In related news, a 16GB and 32GB SDHC card from the company should also hit store shelves early in 2010, but really, who's interested in that?
At this point, you've probably assumed that there's simply no way any company can produce yet another iPhone or iPod dock that's significantly different from the legions of alternatives already out. And you're wrong. So wrong. In an effort to milk that Made for iPod / iPhone partnership for all it's worth, Kensington has just introduced its Charging Dock with Mini Battery Pack, which not only charges your dock connecting iPod or iPhone, but also energizes an external battery pack through the same USB cable. When you leave, you'll depart with a charged device as well as a charged battery pack in case you need to use 3G services for more than eight minutes. Brilliant, no? It's up for pre-order now for $69.99.
C'mon folks, say it with us now: "finally!" While those utilizing Bluetooth-enabled input devices have enjoyed the ability to connect multiple wares to a single computer without any fuss, those relying on a USB keyboard and mouse have typically been forced to block a pair of their USB ports in order to have both operating simultaneously. Thanks to Logitech's marvelous new USB Unifying Receiver, said issue is no longer an issue. Designed to operate with the Wireless Keyboard K350 / K340 and Marathon Mouse M705 / M505 (all of which are being jointly announced here), this compact receiver is tiny enough to stay inserted in one's laptop even when it's stored, and while we can't fathom why you'd need a half dozen devices linked at once, the nub definitely supports it. Each of the four new products will ship with one of these special receivers, with the keyboards expected to arrive in the US and Europe this September for $59.99 (K350) / $49.99 (K340) and the mice landing later this month (Europe) / early 2010 (America) for $69.99 (M705) and $49.99 (M505). Incredibly informative demonstration vid is after the break.
It's mildly hard to believe that AMD's DirectX 10-compatible 780 Series motherboard GPU was introduced well over a year ago now, but the long awaited successor has finally landed. This fine morning, a gaggle of hardware sites around the web have taken a look at a number of AMD 785G-equipped mainboards, all of which boast integrated Radeon HD 4200 GPUs, support for AMD's AM3 processors and a price point that's downright delectable (most boards are sub-$100). Without getting into too much detail here in this space, the general consensus seems to be that the new platform is definitely appreciated, but hardly revolutionary. It fails to destroy marks set by the 780G, and it couldn't easily put NVIDIA's GeForce 9300 to shame. What it can do, however, is provide better-than-average HD playback, making it a prime candidate for basic desktop users and even HTPC builders. For the full gamut of opinions, grab your favorite cup of joe and get to clickin' below.
We already got word of the starting price for the entry-level 128GB drive in OCZ's new Colossus line of SSDs, but details on the standout 1TB model have unfortunately been quite a bit harder to come by. OCZ's now finally cleared up most of those remaining questions, however, and announced that the drive will be available mid-August for a jaw-dropping $2,500 (give or take a few bucks). The 500GB drive will also apparently be available at the same time, although OCZ doesn't seem to be saying anything more than that it'll be "less expensive."
Oh, the joys of self-diagnosis. Thanko's unleashed a USB dental "microscope" to let you check out the inside of your own mouth in great detail -- because you're so much more knowledgeable than a real dentist, right? This puppy's got six LEDs plus a small CMOS camera so you can shoot JPEGs / BMPs or 1,280×1024 resolution vids of your champers then check them out on your home computer. Of course, the sample shots (which are disgusting and after the break) inexplicably show a closeup of someone's scalp, demonstrating that this USB badboy has a variety of uses, all of them pretty gross. Is there something wrong with us if we just don't want to see our bodies in that much detail? It's only available on Thanko's Japanese site for the time being, and costs in the neighborhood of $80, but we have a feeling that it'll show up in the States anyday now... as soon as Oprah gets wind of it.
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