Director's Chair Folds Into a Messenger Bag, The World Rejoices

There are plenty of chairs out there that collapse into more portable forms, but this director's chair is undoubtedly the most convenient to carry. It can fold to a width of only four inches. More »

Near-Final Pandora Linux Gaming Handheld Shown Actually Playing Something

"We will make a more professional video in a few days," says the title card, conveniently summing up the ethos of this homebrew gaming project. It may be past Christmas, but Pandora is alive. More »

Kinesis K2 Puts Solar and Wind Charging Power In a Handheld Unit

There have been other handheld charging devices that utilize the power of the sun and wind, but none claim to match the capacity of the Kinesis K2. More »

Atari 2600 Crammed Into Sega Game Gear Is Wonderfully Backwards Mod

An awkward cross-breed time-travelling mongrel is a fairly fitting description for this mod that's jammed an Atari 2600 emulator into the shell of a Sega Game Gear. Sure, it's not the prettiest of mods, but taking the '80s-era Atari and squishing it into the '90s-era Sega took some tricky work: it has a built-in 40-game Atari chip, and can actually take 2600 carts into a slot on the back. The resulting "Atari Game 2600" has a 2.5-inch screen and can go for 7-8 hours on AA batteries, which seems pretty impressive. [Ben Heck via Technabob]

Scitech's VLP-100 Portable Projector Only Does QVGA Resolution for $350

News that Scitech Japan is to release the VLP100, it's first portable microprojector may interest until you learn of two snags: firstly it projects at a mere 320 x 240 pixels, and secondly it'll cost you around $350...roughly a dollar per vertical pixel column. Sure it's pretty tiny at 7.1 x 4.3 x 2.2-inches, weighs a mere 2.2-pounds, fits in 2W stereo speakers and Osram-made 4-LED lighting system at 350 lumens brightness. But it's designed to throw images up to 50-inches, meaning pixels around a tenth of an inch across. Call me picky, but that seems a lot of money for not much display...I'll hang on for the picoprojectors we've heard so much about. Due late this month in Japan. [AVwatch via Electronista]

Industry Leaders Developing "Buy Once, Play Anywhere" Standard For Digital Media

Many of the big guns in Hollywood, technology and retailing have joined forces to create the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE) LLC—a consortium focused on building "a new digital media framework using industry standards" that will "enable consumers to acquire and play content across a wide range of services and devices." In a nutshell, the DECE hopes to create a system where users can download content, playback that content on compliant branded products and possibly store that media in a "virtual library" to be accessed at home or on the road. Unfortunately, I see a few problems with all of this. More »

3M's Pocket Video Projector First to Hit Shops, 30th September

Back in May we brought you some more data on the upcoming 3M pocket video projector, but only guesses on its release date: now we know it's September 30th. The palm-sized MPro110 has a VGA and composite video input, so it'll be good for either your laptop or portable gadgets with video-out. It's got manual focus, but no speaker—but for most purposes I guess you won't miss that. The guys at PopSci liked it, noting that it's pretty basic but projects nicely onto walls, desks, paper and people in a variety of lighting conditions. We'll have to wait to closer to the launch to hear more details, but the gizmo is set to cost $359. [PopSci via TheEarthTimes]

DIY Mini Multi-Platform Console Mod

Retro gaming fans that enjoy a good DIY project will certainly get a kick out of the latest work of a console modder that goes by the name "Bacteria." Basically, he has devised a way to cannibalize those Plug-n-Play TV gaming units into interchangeable cartridges that can be plugged into a single, portable system (he also claims that a GBA add-on is currently in the works). Unfortunately, Bacteria continues to be uninterested in details like aesthetics and ergonomics (as we first noticed in his previous project), but that is something you can probably correct should you decide to take on the mod yourself. Hit the link for the complete instructions. [Modded by Bacteria]

Stella Artois PSP Rekindles Our Interest in Two Unlike Fads

The combination isn't exactly the most obvious, but hey, I'm a gamer, and hey, I like paying $5 a glass for a pretentious beer that tastes identical to Budweiser. The Stella Artois PSP was manufactured in a limited edition for the Fosters employees who'd be brewing the "import" in Australia for Australia—part of the official "please don't spit in our delicate European beer" bonus. [Lowe Rivet via Kotaku]

Aexea KeyXpress Data Key Flashdrive Could Hide on Your Key Ring

Brando's Aexea KeyXpress flash drives are designed to really make key-ring data portability true: they're shaped like keys, and are about as thin as your average door or car key (about 0.12-inches thin.) They're in three colors, have 4GB of flash storage aboard, come with a similarly tiny lanyard and that's about all you need to know. Oh: they cost $27. [Brando]

Wrist Watchscale, For When You Really Need to Weigh Small Stuff

The spoon-scales from a while back we called "perfect for dieters and dealers" because of the spoon part, but with this wristwatch scale... Well, it's just convenient for when you really, really need to weigh small quantities of stuff right then and there. Makers Jennings call it "The first Pocket WatchScale ever" and it measures in grams, ounces, Troy ounces and pennyweights, to a max of 10.5-ounces with 0.001-ounce accuracy. Strangely the one thing it doesn't seem to do is tell the time, but it's out now, for about $25. [Product page]

Question of the Day: What Do You Use to Clean Your Screens?

A big, bright, beautiful screen is a great thing—but keeping it smudge and dust free can be annoying to say the least. This is especially true with touchscreen phones and other portable media devices. With that in mind, I came up with a two section poll that involves larger screens like monitors and televisions on one side and smaller screens like cellphones and handheld game systems on the other. But both ask the same question: how do you clean your screens? More »

Kapsys' Kapten is Screenless, Voice-Driven, Key Ring-Sized GPS

This tiny GPS system from Kapten shuns the current preoccupation for large, high-detail touchscreens... it has, in fact, no screen at all. There're a bunch of led-lit icons at the top, indicating car-, pedestrian-mode and so on, but that's it. All navigation requests and instructions are made by you talking to the Kapten and it talking to you. It's apparently aimed mainly at pedestrian users, and measuring 2.9 x 1.7 x 0.5 inches is small enough to slip onto a key ring. Somehow there's a Bluetooth chipset in there, alongside an MP3 player and FM radio, and it packs 4GB of internal memory. Sadly, the only instructions it'll utter will sound like "Tournez à droite, dans 100 metres" since it's being released in France next month for around $220, and there's no info on whether it'll move outside the land of the moody pout. [Navigadget]

Modder Adds Working Touchscreen to PSP

PSP modder jube808 has equipped his PSP with a DIY touchscreen, as part of his efforts to add features he feels Sony dropped the ball on with his beloved handheld. The on-screen keyboard looks pretty responsive, and can be used with fingers or a stylus. Such a mod is probably making PSP homebrewers salivate with PSP/DS hybrid potential. Another video has a closer look at the whole rig. More »

First iRiver Spinn PMP Impressions (Verdict: Lovin' It)

The guys over at Crave UK got their hands on the new iRiver Spinn PMP, and although they have not conducted a full review yet, their initial impressions were positive. They love the 3.2-inch AMOLED screen saying that "Images are stunning; videos are smooth and sharp." They also found the sound quality to be superb and the menus to be effective—although it may be a little too touch sensitive and the scroll wheel can be awkward at times. As far as PMPs go, the Spinn is pretty feature rich (and it is pretty damn good looking to boot). Let's hope that the love-in continues when the final verdict is handed down. [Crave]

Lenovo's Ideapad S10 Ultra-Portable Notebook PC Officially Due in September

Lenovo's gone official with details on its Ideapad S10 ultra-portable notebook: it'll come with Windows XP pre-installed, measure 9.8 x 7.2 inches, weigh just 2.4-pounds in its lightest configuration, and pack in a LED back-lit 10-inch screen. Powered by Intel Atom N270 and 945 GSE express chipset, the diminutive PC also has some advanced heat-dissipation tech so that your lap and wrists won't get overheated. Interestingly Lenovo notes that "In some countries there will be 9-inch versions," different colors and "Linux preloads"... but doesn't say if those systems will hit the US eventually. Initially then, the S10 will cost you either $399 for a 512MB memory, 80GB HDD model or $450 for a 1GB, 160GB HDD model, and comes in black red or white. Press release info below. More »

Duracell's PowerSource Mini For Pocket-Sized Mobile Charging

It appears that Duracell has developed an more portable and less expensive version of last year's PowerSource charger with the new PowerSource Mini. This device features a lithium-ion battery pack and a mini USB pivot arm that allows you to juice up your MP3 players, cellphones and other portable devices on the go. It also features a full-sized USB port that allows you to charge two devices at once. All-in-all the Powersource Mini should net an additional 24 hours of music on a Nano and about an hour of talk time on a Blackberry. Available now for around $50. [Tiger Direct and Duracell via TFTS and Coolest Gadgets]

Quotable: John Paczkowski on Dell's Upcoming MP3 Player

Patches from All Things D headlined his Dell MP3 player post in a way that tickled me elmo: More »

Toshiba Launches Small, Cheap HD Palmcorder: Camileo H10

Toshiba's budget HD camcorder, the Camileo H10, actually doesn't skimp on features, it seems. The SD-based device records in 720p to its internal 64MB memory, or SDHC cards (up to 8GB, around 4 hours of footage) and has a 10 megapixel CCD. It squeezes in a 5x optical zoom, video stabilization, motion-detection shooting, night mode, HDMI output and a 2.7-inch display. Not bad for $350, and available from the end of July. [Pocket Lint]

Alesis ProTrack Converts Your iPod Into a Pro-Quality Digital Recorder

This isn't the first product to come down the pipeline offering portable audio recording capabilities for the iPod, but the new ProTrack from Alesis is definitely the most feature-rich. According to the press release, the ProTrack is "the world’s first professional handheld digital stereo recorder for iPod" with two built-in high-quality condenser microphones, a pair of combination XLR - 1/4-inch inputs and a 1/8-inch stereo output. The device should be available sometime in Q3 for iPod (Classic or 5th Generation), or iPod nano (2nd or 3rd Generation)—but a price has yet to be determined. More »

Brando's Portable Disco Lights Do it Psychedelically with Lasers

Laser beams plus funky light patterns plus party: sounds like a winning combo. It certainly looks that way for this Brando gadget: the green laser light spewing from it can be tweaked into a number of impressive patterns (diffraction grating, anyone?) And though it doesn't look like it reacts to music, the shifting, changing light-show it makes can only be described as psychedelic, with a dab of Matrix. It's mains-powered, just 3.1 x 2.8 x 1.2 inches in size and comes with a stand that looks ripe to be modded into a motor-powered platform. Costs $65. [Brando]

Eino Speakers: An Attractive Portable iPod Dock At Last

Ruggedized, retro aviation, we've done portable iPod docks a-plenty. But until now I've not liked the look of any of them... so here's the Eino. It's pretty simple, with two speakers per channel pushing out 1.4W from a Class-D amp and a bass-enhancement system called Maxx BassR. The 7.7-inch wide thing fits into a carry case, with room for your iPod. And if you're not into the color combos in the pic, there's a blue, white and black frame option. It's available for around $56, but that's from a Japanese site. [Technabob via BBGadgets]

iRiver Volcano T7 Is MP3 for Chewing Gum Diehards

Available in five colors, the Volcano T7 is the latest DAP player. Reminiscent of a memory stick and with a small OLED display, it's available in both 2GB and 4GB versions. There's also a USB 2.0 port, an FM radio, and an equalizer. There's also a recording function, both for voice and radio. Now available in Europe in five colors—white, black, pink, blue and chocolate—the Volcano T7 costs the equivalent of $48 for the 2GB and $78 for 4GB. [Akihabara News]

Nine Inch Nails Releases Free Album In High Definition Audio

Tren Reznor is not only breaking the old distribution model, he's even breaking the newest, like Radiohead's pay-what-you-want: Nine Inch Nails' latest album—The Slip—is 100% free, no payment required in any case, not even when you download the whooping 1.2GB version—which includes high definition WAVE 24/96 files (better-than-CD-quality 24bit 96kHz audio.) You can also choose from high-quality MP3s, FLAC lossless and M4A lossless. Note to record labels: drop dead. [NIN]

Targus Speaker Book Brings Compact Tuneage: No Reading Involved

Finding a way to make portable speakers truly portable has proven difficult for manufacturers over the years. This new Speaker Book represents Targus' stab at a solution. The unique design features flat, foldable NXT speakers that can connect to just about anything using via a standard 3.5-millimeter cable. It can also be powered up via USB, or four AAA batteries. Unfortunately those of us in the States won't be able to test it out anytime soon—the Speaker Book is slated for a UK only release early this summer. [i4u via Crave]