Gizmodo: compact

Wall-Mounted Grill Saves Space, Probably Won't Burn Down Your House

Sean Fallon — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:00:00 EDT

If you have a small deck, porch or patio, the Plek 66 offers charcoal grilling in a compact wall-mounted unit.

By the looks of things, you don't have a whole lot of surface area to cook—but the fact that the storage compartment below can hold around 100 pounds of ashes before cleaning is a big plus. There ialso a storage compartment for your utensils and the whole thing folds up into a lean box shape for additional space saving. And, most importantly, they also note that you can heat things up to 1,112 degrees Fahrenheit without reducing your home to a pile of smoldering rubble. No word on pricing unfortunately, but I wouldn't go trading in the Foreman just yet if you are on a budget. [Rocal via Appliancist via DVICE]

Sigma's New SD15 DSLR and DP2 Compact Cameras Hit, Improved Imaging Engines Aboard

Kit Eaton — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 04:39:00 EDT

Sigma's new SD15 and DP2 cameras are incremental developments of the original SD14 and DP1 cameras, but without too much in the way of change. The SD15 and DP2 share the same 3-layer 14-megapixel Foveon X3 sensor as their predecessors, but have a new True (Three-layer Responsive Ultimate Engine) II image processor aboard for improved image quality and processing speed. The DP2 has a new flare-reducing 41mm-equivalent F2.8 lens, and has adjusted controls, while the SD15 has a larger 3-inch LCD...but these seem to be the main improvements. We'll have to wait for more info from Sigma to see if the changes make a big difference or not, and for pricing and release dates. [DCWatch]

Bulb 2.0: Homage to a (Once) Timeless Design

Mark Wilson — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:16:00 EDT

Not that there's anything particularly wrong with the soft serve style of traditional CFLs, but we sort of love the overly cutesy nature of the Bulb 2.0, a compact fluorescent shaped lamp with the faux filament of a traditional incandescent lightbulb. It's both a nod to Edison in an era when his most famous invention is (thankfully) going obsolete, and, maybe more importantly, a way to finally stop our painful, compulsive CFL licking. [Formstark via Notcot]

Nippon Signal Mini Projector Could Fit Into Your Shirt Pocket

Elaine Chow — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 14:00:00 EDT

Nippon Signal has revealed its new entrant into the color projector size war, showing off a SVGA 800 x 600 resolution color projector that's roughly the size of a cigarette case at a recent micromachines exhibition. The prototype, which measures a tiny 90 x 55 x 20mm, uses a MEMS scanner to project images, rather than the more traditional LED.

The projector reaches its small size in part by using proprietary optical parts, including a prism lens exclusively made for it. Nippon Signal also swapped a diode pumping solid state (DPSS) laser for a much tinier semiconductor laser to display greens, reduced the dimensions of the MEMS scanner and optimized the layout to fit within its lilliputian confines. As you can see, the image quality is passable—not even close to movie theater quality, but colors are bright and the resolution is good enough for, say, an impromptu Power Point presentation.

No word on when this will be available to the masses, but Nippon Signal says it plans on commercializing the prototype soon. [Tech On]

The Backpack Bicycle For Ultra-Portable, Potentially Dangerous Transportation

Sean Fallon — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:40:00 EDT

The idea of a compact, folding bicycle is nothing new, but designer Chang Ting Jen is hoping to take the concept even further with his Backpack bike. According to the specs, a production version would weigh around 12 pounds and fold into a backpack that measured just under 2 feet in length. Naturally, that means that you could pick up and carry your bike around just about anywhere.

A bicycle as compact as this version promises to be would definitely be appealing—especially when gas prices are as high as they are right now. However, the plans call for plastics to be used in the frame instead of metal to keep the weight down. With all of the technology going into bike frames these days, you would think that a more advanced material could be used in the frame to add strength and drop weight. By the looks of things, this bike could be deadly to someone weighing over 150 pounds. [The Design Blog via Tech Digest]

Matroshka Living Concept: 43 Square Feet of Furniture is All You Need

Sean Fallon — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 18:00:48 EDT

During my last move I took great pleasure in purging my home of items that were doing nothing but taking up space. There is something very liberating about a style that is minimalist and compact—which is why this Matroshka living concept is so interesting. Taking a page from the Casuo apartment in a box, the Matroshka packs a whole lot into a small space. In fact, you can fit an L-shaped sofa, double bed, dinner table, four stools, total seating for 12, a home office workspace, wardrobe and storage in only a 43 square foot area.

As mentioned, the Matroshka is only a concept at the moment, but the designers are working hard to make their dream into a reality. If it does ever see the light of day, it could be a big hit with people who live in cramped city apartments. Plus, since it is capable of seating 12, you may actually be able to do a little entertaining. [Matroshka via NOTCOT via Treehugger]

Sigma DP1 First Grope

Haroon Malik — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 19:00:00 EST

The guys at Pop Photo have managed to get their hands all over the much-hyped Sigma DP1. Apparently, the DP1 has a build quality comparable to the solid Canon PowerShot G9, and the mega sensor monster does away with any fuss with regards to shooting options; you'll find Manual, Auto, Aperture-priority, Program, and Shutter-priority modes for image capture, as well as QVGA video mode (320 x 240 @ 30fps) and an audio capture mode, but beyond that, there are absolutely no ludicrous scene selections to choose from. The chaps at Pop Photo found this a refreshing turn to minimalism, and we would have to agree. All in all, the hype is looking to be well founded. Checkout the full tear down by hitting the link. [Pop Photo]

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS80 Wins "Best 8MP Camera This Weekend" Award

Haroon Malik — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 17:05:00 EST

Our Panasonic pals just dropped a new compact digital camera into their Lumix range. The new device, bearing the DMC-LS80 moniker, will boast an 8.32MP CCD sensor, 3x optical zoom, 4x digital zoom, 2.5-inch intelligent LCD, MEGA O.I.S image stabilization, ISO 1600 (maximum at full resolution), 30fps 4:3 (640x480) and 16:9 (848x489) video capture, as well as support for SD, SDHC and MMC. Checkout the gallery for a closer look.

Given the lack of camera releases across the weekend, we have been forced to bestow Panasonic with our new "Best 8MP Camera This Weekend" award. We are sure they are very proud of their new achievement, and we would be very disappointed if they didn't choose to include this endorsement on the product package. We'll keep our eyes peeled. Shipping dates and price details have yet to be confirmed. [Panasonic]

IKEA Recycles Old CFL Bulbs for Free

Matt Buchanan — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 01:00:48 EDT

If you've made the switch from incandescent light bulbs to CFLs in order to be more energy/money efficient, one issue possibly plaguing your otherwise greener conscience is where to recycle it after it goes cold in about seven years, since it can't be recycled with glass bottles, thanks to its mercury content. IKEA to the rescue! They'll take old CFLs off of your hands for free recycling, which is useful given the big push CFL bulbs are getting from everyone from Wal-Mart to governments. Of course, the snag is that's only helpful if you have an IKEA somewhere in your general vicinity, but them's the breaks. [IKEA via Consumerist, Flickr]

Talking CD Cases From Pre>Vu

msparkes — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 12:21:32 EDT

These talking CD cases allow you to record a 60-second message, which can be played back to your heart's content. There's plenty of applications for this, like annoying marketing material, and, um... annoying marketing material.

It was invented by Morag Hutcheon, in order to allow people to listen to 60 seconds of an album before buying it. However, this doesn't seem like it would work because you could only hear part of one track, and record stores would be a mess of noise, with all the clips blurring into one. [Pre>Vu]

Minox DC-1022: Compact 10-Megapixel Camera with VFM and Carry Strap

Addy Dugdale — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 07:52:53 EDT

Details of Minox's DC-1022, the successor to its rather fabulous 8122, have been released. The compact 10-megapixel camera lets you choose aperture and shutter speed for yourself, and there are a range of different modes, from sports and animal photography through fireworks and nighttime. There's also a failsafe automatic mode. Image stabilization is software-based so you should have less blurred photos, even when using zoom.

The DC-1022 will set you back $469 on Amazon.com and it ships starting June 1. There's a full list of specs after the jump.

$469 Amazon, ships on June 1
150 grams
Meausrements 93x57x25.5 (mm)
10.10 Megapixels
Maximum resolution 3648 x 2736
Minimum resolution 640 x 480
Minoctar lens
1/1.7-inch CCD sensor
Digital and Optical zoom
Internal memory of 32MB
SD card slot for up to 2GB memory cards
Auto focus
Built-in Flash with anti red-eye, auto, fill-in and slow modes
Exposure compensation
White balance
Video function with sound
Maximum video resolution 640x480
Minimum video resolution 160x120
30 Frames per second
Voice recording
2.8-inch LCD display with anti-reflection coating
Self-timer
USB 2.0
Video out
JPEG File format
Lithium-Ion battery
Carrying case
Strap
USB and video cable

– Ad Dugdale

Minox DC1022 [Let's Go Digital]

Plustek D28 Office Scanner: Small, Fast, Comes with Free Spectacles

www.gizmodo.com — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 07:56:32 EDT

Plustek's high-speed compact scanner looks quite a cutie, but beneath that slight exterior lies a capable machine. Weighing in at 960g, it can scan a sheet of A4 paper in 2.2 seconds, as well as plasticized stuff - card up to 1.2mm thick, driving licenses, ID cards, embossed cards.

You can customize it (you can write 'World, I HATE you' on it if you really want, but that's not what I meant) by configuring the settings to carry out different tasks at the touch of a button. And scanned documents can be found quickly via a scan to searchable PDF function. All that and for $538. No reading glasses, though. That was a joke. – Ad Dugdale

Plustek MobileOffice D28 Pro Scanner [PC Launches]

HP Photosmart R967: 10 Megapixels, Small Package

Charlie White — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 09:34:14 EDT

HP packs a lot of punch into a small 3.7-inch-wide package with the HP PhotoSmart R967, a 10-megapixel shooter with a 3-inch LCD and 3x optical zoom. The compact camera is packed with features, too, including HP's Steady Photo anti-shake mode, and it shoots VGA video in an unusual 24 frame-per-second format.

For really easy sharing of your photos, there's also a feature called Photosmart Express, letting you enter up to 34 destinations such as e-mail addresses, printers, or online photo services, and then after you take a photo you select its destination right there on the back of the camera. You can also opt for the HP Photosmart 6222 wireless camera dock, where you park the camera and then it's accessible on via WiFi. The R967 is set to ship next month for $449. – Charlie White

HP Photosmart R967 [PhotographyBlog]

Sanyo Xacti S7

Charlie White — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 09:16:56 EDT

Sanyo adds another addition to its Xacti line, the S7, packing 7.1 megapixels into its slimline form factor. Add to that a 2.5-inch LCD viewscreen along with video recording capability at 640x480/30fps, and you have yet another acceptable choice in this increasingly crowded field of compact shooters. One characteristic that sets the Xacti S7 apart from the burgeoning crowd is its ergonomic shape, with a slight bulge on its right side just under the shutter release that makes it easier to grip.

Other than that, we're wondering if the name Xacti refers to the fact that this camera has specs and dimensions that are Xactly like dozens of others just like it. How on earth would anyone decide which one to buy? We're thinking buyers will just be shopping price, but then Sanyo was not forthcoming with the price of the Xacti S7. Maybe we'll find out when it's introduced at Photokina 2006, which starts September 26. – Charlie White

Sanyo Xacti S7 [LetsGoDigital]

Fujifilm FinePix F20

Charlie White — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 11:47:57 EDT

Now here's a form factor we can get used to, the compact Fujifilm FinePix F20, offering 6.3 megapixels, a 2.5-inch LCD viewscreen and a 3x optical zoom at an affordable price point. There's also one-touch anti-blur image stabilization, a long-life battery that Fujifilm says will hold out for 300 shots, and it only takes 1.4 seconds to start up.

Sure, we're big fans of digital SLR's, but even though those great cameras with their honking 12x zoom lenses give you lots of pro-level flexibility, they're just too big to carry around in your pocket. And having a camera that you don't use is hardly any better than not having a camera at all. Something like the FinePix F20 fits right in your pocket, and is more likely to be there when you want to snap a quick shot or two.

Fujifilm didn't elaborate on what it means by "affordable," but the F20's predecessor, the F10, costs $290. – Charlie White

Fujifilm FinePix F20 [LetsGoDigital]

Samsung Digimax L70

Charlie White — Mon, 22 May 2006 10:04:04 EDT

Samsung adds another model to its L series of digital cameras, the next-generation Samsung Digimax L70 with a 7.1 megapixel CCD and 3x optical zoom lens. Despite its portable form factor, it has a nice big 2.5-inch LCD viewfinder, along with Samsung's newly-designed nine-key multicontroller on the back.

We haven't seen this multicontroller, but those nine keys make it sound like it's a bit more complicated than the usual directional controls. Introduced at the Korean Photo & Imaging 2006 event, the Korean name for this camera is the Samsung Kenox X70. There's no word yet on when it will get to the US or how much it will cost.

Samsung Digimax L70 [LetsGoDigital]

Ricoh Caplio R40

Charlie White — Mon, 22 May 2006 09:41:32 EDT

Ricoh introduced its Caplio R40, a compact digital camera with some pretty impressive specs. We're really liking its thin form factor, where its inch-thick profile must have been an engineering challenge with that 5.7x optical zoom lens inside; we're wondering if digital cameras will go the way of cellphones with a thin-is-in battle. That lens gives you lots of range, too, with the 35mm format equivalent of 28mm to 160mm, and it's shooting into a 6-megapixel CCD.

One of the specs that Ricoh brags about is the really short shutter release time lag, which it quotes as .007 seconds. That's quick, but Ricoh reminds us that measurement was obtained after the focus lock was engaged. But still, that ain't half bad. We're also digging the macro capability of this camera, where you can get as close as a third of an inch to capture intricate details. Available in June, pricing wasn't announced yet.

Product Page [Ricoh, via LetsGoDigital]

Plustek Slim Feeding Scanner

Travis Hudson — Sun, 12 Feb 2006 16:25:03 EST

Plustek is releasing a compact, sheetfed scanner than will better accommodate the road warriors out there who need a good scanning solution. One of the appealing points about this scanner is the ability to power it over the USB port. Additionally the software allows for one-touch PDF scanning, OCR support and also brochure, photo and business card scanning. This scanner is available for $179.

UPDATE - Looks like this was a dupe. But it sure is slim!

Plustek OpticSlim M12 Sheetfed Scanner [Bios]

Purchase info for Plustek M12 scanner [Shopping.com]