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Speaking of Bluetooth, there’s a new pocket-sized Bluetooth 56k dial-up modem from ENR Technologies which at first glance seems a bit pointless, but actually looks it’d be handy for checking email using a Bluetooth-enabled PDA. Read [Via The Gadgeteer]
Yet another story, this one in the Washington Post, about how Bluetooth is slow to catch on. It’s like technology journalists only know how to write two kinds of stories these days: “X technology is really taking off!!!” and “Y technology is really struggling.” Read
Sometimes technology backfires on you. The Thai finance minister was on his way to a meeting became trapped in his car when the onboard computer of his BMW malfunctioned, shutting down the engine, locking all the doors and windows, and sealing him and his driver in. With air running out, they found out the hard…
From Intel, a prototype of a double-jointed laptop code-named “Florence” that resembles a convertible Tablet PC, but with an extra twist (literally): Florence will be able to work like a regular notebook with a keyboard, or users can enter data using a pen. The machine will include a variety of input-output ports such as USB…
A couple of new DVD recorders from Panasonic. The DMR-E60 is designed for use with digital cameras and camcorders, and has a slot for an SD memory card for viewing still photos, and a DV input terminal for burning video footage to a DVD-R. The DMR-E80 (pictured at right) combines a DVD burner with an…
Remember that Matrix-themed cellphone from Samsung that was the subject of teaser campaign this past February? We’d almost forgotten all about it, but MobileTracker reports that the Matrix phone, otherwise known as the SPH-N270, is set to go on sale this Thursday, happily coinciding with the release of the new Matrix sequel. Read
Are we becoming slaves to our cellphones? A new report out in the UK suggests that we are: They were supposed to provide freedom, independence, control and fun. But instead it seems that mobile phones have enslaved us. We are emotionally dependent on them for our identity and feelings of self-worth and incapable even of…
Samsung’s new Pocket PC Phone, the SCH-i700, has started shipping. It looks about the same as earlier Pocket PC Phones, but has an integrated digital camera, a slighty faster processor, and more RAM (64MB as opposed to 32). Read
TheDeal.com reports on rumors that Steve Jobs is looking at the possibility of breaking Apple up into a software company and a hardware company along the lines of what is happening with Palm at the moment: Splitting this proprietary computer hardware and software maker would enable both units to compete more ruthlessly in today’s cutthroat…
Reader Eric Casadei writes in regarding Saturday’s post about Toshiba’s new high-definition DVD standard: I just read your story on Toshiba’s new Advanced Optical Disc. I thought you might want to write a story linking to following sites: http://www.hddvd.org/ is a site with the latest information on the competing HD-DVD formats, and http://www.dvdsite.org/ is a…
There’s no way you can picture a Hell’s Angel using with one of these, but for those bikers who don’t mind geeking out a bit there’s a new rear-view video display system for motorcycles that consists of a video camera that attaches to the back of the bike and a small LCD screen that mounts…
No doubt you’ve been dying to know if there really is any difference in performance between USB 1.1 flash drives and the newer USB 2.0 flash drives which are starting to appear. Fortunately X-bit Labs compares them both and finds that there is a noticeable difference in file transfer speed between the two standards, with…
Those who need a lot of storage space: a 2,000 GB FireWire external hard drive from Googie. Mainly aimed at the video editing and desktop publishing markets, and those with insanely huge MP3 collections. Read [Thanks, Mark]
Piece in the Canadian Press on how gadgetry is invading the sport of fishing, with fish-finding sonar devices, global positioning systems, and underwater cameras all now a part of the (wealthy) sports fisherman’s arsenal. Kinda seems like using all this technology would take all the fun out of it, doesn’t it? Read
Rob Pegoraro over at the Washington Post finds some big design flaws in Sharp’s new ultralite laptop, the nine-sixteenths of an inch thick Actius MM10. For starters its comma, period, and backslash keys are far too small, he says, there’s no way to expand its RAM, it lacks a built-in modem, and that it’s much-touted…
Rumors of a new handheld computer from NEC have been floating around for months, and now CNET confirms that the MobilePro 900 will come out later this month. It’s one of those gadgets that falls somewhere between a laptop and a PDA, with a decently-sized keyboard and an 8.1-inch screen like a small laptop, and…
From FirewireDirect, the first 320GB Firewire and USB 2.0 external hard drives. Read
I case you missed any of them, some highlights from the past week in Gizmodo: Fantastical kitchen gadgets Intel’s personal server First look at the color Sidekick Large maps on small screens Life-sized toy car A Sony Ericsson Smartphone Mac pr0n The Robotic Cannonball Run Cardboard PC The IMfree Dude, it’s my cellphone, I swear…
Forbes roundup of a couple of the new “niche market” Palms coming out later this year, like Tapwave’s Helix, which is focused on gaming, and Aceeca’s Meazura (pictured at right), which is aimed at industrial and scientific users and has an expansion slot for add-on modules for taking extremely precise measurements. Read [Via Slashdot]
Apparently T-Mobile’s Sidekick mobile communicator is proving to be very popular with the deaf: Danger was getting a lot of feedback from unexpected quarters. “We got some e-mails initially from people who were influential in the deaf community talking about how much they liked the device, and they’re a great forum for providing constructive feedback,”…