Another VoIP Phone December 14, 2005
READ MORE Mobile phones
We mentioned earlier that Vonage is releasing a WiFi phone, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that Korea has been using these VoIP phones for a while. The recent NetCodec uVP-2100 is a WiFi phone with a 240x320-pixel display that actually uses compatible H.263 / MPEG4 video phone technologies that operate on 7.5 frames per second @ CIF (352 x 588) max. It’s based on Linux and includes a built-in mp3 and MIDI player.
NetCodec’s latest Wi-Fi based video phone [Phoneyworld]
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Sega Brain Trainer Replaces Brain Cells Lost To Beer And Bong Hits December 14, 2005
READ MORE Gadgets
In cooperation with Professor Kawashima from the Tohoku university, Sega has developed the “brain trainer.” According to the good professor, repeating simple math task stimulate and train the human brain—and “Brain Training Drills” have become extremely popular in Japan as a result. The target group is not only the real old folks but especially 35+, probably because this group is continuously draining their brain cells with liquids and other substances. So Sega put a brain training gadget inside a book cover. It looks like a calculator but includes modes for Training, Check, Data, Point and Set-up. Some 32,000 units have been sold in Japan in the two months since its release. $44 is the price for keeping yourself sane.
Love Fishing? Love Kamome December 14, 2005
Coden Japan developed a fishing boat of a very different kind. It is a remote-controlled boat, with GPS, radar and all. You hook your fishing line on Kamome and then direct it to the spot where the fish are swimming (using the color radar display). Find the hotspot, release the hook and start reeling them in. There are many more functions, such as LAN connectivity and analyzing shallow grounds, caves and other places that you cannot reach with a normal boat. You will feed yourself for years on the $5,600 investment.
Skyrocket In Flight, Videographer’s Delight December 14, 2005
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Put an impact-resistant digital camera inside the nose of a rocket and what do you get? High flying fun for all. It’s the Digital Video Rocket. That’s right, this 3-inch model rocket comes with a digital camera inside its nose and can record video at 320x240-pixel resolution, in case you ever wondered what it would look like to blast up to 600 ft from the earth and spy on your neighbors (and didn’t want to trash your Handycam). After its flight, the rocket descends back to its earthly home under a parachute. $120.
Digital Video Rocket [redferret]
Toshiba’s Tiny DLP Projector December 14, 2005
READ MORE Home Entertainment
This Toshiba TDP-FF1ADLP projector is among the lightest and smallest on the market, weighing in at a mere 1.2 lbs. and measuring 5.5 x 4 x 2.2 inches. (Even lighter than Samsung’s SP-300M, but bigger than the Epson and Sony “pocket projectors” also due early next year.) To make it even more portable, the TDP can be powered by a battery, which docks on the back of the projector, and lasts up to 2 hours (forget watching King Kong on this). Power consumption is only a diddly 18 watts and it’s got a resolution of 800x600, 1500:1 contrast ratio, 400 ANSI lumens and projection picture size support of 11 to 68 inches. It also includes a USB port so you can plug in a flash drive to project JPEG images if need be. It’s also got VGA In, Video In, Audio In, Audio out and a speaker with output of 0.5 watts—not exactly home theater material. Goes for about $800.
Toshiba TDP-FF1A, World’s Smallest and Lightest DLP projector [New Launches]
Cameraphones: Cause of Brain Cancer or Preventer of Breast Cancer? December 14, 2005
READ MORE Gadgets
If you’ve ever wondered exactly what that cellphone camera is good for, Israeli doctor Nitzan Yaniv has come up with the perfect use. By installing extra software and adding a basic IR camera, a cellphone be be used for early self-detection of breast cancer. The results, according to the good doctor, could be immediately transmitted to a medical laboratory for analysis, which could determine whether further checks are necessary. Other cameraphone medical angles include a Swedish biomedical firm’s work on a blood testing setup and Swiss dermatologists claiming cameraphone images of certain skin disorders are just as good as an in-person diagnosis.
Cellular Telemedicine, Revisited [worldchanging]
Sennheiser: Approved By Skype December 14, 2005
READ MORE Peripherals
Skype has certified the Sennheiser PC series headsets. You know, just in case you didn’t already know that Sennheiser makes top-notch headsets, and you needed to hear it from a company that provides VOIP that sounds like someone speaking inside a tin can piled under eighteen heavy rugs. Okay, Skype isn’t all that bad… The VOIP provider also certified IceMat’s £45 Siberia Multi headsets, and announced that its products will be sold at Radio Shack as well as online. Given Vonage’s handset news yesterday, Skype had to do something.
Earmuffs/Headphones, Great Idea! December 14, 2005
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Thanks JVC. These headphone-ear warmers arrived just time for us here on the icy east coast. Made with Polartec Wind Pro and Thermolite Active 100 materials, these babies promise good tunes and warm earlobes. Well, warm earlobes anyhow. The cool cats in NYC are opting for ginormous earphones with earcups that double as muffs. Trouble is, you gotta wear those things around your neck like some wandering nightclub DJ for the rest of the day. These things look like they fold up nice—although they aren’t exactly babe magnets.
Hot stuff [GadgetCandy]
Potato Vader Tater December 14, 2005
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You all remember Mr.Potato Head, the fun-loving, potato shaped plastic body that you could stick various face parts on? Now they've gone and made the Dark Vader Tater, Mr Potato Head in top form with the Star Wars accessories. Ooooo the possibilities! Definitely a great toy for kids and adults alike, because baked, fried, or as a toy, no one can resist a good Potato!
Chewbacca, R2D2, and Yoda are not included, but maybe our friends at the Mr Potato Head corporate potato head quarters will read this and get the hint. So fingers crossed.
In the meantime, this spud will cost you $7.99, or about £5.00. Check it out right here.
Paul Frank Calculates 1980s Watches December 14, 2005
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Here is the timepiece for the Gary Wallace, Brian Ralph Johnson, or Farmer Ted inside of us all. Forget stainless steel, let’s talk about that waterproof plastic wristband—comes in black or white!—and those rubbery little buttons that are perfect for cheating on math tests. Now on sale from Paul Frank for around £45.
Paul Frank Calculator Watch [Uncrate]
Korean Cellphones Are Smarter, Part MMVI December 14, 2005
READ MORE Mobile phones
South Korea’s three main mobile communications service providers—SK Telecom, KTF and LG Telecom—have agreed to make life easier for their customers. Instead of always having different standards for their respective mobile phones sync, charge ports, data cables and earphones, it’s been decided to go with just one. Most cellphone manufacturers have different ports to help boost accessory sales, but the Koreans, in their infinite wisdom, have come to understand that making life easier for the customer may actually boost sales, as well as subscriptions for services. They also believe this standardisation could help with synchronizing the cellular phone input/output port and external devices, which would help them with other value-added services in the future.
Korean Carriers Demand Standard Connector [Phonescoop]
South Korea to Standardise Cellular Phone Accessories [Teardown]
Xbox Back In Stock… For A Price December 14, 2005
READ MORE Consoles , Games , Home Entertainment
If you couldn’t grab one of the first Xbox 360 consoles, the good news is that 300,000 of them are arriving this week. Best Buy will have them on Dec. 18. And GameStop already has the second wave in stock — only problem is that they are only selling bundles. The Titanium Bundle will run you £845 comes with Xbox 360 Premium Pack, 15 games, Universal Media Remote, Wireless Controllers, 2 game guides and Xbox 360 Skin Gels. The Steel Bundle comes down a notch to £565 and basically includes the same thing except you only get 7 games, 1 wireless controller and no Universal Media Remote. Or, you could check out how much a flight to Japan would cost you and pick up an Xbox 360 for £185 as part of a Far East holiday. If you’re going to spend £845 you may as well get to see the Imperial Palace and Shinjuku, right?
Xbox 360 in Stock again: GameStop Offers new Titanium and Steel Xbox 360 Bundles [14u]
Smart Tupperware December 14, 2005
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I always thought Tupperware was a smart thing but apparently we've been using the dumb version. Now there's smart Tupperware, at least in prototype form, to stop us catching a bad dose of tummy ache and 6 days on the Bowels Express. This version lets you know when food has gone stale and when's it's best to 'use by' by monitoring the temperature and predicting quality using "microbial growth models". OK, last time I checked, I can do all of this already by using erm, my nose, my eyes, and a teeny weenie taste. Oh yeah, there's also the 'use by' date on everything you buy. Personally, I have never poisoned myself - if you don't count alcohol poisoning. Or some dodgy kebabs, and that doesn't technically count, since I paid someone else to do it.
There's absolutely no more details, here.
TDK cranks out Blu-Ray discs December 14, 2005
READ MORE Portable Media
The hype, along with disc production, has been upped another notch as TDK gets the disc production line up and running. The company has started producing single (25GB) and dual-layer (50GB) single-sided BD-Rs and BD-REs (rewriteable). Check that photo to see what all the fuss has been about. Yep, you’d be right, they look like any other DVD disc you ever saw but they will cost you a lot more. So far, Blu-Ray media has come wrapped in that silly and expensive cartridge contraption, so expect (hope) these to be cheaper. Just don’t expect them to be cheap, though. After all, Sony is involved. TDK and the rest of the Blu-Ray Mafia will be attending the CES 2005 show in Vegas on Jan 5 where the official launch dates for discs, drives and the whole damn sideshow will be revealed.
Stop watching TV! Get a life! Get a Sticker! December 14, 2005
READ MORE Gadgets
TV taking over your life? Finding yourself watching Murder She Wrote re-runs rather than getting up to find the remote that fell off the back of the couch 12 hours ago? Ever discover long lost pieces of popcorn wedged in the folds of your belly fat – a week after you ate popcorn? Then you need help. Forget expensive therapy. All you need is a fiver. Buy this screen cover, The End, peel off the sticky bits and attach to the front off your TV screen. Then, head out the front door and enjoy a whole new life free from the goggle box. This extreme form of cold turkey doesn’t work for everyone though. Tales of people kneeling in front of their set eight hours later, sobbing, damp cloth and wallpaper scraper in hand, are all highly exaggerated.
I wasn’t sobbing. Just clearing my throat…ahem. See?
Via Red Ferret.
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Editor and Contributor | Martin Lynch
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