You will find that the GammaTech Durabook R13S might be durable and yet does not skimp when it comes to performance, running on an Intel Core 2 Duo processor which is capable of delivering faster multitasking performance and greater energy efficiency in order to increase one’s productivity. Apart from that, the R13S is also equipped with a pretty hefty 9-cell lithium-ion battery which ought to provide around 7 hours of juice on normal use, which should be more than enough for most ordinary folks like you and I. Other functions crammed into the GammaTech Durabook R13S include a GPS Receiver, Bluetooth connectivity, a Super-Multi DVD Burner optical drive, HD audio, a built-in speaker and array microphone, Intel’s GME965 Integrated graphics chipset and an integrated multi-memory card reader.

You won’t find the GammaTech Durabook R13S shirking from its computing responsibilities even in harsh conditions, as it is humidity and water resistant, boasting a waterproof keyboard and touchpad, allowing it to function at full capacity even in rain and snow (some of you might just shiver at that thought of being left out in the wet and cold, but the GammaTech Durabook R13S is starting to sound like a real trooper). It will also boast maximum dust-resistance and can withstand extreme wind-borne dust and sand conditions.

Press Release

The LG X120 netbook is the first of its kind from LG, where it not only delivers all the benefits of a netbook, it also offers users a shortcut to the fun stuff with a unique Smart On interface which makes it a snap to stay connected faster and easier than ever. Regardless of whether you’re an avid social networker who just needs to check on your Facebook page round the clock or a college student who wants something light and yet functional, the LG X120 is able to deliver. Although I would think for the former, he/she would probably also own a cellphone or BlackBerry which already comes with a Facebook application to handle the mobile social networking aspect.

Tipping the scales at 2.8lbs, the slim and stylish LG X120 will feature a sleek white matte exterior and fashionable blue trim, capable of running for up to 7 hours on a full charge. You also get round-the-clock Internet connection thanks to a built-in AT&T 3G wireless connection, although that remains subject to the area you’re at as well as the signal strength, so be prepared to surf at EDGE speeds sometimes as well. Other features include 1GB RAM, a 160GB hard drive, a 10.1″ screen with crystal clear LED backlighting, an integrated 1.3 megapixel camera, HD stereo speakers and Wi-Fi connectivity. You can pick up the Window XP-powered LG X120 for $179.99 with a 2-year AT&T DataConnect service agreement, accompanied by a $60 monthly 5GB plan.

Press Release

We’ve all had those days where we feel like we’re absolutely tied to our desks.  On those days we dream of having a fully stocked kitchen right at the desk.  However, even a mini fridge isn’t always something you can keep around.  Well if you’re big about your coffee, now you can at least make sure that your coffee stays warm.  If nothing else, if nothing else it’ll allow for you to get your caffeine fix.

The USB Whirl Wind Warmer Cup would be great for anyone that wants a hot drink and needs a way to stir things up.  If you use instant coffee it’d allow for you to keep it well blended.  The device has a switch that lets you choose between heat, stir, heat and stir, as well as just the usual power off function.  You can purchase the rechargeable USB gadget for $37 through USB Brando.

Source: OhGizmo

A PhD student at the Cambridge University Engineering Department named Qi Pan has made like Apple and “thought different”.

As you can see from the video after the jump, Pan took a detailed paper building and rotated it on an axis, filming it with an ordinary web camera. His ProFORMA (Probabilistic Feature-based On-line Rapid Model Acquisition) program scanned it, and he immediately had something ready for 3D model generation. He could even shake the real thing and move it, and the CG image would do the same. Wild!

A program like this can have a lot of applications, but all I can think about is the way it will change animated films with 3D computer animation. Instead of some graphics designer having to painstakingly make an object for three-dimensional space, all the programmers would need is a simple rotational scan. It’s better technology than motion-capture!

This man Qi Fan has just made computer animation history, and I look forward to the next PIXAR or PDI film that will use it. Of course, the technology is still under development, but I can see it being in the hands of a typical consumer.

Source

The Christmas season is coming up and nothing says Merry Christmas like a creepy novelty USB gadget.  If you know someone that’s still a huge fan of Alien, this creepy little guy may be pointless, but at least he’s cool.  He does actually do a few tricks after he’s plugged into your computer, but he doesn’t actually store any of your data.

The miniature alien plugs into your USB port, not to transfer data, but to make it look even more spooky.  As soon as it’s plugged in through the tail, the mouth pops open and spits out the creepy alien tongue.  The mouth also lights up to a nice bright red.  Then after it’s plugged in, it will just at random do the same process all over again.  At the very least it’ll keep you on your toes.  Once it’s released early to mid December it’ll cost you 3,990 JPY or about $44 through Strapya World.

Source: GadgetVenue

The Imation Pro WX Wireless USB hard drive brings together a combination of speed, capacity and security in a convenient 3.5″ form factor, capable of hitting a Wireless USB data transfer rate of up to 15MBs/second at best – this translates to backing up a standard CD within 50 seconds. Apart from that, the Pro WX wireless hard drive also exhibits an innovative one-to-one connection which limits the possibility of signal interception while giving you a peace of mind as one can back up data securely within a 30 foot radius in a manner that is not too different from that of a direct attached storage device.

Each purchase of the Imation Pro WX Wireless USB hard drive comes with an integrated stand that allows you to place it in either a vertical or horizontal position. Apart from that, you can tell at a glance just how much storage space it has left within thanks to a low capacity/data activity indicator lights that makes it easy to identify data processes. Built-in sleep mode is thrown into the mix for energy conservation, while one-touch, backup sync buttons virtually makes it dummy-proof for one to backup the drive’s contents automatically. Compatible with both Mac and PC platforms, the Imation Pro WX wireless USB hard drive will retail for $449.99.

Press Release

The X100e has an 11.6 inch display, and it has an AMD Neo processor as well as wireless connectivity options like WWAN, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, and Bluetooth. The whole thing weighs about 3 pounds and includes a webcam and many other lovable pictures. As for the battery life, it’s pretty good at 5.1 hours.

So how much is it? It will be about $500, and available in white, black, and red. I believe that the release date is planned for January.

The X100e is “positioned to be a viable mix of the portability of a netbook with the performance of a laptop, at an affordable price”.

Too bad that they didn’t have the X100E done by Christmas. They probably could have really made a killing for the holiday. Oh well, who am I do critique Lenovo’s selling and marketing strategies?

I suppose that I’ll have to stop by Lenovo’s booth at CES in January and try it out for myself. Until then, I’ll just keep clicking away on my own laptop.

Source

You will get a 21.5″ screen with 16:9 widescreen display, full HD (1080p) resolution and high-fidelity 5.1-channel SRS Premium Sound to get you drooling even if it is still in its box. Meant to offer home users with theater-like multimedia entertainment, the inclusion of NVIDIA ION graphics certainly helps its cause in that department, while you can choose from the latest Intel Core 2 Duo/Pentium Dual Core processors for all your processing power needs. This wold mean it is able to run HD movies effortlessly, alongside resource-hungry applications and sophisticated 3D games without batting an eyelid. As for connectivity options, the AE2220 comes with VGA and HDMI input ports, letting it function as the primary home computer, TV or a widescreen display device for video-capable devices including game consoles.

Powered by the latest Windows 7 operating system, we’ve still no word on its pricing just yet.

Press Release

Yeah, this is another low-tech laptop stand, like the Cushdesk from Belkin. The AViiQ Portable Laptop Stand is very different than most laptop stands because it can conveniently fold up.

According to AViiQ, it is made of Hylite, a composite material of aluminum sheets bonded to a polypropylene core. This allows the material to fold like origami.

For example, you can remove the triangular fold there by pushing in the two tabs. From there, it becomes a flat sheet that has three creases. It can then be folded up into a sheet about 12.75 inches by 2.75 inches by a quarter-inch.

This folded up iron bar is very compact, and you should have no trouble fitting into your bag with your laptop bag. Yes, unlike most laptop stands, it can compact to something smaller than the laptop itself.

Now, you wouldn’t think that something made of sheet metal would be able to hold a laptop or netbook without it sliding off. However, those tabs that are poking through are lined with rubber, so they can keep a 17-inch laptop up there if needed.

You should be able to pre-order the AViiQ Portable Laptop Stand for about $79.95 from here.

I’m all about gadgets that are made to look old but still have that new technology we all know and love.  Yet the USB gadgets made to look like older ones just seem a bit like cheap impostors.  However, if you don’t want to pay the price for an expensive antique that runs just like the old ones always have, these would work out great.  Especially since they’re plenty affordable.

These hurricane lamps are made out of plastic and stand 4” tall.  The light within the lamp can change colors, it flips between a total of 7 different colors.  The light uses LED bulbs, so it won’t require too much power to keep it going.  It of course just requires you to plug it into your USB port to keep it up and running.  You can purchase the Color Change Hurricane Lamp $9.69 from UX Sight.

Source: TechChee

The Samsung Go is highly portable, tipping the scales at a mere 2.8 lbs. which is definitely great if you don’t want to break a shoulder whenever you go around at a conference or exhibition, where there are thousands of square feet to cover. This portable powerhouse can be easily stashed away in a briefcase or travel bag. Those who love a slew of colors might be a wee bit disappointed as the Go will only be available in midnight blue color and slim, soft texture design with rounded edges, helping you make a fashion statement each time you pull it out from your bag. It also has a pebble-style keyboard for a more comfortable typing experience, thanks to larger than average spacing. As for the brilliant LED-backlit, borderless glass display, you’ll be pleased to note that it is scratch resistant and offers users with photo-like image quality, superior viewing angles and better text legibility, helping reducing eye strain and boosting productivity simultaneously when in use.

You can choose from two AT&T DataConnect plans for netbooks, where one of them is a 200MB plan option for a newly reduced price of $35 monthly, while the other is a much more comprehensive 5GB plan for $60 monthly.

Press Release

I’ve always known that Disney was capable of slapping their brand name on just about anything.  I just never really expected to see Disney themed USB cables.  However, they’ve officially done it and in a way that doesn’t look too bad.  Thankfully they also don’t jack up the price to a horrible amount either, making them parent friendly as well as great for the kids.

On the cable itself there isn’t a whole lot that really broadcasts them as being a Disney product.  Each one of the versions of the cable has a bright color and an indention on the end.  One shows Mickey, another is Stitch, and then there’s the Cars version, Toy Story, and the Princess one.  The cable is about 70cm long.  You can purchase each one of these for $7 a piece through Brando.  They’d make for an affordable stocking stuffer for this Christmas.

Source: OhGizmo

This multi-purpose USB neck massager is in the form of a scarf to be worn around your neck which is able to keep your neck warm as well as giving you a good massage to release your tense muscles. Use it on your neck, shoulders, thighs or waist to massage, relieve pain, improve sleep quality, improves blood circulation and overall health.

It retails for $11.69 a pop, and ought to make everyone who is tense at the office (due to work pressures) be your best friend as they recline in your easy chair while getting a royal treatment.

If you’re ever in the situation where you need your speakers to play to a full room of people, something with a 360° design like this one could make things easier.  It’s not the most powerful speaker out there, but if you need to use it for a quick presentation, it would be handy.  You could also use it for music when you need something extra to listen to with a group of friends.

The device uses a tumbler design that’s supposed to be based on cutting edge technology that was created for the USA Navy.  It comes only in the black with the metallic accents and includes a USB cable.  That cable is the source of the speaker’s power.  The speaker is said to have “excellent sound and bass 360 omni-directional sound”.  Then again, who actually says that their speaker has ok sound qaulity?  You can purchase the speaker for the very affordable $24.79 through Amazon.

Source: CraziestGadgets

Prices start from $229 upwards, where the Inspiron Zino HD comes with standard HD-capable integrated graphics, HDMI output and integrated networking which makes it suitable for standard home and student computing activities including word processing, e-mail, organizing photos and music and surfing the Internet. This pocket-friendly and space-saving Inspiron Zino HD can also expand upon the amount of memory it comes with just to make sure it is able to keep up with the times without being obsolete too soon once you unpack it.

Dell has made sure that the Inspiron Zino HD can fit into tight spaces, measuring 7.75″ square and 3.5″ tall. Don’t be off-tracked by its diminutive size, however, as it still manages to pack in the following :-

• Ultra-small form factor designed to fit almost anywhere
• Easy personalization with 10 color choices for Inspiron Zino HD
• Choice of AMD processors or dual core Athlon Neo X2 6850e
• Up to 8GB dual channel DDR 2 memory
• Up to 1TB internal hard disk storage
• Combo DVD/CD RW drive with optional Blu-ray Disc combo
• Integrated 10/100/1000 networking with wireless option
• Optional wireless keyboard and mouse
• Built in 2.1 high-definition audio and 4-in-1 media card reader
• Integrated ATI graphics adapter with standard HDMI and VGA video connections, and optional 512MB discrete graphics adapter
• Four USB ports (2 front/2 rear); two eSATA ports (rear)
• Energy-Star 5.0 compliant

Press Release

What does SkyCross’ award-winning iMAT technology entail? Well, iMAT is a design technique which allows a single antenna element with multiple feed points to function in a similar manner to that of multiple antennas, where each of them will come with very high isolation. This will obviously reap multiple benefits with iMAT, where some of these include consolidating the number of antennas required in a device, further reducing the specific absorption rate (SAR) and eliminating RF components among others. This instance sees iMAT enabling a single antenna to have one feed dedicated to Wi-Fi while the other feed is shared with Bluetooth that will rely on the chipset providers’ time-sharing and adaptive frequency hopping algorithms. This makes it possible to operate both simultaneously in an extremely cramped space.

According to Joe Gifford, Vice President of SkyCross, “Our antennas differentiate netbook brands by maximizing their connectivity range and enabling optimal simultaneous functionality at an equivalent price, which pleases consumers. Seamless Wi-Fi and Bluetooth coexistence opens the door for new applications and a user experience that will propel netbook brand loyalty.”

SkyCross recently demonstrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth coexistence with the iMAT single-antenna 35 dB solution using 802.11n Bluetooth Mini-Card modules successfully across several brands of netbooks within an office environment.

Press Release

Brought to you by our old friends at Brando, it is a device modeled after one of the Cars stars. You can choose from Lightning McQueen, The King, Doc Hudson, Chick Hicks, or Mater. Its purpose is to give you email alerts every time you receive an email message, and it does so using a twinkle effect on the front window and an authentic sound from the film. It is compatible with Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook Express, and POP3, and no batteries are required. All the user has to do is plug it into a spare USB port, and it needs no CD-ROM.

In addition to the email notifications, the device also has another feature. The car will interact with the typing detected on the keyboard. “It will sound, together with different facial expression of the Cars”. That’s all I know so far. I’m guessing that Lightning McQueen would probably say “Ka-Chow” every time you hit the Enter key. Whatever this feature is, I hope that is as entertaining to me as the Disney/Pixar movie is to my children.

Well, if this sounds like something you want to try, then head to the Brando site and lay down $33.00.

Source

This NitroAV host bus adapter is a professional grade eSATA/1394b (FireWire 800) Combo PCI Express x4 (4 lane), designed for Mac Pro and Windows users for virtually any device. It utilizes high performance, native PCIe chips from Silicon Image and Texas Instruments. The Fusion Pro offers 2 external 1394b ports and 1 internal 1394b port, coupled with 2 external 3Gbps eSATA channels. In addition, it offers an optional power connector for direct connection to the system power supply, for supplemental 1394b device power. The Fusion Pro eSATA ports are based on SiI 3132 and support with FIS port multipliers, and the 1394b channel sports the Texas Instruments XIO2213, and is designed to support a full range of users, professional content creation applications, digital video, digital audio, photography, and imaging and design systems.

You can bring home the Fusion Pro for $129.95 a pop if you want to, but here’s a cool way of shaving $10 off the retail price – all you need to do is enter Coupon Code ‘FUSIONPRO’ at Checkout for the $10 discount! Do remember that this offer is good till November 18th only.

Press Release

Dubbed the “Hack Us If You Can” challenge, it will be open to all from November 16 onwards, and you can check out the challenge rules here. Guess there will be plenty of coffee being passed around by a group of ethical hackers as they vie for 24 grand, no small sum even by today’s standards as that can get the winner a brand new ride or a super souped up gaming rig with more than enough cash to spare. According to Wiresoft President Tom Schram, “With Firegate, businesses have a real alternative: a single all-in-one system that foils network security threats, provides full back-up, and is available at a price that any SMB can afford. Hack us if you can – we dare you.”

Firegate is a unified threat management (UTM) network security product, where a solitary platform will help protect companies against all network security threats. It offers firewall, individually configurable spamwall, unlimited VPN support, content filtering and anti-virus protection, where it has been included in a single price point without any hidden charges or add-ons. Any takers?

Press Release

Laptop bags are rarely something worth mentioning.  Sure, they protect your precious laptop, but besides having a different color of material, they’re not that interesting.  Well this bag actually does offer up an extra twist to help those out that take their laptop more places than to a tidy little office every single day.  This one will protect it more from the great outdoors than those other laptop bags will.

This bag is double-sealed and will of course do the usual job of protecting your precious laptop from bumps and bruises.  Yet it also manages to protect your laptop from water as well.  The bag itself is completely waterproof.  I hope you like orange though, because it appears that’s the only color you can pick it up in.  The bag comes in a 15” form and a 17” version.  Although you may have to contact them to find out the availability on these sleeves.

Source: OhGizmo