Devices Site

USB Battery Charger

Preserve your power with The USB Battery Charger. Even though there are more USB gadgets than you could shake a stick at, the USB battery Charger is actually quite useful.This handy little charger allows you to use the power from your PC (Desktop or Laptop) to charge and re-charge up to 4 X AA and AAA Ni-Cd, and the eco friendly Ni-MH type batteries. (Stating the obvious), as with all USB gadgets Just connect the USB cable to a computer or laptop and begin charging those batteries!Approximately the size of a PDA the battery charger is an ideal travel companion for your laptop and won’t take up loads of storage space.

AT&T currently has a special $99 promotion on the red LG Shine, BlackJack II and the BlackBerry Curve 8310. The promotion is valid through Valentines Day, which for those that may need a reminder is February 14 and they all require a 2-year agreement with purchase.

“Chocolates and flowers are standby gifts for Valentine’s Day, but this year we’re spicing things up by offering terrific deals for those who want to go with something different,” said Andy Wilson, vice president of National Marketing for AT&T’s wireless unit.

A nice offer for those looking to make a switch to AT&T, all three phones (personally I would prefer the Curve) would make a great primary phone, especially for only $99.

Via [SlashPhone] Image [Boy Genius Report]

Posted Jan 19th 2008 6:06PM by Paul Miller
Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals
Alright America, you’ve got yourself some prep work to do: Nintendo’s about to foist this whole nefarious “exercise” paradigm on you, in the form of the Wii Fit, and we know how you fell for that whole “Wii” fad a year or so back. The thing has a 300 pound weight limit at the moment, though it’s unclear if Nintendo is going to “upgrade” that for American users, but you’ll just have to risk it. We figure a few dozen Twinkies a day, on top of a couple potlucks a week, and a few barrels of Pocky to keep it cultural, and you should have yourself out of contention for silly balance exercises and hula hooping tomfoolery by the time Q2 rolls around, Nintendo’s promised ship date. Crisis averted.

We previously brought you bad news concerning the specifications of the lust-worthy BlackBerry 9000 (a.k.a 9100.) Well, according to BGR, RIM has just changed the details of the device, which is now set to include UMTS and HSDPA. As if that was not good news enough, there is another interesting piece of new information.

The OS is set for a complete upgrade to version 5.0. It is not clear when this will occur, but the chaps at BGR seem to think the 9000 will ship with the standard version 4.3.2, with the upgrade to follow by the end of the year. As to what new features will be implemented, that is anybody’s guess, but it is promising news nonetheless. The hotly anticipated BlacBerry 9000 is likely to be launched at this year’s Wireless Enterprise Symposium, and we just cannot wait. [BGR]

Posted Jan 19th 2008 3:37PM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Peripherals, Portable Audio
Yeah, the whole igloo comparison loses some steam once you peek this thing from the side, but when glancing it head-on, we can’t help but be overcome with imagery of our childhood days spent in the plains of Greenland. Unfortunately, this thing’s ability to conjure up said memories is probably its standout feature — well, aside from the RF remote that enables users to browse iPod content right on its screen (shown after the break). Outside of that, you’ll find a totally average speaker setup consisting of twin one-inch tweeters and three-inch woofers along with a set of touch-sensitive controls atop the device itself. Reportedly, the iBoom JukeBox is slated to further saturate the iPod speaker system market this Spring for $199.99.

[Via MacMinute]

Orange has unveiled a gesture based interaction screen that has been produced by a UK agency on their behalf. The agency, known as The Alternative, said it was the first time such a display had been on show to the general public. The purpose of the technology is mainly as an advertising opportunity for Orange, but selecting your favorite music clips have never been so fun. Check out the clip to see what all the fuss is about.

The futuristic device makes the touch UI revolution look like something from the era of the Flinstones. The gesture controls work by implementing a large projection screen and a “highly advanced piece of motion capture technology.” What exactly is going on behind the scenes is not clear, but you can be assured I shall be going along for a hands-on waiving session soon. With tiny projectors in the making, it can’t be too long before the gesture controlled iPhone comes out. Steve, that would be the best keynote, ever…you can’t stop us from dreaming. [New Launches]

The Flipstart pricing has been dropped, and almost to a point where it could be considered affordable. It was originally launched at a whopping $1999, initially it had a $500 price drop and when that price seemed to high to drive sales it was then cut in half, dropping all the way down to $699.

It seems strange that an initial price of $1999 seemed logical now that they have it all the way down to $699, regardless, it now seems almost like a fair price. For those unfamiliar the Vulcan Flipstart is a “ultraportable PC” that has a small but full QWERTY keyboard with a 5.6-inch wide SVGA display and opens similar to a regular laptop. The Flipstart features a Pentium M 1.1Ghz processor, 512MB RAM, 30GB hard drive, is Sprint Mobile Broadband Network ready and has a high-capacity battery. It will also ship with your choice of Windows XP Professional or Windows Vista Business.

Personally for $699 it seems there are still better options out available.

Product [dynamism.com] Via [Boy Genius Report]

We all do embarrassing things when we are young, but at least for my generation they tended to stay in the past and away from the eyes of prospective employers, but for todays social networking generation I wonder how much of what seems like a good idea now may come back to haunt them in the future as more and more employers turn to social networking sites to find out more about potential employees.

But as ever with the Internet a new business trend is emerging to resolve this problem. Companies like ReuptationDefender will charge £20 to provide a monthly report about every piece of information about you on the Internet.

“If they find anything inaccurate, inappropriate, hurtful or slanderous, they say they can use a series of techniques to have the unwanted material removed.”

Other firms such as Naymz will manipulate the data so that favorable information is presented first.

If you want to create a positive online profile here are 10 tips on how you may achieve that:

1. Write a blog.
2. Comment on blogs.
3. Create your own social network.
4. Set up a Squidoo page.
5. Get a Naymz account.
6. Use a “proper” email address.
7. Security-check outgoing emails.
8. Use Google Alerts.
9. Get your credit references.
10. Destroy the negatives.

Ah, it was so much simpler in my day!!

Via [Telegraph]

Samsung has taken advantage of Macworld by displaying a couple of its new LCD monitors - the 24″ and 25.5″ LCD monitors which were specially designed for consumers as well as commercial users who are looking for something in the market that features enhanced entertainment and multimedia capabilities. The 25.5″ model is known as the SyncMaster 2693HM, while the 24″ model has been christened the SyncMaster 2493HM.

Both of these monitors will come loaded with entertainment friendly options such as the capability to display full 1080p high definition resolution, HDMI inputs, and integrated multimedia speakers. Judging by those capabilities alone, you can tell that Samsung is pretty serious about using these two offerings to offer comprehensive entertainment solutions for consumers who are on the lookout for superior image quality and next-generation audiovisual input, be it during a relaxation session of grooving to one’s favorite tunes, having a blast of a time on the latest video game or simply watching summer blockbusters on the computer monitor. The integrated speakers also have another function - to enable seamless participation in teleconferences and the ability to listen to videos and audio presentations without having to purchase additional speakers. Those who are more serious about their audio will probably already have a more decent audio setup in the first place anyways.

Shared features of the SyncMaster 2693HM and 2493HM monitors include a four-way adjustable stand that accounts for height, swivel, tilt and pivot capabilities. Each purchase of either LCD monitors also comes with a comfortable, highly-customizable viewing experience - thoroughly essential if one is to be productive at work or getting the best entertainment value out of a game or movie. The 2493HM monitor comes with a recommended retail price of $599, while the 2693HM monitor is slightly more expensive at $699 MSRP. Both monitors are now readily available through Samsung resellers and distribution channels.

Press Release, image courtesy of Engadget

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Posted Jan 19th 2008 11:13AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Handhelds, Tablet PCs
Our eyes may still be slightly out of focus from the complete lack of sleep obtained while at CES, but the two Inventec UMPCs purportedly going by 7-A / 5-D sure look a heck of a lot different than the model we peeked in Vegas. As you can glean from the image above, the UMPC 7-A sports a nifty slider design that supposedly places the QWERTY keyboard at a “more natural angle” for the user. As for the so-called UMPC 5-D (shown after the jump), it ditches the aforementioned design and takes a more modular approach to satisfy those who just adore buying a new dock for every handheld they own. Regrettably, we’ve no hard details surrounding the specs of these two machines, but we doubt we’ll have to twiddle our thumbs for too much longer before finding out.

[Via Pocketables]