Devices Site

Posted Feb 20th 2008 2:02PM by Nilay Patel
Filed under: cellphones
iPhone cloners: meet your new king. We’re not kidding when we say we even tried fake names and disguises at CES to score an early picture of the DaXian X999 you see here, only to be shot down by the eagle-eyed vendors in the International Pavilion — but it’s out now, baby, and never has KIRFdom been so thoroughly rocked. Not only does the hardware ape the iphone — 3.2-inch single-touch QVGA screen, dual 2MP cameras, motion and proximity sensors — the UI is actually a TouchFLO clone running on what is surely an unlicensed copy of Windows Mobile 6.0. That’s a hat trick, people — and to top it all off, the list price is a staggering $369. It’s like we don’t even have to make the jokes — except to say that if your love / hate relationship with Apple compels you to buy this thing, you should probably seek therapy. Random dramatic video of the UI in action after the break.

[Via thegadgetsite]

Posted Feb 20th 2008 1:21PM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment
For those with under a grand to spend and an incessant hankering for a new projector, we’ve got phenomenal news. Epson has added two more 3LCD PJs to its ever-expanding PowerLite line, both of which feature an XGA (1,024 x 768) resolution, a built-in Ethernet port for remote monitoring and control, an integrated ten-watt speaker and a closed-caption decoder to boot. As for the 83+, you’ll find 2,200 lumens compared to the 822+’s 2,600, but other than that, the two are essentially identical. Good enough for you? If so, you can snag one immediately for $899 or $949, respectively.

[Via AboutProjectors]

After using the LG Viewty for a month we’ve compiled the good, the bad and the ugly on this little black handset. Two people had the phone for a few weeks and swapped it to get different perspectives.

Good points

• Big bright and colourful screen
• SMS / notes can switch to full screen landscape QWERTY mode which is great for extra speed
• Touch screen is nice as buttons are big enough, (still press two buttons at the same time occasionally though)
• Touch screen tactile feedback is useful, and thoughtful feature when making a phone with minimal hard keys.
• Battery life is good for both standby and normal phone use.
• 3G - Good data speeds
• It can play flash / swf content. (although this feels like an after thought with not so great integration)
• PDF viewer built in, that works fast when compared to ClearVue on Windows Mobiles.
• Excellent bluetooth file support (Windows & mac) and file manager
• The bundled game “Space Commander” was a pretty fun third person shooter on rails game. Worked well with the touch screen.

Bad Points

• Stylus doesn’t sink into phone, the lipstick stylus is both gay and gets in the way when strapped on
• Camera doesn’t live up to the hype in our opinion. We are still looking for the wholy grail of a decent phone & camera and this isn’t it. Whilst the resolution (5MP) and the quality is great there is still a long delay between pressing the button and the camera actually taking a photo plus there is a still amount of blur when taking photos with movement in
• Battery drains quite quickly when using camera with viewfinder or taking videos (in contrast to normal use as battery is good there)
• Youtube one touch upload missing from certain operators, for example our phone on O2 this option doesn’t exist
• I found the jog wheel on the back hard to use ‘naturally’. Since the jog wheel is over to the left on the reverse it feels uncomfortable to use quickly (maybe this is slightly easier for left-handed people, shame it’s not offset to the right as surely most people are right handed?)
• Included software extremely slow, easier to use bluetooth or standard windows removable storage to move files
• No Wifi network capabilities
• Included screen cover didn’t seem to fit nice even when using a squegee (possibly had a badly cut one as it seemed slightly offset)
• When in t9 text entry mode there is no way to add words/names, have to switch to manual mode first.

Overall
A sturdy and great looking phone but not quite as good as what it could have been, still let down with the quality of pictures despite it being 5 mega pixels.

The DivX certified playback of video is a nice extra, but realistically who wants to watch DivX encoded clips on their mobile?

There’s a problem with that dowsing lark: wealthy, stupid white people typically don’t need to find concealed underground streams. They need to find golf balls. Thankfully, the same technique works exactly as well for both! For $49, the Golf Ball Finder is yours.

"IT IS TUNED TO HOME IN TO THE ELEMENTS FOUND IN ALL GOLF BALLS. PLEASE DON’T ASK US FOR THE THEORY OF ITS OPERATION. THAT’S THE MAIN REASON WE HAVE NOT APPLIED FOR PATENTS WHICH WOULD EXPOSE THIS TECHNOLOGY. IT’S ALSO A GREAT NOVELTY ITEM THAT YOU SHOULD HAVE FUN WITH ESPECIALLY FOR THE GOLFER WHO HAS "EVERYTHING"!"

All the ball-challenged golfer must do is extend the antenna, hold it out and walk "in the general direction of your lost golf ball" until it "picks up the signal." The compass arm then points the way.

Care to send one our way for double-blind testing in the Gadget Lab? Didn’t think so.

Product Page [via JREF]

I remember back in the heydays where Pokemon really took off, and there were a slew of other “monster” franchises that made an appearance as well. Digimon was one of them which actually hung around long enough to become a respectable brand of its own while picking up a fair bit of followers in the process, although I never really found that “brand” of monsters appealing. Many years later, it looks as though Digimon is here to stay with Bandai America releasing a whole new line of action figures and role-play toys that target boys in the age group of 4 to 8. You will also be able to catch hold of popular toys such as the new Digivice Data Link and DNA metal chip-laced action figures.

Colleen Sherfey, senior director of marketing, Bandai America claims that “the new Digimon series introduced a fresh crop of fans to the action-oriented property and helped make it a hit. The collectibility of the action figures, as well as the action from the electronic Digivice, have proven to be a successful combination.”

The Digivice Data Link has just gone back to the drawing board, where it has been redesigned and fashioned after the similar device that Marcus used in the series. For those who are not in the know, the Digivice Data Link is actually “a dynamic, action-packed electronic role-play toy that allows young boys to feed and train their own digital monsters”. You get some pretty interesting features such as infrared technology that enables a couple of two Digimon trainers to battle one another and a scanner function that collects DNA skills from an included DNA metal chip to strengthen characters. This scanner is also there to help you unlock special, secret items and DNA powers for your digital monster.

Press Release

Since hd dvd is dead (but not buried just yet), what are you to do if you are an early adopter? Why, the answer is pretty easy. All you need to do is convert your HD DVDs to Blu-ray and you’re done. At least your new movie collection will be able to survive the death of HD DVD, unless of course, you pick up a hybrid player. While the process sounds simple, it is actually pretty hard to do so due to the complex technology involved. Check out the wiki on how to do it.

The Sharp VA3A5JZ922 is the smallest and thinnest 1-Seg broadcast tuner module in the world, measuring a mere 5.9mm x 5.9mm x 0.9mm, making it 35% smaller than its predecessor which was launched a year ago. This makes it possible for more devices to cram in 1-Seg functionality, and it won’t really make an impact on battery life considering the minuscule power consumption of a mere 80mW. Mass production of the Sharp VA3A5JZ922 will begin in September this year, so expect to see next year’s gadgets feature portable TV functionality. Hopefully the displays on those will be able to serve some visual justice then without compromising on battery life.

Zits are the bane and nightmare of every teenager - especially those who are out to impress the opposite sex. The Zeno Pro Acne Clearing Device holds the honor of being the first FDA-approved home gadget that removes acne, although I’m not too sure just how effective it is. Apparently, it uses a heated tip that is applied to a pimple, where the heat itself will shock away bacteria that causes acne. Using it at two to three 2.5 minute treatment intervals spread over 24 hours, the manufacturers claim that most pimples will then disappear. Not too sure if the $184.95 is worth the trial, but if you’ve tried everything else with little or no success, this could be your last chance saloon. In the meantime, do remember to eat more greens, drink more water and get enough rest. I wonder whether placing a hot, damp cloth on my face will have the same effect - after all “heat” seems to be the keyword here.

In a surprising move, Apple has eliminated the Xserve RAID from their product line. On their website, the Xserve RAID page has disappeared and now takes you to a new page where they offer the Promise VTrak E-Class RAID in its place. From the new Apple webpage:

The Promise VTrak E-Class RAID Subsystem delivers outstanding performance, reliability, and expansion for video and server applications. Configure up to sixteen 750GB 7200-rpm SATA or 300GB 15,000-rpm SAS drives in a 3U rack-optimized enclosure for up to 12TB of raw capacity on one or more RAID sets. Promise RAID is an ideal storage solution for direct-attached or SAN-based server and workstation applications, qualified for use with Mac OS X, Mac OS X Server, Final Cut Studio 2, and Xsan 2.

Although reports say that Apple is still going to be selling the Xserve RAID “while supplies last”, it seems that either their supplies are already gone or that they’re not selling them to the general public anymore.

Working hand in hand with this new RAID hardware, Apple’s latest press release mentions the upgrade of it’s Storage Area Network file system manager. The press release after the cut:

Apple Introduces Xsan 2

CUPERTINO, California–February 19, 2008–Apple today introduced Xsan 2, the first major upgrade to its easy to use, high performance, enterprise class Storage Area Network (SAN) file system for Mac OS X. Combining enhanced performance with Apple’s legendary ease of use, Xsan 2 makes it easier for first time users to set up and quickly deploy a SAN; introduces MultiSAN, allowing users on a single workstation to access multiple SANs at the same time; is fully integrated with Mac OS X Leopard and Mac OS X Server Leopard and is now qualified to work with third-party RAID storage.

Administration tools have been completely redesigned in Xsan 2, making it easier than ever to set up and manage a SAN file system. Xsan 2 intelligently handles different data types, file sizes and usage scenarios for ideal performance. For example, administrators have the ability to pre-set volume workload settings for optimal streaming of all file types, from very large files, such as uncompressed HD video to small data center files. Xsan 2 includes a new feature, MultiSAN, for users who need to access multiple Xsan volumes from the same workstation or server, such as in newsrooms with separate SAN volumes for production and broadcast.

Xsan 2 is fully integrated with Mac OS X Leopard and takes complete advantage of core Mac OS X features, such as Spotlight to search across multiple SAN volumes. Xsan 2 also works seamlessly with Server Assistant in Leopard Server for easy setup and configuration of SAN volumes. Leopard Server features, such as iCal Server, Mail Server and Podcast Producer, can now integrate with Xsan 2 to support clustered file systems, improving performance and scalability and reducing the impact of a service outage from the loss of any one server.

For the first time, Xsan 2 has been qualified with third-party RAID storage hardware. Along with Apple’s Xserve RAID, Xsan 2 supports third-party RAID solutions from Promise Technology in configurations tuned and optimized for Xsan, Mac OS X Server and Apple’s professional applications.

Pricing & Availability
Xsan 2 is available immediately through the Apple Store (www.apple.com) and through Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $999 (US) per node.

Apple has qualified Xsan 2 with Xserve, Mac Pro and Apple Fibre Channel PCI-X cards. Xsan 2 requires Mac OS X version 10.5 or Mac OS X Server version 10.5 software installed and will support qualified Fibre Channel switches from vendors such as Brocade, QLogic and Cisco, and RAID storage hardware including Xserve RAID and Promise VTrak E-Class RAID subsystems.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its ipod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iphone.

[Apple.com via Gizmodo]

Bath Gem

Now this is the perfect gift for any little princess. The bath gem can be stuck to the side of the bath by its handy sucker, and will add to the ambiance of a nice, soothing bath session with its colour-changing light display. And as it’s in the shape of a big, polished diamond, your bath will be all the bling a girl can take. Steady on! Please note: ·         Not suitable for children under 3 years. ·         This product contains small parts which may be hazardous. ·         This is not a toy. Features: ·         One battery powered bath illuminator Dimensions: ·         Bath gem - approximately 10cm(W) x 11cm(H) x 10cm(D) ·         Box – approximately 15cm(W) x 15cm(H) x 15cm(D) Box contents: ·         One bath gem Battery requirements: ·         3 x AG10 Coin Cells  

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