Devices Site

Fresh from the rumor mill is the black 3G iphone. I am thinking this is somewhat credible. A new look for a new phone; Apple would want to create some visual differentiation among its new product. The rumor also says the black case is plastic, which I don’t believe. I think Apple is rooted in metal ipod cases (at the very least on the back of the devices) and I don’t see a reason to switch.

What do you think, real or fake?

Read [iPodObserver] Via [IntoMobile]

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Sony wastes no time in rolling out its very first internal Blu-ray disc BD-ROM drive, called the very un-catchy BDU-X10S, available now for pre-order on SonyStyle.com. It’s going to come pre-bundled with a bunch of accessories, including Cyberlink’s PowerDVD BD Edition Player software, an SATA Data Cable and Power Cable (4pin to 15 pin), mounting screws, disc loading tray cover replacement kit, and of course a user manual and quick start guide.

What’s more surprising is that it’s only listed for $199.99 on the product page from Sony’s web site. Certainly opens the Blu-ray experience up to new markets now, doesn’t it? And the BDU-X10S can also play your old VCDs and DVDs, in case the cost of Blu-ray discs still get you down. It’ll be compatible with all versions of Windows Vista, and will also run on Windows® XP SP2 Home or Professional Operating Systems. So if you think you’re ready for “the Blu’s,” check out Sony’s new internal BD-ROM drive when you get the chance. Estimated ship date will be on April 7, 2008.

Via [Macworld UK]

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The CulinaryPrep is a speed marination device which justifies its high price with food safety claims. The gadget is essentially a tumbler for food, into which you drop raw meat, fish or vegetables along with a “specially formulated” solution which, going on a promotional spot for CBS News and a well buried FAQ answer, appears to be little more than salt, citric acid and optional flavoring.

Of course, $400 for a marinator is steep, even if it does pump out air and do its business in a vacuum (more on that in a moment). So we also have health claims. The makers maintain that the CulinaryPrep eliminates up to 99.5% of food-borne bacteria, and reduces free radicals, sodium and fat. Reducing sodium sounds unlikely, as the marinade contains salt (which probably does the bulk of the bacteria extermination) and fat reduction also sounds a little suspicious: how does tumbling meat in acid and salt reduce fat?

The “science” is backed up with studies from independent commercial and university labs, although no research is actually published other than a few graphs. Worryingly, there is much mention of the FDA on the site, but careful reading shows that this peppering of officialdom is nothing more than anecdotal. Should you buy this? If you are too lazy to leave food in a marinade overnight and have cash to waste, then yes. If you think this is a magic bullet that will do more than that same basic marinade, then no.

And the vacuum? I’m not sure about this. My best guess is that it is there to stop oxidization as the food tumbles. Unlike a normal marination process where the food is submerged, the slow, constant spin of the CulinaryPrep would expose the food to a lot of air, which would lead to unpleasant discoloration. The vacuum is probably for cosmetic purposes only.

Product page [CulinaryPrep. Thanks, Kristen!]

It might border on the blasphemous, but the Jisus laptop from Van Der Led will certainly appeal to those who prefer form over function. This isn’t a powerhouse by any standards, although the wide variety of colors will definitely appeal to many people. Here are the specifications on paper :-

• 1GHz processor
• 512MB RAM
• 4GB flash memory
• WiFi connectivity
• Stereo speakers
• Pre-installed Ubuntu

The Jisus laptop will hit Europe this April 25th for €299 a pop. Will this pose a serious challenge to the Asus Eee PC? Only time (and sales figures) will tell.

Most cutting boards are but plain colored rectangles, but the Digital Cutting Board from Nardo Design is worlds apart from what we have in the market today. It is equipped with a flexible LCD display that shows cooking instructions on it to help you achieve that perfect meal. In addition, it also allows you to read up on downloaded recipes which you have a personal interest in. Chromium handles on both ends complete the Digital Cutting Board, and it will be made out of environmentally-friendly components which do not pollute our world after disposal. Unfortunately, the Digital Cutting Board is but a concept at this point in time, so you’ll be better off with a flat panel TV in your kitchen for now.

It’s official–Lenovo is out of the mobile handset business. Many people may not even have known that Lenovo had a handset business (the handsets were sold primarily in China), but PCWorld reported that Lenovo completed the sale of its handset unit on March 31st.

Lenovo’s mobile handset division had been suffering over the last year, which drove the company to consider selling it. According to PCWorld, handset shipments for the mobile unit declined 31 percent in the quarter ending in December of last year. The sale will be reflected in the company’s latest quarter which ended March 31st.

There are just too many handset businesses out there for Lenovo to compete. Look at Motorola and the blood bath it has suffered leading it to spin off its mobile handset business as a separate unit. You have to wonder that if Motorola is not successful as a stand-alone mobile handset company will it be targeted for buyout by another major vendor like Nokia? Such a purchase by Nokia would secure its continuing dominance in the mobile handset market.

Read more from the PCWorld article at Yahoo News.

Golf Launchpad
Tee off at Sawgrass, Pebble Beach or any course of your choice and compete against the best players in the world with this astounding Golf Launchpad - and play with your own clubs!

You can have this for ?199.00

Posted Apr 5th 2008 12:15AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Storage
Though it’s not the first box we’ve seen built to take your local backups elsewhere, the Datto Backup NAS drive could certainly fill a gaping security hole at many small / medium-sized businesses that are currently operating without any kind of off-site storage. Said devices come in 100GB and 500GB versions, play nice with Windows, Mac or Linux setups and pipe your data to secure external servers (using AES+ SSL key-based encryption, too) in order to keep the process load off of your machine(s). Granted, the annual service fee is $99 for 100GB and $249 for 500GB (monthly plans available), but that does include free support, 24 / 7 backup monitoring and the promise of bringing you back up to speed in under 24 hours should disaster strike. Both drives are available now for $399 and $599, respectively. [Warning: PDF read link]

We first featured the AeroGarden a looong time ago when they essentially only had 1 model and since then AeroGrow, the manufacturer has launched a number of additional models including this new $100 model.

The AeroGarden 3 has everything you need to grow your own organic herbs and vegetables, using CFLs and less energy than a single 60W bulb. Using its built-in computer, the AeroGarden monitors and adjusts the nutrient delivery, light and water for specific plants. There’s also a reminder system to tell you when you need to add more water and nutrients.

Gimme!
More info from the manufacturer
Price: $99.95
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

via Kitchen Contraptions

Posted in Gizmo of the Day, Home Automation, Miscellaneous

Since its launch in January 2008, the Social Gaming Network (SGN), are offering now 60 games to Facebook users. SGN launches this week-end the Game Feed, allowing players to see who is playing what and to track scores and rankings. To get it, click this link and add the SGN app to your Facebook profile.

Their new addition to their popular game Jetman, JetDelegate, is fun to play. Pick one candidate: JetObama, JetMcCain or JetHilary, start to fly and avoid obstacles. Each user score is added to the global score in the race, since launch, JetObama and JetMcCain are neck to neck.

SGN is a social gaming platform for developers which helps them to cross-promote their games in Facebook with the SGN GameBar (see picture: the bar with icons just below Facebook menu). SGN supports also 6 games in MySpace and and has some others in Bebo.When I asked Shervin Pishevar, SGN CEO, how his company is different from its competitor Zynga, he answered that SGN is more developer oriented.