Devices Site

Since no day is complete without "industry sources" or "analysts" coughing up "new details" about the 3G iPhone, today’s rumor goes like this. Times Online in the UK has learned from said sources that the upcoming device will have a "radically different" appearance than the current phone we can all identify blindfolded and by scent alone. What this means remains to be seen, of course, but two possibilities are apparently a clamshell and a slider with a hardware QWERTY keyboard.

Neither seems probable to us, but an analyst (who else?) told Times Online to expect multiple versions:

One for customers who want it principally as a music and video device, which will be similar to the existing model, one for people who want to communicate - with the keyboard, and one for people who want it as a substitute for their laptop - that will let them browse the internet on a larger screen.

At this point, only one thing’s for sure: with no signs of stopping, the iphone rumor mill is still going strong.

iPhone sellers braced for hit on unsold handsets [Times Online via CrunchGear]

This is a bit of a twist (well spin) on a traditional bathroom, a bath one minute but a with a 180 degree turn it transforms into a shower.

Designed by Ron Arad, the “Rotator” is made out of duralight® and is more of a work of art than just a simple bath. However looking at it does not fill me confidence about the comfort of bathing in it. To empty the bath simply rotate it until the water overflows, just make sure you have a drainage in your bathroom floor.

More info over on De Zeen found via ID Asia.

In the ‘really?’ department, the University of Chicago’s Law School has decided to block Internet access in classrooms, in what appears to be the first such school-mandated restriction.

While I understand restricting high-school students and to a much smaller degree college students, but law school students? Really? Aren’t they adults who should decide for themselves whether or not they pay attention in class? How about if they decided to just miss class altogether? Wouldn’t that amount to the same thing?

As long as they’re not making a lot of noise, I don’t see the problem, apart from annoying some uptight profs. I wish I had an Internet-connected laptop when I went to classes. I can see it being a valuable tool to help with learning the subject matter at hand. The fact of the matter is that you can only lead a horse to water; the rest is up to them. Just my $0.02.

via Slashdot

Posted in Networking & Internet

At just 250, this device could turn anyone into a CD/DVD-copying maniac.

After all, you don’t even need a computer to work it. Yup, it’s copy-and-go. And, it has the capacity to churn our 14 CDs per hours. For the honest people (say indie artists who want to make their ow copies of CDs), this is really a fantastic tool. But for pirates, this might mean an easier process into illegally copying and distributing copyrighted material. The Forte CD/DVD Duplicator comes with a 160GB HDD and can produce 25 CD copies (at 14 an hour) at the single touch of a button.

via

Motorola’s internal roadmap reveals 9 different handsets which will see action this year, with some of them already available readily in retail stores (U9, W270 and E8). Below are more details on leaked handsets such as the ZN5, VE75, A180 and L800T.

A810

• 2.2″ 260k color QVGA TFT display
• 2 megapixel camera
• Linux OS
• Stereo Bluetooth
• TI OMAP850 200MHz processor
• microSD memory card slot

VE75

• 2.6″ 260k color WQVGA TFT display
• 2 megapixel camera
• Dual SIM card support
• Stereo Bluetooth
• Slider form factor

More are available after the jump.

The MSI Wind, which was originally unveiled during CeBIT just left us wanting more in the line of details. While we already had some information, some of it has just been confirmed by MSI.

The Wind will offer either an 8.9-inch or 10-inch display with both sizes having a 1024 x 600 resolution, an 80GB hard drive and weigh in at just 2.2-pounds. The notebook will be available this June in the European market and retail somewhere between 299 - 699 Euros (around $471-$1100 US). The Wind will also be running Windows XP, which may explain the higher price range.

While MSI has confirmed that pricing, lets hope they can narrow it down a little more as to just what we can expect at the low and/or high end.

Via [Small-Laptops.com]

Keep up with the latest gadget goodness! - Subscribe to our feed →

LavNav
Avoid that ghastly glaring bathroom light as you stagger lavwards on your nocturnal constitutionals.

You can have this for ?19.95

The ink had barely dried on the agreement to buy Skype before analysts were criticizing eBay’s $3.1 billion decision. Yes, that’s ‘billion’ with a ‘B’. Now, it looks like eBay is pondering selling it off.

Their reasoning is that if they can’t find a way to integrate it into their core business which is online marketplaces, then it’s of no use to them. I don’t completely agree, but I applaud eBay for having the fortitude to face up to and act on their bad decision quickly. AOL Time Warner comes to mind as an example of the opposite.

Posted in Networking & Internet

The Department of Defense is currently pouring plenty of dough into a portable handheld device which is smart enough to identify signs of brain damage in a person shortly after a roadside bomb or other injuries which cause trauma to the head within seconds. So far $4.6 million has been poured over four years for such a device, and the final product must be rugged enough to survive extreme battlefield conditions such as Iraq. It isn’t ready just yet, but we do know it features a small high-resolution camera and software that measures just how well a person tracks a red dot which moves in a small circle. Simple tests like that as well as remembering a few words show just how much damage was inflicted. I wonder if the device can check out brain damage our kids get from watching the garbage on TV these days…

With Hulu fresh out of the private beta status, there are now talks that they are looking to expand to other platforms, such as mobile phones. Overall it seems like a logical place to go and although Hulu CEO has made some comments they have been pretty generic up to this point. During the recent NAB video production expo, Jason Kilar was quoted as saying that “anything connected to the Internet” would be a possible match in the future, he also briefly mentioned the possibility of cellphones but failed to commit to any specific platform or device.

One issue that would be a hold up, or at least make for a slow roll out would be due to the wide variety of cellphones on the market. You would think that something along the lines of the iphone would make for a nice viewing experience, but the lack of Flash support could cause issues with Hulu’s current ad system.

As a user of Hulu, I can say that the desktop experience has been good so far, as for going mobile with the service, some mixed feelings come to mind. While it would be a nice option to have while on the go, it would be a concern that these shows are being streamed and not downloaded, thus potentially making a slow or choppy viewing experience. Either way it will be interesting to see where Hulu takes their service in the future.

Via [electronista]

Keep up with the latest gadget goodness! - Subscribe to our feed →