01.17.2008
WindowSeat car mount for iPhone
With Apple's recent announcement of its mapping service for the iPhone, this is one accessory we'll need. Griffin's "WindowSeat" mounts onto your car's windshield so your device is at eye level for checking street maps, directions, how lost you really are.
WindowSeat's mounting bracket holds your iPhone securely, while its corner-release tab lets you easily remove your device when you arrive at your destination, leaving WindowSeat locked in position for the next time you use it.
It won't be available until March, but then it will only cost you $19.99, a small price to pay for such convenience
Posted by Evan
Category:
accessories
Tags: iphone
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01.17.2008
WiFi Finder Bag
Even though I own the WiFi t-shirt, which shows you - and everyone else - when you're in a WiFi zone, it's a little geeky even for me, so I'd prefer this bag by Soyntec. The Wiffinder series of bags will find a signal for you and show you the connection available via a discreet “slideshow” function on the side of the case. The Wiffinder 400 Executive case fits laptops up to 15.4" and costs 43,02 Euros (about $65).
Via Gear Fuse.
Posted by Evan
Category:
wearables
Tags: wifi
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01.16.2008
Sell your tech ideas on Korean game show
Good ideas are a dime a dozen, right? Who cares unless you have the money to develop it, build a prototype, quit your day job, snag investors, find customers, etc.?
Naive entrepreneurs may yet have their day . . . if they get on Korean reality TV. A game show called "Idea - How Much?" gives contestants the opportunity to pitch their ideas, and a panel of potential buyers (CEOs of companies) a chance to instantly bid on them. One such contestant came away with $750,000 for a new sceen saver concept (the screen saver runs streaming video content). To me, what's compelling about this show, compared with others that might be focused on new inventions, is that the auction takes place right then and there, and real money changes hands in a flash (supposedly, anyway).
The key, I imagine, is to have an idea that's simple to present in a short amount of time, which is sometimes a challenge with complex tech products that take a little time to grasp and appreciate.
How long before this kind of show comes to U.S. television?
(Is it just me, or does the purchase price for the streaming video screen saver idea - considering it's been fully developed and claims 5 million users - seem too low?)
Via Web 2.0 Asia.
Posted by Hoyun
Category:
current affairs
| entertainment
Tags: television tv
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01.16.2008
iPhone update can break wifi Internet
I know I was incredibly enthusiastic about the iPhone upgrade to firmware version 1.1.3, just yesterday, minutes after it was made available, but let me be a warning to you- always be cautious about new updates. You'd think I'd learn after upgrading all my computers to Vista, then having to scramble to find old XP disks because Vista just doesn't work. Anyway, both Hoyun and I were terribly excited about the sort-of GPS function in Maps, and I was even startled to find that while I was out at dinner, the iPhone was able to pinpoint my location to the very restaurant I was sitting in. I was so excited and a little scared. Later last night, though, I realized that when I was trying to view some pages on Safari, it was going very slowly, even over my fast wifi connection, and images were never showing up, just getting those broken image icons. At first I thought it was the specific sites I was visiting, but it happened at every site I visited, and then when I turned wifi off, the sites loaded, with images, but just very slowly since the EDGE connection just blows, especially in low signal areas like mine. The wifi signal, even if I'm literally inches from the router, is weak on the iPhone, and I can't connect to iTunes or even get a weather update unless I turn off wireless. Frequently, a site on Safari won't open at all and when they do, it's always without images.
I did research all over last night and this morning, and it seemed at first that no one else was having this problem. I think, actually, a lot of people haven't yet upgraded, or haven't yet noticed that they are having problems over wifi. I finally found a thread on the Apple support forums, and it seems we're not the only ones having troubles. Some people have had success when re-setting their routers, and others believe the problem may be incompatibilities with specific routers, but even people using the Apple Airport have had issues, so it looks like a deeper problem. People who've called tech support have been unable to find a resolution so it looks like if you're having the problem, you're going to have to wait for a patch, a fix, or see what happens if you got to a Genius Bar. If, however, you were having this problem and you've managed to find a fix, please post your resolution, share, and take a much deserved bow.
The update has some nice new features, but without Safari, the iPhone is just another phone. Proceed with caution.
Posted by Mia
Category:
cell phones
| current affairs
Tags: iphone
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01.16.2008
Solar-powered car may hit the market within a year
The illustration looks like a photo of a Playmobile car, but it's a drawing of a prototype solar-powered car out of Taiwan, which may hit the market within a year. Created by a team at Taiwan's National Kaohsiung University of Applied Sciences to participate in the 2007 Panasonic World Solar Challenge, this car's design is based on a one-seated race car model, but modified for the consumer market. The final product will be capable of speeds up to 70km/hr (about 43.5 miles/hr, half the speed of the race car version).
The lightweight vehicle will run for three hours on several hours of sunlight exposure through its solar panels. And, unlike some existing European solar-powered cars, the Taiwan model will be half the weight (250kg) at half the cost ($25,000). At a diminutive 3.5m by 1.3m, it'll be easy to park on city streets.
Via Inhabitat and Tapei Times.
Posted by Hoyun
Category:
cars
| eco
Tags: solar power
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01.16.2008
No more power struggles -- PowerDock charges everyone's iPods
At the Macworld convention this week, Apple leader Steve Jobs made some major product announcements -- check out Mia's post -- and other companies showed off toys which play with iPods and iPhones.
The PowerDock by Griffin is a charging base where the whole family can get together to charge their batteries. By incorporating four Apple universal docks built into a single charging base, and throwing in a collection of universal dock insert adapters, four can charge at once. It certainly will make charging at our house more harmonious.
$69.99 at Griffin, starting in March. Included: 8 universal dock inserts to fit iPod models that charge by dock connector.
Posted by Evan
Category:
portable media
Tags: batteries power
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01.16.2008
Toshiba unveils 1.8-inch external hard drives
Compact and stylish is how one would describe the latest 1.8-inch external hard drives from Toshiba, which were seen during a sneak preview at the recently concluded CES 2008. As far as looks are concerned, the drives have a sleek black finish with a splash of color in Carbon Grey, Hot Rod Red and Gecko Green. This visually appealing design places them in a different league than the normally rugged-looking external drives. The 1.8-inch HDDs will be available in capacities of 60GB, 80GB and 120GB, and will also include backup and encryption software. However, if you are looking for higher capacity, there is the new 320GB, 2.5-inch external HDD available right away for $199.99.
No other information has been released about the 1.8-inch drives just yet, so the pricing is anybody’s guess - a reasonable upper limit would perhaps be around $100 for the 120GB version. Look forward to seeing these beauties around by spring 2008.
Via Mobile Magazine.
Posted by kanchana
Category:
CES 2008
| devices
Tags: storage
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01.16.2008
Solar powered 24x7 thermometer
Why would you want a solar-powered outdoor thermometer? So that you can read the temperature off its well-lit face on a cold, dark night outside your home, silly. Well to be honest, I find this amusing too - why on earth would anyone want one of these? Anyway, if you have such a need, and are too lazy to use a torch, then the Solar Lit Outdoor Thermometer could come to your rescue.
The solar thermometer stores enough solar power during the day to remain lit up for around 4-8 hours at dark. It has a temperature range of -20 F to +120 F and comes with an on-off switch that helps conserve the stored energy for delayed usage. Available at a discounted price of $17.88 from the Gardeners' Supply Store.
Posted by kanchana
Category:
eco
| home
Tags: solar power
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01.15.2008
Macworld Keynote: Mac Air, iPhone update, and iTunes movie rentals
Steve Jobs just gave his annual keynote at the Macworld Expo, and this time, the rumors proved to be mostly accurate. The big news was the ultra lightweight notebook, the Mac Air, but the expected movie rentals have come to iTunes, and there's a substantial software update coming to the iPhone.
The newest iPhone firmware upgrade will bring some notable changes. Most exciting for me are the new features in the Maps application. Now, using cell towers and wifi information, Maps works as a sort of pseudo-GPS device. Your iPhone will try to find your location, so when you search for a location, you can use your "current location" as a start point without having to figure out where you are by looking for street signs and numbers. As an aside here, is it me, or is it getting increasingly difficult to find street numbers? You can walk for blocks in New York City without seeing a street address. So far, my results for using the locator (you just click on the little compass icon in the Maps app) have been somewhat mixed- perhaps it's because I'm not close to any cell tower, but it keeps finding me somewhere a couple of miles off. I'm still hopeful that it will be more helpful in locations with better cell coverage.
You will also now be able to customize your iPhone Home screen. This is great for me because I'm stupidly infuriated by the Stocks icon because it just keeps reminding me that I don't own stock in anything, and I just don't want to have to see it. While you can't delete the main icons, you can now move them anywhere you want, or move them off to a new page. You can now have up to six screens of Home pages, because now you can add "web clips" or bookmarks really, to your homescreen, to easily access either favorite web pages, or Safari-based web-apps. Also, now that Apple has opened up development, there could be new native apps fairly soon which won't have to be run from Safari, and you'll be able to put icons for them on your Home screen. To customize the home screen you press down any of the icons for a couple of seconds and they all start to quiver, and that means you can maneuver them into their new places, including the dock (where the phone, mail, safari, and iPod buttons are now). A little tip- to get the icons to stop dancing around like nervous chihuahuas and stay put, you have to press the home key.
You can now also send SMS messages to multiple recipients, which is a great time saver when you have to apologize to a whole group of people for running late because your iPhone couldn't figure out where you were. Another new feature: ability to navigate through chapters in purchased or rented movies, and you can enable subtitles.
To get the new iPhone update, which is available now, I had to download the new 7.6 iTunes and then check for the upgrade, which then took a few minutes to download and install. The upgrade should be available through 7.5 as well, but no reason not to get 7.6, which they'll be pushing anyway.
Continue reading "Macworld Keynote: Mac Air, iPhone update, and iTunes movie rentals"
Posted by Mia
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01.15.2008
Palm Centro now comes in pink
The Palm Centro smartphone is now available in pink (in addition to red and black). I've been enamored of the red Palm Centro ever since I realized that the iPhone is not really an adequate replacement - all by itself, that is - for my Treo (I need my Palm applications back). But now I find that I like this pink one - it's not a Paris Hilton hot pink or an old lady powdery pink, but a sleek metallic pink. Normally $399, but you can get it for just $99 with a new wireless plan.
Posted by Hoyun
Category:
cell phones
Tags: palm pink smartphone
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