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Oct 11 2008

The Gadget Lab’s Top Stories for September 2008

Posted by: admin in Online And Tech News

The Gadget Lab’s Top Stories for September 2008
September 2008 came and went and along with the downturn in the economy and the increasingly agitated political campaigns, there were plenty of interesting news in the Gadget World that took their spotlight turn. The top stories we covered included…

September 2008 came and went and along with the downturn in the economy and the increasingly agitated political campaigns, there were plenty of interesting news in the Gadget World that took their spotlight turn.

The top stories we covered included the upcoming HTC G1 Google phone, the latest drama from Apple’s App store client base, and the InterBike conference in Las Vegas.

Once again, we calculated all the diggs, added all the Reddit points, and looked for the most commented stories with the most page views to come up with the list. If you read these stories before, we invite you to enjoy them once again. If you missed them, cuddle up to your tiny netbook and check them out over the weekend. As always, please send us your comments at our emails, or through Danny’s hairstylist/life guru.

The Most Popular (Non-iPhone) Stories:

The Month’s Top Reviews:

August’s Top iPhone Stories:

The Ideal of The Rest:

Popularity: 2% [?]

Oct 10 2008

Nikon Announces Immersive Media Player Headset, Cyborg Age Begins

Posted by: admin in Online And Tech News

Nikon Announces Immersive Media Player Headset, Cyborg Age Begins
After finally reaching the top of the DLSR camera game with last month’s release of the beautiful D90 rig, Nikon appears to be looking for a new challenge. So they’re going into the portable media player game. With a single-eye…

After finally reaching the top of the DLSR camera game with last month’s release of the beautiful D90 rig, Nikon appears to be looking for a new challenge.

So they’re going into the portable media player game. With a single-eye lens headset. That looks like a prop from Universal Soldier.

Hard to believe, but it’s true. Earlier this week, Nikon announced the Media Port UP, a wireless multimedia headset that will be jammed with features normally seen in many of the top media players. By moving all the power guts and functionality to a single head-mounted unit, Nikon is attempting to boost the profile of headsets from their long-held role as a valuable accessory to the central device.

The unit looks a bit silly, but this could be a smart move long-term, if by the easy fact that a media player attached to your head with a display right on your face could be more dynamic and engrossing. If you get used to it.

Priced at about ¥69,800 in Japan (or about $700), the Media Port includes 8 GB of internal memory, is compatible with with MPEG/WMV9 motion picture files and MP3/WMA9/AAC2 audio, and is WiFi enabled for World wide web use. It’s also laced with built-in motion sensors, which I presume have been tested against concussions.

But as befits a company known for their cameras, the optical display rig is a key to making it viable. The LCOS display encased at the end of the arm has 640 x 480 resolution and the company has adjusted the eyepoint through quality optics to make it seem as if you’re looking into a 50-inch screen. Of course, long-term use and eyestrain is a cause for concern.

The Media Port headset will be available in Japan by the end of the year, and there are no plans to bring it to the States at the moment.

My guess is that the initial Japanese run will be used to adequately test the breaking point of current social boundaries that prevent people from looking like insane street cyborgs.

Source: Nikon

See also:

Popularity: 2% [?]

Oct 09 2008

MIT Researchers Try To Crack Already Solved Problem of Predicting Commute Times

Posted by: admin in Online And Tech News

Researchers at MIT are working on project that’ll collect real-time traffic and other road conditions from drivers and share it across a network in a bid to potentially reduce commute times. Called CarTel, it uses a computer in the…

Researchers at MIT are working on project that’ll collect real-time traffic and other road conditions from drivers and share it across a network in a bid to potentially reduce commute times.

Called CarTel, it uses a personal in the vehicle about the size of a cellphone that connects via existing WiFi networks to a web server. Across a number of drivers, the system gathers data that can be used to predict traffic routes based on real-time and historical traffic information.

“The idea is to use sensors in automobiles as a platform to measure things on the road going beyond just traffic to pollution and even potholes,” states Samuel Madden, professor at MIT’s department of electrical engineering and personal science. “We call it the mobile sensor networking project.” Madden and his team have been working on this project for about three years.

MIT could have done superior instead calling Dash Navigation, a Sunnyvale, California-based company that has had a similar system running for the last two years.

Earlier this year, after months of running trials, Dash launched a personal navigation device called the Dash Express that features access to real-time traffic information gathered from other Dash devices on the road and transmitted using both WiFi and cellular networks.

“We have had this built from the ground up and running 24 x 7,” says Rob Currie, president and chief operating officer of Dash, “and it has about 10 million miles logged on it.”

Dash and MIT’s answer to what most drivers would love to know before they set out on their morning commute is promising though both technologies have some way to go before users can completely rely on them, says an analyst.

MIT’s system deployed on almost 50 Boston-area cars, most of which are taxis, tracks traffic by monitoring each vehicle’s speed at different points during the trip. This week the researchers introduced new low cost hardware, a home brew of GPS antenna and WiFi access point for about $100 a pop. A Dash navigation device costs $300.

The significant innovation here’s the ability of the device to quickly transfer data as the vehicle moves at high speeds, says MIT’s Madden.

“The vehicle uploads data as it drives by open wireless access points and is very efficient in associating with them,” he says. “It can take about 15 seconds to connect using a regular system but we can do it in 360 milliseconds.”

That raises the question of security as open WiFi networks pose significant threats. Madden believes a commercial implementation of MIT’s system would be done using partner WiFi networks such as free citywide municipal networks or hotspots from service providers. Dash meanwhile uses cellular networks to transfer the data collected.

Important as the issue is of traffic for drivers, both Dash and MIT’s approach may be too alike to change how users view real time traffic data, states Bart van der Horst, managing director for research firm Canalys.

Currently collecting real time traffic data involves gathering information from existing users on the road, which means only major roads in huge cities are prone to covered.

“That creates a trust issue with users,” states van der Horst. “You just don’t know on which roads the data will be available and when it will not.”

Plus real-time traffic data is just not the focus for most device buyers right now, says van der Horst. “The PND market now is very much focused on low price and simplicity,” he says.

Adding connectivity makes the device more complex and increases its price, something that manufacturers in the U.S. don’t want.

That’s why TomTom, for instance, has real time traffic information in partnership with Vodafone available in Europe, but not in the U.S. Neither does its rival Garmin.

Photo: MIT Device Featuring a square GPS antenna, on board diagnostics connector and WiFi antenna/ MIT

Via [wired.com]

Popularity: unranked [?]

Popularity: 2% [?]

Oct 09 2008

Nintendo DSi Will Come Loaded With Extra RAM [Nintendo DSi]

Posted by: admin in Super Gadgets

Nintendo DSi Will Come Loaded With Extra RAM [Nintendo DSi]

Nintendo’s DSi will be loaded with more RAM than the DS Lite, according to Opera CEO Jon von Tezchner. In an interview with TechTree, the man responsible for web surfing on Nintendo’s handheld stated that Opera would be sure to use the memory boost “efficiently.” That’s great and all, but what does this mean for games?

While the possibility of a absolutely DSi-only game is probably pretty low, maybe the next Nintendo creations take advantage of the new hardware for some DSi-exclusive features (like picture taking or music making). What do you think the RAM will be used for? [Techtree via Destructoid]

Popularity: 2% [?]

Oct 09 2008

This 16GB Mahjong USB Drive Costs $550?! [USB Drive]

Posted by: admin in Super Gadgets

If you thought the Chinese were going to undercut cheap Japanese USB drives with even cheaper versions, you’ve been drinking too much contaminated powered milk. These Mahjong drives are custom-engraved with three letters, such as the character on Mahjong pieces, your name or whatever dirty phrase you can come up with. They’re also $490 for an 8GB version and $550 for the 16GB version. If that’s slightly extravagant, you can go for the darker wood, which knocks $100 off both those units. But c’mon, aren’t we a nation that drives gold-plated Cadillacs? I think we have the ability to spare $500 for a USB drive. [Bronon via Everything USB via Boing Boing Gadgets]

Popularity: unranked [?]

Popularity: 2% [?]

Oct 09 2008

RIM Finally Realizes BlackBerry Users Might Own a Mac [BlackBerry]

Posted by: admin in Super Gadgets

The BlackBerry syncing situation on Macs is, to put it lightly, abysmal (from RIM anyway). But it looks they’re finally realizing people who own Blackberrys might just use a Mac too! Boy Genius brings us the first look at their BlackBerry Media Sync for Mac, a clean, appropriately Mactastic version of their standard PC program that’ll sync music, photos, videos, and even iTunes playlists to BlackBerry devices.

It’s not the final version, so the options are a bit limited, but it’s definitely looking good. Here are a couple more screens, but you can see the rest at Boy Genius. Now if Microsoft would just make the Zune compatible, then Macs would finally be just like real personal.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Oct 09 2008

SlingCatcher Available For Purchase Now [Sling]

Posted by: admin in Super Gadgets

SlingCatcher Available For Buy Now [Sling]

At long last, Sling Media’s powerful, media extending/streaming/projecting SlingCatcher is available for purchase, at retailers like Ideal Purchase and Fry’s, as well as from Sling directly (the product page isn’t quite live yet, but should be later today). For those unfamiliar, the SlingCatcher takes a sling stream, multimedia files, or your personal desktop and plays it back on whatever TV it’s connected to. It can be yours for $300 if you go here. [SlingCatcher on Giz]

Popularity: 2% [?]

Oct 08 2008

Square-Enix Teams Up With NeuroSky For Mind-Controlled Gaming Concept [Mind Bull

Posted by: admin in Super Gadgets

Square-Enix Teams Up With NeuroSky For Mind-Controlled Gaming Concept [Mind Bullets]

Square-Enix and NeuroSky will unveil a mind-controlled gaming demo on Thursday at the Tokyo Game Show. The setup works with a Windows PC and the MindSky headset, and runs Square’s software created specifically for this demo. The headset fits over your head with earmuffs and has one electrode that monitors brainwaves. The headset itself is compatible with many different platforms, but it isn’t specified what level of control your brainwaves have over the game. Neurosky only states the headset it monitors your level of relaxation and concentration. The demo will take place in NeuroSky’s booth at TGS. [BusinessWire]

Popularity: 2% [?]

Oct 08 2008

Swatch 007 Villain Watches, Because Bad Guys Aren’t Spending Taxpayer Mone

Posted by: admin in Super Gadgets

Swatch 007 Villain Watches, Because Bad Guys Aren’t Spending Taxpayer Money [Watches]

Generally when we lock all the doors, put on a tuxedo t-shirt and fantasize about being James Bond, we don’t reach for our Swatch collection to finish the ensemble. But the new 007 Villain collection from Swatch simultaneously captures some of the camp and style of the James Bond films in something that you could actually wear every day. 19 unique watches in all, models start at $60 and work their way to $250. These three are from Live and Let Die, Goldfinger and the upcoming Quantum of Solace—that’s right, we threw in a Roger Moore motion picture just to start a geek fight in the comments. [Swatch via OhGizmo]

Popularity: 2% [?]

Oct 08 2008

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic Phone Will Miss Xmas Release Date in US [Cellphones]

Posted by: admin in Super Gadgets

It looks as though the highly anticipated Nokia 5800 XpressMusic (aka ‘Tube’) won’t make its way to the US in time for the Xmas season. Instead, Nokia seems to be content with focusing on emerging markets like India, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Russia and Spain before setting their sites on developed markets like the US. Analysts seem to think the move makes sense from a business perspective, but customers waiting patiently for Nokia’s first touchscreen Symbian S60 phone might feel otherwise. [Reuters]

Popularity: 3% [?]

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