Tech Gadgets Reviews

by Chris Ziegler, posted Apr 11th 2008 at 8:06AM

Our first thought when we heard the news that there was an NES emulator in the works for the Sidekick series of text machines was one of pure, unabashed elation. The classic Hiptop form factor is pretty much exactly what the doctor ordered for effective old-skool gaming, after all — and let’s be honest, any time Nintendo playtime comes to a new platform is cause for immediate and overindulgent celebration. Our second thought was, “wait, what?” It’s pretty unclear how the emulator would be loaded with legally-obtained ROMs and we have our doubts that Nintendo signed away the rights to any binaries, so we’re a little confused about the word that this would be officially offered through the Danger’s Software Catalog. Let’s all cross our fingers, continue to pay our T-Mobile bills on time, and hope that tomorrow might bring countless hours of Skate or Die while we’re… you know, actually skating or something.

Update: While not technically fake, it turns out that this 80s-vintage action is going to remain a pipe dream (and no, we’re not talking about the NES game Pipe Dream, either). Danger’s developer tools allow arbitrary Java to be loaded into the Hiptop emulator — not just approved stuff, obviously — so odds are that someone loaded an NES emulator (like, say, vNes) and went to town with the screen shots. Official offering through the Catalog, though? Not so much. Thanks, Jim!

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Filed under: cellphones, Gaming

Big Things! Comdex 1996 was filled with things that were the wrong size. My apologies to the company who had this booth. I have no idea who you are, but your displays were cool. I think it might be Compaq’s PDA, but I’m not sure. If you know, please tells us in the comments.

This is a big version of a handheld PDA. Windows CE was announced that year, so there were lots of compact PCs running Windows CE. The battle between Windows CE, the Apple Newton and Palm Pilot started that year and here we are twelve years later with no clear winner between them, although my personal favorite right now is Apple with their iphone.

Ah, to sit down. We were all so tired that year that any place to sit down was a welcome respite. These seats looked like huge computer keys, so I snapped a photo of them. It looks like it was a booth for Fujitsu. Where are they now? They are still making notebook PCs and Tablet PCs. You can find them here:

• FUJITSU : Fujitsu Computer Systems -

Tune in next week for the continuation of Comdex 1996.

The introduction of the iPhone has given birth to a huge array of after-market accessories, none more interesting than the Noreve iPhone case. Noreve is a French company and the European styling is readily apparent in the sleek no-nonsense look of the case.

Speaking of styling, rumor has it that the leather used in this accessory is recycled from the seats of 1976 Chrysler
Cordoba, which explains the softness and broken-in feel. Also, Noreve is said to be in negotiations with TV icon Ricardo Montalban in hopes of bringing him on as spokesman, which should certainly help their marketing effort.

We all understand the importance of using recycled materials, but is that reason enough to buy this product? What does the Noreve case really offer you? First of all, if you are interested in making a sleek and simple iPhone look like a PalmPilot then this is the product for you. What’s cooler than having the guy next to you at the bar ask if that’s a PalmPilot in your hand and you replying smugly “Please…. it’s an iPhone!”. The fold-over cover of the Noreve offers another cool feature that will surely get you noticed. When the cover is flipped open and hanging down beside your chin you look like you have the biggest flip phone on the market. Some observers may even think you are an international traveler and are talking on the next generation of satellite phones… very cool.

In practical terms, the Noreve case does offer great protection for your investment and is designed to make it quite easy to get your iPhone into and out of it, including the use of a magnetic closure. The case has cutouts located specifically for the iphone that provide access to all basic phone functions, including the camera, while the case is on. A sturdy, removable belt clip is also included for those who like to holster their phones.

There is one other feature of the Noreve that truly separates it from the field of like products: room for two credit cards in the case itself. This feature will allow you to lose two credit cards every time you misplace your phone. Lose the phone, lose the cards, have no phone to cancel the cards… Seriously though, this might appeal to some people who are trying to cut down on all the stuff they are carrying around.

While the case will make fitting your iPhone in your pocket a bit more difficult, it certainly will provide the protection many are looking for. At around $60US the Noreve comes in at the high end of the market but is well worth the price if you are looking for a case that stands out from the rest. Oh, and if you’re worried about the flip-phone effect you can just tuck the case cover up behind the phone while in use.

Read more about the case or purchase one at Noreve.com.

Researchers at IBM’s San Jose center have announced via the journal Science major progress in the development of its Racetrack memory initiative. If wholly successful, the technology will irrevocably change the data storage industry.

The technology is groundbreaking in quite a few ways. Like current flash memory there are, of course, no moving parts, meaning no clicks of death, no tiring spindles or worn out platters. With less parts moving, the chance of breakage dwindles significantly.

There is a key difference from its flash cousin though, namely that it has far less potential of wearing out. Current solid state memory carries with it a sort of expiration date. It’s always relative, but inevitably, the storage capacity will begin to fade and the memory will slip into senility.

Racetrack uses spinning electrons to store data (see, I told you it was the future), a process that allows for faster response times, massively increased storage capacities and lifespans rivaling their owners. The downside? Ten years. That’s at least how long you’ll have to wait before you start seeing technology like this in your devices, so mark your calendars, 2020 should be a great year for technology.

Rumors are flying about Blockbuster working on a set-top device that will stream films directly to your TV. The technology used to make this possible is rumored to be coming from Movielink, an online service for renting and downloading movies on your computer, that Blockbuster acquired last year.

The rumors are not that hard to believe considering that the company has recently reinforced its commitment to delivering content through a variety of mediums.

If Blockbuster is in fact developing its own box, it’s entering into a very crowded market. Comcast, Cox, and other cable providers already have plans to improve their own OnDemand services, not to mention TiVo’s own Unbox and of course, Apple’s latest incarnation of Apple TV.

Blockbuster needs to do something but I think the company is better off partnering with someone instead of asking us consumers to attach yet another box to our TVs.

Read more about the rumors at AppleInsider.

Micro Vectron
The Micro Vectron is a free-flying dream. Unlike many other hovery flying things, this wonderful gizmo truly is a piece of cake to fly.

You can have this for ?14.95

I’m not much of a photographer, so I’m not sure I’d want to use up/ruin a whole wall with any picture I’ve taken, but I can definitely see My Foto Wall doing well. This new site allows users to upload a favorite picture, which will then be turned into wallpaper. Not virtual wallpaper - the real thing.

A typical wall will cost £295 ($586) to decorate, so you may not be covering all your walls this way, but for a unique design, I can’t think of better way to customise a room. You can crop and cut your your chosen photo to scale, and if you put in your wall/room measurements, you’ll get an exact quote.

I think a nature shot would work best, but if you want that Demi Moore-inspired pregnant pose on your living room wall, go right ahead: it’ll be a talking point, at least.

(Oh, and I feel I should apologise for the unnecessary apostrophe in the picture above: it makes my heart ache, but I’m trying to overlook it).

Via Geekbrief TV.

Boy, these days UMPCs are really packing some powerful features. And rarely do you find a UMPC with in-built optical drive, to keep weight and thickness down. So its a big news when a mini laptop offers an integrated DVD burner. Recently, Kojinsha came up with an improved version of its 7-inch UMPC with a DVD writer, which can be disabled to save power.

Specification

7” Touch Display (1024×600)
Intel 800Mhz CPU, Chipset
60GB HDD
WiFi G, Bluetooth
9.2 x 7 x 1.3”, 2.4lbs
Theoretical battery life: 3.5hrs to 7hrs (extended battery)
Windows Vista.
[ Source ]

Right when we thought that, the electric vehicle is the answer to cutting our rising fuel costs some new research finds the ultimate flaw in this new power source. There is no doubt that plug-in electric vehicles (PHEVs) result in good fuel economy figures — GM is currently touting its PHEV-to be, the Volt, as getting 150MPG over all. However, a study published by Carnegie Mellon University and the Green Car Congress (GGC) suggests that if we do not make our power generation system less carbon intensive, PHEVs could have little benefit over regular hybrids (HEVs). Instead, they achieve these high numbers by supplementing the power produced by their gasoline engines with power taken from the grid. This has caused controversy lately, as hybrid-opponents often claim that battery production and the use of energy from the grid actually makes these cars bigger GHG polluters. If you look at this chart posted by GCC, you can see that both HEVs and PHEVs have a clear advantage over conventional cars, even when battery production is factored in. vehicles all drew power from the grid, making the grid more efficient would both improve standard energy usage as well as make motor vehicles less polluting.
[ Source ]

Toshiba has started shipping its new desktop replacement laptops, the Satellite P300 series with two models, the P305 and P305D. Both laptops sport a unique Fusion design which is embedded into their chassis. This, according to Toshiba makes the Satellite P300 laptops visually stunning and durable.

The Satellite P300 series is the first of Toshiba’s laptop which sports the sleep-and-charge USB port which allow portable devices to charge up even when the laptop is shut off. The Satellite P300 laptop series also comes packed with a webcam built-in facial recognition software.

Now, for the usual goodies, the Satellite P305 sports an HD 17-inch diagonal widescreen Tru-Brite display, LED-luminated “feather-touch” command keys, Harman Kardon stereo speakers, 1.83 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 3GB RAM and a 320GB hard drive. While the Satellite P305D also has the same LCD, command keys, speakers but comes with a 2.1 GHz AMD TurionTM 64 X2 Dual-Core Mobile Technology processor, 2GB RAM and a 250GB hard drive. The P305 and P305D are currently available and retail for $999 and $1,049 respectively.

Read [Toshiba Direct]

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