Tech Gadgets Reviews

Citysense is a tracking software service which lets you know where people are gathering, thanks to data gathered from GPS-enabled devices such as cell phones, vehicles and compatible gizmos. This enables it to create live maps based on people movements, letting you find out which is the hottest part of the city to party at that particular night. Of course, the results are only accurate assuming most people carry GPS-enabled devices, but with the relatively low penetration rate, you could end up at a gathering of nerds and geeks instead of bootylicious babes at a club. This service is currently live in San Francisco, with plans to roll out in half a dozen other US cities including Chicago. The blackberry version is already out, with an iphone version to be released soon.

Gaming will never be the same again if you plan to rock with the Pyramat PC Sound Chair. This model comes with a couple of 8 watt speakers, a 40 watt subwoofer and blue LEDs to add to the atmosphere and overall coolness. Good thing this is wireless, so you won’t accidentally trip or pull it apart when you kick the chair back from the computer table. It is powered by rechargeable batteries and comes with an earphone socket that allows you to groove to your own tunes in privacy. The Pyramat PC Sound Chair will retail for a relatively expensive £249.95. I’d rather get a spanking set of speakers instead with that amount of dough.

The 149 iSP series of LCD displays from Mitsubishi now comes with a 16-speaker sound bar that will definitely appeal to folks who have absolutely no idea on how to set up a home theater system. Boasting an integrated Sound Projector, it simulates surround sound by sending sound around walls, but I would say that it won’t be as good as the real thing (as everything simulated normally isn’t). Interestingly enough, you will be able to alter the way it sounds depending on the room size as well as TV placement thanks to a flexible yet simple menu option. The 46″ and 52″ displays will retail for $3,300 and $3,700, respectively.

Blizzard Entertainment officially confirmed the third entry in the ultra successful Diablo series during the company’s Worldwide Invitational event yesterday.

Alongside the confirmation, Blizzard has revealed that Diablo III takes place two decades after the events of Diablo II. Further plot details were limited, though the company also revealed two of the game’s character classes: the Barbarian and the Witchdoctor.

Blizzard has also launched an official website for the game that not only includes the announcement, but also shows off 60 pieces of artwork from the game as well as a teaser trailer including nearly 20 minutes of gameplay footage.

When the original Diablo was released in 1997, it was considered a critical success having sold in excess of 2.5 million copies worldwide. It was honored as the number-one selling computer role-playing game in 1997 as well as being named Game of the Year by Computer Gaming World.

Debuting in June, 2000 Diablo II dominated PC game charts with sales of 4 million copies worldwide according to NPD INTELECT and key retail accounts around the world. The game was awarded several accolades including the prestigious Computer Game of the Year, Computer Role Playing Game of the Year and Game of the Year for 2001 by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences.

The critically acclaimed expansion set, Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, released in 2001, became the fastest selling expansion set in PC game history. In its first week alone, it surpassed 1 million units sold worldwide and captured a record 17.7% of total U.S. PC game market share.

Read more at wired or Blizzard’s Diablo 3 FAQ

From tomorrow (1st July), Sky will be re-branding their Sky HD service to “Sky+ HD“, and reducing the price significantly. I believe the name change has been done to avoid confusion with people thinking that Sky HD does not include the recording and pausing features as offered by the Sky+ service.

Now for the interesting part, Sky has reduced the price of the Sky+ HD box by £100!, down to £149 from £249. I’m sure this price drop will make Sky’s HD service a whole lot more tempting! Sky+ HD really does offer the best HD service in the U.K, you can read my Sky+ HD review here, and join Sky at the best prices here.

There has never been a better time to join or upgrade to Sky HD.

Plant killers, repentance and redemption is at hand! The PlantSense GardenGlo is the right product to help you move towards a green thumb, thanks to sensors located in its USB-powered stakes that are pushed into the soil and connected to your computer. These sensors will pick up all the relevant data of your soil and transmit it to the computer, where you can then have a visual analysis of the whole situation while taking stock of it. Perfect for those who aren’t sure whether there is enough water, sunlight and moisture in the environment. The PlantSense GardenGro will cost $59.95 per stake and will be available from Q4 onwards.

There’s been a breakthrough where folks experiencing benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) can now be treated thanks to the Epley Omniax system which uses glasses equipped with infrared sensors that are able to track the eye of a patient sitting in a free-rotating chair that performs “canalith repositioning maneuvers”. Since many people have loose particles known as otoconia which are found in the semi-circular canals of the inner ear, the monitoring of the eyes will be able to detect the particles’ presence while shaking them out of the sensitive areas by rotating the patient so that the sense of vertigo can be cured.

The death bell had been ringing for Helio for awhile, especially ever since Earthlink made the announcement that it was no longer going to sink any money into the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO). Now the latest news is that Virgin Mobile USA will acquire Helio.

Virgin is also an MVNO meaning that the company does not own any infrastructure or spectrum to offer wireless services. Instead, all of its wireless services are purchased from another major wireless carrier.

Helio had to be an attractive catch for Virgin considering the company was in serious financial trouble; and SK Telecom was having to continue to pump cash into the company to keep it afloat.

Virgin and Helio had a very similar business model; which included marketing of services to young adults. In some respects Helio was a competitor to Virgin so the acquisition of the company helps to ensure their future success with the young wireless market.

The guys over at SK Telecom and Earthlink are probably estatic that the disaster that Helio was is no longer going to be their problem. Earthlink really left SK Telecom holding the bag when it decided to pull out of future funding all together.

You have to at least give Earthlink a little bit of credit. They knew their dial-up Internet business was going away and that they would have to transform their business model. Unfortunately, Helio just wasn’t the big success that Earthlink and SK Telecom thought it would be.

Read more from the Helio website.

When Mike and I went with Stacey and Dan on Kane Creek Trail in Moab last May, we had no idea how difficult the trail they were taking us was. I filmed the hardest parts of the trail:

Download this video for your ipod

My favorite highlights are:

• At the 3:38 minute mark, the dirt bike riders watch Dan drive up the trail and say, “It’s nice to see someone use a Hummer for what it’s for!”

• At the 6:55 minute mark, the Hummer is right on the edge of the drop off and is balanced on two wheels. Dan and Stacey get past the hard part and make it look easy!

• At the 13:57 minute mark, you can see some dirt bike riders make it up the hill. I used to think that dirt bikes would be easier than off-roading with the Hummer until I saw how tired these guys were.

• At the 18:45 minute mark, there is a photo of a Jeep that didn’t make it through the trail and went over the edge. Unable to retrieve it, the owners have left it to rot in the ravine.

• At the 18:57 minute mark, we are in the Hummer at the point where the Jeep went over the edge. It’s easy for the Hummer, but we laugh about it uncomfortably.

• At the 20:03 minute mark, Stacey asks us if we’re ready to do the Lionsback Trail. I unequivocally answer, “No, no, actually, this is our final, final trip.” Of course, two months later, I’m excited about it again and want to go on Lionsback!

• At the 24:00 minute mark, we are at the watering hole with lots of other people. Dirt bikes, quad-runners and Jeeps have only gone this far and stopped. The driver of the Jeep mentioned to us that he didn’t know it was possible to go any further. I guess you need a Hummer to get past that point.

I was exhausted and tired from hiking alongside the Hummer up the trail, but I’m so glad I got such good video of the trip. It’s a memory that will last forever.

FROM GAMERTELL - The newly designed and uber cool Bat Pod will be on display at the park’s main entrance Saturday July 5, 2008, from noon until…
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