Tech Gadgets Reviews

Here you go, another unconfirmed mobile handset making it’s FCC appearance. This time its from Motorola, and its the new clamshell styled phone called the Motorola Vegas (VE20). Word on the street is that the VE20 Vegas will be released on Sprint’s CDMA network. Furthermore, the new clamshell phone will be another budget-minded phone and sport the traditional clamshell look and feel. In fact, from what we can see from the leak photos, the VE20 looks to be a hybrid of a RAZR and KRZR models. The VE20 sports a plastic finish with brushed aluminum black.

The FCC site didn’t give that much information regarding this new Motorola phone, except from some obvious features such as a microSD card slot, a 2-megapixel camera with no flash, and touch sensitive keys. As for the other features, we will just have to wait for the official announcement from Motorola which would probably be released in a couple of weeks.

Via [IntoMobile] Via [PhoneArena]

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by Donald Melanson, posted Jul 7th 2008 at 4:47PM

There’s unfortunately nothing more than the image above to go on at the moment but, if it is to be believed, it looks like Nikon could finally be about to bust out a sucessor to its P5000 series, with this purported P6000 model boasting a revised design and some beefed-up specs. That includes a 13.5-megapixel sensor, a boost to ISO 6400, RAW image support, a new GPS module and, well, everything else you see listed above. Notably absent from that list, however, is any word of a price or release date, though we’d expect those details to be turning up before too long if this rumor does, in fact, turn out to be legit.

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

Don’t mind the seemingly explosive brand name. This basic mobile handset from Kyocera is a simple handset that won’t give you any touchscreen features or high megapixel resolution cameras. It’s just your basic mobile handset minus the frills of other high-end phones. But in this trying times, the Kyocera TNT!, which is available now over at Virgin Mobile for a mere $19.99 might just be what everyone needs.

So, what do you get from a dirt cheap phone such as the TNT! from Kyocera. Surprisingly, for the not so sophisticated mobile phone users, the TNT! some decent features worthy of its price tag. It has a full color screen, mobile web browsing, text messaging, two-way speakerphone, and a TTY/TDD enabled for the hearing impaired. It gives out 200 minutes of talktime and 120 hours of standby time, and it also allows you to download some cool stuff from Virgin Mobile network, such as real music (MP3) ringtones, chat park, graphics, games and more.

Product [Virgin Mobile]

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by Joshua Topolsky, posted Jul 7th 2008 at 9:36AM

If you’ve been stuck waiting on Sony to get its act together concerning firmware 2.40, you might not have to hang back much longer. According to ComputerAndVideoGames, reps from the console-maker say that an update to the broken, PS3-bricking system software will be headed out to users “midweek.” The company hasn’t made an official announcement yet, but it certainly is looking like 2.41 will become a reality sooner rather than later, which should be music to the ears of a lot of deeply annoyed gamers.

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

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Filed under: Gaming

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 7th 2008 at 3:12PM

We’re not quite sure how Seth Sternberger, one member of 8 Bit Weapon, was able to pull this off, but he somehow compiled a number of old parts from local shops and eBay in order to transform an NES Power Pad into an instrument of awesomeness. Click on through for a video of Micro Boogie being performed on said Pad, and don’t be shocked to find yourself immediately overcome with the need to get one of these in your own house (only to remember that you can’t dance).

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Filed under: Gaming

In days past, photographers had to rely on their memory to answer the question “where did I take this shot?”. Not so any more. Geotagging is fast becoming popular in the days of digital photography. By definition, Geotagging is the process of adding a form of geospatial geographical identification metadata to your images. It can also be added to other media like websites or RSS feeds. This metadata almost always consists of latitude and longitude coordinates; although it can sometimes also include things like altitude, bearing, or even location names depending on how specific you want to get.

Geotagging can also be useful if you are looking for location-specific information. For example, you are trying to find images taken near Red Rock Canyon. You simply enter the latitude and longitude coordinates into a Geotagging-enabled image search engine. There you go! These same search engines can also be used to locate location-based news, websites and more.

Previously, if someone wanted to tag their photos, if was pretty much a pain in the butt. It meant going through Yahoo Maps or Google Earth and finding the coordinates and marking where we took our shot. Thankfully, newer solutions have come out to get rid of this tiresome step in the process. One current fad is to install a GPS unit right on your camera. This can be done either before or after market. One solution that I consider rather innovative is ATP’s GPS Photofinder (approx. $100). It’s stand-alone and way simple to use.  It tracks and logs up to 550 hours of GPS data and then uses its SD slot to automatically add the geotags to the JPEG images on the card. Down side, it doesn’t work with CompactFlash, nor does it recognize or do anything if you shoot RAW images. (But then again… they are a killer on space anyway).

Even popular photo sites such as Flickr are jumping on the bandwagon by promoting use of support for geographic information in the picture properties posted on their site. And earlier this year, when Nokia introduced their new phone, the Nokia N96, they made sure to mention that it would utilize the phone’s internal A-GPS and camera to add geotag metadata into each photograph.

So, if you’re looking to do something new with your photography… or if you’re just tired of the “where was this shot taken?” question a few years later when the ‘ole memory starts to fade a bit then geotagging just might be worth exploring.

Read [About.com]

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MobileMag reviews the Nokia 6555 and writes, “The camera is perfectly adequate for what it needs to do, but it definitely will not replace any standalone digital camera you may have. At just 1.3 megapixels, the resolution is far from being the best and the image quality, while decent, is far from stellar. Other shortcomings include the lack of autofocus and flash, so don’t even think about taking pictures under low-light conditions. I also found the camera quick-access key on the side to be annoying, because you can accidentally activate the camera while the phone is still in your pocket. Yes, the camera app loads even if the flip is closed.”

Read more about the Nokia 6555.

In early 2009, Nokia is set to release its new HS-67WL Wireless Loopset, which will provide people with T-coil equipped hearing aids or cochlear implants to obtain better audio quality and hands-free operation of cell phones and other portable devices. The device is compatible with Bluetooth handsets, and enables users to receive calls wirelessly through their hearing aids as well as vibrating alerts, while filtering out background noises. It comes with a neckloop and a single button to handle calls.

The Loopset is expected to be priced at around 200 Euros.

Via Gearlog, by way of textually.org..

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We told you about the LG Chocolate 3 (VX8560), but since then, a pricing scale and release date have since surfaced.  To recap quickly, the 3rd edition of LG’s high selling Chocolate will be wrapped in a clamshell form factor, unlike the previous two iterations which were candybar-styled.  The LG Chocolate 3 will have 1GB of internal memory, with up to 8GB of additional space through microSD cards. The phone’s external display is 1.76-inch (176×220) and the internal display is 2.2-inch with a QVGA resolution. Other features include a 2-megapixel camera, 3.5mm headphone jack, stereo speakers, Bluetooth (with stereo support).  Finally, the Chocolate 3 will have an FM transmitter, so you can listen to your music on any FM radio.

The price is expected to be $129 after $50 rebate with a 2-year contact, $199 after $50 rebate with a 1-year contract, and $299 at full retail price.  The LG Chocolate 3 will drop on July 14th and will be available exclusively for Verizon.

Via [phoneArena]

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These amazing peel & stick solar power panels from Lumeta are literally what it sounds like. Simply peel off the backing, and lay them down on a rooftop. Hook up the cabling and power connectors and you’re good to go. Hit the jump for an video of 2 workers laying down 6 of these 8′x4′ panels and hooking them up in less than 35 minutes.

The lumeta Power-Ply 380 photovoltaic panels don’t require any special infrastructure or mounting units, but simply lay flat on rooftops, making for very fast installation.

This is another in what will be an increasing number of products that are becoming cheaper to produce and purchase that will aid in moving the world away from fossil fuels and towards a cleaner environment.

Posted in Home Automation, Miscellaneous