Tech Gadgets Reviews

NEC LCD Technologies have managed to successfully roll out multiple sizes (A3 and A4 equivalent) of electronic paper (e-paper) modules thanks to the microcapsule electrophoresis system. This electrophoresis system uses white pigment particles electrified with positive electrodes, while black pigment particles are electrified with negative electrodes. Individual pigment particles will be held in a clear microcapsule that is then moved around by applying voltage, resulting in a visible display. The e-paper modules tout to feature higher visibility and gradation when compared to most newspapers, and will feature a secure 16 step grayscale, white reflectivity of 43% and a contrast ratio of 10:1. Another plus point of this e-paper is the utilization of reflected light that helps produce wider viewing angles, increasing visibility under direct sunlight while removing the strain on viewers’ eyes.

Motorola is more famous for their line of cell phones more than anything else, but this time round the company takes a slightly different route by introducing a couple of portable GPS navigation systems that help you find your way around, especially in unfamiliar territory. These two models, the MOTONAV TN20 and TN30, will be available on an exclusive basis at RadioShack Corporation. Let us take a closer look at both devices right after the jump before coming to a conclusion as to whether they are worth bringing home or not.

The Motorola MOTONAV TN20 is the lower end device of the two, but that doesn’t mean it lacks in terms of quality. The TN20 is reliable enough to get you places, since it reduces the stress of driving in unfamiliar areas thanks to spoken street names as well as turn-by-turn directions. You will also benefit from over one million searchable points of interest as well as accurate maps depicting continental US courtesy of NAVTEQ. With the most accurate maps on display and the choice between 2D or 3D display modes, getting to your destination has never gotten any easier. The 3.5″ touch screen display is bright enough to use even under direct sunlight, and it will adjust its brightness automatically to suit the driving conditions. Being small enough to fit in a pocket, you can always carry it with you when you decide to tour the city by foot.

As for the MOTONAV TN30, it comes with all the similar features and functions of the TN20 and more. You will get more maps with the inclusion of Canada and Puerto Rico as well, more than four million searchable points of interest to help you amble along with a sense of direction, a more generous 4.3″ touch screen display as well as Bluetooth connectivity to help you carry out hands free conversations over your cell phone while you’re on the road.

Shared features include on-screen speed, distance, arrival time, elevation, and distance traveled; fastest and shortest route options; advanced lane guidance in complex interchanges; speed limit display with warnings and an SD memory card slot for expansion options. Both the Motorola MOTONAV TN20 and TN30 will retail for $199.99 and $299.99, respectively.

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Hate flying because of the change in pressure that keeps your ears all blocked up? Well, with the Ear Pressure Equalizer, you are able to suck whatever air out of the outer ear canal so that the particular annoying feeling is removed. Unfortunately, we would much rather recommend sucking on a sweet instead of forking out £38.95 for this device. It definitely won’t win you any points with the hot chick sitting beside you, given the fact that you will have to tote around this dorky looking device during takeoff and landing.

The U.S. Army has released a report containing concerns that Twitter could be used by terrorists as a way of planning attacks and keeping tabs on each other. It also contained several scenarios of such a use such as a terrorist using the microblogging site to send a tweet to remotely set off an explosive device. A second terrorist with the detonator would receive the tweet.

“Twitter is already used by some members to post and/or support extremist ideologies and perspectives,” the report said. “For example, there are multiple pro- and anti-Hezbollah Tweets. In addition, extremist and terrorist use of Twitter could evolve over time to reflect tactics that are already evolving in use by ‘hacktivists’ and activists for surveillance. This could theoretically be combined with targeting.”

Twitter has become an increasingly popular tool for all sorts of organizations. During the RNC protesters used it to organize and also to warn each other of places to avoid and police activity, and last month House Republicans used to protest a piece of legislation.

It’s not yet clear if terrorists overseas would be able to use the service as effectively as it is used here in the U.S. Such use would depend on the availability and quality of mobile service. However it’s clear that this is something to watch very carefully. Should such activity be detected it is sure to raise privacy issues since the government would no doubt insist on some sort of monitoring.

Read[ComputerWorld]

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Trying to keep all of your gadgets charged when you’re constantly out and about can be difficult.  Especially if you have the tendency to get so wrapped up in things that you forget to charge them all up once you’re finally home for the day.  With this kit, you could charge up your gadgets when they die on you at inopportune moments.  It would also be great for those that travel a lot.  If you don’t have a spare charger and you’re hundreds of miles from home on a tight budget, the kit could save you the money of having to buy another charger.

It features a rechargeable lithium ion battery and a power level indicator.  It also includes adapters for the ipod, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, USB male, mini 5 pins, Motorola, Nokia and so on.  Out of all that it has a total of seven charging adapters. The kit also has an attachment to turn the power bar into a flashlight and a USB charging cable.  To finish things off it has a convenient little pouch to hold all of those item in.  So all you have to do is toss this in your car, purse or luggage and you’ll have it with you.  The whole kit will cost you $32 from USB Geek.

Source: Geeky-Gadgets

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Lucky Joanna Stern (you may know her from such blogs as Laptop Mag) received a rather exciting package from the mail man this morning: a shiny new Samsung NC10 netbook, bought from a store in its native Korea and popped in the post by a generous friend.

The $500 netbook features all the usual internals (10″ screen, 1.6GHz Atom processor, Bluetooth, b/g wireless, 160GB hard drive and a gig of RAM) but it also comes with some extra Samsung Appeal — the added build quality we expect from the Korean manufacturer.

As Joanna unpacks the box, we see a rather neat looking machine with clean, sharp lines, in contrast to the Wind’s more curvy shape, along with the essential six-cell battery (a lot of earlier netbooks shipped with a three-cell, with hilarious consequences — an ultra portable that lasted less than two hours). Find the video at the link below.

We’re sure that, once they get past the Korean keyboard and Korean install of Windows XP, the folks at Laptop Mag will find it a capable machine. We have but one question: Can you hack it ?

Our Samsung NC10 Arrives and Gets Unboxed [Laptop Mag]

One main disadvantage about the Eee PC is its relatively short battery life, but then again you can’t really have unprecedented levels of portability without sacrificing something, right? At least not until engineers manage to come up with a battery solution that is compact, long lasting and light. In the meantime, you will have to settle for a 12,000mAh (yes, twelve thousand!) battery that works with both Eee PC 901 and 1000 series, retailing for a mere $61.87. This battery is able to last nearly twice as long as a regular 6-cell 6,600mAh battery, making 10 hours of non-stop use a very real possibility. The main drawback would be the extra weight you have to lug around as this 10-cell monster adds in 9.05 ounces more compared to the aforementioned 6-cell battery.

AT&T will be making available the Nokia 2600 for next to nothing, as long as you agree to sign a two-year contract with the mobile carrier. The Nokia 2600 has been around since the beginning of the year already, so it is rather surprising to see it hit the US via AT&T only now. Specifications include :-

• Dual band GSM/GPRS connectivity, 850/1900MHz
• 128 x 128 pixels TFT display
• Web browser and MEdia Net
• Email, Instant Messaging
• Bluetooth connectivity
• MP3 ringtones
• Hands-free speakerphone
• VGA camera

This is but a basic phone at most, since there isn’t even an expansion memory card slot of sorts at all. You can choose from black or red colors.

FROM APPLETELL - Apple has seeded a new build of the iphone 2.2 software to developers. Along with a reworked Safari interface, other functional improvements include updates to the Maps application.
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by Darren Murph, posted Oct 27th 2008 at 11:03AM

Surely your remember Project Lantern from back in 2006, right? If you weren’t too fond of that initiative, let’s just say your worst nightmare is coming true. Going forward, every police force in the UK will be equipped with mobile fingerprint scanners, which will allow the fuzz to carry out identity checks right on the street. Dubbed Project Midas, this here setup is supposed to “transform the speed of criminal investigations”while simultaneously freaking out anyone remotely concerned about personal privacy; in fairness, cops insist that fingerprints scanned via these portable devices will not be stored or added to databases, and we’re told that they’ll only be used ” when they suspect an individual of an offense and can’t establish his / her identity.” The £30 million ($47.5 million) to £40 million ($63.4 million) initial phase should hit widespread deployment within 18 months, and in case you thought it was over after this, you should probably know that facial recognition in the field is the next top priority.

[Via Pocket-lint, image courtesy of SpringCard]

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