Tech Gadgets Reviews

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WowWee’s robots have always been geek favorites, and the latest reviews of its newest product, the Rovio surveillance robot indicate yet another crowd favorite.

The $300 Rovio has a Wi-Fi plugged mobile webcam and can be controlled from anywhere using either a PC, a smartphone or even a video game console.

Rovio could be used to check on pets, keep an eye on the office or home and "visit elderly relatives," says WowWee.

The robot really works well, say reviewers, because of its effective navigation system. The system allows the user to store waypoints, and the device’s built-in LED headlight will come in handy for dimly lit locations.

Rovio has three omnidirectional wheels that, when combined with the camera and the ability to set up your own paths or sequences, can make it easy to complete tasks at home from a remote location.

For instance, the robot can check on a pet’s food bowl and mail back pictures, or it can tour a room or even help do remote product demos in a business environment.

The Rovio generated much excitement when WowWee showed off the robot at the Consumer Electronics Show at the beginning of the year.

Now that it is available for pre-order with a two- to four-week delivery schedule, it will be interesting to see how well consumers react to it.

We remain skeptical about the product’s ability to break through into the mainstream.

Despite the potentially interesting applications, Rovio is likely to remain a device for the hardcore gadget lovers because of its pricing and because most  consumers in the U.S. are still trying to adjust to the idea of using personal robots. Just ask iRobot which is trying hard to sell its robotic vacuum cleaners as a better alternative to the old fashioned upright vacuums.

First Impressions of WowWee’s Surpising Robot [Robot-Dreams.com]

Photo: WowWee

FROM GAMERTELL - The PS3 will easily keep gamers busy for several more years especially with firmware updates, controller and playstation Network upgrades and other add ons…
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If you have a iPhone, then you understand how difficult it can be to take close-up photos. Fortunately, Griffin has a solution for you. The Griffin Clarifi is an iPhone case that has a macro lens that slides over your normal iPhone lens.

Nicole Lee has been trying out her Griffin Clarifi. She said:

The Clarifi claims to improve macro close-up shots of the iphone’s camera, and as you can see in the Before and After shot, it definitely makes close-up pics appear clearer and more in focus.

She provided a photo to show how well it works:

The Griffin website has another example:

There are so many times when I really need my iPhone to be able to snap a good photo, so this would come in handy for me.

The author of the infamous ransomware virus has finally been identified.  The virus began hitting computers in July and used a Trojan called Delf.ctk which encrypted all the files on the infected computer, rendering them inaccessible, then demanded victims call a 900 number and pay $35 to get them back.  The payment processor used is also used by various porn sites.

The author is believed to be a Russian national, and security experts think he’s probably behind similar ransomware attacks on 2006 and 2007.  The latter demanded $300, so this new attack was somewhat of a bargain.  Sources close to the authorities investigating the hacker say he also tried to profit from his malware by attempting to sell a tool that will restore access to files on infected computers to at least one security company.

Security experts tracked down the author by resolving the proxied IPs used in the attacks to their real addresses, which turned out to be zombie computers.  Locating the owners of those zombie systems proved difficult when Yahoo refused to cooperate.  Foreign police have been notified, however, and appear to be continuing the investigation.

Read[PCWorld]

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Garmin is a well established name when it comes to GPS navigation systems, and the latest in a long line of such devices is the GPSMAP 640. This device is an ultra portable and rugged touch screen navigator that helps you find your way thanks to a comprehensive set of street maps and marine charts that have already been pre-loaded onto the device. In addition to the GPSMAP 620, both devices will target markets outside the United States. More on these new Garmin releases right after the jump.

Portable and powerful, the GPSMAP 600 series features a high-sensitivity GPS receiver and boasts an intuitive, waterproof (IPX7) super-bright 5.2” WVGA touchscreen display (800 x 480 pixels) that reacts as users tap or drag through intuitive menus and options. The GPSMAP 640 comes preloaded with comprehensive street maps of North America and worldwide shaded relief mapping in addition to detailed U.S. coastal BlueChart g2 charts. When placed in its included marine mount, these new portables will automatically start up in marine mode, presenting chart features such as shaded depth contours, port plans, wrecks, restricted areas and more. With optional BlueChart g2 Vision technology, the GPSMAP 640 provides a true 3-D “mariner’s eye view,” for a navigation perspective above the waterline, and a “fish eye view” for an underwater 3D bathymetric contour perspective. Mariners will also benefit from the auto guidance technology the g2 Vision data card enables that suggests the best navigational route. In addition, photo references give detailed aerial views of points of interest (POI) such as ports, marinas, waterways and landmarks.

You can also opt to augment the GPSMAP 640’s already formidable capabilities with the optional GXM 40 antenna that is sold separately, turning your GPSMAP 640 into a device that graphically displays XM WX Satellite Weather data directly, letting you in on more than 20 different types of weather attributes including information such as NEXRAD, wind speeds, visibility, severe weather storm tracks and more. The Garmin GPSMAP 640 and GPSMAP 620 will retail for $999.99 and $1,199.99, respectively.

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Are you curious to find out what songs your friend has on his iPod? Why not make the discovery process a fun time with the iNo Quiz Game?

Specifically designed for ipod owners, this brilliant party game/speaker dock transforms your not-so-humble player into a fast and furious interactive music quiz. Just pop your iPod in the sphere, set it to shuffle, grab one of the wireless remotes and let battle commence. It’s like a hi-tech version of Name that Tune minus Tom O’ Connor’s terrible jokes. The first player selects an iNo playing card and tells opponents what element of the song they must identify: title, artist, album, etc. The first person to buzz in pauses the song. Correct answers equal points and a nice little ego boost; incorrect answers equal points deducted.

You can choose from black or white colors, and either model is going for £59.95. The former is currently sold out at this point in time.

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by Darren Murph, posted Oct 6th 2008 at 1:21AM

Contrary to popular belief, the world as we know it didn’t implode after the Large Hadron Collider was flipped on. Sure — someone, somewhere is growing a ninth arm and trying desperately to land a cameo on Fringe, but the planet at large is still humming along just fine. Now, the world’s most ginormous computing grid (the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid, or WLCG) has gone live, and the gurus behind it are celebrating the beginning of its momentous data challenge: to analyze and manage over 15 million gigabytes of data each year. The Grid combines the IT power of over 140 computer centers, 100,000 processors and the collaborative efforts of 33 countries. Unfortunately, there’s no word on when the official WLCG-based Call of Duty 4 server will be green-lit for action, but we hear it’s pretty high on the priorities list.

[Via China View]

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Filed under: Desktops, Misc. gadgets

Cowon’s sleek little media player, the S9 Curve, has an official release date. It will ship in November, at an as yet unknown price. Whatever it costs, though, we forecast poor sales. The sad fact is that Apple has the PMP market so tied up that even great looking devices like this are doomed. Here’s what you’ll be missing when you buy that iPod Touch instead:

An AMOLED touchscreen (the capacitive kind) with a 480 x 272 pixel count and a 16:9 aspect ratio. The whole thing is run by a 500MHz, dual core processor (better than the laptops of a few years ago) and can pull in music via FM radio or a DMB-T/DAB tuner. You’ll also find Bluetooth, a microphone, and a TV output. The Curve will play just about any file you throw at it:

MP3, WMA, FLAC, OGG Vorbis, AVI, WMV, MP4/H.264, JPG, GIF, PNG and SMI.

And it will keep on going for forty hours (music) and 8 hours (video). Sizewise, it is a little chunkier than the ipod Touch or iphone. The picture below will show you how it compares. The Cowon is the big red slab on the left (thanks to Sizeasy for the diagram-o-maker).

Les Lowon S9 et O2 Disponibles en Novembre [Generation MP3 via OLED Info]

According to the Register, Sega is planning to launch a new handheld console next year, and it won’t just play games.

The new console, called the Vision, will also play music and movies, have a built in camera, TV-Tuner and display e-books. We speculate that the battery pack will come in a separate, suitcase-sized box.

The UK will be the first place to get the Vision, and there are apparently a few prototypes to be won in London arcades. The video detailing the console has been pulled from YouTube already, but a few details survive. It will play “Java mini games”, which suggests a similar experience to the “games” you can play on your cable-TV box at home.

Still, a pocket TV, despite being the ultimate 1980s throwback, could be worth buying if there are some classic Sonic games on there (ie. the first two, and no more). The Register’s comments are chock-a-block with references to the Gamegear, Sega’s last and fateful foray into the handheld market. It’s failure was a real shame, as it was a great little device (despite poor battery life). There was even a TV-Tuner add-on.

We won’t be getting too excited, though, much as a successor to the Genesis (or Megadrive) and Dreamcast would brighten our lives. This looks to be more like a souped up Tamagotchi than a full-fledged handheld gaming platform. Now, somebody port Sonic to the iphone, already.

Sega to launch PSP beater in 2009 [Reg Hardware]