Tech Gadgets Reviews

by Joshua Topolsky, posted Oct 11th 2008 at 9:34AM

Screen grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today’s movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dt com.

We’re not quite sure what Britney is trying to say here. It would help if she could be more specific about what she thinks of this guy. If only there was a word she could use to describe him, over and over and over. Regardless, she absolutely doesn’t want any pictures snapped of her on Nokia’s 5800 XpressMusic. Who knows where those might end up? Full video after the break.

[Thanks, Sam]

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Filed under: cellphones

Incipio Technologies has your iPhone 3G’s best interests in mind with its new Feather Protective Case that offers protection despite being less than 1mm thin. Hmmm, makes me wonder what kind of material they use - a highly advanced form of the fabled adamantium? Apparently not, as Incipio has used an ultra light, ultra strong polymer that is as light as a feather (hence its name) to offer form-fitting durability without adding any bulk. It is so thin that your iPhone 3G can still be used with many docks on the market without any problem, and there are seven colors to choose from. Just don’t expect this $19.99 iphone 3G case to offer shock protection against drops…

Product Page via Press Release

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When we talk about design, sometimes things just seem a little familiar. Take this design for a yo-yo, for example. It’s used to charge your iphone.

• Peter Thuvander: Yo-Yo Charger

It’s a design for a yo-yo that has a LI battery cell that gets charged when you play with it. Ingenious, isn’t it? Who would have ever thought of something like that?

Well, it just so happens that Chris Aimone and Tomek Bartczak thought of it a full two years earlier:

• Gadgets Page » gadgets of the Future? Yo-Yo Powered mp3 player

They actually were the grand prize winners for the Pop-Sci Core77 Design Challenge. Sorry, Peter. Try again and this time come up with your OWN idea.

Via: Popgadget, DVICE, TreeHugger, Engadget and Boing Boing. NONE of whom noticed the similarities.

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 10th 2008 at 3:02PM

It’s hard to say what we’ve come across here, but if our retinas aren’t deceiving us too badly, this looks to be an in the wild shot (sans blur, amazingly) of Dell’s forthcoming E Slim. If you’ll recall, we caught a glimpse of said device way back in June, and the two look at least marginally similar using the oh-so-scientific eyeball test. But look, even if this thing isn’t the E Slim (though we’re guessing it is until proven otherwise), we’ve been told on numerous occasions that Dell is mulling the idea of pumping out a netbook with a 10- to 12-inch display. An accompanying screenshot of the unit’s internals was also provided, and while the model may say Optiplex1210, we’re guessing that’s just there for prototyping purposes; besides, the listed CPU matches up quite nicely with the aforementioned E Slim specs that slipped out this summer. So Round Rock — when are you going to come out and get official with your 12.1-incher? Before or after this coming Tuesday?

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Gallery: 12.1-inch Dell E Slim laptop spotted in the wild?

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Filed under: Laptops

by Donald Melanson, posted Oct 10th 2008 at 4:13PM

MDI’s compressed air vehicle has been unofficially known as the AirCar for years now, but it looks like the company is now finally putting a stop to that, and officially bestowing the decidedly less catchy “FlowAIR” name on the car. What’s more, it’s also gotten official with no less than four different vehicles based on the technology, including the One FlowAIR open-top model, the Mini FlowAIR three-seater (pictured above), the City FlowAIR truck-type vehicle, and the Multi FlowAIR urban public transportation concept, all of which have been making the rounds under various guises for some time now. From the looks of it, the One FlowAIR will be the first out of the gate in 2009 (in France, at least), with the rest to follow over the next few years.

[Via AutoblogGreen]

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Filed under: Transportation

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 10th 2008 at 2:39PM

While Sprint’s XOHM network is sticking to the bustling metropolises of the US, Redline is looking to bring the wonders of 4G to those sitting in rural America. Granted, this here deployment isn’t the first we’ve seen in a less-than-dense locale, but thanks to its RedMAX infrastructure products and Nex-Tech’s desire to spread the love, a number of cities in the Sunflower State are about to get blanketed with WiMAX. More specifically, we’re told that Hays (see above) and Great Bend will get covered by next month, but we’re left to assume, er, hope that neighboring towns will fall under the umbrella in due time.

[Via InformationWeek, image courtesy of AirForceBase]

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Filed under: Wireless

FROM GAMERTELL - Important Importables looks at and test taps four import, DS styli in order to see which would be most comfortable for gamers.
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I know that RTS as well as FPS games would do well with their own special mouse, but does an MMORPG actually need one? SteelSeries thought so, developing the World of Warcraft (WoW) mouse specially for Blizzard’s WoW. Boasting 15 (!) programmable buttons, you get flashing disco lights that color your world with 16 million options. Interesting to see three times as many buttons on a single mouse compared to the number of digits you have on your hand, the SteelSeries World of Warcraft mouse will retail for $90 next month. While it won’t be able to function as a crystal ball to let you know whether you’re going to be successful in the next party raid or not, at least it helps you feel smug about yourself, knowing that your MMORPG life is complete. Onwards to level 80!

by Donald Melanson, posted Oct 10th 2008 at 11:47AM

Zepto managed to carve out a tiny niche for itself with its understated Nexus A15 gaming laptop, and it looks like it’s now giving it some company with its new Nox A14 model. From the looks of it, this one is mostly identical to its predecessor, with the notable exception of a 14.1-inch 1440 x 900 screen and, consequently, a slightly smaller and lighter form factor. Otherwise, you can expect to get a Core 2 Duo P9500 processor, NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT 512MB, up to 8GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive (or 128GB SSD), a built-in 2-megapixel webcam, and a DVD burner or optional Blu-ray drive. If that’s sounds about right, you can order one now for a starting price of £827 (or roughly $1,400), or a good deal more if you want any of those supposed “world’s fastest” specs.

[Via PC Launches]

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Filed under: Laptops

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 10th 2008 at 12:20PM

Look out Tesla / Lightning — a new competitor just rolled out, and it’s sitting pretty. Ruf Automobile has gone public with its stunning electric eRUF concept car, which is obviously based on a Porsche 911. The automobile packs a three-phase electric motor that puts out around 200-horsepower and 480 lb.-ft. of torque, and it can reportedly go from nothing to sixty in under seven ticks. The juice is provided by a Li-ion phosphate battery pack that produces 317-volts / 480-amps and is constructed from 96 individual cells, and combined with the power garnered by the regenerative braking system, it can cruise up to 180 miles before needing a ten-hour recharge. Production, pretty please?

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Filed under: Transportation