Tech Gadgets Reviews

YouTube announced that they will be offering full-length TV shows online.  Of course, Google, the proud owner of YouTube, will certainly place advertisements in the upcoming TV shows. 

Google said that the advertisements would be slotted just like ads on television with interruptions appearing during, before and after the actual program That’s not so surprising considering that Google Ads contribute quite an amount of Google’s total revenue.

Well, for those who are dying to find out what TV shows will be offered, expect some CBS properties like “Star Trek” and “Dexter” thanks to a CBS-Google agreement that also allows revenue sharing.  This is a bit of a strange deal considering the owner of CBS is going after YouTube (via Viacom) in a copyright infringement lawsuit.

Read [The New York Times]

Keep up with the latest gadget goodness! - Subscribe to our feed →

Hop-on has a new handset that targets senior citizens - the HOP1890 phone, also known as the ChitterChatter. I wonder whether the number in the naming convention has anything to do with the average birth date of its target market, but I digress. Just in case you’re wondering what the ChitterChatter is all about, it is a phone that offers a call center service round the clock, where operators are able to place calls, offer directory assistance as well as help with the setup. Another interesting feature is the GPS/Enhanced Location-Based-Services that offers a unique and affordable way for seniors, or those with special medical needs, to stay connected and in contact with each other.

The HOP1890, a Dual-band 850/1900MHz in the U.S. or 900/1800MHz for Europe, offers 300 minutes of talk time and 300 hours of standby time. With a large, bright screen with large text that is easy to read and bigger buttons that are easy to push, dialing and making calls is easier than ever on the HOP1890. The phone is specific for ease of use for seniors. For the GPS feature, parents or caretakers simply use the Internet or any phone with SMS capabilities to quickly identify the location of the device in approximately 1 minute. The ChitterChatter Phone allows seniors and kids to stay in touch with close family and friends, or send their location with the touch of a button.

According to Hop-on CEO, Peter Michaels, “This is an affordable way for seniors to feel safe and confident. We need to take care of our elders and the ChitterChatter phone gives them the freedom to keep in touch without the burden of an expensive phone. The HOP1890 is equipped with a panic button located on the back of the phone. During initial setup of the phone the consumer will setup their choice of emergency contact. In the event of an emergency, once the panic button is pushed this emergency contact is called immediately and an operator will remain on the line, hands free, until help arrives. There are situations that can literally mean the difference between life and death, efficient communication and the ability to locate your loved one in that moment can save a helpless elder or child’s life.” You getting one for gramps this Christmas?

Press Release

• Email to a friend
• Leave a comment

Our sleeping habits don’t all do so well when there is a partner involved.  Sometimes we prefer to sleep one way, but when a significant other comes into the picture we try to adapt and become a little easier to live with.  Well if before you found that special someone you got into the habit of falling asleep with music on, you might want to check out this speaker.  I have seen on occasion headphones made for sleeping, but no matter what it means you have to sleep with something attached to your head.  Well this little speaker is a bit different and probably would end up being more comfortable.

Just plug it into your headphone jack, then slip it under your pillow.  You can adjust the volume to be more discreet.  Yes, it might still be heard a little, but it’s a decent compromise and you don’t wake up with a headache from wearing headphones.  Even better, if you just want to try the speaker out, it’s very cheaply priced.  You can pick it up on MGS for $16.95.

Source: ChipChick

• Email to a friend
• Leave a comment

Nokia’s first touchscreen phone, Nokia 5800 was a blast for Nokia fanatics.  Nokia has recently made another statement pertaining to the production of Nokia touchscreen phones in the future.  In a recent event in India, Devinder Kishore, Marketing Director of Nokia revealed, “We will have lot of touchscreen phones coming up, including an N-series device very soon.”.

Well, this proves that Nokia is really up to the challenge to compete with its rivals and it’s evolving fast!  With the promising looks of Nokia 5800, we are certainly anxious for the next touchscreen product from Nokia.

Read [Cellpassion]

Keep up with the latest gadget goodness! - Subscribe to our feed →

If you’re looking for a USB drive that has a little bit of history to it, much like the Mahjong USB drive, you might check out these little warriors.  These terracotta warriors are a 7in tall replica of the Xi’an terracotta warriors, found in 1974 perfectly preserved for over 2,000 years.  The warriors found at that point were underground, life-sized and were over 6,000 of them.  Found by a farmer no less that was digging a well.  That’d definitely make the task of digging a hole a lot more interesting.

The drives come in anywhere from 1GB-8GB.  It supports password protection, and has a limited lifetime warranty.  Which likely means that this drive is going to be an expensive one.  Unfortunately there’s no way to tell on that.  All the site does is list where you could find one of these drives to purchase, not how much you will pay at the shop once you do indeed find it.

Source: Newlaunches

• Email to a friend
• Leave a comment

Who knew that the T-Mobile G1 would be this popular before it even was officially released?  Certainly not Google, HTC, and T-Mobile.  Their official estimates of how many G1’s to order was really low; so low that they had to order triple the initial amount and those G1’s sold would not arrive until after the official release, which is October 22.  Just recently, they announced that they have sold off all 1.5 million units they had available for presale.

Before you start thinking this number includes the retailed G1’s, it does not.  Since it hasn’t even been released yet, all 1.5 million G1’s have come strictly from pre-order.  People have ordered G1’s based on only what they have read, few of the customers have actually tried one out for themselves.  Google and T-Mobile have to hope that the G1 lives up to all the surrounding hype, because if it doesn’t, people will realize that and stick to the iPhone or other smartphones.  However, if many people come to like the G1 a lot more than the iphone, then Apple has a serious competitor.

It will be interesting to see what the general public thinks of the G1 when it becomes officially released on the 22nd.

Read [Fool.com] Via [Pulse2]

Keep up with the latest gadget goodness! - Subscribe to our feed →

If you pay attention to sports, then you probably know that the NLCS (National League Championship Series) is taking place right now between the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers.  As you can imagine during many popular events such as sporting events, many use their cell phones an awful lot at the same time.  This can sometimes cause a cell phone traffic overload and prevent calls and texts from going through, which would definitely be annoying. 

In efforts to combat this, Verizon is introducing something near the stadium known as COLT (Cell on Light Truck).  This is a fully-functional mobile cell site that adds extra wireless capacity.  Such extra measures will prevent from any calls to be dropped, texts not going through, and making surfing the Internet as smooth as possible.  In addition, if you plan to use a laptop near the stadium, you will probably notice that you have access to better Broadband Internet. 

Ed Chan, executive director of network for Verizon Wireless’ Philadelphia Tri-State Region had this to say about the whole process: 

“During special events, traffic on our network can increase significantly. With the activation of this temporary cell site, our network is prepared to handle the expected increase in cell phone and laptop computer use at the stadium complex.  We want to ensure that Phillies fans can make that long-awaited call to their friends and families once the ‘Fightins’ win this series.”

It looks like he’s a Phillies’ fan, and wants everyone to be able to call people when and if the Phillies win.  Verizon has been trying to improve network capacity ever since they got involved with cell phones and they have invested nearly $45 billion dollars in projects such as this one.  Furthermore, since 2000, they have spent around $1.5 billion in the Tri-State area alone.

It’s good that Verizon does things like this, I hope they will do something similar for the ALCS and World Series, and in future sporting events.

Via [PR Newswire]

Keep up with the latest gadget goodness! - Subscribe to our feed →

by Paul Miller, posted Oct 12th 2008 at 10:50AM

Oh ASUS, you bring us such joy. When this company isn’t busy diluting its Eee brand, it loves to pick fights with noted rivals, and this latest spat with Gigabyte (who isn’t at all innocent in this war) is wonderfully trivial. Apparently ASRock, ASUS’s budget motherboard wing, has taken it upon itself to inform hardware review websites like HEXUS of Gigabyte’s wasteful implementation of copper. The email ponders: “While the demand for copper keeps increasing and with that the price of this natural resource, why would manufacturers choose to use more copper without any valid reason?” And it gets better: “I [unidentified] am not talking about unnecessary heatpipes that most people do not need, but about Gigabyte’s ‘2 oz Copper PCB’. Gigabyte is adding more copper to the PCB to reduce the heat that is produced by their motherboard, and to spread it across the motherboard so that the heat will dissipate more quickly.” Naturally ASRock’s own P45 motherboard falls into none such pitfalls, offering better cooling with less copper, and they even provided a handy chart up above in case you don’t believe them, you idiot. Say no to waste!

[Thanks, Jordan]

• Read
• Permalink
• Email this
• 6 Comments

Filed under: Desktops

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 12th 2008 at 3:59AM

We’re glad to see that Raon Digital isn’t just ditching its Everun Note entirely after having to recall the thing, and better still, we’re stoked to hear that it’ll soon be doling out speedier iterations with built-in SSDs. UMPC Portal has it that two new Everun Notes will be landing shortly, both of which will boast SSDs within. The first newcomer (S16S) will come loaded with Ubuntu Mobile, a 1.2GHz Sempron CPU and a 12GB MLC SSD; the higher-end sibling (D24S) will offer up Windows XP, a dual-core Turion processor and 24GB worth of delicious solid state storage. Look for both to land by mid-November for $659 / $950, respectively.

[Via Pocketables]

• Read
• Permalink
• Email this
• 1 Comments

Filed under: Laptops, Storage

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 12th 2008 at 6:11AM

This is it, soldiers. The day you’ve been anticipating has finally arrived. Okay, so maybe that’s a build up not deserved by the lowly Metal Gear Solid 4 Bluetooth headset, but seriously, we’ve been waiting ages for this thing to ship. Like, so long that the whole MGS4 aura has already come and gone. Those still firmly planted in Snake’s posse can choose to prove their fanhood by snagging this thing now for $39.98; if all goes well, it should be headed your way in a matter of business days. Over and out.

[Via LogicBuy]

• Read
• Permalink
• Email this
• 3 Comments

Filed under: cellphones, Peripherals