Hawt Gadgets

Okay, folks. Stop it. Just stop it. Stop trying to play catchup to what Apple is doing. Apple released the Shuffle that clips onto your clothing so long ago that it’s really not productive for Sandisk to release this cute little player.

• SanDisk | Products | Music & Video Players | SanDisk Sansa Clip

Sure, it clips to your clothing. Sure, it is small and technically it’s better than the Apple product because it has a screen where you can read the song titles.

Instead of trying to copy Apple products, please, make something new and unique. Apple isn’t perfect. They aren’t doing everything right, believe me. There is plenty of room for Sandisk to make products without trying to compete with Apple.

Bad form, Sandisk, bad form.

I’ve used products from the “Discovery Channel Store” often on this blog…as well as other blogs. I like to blog about and promote products and merchants that are top of the line, and the Discovery Channel at THE top of just about every line ever drawn. Pretty much flawless.

Anyway, the “Discovery Channel Store” is now having an End of Summer Sale and it’s a doozie. The always-popular Cube World (pictured above) is just one of the items on sale. These guys make great desk buddies - They never place any demands on you, they don’t mind if your hair’s done or undone, and they’ll never tell you how many cups of coffee you’ve already had.

I always end up with a ton of open tabs in my browser. Here’s some of the things I’ve enjoyed, but won’t do a full-scale blog post about. You might have missed these the first time around:

- Mike Grehan noticed a Google experiment to let users suggest urls to Google for specific searches. If you repeat the search, your suggestion will show up at #1 for you. Google is always running a bunch of experiments; I just like the idea of users contributing suggestions to Google.
- I noticed two good articles about using AdWords well. The first one is from Amy Konefal. She walks you through separate bids for content vs. search ads; the ability to not show ads to sites you choose to exclude; Google’s Placement Performance reports, and how to check the return-on-investment (ROI) for individual sites; how to ramp up advertising using site targeting for sites that perform especially well; and how to mine Google’s new Search Query reports to find new keywords to bid on, or poorly performing keywords to exclude by adding as a negative keyword. You should really go read the whole post though; it puts some of Google’s ad tools in a nice historical perspective. It also drives home that Google provides a lot of tools for the advertisers that are willing to invest the time. I believe that the more familiar you become with AdWords, the better your ROI will be.
- The other AdWords article I enjoyed was by a post by Brad Geddes. Geddes discusses some of the same ground as Konefal from a slightly different viewpoint. Geddes additionally mentions geotargeting to improve your ROI, the fact that you can exclude IP addresses from seeing your ads, the fact that Site Exclusion allows you to block an unlimited number of sites, and Google’s invalid clicks report. That report tells you how many ad clicks were discarded by Google so you didn’t have to pay for them. Geddes points out that the invalid clicks report can help reconcile your analytics results with your ad clicks. Together these two articles cover a lot of AdWords tools. There are still a few other things you can explore, such as auto-tagging your ad clicks so that things like page reloads and back-button navigation don’t cause confusion.
- Walkscore takes an address and estimates how “walkable” that address is. It looks at things like where the nearest grocery store is, how far it is to the nearest bookstore, etc. It’s a pretty neat use of web APIs for maps.
- I’m normally not a sucker for Matt-baiting. I didn’t link to the Cartoon Matt doll (until now, I guess). But I have to say that I really enjoyed LOLCUTTS. Very creative, Michael. I’m surprised that you didn’t take advantage of some of my sillier photos.
- People have figured out how to compile and load native apps on the iPhone. One recent thing I’ve seen is an NES emulator for the iPhone. It’s not something I’d run, but I still like the idea of being able to run my own programs on the iPhone. Now if homebrew iPhone apps could read the tilt sensor well, maybe I wouldn’t have to carry a pedometer in my pocket.

The most frustrating thing for me as a gamer is there are so few games that are appealing. The games that are meant to be for the female market concentrate on things like shopping, talking to friends or being a veterinarian. I’m an adult female. I don’t care about shopping for clothes, choosing a career, or talking to friends at school. I also don’t care about killing enemies or racing fast cars.

Strangely, my favorite game, Animal Crossing: Wild World, IS about shopping, talking to little animals and crossbreeding flowers. How did Nintendo capture my fancy, while the Bratz series just makes me angry?

It’s the writing.

Animal Crossing is one of THE best written games I’ve ever played. I keep playing for the writing. When is the gaming industry going to realize that writing is THE most essential element? It is far more important than realistic graphics or physics. As soon as the gaming industry learns that they need to involve writers BEFORE they start programming the game, they will be able to capture the female market, or at least me.

ASUS has just introduced their new W5Fe series of notebooks in India. The 12-inch wide device is equipped with “SideShow”: an external display on the cover that can be switched on without booting up the whole system to display selected data in the form of text, images and audio, for later review.

Besides, the W5Fe also boasts of a high-resolution swivel webcam for wire-free video communication.

Other specifications include Windows Vista operating system, an Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 1.5GB of DDR2 RAM, 12.1-inch WXGA LCD display, a 160 GB hard disk, Bluetooth 2.0, 3 USB ports, a TV-Out, and an 8in1 card-reader. For more on the device that’s available here with an approximate end user price of $2,423.

Specifications
Intel® Centrino® Duo Mobile Technology
- Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T7200

1. Mobile Intel® 945GM Express Chipset
- Intel® PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection
Genuine Windows® Vista
- Genuine Windows® Vista Business

DDR2 667 MHz, 1536 MB
12.1″ WXGA Color Shine & Crystal Shine LCD, ASUS Splendid Video Intelligence Technology
SATA 160 GB 1.3M pixel swivel web-camera
802.11a/b/g, Bluetooth®V2.0+EDR
3x USB, 1x TV-Out, 1x 8in1 Card-Reader, 1x Express Card, 1x VGA
30.5 x 22 x 3.1cm, 1.7kg

SideShow Auxiliary Display

1. Display: 2.8″ QVGA TFT LCD
2. Flash: 1G NAND Flash

Read : ASUS W5Fe Notebook

South Korea’s Hynix Semiconductor announced it has developed the world’s fastest and smallest one-gigabyte chip for mobile phones.

The new chip is capable of processing 1.6 GB of data per second, the company said. The company added that the chip-which can be applied to “ultra-small electronic devices and memory products”-would start production on a large scale in early 2008.

Read : The Smallest Mobile Chip

Nokia, on Tuesday called back the Nokia branded BL-5C battery manufactured by Matsushita Battery Industrial Co Ltd between December 2005 and November 2006.

The mobile phone manufacturer has identified that ‘in very rare cases” the Nokia branded BL-5C
batteries could “experience overheating initiated by a short circuit while charging…”

The Phone company has several suppliers for BL-5C batteries who have collectively produced more than 300 million batteries, the release stated.

The call-back, it says, applies only to the 46 million batteries, manufactured by Matsushita between December 2005 and November 2006, from which “there have been approximately 100 incidents of over heating reported globally.”

No serious injuries or property damage have been reported, with all the incidents occurring while charging the battery, the company stressed.

Concerned consumers can request a replacement for any BL-5C battery, subject to details pertaining to the batch and identification number.

A list of Nokia phones that include the BL-5C battery, along with the procedure for identifying the faulty battery series can be found at www.nokia.com/batteryreplacement. Alternatively, consumers can contact their local Nokia call centre.

If the thought of creating online workspaces for sharing files and documents, managing task lists and engaging in group discussions sounds like your cup of Starbucks, here’s something you might find interesting, intriguing or somewhere in between (interiguing?). Central Desktop might be something you’d want to look into. Since you even get to try it for free, you really can’t lose. Any service you can think of, chances are good they’ll have it.

From the Website:

Why Choose Central Desktop?

• Create Online Discussion Groups - Reduce Email Chatter
• Share Version-Tracked Files and Documents
• Track Projects, Milestones and Tasks
• Manage Workgroup Calendars - iCal Enabled
• Setup in Minutes - Deploy Immediately

Reasons To Get Started Today:

• 30 Day Risk-Free Trial
• Affordable Low Monthly Rates
• Upgrade Anytime

Sounds slick!

Apple on Tuesday unveiled a new line of iMac computers and slick software, hoping the glow of iPod MP3 players and iPhones will help shine Apple’s core products.

Apple cheif executive Steve Jobs, in his trademark blue jeans and black shirt, demonstrated the offerings to reporters and analysts at the company’s headquaters in Silicon Valley city of Cupertino.

“The iMac has tremendous amount of momentum, “Jobs said. “We’d like to make it better.”

Apple is replacing its white, plastic iMac with a more powerful, slimmer aluminium and glass machine for either the same price or lesser than its predecessors depending on the model.

Apple calls iMac the “all-in one ” desktop because the hardware-now driven by Intel Core 2 Duo processor is built into the screen that is also equipped with web camera and a microphone. That’s right there’s no bulky CPU to attach to your monitor.

“The iMac has been really successful for us. And we v’e managed to make it ever thinner than before,”Jobs said. In the past, environmental groups have criticised Apple for not doing more to eliminate electronic waste. Jobs replied with the new iMac recyclable aluminium and glass components.

“It’s really been thought through from a recycling point of view,” he said.

He also showed upgrades and innovations packed into Apple iLife software for organising and editing digital movies, pictures or music.

The company also launched a “Web Gallery” where people can easily share videos and images online using it’s programs. The software lets people use Google Adsense to Profit from online advertising on blogs or other personal Websites.

Another software introduced was a spreadsheet program called ‘Numbers’, in a bid to make Apple computers more attractive to offices and business.

“The overriding message here is, there is an Apple ecosystem, “said Michael Garternberg, and analyst at Jupiter Research. “It’s not just iPods and iPhones. Sometimes people forgot that Apple still makes great computers too.”

Read : The New iMacs

There has been a huge amount of anticipation building on the VGA Handheld. A couple other companies beat Dell to the punch, but Dell seems to be countering with a right hook by undercutting the price point of its competitors. Comparatively, the Dell Axim X50v and the HP HX4700 are a fairly different, but many features are consistant in both.

The powerful Axim X50v features a large 3.7″ VGA display that provides brilliant, clear images at 640×480 resolution. The large viewing area makes documents easy to see so you can work smart and fast. It also gives you an excellent entertainment experience. The integrated Intel 2700G graphics accelerator enables DVD quality playback for video ranging from cartoons to full-length movies. Play intense 3D games, access the Web or enjoy your favorite music, movies and TV programs.

The X50v delivers crisp, vivid images for an incredible viewing experience on the go. The Axim X50 features a bright 3.5″ QVGA display with a 320×240 resolution, and includes the power and storage capacity to handle work and multimedia applications. Both handheld models have a sleek and stylish design with CF and SDIO expansion slots for connecting scanners, GPS systems, network cards and modems.

While Dell is not officially supporting their Windows Mobile 6 on their Axim X50 and X51 models, those who own the VGA versions might be interested in a new port created by a philanthropist programmer. Maybe the mod scene is the only place various smartphone users will find their WM6 fix, because it sure seems like there are a lot of dragging feet when it comes to mobile OS upgrades. We know it’s just software, big corporations. And we know that in many cases we don’t need new phones to run it.

Read: Dell AXIM X50V

Logitech recently launched classic eyeball style webcam, the quick cam pro 5000. with a native resolution of 640×480 pixels for both video as well as still-image capture, the device also boasts of an in-built mic, as well as proprietary Rightlight2 technology that digitally enhances lighting in picture.

Capable of recording at 30 frames per second, the camera comes complete with an on-air led light to let you know when you’ re recording. The gadget, which also has a snapshot button on the body. For more on the webcam which retails at $145.

Read : Logitech Quickcam PRO 5000

I recently received a new car stereo as a gift and my far my favourite of its many features is the front panel USB slot. No futzing about with aux inputs or iPod connectors required. I just slide my USB drive into the slot and it’s ready to go with however many songs I was able to stuff in there.

I’m currently using a Sandisk Cruzer 4GB drive, and while it matches the stereo (even down to the file access light), it’s rather boring, isn’t it?

Why use something small, unobtrusive and purely functional when you can use a mimobot drive?

RayD8, one of the many mimobots.

I wrote about these before, but my new music-induced flash drive usage brought me back to the overly cute drives. Since that last post, there have been a few new lines released, including the Core Mimobots Series 2 and a Happy Tree Friends Series. To be honest, though, I still just want the Stormtrooper.

Oh, and for all the dirty mimobot pics and random assorted junk strewn everywhere, check out their MySpace page.