Best Gadgets World

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 4th 2008 at 4:01PM
Verizon has certainly courted Alltel before, but this time, the two could finally be rounding third base. According to a breaking report at CNBC, Verizon is “in deep in talks to acquire Alltel,” which of course is America’s fifth largest wireless carrier. It’s no secret that Alltel has been riding fairly high of late, and unless your memory is totally shot, you’ll likely recall that it was just recently “taken private by TPG and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners in a $27.5 billion deal.” Not surprisingly, officials at both outfits refused to comment on the rumblings, but if this does indeed go down, analysts are expecting Verizon to pay around 8x Alltel’s current EBITDA, whereas TPG / Goldman Sachs paid 9.2x. We’ll keep you posted on any developments.

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Filed under: cellphones

Pocket-lint reviews the Palm Centro and writes, “In performance the phone is okay, but not the zippiest smartphone we’ve seen and you are talking basic here rather than cutting edge stuff, but then with a £200 pre-pay price tag you get what you pay for…That price tag has affected the tech specs as well, while you get a microSD card slot there is no 3.5mm headphone socket, no Wi-Fi, no 3G, no Bluetooth 2.0, no Java and no flash for the 1.3 megapixel camera, all tech we are sure the “youth of today” probably want.”

Read more about the Palm Centro.

Imagine a life without early cancellation difficulties, hidden charges, annual contracts, unresponsive support, surprise fees, and monthly bills…is this cell phone heaven?  With prepaid packages getting better and better, ‘heaven’ is certainly within reach.

T-Mobile recently announced new developments in their prepaid plans, including unlimited nationwide calling from 7pm to 7am.

Prepaid is perfect for casual cell phone users such as the elderly or with children who are just learning how to control their spending.  With no credit checks, swollen carriage fees, and absolute control over your cell phone allocation, it is now easier and more economical to go for prepaid plans.

T-Mobile’s Sidekick package even includes features popular with young people such as instant messaging, web browsing, e-mail, access to desktop interface, personal information management sync (Contacts, To Do, Notes, Phones), and access to T-Mobile’s Download Fun catalog.

Via [GearDiary]

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by Joshua Fruhlinger, posted Jun 4th 2008 at 11:38AM
Klipsch made tiny waves with their original Image headphones, saying they were the world’s smallest. We took their word for it and moved along. Now Klipsch has given up on the size game with its new X5 headphones, boasting that the 2mm-bigger X5 headphones are “light but heavy in sound.” Anyway, the Image X5 use a full-range armature driver, tuned bass-reflex system, and sport a long-enough 50-inch cable. The housing is electroplated aluminum and Klipsch says the black “tail” reduces cable stress and dampens cable noise. The X5 is iphone compatible and comes in at a more wallet-friendly (but still slightly alarming) $249 later this month. For that price you’ll get the headphones, carrying pouch, airplane adapter, five multi-sized ear gels, and an ear gel cleaning tool.

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Filed under: Portable Audio

Phone batteries have to be replaced every so often, since they give out much like any other piece of hardware. The problem is that with the iPhone, the battery casing is non-removable. This means in order to replace the battery on your iPhone, you have to send your device to Apple and have them do it for you.

Not only is this a real pain in the butt, having to wait to have them send your phone back intact is stressful. And don’t forget that Apple charges around $90 for a replacement battery. If you’re feeling a mixture of frugality and daring, you can attempt to replace the iphone battery yourself, with this $7.29 Replacement Kit.

Even shipping is free with the iPhone Replacement Kit! The package comes with everything you need for replacing your iPhone’s battery from home, including a screwdriver, a case opener, and the iPhone compatible 3.7V 1400mAh Li-Polymer battery.

We’re not quite sure how long this excellent deal is going to last. This is quite a value though. For less than $8, this is really a steal for all iPhone users. You might want to grab one just to have a back up plan in case the battery ever decides to crap out on you.

Product Page via Gear Diary

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It is to that point in the year that some are suffering from those wretched allergies.  If you don’t have time to lay in bed all day, this little humidifier can go with you anywhere.  It’d be perfect when you’re stuck at the office or have to travel for work.  Just sit it on your desk and attach a regular water bottle to it and you have warm air blowing up your nose all day long.  However, if you’re a guy and not so cool with pink gadgets you might have a slight issue with this one.

Since it appears to only come in the pretty white and pink shown here.  However, if you’re out in public looking like death with a beat red nose, I’m not sure anyone would dare to make fun of you due to your pink humidifier.  The humidfier also features two different size adapters for the bottles that you screw onto it.  The mist is adjustable, however, they don’t really say if that means you can adjust for more mist or to change between hot or cool mist.  It is currently being sold for $39.95.

Source: nerdapproved

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You might be hard-pressed to find any smaller device for transferring microSD cards to your PC. The Super Mini Translucent MicroSD / TransFlash USB 2.0 Card Reader Keychain is literally just the size of a standard MicroSD card with a small USB dongle projecting from it’s side.

Fully compliant with USB 2.0, this mini reader has an ultra-simple plug and play installation (compatible with Windows 98/2000/ME/XP) and transfers data at speeds up to 480 Mbps. The only thing you’ll have to worry about is keeping a close eye on this gadget. It’s so small that it is surely very easy to lose.

According to user reviews, the Mini MicroSD USB card reader supports up to 8GB, feels strikingly fast for its small stature, and offers a helpful bright LED activity light when in use. When compared to other devices, no other gadget offers any competition support wise.

Check out the size comparison yourself in the photo above! And the great thing about all of this, is that the MicroSD USB reader is only $2.95. At this sort of price, you could afford to buy one for everyone in your family. Seems like an excellent stocking stuffer. It’s never to early to prepare!

Product Page (Thanks forum user tamages from the Coolest gadgets Forum!)

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We get ourselves in some of the weirdest situations. God forbid we ever forget to make set our coffee machine, yet we frequently forget to wash our utensils, including our spoons. When we’re in a quandary such as this, we resort to doing some pretty unappetizing things, such as stirring our coffee with our pencils and pens. Hey, we need our caffeine juice to be properly stirred!

Have you ever thought it would be cool if we didn’t even need to manually stir your own beverage? The Stir Mug from Gevalia does all of the stirring for you. The mug will gently stir the contents of your mug with just the press of a button, saving you the embarrassment of stirring with a foreign object, or unsightly and painful finger burns after attempting to do so with your digits.

Insulated in stainless steel, the Gevalia Stir Mug will also keep your drink warm for hours. The 12 oz. mug is powered by two AAA batteries (which are included with the shipment.) A transparent snap-on lid prevents any spills which could potentially cause bodily harm or (more importantly) damage to your electronics.

Just because our utensils are dirty doesn’t mean we have to go the day without coffee. Hell, if you like your coffee black you don’t even need a spoon. But for those of us who like our coffee to be light and sweet, automatic stirring is both time-saving and completely practical.

Product Page via LikeCool

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Once again, my skepticism alarm has gone off again when I heard the words “world’s smallest”. Klipsch has been saying that their Image X10 headphones are the world’s smallest headphones, but the company has just recently announced a newer version with the X5, headphones that are 2mm larger in diameter than its predecessor.

Of course, size doesn’t matter in the world of headphones, only quality. The X5 has quality in spades.

The X5 uses the same translucent contour ear gels that fit very comfortably in the human ear, and are designed to reduce “ear fatigue”. They also have a seal for noise isolation with an increased bass response. All of that translates into one great listening experience with sound that almost completely shuts off the rest of the world.

The headphones are electroplated with aluminum housings that are “durable as they are stylish”. The wires are 50-inch vinyl cables, so they won’t break easily.

The Image X5 is completely compatible with the ipod and iphone, as well as any other device that has a standard headphone jack. You should be able to purchase the Image X5 later this month for about $250. This is a lot less costly than the X10, which was set to be priced at $350.

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Remember that new Flip video, known as the Flip Mino, that we told you about not so long ago? Back then we couldn’t too much about its specifications as it had not been officially launched yet. Even its leaked photos were too blurry to notice how uber-cool looking this tiny camcorder is. Well, finally it was officially announced and we now know more about the Flip Mino.

Don’t be surprised when you find out that this tiny camcorder baby offers some nice improvements over the previous Flip video. The Flip Mino features 2GB on-board flash storage, VGA-quality recording, back-panel with touch sensitive buttons, no glare display screen, TV quality video, instant playback, ability to connect to a TV for instant viewing and built-in software for video sharing. Additionally, the Flip Mino allows you to save and organize videos on your computer efficiently, email videos and video greeting cards, publish videos instantly on YouTube, MySpace and AOL, capture still photos from video clips, create custom movies and make your own DVDs.

Like we said before, the Flip Mino will retail for $179.99. It should be available starting today at Amazon.com, BestBuy.com, Circuit City, Costco.com, Sears, Target.com, Walmart and TheFlip.com.

Via [Gizmodo]

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