Best Gadgets World

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 17th 2008 at 8:55PMWe’ll go ahead and state the obvious here: Audiovox claims this thing is made for DIY installations, but we’d highly recommend hiring a professional if you’re totally green at this stuff. You know, considering the immense importance of alignment and the like when it comes to a rear-view back-up camera system. Anyways, the wireless ACA250 kit provides drivers with a color camera (110-degree viewing angle), infrared LEDs for night vision and a monitor that can be plugged into an AC adapter or hard-wired. Not too shabby for $129 — assuming you’re up to the task of putting it all together, that is. Full release after the jump.

AUDIOVOX LAUNCHES WIRELESS DIY VEHICLE REAR OBSERVATION SYSTEM

Hauppauge N.Y. – June 17, 2008 – Audiovox Corporation (NASDAQ: VOXX). Audiovox has long been an advocate for child safety as evidenced by its support of KIDS AND CARS and its established line of professionally installed collision avoidance and rear observation systems designed to protect children from backover accidents.

The Company has now taken that product to a new level by announcing its ‘No Excuses’ $129.00 retail, Do-It-Yourself Installation Wireless Color Monitor and Back-Up Camera System, Model ACA250. Tom Malone, President of Audiovox Electronics Corporation, stated, “This new product is just what we are calling “No Excuses.” By removing the need for professional installation and bringing the retail down to an affordable price there is simply no excuse for any SUV, truck or car owner to not have this important accessory on their vehicle.”

Malone continued, “We didn’t skimp on the features to make the price affordable. This system has one of the widest viewing angles on the market. At 110 degrees our color camera easily beats the competition’s 72 or 90 degree models. Exclusive infrared LEDs give the camera ‘night vision’ making the view significantly clearer even in complete darkness.”

Metal brackets as well as a full metal camera housing provide maximum durability. The wide-angle view completely eliminates the need for up and down manual adjustment and the IP66-rated camera means it is designed for even more extreme yet everyday conditions like “car wash” water pressure and is completely dust-proof. Installation is a snap as the camera is powered from the back-up lamp. The monitor plugs into the AC adapter or can be hard-wired.

“For years we have supported KIDS AND CARS and their commitment to the Kids Transportation Safety Act of 2007. Between now and the time that the newly passed law mandating back-up sensors takes effect, we want to make sure that no more children die in these senseless accidents. We have the products today, they are easy to install and are affordable so there are simply no excuses,” Malone concluded.

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Filed under: Digital Cameras, Transportation

by Chris Ziegler, posted Jun 17th 2008 at 5:41PM
Press shots are often beautiful, but the problem with ‘em is that they’re usually about as real as Joan Rivers’ face — not the best way to get a real impression of what a device looks and acts like in the flesh. GSM Helpdesk scored some hands-on time today with the full range of Sony Ericsson’s new wares, and the headliner of the bunch, the mighty 8.1 megapixel C905, is looking ready for battle. Not literal battle, of course, but battle in the marketplace with a whole host of feature phones being released this year from its top rivals — particularly important at a time when market share is falling. The 2.4-inch display is apparently “clear” and plenty impressive for managing your extensive photo library, and we’re digging the curvy styling; UIQ would’ve been nice, but we suppose the dumbphone set deserves killer cameras too. Also pictured are the low-end J132 and K330, the S302 (which with a 2 megapixel camera, may not be worthy of the name “Snapshot”), and the F305 gaming phone. We’d had high hopes for the F305 — as we do for pretty much anything that can be shaken to control games — but the live shots here are leaving us a little underwhelmed. Maybe the white version will do it justice?

Read - C905, S302
Read - F305
Read - J132, K330

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Filed under: cellphones

This cell phone microscope could be a real nuisance in the hands of a true germaphobe like Mia, who would likely use it to examine every item on a restaurant table, her dog’s paw pads, and your hair follicles if you happen to be sitting next to her.

It’s basically a cheap attachment that turns the digital camera in a cell phone into a microscope capable of individual white and red blood cells. Though at first glance, it may appear to be a mere novelty device like so many other silly attachments you can buy for your mobile, the CellScope was actually developed by a research team led by Dan Fletcher, professor of bioengineering, at the University of California, Berkeley. The team came up with this ingenious device in answer to a challenge: to solve the problem of the scarcity of medical equipment in developing countries for diagnosing and treating diseases. The attachment can be used for remote diagnosis of diseases such as malaria.

The team believes that if mass produced, the device could be sold for around $100, an incredible price for a clinical quality microscope that can send diagnostic data all over the world.

Core77 and Smart Stuff (original source: The Economist).
(Photo from website Blum Center for Developing Economies - credit: David Breslauer, Wilbur Lam, and Tom Hunt)

Sony Ericsson has officially set into motion all the details about its F305 Motion Gaming phone,.  If the company has its way, soon your city streets and public places will be full of young people pretending to bowl and fish while oblivious to the strange looks from passersby.

The leaked details as seen previously here on Gadgetell are confirmed: compatibility with GSM and EDGE networks, a 2-inch TFT screen, 2-megapixel camera, stereo speakers and 10MB of in-phone memory. Motion-sensor accelerometers allow you to interact with gaming a la Nintendo Wii. Three games are pre-loaded: Bowling, Bass Tournament and Jockey, but 50 more are available via download at the PlayNow service. It hits the streets in certain markets in late summer/early fall; no pricing yet.

Some commenters on tech blogs are making the obvious Wii-mote related jokes about the need for wrist straps so F305’s don’t become accidental projectiles when you’re trying to nail that 7-10 split. Others, however, share my view that being unable to see the phone’s screen while (ahem) going through the motions may make for difficult gameplay. Developers could view this as a challenge; what about shaking the phone? A driving game like the one for the new 3G iphone, where the handset is the steering wheel?

Read [Sony Ericsson]

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What’s a BBQ without some yummy corn on the cob? I happen to love biting the corn nibblets right off of the buttered cob, but some just don’t like getting their hands dirty. Where’s the fun in removing the corn from the actual cob? That’s the best part! And yet, tools such as this are created for just that reason.

The Corn Zipper is a stainless steel gadget made for doing exactly that. The Zipper is designed to strip a cob of corn, two rows of nibblets at a time. One swipe of the Corn Zipper is enough to completely strip the rows of corn, allowing you to eat the vegetable using utensils, rather than greasing up your fingers.

The Corn Zipper’s sharpened teeth are intended to remove kernels off of uncooked corn cobs, but we don’t see a reason why it shouldn’t work with cooked corn as well. The high-quality steel build is long lasting, not to mention that this specifically designed tool is much safer than using a sharp and clumsy knife.

If you’re interested in stripping your own corn with the Corn Zipper you can pick one of these gadgets up for $12.95 from Plow & Hearth. The people who show up to your BBQ asking for loose corn will appreciate it, and so will your fingers, being at much less risk of having a slice chopped off.

Product Page via The Green Head

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by Darren Murph, posted Jun 17th 2008 at 10:47AM
Just when you thought Sony’s barrage of new kit from CommunicAsia was finally slowing up, along comes another pair of handsets to prove us all wrong. First up is the simplistic J132, designed to do little more than talk, text, resist dust and tune into FM radio stations. Still, the 9-hours of talk time (450 in standby) is much appreciated. The K330 steps it up by including Bluetooth and a video capture mode, not to mention the 1.7-inch display, VGA camera and Health mate application. The J132 will be available in Night Black and Heaven Blue for “select markets” in Q4, while the K330 arrives in Gold on Black / Green on Black a quarter earlier. Keep an eye out for the J132a and K330a, both of which support GSM 850 / 1900 bands for the US market.

Gallery: Sony Ericsson reveals J132 / K330 entry-level candybars

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Filed under: cellphones

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 17th 2008 at 8:47AM
Bay State startup Beacon Power isn’t just another wind / solar / hydroelectric outfit. Oh no, this firm is more concerned with reducing the emissions from the energy plants we already have in place. Put simply, the company’s 2,800-pound flywheels are used to store and output energy when needed, a service Beacon’s CEO is dubbing “frequency regulation.” Essentially, said devices will “match power supply to the grid with power demand from the grid,” which curbs energy waste and keeps loads in perfect balance. As it stands, the only disclosed expansion plans include more of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, but if it can rope in enough customers, we reckon the sky’s the limit. Video after the jump.

[Thanks, John]

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Filed under: Misc. gadgets

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 17th 2008 at 10:47AM
Just when you thought Sony’s barrage of new kit from CommunicAsia was finally slowing up, along comes another pair of handsets to prove us all wrong. First up is the simplistic J132, designed to do little more than talk, text, resist dust and tune into FM radio stations. Still, the 9-hours of talk time (450 in standby) is much appreciated. The K330 steps it up by including Bluetooth and a video capture mode, not to mention the 1.7-inch display, VGA camera and Health mate application. The J132 will be available in Night Black and Heaven Blue for “select markets” in Q4, while the K330 arrives in Gold on Black / Green on Black a quarter earlier. Keep an eye out for the J132a and K330a, both of which support GSM 850 / 1900 bands for the US market.

Gallery: Sony Ericsson reveals J132 / K330 entry-level candybars

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Filed under: cellphones

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 17th 2008 at 11:37AM
Whoa, has it been a hot minute since we’ve seen a Pepper Pad 3 or what? Straight from the depths of left field comes Hanbit’s Pepper Pad 3, this time with a slightly more adept processor at the helm. Reportedly showcased ever-so-quietly at Computex (alongside a tablet pc prototype), this critter was purportedly packing an Intel Atom CPU and a Linux-based OS. Further specifications included a 7-inch VGA touchscreen, QWERTY (loose interpreters, we see) keypad, integrated WiFi and a 20GB / 30GB hard drive. Not a clue when this thing is scheduled to slip out, but it will certainly give the Everun a run for its money in the ugly department.

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Filed under: Handhelds, Laptops, Tablet PCs

If you have a boring bulb hanging on a wire in your closet or anywhere else in your home you might try one of these little shades.  They are just a simple little cap you slip onto the bulb itself.  It kind of makes me wish I had a random bulb hanging from the ceiling.  However, I have those normal covered lights that already have a glass cover to go with them.  There is a down side to these brightly colored lampshades though.  Using a regular bulb it shouldn’t be used with anything over 40 watts, which isn’t very bright.  There is a little good news though, it has no limit on the economical bulbs.

One cool thing is that after you turn off the light the lampshade will glow a green/yellow tone for a short while after the light has been turned off.  Which might be nice for younger kids as they are falling asleep, just depending on how brightly it glows and how long it will last.  It is made out of a heat resistant silicon rubber and comes in green, luminescent, orange, red, turquoise and lilac.  The caps will be sold for $20 a piece, which does seem a little steep for a cap you slap on your bare light bulb.  Either way though, it is a cool little idea.

Source: betterlivingthroughdesign

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