Best Gadgets World

We’ve all seen it happen time and time again. What was hot and happening even six months ago, is suddenly a dinosaur. It’s the nature of the ever-evolving technology game. Which is why industry giant Intel may just be well served by sitting up and taking note that the maker of cell-phone chips Qualcomm, just may be a major force to be reckoned with these days. 

With a latest innovation, the Snapdragon, Qualcomm packs a rather mighty punch in a tiny package. An engineer for the company demonstrated a palm-sized circuit board capable of displaying high-definition video. While a fairly high quality video image is nothing new to write home about, what did make it pretty special was it’s microprocessor chip, the Snapdragon. This micro-chip drives the display with less than half the power of a similar chip recently introduced by Intel. Qualcomm designers further sweeten the deal by saying that it will also cost less.

The reason this power issue is so important? As the PC continues to get smaller and smaller, it is on a collision course with the multifunction cellphone. Many feel that this impact will bring about just what you would expect when two things crash together….major changes to both involved.  It can be seen how important power is when you look for example at the new smartphones.  These always-on portable Internet devices changed the rules of the computer game as we previously knew them.  Once, it was solely speed that mattered… but now, with these phones dependent on a small battery, efficiency in chip power usage becomes a major factor. And it looks like Qualcomm was paying attention to the coming collision, and powered up for it.

Via [NYTimes]

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Brando is back, and this time its with a new type of earbud/mp3 player, that at first glance seem pretty cool. The player offers an around the head style of headphones with the actual MP3 player built into the headphones. They offer 1GB of internal memory and have support for MP3, WMA and WAV file formats. The main point of earbuds like these is purely for exercise purposes. They allows you to not have to worry about carrying an MP3 player; just the earbuds. Also, they are lightweight, weighing only 20g, meaning it would fit in easily and wouldn’t cause any strain on the ears to hold it in place. Additionally, it comes with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, which provides up to 8 hours of continuous playback.

It is already on sale for $22, and comes in two different colors, red and blue. This looks to be a good idea to those who exercise frequently and look to carry nothing with them other than earbuds.

Via [Brando]

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The buzz on Wall Street is speculating that Sprint-Nextel may be on its way for a turnaround. Executives from Verizon Wireless and AT&T are saying they see fewer Sprint subscribers are moving to their own networks.

As unsupported as this rumor stands, the speculation boosted Sprint’s stock price to a 13% growth last week and another 5.84% jump last Monday. 

Several things, at least, is happening with Sprint.  An aggressive marketing campaign starring its CEO Dan Hesse is on the way.  New products, such as Samsung’s Instinct smartphone, have been released.  The company also announced it will begin to rollout its WiMax assets.  And there have been rumors that Hesse wants to let go of the Nextel business, which has been its weaker leg.

The Wall Street Journal, however, warns investors not to expect a quick turnaround for the company.  The coming of the iphone 3G and Verizon’s blackberry Thunder could only mean more problems for the struggling Sprint.

Read [CNET]

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If you’re an addict for reading at night and have a tendency to bother your significant other, this little light might be the better way to go.  It looks a bit easier to point in different directions away from anyone else that happens to be sharing your bed.  Due to the fact it can rotate up to 270 degrees.  The other cool perk is that you can fasten it to the headboard or railing on your bed frame.  At first glance I thought it was just a square box you set down.  However, it’s actually a bit like a clamp that you can remove and move someplace else if needed.

I am actually a really big dork when it comes to reading.  I get sucked in easily and will on occasion spend the whole night reading.  I was even worse about it as a kid, and this probably would have worked way better than the flashlight I kept hidden under the bed.  Which I of course as an adult have grown out of, into a mini flashlight.   I have tried book lights but actually find them to be a little inconvenient.  The tiny area the bulb illuminates isn’t enough.  This lamp looks like it would actually cover both pages.  Sadly this is a product only sold in Japan thus far and for about $84.

Source: newlaunches

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WEbook (pronounced “we-book”), a collaborative book writing website that launched this past spring, puts to the test several premises about writing and publishing, the first being that every person has at least one book - or one story - in them worth telling (or some variation of that idea). The second premise is their tagline, “Writing loves company,” which is already proven, in part, by the fact that hordes of people participate in writing workshops every year to have their writing critiqued and to critique the writing of others. The third premise may or may not flow naturally from the first two: that aspiring writers, if given the opportunity and the right tools, would be drawn to collaborate on writing books with other writers with like interests. And the hope is that this kind of online collaborative environment for writers will produce books that are worthy of being published, and that people will buy and read.

Users can sign up to review other peoples’ writing, to open up a writing project for a select group of their insiders to contribute to or comment on, or start a project and invite others in the community to participate in writing it. So, the system is somewhat flexible to suit your interests and level of desired collaboration.

Bird Electron of Korea has just rolled out the Airboard - a fancy pants keyboard tray and wrist rest constructed from natural tree walnut meant for your Apple wireless keyboard. It measures a mere 15mm thin, and if you happen not to own an Apple wireless keyboard, this one doubles up as a mouse pad as well. Of course, I can think of more creative uses for it such as a chopping board…

Source: Akihabaranews

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When I first saw Back to the Future II back in 1989, I remember being quite impressed with their version of the year 2015. At last, a science fiction film that presented the future not as a dark place, but something like today, with more advanced technology and its own set of problems.

Ever since I saw that film, I have always thought of the year 2015 as this giant due date. Now we have only seven years to catch up to this futuristic technology. We’re probably a long way off from flying cars, but Back to the Future II did show us something more probable: shoes that lace themselves.

The shoes from that film sported the Nike logo, and so the company has finally decided to mass produce those shoes from the movie. They have dubbed them the Hyperdunk, and they will be endorsed by none other than Kobe Bryant.

Unfortunately, these shoes lack the self-lacing or “power laces” feature that made them so interesting. The film also showed the Nike logo glowing once the shoes were laced. I’m guessing that this isn’t a feature either, even though it would be a way for Nike to get some more fancy advertising in.

In other words, the Hyperdunks are a “looks only” glimpse into the future. These shoes should be available sometime later this month, but no word on the price.

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The good manufacturers of the Dash Express have been hard at work updating the software. There a few main updates to the system, which are sure to make the Dash Express even more popular.

One of the first updates involves something called MyRoute, which studies a route you go on often and figures out ways to improve on it. For example, if you are commuting from home to work, it will learn the route that you usually take. Now, next time you want to make that same trip, this program will look for faster, more gas efficient ways to get to the same place, and then you can choose if you want to go that way or not. One of the problems with the initial software in the Dash Express was the time it took for the maps to render. Many users wanted their maps to load faster, Dash was able to fix this issue and now they claim that the maps will render about 50% faster than before.

Additionally, their is a new program in the software called Search Along Route, which basically helps to find POI’s nearby and will display any near POI’s along your route as well as the distance from current location. The last of the updates includes a new program, which is provided by the SiRFInstantFix technology, and the program is called FasterFind. Basically, this obtains information from direct GPS satellites and displays that info to start moving within seconds. All of these services update automatically when in Wi-Fi range.

The Dash Express costs only $300, which is pretty cheap considering all of the new and improved features it comes with.

Via [NaviGadget]

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Sporting a cool blue color, Timex Kidz Watch T709819J is an ideal gift for your kid. This digital wristwatch comes with a grey color dial and multi-tone blue base. Designed especially for kids, Timex Kidz Watch T709819J also features a timer to help you kid manage time efficiently. Its Indiglo night-light spreads light uniformly in all directions even in the darkest of nights.

Features

• Fabric Elastic Strap.

• Digital Display.

• Chronograph.

• Night Mode.

• Matt Case.

Timex Kidz Watch T709819J is water resistant up to 30 meters. Apart from showing time, Timex Kidz Watch lets your kid see day, date and month. Its eye-catching band is made up of elastic fabric giving it more flexibility and a longer life. Timex Kidz Watch T709819J comes along with a one-year warranty. Since kids tend to lose things easily, Timex covers this watch by the Timex Kids Loss Protection Plan.

Price and Availability

Timex Kidz Watch T709819J is available at a price of $ 20.00.

Source : timex

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Ok, you sun-worshipping CA folks - today is the day you must stop holding those cell phones while driving. Get yourself a headset, wired or wireless, as the brand new statewide law goes into effect. Did I mention it’s today?

Now whether you’re a fan or not, fact is that if you’re going to be talking on a cell phone call, then you need a headset. While I agree with JT that the law needs to be tougher, it’s a start. PS> please don’t text or e-mail while you’re driving. That’s just plain dumb, and you could end up having a Darwin Award after your name if you Murphy’s Law holds up.

Read on for some quick tips on searching for that elusive new Bluetooth headset since I’m sure you’re going to want to avoid the wires…

So, yours truly just got his brand new Bluetooth headset (a Cardo Scala 700LX) in the mail after he lost his last one (a Gennum nXZen nx6000) in a recent home move. I can’t tell you how good/bad it (the 700LX) is yet (it’s charging up as I write), but the reviews seemed fairly positive.

An interesting thing about Bluetooth anything, really - the reviews are all over the map. I can just as easily get a thorough review that trashes a popular headset as one that raves about it. It’s a bit unfortunate, but you may just need to try different ones until you find one you like. Don’t spend hours like I did searching for the magical best one, because it doesn’t exist!

Meantime, here are a few useful links if you’re in the market.
* A handful of some of the most popular headsets. In-depth, opinionated 3rd-party reviews.
* Amazon’s list of Bluetooth headsets. Always lots of user reviews on these. The ‘crowd’ sometimes does know what it’s talking about.
* PC Magazine’s list of best headsets from last summer. You can possibly get some of these cheaply now.
* When you’re ready to pull the trigger, do some price comparison shopping.

Good luck, clear conversations and be safe on the road!

Posted in Phones, Portable