Best Gadgets World

by Nilay Patel, posted Aug 6th 2008 at 3:01PMQuick, you ever heard of WiAV Solutions? You know, the owner or exclusive licensee of several vague patents on the use of GSM tech in smartphones? The company that doesn’t make anything or even have a web site, but files so many patent lawsuits that some companies have taken to pre-emptively filing suits for declaratory judgment against it? Yeah, well, get used to the name — it’s just sued RIM, Apple and Palm for violating ten patents on things like detecting the difference between silence and voices, mobile device power management, and altering music to accommodate voices. WiAV wants a permanent injunction on the sale of all devices that allegedly contain its tech, and not surprisingly, it’s asking for damages and attorney’s fees as well. There are some procedural hurdles to jump through here — WiAV is Mindspeed’s exclusive licensee for eight of the patents, not the outright owner, so it has to ask the court to join Mindspeed as a plaintiff as well — and it doesn’t sound like any of the companies are talking just yet, so we wouldn’t expect this one to get resolved any time soon.

[Thanks, Becky]

Read - AppleInsider post on the suit
Read - WiAV’s complaint [Warning: PDF]

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Filed under: cellphones

by Donald Melanson, posted Aug 6th 2008 at 5:37PM
The Dutch town of Hengelo looks to be taking a rather unique approach to cleaning the air, with it now testing out a new type of “air-purifying concrete” developed by the University of Twente that promises to soak up the nitrogen oxide particles emitted by car exhausts. That’s done with the aid of a titanium dioxide-based additive which, with the help of some sunlight, binds with the nitrogen oxide particles and turns them into harmless nitrates, which can apparently just wash away with the next rain shower. The town isn’t fully sold on the idea just yet, however, with it only paving half of a road now under construction with the so-called “green bricks” (pictured above), while the other half is getting paved with plain old concrete. They’ll then take some air measurements from each section early next year and decide whether to continue paving the town green or not.

[Via Physorg]

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Filed under: Misc. gadgets

It’s hard to lie your way out of being late with all of the clocks we have in our lives. Our cellphones, our watches, all of the novelty clocks we’ve collected over the years which litters are homes. Our bosses just don’t buy that excuse anymore. But here’s an idea. Ditch every other clock you have. The cellphone withdraw will be hell, but if you need an excuse, we’ve got a gadget for you.

The Clock Delay is a time piece which looks like you need a physics degree to decipher. A set of three revolving wheels cycles around in a perpetual fashion which only time can create. But here’s the catch. Reading the time is as easy as looking at the center junction point where the circles meet.

Designed by Bas van Leeuwen for Studio Bloomm, the stainless steel and aluminum Clock Delay is a sure fire way to excuse yourself from work due to your highly intricate clock. Challenge your boss to read it for himself. If they ask about your lack of a cellphone, blame it on soul searching.

While you won’t be finding this clock anywhere in stores, maybe you can beg one off the designer if the price is right. I guess it all depends on how bad you need an excuse. Or you can always just pull the old fake vomit trick.

Design Page via Dvice

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Waking up can be quite a chore for some of us, but sometimes the right tunes can get us out of bed much faster compared to the traditional ringing of an alarm clock, and Memorex has stepped up to fill this need with the Mi4019 and iWakeUp) alarm clocks that feature buzzer, iPod and radio options to make rolling out of bed a much more pleasant experience.

Memorex Mi4019 Alarm Clock
When everything serves a double purpose, the Memorex Mi4019 alarm clock’s compact design not only leaves space on a nightstand or dinner table, but also charges and plays all the user’s favorite songs from his or her iPod. A flip door discretely hides buttons and iPod connectors when not in use. The Mi4019 alarm clock features an integrated AM/FM radio, white backlit LCD display, snooze function and universal dock to power and charge all ipod devices. It is available in pink, white and black.

Memorex iWakeUp Clock Radio
Inspired by the bedroom pillow, the iWakeUp Clock Radio features a soft form and clean design for a stylish fit with any home decor. Sitting vertically on your nightstand, iWakeUp maximizes speaker size with a sleek profile and sophisticated appearance. This alarm clock comes equipped with a universal dock that plays and charges all iPod devices and includes many cool features like a dual alarm, FM tuner, white backlit LCD display, snooze function and wireless remote. It incorporates high-quality audio enhancement technology for optimal playback and is available in rich black and bright white.

Before getting either one, make sure you have an iPod to go along with it lest it becomes another expensive FM radio purchase. The Memorex Mi4019 alarm clock will retail for $39.99, while the Memorex iWakeUp (Mi4016) Clock Radio is $30 more expensive at $69.99.

Press Release

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Those who are into not so expensive and not so complicated MP3 players would be glad to know that Samsung has updated its budget-friendly Yepp U3 with the new Yepp U4 MP3 player. Like it’s predecessor, the YP-U4 is an ultra-compact media device that works right out of the box with simple features such as a 4-line OLED display, DNSe 2.0 and a USB port.

The YP-U4 mp3 player will be available in glossy black case with either crystal rose, purple navy or blue ocean color variants. As this was announced by Samsung Korea, no word yet as to when, or if this player will be available internationally. Likewise, pricing information is still unavailable but basing on the price of the Yepp U3, we’re expecting a price of not more than $200 for the YP-U4.

Via [I4U] Read [Samsung Korea

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Logitech might be well known for their PC-based peripherals, but that doesn’t mean they have kept the Mac community in the dark, although they do procrastinate in releasing a Mac-compatible device. Take the diNovo Edge keyboard for example - this peripheral comes out a full two years after the PC version is released. While it is always better late than never, I don’t think I would be pleased to wait for a couple of years for something like this, Mac user or not. Denis Pavillard, vice president of product marketing for Logitech’s keyboards and desktops has this to say about the diNovo Edge Mac Edition, “We’re truly delighted to offer discerning Mac enthusiasts our highest quality in keyboard design and performance. From the piano-black finish to its built-in TouchDisc touch pad, the diNovo Edge can make it a pleasure for you to type, control music or launch your favorite applications.”

The newest diNovo keyboard is exceptionally thin (½ inch or 11.05 mm) with a high-gloss, semi-translucent Plexiglas frame, sharp angles and soft-orange backlighting. The aluminum palm rest with anodized-silver finish looks good with any Mac computer, including the iMac and the MacBook Pro. In addition to its design, the diNovo Edge, Mac Edition features optimized Mac keys for one-touch access to Mail, Safari and iTunes, as well as many other Mac-specific applications. The new Logitech keyboard even offers a Power button that turns your Mac computer on and off, while the TouchDisc allows you to scroll and navigate from your keyboard. Moving a finger up and down or across the disc moves the cursor on the computer screen, and moving the finger in a circular motion around the perimeter of the TouchDisc enables you to scroll horizontally and vertically through documents. (Logitech Control Center software installation is required for some features.) For a typing experience that’s comfortable, fluid and silent, the new Logitech keyboard features the Logitech PerfectStroke key system. PerfectStroke is designed to create longer key travel – 3.2 mm compared to 2.2 mm – than that of typical notebook keyboards, which means that the distance your fingers have to travel to activate a key is optimized for your comfort. And because micro-scissors distribute force evenly across key surfaces, even if you strike the edge of a key, the key stroke still feels the same.

Interested parties will be able to pick up the Logitech diNovo Edge Mac Edition cordless keyboard from this month onwards for $159.99.

Press Release

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Not much to go on here, but Zunescene is reporting phone giant Nokia is working with the Zune team to gain access to the Zunestore content.  This would be an inroads for Microsoft which current sits atop 0% of Nokia phone OS share.  Clearly, Microsoft wants to get on Nokia phones but is Zune the way to do it?

In my mind -and I am willing to say that I may be alone- Zune is a dead brand.  It represents a me-too attitude that got forgotten before it started. I’ve said before, much to our editor, Robert Nelson’s dismay, the Surface brand would be much better to bring in, especially if touch is the design make up.  Surface is still interesting and full of potential.  Zune, not so much.

So whether MS hopes to get its OS into european hands in a very big way or get their content sales up, it seems from this rumor, Nokia is interested.  Can Nokia resurrect the Zune brand?

Read [Zunescene]

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Not much to go on here, but Zunescene is reporting phone giant Nokia is working with the Zune team to gain access to the Zunestore content.  This would be an inroads for Microsoft which current sits atop 0% of Nokia phone OS share.  Clearly, Microsoft wants to get on Nokia phones but is Zune the way to do it?

In my mind -and I am willing to say that I may be alone- Zune is a dead brand.  It represents a me-too attitude that got forgotten before it started. I’ve said before, much to our editor, Robert Nelson’s dismay, the Surface brand would be much better to bring in, especially if touch is the design make up.  Surface is still interesting and full of potential.  Zune, not so much.

So whether MS hopes to get its OS into european hands in a very big way or get their content sales up, it seems from this rumor, Nokia is interested.  Can Nokia resurrect the Zune brand?

Read [Zunescene]

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Google is trying to increase it’s poor market share in China by offering free legal downloads of licensed songs.  According to the Reuters report, Google’s main Chinese competitor, Baidu, is facing lawsuits for allowing copyright infringement through downloading unlicensed songs.

The new service from Google will allow Chinese internet users to search thousands of Chinese artists and songs, which can then be downloaded from Top100.cn. 

Estimates from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (think international RIAA) estimate that pirated files are currently more than 99-percent of all files downloaded in China.  In a country that recently released numbers putting it at the highest number of internet users in the world, that’s pretty big.

It’s cool that Google is trying to raise its market share by offering free music downloads, but it would be cool if they could do it in the U.S. as well.  Sure, we’re not behind the Great Firewall, but doesn’t the rest of the world deserve free music downloads? Of course, as you would expect, Google will also place ads on the service which will have the revenue shared between Top100.cn and its music partners.

Read [Reuters]

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This little EarthDrive claims to be the world’s very first earth-friendly USB drive.  Which usually sets off all kinds of red flags for a lot of people.  Mostly because there are so many brands that claim to be the latest and greatest in green technology.  Unfortunately for a great many of us we don’t have the knowledge to disprove their claim.  The drive is supposed to be completely recyclable, which I doubt would be helpful for many.  I can’t really see someone going out of their way to recycle a tiny little USB drive.  Yes, it is the better thing to do, and we may have the best of intentions to do it.  It’s just doubtful that it would actually happen.

It is also made from bio-recycled plastics.  It is also shockproof, waterproof and dust proof.  As well as having built in security software, drive partitioning and is password protected.  A portion of EarthDrive’s sales will go to American Forests.  Although they don’t actually say how large or small that portion is exactly.  The 8GB drive is being sold for $48.

Source: ecogeek

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