Gadgets Control

Canon is releasing the PowerShot SD890 IS, PowerShot SD790 IS, and the PowerShot SD770 IS, due in stores early April, end of March and mid-April, respectively. The three cameras share Canon’s DIGIC III imaging processor, which they claim is responsible for the cameras’ high performance levels, in addition to each utilizing Canon’s face detection technology, intelligent anti-blur technology and in-camera image enhancement, which allows for automatic red eye correction. What is different about the three cameras is body style, LCD size, and zoom level. The SD 890 has a 5x optical zoom with a 2.5-inch LCD screen. The 5x zoom is equivalent to a 185mm lens. (Read the full post about ‘Canon releasing three new 10-megapixel digital cameras’…)

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Philips Clock Radio AJL308 Why not add meaning to your daily routine with a beloved photo, favorite song or video by your side? The Philips Infotainment Digital Photo Frame / Alarm Clock Radio with 7″ colour display and handy USB/SD card slot can help you start your day right. If you’ve ever wanted to pop up Dashboard outside of the desktop, this is probably as close as you can get. Phillips’ multi-purpose clock radio / photo frame comes across like a swipe from the widget world, with its pleasant blue backdrop, “Polaroid” photo section, and cutesy little calendar page. Most of the times, a digital photo frame is the main function of a device, but Philips has taken one step further with the AJL308 that offers new stuff. (Read the full post about ‘Philips Clock Radio AJL308′…)

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In the past couple of weeks, I’ve looked at enterprise opportunities for Apple vs. Microsoft.  I’ve looked at how Apple may be trying to leverage the iphone machine into more enterprise sales and we’ve looked at the costs to do so.  This week, it is all about Mobile. Today RIM outsells everyone, 41% of smartphones purchased in the US were Blackberries (Q4 ‘07 data ).  Apple surprised many by getting 28% of the market to agree to an iPhone.  Windows Mobile came in at 21%.  What does this mean for enterprise? (Read the full post about ‘Mobile enterprise wars: iPhone making inroads?’…)

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Plantronics Explorer 370 Bluetooth HeadsetWe don’t usually get jazzed over Bluetooth headsets. They’re one of those no-frills gadgets we use when we’re hauling ass in a six speed manual transmission, but forget about the moment we set them down.  Plantronics spiced things up for us with the Explorer 370. It’s not only a ruggedized Bluetooth headset, but it also has a Charles Bronson-sized deathwish. Okay, so maybe Plantronics doesn’t expect us to torture the 370. But when a headset boasts water, dust, and shock resistance it’s not a warning – it’s a challenge.  So we turned the abuse up to an 11 to see if Plantronics really did its homework. (Read the full post about ‘Review: Tough Plantronics Bluetooth Headset Is Damn Near Bullet-Proof’…)

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Maybe it was just too much wishful thinking. Last week we reported that the Financial Times was running a story that said Microsoft and Sony were in talks to bring a Blu-ray drive to the Xbox 360. Microsoft had offered a peripheral drive for the hd dvd format. Now that the HD DVD format has been abandoned by Toshiba, Microsoft plans on no longer making the drive.

Naturally, the thought was the company must be talking to Sony about a Blu-ray version, right? Not so, according to Reuters. Microsoft reportedly isn’t talking with Sony or the Blu-ray Association about bringing the format to the Xbox 360.

(Read the full post about ‘Microsoft pulls the shades on Blu-ray talk’…)

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Posted Mar 14th 2008 11:00AM by Darren MurphFiled under: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Media PCs Back when the format war was still a-brewin’, Inteset saw fit to offer up Blu-ray / hd dvd combo drives on its media PCs. Now that said war is behind us, the firm is plugging Blu-ray drives into its Vana VA6420-Si media extender system. The device, which can also be used in standalone form, enables users to bring content from varying locales within the domicile to a central home entertainment center, and aside from the 1.83GHz Core 2 Duo CPU, 2GB of RAM and GeForce 8400GT graphics card, you’ll also find 7.1-channel audio outputs, a slew of video ports including HDCP-compliant DVI / HDMI and even an option for a CableCARD tuner. (Read the full post about ‘Inteset’s Vana VA6420-Si media extender system gets Blu-ray’…)

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Due to the productivity advantages of the BlackBerry handheld, many people forget about some of the fun features also offered in the device. One of the best ones is the BlackBerry’s ability to play music files. A new service hopes to take advantage of the musical abilities of the latest BlackBerry handhelds by launching a mobile music service that has been designed for BlackBerry smartphones. The Puretracks service will work with all BlackBerry Pearl, BlackBerry Curve, and BlackBerry 8000 series smartphones. The music offered will be DRM-free and available in AAC/AAC+ file formats. The service will debut in the U.S. beginning April 1. Puretracks will then launch in other countries, including Canada, at a later date. (Read the full post about ‘BlackBerry to get mobile music store’…)

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If paying 3x for a fancy wooden USB thumbdrive doesn’t entice you, maybe getting it with a custom engraving will. Zana design’s skills don’t go far. Their "flash drive with style" ad has a jagged font, imposed on an Amiga-style gradient and what appear to be photoshopped renditions of the advertised engraving. Yuk. As such, it’s still the perfect gift to go with the walnut dashboard in your uncle’s 1980s Jaguar, just moreso. Assuming that you’re ready to pay $56 for a 1GB drive or $105 for an 8GB one, that is. (Read the full post about ‘Engraved Fancy Thumbdrives Cost a Little Extra’…)

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Posted Mar 14th 2008 9:43AM by Paul Miller We’re guessing we’re not the only one to have never heard of P4P before now, but there’s probably a good reason for that: it doesn’t exist yet. See, P4P is designed to speed up peer-to-peer file transfers and alleviate network strain by using information about network conditions and network topology in order to increase routing efficiency — more bits, less work. The problem is that you’re going to need service provider cooperation to pull that off (P4P stands for Proactive network Provider Participation for P2P) and now Verizon has signed on to take the concept to the next level. What’s not clear yet is whether only specific, commercial P2P apps will be able t (Read the full post about ‘Verizon gloms onto “P4P,” doubles up on the competition’…)

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I don’t know about you, but I really enjoy laser shows. I’ve seen some that are pretty impressive, and some that were just a random collection of colored lights. However, I don’t need too much lasers to fill my cup of excitement, so the Red Hot Laser Light Show might be for me. I’m not saying that this product is inferior, but it is advanced for the price you will pay. As you can see, someone went to a lot of trouble to make the casing as flamed as possible, and painted it a lovely shade of Diablo red. I swear that shade of red belongs only on hot sports cars, and it really makes this laser projector shine even when it is turned off. (Read the full post about ‘Red Hot Laser Show Brings the Fun Home’…)

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