Gadgets Control

Finally, Sony Ericsson has officially announced that it is all set to launch its much-hyped and highly anticipated phone, the XPERIA X1. The good news is, the official launch date will be at the end of this month. Bad news is, it will only be initially available in the UK, Germany and Sweden. Other countries, including the US will have to wait until Q4 before Sony Ericsson makes the XPERIA X1 available. To make the official launch on September 30 a little more special, Sony Ericsson will start a webcast countdown of the launch beginning on September 15. During the webcast Sony Ericsson will preview an in-depth demonstration of the XPERIA X1 and the first episode of the alternative reality thriller Johnny X. (Read the full post about ‘Sony Ericsson to officially launch the XPERIA X1 on September 30′…)

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Does coddling to the whims of gender stereotypes ever work for gadgets, or anywhere else for that matter? It looks like Garmin is betting that it will, for it just announced an update of their Nuvi GPS systems that include fake diamonds/crystals, and feature names like ‘Light Rose’ and ‘Black Diamond.’  The systems are design updates of the Garmin GPS Nuvi line (the 760 and 250), which to be fair, are considered pretty good systems (they are also releasing three new colors — see pics below). However, I have hard time seeing how any respectable woman over 12 years old will think these are attractive instead of tacky.  Maybe I have it all wrong (I’m a man, after all) and the companies have done good research — plenty of them are building gadgets that focus on design elements seen as attractive to women. (Read the full post about ‘Lipstick on a Pig? Garmin Updates Nuvi With Faux Crystals’…)

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HP’s long been rolling out business notebooks that don’t look out of place in a boring office environment, and that’s exactly their problem. Hence, the collaboration with fashion designer Vivienne Tam to spruce up the line of HP notebooks by coming up with a special edition notebook positioned to become the ultimate tech accessory for fashionistas around the globe. There is practically no information concerning the finer details of the HP Vivienne Tam Special Edition notebook, but it will hit the market sometime next year. Something tells me the floral prints on this notebook ain’t going to sit pretty with the boys, but high-powered lady executives will probably clamor for one. (Read the full post about ‘HP And Vivienne Tam Team Up’…)

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Hot on the heels of North American announcements involving HTC”s line of Touch devices, comes spy shots and specs of yet another Touch-enabled device from HTC. This one is being dubbed the HTC Touch HD and features a WVGA screen, Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro, 512MB ROM / 256MB RAM, GPS, HSDPA, 5 Megapixel camera and a 3.5mm headset jack on the top. According to Modaco, it’s going to be in stores by Christmas. I love spy shots and this one is pretty clear so you can see that it looks like it’s already ready to ship. HTC continues to impress and I can’t believe how many different styles of devices they seem to be cranking out these days. (Read the full post about ‘Spy shots and specs of the HTC Touch HD’…)

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The company is only ten years old and Google is already facing some harsh criticism here, in the States. If you thought that the first case by the government against Google was going to be about their overwhelming knowledge of your day-to-day life or for their compliance with Chinese censoring, you were wrong. The U.S. Department of Justice is apparently considering bringing an anti-trust suit against the tech giant in relation to their large stake in the advertising industry. In fact, they’ve gone so far as to appoint a high-powered lawyer to the case; who is at this moment going over the information to decide whether or not there is a winnable case. That lawyer, former Walt Disney Co.

(Read the full post about ‘U.S. Justice Department considering Google anti-trust suit’…)

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Sony Ericsson will confirm the USA Xperia X1 plan on November 3rd. Several people at Sony Ericsson mentioned an XPERIA line-up or family, so expect more products like this. Hopefully models will include the same overall design, but will be more affordable (with a 640 x 242 display?). By choosing Windows Mobile, and by rolling out an SDK, Sony Ericsson showed that it recognized that value is in software (and that’s true), depicting a company that is ready to try the platform approach. With the SDK and advanced features, the company hopes to differentiate itself from other Windows Mobile competitors. At the moment, Sony Ericsson relies on Fandango to distribute the software, although it will also provide a download area on the Sony Ericsson site. (Read the full post about ‘Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 family. This is just the beginning’…)

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Bacon lovers, take note! The WowBacon microwave claims to let you broil your own bacon (and not fry them) in a fast and easy manner, filling up your tummy each time the munchies strike.

Its ability to let you easily and quickly make only as much freshly-broiled bacon as you want, on the spur of the moment and without the usual mess, is a convenience offered by none other.

(Read the full post about ‘WowBacon microwave for fast and healthy snacks’…)

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The blackberry Kickstart, also known as the Pearl Flip, says it all. This is the first clamshell handset from Research in Motion, and functions just like its candybar brethren from the Pearl line, albeit in a totally different form factor. The external display is used to preview incoming texts, emails as well as phone calls. Other features of the BlackBerry Pearl Flip include :- Light sensing external LCD display 240 x 320 resolution internal LCD display MP3 playback support Speaker Independent Voice Recognition Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity SureType QWERTY keyboard microSDHC memory card slot Wi-Fi connectivity with support for UMA No idea on pricing, but it will hit the markets this fall. (Read the full post about ‘RIM BlackBerry Pearl Flip Now Official’…)

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Most of us know we should work out, now whether or not we actually do is a whole different situation. You may need it for weight loss or you might need it to take care of some health concerns. Either way, even if you are within your ideal weight you should still get your rear on a treadmill. I personally know what it takes to get me to the gym, a workout buddy that is excessively pushy. Sadly, I’ve moved away from my workout buddy and now that she’s gone I haven’t made it to the gym. Well if you have issues finding the motivation to keep your personal fitness going you might consider a belt like this. No it’s not yet another of those silly belts that claims to make you lose weight all the while you never even lift a finger. (Read the full post about ‘The Entertainer motivates you to work out’…)

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Heat things up in your living room with 8-bit graphics thanks to the Nintoaster - a hardware hack that sees the body of a Wii white toaster being gutted, replaced by the innards of an old school (and still working) NES. You won’t see your precious classic carts getting fried, as the front lever functions as a power switch while LED lights add some glow to the cartridge slot, leading some people to possibly mistake this for a Wii mod of sorts at first glance. Unfortunately, the temperature knob does nothing at this point in time - perhaps future iterations will see added functionality? (Read the full post about ‘Nintoaster Hack’…)

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