Gadgets Control

Apple’s iPhone may be giving competitors a run for their money in North America but when it comes to three of the biggest telecom markets in Asia–India, China, and Japan–the company seems to have lost its way. Reports suggest demand for the iPhone in Japan is flagging, while in India, the second largest telecom market after China, sales are weak after the device has been priced at the equivalent of $673 for the 8GB version and $785 for the 16GB model. Apple is yet to ink a deal with Chinese telecom carrier, China Mobile, to bring the iPhone to the country. A combination of high pricing and lack of a strategy that takes into account needs of the local market has left Apple selling just a few hundred thousand units in countries where millions of phones are sold every month. (Read the full post about ‘Apple Stumbles In Asia’…)

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by Joshua Topolsky, posted Sep 17th 2008 at 10:35AM Sure, none of it makes any sense, but we can’t shake the feeling that there’s something a little weird going on here. We’ve received a number of tips that T-Systems — a division of the same company that owns T-Mobile — has got pics of some variation of a MacBook Pro that we’ve certainly never seen before. The appearance of a new model would fall right in line with those rumors we’ve been hearing, but this seems a little too easy. In fact, the specs of these devices appear unchanged from the current lineup of laptops. The likely explanation is that there’s been a photo mix-up — someone got their proper MBP pictures crossed with one of those “wishful thinking” renders. (Read the full post about ‘New MacBook Pros leaked on German site?’…)

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by Richard Lawler, posted Sep 17th 2008 at 9:19AM
Adding to its line of professional displays, NEC is bringing the LCD8205 to 2008 Digital Signage Expo East. We’ve seen bigger in the consumer space, but when you’ve just got to have 4×4 tile support for a max 328-inch (diagonal) display, refreshingly realistic 5,000:1 claimed contrast ratio and 1920×1080 resolution, there’s not much better. (Read the full post about ‘NEC’s biggest pro LCD yet: 82-inch LCD8205′…)

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by Jeremy Toeman, posted Sep 16th 2008 at 8:30PM Jeremy Toeman contributes Ins and Outs, an opinion column on entertainment technology. He is also the founder and editor of LIVEdigitally. As a sophomore in college I wrote a presentation on “the next generation home” wherein I discussed topics I had researched, ranging from “the information superhighway” (this was 1992, before Mosaic was even in beta) to home automation to interactive television. The thinking was we’d have amazing, automagically working technology controlling our home and our media, it would all come soon and cheap, and work, for lack of a better term, like magic.Here we are in 2008, and while technology’s come a long way, only the rich have home automation and most of the time they spend using it involves rebooting their house. (Read the full post about ‘Ins and Outs: Whatever happened to iTV?’…)

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I haven’t ever had any kids, but I have noticed how incredibly chaotic newborns have a tendency to be.  With all of their screaming and pooping, then of course the sleeping and eating it’s tough to keep track of all the little details.  Come time to go into the doctor you might need to mention something about an oddly timed feeding, but by the time you get there it’s difficult to remember those things.  Especially since you’re likely sleep deprived anyway.  Well this Day to Night Baby Log is an electronic device meant to help record all of the important little details, be it for the doctor or just as a book to look back on years from now. (Read the full post about ‘The electronic Day to Night Baby Log’…)

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A "new, even smaller" model announcement is an odd thing for a TV manufacturer - usually we hear about larger, louder, brighter sets. There is method to the madness though - historically, plasma TVs have only been available in larger sizes - 40" and above. With the 32PG6000 LG have squeezed Plasma technology into a 32" screen. Coming soon after the launch of the new LCD TV range this Plasma launch breathes life into a technology many other manufacturers are abandoning, with some innovative new features. As with the recent LCD launch there are a myriad of model numbers and screen sizes covering a wide range of features and budgets. (Read the full post about ‘LG introduce new Plasmas with bluetooth, PVR to the UK’…)

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Outside the Box Group (funny yet interesting name, that) has just released the Plane Quiet Platinum active noise-reduction headset that will definitely be a boon for people who do plenty of traveling, be it on the road, on sea or in the air. Traveling during peak season is even worse - you will have to jostle with tons of people in sardine-packed environments, not to mention trying to drown out the sounds of crying kids and noisy brat as you attempt to get some much needed shuteye before you arrive at your destination. The Plane Quiet Platinum active noise-reduction headset features a luxurious leatherette headband and ear cups, offering maximum comfort and a snug fit that makes sure that most, if not all of the ambient noise will be blocked by its noise-cancellation technology. (Read the full post about ‘Plane Quiet Platinum active noise-reduction headset’…)

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Iomega has had some pretty sleek looking storage devices in the past, and this time their eGo line is augmented by the release of the Helium, a 2.5″ portable hard drive that was specially designed to work hand in hand with the macbook air. The anodized aluminum case holds up to 320GB of storage space, and also boasts the ability to use an online backup service for cloud computing purposes. Just like the MacBook Air, the eGo Helium is pretty slim at less than 1″ thick, and it tips the scales at 7 ounces. Best of all is its relative toughness, being able to withstand drops from 4′ 3″ onto industrial carpeting without suffering any internal damage. (Read the full post about ‘Iomega eGo Helium Portable Hard Drive’…)

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T-Mobile has sent out invitations for the official announcement of the first Googlephone, the HTC Dream. The press conference will be held in New York on September 23rd, although the Android-based phone won’t hit stores until October (probably October 20th). From the leaked picture above, it’s hard to get an idea of the size of the Dream. Take a look at the video below, shot at a the Google Developers Day in London yesterday, and you’ll see the tiny handset — the branding is covered, but it’s obviously the Dream. We haved mixed feelings about Android. The Dream looks quite excellent, and from a geek’s point of view the open nature of the platform is very attractive. (Read the full post about ‘Official: First Android Phone on September 23rd’…)

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Apple may be looking to increase the revenue on their iPhone models by developing their own ARM processor for it. According to a report by BetaNews, speculation of such a move by Apple was stirred up when a gentleman by the name of Wei-han Lien posted a profile on Linked-In which indicated that he was senior manager chip CPU architect for Apple and that we was managing a ARM CPU architechture team for the iPhone. That profile has since been removed, but not before other eyes had already viewed it.

The current models of the iphone are powered by a Samsung ARM processor.

(Read the full post about ‘Is Apple developing a processor for the iPhone?’…)

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