Top 10 Gadgets of 2007

#1. Apple iPhone
The iPhone changed the way we think about how mobile media devices should look, feel and perform. The design is exceptional inside and out: It’s got a slick glass-and-stainless steel case and an elegant touch screen loaded with eye candy. It’s an iPod and a 2-megapixel camera. Images and video clips display vertically or horizontally - they reorient themselves depending on how you hold the thing. When the phone detects a wireless network within range - your own home wi-fi set up or somebody else’s -it lets you tap once to connect, and then proceed with your Web surfing, Google mapping, emailing and other activities that can otherwise be painfully slow over AT&T’s cellular network - the only one, unfortunately, that carries iPhone calls.

#2. Nikon Coolpix S51c
Have you ever maxed out your digital camera’s memory card midway through a vacation? The 8-megapixel Nikon Coolpix S51c point-and-shoot is tricked out with built-in wireless capability, so you can email your images or beam them directly from the camera to your Flickr account or to Nikon’s own online photo bank. It’s also got a 3x zoom and a roomy 3-in. LCD screen - and it comes in black.

#3. Netgear SPH200W Wi-Fi Skype Phone
This cordless wi-fi phone comes with Skype software already built in, so you can log in to an existing account and start making cheap Internet calls immediately. If you’ve never used Skype before, do not fear: It takes a few moments to create a new account and you can do it right from the phone’s keypad. (The first 10 minutes are free; after that, you’ll want to visit Skype.com from your computer to sign up for a service plan with a credit card.) The phone will also work at most public hotspots (including T-Mobile’s) so if you have lots of friends overseas, you may not want to leave home without it.

#4. Palm Centro
Do you secretly covet your friend’s smart phone while dismissing it as way overpriced? The new Palm Centro provides an opportunity to get all the essential smart-phone features without breaking the bank. This light and bright device supports Web surfing, emailing, instant messaging and text messaging, and sports a 1.3-megapixel camera and a touch screen that works best with a stylus. A mobile version of Google Maps comes preloaded. The qwerty keypad is seriously small, but the bubble-like tactile design of the individual keys makes them easier targets.

#5. Sony Handycam HDR-CX7
The CX7 records rich high-definition footage straight to a flash memory card (Sony’s Memory Stick PRO Duo), so it feels light and compact in your palm, and the 2.7-in. LCD screen features touch controls for set up and playback. Should you get the shakes while shooting, the CX7 has the ability to stabilize the image (using optics, which is more effective than a digital correction) and smooth out the action. A built-in HDMI port lets you connect the camera to an HDTV and watch your home movies in all their high-def glory.

#6. Samsung P2
The slim and sexy P2sounds terrific and plays a variety of music file formats: MP3, WMA and songs from subscription services like Rhapsody and Yahoo Music. The pretty 3-in. screen has touch controls for viewing photos and watching videos, which are displayed at a DVD-quality rate of 30 frames per second. The device also works with BlueTooth headsets and speakers, and soon you will be able to receive forwarded calls from a BlueTooth cell phone. (You’ll have to download what’s called a firmware upgrade from the Samsung website, but don’t worry, it’s not as difficult as it sounds.) Comes with 4 GB of memory for $200, or 8GB for $250.

#7. Toshiba Portégé R500-S5004
This ultra thin-and-light notebook is a dream machine for road warriors. It runs on an Intel Core 2 Duo processor and offers 2GB of RAM, an integrated DVD burner and graphics card and built-in wireless capability (both wi-fi and Bluetooth). The 12.1-in. widescreen LED-backlit display is super slim and displays in high-definition (1280 x 820pixels). With the S5004model you get a solid-state hard drive, which means no fragile spinning parts, so the machine is less likely to suffer damage if dropped or bumped. Total weight: 2.4 lbs.

#8. FlyTech Dragonfly
WowWee’s flying insect soars, dive-bombs, hovers and glides using authentic flapping-wing action, which makes it the first commercially available toy ornithopter. It’s lightweight (about 1oz.) yet sturdy, and sports a 16-in. wingspan. The two-channel radio remote lets you control wing speed and tail rotor speed and doubles as a charging base (a 20-min. recharge gives you about 6 min. of flying time). The kids will love it - if you can bear to let them have it for a while.

#9. Iomega eGo Portable Hard Drive
Who knew file storage could be so chic? The 160 GB eGo has enough room to hold up to 640,000 digital photos, 2,900 hours of music or 240 hours of video (depending, of course, on the compression rate). A new dual-interface version works over USB or FireWire and comes with both types of cords. If you accidentally knock the eGo off your desk, the shock-absorbing case will protect the important documents and precious media stored inside.

#10. Belkin N1 Vision Wi-Fi Router
Though the new “N” wi-fi standard, which carries data signals faster and farther than its predecessor “G,” isn’t expected to be officially ratified until next year, it’s far enough along that you can buy certified N products with confidence that they will work with your computers and other hardware. Belkin’s audaciously designed N1 Vision router stands vertical and reports on network activity in your house so you can see if your kid is downloading video games when he should be doing his homework. It is designed to configure itself the first time you connect it to your cable modem or DSL, and computers still using older “G” adapters will still be able to connect.

article courtesy of Time

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Mobile phone battery dead? Try dancing

Reuters

LONDON - What do you
do if you are stuck in
a field at a pop
festival but there’s
trouble ahead because
your mobile phone’s
battery is about to
run out?

Thanks to a new
gizmo, you now just
need to face the
music and dance.

Mobile phone operator
Orange said on
Tuesday it had
teamed up with
GotWind, a firm
specializing in
renewable energy, to
produce a recharger
powered by dance
energy alone.

The portable kinetic
energy chargers will
be given a test run at
this year’s
Glastonbury Festival,
the world’s biggest
greenfield music and
arts celebration that
begins on a farm in
Somerset on Friday.

Orange said the
prototype chargers
weigh the same as a
phone and are about
the size of a pack of
cards.

Attached to the
user’s arm, they
employ a system of
weights and magnets
which provide an
electric current to
top up charge in a
storage battery. This
can then later be used
to recharge the phone.

“We wanted to create
a fun, engaging and
interactive product
which would
encourage users to
have a laugh while
charging their mobile
phone and at the
same time test out a
new energy-efficient
prototype,” said
Hattie Magee, Head of
Partnerships at
Orange UK.

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Panasonic adds new compact, ultra-mobile

TOKYO - Panasonic’s
latest PC offering is
small enough to cradle
in one hand, yet
strong enough to
handle the rough and
tumble of extreme
environments.
Japan’s Matsushita
Electric Industrial Co.,
whose Toughbook
series of rugged
laptops is used by
U.S. police, military
and utility workers,
on Wednesday
unveiled a compact,
“ultra-mobile” version
that is practically as
easy to handle as a
PDA but with all the
features of a
standard PC.
And like other
Toughbook models,
it’s made to survive.
The CF-U1 mini-tablet
emerged unscathed
after demonstrators
Wednesday dropped
the device 120
centimeters (3.9 feet)
face down, then
dunked it in four
quarts of water.
Its batteries last 10
hours, in part because
it runs on Intel’s new,
low-power Atom
microprocessor. It
measures 184 mm (7.2
inches) wide, 151 mm
(5.9 inches) tall and 57
mm (2.2 inches) deep.
Shigeo Okuda, general
manager of
Matsushita’s
marketing group, said
the CF-U1 broadens
the reach of rugged
laptops, which have
been too bulky thus
far to carry directly
on site to warehouses
and construction
zones.
The tablet features a
5.6-inch touch-screen
display, a thumb-
operated keyboard,
Bluetooth and wireless
Internet. With a
handstrap in the back,
the CF-U1 is held like a
flat camcorder.
“This will be used in
different ways than
the Toughbook now,”
Okuda said. “This is a
completely new
category of rugged
PCs.”
Through its Panasonic
brand, Matsushita
holds a leading 61-
percent share of the
rugged-PC market
worldwide, according
to the company. It
sold 574,000 units in
2007, and hopes the
CF-U1 will extend its
dominance.
The company will
launch overseas sales
of the 2.3-pound
device in August, and
begin sales in Japan in
October for an
unspecified price. It
aims to sell 90,000 CF-
U1 units overseas and
10,000 units in Japan
in a year.
Matsushita’s strategy
in the competitive PC
market has been to
focus exclusively on
business- and field-
use laptops. It does
not make standard
desktop models or
those targeting the
average home.
Its Toughbook line is
primarily sold to
companies and
governments, and
includes models
offering multiple
levels of ruggedness
to withstand the
harshest of
conditions. - AP

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World’s smallest karaoke machine starts them young

Agence France-Presse

TOKYO - A Japanese
toy maker will launch
a karaoke machine
measuring a mere
seven centimeters
(2.8 inches) this year,
letting pop star
wannabes –
particularly children –
hone their skills on
the go.

Tomy Co. Ltd. said it
would begin sales of
the world’s smallest
karaoke machine in
October in Japan,
targeting those who
are too young to
enter the karaoke
parlors that dot the
country’s cities.

The Hi-kara machine
comes with headsets,
meaning that only the
users can hear the
music.

“Absorbed in the
music from the
headphones, I found
myself singing in an
embarrassingly loud
voice,” Tomy
spokeswoman Mei
Kudo said.

The machine, which
can also be used with
a second set of
headphones or put on
speaker mode,
targets elementary
school girls who adore
pop stars.

“Their mums and dads
are also from a
generation who grew
up with karaoke,” she
said.

Tomy plans to sell the
Hi-kara abroad as
well, but no date has
been set for that
launch.

The machine will be
priced at 10,000 yen
(100 dollars). Players
will have to buy a 2
,000-yen cartridge
that holds 10 pre-
installed songs or
they can download 10
songs over the
Internet from a choice
of 3,500 titles.

Karaoke has turned
into a multibillion-
dollar industry since
being invented in 1971
by Daisuke Inoue, a
Japanese club
keyboardist looking to
provide music for a
customer who wanted
to sing on a company
trip.

A new trend in Japan
is “hitokara” –
literally “lone karaoke”
– which means going
out to sing karaoke
alone.

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Portable karaoke machine for singing on the fly

TOKYO - Love to sing?
A Japanese toy maker
will soon sell a
portable, personal
karaoke machine so
you can belt out your
favorite tunes
anywhere, and without
having to wait for the
microphone.

The “Hi-kara” karaoke
machine, by Takara
Tomy, is a 7-cm
(nearly 3-inch) cube
which weighs less
than a pound and
works like a real
machine.

Once the singer
selects a song, which
can be downloaded off
the Internet or from
special music
cartridges, the lyrics
come up on a 2.4-inch
display. The machine
also has headphones
and speakers
attached.

“Hi-kara” will go on
sale in October for
about $100, with song
cartridges costing
about $40 each.

Shigekazu Mihashi,
marketing director at
Takara Tomy, told
Reuters the machine
was aimed at
youngsters who could
not go into karaoke
booths or parlors,
which often serve
alcohol.

According to Japanese
law, youngsters under
16 must leave karaoke
parlors by 6 p.m.
while those aged
under 18 can stay
only until 11 p.m.

“Girls who are middle-
school age and under
can’t go to karaoke
parlors by themselves
even if they wanted
to sing, but now they
can try it at home
with this new karaoke
machine,” Mihashi said.

Japan is the
birthplace of the first
karaoke machine and
the word is derived
from the Japanese for
“empty orchestra.”
Karaoke singing is
popular all over the
world, and especially
in Asia where many
families own personal
karaoke machines and
“KTV” lounges abound.

10 Hottest gadgets for Pinoys

1. I-phone 3G. Globe will sell I-phones beginning August. I just hope they sell this cellphone with the newest version, not the old ones.
2. Philips MP3 recorder . For just roughly 3 ,000 pesos, this gadget is complete. It has radio, voice recording and a nice interface.
3. Laptop . Don’t go with a Mac-it’s just a waste of money. Go for a Sony Vios or a Panasonic or Dell laptop.
4. Flip video Camera . There’s this nice gadget called Flip that’s making Europeans and Americans crazy.
5. SLR Camera . Go for Canon. Nice to have.
6. Portable Playstation . Hey, even if there’s Wii, Pinoys still love their PSPs.
7. Wii . Go for the Wii, not just for the excitement. It’s your early morning exercise.
8. Wireless Landline phone . Go for PLDT.
9. Smart Bro or PLDT . I heard that PLDT’s version can pick up signals even on high seas. Sounds very cool.
10. AOC TV/PC Monitors . Hey, is’nt nice to have an LCD monitor that picks up TV signals and that you can use as your PC monitor?

SOURCE: PinoyObserver

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10 World’s Most Expensive Cars in 2007

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To most people, having a car is a necessity, while to others, a car is a luxury. Whatever the case will be, do you know the most expensive cars in the world? If not yet then check out the list of 10 world’s most expensive cars below. Not only they are expensive, they are also the world’s most powerful cars. (Source: Forbes Magazine)

1. Bugatti Veyron (Volkswagen AG) $1,700,000
2. Ferrari Enzo $1,000,000
3. Pagani Zonda C12 F $741,000
4. Koenigsegg CCX $600,910
5. Porsche Carrera GT $484,000
6. Mercedes SLR McLaren $455,500
7. Maybach 62 $385,250
8. Rolls-Royce Phantom $320,000
9. Lamborghini Murcielago $279,
10. Aston Martin Vanquish $255,000

Honestly, I want to have my own car but the 10 models listed above are never in my list. Why? It’s because they are too expensive. I can’t afford to buy any of them. So, maybe in my dreams that I can have them. I guess these cars are only for people belonging to the elite group. In my opinion, having any of these cars is not recommended to ordinary people like me, because it will only be a subject of evil deeds.

source: Your Online Guide

World’s Most Expensive Computer Mouse

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Ever heard about the world’s most expensive mouse? I am not talking a mouse as in rat… what I mean is a computer mouse that you usually use to scroll and click while doing a task in front of your computer. Anyway, while site hopping awhile ago, I incidentally came across a site with a post regarding the most expensive computer mouse. Ithought you might get interested thus I shared it here.

Do you want to know the exact price? It’s £12,400.00 or $24,180.00 US dollars. Wow, right?

The said mouse, which image you can see on the left side of this post, is priceless because it is an 18 carat white gold with 59 brilliant cut diamonds. It is indeed the world’s most expensive computer mouse, cast from 18 carat white gold and set with 59 brilliant cut diamonds!!!

The said mouse came into three different colors as seen below. Choose from yellow, red or white gold with white or black trim. Each mouse is made to order and you will need to allow up to 3 weeks for delivery.

Who wants to buy such an expensive mouse? Definitely not me. I would rather settle for a cheaper optical mouse because at least I am serene. Having such a mouse in your desk will endanger your life because a lot of people will possible can’t resist to steal it.

I think if you buy such mouse, you can’t help but to keep it inside your vault… and give it to your great grand daughter in the future ;D But if you think this is an ideal gift for your computer geek friend or family, then go for it. Be sure to carefully wrap it and label it with “Fragile”.

World’s Largest Capacity USB Flash Drive (so far…)

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Here comes the world’s largest capacity USB Flash Drive (so far…). The Kanguru Flash Drive Max breaks new ground in portable storage with up to 64GB in a single flash drive! Whoa! That’s my entire HDD!!!

It’s housed in a rugged aluminum casing (check out the pic) and comes complete with a security software that also allows you to resize and format the drive into public or private partitions.

Can’t wait to see this become available here in the PI. The latest I saw was a 16GB drive, about 3K. Let’s see if they can come up with a flash drive surpassing the 100GB barrier, which is not impossible I should say. Meanwhile I need to scan my 4GB drive for trojans, teehee!