A technology newsletter, providing information as soon as it becomes available.

Electronic Gadgets For You

November 20th, 2008 at 11:51 pm

Kingston bumps DataTraveler 150 capacity to 64GB


 Kingston bumps DataTraveler 150 capacity to 64GB
Kingston Technology on Wednesday unveiled its DataTraveler 150 USB Flash drive with a new, higher 64GB capacity, or double that of the previous highest capacity of 32GB. The DataTraveler 150 is now the highest-capacity USB flash drive of its size in Kingston’s range of offerings, enabling users to carry around more of their multimedia files and backed up hard drive content.
The DataTraveler 150 is compatible with Windows 2000 or later, Mac OS X 10.3 or later, and Linux kernel 2.6 or later. The new Kingston DataTraveler 150 with 64GB capacity is available now, priced at $177. A 32GB version is also available, priced at $116

 Kingston bumps DataTraveler 150 capacity to 64GBclipped from www.electronista.com

November 20th, 2008 at 11:47 pm

Google Sync for BlackBerry gets into your contacts

 Google Sync for BlackBerry gets into your contacts

If you’re a BlackBerry user or a prospective user, and also happen to be a Gmail enthusiast, you’re going to be a lot happier than you were yesterday, because Google’s just added over-the-air contact syncing to its Google Sync application. Previously, the app was only able to sync up calendars between the cloud and RIM devices every two hours. Now you can get your names and numbers in the mix, so it looks like the nightmare days of having one list of contacts in Gmail and another, totally different one in your ‘Berry are apparently at an end. Sure, Google’s timing on this seems a little convenient to us, coming as it does just before the BlackBerry Storm launch, but we’re not going to complain about something that makes ours lives easier, okay?

 Google Sync for BlackBerry gets into your contactsclipped from www.engadget.com

November 20th, 2008 at 11:44 pm

Orb 2.0 brings live television streaming to iPhone, no jailbreak needed


Graiphone
Orb, one of my long-time favorite applications for remotely streaming home media has finally come to the iTunes AppStore. Up to now, Orb was only possible on jailbroken phones, but somehow, Apple has approved the application for everyday use. With the $9.99 application, you can access and view various content on a home Windows PC right on your iPhone or iPod Touch. The Orb folks say that a version for Macs and Linux computers is coming as well. What I always liked about Orb is that is smartly manages the audio or video stream based on your connection speed: it’s always optimized. So what can you stream on your handheld while away from home?

 Orb 2.0 brings live television streaming to iPhone, no jailbreak neededclipped from www.jkontherun.com

November 20th, 2008 at 11:39 pm

Sony shows Gran Turismo on a 19-inch FED Display with 240 fps

in: HiTech, LCDs

sony-fed-display-gran-tourismo
Sony shows a playable demonstration on a 19 inch FED Display (Field Emissions Display) developed by Sony, with a frame rate of 240fps (240 frames per second). Gran Turismo 5 Prologue has already achieved a frame rate of 60p (progressive), but in this demo, Gran Turismo was made playable at four times this frame rate at 240fps. The display used in this demonstration was the 19 inch nano-Spindt FED screen produced by FE Technologies, who is a company that has taken over the development of the FED technology that was being developed at Sony.

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November 20th, 2008 at 11:32 pm

Chrysler unveils ‘Web Edition’ cars

in: Cars, HiTech

web_edition_vehicle Chrysler unveils Web Edition cars


Our eyes eventually glaze over at all of the car industry’s “limited editions,” “value editions,” and “sport editions.” But Chrysler has just announced a “Web edition.” OK, now we’re awake. It’s not so much a car but an option package comprising a bunch of tech toys all tied to the Net by an Autonet Mobile router branded as Chrysler uConnect Web. The gear includes a Dell Mini 9 Netbook, an 8GB iPod Touch, a Sony PSP, and a digital camera with an Eye-Fi Wi-Fi SD card. All in, $1,999 including a year of service. It gets unveiled tomorrow at the S.F. Auto Show in a specially badged Town & Country and will be available as a dealer-installed rig from Chrysler, Jeep, or Dodge dealers (as long as they’re around!).Autonet CEO Sterling Pratz says, “We’re emphasizing this as the next entertainment platform in cars” more than a communication and productivity platform, though you can do whatever you want with the system.

 Chrysler unveils Web Edition carsclipped from reviews.cnet.com

November 20th, 2008 at 10:08 pm

The iPhone twang: Google’s new voice recognition tool stumped by British accents


iPhone
Google’s new voice recognition search engine for the iPhone has hit a glitch - it is stumped by British accents. The application developed in the U.S cannot recognise regional twangs.Users say the technology mistook the word ‘iPhone’ for ’sex,’ ‘Einstein’ and even ‘kitchen sink’. The Google Mobile App is designed to work just like the traditional search engine. Rather than typing a query on the iPhone, users speak their search term and then view the results on the screen. Saying the word pizza should spring up a selection of local pizza restaurants and invite you to call them with a single click of the phone.

 The iPhone twang: Googles new voice recognition tool stumped by British accentsclipped from www.dailymail.co.uk

November 20th, 2008 at 8:44 pm

Charging Dock and 4 Rechargable Batteries for WII

in: HiTech

nyko-charge Charging Dock and 4 Rechargable Batteries for WII

Keep all of your Wii Remotes™ charged and ready to go with Nyko’s Charge Station Quad for Wii™. The Charge Station Quad includes 4 NiMH batteries, exclusively designed for the Wii Remote, and each providing up to 25 hours of play time each. Each battery is easily recharged by placing the Wii Remote in the charging dock. The charging dock conveniently plugs into any standard wall outlet, allowing for rapid recharging of all four batteries simultaneously. The Charge Station includes 4 differently colored custom battery covers with contact pass-through points so you can charge the batteries while they are still in the remote. Each battery cover is also rubberized for superior grip during intense gaming sessions.

 Charging Dock and 4 Rechargable Batteries for WIIclipped from www.nyko.com

November 19th, 2008 at 10:58 pm

New PSP 3000 hacked - Datel gives the green light to PSP 3000 service mode!


 New PSP 3000 hacked - Datel gives the green light to PSP 3000 service mode!

MaxConsole can exclusively reveal that the brand new PSP 3000 model is now perfectly hackable thanks to Datel’s newest tool battery that will put the PSP 3000 into service mode. Once you’re in service mode, you can downgrade your PSP and pretty much do what you want with it! The new crypto processor based battery is called the LITE BLUE TOOL battery and will enable the service mode on both PSP 2000 and PSP 3000 models. It will come with the option to toggle between a service mode and normal mode, and also features a built in LED power gauge. Look out for the LITE BLUE TOOL when it goes on sale from November 28th priced at $19.99 in the UK market and $29.99 across North America.
 New PSP 3000 hacked - Datel gives the green light to PSP 3000 service mode! clipped from www.maxconsole.net
November 19th, 2008 at 10:52 pm

Slacker Internet Radio Extends to the Television

in: News

 Slacker Internet Radio Extends to the Television
The Slacker Internet radio experience has just landed within Sony’s Bravia ecosystem. Owners of select Bravia HDTVs and the Bravia Internet Video Link ($300) media extender can now stream music from Mari’s favorite online source. Similar in concept to Pandora’s Samsung Blu-ray player offering, this free Slacker service joins a variety of online content providers, such as Amazon Video on Demand (pay) and YouTube (free), on Sony’s platform. As with Slacker’s browser-based and portable hardware options, millions of licensed songs can be streamed from over “100 individually programmed genre music stations.” Though, I’m continuing to hold out for the soon-to-be-released Blackberry app

 Slacker Internet Radio Extends to the Televisionclipped from www.zatznotfunny.com

November 19th, 2008 at 10:49 pm

Ratchet & Clank bundle to include black PSP-3000


 Ratchet & Clank bundle to include black PSP-3000

Out with one SKU, in with another. The 4GB PSP Entertainment Pack may be dead, but in its place is the Ratchet & Clank Entertainment Pack. Wait, what? Yes, looks like Sony is offering two versions of the R&C pack — the current one offers a silver system and echochrome. The one releasing in December will include a black system and Everyday Shooter. Both will be available for $199. If that’s not your style, you can try the black PSP Brite a la carte for $169. However, no release date has been set for the standalone system.
 Ratchet & Clank bundle to include black PSP-3000clipped from www.pspfanboy.com

November 19th, 2008 at 9:29 pm

Can a price cut, TV ad give Zune a lift?

zune11 Can a price cut, TV ad give Zune a lift?

Microsoft is announcing a price cut today to its flash-based Zune models: $99 for the 4GB model, $139 for the 8GB version and $179 for the 16GB player. That prices the devices less than the iPod Nano, though Microsoft said that wasn’t the reasoning behind the cuts. Zune marketing director Adam Sohn told CNET this week that the cuts “take into consideration what the realities of the market are” and are times to “”ensure hopefully we have a good holiday season.”

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November 19th, 2008 at 9:20 pm

BMW unveils all electric MINI

in: HiTech

BMW's MINI E.
BMW released details Wednesday at the LA Auto Show on an all electric MINI, saying it was planning to deploy a fleet of some 500 all-electric vehicles for private use in daily traffic. The MINI E will be powered by a 150 kW (204 hp) electric motor fed by a high-performance rechargeable lithium-ion battery, transferring its power to the front wheels via a single-stage helical gearbox nearly without a sound and entirely free of emissions.

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November 19th, 2008 at 9:15 pm

HP TouchSmart tx2 Packs Multi-Touch Screen


 HP TouchSmart tx2 Packs Multi-Touch Screen

We all know that multi-touch rocks, so to say that hearing HP has packed the feature into its TouchSmart tx2 has piqued our interest is something of an understatement. We weren’t particularly enamoured with the touch screen on the HP Pavilion tx2050ea we reviewed, so it will be interesting to see what enhancements multi-touch brings to the mix. Importantly the tx2 features a capacitive screen (as per the Dell Latitude XT) capable of tracking two independent points of contact. Indeed the Latitude XT offered multi-touch functionality, too, but HP also has its MediaSmart software suite which is tailored to take advantage of the multi-touch input and, as such, offers functionality that might otherwise be unavailable.

 HP TouchSmart tx2 Packs Multi-Touch Screenclipped from www.trustedreviews.com