Panasonic MW-10 Multimedia Photo Frame and iPod Audio System

Topic: Hot Gadgets

Every geek's house needs a few little touches that say to the world, "I live in the future." That's pretty much what the Panasonic MW-10 is. This iPod dock features a 9" photo frame that can display 4GB of video on its WVGA screen. It also contains your iPod track menu, and lets you control the MW-10s speaker system. There's also a built-in CD player and FM/AM radio with a 45 station pre-set memory.

This is a serious piece of living-room equipment, and it carries a serious price tag; $299.95. How much is watching slide-shows and listening to the radio worth to you? To learn more, you can visit Panasonic's website. Remember; you don't buy a digital photo frame because it's practical. You buy it because it's awesome.

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Posted on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:28:02 CST | by Robert Evans

Qualcomm's Smartbook To Be Sold By AT&T

Topic: Hot Gadgets

If you'd walked up to me yesterday and said, "Evans, is there any product you can imagine that would make you want to sign an AT&T contract?" I would have scoffed and strutted away angrily.

But the universe has one hell of a sense of humor. Those world-shattering jerks over at Lilputing report that Qualcomm has unveiled a Snapdragon-powered smartbook, produced by Lenovo and destined for AT&T. This slick little red hot rod of a book will feature an ARM CPU with integrated wireless abilities, 720p graphics, an HD capable display, and support for both 3G and LTE 4G.

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Posted on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:49:41 CST | by Robert Evans

Fujitsu Makes Smartphone With Modular Pico-Projector

Topic: Hot Gadgets

It's finally happened. Ever since the first ultra-tiny pico-projectors started to hit, I've been waiting to see one stuck on a smartphone. Now, according to Akihabara News, Fujitsu is about to make this wonderful dream a reality. At least for people who live in Japan.

The F-04B is like no smartphone you've ever seen. It's modular, and consists of up to three layers that slide together to make a Bluetooth-connected smartphone sandwich. This device has a display unit with a 3.4" touchscreen and a keyboard unit, each with its own Lithium-Ion battery. The full QWERTY keyboard can be removed, allowing you to use the phone as a thin touchscreen device. On its own, the keyboard acts as a microphone, speaker, and gamepad.

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Posted on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:20:21 CST | by Robert Evans

Zhu Zhu Pets Hamsters and Accessories Are Not Perfect But Kids Love Them

Topic: Hot Gadgets

Over the last few weeks, I have been looking at different pieces and accessories for one of the hottest gifts for the Holiday season -- Zhu Zhu Pets Hamsters. These little hamster toys look like the real thing but don't make a mess and can be ignored for as long as you want without them dying or running off.

The hamsters and the accessories aren’t perfect and can be annoying for adults, but kids love the things and that is really the point of the little hamsters. The basic component of the Zhu Zhu Pets ecosystem is the Hamster Starter Set. This set includes two circular enclosures and a tunnel to connect them. Each of the enclosure halves has three tunnels running off from it that are used to connect accessories. Read more

Posted on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:00:00 CST | by Shane McGlaun

The Nvidia Tablet Is Hot

Topic: Hot Gadgets

For the last few days, rumors about an Nvidia-made tablet PC based around the Tegra processor have circulated around the Internet. Now Nvidia's given Engadget some straightforward info about the device. The gadget is currently in the prototype phase, and comes in several different sizes. It currently runs Windows CE and uses a resistive touchscreen, although we're likely to see it run the Android OS and feature a capacitive touchscreen when it launches.

This gadget is currently set for a launch roughly around March of 2010. This is extremely exciting, because the images we're seeing of the current prototype look almost identical to the iTablet renders we've been watching for months. While Apple may never actually end up producing such a device, a Tegra-based tablet running Android sounds just as good. If not a little bit better.

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Posted on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:19:25 CST | by Robert Evans

Intel Unveils Intel Reader with Text to Speech

Topic: Hot Gadgets

Intel has launched a new reader that is not aimed at the same markets that the typical eReaders are aimed at. The reader from Intel is aimed at people with reading based disabilities like dyslexia or low-vision and for the blind.

The device is about the size of a paperback book, converts printed text to digital text, and then reads the text aloud to the user. Intel claims that the device can help the 55 million users in the country with specific learning disabilities like dyslexia. Read more

Posted on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:00:00 CST | by Shane McGlaun

Withings WiFi body Scale Gets Social Aspect

Topic: Hot Gadgets

You may recall that cool Withings WiFi body scale that I reviewed not long ago. The scale is a neat and accurate way to track your weight loss and fitness goals and it sends the measurements to your computer and your iPhone.

Withings has announced a new feature for the scale that builds Twitter integration into the scale. That means that your scale will Twitter your weight and BMI among other details for you. I think most of us are probably thinking the same thing at this point, why would we want everyone on Twitter to know how much we weigh? Read more

Posted on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:56:37 CST | by Shane McGlaun

Sanyo Eneloop Tones and Eneloopy Unveiled

Topic: Hot Gadgets

I have been using the Sanyo Eneloop rechargeable batteries for a couple years now and love them. I still need a couple more to completely avoid standard batteries. Of course there have been rechargeable batteries before, but the Eneloop batteries came precharged and the new generation of Eneloop AA batteries can be recharged 1,500 times.
Sanyo has been pretty successful with their Eneloop battery line, selling 100 million cells since November 2005.
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Posted on Mon, 9 Nov 2009 01:35:34 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Asus Delays EEE Keyboard 'Till 2010, 10-inch Tablet PC Coming

Topic: Hot Gadgets

The Asus Eee Keyboard, previously confirmed for an October 2009 release, won't be out until 2010. Savvy gadget nerds probably realized this several days ago, when the netbook-inside-a-keyboard didn't launch within the one month window given. Now, Digitimes gives us the reason why. Apparently the original version of the Eee Keyboard didn't pass wireless regulation testing.

That's a huge bummer for every gadget nerd who wanted one of the sweet and totally cyberpunk keyboards, but this bad news comes with a bit of good. Asus has restated that the Eee Keyboard will be coming to the US and Europe. The company will be updating the machine in order to comply with regulations, and they've also made the 5” touchscreen interface capacitive. The device's price point will stay at around $500 USD.

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Posted on Fri, 6 Nov 2009 09:10:16 CST | by Robert Evans

Microsoft Courier Interface Details Leak

Topic: Hot Gadgets

I write about gadgets for a living. Since I'm a gadget nerd myself, that often means getting a bit excited about some of the cooler rumors, leaks, and product launches. I try to stay even handed and look at every side of any issue, but sometimes careful journalism like that is very difficult. Take the Microsoft Courier, a dual-screened tablet PC/electronic journal/e-reader. When news of it first leaked, it looked interesting. When a video of the UI leaked, it bumped up from 'interesting' to 'the #1 gadget I would commit unspeakable crimes in order to have right now'.

Today, the saga of the Courier gets a little bit deeper. Our friends at Gizmodo, who seem to have a source from inside Microsoft feeding them goodies, have produced scans of a document that explains in detail how the Courier works. Needless to say, this is going to be one incredibly hot gadget.

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Posted on Thu, 5 Nov 2009 09:08:12 CST | by Robert Evans

The Cyberus ID700WTA Smart Info Engine; You Got Your E-Reader In My Media Player

Topic: Hot Gadgets

E-Readers are still a fairly young type of product, which means the market is currently glutted with different company's takes on the idea. Some of them, like the Barnes & Noble nook, are really cool looking gadgets that could end up establishing an e-reader dynasty. Others, like the Sony Reader, are about as exciting and inspired as a pair of flannel pajama bottoms. I'm not sure yet which category Cyberus' new ID700WTA “Smart Info Engine” falls under, but I've got strong suspicions it could end up being awesome.

The ID700 isn't a dedicated e-reader, of course. Cyberus bills it as being a hybrid reader and personal media player. I think they need to stop splitting hairs and just call the damned thing a tablet PC, but that's just me. The ID700 has a 7” LCD screen, and comes with a protective folding cover that makes it look slightly more like a book. While Cyberus doesn't run their own e-book store, this reader can handle most e-book formats and, as an added blessing, can read PDF files.

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Posted on Thu, 5 Nov 2009 03:46:30 CST | by Robert Evans