Gadgety News

Ok, there’s been more than a couple of rumours flying around about the new lithe Xbox 360.

Couple that with the fact that there has been no official confirmation of any such device and so this news should be treated with your usual dose of scepticism.

This time though, the rumour has been credited to a proper Microsoft source, Microsoft India’s Retail Services Manager, Rahul Datta. According to this site, Mr Datta let slip that an announcement about the Xbox 360 Slim could be expected in December.  Ooopsy!

That was closely followed by a PR rep pouncing to undo the exec’s loose-lipped utterings.

He cooly stated that he had simply pointed out that the business is evolving and that there may be some kind of announcement (not necessarily related to this strange Xbox 360 Slim that everyone keeps on about) which might be made in a few months. Maybe. Perhaps. Kinda.

Sounds pretty promising, and Microsoft would want to keep a tight lid on such news when there’s the important business of Christmas to contend with.

The saga continues……………

(via ElectricPig)

You gotta love a ‘world’s first’!

And, my dear readers - dare I say, friends, is perxactly what I have here for you.

This unassuming camcorder is none other than the world’s first Geo-Tagging camcorder!

The result of a collaboration between Geotate and DXG - Geotagging specialist and vid-cam maker respectively.

So as your capturing all those travelling moments you wont get confused when watching the pics back at home because all of those flicks will automatically contain that location metadata.

The camera itself is a Geotate software pimped version of DXG’s DVH586.

No price, etc, blah, blah yet

LetsGoDigital

Check out this logo!

16 companies have teamed-up for a GSM Association-led initiative to make mobile broadband a recognisable standard - nothing makes things more real than a logo

The team’s aim is to create a bunch of “always-connected mobile broadband devices delivering a compelling alternative to Wi-Fi”.

The first phase will see it pre-installed on laptops in 91 countries.

Launch participants include 3 Group, Asus, Dell, ECS, Ericsson, Gemalto, Lenovo, Microsoft, Orange, Qualcomm, Telefónica Europe, Telecom Italia, TeliaSonera, T-Mobile, Toshiba and Vodafone.

So - some big names in there.

The GSMA-created “Mobile Broadband service mark” is designed to help consumers easily identify a “ready to run” mobile broadband device.

More is promised from the initiative including “a whole range of previously unconnected devices – from cameras and MP3 players to refrigerators, cars and set-top boxes.”

This is a concept phone that ranks high on the cool-o-meter!

The Fujitsu device shown at CEATEC lets you to separate your screen and touchscreen keypad in whatever configuration you like.

This means that they can be used separately (one bit in each of your ultra-skinny jeans front pockets) or stuck together by magnets, and where you stick the screen on the keypad determines what the touchscreen shows. Fantastic!

The screen bit contains software functions, including video recording and games, while the keyboard is responsible for the comms side of things.  Stuff like 3G and radio.

This could stop all that quandry of soap bar or flip or slider…………

This is one concept that I’m hoping will:

• Get released
• …and not only in Japan

What do you reckon?

Akihabara News

Sony is feeling pretty smug right now as it celebrates the 85,000 PlayTV units sent to retailers over the two weeks since the PS3 Freeview recorder accessory started shipping to the shops.

Not to dampen their touchpaper but units shipped doesn’t equate to units sold.  What this might show is that they’re expecting the Sony faithful to be all over the £70 device this Xmas.

To add some more perspective to Sony’s smugfest:  Freesat, the UK’s relatively new free-to-air satellite service featuring high definition programming as well as most of the same channels that Freeview offers - is celebrating its own milestone this morning.

Freesat has now reached 100,000 unit sales - it has taken them five months to get to this stage!

PlayTV does seem to be an excellent add-on for any PS3 console so watch this space for news about actual sales (eh? Sony?)

GamesIndustry.biz

We have got used to any new gaming machine being released to a fan-fare and dancing girls and perhaps huge queues outside major stores - that is not the way Dutch company, Swinx, rolls.

On release now is ”a title rich gaming machine with a traditional twist” that happens to be made by a Nokia designer.

Swinx’s machine utilises RFID technology and is already being touted as a design triumph.

Players wear one of the wristbands each and then select one of the many games inside which include trad-faves such as tag, hide and seek and musical chairs and then listen as the speaking console explains the rules and becomes the referee.

Playing indoors or outside (really!?! playing outside could happen once more! OMG!) up to ten players can communicate with the console, and in addition to the ten pre-loaded games owners can log onto their website to download new titles for free as they become available.

Personally I like the fact that these games are back old school and will actually get folks to move around a little

One of the inventors, Eduard Zanen, announced that “Swinxs is the perfect marriage of traditional games and technology, both of which kids love, Its both physical and creative, safe and even educational which appeals to us parents”.

It is available now for £130

Swinxs

Teleconferencing.

It’s such a very impersonal way of conducting meetings isn’t it?

All the people back in the conference room get is a screen with a window showing another window that contains your beautiful visage.

Just like being there - it isn’t!

RoboDynamics, on the other hand, wants to popularise what they call “telepresence,” and it necessitates inhabiting a robotic body in the room.

Ok, so it doesn’t really look like you - or anyone else for that matter.

So what if the TiLR looks like a proto-Dalek with a flatscreen for a face?  The idea itself is fab and a little scary.

You’d be able to scoot around, tilt and pan its camera, and talk face to face with people in the remote environment……….I’d rather be the one controlling the droid and not the one being faced with it to be honest!

Although I can’t see a boss cruising down the office halls “in” this thing, waving virtually to employees and stopping into cubicles to check in I can see some positives

I’m guessing it’s a helpful idea if the CEO works from the HQ in another continent but still would like to have a presence at the Christmas party or hand out awards and such as well as roaming around the conference table.

Why don’t we all just work from home and have these back at the office?…………….

Crunch Gear

Japan is getting all “Whatever you can do we can do ever-so much better!” with this extravagant Ultimate Matrix Collection Blu-Ray limited edition set.

As well as having a very long name it also includes a 7-disc collection, which can be stored inside a 2-foot model of the Nebuchadnezzar.

The 7 discs include Blu-Ray versions of The Matrix trilogy and The Animatrix, as well as three standard-definition DVDs featuring ‘making-of’ documentaries.

The Ultimate Matrix Collection is currently slated for a Japan-only release on December 17 for about $375.

WHV via OhGizmo

Alex Underwood wanted to produce some speakers that are meant to capture child-like memories and emotions.

I think his councilor should take him to one-side as all I’m getting from looking into that Kenny-styled hood is fear and “I’m sorry - I wont do that again.  I promise…..!”

But there are some interesting design points other that of the scared-child appearance.

These are still just a design and are constructed from Expanded Polystyrene - a good, cheap, light and largely undervalued material.

The speakers are meant to be used in pairs, and are actually fairly large.

Although shown here in white, manufacturing in EPS allows for a wide range of color options.

I wonder if the speakers just look like that because they know what you’ve just downloaded and about to do now there’s no-one else in the room…………………..

SlipperyBrick

According to Japan’s Nikkei newspaper (kind of Japans’ Wall Street Journal) they report that Nintendo will launch a new version of the DS later this year.

Now I’ve already talked about this but this is where the Nikkei article gets interesting:  They say that this new DS is coming loaded with a built-in camera, music playback and a more powerful wireless to boot!

The camera will be used for new types of games - given what they’ve created with the Wii there’s no telling what this could lead to - though I’m sure it would involve taking pictures of yourself at some point…….

Of course, it’ll reportedly launch in Japan before it hits overseas, where it’ll sell for under 20,000 yen (Kotaku notes the current DS is 16,800 yen).

If true, it looks to be another iteration of the current DS, not the dual widescreen jobby I mentioned before - expect it in April or May 2009.

Nikkei via Kotaku

This is a totally cool bit of kit.

Songreference has a free download for the Windows version of iTunes (Mac to follow I guess) and Winamp called MiniTube.

MiniTube will sniff out the music video of whichever MP3 you are playing at the time.

That’s cool enough but it then plays it all synced up to the song.

The syncing part is the trickiest bit and, quite frankly, makes all the difference.

The plug-in also has links to Wikipedia information on each song.

See a demo video here.

Yup………..it has finally happened.

It’s almost a year since my little gadgety corner of the interweblogosphere started and I’ve decided to update the look and feel of the place.

You asked for a less cluttered and more simple lay-out that is easier and quicker to download - BOSH!

Tis done

If you like it let me know - if you don’t………….let me know what else you’d like to see

Jay

Wired have produced a series of futuristic bumper stickers to give us a glimpse of what truckers and the like will be displaying on their vehicles in the year 2018.

Not sure about the Canadian Border Fence one though………….but then, that’s probably just me.

Have a giggle over the pics - Wired Bumper Stickers

Not one for the light sleeper but definitely one for those folks that yearn to have a railway station style flick over clock.

If you want an audible sign of the passage of time; minute by minute. Flip, clunk, flip, clunk, as the ebbing away of life……..

Ahem.

This lump of retro-inspired horology can be yours for $83.99.

Shop for it here

If you’re on the hunt for a mini PMP that also has the where-withall to be able to play SNES games then you could soon be in luck!

The Oppo Muse G11 is certainly looking to tick all of those boxes,

Oppo has the first prototype of the device out and about but are still being a little cagy about the tech-specs.

When I get some more info I shall of course impart it to you my faithful gathering

PMP Today

Ok, stop your sniggering class!

Granted ‘Thrustmaster’ does sound almost like a piece of home exercise gear bought from a shopping channel but it is a company responsible for possibly the best two Wiimote accessories of all time.

First up, and for me the coolest, are the red and blue dueling Glow Sabers.

Both are sporting 17 LEDs and thus require 3AAA batteries a piece.

Once the much anticipated Star Wars game hits the stores this pack should fly from the shelves like they were in some kinda Jedi Supermarket Sweep!

The other natty bit of kit is the Dual Trigger Gun (complete with Nunchuck holster!).  It should bring any FPS or shooty-shooty-death-kill Wii game truly to life.

The Nunchuck rest is said to allow the gamer a “very stable shooting position”.

The Glow Saber 2-pack is available right about now for $34.99, while the Dual Trigger Gun should land in short order for $17.99.

GoNintendo

Apple is now selling its iPhone 3G unlocked via its on-line Apple Store in Hong Kong!

Yup, the 8GB model sells for HK$5,500 (about £376) or HK$6,200 (about £431) for the 16 gigger.

“iPhone 3G purchased at the Apple Online Store can be activated with any wireless carrier. Simply insert the SIM from your current phone into iPhone 3G and connect to iTunes 8 to complete activation.”

Unfortunately for the 1 billion mainland Chinese and the rest of the world the terms and conditions limit sales to those in Hong Kong only - it can’t be long until we see the Grey Import versions tho

It’ll be interesting to see if Apple extends the unlocking more broadly (presumably as exclusivity deals expire) or if this is strictly a local phenomena.

PC World

I had this land in my inbox today.

It looks to be a new camera phone from Sammy called the Pixon.

It’s a touch screen jobby with an accelerometer and an 8mp snapper.

MP3’s should sound pretty good as it comes loaded with the SRS system.

You want more insider knowledge?

Read on………….

The press specs are thusly presented:

• 8MP Camera with Auto Focus.
• 3.2-inch Full-Touch Screen.
• Only 13.8mm thin.
• 16 x Zoom, Dual Power LED Flash.
• Face Detection.
• Smile Shot.
• ASR (Advanced Shake Reduction).
• WDR (Wide Dynamic Range).
• Photo Browser (Accelerometer Sensor).
• High Speed Video Capture and Playback.
• HSDPA Quad-Band 7.2Mbps connectivity.
• Online Widget for easy access to frequently used functions.
• SRS (surround sound system) Virtual 5.1CH.

As well as all of that there appears to be what looks like a gaming icon on the screen………

It’s said to be arriving in November with a £400 price tag - prolly best to get it on a contract huh?

The press chappy asks me to point you here : www.thephotographicadventuresofnickturpin.com to get involved.

LG have now come out and said that there will be a follow up to their fashion fone link with Prada.

There has been the usual leaked pictures around the interweblogsphere and now the manufacturers have finally  admitted defeat and confirmed that the Prada II is in the pipeline.

I’m hoping that other rumours are also true; such as the slidey-out QWERTY board - the text entry on the last one wasn’t fabulous to use.

Euro Prada fans get first dibs and then it will go across the pond to the States.

Not much else is known about this latest installment of Prada - but now it’s been confirmed I’ll be keeping an eye out for you folk

boygeniusreport.com

If, like me, you can’t get your fill of Midway classics by mere emulations.

You need the full controller array and cabinet to get fully immersed!

Most are a little on the expensive side but this officially licensed tabletop cabinet is pretty tempting.

For $200 (and $5 shipping) you get a 14″ CRT, a duo of 6-button joysticks and 12 games like Rampage, Joust and Root Beer Tapper. Plus, there are some A/V-in ports for those of you looking to bring your HD Xbox 360 experience to the small screen.

woot via dealnews