Posted Feb 27th 2008 6:49PM by Nilay PatelFiled under: Laptops Although we’d been told that the hot Asus U2E ultraportable was delayed so the company could launch several products at once, it looks like the crew at PC Perspective managed to get their hands on one and do the requisite unboxing. No word on how the lil’ scamp runs with that ULV Core Duo, but it looks just as slick as ever, and we’re digging that satchel case it comes with — check it all out at the read link.[Thanks, Ryan]Tags: gizmos, sat-nav, video games, gadgetry (Read the full post about ‘Asus U2E gets unboxed’…)
People that have a beautiful garden and take care of their plants, will love the Wireless Rain Center, or not… Its main feature is to monitor the rainfall amounts that happen outside your house, and transmit them to the inside, where the receiver is located - with you. With this information, I’m pretty sure the professional gardeners will make some kind of calculations to know if the plants need more water. Or maybe it is just for fun. Other features include a self-emptying rain bucket that makes life much easier for you, and rain indicator for light or heavy. The Wireless Rain Center is priced at $40. (Read the full post about ‘The Wireless Rain Center’…)
Posted Feb 27th 2008 8:34PM by Donald MelansonFiled under: Displays Texas Instruments and others have been touting mini (or pico) projectors without hesitation as of late, but it seems that not everyone is quite so excited about them, with some folks now even warning about a number of potential dangers. One of those naysayers is Future Laboratory founder Martin Raymond, who told the BBC that while the projectors (likely to be used primarily in cellphones) are “appealing initially,” he has concerns about the devices causing “visual pollution,” adding that there could be “inappropriate showing of things that maybe other people shouldn’t be seeing.” Needless to say, he also foresees new laws and legislation controlling the use of the technology. (Read the full post about ‘Mini projectors spark worries about “visual pollution”’…)
At the Sony Open House, Mike Abary (SVP of Information Technology Products Division) shared his view on the Asus Eee and used the expression “race to the bottom” (in terms of pricing) to describe what would happen if consumers would go for ultra-cheap PCs massively. It is an interesting subject, and here is what we think of it at Ubergizmo: given the success of the Eee, it’s not hard to imagine why PC manufacturers keep an eye on the issue. “Good enough” is a danger for PC Makers High-end laptops are not going away but $400 laptops like the Eee could put the other sub-$999 laptops in danger, and the volume is huge in this segment. (Read the full post about ‘Why Are PC Manufacturers so Afraid of the Asus Eee?’…)
Shuttle has yet another option for those who want to indulge in some gaming without the disadvantage of having a large, towering CPU case in their room. The Shuttle XPC P2 3500G will be powered by an Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 processor, along with the following specifications. 4GB of DDR2-800 memory 750GB Samsung SATA drive with 32MB cache ATI HD 3870 graphics card WiFi connectivity DVD burner 25-in-1 memory card reader Windows VistaThe XPC P2 3500G will ship for approximately $2,200, depending on your configuration. Tags: AAC, tests, tech, speaker (Read the full post about ‘Shuttle XPC P2 3500G’…)
Posted Feb 27th 2008 3:43PM by Nilay PatelFiled under: cellphonesWe don’t usually take much stock in proposed legislation — Schoolhouse Rock left out the part where lobbyists gut all the good bits — but we’re willing to root for the Wireless Consumer Protection and Community Broadband Empowerment Act, currently on the floor in the House and Senate. The bill, sponsored by Massachusetts Rep. Ed Markey, would require carriers to sell contract-free phones, provide rate plan information in a “clear, plain, and conspicuous manner,” disclose any phone subsidies hidden in the plan’s price, and offer price-comparable plans with no subsidy or early termination fee. (Read the full post about ‘Proposed law would require carriers to sell contract-free phones’…)
Posted Feb 27th 2008 1:54PM by Darren MurphFiled under: DisplaysSadly, Epson’s latest projector will end up spending entirely too much time in the boardroom and not nearly enough time throwing up Halo 3 Portal matches in the lounge, but we suppose that’s the life of a business projector, after all. The recently launched EMP-1825 offers up an XGA (1,024 x 768) resolution, 3,500 ANSI lumens, a USB 2.0 port and a CompactFlash slot for good measure. Most notably, however, is this thing’s wireless skills, which enable it to beam out presentations without being tethered to a PC. Still, we’d like to see a resolution a little closer to 1080p before dropping Rs. (Read the full post about ‘Epson launches EMP-1825 business projector in India’…)
Scene It? Music Edition DVD Game CAUTION! Seriously eliminates mass tedium. Dinner parties expose you to many dangers - perhaps the biggest being tedious conversation. See price Tags: Ogg Vorbis, DVD, gprs, DAB (Read the full post about ‘Scene It? Music Edition DVD Game’…)
The ThinkPad x300 is finally available to users and if you have been following the tech news lately you surely know all about it by now. It’s a lightweight notebook with a LED-backlit 13.3″ display, with a Core 2 Duo processor that comes standard with a solid state drive. It sells for at least $2548 so it’s not cheap, but no one expected a release of this magnitude to be affordable, especially given how a 64GB SSD is going to inflate the price at this early stage in the game. It’s thin (0.73-0.92″), it’s light (starting at 2.9lbs), and it has an optical drive, but what else should you know about the X300? (Read the full post about ‘ThinkPad X300: Tweaks, Updates, and Improvements’…)
Posted Feb 27th 2008 3:27PM by Darren MurphFiled under: Misc. gadgets What’s worse than being forced to hang with your “pals” as they peruse the aisles of Sharper Image? Why, perusing the aisle at Brookstone, of course! In an admittedly ridiculous ploy to solicit business from now-shafted Sharper Image gift card holders, Brookstone is attempting to do the world some giant favor by converting any Sharper Image gift cards or gift certificate into a 25-percent off discount for its stores. Unfortunately, the individual with a $1 gift card and a $20,000 gift card get the same lame-o discount, and better still, the deal isn’t valid on the few things in there worth a darn Sony, Celestron, Bose, Panasonic and Tempur-Pedic items. (Read the full post about ‘Brookstone converts Sharper Image gift cards into practically worthless discount’…)
