by Thomas Ricker, posted Jun 24th 2008 at 7:26AM Well, well… three years and change have passed since we first told you about power-assisted Live Luggage. Now it’s finally coming to market — at least that’s what we think they mean by a June 26th 2008 “world premier.” The PA series of checked baggage features a 12V NiMH rechargeable battery pack supplying power to the wheels when the handle is gripped and the bag is tilted. The bags weighs 10.6kg (23-pounds) which is about 3kg (6.6-pounds) more than standard hard luggage, according to the manufacture. The cases are good for about 1.5 miles of assisted travel under a 32kg load. (Read the full post about ‘Power assisted Live Luggage ready to “world premier”’…)
As part of Sony’s just released fiscal 2008 annual report it has outlined a major cost it may not be able to recoup. That cost, of course, is how much the company has spent on developing the PlayStation 3 console.
The report states that in 2007 they lost US$2.16 billion in development costs and a further US$1.16 billion in 2008. The statement accompanying these figures said:
In the past, large-scale investment relating to capital expenditures and research and development for the manufacture of key components, including semiconductors supplied for [playstation 3] was also recorded within the Electronics segment.
The huge costs involved were not only from the cost of manufacturing the hardware, but also from the R&D that had to happen before that.
(Read the full post about ‘PlayStation 3 cost Sony $3.32 billion it may not recoup’…)
For those who are busy, outgoing and are often in meetings, using your laptop (however small) is often not very practical so you end up taking notes through the old fashioned, and lot cheaper method, the pen. However not only does that hurt your hand after a while, but you get a result that you cant search, send off instantly, or mess around with on Word. In fact you often end up re-typing it anyway to make it usable which is frustratingly time consuming, and makes you wish there was a better solution. Well here it is; the Dane-Elec Digital Zpen. This looks (for the most part) like a normal pen, and you use it just like a normal pen writing on normal paper in a normal way, but the reason for its $140 price tag is that it is far from ordinary. (Read the full post about ‘Pen-to-PC in a whole new way’…)
Are your colleagues teaming up against you, hoping that the next round of office politics will see you whimper and switch companies because they resent your genius and speedy route to the top? Well, show them that you not only deserve your position, but you mean business at the office, not shirking from your responsibilities while tackling difficult issues head on in a wise manner. Also, dent their confidence even more with the 1UP Mushroom - an officially licensed Nintendo collectible. This $9.99 desktop decoration would look better if you placed your own soil around the mushroom, creating an illusion that this actually grew from the pipe. Tags: sat-nav, high definition TV, wi-fi, Hi-fi (Read the full post about ‘1UP Mushroom Is All Yours’…)
The BlackBerry Kickstart is what is aiming to be a highly anticipated blackberry, for some they are anxious to use one, and for some its just a curiosity factor as this will be RIM’s first venture into the world of flip-style phones. One thing that is for sure is that, at least up until now, there has not been any shortage of live sightings of the Kickstart, and the latest leaked images even show off some comparison shots with not one, but two Bolds. Sadly while the comparison shot is decent, the rest are in the typical leaked image fashion—blurry. We do however also get a pretty good glimpse of the front exterior display, which in this case shows of a nice looking “analog” clock. (Read the full post about ‘The photo-loving BlackBerry Kickstart gets pictured, yet again’…)
It’s not all that often you come across a deal that is worthy of a second look, but today I found an 8GB flash drive for only $22. That’s not bad. I will admit, my current flash drive (I have lots but only use one most frequently) is only 2GBs and seems to be holding up just fine [on storage]. However, I wonder if life would be that much easier if I could easily store 8GBs when ever, where ever… Dane-Electronics is offering up their zMate 8GB UFD for only $22 plus free shipping. If you have never used Google check-out you could drop that 8GB drive to $12. Now that aint bad for 8GBs of memory. Grab the GetUSB Dealz now! (Read the full post about ‘8GB Flash Drive Only $22 From Dane-Elec’…)
Ricoh has updated its freaky little GX100 with the new GX200. The new model still comes without a regular viewfinder, but there is an optional clip-on electronic finder which sits atop the body. The main differences are the bigger 12 megapixels sensor and the somewhat clunkily named “Smooth Imaging Engine III”, Ricoh’s in-camera processor. The LCD is bigger, at 2.7″, and the 24-72mm lens is the same as that on the GX100. Ricoh also says that the camera’s buffer is bigger, and can handle bursts of up to five RAW frames. And if you are shooting RAW, you get another seemingly pointless option: A 1:1 aspect ratio. That is, the GX200 will let you shoot square pictures. Why on Earth you wouldn’t just crop later is a mystery. (Read the full post about ‘Ricoh Announces GX200 Compact’…)
Toshiba has announced that it will be offering some of its Satellite series laptops with the AMD’s notebook platform. Toshiba’s Satellite laptops which include the P300D, A300D, M300D, U400D, L300D and L350D will now be available with either AMD’s Athlon Dual Core QL, Turion Dual Core RM or Turion Ultra ZM processors. In addition some of the models from the mentioned Satellite series will now have the following standard features most Toshiba laptops; a built-in FM tuner, facial recognition sleep-and-charge USB ports, eSATA port and the Toshiba fusion finish. These Toshiba laptops aside from having the AMD platform will also come packed with Harman Kardon stereo speakers, while some will come equipped with Toshiba REGZA LINK technology. (Read the full post about ‘Toshiba equips some Satellite laptops with AMD platform’…)
Blue Telephony, the company known for manufacturing the Onyx product line including Liscio (the phone on the pic) is collaborating with CPS Group Italia to develop a new breed of mobile phones. While mobile phones heretofore are equipped with the usual features and some with more specialized ones like calorimeters and similar, the phone Blue Telephony plans to design has the ability to detect the presence and measure the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. Great for people who are allergic to smoke or those with asthma, or perhaps it could be used as a gauge if it’s time to raise a bit more plants around the house. (Read the full post about ‘Phones that Can Measure Carbon Dioxide Not So Far Off’…)
It initially seems odd that Logitech would launch a Mac-only webcam: All Macs but the Mini and Pro have a built in iSight camera. Reading the specs gives the answer — the QuickCam Vision Pro is a significant step up in performance from the built-in option. The two megapixel Quickcam can supply 720p video via an autofocus Carl Zeiss lens, and has a built in microphone which is hopefully better than the one in my MacBook. The camera will cost $130, and – floating eerily as it does in the product shot – the Quickcam reminds us of nothing other than the Empire’s Imperial Probe Droid, or Probot. (Read the full post about ‘Logitech Launches Mac-Only Hi-Def Webcam’…)
