Wacky gadgets' place - cool gadgets for 2009

Nintendo DS Lite portable console: a better Nintendo DS

John Pope — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:34:51 +0000

Portable games consoles are a big hit of the past years, as teenagers are attracted to the idea of not having dead times while traveling from point A to point B. You might think that those consoles are not very advanced, but you’ll be very wrong, as both Sony and Nintendo have already released several versions which improve one upon the other.

One such portable games console is the Nintendo DS Lite, a 20% lighter version of the Nintendo DS. It features two screens, the lower one with embedded touchscreen technology. It has two slots, one for Nintendo DS games, one for Game Boy Advanced game packs.

You can choose a model that suits your style, available colors being: Metallic Rose, Light Cobalt, Onyx Black, Crimson, Metallic Silver. If that’s not enough for you you can find a lot of Nintendo DS Lite accessories including carrying cases, protection cases, cables, adaptors and so on.

Nintendo DS Lite in Onyx Black dress

Now about the games, they’re not what you know from the times of Donkey Kong and Super Mario. Thanks now to dual processors, 3D gaming on a portable console is possible. Oh, and portable doesn’t mean you have to rush to an outlet once a few hours, as the Nintendo’s DS Lite battery is rated for 19 hours of continuous play time.

One of the most interesting features of the DS Lite is the WiFi connection, which coupled with special games makes multi player and chat sessions possible.

Should i buy a netbook or not?

Mike Andrew — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:00:57 +0000

I’ve been wondering whether i should buy a netbook or not for quite a while now, as a replacement for my every day laptop that’s way too heavy to carry around (around 6 pounds). And i’m sure there’re many of you having the same problem as i have. That’s why i put together a couple of pros and cons of a normal everyday netbook.

The pros:

they’re small and light
they have good autonomy (2-5 hours)
they’re fairly inexpensive (300-500$)
they’re not heavy at all: around 2-3 pounds max
the latest ones have decent hardware and can even run Windows XP or Vista

The cons:

the hardware inside is still pretty slow
being so small, most of the netbooks are uncomfortable to use for a longer period of time (small screen, small keyboard, etc)
overall build quality and materials is low for the cheap-medium models

The good part is that netbooks are getting better. There are already a couple of 12″ models on the market and more to come. Those provide a good enough screen and keyboard layout without sacrificing portability.

And, by the end of this year, Intel is going to launch their new ultra low voltage architecture, the next ATOMs, based on the Nehalem technology. And this is scheduled to bring a big performance boost, though netbooks equipped with it will be quite expensive in their early months.

So, nowadays i find netbooks still not good enough for a savvy user. They’re good as a backup of your laptop or when you only need them for 1-2 hours a day (like when you’re traveling). But, if i were you, I’d wait till next year when netbooks will truly become mainstream and will be truly worth full.

GnG score keeper plus magnifier Golf accessories set

John Pope — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:11:20 +0000

We all know that golf is a game for calm men which want to enjoy playing outside, surrounded by grass, but also golf is a sport that helps make money, so it’s good to have accessories to help you better keep the score and adjust your swing by observing the situation on the ‘battlefield’. This is what the GnG Golf Accessories Set provides: an accurate score keeper and a magnifying monocular.

GnG Golf score keeper

The GnG Golf score keeper can keep track of a maximum of 4 players for a total of 18 holes plus it features a magnetic ball marker to better distinguis which ball belongs to whom. The GnG Golf score keeper is designed for one hand operation.

GnG golf magnifier monocular

The GnG Golf magnifier offers a 5X magnification glass for close up views for a good viewing range of 50 to 200 yards. The inside viewfinder has a reticle with markings for precision ranging. This is the perfect set for a passionate golfer

Golf Ball Finder glasses - one of the best offer on the market

Golf Ball Finder glasses - one of the best offer on the market

John Pope — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:56:41 +0000

If you like playing golf like I do, you know how stressful and pricey is to loose your special balls in the green all the time. There are of course solutions like GPS trackers but those solutions cost very much, much more than I’m willing to spend. Fear not, there’s an alternative, which is really cheap: the Golf Ball Finder glasses, a special pair of glasses whose only purpose is to find lost golf balls.

The Golf ball finder glasses with accessories

How the Golf Ball Finder glasses work is pretty simple: a special optical filter reduces grass and foliage, making the lost balls appear bright against the background. Also to protect your investment, the Golf Ball Finder glasses are delivered with a custom carrying case.

I haven’t tested them yet to see how good they are, but actual customers say they’re pretty good, especially considering the low price tag (~25$).

GnG score keeper plus magnifier Golf accessories set

Ninja Stealth Televizion Gadget: the remote you’ve been waiting for

John Pope — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 11:01:55 +0000

Do you like pranks or you like being in control of all television sets? There’s an answer to your prayers an it’s not even an expensive one: for a few bucks you can order the Ninja Remote Stealth Television Gadget which will allow you to control remotely about 500 brands of television sets.

Ninja Stealth Television Remote

You’ll never by annoyed by those people wanting to watch Oprah in a bar when you know the football game of your lifetime is on a different channel. All you have to do is take the Ninja Stealth Television Gadget out of your pocket and change the channel. The Ninja Stealth remote allows you also to change the volume, turn the television on and off or change the AV source.

You don’t have to worry about controlling the wrong television set, as you’ll have to point the Ninja Stealth Remote towards the device you want to manage. Ninja Stealth Televizion Gadget makes for a great gift as it comes with included batteries.

Buy the Ninja Remote Stealth Television Gadget

Two Handpicked Latest Cool Gadgets

LG teases us with Chocolate 2

John Pope — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 10:37:58 +0000

We all know about the LG Chocolate, which was launched a few years ago and which made some sensations with its futuristic design and controls. LG Chocolate was a success, being one of the best sold LG phones of all times. This is why the new model will be called LG Chocolate 2. We don’t currently know much about the second generation Chocolate besides the fact that it will be launched sometime in August this year.

The lack of specs is due to LG trying to make an aura around this new product, to make it more appealing to customers. I expect it to have mainstream specs accompanied with a few design details to make it stand in the crowd. From the few pictures released by LG you can see that the general form will be simple, just like the HTC Touch Diamond, with few buttons on the side and of course a touchscreen to bring it in the year 2009.

LG Chocolate 2 teaser picture

Basic types of programs every computer should have

Mike Andrew — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:00:29 +0000

You’ve bought yourself a PC. What do you need to install in the beginning for it to properly work? The requirements are different for each and every one of them, but I’ll try to make a list of the most important software, that anybody who wants to use its PC in optimal conditions, needs. Obviously, the first software you need to install it’s an operating system, and here I’ve decided to speak only for those who install Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7.

1. Antivirus

Under no circumstances, should you start internet browsing without an antivirus. Personally, I use Avast, which has never let me down for the last two years. This one is free. If you’re ready to pay a few dollars extra in order to get better protection, you should BitDefender or Kaspersky, because they’re first place on all tops.

2. Packer/Unpacker

It is extremely useful because some kits are packed and you won’t be able to use it without one. The most famous and efficient (from my point of view) is WinRar. You can download it from the WinRar website.

3. Browser

If you want a lot of aggravations and crashes from 5 to 5 minutes don’t bother you, you can stick to Internet Explorer, which is pre-installed on Windows installation.

For at least a few weeks, it will properly behave, but that’s not an excuse for you not to switch to something better. And that means Firefox or Opera.

4. Virtual Drive

Have you received some image installation kits on an USB stick? You can see its content and install it with WinRar (because an image is actually an archive), but in the future, a better way to use it, would be by installing a software that creates a virtual optical drive. The most popular and efficient of all times, is Daemon Tools.

5. Burning CD/DVD/Blu-ray soft

Personally, I think that the time for CDs and DVDs has passed, meaning that I don’t really know people who back-up their data on CDs or DVDs anymore. Most of the users transfers their data on memory sticks, that got to impressive storage capacity, or portable hard-disks. However, it’s pretty complicated to make a bootable USB stick (to install an operating system) so, the CDs and DVDs still remains the easier way. How to burn a CD? Well, the most popular software for this, is Nero. The downloadable version costs 60 Euros.

6. Multimedia

You’ll definitely want to listen to music or watch a movie on your computer. At least at home, the PC represents an entertainment device. For music, everyone who has interacted with a computer until now, knows about Winamp. It’s indeed the most popular, but there are other options, some of them being actually somehow better.

Personally, I’ve started using AIMP. AIMP can be downloaded from here. Don’t get scared when you see that the website is written is Russian. You can choose your language from the upper right corner and you can select English (EN).

For movies, I’ve been using BSPlayer for years, and this subject has been also debated here. Although the interface it’s not for the XXIst century, this software is really easy to use, and the part with the diacritical marks is also piece-of-a-cake.

These are pretty much my suggestions to a computer beginner. Of course, you might also need a text editor and for that there is Microsoft Office Pack, or Open Office; maybe you’ll want to process some images, and you’ll need a free image processing software, an online version, or a paid one etc. There are lots of software you can gradually install, but those presented above are essentially in the beginning, right after operating system installation.

Sony HDR-SR10E, the best Full HD video camera on the market

Mike Andrew — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 09:26:00 +0000

If you want to record at a Full HD (1920×1080) resolution, Sony HDR-SR10E is an extremely popular candidate (and perhaps one of the best) among the existing offers on the market and a pretty big progress from Sony HDR-SR1 model, which was the first Full HD video camera, launched in 2006.

The biggest quality of the Sony HDR-SR10E camera is that it can record up to 15 hours on the built-in hard-disk which has a capacity of 40 GB.

Let’s see other technical features of Sony HDR-SR10E:

Full HD (1920×1080) video resolution;
4 MPx photo resolution;
15 x optical zoom;
2,7″ touchscreen LCD and 211.200 pixels resolution;
40 GB capacity on the built-in hard-disk and on Memory Stick cards;
surround sound with zoom mic;
dimensions: 129×76x81 mm;
weight: 480 g without battery and memory card.

Have you ever seen a movie at a Full HD resolution? If your answer is yes, then you know you don’t want to go back to DVD resolution or standard TV. The details are amazing, it seems that everything is happening right in front of you, as you were looking throughout a window at the hole scene. This is what happens because the Full HD resolution approaches someway the process resolution of the human eye.

Front view - Sony SR10E - one of the best compact HD cameras on the market

If you know all these, then you know what to expect from Sony HDR-SR10E. You’ll be able to make your own Full HD movies with a video camera that fits in your hand. You’ve already found out that Sony HDR-SR10E can record up to 15 hours of Full HD on the built-in hard disk, but that happens only in AVCHD format, meaning the video signal is compressed in the MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 standard. It is a format made by Sony and Panasonic and at this moment, it is a standard for the Full HD recording of the video cameras.

If you burn a DVD in a AVCHD video format you’ll be able to play it only on Blu-ray reading device. Otherwise, you are determined to connect the PC to your TV throughout a HDMI cable (if the video board on your PC allows you to) to see the movies on your HD TV or, of course, to see them on your PC screen. It’s mandatory to have a HD video card, in order to use Sony HDR-SR10E. And that’s because the internal hard disk will run out of space and you’ll have to download the content to your PC, using an USB cable.

Beside the excellent screen resolution, Sony HDR-SR10E can record sound in AC-3 surround format (5.1 channels), and the microphone has a really interesting zooming function, found only on high end video cameras. It’s a technology which allows the microphone to focus on capturing sounds from a specific subject. It doesn’t mean you’ll be able to hear perfectly what your neighbours across the street are speaking, but definitely you’ll hear clearly the voice of a recorded subject, in noisy conditions.

Sony HDR-SR10E can also take 4MPx pictures, but it’s not specifically designed for this, so I would continue my photo-shooting with a professional photo-camera. What’s interesting is that you can take 3MPx photos while recording.

Sony HDR S10 - compact but yet so powerfull Full HD Camera

Regarding the LCD, there aren’t any complaints for Sony HDR-SR10E. It’s a big, extremely bright and with a clear image, touchscreen. So there are less buttons left which means less aggravations. As you were expecting, Sony HDR-SR10E has a Super SteadyShot optical image stabilization, but the camera is however too light, to make a movie that resembles what you see on TV. The solution is to buy a tripod.

Sony HDR-SR10E does not record image in RGB (red, green, blue), but uses a x.v. colour technology, that covers a wider chromatic scale than most video cameras do. I can definitely say that there’s an obvious difference, but that depends also on the screen you’re watching the recorded image. Calibration is essentially, even with the best camera, otherwise it’s for nothing.

You can get the Sony HDR-SR10E for about $969 (new, or up to 400$ cheaper refurbished or used) on Amazon. It’s not cheap, but it’s a good deal for a Full HD camcorder like this. You saw how many things it can do, and like i said, it’s one of the best Full HD cameras available at the moment.

In the end, pls don’t mind sharing your experiences with Sony HDR-SR10E in the comments section.

Coins beneath your car seats a problem? Here’s a solution

Mike Andrew — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:43:09 +0000

I for one always hate it when i drop coins, cards, keys or sometimes even my phone in the space between my car’s seats and the central dashboard. It’s always incredibly hard to get them out from there.

But, there seems to be a solution for this problem: a special piece of equipment meant exactly for filling that space and stopping things from getting under the seats.They look like in the picture below, are 18″ long and fit almost every type of car and track. As you can see, they perfectly fit in their place and once installed, you’ll never even notice them.

Coins and keys beneath your car's seats are now history

These devices are made out of resistant materials and are liquid/stains proof.

Also they’re really affordable. You can get a set of two for just $19.99 from these guys here.

Care for some waterproof iPod speakers?

Mike Andrew — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 10:05:38 +0000

I know you all love your iPods and all want to have as many accessories as possible. So here’s something really wacky: a pair of waterproof speakers for your iPod.They’re made by Focal and called Aquatunes.

As you can see in the pic bellow, they look quite funky. Are made from clear polycarbonate pieces sealed with silicone rubber parts. They can be used in water up to 1 meter deep, but if you keep them submerged for too long (hours), the seal might get damaged. So, they are not so reliable, but yet they look great and could be great accessories for a small pool party.

Funky looking submersible iPod Speakers

They fit several types of iPods, including the Nano and the Classic and there are two versions available, with 1 W or 3W speakers inside.

Unfortunately, they’re pretty expensive, costing $175 (the 3W version) and $120. I’d definitely like to have a pair of these, but i find the price way to steep for me. What do you guys think?

How to Transfer iPod Music to a New Computer

Laser stars projectors - for the romantic in you

Mike Andrew — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:49:51 +0000

If you’re like me, living in a crowded city with lots of lights, you’ll almost never be able to see the stars during the night. But we all know stars are so romantic, so… here’s a solution to bring stars in your own apartment and create a cozy environment, great for a romantic evening or for a party suitable atmosphere: the laser stars projector.

There are many options available on the market for such devices. They are f*ing brilliant, we can’t even describe the effect in these lines and even pictures can’t. Seeing it live is an entirely different experience.

Cause once you turn off the light and start the laser projector, the room will be filled with a cloud of dust and stars. That’s possible thanks to the holographic technology combined with colored lasers inside the device. The movie bellow should make you get an idea on the experience, but like i said, it’s nothing compared to the live show

What’s also nice about these projectors is that they are compact, easy to use (just plug them in and press the on button) and quite affordable considering how brilliant they are: somewhere between 100 and 150 bucks.

I’m really looking to buy such a laser stars projector in the next month. How about you?

Nokia e75 - a business phone with style

Mike Andrew — Sat, 09 May 2009 13:44:16 +0000

I’m a Nokia e51 owner and for me this is a great phone: smart, slim, stylish and tough. Though, it’s kind of bad for web surfing as it has no QWERTY keyboard and a very small screen (2″ or so).

But today, when i saw the new Nokia e75, i said to myself: “I have to buy this one!”.

It looks like the E51 but it has a full keyboard and a bigger screen. Also, it’s not a lot wider, cause the keyboard slides beneath the upper part of the phone, as you can see in the pictures below. We’re not sure how big is that new screen but I’d recon somewhere around 2.4 - 2.5″ . Oh, and there’s one bad news: it seems that this gadget wont have GPS receiver. That’s too bad…

As a conclusion, this new Nokia e75 combines the good parts of E51 and e71 in one piece. Of course, that means the price will be pretty high (around 400 pounds - 450 euros in Europe), a little too high if you ask me.

Still, this phone looks great and i can’t wait to get my hand on a real one. And i won’t have to wait too much, as the Nokia e75 will be available on the market from March or April.

Amazon Kindle 2 reader shows its face in hi-res pictures

John Pope — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 15:23:08 +0000

E-Book readers seem to be a thing of the future as Kindle, the first e-B00k reader from Amazon was out of stock in their website for many days. Now with the imminent release of the Kindle 2 (it’s said that Kindle 2 will announced today, with a special Stephen King story), there’s hi-res pictures on Internet, which will only make you drawl thinking of the device.

From what we’ve gathered it seems the Kindle Reader 2 will be slimmer than the first version and will sell for 359$, same as Kindle. Enjoy the pics

Update (new specs):

the 6 inch diagonal display has a 600 x 800 resolution and can display up to 16 shades of gray
battery life is up 25 percent
books are stored in a 2GB size internal memory
turning pages is now 20 % faster
if can be yours starting February 24th

Kindle 2: Amazon’s New Wireless Reading Device (Buy From Amazon.com)

MePhone, a ‘me too’ smartphone from Dell?

John Pope — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 03:57:38 +0000

Dell is one of the few big hardware manufacturers that doesn’t have a smartphone in its offer, nor a regular phone. It seem tough, that with all the hipe touchscreen devices are getting lately, Dell is planning to launch its own smartphone, called MePhone.

Few details are known now as even Dell doesn’t decided yet what the MePhone will be, the most important unknown being the operating system. It’s said that Dell engineers were working for some time building prototypes using Google Android and Windows Mobile.

The MePhone is said to be launched sometime in Q3 2009 so stay put and watch our news for further updates.

Source: UnWired View, Gizmodo

LG KC 910 Renoir-Powerful All-In-One Camera Phone

Sony Ericsson - the Ryuga W903 concept

Mike Andrew — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 20:22:11 +0000

It’s well known Sony Ericsson lost a lot of ground last year and have financial problems. That’s why new models like this W903 might bring a fresh breath of air for them.

Of course, the device you see in the picture below is just a concept, one inspired by the futuristic Mazda Ryuga. It comes with the classic SE interface, big OLED Touch-Screen (Cool) and astonishing looks. And even though I’m not a big fan of SE, such a phone i would buy for sure. What do you think?

Sony Ericsson W903 concept phone

PS: This Sony Ericsson W903 concept is part of the Ryuga designs you can find here.

Kindle 2 to appear in February on Amazon

John Pope — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 09:18:49 +0000

Kindle was one of the most successfull eBook readers on the market mainly because it was produced and had the support of Amazon, the largest online store in the world. Now, after less than two years, Kindle is ready for a comeback with a new face and upgraded functions. There’s rumors on Internet that it will come around in February, on 9th to be exact.

From the first leaked pictures it seems that Kindle 2 has a more organic shape, without too many straight angles, that made the first Kindle look almost like an F-117 stealth bomber in while knight color. The second iteration is also white but has got a little slimmer.

The new unit will feature a joystick that replaces the previous scroll wheel and will charge of a miniUSB cable, not the dedicated charger that was needed for the first Kindle. The backplate is made of metal and there’s no SD card slot, but the unit seems to come with over 1.5 GB of internal memory.

Source: UberGizmo and more pictures on BGR

Apple iPhone G3 might be closer than you think

Mike Andrew — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 20:00:27 +0000

It seems we might see a new generation of Apple iPhone by the end of this year. Actually, it might see the lights at the MacWorld in June. Why do we say that? Well… because of this rumor.

Not sure if this is true or not, but hopefully they will finally include the one thing iPhone lacks and I need: Bluetooth with AD-2P capabilities (for listening music with a wireless stereo headset that is). There’s no word about that, but it seems the new iPhone (that might be called iPhone Nano?!?) will come with better multimedia performance, as it might have multiple core CPUs and dedicated graphic chips support. So… new opportunities rise for iPhone game developers Good for them…

People seem to love iPhone 3G a lot

Mike Andrew — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 14:36:52 +0000

Or so it seems if we take a look at the graph bellow (from Engadget) showing you how many days it took for a couple of the important smartphones on the market to reach the 1.000.000 devices sold cap.

Iphone 3G competes with it’s older brother iPhone, Nokia 5800, the G1 phone and Blackberry Storm. It’s true that iPhone 3G was launched in more than 20 coutnries in the same time while others (except for Nokia 5800) we’re mainly launched just in the US in their early days, but the difference is quite… enourmous.

iPhone 3G vs competitiors

As you can see, it took the iPhone 3G 3 days to reach the 1 million cap. Next in line comes Nokia 5800, that needed 57 days, while iPhone and Blackberry Storm needed more than 70.

Quite frankly i’m quite amazed by these numbers. It seems people love iPhone 3G and Apple really are great in marketing their products. In the end though, i can bet Nokia will sell a lot more 5800s than Apple will sell iPhone 3Gs. But that’s not the point…

New face for Gadgetroad

Mike Andrew — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 14:11:17 +0000

Two years after this blog was created, we decided that it needs a drastic face-lift. So… here it is.

Gadgetroad has from today a new graphic face: lighter, more modern and more usable.

Also, with the redesign comes a new editorial direction: we’re going to write a lot about future. Future gadgets, applications, software, gizmos, etc. But mainly gadgets. So, if you want to see the hottest concepts, how will Apple 3 look, what’s the next cool phone from Nokia and Blackberry, what’s the future of netbooks, etc, you should stay tuned.

That’s about it for today. Please feel free to give us feedback on this new look

Motorola PEBL Rose Bloom for Valentine Day

Gadget Road — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 19:46:15 +0000

Every year on 14th February, people from different parts of the world celebrate Valentine Day. It is considered as a day of celebrating love as lover gift each other with something nice. To help you find a gift for your loved one, Motorola would release a new phone on Valentine Day i.e. 14th February.

Here are some of the features of this phone -

Elegant and fasion-centric design

Touch sensitive panel

2 Megapixel camera

Bluetooh connectivity

Mp3 player

Up to 7.2Mbps HSDPA data transfer rates

The phone is also expected to be available at an affordable price becuase of the low specs when compared with phones already available in the market.