Gadgets Device

Posted Jan 18th 2008 5:55PM by Ryan BlockFiled under: Misc. Gadgets Looks like Bug Labs is fixing to release its BUGbase in more than one version due to apparent issues related to solid, stable open source WiFi chipsets and drivers. Picking up the Hiro P Edition monicker (let’s hope it doesn’t snow crash), this revised first BUGbase will ship without 802.11, but adds a small joystick control, and as recompense for the wireless sacrifice, Hiro P owners will get a free BUGvonhippel module (the hardware breakout box, basically), and the option to snag a pluggable WiFi attachment on the cheap at a later time. (Read the full post about ‘Bug Labs announces WiFi-free Hiro P BUGbase’…)

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newVideoPlayer(”touchupgrade_giz.flv”, 475, 286,”");The Software: The “January Software Upgrade” for the iPod touch, including Mail, Google Maps, Weather, Stocks and Notes. Mind you, this is not to be confused with the totally free 1.1.3 system upgrade, which brings the player up to date on iTunes 7.6 for rentals, etc., but has no apps of its own. The Price: $19.99 plus tax (so for me, $21.46) The Verdict: Worth it. I know, everyone’s mad at Apple for charging $20 for an upgrade that only brings the iPod touch up to speed with the original iPhone (minus the phone, of course), but it seems to me, anyone who paid $399 for a first-gen 16GB touch especially can spring for the extra Jackson. (Read the full post about ‘Lightning Review: iPod touch January Software Upgrade [Review]’…)

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Etymotic, whose high-end headsets have become iPod sound weenie status symbols, now has a pair for the iPhone. The hf2 is similar to the ER-4 headphones, with the addition of microphone. They’re avaiable now for $180. BTW, did you know that "canalphones" like the Etys, which improve sound and screen out extraneous noise by sealing tightly in the ear canal, raise the temperature inside the ear canal just enough to maintain a perfect environment for liquid ear wax? Which means you really don’t want to be promiscous in sharing these puppies, and it’s worth thinking about the cleaning and "yeew!" factors before you buy. Unless you’re French, in which case they’ll just be a reminder to buy cheese.Etymot (Read the full post about ‘High-end Headset Ready for iPhone’…)

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Pioneer’s Kuro range has been winning awards left, right and center for it’s supreme performance. The Pioneer PDP-LX608D is a massive 60-inch plasma screen HDTV, offering a Full HD resolution of 1920×1080 pixel and amazing black level performance. Many people believe plasma screens give better performance than LCD screens, and the main reason for this is their superior black level performance, and this has never been more true than in the Kuro range. The black levels are so deep in this Kuro PDP-LX608D HDTV that when compared to other sets, there is simply no comparison. This results are a much truer image with more vivid colors. (Read the full post about ‘Pioneer PDP-LX608D Review’…)

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I know it is a little bit early to start shopping for Valentine’s Day, but hey - you can never be too sure, especially in this day and age when you might just get swamped with too much work at the last minute to have enough time to pick up a present for your other half. AT&T wants to make sure you have no problems with your partner come February 14th, offering a trio of handsets that will be extremely hard for your wallet to resist. The three red colored cell phones on offer are the LG Shine, the Samsung BlackJack II and the BlackBerry Curve 8310. These three can’t be found on any other carrier since they remain exclusive to AT&T, and this time you get to kickstart Valentine’s with plenty of romantic red. (Read the full post about ‘AT&T woos customers for Valentine’s Day’…)

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Nokia is proud to announce that its vaunted N95 8GB cell phone is the first in the world to receive Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) certification. For those who are not in the know (I was certainly one of the unenlightened ones before I came across the press release anyways), DLNA is a body advocating the interoperability of wired and wireless consumer devices. What does this certification mean for the consumer? For starters, DLNA certification would mean “convenient and intuitive connectivity” between your future DLNA Certified home electronics devices, including personal computers, and your Nokia N95 8GB. (Read the full post about ‘Nokia N95 8GB gains DLNA certification’…)

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The Ripplebox is a little Mini-ITX PC enclosure from Ripple, a Korean company, sold preconfigured with a Intel Celeron M215 clocked to 1.33 GHz slapped in a D201 GLY motherboard, 1GB of RAM and SiS onboard video. Even though those grisly specifications make it good for almost nothing, it’s only $120, it’s cute, and it’s called the Ripplebox. So there. UPDATE: Bonus lolefaction: the company uses the dictionary definition of "ripple" as a marketing byline: "Ripple: Ripples are little waves on the surface of water caused by the wind or something moving in or on the water." I can only imagine Shuttle PC’s new letterhead. (Read the full post about ‘Ripple PC Sexy Enough To Make a Splash?’…)

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Helio has teamed up with Samsung to announce a new mobile phone that is now available to its subscribers. The phone called, Mysto, is a slider phone, which is “ultra-thin” and includes a 2 megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom. The phone comes with 100MB of internal memory, but the memory can be expanded to 4GB with a microSD card. The phone can play MP3 and AAC music files in addition to MPEG-4 and H.264 video. The Mysto has the interesting characteristic of “haptic feedback,” which means the user feels tactile sensation when touching its external electrostatic keys. The phone will also feature two new GPS services offered by Helio. (Read the full post about ‘Say hello to Helio’s Mysto’…)

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The Red Ferret Journal Product of the Year 2007: Computing – Drobo. It’s hard to explain to techie types the appeal of this box, primarily because it looks expensive compared to supposed alternatives. But to those who have a real need for fail-safe, super super reliable data storage without any hassle whatsoever, this is the product to beat. The geeks can keep their complex RAID boxes, or their infinitely configurable but arcane NAS solutions, the rest of us will happily plunk down the cash for something which just plugs and plays. It’s a big hit with professional photographers, musicians and anyone with huge stocks of files to store and manipulate and that’s because you don’t have to worry about upgrading when you run out of disk space. (Read the full post about ‘The Red Ferret Journal Product of the Year 2007: Computing - Drobo’…)

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Looks like we have yet another (extremely) affordable computer on our hands with the Mirus Linux PC. It will retail for $199 on Sears.com, and as with nearly every good bargain these days, it comes attached with a condition. You will need to send your $100 mail-in rebate in order to take advantage of this generous offer, or else you will just be subject to a standard $284.99 price tag. This will be a Freespire 2.0-powered computer, so those looking for a Windows experience can rule the Mirus out. (Read the full post about ‘Mirus Linux PC Drops Under $200 Mark’…)

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