Gadgets Device

Residents of the U.K. have been enjoying free digital channels for several years now through a service called Freeview. For the price of a new digital set top box (around US$80) you get access to 30+ TV channels and radio broadcasts through a standard TV aerial. Now another new service has launched called Freesat, which requires the use of a satellite receiver dish instead of a standard aerial. Freesat is a joint venture between the BBC and ITV and will be available to 98% of U.K. households. Straight away it will offer 80 channels including TV, radio and high-definition content as well, but this will increase to 200 channels by the end of 208. (Read the full post about ‘U.K. gets 200 channels of Freesat’…)

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Fancy getting a new portable media player that has a strikingly familiar minimalist form factor? If you can live without a touchscreen and only 3-inches of screen real estate on your gadget, the new Yoto M300 could prove to be the just right for you. It supports common multimedia file formats such as MP3, WMA, AVI, DIVX, MPEG4, RM, XVID, RMVB, and FLV, as well as JPG, GIF, and BMP for photos. The previously mentioned 3-inch screen will have WQVGA (400 × 240) resolution, and the unspecified size of its internal memory can be further expanded with up to 2GB microSD cards. It has built-in speakers, support for e-books, multi-tasking, sound recording and “other basic functions.” Sadly, this product seems only to work with Windows 2000 and Windows XP computers. (Read the full post about ‘Yoto’s M300 PMP looks awfully familiar’…)

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Well it looks like the rumor about the new Palm Treo 800w coming to sprint in July, is actually pushing through. According to reliable sources, the new Treo will most likely be released on July 22. And similar to what we’ve posted a few months back, the 800w will have features such as; EvDO Rev A, a 320 x 320 screen resolution, Wi-Fi and 256/128MB memory. In addition, new confirmed features of the Treo now include; threaded SMS, Windows Mobile 6.1, autonomous-GPS, large keyboard, and it will come in a charcoal black design. But contrary to earlier rumors, the Palm Treo 800w will not have Qchat, a hardware Wi-Fi switch, MMS capability and its screen will not be flush. (Read the full post about ‘Palm Treo 800w coming to Sprint in July; here’s the new skinny’…)

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Samsung lays claim to the brightest LCD panel in the world by mass producing a 46″ “high bright” digital signage panel. This new 1,500-nit LCD panel will target digital signs at transit centers, bus shelters, museums, shopping malls and even point-of-sale in retail outlets in order to replace outdated poster advertisings, and is more than capable of accommodating the wide range of lighting conditions which affect displays of today. With a contrast ratio of 3,000:1, the new Samsung “high bright” Digital Information Display panel is approximately 3 times brighter than a typical LCD TV, featuring 16.7 million colors at 1,366 x 768 resolution and a viewing angle of 178 degrees. (Read the full post about ‘Brightest LCD Panel from Samsung’…)

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The Asus Splendid MA2850M holds the distinction of being the first stand-alone color processor with a modularized graphics card in the world, clearly targeting those who want the most accurate color reproduction possible on their computer, thanks to the latest generation of Splended video intelligence technology. It offers vibrant and fine-tuned images in conditions most favorable to the human eye, without placing an additional stress on your CPU. Asus claims that watching movies on PC monitors will be as good as the images appearing on high end consumer TVs, courtesy of the 7-region color enhancement, 12-bit gamma correction, real-time 2D peaking and dynamic contrast engine within the chip. (Read the full post about ‘Asus Splendid MA2850M’…)

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Now this is interesting - the Hitachi Travelstar 7K320 might be a 2.5″ 320GB 7200rpm hard drive, but it consumes much less power compared to other hard drives in the same class. The 7K320 will support a similar SATA 3Gbps interface, sipping a mere 1.8 watts read/write of power while drawing a mere 0.8 watt when idle, placing it on par with other 5400rpm Hitachi models. Sounds perfect for notebook users as a lower power consumption in its components would mean prolonged battery life and increased productivity. The Hitachi Travelstar 7K320 should see action in a few weeks’ time for $219. (Read the full post about ‘Hitachi Travelstar 7K320 Sips Little Power’…)

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Make Mom blush with these gorgeous earbuds from V-MODA which are available starting today. And it’s not enough just to be beautiful, they’re also some of my favorite for sound fidelity. (I own the VIBE modaphones in Gunmetal Black, and Red Roxx. I know, I know, I’m so spoiled.) As with the entire audio line, they’re light-weight, fit comfortably in your ear, and are noise-isolating. VIBE Blush earbuds are now available for $101 (a nod to the landmark Highway 101 that runs past V-MODA’s Hollywood Hills headquarters) at all Apple Stores, as well as online at Shop V-MODA. (Read the full post about ‘“Blush” Earbuds for Mother’s Day - For fashion-forward moms’…)

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Tags: home cinema, gps, video game, M4A

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This is one of those coolest gadgets that just screams of irony. Yes, what you see in the photo is true: the Marine Catcher is one of those claw games that lets you catch a pair of claws. The water on the bottom isn’t there for a challenge, but to protect the prize: a lobster. As far as I know, this Marine Catcher can only be found in Osaka, Japan’s Namba district. I’m not certain how much yen a player has to insert for this crustacean gamble. In case you are wondering, the machine has a plastic bag in case you actually catch one of these lobsters. That’s good, because I wouldn’t want one of these lobsters squirming around in my backpack. (Read the full post about ‘Marine Catcher Matches Claw for Claw’…)

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Panasonic recently announced its pricing for the BD50 Blu-ray player, and it will retail for a whopping $700. Now that’s definitely $300 more than what I’d pay for a Blu-ray player, considering the 40GB PS3 does all that and more, not to mention featuring upgradable firmware unlike these standalone Blu-ray players. The BD50 does support Final Standard Profile 2.0, and will be able to play AVCHD (H.264) video and display JPEG images stored on an SD card. Support for 24p and HDMI 1.3 are also available, but can Panasonic do something about the price? (Read the full post about ‘Panasonic Prices BD50 Blu-ray Player’…)

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