Gadgets Device

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 1st 2008 at 8:56AM Considering that the last time Sprint’s Airave was even relevant was when a smattering of folks bought one in Denver and Indianapolis, like, last September, here’s a quick refresher on what this thing does. Similar to T-Mobile @home, this box plugs into one’s broadband connection and essentially acts as a mini cell tower within your house, which will certainly make folks in a fringe zone with no option for Roam Only (feel our pain, Instinct owners?) quite happy. For whatever reason, the carrier has dilly-dallied around with this thing forever, and even if whispers prove true and it launches on July 15th for $99 (on top of a monthly fee for unlimited minutes, we hear), we have to wonder if anyone will even bite. (Read the full post about ‘Sprint’s Airave signal booster in the wild, on sale nationwide this month?’…)

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by Darren Murph, posted Jul 1st 2008 at 10:37AM We’ve already got Nokia handsets being used to teach math in South Africa, so we totally knew it was only a matter of time before a gaming handheld or two got in on the fun. Select middle school kids at Tokyo Joshi Gakuen school are not only allowed to bust out their DS in class, they’re required to. As the school attempts to make English education “fun” for everyone, it’s currently using Nintendo’s famed handheld along with English learning software in order to keep students interested in nailing those dilettantes, truckles and wunderkinds. (Read the full post about ‘Nintendo’s DS handheld used to teach English in Japan’…)

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Never mind kids, I know a few adults who would love to decorate their walls to look like the inside of a Super Mario Bros. game with these Nintendo Wall Decals. Made with blik Re-Stik, the decals are movable and reusable (in case you have a change of heart and decide to relocate the decals to your kid’s room), and are based on the same 8-bit graphics of the original game. For $75, you get 36 decals. They also sell New Super Mario Bros. decals and Donkey Kong decals - directly on the Blik website. Via Tokyo Mango. Tags: home cinema, pvr, consumer electronics, AAC (Read the full post about ‘Nintendo Wall Decals turn your bedroom into the world of Super Mario Bros.’…)

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Everex is designing a larger version of its Cloudbook portable notebook to go up against its bitter rival, the Eee PC 1000. This updated version will feature a 10.2″ display, complete with the following :- Intel Atom 1.6GHz processor 1.3 megapixel webcam 3G modem included, optional WiMAX 2GB RAM ExpressCard slotWe’re looking at a November launch despite a serious drought of information. Tags: video games, video game, design, dap (Read the full post about ‘Everex Cloudbook gets Bigger’…)

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Alltel has just added another improvement to their MyCircle calling plans. Now, in addition to voice minutes, they will have the option to include text, video or picture messaging. Current MyCircle customers will be able to send or receive unlimited messages to anyone in their Circle as well as other Alltel customers with the addition of a “My Circle message pack” which starts as low as $7.99 a month. In addition, for those looking to send messages to friends outside of their circle or to non-Alltel customers the new messaging options include either 400 or 1000 messages and are priced at $7.99 and $12.99 a month respectively. (Read the full post about ‘Alltel updates their MyCircle calling plans, now with unlimited messaging’…)

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The blackberry Bold is having it’s trouble with a US release date, AT&T has been rumored to have pushed it’s launch into August, but it is right on track with our Canadian neighbors. Rogers has announced that the Bold will be available on July 25. It looks like those “by-invitation-only” launch parties were indeed the path that was needed to see the official release. However, before we get excited, Rogers has not yet announced any pricing, lets just hope it is fair and we do not see another revolt. Via [CrackBerry] Keep up with the latest gadget goodness! - Subscribe to our feed → Tags: wi-fi, Hi-fi, games, consumer technology (Read the full post about ‘BlackBerry Bold for Rogers gets a release date’…)

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If you were anxiously waiting to see how expensive your iphone 3G envy was going to be, here is the answer:

1/ The device

If you sign on for a new 2 year contract, the phone will cost $199 (8GB) or $299 (16GB). According to AT&T here are the three conditions required to get these prices. We quote:

• iPhone customers who purchased before July 11
• Customers activating a new line with AT&T
• Current AT&T customers who are eligible, at the time of purchase, for an upgrade discount

If the above does not fit your situation, you should know that “existing AT&T customers not eligible for an upgrade discount purchase iPhone 3G for $399 for the 8GB model or $499 for the 16GB model.

(Read the full post about ‘AT&T Announces Official iPhone 3G Pricing, Free Software Update for Current iPhone Users’…)

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Japan is trying very hard to stop their kids from smoking. In the shops that sell cigarettes its an easier tasks because the responsibility to check ages is on the people serving. But Japan also have around 570,000 vending machines dispensing cigarettes and an age verification solution was needed for them.

In typical Japanese fashion, technology seemed to be the answer and these vending machines are being kitted out with facial recognition technology. The person buying the cigarettes must stand in front of a camera while their face is checked. The machine then uses a database of over 100,000 faces to check the person’s age.

(Read the full post about ‘Japanese facial age verification system fooled by photos’…)

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So the photo of the new Nikon DSLR model that has been circulating on the web the past couple of days is actually true. Nikon has made the D700 official and its product page its up at the Nikon USA site. From the looks of it, the Nikon D700 seems to be a powerful new Digital SLR camera and it has a price to match, retailing for $2,999, it is definitely geared for the prosumer market. So, what do you get from the price? A 12.1-megapixel FX-format CMOS sensor with Nikon’s EXPEED image processing technology, ISO sensitivity of up to 6400, continuous shooting at 5 fps, a 3-inch VGA color monitor with 170-degree wide-angle viewing, two live shooting modes, rugged magnesium alloy body, Dynamic Integrated Dust Reduction System, Nikon’s Scene Recognition System, and much more. (Read the full post about ‘Nikon makes the 12.1-megapixel full-frame D700 DSLR official’…)

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Rhapsody, the RealNetworks and MTV-run digital music service, has launched a new initiative called “Music Without Limits”.

Where as in the past where the service relied on subscriptions for revenue, they are now opening up to digital music sales and following its competitors by removing DRM. They aren’t short on music either, with all 4 major music labels represented through the service offering tracks for 99 cents and albums for US$9.99.

Availability of music is also a key part of the initiative. With the introduction of DRM-free music sales Rhapsody is now a choice for iPod owners.

(Read the full post about ‘Rhapsody starts Music Without Limits initiative’…)

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