Gadgets Connect

U&I are currently waiting patiently for CeBIT 2008 to arrive as they can’t wait to lift up the veil of its new necklace-type Bluetooth stereo headset known as Capella UIBS-700. This Bluetooth headset features auto switching function as well as hands-free support, allowing you to concentrate on the traffic ahead without leaving the steering wheel unattended. Other features include speakerphone function, an LCD display, USB charging, 8 hours of playback time and 200 hours of standby time. No idea on how much it costs though. (Read the full post about ‘Capella Bluetooth stereo headset’…)

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Niche cell service Helio has amassed a fantastic $560 billion dollars in debt over the last three years. Helio, which is co-owned by Earthlink and SK Telecom was created to bring many of the cellphone features that Asian customers enjoy to the US. Losses have increased steadily over the three years with an understandable $47 million in losses in 2005, a worriesome $192 million in 2006 and finally a downright staggering $327 million in 2007.

There is some good news for the Helio faithful. Sales actually outpaced looses in 2007 with losses increasing at 70% and revenue jumping 264%. There is also the fact there is serious restructuring going on at corporate headquarters as well as dropping prices on phones and services which is bound to help.

(Read the full post about ‘Helio is half a billion dollars in debt’…)

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Dreamworks, who had been standing strong with their contract to Toshiba and their commitment to hd dvd have announced their exit plan. Their HD DVD movie shipments will end next week, but the exact release of upcoming titles on Blu-ray has not yet been announced.

A few titles that were set for release such as the Bee Movie, Sweeney Todd and There Will Be Blood have all been canceled, and will be released only as standard DVD’s. The last and final HD DVD titles will include next weeks release of Things We Lost in Fire and Into the Wild, somehow I cannot imagine either of them selling that well.

Via [EngadgetHD]

Keep up with the latest gadget goodness!

(Read the full post about ‘Dreamworks to begin offering Blu-ray titles’…)

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Posted Mar 1st 2008 3:41PM by Ryan BlockFiled under: GPSReuters is reporting that the European Commission, apparently having completed is inquiry into the $4.2b acquisition offer TomTom made Tele Atlas last year, is apparently issuing a “statement of objections.” Apparently it’s not a flat-out rejection / do not pass go / do not collect $200, but now TomTom has until May 5th to work on resolving the issues the EU’s presented before it can get the thumbs up to make its big buy.Tags: cool gear, audio, tech, home theater (Read the full post about ‘EU now formally opposed to TomTom / Tele Atlas deal’…)

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Imagine peering into a photo frame only to find out afterwards that there’s someone watching you through it. This is what the Digital Photo Frame Webcam does. It has all the trappings of the spy gadget — if only that camera wasn’t so obvious. The webcam can take photos too, when connected to a PC. The picture viewer itself is detachable from the base. Aside from its basic photo viewer and slideshow function, it also has a built-in calendar and thermometer. A bit more tweak into making the webcam a bit more imperceptible would be ideal, but as of now, I like what I see. (Read the full post about ‘Digital Photo Frame Webcam: A Potential Spy Gadget’…)

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Yes, we know, it’s a highly unusual device. But the Breast Massage Robot really has its purpose! Well, at least according to its manufacturers. Engineers from the Beijing BUBBY Robot Technologies Co. led by Wang Wei are the ones responsible for this eyebrow-raising device. According to them, the Breast Massage Robot is good for: *Adolescent girls who want to improve the growth of their breasts. *breast surgery patients who want a fast recovery *breast-feeding moms *relieving breast pains during menstruation *women who want to improve their sex lives *women who just want to relax If this is the kind of thing you’d want to put your money on, Wei and Co. seem to be currently looking for investors. (Read the full post about ‘Breast Massage Robot: NOT a Mechanical Pervert’…)

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Shockball There's nothing quite as nerve-wracking as playing pass the parcel with a time-bomb, or quite as much fun. You can have this for ?14.95 Tags: toys, camera, gprs, amps (Read the full post about ‘Shockball’…)

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While Netflix has already announced they will be stopping the rentals of hd dvd titles, they have also announced some good news, but also hinted at some possible bad news as well. With HD DVD now leaving, Netflix is confident enough to announce they will soon be offering four times as many titles on Blu-ray. This will bring the total of available Blu-ray titles from 400 to around 1,500. Then in the little hint of posible bad news, “It seems apparent that content will cost us more,” McCarthy said. “Whether we raise prices will be entirely a function of churn, subscriber acquisition costs and gross margins.” Hopefully any increase in price will be done in a fair way, possibly splitting into more plans with a distinction between standard DVD and Blu-ray DVD’s. (Read the full post about ‘Netflix to offer more Blu-ray titles, possible price increases’…)

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One of the proudly showcased iRiver PMP’s at CES, the E100 is set to start shipping today in Europe. So far, it seems to be a basic PMP, nothing too fancy, but still a nice one overall. Basically, it comes with a 2.4-inch QVGA screen and it supports many audio and video formats. These formats include FLAC, MP3, ASF, OGG, WMA, WMV9, and XVID. Additionally, it comes with a nice integrated FM tuner and stereo speakers. So far, there are only 2 versions the 2GB and the 8GB. This isn’t a lot of internal storage, but more memory can be added on via microSD expansion. You can get your very own iRiver E100 with the 2GB starting at $119 and the 8GB selling for $194. (Read the full post about ‘iRiver shipping E100 in Europe’…)

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Monster Cable iSoniTalk Microphone Headphone Adapter For iphone Microphone/headphone adapter Get better sound and clearer phone calls with the Monster iSoniTalk; simply plug your own headphones into the iSoniTalk and clip the microphone on. Now you can enjoy superior music fidelity with your own high quality headphones, and youre ready to take hands-free calls. Technorati Tags: Monster Cable Tags: gprs, toys, TV, ipod (Read the full post about ‘Monster Cable iSoniTalk Microphone Headphone Adapter For iPhone Microphone/headphone adapter’…)

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