Gadgets Connect

The introduction of the iPhone has given birth to a huge array of after-market accessories, none more interesting than the Noreve iPhone case. Noreve is a French company and the European styling is readily apparent in the sleek no-nonsense look of the case.

Speaking of styling, rumor has it that the leather used in this accessory is recycled from the seats of 1976 Chrysler
Cordoba, which explains the softness and broken-in feel. Also, Noreve is said to be in negotiations with TV icon Ricardo Montalban in hopes of bringing him on as spokesman, which should certainly help their marketing effort.

We all understand the importance of using recycled materials, but is that reason enough to buy this product?

(Read the full post about ‘Protect your iPhone investment with a Noreve case’…)

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Researchers at IBM’s San Jose center have announced via the journal Science major progress in the development of its Racetrack memory initiative. If wholly successful, the technology will irrevocably change the data storage industry.

The technology is groundbreaking in quite a few ways. Like current flash memory there are, of course, no moving parts, meaning no clicks of death, no tiring spindles or worn out platters. With less parts moving, the chance of breakage dwindles significantly.

There is a key difference from its flash cousin though, namely that it has far less potential of wearing out.

(Read the full post about ‘IBM perfecting Racetrack memory, the future is coming’…)

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by Chris Ziegler, posted Apr 11th 2008 at 8:06AM
Our first thought when we heard the news that there was an NES emulator in the works for the Sidekick series of text machines was one of pure, unabashed elation. The classic Hiptop form factor is pretty much exactly what the doctor ordered for effective old-skool gaming, after all — and let’s be honest, any time Nintendo playtime comes to a new platform is cause for immediate and overindulgent celebration. Our second thought was, “wait, what?” It’s pretty unclear how the emulator would be loaded with legally-obtained ROMs and we have our doubts that Nintendo signed away the rights to any binaries, so we’re a little confused about the word that this would be officially offered through the Danger’s Software Catalog. (Read the full post about ‘Danger testing out an NES emulator for Sidekicks? Sadly, no.’…)

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by Thomas Ricker, posted Apr 11th 2008 at 5:10AM
Stuff.tv is kicking back in Nike’s HQ at the moment and claims to have official word about Nike’s future plans with Apple. They say that the Nike+ system will “definitely” extend beyond the iPod nano to support the relatively bulky iphone and iPod touch. Interestingly, it will leap-frog the proprietary RF link between the shoe module and nano adapter to take advantage of WiFi and eventually 3G. This of course leads to all kinds of speculation with regard to Apple’s “lifestyle companion” patent we showed you last month. (Read the full post about ‘Nike+ going WiFi and 3G, headed to iPhone’…)

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Rumors are flying about Blockbuster working on a set-top device that will stream films directly to your TV. The technology used to make this possible is rumored to be coming from Movielink, an online service for renting and downloading movies on your computer, that Blockbuster acquired last year.

The rumors are not that hard to believe considering that the company has recently reinforced its commitment to delivering content through a variety of mediums.

If Blockbuster is in fact developing its own box, it’s entering into a very crowded market.

(Read the full post about ‘Blockbuster to stream films to your TV?’…)

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The FCC has adopted a plan which will allow consumers with cell phones and other mobile devices to receive text messages during disasters and other emergencies. The plan released by the FCC is in response to the Warning, Alerts and Response Network Act (WARN Act). The technical requirements of the plan, as outlined by the FCC, come from recommendations made by the Commercial Mobile Service Alert Advisory Committee.

The Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS) will be an optional system wireless carriers will be able to subscribe to. Though the system will initially only offer text messages, it is envisioned that the system could be enhanced to include audio and video alerts as well.

(Read the full post about ‘FCC establishes guidelines for nationwide mobile alert system’…)

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This week at the Gartner Synposium/ITXPO 2008 held in Las Vegas, Xerox has shown off a prototype of a new piece of paper that is reusable.

Steve Hoover, VP of Xerox’s Research Center, gave a presentation and demonstrated how the paper worked. What he showed the audience was what looked like a normal piece of paper, but he then took out a UV LED torch. Holding the torch against the paper for a few seconds left a black mark. He also got a UV LED pen and drew a line on the paper as you would with a standard pen and paper.

A hot plate was also present on stage and Hoover took a marked piece of paper and placed it under the heat for a few seconds.

(Read the full post about ‘Xerox shows off reusable paper at ITXPO’…)

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Nikon has announced its new Coolpix P80, a bridge style camera that lands somewhere between a DSLR and a compact.

The standout feature is the huge 18x zoom, with a 35mm equivalent range of 27-486 mm (and thankfully image stabilization to go with it). The P80 uses Nikon’s EXPEED processor, also found in the D3 and D300, which means that you get good low light performance (up to ISO 6400) and “D-Lighting”, which adjusts the exposure of individual parts of the picture. The camera will also record video at 30 fps.

Inside there is a 10.1 Megapixel sensor and on the back a 2.7″ LCD.

(Read the full post about ‘Nikon Anounces New Coolpix Camera With D-Lighting and Super Zoom’…)

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When you were a kid, did your parents always hassle you about turning off the lights when you left a room? Well now that you have your own place, you probably understand exactly why they would tell you that. What’s more is that you also likely have a lot of gadgets around your desk that still use power even when you’re not using them. This is why Watt Stopper created the Isole IDP-3050.

This rather ordinary-looking power strip is designed to save power by shutting off gadgets when you aren’t around. The small wired box is actually a passive infrared sensor which will kill power to most of the outlets when you aren’t around.

Two of the outlets are not controlled by the sensor, which would be ideal for plugging in your PC.

(Read the full post about ‘This power strip turns off unused gadgets’…)

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Right when we thought that, the electric vehicle is the answer to cutting our rising fuel costs some new research finds the ultimate flaw in this new power source. There is no doubt that plug-in electric vehicles (PHEVs) result in good fuel economy figures — GM is currently touting its PHEV-to be, the Volt, as getting 150MPG over all. However, a study published by Carnegie Mellon University and the Green Car Congress (GGC) suggests that if we do not make our power generation system less carbon intensive, PHEVs could have little benefit over regular hybrids (HEVs). Instead, they achieve these high numbers by supplementing the power produced by their gasoline engines with power taken from the grid. (Read the full post about ‘Electric vehicles not really eco-friendly without clean power’…)

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