Gadgets Connect

In February Microsoft announced the acquisition of Danger. Along with that came the confirmation that Danger would live in Microsoft’s new Premium Mobile Experiences team. While the announcement detailed how Microsoft plans to use Danger’s platform, no mention was made of the Sidekick that millions have grown to love. Last night at a pre-Mobius event I received confirmation that “no new phone” is in the works. That said, there seem to be many synergies between the Windows Mobile and the Premium Mobile Experiences teams, with some Windows Mobile team members even having joined the Premium Mobile Experiences team, so I wouldn’t rule out some of the Danger “special sauce” popping up in Windows Mobile phones in the future. (Read the full post about ‘No Windows Mobile-based Sidekick coming from Danger acquisition’…)

Share This

For Her Choice Tags: dap, AAC, cable, hi fi (Read the full post about ‘For Her Choice’…)

Share This

TokyoFlash has just rolled out its new watch, the Oberon SS. This thing not only tells the time, but it does so in style by using a series of concentric bright blue LED rings. The outer ring will let you know what the current hour is, while the middle one indicates the single minutes and the innermost ring displays tens of minutes. When the watch is in its off state by default, the black mineral crystal in front looks like a black hole on the wrist. Pushing a button will kick the watch to life from darkness, possibly affording you a second jealous glance from other people as well. A second press will show the current date using a similar ring of light metaphor. (Read the full post about ‘TokyoFlash Oberon SS Watch’…)

Share This

Canon has added two new compact photo printers to its Selphy product line - the CP770 and CP760. Touting a fresh and unique design, both printers aim to give users an easier time when printing their precious photos even without using a computer. Although both printers sport a small design, both are nonetheless rich in individual features. The CP770 is an ultra compact photo printer that answers your need for printing photos as quickly and as easy as possible, whether you’re at home or on the move. Touting an unusual new design, the CP770 comes with a basket-like storage bucket which can also accommodate several printer accessories such as paper, ink cartridge and power cord. (Read the full post about ‘Canon unloads the SELPHY CP770, CP760 compact photo printers’…)

Share This

What’s the difference between a BlackBerry and an iPhone? A keyboard. Once Apple ships the iphone 2.0 software, with proper Exchange support and push email, the only real difference between the the handsets is the BlackBerry’s physical input. But it looks like RIM will be ditching it’s one advantage in a rumored new handset, the blackberry Thunder. According to the Boy Genius Report, the new handset will be RIM’s first true touchscreen phone, with just four physical buttons. Available sometime in Q3, it will be an exclusive to Verizon (in the US) and Vodafone (Europe). The eagle eyed amongst you will have spotted that this requires support for both GSM HSPA and CDMA radios, which means this thing will work pretty much anywhere in the world. (Read the full post about ‘Rumor: Blackberry Thunder To Drop Physical Keyboard’…)

Share This

Don’t you just hate those pesky mosquitoes when they seem to appear out of nowhere, especially during the summer? Napapijiri knows all about your aversion in getting bitten by mosquitoes and have developed this so-called Mosquitor Proof Jacket. Apparently this jacket also lets water run off it like wax by being waterproof, and is covered with a coat of “secret concoction of chemicals” that supposedly keeps away those vampiric parasites. The jacket won’t come cheap at approximately $310 though.

Tags: mobiles, hdtv, sat-nav, dap

Share This

by Joshua Topolsky, posted May 13th 2008 at 11:04AM Just in case you’ve been holding out, we want you to know that Dell’s budget-friendly 17-incher, the Vostro 1710, is now available for your purchasing pleasure. (Read the full post about ‘Dell Vostro 1710 now finally, really available’…)

Share This

by Donald Melanson, posted May 13th 2008 at 1:11PM It looks like Dell’s not the only one that thinks boxy is in, with the folks at the NonObject design firm now also taking a decidedly hard-edged approach with their new motorcycle concept. Dubbed the nUCLEUS, the vehicle is described as a “zero emission, zero impact speed machine,” albeit one that would seem to have a bit of trouble making sharp turns. That possible shortcoming aside, the concept is certainly unique enough, with it boasting an “animal-like behavior system” that allows it to get up on its “hind legs” when its in action and rest down flat when its at rest, as well as some interchangeable (but equally boxy) side panels. (Read the full post about ‘NonObject nUCLEUS motorcycle concept makes its boxy debut’…)

Share This

by Nilay Patel, posted May 13th 2008 at 7:23AMWe think we’ve already got a handle on the various chipset revisions planned for Microsoft’s too-beautiful-for-this-world Xbox 360*, but it looks like that planned 45nm “Valhalla” combined CPU / GPU motherboard design we’ve been hearing about might also come in a redesigned, smaller case. That’s certainly news to us, but TG Daily has the refresh happening on the same fall-2009 timeline we’ve been hearing about, so at least all these sketchy rumors line up. We’ll see when we see — it sounds like the 65nm Jasper units are coming off the line for that August release in the meantime to keep us all warm at night. *Guess which Engadget ed had his 360 go RRoD over the weekend? (Read the full post about ‘Xbox 360 to get a smaller case revision in 2009?’…)

Share This

For those looking to give their external hard drive a little camouflage within their home office, the Hardbox may be just what you need. We do mean it though when we say little, because while the drive itself has the appearance of a book, it still has two external LED lights. Though we cannot say for sure, it seems those LED’s would most likely draw some attention in the midst of those regular books on your shelf. The drive is being offered up from Sarotech and has support for 3.5-inch SATA I or II hard drives with support for up to 1GB. The Hardbox comes with a built-in power supply and ships with “powerful backup software.” It offers up a USB connection, but seems to be missing one important item, a fan. (Read the full post about ‘Sarotech intro’s the Hardbox, a book-style external hard drive with LED’s’…)

Share This