Gadgets Connect

by Paul Miller, posted Jul 9th 2008 at 10:27AM Those kind, gentle Canadians have been oh-so-politely demanding a few heads on sticks ever since Rogers’ super-spendy iPhone 3G price plans were announced. Well, apparently their cries have been heard, and now Rogers is launching a promotional offer along with the iPhone of 6GB of data for $30 a month — not quite unlimited data, but close enough — which can be added on top of any regular voice plan. The promo will be available for iphone buyers who activate with a three year contract before August 31. Also, perhaps in a bid to dispel some nasty rumors about a major iPhone shortage, Rogers will be hosting 8AM launch day events at six Rogers Plus stores in major Canadian cities, complete with a free breakfast. (Read the full post about ‘Rogers caves on iPhone 3G plans, offers up 6GB for $30 a month’…)

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LG Electronics recently unveiled two of its most durably-designed monitors to date. Protected with an extra-thick, hard-glass screen, the LG L42PP series has been designed specifically for usage in high traffic settings such as public libraries, schools, internet cafes and airports.

The LG L42PP monitors come with the tempered glass which covers the LCD panel has a 7H hardness rating whereas most monitors have an acrylic material with a hardness level of 2H or less.

The L1942PP and the L1742PP LCD Monitors have a 19″ and 17″ screen respectively and an aspect ratio of 5:4.

(Read the full post about ‘LG L42PP Series Durably-Designed Monitors’…)

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FROM GAMERTELL - A big price drop is set for this Sunday on the Xbox 360 MORE » Keep up with the latest gadget goodness! - Subscribe to our feed → Tags: game, ipod, mobile phone, amps (Read the full post about ‘Rumor: Xbox 360 price drop scans look very convincing’…)

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Folks in North Carolina sure love to text message according to a study commissioned by Verizon Wireless. The “Big City Wireless Use Study” found that text messaging in the state had exploded by more than 600 percent during a 24 month period beginning April 2006 and ending April 2008. The “textiest city” in the state was found to be Charlotte. Back in April 2006, the city was sending and receiving about 15 million text messages. Compare that to April 2008 in which the city sent 103 million text messages.

North Carolina is seeing some of the growth wireless carriers are seeing globally when it comes to text messaging.

(Read the full post about ‘North Carolina sees big increased in text messages’…)

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I’ve got a funny story to tell about the Wii. Lately, my children, who are ages 4 and 5, have been playing it early in the morning before I wake up. A few days ago, I discovered they created a crowd of diverse Mii characters, all with names like “puppy”, “hug”, and “good”. I suppose that they named these Mii guys after words they knew how to spell. They must have mastered the keyboard interface that requires Wiimote motion to work. I have found that typing on the Wii this way is slow, and if the Wii is ever going to make full use of its wireless capability, then a keyboard might soon be a requirement. A company called Logic 3 has recently come out with a mini QWERTY keyboard, which features Symbol shifting and F number keys. (Read the full post about ‘Wii Keyboard’…)

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Even with the invention of the Internet, online video and video on mobile phones, it seems that traditional television viewing is still a growing activity for most Americans. According to Nielsen, Americans in May 08 spent 127 hours and 15 minutes per month watching television in the home. That’s up 4% from May 07.

The activity with the biggest growth year over year was in watching timeshifted television. Americans watched 5 hours and 50 minutes of timeshifted television in May this year compared to 3 hours and 44 minutes in May 07.

(Read the full post about ‘Nielsen reports Americans still like watching TV’…)

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by Darren Murph, posted Jul 9th 2008 at 8:30AM Heads-up, hardy hackers. Those of you too timid to put Android on your N810 the hard way now owe somebody a (big) hug, as the Android Installer makes installation a lesson in simplicity. We won’t bother rehashing the play-by-play in this space, but suffice to say all the hand-holding you need is just one click away. (Read the full post about ‘Android Installer simplifies installation on Nokia N810′…)

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Everyone knows that this is iPhone 3G week, but so far we have had to be content with lot so rumors, some facts about what plans will be available, the occasional guide to scoring your new iPhone, and an unboxing or two. These phones are still incredibly hard to come by before their release date–even though it’s Friday—and Apple’s ability to prevent them from leaking reminds me of the last time a Harry Potter book came out.

Two pillars of tech journalism, the Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg and The New York Times’ David Pogue, have posted their reviews of the new iPhone today.

Mossberg’s review brings up a number of high points, but ultimately he’s not nearly as in enamored with the phone as those people sitting outside of Apple store–in line for the phone– for the last week would have liked.

(Read the full post about ‘iPhone 3G reviewed at the WSJ and NYT’…)

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The new BriteVue Sensor Loupe 7X (magnification power) from Visible Dust makes it possible to locate the smallest dust particles attached to your DSLR camera sensor which other wise can ruin your ultra-high resolution images. The SensorLoupe 7X utilizes advanced features such as BriteVue XL technology with high quality K9 optical glass for high resolution and clarity. The SensorLoupe 7X has six super bright LEDs with vari-angled orientation to help create a 3D image of dust particles. The BriteVue XL design aids to easily locate the tinniest dust particles, defect or scratches on the sensor as well. The SensorLoupe 7X is an indispensable tool for photographers that want to eliminate F22 tests and other dust screening methods, save time and keep shooting. (Read the full post about ‘BriteVue Sensor Loupe 7X a must for DSLR camera owners’…)

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by Thomas Ricker, posted Jul 9th 2008 at 4:22AM You paying attention Redenbacher? Those daring kids at Instructables have created the USB Popcorn Maker from a high intensity heater light, aluminum cup, and mason jar. Add oil, non-Linux kernels, and salt and you’re ready to cozy-up in an uncomfortable three-some with the Wachowski Brothers. Unfortunately, the video posted after the break jump-cuts between USB attachment and the first corn kaboom. But given the 5V USB source, you’ll likely need plenty of time to get the oil boiling. Then again, nobody said this was practical.[Thanks, Sophia D.] Read PermalinkEmail this19 CommentsFiled under: Misc. (Read the full post about ‘DIY USB Popcorn Maker: pops corn, explodes your mind’…)

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