Archives for December 2007

Shinhan USB Credit Card

December 30, 2007 by Leave a Comment

USB Credit Card
A new credit card was revealed a few days ago. However, it’s not your average sort of credit card. It is a USB credit card which works as a contactless card in stores. When shopping online the card has to be inserted in to your USB port to authorise the transaction. By having the device (which is encrypted) enter all your details, there is no chance that a keylogger could capture what you are typing. It uses an IC chip to function and all programs needed to securely communicate with authorisation devices are included in there too. You currently cannot write to the memory to keep it secure.

Via: Slipperybrick

Filed Under: Tech News

SmartGlobe V2

December 29, 2007 by Leave a Comment

smartglobe
SmartGlobe V2 is a great way to learn facts about our planet. It comes packaged with a SmartPen which allows the user to interact with the globe. Two years worth of downloads are included in the product which allow various age ranges to listen to facts about Earth. Age ranges are 5-8, 9-14 or 15 years and older.

Features:

* Features 30 exciting activities and quiz games about countries, capitals, major cities, populations, languages, history, current events and more
* Includes an interactive guide to flags from around the world and corresponding national anthems
* Download customized information for three age groups: 5-8, 9-14 or 15 years and older great fun for all ages
* Download up to 6 languages: Spanish, French, Chinese, German, Italian and Portuguese
* Features 30 English and 6 Spanish activities
* SmartPen can be used wirelessly, plugged in using the audio cable (included) or using headphones (not included)
* 2 years of free downloads for current events and world facts
* Includes a pull-out United States map for more detailed activity, Oregon Scientific SmartUpdate content to update facts and news, and an AC adapter
* For 1 to 4 players

SmartGlobe V2 costs $130 and is available from Discovery Store.

Via: GeekAlerts

Filed Under: Cool Gadgets

USB Mix Tapes

December 29, 2007 by 3 Comments

USB Mix Tape
Many of you will remember the good old cassette tape. It allowed many people to create their own little mixes of either 60 or 90 minutes to play in their walkman or in a car. The USB Mix Tape is a mixture of the old fashioned cassette with it’s paper cover but inside it sports a small USB flash drive which contains your music. The USB flash drive inside can store 64MB of music on to it. To record on to it, stick the USB flash drive in to your PC, drag and drop all your tunes on to it, and then put the flash memory back in to it’s case. You can even write all your track listings on to the paper insert to remind you of the early 90’s.

USB Mix Tape Collection

USB Mix Tape Open

The USB Mix Tape costs £19.95 and there are 6 different styles to choose from (or collect).

Product Page

Filed Under: Music Gadgets

45 Billion Maglev Track

December 28, 2007 by Leave a Comment

45-billion-maglev-train
By 2025, Japan could expect to use the worlds fastest trains due to a new 45 billion dollar track being built between Tokyo and Central Japan. The MagLev (Magnetically Levitated) train is expected to reach speeds of 500KPH (about 310MPH) which is crazy. The track distance is about 290K which would make journey times a little over 30 minutes if top speed it held for most of the journey.

Via: AFP Google

Filed Under: Tech News

TC2 Mobile Phone Emergency Battery Charger

December 28, 2007 by Leave a Comment

tc2
The TC2 is a new charging device which uses 2 AA batteries to provide emergency charging for your mobile phone. Adapters for various mobile phones are optional when purchasing the device with about 9 or so available to choose from. Tests done over at Geek show that the TC2 connected to a completely dead phone for 5 minutes can give it enough juice to be switched on and make a brief call. On the TC2 unit are 3 LEDs which act as a power gauge. Also two high powered LEDs are found on the TC2 allowing it to be used as a light in emergency’s. Over on the product page (linked below) it indicates that 2 AA batteries can charge a phone up to 3 times which is quite impressive considering you can get a couple of 2000mAh rechargeable batteries for a reasonable price.

Prices range from $24.95 upwards depending on how many adapters you choose.

Product Page Via: Geek

Filed Under: Cell Phones

FBI Digital Billboards

December 28, 2007 by Leave a Comment

fbibillboard
The FBI will be using the latest screen technology to roll out 150 or so digital billboards across various cities in the US. The digital billboards will be used to display those people who are currently wanted and will show next to them a large contact number which aims to capture a lot of attention from people driving around the 20 cities that will initially see the boards installed. Tests have been successful in the US when the board was first used recently.

Cities to use the FBI Billboard

* Akron
* Albuquerque
* Atlanta
* Chicago
* Cleveland
* Columbus
* Des Moines
* El Paso
* Indianapolis
* Las Vegas
* Los Angeles
* Memphis
* Miami
* Milwaukee
* Minneapolis
* Newark
* Orlando
* Philadelphia
* Tampa
* Wichita

Via: Engadget

Filed Under: Tech News

Concept Circle Phone

December 28, 2007 by Leave a Comment

circle phone
As gadgets around the world continue to get more complex there will be a cry out for simple ideas to come back. One of these ideas will be the old fashioned circle type phone. Yankodesign now bring us the Circle Phone concept which has just 3 buttons and a rotary type dialling pad. I am baffled on how you actually hold this thing to your head, but simplicity is always good.

circle_phone2

circle_phone3

Via: Yankodesign

Filed Under: Concept Gadgets

eBay Watch – Nokia E90 vs Shotgun

December 28, 2007 by Leave a Comment

Nokia_E90_2
A recent auction on eBay shows a Nokia E90 communicator which had a small accident with a 12 gauge shotgun. The phone fetched just $20.50 in the auction which ended 27 Dec (yesterday). The right side of the phone was blasted through and had both of it’s screens damaged as well as the keyboard and circuit boards. More pictures below.

Nokia_E90_1

Nokia_E90_3

Nokia_E90_4

Nokia_E90_5

Nokia_E90_6

Auction

Filed Under: Cell Phones

Japanese 3D Real-time Avatars

December 27, 2007 by Leave a Comment

3D Realtime Rendering
A company in Japan have created a cool system which can render in real time your head and modify the look such as hairstyle, face paint and such. This type of technology could be used for gamers who interact with each other online or even for real world type stuff such as testing new hair styles before the scissors attack your hair. As it’s in Japanese, I have no idea when this will be available or any other details. Enjoy the video below.

Via: Barechoons

Filed Under: Tech News

Interesting Cube Clock

December 27, 2007 by 3 Comments

time_cube
For just a few minutes a day this clock is shaped just like a cube. However, as time moves onwards it starts to change shape as the various sections rotate around an axis. When it gets around to 12 again the clock is cube shaped.

The largest triangle is for displaying hours while the medium is for minutes and the small triangle on the edge represents seconds. The cube clock costs just shy of $12 from Chinavasion.

time_cube_2

time_cube_3

Product Page Via: Technabob

Filed Under: Gadget Clocks

Wooden JVC Earphones

December 27, 2007 by Leave a Comment

jvc-fx-500-wood-earphones
JVC have created some nifty little earphones which are made of real wood. The type of wood used is Birch wood and it makes them look amazing. The model is HP-FX500 and they will cost over $130 when released in a couple of months time. Inside there is a damping gel which helps reduce jitter and increases noise cancellation effects. Audio ranges are from 8Hz to 25Khz.

In the box you will find the earphones, carrying case and rubber tips which can accommodate various sized ears. Hopefully we will see these earphones over in the UK.

Via: Slipperybrick

Filed Under: Music Gadgets

The Best Digital Voice Recorder

December 26, 2007 by Leave a Comment

Digital Voice Recorder
What makes this Digital Voice Recorder “the best”? According to Hammacher, this digital voice recorder gives superior playback clarity at distance. Testing of this digital voice recorder was done at 20 feet away from a source and proved to have better sound clarity then any others that were tested along side. It achieves this with a variable control voice actuator which can set the correct volume level to record at.

record voices without obscuring Ps, Bs, and Ss up to 40′ away, 10′ more than the nearest tested model. The recorder is easy to set up for initial recording a nd its built-in 256MB memory allows it to record up to 66 1/2 hours in LP mode.

It connects to a PC via USB allowing you to transfer the audio easily. Powered by AA batteries it can record up to 32 hours before needing a recharge.

Product Page $169.95

Filed Under: MP3 Players, Office Gadgets