Creative USB Cam Optia

March 23, 2007 by Leave a Comment

Creative Cam Optia
The Creative Cam Optia is a new USB webcam to become available. With other webcams there are drivers which always need installing first to allow the camera to work on your system. However, this camera is different in that it uses a new USB video class called UVC which gets rid of the need to install drivers. UVC is a new class which works in a similar way to flash drives which plug in and go. As flash drives use the same standard, there are no drivers needed. UVC aims to follow this route. With more and more providers getting in on the UVC scene, you will start seeing cameras compatible cross platform such as on the PS3. You webcam will then work with different machines in your house and stop you needing to buy a dedicated cam for the PS3, Xbox etc…

The Creative Cam Optia is one of the latest cameras to use this technology and it looks like a great cam from the pics I have seen. A full review can be found at EverythingUSB.

Via: OhGizmo

Filed Under: Cool Gadgets, USB Gadgets

Mario Kart Scalextric

March 22, 2007 by Leave a Comment

Mario Kart Scalextric
Mario Kart has decided to drop off the screen from the virtual world of polygons and in to a slot car racing set. The Mario Kart racing set has both Mario and Yoshi to battle it out with on the figure 8 track. Unfortunatly you cannot fire mushrooms at the other player though which does take some fun out of it, and also you cannot fold it up and put it in your pocket and play wirelessly with 7 other players… but if you can live without that then you have a nice little Mario Kart in the flesh (or plastic) which you can have a go with. I have to agree with Engadget though in that the novelty will soon wear off. However, if the price point is good then it should do well.

Via: Engadget

Filed Under: Cool Gadgets

Updating your own Nokia Firmware

March 22, 2007 by 3 Comments

Cellphoneforums have posted that official Nokia software is available to update the firmware on your mobile phone. Before you read on, just make sure you follow instructions step by step as doing something wrong does have the potential to break your phone. With the software being official, I decided to check out the Nokia.com website and sure enough, it is there. Excellent, time to check out my N73 and see what’s on offer. From doing a quick check on my phone of *#0000# I see that I am on V 2.X. A search of the product code on my phone shows I can upgrade to version 3.0638.0.0.1. To upgrade it is a matter of checking the current version and your version and then downloading the latest version from the website for your phone. There are 2 ways to download the latest firmware. The first is OTA (over the air) and the second is a download to your PC so you can transfer it over. My Nokia N73 does not allow OTA, so I will need to download to my PC and transfer via USB.

Some good news is that the upgrade process is fairly simple. If your phone is branded (locked to a provider) then it might not update. However, the software that updates your phone will tell you if this is the case to prevent you from bricking it.

Why do you need to update your firmware? The latest firmware fixes bugs in earlier releases. My N73 has a few quirky things about it and the reason for my upgrade will be to test to see if it fixes it from freezing from time to time while doing too many things at once. Other reasons are upgraded applications and different connectivity.

Let us know if you run in to any problems with the updates.

Updating can be done via Nokia

Filed Under: Cell Phones, Cool Gadgets

Solar Powered AC – SolCool Millenia

March 22, 2007 by 1 Comment

Solar Powered AC
3500 dollars will get you a solar powered AC unit called the SolCool Millenia. The sun powers the device and the hotter it is the colder the air can be pumped out. If it is still hot and AC is needed then the device has a 24 hour battery to keep things cool. Overall a nice idea I think which is both good for the user and the environment.

Via: OhGizmo

Filed Under: Cool Gadgets

HTC X7500 UnBoxing

March 22, 2007 by 2 Comments

HTC X7500 UnBoxing
On the Go Solutions have pics of unboxing a HTC X7500. A quick run down of specs show this device to have a vast array of features and well worth looking in to. Included in the box is a travel charher, sync cable, stereo headset with mix, stylus, battery and case. It is supported on GSM networks (AT&T 1900Mhz, Cingular 850/1900Mhz and T-Mobile 1900Mhz.

Technical Specs
* Windows Mobile 5.0
* 624 MHz processor
* 3.0 MP Camera
* 256 ROM / 128 RAM
* Built in GPS Receiver
* 8 GB Hard Drive
* MP3 Player
* 3.0MP Camera
* Width: 3.85 inches
* Length: 5.25 inches
* Thick: 0.63 inches
* Screen: 5.0 inch TFT
* Weight: 12.6 oz
* Battery: 2200mAh
* GSM Unlocked
* HSDPA: 850/1900
* UMTS: 2100
* Quad-band Phone
* 850/900/1800/1900
* GRPS/EDGE
* Bluetooth v2.0
* WiFi 802.11 b/g
* Mini SD Slot
* Internet Explorer
* Pocket Outlook
* Pocket Excel
* Pocket Word
* Pocket Office
* Pocket PowerPoint
* Media Player
* DirectPush Mail
* Pocket MSN

Pictures of the unboxing event can be found at the link below.

Via: OnTheGoSolutions

Filed Under: Cell Phones, Cool Gadgets

Neonode TouchScreen N2

March 22, 2007 by Leave a Comment

Neonode TouchScreen N2
The Neonode N2 has been introduced and is a touch screen phone and media player. The device has no buttons and it controlled only though the touch screen. The touch screen has a virtual keyboard that can be made visible for typing SMS messages and searching or adding contacts. The memory is provided by MiniSD which stores all your music, contacts etc… If you want music on the device then drag and drop it on there. The device is a nice size and allows full operation with one hand. The touch screen uses its own patented screen technology and rather then it actually being a touch screen, it uses smalls beams of light across and down the screen which creates a grid. When a beam is crossed it can translate that in to a location on the screen. The N2 appears to be a good solution and competitor to the iPhone. I do not know if it is multi touch at the moment, but with a screen technology as it is, then that will keep people happy for a while.

On the media player side of things, a 3.5mm regular headphone jack is available which allows you to use any regular set of head/ear phones with the device.

Via: Gizmag

Filed Under: Cell Phones, Cool Gadgets

Wifi Finder from Linksys

March 22, 2007 by Leave a Comment

WUSBF54G
The WUSBF54G is a USB network adapter and also includes a built in wi-fi finder. It is capable of finding Wireless G and Wireless B signals and allows full connectivity and 128 bit WEP or WPA encryption. The USB network adapter has a built in LCD screen which shows network name, channel, signal strength and the security of the network. What sets this device out from the crowd is that it works while not connected to your laptop. You switch it on and it immediately shows networks in the area and if they are able to be connected to. If you find one then you can switch on your laptop, plug it in and then surf away. If multiple networks are found then a list is displayed ordered by signal strength. As free public hotspots are becoming more freely available, this device can help find those hotspots far quicker and get you working quicker.

The device costs $79 and could be well worth the investment for the frequent traveler.

Via: Coolest-Gadgets

Filed Under: Cool Gadgets, Displays, Laptops

Luxury Rain Shower

March 22, 2007 by 3 Comments

Luxury Rain Shower
The Luxury rain shower offers a different showering experience in that it also uses light and sound to change the mood. It mounts on the ceiling and has adjustable blade flow. The audio and light can be adjusted externally with an attached keyboard although no information is given about this yet. It may be waterproof, or it might just connect to a PC in the house some how.

Via: BornRich

Filed Under: Cool Gadgets

Indoor RC Plane – Aero Soarer

March 22, 2007 by 1 Comment

Aero Soarer
Indoor RC toys are becoming more popular over the last year or so. The Picoz RC Helicopter is one of my favorite due to it’s tiny size and the ability to fly around your living room and not destroy anything.

Tomy have now released the Aero Soarer which is an indoor RC plane. It weighs next to nothing with it being made from polystyrene (Styrofoam for you in the US) and is light enough to fly without much power. The planes controller has 2 functions. The first is the controller for the plane which allows you to increase the the throttle which makes the plane go up and decrease to go down, also it allows you to steer the plane. The second function is that it doubles as a charger for the plane. There is no mention of how long it takes to charge, but average usage for RC flying toys are around 5 – 10 minutes of flying on about 20 – 30 minutes of charging.

The Aero Soarer is also customisable although I am not 100% sure yet how you can customise it. Maybe you can chop off a bit of the wing and shape it better, or maybe add LEDs.

It is available from Play-Asia for $19.90.

Via: NerdApproved

Filed Under: Cool Gadgets

HTC Kaiser

March 21, 2007 by 1 Comment

HTC Kaiser
The HTC Kaiser has finally appeared. It comes with an updated firmware which runs Windows Mobile 6 from Microsoft. It has a 3 mega pixel camera also. On the connectivity side it has HSPDA which allows for faster access for data. Also a GPS receiver is built in. The keyboard is also unique in that it slider out the other side of the device and also appears that the screen can flip upwards to allow typing on a desk. No other details are currently available.

Via: NewLaunches

Filed Under: Cell Phones, Cool Gadgets, Office Gadgets

Virtual Mirror – Try Clothes with out Changing

March 21, 2007 by Leave a Comment

Virtual Mirror
The LCD TV market is getting huge now due to prices always dropping. This has allowed various technologies to be worked with such as virtual mirrors. These tend to be mirrors that hang on your wall, and also have a screen built in. When the screen it switched on the surface is no longer reflecting an image of you, but is showing a video.

Using this idea, a store in New York decided that clothes can be tried on by facing a mirror and displaying the clothes on screen. Where the clothes are not, you can see your reflection as though you are wearing the clothes. To add to this, a picture is then taken, emailed to friends and family and an opinion can be gained as to weather you buy the item of clothing or not.

Seems like an interesting idea and might help speed up things for those who get bored waiting for their wives to try on everything in a store.

Via: NewLaunches

Filed Under: Cool Gadgets, Displays

Concept Digital Sand Watch

March 21, 2007 by Leave a Comment

Sand Watch
Here we have a new concept idea which is based on the idea of an hourglass that you would normally see with sand in it. The digital version shows time digitally in an hourglass shaped screen and also can be switched to digital mode. This is a cool watch to ook out and would be interesting to see hit the shelves although with that many concept ideas floating around there is only going to be a % of them that do make it. Hopefully, this is one of them.

Via: NerdApproved

Filed Under: Concept Gadgets, Cool Gadgets