Apple iPhone Release Date

Apple iPhone
We finally have found out the release date for the Apple iPhone in the US. It is set to arrive in the US on June 11th and will be priced at $599 with a 2 year service agreement with Cingular/AT&T. Thats a huge contract to take out on a phone and hopefully the service agreement has some good breakdown cover on it. The model at $599 will be the 8GB version.

The iPhone is estimated to cost $280.83 for the 8GB model. For a full comparison of costs take a look at the link below.

Via: TechEBlog

Concept MP3 Watch

Concept MP3 Player
Nathan Davis has created the concept MP3 player watch which is a silicone band that you wear on your wrist. It features an OLED display under a layer polycarbonate. To listen to the music, you need no wires. This watch features bluetooth technology along with bluetooth headphones to send the audio wirelessly.

This is another cool watch design from Yanko Design that we would love to see hit the market. No doubt in the next year or few this type of watch will be readily available.

Via: Gizmodo

Keyboard Wallet

Keyboard Wallet
This is one of the most uniqe home made wallets I have seen. It is built from the insides of a computer keyboard and has been folded together to make one kind of cool looking wallet.

To make one of these yourself you will need the following items…
A desktop computer keyboard (for the circuit sheet and a metal piece as a straight edge)
A screwdriver to open the keyboard
A ruler or tape measure
A cutting board or cutting mat
A razor knife
Sharp scissors
A roll of clear packing tape

Via: Fosfor

World Record Set – Fastest Data Transfer

FibreOptics
With streaming video services becoming more popular and IP TV coming around, data transfer is key to making this run succesfully and smooth. Alcatel/Lucent have just smashed the record which was set at 14TB/s and set a new record of 25.6TB/s. That is 25 terabytes of data in one second that was transferred with just one fibre strand. That is an insane amount of data and like shifting 1000s of movies in just a second.

This of course will allow providers to bump up the speeds offered to end users and could greatly reduce costs of communications around the world.

Via: SlashGear

Nokia – Visual Search Engine

Nokia Visual Search Engine
A new application to the US Patent reveals that Nokia are planning to create a visual search engine which will be used to find images by using their shape, colour and texture. The search engine will be able to generate keywords about each image uploaded allowing you to sort through images. If you want to find a picture of something then you can also take a photo with your phone, upload the image and the app will be able to pick out matching details.

The whole process behind this is quite complicated but very interesting to read. More details can be found at the link below.

Via: Unwiredview

Colour Changing Glasses

Colour Changing Glasses
These are not the most attractive set of sunglasses I have seen, but they do include some cool technology to allow the tint on them to change colour. The glasses are more active and more intelligent then other glasses and can change under conditions of light, reflection and by manually twisting a dial on one of the arms.

I am not convinced yet, but maybe the technology could be used elsewhere.

Via: Engadget

Nokia 5700 XpressMusic

Nokia 5700 XpressMusic
The Nokia 5700 XpressMusic phone was just announced. The 5700 is a 3G phone which has more style then your typical Nokia type phone. The keypad can be twisted to reveal dedicated music player keys. Sound is produced with a dedicated audio chip and played via built in stereo speakers and adjustable by a 5 band graphic equalizer.

The phone has a built in 2 mega pixel camera with 4x digital zoom. The screen is a 2.2 inch QVGA screen.

Features

– A built-in FM radio tuner featuring Visual Radio – find out what song is playing, who sings it, and other artist information.
– Mpeg4 player and advanced editor – Edit your videos on the spot with the master set of different effects and options and create new views with your own video content.
– Email: IMAP4, POP3, SMTP, Support for IMAP IDLE, OMA e-mail notification, MIME. Support for attachments: (.jpg, .3gp, .mp3).
– Hot swappable slot for microSD memory card, with options to expand up to 2 GB with microSD card
– Bluetooth 2.0
– Push to talk over cellular network (PoC)

Via: Hotphonenews

1Tb DVD Sized Disc – The Teradisc

Blank CD
A new technology is being created which could allow up to 1Tb of data to be stored on a single disc. The device is capable of recording and reading over 100 virtual layers on a single disc. When it is launched (probably 2010) they will launch with 500Gb of storage which will then soon be upped to 1Tb.

Via: I4U

Night Vision in Colour – ColorPath Goggles

ColorPath Goggles
Most of you will be aware of the green and black effect that night time vision goggles have. As far as I can remember this has always been the same. A company named Tenebraex is working on a system to allow users of nightvision equipment to see in colour. The goggles will be sold for about 6000 dollars and directed more towards physicians in the army who up till now, see blood the same colour as water.

Here is what the company says about this device. [It] “uses one standard, green image intensifier tube to create a true, full-color image for the user. The system is also mechanical and filter based”not computer in the loop. This means that compared to other color systems, it is real time, unaffected by temperature, light weight, power frugal and low cost. The CCNVD can generate a color image down to quarter-moon light levels, At lower light levels, with the Model OP, a simple twist of a knob moves the ColorPath technology from the optical path, leaving the user with a standard, monochromatic green night vision device with all the overcast moonless night performance that he had before.

Via: Primidi

Doh – I pulled the wrong plug

Plug Labels
You are probably familier with the problem of climbing under your desk when needing to pull out a plug. When you are under the desk you realise that the untouched nice neat cables are no longer neat and tidy, and you have no clue what to unplug. These labels are a simple idea which allow you to mark up each plug as you connect it to the power strip. With these simple, but effective stickers you are now able to unplug your printer rather then pulling out the plug for the PC.

Available for just $6 they are a bargain.

Via: UberReview

Sony Notebook Headsets

Sony Headset
Sony has announced the launch of two new headsets designed for comfort and mobility. The first version is the DR-EX230DP which is an in the ear type headset with an inline Mic for talking online. It has three sizes of ear piece to help with comfort. The other model is the DR-G250DP which is a neckband headset. This second headset has a microphone built in which is retractable.

On the technical side, the DR-EX230DP has a 9mm driver unit, 1.2M cable and is supplied with a travel case. It is ideal for the traveller who also wants to listen to music on the move.

The DR-G250DP microphone is noise cancelling making it ideal for speech recognition, and better signal clarity. The device is foldable and has a 3M cable lenght.

Both headphones will be made available by the end of March.

Via: Sony

Sony High Capacity Storage Tape

LTO
Sony is releasing a new high capacity backup storage tape. It is named the LTO Ultrium 4 and can store 800Gb to 1.6Tb compressed with transfer rates up to 240Mbps. For those who regularly use tape backup solutions, you may be familier with LTO Ultrium 3 and 2. The main difference is that the transfer on the V3 of these tapes was 160Mbps (compressed) which has now risen. Also storage used to be 800Gb compressed and is now 1.6Gb compressed. Thats a lot of data!

As well as being a backup solution, the tape also features hardware encryption capabilities for securing data when needed. Backwards compatibility does work on version 3 but it can only read on your LTO Ultrium 2 cartridges and not write.

Via: Sony