Gadgetstronics

I was watching a rerun of Demolition Man the other day, and when Wesley Snipes was trying to escape from Stallone in a car chase, the latter shot the former’s tire with unerring accuracy. Being set so far in the future, Mr. Snipes told the on-board computer to inflate the tires, which the car promptly did. The future it not quite here yet, but there has been some progress although it might not be voice controlled just yet. The self-inflating tire from the Czech Republic relies on a peristaltic pump that inflates the tire as it turns, ensuring the pressure level remains constant for a safe ride. Perfect for saving fuel in the long run thanks to well inflated tires, a keeping it at a constant, safe pressure level. At least you no longer need to dirty your hands at the gas station when pumping your tires.

Sony’s Rolly music player is now available in sleek black to accompany the original white model. This new black model will feature the ability to change to different colored arms (blue, red and silver) in order to spruce up the original design. The 1GB Rolly will not experience a price change in Japan, retailing for $400 even when the black model arrives in Japan this April 19th. A set of arms cost $15, which makes it one of the cheaper accessories around. Sony will bring the Rolly to the US this spring, but the company has yet to confirm whether the new colors will be available or not. According to Sony, the new black Rolly will feature improved software as well.

The ipod mini, when it was first released, obtained plenty of praises from just about every quarter and it still looks ain’t half bad today. Those who missed the boat and want a little retro action can purchase the 4GB iPod mini for $79 minus shipping and handling. Compare that to new 2GB Shuffles which retail for $69 or refurbished 4GB nanos that are currently going for $129 a piece. Perfect for those looking for an entry level mp3 player with a proven track record.

Glow Brick

The Glow Brick has to be the next best thing to remote-controlled lighting. In fact, we’ll stick our neck out and say that it’s even better, because you don’t have to lift a finger to switch it on.

A strangely lovely phosphorescent light bulb is entombed in a clear acrylic brick, which lounges about by day, quietly soaking up solar energy, then takes centre stage by night.

At dusk, the light starts glowing all green and mysterious, showing an awesome staying power throughout the darkest hours. The overall effect is of a disembodied shining light bulb suspended in mid air, which, you’d have to agree, is not something you see every day.

On a functional level, it makes a handy, low-maintenance security light. On a frivolous level, it’s a jolly nice talking piece for people who like to talk in dark rooms.

You can have this for £19.95

Posted Mar 31st 2008 10:44AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: HDTV, Media PCs, Storage Okoro Media Systems has been offering up well-spec’d HTPCs for quite some time, but it has finally seen fit to jump on the flash-based storage bandwagon. The firm’s new ZX series of Extreme Digital Entertainment Systems gets going with the OMS-ZX100, which comes standard with a 32GB SSD (for the OS and such) and a 1TB HDD for media storage. Moreover, you’ll find a 3.0GHz Core 2 Extreme QX6850 processor, 3GB of DDR2 RAM, NVIDIA’s 256MB GeForce 8600 GT graphics card, Blu-ray / hd dvd playback and your choice of “any automotive color” on the chassis. ‘Tis a shame it costs $5,995 to even join the ZX100 club, but look to spend even more if you’re hankering for a built-in CableCARD tuner and WiFi adapter.

Posted Mar 31st 2008 4:53PM by Donald Melanson
Filed under: Misc. gadgetsIt looks like soldiers could one day have their own tab key of sorts to call up detailed, 3D maps at will, at least if the folks at General Dynamics UK have their way. As Physorg reports, they’ve developed a “near real-time” 3D map system that makes use of an array of different technologies including LIDAR, thermal imaging and x-ray backscatter techniques to not only display buildings and streets, but objects and people inside buildings as well. The use of LIDAR also promises to provide measurements of doors, windows, and alleys with “millimeter accuracy.” All that obviously makes the system, dubbed Masthead, slightly less than portable, however, although General Dynamics says it’d be able to be carried in the back of a military vehicle or civilian 4×4, or in a plane for that matter. Of course, like most such projects, General Dynamics isn’t just setting its sights to military applications, with it also touting Masthead’s potential benefits for police forces in planning security measures for large events, to name one example.

[Via Physorg]

Now here’s a torch that does more than light up your path whenever the power fails (which isn’t too often these days) - the Multi-Screwdriver Torch. Not only will you be able to find your way through a blanket of darkness, it features a whole host of interchangeable screwdriver heads that will be able to cater for most DIY projects without the need for a whole bunch of different screwdrivers. Just make sure you don’t lose these heads though, as there won’t be any individual replacements. Instead, you’ll have to fork out $17 for a whole new Multi-Screwdriver Torch instead.

LG have announced their new external Blu-ray rewriter and HD DVD-ROM drive, the LG BE06LU10. It has the ability to both read and write Blu-ray and also read HD DVD at 6x speed. The LG BE06LU10 offers a quick and easy way to add a permanent or portable HD drive to your computer.

Its great to see a drive which supports the reading of both HD formats, and also provides great storage options with being able to write / burn to Blu-ray discs at a speedy 6x. So with the LG BE06LU10 you will be able to play back and watch both blu-ray and HD-DVDs and also have the ability to burn blu-ray discs for a huge 50GB of storage, thats enough space for over 11,000 MP3s.

The external BE06LU10 uses a simple USB 2.0 connector and offers similar specifications as the recently launched (Internal) LG GGW-H20L.  The LG BE06LU10 is avaliable now for around £260. Check below for current prices.

LG BE06LU10 specifications:
Write

• BD-R(SL/DL): 6X/4X
• BD-RE(SL/DL): 2X
• DVD+R/R DL: 16X/4X
• DVD+RW/-RW: 8X/6X
• CD-R/RW: 40X/24X

Read

• BD-R/RO(SL): 6X
• BD-R/ROM(DL): 4.8X
• BD-RE(SL/DL): 2X
• hd dvd-ROM(SL/DL): 3X
• DVD-ROM(SL): 16X
• CD-ROM: 40X

If you’re like me, you have no idea if you’re maintaining proper tire pressure in your car tires in between trips to the shop. This self-inflating tire, developed in the Czech Republic, takes this out of your hands by inflating automatically through a device called a peristaltic pump which inflates the tire as it turns, keeping it at a constant, safe pressure level. This technology, if adopted widely, will not only make the roads safer, but will have a positive environmental impact by way of savings on fuel (cars with under-inflated tires use more fuel), resulting in a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, and an increase in the lifespan of tires. Read more here.

Via smart stuff and gizmag

Sony Ericsson has released its first 3G/HDSPA phone for the US market, the Z750a through AT&T. Aside from its high speed internet connection, the Z750a is also an affordable and stylish clamshell phone. However despite its sleek look, the Z750a is also packed with other useful features such as; reflective mirror clamshell casing and OLED reflective display screen that illuminates when a user is receiving calls and displaying caller identification. It also displays battery usage and life, text message alerts and other valuable information.

The Z750a also features a media player that supports numerous media file types, it has a built-in 26MB internal memory plus a memory stick slot for Memory Stick Micro that offers up to 8GB of additional storage, email, a 2.0-megapixel camera, full HTML web browsing capabilities and stereo Bluetooth support.

The Z750a will be released in April for $49.99 after $100 mail-in-rebate. The Z750a will be available in early April and come in three colorful designs – mysterious purple, phantom grey and rose pink.

Product [Sony Ericsson] Read [Business Wire]

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