Speedo Aquabeat MP3 player sinks, floats, and is terrible at the butterfly stroke
June 30th, 2008 
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If anyone is going to make a decent waterproof MP3 player this time around, it would have to be someone like the tight bathing suit-producing Speedo brand. The Speedo Aquabeat — made by Iriver — contains 1GB of storage, plays for nine hours on one charge, come in three coors, and weighs just 35 grams. So what’s so Speedo about them? These players (and earphones) are good for up to 3 meters below the surface and they float — so you can just leave the things floating about while you go mix another margarita. Retail price is $145, available now from your local Speedo dealer or high school coach — just listen for the whistle.
Nikon PC-E Micro 45 mm and 85 mm lenses
June 30th, 2008 
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Nikon has confirmed two tilt and shift (also known as perspective correction) lenses we first heard of in January this year. There is the ‘normal focal length’ PC-E Micro Nikkor 45 mm F2.8D ED and ‘medium telephoto’ PC-E Micro Nikkor 85 mm F2.8D, both of which provide ±8.5° tilt, ±11.5mm shift and 90° axial (rotation) movement and also have the much touted ‘Nano Crystal Coat’. When used on the D3, D300 (and we presume D700) these lenses also provide automatic aperture control as well as manual override using the aperture ring on the lens.
Features
- Micro PC lenses with normal 45mm focal length (PC-E 45mm) and medium-telephoto 85mm focal length (PC-E 85mm)
- Close-up shooting at up to 1/2x reproduction ratio
- Nano Crystal Coat effectively reduces ghosting and flare caused by backlighting, etc.
- ED glass element delivers high-resolution, clear images (PC-E 45mm)
- Electromagnetic diaphragm provides auto aperture control when used with the D3 and D300
- Wide tilt and shift range (tilt: ±8.5°; shift ±11.5mm) enables hand-held tilt/shift photography, virtually impossible with a large-film-format view camera
- ±90° lens revolving capability for versatile tilt/shift effects
- Nine-blade rounded diagram for rounded, natural blur
- High optical performance not only for tilt/shift photography but also for general shooting
- Dust- and moisture-resistant for reliable use even in harsh shooting situations
Notes: Some functions will be limited when used with cameras other than the D3 and D300. Cannot be used with the F70D, F60D, F55, F50D, F-401 series, F-801 series, F-601, F3AF, F-501, PRONEA S, or other manual focus cameras.
Video Ringtones For iPhone Revolutionize Answering Your Phone
June 30th, 2008 
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What’s more awesome and annoying than regular music ringtones? Video ringtones. iFoneTec have developed VideosTone, which lets you play back a standard formatted-for-iPhone video whenever someone calls. You can pick different ones for different people, like Devo for Lam and Ricky Martin for Jesus. We’ve been trying to try this app for ourselves but our download from Installer.app keeps timing out. The people on ModMyiPhone have had more luck getting Coldplay to dance on their phones, apparently.
Portobello laptop bags ooze elegance and style
June 30th, 2008 
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Show your laptop some love. Treat it to something pretty and hopefully in return it’ll stop freezing on you, Blue Screen of Deathing on you and participating in a go slow movement. These bags might be just the answer - they have been styled to fit around your lifestyle, hence why they look so damn good. As well as being a very nice range of handbags, they’re not conspicuous laptop bags, so you’re not going to look like The Girl Who’s Just Come From a Meeting.
The range is made-up of mock-croc leather bags, earthly palettes and canvas panelling, giving a firm nod to safari chic which has been dominating the catwalks recently.
Clearly style is the main emphasis on these bags, but this doesn’t mean laptop safety suffers. All Knomos are designed to fit securely and safely around your laptop.
The Melilla and Lausanne bags are available in small handbag and large workbag sizes (13-inch and 15-inch sizes), in tan leather/sand fabric or in black leather. The limited edition mock-croc version is exclusively available in 15-inch only. Should the worst happen and you lose your Knomo bag, its tracker tag ID will help you retrieve it. Rest assured you’ll be carrying around your lappy in a very fashion-conscious accessory.
Prices start from £150 to £195.
TX-SA706: A Powerful 7.1 AV Amplifier from Onkyo
June 30th, 2008 
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Onkyo released a new 7.1 AV amplifier equipped with an HDMI1.3 port, the TX-SA706X. Our new amplifier features five HDMI inputs and one HDMI output supporting 1080p video signals. It can reproduce the latest audio codec such as Dolby True HD, DTS-HD Master Audio…
The TX-SA706X also provides a maximum output of 200wx7, a frequency response of 5Hz-100,000Hz (Not sure if this is useful…), and includes Audyssey Dynamic EQ Processing.
It should be available July 19th for 1,120€
RazorBook 400 Powered by Windows CE Launches
June 30th, 2008 
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3K Computers has announced a new version if its RazorBook 400 mini-notebook computer that runs on Windows CE operating system. The tiny notebook uses a 7-inch TFT LCD and has a full size keyboard. The system running on Windows CE retails for $299.
Storage for the small notebook is 4 GB of flash memory and like the other RazorBook 400 systems, the CE powered machine is designed to boot up in 8 seconds. 3K says the small, low-cost notebook is perfect for students or mobile professionals looking for a cheap Internet appliance.
“This is very exciting news for us since we are bringing a mini-notebook to market for the price of $299 that can support Remote Desktop functionality and comes equipped with Microsoft Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player. Microsoft Windows CE also boasts the familiar Windows interface that US based end users have been requesting daily through our support forum,” said Dan Jacobs, CEO, 3K Computers.
The BBC brings us one step closer to HD for Freeview
June 30th, 2008 
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The BBC is hard at work at the moment. Why? Because they’re trying to bring us HD broadcasts to Freeview within the next 18 months, that’s why. The appeal of watching HD TV is sky high, so the BBC is currently testing transmissions of a new technology that will make this a reality.
Although current Freeview boxes would be unable to process the signal, the arrival of this brand spanking new technology means HD quality broadcasts could soon be hitting the terrestrial airwaves. This trial, which uses second generation DVB-T specification DVB-T2, could pave the way for the introduction of HD onto Freeview by the end of 2009
Tetra T-Pad smartphone is tough, just not $2,600 tough
June 30th, 2008 
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Ever since Motorola was tossing the Tetra name around in 2005, the brand has catered to those operating in less-than-beautiful conditions. The T-Pad smartphone is no exception to the rule, boasting a shock-proof (MIL-STD-810F) casing, IP65 waterproof rating and a keypad that resists dust, debris and any other manner of matter. Specs wise, you’ll find a 640 x 480 resolution display, Intel’s Xscale 400MHz CPU, Windows CE.Net 4.2, Bluetooth, 64MB of SDRAM, USB connectivity and optional WiFi / GPS. Unfortunately, this little bugger is reportedly stickered at £1,300 ($2,592), so unless your employer is picking up the tab for you to have a mobile while wrestling polar bears at the North Pole, we’d probably recommend a cheaper alternative.
ByD:sign Releases a New LCD TV with Built-in DVD Player
June 30th, 2008 
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byD :Sign released a new LCD TV (DC-1902DW). It features a 19″ LCD panel in 1440×900 resolution, HDMI/D4/S-Video/component interface, USB 2.0 port, SD/MemoryStick/MMC card reader, a digital TV tuner, and built-in DVD player. It can reproduce DVD-Video, DVD±R/RW, CD-R/RW and can also read DivX files. It provides a contrast ratio of 500:1, a brightness of 300cd/m², and a response time of 8ms.
It should cost around 390€.
Unitek’s SATA HDD Dock throws in multicard reader, one-touch backup
June 29th, 2008 
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If you’ve managed to blink over the past few weeks, you may have missed it. Missed what, you ask? The war between no name HDD racks, that’s what. After numerous evolutions of the HDD Stage Rack managed to capture the hearts of at least a few storage junkies out there, we’ve seen a barrage of competitors surface over at Brando. The latest is Unitek’s SATA HDD Multi-Function Dock with One Touch Backup, which — to be totally frank — does a phenomenal job of explaining itself. For those a touch slow on the uptake, this unit enables any internal 2.5- / 3.5-inch SATA drive to be accessed externally, and furthermore, it packs a couple of USB 2.0 ports and supports a whole slew of memory cards. You could grab this one now for $53, but then again, you never know what will leapfrog it next week.
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