The Gadget: iV iPhone case and battery, which adds 4x as much battery time to the iPhone while not adding too much more bulk. The Verdict: The rubberized plastic feels nice, the LED flash/flashlight on the back is good for finding your keys or taking low-light pictures, and it clips neatly onto your belt if you’re one of those belt dudes. There’s also a USB port on the back for charging another device while your iPhone is being charged/docked. $79. [Fastmac] galleryPost(’iviphone’, 5, ”); Tags: hdtv, CD, design, TV (Read the full post about ‘Hands-on With FastMac’s iV iPhone Battery Pack [Gadgets]’…)

JVC Victor of Japan has a brand new camcorder that comes with a 1.3″ hard drive, making it the first of its kind for commercial use. As expected, a smaller hard drive would mean a reduction in overall dimensions for the camcorder, and this is exactly what happens with a 68mm x 69mm x 119mm body that weighs just 380 grams. You also get a 7.38 megapixel CCD sensor, a Konica Minolta lens and a choice between 30GB and 40GB hard drive with each purchase. There is no word on when this Everio will hit retail stores, although a February release date has been bandied about. (Read the full post about ‘New JVC camcorder has 1.3-inch HDD’…)

Posted Jan 16th 2008 3:19PM by Donald MelansonFiled under: Laptops HCL’s already brought some low-cost desktops to India, and it looks set to do the same for laptops as well, with the company now taking the wraps off two budget-priced models made “with a little help from Intel.” As you can see above, one of those, the MiLeap X, is more than a little familiar-looking, although HCL seems to be doing its best to distant itself from the Classmate PC brand, and claims that the laptop has been “designed exclusively for India.” Suffering from no such confusion is the slightly higher-end and more UMPC-like MiLeap Y model, which boasts the same 7-inch screen and built-in WiFi, but adds an 80GB hard drive, Bluetooth, and Vista Home Premium in place of the MiLeap X’s Linux OS, among other features. (Read the full post about ‘HCL rolls out low-cost MiLeap laptops for India’…)

Carry your files in a portable hard disk the size of a lighter. This Little Disk offers huge capacity for its minuscule dimensions. Designed exclusively for LaCie by Sam Hecht, it features a high-gloss black finish and clean, simple lines. It comes with an extractable USB connector that’s integrated so it can never get lost and also a protective removable cap. USB 2.0 powered, it works without a cable or power supply for true mobility. LaCieSync software is included for keeping your important data secure. Access and modify files, emails (Microsoft Outlook) or personal settings and it will sync updated data back to your computer - protected by AES 128-bit encryption (Windows only). (Read the full post about ‘LaCie Little Disk: Big On Storage’…)

SUCKUK LED Mirror

In the right contemporary space this could be the perfect mirror. It is designed by SuckUK and the messaging function makes it very special. And what can it do?  It can show a message at a pre programmed time or the time itself, it’s also an alarm, you can program up to 99 messages with a total number of characters up to 7000! you can create your own logo or graphics, you can use special effects and more.  It can be programmed by remote control or a PC. Leads & s/w incl.  Dimensions: 650X400mm.

(Read the full post about ‘SUCKUK LED Mirror’…)

Can’t find another person with a Zune to share your music with? DRM has gotten you down in the dumps? Worry not, as the SKPAD double headset avoids that situation by including two headsets in a single device. It is compatibly with just about any device that plays back audio files, including the iPod range that seems to be everywhere. With a price point of 25€, I think this is a rather expensive addition to your portable media player accessory collection, especially when a splitter is much cheaper than that.

Tags: lcd, home cinema, cellphone, mobiles

I love Steve Jobs. Why? Because when he speaks, he doesn’t deal with details or nuance—everything is a sweeping proclamation. I like that. His take on Amazon Kindle, for instance, makes it pretty clear Apple won’t be making the actual “iPod of reading”:

“It doesn’t matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people don’t read anymore… The whole conception is flawed at the top because people don’t read anymore.”

Of course, if it’s anything like his past declarations that Apple wasn’t making a phone, they’re totally cooking up a Kindle-killer in the lab at this very moment.

(Read the full post about ‘Steve Jobs: “People Don’t Read Anymore,” Android Is Going Down [Steve Jobs]’…)

Posted Jan 16th 2008 11:10AM by Nilay Patel
Filed under: Gaming, Portable Audio
We’re still rocking a first-gen PSP, so we’re not too broken up over headphone wires, but now that the PSP Slim can output game video to a TV, this little Bluetooth hack by N3M515 over at Instructables is just the ticket — and it’ll add in some wireless action to your PS2 in the deal. Basically you’ll need to sacrifice a PS2 headset adapter, a Bluetooth transmitter / receiver kit, and some basic soldering skills, but when you’re done you’ll be ready to frag out headset-style — and it’ll even work with PS2 games on the PS3. (Read the full post about ‘PSP / PS2 hacked to support Bluetooth headsets’…)

I try to stick with coffee joints I know and trust, so I don’t really have to worry about what’s going on behind the bar (I hope), but the gawker in me still likes the idea of a camera trained on the barista’s hands, brashly laying bare their every move for scrutiny. (And it’s not like I have anything else to do while I wait.) This setup is at an Amanti stand at the Melbourne airport, and now I’m very sad that my coffee machine is busted. [BoingBoing] Tags: audio, hi fi, mobile devices, dvr (Read the full post about ‘Cappuccino Cam Lets You Obsessively Eyeball Baristas’ Every Move [Coffee]’…)

How’s this for a blurring of the line between man and machine? German PC builder Tomarni specializes in super-silent machines as well as, it seems, some gaming systems. Having tweaked all that there was to tweak to achieve “maximum performance” on the PCs themselves, they claim it was time to face up to the real weakest link: that damn human user. The solution? A performance-enhancing pill called FpsBrain. Here it is, in Tomarni’s own words: Being ambitious computer players ourselves, we are almost daily working on optimizing our computer systems in order to achieve maximum performance. Despite all the investment, one factor has not been considered: the player himself. (Read the full post about ‘PC Builder Decides To Optimize User, Creates Performance-Enhancing Drug [Be Afraid]’…)