Posted Feb 21st 2008 11:09AM by Joshua TopolskyFiled under: Digital Cameras You’d better watch your back Adobe, because it looks like you’ve got company in the 3D picture game. Stanford University researchers have recently hit upon a method of image sensing which can judge the distance of subjects within a shot. By using a 3-megapixel sensor which is broken into multiple, overlapping 16 x 16-pixel squares (referred to as subarrays), a camera is capable of capturing a variety of angles in one frame. When the images taken by the multi-aperture device are processed by proprietary software, location differences are measured from each mini-lens, and then combined into a photograph containing a depth map. (Read the full post about ‘New 3D camera chip design might put Adobe on guard’…)

I know this must have happened to you a million times as well . . . you’re just about to go down the catwalk at the Paris fashion show, but you’ve cut your cheek on one of the crystal champagne flutes. What to do? Slap on one of these high-fashion bandages over your boo-boo, adjust your outfit (which is the size of a bandage anyway), and off you go! Now you’ve started another fashion trend, though rapper Nelly may claim that honor. Blinged out bandages with 4 Swarovski crystals are available in three colors (white, red and pink), and one little tin sells for $12 at Charles and Marie. Designed by Fabian Seibert, who also created the trendy ace-type bandage replacement in 5 bright colors. (Read the full post about ‘Blinged out bandages’…)

Posted Feb 21st 2008 11:29AM by Donald MelansonFiled under: Laptops It looks like those in North America eager to get their hands on Asus’ sleek new leather-bound U2E ultraportable will have to wait a little while longer, although it’s not clear exactly how long. There’s apparently no production delays or other problems with the laptop, however, with Asus instead rather frankly fessing up that its holding back on the laptop simply so it can launch some other products alongside it. In case you missed it, the U2E (also known as the U2) boasts an 11-inch LED-backlit display, a Core Duo ULV processor and a 32GB SSD drive, all of which combine for some expectedly strong battery life while still maintaining some decent performance — and no doubt a lofty price tag as well. (Read the full post about ‘Asus delays U2E launch, wants other products to ride its coattails’…)

LG has just rolled out its LG SH150A cell phone in Korea, where even the HSDPA 7.2Mbps support is not impressive enough to warrant an appearance - what tipped the scales for the handset would be its AMOLED display that claims to offer superior image clarity while reducing power consumption. Other features on the LG SH150A include DMB connectivity, an integrated multimedia player and a 2 megapixel camera among others. It will be a Korea-only exclusive, retailing for approximately 320 Euros. Tags: wi-fi, PDA, cool gear, toys (Read the full post about ‘LG SH150A With AMOLED Display’…)

Motorola has always proven itself the best when we talk about its mobile products. And this same trend is continued by the mega slim Cell Phone, the Motorola L2 Cell Phone. This tiny winy toy can play a lot more pranks apart from only mere communication. It is flooded with the multimedia features such as downloading games, music, video clips and what not! The Motorola L2 Cell Phone is powered with the Bluetooth wireless technology. It uses screen that satiates the features such as 65K Color CSTN and resolution power of 128 x 160 pixels. This cell phone is embedded with 22 Hz polyphonic speakers, MPEG4 video Playback and MP3 ringtones along with the capacity of downloading wallpapers and ringtones. (Read the full post about ‘Motorola L2 Cell Phone’…)

Guests at the Sheraton Hotel & Marina in San Diego were able to get a hands-on experience with Microsoft Surface table. Sheraton Hotels & Resorts will be rolling out Surface by late spring 2008 in its lobbies throughout North America. So, go there and touch it… Tags: TV, consumer electronics, camera, gizmos (Read the full post about ‘Microsoft Surface for the public’…)

WiiWare, Nintendo’s new downloadable game service, launches May 12 and expands development opportunities for developers the same way Wii expanded the world of video game players. Wii Fit, the upcoming title for Wii, launches May 19 and introduces the Wii Balance Board peripheral. And Super Smash Bros. Brawl draws in fans of all kinds. Through WiiWare, Nintendo hopes to offer developers a virtual laboratory that serves as a breeding ground for new games, which encourages great ideas that creators always wanted to develop. WiiWare also empowers consumers to determine with their Wii Points which games have the right stuff to become the next big thing. (Read the full post about ‘WiiWare, Wii Fit, Super Smash Bros. Brawl Shown at Game Developers Conference’…)

Posted Feb 21st 2008 2:02AM by Joshua TopolskyFiled under: cellphones Just when you think you’ve seen the iPhone perform its last magic trick (making you eggs benedict, solving the inverse Galois problem, a brief appearance on Dancing With the Stars) something like this comes along to make your jaw drop just a little bit more. Touchpad for the iphone is built on top of VNsea, but instead of allowing you to navigate your desktop on the device, it becomes what is essentially a wireless, remote trackpad, which gives you direct access to your system as if you were using a mouse or touch device for input. It sounds interesting in description, but looks amazing in execution — check the video after the break to see what it does, then go get the app loaded up and try it yourself. (Read the full post about ‘Touchpad turns your iPhone into a remote trackpad’…)

Having one’s personal space violated is something nobody likes, which is why the Armchair Paradise exists. It uses “psychoacoustic stimulation” - a purportedly advanced sound system and a special de-stress mechanism that relaxes your body through gentle music as well as emitting low-frequency vibrations that will coerce your brain to take a trip through various stages of relaxation. It supposedly comes with an interior that was designed to resemble the comfort of a mother’s womb - minus all the fluids. No idea how much the Armchair Paradise costs, but cheap definitely isn’t on the list of words I’m looking at. (Read the full post about ‘Armchair Paradise For Relaxation’…)

We know it looks like a kite, but we swear it doesn’t fly! The Kenwood ipod Dock AS-IP300 just looks like a kite, but it’s actually an iPod dock with speakers. It has a 1.9W×2ch amplifier output and a neodymium magnet driver to enhance the natural 3D sound. The model is compatible with 4th Gen iPod mini, classic, and photo, and 3rd gen iPod Nano. If you don’t have an iPod, simply hook your music player to the stereo jack. The Kenwood iPod dock can run either on electricity or on batteries (which last eight hours when fully-charged). Like it? Sorry mate, it’s only available in Japan for approximately £72. via Tags: game, toys, lcd, players (Read the full post about ‘Kenwood iPod Dock’…)