Gadgets

Never Charge your gadget again - Free Electricity!

December 8, 2008

Intel said it is researching technology to harvest free energy from the environment, which could lead to devices such as mobile phones running for indefinite periods without recharging. Intel is working on tiny sensors that can capture energy from sources such as sunlight and body heat to power personal electronic devices such as MP3 players, cell phones, portable handheld gaming devices, etc.

Intel is also looking at powering a mobile phone by converting the energy the user creating simply by moving the phone's trackball. Additionally, the radiation of cell phone or TV signals might also be used to power devices. One example given is an accelerometer buried in the wall of a building that could automatically recharge itself by harvesting the energy of radiation from a cell phone tower.

That's very comforting to know that Intel plans to scavenge radiation that is beamed all around us from cell towers, TV towers, etc.

Posted in Gadgets, Mobile Phones, News, Technology and Science

A Final Tweet for Tweeter?

December 4, 2008

Report: Tweeter may open stores to trim its inventory.

Tweeter, which abruptly closed its stores this week, may reportedly open up stores temporarily in hopes of liquidating its inventory, which has an estimated value of $15 million.

Might be a good time to pick up some good stuff -- at even better than Black Friday prices -- I hope!

More at the Boston Herald.

Posted in Gadgets

What Shall I Blog About Tomorrow?

December 2, 2008

The beautiful thing about the world of gadgets is that there is always something new every day.

So part of the challenge -- or opportunity -- is figuring out what's of interest and then taking a stab at writing something interesting about it.

Looking ahead, I wonder what news tomorrow will bring?

And I'm wondering if there are any topics, gadgets, issues, oddities that you'd like to see in this personal blogosphere?

Don't be shy if you have an opinion or a request...

Posted in Gadgets

Green Becoming the Color of Gadgets

December 2, 2008

Environmental concerns are playing an even bigger role in consumer electronics.

To state it plainly, the world of gadgets is becoming increasingly eco-friendly. You can see this all across the landscape, from better product designs, lower power usage and better end user responsibility -- unplug those desktops at night, OK?

But what more can we do?

We have so many of these wondrous devices, large and small? What else can we do about waste disposal, energy conservation and other environmental issues so that we all become more environmentally conscious consumers at the same time that companies become more environmentally responsible?

Reduce, recycle, reuse!

Let us know what you are doing!

Posted in Gadgets

Nokia N97 Sweet!

December 2, 2008

The Nokia N97 sports a 3.5-inch, 640 x 360 pixel (16:9 aspect ratio) resistive touchscreen display with tactile feedback and slide-out QWERTY keyboard. It's heavily focused on social sites like Facebook with its "always open" window to favorite Internet or social networking sites. The N97 also features HSDPA, WiFi, Bluetooth, A-GPS, 3.5-mm head jack, and 32GB of on-board memory. With a microSD expansion you can go up to 48GB total memory.

Posted in Digital Cameras, GPS, Gadgets, Mobile Phones, TMCnet, Wireless

Raketu Adds VoIP Support for Google G1 Android Mobile

December 2, 2008

Raketu today released its Raketu Mobile for Google's G1 Android mobile adding VoIP support to the Android phone. Raketu already supports iPhone, Nokia, WinMobile and BlackBerry mobile phones

The new service allows anyone with a G1 using roaming data services or WiFi to connect to the Raketu mobile services to make phone-to-phone calls, send sms-text messages and email, send and receive instant messages, store and share pictures, and more, all without a download.

Current Raketu users can start using the new services immediately, and new users can sign up at http://G1.Raketu.com or http://Android.Raketu.com.

Posted in Android, Gadgets, Google, Mobile Phones, TMCnet, VoIP

I told you it was going to be a Blu-ray Christmas!

December 2, 2008

I hate to say I told you so, but today's PriceGrabber.com gadget report on Black Friday sales, once again proves my opinion that this Christmas will be a "black" Blu-ray Christmas! My opinion goes against conventional wisdom that Blu-ray won't succeed, and that streaming HD using Roku/Netflix, and cable providers offering HD content is now closing the window of opportunity for Blu-ray. I'm not buying that theory. Additionally, several other articles, including CRN's Consumers Not Planning a Blu-Ray Christmas article and Register Hardware's 'A Blu-ray Christmas?

Posted in Gadgets, Home Entertainment, News, TMCnet, Video Hardware & Software

Momentum Building for Fuel-Cell Development

December 1, 2008

Thanks to recent changes in government regulations, a reliable, long-lasting fuel cell to power today's electronic gadgets may be right around the corner.

"We are closer, much closer, than even two years ago in terms of the companies' internal designs, how they've met their milestones and just the amount of testing and evaluation that's going on right now," said Sara Bradford, an energy and power systems consultant for Frost & Sullivan.

Now wouldn't that be nice!

Cars next, please!

Google/The Associated Press has more.

Posted in Gadgets, Technology and Science

Gadgets Help Drive Black Friday Sales

December 1, 2008

Despite one of the worst economic climates in decades, consumer spending on Black Friday hit $10.6 billion, 3% higher than the day after Thanksgiving in 2007, according to researcher ShopperTrak.

Gadgets accounted for nine of the top 10 most popular Black Friday products, PriceGrabber said.

Data from PriceGrabber.com shows that online consumers are taking advantage of promotions on popular electronics, including LCD and plasma TVs, Blu-ray disc players, digital SLR cameras, laptops and video game consoles.

The most popular products on Black Friday:

Nintendo Wii Console
Ugg Australia 'Classic Short' Boot (how about that!)
Sony BDP-S350 1080p Blu-Ray Disc Player
Samsung LN52A650 52" LCD TV
Nintendo Wii Fit
Panasonic TH-42PX80U 42" Plasma TV
Sennheiser HD 555 Headphones
Canon EOS Rebel XSi Black SLR Digital Camera Kit
Acer Aspire One AOA110-1295 Notebook
Canon PowerShot A590 IS Black Digital Camera

And while we are at it, here are the Top 10 categories and percent growth over Black Friday 2007:

Women's Boots - 203%
Watches - 202%
Blu-ray/HD-DVD Players - 147%
Women's Sleep & Lounge Wear - 415%
Games & Puzzles - 151%
Women's Jackets - 110%
Music - 96%
Headphones - 103%
Women's Dresses - 107%
Women's Casual Shoes - 143%

More at PriceGrabber.com and The Washington Post.

Posted in Computer Hardware, Digital Cameras, Gadgets, Headsets, Video Games & Gaming, Video Hardware & Software

Black Friday Results are in!

December 1, 2008

It appears it just might be a Merry Christmas even with the doom & gloom surrounding the economy. I guess President-elect Barack Obama must be the Messiah, since he's already creating miracles and he hasn't even been sworn in yet. Or it could just be that credit card loving Americans just don't know when to quit spending & charging.

Check this out:

NRF Survey Finds Black Friday Gets Holiday Season Off to Energetic Start
-- Great Bargains, Pent-Up Demand Drove Shoppers to Stores, Web

Though the holiday season is far from over, retailers across the country are breathing a collective sigh of relief after shoppers headed to stores and websites in droves over the weekend. According to the National Retail Federation's 2008 Black Friday Weekend survey, conducted by BIGresearch, more than 172 million shoppers visited stores and websites over Black Friday weekend, up from 147 million shoppers last year.*

Shoppers spent an average of $372.57 this weekend*, up 7.2 percent over last year's $347.55.

Posted in Computer Hardware, Computer Software, Digital Cameras, Gadgets, Home Entertainment, MP3 Players & Digital Audio, Mobile Phones, PDAs & Handhelds, TMCnet, Video Games & Gaming, Video Hardware & Software

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