Electronic Toy World

Posted Jan 17th 2008 4:11PM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Media PCs
Last October, not much was known about Lumenlab’s elusive “Q,” but now it seems the firm’s all geared up to dish out the deets and accept obscenely large checks. The Qmax still maintains a 42-inch 1080p LCD display, but we now know that you’ll find an overclocked Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 processor (humming along at 3.3GHz), 768MB GeForce 8800 Ultra graphics card by PNY (also overclocked), 4GB of DDR3 RAM, a trio of 1TB hard drives, the company’s own Hotwire powerline networking technology, 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi and a fairly swank cooling system for good measure. Additionally, you’ll find HDMI, component and VGA inputs, 8.1-channel audio, optional HD DVD / Blu-ray drives and an optional $1,500 touch screen for those with plenty of cash to burn. Reportedly, this beast is handmade in Asheville, North Carolina and can be tweaked to your heart’s content, but the general configuration will set you back around $10,000. The only question left, it seems, is why?

Sony Ericsson have trademarked the name Xperia for what the trademark application shows is a range of seriously well equipped mobile phones. Specifically, the trademark lists functions such as:

• camera
• instant messaging
• e-mail
• Internet connectivity
• radio
• record, play, transmit, receive, and/or manage music and video
• play electronic games
• upload photographs and text onto online journals or web logs
• function as a personal digital assistant (PDA)
• function as walkie-talkies
• satellite navigation
• remote control for computers and run multimedia presentations

Now, a lot of these functions have already been squeezed into many of Sony Ericsson’s existing phones. However, by trademarking a new brand name, it does seem as though a new range of high end Sony Ericssons are just around the corner.

[Source: Trademork, via EngadgetMobile]

Do you have a hard-to-find vintage record in tape or in turntable record formats which is one play away from disintegration? U Record gives you the option of preserving your music digitally.

Whilst it cannot preserve the physical form of your old records, it can save you from losing your music for good. Simply plug-in U Record to your computer via USB and you’re good to go. The standard RCA inputs used in the device make it easy to record vintage tape albums while the built-in preamp makes recording turntable record a cinch.

The U Record software uses the EZ Vinyl Converter for PC and EZ Audio Converter for Mac. It can automatically import the recorded music to your iTunes account. To ensure sound integrity and ambient noise blocking, it also features the Audacity software. U Record is available for purchase in Ion-audio.com for US$79.99.

…you totally dig this Space Invaders jacket that comes emblazoned with hundreds upon hundreds of pixelated aliens from the arcade classic. Thanks to Scandanavian designer Junk de Luxe, you will be able to deck yourself in one of the geekiest clothing ever without looking silly as it is particularly stylish (somehow them Scandanavians seem to be pretty good with design). Unfortunately, it is only available from Trendlovers in Denmark at this point in time.

Source: Technabob

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Listening to your regular AM/FM radio is old hat by now, and Internet radio is the way to go. While you’re at it, why not look stylish with the BLIK WiFi Radio?

Capable of accessing thousands of internet radio stations via your existing WiFi network, the stylish Blik automatically uploads the latest station listings (8000 and counting) every time you switch it on. You can then search for your favorites by country or genre. We’ve listened to bhangra from Bahawalpur, baseball from Boston, chat shows from Chattanooga and listen-again broadcasts from the Beeb - and those are just the infantile alliterative examples. The world really is your lobster.

Choose from black or white colors for £99.95 each.

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With the slew of gadgets that one carries around these days, it makes perfect sense to provide them with adequate protection since we know that accidental knocks are harder to predict than the weather. Hence, the Pocket Protector.

Upgrade your geekwear with this fabulously functional Pocket Protector. Each 5-3/4″ x 3-3/8″ vinyl accessory has multiple storage compartments to store everything from pens and laser pointers to flash drives and MP3 players. It even includes a 36″, nylon, breakaway lanyard so you can wear it around your neck at conventions, conferences and symposiums. Comes with a sheet of 25 cling stickers of various geeky icons and symbols that you can use to add some pizazz to your protector.

The $4.95 price tag makes this worth a try even if it doesn’t really work out for you (and your gadget) in the end.

Product Page via Nerd Approved

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If you’re wondering what “Duo HD” is, or what a “Duo HD Player” does, quite simply it is a single unit player, much like a traditional DVD player, which can play back both HD disc formats (HD DVD and Blu-ray).

Samsung have been on of the first companies to jump on the dual format HD disc player idea, and are using the term “Duo HD” to describe their players. I believe dual format players are a great idea, as some films are only being released on HD DVD, while others only on Blu-ray, and if you don’t want to be restricted to just one format, and a selection of film, a one unit player which can play both HD formats, as well as your existing DVD collection is very useful.

The first duo HD player from Samsung is the very popular BD-UP5000 (which supports both formats, 24p, 1080p, HDMI 1.3), and is currently avaliable. The second player is the new Samsung BD-UP5500 which will retail for $599 in the second half of 2008.

Posted Jan 17th 2008 1:59PM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
It’s no secret that gadget aficionados like ourselves have mounds of kit that was hot stuff in its heyday, but figuring out what to do with it once its prime has passed is still a mystery to some. ‘Course, the entrepreneurs in the crowd simply offer their previously loved wares up to the world via eBay (or similar), but for those lacking the time / motivation to do so, rest assured, companies are on the prowl to totally take advantage of you. TechForward and NEW are two firms that are looking to make a mint from entering the gadget buyback realm, and as you’d probably expect, the cash doled out to suckers individuals who bite on this is woefully less than market value — but then again, it’s ultra-convenient, shipping is free and it’s guaranteed, hassle-free money. Sounds like the pawn shop just got with the times, eh?

[Image courtesy of PlanoPawnShop]

Posted Jan 17th 2008 8:13AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: Robots
Everyone knows you can’t take a robot bowling. After a few pitchers of beer-flavored suds, deep-fried mushrooms, and pickled eggs even the most well-mannered robot will turn ugly. Bring a vision-guided, fireball-throwing industrial robot and it’s guaranteed. Hey robot, this isn’t ‘Nam. This is bowling. There are rules. See for yourself after the break.

[Via Hack A Day]

The Best of Make book is out and it’s a fun read. If you’re an obsessive geek head with a compulsion to create useful artifacts which wobble, vibrate, glow and…well…geek at you all day long. Many of the 75 projects may not be that useful, but they’re definitely F.U.N. and they’ll earn you credit down at the next LAN party all right, no question. You’ll need a good understanding of electronics to cope with the more advanced projects, so be prepared to brush up on your diodes and voltages before you start.

The book does really well to deliver graphical, clear and well thought out instruction on the how-tos, and there are one or two projects in there, like the pinball restoration which are dear to my heart (I used to own a full sized Bally pinball, and loved every second of it, even though it was LOUD!) This would make a great gift for the engineer in your life, just remember to gift wrap a soldering iron in there with it too. $34.99/£21.99.

 After two years, MAKE has become one of most celebrated new magazines to hit the newsstands, and certainly one of the hottest reads. If you’re just catching on to the MAKE phenomenon and wonder what you’ve missed, this book contains the best DIY projects from the magazine’s first ten volumes — a surefire collection of fun and challenging activities going back to MAKE’s launch in early 2005.