Electronic Toy World

Last week we told you that Acer would be joining the ranks of companies like Asus who wish to dominate the realm of super-small laptops. They hope to launch their 8 or 9-inch ultra portable by the end of the quarter, or the beginning of next at the latest. In response to Acer’s announcement, Gigabyte has released a statement saying that they too wish to compete in this market.

Like Acer, they haven’t released a lot of information regarding their future ultra portable, though we do know it will be Intel-based and feature a 7 to 9-inch screen. Rather than outsource the design or manufacturing of the low-cost portable, they have decided to do everything in-house.\

Gigabyte is set to launch their new notebook sometime in the month of June following launches of a mobile internet device (MID) and an ultra-mobile PC (UMPC) in April. No word on what price-point they are expecting to hit, but we can assume that it would be in line with the Eee PC against which they are expecting to compete.

Source: PCLaunches

<!– ch_client = “gadgets”; ch_type = “rpu”; ch_noprice = “1″; ch_width = 468; ch_height = 90; ch_color_title = “#B40505″; ch_non_contextual = 1; ch_nosearch = 1; ch_default_category = “89″; ch_font_title = “Arial”; ch_font_text = “Arial”; ch_sid = “Coolest Gadgets RPU”; ch_alternate_css_url = “http://www.coolest-gadgets.com/rpu2.css”; ch_target = “_blank”; var ch_queries = new Array( ” Gigabyte announces Eee PC competitor” ); var ch_selected=Math.floor((Math.random()*ch_queries.length)); if ( ch_selected

At the recent CES in Las Vegas, Toshiba announced it is lowering the price of its HD DVD notebook line to just $899, beginning with the Satellite A205. This allows more users to have access to these powerful, high-end machines. Toshiba also announced that the Qosmio G45 now features the world’s first notebook HD DVD-R/RW drive. The total HD DVD line consists of 4 widescreen models ranging from 15.4- to 17-inches. For a limited time consumers who buy an HD DVD notebook from Toshiba will also receive 5 free HD DVD movies. This special offer is good until February 28th. With all the trouble HD DVD is having lately, Toshiba seems to be making every effort to get back in the game.

Read [Toshiba]

Posted Jan 21st 2008 12:26PM by Paul Miller
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
We knew today was the day, and now Bug Labs has opened its doors and cautiously invited shoppers inside. Cautious because Bug doesn’t really want non-developers snapping up the kit right now, since the hardware itself is pretty much useless to the proletariat at this point without any mature software, and there isn’t a bunch of it go around. To kick things off, Bug Labs is also announcing the BUGbundle, which packages a BUGbase (the WiFi-free Hiro P edition), GPS, LCD, accelerometer and 2 megapixel camera for $549. Orders are limited to one per customer at this time, and educational promotions will be coming in March.

Fixing up your home with all the necessary lighting fixtures can be pretty tricky, and most of the times the decision is final. The LED Floodlight makes it easy to have those impulsive moments, as they are battery-powered.

No need to hire an electrician! Just put this self-stick LED floodlight in place, then tap and your work area is bathed in bright light. The six-LED light bar even rotates so you can aim the light where you need.

Each LED Floodlight retails for $14.95, but if you pick them up in a pair, they will go for $12.95 a pop.

<!– ch_client = “gadgets”; ch_type = “rpu”; ch_noprice = “1″; ch_width = 468; ch_height = 90; ch_color_title = “#B40505″; ch_non_contextual = 1; ch_nosearch = 1; ch_default_category = “89″; ch_font_title = “Arial”; ch_font_text = “Arial”; ch_sid = “Coolest Gadgets RPU”; ch_alternate_css_url = “http://www.coolest-gadgets.com/rpu2.css”; ch_target = “_blank”; var ch_queries = new Array( ” LED Floodlight makes it a snap” ); var ch_selected=Math.floor((Math.random()*ch_queries.length)); if ( ch_selected

Posted Jan 21st 2008 9:39AM by Evan Blass
Filed under: Laptops Forget the MacBook Air: those folks seeking the absolute lightest notebooks on the planet know that Windows machines are still the only way to go, and Toshiba has proven that once again with an official 3G upgrade to the already impressive Portege R500. According to Akihabara News (which seems to be a little confused concerning the model number here), two new 12.1-inch, HSDPA-equipped configurations will be available this month: the ultra-lightweight (and ultra-pricey) R500-11J, highlighted by a 64GB SSD drive and impressive 1.72-pound package, and the cheaper, optical drive-packing R500-11I, which features the same 1.20GHz U7600 CPU and 2GB of RAM, but introduces a less appealing 120GB HDD. Pricing should be around €2,500 ($3,658) for the high-end 11J and €2,050 ($3,000 even) for the heavier 11I.

Posted Jan 21st 2008 7:00AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: Cellphones
Sanyo just made official what’s been rumored since August: the sale of its troubled cellphone division to Kyocera. The deal is set for completion on April 1st at a value of about $350 million. The deal involves about 2,000 employees moving from Sanyo’s mobile phone operation to Kyocera where they can reminisce with ex-Qualcommers about the good ol’ days.

Posted Jan 21st 2008 5:11AM by Evan Blass
Filed under: Wireless After last year’s rather crushing blow to the so-called White Spaces Coalition (now known as the Wireless Innovation Alliance) — when the FCC gave failing marks to a potentially-defective Microsoft-built device (pictured above) designed to receive wireless broadband transmissions over gaps in the broadcast spectrum — the agency has now confirmed that it is ready to re-evaluate a second round of devices from Redmond, Motorola, Philips, and startup Adaptrum Inc. Should these devices prove resistant to interference over the three month testing period, the coalition plans to release commercial products to coincide with the digital TV transition in 2009, with a spokesman for the group lauding the FCC-set timeline as “reasonable.”

[Via Slashdot]

Posted Jan 21st 2008 6:14AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: Digital Cameras, Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Household, Portable Audio, Portable VideoAs Hitachi continues to streamline operations, we get word that it is pulling out of the consumer electronics and whitegoods market in Australia. Announced over the weekend, Hitachi will no longer sell their appliances or flat-panel TVs, camcorders, and other CE-class goods in the land down under. ACs, industrial, and electronic goods will still be available. The move brings along 40 job cuts from its Sydney HQ. Hitachi claims that the Australian market is just too small and too competitive to warrant the effort. A sentiment backed by Sharp Australia’s deputy managing director, Denis Kerr, who claims that Australia is under, “a siege mentality that has forced pricing to ridiculous levels that cannot be sustained.” He surmises that if the trend continues, “Brand names are going to withdraw from the market place.” Of course, all this leaves us wondering… who’s next?

[Thanks, Dzx]

Posted Jan 21st 2008 1:02AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: Portable Video
var After a very public cat-fight resulting in the discontinuation of NBC content on iTunes, the relationship between NBC and Apple seems to be on the mend. Perhaps you recall NBC Universal’s CEO, Jeff Zucker, saying that Steve Jobs and iTunes had “destroyed the music business.” This in retaliation to Apple’s damning press release in which it chided NBC for wanting to more than double the retail price for its per episode downloads, something NBC flatly denied. This morning, the Financial Times is reporting on a kinder and gentler kinship between the media giants. According to the FT, Zucker says, “We’ve said all along that we admire Apple, that we want to be in business with Apple.” He then unexpectedly adds, “We’re great fans of Steve Jobs.” No telling what has caused the turnabout. Perhaps the writers strike gave both parties time to reflect on their mounting lost revenue. Or maybe it’s residual goodwill on the heels of Universal inking an iTunes rental deal. Whatever the case, it will be good to see NBC’s content return to iTunes whenever the strike might end.

Update: The love-in continues over at BusinessWeek where Jobs comments on the NBC Universal situation saying, “We’ll put it back together on the TV thing. Everybody lost. But NBC is a great company, and Apple is a great company.” Get a room you two.

[Thanks, Bart L. and MJ420]

Insignia recently came out with a new type of MP3 player called the Pilot MP3 Player. It comes in two versions, a 4GB and 8GB model. One of the main features of the Pilot MP3 player is the integrated Bluetooth. Upon receiving the Pilot MP3 player, one of the first things I wanted to do with it was try out the Bluetooth. However, before I can get to the Bluetooth, let me explain about how the rest of the features and installation went. Other features of the Pilot MP3 are audio and video playback, FM Radio, photo viewer, and the memory can be expanded via SD cards. It can also work with Macs, although I installed and used it on a Windows XP computer.

Inside the box came a wall socket charger, ear buds, installation CD, instruction manual, and of course the Pilot MP3 player. Unfortunately, Bluetooth headphones are sold separately, but thankfully, I had a pair already and so I could test out it’s Bluetooth capabilities. One of the things I didn’t like was the packaging, it was a pain in the neck to finally get the MP3 player out, which seems fairly standard with electronics lately. After getting it out, I quickly went to go charge it and read up on the manual. Another good thing was the manual was easy to understand. About a few hours later it was finally done charging. Before installing the CD and transferring music, I wanted to check out the FM radio on it. I opened up the ear buds and turned on the player, everything worked well. It will also display the song title and artist, assuming the radio station provides that information.

Now, after putting the CD in, a screen came up asking what I wanted to install, basically the options were Best Buy Digital Music Store (needed to transfer music as well as buy music), Audible.com, the manual in .PDF format, and ArcSoft Media Converter 2 (to convert videos into the correct format). It was kind of annoying to install the Best Buy Digital Music Store, because I had not disabled some firewalls and such so I had to re-download the necessary online drivers. After that, I was able to easily transfer over my music from iTunes (I also own a 30GB iPod Video) and then drag that music into my Pilot MP3 player. It took a little bit longer than I expected to finish transferring my music, but at last it was done. I also added in a video and then unplugged it and went to work on hooking up the Bluetooth headphones. I must say, it was very easy to sync up the Bluetooth headphones and in no time at all I was listening to my tunes.

I left the MP3 on my desk, and went about 30 feet away from it and I was still able to hear it, but if I walked any farther, then the connection went dead. Other than that, the Bluetooth works very well and I must say I am impressed. One problem is if you want to listen to the radio using your wireless Bluetooth headphones, you need to keep the ear buds plugged in as they provide the antenna. Overall, this MP3 player is a very nice one and provides strong competition to the iPod classic. The only problem is it doesn’t have a lot of hard disk space, if it did, it would be a very nice MP3 player. However, the good thing here is that it can be expanded via SD memory slot. As with most MP3 players, they are usually compared to iPods, so I will compare this to my 30GB iPod Video.

The Pilot MP3 player is a lot lighter than the iPod, which was one of the first things I noticed upon picking it up. The screen size is a bit smaller, but the video quality on it is still pretty good. They are both tied there. Likewise with audio, I can’t say that one is better than the other. Overall, setting up the iPod with iTunes was easier than setting this up with Best Buy’s Digital Music Store. Also, the iPod has game support unlike the Pilot MP3. However, the Pilot MP3 has FM radio and Bluetooth. The radio on the Pilot MP3 player is very good and has very good reception If the Pilot MP3 player had more space and maybe a slightly bigger screen, I might prefer it over the iPod, especially since its slimmer and lighter. One of the things I did with my iPod was run with a lot, even though it was kind of bulky and a nano would have been much better. Now, I’m thinking of taking the Pilot running because its slimmer, has radio, and wireless Bluetooth headphones. The scrolling system on both these devices are similar, although the Pilot is a bit smaller, but it also features grooves so you don’t over-scroll, which is a feature that I like a lot. Another nice thing is that it features 2 headphone slots as well as the wireless Bluetooth, so essentially 3 people can listen at once. The interface, however, on the Pilot is a bit worse than the iPod’s. On the iPod, is a lot easier to navigate through music and find what you are looking for than on the Pilot.

This Insignia Pilot MP3 player is a great PMP and if you’re looking for a nice, economical MP3 player, I would recommend considering this one.

Read [Insignia]