Electronic Toy World

Posted Jan 30th 2008 5:57PM by Nilay Patel
Filed under: Portable Audio
You’ll be needing some appropriately shady headphones to plug into all that leaked Sony audio gear we just showed you, and we’ve got you covered with info on a whole host of new headphones that’ll hit in April. The MDR-AS20J, MDR-AS40EX, and MDR-AS50G all loop buds around your ears, while the MDR-AS30G drapes you down with some big ol’ cans. Also leaked are the MS-AS100W buds, which look like a cross between classic Walkman headphones and in-ear monitors, while the MDR-EX700 does it straight-up in-ear style with seven different silicon sleeves for proper fitting. No pricing yet, but it looks like a strong lineup — but we’ll wait to see how these all sound before giving up our Ultimate Ears. Check ‘em all out in the gallery below.

Gallery: The hits keep coming with leaked Sony headphones

Ever wish you could mold your mouse into any shape you pleased? Well, there is a new concept, winner of the Red Dot Design Award 2007, called the Moldable Mouse, developed by Lite-On Technology that will let you do just that. The mouse itself is made out of clay covered with polyurethane and nylon which allows the user to transform the mouse into just about any shape you may want. The base of the mouse houses the electronics and the batteries and the buttons aren’t conventional ones, but RFID stickers, this way the user can place them wherever his/her heart desires. Unfortunately this is still a concept but hopefully a manufacturer will pick up the design and start mass-producing this ergonomically-friendly device.

Via [Techpin]

Posted Jan 30th 2008 2:32PM by Nilay Patel
Filed under: Desktops, LaptopsSure, most of the Microsoft antitrust action is going down in Europe nowadays, but Uncle Sam’s lingering judgment against Redmond is still kicking around — Judge Colleen Kollar Kotelly (remember her?) just issued a ruling extending the consent decree against Microsoft for another two years. The judge said that the company has been extremely cooperative with the government thus far, but that “the extreme and unforeseen delay” in acquiring technical documentation from Bill and the boys requires that monitoring continue. That pretty much leaves things at the status quo, although we’re not exactly holding our breath for anything to change once the consent judgment actually does expire.

LG Rumor users are being encouraged by Sprint to download and install the latest software upgrade. According to Sprint the update will “provide important updates to text messaging and enhance the user experience.” It will also fix that nasty keypress debug menu issue. Current users can either download and install the update by going to the main menu, settings/tools, tools, update firmware or by visiting a local Sprint retail store. Any new LG Rumor’s should have the latest firmware installed, but it may be wise to go ahead and give it a quick check.

Thanks [Ashley Hahn]

Sprint is pleased to offer an over-the-air software upgrade for those customers who have purchased one of our newest consumer phones, Rumor by LG. This free software upgrade will provide important updates to text messaging and enhance the user experience. There are two simple ways to obtain the software update. Your can initiate the update yourself by following this path on your phone, main menu>settings/tools>tools>update firmware. If you prefer, you can also go to a Sprint retail location for assistance in updating your phone software. Sprint believes in being proactive about providing updates to our products to ensure the best user experience. While we have confidence in the quality of this device, we do encourage Rumor users to take advantage of this simple over-the-air upgrade to ensure that your Rumor by LG is performing at its best.

Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks!

-Michelle

Michelle Leff Mermelstein

If the words “sleep with bamboo” got your attention, I want you to know that this phrase is not innuendo in any way. That’s right, it has nothing to do with having unnatural relations with a certain digital tablet and pen combination. So now that your mind is cleaned up, let’s talk about the Bamboo that this lady is sleeping with (in a non-sexual way).

The snuggle-able Bamboo is a very unique audio playing system that comes in three parts. The first part is the speakers. They are completely wireless and detachable, and they can be put anywhere within close range. These speakers can even attach to each other.

The second part is the control ring (for lack of a better word) with an integrated LCD screen. It is quite small compared to the rest of the Bamboo. In fact, the lady here is concealing it with her arm.

The third part is the base station which is a docking place for the Bamboo. The base station has a subwoofer and even a CD slot, believe it or not. To my surprise, there is no dock for an iPod, but there is an MP3 line-in.

Also, the entire Bamboo is Wi-Fi enabled, so it can sync with a desktop system. So unless you got a CD in, your music will be downloaded into it from another source. You can sleep with the Bamboo as long as it has power, which is about 12 hours on a single charge.

This is still in the design stage, but hopefully it will be reality. I also hope that they will remove the pink color before that.

Source

While I love a bouquet of long-stemmed red roses and a box of fine chocolate as much as the next person, I don’t like them as gifts for Valentine’s Day. I suppose they’re somewhat romantic in a commercialized or show-off-at-work sort of way, but they’re just not for me, especially on the day that thousands of other women are getting the same thing from their special someone.

If you don’t want to be accused of being unoriginal or cliche by your sweetie this Valentine’s Day, why not skip the flowers and candy and opt for something more unique? Take this heart-shaped mouse, for example. Sure, it’s wired (USB) and questionably ergonomic, but creativity that’s both functional and one-of-a-kind is hard to pass up for only £25.

Via Tech Digest.

As the latest airline to begin offering free in-flight Wi-Fi, Continental has announced their plans to allow passengers to have limited wireless access. The service will be similar to the Jet Blue service and allow passengers to use e-mail or instant messaging. Sadly web browsing and even downloading attachments will not be allowed.

A bit of good news does come with the Continental announcement, after you get board checking your email you will be able to amuse yourself by watching TV. The LiveTV service will offer 36 channels through DirecTV, first class passengers will be able to view for free while the economy-class passengers will have to pay $6.

In-flight Wi-Fi seems to be nearing a necessity as we have seen recent announcements coming from other airlines such as Southwest and Jet Blue. Lets just hope these limited services take note and begin to offer a full experience similar to Virgin and American Airlines.

Via [TechCrunch] Via [CrunchGear]

Posted Jan 30th 2008 7:19AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: LaptopsCome on Everex, first the CloudBook would be available on January 25th, then February 15th, now the 25th? And to think that you announced this before the Eee PC. How can we trust you? Here, take back your ring, this ol’ girl can’t wait forever.

[Thanks, JAmerican]

Posted Jan 30th 2008 9:03AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: Digital Cameras, Wireless, Storage
It may be a low-end DSLR contender, but Nikon’s D60 can still surprise. Seems Nikon and Eye-Fi are in cahoots as the D60 was just announced as the first shooter crowned “Eye-Fi Connected.” The D60 recognizes the Eye-Fi wireless 2GB SD card when inserted then automatically adjusts its “power timer settings” so that picture transfers aren’t interrupted. Kind of important when uploading hundreds dozens of 10.2 megapixel photos over WiFi. In return for the powerful industry nod, Eye-Fi will offer on-line integration with Nikon’s “my Picturetown” this Spring. We’ll be sure to go hands-on with the combo at PMA just as soon as we get the chance.

Posted Jan 30th 2008 9:25AM by Joshua Topolsky
Filed under: Digital Cameras, HDTV
The kind, loving folks over at Sony claim that they’re about to explode the video conferencing market wide open — HD style — and we’ve got front row seats to the festivities. According to the electronics-maker, the PCS-XG80 is the industry’s first 1080i, HD conferencing solution, and will provide dual streaming, 30 FPS performance over IP or ISDN connections. The system is backwards-compatible with its older SD setups, and we assume it plays nice with the behemoth’s earlier HD effort, the PCS-HG90 — though you might want to double check on that before dropping the $8,999 that the company is asking for the system. Finally, you can really see just how ugly the home office is.