Category Archives: Gadget-Lust

What keeps the Manly Man sharp and precise

Notion Ink Tablet Goodness!

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Update: 8.4

So Rohan has been busy lately. Not only has he managed to update his blog, he has managed to get the site looking quite snazzy. Its flash, but he is working on an Ipad compatible version as well! The new site re-design makes me think that the “Buy Now” button can’t be to far off.

Another development was the confirmation that the present hardware will be compatible with the next version of Android that comes after Froyo. Chocolate Frosty Surprise I think it is…

Lastly, wifi will be b/g/n not just b/g which basically means greater range and increased performance.

Update: 6.27

I have been looking around the Notionink.com website and just realized that I can only get to the blog portion of the site. There used to be a website portion where you could view pictures of the tablet and see the specifications. There was even a store icon that said “coming soon”. Now all of that is missing which has my interest highly peaked! Does this mean what I think it means??? Are they going to announce a release date or better yet, are they modifying the site for pre-orders and new specs??? I’ll keep you posted..

If you are like me, then you are probably holding out for a tablet that is a little more functional than the iPad. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a hater, I’m just not that much of an early adopter. I like to see what my options are before I make a purchase! We did a tablet article a while back, before the iPad launched, where we talked about some of the tablets that were coming down the pipe. One of our favorites was Notion Ink’s “Adam” Tablet. Not only were we impressed by its creator, Rohan Shravan, but we were also impressed by the overall design and hardware specs. You can find the iPad comparison here. The tech world was all a-buzz a few days ago because Rohan mentioned that there might be some launch delays pushing the launch all the way back to November. Needless to say, people were sorely disappointed. However, Rohan has just recently cleared the air on his blog and he says things are “on track” whatever that means. As longs as things are on the track rather than off the track I say.  Below are some reasons for why I definitely want to wait a bit till this bad boy comes out sometime in Q3:

  • The Screen is one of the biggest factors. Made by Pixel Qi, it has the ability to basically turn black and white with the push of a button making viewing in direct sunlight much more do-able. This also boosts battery performance quite a bit. Will also come with an ambient light sensor which will automatically adjust the screen depending on lighting conditions.
  • It has a camera. Not just any camera…a 180 degree swiveling camera at that! This is for taking pictures or video of you or your surroundings with the push of a finger.
  • Track-pad on the back. Some people might think this is a small point, but I think the smallest points are sometimes the biggest. I predict this will be extremely useful because you wont have to hold the tablet with one hand just to select something on screen which will lessen hand fatigue and make the overall browsing experience that much more enjoyable.

Those are just a few key points, but you get the gist. Check out Notion Ink’s site here for more details.

Watch Concept Unites Wrists, Cars and “Cool”

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If you have an extreme sense of style and 15,000 dollars laying around then this watch is definitely for you. It looks awesome and is sure to be the head-turner item that will secure the attention you so desperately need enjoy. Its a beautiful concept and if your still skeptical we should mention that it stops bullets…no really. Its bullet-proof and it charges wirelessly.

However, I know I saw a concept like this before, so I either saw this exact watch a few years ago in a magazine somewhere, or its this Handsome Tag-Heuer piece called the Manaco V4. Not quiet bullet-proof, but the sapphire case and alligator skin band don’t hurt one bit.

Microsoft Stepping their Game up…FINALLY

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Update:

Yea, so about that whole stepping up their game thing…turns out its more of the same. Courier has been cancelled as we all tried not to believe. Way to go Microsoft, for killing dreams. C’mon Adam, your our last hope and we don’t want any more delays! Anything past November and all bets are off!

On another note I’ll go ahead and add the ExoPc “Slate” to this list…

Its 11.6 inches, slightly bigger than the iPad, and runs Windows 7 which should be quite useful for people who still need to get stuff done. What really drew me in was the interface. Love the WebOs reminiscent swipe-to-exit functionality there. I also think the app launcher is pretty neat as well. Full HD playback, camera, and Adobe Flash support don’t hurt the cause either.

Ok Guys,

I’ve got more tablet news. If you are still thinking about purchasing the iPad, or one of the other tablets out there so you can let everyone in the office know what a trend-setter and awesome guy (or gal) you are then pause a quick second before you open that wallet.

Remember Microsoft’s rumored tablet? No, not that HP thingy, the two screened one that had the awesome demo vid? Yeah, its called the Courier, and its really shaping up to be a great device to rival the best.

I’ve included a nice video from Engadget below.

Now a couple of comparison notes:

  • iPad has an actual pre-order date of March 12th and a shipping date of April 3rd, so its the first to actually materialize. Notion ink’s Adam and the Courier are still Q3 or Q4, whatever that means.
  • Adam will have two modes – one for reading and one for content viewing which should dramatically increase battery life. It should also be able to run Javascript and have full HD playback making it an ideal content consumption device.
  • Courier is smaller than both, but has two screens which could become interesting with game-play. Think Nintendo DS.  It uses the stylus heavily for better or for worse, but the UI is quite captivating. If Microsoft can deliver on its promises in the video below they may have a winner. No word on pricing, video playback quality or battery life as Microsoft hasn’t even confirmed its existence yet, but I know you can’t wait!

Laser Wristwatch…No Really!

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You ever had an idea that was so cool that you couldn’t tell anybody? You just let it fester for a while, and then one day you randomly see an advertisement for your exact idea? Sucks doesn’t it. Guess that just means your on the cutting edge. With that, I’ll introduce to you the AurorWatch Concept by Jihun Yeom. Its awesome actually. There is no recognizable face or hour markings. Rather, there is a blue and a red beam. The red beam indicates the minutes, while the blue beam indicates the hour. You just tap the watch to display, otherwise, the watch is faceless.

Who knows if this will ever make it to someone’s actual wrist. I don’t care. I’m still salty that someone else had my idea.

<mopes and cries in the corner>

Source:Yanko Design, via Gizmodo

My First Tablet will not be an iPad

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Remember like a month ago when everyone was frothing at the mouth over Apple’s iPad? People were saying all sorts of things and then when the official announcement came, things just kinda simmered down. This was mostly because the iPad couldn’t do half the things everyone had thought it was going to be able to. People were thinking it was going to have a camera with gesture recognition, multi-tasking capabilities, making breakfast in bed, the whole shabang. Now granted, the iPad is still quite impressive, and the entry price-point of $499 certainly helps matters. Yet, there was this nagging feeling of what could have been. Then from left field we have Rohan Shravan, founder of Notion Ink busting onto the scene with his “Adam Tablet”.  Now here is where things get quite interesting… The Adam tablet not only has a 3.2 Megapixel camera, but it swivels as well. The Adam can not only double as an e-book reader, but it can turn off the backlighting for easier readability in direct sunlight with pixel Qi’s new screen which gives it increased battery life. Oh, and it runs flash, and has an entry cost of $327. Interested? Yeah I thought so. Check out the the below chart i picked up at Gizmodo:

Here is a video from Technoholik showing a version of the Adam that looks really quite nice.

Here is another one cause I know the first video isn’t enough

Why Apple isn’t Playing any Games

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Steve Jobs is playing for keeps as is evident by the moves he has made with the inception of the iPod and the iPhone. Love him or hate him, Apple has fought back from the brink with hit after hit and it looks like they’re here for the long haul. But that’s not what’s on everybody’s tongue right now. Enter stage left: iSlab, or iSlate or iThingy. Whatever you want to call it, it seems destined to be the next best thing since toilet tissue.

Just the mere rumor of its existence has sent shivers down the spines of large companies and has News Papers and Magazines clamoring for a Digi-Saviour. Can Apple do to the print industry what it did for the music industry? Honestly, our money is on Jobs. He’s a mad genius when it comes to this sort of thing, and the buzz alone is guaranteed to bring some high-rollers to the table. The Wall Street Journal has reported that Harper-Collins, and Condé Nast are already in talks over the rumored Tablet, and we are pretty sure there will be more. If you’re a non-believer, that’s fine. Consider yourself in good company, but the rumored specs paint a very pleasant picture.

Imagine a kindle – but in color and a larger 10 -11” screen, not to mention ten times sexier. Total access to your library of music anywhere you go and the ability to buy more in a web-based version of i-Tunes that downloads songs over wifi – or better yet, a 3G cellphone network like Verizon’s. It may also have a “Best of TV” service offering a subscription to your favorite Television shows. The inclusion of games is a no brainer, and a faster processor and larger hard disk space can only help matters. Now the clincher – the tablet will reportedly have facial recognition software that will recognize users and perhaps perform tasks meant for specific persons using a front facing camera. Maybe it will be like the chair settings in your car where you just hit the 3rd button and it automatically adjusts the seat because you’re too tall for your wife’s settings and she insists on driving your car even though you bought her a car for Christmas, but she likes the feel of your car better. Or maybe that’s just us.

The price range should be inside of $1,000, and could possibly be subsidized if it debuts with a cell phone carrier. If anyone out there needs someone to test this bad boy out, count us in.

Source:WSJ

UPDATE:

ok, so alot of the above information turned out to be wrong…or atleast a bit premature. This doesn’t mean all the information is garbage though. For starters, the camera may still be in the works. Soooooo glad we were wrong about the price. In approximately 60 days, you can pick one up for as low as 499.99 (16GB)with the 3G unlocked version coming in at a cool 629 (16GB).

Now there has been a lot of chatter, mostly by Geeks with super-powered devices, saying that the iPad doesn’t live up to the hype. I’ll have to agree to a point. But c’mon, what device does? Just because you thought the iPad was going to levitate, pay bills, make your bed, etc… and (surprise!) it doesn’t you wanna get all salty? Look, for 500 bucks your getting a premier device that works super well, and does everything it needs to. The iWork suite looks fantastic, browsing magazines and online content looks like an absolute pleasure to do, and gaming is pretty nice. It is the first and last device I want with me on any trip. Now I don’t own anything Mac branded and even I can tell that this is a great device. Jobs and his boys just aren’t catering to those of us who happen to know what the device should be able to do such as multi-tasking and voice calling with video telephony over wifi etc.

Now to a few more details about the device…

The device is 9.7 inches diagonally, and .5 inches thin. It’s a bit heavy (depending on what your comparing it to) at 1.5 lbs. Battery life is supposed to be 10 hrs of moderate use, and almost a month at standby, though something tells me that if your online playing games, you are gonna need to plug that sucker in a lot sooner. Now I have to give kudos to Apple for making their own performance chip. I really like the way they take a really hands on approach to their product. It really seems like they care about what they put out there.

You have access to three main stores now..iTunes of course, App store, and now the iBook Store. The Screen is multi-touch capacitive and is LED backlit. Take a look at the video below:


source:Apple

The Best B-Day Gift Ever! …Well Second Best Anyway

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A good friend just shot me this link from Wired.com and I have to say, I’m quite impressed. Apparently one can own a fighter jet. Yeah, just straight pull out your fat wallet and pay someone, in Russia I presume, and take away a nice shiny new Sukhoi SU-27. Yes, that same one from Ace Combat and H.A.W.X. on the X Box 360…except in real life of course.

Now this jet was designed to go Mano y Mano with the US’s F-15 Eagle. The plane is capable of vertical acceleration because of its high thrust-to-weight ratio, and can reach speeds of about Mach 1.8 (1,300 mph). That’s almost twice the speed of sound. Now here’s the clincher. This bad boy is going for about 5 million bucks. Not bad right, considering that a mid-range Gulfstream private jet goes for well over 20 million. Plus they offer training on the jet as well in case you don’t have fighter pilot experience. Seems like a great deal to me, and if any of you readers who happens to have a few dollars to spare for my birthday – hook me up man!

Apple Tablet to be Revealed Jan. 27th?

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I’ve refrained from mentioning anything about it since there really wasn’t much concrete evidence swirling around. However, it has now been announced that Apple is hosting an even on the 27th of this month to show off its newest “Creation”! The event will be in San Franisco, and no one is willing to pay for my trip out there 🙁 so I’ll have to live vicariously through others for now. Really hope its about that tablet, or iSlate, or whatever…

via Engadget.com

Nexusone Google “Superphone”

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If you have T-mobile and have been a loyal customer for years…than you can’t upgrade for a discount on this phone. Sorry – suck it up. Its available at 179.00 for people who are starting a new line and there is only one type of plan you can get if you are buying at discount. For ballers, you can get the phone unlocked at 529.00 and just add a simcard with whatever plan you want and be done with it all.

Here is the phone break down:

Hardware:

1Ghz Snapdragon processor with 3.7 inch capacitive display. It has 512 MB of Flash Memory and 512 MB of RAM. It comes with 4GB Micro SD card which you can upgrade to 32 GB when you get the urge. Camera is 5 Mega-pixels with LED Flash and 2x zoom. Its got Blue-tooth/Stereo Blue-tooth and Wifi as well. With all of that it only comes out to be about 11.5 mm thick!

Software: Runs Android 2.1 (Eclair). Google’s newest iteration. With such a fast processor, I’m guessing this phone will most likely see its fair share of upgrades.

Distinctions: What makes this phone different from say…the iPhone? It can multitask. Also, it doesn’t have multi-touch capabilities. It has voice recognition and dictation elements native only to this device. Not a whole lot else. What this means is that you can’t pinch to zoom in on web pages or photos, but you can say “Navigate to McDonald’s” and it will give you turn by turn directions to the nearest McDonald’s which I think is pretty sweet. You can also dictate a note or a text message which can come in handy for those who just can’t seem to stay away while driving.

Interface seems clean and snappy from what I can tell. Really like the moving wallpaper. They even respond to interactions! You can check the video below to see for yourself:

embedded by Embedded Video

YouTube Direkt

Summary:

So all in all a pretty solid phone. Good-looking, but not terribly sexy in my opinion. Great functionality, but not quite ground-breaking or game changing. Smart phone? Yes. Superphone? Nah, not quite.

Update:

Eligible users with data plans can now upgrade to the Nexus One on T-mobile for $279. Those who paid $379 will get 100 bucks in a rebate check from Google. Sounds good to me!

Google Phone Craze!!!!

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image from Gizmodo.com

Have you guys heard yet? Google is coming out with a “Google Phone” called the Nexus (as of right now). According to the rumors floating around, they will be selling the phone themselves much like Apple is doing their iPhone. Gizmodo.com seems to have uncovered the price for this puppy and its about what you would expect. According to the leaked documents, the phone can be had for about $530 unlocked and $180 with a two year contract on T-mobile’s network. The clincher is the fact that you only have one choice and its not even the best plan! No unlimited Data. I suspect Tmobile is trying to take it slow and not cripple their network and make it as sucky as ATT’s. Perhaps its a wise move. At any rate, the phone is a beast with its 1Ghz processor and snappy android 2.1 UI. Check Tmonews.com for more pics and vids.

Update:

Those bastards at Engadget have gotten their mitts on their very own Nexus phone! They also have a pretty nice video of it in action. It looks super fast, and full of interesting little UI tweeks that we havent seen before on an Android device like interactive wallpapers and a separate applications screen. A drawback in my opinion is the same old dusty keyboard (can’t they just use the one from HTC’s Sense UI???) Also saw a microphone on the keyboard…dictation abilities anyone? You can check it all out for yourself here