“Choosing to work with my good friend and exceptional designer Philippe Starck is always exciting. He brings a poetry to his work, and helps us deliver products that combine function and beauty.” said Philippe Spruch, Chief Executive Officer of LaCie. “The new Starck products showcase this amalgamation perfectly with LaCie’s constant innovation and Starck, who is the ultimate designer.”

The two drives both come with a USB 2.0 interface. Both drives feature aluminum cases to serve as both protection for internal components and to aid in heat dissipation. The mobile model features a conveniently placed built in USB 2.0 cable, allowing for easy access without the worry of misplacing or forgetting a cable on the go. The desktop edition features a touch sensitive surface capable of launching an application of the user�s choice. It also features an LED Starck signature symbol which glows orange or green to indicate activity. Both also include LaCie�s Desktop Manager and Backup Assistant software.

These meticulously designed peripherals are available at www.lacie.com as well as other authorized dealers and resellers. The Mobile drive is available in 320GB and 500GB and goes for a starting price $99.00. The Desktop drive is available in 1TB and 2TB flavors and retails for a starting price of $129.00.

“Technological genius explodes exponentially, each time with incredible power whose limits are yet to be known,� said Starck �The power remains, never abating, symbolically characterized by the sculptural magma that one attempts to cleave, to master within this geometrically perfect strongbox. A symbol of strength mastered, of freedom guided, of incandescent magma heeding to the form of its cast. The interpretation is free. But the mystery remains.”

However, desktop 3D gaming is actually experiencing somewhat of a renaissance, and you can actually experience pretty decent 3D gaming from your computer.  We’ve looked at the hardware offered by North Quincy, MA computer manufacturer Psychsoftpc before, but the maker has since expanded their offerings, and now you can order your gaming rig with NVida’s 3D Vision Kit with their Psyborg Extreme Gamer PCs to experience 3D gaming straight out of the box, provided you have one of the many supported steroscopic montors. And, as the computer maker points out, this is probably the closest we’ll ever get a holodeck.

The kit comes with viewing glasses that function on the same principles as the ones you wore when you watched latest Pixar flick. Each eye sees a slightly different image, and the brain integrates the two images to produce a depth of field. The best part of the entire system is that the software inteagrates with existing games, meaning most games are compatible with the viewing system. NVidia often demos the system by playing Mirrors Edge, an experience that has to be absolutely and delightfully nauseating.

As we said before, Psychsoftpc makes some powerful computers, and by offering NVidia’s 3D Vision Kit with them, the package only becomes even more valuable.

The iBend itself weighs less than one gram and is incredibly thin. They come 2 to a pack and are easy to store.

Three renowned artists from Canada, New York and California designed the Artist Series. Each artist was responsible for four designs, which come two per pack. This resulted in a grand total of 12 new designs for iPhone and iPod Touch owners.

The iBend Classic is available in black and white for $4.99 and the Artist Series packs are available for 7.99 from www.myibend.com

The Kensington Windshield/Vent Mount with Sound Amplified Cradle nearly doubles the sound of turn-by-turn navigation instructions or other sound without the need for additional batteries or draining of the iPhone battery by redirecting the sound towards the listener instead of straight down.

The device mounts to either the user’s windshield or vents and comes with rubber inserts to fit with all models of the iPhone. Another benefit to mounting your iPhone is to give it better reception.

This is a great addition for those of us who live on the go and need to keep our attention on the road while also being productive. The device will be available in Apple retail stores beginning in November 2009 and will cost $39.99.

The device is fully rugged and complies with MIL-STD-810F, a military standard for in-field use. To comply, a device has to pass free-fall resistance, immersion, rain, humidity, and vibration tests.  For example, the Kinysis can be submerged up to a meter in water and still maintain full operational functionality. You gonna do that with your ThinkPad tablet? Didn’t think so.

“Whether it’s outside standing up to what Mother Nature dishes out, docked inside a service vehicle, or being tossed into a greasy toolbox, DAP’s Kinysis rugged computer is built for challenging environments,” said Gianni Parisse, general manager of DAP Technologies. “Maintaining the integrity of our customers’ data through their daily environmental challenges is our top priority because we understand that data is both mission-critical and essential for operational efficiency.”

The full touch-screen version of the Kinysis tablet PC.

DAP’s Kinysis runs Microsoft Windows Embedded Standard Operating system on an LX800 processor. Storage is handled by an SSD of up to 32GB and the seal expansion bay on the device can house custom modules. Another option is a Universal Imager that has auto focus and the ability to capture video and read certain bar codes. For wireless productivity, the Kinysis has Bluetooth and wi-fi with optional 3G connectivity.

The device also comes with two screen options, either a color TFT half-SVGA screen LCD screen and a tactile QWERTY keyboard or a color TFT full WVGA LCD screen. The screens are anti-glare and vibration and shock resistant. They can be operated with a stylus or a finger.

The Kinysis is ideally suited to field service operations. It gives teams the ability to track customer requests, access how to guides and maintain full data synchronization with the main database. The batteries for this device are hot swappable and designed to last a full 8-hour shift.

The new drives, under the unwieldy MKxx34GAL line moniker, offer a thin and light package with the highest single platter storage capacity in the industry, the quietest seek function, and the most efficient power consumption. It appears they will only be available to manufacturers with the 160GB model shipping now and the 60GB, 80GB and 120GB models following later in the month.

“1.8-inch HDDs are key components in a variety of handheld and mobile products that require the combination of high-capacity, durability, cost-effectiveness and reliability in a small and compact footprint,” said Maciek Brzeski, vice president of marketing at Toshiba Storage Device Division.

“With the increasing demand for anytime content access and capture, we continue to see healthy opportunity for 1.8-inch HDDs in portable devices. Our 1.8-inch products have fueled innovation in a variety of markets, and have been installed in many products that are today, common household items.”

Maybe we’ll see one of these in the next iPod refresh?

Product Specifications

Model Number                       MXX34GAL
————                       ——–
Maximum Capacity         160GB / 120GB // 80GB / 60GB
(Formatted) 1
—————-         —————————-
Number of platters                     1
——————                    —
Areal density                    467 Gb/in(2)
————-                    ————
Average seek time                   15 ms
—————–                   —–
Rotational speed                  4,200 RPM
—————-                  ———
Buffer memory                        8 MB
————-                        —-
Interface                       Parallel ATA
———                       ————
Interface transfer               100 MB/sec rate
——————               ———-
External                 54.0 mm x  71.0 mm x 5.0 mm dimensions (WxDxH; mm)
————            —————————-
Weight (g)                       48 g (max)
———                        ———-
Energy consumption  0.0019 / 0.0025 // 0.0038 / 0.0050 W/GB efficiency
——————  —————————————
Shock resistance:
Operating                  5,880 m/s(2) (600 G, 2ms)
Non-operating             14,700 m/s(2) (1,500 G, 1ms)
————-             —————————-
Acoustics:
Idle                               14 dB
Seek                               15 dB
—-                               —–

The player is capable of typical features like playing Blu-Ray dics and DVDs as well as streaming several kinds of pay and free video content from Sony’s BRAVIA Internet platform, including content from YouTube and Slacker. Late this fall, the player will also get streaming content from Netflix.

“Whether its full HD 1080p or streaming video and audio from the Internet, entertainment comes in so many flavors that consumers want choice,” said Chris Fawcett, vice president of Sony Electronics’ home audio and video business “Leading the entertainment experience, Sony brings the best of both worlds together in one player that offers more content than other stand-alone devices on the market.”

The BDP-N460 is capable of 1080p output and is compatible with the latest audio codecs. It is even BD-LIVE compatible with a broadband Internet connection and external storage.

The device incorporates cross search functionality with the BRAVIA Internet platform, making finding content much easier. It also includes Sony’s Precision Upscale HD, which upscales DVDs to near HD resolutions. The player even prevents damage to discs and itself using Sony’s Precision Drive technology, which helps detect and correct wobbling discs in the drive.

The device is available now, and retails for around $250.

The IOGEAR HDMI Control Center.

The device is complete with a wireless keyboard with a built in laser trackball allowing users to easily navigate, switch, and interact with all their HDMI peripherals. For example, the device allows users to quickly switch from a Blu-ray movie to a computer connected to their HDTV, type and send a quick email, then switch back and continue the movie all from the device’s remotes. This is extremely useful for those who work in front of the TV or prefer the ease and organization of a central organized location for work. It may also be the solution for those of us that lack a home office.

The device is simple plug and play with a sleek design and, according to IOGEAR, works with game consoles, set-top boxes, Blu-ray and DVD players and media servers/computers.

“At IOGEAR, we are constantly innovating new technologies to give consumers the easiest and most complete computing and entertainment experience,” said Miranda Su, executive vice president of IOGEAR. “As convergence increases between these two mediums, we strive to offer solutions that efficiently and cost-effectively bridge this gap.”

IOGEAR’s HDMI Control Center is at the 2009 CEDIA Expo in Atlanta, GA right now and until September 13^th at booth 5715.

But now, Motorola is introducing the Cliq with Motoblur, which allows you to update, post, and read everyone on all of your social networks all on the homescreen of your phone.

Motoblur is Motorola’s first offering built on top of Google’s Android phone OS. Motoblur is the “solution” that allows you to post to Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Gmail, and last.fm. Content is delivered to the home screen of the phone in different categories to let users better handle the stream of information.

Updates, including statuses, wall posts, and friend feeds from social networks are delivered to the “Happenings” box, while email and networking messages are delivered to the “Messages” box. You can update all or some of your networks from the “Social Status” box, and an RSS feed reader will deliver headlines to your home screen.

The underling Android system allows tight integration between Google’s offerings, including Gmail and Google Calendar, as well as contact syncing with your Google account.

The Cliq phone itself is packed with 3G and A-GPS, wi-fi, a 5 megapixel camera, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, and a standard headphone jack to let you listen to music or stream last.fm playlists. The Cliq doesn’t have an official release date other than “fourth quarter” from T-Mobile. Definitely looks like something to add to the Christmas list.

The shade wagon is a high-capacity wagon capable of carrying two full coolers on either side of a storage console that also mounts an umbrella. The wagon comes with a cooler and two seats, with a capacity for twice that, plus a volcano grill. The umbrella also anchors the wagon to keep it from rolling away. Fold down a side on the Shade Wagon, and nylon straps hold it level, forming a table. When the nylon straps aren’t holding the side up, they can be used to carry folding chairs.

Unlatch them, and then you have two bench seats. No tailgating party would be complete without music, and the Shade Wagon comes built in with a battery operated Altec Lansing speaker to plug your iPod into.

While marketed as a tailgating tool, it would be just as appropriate at the beach, picnic, or any outdoor event. Fire up the grills and pass us a hot dog.

iPod Nano.

Apple is adding a video camera to its iPod Nanos, allowing users to take still pictures or film clips for easy uploading to YouTube later, all at the same price pont as a 4 GB Kickflip.  Apple is also — and finally, in our opinion — adding an FM radio. While we haven’t listened to a radio since 2003, its always seemed a cheap component that everyone else has always offered. But in typical Apple fashion, they’ve bettered it: users will be able to live-pause the music, and tag songs to later find them in iTunes. Pricing for the Nano is $149 for 8GB, and $179 for 16GB, all of which come in Apple’s standard candy colored offerings.

iPod Touch.

Apple’s iPod Touch line also saw battery and memory upgrades and price drops. The 8GB iPod touch is now only $199. However, users can also purchase the 32 and 64 GB models for $299 and $399 respectively which include new Open GL firmware for better video and game performance, a necessary upgrade to maintain Apple’s relevance in the mobile gaming marketplace.

iPod Shuffle

Apple’s iPod shuffle is also getting five new colors and price drops. The 2 GB model is only $59 dollars, while the 4 GB model is $79. There still aren’t any controls on the player itself, meaning you’re still limited to headphones with the built-in controls. Apple did announce that many manufacturers are adding support for the controls on board, or through adapters.

All of these are solid upgrades, and while there’s still no tablet, this should definitely take Apple successfully into the upcoming holiday season.

This is made possible through use of a ball joint which offers wide adjustment of up to 40 degrees in any direction, allowing users to find that perfect sweet spot for our TV. There is no need to screw and unscrew numerous bolts with Atdec’s “Simple Tension” Adjustment system, and their Smooth Glide technology allows for effortless adjustment of screens up to 55 pounds.  The TH-1040-VFM’s quick release mechanism guarantees fast and easy TV attachment and removal, though the idea of a quick release on our giant glass TV scares us more than anything else. Also, Atdec also says the mount is theft resistant, though that seems to be the opposite of “quick release.”

“We are really in the TV viewing business and that’s what Atdec’s mounting solutions are all about: providing the best and most elegant way to ensure optimum viewing experience no matter what the environment may be. The new Telehook TH-1040-VFM is a perfect example of this philosophy with its ability to offer infinite fine-tuning of the viewing angle via a variety of easy to adjust pivot points. Innovative design, matched with a stylish look and reliable build, make the new mount an ideal choice for any home or commercial TV installation.” Said Jerome Green Director of Atdec.

The TH-1040-VFM supports panels between 12 inches and 40 inches and a weight up to 55 pounds. It will be available in mid September for $169.

It’s the first home webcam to offer widescreen video with an onboard 720p sensor. It also auto focuses, keeping video sharp from a minimum distance of just four inches.

It’s also one of the only webcams marketed to work well in low light, and it has image stability and de-noising abilities that reduce graininess.

The LifeCam’s onboard noise canceling microphone also make it perfect for Skype.

Check out the fact sheet here.

In response to Apple’s millimeters-thick stainless steel keyboard, Microsoft’s latest announcement is the Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 6000, their thinnest keyboard ever.  The entire keyboard is only slightly thicker than the AAA battery that powers it at the back. The stylish keyboard has Microsoft’s familiar ergonomic curved layout.

Something missing from most laptops these days is a number pad. For anyone who uses numbers with any frequency, an external keyboard becomes a necessity. The downside is that a number bad adds a great deal of bulk. Microsoft solved this but making the keypad a standalone product that comes with its own carrying case. Pair it to your computer when you need it, and stow it away when you don’t.

The Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 6000 will retail in October for $90, while the number pad will be $45. Certainly not the cheapest keyboard set ever, but probably worth taking a look.

This TV mount will be useful for those of us who have chosen to put our TVs in high glare areas, as it allows the viewing angle to be adjusted up to 40 degrees. The Telehook TH-1040-VFM even allows us to use our flat panels in landscape and portrait mode after installation and can support panels between 12” and 40” and a weight up to 55 pounds.

This is made possible through use of a ball joint which offers boundless adjustment up to 40 degrees in any direction, allowing us to find that perfect sweet spot for our TV. There is no need to screw and unscrew numerous bolts due to Atdec’s “Simple Tension” Adjustment system, and their Smooth Glide technology allows for effortless adjustment of screens up to 55 pounds. The TH-1040-VFM’s quick release mechanism guarantees fast and easy TV attachment and removal.

The TH-1040-VFM offers a maximum reach from the wall of 17 ½” and a minimum distance from the wall of 4”. It supports VESA mounting hole configurations of 4″x 4″, 8″x 4″ and 8″x 8″. It features a cable management system, a theft resistant design and is compatible with masonry and timber stud wall mounting hardware.

“We are really in the TV viewing business and that’s what Atdec’s mounting solutions are all about: providing the best and most elegant way to ensure optimum viewing experience no matter what the environment may be,” said Atdec’s Jerome Green.
“The new Telehook TH-1040-VFM is a perfect example of this philosophy with its ability to offer infinite fine-tuning of the viewing angle via a variety of easy to adjust pivot points. Innovative design, matched with a stylish look and reliable build, make the new mount an ideal choice for any home or commercial TV installation.”

The TH-1040-VFM will be available in mid September for $169.

The ZVOX 440.

Swampscott-based ZVOX, self-proclaimed pioneer of all-in-one home theater system, is introducing two new high-performance sound bars at affordable prices.

Made of hand-crafted wood cabinets and premium grade sound parts as opposed to the usual plastic and cheap components seen in typical all-in-one sets, the sets generate virtual surround sound from three compact speakers and a built in subwoofer all from a slim profile.  Set-up is simple, with just a single jack connecting the TV and speaker bar. And because green features are all the rage, the sets will put themselves into stand-by mode after a few minutes without any input.

The ZVOX 430.

ZTE Coral-200 Solar. Credit: Flickr/techfever

ZTE claims its Coral-200 phone can recharge using the sun’s rays and has a talk time of a little over two hours. In a country like Kenya, the phone is a perfect addition to current cell options.

While there are more than 17 million cell phone subscribers in Kenya, only 1.3 million have access to constant electricity. Many people have to go into major metropolises just to charge their phones, a major inconvenience.

While the ZTE Coral isn’t the glitziest solar phone on the market, it serves a great purpose to people in Kenya.

Samsung Blue Earth

Earlier this year Samsung also introduced a solar phone with spectacular specs. The phone is made of recyclable plastic and boasts a pedometer, MMS capability and a touch screen. LG and Sharp have also manufactured solar phones. None of phones are, however, slated for a U.S. release. What a waste.

Samsung Blue Earth. Credit: Flickr/uriondo

Cell phone carriers in North America should look to these phones as options for at least the outdoorsy-types. Solar-powered phones give campers the ability to stay connected while in the wilderness, just in case something happens.

As low-cost options with GSM networks, consumers could purchase the phones as at least backups to their iPhones or smart phones until solar phones can boast more impressive features, more along the lines of those offered by smart phones.

I know I’d love to have one.

The Sungale ID800WT Digital Picture Frame.

Digital picture frames fit into an awkward part of the technological landscape. On one hand, they’re certainly the next evolution of the standard wooden frame — why only display one picture when you have thousands waiting to be seen on your computer? On the other, they’re almost backwards thinking — in a worlds where every decide you have does many things, they’re like a really small computer monitor, except less useful, because they only display pictures.

Sungale has released the ID800WT in hopes of mitigating this discrepancy by loading the frame with a Wi-Fi card and touch screen, meaning the device can access current weather and forecasts, your stock information, internet radio and YouTube if you hook it up to external speakers, and even your Gmail, all on top of displaying a rotating slideshow of your pictures. Most of the widgets worked as promised; the news reader loaded the stories from Google News or Yahoo! News, and while the font was the most legible, this was really nifty. Unfortunately though, I found the YouTube widget frequently froze the device when I tried to load a video.

The available widgets on the home screen of the ID800WT.

The transitions available were standard, and maybe it’s just the fact that I enjoy the clean Mac aesthetic, but I feel like they were a bit dated. The “card stacking” and “bloom” transitions ceased to be cool with Powerpoint 97. Personally, I think it’s time for more grown up transitions.

One of the really cool features is the ability of the device to link to your online Picasa albums. If you have them set to sync from your computer to Picasa, then the device can then sync them to its onboard memory, obviating the need for cords. That being said, if old school is more your style, the device showed up on my Mac as an external flash drive without any fuss, and all I had to do was drag and drop the photos I wanted. You can even keep them organized by folder, and the frame intelligently displays photos from within the folders, making it easy to swap “albums” in and out. The half-gig of on board memory is actually rather roomy, especially if you crop your photos down to the 800 x 600 resolution of the screen, which is simple in a free editor like Picasa.

The home screen of the ID800WT.

The frame itself is matte black plastic, and while it’s won’t exactly win any award in the design department, it’s certainly good enough to fit a standard décor, and isn’t ugly by any stretch of the imagination. The screen is bright and clear, minus all the fingerprints from being a touch screen. However, the inclusion of a soft screen wipe is definitely thoughtful. Obviously it’s hard to photograph a bright screen correctly in a photo like this, so you should just take my word for it. The screen itself has an 800 x 600 resolution, which is very high for a screen this size — think back to the 90’s when your 13.1” CRT monitor had the same resolution. The touch-screen was nowhere near as responsive as, say, an iPhone — typing in my email password was particularly frustrating. I tried to use the on-board file explorer to arrange the photos, but I decided that it was easier just to plug it in and do so from Finder.

The fact that your device can do all of these things certainly gives it a leg up over your standard digital picture frame, assuming you have a solid Wi-Fi connection — and this is where the frame failed me. The Wi-Fi connection was extremely flaky, to the point where I couldn’t sit on my couch fifteen feet away from my router. The only time I got a semi-decent connection was when I put the frame directly on top of the router, but even then it gave out, and I frequently had to remind the device to connect to my network.

The solution turned out to be to turn off my router’s security. While this may work on occasion, I’m clearly not going to be broadcasting an unencrypted network all the time in my crowded neighborhood, which means the device loses a lot of it’s “always on” potential if I have to change my router settings every time I want to use the weather, traffic, or email widgets. Another minor quibble is that I think the power cord actually isn’t long enough. If you wanted to hang it on a wall, you’d likely be limited to hanging it directly above an outlet, or running a rather unsightly extension cord.

The back of the ID800WT.

I can’t help but feel like all the pieces are in place for the ID800WT to be an amazing device — it  just falters on the execution. As a digital picture frame, the device performs near flawlessly, as it should. The widgets however are just too clunkily implemented to be truly useful. The makers should look toward a device like the Chumby, which has a small touch screen and cycles through photos and widgets much the same way, but with a much more svelte implementation. Of course the Chumby is itself rather chucky by nature — you won’t be hanging one of them on a wall anytime soon. What we all truly need is a love child of the two.

Overall, the Sungale ID800WT is stellar at being a digital picture frame, and while the onboard widgets may not replace hopping onto your iGoogle homepage in the morning, it wouldn’t really be a poor choice if you were in the market for a digital picture frame.

The thing is, while we can learn to play just about any video game, the skill to actually play a real guitar has always proved a bit elusive to us — we played the French horn in high school after all.

However, the time has come when Guitar Hero meets a real guitar. Fretlight is a guitar manufacturer that makes a series of acoustic and electric guitars — you know, the ones with strings — that have built in LED lights on the fret board that show you where to put your fingers to actually play notes, chords, and even music. This essentially makes learning to play a guitar as easy as learning to play Guitar Hero.

Fretlight also publishes free Mac and PC compatible software with lessons to teach you the basics and songs to let you show off your skills. There’s also a plugin for Garage Band, and a number of third party software programs available to expand your repertoire.

We’ve got ours in the mail right now, and we’ll be practicing all month. Check back later to see if we were able to build the skills to win the ex back.

The ColorEdge CG232W is a reference/editing monitor that supports BNC/SDI, DVI-D and VGA connections for television studio and broadcast applications.

The monitor has a native resolution of 1920×1200, a wide color gamut, and 176-degree viewing angles. “The wide color gamut allows the ColorEdge CG232W to reproduce color spaces used in broadcasting such as PAL/SECAM, SMPTE-C, and HDTV,” Ezio said in a statement from a Las Vegas conference.

It also supports 1 billion colors and a 120 Hz refresh rate.

Navigon, maker of some of the more attractive GPS devices available is releasing an even more intelligent GPS navigator. Granted, most of the drivers in the world who use GPS devices already trust their lives to a small piece of machinery that’s just one simple voice command from driving them over a cliff and into certain death. But while you many not think that your GPS navigator needs to be smarter, Navigon disagrees.

Available this summer, the Navigon 4300T is a fully featured GPS device that packs all the usual features-a wide touch screen, text to speech, construction and traffic updating, Bluetooth for handing phone calls-the device also comes with an intelligent driving computer that learns the routes you prefer to take at which times of the day, and uses this data to better serve you with a route, all while taking into account traffic and accident warnings. The device will even suggest up to three different routes, and let you choose the one you want to take. Even better, live spoken traffic updates are included free for the life of the device-not shabby, considering that it costs $99 to add onto other models.

Similarly, the Navigon 3300 Max is a slimmed down device with the basic navigation software. Several add-ons will be available for the device when it’s released, including map updates and a Zagat application that will show restaurant ratings and reviews.

With many of us trying to be more secure online by choosing better, less redundant and overall more secure passwords, the real question is “How do we remember them all?” Atek, a California based company, thinks they have a solution with their Logio Password Organizer Device.

It’s tiny –  only 1/8″ thick. The device reminds me of a cheap oven timer, and with that take on things, it’s very disappointing with flimsy thin plastic that almost breaks in half if you type with firm pressure.

The keyboard is somewhat acceptable yet very cheap-feeling again. I’ve found most of the other buttons take a few presses to get the unit to respond.

I found performance to be below average but manageable when you apply heavy pressure to the keyboard, which is really just a pain. I also found the interface to be very slow, and it often took a few seconds to respond to basic commands.

The simple menus are, well, simple. However, it is extremely tedious to keep pressing the down arrow to get to your listing at the end of the list when you store many items. The unit can store up to 200 records, but I couldn’t imagine pressing the down arrow 200 times to get to the last listing.

Two hundred is also a small number, considering several gigabytes of data fit into tiny secure digital cards these days.

The Logio stores all your passwords behind one AES-encrypted master password. Try not to forget that one.

I’ve always believed that as consumers, our pockets are filled with devices. We have our mobile phones, iPods, flash drives and more strapped onto our belt and stuffed into our pockets. Smartphones are beginning to get more and more advanced and with Apple, RIM, Palm and Windows Mobile taking new approaches we might finally be able to free our pockets.

With this in mind, the Atek Logio Password Organizer seems like a safe way to organize passwords and is defiantly more secure than your traditional pen and paper, but it contributes to the device clutter problem. I believe that the prototype would be far more successful if the company could develop mobile applications with this same functionality in mind for Smartphones such as Apple’s iPhone, RIM’s Backberry devices and Windows Mobile Smartphones.

The product retails for $29.95 and is available at http://www.atek.com/

Nintendo made a great console with the Wii, but one major mistake made was that the Wiimotes run on two standard AA batteries. This means that they require replacing on a regular basis. It’s a pain if they die in the middle of a game, creating much frustration if there are no batteries to replace them with. For a while I used rechargeable AA batteries but that still requires swapping them each time they die.

There have been multiple companies that have come out with different battery pack solutions to deal with this problem. The thing that they all fail at is working with Nintendo, or third party, “Wii condoms” (the unofficial name for the silicon shells people put on their Wiimotes). In all, newer games Nintendo recommends you use a Wii condom. They have swapped the graphics of the Wiimotes in game to show using their condom. With most charging stations on the market, you have to take the Wii condom off to charge the Wiimotes. This means you either don’t use the Wii condom at all, or you end up forgetting to charge them, and get dead batteries.

Teknocreations has come out with a solution that solves both of these issues. The InCharge uses the same technology that is in some electric toothbrushes. It’s the same technology that MIT was advertising recently to run a light bulb wirelessly across the room. This is same technology that makes electric magnets possible. Surprisingly, it’s actually just basic high school physics behind it. It’s not used regularly because the amount of electricity lost using this method is many times greater than the amount used.

Physics says that a changing electric current will create a magnetic current. An electric magnet just is a wire wrapped around a metal rod so it moves around in the same direction creating a fixed magnetic field. The interesting and important part of this is that the reverse holds true too: a changing magnet field will cause an electric current.

The InCharge uses this idea to have an electric magnet create currents in the base station that cause an electric charge in the batteries. This is not the most efficient way to charge your Wii batteries since electricity is being wasted converting from electrical to magnetic, then back to electrical. Luckily, the batteries in the Wiimotes are small enough that the amount of energy that is required to charge them this way as opposed to the metal contact methods won’t be noticed by most people. To put in perspective, the power adapters for most of your electronics waste almost as much converting from 110 volts to the voltage the device uses.

The batteries held up well under my tests, though they did have the same problems of all other Lithium batteries. If left unused for any length of time they will slowly lose their charge, but only over long periods of time. This would mostly account for the discrepancy that they claimed 24 hours of charge time. I only managed to get a little more than 12 hours over a two-week period. This should be still more than enough when you consider that you should place the Wiimotes back on their charge station when not in use. So the biggest question on battery life is how long you will sit playing the Wii in one sitting, since the charger is able to easily charge them back up for you over night.

I did find that the meter on the Wii wasn’t accurate on these batteries though. The meter seemed to work fine on other batteries I’ve tested in the past. On the InCharge, the Wii still said half charge when they started to run out of power, and shutoff while playing games. So if you don’t place the remotes on their base station, you shouldn’t trust this meter.

The big benefit though is the fact that now you can leave your Wiimotes in their Wii condoms while charging. I tried a couple different Wii condoms to see that they each kept the Wiimote close enough to charge. The Wiimotes will still charge as long as they are within about one centimeter away from the base station. So now you can have different colored Wii condoms to tell your Wiimotes apart and still use a battery pack to charge them.

The other nice thing for families with small kids is the contacts are no longer exposed so you can’t get any gunk on them stopping the batteries from charging. Though personally the worst I’ve ever had from the contacts is a little rust that can be sandpapered off, it’s still nice to have one less thing to worry about.

One concern I’d raise about this is that the InCharge, because it uses a magnetic field, is like a microwave oven. I wouldn’t sit it next to your computer, or any electronics. Teknocreations says that the magnetic radiation isn’t harmful, but a computer too close may still have negative side effects.

Overall, I think the InCharge is a great device. It still has the trouble that if you have three or four people in your family it requires two InCharges since they only charge two Wiimotes each. On the other hand, if you only have two people playing the Wii, which seems more common, there will be no issue and you won’t have extra wasted parts.

The Iomega eGo Patriots edition is decked out with the team logo above a 2.5″ 250 GB hard drive.

The tiny drive is a USB 2.0 product and retails for $129.99 at local retailers including Staples, the Patriots ProShop, and online at Patriots.com.

The eGo also comes with EMC’s Retrospect Express HD backup software, which allows automatic and on-demand backups of your files and drives. It works with Windows and Mac computers.

“Three years ago we introduced the world’s first waterproof housing and speakers developed for scuba diving, the DV-i700. Even though the number of supported mp3 players was small, the response and interest we received was overwhelming,” said Kristian Rauhala, CEO of H2O Audio, the company behind the iDive. “Divers have asked us to develop this product since the iPod revolution started. iDive’s “Made for iPod” integrated microprocessor detects a wide variety of iPods making it compatible with Apple’s most popular devices.”

Three hundred feet is a long way underwater, but if you’re down there with nothing better to do, why not crank your tunes? I guess. If you’re that comfortable under 300 feet of water, more power to you.

Features:

• Waterproof to a submersed depth of 300ft/90m
• Supports most models
• Integrated microprocessor allows for push button control of click wheel and touch screen iPod devices
• Built-in amplifier provides high quality stereo sound (uses 3 included AA batteries)
• Over ear speakers can be attached to mask strap or tucked under a dive hood
• Locking cam knob ensures secure seal
• Lanyard loop for easy attachment
• Polycarbonate construction
• 1 year warranty

The H2O Audio iDive goes for $349.99, available exclusively online.

The full ports are also upward-facing so that you can actually plug things into it without them getting in each other’s way.

“In an increasingly mobile age where laptops are more prevalent, consumers need comprehensive solutions to increase efficiency,” said Miranda Su, executive vice president of IOGEAR.

The 3-Port USB 2.0 Mobile Hub with Built in Mini USB Cable is $13 and well worth it if you need more plugs.

The batteries, just like the portable audio and video players they recalled last November, were made in China.

Coby warns that the rechargeable batteries can overheat and catch fire. There have been four reports of fires from the batteries overheating, resulting in what the company called “minor property damage.” No one has been hurt yet.

The batteries were sold with Coby’s TF-DVD 1020 portable swivel-style music and video player. Last year, it was the TF-DVD170 and TF-DVD176 players that were recalled entirely — 12,000 units — because of fire worries.

Recalled Batteries Serial Number Ranges:
DG240043D503000001-1006
DG240006D503000001-400
DG240039D603000001-3000
DG240111D603000001-2000
DG240143D602000001-3000
DG240106D602000001-2000
DG240106D702000001-2000
DG240183D942000001-100
DG240071DB02000001-1400
DG240115D702000001-1726
DG240115D702000001-2500

The products were sold at discount toy and electronics stores for about $170 from May 2007 through this July.

For additional information, contact Coby Electronics toll-free at 866-945-2629 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit the firm’s Web site at http://www.cobyusa.com/.

See also: Consumer Product Safety Commission listing.

By the way: In a reporting error. We spelled Coby “Colby” by accident in an early version of this story.

The Swarovski crystals cover the outside of the radio forming a tattoo-style vine wrapping across the product, the company said in a statement.

You can have some bling for $2500 if you can make your way to Saks Fifth Avenue’s home department.

We’re currently reviewing one of Sonoro’s Cubo products, and we love the way it sounds so far.

“Research shows that mouse fit and versatility are important factors for user health and safety on the job,” says Humanscale, makers of products like tasklights, CPU stands, glare filters, foot rests, and everything else to try to make you more comfortable sitting on your ass in the office. “Traditional designs can promote awkward hand and wrist positions and cause discomfort or, in some cases, debilitating musculoskeletal disorders like carpal tunnel syndrome.”

That’s where the Humanscale Switch Mouse comes in.

Humanscale says that it’s not just the wrist that suffers under a traditional mouse. The wheel — our beloved scrolling wheel, which revolutionized the mouse in the 90s as trackballs and touchpads tried to make their way into the input device domain — the wheel, according to Cornell University researchers quoted by Humanscale, can cause tendonitis and repetitive motion stress in the finger used to manipulate the wheel.

So, we’ve got this new V-shaped mouse that works for lefties and righties and a new “navigation dish” that removes the scroll wheel. Finally, you can customize the mouse to fit the size of your hand, and they include a printable hand-sizing chart for your reference.

The Powerline Stereo Audio System will be displayed by IOGEAR at CEDIA 2008 in booth #468.

And now, something technical:

“The Powerline Stereo Audio System uses existing electrical lines within the home to stream music to any room, creating a full-house multimedia network without the need for expensive audio cable installation,” the companies said in a statement. “Arkados’ HomePlug powerline technology and its Direct-to-Speaker software provide reliable connectivity and the highest quality digital sound from the audio source to the speakers for the system.”

Of course, everyone’s happy:

“We are pleased to have joined forces with IOGEAR, a leading connectivity manufacturer, to provide an affordable, high-quality solution to home audio networking,” said Oleg Logvinov, president and Chief Executive Officer of Arkados. “The Arkados HomePlug solution within IOGEAR’s Powerline Stereo Audio System allows consumers to install their own state-of-the-art home audio network at a significantly lower price point. We are looking forward to showcasing the system at CEDIA.”

Yay.

The LG Dare puts the world into the palm of your hand, literally.

With direct access to the World Wide Web, a camera that puts handhelds to shame as well as GPS capabilities, the LG Dare covers all of a consumer’s basic technological necessities and it covers them well.

As far as being a phone goes, the Dare doesn’t really go above and beyond. Then again, anyone who wants a phone just to send and receive calls and text messages probably shouldn’t be dishing out between $199.99 and $599.99 for what is an all-in-one gadget. Calls are easy to make and receive; the only snag comes when you are using a different aspect of the phone and a call interrupts.

Text messaging is a little more difficult, as the Dare sports a virtual keyboard is that when held vertically is a DMFT keypad (like the ones on your cell phones), but when tilted horizontally is a QWERTY keypad (like the ones on your computers). The actual touch screen isn’t very exact and it takes a couple of tries to hit the correct letters, which is why the Dare is not the best phone to type with. Still, it certainly does the job.

The Dare’s interface is one of its coolest aspects. Once you get past the three different menus, you can customize your own by dragging and dropping your favorite utilities onto the main screen for easy access. That’s a big step up from hunting for the link to your music whereas now it’s just one tap away.

The features on the phone are infinitely cooler than its calling capabilities. The VZ Navigator, a GPS utility, is easy to access from the phone. Instead of dialing 411 to find your movie times, the Navigator will look up the nearest movie theaters for you and then follow up with directions. It can also find nearby restaurants, gas stations, hotels, and parking. The only time things get difficult are when a call or text message comes in mid-travel.

Coming in at a  close second is the Dare’s camera, which takes pictures that rival many handheld cameras’ in quality and clarity. The Dare’s camera sports 3.2 megapixels with resolutions up to 2048×1536 pixels for pictures and up to 640×480 pixels for video. The Image Editor allows for some cool touch screen interaction, like the ability to write over images, but the menu screen itself can be slightly confusing. Trying to zoom in and out is way more effort than it should be, and after you click the camera button to take a picture, it takes about 10 seconds for the picture to actually be taken. This leaves you with pictures in motion or of the wrong object rather than the picture you were looking for. Once you snap the right shot, though, it looks great.

The Internet capabilities are quick to load (for the most part) with 3G speeds and allow easy access from the VZW Today bookmarks browser, but the touch screen is temperamental when it comes to scrolling down or across the page and when pressing certain buttons. The ability to access the Internet whenever or wherever you want is extremely useful, but actually viewing it gets stressful at times. Having to zoom in and out of a page in order to see what you’re looking for or to gain access to a text box can be frustrating.

The mobile e-mail feature makes it easier to access sites like Windows Live Hotmail, Gmail, and Yahoo! Mail versus trying to find it through the Internet (which is also possible), but if you’re looking for a phone to receive e-mails for business then this is not the one for you. Typing for e-mails has the same issues as when typing for a text message, and that gets frustrating very quickly.

As part of the Verizon network, the Dare has access to V Cast, from which consumers can download music and stream videos for a monthly fee. Scrolling through the lists of songs and movies to listen to or watch can be a pain, but the Dare makes up for it in its excellent sound and video quality. The Dare is compatible with MP3 and AAC music and audio formats and offers VGA video playback.

The phone has a three inch screen, up to eight gigabytes of hard drive space with a microSD card inserted, is Bluetooth enabled, and includes all of the basic functions like a tip calculator, calendar, and stopwatch which are incredibly useful as a rule.

The LG Dare is a very solid phone; it has all of the aspects anyone could need, it’s just using them that gets a little difficult. No, it won’t replace the iPhone, but if you’re looking for a network alternative smartphone, the LG Dare is the right phone to choose.

The new MFC-5890CN networked all-in-one does the copying, scanning and faxing — which we’re cool with — but the big deal about this bad boy is that it also lets you make 11″ X 17″ prints for just $199.

Brother threw out a few other models Wednesday also, including the $129, networked MFC-5490CN that does up to legal-sized prints. There’s also the MFC-6490CW, which lets you do all of the above, including 11-by-17’s for $299.

We’re looking at September/October for these bad boys.

Hawt.

Translation: Huge drive. Fits your music, movies, pics, games, docs, and about 1,600 full-length MPEG/Divx movies or hundreds of uncompressed DVD movies. Huge cache. Lets you access them fast. Shock protection. You could walk around shaking it like a maraca, and it would still work.

Hawt.

WD RE3 1 TB (model WD 1002FBYS) and the 750 GB (model WD57502ABYS) hard drives are available now for $249 and $199, which may be the best part.

The Horizon Fuel Cell Bio Energy Discovery Kit is a simple enough product. It allows you to put water and alcohol in solution — like, say, diluted vodka — to create an electrochemical reaction.

“Unlike methanol, or past attempts to use alkaline ethanol solutions, Horizon’s device can use plain water and alcohol which is easily accessible to consumers,” the company said in a statement Wednesday. “Tiny amounts of alcohol can thus be placed in contact with Horizon’s fuel cell and slowly converted to electricity that can power small devices.”

The promise is that this is a step toward fuel cell-powered devices.

The kit is available now for $99.

The Nexus DAMPERS rubber case feet let you lift your case about an inch off the ground, (they say 1.4 cm … Europeans … ) which actually does tend to help airflow in and around your case. The more open space, the more air flows through.

They also work with laptops and printers if you’re feeling saucy.

I still like the certain ugly appeal of casters, but this works, I guess.

I feel like I’ve seen this before. Before, like in the 90s, but a New Jersey company recently debuted a combination keyboard/scanner that lets you … type and … scan … things.

The KeyScan KS810 accepts documents from business card size all the way up to 8 1/2″ x 30″ and does a full grayscale page in about five seconds.

KeyScan hopes their product will have applications for business customers and medical offices that need to scan patient files and data.

It scans upto 4800dpi, does OCR and costs $159.

Here’s a thrilling video:

Memorex just announced the Essential TravelDrive, a 2.5″ USB hard disk that maxes out at 320GB with several bright and shiny colors that fits right in your pocket, purse, laptop bag, etc.

The TravelDrive comes in 160, 250 and 320 gigabyte models, great for photos, video, audio and tons of files. They’re also powered by USB, so no additional power source is needed.

Starting at $89.99, they’re priced just right, too.

“The Lian Li PC-XB01 is the perfect complement to the Xbox 360 to alleviate heating issues,” the company said in a statement Thursday. “Microsoft Inc is very strict on warranties, so it should be noted that you will not be able to return your product if you use the Lian Li PC-XB01 alternative. With that being said, you are less likely to have overheating.”

Thus, while Lian Li promises that heat will no longer be an issue for Xbox 360 owners, be forewarned that this is not for the faint of heart. Transferring your 360 components to this case requires some know how and a lot of guts.

“All the Xbox 360 ports are hidden behind stylish dust covers and the ODD bay also has a spring loaded dust cover for aesthetic appeal and convenience,” Lian Li said. “The unit can be placed horizontally, or vertically, depending on your needs, and the water cooling pipe holes are an option to use should you be inclined to do so. The case is designed to fit the entire Xbox 360 internals similar to the original, with the power transformer attaching from the outside.”

The product was first shown to an American audience at the Consumer Electronics Expo in January in Las Vegas.

The brushed anodized aluminum is sleek and stylish, just make sure you know what you’re doing!

It looks like a sex toy for your hand.

“Ergonomic style allows your arm to extend from the side of the body, which is natural to our posture. It places no stress on the wrist, by allowing your hand to rest along the bottom of your palm, or a thumbs-up position,” the company said in a statement recently.

“The JOY mouse allows your arm and wrist to rest naturally on its side, rather than twisting your hand and wrist over to be ‘palms down,’ as with a traditional mouse. By allowing the wrist and arm to function in a natural position, you alleviate carpal tunnel strain, reduce fatigue, and increase productivity.”

The Joy Mouse is $39.99. Get some online or the old fashioned way, by calling 770-591-1441.

With gamers, audiophiles and every middle-aged man building the “theater room” throwing more and more devices into their entertainment centers — PC’s, gaming consoles, Blu-ray players, high-def cable boxes — this little box comes in handy. And it’s got a remote. Sweet.

The GHDMIS4W6 four-port HDMI switch with remote is available now on IOGEAR’s website and other retailers for $90.