TechCat

You know that a particular market is extremely lucrative when there are tons of competition out there, case in point speaker systems as well as docking stations for the iPod family, all jostling for a slice of the financial pie assuming their product makes it to the best selling list. Speakal has such similar dreams of their own as well, having recently rolled out their latest addition from its family of High Fidelity Audio Speakers and iPod Docking stations, known as the miSoccer speaker system. Talk about a speaker system that has a kick of its own – it will also make a great gift idea for those who are absolutely nuts about soccer as the World Cup Finals will be held in South Africa next summer.

Despite looking as though it is some kid’s toy, the miSoccer doesn’t really compromise when it comes to performance, offering 23+ watts of high quality sound via a 15 watt subwoofer and two multi-way speakers. This ought to be enough to keep a small living room thumping with your favorite tunes, without running the risk of your neighbors complaining to the police to turn it down. You will also be pleasantly surprised to know that the miSoccer is compatible with all of the iPods as long as they have a dock connector. Other features include Humanized Touch Control, a remote control which can manage sound and its quality alongside controlling the docked iPod.

The miSoccer speaker system from Speakal retails for $119.99 a pop, although we do wish that something could be done about the external design as it looks rather cheap and plasticky despite paying more than a Benjamin for it. At least the spherical design does offer the strategic placement of speakers to produce a true 360° sound distribution – how about that for saving grace?

Press Release

How do you define a holiday? Let’s have a show of hands here – how many of you out there actually check out your emails even though you’re supposed to be on vacation either alone or with your family? Guess we’re all guilty of it some point or another, as the pressures of work do remain at the back of our heads most of the time wherever we are. Of course, instead of toting around your notebook or even a super light netbook while you’re on your travels, how about trying out something which is far more portable, while being able to dial 911 during an emergency? That is possible with a smartphone, and the latest model to arrive on US shores would be the Nokia E72. Craig Coffey, Vice President, Marketing, at Nokia, put it very succintly, “This year, time off doesn’t necessarily mean logging off for most of us over the holidays. The Nokia E72 is an ideal gift for those who want to stay connected year round. With industry-leading messaging functionality, separate home screen profiles for work and personal time, and powerful multimedia capabilities, this sleek smartphone takes the hassle out of connecting and responding to obligations that don’t stop for the holidays.”

The Nokia E72 will take off where the hugely successful Nokia E71 left off, offering desktop-like chat experiences and email regardless of who you communicate with. Alongside a QWERTY keypad that is nimble and comfortable to type (I’m using one right now), it is also super slim unlike those Windows Mobile smartphones that tend to bulk up for some strange reason. You also get an optical navi key which in my opinion is more of a novelty than anything else as it has the potential of throwing your navigation off course whenever you flick it accidentally. Can’t argue with the integrated Ovi Maps with A-GPS navigation and a compass though as it helps you find your way around unfamiliar places.

The Nokia E72 enables you to mobilize up to 10 personal email accounts thanks to Nokia MEssaging, while IM can be replied directly from the homescreen with compatibility with Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, Google Talk and Ovi Chat to get you started right out of the box. Best to use this with an unlimited data plan – just sayin’, you know, unless you want to be saddled with a hefty phone bill at the end of the month.

Press Release

Your friendly neighborhood CrunchGear writers have spent the past several minutes rifling through a de-redacted (un-redacted?) TSA handbook; Matt is going to print our hard copies and hand them out at his local farmer’s market. It was leaked somehow, and can be found all over the place. (I first found it on Cryptome, which is the go-to place for anything security-related.) Naturally, the authorities are freaking out, so get it while you can.

There’s a number of ways to look at this. One, our government is completely incompetent, letting something so sensitive as the TSA manual just leak onto the Internet. Two, what a terrible job of redacting. Putting a black box over the sensitive text, rather than, you know, the actual process of redacting the document.

The illusion of security, people! Take your shoes off! No toothpaste or hair gel! But your laptop is totally OK, despite the fact that it could be used as a pretty great blunt instrument.

Everyone has their way that they prefer to deal with electronics.  Some people adore pushing buttons, while others would love to just speak to the device and have it obey their every demand.  Actually, both options are appealing, just depending on what device you’re using.  Well if you’ve ever wanted a talking coffee pot that you can converse with you could always buy the Speak n’ Brew.

The coffee maker understands your speech.  It’ll ask you when you want your coffee ready and you just state the time.  It’ll then repeat the time back to you in order to make sure that it understood you properly.  The body of it is stainless steel and it’ll make 10 cups.  It also has a pause and serve function as well as a manual one-touch brew start.  You can read information on your coffee on the LCD screen, then after 2 hours the coffee pot will automatically shut off.  You can purchase the device for $79.99 from Primula Products.

Source: OhGizmo

Know of any Trekkies in your midst among your circle of family and friends? Just in case you are left scratching your head once again on the type of present to purchase this coming holiday season, let us help you with your gift selection – this time round with the help of ThinkGeek as they bring you the Star Trek TWOK Phaser.

Featured in the movie The Wrath of Khan (TWOK, for short), the Star Trek TWOK Phaser has a removable Type I integrated into its design, you just never knew it from watching the movies. The two pieces latch together with magnets and the Type I is fully functional when removed. And boy is this phaser functional. It has four phaser settings (each with its own light and sound effects), an overload setting, and actually has a safety (it won’t fire until you properly select a phaser setting). Once you get a Star Trek TWOK Phaser, you’ll instantly feel ready to take on your genetically advanced arch enemy, Ceti eels, and the death of your best friend (all the while knowing he’ll return in the sequel).

This is where your imagination can enter into overdrive mode, where you can also take advantage of a range of fun explosion sounds as well as docking effects for added realism. Bring out the inner child of the recipient with the $29.99 Star Trek TWOK Phaser.

They’re trying to balance the books over in the UK, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer has proposed a tax that may interest you. The proposed budget for the next year includes a broadband tax! The name is a bit misleading in that it’s not a tax on broadband, but a tax on telephone landlines (POTS), the money of which will go to making sure people in rural areas have sufficient access to broadband.

It’s not a very large tax at £6 (around $9.72) per year, but I’m sure it’ll annoy a number of people.

The goal is to have 90 percent of the UK wired for broadband by the end of 2017. And considering the UK is about the size of Oregon, maybe then you’ll understand why it’s so difficult to wire the entire U.S. for broadband. If you live in a rural area, well, tough cookies.

There’s several criticisms of the tax. One is that it won’t raise enough money to wire the UK for broadband (the tax will raise some £170m), while others are all, “We prefer a market-led solution.”

The “others” would be leaders in the Conservative party, which are pretty much a lock to win the next general election.

Imagine such a tax here in the U.S. The federal government levies a tax on, say, car purchases or TVs bigger than 50 inches (or whatever, it doesn’t matter) in order to pay for broadband in Middle of Nowhere, USA. If you think broadband is important to economic growth then it’s hard to be against such an idea. Yes, there will be the people who scream, “Don’t tax me, you scoundrels!” but they’re always like that.

So if we have any UK readers, here’s my question: is there a “buzz” around the broadband tax, or does nobody give a damn? That the tax only applies to hard landlines probably means that nobody under the age of 30 will be affected.

Another day, another Digital Photo Frame. This time around it’s Samsung that’s dropping one on us. A new 8-inch digital photo frame dubbed the SPF-800P for the Korean market.

This one looks a tad more elegant than most and features an 8-inch 800 x 480 LED backlight display, easy-to-use UI 2.0, 2GB of internal memory, a microSD card slot, Bluetooth 2.0 and supports both audio and video playback.

So if you must display images of leaves and twigs in a bowl of water, the Samsung SPF-800P looks like a good one for 199,000 KRW (or about $171)

[Techfresh]

If you want to get in shape, the Wii-Fit isn’t your only option. As usual, there’s an app for that. This application by NickelBuddy for your BlackBerry phone will help you stay in shape.

The application basically acts as a gym instructor or coach, with three levels of workout programs, strictly focusing on your abs. There are ‘beginner’, ‘intermediate’ and ‘advanced’ categories. The Anywhere Abs app is available for both trackball and touchscreen Blackberry phones for just $3.

In conjunction with this app, I suggest you lay off the donuts and fast food.

[New Launches]

Nintendo isn’t bringing the larger screen DSi to the States until next year, but you can get one now as long as you’re willing to pay a bit extra. But of course you would be the coolest kid on your bus so it’s totally worth it.

Play-Asia has the the Asian market DSi LL ready for your consumption for only $269. That’s only a tad bit more than the XL’s MSRP of $220. The site states that it ships within a week so you better get your order in quick if you want to be the world’s best dad this Christmas. [play-asia via i4u]

We already knew that we wouldn’t be seeing the Apple tablet this year. The latest rumors have some analysts saying we’ll be seeing a 10.1-inch tablet in March or April of 2010, and it will cost $1000. They also say that the tablet’s multitouch screen will not be an OLED panel, but an LCD display that could be up to 12 inches with “stunning graphics.”

1080p video? The sources claim that manufacturers are getting ready up to drop up to 10 million tablets in 2010.

This is all rumor, but it doesn’t matter. We all want to see what Apple has in store for us with this device.

[CultofMac]

With small kids, my house has plenty to be cleaned up.  Following my boys around cleaning also brings the concern of germs and maintaining a safe environment for them to make messy.  The 2-In-1 Upright and Canister vacuum from Germ Guardian brings a tool to the home to keep it clean and germ free, while offering features not seen on other vacuums.

The Germ Guardian 2-in1 Upright is available at Wal-Mart stores nationwide for $229.

… [visit site to read more]

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Tags: Announcements & News, Health Tech, Home Tech

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If you thought that Bluetooth headsets made people look ridiculous, you’ll just love this gadget.  Instead of listening to headphones like a normal person or just buying a portable speaker you could have these Stereo Neckphones.  They hang onto you like a set of headphones would, but make it so you can be aware of your environment like having portable speakers.  It’d be the best of both worlds if it didn’t make you look incredibly foolish.

Not to mention the fact that you’ll be that annoying person that wanders around playing their music so that everyone is stuck listening to it.  This device works just like a set of headphones would.  It just requires you to plug in your MP3 player through the 3.5mm plug.  The cord itself is 36 inches long.  In order to keep the neckphones powered you’ll need two AA batteries, which will keep it going for 15-30 hours.  You can purchase this gadget for $129.95 through Hammacher Schlemmer.

Source: Bookofjoe

Texthook Lets You Text While Pushing a Stroller

Texting while driving is illegal in many states but texting while pushing a stroller is still totally legal! It’s just difficult. Unless you had something to mount your phone onto the handlebar of your stroller. Something like the Texthook. This $26 device fits many size phones and stoller models and lets you text and push at the same time.

You phone just slides right into the Texthook. The cradle of the Texthook rotates 180 degrees so you can use your device in portrait or landscape mode. Not just compatible with strollers, you can use the Texthook on shopping carts, bicycles and treadmills too. Now your child is no longer an obstacle to getting your text on.

photo credit via the daily news

A few weeks ago word got out that the U.S. Air Force had purchased 2,200 PS3s to throw into a supercomputing cluster. The cell-powered PS3s are to be used for research in “urban surveillance,” what that is.

No, this isn’t the first time the PS3 has been used unusually. Folding@home has used the PS3 to help research protein folding.

Immigration officials also use the PS3 to help crack encrypted hard drives that are suspected to contain child pornography.

You already know why these organizations are using the PS3: it’s tremendously powerful, especially when you take into account it only costs $300 a pop. So you buy a few of them, string ‘em together, and there you go.

Remember Thermaltake’s Level 10 case? Of course you do. It’s a frakkin beautiful case. One of the most unique cases you can buy in fact. And here’s some good news. You can now get a system exclusively from iBUYPOWER starting at $2499.

Sure that’s a lot of dough, but this thing looks like a futuristic city all by itself. More importantly it looks different than everything your friends have. It’s nice to be unique. Expensive, but nice.

Tell me you aren’t tempted to play with Star Wars figures using this thing as a playset.

[iBUYPOWER]

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Oops. Someone at Honda has some s’plainin to do. The official Japanese brochure of their upcoming and highly anticipated CR-Z hybrid sports coupe is leaking all over the Internet, and now everyone knows a lot more about the car than Honda might like before its official debut.

And who wouldn’t take a peek? We’re as interested in anyone in CR-Z, a gas-electric spiritual successor to the CR-X. We were quite intrigued when Honda said it was bringing latest CR-Z concept to the Tokyo auto show. When Honda promised it would push hybrids into sporting territory, we liked it even more.

So just what’s in the brochure?

Credit for snagging the brochure goes to the fine folks at Temple of VTEC, who give the mysteriously acquired document a “Credibility Rating: Not Specified.” Still, a lively discussion has ensued over the specs pulled from the purloined propaganda.

The CR-Z is relatively small, 160 inches long by 68 inches wide and 55 inches tall. The wheelbase comes in at 96 inches, so this all points to something that should be a good handler. Sadly, the 0-100km/hr times come in at only 9.7 sec, so anyone in a Mazda Miata will eat the CR-Z’s lunch. But it follows when you consider the weight of a hybrid system and the power specs.

The internal combustion engine is a 1.5-liter i-VTEC putting out 114 horsepower at 6,000 RPM. It’s got 107 pound-feet of torque at 4,800 RPM. The electric motor offers 14 horsepower at 1,500 RPM and 57 lb-ft of grunt at 1,000 RPM. The combined figures work out to 128 ponies and 164 lb-ft. That power and torque will get to the pavement via your choice of a 6-speed manual or a continuously variable transmission.

There also is a lot of LED lighting profligately used on the CR-Z. In addition to the typical wing mirror lights being LEDs, it looks like the CR-Z will feature LED running lamps in the headlight cluster as well.

Car & Driver offered a blunt assessment based on the specs so far: “It’s going to be slow.” But C&D, like us, hold out hope that Honda’s performance figures are on the conservative side when it says “scorching, sub-9.0-second 0-to-60 times and some sporting character may not be too much of a stretch.”

We’ll have to wait until Honda’s official unveiling of the CR-Z at the Detroit auto show in January to get the official word.

Photo: Honda. Temple of VTEC has photos of the brochure, but they’re clearly copyrighted and there’s no way we’re gonna risk the wrath of Honda’s lawyers by publishing them here. Check ‘em out over at the Temple.

See Also:

• Hybrids Go Sporty Next Year With The Honda CR-Z
• Refreshed Honda CR-Z to Debut at Tokyo Motor Show
• Europe Gets Honda’s CR-Z Hybrid Before The Rest of Us.
• Don’t Ask Y: Honda CRX Reborn as CR-Z Concept

These cute and quirky Wind Up Robots will waddle across the dinner table to deliver your salt and pepper.

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Normally if you want to see what it looks like to dissect a car piece by piece, you have to get out the tools and sacrifice your own ride, throwing parts all over the yard. Thanks to Hyundai, you won’t have to do any work at all.

Just watch the video below of a Genesis completely disassembled. I love how the above image looks like parts from a model kit that you might buy in a box. Don’t try this at home. You’ll have parts leftover when you rebuild it.

[Gizmodo]

Ultra small and lightweight, this new mini-sized Portable DVD Player with a built in 3.5 inch LCD is perfect for anyone needing a DVD / CD disc player that can be used on the desktop, in bed, or wherever your travels take you.

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