I’ve always expected the days when our gadgets will be able to split into even more gadgets. Apparently the guys at DoCoMo and Fujitsu did too, because they’ve just released at CEATEC a concept design that allows it to split into two pieces which both feature separate screens and keyboard segments, communicate via Bluetooth and stay together using some strong magnets.

It looks like a very slick design but I do wonder if there are other people like me who’d be interested in owning one, because everyone these days want to minimize the number of gadgets or electronics we’re carrying. Would you like one? Would your friends (girlfriends) be impressed ?

Check out more pics after the break. Read the rest of this entry »

There’s a big hype with Solid State Drives (SSD) these days and Super Talent is trying to take the lead. The company announced a 2.5-inch, SATA II 128GB SSD dubbed “MasterDrive LX”and the most interesting thing is the price. Only $299 which translates into $2.33 / GB. If the 128 GB model is not close to your price range then Super Talent have prepared a 64GB SSD (same specs) that will be sold for just $179 (that’s $2.79 / GB).

The model is a Super Talent FTM28GO25H model and the specs say that it supports 100 MB reads and 40 MB writes. Are we in the point of no return for the SSD going mainstream on the market?

If you can afford these prices, can you think of a reason why you wouldn’t buy one with such a good dollar-to-gigabyte ratio? I can’t! – via JkOnTheRun

For those ladies that like pink (we’re men and don’t know colors) and are avid electronics consumers, here’s a new addition from Toshiba: Dynabook NX. It packs a 12.1-inch display that does 1,280 x 800, runs on Intel’s 1.2GHz Core 2 Duo processor, goes up to 3GB of RAM, has 802.11b/g/n, three USB ports, one e-Sata and an SD card slot. As for storage, you’ll get to choose between an 128 GB SSD and an 160GB hdd.

Though it looks nice it’s not going to come in cheap and will cost you €1,200 (some $1,710) and €1,930 (some $2,750) respectively.

Available from late October (just one month left) we think your geek girlfriend will be really surprised if you give her one for Christmas. Right? – via Akihabara

Philips is targeting the young with their new Flavors LCD TVs line. First to get them are the Italians who were also first at the grand presentation where these little things were announced. There will be 22-, 32- and 42-inch models, all packing a really interesting feature; each has two interchangeable frames that stick to the big thing because of the “magnetism”.

The 42-inch LCD sports a 1080p panel, 30,000:1 contrast ratio, 5-millisecond response time, 500 cd/m2 brightness and a pair of HDMI ports. Just how cool is this. It mixes good taste with great performances to make everyone happy.

If you think you’ll change furniture in the next couple of years and you want to keep the TV, then you may want to order a few more frames with the desired colors that match the couch or the carpet. I’m sure your geek girlfriends will like them … so if you plan on buying here’s how much you’ll have to spend : €549 ($803) for the 22-inch, €799 ($1,168) for the 32-inch and €1,199 ($1,754) for the 42-inch.

Source

Remember when I told you I needed a good backup solution for all my data? Well today I get to review Backup-Platinum and their product because they say it’s special.

I’m not going to start with the usual specs as I do, because I was already lured in by a couple of interesting features like the fact that it uses a multi-threaded file-processing engine which allows to process files which are currently in use by other programs. That’s a big problem with most of the backup solutions that I’ve tried so far. They all “neglect” some of the files you’re using constantly, but not Backup-Platinum.

What does it do, exactly?

Using a “wizard” approach to learn where, what, how and when to backup your critical data, the software will make a small (multichoice ZIP compression) and secure 128-bit encryption with Blowfish backup that you’ll be able to storage on almost every sort of media type: hdd, USB drives, CD-R/W, DVD±R/RW or Blu Ray media, FTP server or Local Area Network.

It also does automatic backups if you need them, or for more advanced users that run Windows NT/2000/XP or 2003, it can be used in service mode.

If you want to buy it, the price is $67 for one license. But if you’re not yet convinced, the guys are really generous and will offer their product free for a 30 days trial. What’s the best thing about it? The program is available with no limitations. It’s just like the full-powers edition. You can download it here and give us your opinion.

A year before, we were all excited and happy that Panasonic announced the new 7-series ToughBooks. Today you can feel the same “emotion” if you’re a fan of Panasonic laptops because the new and improved 8-series (F8,T8 and W8) ToughBooks have been announced, and good news : they all pack Qualcomm’s Gobi dual-3G chipset.

Toughest of them all is Panasonic F8 (pictured) a lightweight (3.7 pound) 14-inch ToughBook that runs thanks to Intel’s 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo processor and among other things features a 160GB hard drive and a DVD drive. Less tougher than the F8 are both the T8 and W8, both with a 12-inch display running on a low-voltage 1.2GHz Core 2 Duo processor. There are slight differences between the two of them. Panasonic T8 has a touchscreen while the W8 features a DVD drive.

All three models will be available from November and should be priced at $2,499 for the F8 and $2,099 for the other two. – via Cnet

Now if the 50-megapixel Hasselblad camera (pictured above) is no longer a good choice for whoever needs/buys it, then we have news for you. The company is launching a 60-megapixel Hasselblad dubbed H3DII-60 and it should hit the shelves in April 2009. That makes the old H3D-31 look so … old. But back to our little monster over here, it should cost some £18,750 (~$34,600) and that’s £4,000 (~$7,400) above the H3DII-50. I’m not sure if it’s worth investing that much money in a camera that provides 94% full-frame , 645 coverage, and with a sensor that measures 36x48mm which is twice the size of all 35mm DSLRs.

“We feel that it’s important to emphasize the 94% coverage, because, although we hear the phrase ‘full-frame’ being used quite frequently, no manufacturer has yet achieved true medium format full-frame,” said CEO Christian Poulsen at the Photokina show, in Germany.

Check out a gallery with Hasselblad H3DII-50

Just the other day I talked about the GPS tracking device from LandAirSea and I wanted to make sure people got the right idea, because I’ve looked at a couple other videos and I understood that this is not just a vehicle tracking device. It’s more than that.

By all means it’s great to have it under your car sticked really nice because of a great magnet and knowing that it’s waterproof. It’s also great to know that 24 US satellites are moving in the sky to keep track of everything that moves, 24 hours a day, or the fact that all the data from these satellites can be so easily downloaded if you use USB connectivity and a computer. Or how nice you can spot it on Google Earth.

But I forgot to emphasize the “detective skills” it has. It even helped out the police officers to solve a murder case. The story short, George Ford was arrested in Chenango County for the death of a 12-year-old girl. He turned around recklessly and accidentally ran over the little girl. But the police had no real evidence, until Ford’s wife testified that she installed such a vehicle tracking device to see if her husband cheats on her.

Based on the information from the tracking key the police found out that the guy chased the little girl really and intentionally ran her over around 3:00 am. Authorities charged him with murder.

For those that love Lexus IS-F we do have good news to bring you. Apparently the folks at Fox Marketing / Artisan are going to work on a tuning program that will include both mechanical and design upgrades that not only make it look better, but will make it run “fast as the wind”.

Under the hood this Lexus is going to get a 5.0 liter V8 engine that delivers over 600 hp, the IS-F is also equipped with JE pistons, Crower rods, Mishimoto radiator and Artisan exhaust.

On the other hand, the body kit is going to change the way it looks, in a positive way. It’s now going to have a Glasurit Sunset Orange paint finish and blacked-out headlamps, grille and emblems. But that’s not all because the new Lexus IS-F will feature custom front and rear bumpers, new side-skirts with blistered rear fenders and integrated 20 inch special wheels that run on Toyo T1R tires.

Honestly, I’d love to get my hands on such a beauty, if not to own it at least to stress-test it a little bit because that orange – excuse me, that Lexus … sure flies. Would you like one of your own, too? My bet is on a loudly “yes”.

I always though that a thief is just as good as they guys building car alarms, and that if he “really” wants it, you’d be pedaling on a bike next day at work, because he’d be able to steal your car. The only solutions I really trusted were those that used GPS tracking devices to alert the police or the owner where the vehicle is.

For almost 15 years, the guys at LandAirSea Systems (http://www.landairsea.com) has been developing some of the most innovative and powerful GPS tracking systems, that are able to track the location of your car with an accuracy ranging from 10 to 15 meters. That makes them one of the biggest providers in the surveillance technology industry.

How do they do that? Well there are 24 U.S. government owned satellites that manage to cover the earth two times each day (some 12,000 miles) which send signals to a GPS Tracking Key (which is a small, pocket sized device) which sends it to a computer that accurately determines the GPS location of the device and records the data. That happens every second.

There are other advantages to their system and that include the fact that all data can be downloaded and viewed in Google Earth just by plugging the Tracking Key into the USB port of a computer. Another great point is that their GPS Tracking device has an extremely powerful magnet that can be placed easily under your car, is waterproof and will not fall down unless manually take off.

LandAirSea Systems’ technology was also used to solve murder cases and has helped with convicting criminals. Check out the video below.