Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

Normal POIs in GPSs can do only so much, such as letting you know when you come near a place that many find interesting.  This new Sat Nav software takes basic POIs to the next level.  This software will provide audio whenever you travel near a historically famous place in France, and will last about two minutes. 

Developed by RoadTour, the software will work with most GPSs, such as GPSs by Garmin.  For 19.95 pounds, or only about $27, you can get a concise historical background on nearly 620 French attractions.  Many European countries are rich with culture, so a tourist will definitely benefit from something like this.  RoadTour spent over 3 years developing accurate historical information for every piece of audio they have.  Find out even more after the break.

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Recently, sports gadget manufacturer Freestyle, has released a new waterproof MP3 player called the Soundwave.  Nope, this has nothing to do with Transformers, unfortunately.  Although bringing your MP3 player while diving or snorkeling is already possible before with the use of third-party waterproof casings, Soundwave Freestyle eliminates the need for those with the Soundwave’s waterproof features that allows it to be submerged down to 10 feet of water.

In case the MP3 player accidentally slips from your pocket, it will float onto the water surface so you don’t have to worry about losing it.  The Soundwave MP3 package also comes with an armstrap which can hold the device securely when you are using it on a rugged environment.

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HD music is different than normal music which you listen to daily, HD music is encoded in the highest quality and produced the way the artists wanted it to be heard.  The people who founded Chesky Records recently developed an online store that sells high-resolution music, HDtracks.  Every song comes with the complete album artwork and PDF liner notes.

The music they offer are available in FLAC format and 96kHz/24 bit rate, which is a lot higher than music on a CD (44kHz/16 bit rate).  HDtracks’ content comes from audiophile labels such as Chesky, 2L, and Reference Recordings.  HDtracks claims that they will be adding new artists and their music in the 96/24 format every day.  More after the break.

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Seems that I am not the only one that reveres Logitech for their well thought out products and supreme ease of use.  The maker of tons ‘o stuff nabbed four Good Design awards from Japan.  The award picks four stand out products from the electronics maker.  This makes a total of 20 designs awarded for Logitech in the past six years; an impressive feat, for sure.

The Good Design Awards is presented for designs that clearly demonstrate merit in the following assessment categories: designs that meet or exceed a certain standard, superior designs and future-oriented designs.

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The crushing economic pressure here in the USA is feeling its weight around the world and is going to impact us all.  Tech companies often feel their products are luxuries and could be the first thing consumers avoid, potentially making their big time of year: the holidays, a bust.  So what is a tech gadget maker to do?

Find out what iLuv did.  Hit the jump for more.

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As technology gets more and more advanced everyday, it is no surprise that we often find new technology being used in places we often wouldn’t have imagined a few years ago.  Baseball is a professional sport in which there was limited technology used in the past.  However, just as everything changes over time, so has baseball. 

Many professional sports leagues, such as the NBA, NFL, and NHL, have already adopted the use of Instant Replay.  Yet, baseball failed to incorporate this technology into everyday use, until recently.  As of now, it is only used to find out whether a home run is, in fact, a home run, or if it should be a double or a foul ball.  A home run call that was ruled incorrectly by an umpire can ultimately change an inning, game, series, or a season.  Such an effect has led Commissioner Bud Selig to introduce Instant Replay to MLB.

Learn more about the technology behind MLB’s Instant Replay after the break.

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A few days ago, our friends over at Appletell reported on a possible increase in royalty rates that could spell out a problem for iTunes, and possibly other digital music stores.  A meeting took place on Thursday, and royalties were set on digital downloads and ringtones for the first time ever.  The good news for those who buy songs and albums online: prices probably won’t be going up any time soon, at least not because of this.  The Copyright Royalty Board set the royalty rate for songs on albums and songs downloaded online at 9.1 cents, or the same rate it was.  This rate will remain into effect into 2012.

The interesting rates announced were actually those of master tones.  That rate is a comparatively astounding 24 cents.  Yeah, you read that right, 24 cents.  More after the break.

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“Going Green” is certainly a very popular buzzword for many companies in the past few years.  In an attempt to capitalize on that, many tech companies like Apple and Dell (and stores like Best Buy) have taken up recycling programs.  In terms of the companies, however, it usually involves buying a product from them (and in Dell’s case, they’ll only take Dell branded items). 

Toshiba is taking a different approach.  Toshiba will accept any sort of electronics from cell phones to computer to video game systems, all without having to buy a single thing.  Toshiba wants to recycle any sort of “e-waste” you might have regardless of where you buy electronics or what kind of electronics you buy.  Toshiba will even pay you for recycling as a trade-in (which, admittedly Best Buy has offered before).  For example, my two year old MacBook Pro would get me $325,, and a $25 Starbucks gift card.  Not bad if I wanted to get rid of my computer.

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A little over a month ago, Cowon announces a few new PMP’s including the S9 and the O2.  At that time, the release date of the two weren’t known.  Recently, Cowon announced they would be available in November.

Let’s recap what exactly these PMP’s are and what makes them special.  The O2 PMP comes with a big 4.3 inch AMOLED touchscreen, DMB receiver, an amazing 9 hours of video playback, and supports so many formats such as…

More after the break

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Remember the SPINN that iriver has been teasing us with since CES?  Well, iriver has finally released some information about the Spinn, most notably that it will be available in the United States by October 3rd for under $300.

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