Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

After all the hype and previous reports, the Sony Rolly will start selling in Japan on the 29th of the month.

At $350 for a 1GB MP3 player I think it is us that will be doing the rolling though - all over the floor in hysterical laughter. Wait though it gets better - in addition to the $350, they want $17.50 for the case and $35 for the charger, so that is the best part of $400 for a 1GB MP3 player!  The player features 5 hours of playtime, 4.5 hours if you use Bluetooth.

If you are paying attention, we’ve got 1GB and 5 hours of playtime.  Um, Sony, we need to talk.

To be fair, the offspring of the Miuro (similar looking speaker that roamed around your house) is somewhat more than a MP3 player with its robotic features that include:

• sensors that know which way is up


• change the volume by turning the player clockwise or anti-clockwise


• download dance moves


• skip or repeat tracks by either rolling the player forwards or backwards, or shaking it

Via [Gizmodo]

”Never judge a book by it’s cover” used to be the adage when I was growing up. Well that is all but impossible to do with a cover like the one on “It’s A Guy Thing”, which is a good thing as the basis of the book sounds pretty dull on first examination:

“There are over 7 million patents registered in the United States, a great number of which describe practical inventions designed for use by everyday, ordinary human beings.”

A book on patents? Yes .......... but, a book on 70 real, well intentioned ideas, that’s another story. Looking back over 140 years, the books takes a witty and irreverent look at these inventions with an utter lack of respect, and in so doing delivers a funny, and educational read.

Obviously a ‘must’ for all the Guys out there, the book manages to offer universal appeal. Think about it. What better way for you girls to get an insight into what goes on (or doesn’t) in our heads, what we chat about over a beer, what we find way more interesting than shopping, talking about fashion etc.

Still not sure? Here are a few of things that the book covers:

• Neat Ways for Guys to Shoot Each Other


• Things for Dead Guys


• Awesome Guy Clothing Innovations


• Things That Make Guys More Attractive to Women (At Least in the Guys’ Minds)


• Things That Allow Guys to Accomplish Tasks with Less Effort


• Cool Games That Guys Came Up With


• Things That Are Unnecessarily Dangerous and, Therefore, Very Appealing to Guys


• Things for a Guy’s Dog (or Cockroach)


• Bathroom-Related Things for Guys (None of Which, Oddly Enough, Involves a Magazine Rack)


• Things Involving Beer

Via [ScottSeegert]

No, this is not in Apple’s playbook.  Yes, you can remote into your Windows PC via this free software and even better, with the iPhone’s fantastic zooming capabilities, it is totally usable.

Nate True came up with the idea of tweaking TightVNC, a free remote control software package and created Web VNC.  How does it work?

“WebVNC is a modification of the VNC server. Where before the HTTP server in VNC would just serve a Java applet, now it serves an AJAX application that downloads the screen as a set of JPEG images. The application then checks back with the server to see which ones have changed, and reloads them. Input is just another message to the server.”

One iPhone interface coding session and whammo.  Brilliant Nate, brilliant.

Why can’t we get this going for my WM5 phone?  Another reason to covet thy neighbors iPhone. And while at Cre.ations.net viewing more images and instructions, give Nate a shout out.  He could easily be charging for this.

Read [Cre.ations.net]

This note is addressed to the almost 19 million households in the US whom receive their Television reception – not via cable or satellite but over the air using antennas.  Did you know that unless you already have a DTV compatible tuner or DTV set top box on all your Analog TV’s, or are connected to a cable or satellite TV service, you will lose your television reception on Feb. 18th 2009? You think February 2009 is too far away to be thinking of that?  Think about all the TV’s you presently have in your house or your grandmother’s house, and about all the TV’s your family is going to buy between now and then.  Unless they are Digital TV capable (not to be confused with Digital Cable or Digital Satellite service) – they will be useless.  Really.

What to do?  Buy a new DTV Set-Top Box or subscribe to cable or satellite service (and buy / rent their new set-top box) for each analog TV you own. And, here’s a tip:  You can apply for up to two $40 off coupons from the government towards the purchase of new set top boxes (while coupon supplies last).  Of course, you could always replace those old TV’s with TV’s that have the new Digital TV Capable tuners and continue to receive your over the air broadcasts.  Also note that many of the thin LCD/Plasma TV sets didn’t even include any tuner at all in their sets.

Now who said digital was better/easier?!?!

Is the end near for iTunes movie offerings?  According to a recent study, the answer is yes.  For-pay services will wither and die once a better distribution system is in place; oh and this system will be free.

The new paradigm will be the Google method of offering services that are advertisement supported.  From Reuters:

“In the video space, iTunes is just a temporary flash while consumers wait for better ways to get video. They’re already coming,” said Forrester Research analyst James McQuivey, the author of the study, who also called the paid download video market a “dead end.”

The study goes on to say that video purchases will peak next year after tripling to $279 million this year.  That is a big chunk of change to just disappear, but the proof is already around us.

Currently many of the major networks offer their hit shows for free today online.  As network executives scramble to get advertisers, the result is radical changes.  For the past year networks have scrambled to build their own YouTube, their own spot to show off content, but are the viewers coming?  According to the Wall Street Journal, the year old InnerTube site created by CBS as its in-house player will be abandoned.  Starting this week, you’ll find CBS content on as many as 10 other video portals such as Joost and AOL.

Can advertising supported content really survive?  Will networks, studios and other content creators be able to cluck in the same hen house?  So far they’ve not played too nicely together.

Read Study [techXtreme] Read Innertube [Wall Street Journal]

Everyone says it, no one knows where it came from, or what to attribute it too...but the phrase less is more could sum up the future of tech gadgets for the average user. I’m talking about your grandmother who doesn’t know how to turn on the computer but has no problem understand how to retrieve her email. How about the college freshman who found out the hard way that their professor talks faster then they can hand write notes? Much like our fast food restaurants and car dealerships we are being given more and more when all we really need is less. Why super size when the average does enough?

This brings me to my original point, enter the NEO. The NEO has been around for quite some time. It is a simple word processor it has a small screen to see what you’re typing as well as a keyboard that we are normally accustomed to. It may not be a hit for the mainstream college student or your average home user, it has been a love, and even an obsession, for smaller niches. It is light in weight, has an extensive battery life and can plug into your PC when you are finished so that you may publish your work.

Another nifty gadget which has put our famous phrase to good use is HP’s Presto mailbox printer which works much like a fax machine, instead of having to check your inbox for emails they will print out a varying points in the day (set to your specifications). A perfect example of less being more. Presto!

Case in point, while I’m writing this article I have lost three games of solitaire and still can’t figure out minesweeper, why can’t wel go back to the days of Go Fish.

Read [CNN Money]

I am not really sure how to explain this. No it isn’t that it is so techie that it doesn’t make sense, rather I am speechless.  For those of you who watched Minority Report and were drooling over the glooves Tom Cruise wore to control the computer, this is a must see.

Jeff Han is a research scientist for New York University’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. Here he demonstrates—for the first time publicly—his intuitive, “interface-free,” touch-driven computer screen, which can be manipulated intuitively with the fingertips, and responds to varying levels of pressure. (Recorded February 2006 in Monterey, CA. Duration: 09:32)

View it or download [TED]

I will try and make this as straightforward as possible, but please remember that we are talking about wireless electricity here, not soap… What is eCoupled technology? Wireless electrical power. It works by transferring energy from one device to another through a shared electromagnetic field.

eCoupled technology can be utilized essentially anywhere traditional power needs exist. Power and data can be efficiently transmitted to virtually any electrical device without wires or constraints. This means that eCoupled allows for intelligent cordless charging of consumer electronics devices such as cell phones, digital music players, cameras and PDAs.

eCoupled technology communicates with the object it is powering, allowing for feedback on the operation and status of the powered device. It also reduces or eliminates exposed physical power plug connections and reduces the risk of arcing and shorting by eliminating exposed conductors. eCoupled technology has efficiencies near that of plug and socket connections and allows a “charger” to supply power to one device or simultaneously to multiple devices and can even mix AC and DC power. eCoupled technology allows for the elimination of external ports, instead of plugs and connectors, the primary and secondary need only be placed in close proximity.

Consumers can clearly benefit from new product designs, increased functionality, increased mobility and longer service life, but what will it cost and how long will we have to hold our breath until we can use it? More answers to come at CES…

Read [eCoupled]

The market for video eyewear is standing at the point of being fully weightless. Now that the newest generation of video eyewear no longer weighs more than a pair of sunglasses, it seems that the last barrier for large-scale mobile use has been removed. Just like video phones, portable video eyewear also seemed like a failed technology of the past, or only one that lived in the movies. But now seeing is believing.

The new generation video eye-wear has a number of other important advantages aside from being much lighter. The virtual screen has increased in size. The viewer now sees a screen of almost 1.5 meters at a distance of two meters—creating a mobile movie screen experience for your favorite music video, TV shows, films, and video pod casts while on the move.

If there is one thing which has increased over the last few years, it is the availability of mobile audiovisual content. Many people have already purchased a MP4 video player, such as the iPod Video, and filled it up with movies and video fragments but are busy squinting at a 3.5 inch screen. New technology is also coming out, “...the mobile telephone which you buy in 2007 will certainly have a TV-out function, such as the new Nokia N93. Now you just have to plug in your lightweight video eye-wear and your mobile movie theater is ready for use.”

The relaxView 4.0 offers consumers a feather-light pair (less then 80 grams). Add on simple nose support adjustments and you have one very comfortable mobile cinema. Your surroundings continue to be perceptible by focusing your eyes above and below the video screen, thereby stopping you from bumping into Bubba on the street.

relaxView “test drives” are now possible for everyone. And each purchased pair of video glasses (€ 449,00) comes with a money-back guarantee if returned within 14 days. Go on, check it out. Oh and by the way, welcome to the future.

Read [Relax View]

What The Future Holds, a column written by Adam Berger, that introduces tomorrow’s technology and trends today, is published on Thursdays.

All you hear about the second you turn on your TV is why you should either switch to cable and your local cable provider’s video on demand (VOD) content offering. These PSA commercials also tend to mention 3-in-1 services - phone, internet, and TV - as well as HD channels, and digital DVR set-top boxes. What they neglect to talk about is the one thing that most providers don’t...provide HD content on demand.

Holding things back are the usual problems: capacity and content. Everyone has the ability to receive HD channels but the total number of channels is still very limited. Until MPEG-4 and switched-digital roll out most providers simply don’t have the bandwidth to deliver all their regular programming and more than a few HD VOD offerings (and on Cablevision those are all nature programs). Just image how much less you would go to the movies if you could watch top rated movies in HD from the comfort of your own home. Oh wait, you can? It’s called Blu-ray and HD-DVD? Right I forgot…

The studio’s don’t want to offer their content for VOD HD options because they are investing a ton of money into the next generation disc formats. Once you have the ability to just stream down the HD content from your provider whenever and wherever you want there will be no reason to purchase the HD capable discs or their players (especially because who wants to drop over $1000 on a format that may become obsolete.

However as the bandwidth issues get sorted out, media research company Diffusion Group sees progress made the same way it has for regular HDTV, sports & broadcast networks first just like primetime television and ESPN-HD have led the charge so far. So alas this column is titled What The Future Hold’s so I should finish up with a future oriented statement. I expect that over the next 12 months we will see more and more HD VOD offerings but nowhere near the point of current standard-def on-demand offerings.

Read [HD Beat]