Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

You may remember about a week ago when Gadgetell posted the doorbuster/main sales from Wal-Mart.  Recently, they have unveiled their full Black Friday sales, and I must say, they are looking pretty good. 

Camcorders

They only have 2 camcorders listed for sale and one is the Pure Digital F230 camcorder which is selling for $79.00.  The other is the Samsung SC-DX103 Black DVD Camcorder.  It comes with a 2.7-inch wide LCD screen, 34x Optical Zoom, and SD memory expansion.  This camcorder will be on sale for $179.00. 

Keep reading for more deals on computers and televisions.

MORE »

Looking for something to set you apart on MySpace?  Need a funky-fresh, dressed to impress photo?  Head on over to Pixisnap and use there free service to create your very own mosaics and Polaroid images.  The site is just a web application so there is no downloading.  Getting images to look cool is super easy.

This morning, I created the image above.  The site does not make users sign up, so it took all of two minutes for me to be in and out.  Simply upload a photo, choose the design (you can pick from several choices on the Polaroids, each choice adding more glimpses of the photo), then pick a background and decide where you want the image to go.  The site interfaces with MySpace so you can send it right there.

As a quick, easy to use photo generator, this site is great.  It does all that it says and does so well.  I am pretty sure a cat could get this site to work, it is just that easy.  The site is in beta, but worked without a hitch in my trial.

Head over and try it out: [pixisnap]

• Glimpse at the iPhone of 2012
• New .tel domain opens up
• Sony’s Home beta temporarily shuts down for maintenance

Sections: Imaging, Web, Web Apps, Websites

Nokia has filed a patent that will allow a user to digitally write on the back of digital photos.  The patent allows a user to “flip” your picture over and label it.  This label can be written on a keypad, or, if your camera device has some sort of stylus, you can write on them just like a photo print. 

This patent has just been filed, so it is not known when it will be approved.  Something tells me that cell phone giant Nokia will probably find a way to get this program into the hands of the consumer and into one of its cell phones as soon as possible.  Once it does work, it will probably look something like a photo-viewer on the iPod.

MORE »

Believe it or not, I know many die-hard fans of the old Polaroid camera that were sad to see it go. Well, it looks like there just may be some cause for rejoicing if the new survey put out by Polaroid is any indication. They were recently asking for feedback from readers of Amateur Photographer to help design their new digital camera with built in printer.

Not too much is known at this point about the new camera other than the fact that like the Pogo Instant Mobile Printer, it will implement Bluetooth technology and a USB connection to print photos. Polaroid was asking opinions on whether they should include options such as an external battery, a hotshoe for an external flash, and a higher pixel count than their previous version.  One of the other differences between the PoGo Printer and the Polaroid PoGo ProSeries camera (as it is slated to be called) is the fact that the camera’s photos will print out at 4x3 as opposed to 2x3.

It is scheduled to hit the market next year and be marketed mainly to “professional and business users”. There is also going to be a lower-end (ie less expensive as well) ZINK-enabled camera that prints 2x3 inch prints coming out around the same time as well.

Via [Yahoo! Tech]

• Reality TV meets Symphonies and Youtube
• The new pirate busting idea: second hand music
• MP3 becomes official king of music

Polaroid has given their ZINK printer a price tag and release date - July 6th at Best Buy and July 20th through Target—both selling it for $149. The pocket-sized product will be marketed as the Poloraid PoGo, which is short for Polaroid-on-the-go. The Polaroid PoGo supports full color printing through cell phones and digital cameras via Bluetooth or USB (PictBridge compatible). The PoGo weighs a measly eight ounces, but don’t let the size fool you. It can print 2x3-inch borderless photos in less than 60 seconds. It’s a shame that Polaroid has quit the instant film market, but if you miss those old school Polaroid cameras, this is as close as you’ll get to sharing your photos instantly.

MORE »

Polaroid had announced they were leaving the instant picture business and with that many people thought they would just quietly disappear. Well it seems that has been quite the opposite, just recently they had announced the ZINK printer and now they have announced the Freescape 4360 portable media player.

The Freescape 4360 features a 4.3-inch 16:9 widescreen display, 60GB of internal storage, Wi-Fi, FM tuner and TV-out. With a rechargeable Li-ion battery it will offer up to 16 hours for audio playback and 4 hours for video playback. The Freescape 4360 has support for MPEG4, WMA, WMV, MP3 and JPEG formats, with some speculation that there will be a future plugin for DivX. While the Freescape 4360 is not yet available, it is expected to retail for around $400.

Via [CrunchGear]

• iriver upgrades their E100 series
• Wal-Mart leaks out full Black Friday deals
• Cowon’s S9 to be available in United States by December

While Polaroid may have dropped their instant “film” production they have not left the instant “picture” business entirely. Polaroid has just announced their ZINK printer. This pocket sized printer will still offer instant gratification, just with some better image quality. The ZINK features both USB and Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity that is said to be able to print your pics in as little as 60 seconds.

While some, myself included, may miss those instant camera’s the ZINK printer seems to fit with the current times just a little better. The Polaroid ZINK printer is expected to be available this May and retail for around $200.

Via [CrunchGear]

• Wal-Mart leaks out full Black Friday deals
• Spiff up your MySpace photo with Pixisnap mosaics and Polaroids
• Nokia tries to patent writing on the back of digital pictures

This was clearly inevitable with the rise of digital technology in the late 20th century. Polaroid is closing its instant film producing factories in Massachusetts, Mexico and the Netherlands some time next year. If you own a Polaroid, you’d better enjoy it while it lasts as you won’t be able to buy any more instant films.

Polaroid now focuses on generic consumer electronics such as digital cameras, printers and scanners as it tries to survive “for the next 30 to 40 years,“ Tom Beaudoin, Polaroid’s president, chief operating officer and chief financial officer, said.

Read [BusinessWeek]

• Spiff up your MySpace photo with Pixisnap mosaics and Polaroids
• Nokia tries to patent writing on the back of digital pictures
• Wal-Mart leaks out full Black Friday deals