Gadgets Blog » 2010 » April

It’s a sad day in the world of technology. This last week saw the untimely demise of two of the most promising ideas on the market, bringing great disappointment to the world of consumer electronics. While these two items had little in common, one a music-listening service, and one a planned iPad killer, the combined loss in such a short span of time is disappointing and a bit frustrating at the same time. This week’s tech news roundup will focus upon what could have been as we mourn the passing of online-music service Lala and Microsoft’s innovative tablet, the Courier.

But first, Lala. The service had earned a remarkable cult following as a small independent company. The beauty of Lala is that it enabled the listener to access their music database from any computer with an Internet connection. While free services like Pandora provided music as well, Lala had a music library that was affordable, around $.10 per song. For such a modest fee, these songs belonged to the users and opened up for unlimited streaming. Not only was it a great idea, but Lala itself had a great business model, working closely with record companies large and small to bring listeners a wide selection.

Sony revolutionized the world of portable music with the introduction of the Walkman. These days though, the electronics giant has been relegated to the back-seat in the market they once helped define. With MP3 players like the Zune and iPod making up the vast majority of the market, Sony has needed other ways to stay relevant in the playing field. Luckily for us though, the company still turns out some great gadgets, like today’s Cool Item on a Budget, the Sony MHC-EC79i BoomBox. Priced at around $120, this stereo packs a lot of punch in a small package, making it great for the bedroom or office.

First and foremost, the marketing guys over at Sony need to do something about their product names. The “MHC-EC79i” is no exception, either. With its seemingly random alpha-numerical title, it’s not likely to bolster any sort of recognition like competitior products such as the iHome. Yet by the same token, this makes our gadget an excellent buy for the consumer, as we don’t have to pay premium for brand recognition. The stereo comes in a compact shape, featuring a CD player as well as a dock that works with any Apple iPod products. Unfortunately the same dock only works with Apple products, so if you have a different brand of MP3 player (including even a Sony player), you’re out of luck.

Despite these limitations, the sound quality on the stereo is quite high. With two plastic cabinets, the acoustics aren’t anything a serious audiophile would appreciate, but the balance of bass, mids, and treble make for a solid player for casual use. What’s more, the issues with the iPod dock can easily be skipped over via the axillary port on the back of the unit, meaning you can play music off of any device with an 1/8 – inch jack on it. This is great flexibility for such a small unit, and allows the stereo to play music from computers, MP3 players, and most cell phones.

The countdown to Mother’s Day is imminent, which means that it’s a great time to start shopping for something that shows how much you appreciate your mom. While standbys like chocolate and flowers are excellent, I’ve decided to buck the traditional here on the Smarter Gadget blog and find some truly unique gifts for Mom that are useful to boot! In this regard, other Internet resources have been a bit shaky. One even recommended the Roomba Robotic Vacuum Cleaner, which while a nice idea, certainly doesn’t fit into something my own mom would appreciate! So instead, today’s gadget is something that will let her stay in better contact with family and friends: the Belkin Skype WiFi Phone!

Unlike ordinary telephones, which operate either via landlines or cell towers, a WiFi phone, as could easily be surmised, uses wireless Internet to make it’s telephone calls. While this may initially seem to limit the capabilities of such a device, in reality it provides a quickly-growing and less expensive alternative to other telephones. The Belkin Skype phone employs a program called Skype, enabling the user to place calls to anyone else with a Skype account on either a computer or another Skype-enabled phone. Instead of having a phone number, the user is able to call other people with a Skype account. This entire process is done over the Internet entirely free of charge, making it a great investment!

While the number of Wi-Fi only phones on the market is currently small, Skype has emerged as a leader in the field, enabling countless users to make free calls online. In addition to calls made to computers, apps are quickly becoming available on the iPhone and Android phones to increase the number of users. While it might take a bit of a learning curve for Mom, the result is a great deal! The Belkin phone is activated entirely separate from a computer, but her account will cross-over as well. On the computer version of Skype, it’s possible to video chat with spectacular clarity. I’ve personally used Skype to keep in touch with loved ones from across the country. It’s a great Mother’s Day present, especially if Mom is somewhere far away. What better gift than one that makes it easier for her to hear your voice and see your face?

What initially seemed like a remarkable scoop has generated a significant amount of backlash for tech-news bloggers Gizmodo. When an Apple employee allegedly left a prototype next-generation iPhone at a California pub, the device changed hands quickly, eventually winding up in the hands of the website. While the actual means of acquiring this device has been in question, with some sources claiming they purchased the unit for as much as $5,000, this week brought about an entirely new chapter in this saga, that has sharply divided the Internet.

At the center of the entire ordeal is the iPhone itself, the legendary unit boasting increased battery life, resolution, and most importantly, 4G technology. Last Monday, Gizmodo ran an extensive look at the phone in an article authored by Jason Chen. Yesterday, Chen arrived home from dinner with his wife to find a crew of Silicon Valley police searching his home and confiscating any devices listed as under his control. The police had a legitimate search warrant, despite the fact that Gizmodo had complied when Apple asked for the device to be returned. Businessinsider.com offered up Chen’s description of events, in which he also details the items taken from his home.

So what sort of legal ramifications are at stake here? The status looks grim. According to the California penal code, buying a $5000 stolen item is a felony, regardless of whether or not the item was returned, as is the case. In the mean time, as lawyers begin to sort out this entire ordeal, bloggers are divided as to the leak of the iPhone itself. Was Gizmodo in the wrong for buying the device in the first place, or is Apple really the tail wagging the dog? Some have speculated that the entire stunt was envisioned by Apple, who have received incredible amounts of free publicity. At the same time, the search and seizure of Chen’s property would indicate that theory a bit invalid. Using the police to harass the blogger who netted so much exposure would be a faux pas.

Over the last several weeks, we’ve gradually been exploring the realm of gadgets outside of the typical norm. Whether these gadgets have been located in the kitchen or office, the beauty of such tools is in their ease of use and how simply they make mundane tasks a breeze. Such is the case with today’s gadget, which doesn’t have much use outside of hardcore construction. However, the Sonin 10300 Multi-Measure has a variety of applications providing easy and intuitive features intended to help you take your tape measure into the 21st century.

The Multi-Measure pro has several different uses that make it versatile during a construction process. First and foremost, with its two unit design, the Multi-Measure pro takes the place of an ordinary tape measure to give quick distance read-outs up to 250 feet. These electronic measurements are given by moving the two units a ways away from each other and can be programmed to display in feet, inches, or a fraction of the two, as well as decimal feet, yards and meters. This easy-to-use process can eliminate the need for a second person during measurement, and its electronic length will put ordinary measurement devices to shame.

Built out of sturdy yellow plastic, the Sonin 10300 Multi-Measure Pro is designed to last, with a protective casing and hardy buttons designed to take the amount of punishment that is typical on a hefty construction job. The interface itself functions much like a digital watch, with one button used to switch modes of measurement while another button is dedicated to initiating the measuring process. Tracking and validating functions are combined with a working memory to beef up the features on this unit, although you’ll likely spend most of your time in its default mode, as opposed to the other modes like surface area and volume measuring.

If you’re a fan of tools, as any gadget aficionado should be, the Sonin 10300 is an excellent addition that provides both technological innovations as well as practical application to solve what has been a long-standing issue in construction. Without the need for a second person during simple tasks, your flexibility will vastly improve. Soon, one will be able to move furniture in a single bound, find the appropriate picture for a wall, and other fantastic feats by oneself. While the Sonin 10300 Multi-Measure won’t transform your everyday life in the normal sense, it will make such efforts far easier and will pay off when you need it most.

I grew up in Silicon Valley and was lucky enough to meet some all-time amazing innovators. I grew up around the great minds that created the Internet as we know it today. Google and Apple? They both started in my backyard (figuratively speaking).

When I was young and living in the Bay Area, I took all of the creativity for granted. After all, when you’re ten – who cares? I just wanted to play video games and Barbies with friends. Then in high school, I just wanted to go shopping.

Now that I’m in the Internet industry, I’ve gained a new-found appreciation for the brilliance and innovation that surrounded me as I grew up, and I’ve finally been hit with the Silicon Valley creativity bug – I’m addicted to learning about all-things revolutionary. It’s amazing how the once-mundane parts of my life have suddenly become so inspiring.

Check out this ridiculously cool gadget: the SoloTrek XFV. This beauty was created by a close friend of mine’s father. Imagine a jet-pack flying machine that allows a uuser to -literally- fly over traffic. The device was powered by a jet pack (think: back pack helicopter), and it ran for two hours on gasoline. Talk about bringing imagination to reality: this is the ultimate gadgets story.

The SoloTrek took its first flight in 2001 and has continued to inspire aviation design ever since. If you want to check it out, the SoloTrek is on display at the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos, California.

Want your own flying gadget? You could start with a helicopter toy. Maybe one day, you’ll see where your own imagination takes you.

While I oftentimes feel cliche talking about how my life as a college student affects the content of the Smarter Gadget blog, today felt especially appropriate, given the nifty gadget we’re taking a look at. Students are notorious for sleeping far less than they should, and I, for one, can certainly vouch for the truthfulness of this supposition. While many drink coffee for the sake of the caffeine buzz, a well-brewed cup can be a great delicacy as well. Instant coffee is by far the most convenient, but in today’s gadget, the Krups Grind and Brew Coffee Maker, convenience meets function in an extraordinary way.

Much as the name of the gadget suggests, the Krups Grind and Brew fulfills all aspects of a satisfying cup of coffee. Whole coffee beans are placed into a compartment at the top of the unit, and with the simple press of the button, the coffee maker begins to grind the beans down. Following this, the brewing process begins, with hot water filtered through the freshly ground coffee. The whole process takes place over just a few minutes, and can be programmed to go off on a routine schedule. While this function is fairly straightforward in the realm of coffee makers, the aroma and taste of a Krups cup of coffee are head and shoulders above the quality of instant coffee.

Other custom features are built into the programming of the unit, giving you a good deal of flexibility over your brew. There are five grind levels and three coffee-strength settings to choose from, and the unit can be programmed to prepare enough coffee for anywhere between 2 and 10 cups, making it great for a family or even the office. An anti-drip valve enables you to pour coffee while it’s still brewing, activating the pause-and-serve feature on this gadget. In spite of all these features, the Krups Grind and Brew takes up relatively little space, measuring only 11-1/2 by 11-1/8 by 15-1/2 inches.

Now that Apple’s brand new tablet has had some time to gestate on the market, the forces of the free market are slowly beginning to show off the best in third party developments for the device. While Apple has been criticized for excising strict control over what is allowed to be installed onto the iPad, there are still a host of applications that are must-haves for those lucky enough to have their hands on the latest gadget. Today we’ll be taking a look at some of the best applications that can redefine the capabilities of your tablet.

ABC Player $FREE!

One of the premier iPad gripes is that it lacks Flash support, placing the future of online movies somewhat in question. However, developers like ABC managed to sidestep this possible issue with the introduction of their own video-playing application. For no charge, the ABC Player gives you commercial free access to some of the hottest shows on TV, including Grey’s Anatomy and Lost. If you’re looking to catch up on your favorite shows on-the-go, this is a great option. It’s certainly hard to beat the price!

Amazon Kindle $FREE!

While the iPad comes with Apple’s direct challenger to the Kindle, iBooks, Amazon struck back by ingeniously offering their own iPad app, completely free of charge. The books look fantastic on the vivid iPad screen, and the addition of touchscreen technology means you actually get to turn the pages, a nifty feature for those aching for paper-and-ink. It’s easy to purchase a new title, with one-click buying, and your old Kindle library makes the transition for no charge, a great source of singularity between gadgets!

InstaPaper Pro $4.99

Not everyone is lucky enough to have 3G support on their iPad, which makes an application like InstaPaper Pro invaluable. While surfing the web from the comfort of a WiFi hotspot, InstaPaper allows you to save web pages to your iPad, allowing you to easily read them later. Additionally, InstaPaper reformats pages to look nicer, so they read easily on your tablet. A must-have if you are stuck without 3G support on your iPad.

NetFlix $Free! plus subscription fees.

NetFlix is quickly becoming the mecca of online video, and with good reason. With an ever-growing supply of TV shows and movies, NetFlix offers a wide selection of content that can be streamed through an Internet connection. So long as you’ve got WiFi nearby, you can select from a wide variety, and on the large iPad screen, it’s great to share with a friend and curl up for an episode of Arrested Development.

The folks over at Gizmodo had themselves quite the time with their most recent story. Some poor sod at a bar in Redwood City accidentally left a next-generation iPhone behind, which Gizmodo claims was “camouflaged to look like the iPhone 3Gs.”

Except it wasn’t, and the results of some keen hacking and testing were posted to their website in a news story that has gadget nerds salivating to be sure. The features of this new addition to the Apple family are certainly exciting, and represent some interesting changes in function that could really shake up the next round of smartphones. Design-wise, the gadget looks like an iPhone in an iPod classic body. The rounded corners and three-dimensional build make it look quite distinct from an ordinary iPhone.

The screen is vivid and clear, with resolution at a staggering 960×640, making for exceptional application use and crystal clear images. The device sports two cameras now, one mounted on the back for taking pictures and one on the same side of the screen, presumably for video chatting (!!!). The operating system is Apple’s brand new iPhone OS 4.0, which Gizmodo claims the phone was running prior to the official announcement of such a thing.

Weighing in at 3 grams heavier than the older models, it boasts a larger battery on the inside, presumably extending the life of one of Apple’s flagship products. Other technical changes are exciting, yet a bit puzzling at the same time. The smartphone uses Micro SIM cards, which is likely to be the industry standard in the future. Yet this development is a bit puzzling in light of the iPad’s release. Many were surprised to find out that Apple had not adopted the Micro SIM card for their tablet computer, and now it’s introduction onto the iPhone, and the announcement that the iPhone OS 4.0 will support multitasking, place some questionable light on Apple’s development of two of its featured products.

Ultimately though, Apple will continue to be the trendsetter for smartphones with the release of the next iPhone, and indeed there is much to be excited about, provided Gizmodo’s specifications are correct. If the introduction of the front-facing camera does indeed signal that video chatting will be present on the next generation of iPhones, then perhaps we are looking at applications to 4G technology that will revolutionize telecommunications. It seems as though Steve Jobs and company have created another winner, one that will dominate the market and thrill users for some time to come. Image Source: flickr.com/photos/niw/3347008791

It’s no secret that there’s a special spot in my heart saved for awesome musical gadgets. Around two weeks ago I wrote article for smarter outlining everything that you need to make dance music. Recently, however, my entire musical world was literally turned on its head when a friend introduced me to today’s Gadget of the Week: the Novation Launchpad. With an aesthetic design rivaling that of Apple’s line of sleek gadgets, today’s item packs bright multi colored lights into a multi-function surface compatible with Ableton Live, the premier computer software for live DJ-ing.

While the Novation Launchpad, on its surface, appears to be nothing more than another MIDI controller, it’s the dynamic relationship between the software and hardware that makes this gadget such an asset for musicians. The Launchpad was developed in cooperation between Novation and Ableton, meaning that the device itself has functionality tied to specific aspects of the program. While the bulk of the unit is an 8×8 grid of buttons, lighting up in different neon colors to designate their function at that given moment, additional buttons along the top of the device allow the user to easily switch between modes on the fly. With just a few simple button presses, you can edit volume, panning, program new notes, and edit parameters on audio sends.

The unit itself is compact and operates via a USB port on either a Mac or PC computer. While it can be a great tool for using Ableton in a studio setting, the proper time and place is during a live performance. With just a laptop and the Launchpad, it’s straightforward to jump from place to place in the performance, triggering drum and synth loops with just the press of a button. This is great for more complex pieces, as performing some of the same functions with a mouse simply isn’t feasible in Ableton.

If you’re interested in electronic music, the Launchpad is a must-have. At only $199, the features stemming from this product will open up new avenues in your musical repertoire. If you don’t already have a copy of Ableton, it can be purchased in a convenient bundle with additional features tailored directly towards the Launchpad. With it’s good looks and better specs, the Launchpad is a professional-grade tool available for even a starving college student like myself. And if you’re still not impressed, check out the Launchpad in action!