Gadgets Blog » 2010 » October

Mt. Everest. The name inspires something truly awe-inspiring. The world’s tallest peak, Everest has been a beacon of accomplishment and a tremendous challenge ever since Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay ascended to its highest point, a staggering 29,000 feet above sea level. The first climbs to the top were wrought with danger — many climbers perished in the harsh conditions. Today, however, Everest has been turned into something of a tourist attraction, with climbs to the summit available through certain agencies for $25,000.

Complaints that the mountain has turned into nothing more than a vacation for the rich are only going to be soured further by today’s news story. Ncell is the Nepalese branch of global telecommunications company TeliaSonera. The company recently installed a 3G tower near the mountain, the highest tower in the world, with its base at a staggering 17,000 feet. The result? A 3G signal is now receivable on the summit of the world’s tallest mountain. The 3G tower will allow not only for phone calls, but also for data collection and even for video chatting.

HTC’s latest and greatest smartphone, the Desire, is one of the best-looking devices to hit the market in recent memory. HTC’s other devices have pushed the envelope of size for smartphones, but none quite reach the point of the Desire. With a 4.3-inch screen, it’s about as big a unit as one can actually fit into a pocket.

But the Desire doesn’t stop there. The large screen comes with 800×480-pixel resolution, making it one of the best-looking screens, as well as one of the largest. If you’re looking for a great alternative to Apple’s iPhone 4, then the HTC Desire should be at the top of your list.

The hardware in the Desire is excellent, featuring a solid black unibody case made of aluminum. The look certainly resembled the iPhone from a distance, but up-close, the phone has its own unique aesthetic. A 1-GHz processor powers the device, which boasts an 8-megapixel camera. Powering the phone is 768 MB of RAM, giving it speedy response time, and a solid graphical component enables the phone to display 720-pixel HD video. All the hardware comes at a cost, though. The battery life requires management over the course of a day if you’re not able to recharge it.

The world of mobile devices has gotten more and more crowded over the last decade. In addition to phones and MP3 players, portable computers, gaming devices, handheld GPS units and other electronics have shed their wires and moved into compact casings. Along with the steadily decreasing bulk of these devices has come the integration of multiple applications into a single unit; you can make calls, get directions and listen to music on a smartphone like the Droid or the iPhone. And now Sony has presented users with a product that combines two of their most iconic electronics.

Part phone, part video game system, the Sony Ericsson and PlayStation have met and been combined in some type of Frankenstein-like creation. Back in August, Sony dropped hints that it was considering such a device, but this week, the company announced plans to move forward with its production. The latest entry in the Ericsson lineup features integration with the PlayStation, capable of producing graphics up to the classic console of the 1990s. Not only that, but the device will look much like the PSP Go, with a keypad and buttons similar to those on iconic video game controllers.

Back when current generation gaming consoles were being released, a perplexing turn of events set Nintendo apart from its competitors. Where Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s Playstation 3 opted for high-powered machines that supported other kinds of multimedia, Nintendo kept the graphic capabilities on their Wii console relatively limited, embracing instead a motion-sensing control scheme that provided an extra dimension to their video games. Nintendo’s gambit seems to have paid off, with the Wii standing as a high-selling console with positive market trends on the rise.

Enter Microsoft’s reaction to the Wii. While the Wii controllers had motion-sensing devices built into them, Microsoft’s Kinect controller is entirely hands free. The device is capable of spotting human movement while mounted just in front of the television screen — no controller required. That person’s movements translate into in-game activities, creating an experience that Microsoft hopes will be perceived as more involved and compelling. The players don’t use a peripheral anymore. Instead, they use their entire bodies.

It’s a bit odd to write about today’s gadget, a device that triggered a cultural revolution around the time I was born. Portable music may have been a 20th-century invention, but the advent of the MP3 and the iPod has spectacularly transformed how we think about music here in the 21st century. The idea of carrying a tape, or even a CD, around just to get our music fix seems archaic. I could listen to my iPod for 31 straight days and not hear the same song twice.

In an era before this technology, Sony’s compact device transformed the world, laying to rest the 8-track cassette and rendering the vinyl record a collector’s item. The Walkman was released in 1979, and as the design became more portable and sleek, sales continued to climb. Sony sold a staggering 220 million cassette tapes around the world in the three decades following its release.

But on Friday of last week, the last Walkman on Japanese soil rolled off the production line, bringing an end to its 30-year run. The advent of compact discs stole a considerable portion of the Walkman’s market share, leading to the updated Discman. According to Sony, there remains a strong market for the Walkman in other places in the world, but Japan’s rapid adoption of other technology has, sadly, rendered the tape deck obsolete.

In an alternate reality, civilization as we know it has come to an end. The rivalry between the USA and the USSR never came to a peaceful conclusion, but rather a horrendous nuclear war fought sometime in the alternate 1950s. This is the world of Fallout, a franchise that has lasted countless technological advancements due largely in part to its unique setting and fascinating take on morality. The latest title in the series, developed by Obsidian in partnership with Bethesda, takes the series to a place its never been before: the wasteland surrounding Las Vegas.

Fallout: New Vegas appears at first glance to be more of the same from the two developers who have worked on the project. Bethesda’s Fallout 3 was a highly successful title in 2009, with tremendous sales on the computer, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. The new title operates on the same graphics engine, featuring many of the same gameplay mechanics. Things are different this time around, however. With a host of new features geared towards advanced players, early reviews of the game have pointed towards a classic entry in the series, and one of the best titles of the year.

The game puts the player in the shoes of a wanderer in this post-apocalyptic wasteland. After suffering from an attack by a band of strangers, you’re nurtured back to heath by a compassionate doctor. As the game progresses, the player encounters a large number of characters, all suffering in the same circumstances in the difficult living. A key element of Fallout has always been the exploration, and this title is no different. Some of the tasks given by strangers are required to successfully co

Apple’s had quite the year, to put things simply. The release of the iPad, iPhone 4G, and now this? The company hasovertaken Microsoft in terms of total market worth, and they’ve done it all despite being one of the most polarizing businesses in the market. When Steve Jobs makes an announcement, people listen, regardless of their opinions. Apple’s latest and greatest device is certainly no exception. Straddling the line between netbook and laptop, the Macbook Air is perhaps the sleekest looking device ever brought to market.

The Macbook Air is designed for portability, and its apparent both inside and outside of the sleek aluminum casing. The device itself is vaguely wedge-shaped, a slight .68 inches at the “large end” and a staggering .19 inches at the base of the keyboard. This is impossibly small, and a number of changes needed to be made for the computer to even function. There’s no optical drive, meaning ripping music could be a chore. Apple’s answer to this is allowing the Air to “borrow” the drive of a nearby Mac computer via a WiFi network. There’s also only 1 USB drive, which could be a detriment to users who have more hardware-intensive needs.

These things aside, the Air represents the apex of portable computers. It’s lightweight design makes it easy to pack around anywhere. Instead of a standard hard drive, the Air boasts 128 – 256 GB of flash memory, making accessing files quick and easy. There’s been a fantastic secondary feature of moving to flash as well: the Air has next to no boot-up time. Simply awaking the device from its stand-by status is nearly instantaneous. It’s a great idea for a device that’s supposed to be used on the move, as downtime in the booting process could take away the few minutes you’ve got to surf the Internet.

Check out some of the top news stories in technology and gadgets:

Verizon Sets Pricing for Galaxy Tablet. We’d previously taken a look at the anticipated Galaxy tablet, being released by mobile provider Verizon in time for the holiday season. This week Verizon announced their price point as well, a solid $599 with an additional $20 a month for 3G data. The tablet is likely to be the first major competitor to Apple’s iPad, with the Android 2.2 operating system shipping with it and a solid host of apps thanks to Verizon’s V-Cast store. Consumers will have a tough call to make, though. Apple’s iPad comes to Verizon stores this winter as well.

Growing Veggies Gets Easier. A Japanese company has demoed a gadget unlike any other. Boasting a large hydrated and heated container, the “Chef’s Farm” was premierd by Dentsu Facility Management for sale as a small vegetable plant. With a series of racks that can be moved from right to left, the contraption allows for the growth of a patch of lettuce in as little time as possible. In fact, Dentsu claims the plant is capable of producing 60 heads of fresh lettuce on a daily basis, making up for the hefty investment of about $90,000 in just a little over five years.

Google’s steady move into the mobile phone market has been met with a great deal of success, with their Android operating system finding a home in the hearts of both consumers and developers. The operating system, which has future plans for tablet computers and maybe even netbooks, is still in the process of working out the kinks, but Google’s development team has been committing a great deal of resources to making sure Android is updated frequently, with features that only make it more appealing. Android 3.0, an update dubbed “Gingerbread,” is no different, with a host of new features and minor tweaks that were unveiled by the company earlier last week.

The information was leaked by Phandroid, a website devoted to Android updates and information. A bit of backstory is required before going into the actual updates themselves. Rival smartphone developer Palm has been in a structural shakeup after being acquired by HP, so much so that developer Martias Durate, the lead of Palm’s webOS team, left the company for greener pastures at Google. WebOS has been hailed for its sleek and innovative design, and with information pertaining to visual enhancements in Android, many speculated Durate was in part to thank.

In the ever-popular world of first-person shooter video games, developers have been mobilizing quickly to play catch-up to a few successful titles. Every few years, a shooter manages to come along to reinvent the genre, causing excitement in the gaming community and inspiring dozens of rip-off attempting to capitalize on the bandwagon phenomeon. In the last year we’ve seen two iterations of successful franchises that have been oft-imitated but never overtaken. Halo: Reach was released earlier this fall, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was a smash hit last spring.

Call of Duty is perhaps notable for its modern weaponry, utilizing the military technology of today to create a fast-paced game with a Tom Clancy-inspired story. With fictional politicians deciding the fate of the free world, Modern Warfare 2 managed to encapsulate the intense atmosphere of 21st century global strife with a fictional story. Not to be outdone, rival developer Electronic Arts re-booted their Medal of Honor franchise for the 21st century. While the game itself features a strong story and similar gameplay, Electronic Arts opted to use the conflict in Afghanistan for their setting.