Best New Technology

by Darren Murph, posted May 31st 2008 at 8:42PM

Chalk another one up for Sharp. The company has landed yet another partner willing to utilize its solar panels in order to make news, wow onlookers and give Mother Earth a modicum of a break. Napa Valley winery Far Niente has flipped on its self-coined Floatovoltaic installation, which was developed by Thompson Technology Industries and installed by SPG Solar. Nearly 2,300 Sharp solar panels were secured for the job, and we’re told that the array generates 400 kWs at peak output, which “significantly offsets the winery’s annual power usage and provides a net-zero energy bill.” Don’t expect that coveted bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon to be any cheaper as a result, though.

[Via CNET]

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Filed under: Misc. gadgets

Kill-A-Watt has expanded their product line to include a power strip so you can easily monitor the quantity and quality of your electrical power. Simply connect your electronics to the Kill-A-Watt PS, and it will assess how efficient they are while the built-in surge protection keeps them safe. Advanced features such as over current, over voltage, and no load detection provide clean, safe power to your expensive equipment.

You can verify the quality of your electrical power by monitoring Voltage, Line Frequency, Amperage, KWH, Current Leakage and more. The built-in “max amps” switch allows you to optionally select the maximum current (Amps) that the power strip will deliver to attached devices.

Oh yeah… the power strip provides advanced surge protection circuitry.

Gimmie!

Suggested Price: $99.99

Posted in Audio/Video, Home Theater, Computers, Gizmo of the Day

I almost let this amazing HDTV slip past me, as the new Sony W4100 series are the U.S equivalent of the European W4000 model. The Sony Bravia W4100 series was announced at this years CES in January, and replaces the extremely popular W3000, of which I am the proud owner of.

The Sony W4100 models are available in three sizes from the 40-inch Sony KDL-40W4100, and 46-inch KDL-46W4100, to the largest 52-inch Sony KDL-52W4100. These LCD HDTV models are all 1080p Full HD offering the highest HD resolution, and all look very impressive. The previous W3000 models were seen as some of the best HDTVs available, so I am looking forward to the new W4100’s with very high expectations.

Along with offering a 1080p LCD screen, the Sony Bravia W4100 models now feature 24p (great for true blu-ray) and MotionFlow 120Hz high frame rate technology which dramatically enhances viewing by increasing the frame rate ,which provides smooth judder free viewing while preserving the sharpness of the image, which is often lost in high motion scenes due to motion blur.

The high resolution and high frame rate screen of the W4100 series is also enhanced by Sony’s new Bravia Engine 2 which dramatically improves image quality by enhancing the colors and details, while reducing noise and much more depending on the input source and video content. Also new the the W4100 is the Advanced Contrast Enhancer circuit (ACE) which uses real time image processing to automatically adjust backlight levels and contrast to provide deeper blacks in dark scenes and better contrast (a very high 30,000:1 dynamic ratio) while retaining all the fine details found in dark scenes.

The Sony W4100’s look amazing with their piano black gloss finish and subtle highlighting, and are also packed with the latest features to bring you the very best in HD viewing. Connection features are also very impressive and future proof, and include 4x HDMI 1.3 inputs, 2x component, PC input and USB photo viewer. Also featured is an enhanced XMB user interface, BRAVIA Sync and DMe.

Sony Bravia W4100

• Sony KDL-40W4100 | 40-Inch, $1,899.
• Sony KDL-46W4100 | 46-Inch.
• Sony KDL-52W4100 | 52-Inch.

I almost let this amazing HDTV slip past me, as the new Sony W4100 series are the U.S equivalent of the European W4000 model. The Sony Bravia W4100 series was announced at this years CES in January, and replaces the extremely popular W3000, of which I am the proud owner of.

The Sony W4100 models are available in three sizes from the 40-inch Sony KDL-40W4100, and 46-inch KDL-46W4100, to the largest 52-inch Sony KDL-52W4100. These LCD HDTV models are all 1080p Full HD offering the highest HD resolution, and all look very impressive. The previous W3000 models were seen as some of the best HDTVs available, so I am looking forward to the new W4100’s with very high expectations.

Along with offering a 1080p LCD screen, the Sony Bravia W4100 models now feature 24p (great for true blu-ray) and MotionFlow 120Hz high frame rate technology which dramatically enhances viewing by increasing the frame rate ,which provides smooth judder free viewing while preserving the sharpness of the image, which is often lost in high motion scenes due to motion blur.

The high resolution and high frame rate screen of the W4100 series is also enhanced by Sony’s new Bravia Engine 2 which dramatically improves image quality by enhancing the colors and details, while reducing noise and much more depending on the input source and video content. Also new the the W4100 is the Advanced Contrast Enhancer circuit (ACE) which uses real time image processing to automatically adjust backlight levels and contrast to provide deeper blacks in dark scenes and better contrast (a very high 30,000:1 dynamic ratio) while retaining all the fine details found in dark scenes.

The Sony W4100’s look amazing with their piano black gloss finish and subtle highlighting, and are also packed with the latest features to bring you the very best in HD viewing. Connection features are also very impressive and future proof, and include 4x HDMI 1.3 inputs, 2x component, PC input and USB photo viewer. Also featured is an enhanced XMB user interface, BRAVIA Sync and DMe.

Sony Bravia W4100

• Sony KDL-40W4100 | 40-Inch, $1,899.
• Sony KDL-46W4100 | 46-Inch.
• Sony KDL-52W4100 | 52-Inch.

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 2×3-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.

The Polaroid PoGo uses Zero Ink (ZINK) technology that is actually embedded into a photo paper, called ZINK Photo Paper. The special paper is durable and contains colorless cyan, yellow, and magenta dye crystals. So instead of using traditional ink cartridges to spray color onto the paper, the PoGo printer applies heat onto the ZINK Photo Paper to activate the colorless crystals—generating full colored photos to share instantly. The ZINK Photo Paper will retail for between 33 and 40 cents per print; $3.99 for a pack of 10, and $9.99 for a 30-pack.

Product [The New Instant] Read [Gadget Review]

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by Chris Ziegler, posted May 31st 2008 at 12:24PM

A retailer taking pre-orders for phones that haven’t even been announced is considered business as usual, but there’s something just a little out of the ordinary with Horizon Wireless’ listing for the alleged touchscreen superphone outta Waterloo, the blackberry 9500 “Thunder” — it’s accompanied by a somewhat believable picture of the thing. Extreme blur always adds a healthy dose of credibility (we kid), but more importantly, the picture shows no telltale signs of being a render and looks essentially like what everyone’s expecting it to look like. BlackBerry addicts who’ve been desperately fighting the urge to go to the dark side, consider this your shot of willpower for the day.

[Thanks, Yasim M.]

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Filed under: cellphones, Handhelds

FROM APPLETELL - With all the WDDC rumors flying around Worldwide Developers Conference 2008, it has become tough to keep track of them all.  Here is a list of recent rumors, and details on their credibility. 1.  3G iphone - Is the Pope Catholic?  I think that it is safe to say that… MORE »

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by Darren Murph, posted May 31st 2008 at 2:12PM

It’s pretty tough to wrap your melon around, but MSI’s Wind has not yet officially launched per se. That being said, it has still managed to end up in the hands of quite a few eager subnote lovers, and Laptop Mag is no exception. Shortly after the UK branch of CNET posted up their initial impressions, along comes yet another mini-review to get you even more worked up about June 3rd. Here’s the skinny so far: the screen is amazing, keyboard is as well, the trackpad is simply too cramped and the port assortment is very respectable. All in all, critics were left “seriously impressed,” and they even threw together a video and image gallery for checking out afterwards. Head on over, alright?

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Filed under: Laptops

The Nokia N96, is now expected to ship in July of this year.  Announced earlier this year, the N96 once again pushes the upper limit of the Finnish phone manufacturer’s N Series.  The quad band N96 has Wi-Fi, GPS, and support for DVB-H mobile tv—all built in.  The phone sports a stellar 5 megapixel camera with dual-LED flash and auto-focus.  A neat hardware feature of the N96 is a little kickstand for the device, enabling you to prop it up to watch videos.

Play.com has listed the phone for 599.99 GBP, which converts to 1,200 USD.  However, the Nokia MSRP is currently listed at a slightly more reasonable $800.  Either way, Play.com says the N96 will be shipping on July 31st.

Keep your wallets padded Nokia fanatics, because come July, they’ll be taking a heavy hit.

Read [Symbian Guru]

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Industrial Computing has expanded its Guardian line of Windows CE 5.0-powered “military-grade” PDAs by introducing the dust- and drop-proof Guardian Model 135. It might not look as though it is up to the task when it comes to harsh environments, but it should be more than adequate for the average butterfingers who works in rather harsh environments. It complies with MIL-STD-810F and IP67 standards, enabling it to shrug off five-foot drops to concrete, being sprayed with water, or even being immersed. It will also outlast the average human in the heat, operating in temperatures of up to 140 deg. F. For more details on the specifications, check out the list after the jump.

• Processor: Marvell PXA270 clocked at 624MHz
• Memory: 128MB of RAM and 128MB of flash
• Display: 3.5″ in either QVGA (320 x 240) or VGA (640 x 480) versions
• Keys: Numeric keypad, directional keys, triggers for optional scanner
• WLAN: 802.11b/g
• WPAN: Bluetooth 1.2 (no Bluetooth 2.0? Bummer!)
• 2 x USB (1 host, 1 client)
• 1 x RS232
• Microphone jack
• Headphone output
• Pass-through connector for cradle
• SD memory card slot
• PCMCIA Type II slot
• 1900mAH lithium-ion battery
• Operating temperature: -20 to 60 deg. C (-4 to 140 deg. F)

There is no word on pricing or availability as at press time, but my guess is the elder sibling, the Guardian Model 137 is already ready to be purchased which means the 135 can’t be too far off behind. How many of you would actually pick up an industrial grade PDA just because you’re naturally clumsy (like yours truly)? I know I wouldn’t as the social stigma is there, and the design isn’t exactly to die for in the first place anyways. I guess folks like me will just have to learn to be more careful with my belongings whenever I hold them.

Source: Windows for Devices

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