Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Thursday, July 23, 2009

This Ring Is Actually a Real Bluetooth Headset [Headsets]

This is Orb, a ring that transforms into a beautiful Bluetooth headset. Looks like sci-fi material, but it's an actual product coming in 2010. Good, because it's probably the first Bluetooth headset that looks great on a woman's ear:

There will be three models of the class 2 Bluetooth Orb: A $130 basic model—coming in January—a $175 Deluxe edition with a minuscule FOLED display, and a limited edition with actual precious gems on it, both coming in April 2010. [Gizmag]

Casio EX-H10 point-and-shoot (and its superzoom pedigree) get reviewed

We covered this cam's full spec last month, but to refresh your memory, the major attractions are its 720/24p video recording and 10x optical zoom. In fact, the Photography Blog crew, who have a review unit sprawled on their test bench, reckon the H10 is both the thinnest and lightest shooter to ever pack that kind of zooming prowess. They've compared it to the Panasonic DMC-TZ7, their reigning champ in the compact superzoom category, and -- well, you'll have to read the review to find out. The impressions we can share with you include excellent battery life and a useful Anti-Shake system on the upside, but also noise issues at relatively low ISO speeds and only average image quality on the downslope. Still, hit up the read link for a full rundown -- trust us, it's worth it for the cliffhanger ending.

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Casio EX-H10 point-and-shoot (and its superzoom pedigree) get reviewed originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel's 34nm X25-M runs like a thoroughbred SSD, costs less

It was only two days ago that they finally became official, but already we've got a couple of reviews springing up to tell us all about the second generation X25-M SSDs from Intel. PC Perspective kick things off with a full examination of the new drive, finding plenty of good (improved random reads and writes), some bad (minor fragmentation issues under extreme use scenarios) and pretty much no ugly. Not to be outdone, Anandtech have dissected the drive and compared its innards with the older generation hardware, while also running a few benchmarks for good measure. The conclusion in both camps is that while Intel has improved the hardware side of things, it is the drastically reduced price that makes the X25-M G2 the best choice in the consumer SSD space. Navigate past the break for a pricing chart, but remember that retail cost will be a bit steeper, should you be able to snag one in the wild.

Read - PC Perspective review
Read - Anandtech preview

Continue reading Intel's 34nm X25-M runs like a thoroughbred SSD, costs less

Filed under: Storage

Intel's 34nm X25-M runs like a thoroughbred SSD, costs less originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Jul 2009 05:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NEC VersaPro VS-7 netbook manhandled, makes one reviewer positively giddy

You know that new ultra-light, ultra-thin, and ultra-portable laptop from NEC you got an eyeful of way back in May? Of course you do. You've been obsessing, actually -- and frankly, we've been worried about you. Still, we'd be remiss in our duties if we didn't turn you on to this mini-review that Akihabara News scored of the VersaPro VS-7. And we must say, the kudos are flowing pretty freely over there: "freaking light," (that's right: freaking), "slim and robust." The reviewer is simply "amazed" at the netbook's performance. Even in full screen mode HD video plays "just fine," and 720p DivX video playback is characterized as "flawless." But that ain't all -- hit the read link for the full, unexpurgated tale. But not before peeping the video after the break.

Continue reading NEC VersaPro VS-7 netbook manhandled, makes one reviewer positively giddy

Filed under: Laptops

NEC VersaPro VS-7 netbook manhandled, makes one reviewer positively giddy originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Jul 2009 10:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: MIT working on rapid recharging for electric vehicles

MIT's electric vehicle prototype may be a long way off from being completed, but if we let that stop us from discussing EVs, we might never talk about them. The headline ambition of this project is a full recharge within 10 minutes, which would eliminate somewhere between four and ten hours of waiting. Speedwise, the Electric Vehicle Team is aiming for a 100 mph top speed from a 250-horsepower / 187 kilowatt AC induction motor, and a not unheard of 200-mile cruising range. To achieve their rapid juicing ambition, the students will strap 7,905 lithium iron-phosphate cell batteries from A123Systems to a gutted 2010 Mercury Milan Hybrid body. The batteries' low internal resistance is what makes things possible, but further hurdles, such as finding a sufficiently powerful energy source, would have to be overcome before any sort of widespread use may occur. Video after the break.

[Via PC World]

Continue reading Video: MIT working on rapid recharging for electric vehicles

Filed under: Transportation