NY's Digital Downtown Exhibit New York’s Consumer Technology Showcase is held at the World Trace Center from June 12-14, 2008 in association with International CES in an effort to provide consumers with an overview of upcoming mobile deices, video games platforms and other technology devices and appliances. As of now visitors have enjoyed with hundreds of new products and interesting prototypes, among which we have brought for you the following report.
 

BENQ

BenQ, a company that was about to disappear of the technology scenario after its fusion with Siemens, is back with a non yet named prototype product, but it is basically fall into the Ultra Mobile Category that we are seeing around us lately. At BenQ’s Stand the only information available is that it comes packed with a RSS reader and it’s ideal for social network.

Gigabyte

Gigabyte upgrades your life… or at least is what the slogan of this Taiwanese company claims. Although Gigabyte develops a wide array of products such as mobile phones, server and storage facilities, PC peripherals, desktop PC, laptops and many more, its non-named yet prototype features another of the new and already popular Mobile Ultra PCs. This model is built with Intel Centrino Atom Processor and Linux operating system, featuring email and MSN Messenger facilities.

Lenovo

Lenovo is a company headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, with offices in China and Singapore, resulted from the acquisition of the IBM Personal Computing Division. Lenovo is introducing a product called “Ideapad” and the idea behind it a handheld resembling an Apple iPhone in conjunction with a Sony Mylo released back in 2006. However, Ideapad is a Linux-based device built with 1 GB internal memory, 2-megapixel camera, audio recorder, video player and other basic features, plus Wi-Fi, USB and Bluetooth connectivity.

Fujitsu

Another company targeting the Ultra Portable PC market, introducing Lifebook featuring an Intel Atom Processor, Microsoft Vista Basic Operating System, 7-inch +/- touch screen display, 20GB HD, Mini PCI Express slot, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. Lifebook comes with a docking-station, apart of several other innovative features for an UMPC of its kind.

Emotiv

This in an electronics Australian-based company focusing on brain-computer interfaces based on EEG (electroencephalography) technology. At Digital Downtown, Emotiv is presenting the EPOC Headset, a gadget that serves to read a user’s brainwaves and translate them into a game adventure, sort of living your own Tron movie. EPOC connects to PC via a wireless USB making easy load new game settings to enjoy your feelings and thoughts virtually.

Compal

Compal Electronics (not to be confused with Compaq) is a Taiwanese manufacturing company best known as producer of a large number of notebooks and monitor models for Dell, Compaq, Hewlett Packard, and Toshiba. However, Compal is now introducing a non-named yet prototype of Ultra Mobile PC with MSN messenger, keypad, and some of the Lenovo’s Ideapad characteristics.

Digital Downtown's Logo

You are still on time to meet technology experts and see their products exhibited at Digital Downtown in New York’s World Trade Center. Otherwise, summer is just around the corner, time in which many new gadgets will be released.

Sources:
Digital Downtown
PC Magazine 

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iPhone 3GIn the middle of great expectation Apple has finally released the new iPhone 3G. This new version of the popular Apple’s slim handset is fully developed around the 3G technology and incorporates new features not seen in the previous iPhone generation that includes an improved sound quality, Wi-Fi Connectivity, and GPS mapping starting for as low as $199 through AT&T. Marketed as twice as fast half the price, iPhone 3G is now three-in-one devices: the classic iPhone, the popular iPod touch and a convenient Internet AT&T. 3G is undoubtedly faster than any other smartphone you have tried before the launching of the 3G cellular networks, the next generation in mobile communications that provide cell phone user with broadband speed similar or above your traditional PC or laptop broadband. Besides its funny multimedia side, this time Apple kept in mind the enterprise features such as GPS maps, push email, contacts, calendar and more.

There will not be longer necessary own an iPod Touch commentary to your iPhone, since you can find in the new iPhone incorporates similar features including the popular Apple’S Safari Web Browser. Moreover, this time iPhone 3G gives you the opportunity to gain access to Apple’s store and download hundreds of applications in addition to music from iTunes.

From eBay auctions with multi-touch options to real-time 3D graphic applications, anyone can make of their new iPhone 3G a powerful tools with over 500 applications for everyone to choose from. Thanks to its 3G wireless technology watching videos on your iPhone 3G widescreen display will be for sure a delightful experience, just if you were watching plasma TV from the comfort of your home.

Ken G. Sun, eBay Mobile Group Product Manager said that, “iPhone is changing the entire mobile industry and has quickly become the number one mobile device for accessing eBay. Users can shop, track bids and get great deals from the largest online marketplace in the world directly from their iPhone. We couldn’t deliver such a complete and easy-to-use eBay experience on any other mobile device and iPhone users can download it free from the new App Store.”

Apple’s iPhone 3G includes the following on-screen features: Home Scree, Phone, Mail (with HTML and rich text composing capability), Safari Web Browser, iPod, SMS service, Maps with GPS, iTunes, App Store, Calendar, YouTube, Photos, 2 mega-pixel Camera, Stocks, Weather, Notes, and Calculator.

When it comes to top-notch technology, iPhone has a built-in accelerometer for screen rotation, ambient and proximity smart sensors, multi-touch control display, GPS (Global Positioning System) technology, and smart software keyboard that is faster and easier to use than any other traditional keyboard or pen-pointing software.

iPhone 3GLike the iPod Touch, Apple’s iPhone 3G is available in two different model, the 8GB in black color or the 16GB model in either black or white. One or another models are 4.5 x 2.4 x 0.48 inches (115.5 x 62.1 x 12.3 mm) and weigh only 4.7 ounces (133 grams.) There are not physical changes in iPhone’s 3.5-inch widescreen with Multi-Touch display that supports 480 x 320-pixel resolution at 163 ppi and multiple characters and languages displayed simultaneously. iPhone 3G comes packed with stereo earphones, built-in microphone and rechargeable lithium-ion battery, Dock Connector to USB Cable, USB Power Adapter, Cleaning/polishing cloth, SIM eject tool and documentation.

Source: Apple iPhone Beauty and the Beast film

The Darwin Awards ipod
Pyramid video

download Creepshow

The Shadow Riders psp

2012: Science or Superstition dvdrip

The Andromeda Strain film

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iPhoneiPhone has been in the mobile phone industry for over an year now. Amidst very heavy critical reviewing it has carved a niche for itself which has been because it is no nonsense device built on principles that it should complicate the way the phone would be used. Built with just 4 buttons and a huge 3.5” screen, the phone is easy to use over for a very tech-phobic of users.

But this in no way means that it is not made for tech-freaks. It packs amazing graphical effects, animations, transitions and many industry’s firsts in small compact package which has no opening slots. The device is sealed tightly with perfection up to the minutest detail with the beautiful black colored front body panel fitting seamlessly into the aluminum casing which seals the phone from sides and back. The finish is flawless. The feel of the glass is simply superb across the 3.5 inch huge touch screen. Everything in the iPhone is hidden like the antenna and the sim card slot tucked inside on top of the instrument. On the left of the sim card slot is a 3.5mm audio jack. Though it is common in industry, but the way apple has designed it, most of the generic audio jacks won’t fit in it except the standard iPod connectors. On the bottom is the iport which is used to charge the iPhone and sync it with the computer via dock provided. The dock, just like iPhone is of superb quality.

iPhone keyboardLet’s discuss the interface of iPhone. It runs on resolution of 480×320pixels which makes the images feel very real due to high pixel density of 160ppi. The standby screen displays almost all the applications which the phone has. With the most basic telephony related apps down in the bar like Phone dialer, messaging, safari web browser and iPod audio player. The interaction is through multi tap and gestures like drag for scrolling through the display, single tap to select item, double tap to zoom in and out in almost al applications except photographs and pinch un-pinching of fingers for zooming in and out of photos. Though even after the 16GB version of iPhone has been released and many firmware upgrades have been given, the interface still remains sort of buggy. The input to the phone is through a virtual on screen keyboard only, which though is having set of very big keys, but it’s not possible to bring the keys in landscape mode for typing which could have been better for using the keys stretched over the entire screen. But honestly speaking, the keyboard of iPhone lets down because speed of typing on a hardware keyboard is just not possible on the virtual keyboard and with lot of missing symbols like period from the alphabetic view of the keyboard, you have to open the symbol list a lot many times.

iPhone youtubeOne of the major drawbacks in iPhone is that it still can’t work on 3G networks. The EDGE support for AT&T network is good, but when you make a call you can’t use data and vice versa, data speeds are not worth to be talked about as when the review was being done, opening of youtube on the safari browser was a very bad experience, sometimes the video loaded and after 10-15seconds of buffering it displayed warning that the video is unavailable. Call quality is also not bad, but people who had been using 3G based services would find the difference pinching.

The iPod application inside it is great and similar to legendary iPod, with such a giant touchscreen, the easy to use iPod interface has been made more user-friendly. Going through the videos in album cover mode is such a beautiful experience. The audio quality is as best as a standalone iPod. The best thing about the iPhone is its battery backup. It plays whopping 9 hours continues video which is currently not possible for any other mobile handset. And Apple claims that it can play almost 29 hours of continues music which is much more than any of the iPod on the shelf. The other features like the world clock, notepad, and calculator are very easy to use. The settings window of the iPhone is quite simple as compared to other WM or Symbian based smart phones. The Bluetooth, wifi are very easy to use and often require least of the user input for doing most basic of the settings. It’s only when the user has to put the password or select a network from multiple networks, that iPhone bothers to ask user for input.

The camera is the black sheep of the device. The 2 megapixel fixed focus camera doesn’t has any user modifiable settings at all. No exposure control, no zoom, no mode selection just nothing! But the still picture quality is good if not excellent. However video capturing makes a lot more to be expected from iPhone. The frame rates are mere 7-10fps, comparing it with 30fps of N96 launched by Nokia makes it look technically challenged.

Overall the phone is excellent and sorts of revolution in market as it created a race of so called iPhone “killers”. The phone does best for what it is designed for: ease of use. Though it lacks a lot of basic features which users require from phones, which hopefully apple would address with their firmware releases. The phone comes in with 2 year contract from AT&T.

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For those of you who aren’t very green fingered and have trouble keeping plants alive, take a look at this gadget by designer Samgmin Bae …

roly_pot.jpg

This is really designed for those of us (myself included) who often forget to water their plants. It’s not that I don’t set out with good intentions but for one reason or another something crops up and I end up coming home one day to find them wilted and looking rather sorry for themselves.

This 2007 award winning Roly Poly Pot is a great solution to the problem though as it reminds you when it is ‘thirsty’ by tilting its plantpot to one side. OK, granted this doesn’t really have anything to do with the plant its more to do with the balancing system inside the pot itself which uses the collected water and a counterbalancing weight. Check it out on the pic below! Thanks to Elit Alice

American Virgin video   for the original post.
roly_pot3.jpgShao Lin san shi liu fang rip The Green Mile movie

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This remote controlled Mario Kart Racer is perfect for kids (and big kids!)

rc_mariokart.jpg

This bulky, colourful and fun toy is perfect for steering round the office at high speeds, or maybe if you’re a little bit more sensible you could give it to your kids as a gift, lol. It has a cool Nintendo gamecube style controller and five controls, forward, back, left, right and turbo (that last one sounds like it could be fun!)

The Mario Kart Racer has digitized sounds from the game, is 12 inches long and requires 1 9V Battery and 8 AA Batteries.

Available from ThinkGeek

Via [ Gadgettastic ]

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