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Author Archive for Rue Liu

Belkin Battery Backup with Flashlight

By Rue Liu on Thursday, Jan 18th 2007 No Comments

If power outtages have you worried over your precious computer servers, then Belkin’s Battery Backup with Flashlight will give you peace of mind. Just plug all your equipment into the device so that when the power goes off it will keep your connected equipment on long enough to let you shut them down and prevent data loss or hardware damage.

Belkin BatteryBackupwFlashlight Outlets

The detachable flashlight will automatically light up during power outtages so that you can use it to see when shutting down your system and finding your way to the exit. The Battery Backup with Flashlight will be available in mid-February for $99.99.

Mustek’s Stylish Minimalist Webcam

By Rue Liu on Thursday, Jan 18th 2007 1 Comment

Say goodbye to those ol’ big eyeball-like plastic-encased webcams. As we can see from the evolutionary path of most gadgets, everything is heading towards being smaller and sleeker. Mustek’s got a new webcam coming out called the SI302A that is very small and very stylish in an aluminum casing that can clip to the top of your LCD monitor or sit on a flat surface.

Mustek WebCam

The SI302A boasts an advanced ¼-inch CMOS sensor and an all-glass, auto focus lens that delivers awesomely clear videos. Natural 30fps video is achieved compression-free via the USB 2.0 interface and its 1280×1024 resolution (1.3 megapixels) is twice that of typical webcams. The SI302A also features a built-in condenser microphone for convenient video and audio chatting.

The webcam is expected to ship in March 2007, but the MSRP price has not yet been finalized.

Mobility’s New iGo everywhere85 keeps you powered up everywhere

By Rue Liu on Thursday, Jan 18th 2007 No Comments

Our constant need for battery power has led to a whole slew of devices here to insure that we can always power up our laptops, cell phones, and other mobile devices anywhere we go. Mobility Electronics brings us another such product called the iGo everywhere85 that’s a universal notebook power adapter in a small lightweight package.

iGo everywhere85

The iGo everywhere85 is very compact and thin, featuring dualpower accessory, auto charging plug, and interchangeable tips for compatibility with a number of notebooks including those of Compaq, Dell, Gateway, HP, and Toshiba.

Users can also simultaneously charge their notebook and another device such as a mobile phone, Bluetooth headset, or MP3 player, eliminating the need to purchase and carry separate adapters. The iGo everywhere85 will be available in the first half of this year for $129.99.

Magellan CrossoverGPS Guides You Anywhere

By Rue Liu on Thursday, Jan 18th 2007 No Comments

If you have a bad sense of direction, then most likely you get lost not only while driving. And if you’re the outdoorsy type, often lost on a hike or a bike or a kayak, then it’s a good idea to get something like the Magellan CrossoverGPS. It’s claimed to be the first rugged, IPX4-waterproof, pocket-sized portable GPS for both in-car and outdoor navigation.

MagellanCrossoverGPS

The Magellan CrossoverGPS comes with full-featured driving GPS guidance with turn-by-turn voice, text, and visual directions, preloaded topographic contour maps of the lower 48 states, a color touchscreen, and multimedia capabilities such as playing MP3s and picture viewing. It can also be upgraded to have live traffic updates and rerouting.

The unit measures just 3.4 x 4.3 x 1.1 inches and has an 8-hour battery life. Priced at $549.

Canon’s New Ol’ Fashioned Fax Machine

By Rue Liu on Thursday, Jan 18th 2007 1 Comment

You might think that being able to email everything these days along with the many internet faxing services available that good old fax machines would be obsolete. But that’s not the case, and there are many situations where simply dialing a number and feeding your documents through the good old fax machine totally beats scanning documents and then attaching or uploading them. Thus, it is nice to see the fax machine get some new styling with Canon’s new FAX-JX200.

CANON JX2003Q
The JX200 combines modern design, affordable pricing, and high quality construction and performance. It uses Canon’s Full-photolithography Inkjet Nozzle Engineering (FINE) technology to produce crisp clear scans and copies with high speed 6-second page transmissions for fast and quiet faxing. It should be available early this year for around $80.

Logitech Harmony 1000, A Universal Remote Done Right

By Rue Liu on Thursday, Jan 18th 2007 2 Comments

Manufacturers of super universal remotes have been in a competition to see who could cram the most buttons onto one plastic bar to create the ultimate monster controller. But this often made matters more complicated than simple for consumers. And Logitech was no exception with their Harmony 800 universal remote that had way too many buttons. And as if they’ve been listening to our complaints, they’ve recently come out with the Harmony 1000 that’s so simple and functional, it ought to set the new standard for universal remotes to come.

Logitech Harmony 1000

The Harmony 1000 can seamlessly control up to 15 separate components and features a 3.5-inch color touch-screen LCD display with a minimal amount of buttons on a sleek metal body. Setup is done via your computer where the wizard walks you through the process of selecting from Logitech’s large online database of over 4,500 manufacturers and over 150,000 devices.

So, if you really do have around 15 different remotes laying around on your coffee table or in the cracks and crevices of your couch, you should definitely consider replacing everything with one Harmony 1000. But, at $500, this type of convenience doesn’t come cheap.

Samsung’s New 19-, 20-, and 22-inch Widescreen LCD Monitors

By Rue Liu on Thursday, Jan 18th 2007 No Comments

Samsung has some new additions to their SyncMaster line of displays, which they debuted at this past CES. The SyncMaster 906BW, 206BW, and 226BW are respectively 19-, 20-, and 22-inch widescreen LCD monitors that all feature a super fast response time of 2ms (GTG), a contrast ratio of 3000:1, and support for both DVI-D and Analog inputs.
SAMSUNG 226BW LCD
The 906BW (19-inch) is priced at $279.99 and features a 1440 x 900 resolution, and 300 nits of brightness. Both the 206BW (20-inch), priced at $349.99, and the 226BW (22-inch), priced at $429.99 feature a resolution of 1680 x 1050.

Belkin Flip DVI-D

By Rue Liu on Thursday, Jan 18th 2007 1 Comment

While many people attempt to clutter their desktops with extra monitors and peripherals, Belkin is thinking less is more. If you have two computers or one computer and one notebook, why have two different speakers systems when you’ll only be using one at a time? Or, lets say you have a huge Apple cinema display. Perhaps, your notebook and computer can both share that one display and you can flip back and forth with just the click of a button.

Belkin FlipDVI D
Belkin’s Flip DVI-D does the trick by letting you share your keyboard, mouse, speakers, and DVI monitor. The unobtrusive remote button sits on your desk while the hub can be hidden below connecting all your peripherals. The device will be available in February for $149.99.

Rubik’s Cube Mp3 Player Concept

By Rue Liu on Thursday, Jan 18th 2007 No Comments

All the mp3 players today are replicating the simple iPodean form. Everything has become so simple to operate that we are losing much needed brain activity. So, here’s an interesting concept MP3 player from designer Hee Yong that’s based on the Rubik’s Cube and sure to get your brain working.

rubik mp3

To operate the MP3 player, you have to turn and align it in certain ways and to turn it off you have to complete the puzzle. And since I’ve never successfully completed a Rubik’s Cube before nor gotten anywhere close, I may never even be able to play a song on this thing. But nonetheless, it’s a fun idea.

“Rubik Cube Mp3 Player” [Via: Yanko Design]

Sanyo’s New PLV-Z5 Home Entertainment Projector is high on contrast

By Rue Liu on Tuesday, Jan 16th 2007 No Comments

Sanyo’s latest home projector, the PLV-Z5, features an unprecedented 10,000:1 contrast ratio and a unique twin-iris system. This high performance projector delivers brilliant rich colors and true-to-life images with outstanding gradation in a variety of viewing environments and even well-lit environments.

SANYOPLV Z5Projector

The PLV-Z5 works well in rooms of all sizes, being able to project a 100-inch screen at only 9.8 feet away (up to 20 feet). And its easy to setup because of its advanced lens shift capability that allows it to be played from just about any location. Priced around $1,695.