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You have already ordered the newly revised Sony Eye Camera. What are you going to do with it after you tire of uploading endless snapshots of your dog? This fall, Sony will be releasing SCEJ, The Eye Judgement, to lucky Japanese gamers with PS3s. Developed specifically with the camera in mind, you simply show your trading card to the camera and it will display the monster or magician that is lurking inside. Yes, we realize that it is only a card game, but we still dig the graphics.
Read More 
| Akihabara News
Gallery: SCEJ, The Eye Judgement, Holographs
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Sony Releases PictureStations
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Accessories, Cameras, Misc. Tech,
Sony is unveiling two new portable compact printers, the DPP-FP70 and the FP90. Both Picture Stations feature multi-slots that are compatible with 24 different memory cards. Featuring Sony’s Bionz processing engines, they support 4 M hi-resolution images and can claim an output of 45 seconds per image. The FP70 features a 2.5-inch LCD screen and is available $149.99, while the FP-90, with a screen size of 3.6-inches, carries a MSRP of $199.99.
Read More | Sony
Gallery: Sony Releases PictureStations
Arab Academy for Science and Tech Assistant Professor Mohamed Abou El Nasr has just won third prize in a Wireless Design Contest in San Jose. He has created a Wifi aquarium that allows you to control lights, temperature, filter, and even feeding of your fish by using a system with a webcam to keep track of the little guys. You will also receive a daily e-mail to let you know that your fish are still afloat.
The Wi-Aquarium seems to us a great concept to adapt for out other pets. Wouldn’t it be wonderful not to have to drag our hamsters, frogs, and pet tarantulas everywhere we go and still know that they will be well cared for during our absences?
Read More | The Raw Feed
Gallery: WiFi Gets Wet
Survey Says: American Households Spend $1,200 A Year On Gadgets
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cameras, Smartphones, Handhelds, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Smart Home, PC / Laptop, Peripherals, Portable Audio / Video, Video Games,
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has just released the results of a study they conducted in February, and the word from them is that the average American household spends about $1,200 per year on gadgets. It appears that televisions are the biggest piece of the pie, as 92% of American homes have them, and 25% of those homes own HDTV sets. Mobile phones are also way up there, not surprisingly, owned by 76% of all American households. Focusing on more recent times, it seems that network hardware components are the hottest sellers right now, as American households are integrating more personal computers into the mix, requiring routers and wireless access points. Along with DVRs, network equipment purchases rose by 8%.
“Many of the top owned products have enjoyed mass-market saturation for years and will likely see growth based on upgrade and replacement sales,” said CEA senior research analyst Elena Caudle. “Some of the more intriguing categories are those that still occupy niche markets, such as mobile CE devices like GPS systems and satellite radio, which have seen healthy growth in the past few years.”
Even more interesting though, is that it was determined that the average teen spends about half of their total income on consumer electronics and gadgets. Households with teenagers exceed the national purchasing average of $1,200 by up to $500.
Of course, to readers of this site, this is nothing new. In fact, we bet that many of you, like us, can spend upwards of $5,000 a year on gadgets or more. Are we right? Let us know in the comments, or hit up the forums. How much do you spend on gadgets on an annual basis?
Gallery: Survey Says: American Households Spend $1,200 A Year On Gadgets
Sony Reveals Eye Camera
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Accessories, Cameras, Internet, Video Games,
Sony has unveiled its latest Eye Camera that they are hoping you just can’t refuse. With a speed of up to 120 fps with a 320 x 240p resolution or 60 fps at a 640 x 480 VGA res, it features an adjustable zoom with a 56º field or a 75º for full body view. EyeCreate editing software is also included, so that you can save video and audio clips or images to your PS3 and apply visual effects. The mic array combines multidirectional tracking, ambience suppression, and echo-cancelling technology. Check with Sony for price and availibility.
Read More | Daily Tech
Gallery: Sony Reveals Eye Camera
The Etumi Display Mirror fits on any 2 or 2.5-inch camera screen so that you can capture any angle you desire. You simply attach the mirror with two sticky strips and shoot away the next time your kids are upside down on the monkey bars in your neighborhood playground. The Display Mirror is available online for ~$22.00. We were just wondering if we were upside down to take those shots, couldn’t we just save ourselves the money, or would we merely look stupid?
Read More | Gizmodo
Gallery: Etumi Display Mirror Captures Any Angle
GPX Designs Embarrassing Karaoke Player
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Cameras, Home Entertainment, Misc. Tech, Portable Audio / Video,
GPX has built their reputation on creating inexpensive and sometimes inferior products. This time is no exception. Their CD and CDG Karaoke System has a built-in digital camera, so while you are gleefully belting out the wrong words to “Blinded By the Light,” you will have a humiliating record of it the next day. The gadget has a black and white 5.5-inch LCD Screen, one omni-directional mic with on/off switch, an extra mic jack for allowing a friend to be embarrassed, too, and AVC (Automatic Voice Control.) The K3805 System comes with a Karaoke Sampler and audio/video connecting cords at Best Buy for a MSRP of $99.99.
Read More | GPX
Gallery: GPX Designs Embarrassing Karaoke Player
PRADA is as Classy as Ever
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Cameras, Smartphones, Music, Portable Audio / Video,
At the Korea IT Show 2007, LG revealed its new PRADA ‘LG-SB310/LB3100.’ The phones support a 3-inch touch screen keypad as well as stylus pens. Change screen ratio from 4:3 to 16:9 for DMBs. One feature we really like is a clock that actually looks like one. Don’t worry. If you have only learned digital, you still have that option at the top of the screen. At the very least, we suggest you check out their mega-riche website and sample the surreal ringtones of their original LG-KE850.
Read More | Aving
Gallery: PRADA is as Classy as Ever
Upstage II a Bargain?
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Cameras, Smartphones, Music, Portable Audio / Video,
In an effort to increase sales to its recently released Upstage II, Sprint is offering tons of perks. The bluetooth capable phone/music player is only for $99.99 after $50.00 rebate. There is a $50.00 service credit extending until 5/14/07, and free activation and shipping if you purchase online. You can also download about 1.5 million tunes from the Sprint store for 99 cents apiece.
The phone features 1.3 megapixel camera and talk time up to 6.3 hours. Note: Sprint is also working with CBS Mobile to get you to download music that contestants in “The Amazing Race All Stars” listen to when they are on the fly or perhaps even the ringtone from Charla that orders you to “answer your freaking phone.”
Read More | Sprint
Gallery: Upstage II a Bargain?
Apple has just released an update to their pro photo editing and management application, Aperture. Users who download and install the update will enjoy an increase in reliability and performance in different areas of Aperture, including:
- Generation of thumbnails for adjusted images
- Restoring from a vault
- Entering and exiting Full Screen mode
- Working with large sets keywords in the Keywords HUD
A couple of Aperture users wrote in and told us that, after installing the update, they noticed a considerable performance increase, which can only be taken as a plus. There are also a few specific fixes that Apple addressed in this update, including:
- Previews now update properly when images are sent to an external editor.
- Leaf Aptus 22 and Aptus 75 images are now imported with the correct orientation.
- When folders are imported as projects, the folder structure is now correctly preserved when identically named subfolders are included in the hierarchy.
- Reconnecting referenced images that have been externally edited now works more reliably.
- Setting the ColorSync profile in the Aperture Print dialog now correctly suppresses color management settings in the Mac OS X Print dialog.
If you have Aperture installed, you can grab the 129 MB 1.5.3 upgrade by firing up Software Update, or by hitting up the download site.
Read More | Aperture 1.5.3 Update
