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Toshiba To Produce 320GB Hard Drives for Laptops
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Corporate News, PC / Laptop, Storage,
Computers just keep getting bigger spacewise, thank goodness, especially for those of us who have a tendency to keep everything video that they ever recorded, just in case it is the beginning of a YouTube masterpiece. Toshiba will begin production on a 320GB hard-disk drive for laptops before the end of this year. The 2.5-inch drive is one of a series of five that will be a part of their MKxx52SX family. The 320GB model has two platters, while the others will offer between 80 and 250GB of space. The drives will connect through a 3Gbps SATA interface. No pricing or exact release date has been made available.
Read More | Mobility Today
Gallery: Toshiba To Produce 320GB Hard Drives for Laptops
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Nokia Recalls Cell Phone Batteries
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Smartphones, Corporate News, Storage,
Nokia is recalling 46 million of their Matsushita cell phone batteries and are offering free replacements. They feature the inscription BL-5C which were purchased between December 2005 and November 2006 and have caused about one hundred instances of overheating during charging. If you believe that you may have one of the offending items, look at the one in you have, but remember to write down your contacts, since this usually wipes them out in your phone. Nokia has more info for the models that may be affected on their site.
Read More | The inquirer
Gallery: Nokia Recalls Cell Phone Batteries
This watch does double duty as not only a timepiece, but has built-in USB 2GB storage hidden in the watchband that pops up for easy connection to most PCs with included extension cord. At a size of 1.5 x .375-inches and a weight of only 1.5 oz., the watch features an LED indicator light, is shock proof and water resistant, and claims to be a comfortable fit. It will operate on Windows 98/ME/2000/XP, Linux 2.4 or higher, and Mac OS 8.6 or higher. Available at ThinkGeek for $49.00, this is very good news to those of you who have a tendency to lose small USB keys, but not for those who also tend to misplace watches.
Read More | ThinkGeek
Gallery: Watch Doubles as USB Device
Panasonic Race Car Only Requires AA Batteries
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Misc. Tech, Storage, Transportation,
Yesterday Panasonic demonstrated a race car in Japan that runs on 192 units of their new Oxyride AA batteries, which they claim will work 3 times longer than alkaline. The vehicle actually attained a maximum speed of 122 km/h (~75.8 mph) with an average 109.5 km/h (~68 mph) when running back and forth on a 1km track. Although we admire the creativity put into the vehicle and Panasonic’s promotional concept, we noticed that this is not your average green product. Not only would the batteries cost a fortune (we did a quickie estimate and came up with $239.52 if purchased retail,) think of the recycling cost.
Read More | Gearfuse
Gallery: Panasonic Race Car Only Requires AA Batteries
Superfrothco Record Label to Release Solely in USB Flash Drive
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Corporate News, Music, Storage, USB,
Superfrothco appears to be the first independent record label to switch its format to USB Flash Drive alone. Its debut album will be from Jeffrey Scott Holland in September, who performs a combination of modern jazz, cabaret, dixieland and show tunes. The company will also be releasing the back-catalogued Hasil Adkins “Night Life” and the soon to be released Grillo the Clown, a Kentucky street performer whose thing leans mostly towards the Weird Al variety. We are thinking that if more record companies begin to do the same, they might want to start including a package deal that would include a hub with every few purchases.
Read More | Superfrothco
Gallery: Superfrothco Record Label to Release Solely in USB Flash Drive
Brando Unveils Memory Strap
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Accessories, USB, Misc. Tech, Storage,
Our buds at Brando have released their USB 2.0 Memory Strap that will carry up to 2 GB of flash memory around your neck. The 55 x 26 x 10 mm plug-and-play device weighs only 13 g and supports Windows 98/ME/2000/XP and Mac OS 9.0. We think this wooden key is a great way to store data and information, and yet still make a fashion statement with something so easily lost in the shuffle. You can find one now at Brando for $32.00.
(Thanks, Fanny)
Read More | Brando
Gallery: Brando Unveils Memory Strap
Wear USB Mickey on Your Wrist
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Wearables, Misc. Tech, Storage, USB,
Displayed at the International Gift Expo in Tokyo this week is Yujin’s Mickey Mouse USB Flash “Memoring.” This bracelet holds 356MB and is made out of silicon rubber so that is flexible enough to wear, instead of having to add it to your keychain. We’re not exactly sure what makes it properly Disney however, because even though one of them comes in the official color of Minnie’s dress, we couldn’t find even a hint of the famous mouse’s persona. Still, it makes a very functional fashion statement.
Read More | >3yen
Gallery: Wear USB Mickey on Your Wrist
Gateway Joins the Battery Recall Brigade
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Corporate News, Misc. Tech, PC / Laptop, Storage,
We’re beginning to wonder if the battery recall fiasco will ever end. This time Gateway, the U.S.’s third largest PC company, has begun to recall cells made by Samsung and assembled by Simplo Technology. This past Tuesday, Toshiba decided to remind laptop users their to replace their Sony batteries after a report that one burst into flames eight months after the initial recall. The cause is apparently due to age and repetitive charging cycles of the batteries in question.
The recall affects 400VTX and 450ROG series that were sold between May and July of 2003. The part numbers are 6500760 and 6500761 and contain the words “made by SMP” on a label underneath the battery pack. Because they were sold through direct channels, Gateway has its users addresses and will be contacting those at risk. Gear Live applauds the efforts of a company that is actually taking extra effort in customer service.
Read More | Gateway
Gallery: Gateway Joins the Battery Recall Brigade
Nintendo Wii Hard Drive on the Way?
Posted by Lolita Beckwith Categories: Rumors, Storage, Video Games,
We’re more than a little surprised that the Nintendo Wii didn’t come with a hard drive or even a DVD player, but since it’s so chock full of fun anyway, we decided to let it go. Now comes the rumor (again) that Nintendo will indeed introduce an external hard drive add-on, to be announced at E3 next month. What prompted this latest rumor is SNK’s announcement that some of it’s Neo-Geo games will become available on the Wii’s Virtual Console, in which “old-school” video games can be downloaded and played. The thing is, Neo-Geo games are megabyte-heavy, and will need serious storage space, more than the 512MB the Wii currently offers. Nintendo, of course debunks the entire theory, but what else are they gonna say? Hopefully, the answer to this and other burning questions about the Wii will be revealed at next month’s E3 conference.
Read More | Engadget
Gallery: Nintendo Wii Hard Drive on the Way?
Pimp Your Computer with a Blu-ray Drive
Posted by Lolita Beckwith Categories: PC / Laptop, Peripherals, Storage,
Got an extra $300 handy? If so, next month you can get yourself a Pioneer BDC-2202, a Blu-ray drive for your PC that reads and writes Blu-ray discs, DVDs and CDs. The BDC-2202 writes data at a speed of 5X—five times faster than the original Blu-ray recorders (it writes double-layer Blu-ray discs at 2X). The next-gen drive even includes software for transferring video from camcorders to Blu-ray (or DVD) and any disc created on the Pioneer can be played on your brand new PS3 and other Blu-ray drives. While there have been other Blu-ray drives for the PC, this is certainly one for a great price, especially when compared to the pricier living room versions.
Read More | New York Times
Gallery: Pimp Your Computer with a Blu-ray Drive
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