Find Our Latest Video Reviews on YouTube!
If you want to stay on top of all of our video reviews of the latest tech, be sure to check out and subscribe to the Gear Live YouTube channel, hosted by Andru Edwards! It’s free!
Latest Gear Live Videos
Lexar Recalls JumpDrives Over Burn Hazard
Posted by Nino Marchetti Categories: Corporate News, Storage, USB,
If you own a Lexar JumpDrive FireFly or 1GB Secure II, you’ll want to take careful note of this story. Lexar, in conjunction with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, has issued a voluntary recall of around 66,000 of these drives because of a potential burn hazard. No injuries have thus far been reported of the drives. Consumers with the impacted models as described this recall notice Web page are advised to stop using the drives and contact Lexar to receive a free replacement.
Read More 
| Lexar/USCPSC Product Recall Page
Gallery: Lexar Recalls JumpDrives Over Burn Hazard
Advertisement
So if you’re looking for a tiny, cool looking USB flash drive on which to store data, Sony may have a little something fun for you to check out. The Sony Micro Vault Tiny, billed by Sony as their smallest USB flash drive, is quite tiny indeed, measuring 1.2” x 5” x 6.1”.
The Sony Micro Vault Tiny comes in four configurations: 256MB orange ($29.99), 512MB purple ($44.99), 1GB blue ($64.99) and 2GB green ($109.99). All the drives, which are compatible with Windows and Mac OS, support USB 2.0 and 1.1 ports.
The Micro Vault Tiny drives also come with “Virtual Expander”, which reportedly lets you store three times as much data.
Read More | Sony Product Page via News.com
Gallery: Sony’s Smallest USB Drive Yet
Dialing Home With the Vonage V-Phone
Posted by Nino Marchetti Categories: Broadband, Internet, Storage, USB,
Vonage has an interesting looking gadget out today in the form of a USB keychain drive. The new Vonage V-Phone is priced at $39.99 and looks to be available now.
The Vonage V-Phone comes with what Vonage feels is everything one needs to make and receive calls over a high speed Internet connection. Its primary features include coming pre-loaded with Vonage Talk software, having a detachable stereo earpiece microphone, offering 250MB of usable portable memory storage and offering a new Vonage phone number.
The Vonage V-Phone is plugged into any existing USB port on a PC. After also plugging in the earpiece microphone into the side of V-Phone, one is pretty much ready to use the service. When the drive is removed, all of the information is still on it and not the former host computer.
Read More | Vonage Product Page via Gizmodo
Gallery: Dialing Home With the Vonage V-Phone
Recharge Your Portable Devices From An Airplane Headphone Jack
Posted by John Goulden Categories: Misc. Tech, USB,
For those of us relegated to economy class when we fly, there really aren’t very many options for recharging our portable electronic devices. Inflight Power is out to change that with their USB Power Unit that draws power from an airplane’s headphone jack.
The 12 ounce device works by storing energy from the headphone jack and relaying that energy to the USB connector. The device uses a trickle charger which takes 3-5 minutes to fully charge. Once charged, it holds enough energy to power a connected device for about one minute and then the cycle starts over again. Over 700 devices are supported with different tips that attach to the USB port.
This really would have come in handy during my flight to/from E3 last month, and its small size makes it perfect for tossing into one’s bag of gear.
The Power Unit is available for $34.99 USD, but odds are you’ll need some extra connectors as well. Inflight uses Gomadic’s TipExchange technology and for $54.99 USD you receive the Gomadic adapter, plus one tip of your choice. Additional tips sell for $6.99 USD.
Read More | Inflight Power via Daily Tech
Gallery: Recharge Your Portable Devices From An Airplane Headphone Jack
Microsoft Introduces Two New Webcams
Posted by John Goulden Categories: Cameras, Corporate News, Internet, PC / Laptop, USB,
It’s no secret that Microsoft wants to integrate PC and Xbox 360 users together when Vista debuts later this
decade. One step towards that goal is the integration of instant messaging between the two disparate platforms, and with the release of the Xbox 360 Live Vision Camera a short time ago, Microsoft is partway there. Keeping the momentum going, Microsoft is now releasing two new webcams aimed at the PC market, the VX-3000 and VX-6000 LifeCams.
The first two available webcams, the Microsoft LifeCam VX-6000 and Microsoft LifeCam VX-3000, bring a new dimension to Windows Live Messenger and feature exclusive industry firsts that streamline the webcam experience: • Windows Live Call Button. Located on the top of each LifeCam, the Windows Live Call Button makes placing a video call a breeze by eliminating the usual multiple steps. Just one touch brings up the Buddy Picker, a tool that shows users only current online buddies. They simply select their contact’s name and they are on their way to making a video call. • LifeCam Dashboard. Built right into the Windows Live Messenger window for easy access during video calling, the LifeCam Dashboard provides simple access to the controls people need most, including pan, tilt and zoom. Now users’ attention stays where it should be — on their video conversation. • One-touch blogging. Windows Live Spaces is one of the fastest-growing blog communities in the world, with more than 50 million individual Spaces. Now, users can post High Definition LifeCam pictures directly to their Windows Live Space blog with one click from within the LifeCam window. The new Microsoft LifeCam VX-6000 is a top-of-the-line wired webcam providing the highest quality still photography on the market (5.0 megapixels interpolated), High Definition video (1.3 megapixels)3 and 3x digital zoom. A 71-degree wide-angle lens allows enough room for up to three people to join in the conversation. The Microsoft LifeCam VX-3000 offers High Definition still photography (1.3 megapixels interpolated) and brilliant video (640x480 pixels). Both LifeCams feature a built-in acoustic noise-canceling microphone to ensure crystal-clear audio performance without adding clutter from extra headsets or external microphones. In addition, both new LifeCams come with fun Video Effects, such as falling snowflakes and twinkling stars, to personalize and enhance the background of video conversations. The LifeCams also have a Universal Attachment Base for easy and secure attachment to virtually any size monitor.
The webcams are available now with USD list prices of $99.95 (VX-6000) and $49.95 (VX-3000).
Read More 
| Microsoft via bit-tech
Gallery: Microsoft Introduces Two New Webcams
Pretec’s latest USB flash drive is their appropriately named i-Disk BulletProof, which is waterproof, fireproof, and you guessed it, bulletproof. While we’re not entirely sure that we want to have a need for such a rugged flash drive, it’s nice to know that our options are open.
[With] capacities ranging from 32MB to 2GB, [the] PRETEC i-Disk BulletProof is constructed with double layers of sealed protective metal, capable of preventing circuit damage from water, fire, and even shielding the heavy impact of a bullet, making i-Disk BulletProof the most rugged USB flash drive in the world. In addition to its ruggedness and small size, i-Disk BulletProof also features blazing access speed, up to 20MB/s. Pretec can also custom design a premium version of i-Disk BulletProof under special arrangement that can achieve a speed of 266X, up to 40MB/s, the highest speed of USB flash drive in the world.
No, we’re sure not sure what the little things on the side of the drive are either. They look vaguely like little ant skeletons, but the last time we checked, ants had their skeletons on the outside.
Read More | Pretec via Personal Tech Pipeline
Gallery: Pretec’s Almost Indestructible USB Flash Drive
Video of Xbox Live Vision Camera In Action, Launching September 19
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, USB, Video Games,
Playfeed has just posted a video of the Xbox Live Vision Camera in action during a game of UNO. Apparently, those with a camera enabled have their Gamer Picture replaced by their video feed - in this case, a dog wandering around the room. The Xbox Live Vision Camera will hit stores on September 19, 2006.
Read More | Playfeed
Gallery: Video of Xbox Live Vision Camera In Action, Launching September 19
Gadget lovers everywhere were all a-twitter earlier this year when a variation of the OLED keyboard, conceived by Art Lebedev Studio, was announced that it would be entering production. Then we found out that there were only three keys, it would cost $100 when pre-ordered, and its OLED lighting had a lifespan of only 5,000 hours. Still, many people were not dissuaded and pre-ordered a Mini Three, with an expected ship date of May 15th.
Well, there are oftentimes issues with new hardware, and it turns out that the Minis have been delayed . . . a bit . . . as in three months. August 15th of this year is the new ship date for just about everywhere but Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Latvia, and Lithuania. Those poor souls have to wait until September 1st, which is a bit strange since Art Lebedev Studio’s main office is located in Russia.
What’s the cause of the delay? Here’s a quick rundown straight from Art Lebedev Studio:
• Development and production have been relocated from continental China to Taiwan - a region that’s superior to China in terms of the electronics industry development.
• Components and materials of the highest quality produced in Taiwan and South Korea are used. The development and production quality are supervised by Art Lebedev Studio specialists.
• OLED screens brightness control function has been added.
• Lifetime of OLED screens has grown to 8,000 hours of continuous use.
• Buttons’ lifetime is now 100,000 pushes.
So, for an extra few months worth of waiting, you get a longer lifespan, better quality, and an extra feature. Not too bad, but now it’s time for the other shoe to drop.
For those of you who thought that the pre-order price of $100 was way too much, then you’d better skip to the next article now. Go on, you don’t want to look. Okay, now that those with weak stomachs are gone, the new price for the same three buttons (albeit upgraded) is $160 USD. Of course, people who ordered prior to the original deadline aren’t required to pay anything extra, and people who pre-order prior to the new deadline of August 1st only need pay approximately $121 USD. This is a rare case where being an early adopter paid off . . . kinda.
Read More | Art Lebedev Studio
Gallery: Optimus Mini Three Delayed
PQI has recently announced the world’s slimmest flash drive in the U510. At 3mm thick, this new drive is literally the size and thickness of a credit card. While some people might think that the reduction in physical size correlates to a reduction in storage size, this is not correct - the U510 comes with a whopping 16GB of storage space. Also built into the card is a retractable USB connector. This device is both USB 2.0 and USB 1.1 compatible and works with either Windows or Mac computers. The U510 is available in three color schemes - Iron Gray, Metallic Silver, and a World Cup print. It seems that everyone is attempting to get in on the World Cup with some device that features a World Cup color scheme. No pricing or release date has been set, but we look forward to seeing this little device.
Read More | Aving.net via Gizmodo
Gallery: PQI’s U510 Flash Drive
Plextor Shock Proof External Hard Drive
Posted by Jared Hislop Categories: Accessories, USB, Design, Storage,
Plextor has just announced the availability of their new PX-SP portable hard drives which are supposedly shock proof. A new silicon cover prevents the drive from crashing and losing data if dropped. The new drives come in 80GB (PX-SP08U), and 120GB (PX-SP12U) sizes, and are said to support Windows and Mac operating systems, but our guess is that they should also work under Linux. A quick start guide, USB cable, and the silicon jacket are included with purchase. While we have our doubts on how well a silicon jacket will protect a drive from the shock of being dropped, it is nice to see some new ideas from Plextor. Expect to pay more for the added protection, the drives retail for $169 (80GB) and $260 (120GB).
“Plextor is rapidly expanding its data storage product line to include innovative devices such as the new PX-SP shock proof portable hard drives,” said Michael Arbisi, Vice President, Channel Sales for Plextor, in a statement. “Our goal is to give customers a wide range of options for dependably and securely storing their valuable data, whether at home or at the office. Like all Plextor products, the PX-SP Series drives are designed and manufactured to the highest levels of quality and reliability.”
Read More | Plextor
Gallery: Plextor Shock Proof External Hard Drive
Advertisement
© Gear Live Inc. {year} – User-posted content, unless source is quoted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Public Domain License. Gear Live graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, videos, articles, blogs, forums, scripts and other service names are the trademarks of Gear Live Inc.