iPhone tuning

The iPhone is loved by many and hated by many as well. It is a box full of electronic surprises and it offers many more possibilities than customers and potential buyers can imagine.
Getting this gadget is like going to a car dealer and buy a new car with a basic configuration, but with the possibility of adding things: installing gold rims, wide tires, fog lights, and if you want, wings. Something similar happens with the Apple phone: there is a lot of complements in form of applications and programs (more than ten thousand options) that maximize the potential of the iPhone to communicate, organize information, develop utilities and add new options of entertainment designed for this smartphone. The way to enhance your iPhone is up to you.
Approximately a quarter of the applications developed for the iPhone are free. The rest of them can be downloaded once you pay for them; and although they cost around $3 average, 35% of them have a selling price lower than $1.
Many of those programs are developed directly by Apple and some are made by third parties and then they are approved by the maker. Other programs are also developed by third parties and released by Internet, so all users can download them for free.

New Helmet Allows Joint Strike Fighter Pilots to “See” “Through” the Plane

Normally this blog is about tech you can buy but while scrounging the internet’s we found this high-tech piece of military equipment and it’s just so cool we couldn’t resist.  The new helmet is designed for use in the Yet-to-be-manufactured Joint Strike Fighter (a co-operative venture between the militaries of the United States and Great Britain.)  The helmet is designed with an internal HUD that displays high-definition video from cameras strategically placed around the hull of the fighter jet allowing the pilot to literally see things that would have been blocked from view by the fuselage.
In order to ensure the pilot is actually seeing what he’s looking at (in this case, pointing his head at) there’s a sophisticated motion tracking system and a computer that syncs the projected “virtual” world with the actual world.
Not only does this device sound like something you’d see in Halo or some other first person shooter, the technology will no doubt trickle down in the years to come and find its way into consumer devices (remember, the Internet was a military computer network to begin with!)
If you want your own, you have to join the armed forces and wait with your fingers crossed or shell out $139 million dollars like the Brit’s are planning to do when the Strike Fighter goes into production.

World directory of the XXI century is coming: .tel domain name registration is now possible

From today to February 2, Telnic, the registry operator for new “.tel” domains, is beginning to accept applications from trademark owners. At the moment, only trademark owners can apply for a domain in order to protect the intellectual rights of the companies. On March 24 registrations will be open to everyone.
According to Telnic’s chief executive Khashayar Mahdavi, “the launch of .tel represents the most significant innovation in the domain-name system (DNS) since the advent of .com. Essentially, the .tel offers businesses of all sizes a fast, efficient, adaptable and intelligent service that will let customers interact with them in any way they want.”
The new top-level domain extension will store all the contact information of a person or company in one online location (including phone, fax, postal address, e-mail…), so this information will be accessible from any device with an Internet connection.
The new .tel domains also represent a technical revolution. Thanks to the technological convergence, it is foreseen that each device can select the more efficient way to connect to the .tel domain. Besides that, .tel domains don’t need a hosting provider because the information will be stored directly in the DNS (Domain Name System) without the need to build, host or manage a Web site.

The first official HD Microsoft webcam: LifeCam Cinema

Microsoft will introduce to the market the LifeCam Cinema webcam, which is the first one that is genuinely a HD webcam. This new gadget is an excellent option to send video with good quality  through Internet. It reachs a vertical resolution of 720 pixels and captures 30 frames per second (images with more than 2 megapixels). Until now, other cameras offered a maximum resolution of 960×70 pixels, but the LifeCam Cinema can reach up to 1289×720 pixels. Besides, it includes a glass lens, 4x digital zoom, and a noise-cancelling microphone (which is placed on the top of the camera) to eliminate the background noise from the environment.
The LifeCam Cinema also includes an implementation of a new technology developed by Microsoft  called ClearFrame that allows to record smooth and detailed videos without undesirable distortions or glints. The camera is made of aluminium. It can be connected to a computer (desktop or laptop) easily by using an USB port.
The LifeCam Cinema  is compatible with Windows Live Messenger. Also, it can be used with Windows Live Movie Maker and Windows Live Photo Gallery; however, if you want to use it with these programs, then you need a computer with (at least) a 1.6GHz dual core  processor, although it would be better to use a 3GHz dual core processor and 2GB RAM. Of course, those requirements are higher than requirements for a regular webcam.
This camera will be available for sale starting September 9. It will cost about $80 in United States (suggested retail price).

The Retro Duo NES/SNES Games System and the Retron 3 Bring Old Cartridges Back from the Dead

True gamers are pretty hardcore and I bet you’d be hard pressed to find one who hasn’t held onto at least half of the old consoles they’ve burned through even if they don’t work properly anymore.  Indeed, many often dust off the old consoles just for fun when they’re feeling a bit nostalgic but when that console finally craps out on them, they’re left with few alternatives but to scour eBay and Amazon for used consoles and hope that they work when they arrive.
However, two new consoles bring those favorite console games (NES, SNES, Sega Genesis) back to life.

First up is the Retro Duo NES/SNES system.  This tiny little device features sleek black and red designs and it will play any NES or SNES cartridge around—providing that the cartridge is still in working order.  Retailing for around $50 depending on where you pick it up, this machine comes standard with two controllers that take their styling straight from the Super Nintendo.Next is the Retron 3.  This box comes in a variety of colors (red or black) and will play Super Nintendo, Nintendo, and Sega Genesis games.  While it looks a bit bulbous and fantastical, it works quite well.  When it comes to authenticity, this system has the Retro beat.  You can use original console controllers with this puppy!  However, if yours are too encrusted with Dorito crumbs, the console also packs a pair of futuristic wireless controllers.  This system will run you an extra $20 over the Retro Duo but that buys the ability to play Sega games as well.

New Era’s hard drives: Western Digital Caviar Green series was launched

Finally the date arrived. Computer storage company Western Digital ended up launching its new Caviar Green hard drives that have a storage capacity of up to 2TB. According to the company, those hard drives are the world’s highest-capacity hard drives at this time.
A Caviar Green hard drive features a massive 500 GB per-platter capacity. It was designed by using PMR (Perpendicular Magnetic Recording) technology. Besides that, it also uses Western Digital’s third generation CaviarPower technology that saves energy and preserves the environment: that is the reason for the word “green”.
Other technologies included are: IntelliPower, IntelliSeek, StableTrack and NoTouch that allow the hard drives to operate at a reduced temperature, optimize seek speeds to enable lower power consumption (WD suggests they consume 4-5 watts less energy than competing HDs) and emit  much less noise and vibration.
No doubt, the new era of storage drives has arrived (including SSD drives and these new high-capacity hard drives).
The Caviar Green series is available in capacities of 1TB, 1.5TB and 2TB. The 2TB version costs US$299 and it is available for sale from company’s distributors or resellers.

External USB drive: Aegis Padlock – Portable hard drive with security keypad

Apricorn has launched its Aegis Padlock Secure hard drive, which is a really secure portable storage system. The unit comes with a keypad that is used to enter personal PIN numbers and, in this way, protect the content stored in the device from potential intruders or unauthorized accesses.
Users can also choose between AES-128 and 256 bit encryption to keep their data secure. The device uses an integrated  USB 2.0 cable and is compatible with different platforms.
The unit has an “Administrator Feature” that acknowledges up to ten personal PIN numbers from different users and a PIN for a special user with administrator role, so you will be able to grant access to a selected number of people in order to allow them to read and write data (for example, you can grant access to your family and a few friends).  This product also has a  16-point omni-directional shock mounting system in order to protect the drive from drops and knocks.

USB external hard drive: USB 3.0 SSD Aviator -2

Approximately one year ago, the first SSD drives were introduced: They constitute a new storage system that leaves some magnetic and mechanical parts behind in order to adopt an innovative, faster, silent and efficient way of storing information; however, this technology is still an expensive option with (relatively) low storage capacities and, for that reason, it has not been adopted massively in the market yet. Anyway, this is a great technology with many advantages. For example, the installation of the external SSD drives is a really easy process and they can be connected to any PC or laptop in seconds.A new enhanced product in this category is Aviator-2. It is an external SSD drive with a faster transfer speed and an improved performance, thanks to its USB 3.0 port. In fact, a new major feature of the USB 3.0 specification is the SuperSpeed bus that can provide a transfer mode at 4.8 Gbit/s.The maker Active Media Products has introduced the first product of this new generation:  An external SSD drive that, initially, will be available in 64GB and 128GB versions. Besides, this drive is supposed to support transfer rates of up to 4Gbits/sec (10 times faster than the USB 2.0 specification).
Also, this external SSD drive comes in sizes that are smaller than usual sizes. Specifically, the dimensions are 5.3 x 3.3 x 0.6 inches (135 x 84 x 15 mm); actually, it could be carried in a pocket of a regular jacket. The price of the Aviator-2 is about US$ 260 (190 EUR) for the 64GB version and US$ 453 (333 EUR) for the other version with a storage capacity of up to 128GB.

Keyboard keyboard ! OCZ announces Alchemy Illuminati series

Usually, the OCZ products work very well, including its well-known memories, power supplies, its new SSDs, and even its peripheral products like keyboards. Now, one year after the OCZ Alchemy Elixir Keyboard was launched, the company is announcing a new keyboard series named Illuminati.

The features of the Illuminati keyboard include 14 hot keys for multimedia management and Internet, allowing users to control their music files, video applications, or Internet functions in an easy and fast way. Also, as its name suggests, the keyboard has a nice feature to illuminate its keys with a blue or red LEDs (light-emitting diodes). It is up to the user to choose the color.
Besides the attractive design and the illumination, the OCZ Alchemy Illuminati keyboard has rubber-coated keys for comfort as well as better tactile feedback (retro-illumination) from users when they are typing. Its dimensions are 215mm (width) x 495mm (length) x 30mm (height)  and it weighs 850 grams.At this time, OCZ has not said anything official about the price or when the Illuminati keyboard will be available for the public. But, the most probable thing is that these keyboards will not be affordable for many people.

Asus EeeKeyboard is a keyboard computer!

The Asus EeeKeyboard crams all the functionality of a PC into a box the size of a keyboard—well, it IS a keyboard!  Asus is known for coming out with some interesting designs for its PCs but this one clearly takes the cake.  Roughly the same size a standard keyboard, this computer features an interactive touch screen where most have a number pad, sleek brushed metal plating, and a decent powered PC behind its futuristic exterior.  So is the new machine worth $599?  You be the judge.
Rocking an Atom N270 processor (operating at 1.6 GHz) the EeeKeyboard only sports 1 gig of RAM but the Windows XP OS is extremely light on CPU usage, meaning there shouldn’t really be any problems with speed, crashing, or Vista-era “issues.”  The 800X480 multi-touch screen that replaces the standard number pad—it’s like a built in iPhone, sort of—will display high-definition video thanks to the Broadcom Crystal HD chip underneath.
The all is cool in itself but who wants such a high-tech computer tethered to an antique monitor?  Not to worry, this Pc is no desktop.  The integrated UWB connectivity and is able to wirelessly stream to your HDTV, well, any HDTV close enough.  Not only does it look like something out of Blade Runner, it works like it too!
The only real drawback is the short 4 hour battery life—oh and the fact that there is no room for expansion at all.  However, if you want a solid machine that’s ultra cool and portable beyond even a laptop’s standards, this is the device for you.  Should you feel the need to drop 600 clams on it, you can now do so at your favorite online retailer

Penguin United Launches Keyboard/Mouse Combo for PS3

For all of your hardcore gamers that lament the loss of customizable controls when switching from your beloved PC to console versions of your favorite RTS games, Penguin United has your back with this new Eagle Eye converter box.
The box basically converts keyboard and mouse commands into data that the PS3 with its controller-only set-up can understand.  This sounds like an awesome idea because everybody knows that WASD beat analog or even digital thumbsticks when it comes to real gaming (huh?)  But in execution, Penguin United’s new toy is a little awkward.

It does what it says it will—don’t get me wrong—but why on earth would anyone create a peripheral whose USB cable is only 2 feet long?  That’s right, you have to have your beloved keyboard and mouse within two feet of the converter box.  That’s going to put some serious eye strain on your old peepers when you’re sitting 3 feet away from your 50 inch LCD HDTV.  Maybe it will feel more like you’re actually in the game.
Still, such a limitation could be overlooked if the price tag was small enough and there was a work around.  Unfortunately, in both cases the Eagle Eye falls short.  You’re going to have to drop $60 on this bad boy when it launches later in July.

Monster Cable products: Universal 3D glasses

The company Monster Cable launched the first 3D glasses that will work with any three-dimensional screen.
The ultralight glasses Monster Vision Max 3D include an advanced system that can work synchronously with the signal of any 3D screen in a wireless way. This system decodes and transmits the signal from the screen to a sensor on the glasses.
According to the company, the glasses “react electro-chromatically, literally blinking faster than the eye”… this way, the system would “create the most reliable, believable and immersive 3D images.”
Basically, the glasses needs to communicate themselves with a device that is connected to the TV. This communication operates in real time at 2.4GHz.

Mercedes Benz cars: electric models

In order to show its commitment to protect the environment, Mercedes-Benz will introduce three electric prototypes at the Detroit Auto Show that will open its doors next month. All of them will be part of the new family BlueZero. Apparently, this is in conformity with the plans of the company in terms of producing “green” compact cars.
The first model is called BlueZero E-Cell. It has an electric motor of 100 kW (136 HP) and some lithium-ion batteries with a range of about 60 miles (100 kilometers). Its charging time is about two hours, so it’s a vehicle designed for the city.
The BlueZero E-Cell Plus is an electric car with an extended range since it adds a turbocharged three-cylinder engine as an onboard generator, similar to the Smart Fortw’s engine. This generator charges the batteries to boost range to nearly 375 miles (600 kilometers).
Lastly, the BlueZero F-Cell has a propulsion system with a combustion cell that converts hydrogen into electricity. It has a range of about 250 miles (400 kilometers) and a specific power of 90 kW or 122 HP. Although the official specifications have not been published yet,  it is speculated that these cars will reach a maximum speed of about 90 – 100 miles per hour (150 km/h).

Motorola Cell Phone: Flipout Surprisingly Doesn’tMotorola Cell Phone: Flipout Surprisingly Doesn’t

So the Motorola Flipout falls into the not-so-smart phone category but somehow manages to keep its cool.  The sleek, futuristic design sets it apart from the run-of-the-mill touch screens and the square footprint gives it a quirky edge that geeks and girls are just going to love.  It’s only 2.8” square–and all of that’s screen—so you won’t have anything trouble toting it around.  To top it off, the Flipout flips out with the two clamshells swiveling on a single pivot point at the bottom.  Quirky design aside, the phone is worth the money, but only just.
The device runs on a Cortex A8 (TI OMAP 3410) 600MHz processor and currently operates on Android 2.1.  While it’s nothing spectacular or “Incredible,” like HTC’s new Droid device, it gets the job done.   The full QWERTY keypad is easy to use and not at all cramped even though some of the phone’s other features tend to be.  It’s a bit weird that the device comes equipped with 512MB of RAM and the same of ROM but users only have access to 150MB.

Motorola Flipout

One of the major drawbacks is the 320 X 220 display—it’s tiny and the image details are lost in translation.  Also, the 3 megapixel camera isn’t that great.  It can only record video at 352 X 288 which is about the equivalent of a web cam—ten years ago.
So if you need a decent phone that fits easily into your pocket and doesn’t have all the flash and useless pizzazz of some other higher-end devices, this is the phone for you.

Samsung cell phone – Epic 4G: QWERTY keyboard and 4G for the American market

While in other countries the mobile market is slower, the 4G mobile phones are starting to come out in a progressive manner in United States as novelties in the catalog of the most advanced smartphones of the moment. This is the case of the new Samsung Epic 4G, which is an evolved version of the Samsung Galaxy S that right now is hitting the stores in many places around Europe in association with important and well-known telecommunication companies such as Movistar. The Korean company Samsung is now offering for sale a smartphone with the already well-known Super AMOLED display (4 inches), full QWERTY keyboard, and another interesting detail: An awesome operating system (the powerful Android 2.1).

At the moment, the Epic 4G will be available only in the United States and with the telecommunications company Sprint. Anyway, of course, it is very possible that the Korean company will start to offer this mobile phone in the European market, as has happened with other models.
Without doubt, this gadget is a very interesting option in the smartphones field. We have to highlight the generous 4-inch display  with the exclusive Samsung technology: Super AMOLED. That produces much more brighter, clearer, and well-defined colors, which is something that is a nice feature, especially for those users who want to find an alternative to the Apple iPhone and its high-resolution Retina display.
Also, the round and elegant shape is another nice feature. Definitely,  this gadget is a suitable and interesting mobile phone for those users who are looking for a geometric style, which is something that Samsung has incorporated extensively in its high-end phones. The official dimensions of this smartphone are 4.9 inches x 2.54 inches x 0.56 inches (124.8 mm x 64.6 mm x 14.2 mm) and it weighs 5.46 ounces (155 grams).
Regarding connectivity, the Samsung Epic 4G comes with WiMAX (4G) support and the ability to work as a tethering option; that is to say, it can work as a network router for other devices that need a wireless connection. In this way, the new  Samsung Epic 4G would have the possibility to connect up to five additional WiFi-enabled devices in order to work in a wireless way. So, the Epic 4G is also a mobile hotspot. Interesting!
As mentioned before, the smartphone comes with the Android operating system (in particular, the 2.1 version, aka Eclair) and the TouchWiz user interface software, which is usually used by Samsung in most of its devices. As for multimedia options, besides the (already obvious) support for playing video and audio files (and viewing / browsing pictures), it is necessary to mention its photo camera with a 5-Megapixel sensor. This is a camera that will help us to get some photos with a reasonable quality (at least better than many other smartphones). In addition, the Samsung Epic 4G also comes with an extra VGA camera will be useful for us when we are going to make some video calls.

T-Mobile’s New myTouch 3G Slide: Not too Shabby

The new Android phone from T-Mobile is a pretty slick machine.  The myTouch 3G Slide features a whole host of upgrades over previous Android phones but the much hyped Genius button really isn’t the best out of the bunch.
With a 3.4’ touch screen (featuring pinch and zoom capabilities—which all touch screens should from now on) the devices is about average size-wise but it’s packed with a whole bunch of goodies including a 5MP camera a with flash, a full QWERTY keyboard (with exceptionally large and comfortable keys) and Fave’s Gallery.  This last feature save your favorite apps and contacts in an easily accessible list so you can get to where you want to go much quicker.

The Genius button (the part that T-Mobile is pushing hard on it’s TV spots) works okay most of the time but occasionally the voice recognition is garble d and the answers returned are far from those you were looking to find.
Other than that, you get access to the Droid app store (which is growing every day) and a good cell phone experience strapped on as a bonus.
The two drawbacks that keep this device from being a top pick are the screen’s resolution (only 320 x 480) and the quality of the pictures taken by the camera.  Though it is a higher resolution camera than you’ll find on most phones, the pictures are either blurry or washed out.
Still, this little piece of tech isn’t a bad deal for $180 (with a contract of course.)

Motorola Charm Officially Announced by T-Mobile

The Charm (until recently code named Project Basil) is the first Droid phone to feature a full QWERTY keyboard but is it really all that great?  Other than being sleek and stylish, this phone refuses to compromise its time-tested design to cash in on a fast-dying fad.  In short, yes!
With a 2.8 landscape screen in the front and a keyboard underneath, the Charm looks a lot like a Blackberry until you get it in your hands.  You see, the Charm cabbaged a unique design quirk from AT&T’s Backflip:  a touchpad mounted on the back!

Currently the device is running Droid 2.1 with Blur and sports a 3 megapixel camera—which clearly can’t compete with some of its other Droid kin.  However, unlike some of its other less-technically inclined Droid counterparts, the Charm rocks a noise cancelling microphone which will hopefully help with the poor call quality reported by some Droid Incredible users.
There’s been a lot of internet speculation about this particular phone since it was spotted in a T-Mobile “back to school” advertisement but apparently the company isn’t quite ready to come clean.  Not only was T-Mobile tight-lipped about a price, but they hesitated to give a concrete release date, opting instead to throw out the old “this summer” shtick—so keep your eyes peeled!

Gigabit ethernet switch: AT-x600

Currently, Allied Telesis is selling a line of switches denominated as the AT-x600 series. Those switches offer several advantages and are perfect as aggregation switches or as an access controller for any network. This family of products with stackable Layer 3 Gigabit Ethernet switches has both 24 and 48 Gigabit port versions with optional 10GbE uplinks. The wide variety of security functionalities and the easy integration with several NAC solutions, including Microsoft NAP and Symantec SNAC, make these products a good choice for systems where intelligence and security at the network periphery are crucial factors. Besides, all the x600 switches can be stacked by using uplink ports that were specifically designed to enable a 4-unit stack to have a massive 160 Gigabits of uplink bandwidth with no reduction in stacking backplane throughput. This way, this range of products provides a great flexibility and reliability.
The Allied Telesis AT-x600 switches family is available in four versions: Two versions comes with 24 ports (the AT-x600-24Ts and the AT-x600-24Ts/XP, although there is an additional PoE version too), and other two versions with 48 ports (the AT-x600-48Ts and the AT-x600-48Ts/XP). More specifically, the 24-port versions feature 24 Gigabit copper ports along with 4 Gigabit SFP (small form-factor pluggable) ports; on the other hand, the 48-port devices have 44 Gigabit copper ports and also 4 Gigabit SFP ports. In addition, the XP models come with 2 additional XFP ports for 10GbE connectivity. And one more thing: This x600 series uses the excellent operating system AlliedWare Plus, which is the same operating system that is used by other Allied Telesis families such as the x900 series and the SwitchBlade x908.
The new family AT-x600 is already available in the market.

GAEMS Suitcase Gets Your Console Where It Needs to Go

Travelling with your game console has always presented a problem.  Before this latest generation of consoles, our machines were often relegated to the bottom of gym bags and even after Microsoft game out with customized Xbox 360 backpacks, nobody bought them.  They were too expensive, bulky, and just plain un-cool.  That’s something that the new GAEMS suitcase is solving with its sleek design and ultimate portability.  It’s not perfect, but it’s better that your book bag.
The best part about the suitcase is that it comes equipped with a 15” 720p LCD mounted in the upper portion of the lid.  All you have to do is plug the mess in, flip open the case, and fire up your console.  There’s even speakers inside so there’s almost no need for peripherals.  This great combination design allows you to take your box places you previously wouldn’t have been able to but the desing is far from perfect.

First of all, your power brick won’t fit inside.  Neither will your controllers.  Neither will anything else—at least with the current 360 design.  (The yet to be unveiled Xbox 360 250GB GAEMS case may offer enough room inside to transport additional materials.)  So not only do you have to carry this GAEMS case around with you, but you have to carry another bag for your cables and controllers.  Solving one problem but sticking gamers with another isn’t exactly a good way to make friends quickly.
Still, this portable TV set-up only costs $250 so it’s worth it just for the novelty.  You won’t ever again be disappointed by an outdate motel TV that just doesn’t have the right ports to hook your system to.
In addition to the Xbox 360 version, there soon will be Xbox 260 250GB and Playstation 3 versions of the GAEMS case available.

Intel: Nvidia Geforce GPU is only 14x faster than the Core i7-960

Intel has made a recent announcement that has been considered a peculiar intent to improve the reputation of its products and rebut some declarations on the part of Nvidia. Last Wednesday, Intel announced that its technology for processors is only 14 times slower than the technology from the brand of graphics processing units GeForce. The unusual announcement is a move of the Santa Clara maker of processors in order to minimize Nvidia’s allegations. According to Nvidia, the Geforce GPUs are 100 times faster than the regular Intel processors.
A document titled Debunking the 100x GPU vs. CPU Myth has been made public. There, Intel suggests that, under certain circumstances, the applications can run up to 14 times faster on a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 in comparison with an Intel Core i7-960. Also, Intel stated that, on average, the graphic processor works 2.5 times faster. Naturally, Nvidia reacted quickly and made public its “opinion” about this document.
Andy Keane pointed out on a blog Intel relied on a previous generation of the GPU instead of using a Fermi GPU. The Nvidia representative also stated that, apparently, Intel ran codes without any optimization on the GTX 280. Moreover, Keane wrote that it’s unclear how they compared the GPU with the Intel CPU.
Mr. Keane also clarified that all the applications don’t reach the same increase of speed (100 times faster) when they are executed on a GPU, but he mentioned some developers have reached that performance level. Besides, at least seven organizations have claimed to have reached the disputed speed increase (100x), and even one organization announced a speed increase of about 300x