We've put Swarovski crystals on Macbook Airs and re-skinned our iPhones, so I'm not surprised that an emerging trend is the accessorization of the Bluetooth headset. Clunky, dark and ugly no more!  These wireless sensations are about to get all dolled up. The first of what promises to be many in the growing cell phone sector, is the Plantronic Discovery 925.  Currently available to celebs only (Eva Longoria Parker and Brooke Shields have been spotted sporting the 925), the general public can expect these headsets to be released in April. Thinner and lighter than most available earpieces, the 925 will initially be offered black, gold and magenta - with nine more flavors to follow. $149 will not only get you good looks, ...
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From January the 20th new laws will come into effect after the South Australian government voted to put new censorship laws on the net. This will mainly affect entertainment companies who sell content but may affect content already on the world wide web. Essentially, content providers will have to check the age of a user where necessary, i.e. whether a person is above 15 or 18, depending on the material being viewed. The Australian Communications and Media Authority will be able to force providers to remove content as well as links being deleted. The restrictions apply to chatrooms, websites and mobile phone content. It has been stated that there will be an ‘opt out’ option for the restrictions, ...
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Meet the umbrella that lets you do more than shield you from the rain, the Pileus: Pileus is an umbrella connected to the Internet to make walking in rainy days fun. Pileus has a large screen on the top surface, a built-in camera, a motion sensor, GPS, and a digital compass, and it provides two main functions; [sic] A Social Photo-sharing and A 3D Map Navigation. The "social photo-sharing" part is actually with Flickr, while the "3d map navigation" part is powered by Google Earth. Pileus started out as a research project by Sho Hashimoto and Takashi Matsumoto at Keio University's Human Computer-Interaction (HCI) Design Lab. Here's a short ...
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Move over iPhone! Microsoft has done you one over. The hype over the iPhone has fizzled (and reportedly the iPhone will be released to the public this June). But now there's something even better. And it's from Microsoft. The first time I saw this video, I thought O! The oPhone is supposed to be the ultimate in mobile telephony. It's supposed to beat the Apple iPhone in terms of usability, entertainment capability, and enjoyment. Watch the video to see how great the oPhone is. You'll surely say O! [via Yugatech] This is kind of late for April 1st, but then again, the world is a crazy place.
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Now that the rush is over and I've had a play with all of the consoles released over here (sadly that doesn't include the PS3 however) I'm thinking ahead. One of the things that I usually don't consider is what lies beyond the next batch of big releases. I, weirdly, have difficulty in thinking of games that I would like to play (in terms of concept ideas at least), which is also weird as I'm naturally creative. However, for this article I decided to have a really good think - over a nice cappuccino - on where I'd like the future of videogames to go. Firstly, lets pick up on some of ...
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Today Google officially unleashes its free city wide WiFi network in Mountain View California. Powered by 380 radio antennae, the Mountain View network is supposed to surf the Web at speeds comparable to the Internet connections delivered by digital subscriber, or DSL lines. It will be slightly slower than a high-speed cable connection. Interestingly, users are forced to login. So much for nice gestures. Google wants YOUR eyeballs. That's what this is all about. Once they get your eyeballs, they'll get more advertising dollars. But hey, what can I say, I'd still use the service. In some queer way, Google has made it ok to get stuff for free, in exchange for a little ad-love. Google WiFi - I ...
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Linksys has released two VoIP phones for use over WiFi connections. Both phones allow users to choose which VoIP carrier they use (e.g. Vonage, BroadVoice, etc.). One of the interesting things about these Linksys' VoIP phone offerings is the fact that they have packaged many of the features one normally finds in a cell phone, such as a phone book, customizable ringtones and wallpaper. The entry-level phone is model WIP300 which features a 1.8-inch color LCD display and has a retail price of $219.99. The WIP300 opeartes in the 2.4Ghz band and is 802.11b/g compatibile. Some of its features include caller ...
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Linux Devices reports that the first wireless 802.11n draft-compliant systems run Linux. This is good news for those who follow the 3rd Party firmware industry and employ one of the many feature rich solutions from companies like Sveasoft, DD-WRT, etc. In fact, the first commercial Draft N product off the shelves from Linksys, the WRT300N seems to use a lot of open source code, which is easily available to be modified (hacked) and added enhanced. Unless Linksys pulls another WRT54G v5 bomb, draft N looks like it will be amenable to such amenities as doubling as a webserver, VPN server, operate in client mode, use WDS etc. Anyone who wants to get ...
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Spectrum analyzers are necessary tools for installing wide area wireless networks (i.e. WISP) and can even be used by the typical consumer dealing with interference from mobile phones or microwaves. The spectrum analyzer basically gives you information about the wireless spectrum envrionment, to help you make choices that maximize coverage and minimize interference. Up until now, good spectrum analyzer's have only been available for thousand's of dollars. But MetaGeek has released a solid USB spectrum analyzer that will meet most people's needs for only $99. Now all those wireless hacks can do things right! Check out the following reviews of the MetaGeek Wi-Spy: JiWire review of Wi-Spy Tom's Networking review of ...
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Scott Fullton at Tom's Networking has a fascinating report on his experience with Verizon's EV-DO wireless internet service...out in the woods. The exciting thing about EV-DO is the potential for coast-to-coast blanketed wireless internet access. Right now, though, EV-DO is primarily known for covering large metropolitan areas. So Scott Fullton decided to put the promise of rural EV-DO to the test. To be sure, the test was conducted only about an hour away from Cincinnati, so it wasn't like West Virginia or anything. But still, Scott was able to reach a high download rate of 256 kbps. Not blazingly fast, but not bad either, all things considered. However, the speed was strongly related to ...
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