Gadgets

test

Wed, 31 Jan 2007 16:50:54 GMT

test test

Gallery: SIGGRAPH 2006

JOEL VEAK AND KRISTIN OSIECKI — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 14:08:39 GMT

See images from the floor of the annual exhibition of computer graphics and digital art
We sent our photographers to SIGGRAPH 2006, the annual five-day conference on digital art and computer graphics at the Boston Convention Center. Slideshow: selections from the SIGGRAPH 2006 exhibition. Photographs by Joel Veak. Slideshow: SIGGRAPH 2006 fashion show. Photographs by Kristin Osiecki.

Geek in the woods

KATE COHEN — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 22:08:29 GMT

Roughing it for urban gadget fiends
For city dwellers accustomed to living with iPods, cell phones, and steady wi-fi, a weekend spent camping can send well-adapted urbanites into temporary panic.

For city dwellers accustomed to living with iPods, cell phones, and steady wi-fi (not to mention indoor plumbing), a weekend spent camping — or even more extreme, hiking and camping — can send well-adapted urbanites into temporary panic as they recall well-buried memories of a family outing gone terribly wrong when a certain someone mistook an anthill for a sandbox.

Phones remix

MICHAEL JOHNSON — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 15:24:28 GMT

Is that a bigger Verizon in your pocket or are you happy to see me?
Cell phone manufacturers are slowly coming around to the notion that a little bulk isn’t bad, especially if it means there’s fewer things in your pockets.

UMD or Beta?

RYAN STEWART — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 21:18:31 GMT

PSP loses its movies
A curious development on the handheld front: while PSP continues to lead the Nintendo DS in US sales, sales of UMD movies (the PSP’s movie format) have dropped so dramatically that most studios are now abandoning the format.

Call to the bullpen

RYAN STEWART — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 21:20:02 GMT

ESPN's phone strikes out
While the year is still young, you could make a fair argument that ESPN’s mobile service is likely to be remembered as one of the biggest bombs of 2006.

Failure to launch

RYAN STEWART — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 18:41:41 GMT

The Next Gen Console Wars
Sony seemed to have the right idea for competing with the Xbox 360: let them launch first and go through the requisite growing pains, and then capitalize by bringing out the PS3 when the gild had fallen off the 360 lilly.

Sony seemed to have the right idea for competing with the Xbox 360: let them launch first and go through the requisite growing pains, and then capitalize by bringing out the PS3 when the gild had fallen off the 360 lilly. It looked like a good strategy when the 360 launch was beset by problems back before the holidays: not enough supply to keep up with demand, and an awfully buggy product. Only one problem for Sony: Spring 2006 is now here, and the PS3 is nowhere to be found.

The blogs are abuzz with rumors that it’s going to be a while. Several sites, including SPOnG and Kotaku, reported that PS3’s presence at this May’s E3 would be severely muted — limited hands-on demos and hardly any presence in third-party company’s booths. In other words, unless you’re part of the accredited press, get in line, sucka.

All this is only fueling speculation that there are still some major issues to work out with the system. The Inquirer reports on its site that it appears that Sony is even still bidding on some of the system’s components — and the components are currently too large to fit into that slick-looking case they’ve been showing off all over town. In other words, the system itself is nowhere near complete.

Meanwhile, all this focus on the PS3’s many potential problems has obscured two other developments on the next-gen front.

First, those of you who bought an Xbox 360 in anticipation of Halo 3? Well, get comfortable, Master Chief. The most recent reports indicate that the game will not be released until March 2007, and nobody from Microsoft or Bungie has refuted those claims. The initial assumption was that Microsoft would wait for the PS3 to launch for the Halo 3 release, thereby taking a huge chunk out of Sony’s sales. But with Sony’s launch in flux, Microsoft is taking a radically different approach: instead of bringing out their marquee game in time for the holidays, they’ll be releasing it first quarter when they have the stage to themselves.

Meanwhile, the Revolution is still generating tremendous buzz. Nintendo already has announced the first title for the launch: the noir-esque Red Steel. Also, rumors have been flying that the Revolution is closer to launch than the PS3, complete with, get this, twenty possible additional titles around the time of launch.

Pimp your iPod

CATHY LU — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 15:41:31 GMT

The best ways to accessorize your cell, gaming device, or MP3 player
No gadget is an island.

No gadget is an island.

Without the right accessories, your portable electronics are only half as powerful as they have the potential to be. From more-compact speaker systems to higher-end headphones, battery boosters to other add-ons, a world of accessories is out there, primed and ready to help you get the most out of your favorite gadgets.

Speakers
Tons of iPod-specific speakers are currently on the market, but one of the best and most powerful is Altec Lansing’s tube-shaped inMotion iM7 ($249.95, alteclansing.com). Insert any dockable iPod in the iM7, and the system will fill the room with music — all while charging your ’Pod. The iM7 comes with a built-in subwoofer for added bass, and a remote that lets you control your iPod from across the room. If you want to hit the beach or park, round up eight D batteries and you’re ready to roll. Not prepared to spend $250? Altec’s got a slew of more-than-respectable, lower-priced iPod speakers as well.

Battery Boosting
The iPod’s battery life is adequate most of the time — unless you need to fly from Boston to Bangkok, or you try to watch Lord of the Rings straight through without recharging. The Nyko iBoost battery pack ($69.99,nyko.com) includes a lithium-ion battery of its own, so you can extend your iPod’s play time by an additional seven hours (for video) and 16 hours (for music). The iBoost attaches to the back of your player and clips into the dock connector, but it’s thin and light enough (just 2.5 ounces) that it won’t make you feel as if you’re carrying around a whole ’nother device.

Gaming Speakers
If you’re looking for an affordable portable speaker system with solid sound, you can’t do much better than JBL’s On Tour or On Tour Plus ($99.95 or $129.95,jbl.com). The OnTours plug into any mp3 player or gaming device’s headphone jack and feature a cover that you slide open when you want to listen to tunes. When you hit the road, you’ll need four AAA batteries, which provide about 24 hours of continuous play. The regular On Tour is white, while the On Tour Plus comes in black and is geared toward Sony PSP owners: it includes a carrying case and a bracket that attaches to the top and holds up the PSP.

One woman, eight cameras

MELISSA OSTROW — Mon, 01 May 2006 18:15:39 GMT

Testing the new crop of digital-picture takers
Like a writer who keeps a notebook in her back pocket in case inspiration strikes, I carry a camera with me for times when the setting, lighting, or situation catches my eye.

Like a writer who keeps a notebook in her back pocket in case inspiration strikes, I carry a camera with me for times when the setting, lighting, or situation catches my eye. I’m also a camera geek: I read all the magazines for the newest cameras, technology, and tricks, and I look for anything to make my photography better and more artistic. Needless to say, getting the opportunity to experiment with eight new digital cameras is a dream come true.

For one week, I photographed my life with my eight new shutters of joy. I photographed concerts and crowds. I took candids in and around my apartment with my cat and my boyfriend as models. And when we broke from the inside lighting studio (my apartment) for a scenic trip through our neighborhood, Brighton became my canvas, its back trails and neighborhood streets my landscape.

At the end of the week, I had experimented with inside light, sunlight, cloudy days, night photography, and videotaping. There were some surprises and some disappointments. Here’s what you should know:

The call of the future

BOB PARKS AND JAMES P. MCQUOID — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 17:24:33 GMT

How the cell phone will go swiss army
As technology advances over the next two decades, cell phones will morph into new shapes and assume new features.

As technology advances over the next two decades, cell phones will morph into new shapes and assume new features. We created some likely scenarios for cellaholics based on the latest lab research and design concepts. Some will happen, some might not. But that thing in your pocket is about to get a whole lot more interesting.

One year out
— Taking a cue from cell phones available in Japan, South Korea, and Finland, handsets in the US will have advanced features: pedometers, large touch screens, four-megapixel cameras, and a slick way to slow down speech with digital technology so the elderly can understand what you’re saying.

— Using a new service by TiVo and Verizon, cell-phone touch screens offer full TV listings for the week. Choose the show you want, and it will be earmarked at the company’s home office. Then you can watch the show full-screen at home or compressed on the cellie during your commute.

— Samsung will release a mobile phone with patented technology that emits perfumes and scents in place of ring tones and vibrating. You can set up the “Smell Phone” with personalized odors for different callers. It might be more pleasant to have your meeting disturbed by lilacs than the Black Eyed Peas.

— The latest Kyocera phone will offer a choice between the Internet or traditional cell-phone networks for making calls. The Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) option is a little cheaper but lower in quality, depending on the time of day.

— Cell phones with 32 gigabyte flash-memory modules, recently announced by Samsung, make it possible to carry around a mini version of your media library. Increased storage also makes it practical for cell phones to carry complete versions of productivity and multimedia software. No more feature-hobbled document viewers with lousy editing abilities.

Three years out
— Just as some 2006 phones bear consumer brands like Disney or Virgin Airlines, future handsets will cater to brands with their functionality. The NASCAR phone will have all the latest pit chats and exclusive video of races. The jewel-encrusted, gold-plated Rolex phone will provide advanced timing and GPS navigation for nautical races and will be marketed to the wealthy fans of America’s Cup Racing. The Spice Channel Phone will have cheap rates and easy (one-handed) dialing for quality 1-900 numbers. The FliXXX Flip Phone will have adult content and collaborative electronic address-book features for gay males.

Go, gadget, go!

MITCH KRPATA — Mon, 01 May 2006 18:16:01 GMT

The most exciting personal devices of 2006 are wireless, tiny, and occasionally even useful
We’re inching ever closer to the technological utopia so keenly envisioned on The Jetsons .

We’re inching ever closer to the technological utopia so keenly envisioned on The Jetsons. Folks today conduct business with the push of a few buttons; life’s necessities are available on demand; and robots cater to our every whim. While we’re still waiting for the flying cars to arrive (What the hell, people?!), here are the gadgets you’ll be begging for this year.

In your ear
A man’s cell phone might be the only item in his life that he’d prefer to be as small as possible. Models like the Motorola SLVR are starting to look like something out of a science-fiction movie. Well, now there’s a Bluetooth headset to match. Set to be released in the first half of this year, the Motorola H5 Miniblue Bluetooth Headset fits entirely within your ear, just like Grandpa’s hearing aid. The company says it measures its dimensions in millimeters, and it’s not being disingenuous. The whole thing weighs a quarter of an ounce. For frequent talkers, this is the most unobtrusive and comfortable hands-free solution yet. For the rest of us, expect even more uncomfortable moments when we pass somebody on Boylston and think they’re talking to themselves like a crazy person.

Roomba gets wet
The Roomba, developed by Burlington-based iRobot, quickly became a cultural touchstone, and has even been parodied on Saturday Night Live (“It cleans my business. My lady business. And I like that”). The sentient little vacuum cleaner had one major drawback, however: it just couldn’t quite take care of those caked-on messes. The Roomba’s new counterpart, the Scooba, acts as a mop to the Roomba’s vacuum. Scooba constantly monitors its surroundings, readjusting its behavior dozens of times per second. All you need to do is fill it with cleaning solution — a Clorox-brand cleaner is the official liquid, but iRobot says you can also use a mixture of vinegar and water. At $399, the Scooba is a bit pricier than the Roomba, but imagine never having to deal with your nacho-cheese-encrusted kitchen floor again. What’s that worth?

Here Come the Hot Gaming Consoles!

Jane Smith — Sun, 18 Dec 2005 22:31:34 GMT

Xbox 360 rocks. Microsoft's newly minted, next-generation game console is packed with a fire-breathing processor, an outlandish graphics processing unit, and high-definition TV outputs for blasting pixels onto huge HDTV screens. It even looks sweet, with a curvaceous, Apple-esque design that both soothes and entices. There can be no doubt: This month Xbox 360 will incite store riots and lure grown men into acts of depravity, just to have one by the end of 2005.

ADVERTISEMENT
click here

Or will it? Sony's PlayStation 3 may rock even more--once it comes out next year. It's got the processor, graphics, HDTV support, and Zen-inspired chassis design. All that, and it's going to come equipped with a high-definition-capable Blu-ray optical drive that will let the console read super-dense discs packing more than 25GB of data (no, that is not a misprint). If you want a next-generation console, it sure as heck ought to handle next-generation media--and PlayStation 3 does just that.

So what's a gamer (or the parent of a gamer) to do? With the holidays looming large, folks have a decision to make. Do they snap up an Xbox now and wrap it in colorful paper, despite the fact that it historically has been the less-popular game console? Or do they give the gift of sweaters this season and wait several months to see what the reigning champ of game boxes has to offer?

Fact is, there are no easy answers. The decision may come down to budget, or patience, or the love of a particular game not available on another system. Every gamer is different. But let's detail what we know today about next-generation game consoles.
No Clear Winner

For all the heady high technology, neither platform is a slam-dunk, says Anand Lal Shimpi, editor in chief and founder of the popular AnandTech hardware technology site. The issue, he says, boils down to titles--or the lack of them.

"I think honestly the biggest weakness Microsoft has is their launch lineup--they've got a few hard hitters, but they don't seem to have a [blockbuster like] Halo this time around," Shimpi explains.

One advantage Microsoft definitely has is time. The Xbox 360 goes on sale November 22, while the Sony PS3 will not be available until March 2006 or perhaps even later. That six-month lead will help Microsoft jump out ahead of rival Sony in 2006, according to Anthony Gikas, senior research analyst at market research firm Piper Jaffray.

In predicting how you, the consumer, will sort out the "buy now or later?" question, Gikas expects 6 million Xbox 360 consoles to ship in 2006, against just 1 million PS3 units. In 2008, however, the tide will have turned, with 8.5 million PS3 units selling compared to 6 million Xbox 360 consoles. At the end of the six-year generation window (at which time we'll be salivating over what might be coming next in game consoles), Gikas expects the Xbox 360 will grab 35 percent to 40 percent of the console market, less than the 45 percent to 50 percent he thinks PS3 should command.