Gadgets Mobile

Remember the new Archos Internet Media Tablets, the 5, 5g, and 7? Well, it looks like the 5 and 7 are already on sale at Archos retailer, Amazon. At this time, the 5g is not currently on sale.

The 60GB Archos 5 is set to cost $349.99, the same model with 120GB capacity will cost $50 more priced at $399.99, and the 250GB Archos 5 will cost $449.99. Next, we have the Archos 7 and the base unit, the 160GB model will cost $449.99. One of the main differences between the Archos 7 and 5 is the screen size, the Archos 7 boasts a 7-inch TFT LCD screen, meanwhile the Archos 5 comes with a slightly smaller 4.8-inch display. Finally, the whopping 320GB model will cost $549.99. As previously mentioned, the Archos 5g is not on sale yet, but hopefully it will be soon.

If you wish to purchase one of these devices, expect to receive it within 2-4 weeks.

Read [Archos] Product [Amazon] Via [I4U]

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If you don’t like kids to mess up your lawn, why not get the Talking Wicked Witch Of The West? This nasty piece of work will definitely scare those who lack the necessary intestinal fortitude away from your home, although with the amount of horror media saturating our kids’ minds these days, they might end up loving the Talking Wicked Witch Of The West.

This is the 5′ 2″ tall statue of the infamous Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz that repeats the classic phrase “I’ll get you, my pretty… and your little dog, too!” spoken by Margaret Hamilton from the original 1939 film’s soundtrack when unsuspecting visitors activate its sound and vibration detection sensor. Suggestive of all the iconic character’s powers of enchantment, the witch stands menacingly with outstretched green clawed hands, and issues her warning - the leitmotif “Almira Gulch’s/Witch’s Theme” followed by Hamilton’s own voice - from a built-in speaker. Made from polyresin and painted in high-gloss lacquer for a look that resembles the finest porcelain, the statue’s facial features replicate the same striking details from Hamilton’s character, including the green skin, pronounced nose, gnashed teeth, wavy black hair, and furrowed brows - even the wart on the right side of her elongated chin. Every detail of the witch’s costume is reproduced, including her billowing black cape, bodice, full-length puffed sleeve dress, pointed hat with scarf, and belt pouch. For indoor or protected outdoor use. Requires two AA batteries.

I’d be careful about leaving this outside my home though, especially when it costs a whopping $2,500 to bring home in the first place.

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The citizens of the UK are in for a nice treat with this new TomTom GPS they are getting soon. The TomTom GO 940 LIVE is an upgraded model to the TomTom GO 930 (pictured above).

The main differences between the 940 and 930 are IQ routes, Lane Assist, and Enhanced Positioning Technology. The LIVE in the name of the GPS stands for live HD traffic updates that comes from a subscription to HD Traffic. Another feature that the 940 comes with is Google Search. By using an available GSM connection the owner can access Google Search from the GPS. Unfortunately, the TomTom GO 940 is set to be pretty expensive costing 468 Euros, or around $871 US. In addition, the LIVE subscription comes with a complimentary 3 month trial, but after that it will cost $10-$15 a month.

TomTom GO 940 LIVE is ready to be pre-orded on Handtec, no word on actual shipping date.

Read [Handtec] Via [GPSLodge]

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by Paul Miller, posted Aug 23rd 2008 at 10:02AM
We’ve been tracking the AirCar for near centuries in Engadget Time, but MDI’s little car that could-maybe-possibly seems to have finally taken to the streets. The car has been seen sporting French plates, meaning it’s actually been approved for use there — unsurprising, considering the car’s 2009 planned launch in France, but exciting nonetheless. The car boasts a 50 mile range running off of compressed air, and can stretch that further by heating up the air with another power source. It might not solve world hunger, but we’re just happy to see compressed air playing a featured role outside of cleaning our keyboard and propelling Airsoft pellets at our cat.*

*We’re kidding. Cats are awesome.

[Via AutoblogGreen]

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Filed under: Transportation

FROM APPLETELL - BusinessWeek claims to have some information that points to Apple’s plans to build over 40 million iphone 3Gs during the next 12 months.
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by Darren Murph, posted Aug 23rd 2008 at 11:18AMThough not quite as bad as toting the GPS module around with you, one particular marijuana farmer had to be mighty embarrassed / wondering what he ever did to deserve such bad luck when a GPS-equipped turtle meandered into his crop. As the story goes, a close friend of the police — a box turtle with no fear of Big Brother — just happened upon a pot stash on US park property. Clearly, Mr. Isiah Johnson (the culprit) was heavily stoned when choosing US land to farm his ganja, and now he’s in custody until he’s “extradited back DC to face drug charges.” And you thought all you had to do was dodge those CCTV cameras…

[Via TechDigest]

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Filed under: GPS

by Darren Murph, posted Aug 23rd 2008 at 7:41AMHey, hackers! Now that we’ve got the attention of millions upon millions of incredibly talented individuals, here’s your next challenge. India’s Airtel — which is offering Apple’s iphone 3G at a near-stratospheric price — has claimed that “even the most deadly hackers on the planet won’t be able to crack the codes that support the iPhone’s Airtel applications with rival company SIMs.” Just so you know, it appears that Airtel worked with Apple to develop “operator-specific iPhone applications,” which is an interesting tidbit in and of itself. But let’s focus on the task at hand here, and that’s proving that making ridiculous claims about impenetrability always comes back to bite ya.

[Image courtesy of Zedomax, thanks Akshay]

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Filed under: cellphones

Yamaha has finally taken up the task to ship it’s BODiBEAT device that threw up quite a storm when it was first unveiled. Just to recap, the BODiBEAT prides itself in being the first music player in the world that is able to select songs that match the pace of the user’s workout. This is made possible by synchronizing automatically one’s musical selections to the steps of the user’s walk or run. I wonder what happens when most of the songs are of the same beat, will the software tear its virtual hair out in frustration due to being unable to find a match? I would normally think that once a person’s workout pace drops, it is imperative to pick up that lost pace by increasing the speed of music and not the other way round, but I won’t argue with Yamaha on this point.

BODiBEAT comes with BODiBEAT Station, software that automatically categorizes each downloaded song by beats per minute (bpm), and a small heart rate monitor that clips gently onto the user’s ear. Designed to maximize fitness activities such as running, walking and dancing, BODiBEAT also tracks the metrics of these workouts, including distance, time, pace and heart rate. BODiBEAT includes an armband and is ergonomically designed for ease-of-use and exceptional comfort during active pursuits. BODiBEAT features 512 megabytes of skip-free internal flash memory, and offers approximately 12 hours of playback when fully charged. BODiBEAT has four main operating modes: Free, Fitness, Training and Music. In Free mode, BODiBEAT automatically matches the music to the exercise pace, selecting songs that mirror the tempo of the user’s jogging or walking speed. Fitness modes include Walk Fitness and Jog Fitness, each of which works in conjunction with the heart rate monitor to select the most appropriate music for optimal aerobic exercise at the user’s fitness level. Like a personal trainer, Training mode tells users when to speed up and slow down for ideal results, and it does so while playing their favorite music. In Music mode, BODiBEAT functions as a standard portable audio player.

The Yamaha BODiBEAT can be yours for $299.99. Expect to see these appear in gyms pretty soon.

Press Release

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Microsoft has taken the opportunity to announce the SideWinder X6 keyboard at the Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany, adding yet another member to the venerable SideWinder line of gaming peripherals from the software giant. It seems as though Microsoft Hardware laid low for quite some time, and the SideWinder name has not exactly lighted up the gaming world for some time already, so hopefully the X6’s debut will change all that. This is touted to be the most versatile gaming keyboard on the market thanks to the pioneering switchable key pad which can be attached to either the left or right side of the keyboard, catering for both left- and right-handers.

The switchable keypad itself is useful for ordinary, everyday tasks, depending on which hand the user is more prone to using. When used for gaming, however, it’s value cannot be undermined. The switchable keypad enables gamers to record up to 90 macros PER game, thanks to a set of dedicated macro keys that accompanies the fully programmable keypad. Instant mode switching allows gamers to move between an Excel spreadsheet and their favorite game in a snap, and the modes are differentiated through the LEDs displayed. The inclusion of automatic profile switching makes it possible to detect the current application, applying the custom profile in an instant.

Some of the features found on the SideWinder X6 keyboard are :-

• New Cruise Control feature continues an action without having to hold down the key or keys assigned to the action. Gamers can use Cruise Control with up to four keys at a time.
• In-game macro record button lets gamers record any sequence of keystrokes - even standard chat messages. Macros are stored on the PC hard drive and can be easily shared.
• WASD gaming keys, the most commonly used keys for gamers, have front-face lighting for enhanced visibility.
• Quick-Launch key gives one-touch access to Windows Vista Games Explorer, allowing gamers to <quickly see the games in their PC’s game library.

The SideWinder X6 Keyboard will hit retail shelves this September for $79.95. Image courtesy of Engadget.

Press Release

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by Thomas Ricker, posted Aug 23rd 2008 at 4:05AM
Kevin Rose of Digg origins claims to have the scoop on the latest iPod nano. Mind you, this is the same Kevin Rose who notoriously claimed that a generation one iphone would launch in both CDMA and GSM versions with a pair of batteries and slide-out keyboard. Uh hem. This time however, he backs up his claims with a picture of that skinnier, longer, and curvier nano pictured above — credible because it just happens to be consistent with other rumors we’ve seen floating around and certainly makes sense for an Apple obsessed with tapering edges and video playback. Kev also claims that the ipod lineup will undergo price cuts to avoid the market cannibalization assumed by the lower $199 iPhone 3G purchase price. The iPod touch, which currently starts at $299 for 8GB, will see some slight cosmetic changes as well as a new 2.1 firmware update (which will obviously make its way to the iPhone). Tagging along with the iPod refresh is a new iTunes 8.0 which, according to Rose’s sources, deserves the full point upgrade based on all the new features and functionality it brings. All this, “in the next 2-3 weeks.”

He then adds that OS X 10.5.6 is rumored to include Blu-ray support which could point to future Blu-ray options in Apple’s lineup of Macs — oh, and ponies, lots of ponies. Listen to the man say it in his own words in the video after the break.

[Thanks, Matt and Alexis F.]

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video