Sony Ericsson is a name synonymous with cell phones, so it is no surprise to see them release yet another handset that falls under the Walkman category - the W705. What new things do the W705 Walkman phone offer? Well, the W705 comes feature packed with the latest technology and functions, ensuring you will be able to enjoy your favorite musical tracks no matter where you are in its optimal tunes, as long as there is some juice left in the W705’s battery, of course. Let us take a closer look at the Sony Ericsson W705’s features right after the jump to see if it warrants a purchase from you in case you are currently shopping for a phone.

The W750 Walkman might come in a smaller numerical denomination compared to the W980 Walkman handset, but it is similar where superior sound quality is concerned with the latter, which means you will probably find a “best audio experience” rating should TESTfactory in Germany conduct a trial with the W705. Other popular Walkman features found on the W705 include the music recognition application TrackID, SensMe, for matching your mood to the music and Shake control to change tracks with the flick of your hand.

Since music is not the only form of entertainment, the Sony Ericsson W705 also offers the PlayNow arena which provides a full range of mobile entertainment, ranging from unique themes and wallpapers, ring tones, a host of free content and DRM-free music tracks and TrackID charts from around the world. It comes encased in an exclusive metal finish, while the generous display makes it easy to convey the necessary information to the user. Other features include Wi-Fi connectivity, a 2.4″ display, automatic rotation from landscape to portrait and vice versa, Google Maps for Mobile to help you find your way around, Bluetooth support, an integrated FM radio, and a 3.2 megapixel camera.

What is the normal process that you take when it comes to developing pictures? Normally, we will download all our photos from the digital camera to the computer, browse through the whole bunch and select what we like, sending them to the printers so that they will be able to give us real prints for posterity. You could call Tomy’s Xiao TIP-521 digital camera a Polaroid of the 21st century - this digital camera comes integrated with a printer, allowing you to print out captured shots instantly if you’re pleased with it. What makes this all the more remarkable is the printing is done without ink, as it relies on patented ZINK paper instead which features an advanced composite material with embedded yellow, magenta and cyan dye crystals. Heat is used to activate and colorize these crystals, hence the inkless format. This 5 megapixel shooter comes with a 2.48″ LCD display and an SD/SDHC memory card slot. It will retail for approximately $357 when released this November 28th.

Microsoft still has not given up on the Zune just yet, having just announcing a slew of designs - 46 in total that will be used with Zunes from the Artist, Zodiac and Tatoo lines. All the new art is created courtesy of artists from all over the globe.

Zune, Microsoft Corp.’s end-to-end music and entertainment service, today added 46 new designs from leading artists to its customization Web site, http://www.ZuneOriginals.net, for the holiday season. For those looking to customize a Zune player for themselves or as a personalized gift this holiday season, the new Zune Originals designs include a Zodiac Series featuring exclusive artwork of Eastern and Western astrology from Catalina Estrada and Iosefatu Sua. An expanded line of regular Zune players, popular Zune accessories and Zune Marketplace gift cards are also available for purchase through http://www.Zune.net just in time for the holidays.

I guess these will only be appealing to all five of you out there who have placed the Zune as your must-have gadget this Christmas.

I’ve never really used my iPod to watch a ton of videos, especially not within my house. However, not everyone spends as much of their time at their computer as I tend to. If you have an area of the house you’d like to more comfortably watch videos on your Nano, this little TV would definitely help you out. It’d be great for hiding out in the garage or a small closet when your in-laws are in town. It looks like the classic TV/VCR combination, but it actually plays videos directly from your Nano.

It does this by magnifying the screen on your Nano by up to 2.8in. Then it plays the sound through the TV speakers. Which also means you could hear your music without having to keep your headphones on the whole time. The TV sadly only works for those with 3rd generation Nanos, so the newer Nanos are out of luck. However, for those with the 3rd gens you can pick this up for pretty cheap. It’s being sold for £14.99 or about $23.

WalMart is offering the new BlackBerry Bold for free with the sign up of a two-year contract with at least the 1350 minute talk plan and unlimited text messaging. The Plan, starts at $79.99 per month or more and is available through wireless carrier AT&T. The $199 mail-in rebate from LetsTalk.com. But is it worth it? If you’re on the “CrackBerry,” it may very well be.

The Bold has been eagerly awaited and looking at the specs, we can see why. It comes with a stunningly sharp and colorful color LCD screen which has twice the Resolution of other BlackBerry devices. The Bold also comes WiFi-Enabled for direct Internet Access. There’s also a built-in GPS Receiver for location-based applications like BlackBerry Maps , both Bluetooth and USB 2.0 connectivity, and a 2.0 Megapixel camera for Picture Messaging.

But the real benefit of the BlackBerry is what it’s always been – the text messaging and mobile email. That doesn’t change as it contains the hallmark BlackBerry keyboard as well. So for those who spend their life on the SMS, perhaps this WalMart offer is ideal. When you consider that the phone costs nearly $400 before subsidizing, it’s rather tempting to amortize that cost over the course of the contract. Especially for something so shiney!

With hard drive capacities going into terabytes now, and getting cheaper while doing it, Western Digital has decided it’s high time to take their bread and butter product and branch out into media centers. Thus, the birth of WDTV.

Using Western Digital’s My Passport portable hard drives, users can daisy chain into the WDTV player and play HD Movies or user-generated videos, listen to digital music and show slideshows of family photos on the living room TV. Users can also plug in other USB storage devices like thumbdrives, digital cameras, camcorders and portable media players.

Full HD playback up to 1080p is the benefit of WDTV, but there’s also it’s seemingly unlimited storage capacities as there’s no limit to how many USB drives which can be added to the WDTV media center. Additionally, users can access two USB drives simultaneously as the WDTV Media Library feature will aggregate both drives into a single, seamless list.

The WDTV Media Center comes with both HDMI and composite (RCA) video connections and runs on the ArcSoft Media Converter software to optimize media content into high resolution HD formats.
And although the WDTV is primarily designed to work with High Definition television, it will work with Standard definition TVs with RCA connections as well.

Comes with:

• HD Media Player
• Stand for My Passport portable drive
• Compact remote with batteries
• Media converter software (Windows only)
• Composite AV cable
• AC adapter
• Quick Install Guide

Word on the street has it that Alltel and Verizon are about to merge, and this monster company will then be usurp AT&T as the largest mobile carrier in the US, combining the might of both 2nd and 5th place carriers into a single entity. Nevertheless, until the FCC approves of that move, we will still be covering news on individual phones released by either company, and the Samsung Delve is under the spotlight today. This handset will come with an intuitive interface and attractive touchscreen design, targeting message-centric folk who spend most of the time doing their talking via text messages and emails instead of voice communications.


The Samsung Delve comes with a virtual QWERTY keyboard and tactile feedback to make input easier, and will boast Samsung’s very own TouchWiz interface. The TouchWiz interface brings together specially concocted widgets that enable users to customize and personalize their phone, virtually making each phone as individualistic as possible. These widgets will take on a familiar ring, as they can be dragged and dropped onto the main display, offering users instant access to their favorite functions at the touch of a finger. Of course, with the help of haptic feedback, you can then be sure of whether you have made a selection or not.

Other features on the Samsung Delve include an integrated MP3 player, a 2 megapixel camera with video capture capability, Bluetooth connectivity, a microSD memory card slot, a 3.5mm headset jack and comes with Alltel Pic Transfer, Alltel Mobile Advisor, City Id, Collapse Chaos and Wallpaper Universe pre-loaded. How much do you have to pay in all if you want to bring the Samsung Delve home? Well, it will retail for $199.99 after a $100 mail in rebate for a new 2-year contract, and you can pick it up from retail stores and at shopalltel.com from November 6 onwards.

You can’t always control when your best ideas come out. Sometimes they happen in the middle of the night, which for most means it’s going to be a sleepless night. Other times they happen at moments it’s seemingly impossible to jot a note before it slips from your mind. One of those times could easily be the shower, yes you’re only in there for a short while but you could forget by the time you’re out. If you had this waterproof pad in your shower you’d never forget one of your ideas again.


Just place the pad into its holster and mount the holster to the wall of your shower or anywhere else that might get damp that you might need to take notes. Also, placed low enough it’d probably be good to keep kids entertained and maybe they won’t fight taking a bath quite as much. The set not only comes with the convenient holster, but three refill pads. On those pads you can use any standard writing pen or pencil. It doesn’t say if others work like a permanent marker, but theoretically it should work. To pick one up it will cost you $14.99 from Think Geek.

Smart Start, Inc. from Irving has recently rolled out the new Photo Identification Ignition Interlock device that could potentially help save lives on the road. What does it do exactly? Well, this device uses patented technology which remembers photographs of the interlock user and associating it with an ignition interlock device. This device is smart enough to know who is actually taking the breath test, and is almost 100% foolproof since it works on each and every test, including attempted tests. Just to get a better idea of how secure and effective it is, Texas Judges have required 250 offenders to install the Photo-ID interlock device as an additional sanction on the SSI 20/20 Interlock device since September 1st this year.


According to Lamar Ball, CEO of Smart Start, “Drunk driving is preventable; we are committed to saving lives and making our roadways safe. Assisting in the prevention of the needless incidence of drunk driving is our mission, and research shows interlocks are a proven tool in reducing DWI recidivism.”

This futuristic tool is a commitment by SSI to display their ongoing commitment when it comes to helping authorities monitor interlock offenders. This technology has proven itself to be a major step forward for ignition interlock technology, and it will provide answers to the million dollar question: “How do I know who took the interlock test?” Guess there is no fooling technology, but what happens when one wears one of those masks found in the Mission Impossible series that match the exact photograph used? Will it be able to circumvent the safety system then?

The device can be found all over Texas, and SSI will be offering free installation from now until January next year, so might as well take advantage of this three-month window period to take full advantage of the situation.

“Hey, has anyone seen my iPhone? Oh, there it is. Someone enlarged it and stuck it on the wall. Very funny, guys.”

Seriously now, that thing that you see on the picture here is a jukebox. That’s right, a jukebox. Our digital society really doesn’t have any use for the traditional jukebox, unless you have the Xi Jukebox that we reported on a while ago.

This IntelliTunes Digital Jukebox is not designed for playing small LPs or CDs. No, it is designed to network (presumably wirelessly) to your computer to load whatever tunes you wish to play.

Once all the tunes are there, you can control them via remote control. The IntelliTunes Digital Jukebox has two screens of interface. One screen is for the actual selection of tracks, and the other is for animation while the tunes are playing.

Well, this could be the end of traditional jukeboxes as we know it. However, it has been a while since I’ve seen a traditional jukebox, so perhaps the end has already come. Still, I like the idea of every home having one of these jukeboxes on their wall, but most people already have their tunes on their iPod or whatever MP3 Player that they are sporting.

So, it appears the IntelliTunes Digital Jukebox is made for the household, but there is no word on the release date or price.

Ford has a new MyKey system that aims to help teens drive much safer, considering the fact that those who have just received their new driving license tend to think they’re immortal or something along the lines, only to find out much later that a car has its limits and real world driving is totally different from video games, no matter how many laps you have done at home in Gran Turismo. The MyKey system from Ford enables parents to limit not only the speed of the vehicle, but the audio volume as well. That’s pretty nifty and interesting - after all, teens need to let out their angst through music, so a cap on volume level is most welcome to geezers like me.

The MyKey feature will roll out in 2009 onwards as standard equipment on the 2010 Focus coupe, and it will also be a standard feature on other Ford models to follow including the Lincoln and Mercury lines. Owners will be able to program a key to limit the vehicle’s top speed and audio volume, where the former will be limited to just 80 mph while the audio system cannot pump out anything more than 44% of the maximum volume. Perfect to let the parent sitting on the passenger side in front to continue nagging the new driver beside without having the latest track from Linkin’ Park drowning out the one-sided conversation.

In addition, one can also program in speed alerts that chime at 45, 55 and 65 mph speeds. This reduced speed function works great since fuel economy can be improved as well, as research has shown that driving 55 mph instead of 65 mph consumes 15% less fuel, while being forced to mastering eco-driving habits such as avoiding jackrabbit starts and excessive idling will be able to further improve fuel economy by over 50%. The MyKey system also has an earlier low fuel warning at 75 miles to empty instead of the usual 50 miles, which will prevent parents from getting a call in the middle of the night to drive out and meet their kid in a stalled vehicle that’s run dry.

LG has slowly but surely been gaining the trust by people worldwide for its brand of cell phones, and they have certainly come a long way from their humble beginnings. Here we have a brand new handset that is set to blow your mind away - the LG Renoir, also known by its more formal moniker, the LG KC910. This slim handset is packed with a bunch of features, including a full touch screen display as well as an 8 megapixel camera. Granted, cell phone cameras still lack the sensors to make them the equal of standalone digital cameras, but that doesn’t mean they cannot capture sweet looking images under the ideal conditions (bright light and stationary subjects). More on the LG Renoir right after the jump.

The 8 megapixel camera would be the focal (pardon the pun) point of this handset, since very rarely does any commercial cell phone feature a digital camera with such high megapixel count. It will feature Schneider-Kreuznach certified optics, a Xenon flash, auto and manual focus, sensitivity up to ISO 1600 and geo-tagging that helps you remember just exactly where you’ve taken that image no matter where you go. In addition, the Touch Shot feature allows the photographer to focus on any object siply by touching it on the screen, with the shutter firing automatically once the finger is removed. Touch Shot on the Renoir is the first for any cell phone, and greatly helps reduce camera shake in the process.

Other features of the LG Renoir include 3G HSDPA support and Wi-Fi connectivity to keep you connected to the Internet at all times, regardless of where you are (although your international roaming costs might fly through the roof, but that’s another story for another day). In addition, the A-GPS capability makes it a snap for you to access an online map, allowing you to get around even in unfamiliar areas. Interestingly enough, all these features are crammed into a handset that measures just 13.95mm slim. You will be able to pick up the LG Renoir in Europe next month, followed by Asia, Latin America and CIS releases in November. Would be interesting to see how the user interface is like, and whether it can hold a candle to Apple’s UI?

I’m sure you are probably looking at this picture and wondering: “How is this speaker standing up?” That is a good question, and I believe the answer lies in a high-density ballast located at the base.

What you are looking at is the YO, an iPod speaker system designed by an American designer Victor Vetterlein. These speakers are both wireless and detachable, and they charge on the dock. I don’t know if it charges the iPod either, but it should.

In fact, the designer wants to charge the unit with renewable energy sources such as wind power, solar power, or even hydroelectricity. I suppose anything that uses renewable energy sources has to be good, right?

For now, the designer might need to settle for lithium-ion rechargeable batteries in the dock, and they are also in the speakers themselves. This is one of the reasons why the speaker can stand like a kid’s inflatable punching bag.

These speakers are specially shaped in order to maximize the acoustic properties, and they are also completely waterproof.

The YO is still another concept that needs to be birthed into reality, but if the features really are that good, then a lot of people will be in line for this one.

Sony’s eBook Reader is now available in cherry red. The interesting thing, however, is that with two circle wheel control knobs at the bottom, the reader looks like a portrait version of an Etch a Sketch. (memo to Hasbro, get on that, will ya?)


Aside from the cosmetic changes, the Sony eBook reader is exactly the same. Users can install and read novels using Sony’s patented e-Ink technology, play MP3s and view JPG pictures.
It’s built-in memory can hold a library of up to 160 books and newspaper editions. The patented (and proprietary) e-Ink technology makes the electronic image look like traditional print on its six inch screen, and pressing the button shows an animated page turn to the next page – kinda fun. And because it has no backlight, the image doesn’t flicker and as such, is easier on the eyes, but more difficult to read in darker, ambient light.

A handy bookmark feature helps keep the reader in place, and it’s magnification option helps vision challenged readers to enjoy reading as well. Battery life is judged, rather interestingly, at 7500 continuous page turns since the e-Ink screen only uses battery power when you are changing pages.
The one problem Sony’s eBook reader has – other than being mistaken for a child’s drawing toy – is that PDF files are hit and miss compatibility wise since Sony’s obsession with proprietary technology can make anything outside of their sphere of influence questionable to use. Even if it says it will.

But can it give the Kindle a run for its money? Quality wise, it can, but it needs to drop it’s price more to compete on price point and so it’s doubtful it’ll hold ground in this economy. Cost is around $275 from Amazon.

We've been waiting ages for a Sony-branded Bluetooth headset for the Playstation 3. For those of you fanboyish enough to agree with that statement and for all you other non-believers the wait is nearly at an end - the official PS3 Bluetooth headset is available for pre-order on Amazon at the tune of $49.99. Will this headset deliver or disappoint like other PS3 headsets? Only time will tell, and we'll be the first to let you know what we think.

We love our red PSP 2000 alot. We love the enhanced graphics, the Skype capability, and especially the TV output feature. We don't love the lack of remote and docking station though, especially when using the TV out functions of the PSP. Maybe it's because we use the PSP Camera to shoot photos & movies that we then like to display for our friends and family on their TV, but it's always been very inconvenient not having some sort of docking station or remote control. Sony's finally wised up to this (seriously guys, what took so long?) and released this nifty docking cradle with remote that will both charge your and output your PSP 2000 to your TV provided you have the right cables.

I don’t know about you, but there is just something about gaming notebooks that turn me off. Number one, you have the extra bulk to tote around which certainly won’t bode well for your back in the long run, while the battery life is nothing short of shameful. Not only that, while it might be able to play the latest and greatest games on-the-road, it will never be able to match up to a real gaming experience on a desktop PC. Despite those personal reasons, gaming notebooks aren’t dead and they don’t seem to be dying off anyways, with Asus being the latest company to unveil a couple more gaming notebooks in the form of the G71 and G50.

Both models will be powered by NVIDIA’s GeForce 9700M GT graphics processing unit that does more than deliver mouth watering graphics, it also supports technologies such as NVIDIA PhysX for a more realistic in-game experience, video acceleration and image processing-advanced capabilities - and all three are collectively known as “Graphics Plus”. The Asus G71 gaming notebook targets the high end side of things, featuring a generous 17″ display with the ability to hold up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM, 1TB of storage via hard drive configuration and an array of Intel Core2 Duo and Quad Core processors for you to choose from as the “weapon” of choice. As for the Asus G50, this gaming notebook brings together the 32 core GeForce 9700M GT GPU with a mainstream Intel processor for an optimized portable gaming experience without burning too large a hole in your pocket. You will be able to choose from either a 15.4″ or 15.6″ display, and by choosing a lower powered Intel Core 2 Duo processor, you will be able to use the cash saved by throwing in the high-powered GeForce 9700M GT graphics card.

Prices for the G50 start from $1,249 upwards, and you can expect to pay considerably more for the G71.

Motorola is more famous for their line of cell phones more than anything else, but this time round the company takes a slightly different route by introducing a couple of portable GPS navigation systems that help you find your way around, especially in unfamiliar territory. These two models, the MOTONAV TN20 and TN30, will be available on an exclusive basis at RadioShack Corporation. Let us take a closer look at both devices right after the jump before coming to a conclusion as to whether they are worth bringing home or not.

The Motorola MOTONAV TN20 is the lower end device of the two, but that doesn’t mean it lacks in terms of quality. The TN20 is reliable enough to get you places, since it reduces the stress of driving in unfamiliar areas thanks to spoken street names as well as turn-by-turn directions. You will also benefit from over one million searchable points of interest as well as accurate maps depicting continental US courtesy of NAVTEQ. With the most accurate maps on display and the choice between 2D or 3D display modes, getting to your destination has never gotten any easier. The 3.5″ touch screen display is bright enough to use even under direct sunlight, and it will adjust its brightness automatically to suit the driving conditions. Being small enough to fit in a pocket, you can always carry it with you when you decide to tour the city by foot.

As for the MOTONAV TN30, it comes with all the similar features and functions of the TN20 and more. You will get more maps with the inclusion of Canada and Puerto Rico as well, more than four million searchable points of interest to help you amble along with a sense of direction, a more generous 4.3″ touch screen display as well as Bluetooth connectivity to help you carry out hands free conversations over your cell phone while you’re on the road.

Shared features include on-screen speed, distance, arrival time, elevation, and distance traveled; fastest and shortest route options; advanced lane guidance in complex interchanges; speed limit display with warnings and an SD memory card slot for expansion options. Both the Motorola MOTONAV TN20 and TN30 will retail for $199.99 and $299.99, respectively.

Trying to keep all of your gadgets charged when you’re constantly out and about can be difficult. Especially if you have the tendency to get so wrapped up in things that you forget to charge them all up once you’re finally home for the day. With this kit, you could charge up your gadgets when they die on you at inopportune moments. It would also be great for those that travel a lot. If you don’t have a spare charger and you’re hundreds of miles from home on a tight budget, the kit could save you the money of having to buy another charger.

It features a rechargeable lithium ion battery and a power level indicator. It also includes adapters for the iPod, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, USB male, mini 5 pins, Motorola, Nokia and so on. Out of all that it has a total of seven charging adapters. The kit also has an attachment to turn the power bar into a flashlight and a USB charging cable. To finish things off it has a convenient little pouch to hold all of those item in. So all you have to do is toss this in your car, purse or luggage and you’ll have it with you. The whole kit will cost you $32

I can’t help but think that Sanyo’s newest digital phone frame, the ALBO, sounds like a major brand of dog food. As far as I know, ALBO isn’t a fancy acronym for something, but it is one of the coolest digital picture frames that I have ever seen. Considering that there is currently a huge market for digital picture frames now, that is saying something.

The seven-inch LCD frame has one of the most interesting designs, straight out of a science-fiction TV show’s prediction of what television would look like in the future. Just look at the design, and that last sentence will make sense.

As you can see from the photo, it is possible to turn the screen on a swivel for various formats. You can see them in slideshow format with a quick turn, and the photo frame has some other features and effects.

For example, the ALBO has the ability to display RSS feeds via Wi-Fi, and it can receive photos from a cellular phone through an infrared port. The ALBO comes with 256 megabytes of memory, but I’m not certain how much photos or video that it will hold.

The Sanyo ALBO is scheduled to come out in November 14, for a price of about $422. It is probably only available in Japan.