Category: Gadget

All Gadget News on iGyaan, latest gadgets, top new gadgets, cheapest gadgets and expensive gadgets all the latest gadget news , reviews and featured stories

The Space Invaders Multi-Tool

Everyone has needed a multi-tool at some point, but when you really need it, most of the time you don’t have one. One of the most popular multi-tools has been the Swiss Army Knife. Its got a ton of features and it works really well. What if you didn’t want to roam around with a Swiss Army Knife in your pocket all the time?

Well there is a device for you. Its called the Space Invaders Multi Tool. Its shaped like an alien invader from Space Invaders and it’s got a phillips and flat head screw driver built in so that you are never without them. And the best part? Its lightweight and has a key-chain ring for you to attach your car/home/office keys.

July 25, 2011
The Kindle – Your New Text Book

When we were in school and college, we often forgot our textbooks at home or in the hostel and we sat through class with no clue of what was going on. Enter the Kindle. Amazon has launched a new service called Textbook Rental, which lets you store all your textbooks and notes in the cloud.

Amazon’s new service, which was announced today, allows students to rent their textbooks for as much as 80% off the listed price. They can rent the textbooks for a month, a year or any duration in between with additional days being charged on a per-day basis. Not only will this service allow students to make killer savings, but it will also reduce the amount of stuff they need to carry to school.

This service, along with the Kindle app which is available on all major platforms including iOS, Android, Windows Phone 7 and Blackberry, will allow students to read their textbooks and jotted notes on virtually any device. The kids today get all the cool stuff.

July 20, 2011
Ideum Takes On The Microsoft Surface With Its Ultrathin Multitouch Table

Microsoft’s Surface Table hasen’t quite taken the world by storm. This is probably due to the table’s bulky size and hefty price tag. I you are one of those people who was more upset with the table’s size than its price tag, Ideum hopes that you will be interested in its MT-55 multi-touch table.

Instead of sitting in a box, Ideum’s table is more like a flat-screen TV mounted on a stand. The table, which is only 3 inches thick, costs a whopping $18,000. The screen features a 5,000,000:1 contrast ratio and has a 178^o viewing angle and supports a 64-bit copy of Windows 7. The viewing angle is important because it means that even someone whose peeking over the edge of the table will be able to see the display clearly.

Multi-touch table’s may become the rage someday, but until the price comes down, and they create more software specifically for this kind of application, we don’t think that they’re going to sell too many.

July 20, 2011
Infinite Loop – The Accesory With Infinite Uses

Tim Gushue, an engineer and designer, has created an accessory that he calls the Infinite Loop. It is basically an extensible, multipurpose stand for tablets and smart-phones, which can be bent into any shape and holds onto a device via suction cups. He plans to develop a series of accessories for the Infinite Loop including clip on speakers, a USB module and a camera screw thread adaptor.

The device is composed of co-molded metal and plastic and comes in two flavours. There is the two foot long ‘mini-loop’ and the standard four foot long ‘Infinite Loop’. The flexibility and adjustability of the Infinite Loop makes it compatible with virtually all tablets on the market today including the iPad, Playbook, and Galaxy Tab as well as most e-book readers like the Kindle and the Nook. The Mini Loop is compatible with all of Apple’s ‘touch’ products including the iPod and the iPhone as well as virtually any smart-phone that you can stick a suction cup to.

The device as a whole has been designed for a vast number of uses and its flexible nature means that it can be bent into a variety of shapes. The design is also modular, so multiple Infinite Loops can be joined together to create a larger stand/holder. When not in use, the Loop can be rolled up into a compact circle.

July 14, 2011
Sony to Double VAIO Sales in 2011 (PR)
Sony plans to double its VAIO laptop sales this year. With over 62 models in 4 different series, the company may just achieve its targets. Read the Press Release to find out how.

[toggle title_open=”Collapse Press Release” title_closed=”Expand Press Release” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]

Sony India today announced its strategy to double VAIO sales in India by selling 5 lakh laptop units in FY11. VAIO is already the fastest growing laptop brand in India (according to IDC report 2010) with more than 100% growth and the new product line-up will ensure that it becomes even more closer to the Indian audience. VAIO S, C, E & Y series are tailor-made to suit the diverse lifestyle of the customers, so there is a laptop for everyone, be it a business executive, style conscious youth, students or even PC beginners.

Mr. Masaru Tamagawa, Managing Director, Sony India, said, “VAIO contributes 20% to the total sales revenue of Sony India and hence a very important part of our business. This year, our objective is to ensure that we offer a VAIO to meet the lifestyle requirements of every customer. We have an exciting product line-up of 62 models, a robust distribution network of 1500 outlets and heavy marketing investment of Rs. 50 crore to reach our business target of 5 lakh units in FY11. Talking about the new brand campaign, he said, “‘More Colour.More Style’ campaign is all about making a lifestyle statement and with Ms. Kareena Kapoor as the face of this campaign, we hope it will resonate well with our customers.”

Sony offers an extensive VAIO line-up that is aimed at different consumer segments with varied lifestyle requirements ranging from business class to college goers to even casual PC users. The price, features and the captivating colours compliments the product ensemble and lends unique beauty to the product offering. Details for each series are as follows:
- VAIO S: VAIO S is a perfectly balanced mobile PC with a premium design. Its slim and full-flat body allows you to carry it wherever you go. The long battery life makes it perfect for that business meeting and outdoor use. Available in 5 captivating colours, it is available at a price range of Rs. 47,990 to Rs.1,29,900.
- VAIO C: VAIO C is inspired by high fashion. It is made up of light-emitting material which adds to the visual impact of the vivid colour, rendering it an absolutely unique look. The Full HD screen and high-performance graphics makes playing games and watching movies a totally delightful experience. Available in 6 vibrant hues, it is priced from Rs. 54,990 to Rs. 69,990
- VAIO E: VAIO E, optimized for daily use, perfectly meets daily task demands such as checking emails, web browsing, listening to music, or organizing photos. With a wide selection of processors and colours, it fits right into a variety of usage scenes and styles. Featuring a unique truss pattern, it is targeted towards students and young working professionals. Available in 4 colours, it starts at a price of Rs. 27,990.
- VAIO Y: The key attraction of this series is the basic versatility of the product, that suits anyone and everyone making it a perfect gadget for casual users and beginners. Available in 4 colours, it starts at Rs. 24,990, making it extremely easy on the pocket.
The total product line-up, having 62 models, is available in 16 captivating colours to ensure that customers across a variety of segments have a personalized notebook that matches their idea of style.

To ensure that this comprehensive product line-up reaches the masses across India, Sony has a very aggressive expansion plan in place. The distribution network would see an increase of about 700 outlets, raising the count to 1500 in FY11 from 800 in the previous year. The company would also open 30 exclusive VAIO Flagship stores in FY11 taking the total number to 50 as a dedicated VAIO channel.

Sony will launch ‘More Colours.More Style’ VAIO brand campaign featuring its popular Brand Ambassador, Ms. Kareena Kapoor. Thrilled about the new campaign, Kareena Kapoor said, “I am very glad to be associated yet again with Sony VAIO for the ‘More Colour. More Style’ campaign. VAIO is different, vibrant and ultra stylish and makes for a perfect lifestyle statement, and this message is reinforced in the new brand campaign. The essence of this campaign is ‘Uniqueness’, so there is VAIO to suit every style and speak every mood.”

The brand campaign would be supported with extensive Above-the-line and Below-the-line activities, including print and television commercial, Web, PR, cinema and shop-front, for which the company has lined up an investment of Rs. 50 crore.

Sony has a very favorable record of Kareena led VAIO campaigns. VAIO sales doubled during the VAIO X ‘Size Zero’ campaign & VAIO E ‘Go Vivid’ campaign which were launched in Nov-Dec 2009 & July-Aug 2010 respectively.

Business facts summary:
- In FY10, Sony sold 2.5 lakh notebooks which is expected to go up to 5 lakh notebooks by FY11. The consumer notebook market in India stood at 17 lakhs units in FY10 and is expected to increase to 25 lakhs units by FY11
- For VAIO category, Sony has earmarked a budget of Rs. 50 crore towards marketing activities in FY11. Out of this, Rs. 25 crore has been allocated to ‘More Colour.More Style’ campaign.
- In FY10, Sony achieved a market share of 15%, the company targets 20% share by FY11.
- Expansion of channel network to 1,500 counters by FY11 across 200 cities up from 800 sales counters in FY10. VAIO Flagship stores to increase to 50 counters by FY11, an increase of 30 counters from 20 in FY10.
[/toggle]
July 13, 2011
Titan Launches HTSE Watches (PR)
Titan has launched a range of self charging light powered watches in India. These watches can be powered from any light source ranging from sunlight to a candle flame. Read the Press Release for more info.

[toggle title_open=”Collapse Press Release” title_closed=”Expand Press Release” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]

Indore, Madhya Pradesh, July 12, 2011 /India PRwire/ — Add panache to your persona with HTSE (High Tech Self Energized), a collection of self energizing light powered watches from Titan. These watches have a unique and unprecedented ability of being charged by any source of light upward of 200 lux power, ranging from Sunlight to a candle flame.

This new range of neo futuristic watches which merges style with technology, mark a distinct departure from the customary classic & fashion offerings from Titan. Inspired by the most complex self energizing bodies like space stations & the space crafts, this collection is distinguished by the case contours in anthracite colors & the saucer shaped perforated dials. Loaded with following innovative light powered features, this collection is a techno watch aficionado’s dream come true.
- ‘Quick Start Function’ – starts the watch from absolute dead state in 10-20 secs
- ‘Sleep Mode’ to increased shelf-life of the battery
- ‘End of Life’ – indicating recharge for the battery
- ‘Over charge prevention’- to avoid the overcharging of the battery
- ‘TSWF’ – Time set warning function
Targeted at the young urban male, this collection of 10 choices is priced between Rs 6,495 – 10,995. Featured here is ‘Quadrant’, which is inspired by the various elements of a space shuttle. The geometrically serrated profile of the Bezel rin g resembles the locking mechanism used in space shuttles. Hand of the watch resembles the fan blades of the shuttle cooling units. The pronounced crown combined with the anthracite color gives the watch a space craftish cross sectional view.

The collection is available in all World of Titan showrooms, select leading multi brand outlets and departmental stores across top 12 metros in the country.

[/toggle]
July 13, 2011
The Oppopet Mouse

The Oppopet series of wireless mice is produced by Elecom in collaboration with Nendo. Whats nice about these mice is that the designers have taken a traditional mouse and given it a new persona. Instead of having a regular receiver, these mice have receivers shaped like the tail of an animal, making the devices appear like small pets. While they were announced last year, the devices have just been launched in Japan.

Oppopet requires no drivers and can be used simply by plugging the tail into a free USB port on your desktop or laptop. Equipped with an on-off switch, the 2.4GHz, 3-button optical mouse weighs 55 grams and runs on a single AAA battery. It is produced in models including a fox, dog, dolphin, cat, pig, squirrel, chameleon, and rabbit. Check out the pictures below. We already want one.

July 13, 2011
Klipsch Releases Mode noise-canceling headphones

Klipsch has just added the Mode noise-cancellation headphones to its lineup of premium devices. Not only are they active noise-cancelling headphones they are also able to sustain this through their leather wrapped head-cups for upto 45 hours on a single battery.

Apart from the above theu will also have a 40mm woofer and a 15mm tweeter driver for deep bass, dynamic midrange with active crossover and crisp clean highs. They also feature a detachable cable and a foldable design. While the price is said to be set at 350 US $ ( INR 15000 approx) there is no confirmation yet.

Expect to drop a semi huge chunk of money for them when they release this fall.

[Klipsch]

July 13, 2011
iRiver Story HD – Google’s New E-Book Reader

Google had launched an e-bookstore in December but the store never really took off as using it with an e-book reader was quite a pain. You had to download stuff to your PC and sync it across to your device. Now, a new e-book reader is all set to change that process and challenge the likes of the Kindle and the Nook.

Created by iRiver, the company behind a range of MP3 players, the device is called the Story HD and hooks directly into the Google Library. The Story HD will pull books directly from the Google Library without having to use a PC to perform a sync to the device. This means that the device will have access to over three million free titles as well as access to hundreds of thousands of paid books.

There are over 80 devices that currently support Google’s e-book format when synced via a PC including the Kindle and the Nook. None of the readers natively support the e-bookstore however, if you have a smartphone, you could just use the Google Books app to access the store.

The iRiver Story HD will be available for $140 online. The device will have built in WiFi as well as a black and white screen with a QWERTY keyboard. For comparison, the Nook and the Kindle are available for the same price as well.

July 12, 2011
Acer Aspire Ethos

Acer’s new Ethos laptop series was designed from the ground up for entertainment and features a removable track pad that doubles up as a remote alongside powerful audio and video ready hardware.

The detachable track pad, is capable of controlling multimedia playback on the device from a distance, and features a sensor enabling it to be used either horizontally or vertically. The Aspire Ethos also features Acer’s Clear.Fi media sharing platform, enabling digital media stored on any Clear.Fi-ready device on the home network to be shared and accessed from any other.

The 8951G model of the Ethos boasts 5 built in Dolby speakers as well a a pair of Acer sub-woofers for surround-like sound and has a full HD 1920x1080p 18.4 inch display. The 5951G comes with 2 built in speakers and an Acer Bass Boost system along with a 15.6inch 1366×768 display.

The frame-less laptop utilizes Intel’s Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 on top of Intel Core I Processors, alongside a Nvidia Geforce T500 graphics processor. The integrated power-smart long-life battery lasts over three times as long as conventional notebook batteries. A USB 3.0 port, multi-in-1 card reader, web-cam, and built-in microphone round out the hardware offerings of the device, while an instant on arcade key permits fast booting for movie, music, and photo playback. Mobile devices may be charged via USB even when the laptop itself is turned off.

July 11, 2011
The Air Pick – Release Your Inner Rock Star

There have been many times that we’ve heard a song and strummed on our air guitars imagining ourselves to be Jimmy Page or Jimmy Hendrix. We thought we were awesome and the crowds went wild for us. Well, when we landed back into reality, we realized that not only did we not know how to play the guitar, but we didn’t even have one.

Well those days are past because a new product is on the market for all of us air guitarists. It’s called the Air Pick. The Air Pick is shaped like a standard plectrum and has a speaker with some electronics built in. It comes pre-loaded with up to 3 songs and can play the chords in time to your strumming. Songs would include such classics as Smoke on the Water, Born to be Wild and Satisfaction. It’s time to release your inner Rock Star.

July 11, 2011
Apple May release an iPod Touch 3G, Data only

Looks like Apple might bring a total of three new things to the Table this September. New iPhone 5, revised iPad 2 ( 3) and a totally new iPod 3g?. Yes you read it right, several sources including a dutch website claim that Apple will release a 3G iPod touch this year. Similar to the iPad , the iPod touch 3G will only be able to use the onboard radio for data connectivity and not to make phone calls.

But we know there is always a work around for that, right?

So essentially a total of three totally revamped iOS devices are heading your way in September. We sure hope you start saving up!

[Read]

July 9, 2011
Sony Playstation 4 coming in 2012 ?

CONCEPT PS4 Image

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]f a report from market hardware news watch website Digitimes reports that, Sony’s manufacturing partners will begin building the Playstation 4 by the end of this year for a launch schedule of quarter 2 2012. There are no specific details , but most rumors talk about a kinect type motion sensing technology to replace the current generation PS3 Move.

Sony has always held in strong opinion that physical controls are essential for gaming. Dropping that claim would be very convenient for the company and possibly beneficial. Foxconn and Pegatron, the two manufacturing firms charged with assembling Sony’s PlayStation 3, will build the new console according to DigiTimes’ sources. Also mentioned in the report, shipment volume for 2012 is set at 20 million.

With the Wii U and the next Xbox coming next year, if was only expected that the third giant upgrade their flagship console.

July 6, 2011
Convert 2D display to a 3D display with the Pic3D Film

Japanese company Global Wave, has come up with a technology that can convert a 2D display into a 3D display. They have developed a film that can be stuck onto any display, which allows you to enjoy 3D content. The film works on all devices including smartphones, Monitors and even the iPhone and iPad.

The film is called the Pic3D and is based on a lenticular lens system which basically creates 2 serperate images, one for the left eye and one for the right, at slightly different perspectives, which creates the illusion of depth. The film was designed to be used with stereoscopic content. In case you have regular 2D content, you can download the software from the company’s website and it allows you to view the regular 2D content in 3D.

The film allows 90% of the screens brightness through with viewing angles as wide as 120^o. The film will be available from the Global Wave website in August with prices ranging from $25 for the iPhone and iPod Touch to $189 for a 23″ display film.

July 6, 2011
MIT smartphone clip-on will detect a eye cataract using the iPod / iPhone or your Phone

[dropcap]R[/dropcap]esearchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are working on an inexpensive way to use smart phones to quickly detect early-stage cataracts, the clouding of the eye lens that is the leading cause of blindness worldwide.

Dubbed the “Catra” system this ingenious device which uses all off the shelf components, was designed by Media Lab Camera Culture group director Ramesh Raskar and colleagues.

The user peeps through the eyepiece attached to the smartphone or iPod (in the image) and views a bunch of lines on the screen. If the lines appear cloudy, the user presses a button and the inbuilt scanner scans and maps the eye for cloudy patches. This data is then displayed on the screen of the used Phone / iPod.

Identifying the position, size, shape, and density of the clouds, Catra can produce a diagnosis of cataracts in minutes. Check out the promo video below. Catra has been tested on 22 people, and it found one case of cataracts that had been undiagnosed, despite an eye test at a doctor’s office a few months prior, according to MIT.

“Catra could provide great value as a simple and low-cost way of making the initial diagnosis that cataracts are present, especially in parts of the developing world where such services are now rare and often require travel to distant cities,” an MIT statement said.

[Read at MIT ]

July 6, 2011