From a Bygone Era: World War I Timepieces

The Omega Silver Cushion watch from the World War I era features a three body sterling silver "Fahey" signed cushion case, signed white porcelain enamel dial with original luminous Arabic numerals, subsidiary seconds, 15 jewel manual wind movement, Omega caliber 13SO (Quality A, adjusted to 2 positions) with frosted gilt finish. It’s an Omega watch circa 1917 with enamel dial.

The Waltham World War I military watch with crystal guard features a Fahey signed sterling silver snap back 4 body case with wire lugs, onion crown, with integrated crystal guard, white dial (lovely original) with painted Arabic numerals, cathedral hands, subsidiary seconds, crocodile strap, and signed manual wind movement.

The Illinois "Cut Bezel" Vintage watch, circa World War I, features nickel snap back 4 body case with wire lugs with integrated crystal guard. Original white enamel dial with black Arabic numerals, minutes in red, blue steel spade hands, subsidiary seconds, pig skin strap. signed 17 manual wind jewel movement, and decorated with swans.

The Pocket Computer: The cp-11s

The Pocket Computer also known as the cp-11s or the MINI ALL VX1000 by Newman is billed as an mp3/mp4/mp5 player. Actually, I believe the term is Pocket PC or PDA as it runs Windows CE 5.0.

It features a 4-inch 16:9 touchscreen, measures 6.0 x 2.8 x 0.77 inches, and has 64 MB of memory. It has an e-book read function (TXT, DOC, XLS, PDF, PPT, and PPS), a voice recorder, Wi-Fi, and an SD/MMC card slot. It runs MSN, SKYPE, TCP/IP, Windows Media Player, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Picture Viewer, PDF viewer, etc.

It supports MP3, WMA, and WAV audio formats; AVI, WMV, DivX, and MP4 video formats; and JPEG, BMP, and GIF image formats.

It runs Flash games such as PocketNester and other 3D games (hence the mp5 player moniker).

It was named PMPToday's Gadget of the Year.

[DIY Trade]

For the Little Spy: Secret Agent Watches

The Discovery Digital Camera Watch allows the user to secretly snap pictures while checking the time. The camera stores up to 152 photos. Photos can then be uploaded them to a computer or e-mailed. The camera doubles as a web cam. Photo editing and spy cam software is included.

The XP-6 Spy Watch is a multi-function "secret agent" wristwatch. This little digital watch features both world time and stopwatch capabilities, plus a motion alarm with time stamp. To see in the dark use the pop-up night scope , which comes with a magnifying lens and a focused LED beam. Spy Watch also includes two capsules for secret messages.

Yes, they're both toy watches for little spies.

Name that iTune: iNo Interactive Game System

The iNo! Interactive Game System by Sababa Toys is the iPod equivalent of the television show Name that Tune. The iNo! features a sleek, white global with four wireless color-coded controllers a deck of topic cards, and a high quality speaker in the console. The iNo! is compatible with any iPod. It works with video iPods to play games like, Name That Movie, Name That SitCom and more.

Hmm, shouldn't it be called iKnow!?

The iNo! comes in white, black and pink.

[Ubergizmo]

iPod On-TV Navigation: NavDock ND 2000

The NavDock ND 2000 for iPod allows the the user navigate their iPod through an on-TV menu to play videos, photos and music on a connected television. NavDock browses directly through the iPod menus, so finding and playing music and videos is easy. And the 16-button remote adjusts or mutes volume, shuffles, repeats or skips songs, and fast forwards or rewinds through music or videos.

The NavDock ND 2000 is compatible with the iPod classic, iPod nano (3rd generation), and iPod (video). It is also compatible with the iPod touch, iPod with color display, iPod 4G, iPod nano (1st and 2nd generation) and iPod mini but the video on-TV navigation is not supported.

Not a bad device; too bad it's missing a DVR recording function.

[Tekkeon via Coolest Gadgets]

Learning and Entertainment: Sharp SP600

The Sharp SP600 combines learning and entertainment in one PMP. It features a 4.3-inch touchscreen and runs Windows CE 5.0. It supports MP3, WMA, WAV, OGG, AAC audio and DIVX, MPEG1/2/4, WMV7/8/9, H.264BP, ASF video. It includes an eDictionary and has an SD/MMC card slot in addition to the 30GB built-in. I really like its simple lines.

Lose the PC, IM 4 Free: Zipit Wireless Messenger 2

The Zipit Wireless Messenger 2, or Z2 by Zipit Wireless is a portable instant messaging/SMS text messaging device with a built-in mp3 player and photo viewer. All you need is an existing IM account, a wireless network and you can IM on AOL/AIM, Yahoo, and MSN. While you’re instant messaging, listen to your music from the optional miniSD card or listen to music on Internet Radio. Load up favorite images on the optional miniSD card to view anywhere. Carry on up to 99 simultaneous conversations with cell phones, other Zipit devices and PCs.

The Z2 features a 2.9-inch 320 x 240 pixel color TFT LCD screen, a backlit QWERTY keyboard, and a miniSD card slot. It measures 3.74 X 3 X 0.9 inches. With My Zipit, the Z2 themes, backgrounds, fonts, and more can be customized.

Check out the video:

[Zipit Wireless]

Shake, Shake, Shake: Pasen Shakeit

The Pasen Shakeit combines mp3/mp4 player functionality with a movement sensor that allows the user to change songs and menus by shaking the unit. It measures 3.5 x 2.2 x 0.3 inches and features a 2.8 inch 320 x 240 pixel TFT display.

Shakeit supports MP3, WMA and FLAC audio formats; AVI/XviD/DivX (conversion software included) and FLV video formats; and JPEG and BMP image formats. It has a built-in FM radio (with 20 station presets), voice recorder, e-book reader with TXT support, karaoke with lyrics in LRC format, and a file browser. It supports the Stone 3d and Microsoft PlayFX audio effects. Battery life is 10 hours for audio and 3 hours for video.

It’s obviously made for walking/jogging/running as it features a pedometer and a program to calculate calories burned. Hopefully the movement sensor is not sensitive enough that the song or menu changes while the user is moving.

[Pasen]

More Than a Mobile Phone: Babiken Telescope Mobile Phone

Aside from being a GSM900/1800 mobile phone, this device by Babiken includes dual independent SIM card slots, mp3/mp4 player, 7 speakers, 1.3 megapixel camera, audio and video recorder, and e-book. GPRS, WAP, and Bluetooth are built-in.

It supports MP3 audio files and MPEG-4 video. And if that’s not enough, it comes with a telescopic lens. The device measures 5.0 x 2.5 x 0.63 inches and has a 3.2 inch TFT touchscreen. Talking time is 240-300 minutes.

[diy trade via PMP Today]

A Computer in a Pen: Livescribe Pulse Smartpen

The Livescribe Pulse Smartpen is a computer in a pen! It features a Samsung ARM 9 (32-bit, 150 MHz) processor, 96 x 18 pixel OLED display, a high speed infrared camera that takes over 70 images/sec, dual embedded smartpen microphones for mono recording, 3D recording headset for stereo recording/playback, and an embedded speaker. It comes with 1 GB or 2 GB of storage.


The smartpen synchronizes the recorded audio with notes written on the Interactive Dot Enabled Paper with Dot Positioning System (DPS). Select the written text to playback the corresponding audio. Then transfer notes to your PC to backup, replay, and share them online. The Paper Replay Notebook costs around the same price as a regular notebook, and users can print their own dot paper for free on their PC printers.

Livescribe is also launching the Livescribe Developer Program to invite programmers to develop applications for the Pulse Smartpen. Some applications available soon include handwriting and audio conversion into digital text, Spanish translator, games, books, and special education tools for visually-impaired people.

Wow. I could’ve really used the smartpen to take notes in class!

[Livescribe via Ubergizmo]

Check out the Livescribe Smartpen CNET video:

Once Upon a Time: Vintage 1940s Watches

Is there anything classier than a vintage watch? I didn't think so.



This is a beautiful antique Invicta "Moon Phase" watch from the 1940s with calendar, manual hand movement, and moon phase window. The hand with red half moon shows the date.








This 1940s 14K Gold Rolex watch has manual wind, a golden dial with painted gold markers, gold hands, gold center seconds, and signed screw-down crown.





This is another vintage timepiece from the 1940s. The Helbros watch features chronograph, manual hand movement, unevenly aged silver patina dial with two registers. The registers are located at 6:00 and 12:00 positions.

The Fun of a PC in your Pocket: Sony mylo 2

It’s difficult to figure out what products the Sony mylo 2 is competing against. Is it the Archos? iPod? Zune? PCs? PDAs? There is no clear answer. Regardless it's a nice looking device with interesting features.

Sony advertizes the mylo 2 (which stands for "my life online") as a personal communicator with back-lit slide-out keyboard that uses Wi-Fi for communication, surfing the Web, instant messaging, and e-mailing. In addition, it features a 1.3 megapixel camera with built-in photo editing software.

Like the Archos, the mylo supports widgets. It comes with preinstalled COM-2 widgets like the Google search widget and the Facebook® Notifier. COM-2 users will be able to download new widgets from the new COM-2 product website. And, users will be allowed to register as developers in order to gain access to the technical resources they need to build their own widgets.

The mylo 2 plays music and video. Supported audio formats include MP3, ATRAC, WMA and AAC. COM-2 also supports Windows Media DRM 10. Supported video includes MPEG4 and MPEG4 AVC. Supported image formats include JPEG, PNG, and BMP.

Check ubergizmo’s hands-on with the mylo 2:

[Sony Style via Gizmodo]

Check out the mylo 2 at the Watches and Stuff amazon.com webstore.

Different Strategies: Apple and Archos

I’ve posted a number of comparisons of the iPod touch versus other media players. Les Numeriques posted an article that contrasts Apple’s and Archos’ product strategies. I thought it'd be interesting to get Archos' point-of-view. The following is a translation of excerpts from the article.

---

The iPod touch update announced by Steve Jobs last week aroused quite a few reactions – not so much because of the new features in the update but because of its cost. Apple lowered the price of the iPod touch and included the latest updates. But, at the same time, the company asked those who purchased their iPod touch before mid-January (and paid more) to pay extra for the update. Something’s not right here.

Several discussions have turned up on some "pro Mac" forums that pit the iPod touch and the Archos 605 Wi-Fi. But are these products really comparable?

Les Numeriques contacted Rémi Durand, Archos marketing rep, to ask what he thinks of the iPod touch and iPhone – these “all-in-one” devices. Rémi Durand took this opportunity to clarify Archos’ position that has, according to him, often been copied by Apple.

"Apple has understood that Archos is in the media spotlight for a long time. We are happy to compete with Touch but regarding technology and efficiency, we have nothing to be ashamed of. This is true of media players. When Jobs says that certain makes have failed to develop a good media player, he forgets to mention us. And with good reason, our product is simple to use and does exactly what it advertises. It was the first media player to create a real bridge between the television and the PC. Sometimes, we wonder who is copying whom? Our economic strategy is different. For example, we decided that the client doesn’t necessarily need all the features available on the Archos 605 Wi-Fi. Thus, the user pays for a “basic” product and when he can, he buys plug-ins. In the future, he has the option of updating his product according to his needs. Apple does the opposite. The product is expensive, even if all its functions are not required by the user. We got our knuckles slapped after we announced our strategy, but clients have finally understood the advantages. In addition, our products are less flashy. Naturally we work on the design, but our priority is above all on perfecting the technology. Apple places the threshold high for design; Archos places it high for technology."


With regards the intrinsic quality of Apple’s products, Rémi Durand considers that the touch (and iPhone) suffers from poor video. “Apple falls short with the video. It is small and not very good.” Test run by Les Numeriques’ on the Archos 605 Wi-Fi illustrate that, among other things, the Archos benefits from a better resolution screen. Clearly, Apple’s product has multiple functionalities, like images and video, but the quality leaves something to be desired. For Rémi Durand, these functionalities can be useful but cannot replace a dedicated device.

---

[Les Numeriques via gmp3]

More iPod touch Clones: Onda VX747 vs iPod touch

vs

The Onda VX747 is yet another iPod touch clone. Here's how they compare (click on the table to view full size).


[PMP Today, MP4 Nation]

Four-In-One: Toshiba G450

In a world of primarily boxy gadgets, I absolutely love the look of the Toshiba G450. To add to the love, the G450 serves as a USB flash drive, an MP3 player and laptop modem and even a cell phone!

It features a 96 x 39-pixel OLED display and two keypads. The G450 plays MP3 and AAC audio formats and comes with 160MB of flash drive storage (used to store data and audio files). It measures 1.44 x 3.86 x 0.63 inches.

The really amazing feature is that the G450 also functions as a cell phone and an HSDPA (as well as GPRS and EDGE) modem. It allows the user to make and receive calls and text messages while surfing the web. And music is automatically paused when receiving a call. Wow.

It comes in red, white and black.

[TFTS, Toshiba]

Gadget Lover’s Dream: Solar MP4 Player and Mobile Power Station

Back in November I posted about the Yahee Solar MP4 player. Here is another solar-powered mp4 player with a twist.

The Solar MP4 Player and Mobile Power Station features two solar panels built in for either recharging the built in Lithium-ion batteries or for recharging other 4.5V, 5V, 6.3V, and 9V electrical devices through the USB OUT. This player has a 3.5-inch TFT screen with 320 x 240 pixel resolution, 2GB of memory, a FC, NES, GB and GBC emulator, an eBook that will read aloud for you, a SD card reader, and even a built in LED flashlight.

Supported music formats include MP3, WMA, AMR, WAV, ADPCM, and PCM; supported video format include AVI (conversion formats MPG 1, 2, 4); and supported image formats include JPEG, BMP, and GIF.

[Chinavasion via TFTS]

For the DJ: Flϋd TableTurns Watch

The TableTurns watch by Flϋd is modeled after the classic Technics 1200 turntable right down to the smallest detail. It's quite a tribute to the art of the DJ and a great conversation piece!





[Flϋd Watches via Gizmodo]

A World of Information at your Fingertips: Casio Databank Watches

The Casio Databank Digital watch has an retro look to it - like back when watches with built-in calculators first came out. This watch, however, features, well an 8-digit calculator, a 300 page databank, an e-data memory 50, world Time with 26 time zones and 100 cities, daylight savings time on/off, a 1/100th second stopwatch measuring elapsed time, split time, 1st-2nd place times, a countdown timer, an auto-repeat function, five multi-function alarms with snooze, hourly time signal, an auto-calendar, and 12/24-hour display formats.

Always looking for the remote? The Casio Databank Wrist Remote watch features an infrared learning remote control function for TV/cable box. The watch memorizes up to 16 sets of data from any infrared remote control. Includes controls for turning the power on/off, channel up/down, volume up/down, and direct channel selection. Like the watch above, the Casio Databank Wrist Remote features an 8-digit calculator, a daily alarm, a 1/100th second stopwatch measuring net time, split time, 1st-2nd place times, an hourly time signal, auto calendar, and 12/24-hour display formats. One owner remarks, "I love being able to quietly change the channels on someone else's TV - and leave them stumped as to what's going on."

The PMP with Ears: Shenzhen Triple Gold 1069

The Shenzhen Triple Gold 1069 pmp features built-in folding speakers, 320 x 240 pixel 2.8 inch TFT LCD display, a 1.3 megapixel camera/PC camera, voice recording, txt e-book, FM radio and games. It supports MP3, WMA, AAC, AMR music formats; AVI, 3GP, and MP4 video formats; BMP, JPEG, GIF image formats. It comes with 128 MB to 4 GB of memory and supports up to 2 GB mini SD cards.

[b2bchinasources via PMP Today]

Blurring the Lines: GSM Watch - MW02

The GSM Watch features a GSM 900, 1800 and 1900 MHz Tribande - SIM phone with tactile 1.5 inch display. It includes an mp3/mp4 player, recording function, phonebook (300 numbers), SMS/MMS messages, and is compatible with GPRS and Bluetooth V2.0. It comes with 128 MB of memory.

Cool iPod Accessory: The Sun Visor Monitor

How cool is this? The Sun Visor Monitor is, well, a car sun visor with a built in 7 inch TFT LCD display with 1440 x 234 pixel resolution. The Sun Visor Monitor features a SD/MMC memory card reader, an FM transmitter, and... the cool part... an iPod dock for plugging in your iPod and playing your music, pictures, and video on the sun visor's screen with sound directly from your own car's audio system. It also includes an AUX IN and a USB port.

The Sun Visor Monitor is compatible with 5th Generation iPod Video and includes an iPod Nano adapter. Other iPods with firewire connection will work, but may not fit properly.

[Chinavasion]

All That Glitters: Gold Edition mp4 Watch

The Gold Edition mp4 Watch features a 16:9 widescreen movie 1.8 inch display with 176×132 pixel resolution. The included headset has built-in Bluetooth technology. It Supports MP3 and WMA music formats; JPEG picture format; and MPEG4, AVI, XviD, DivX, MPG, RM, RMVB and WMV video formats. It includes an e-book reader and has a built-in microphone that records in WAV format.

The time, date and day are displayed digital clock style. The watch comes with 1 GB, 2 GB or 4 GB of memory.

[Ubergizmo]

Karaoke + iPod: iKaraoke

What do you get when you combine an iPod with Karaoke? You get iKaraoke! This little iPod accessory sends the music from your iPod to your stereo minus the lead vocals. iKaraoke hooks up to your stereo via the line-in cable. You can pause, scan forward/backward, add reverb or add the original vocals back in. iKaraoke is not compatible with the iPhone.

[Firebox.com]

Retro and Chic: Retro iPod Alarm Clock

The Retro iPod Alarm Clock looks like an old-fashioned twin bell alarm clock but the "bells" are actually 360° 3-watt omni-speakers. The clock itself features an iPod dock so you can wake up to any track, podcast, or playlist. In addition, the AC powered clock charges your iPod while you sleep and switches your iPod to clock mode the moment it's docked. It's compatible with most iPod models except iPod Shuffle.

[Firebox.com]

The Affordable iPod touch: Tomato Video Touch

South Korean company Tomato just announced the Video Touch, a cute and affordable competitor to the iPod touch. It has a 2.5 inch LCD screen with 320 x 240 resolution and comes with 2 GB or 4 GB of memory. It features an FM tuner and a speaker. It supports WMA, WAV, APE, FLAC audio formats and MPEG4 and AVI video formats. The 4 GB model is priced under $85 - not bad.

I wouldn't mind that for Valentine's Day either.

[gmp3]

Just in Time for Valentine's Day: iPod nano Rose

Apple just released the iPod nano Rose with 8 GB of memory. Its specs remain the same as other iPod nanos. Instead of a bouquet of roses on Valentine's, an iPod nano Rose... I could go for that.

[gmp3]

Your Music Your Way: Samsung P2 vs iPod touch

vs

The Samsung P2 offers a number of impressive features, including a couple of extras not found in its popular rival, the iPod touch. Here's how they compare (click on the table to view full size).



[Sympatico MSN, Samsung]

Old Meets New: Newmark TTi Turntable for iPod

The TTi Turntable by Numark copies old vinyl records to your iPod. It features a Universal Dock for iPod, USB audio interface, a metal platter, 33 RPM, 45 RPM,78 RPM playback speeds and pitch control. Line-level outputs also enable easy connection to home AV Receivers, without the need for a phono input on the receiver.

Owners of iPod Classic, iPod 5th generation and iPod nano (2nd or 3rd generation) can record directly without a computer. Owners of other iPod models can transfer captured vinyl recordings using iTunes to transfer the tracks after recording.

The TTi includes EZ Vinyl Converter 2 (PC) and EZ Audio Converter (Mac) and features Gracenote MusicID technology, which analyzes vinyl recordings and automatically retrieves album, artist and song information from the Internet. EZ Audio Converter also enables easy entering of track information. The software also reduces noisy pops and clicks inherent on some old vinyl recordings.

[Engadget]

More Than a Pen: USB MP3 Pen by Brando

More blurring of the gadget lines - this is the USB MP3 Pen by Brando. It features an mp3 player, an FM radio, and a voice recorder. It's also a mass storage device that is shockproof and moisture proof. It comes with 512MB or 1GB of memory.

[Sympatico MSN]

This is the KJB Security Media Pen. It features an mp3 player and voice recorder. It can also be used as a mass storage device. It comes with 256MB, 512MB, or 1GB of memory.

The Customizable Clock: XtremeMac Luna X2

At MacWorld 2008 last week, XtremeMac introduced the Luna X2 iPod Alarm Clock Radio. The Luna X2 is designed to provide personalized sleep and waking up environments with, what else, but your iPod. Two alarms can be independently set to sound to the iPod, radio, or alarm. And the Luna X2 has adjustable volume, display brightness and snooze time.


The Luna X2 features the same audio performance of its predecessor, the original Luna. Its two full-range precision speakers and power amplifier make Luna X2 powerful enough to be a stand alone room audio system. The unit includes an AM/FM radio with eight station presets and an auxiliary line-in jack for connecting other audio devices.

I think it looks great but does it fly?

[Ubergizmo]