Unconfirmed: New iPod Nanos Coming Next Week, Called iPod Touch?

The last few months of iPod rumors have all come down to this, a final push before the supposed launch next week. What's going to be new? Supposedly, a two-inch-square flash-based iPod that may be called the iPod Touch, based on the fact that it's going to play back video and cost $299 and $399 for 4GB and 8GB. If the rumor is true, It would essentially be a phone-less iPhone, which was what everyone's been thinking Apple would bring. It makes sense that they're not following up with a 6G iPod that looks exactly like the iPhone, instead making a smaller nano with a larger screen that fits easily in your pocket. Then later this year or early next year they can come out with a big 6G iPod with a huge 16:9 screen and an iPhone-like interface. Of course, this is all conjecture now, but the pieces do start to fit together.

Bookmark this post:

Casio's USB Printer for Labels, Egg-Shaped, Useful, from Brando

Egg-Shaped Printer
USB Connector for fast installation
Compact, space saving design
Print using any TrueType font installed on your PC
Create labels for binders, video cassettes, audio cassettes and more
Print characters in any language whose TrueType fonts are installed on your PC
Print the current date and time on your PC
Preset label templates for automatic typeface and font size settings
Print System: Thermal
Print Width: Approx. 8mm maximum
Print Length: Approx. 50mm maximum
Power Consumption: 2.5W (Supplied via USB port)
Operation Temperature: 10 ~ 35 degree
Dimensions: 79x66.5x108mm (Including stand)
Weight: Approx. 125g (Including stand)
Package Contents:

Casio USB Egg-Shaped Label Printer
A roll of thermal roll paper
USB Cable
Driver CD
User manual

Cost is $29, and you'll make chickens everywhere very jealous indeed.

Bookmark this post:

USB Air Freshener

Geek's who eat geek food, like that super-pizza from last week, and who are too busy at their terminals to shower, could likely make use of this USB aroma oil heater. Green comes with peppermint oil, and red comes with rose. At $7, only a little more costly than a can of lysol.

Bookmark this post:

Launch Dates for Motorola RAZR 2 and Q9, More

Every once in a while the so-called Boy Genius actually nails a rumor or two, so we couldn't help but pass this one along: He's soothsaying now that the Motorola RAZR 2 V9 and Motorola Q9 will be rolling out on AT&T on August 24. He also has a bit of (possible) intelligence about some other phones, too. Boy Genius also hears that the Pantech C810 will debut on September 9, while the Blackberry 8820 might be seen on August 13 or 14. He's also pegging the AT&T-branded SMT5700 QWERTY smartphone as seeing the light of day on either August 24 or August 28. Of course, these dates are all unconfirmed, speculative, rumor-esque, scuttlebutt.

Bookmark this post:

EzKEY Keypad Mouse, for Number Crunchers on the Go

This EzKEY combo mouse and keypad might be just what you're looking for if you're on the road, suddenly need to add a long list of numbers, and your laptop doesn't have a keypad. Just flip up the top as you would open your car's trunk, and there you have a keypad to do some quick number crunching. Flip it down, and it works and feels just like any other mouse.

This is a good idea for specific situations, but the shape of the mouse could be a little more ergonomic. To be offered in black or white, EzKEY presented this two-in-one keypad mouse at Taitronics Bangkok 2007, not saying when it would be available or at what price.

Bookmark this post:

Cellphone Bomb Jammer

The world may never know if there are or aren't cell-phone bomb jammers out there, but DefenseTech has stumbled on a patent that may shed light on the subject:

The device includes a transmitter that mimics a cell phone base station and a metal horn to concentrate the signal from a 10 milliwatt power source in a single direction. Scanning... a concealed phone... with the tool... tricks it into thinking it is in range of a new network base station and blocks it from any genuine stations in the vicinity

The suspect phone will also respond with a “handshake signal” containing its phone number, allowing a network operator to temporarily disconnect it from the real network, and preventing it from receiving a detonation call.

It seems that the overhead would be a little high to create a full cellphone jammer and, according to folks in Iraq, most IEDs use cordless phones instead of relying on Iraq's spotty cell network.

Bookmark this post:

Anti-GPS Tracking Devices Plugs into Cigarette Jack and Loses You Your Tail

If you're important enough to have one, that is. This is a small jamming device that you plug into the cigarette lighter of your car and it blocks any GPS tracking devices that might be trained on your vehicle. It's probably illegal, but hey, so is sex with your sister.

Working Band: L1 system 1450 to 1600Mhz
Signal Jamming Power: 200mW
Antenna Impedence: 50 w
Coverage: 2-4 M
Power supply: 12V
Currency: 200mA
Dimensions: 20x70x25mm (LxWxD)

The Anti-GPS tracking device hasn't been priced yet, but should be available soon.

Bookmark this post:

28-Wheel Truck Climbs Mountains, Builds Telescopes

What has 28 wheels, is 20m long, weighs 130 tonnes and has as much power as two Formula One cars? This truck does, and it's been built to haul 115-tonne telescope parts 5,000m up the Chilean Andes. At that height the driver won't be able to breathe, so the seat has been designed so that a person can sit with an oxygen tank on.
When complete, the $900 million Atacama Large Millimeter Array will be able to see some of the first galaxies formed after the big bang, or just get excellent television reception.

Bookmark this post:

Shoe Pouch Makes the Nike+iPod Sports Kit Compatible with Any Sportswear Brand

A $7.99 gizmo that lets you use the Nike+iPod Sports Kit without having to buy swooshed trainers has gone on sale. The Shoe Pouch is a waterproof bag made of neoprene that you place the sensor inside and attach to your shoe via its shoe laces.

Bookmark this post:

Celltray, First Instrument to Display Living Biological Cells

Nanopoint has come up with a genuine scientific breakthrough that is set to revolutionize research and medical diagnosis in a flash. The hype surrounds Nanopoint's cellTRAY, IDSA's 2007 Gold Winner in the medical category, which allows scientists to image living cells on a slide for the very first time.

The technology is a standard microscope slide with a twist; it incorporates an incubator to sustain the life of cells encapsulated within it. The viewable area is split into 7,614 wells, containing a liquid medium. The wells are linked by a micro fluidic channel system that is able to supply nutrients, reagents and remove toxic wastes that build up.

In the past biological researchers have relied upon using slides of preserved cells to make inferences about cellular processes. Put plainly, making deductions relied upon studying an "old photograph" of a system. Comparatively, the cellTRAY will be like making those same deductions using a time-delayed, video transmission. Scientific knowledge used to fill in the gaps of processes we did not completely understand; hopefully this will bring welcome light to the situation.

Having stared down many a crappy microscope for almost half a decade, as part of an education provided by University College London, it is clear to me that this sort of progress does not come often. The advancement that it offers will ease pioneering research and diagnostic efficiency the world over. It is very exciting, like being in bed with a girl; you thought it would never be possible, but now that it is, you just can't believe it. Let us hope UCL scrapes enough money together to buy some decent microscopes to see the revolution unfurl.

Bookmark this post: