The guys at TomTom accidentally leaked an ad for their new Rider 2, a GPS unit for motorcycles and scooters. Not that many details were revealed from the Flash animation (other than the fact the Rider 2 will have a redesigned mount), but if it follows in its predecessor’s footsteps, chances are the Rider 2 will be water resistant, feature built-in Bluetooth, and sell for around $600, though hopefully TomTom gave their pricing a redesign too.
This is the latest DAP from Iriver. The T50 is 2.8 inches long, weighs 1.1 ounces, and can store up to 1GB of MP3, OGG, or WMA files. I don’t know why it is triangular, but it is. Maybe DAPs taste better if they’re triangular, or perhaps they blend better. This is such a hideous product that I am wondering whether it is an early April Fug—sorry, I mean April Fool. I know it’s not the first triangular DAP, but Iriver, what were you thinking?
Figla, this is a vaccum on steroids. This was the gadget that beat up on the Roomba during recess.
Guided by a combination of infrared, gyroscope, camera and ultrasonic sensors, the Figla cleaner can apparently navigate sidewalks with relative ease, picking up trash along the way. The robot can operate for up to 2 hours per charge, covering 1,000 square meters per hour.
By now I would imagine you’ve seen the pictures floating around the internet. Now some users are declaring they have loaded non-supported Codecs like XviD. The actual hacking shouldn’t be too hard for the skilled, it involves removing and mounting App TV’s hard drive and installing a few scripts. Odds are this is a fake, or a haox, but stay tuned for more news on it.
For consumers who are trying to get a whole bunch of new products and details out of Apple’s WWDC event in June, let us just warn you now. You’ll be disappointed. The WWDC is for Apple developers as GDC is for game developers, which means iPod and hardware launches are unlikely. Then again, the iPhone could be making a sneak appearance. In any case, here are the details.
Apple’s going to be focusing on Leopard, media content delivery, immersion track for new developers, developer tools, and whatever else they usually focus on there. So don’t get your hopes up.
Microsoft has constantly ruined my typing flow by inventing keyboards that stop Carpal Tunnel, or whatever that is. So Now they have their new Wireless Laser Desktop 4000 and it combines has both lasers and Vista buttons.
Other neat features are the Windows Live Call button, Windows Gadget button, and a tilt wheel for scrolling. Plus the price is only $79, which means you can get two for the same price as the WED’s.
Fujitsu this morning has given a few of their computers a new lease. The 12.1-inch LifeBook B6210 and 8.9-inch P1610 will both have the option of coming with either a 16GB or 32GB solid state drive. Because flash drives have no moving parts, they’ll help speed up performance and save battery life, although the drives will add a $700 (16GB) and $1,200 (32GB) premium to the tablets’ prices.
Polk, one of the top of the link speaker companies, is using their wit and savvy to kick the door in the ipod market. So let me introduce the Polk MiDock10. This $180 iPod speaker dock pumps out the tunes via two 3.25-inch full-range drivers. It includes an auxiliary port for other players and convenient handles for rocking on all around the block (don’t fret, it can be powered by C batteries). Actually sleek and stylish for their box for an iPod.
Product Page [Via Uncrate]
Apparently in an effort to produce even crappier-sounding music than earbuds, Japanese manufacturer Thanko is preparing to offer this VONIA bone conduction “Sports HeadBand,” which is designed to work particularly well with the new iPod shuffle. Electronista is reporting that the headband will not not have to sit directly over your ears in order to transmit those high beat rate tunes directly through your hard noggin, thus leaving you free to hear that dump truck on your morning run.
I’m not so sure about this one, but they go on sale in Japan soon for about $84. It’s not clear if they’re coming Stateside.
Hitachi and LG have teamed up to produce an optical PC drive that reads both Blu-ray and HD DVD discs, making it the first in the world to do so. In addition to supporting both new formats, the GGW-H10N can also read and write regular CDs, single layer DVDs and Blu-ray discs. Unfortunately, the GGW-H10N will be sold for approximately $1,200 to OEMs, making the final price tag much higher by the time it reaches the end user. At least home theater PCs can now have a hybrid drive to further lessen any spats that could result from a pseudo “format war”. The ball is in your court, consumers!