by Techno Witch on July 18, 2008
Oakland is building a stadium for A?s that will be known as Cisco Field, and the builders are considering adding an interesting feature to every seat: interactive touchscreens.
The purpose of these screens is to provide information to the spectators. For example, spectators can access player stats on whoever is up at bat, or in the field. They can also call up driving routes out of the park, so that once the game is over, they can find the fastest route home.
It also has some great real-time information and services, as it can figure out where the shortest bathroom lines are. And if you want a hot dog or a cold drink, just order it up, and the refreshment man will personally come to your seat with your order.
This isn?t the first time that I?ve seen a stadium become more compatible with technology. I believe that one year ago, Seattle?s Safeco Field offered similar information services for their spectators, but only with the wireless Nintendo DS.
I find that this idea to be a little less practical. I can see these touchscreens becoming an easy target of vandalism. Then some poor soul at the next game will have to say, ?hey, my screen isn?t working, can I use yours to get a hot dog??
Well, the stadium builders are only thinking about this idea for now. Let?s hope they have considered all of the obvious problems before investing what will obviously be a huge chunk of change for this feature.
by Techno Witch on July 18, 2008
A few weeks ago, we covered Creative?s latest Portable Media Player (PMP), the Zen X-Fi. Believe it or not, Creative has already rolled out another PMP with the Zen Krystal.
The Zen Krystal looks like the Zen Stone Plus with Display (a PMP which I highly recommend), but has a more rectangular look. It appears to only be available with 4GB worth of memory, which is enough for about 2,000 songs. Songs and other audio files are easily downloaded with the drag and drop function with no drivers to install.
In addition to its 10 hour battery life, the Zen Krystal has a lot of other nifty features like a voice recorder and a radio with 32 preset stations. It even has some nifty motion-sensitive games programmed on it like Hurdle Race, Catch & Dodge, and Dice Roll.
It appears that the Zen Krystal is targeted for the sports and fitness crowd. It has a pedometer built-in, which is a first for Creative. It allows you to track your calories burnt, and you can use the stopwatch for your workout with the included bundled wrist strap.
The Zen Krystal just appeared on Creative?s Hong Kong site, and so there is no real word as when it will become available or price.
by Techno Witch on July 18, 2008
HTC?s Touch Diamond is a much sort after piece of mobile equipment in the states even though it isn?t GSM enabled and the lack of 3G really sucks with our American cousins so it never quite cuts the mustard with North American networks, which is a bummer.
Well that is up until now that is; apparently xda-developers have been tinkering with the HTC Touch Diamond and have somehow, don?t even ask how, managed to uncover and enable GSM 850 capability that was apparently lying dormant within the Touch Diamond.
So although unofficial and still only operating on EDGE at best speed at least those stateside will be doing so with a wider reach. And seeing how HTC is planning to release the HTC Touch Diamond on the Australian Telstra network, which uses the same 3G bands as AT&T maybe the states, will eventually gain 3G HTC Touch Diamond.
by Techno Witch on July 18, 2008
Remember all those bizarre Thanko products that were exclusive to Japan? Well, turns out Thanko is opening up a shop for those of us in the US. Which is partially great news, because then I won’t have to mess with translating the page just to see the speccs of all their strange products. It won’t open till August, so as of now we still have to translate things over to English. Which includes this USB Cooler Mouse.
Thanko seems to think of everything, even those that tend to get all hot and sweaty while on their computer. The mouse sucks air through the bottom and blows it out directly onto your palm. When you’re cool enough, you can just shut off the tiny fan and use it as a normal mouse. The mouse has five different buttons and the extras are programmable. It is being sold for about $19. Which isn’t bad considering you get the extra perk of having your hand blown on. After all, who wants to purchase a normal sized fan and cool off your whole body at once?!
by Techno Witch on July 18, 2008
So are you desperate to get your hands on a Sidekick 2008, for those that don?t know, it used to be known as the Gekko. So you?ve got a wad of cash but just don?t know where to get hold of a Sidekick 2008 and just don?t want to wait any longer.
Well it appears that some guy is selling on craigslist, all you need to do is make him a big enough offer and he just might sell it to you. So here are a couple of in the wild snaps to keep you happy until you can actually get hold of one for yourself.
One thing is though this ?Gekko/Sidekick 2008? has a blue keypad which probably means they are actually trail handsets, meaning mobile handsets given to people to test run before release.
Here?s the actual craigslist post, make of it what you will.
SideKick Lx + Gekko – $250400 (alameda)
Date: 2008-07-15, 10:53PM PDT
ATTENTION SERIOUS NO JOKE
New Sidekick LX(BLUE)
W/ Video Capibility.(365)
Also Able to Record Own Ringtones!
Condition:9/10
Comes With Charger, Case, etc.
If interested Please Write Back.
AIM;############
510-###-#### Call/TXT
Don?t Be Afraid to ask questions. I will not deny you!
Serious Buyers please
s0 be one of the only people!!
Also Have A Regular Brown Lx. In okay Condition! Not the Best but still usable!< —(250) Third Phone is the ” SIDEKICK GEKKO!”n0t f0r sale unless a Big Offer c0mes! (400)
ALL PHONES COME WITH HOME CHARGER USB AND ALL HAVE SCREEN PROTECTORS
Also interested in Electronics: IPODS, PS3, XBOX 360 ETC + $$$$
I wonder if he actually realizes he?s not meant to be selling these on.
by Techno Witch on July 18, 2008
If you’re tired of wandering the house looking for whatever it is that goes bump in the night and having your candle just blow out on you at a very inconvenient moment, you might pick up one of these instead. Since all of us immediately go for the highly fickle candelabra to inspect a spooky noise in the night, one designer decided to create an update. I know, some of you might think it’s more reasonable to just pick up a flashlight instead, but that’s just crazy talk. Candelabras are just cooler.
These LED recreations come in either a color-changing form, where you can flip between all the bright shiny colors or a hand-embellished version. The hand-embellished one actually features a lace pattern, to make wandering the house at night just a bit more spooky. The color-changing type is being sold for ?200 or $317 and the lace patterned one for ?300 or $475. Which is a bit much to pay for something to just appear as if you’re into modern technology while loving things that came along before such hi-tech things like the light bulb.
by Techno Witch on July 18, 2008
Probably upset our American cousins but this T-Mobile is for the Germans as there is still no commitment for the BlackBerry Bold to go stateside, but then again America does have the WiFi curve goodness so not all is bad.
Anyway, T-Mobile Germany has slapped a price on research In Motion?s latest mobile phone, the BlackBerry Bold and has set the price at ?219.95 which sits at about $348.00 and on T-Mobile?s maximum plan but drops if you prefer a heftier data/voice plan.
The BlackBerry Bold has an especially elegant design with piano lacquer cabinet with integrated GPS receiver for on the go navigation and WiFi connectivity, BlackBerry multimedia sync to allow transfer to desktop iTunes, and a screen that delivers cool and clear colour.
According to T-Mobile Germany anyone looking to grab hold of RIM?s BlackBerry bold should keep their eyes open this month.
by Techno Witch on July 18, 2008
When is a rumour not a rumour? Answer is when it?s an LG Rumor. Apparently Virgin Mobile is to pick up the LG Rumor for their SMS text messaging customers in Canada. Isn?t that nice and generous of Virgin thinking of their texting Canadian users?
The LG Rumor is a 17.8mm thick slider with 1.3 megapixel camera, speakerphone and Bluetooth. But the limelight with the LG Rumor has to be taken by its dual keypad and slide out QWERTY keyboard.
For the lover of texting the LG Rumor is superb with a physical QWERTY keyboard being a nice addition to the numeric keypad, making it ideal for text messaging.
And now Virgin Mobile is bringing the LG Rumor to Canada and will be available in black, and $79.99 with 3 year plan, or you can buy it outright for $199.00. Forthermore if you purchase the LG Rumor online from Virgin Mobile you will receive a $25.00 activation credit. Nice.
by Techno Witch on July 18, 2008
For all you sidekick and skateboarding fans out there, the new Sidekick LX Tony Hawk Limited Edition is now available from T-Mobile. The Sidekick LX is now slimmer and sleeker with a large screen that uses high-definition LCD technology.
T-Mobile?s Sidekick LX Tony Hawk Limited Edition measures 5.2 x 2.4 x 0.7 inches with a weight of 5.8 ounces, and incorporates a 1.3 megapixel camera with flash, music player, Full QWERTY keyboard, and text and picture messaging.
The LX also has ?mood light? which let the user set up specific settings for various communication alerts, Bluetooth, email, a signature swivel screen, the MySpace experience, and Tony Hawk branding.
Available from T-Mobile for $299.99 after instant discount of $100.00 and mail-in rebate of $50.00; so if you are a fan of Tony Hawk and a skateboarding fan then the T-Mobile Sidekick LX Tony Hawk Limited Edition is one you don?t want to miss.
by Techno Witch on July 18, 2008
Last.fm, a music streaming and social networking site has had a makeover to bring a more ?mature experience? and has added more integration across a variety of devices including the iTunes Store, and is also branching out into the mobile phone market.
Now the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch can officially run Last.fm?s free native application and can stream virtually any of the five million plus songs from the Last.fm library. Users can even recommend new songs as well as gain access to their favourite tunes.
Just so you know, Last.fm?s app UI is inspired by Apple?s iPod but due to apple?s restrictions about allowing apps to run in the background, a user cannot start Last.fm?s iPhone app and do something else like you can with the iPod app.
Oh, and one other thing to remember, streaming music like this could easily eat up your iPhone?s battery while on the go, so bear that in mind.