Gadgets Power

The Gran Turismo franchise has received its official racing wheel, courtesy of Logitech - the Logitech Driving Force GT Racing Wheel. Some of the interesting features found on this high-end computer peripheral include :- Powerful force feedback for greater realism 25-position real-time adjustment dial for on-the-fly control of brake bias, traction and damper settings 11″ wheel with rubber-overmould rim for exceptional comfort and control Simulates understeer, oversteer and traction loss accurately Full-size gas and brake pedals for precise throttle and brake response Choice between sequential stick shift or wheel-mounted paddlesThis steering wheel looks like a great candidate for GT 5 Prologue on the PS3, and is also compatible with GT 3 and GT 4 on the PS2. (Read the full post about ‘Logitech Driving Force GT Racing Wheel’…)

If you have heard of Herman Miller, you, like most people, are probably only familiar with their chairs. The company’s Aeron has set the standard for performance seating for years and they have been able to follow it up more recently with a number of other models. In addition to making seating though, the company has expanded outward into other areas, one of which is their Be Collection. This part of their product line is focused on personal comfort and optimizing worker performance through keeping their environment as agreeable as possible. The most well-known product from the Be Collection is the Leaf light which has gotten a lot of press for it’s design, LED lighting, and environmental friendliness. (Read the full post about ‘Review: Herman Miller C2 Climate Control’…)

ToyQuest has unveiled its 21″ Touch Table EES educational system that offers a variety of activities to keep your child occupied and captivated without the negative input that most TV shows offer these days. Some of the features include games, a globe styled after Google Earth, a DVD player, speakers, and all the necessary AV/USB/SD inputs. The Touch Table EES also comes with a rotating display that makes it useful when sitting down - too bad it doesn’t hook up to the Internet as that is a greater treasure trove of information where kids can learn from. The ToyQuest Touch Table EES retails for $499 and will be made available this fall. (Read the full post about ‘ToyQuest Touch Table EES’…)

Looks like the Wii Fit will be landing on US shores this May, enabling people living Stateside to take advantage of the weight-and-motion sensing device known as the Wii Balance Board right smack in the middle of their comfortable living room. This isn’t an exercise replacement, so spending too many hours with your Wii won’t make you lose more pounds than you would when sitting down idly - in fact, chances are you might even gain some weight with all the pizza and soda you’re consuming. I wonder whether the Wii Balance Board has been modified to cater for obese folks living on this part of the world. (Read the full post about ‘Wii Fit US Launch in May’…)

Now this is just cute - the Wedisk USB flash drive that looks like a Wiimote, save it comes in a much more pocketable size, courtesy of SolarMemo. The A button will release the USB connector, but that’s about all the interactivity you’ll be able to get out of it. I’m not sure whether Nintendo’s legal eagles approve of this though. The Wedisk will come in various sizes of up to 8GB, but there is no word on pricing at the moment. When will the Nunchuck version roll out? Tags: lcd, CD, electronic toys, cellphone (Read the full post about ‘Wedisk USB Flash Drive’…)

Sony has always been the trendsetter with personal audio devices. If your remember back to the 80’s, then you will remember they pioneered the first portable cassette Walkman. Now, their latest range, the NW-E series looks to be healthy competition for the ipod shuffle and Creative Zen Stone Plus. It comes in a range of colors, dare I say more appealing than the Shuffle, and in 1GB, 2GB and 4GB models. It also has more features than the Shuffle, ATRAC/MP3/WMA/AAC files are all compatible and it has a built-in FM radio tuner. It looks to be a hip device, but the price tag of around $149 (4GB) may deter some. Via [Engadget] Keep up with the latest gadget goodness! (Read the full post about ‘Sony’s new E-series Walkman lineup’…)

Posted Feb 20th 2008 11:27AM by Darren MurphFiled under: Gaming, Handhelds First things first — Americans can keep dreaming on this one, as we’re looking at yet another curious creation that probably won’t wander far beyond the borders of South Korea. MyRacer’s MF101 handheld can certainly play nice with a few audio / video formats — AVI, MP3, WMA, WAV, JPEG and BMP, for starters — but the control pad flanking each side of the 2.4-inch 320 x 240 resolution display gives away its true calling. Reportedly, it sports a Flash-based interface that enables users to sort through titles on their SD card or the 1GB of internal memory, but details are fuzzy on what games it’ll actually play. (Read the full post about ‘MyRacer MF101 handheld does gaming first, media second’…)

Posted Feb 20th 2008 10:19AM by Paul MillerFiled under: Laptops If that new HP Compaq 2133 is hitting your ultraportable sweet spot, there’s more news on that front to drool over. UMPC Portal has word from a supposed industry insider that the computer is not running an Intel chip as previously suggested, but instead will rock the range of VIA processors. That means the computer could fight it out with Eee PC in the low-end with a C7 processor, or adopt one of those upcoming Isaiah chips and duke it out with Penryn ultraportables. (Read the full post about ‘HP’s new UMPC 2133 hotness to run VIA, not Penryn?’…)

To stay loyal to the Apple gods means you have to live with the non-removable batteries on your iPods and iPhones. Bringing the USB cable along with you everywhere is good if you expect to have computer access to get some charge from its USB port, but not too helpful if you are out, let’s say, on a safari. In that case, the RichardSolo Smart Backup Battery is an indispensable accessory. (Read the full post about ‘Charge your iPhone and iPod On The Move’…)

I’m a big fan of the robotic vacuum cleaning Roomba, but he doesn’t help with all the crumbs and keyboard fluff on my desk which is where the new (and unrelated) Robo Vacuum come to the rescue, a robotic cleaner for your desk. Picking up life’s little messes is easy with the Robo Vacum™! This tiny desktop robot is a perfect for sucking up those kitchen crumbs and desktop debris. It’s easy to use and easy to clean! Simply push top button to activate the vacuum and slide over dry crumbs and other debris. No vacuum bags required! It hold all of the debris in it’s crumb compartment. Just pop open the top and empty it out! Robo Vacuum is available now from WowZzers for $18.99. (Read the full post about ‘Desktop Robo Vacuum’…)