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    From hearing aids to “walking” aids

    Gadgets Team
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    From hearing aids to “walking” aids

    There are many physical liberties one gives up as they age; one in particular is the simple joy of walking to and from anywhere. Now unless you’re one of those super health-conscious buffs who drink nothing but wheatgrass, high-calcium milk, and do yoga every day, you probably may have trouble getting around on foot and by yourself. Since majority of the population is your average cheeseburger-eating, soda-drinking couch potato, it’s important to have something that will assist you on your way as you age.

    With the brand promise “shaping tomorrow with you,” Fujitsu held the FUJITSU Design Award 2011: A LIFE with Future Computing, the full-scale international design competition, open to designers around the world, aimed at the development of PC-related designs bringing innovation to people’s daily lives.

    The grand prize winner was designed by Lithuanian designer Egle Ugintaite. The Aid is a cane that provides mobile navigation and health management services so that users who have difficulty travelling can remain active and mobile. It monitors the users’ pulse, blood pressure and body temperature which is displayed on the LCD screen. The cane also comes with a built-in navigator along with directions to a location of their choice which you can hear through headphones.

    Source: Springwise

    LEGO computer case shows man’s inner geek, looks simple to build

    Gadgets Team
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    LEGO computer case shows man’s inner geek, looks simple to build

    There’s a lot of LEGO casemods floating on the net, but this one caught our eye because of its simplicity and the ease of which an average nerd can replicate it. Mike Schropp made the lego case to house three complete systems (that’s 3 motherboards plus CPUs, coolers, GPUs and other assorted doodads) but it’s totally feasible for anyone else to make it for one system.

    Mike documented his build thoroughly, so if you have a bit of spare time, a CPU that needs to get geekified and a metric ton of LEGO pieces, it’s time to get building.

    (Thanks Anj!)

    Via: Makezine

    Source: Total Geekdom

    Qualcomm doesn’t think dual-core processors are being used properly

    Gadgets Team
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    Qualcomm doesn’t think dual-core processors are being used properly

    With all the dual-core powered processors floating around in smartphones and tablets, you’d think that apps would be lighting fast by now.  But Liat Ben-Zur, Senior Director, Software Strategy and Business Development, Qualcomm CDMA Technologies doesn’t think that’s true and recently published a blog post asking if anyone is actually using dual-core processors’ full potential. “The reality is that this technology trend of multi-cores can be somewhat confusing for most developers. Most are writing downloadable applications, which are only able to take advantage of the HLOS APIs exposed by the platform provider. Most developers are just not exposed to multiple core technology via the standard HLOS API sets that they use every day to build their applications.” What that basically boils down to is that if the developer doesn’t specifically code their application for dual-core processors, then you’re not getting dual core performance. While this may or may not be a jab at current dual-core superstar NVIDIA and their dual-core Tegra chip that’s currently in most dual-core devices, she does make a good point. The challenge now for developers is to code their apps in such a way that it’ll be able to take advantage of the performance gained from dual core processors.

    Source: Qualcomm

    Coke supports Pinoy_Blogfest 2.0

    Gadgets Team
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    1
    Coke supports Pinoy_Blogfest 2.0

    The Coca-Cola Export Company has signed on to support Pinoy_Blogfest 2.0, Gadgets Magazine‘s annual social media event.  Now on its second year, Pinoy_Blogfest 2.0 is scheduled to happen on 5 August 2011 at the TriNoma Activity Center in Quezon City.

    In its first run in 2010, Pinoy_Blogfest 1.0 attempted to start the dialogue on ethical issues confronting social media, with the theme Opportunity & Responsibility.  Attended by some 80 bloggers, the conference addressed questions such as: “Should bloggers observe journalistic ethics?” and “Can bloggers make money from their web presence?”

    Continuing the discourse on the role of social media in Philippine society, this year’s Pinoy_Blogfest 2.0 is themed Social Media as a Change Agent.

    With the increasing ubiquity of Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms, Filipinos have once again made the Philippines the world’s social networking capital.  Theoretically, therefore, everyone on Facebook or Twitter, and eventually the new Google+, has the potential to influence his “friends” or “followers” through his posts and status updates.  This democratizes social media and empowers each one with the opportunity to be a force for good.

    Pinoy_Blogfest is open to the public, offering a program of social activities targeted at various audiences.   Interested participants may opt to attend any one or all of the public social activities, namely The New Workplace, Its a Digital Life, Healthy Living and Photography.

    Interested bloggers are requested to send their name, blog URL, and contact details to [email protected] for invites to the by-invitation-only evening program by July 31, Sunday.

    Review: HTC ChaCha

    Gadgets Team
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    4
    Review: HTC ChaCha

    Relentless rumors about Facebook coming out with its own mobile device had the internet a flutter earlier this year. With a userbase of about 700 million, it only seemed natural that the current king of Social networking would want to expand their horizons. The rumor proved false, but it highlighted a need for a device that had Facebook at its core, something not completely lost on HTC. Thus, the HTC ChaCha was born, a device that puts the Facebook experience front and center and gives users the ability to share absolutely everything from the palm of their hands.

    If you’ve been following HTC’s recent smartphone releases, the ChaCha is a departure of sorts. It doesn’t have a gigantic capacitive screen dominating the face of the device as its own touchscreen is a diminutive, 2.6-inch deal that has a screen resolution of 480 x 320 pixels. It’s also one of the few HTC devices that has a full QWERTY keyboard.

    The ChaCha’s 114.4×64.6×10.7mm frame is comfortable to hold, and its 124g weight feels just right. The overall construction of the phone is solid and topnotch, with nary a creak to be had anywhere. Aside from the QWERTY keyboard, there’s a call and end button on the face of the ChaCha, as well as a volume rocker, 3.5mm jack and power button in the usual places. There’s a 5-megapixel camera on the back, as well as a secondary camera on the front for video calls.

    The ChaCha is powered by an 800MHz CPU and the latest build of Android, 2.3 Gingerbread.

    The Sense UI that’s on the ChaCha was especially modified for the device. The same pull ring to unlock mechanism that was in place in the HTC Sensation is present in the ChaCha.

    The home screen of the device is well laid out, if a little cramped – with the most recent Facebook update clearly visible in the middle. You get four home screens initially, though you can have a total of seven. Each one is totally customizable.

    The Facebook experience begins with the dedicated Facebook button on the lower right of the device. The Facebook button as the HTC execs called it is contextual button which does a couple of different things depending on where you are in the device.

    Pressing it directly from the home screen allows you to post a status message to your wall. Pressing it while listening to music posts track information to your wall, while doing the same while in Web page shares that particular page directly to your wall.

    It’s a fantastic shortcut key that simplifies sharing content immensely. The button also starts to throb when there’s something that’s potentially worth sharing, like the photo you’re about to take.

    Typing on the QWERTY keyboard is pretty nice and the buttons, although small, have good separation. It’s been so long since I’ve used a QWERTY keyboard on a smartphone, but once I got into the unique idiosyncrasies of the keyboard, I was happily typing away long text messages that I shied away from when I was using a touch-only smartphone.

    Call quality was great, and battery life was fantastic – the ChaCha managed to last for almost 2 ½ days on a single charge, with moderate use. With most smartphones dying if not plugged in at the end of the day, the ChaCha’s resiliency is a breath of fresh air.

    The obvious Achilles heel of the ChaCha is the small screen. At 2.6-inches, it’s probably one of the smallest screens that’s on an Android device. While it’s perfectly usable when checking your Facebook account, typing SMS and using Twitter, it’s not the best size for reading web pages and viewing video. Also if it wasn’t painfully obvious by now, let me spell it out for you: the ChaCha is useless without a good data connection. If you’re seriously looking at it, you’ll need a good data plan to go with it. Thankfully, Smart is offering two data plans for it – Php 1000 per month (with a monthly 100MB data cap) and Php 1500 per month with unlimited data.

    It’s obvious that the HTC ChaCha is aimed at a younger demographic that likes to keep connected with their friends. But make no mistake – it’s not a one trick pony, and once you strip the deep Facebook integration from it, it’s a pretty solid smartphone by itself.

     

    What’s Hot:

    Deep Facebook integration

    Easy to use QWERTY keyboard

    Long battery life

     

    What’s Not:

    Screen is a little small

    Useless without a good data plan

     

    Bottomline:

    The HTC ChaCha is the perfect phone for people who are constantly on Facebook.

     

    Buymeter: 8.4

     

    Tech Specs:

    • Operating System
    • Android 2.3 Gingerbread With Sense
    • CPU
    • 800MHz
    • LCD size
    • 2.6-inch capacitive touchscreen
    • Physical Dimensions
    • 114.4 x 64.6 x 10.7 mm
    • Weight
    • 120g
    • Band
    • 2G – GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900, 3G – HSDPA 900 / 2100

     

    Ball Invasion: Taking augmented reality a step further

    Gadgets Team
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    0
    Ball Invasion: Taking augmented reality a step further

    Ball Invasion is a first-person shooter app that pits users against evil balls lurking in the real world.

    While the premise of the game may not seem groundbreaking, the technology behind it is revolutionary. In a nutshell, it uses augmented reality, which is when virtual elements are combined with the real-world environment (i.e. sports newscasters adding virtual “chalk marks” on the screen).

    What makes this new app by 13th Lab amazing is that it can perform these tasks instantly, without needing its users to set up any predetermined markers. Ball Invasion amazingly augments reality by simply using the iPad2’s camera.

    The method, called SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping), has existed for quite some time, but 13th Lab is the first to find a way to squeeze it into a mobile device. It has only been previously used by highly advanced robots, such as those that trek Mars and need to map surface areas in real time

    While this sub-centimeter positioning technology is only possible on the iPad 2 thus far, the developers will endeavor to bring it across other platforms, provided the devices can handle the processor-heavy program.

    Get Ball Invasion here.


     

    Source: PopSci

    Incubus fights pirates 16-bit style in Incubattle

    Gadgets Team
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    0
    Incubus fights pirates 16-bit style in Incubattle

    Our love for Incubus is only surpassed by our love for anything 16-bit, so when we found out that the band had a retro-inspired, flash made, beat-em up game, we freaked. Incubattle has you fighting pirates as one of bands members, unleashing a unique blend of music and fisticuffs. It’s a pretty straightforward game, but it’s pretty cool nonetheless. You can even play with a friend via two player coop. Nice. You can find the game here, in the band’s website.

    Via: Joystiq

    Source: Enjoy Incubus

    The week in review: July 11 -15

    Gadgets Team
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    0
    The week in review: July 11 -15

    We’ll forgive you if you missed some of the tech stories that broke within the week – we all know you’re all busy people – so to help you catch up, we’re looking back at some of the more interesting reviews and stories that might pique your interest.

    Reviews:

    Asus GeForce ENGTX 570 Direct Cu II

    Razer Anansi

    Philips SHL-5000

    Asus K43SJ

    News:

    LG and Gameloft is bringing 3D gaming to the Optimus 3D

    Google’s redesigned the Android Market, now easier to find great apps

    Globe proposes 3-year plan to reduce interconnection rates

    Smart unveils their lowest postpaid unlimited text and call plan to date

    IDC predicts that the media tablet market is set hit 10x of 2010 shipments by 2015

    Asus Eee Pad Transformer starts shipping locally

     

     

    Now your iPhone can open your bottle of… soda.

    Gadgets Team
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    1
    Now your iPhone can open your bottle of… soda.

    So you’ve been working all week, brain’s turned to mush, and you want nothing more than a well-deserved night out with the crew and several cases of below zero beers. But there’s no other buzz-kill like not being able to open your own impatiently awaiting bottle (and you don’t have the talent or the nerve to open it with your teeth and it’s not like you carry around a bottle opener wherever you go). So Aussie minds and Industrial Designer Chris Peters and Rob Ward, decided to incorporate the bottle opener into something you would never leave home without: your phone.

    The Opena iPhone 4 case (which just makes having an iPhone so much cooler, in my opinion) is a mobile phone protector and cover that can support the slide out stainless steel bottle cap opener. It’s sleek, slim, and won’t put any force on your phone in case you think it’ll snap it in half with prolonged use.

    Just remember to drink moderately and you and your phone will be just fine.

    Second Sony Centre branch opens in Davao

    Gadgets Team
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    0
    Second Sony Centre branch opens in Davao

    Sony Philippines together with Metro Plaza opens its second Sony Centre branch in Davao.  Located at the 3rd level of the newly opened Abreeza Mall (along JP Laurel Ave), this specialized store will surely address the fast paced technological needs of more Filipinos.

    The new Sony Centre Abreeza Mall by Metro Plaza holds the complete Sony product line-up of all the models and accessories offered here in the Philippines. Now Davaoenos can enjoy the newest technological offerings in the Bravia TVs, Cyber-shot Digital Cameras, Handycam Camcorders, Alpha DSLRs, VAIO computers, WALKMAN mp3 players and even the PlayStation with all its accessories.  They can even experience the 3D, projector and internet capabilities of the new product lines.

    Twinkle Rafael, Director for Retail Management, Sony Philippines shares: “We are really excited to open our second Sony full line-up store in Davao, Sony fans in this province plus its nearby cities can find the perfect home and personal entertainment products through actual first hand experience.” That is why all our Sony Centres have an experiential approach with our consumers. We make sure that they find the Sony that best suits their requirements.  Now, we have reached more Filipinos, they can see the brilliance of the Sony technology in terms of 3D entertainment.”

     

    Source: Sony

    Review: Asus GeForce ENGTX 570 Direct Cu II

    Gadgets Team
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    4
    Review: Asus GeForce ENGTX 570 Direct Cu II

    While there are gamers that are willing to shell out big bucks for the very best, even big spenders have limits. And as enticing as it is to drop almost $500 on a video card, most of us have more pressing concerns. NVDIA’s GeForce GTX 570 is aimed at enthusiasts that want a better than average card without maxing out their credit cards, and as such is aimed squarely at the $350 price range. Today we’ll be diving into Asus’ rendition, the GeForce ENGTX 570 Direct Cu II.

    Right off the bat, the GeForce GTX 570 Direct Cu II has managed to shame Asus’ other video cards when it comes to sheer size. Aside from being 11 inches long, it also consumes not two, but three PCI-E slots in your system. To power it, you’ll need a one 6-pin and one 8-pin power plug.

    A powerful GPU usually means a lot of heat, and NVIDIA’s GF110 isn’t an exception to that. To help disperse heat, Asus used a gigantic heatsink with five DirectTouch heatpipes that draw the heat away from the GPU when it’s running. The whole system is topped off with two fans to completely take away the heat.

    The specs of the ENGTX 570 Direct Cu II are pretty impressive. It uses a slightly nerfed version of the GPU that powers its more powerful brother, the GF110. A smaller memory size, reduced clock speed and smaller bus width is all that separates it from the GTX 580. Like most high end cards that Asus creates, the ENGTX 570 Direct Cu II is already factory overclocked out of the box, running at 742 MHz as opposed to the stock 570s that only run at 732 MHz.

    To gauge the performance of the card, we ran it through 2 benchmarks and a couple of games. Since the ENGTX 570 Direct Cu II is more or less an enthusiast card, we’ll be running the benchmarks at high resolutions and graphical settings (1920 x 1280, AA set to max, etc.). We’ll also be playing a couple of games on similar settings to gauge what the card can do in real world, gaming applications.

    First on the benchmark pile is 3D Mark Vantage. The benchmark was run using the high preset, with the resolution set to 1920 x 1280 and all the settings maxed out. We did not include the CPU tests and as it was a custom setting run, we didn’t get 3D Mark scores. We did get a GPU score, which was 12605.

    Next benchmark is Unigine’s Heaven benchmark. Just like 3D Mark Vantage, we ran it with the resolution set to 1920 x 1280 and all the settings maxed out. We got a nice score of 869, with an average FPS of 34.5.

    Of course, all those benchies don’t mean squat if the card couldn’t perform in games, and we’re happy to say that the ENGTX 570 Direct Cu II performed well in three of the games we tested it with – the multiplayer centric Battlefield Bad Company 2, the beautiful RPG The Witcher 2, and Epic Game’s gore-tastic FPS Bulletstorm. Our frame counter fraps decided to crap out during test day, but gauging from the smooth transitions and overall smooth gameplay from all three titles, it’s safe to say that the ENGTX 570 Direct Cu II will be able to handle almost all the games that will come out this year without any problems.

    The only issue that I have with it is that it won’t be able to handle a 3 monitor setup. This actually is more of a complaint leveraged against NVIDIA than Asus (since they can only work with what the manufacturer gives them), and you’ll only be able to use a three monitor setup once you use the card in SLI configuration (two cards linked via a SLI connection). While not a total deal breaker for some, there are some enthusiasts out there that are raring to play with a 3 screen setup.

     

    What’s Hot:

    Powerful, able to play almost any game currently out in high settings

    Silent, you can barely hear the fan even in high loads

     

    What’s Not:

    Takes up 3 PCI-E slots, pretty big

    No support for 3 screens

     

    Bottomline:

    Retailing at about Php 18,170, it’s not the cheapest card around but the performance of the

    Asus GeForce ENGTX 570 Direct Cu II is well worth its price.

     

    Buymeter: 8.6

    Asus Eee Pad Transformer starts shipping locally

    Gadgets Team
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    1
    Asus Eee Pad Transformer starts shipping locally

    Guys, remember the Eee Pad transformer we reviewed about a month back? Well, we’ve just gotten word that it’s now available at local retailers (yey!) and you too can finally own a slice of Android Honeycomb. To commemorate the occasion, Asus is conducting a promo of sorts: all buyers of the Eee Pad Transformer/Eee Pad on July 20- 23 in any of the Asus authorized dealers in SM Megamall, Mandaluyong can get a chance to win a trip to any Philippine destination.

    Here’s the deets: after purchasing, customers will receive a raffle coupon from the dealer store they purchased the item from. Customer must fill in their name, address, e-mail, contact details and serial number of purchase. Customers must drop off their raffle stubs at ASUSworld Megamall, 4th floor Cyberzone, SM Megamall. Entries will be accepted until 6pm on July 23. Raffle entries will be drawn by an ASUS representative on July 23, 7pm. Log on to http://ph.asus.com or find Asus Philippines on Facebook, facebook.com/asusph.

     

    Smart unveils their lowest postpaid unlimited text and call plan to date

    Gadgets Team
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    1
    Smart unveils their lowest postpaid unlimited text and call plan to date

    Want to text and call all day but afraid of how high the meter will run? Smart’s got your back, as they’ve unveiled their lowest postpaid unlimited text and call plan to date, with the UNLI Text Plan for Php 299 a month, and UNLI Call & Text Plan for Php 599. Both plans will come with free phones, with a Samsung E1080 GSM for the former and a Nokia C1-01 for the latter.

    “Compared to our competitor’s plans, UNLI Text Plan 299 and UNLI Call & Text Plan 599 gives subscribers more value for their money” added Zaballero. “With Smart’s nationwidest coverage, they will be able to enjoy our services wherever they may be in the country.”

    There’s a clock attached to plans though, and you’ll only be able to avail of the unlimited plans  until October 7, 2011 at the following Smart branches: SM North EDSA, SM Megamall, Smart Tower Ayala, Robinsons Place Manila, SM South Mall and SM Cebu. To know more UNLI Text Plan 299 or UNLI Call & Text Plan 599, go to www.smart.com.ph or visit the Smart Wireless Center nearest you.

     

    Samsung announces a new “mini tablet”

    Gadgets Team
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    0
    Samsung announces a new “mini tablet”

    Samsung has been a busy bee. Not only have they been enjoying success in the sales of their Galaxy S II and the Galaxy Tabs, they now provide the buying public with another breakthrough product.

    Meet the Samsung Galaxy S WiFi 5.0, a mobile internet device (MID), which promises the perfect union between an Android tablet and touchscreen media player.

    Touted as a “mini tablet”, it features a 1GHz Application Processor, similar to what is housed within the 7-inch Galaxy Tab. Moreover, its brilliant 5-inch LCD screen features the Mobile Digital Natural Image engine (mDNIe), which aims to provide the optimal  “cinematic viewing experience no other device with the same screen size can offer”.


    Running on Android 2.2 Froyo, it also has two cameras (3megapixel rear and 1.3megapixel front-facing), and provides  8GB of generous internal storage that is expandable up to 32GB. If this new “mini tablet” hasn’t impressed you just yet, it also features dual surround speakers and SoundAlive technology, delivering a big sound in a small product.

    “With the Galaxy S WiFi 5.0 we’re delivering a rich, immersive experience for multimedia enthusiasts. A large, high-quality screen, a world of fun and useful applications and great communications services make this a powerhouse device at an affordable price.” – Glenn Glinoga, Business Unit Director Samsung’s Mobile Communications Business

    Sony’s giving back to VAIO lovers with 2 promos

    Gadgets Team
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    2
    Sony’s giving back to VAIO lovers with 2 promos

    You have to love it when companies gives back to their loyal users. Sony has come up with not one, but two promos for VAIO owners. One nabs you a brand spanking new VAIO notebook plus Php 25,000, and the other sends you to Hollywood. Sony’s create a VAIO ad promo is pretty self explanatory: you’ll need to create a print or television ad for Sony Vaio E inspired by their new tagline: “The New Sony VAIO E Series: More Powerful. More Affordable.” After that, you need to like their Facebook page so you can submit your work. Entries will be judged by Sony execs, and we’re assuming that the most creative one will win.

    The Great VAIO S-cape promo, meanwhile, is pretty straightforward. From July 1-Sept 15, 2011, anyone who buys a VAIO from authorized Sony Philippines dealers gets a certain amount of points, and each VAIO model is equivalent to a certain amount of points. Naturally, more points mean better chances of winning, and the winner gets a trip for 2 to Hollywood, a studio tour of a Velvet partner studio, a Broadway show, a tour of Hollywood and 5 day, 4 night hotel accommodation. For the full skinny on VAIO models and the equivalent points, check out the contest poster here.

     

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