Hasta La Gadget!

Adobe seems to be making some serious moves today as they announced they’ll be moving their products beyond physical boxes and instead will allow its customers to purchase them online through subscriptions. But that isn’t the only bit of news the company is announcing as they’re also looking to create two pieces of hardware known as the Project Mighty stylus and Napoleon ruler.

Both the stylus and ruler use low-energy Bluetooth to communicate with an iPad or iPhone and will work in collaboration with their new Creative Cloud software. The stylus features a button on it that when press, pulls up a menu within its software which allows the user to access a number of design options and content. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Google Improves Gmail Mobile Web To Adopt Gmail 2.0 for iOS UI, Top 10 CES Gadgets,

iWALK, a company that many of you should be familiar with if you are into smartphone and Apple accessories, has just showcased their range of the latest lineup of consumer solutions during CTIA 2013, where among them would also include the industry’s largest selection backup batteries that boasts of Apple’s lightning connector. Specially designed to meet the growing consumer demand for portable power, iWALK’s entire range of portable backup batteries will come with an ultra-portable design and have been equipped with an LED power indicator, where there is also an overcharge protection for better safety. You can also check out the other solutions that are on display at CTIA, where we will talk about them right after the jump.

First of all, there is the Link 1000i5, which is part of the Link series, being the thinnest and smallest rechargeable docking backup battery for iPhone 5 with 1000mAh of extra power. It will also come with pass-through charging which enables the backup battery and iPhone 5 to charge simultaneously.

As for the Extreme 10000 Duo, this is a super stylish universal backup battery that is capable of charging a couple of USB devices at the same time. Some of its features include 10000mAh of extra power, 2.1 rapid charging capabilities for iPad or tablets, an integrated LED flashlight and an LED power level indicator.

The Chameleon Racer for iPhone 5 is a high capacity power case for iPhone 5 with 2000mAh of added juice, and you will also find in it pass-through charging, an on/off switch to prevent constant iPhone 5 charging and a quartet of colorful interchangeable face plates.

As for the Dolphin Wall, this is a dual USB travel charger with Power Switch that paves the way for simultaneous charging of two USB devices, where one of them can be the iPad, which is not too common even in this day and age. There is also a LED power light indicator and an on/off switch button.

Any of them are right up your alley?

Press Release
[ iWALK delivers more accessories at CTIA 2013 copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

This week the folks at Hoptroff have introduced a pocket watch they suggest will tell time better and more accurately than any other watch in existence. This watch has been claimed by the company to be more accurate than any luxury quartz or mechanical watch yet produced, and will be the first to be atomically powered in a pocket watch form factor. The Hoptroff No. 10 is such a rare and seemingly difficult to construct timepiece that the company plans on making 12 units in their first run.

Creating the world’s first atomic pocket watch seems to have been an part of an obsession for the company, creating here what they say is the most accurate watch in the world due to its unique method of telling time. The device the company is showing off this week is not a radio-receiving watch, nor is it made with a set of mechanics as a traditional timepiece is.

Instead the No. 10 includes a caesium gas chamber sitting inside a temperature controlled oven. There’s a laser in this piece of hardware that excites radioactive atoms working with a microwave resonator to monitor each atomic transition, this measurement resulting in the most accurate measurement of time yet available, so sayeth Hoptroff.

Hoptroff also notes that the device has a “self-contained accuracy of one and a half seconds per thousand years”, so don’t expect to be right on the dot if you plan on living that long. Symmetricom provides the atomic physics package used by this device, they having created the system for an ever-so-slightly different use.

“The atomic physics package is supplied by Symmetricom, who originally developed it in collaboration with the US Department of Defense for use in cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles where it is needed to continue navigating in the presence of GPS radio jamming.” – Richard Hoptroff, managing director of Hoptroff Ltd

At the moment, the watch doesn’t actually have a final face or back. The company currently has a working model of the innards ready for action, but will be in development with the rest until later this year. There, users will find the end product, hereto code-named Atom Heart Mother, (“after the Pink Floyd album”), to be costing a cool five figure sum – the final amount is not yet known.

[via The Register]

Hoptroff No. 10 marks world’s first atomic pocket watch is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Logitech has become an icon in the gaming peripheral industry with their G-series line of keyboards, mice, and headsets. The company recently overhauled the G-series by giving it a new look, as well as announcing a slew of new gaming accessories to add to the line. We ended up checking out their new G430 headset — which is the cream of the crop out of the new line of products they unveiled — in order to see what kind of boost they can give gamers during the heat of the battle. Is the $80 price tag worth it? Let’s find out.

Overview & Design

Logitech’s G430 headset comes in a rather colorful black-and-bright blue color scheme, which says right away that it has a lot of character. Looks is everything with gaming peripherals, and Logitech certainly didn’t make an ugly headset here. The G430 comes with cloth-covered foam ear pads that can be removed and replaced if they ever get worn out, or for just a quick wash if they ever get dirty. The foam is pretty stiff, and along with the snug fit of the headset, some gamers may find the headset discomforting after prolonged periods, as did I after about just a half hour of use.

The ear cups are adjustable — no surprise there — and they also can rotate 90 degrees to fit better on your head, as well as making storage easier for when you’re off to your next LAN party. The microphone can be adjusted both vertically and horizontally, meaning you can flip up the microphone away from your mouth, or bend the stem closer to your mouth in order to be heard more clearly by your fellow gamers.

The braided cable is really long — about 8 feet or so, but it comes with a nifty velcro strap to shorten it if need be. It also works to wrap up the entire cord for storage or mobility. We’re not sure why the cord is as long as it is. The only explanation would be if you were to feed the cord all the way behind your desk and connect it to the back of your gaming rig. Other than that, we find the long cord to be quite unnecessary. The G430 comes with inline controls on the cord, though, which allow you to adjust the volume and toggle mute the microphone quickly and easily. At the end, the cord forks off into separate audio in and out 3.5mm jacks, but the headset comes with a convenient USB adapter if you don’t have dedicated audio in and out ports (like on some laptops).

Audio Output

As for the quality of the sound produced by the G430, we were impressed. We’re not complete audiophiles, so we’re not too picky when it comes to audio, but we certainly weren’t disappointed with what we were hearing. In-game audio sounded terrific, especially when playing first-person shooters where the many explosions produced excellent bass. It made us feel more closer to the action when playing our favorite shoot-em-ups, especially with the on-board Dolby 7.1 surround sound, which allowed us to know what direction shots and grenade blasts were coming from, allowing us to better respond to the situation.

For the audiophiles out there, the G430 comes with 40mm drivers and has a frequency response of 20Hz-20KHz. There’s 32 Ohms of impedance, and the sensitivity rings in at 90dB SPL/mW. The microphone is unidirectional and has a frequency response of 50-20KHz.

Since the headset fits quite snugly, it has its own natural noise-cancelling technology of sorts. It was almost like we were wearing a pair of noise-cancelling ear muffs that you would wear on a construction site, only you could play audio through them. Even at high volume levels, audio remained crisp and there was no noticeable clipping going on. Even music sounded great through the headset, with clear mids and highs, along with the thumping bass.

Audio Input

Logitech touts that the microphone has noise-cancelling technology, and we can’t argue with them there. Friends listening on the other end said that we were coming in clear with a nice volume, although they reported that the bass wasn’t as good as it could have been. Nonetheless, in a heated gaming situation, the only important thing is that your teammates can at least hear you loud and clear, and the G430 accomplishes that with aplomb. It’s certainly not a microphone you would use if you needed a high-quality recording of yourself, but for gaming, it definitely does the job.

Software

The G430, as with most other Logitech products, comes with a software suite that includes a full-blown control panel to finely tune your headset to optimal settings. You can adjust things like individual volume levels for the microphone and the headphones, as well as adjust the bass and treble by 12 dB either up or down.

You can also adjust each individual channel in the headset’s Dolby 7.1 surround sound, all the way down to the subwoofer portion. This would come in handy if certain channels were too loud for your liking, allowing you to tone down that specific channel while keeping the rest of them the same.

The big thing with the software, however, is that it’s not supported on OS X. The headset will still at least work on Apple’s OS, but you won’t get the Dolby 7.1 surround sound or the control panel where you can fine-tune your settings. Instead, you’ll be using OS X’s default (and very limited) sound settings in System Preferences. Essentially, you won’t be getting the full experience through OS X as you would on Windows.

Wrap-Up

Overall, the Logitech G430 headset is a quality product, but is it worth the $80 price tag? Yes, it is very worth it. In fact, we think the headset is worthy of a $100+, so you’re definitely getting a bargain here. However, not every product is perfect, and the G430 comes with faults that could deter some gamers, including a really tight fit around the ears, an annoyingly long cable, and no full OS X compatibility. However, if you can look past these faults (which are mostly personal preferences anyway) the G430 is certainly worthy to be in any gamer’s repertoire.

Logitech G430 Headset Review is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

This isn’t the timepiece you expected to be reading about today, that’s for certain. What you’ve got here is the Ressence Type 3, a mechanical wristwatch that, save its rather intriguing construction and use of liquid under the surface of its face, looks rather standard from afar. Up close you’ll find that this machine is a bit boggling to behold.

The watch you’re looking at right this minute will cost you a cool $34,000 USD and, needless to say, you’re not going to be seeing it on your best buddy’s wrist any time soon. Unless you’ve got a watch maniac as a best friend, of course, packed with cash looking for unique time-keeping solutions. Here you’ve got four dials, each of them showing either the time or the date, each of them appearing to be suspended as if by magic.

The face of this watch is a clear sapphire crystal and around the edges you’ll find no standard crank. There’s a manual winding mechanism on the back of this amalgamation as well as a switch to activate your ability to change the time. You’ll also find the product page over at Ressence to be especially simplistic.

“The indications and their mechanisms are mounted inside a bubble crafted from extremely tough, anti-reflective sapphire crystal. The complication and indications follow the shape of the crystal. The mechanism (28 gears, 57 jewels) is enclosed in an upper compartment filled with a naphtha-type liquid that has a more similar index of refraction to the sapphire crystal than air does.

Refraction bends light when it passes from one material to another, e.g. air-to-glass or glass-to-air. With the fluid-filled dial indications, refraction is greatly minimised, which tricks the brain into seeing the dial in two-dimensions rather than three. A thermal valve automatically adjusts for any expansion or contraction of the fluid.” – Ressence

UPDATE: Have a look at a set of new hands-on photos from A Blog to Watch below as well!

Have a peek at this watche’s front, back, and sides above and below, and let us know if this is a machine that’s fit for your otherwise smartwatch-seeking pocketbook. And what’s that? Is it an iPhone app make specifically to give you a preview of how the Type 3 looks, water pressure and all? Have a download and let us know how it goes!

[via Watch.AM]

Ressence Type 3 watch employs liquid-filled body is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.