Hasta La Gadget!

Gotta love the gadgets. German company Just Mobile has released three accessories sure to be useful to the iPod touch or iPhone user on the go.

• The Lounge (left) gives your iPhone 3GS or 3G a place to recline, whether on your desktop or on a dashboard, so you can easily view the screen. Its main use is with GPS applications, but it’s also handy when you want to watch a video. It lists for $49.99.
• The Xtand Go (middle) is also a GPS companion, but this offers a window mount. It can hold an iPhone, other smartphones, or even other GPS devices firmly in place. Devices can be positioned vertically or horizontally on windshields or dashboards. It lists for $39.99.
• The Gum Plus (right; I don’t know what’s up with that name either) is an external battery for those times when you need a little more power. Use it with iPhones, iPods, or other smartphones or USB devices. You can get one for $69.99.

Energizer confirms software vulnerability in Duo charging software originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s no Courier, but for a charging pad, this is a pretty interesting concept. According to a patent filed by Microsoft’s Beijing office, the idea for such a pad is that it can have one side dedicated to inductive charging (maybe for a future Zune or even Microsoft’s own phones), while the other side can be used for displaying useful information “such as weather conditions, sports scores, news headlines.” It may not sound very practical at first blush, but have a listen at this — the built-in accelerometer and the charging surface’s load detector help determine which side isn’t in use, thus switching that side off to reduce power consumption. Voilà! As for why the eggheads suggested adding a light panel for glowing up a glass prism — it’s the new crystal ball.

Update: looks like this device has been around since March 2009! A tipster — who happens to be affiliated with Microsoft Research Asia — has just hit us with some photos of a prototype device based on this patent. It’s called the uPad (please, don’t start) and was produced as souvenirs for Microsoft Research Asia’s 10th anniversary. As you can see after the break, the uPad wirelessly charges a modified Wireless Laser Mouse 7000. We want one.

Continue reading Microsoft dreams of smart charging pad with information display (update: prototype pics)

Microsoft dreams of smart charging pad with information display (update: prototype pics) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What’s cooler than the latest in technology? How about the latest in self-powering technology? University of Pennsylvania researchers have put together what seems like the world’s first photovoltaic circuit, which is to say that the electronic parts of your devices will no longer have to just consume energy, they’ll be able to harvest it directly from the sun. The most obvious application for this would be in smartphone touchscreens, which could recharge themselves while you sip your latte at the local sun-drenched coffee shop. Of course, such practical uses are still a fair distance away, as the team can generate only minuscule amounts of power at present, but the theory is in place and so is our attention. Don’t let us down, Penn!

Photovoltaic circuit makes solar-powered touchscreens possible, not yet plausible originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 03:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Imagine a HyperMac, but one that’s highly portable and engineered specifically to rejuvenate your USB-connecting gizmos. That, our friends, is the ZAGGsparq. Our good pals over at Gadling had a chance to sit down with the portable charger recently, and as expected, they came away duly impressed. At its core, this is little more than a portable 6000mAh battery with a pair of USB inputs; you simply plug whatever USB gizmo you’ve got into it (a smartphone, portable media player, e-reader, GPS system or anything else that can be charged over USB) and watch as it provides life where there was none. It also supports international power sockets (which you’ll have to provide separately), and it packs enough juice when fully charged to bring five dead iPhones back to full capacity. At just under a Benjamin, it’s hard to not recommend for the avid traveler, but feel free to give the source link a glance if you need more proof.

ZAGGsparq portable USB charger gets reviewed, adored originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 03:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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