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Nov 08

Drift HD Ghost Sports Camera Takes Aim at GoPro

The market is flooded with sports cameras it seems. Not long ago, GoPro unveiled its new HERO3 action camera that’s designed to be used for all sorts of sports from auto racing to skiing. Now, Drift Innovation has unveiled its latest sports camera called the Drift HD Ghost which has some solid specs of its own.

drift hd ghost camera

The Drift HD Ghost is a wearable camera that can also be mounted on an automobile or other motorized vehicle to record your racing and off-road exploits. The camera can record in HD resolutions up to 1080p(30fps) and is water-resistant to 9.84-feet without any housing. It’s got a wide-angle lens and offers digital zoom up to 10x. It can also capture stills at up to 11 megapixels, and at speeds up to 120fps in WVGA (800×480) resolution.It has an included wearable on-off remote control switch with LEDs to show the mode in use. The camera also has continuous loop video recording, integrated Wi-Fi, and a built-in 2-inch LCD screen.

drift hd ghost camera 2

That LCD is a big deal if you like to be able to tell that your shot is lined up correctly and see what video you’re recording while in the field. The LCD is covered by Gorilla Glass to protect it from damage. The Wi-Fi connectivity allows the camera to interface with the Drift app that will be available for both Apple and Android devices. The battery promises up to three hours of recording per charge, and the camera has integrated audio technology to provide clear sound even during windy situations. Captured video is stored on a Micro SD card (up to 32GB capacity), and it’s also got a mini-HDMI output.

The Drift HD Ghost camera is available for pre-order now for $399(USD), and is expected to ship on November 19th. If you order now and enter promo code “100Free“, you get up to $100 in bonus accessories.

Nov 08

Paper Blade E-Ink Watch Concept Offers a Refreshingly Different Design

Posted in: Today's Chili

I think E-ink display watches are some of the most underrated timepieces out there. They have cool, modern and easy-on-the-eyes displays, with the only downside being their lack of self-illumination. While there aren’t a ton of E-ink watches on the market, I’d love to see this cool design concept get produced.

paper blade watch concept 1

Conceived by UK designer Devindh, the Paper Blade watch would feature a unique geometric grid for its face, which creates a stencil for the E-ink display underneath. At first glance, the time seems a little tricky to read, but once you read the description of the display, it’s not too challenging: “The grid divides the paper into 4 ‘cells’. Upper and lower cells show the day, month, and year, and the central ‘cell’ shows the time in 24 hr format (the smaller digits showing minutes, and the larger digits showing hours).” So the watch above shows the time “23:53″ (or 11:53 pm). Make sense?

paper blade watch concept 3

The day and date display mimics the geometric forms of the watch face, completing the look. Devindh envisions the watch coming in a variety of color combinations, but I have to say my favorite is the copper-cased design up top. You don’t frequently find watches in copper – at least not good looking, modern ones.

paper blade watch concept 4 If you like its style, and would like to see the Paper Blade go from concept to reality, head on over to the TokyoFlash Design Blog and vote for the design.

Nov 08

Tech Deals of the Day: 11/08/2012

Posted in: Today's Chili

Our friends over at TechBargains.com compiled a list of daily deals and we wanted to share them to help you save money.

Keep in mind that as with any true deal, the products are limited quantity and can sell out quickly – so don’t hesitate to check them out now. Also if you’re looking to buy a product from a specific store, you save money with updated and verified coupon codes here.

Computers & Peripherals:

Vizio CT14-A1 Intel i5-3317 Dual-Core Ivy Bridge 13.3″ Ultrabook Laptop $649 plus free shipping (normally $949)
Corsair XMS 8GB DDR3 1600 Desktop Memory $23.99 plus free shipping (normally $36 – use this form and coupon code: EMCJJNB49)
Mushkin Enhanced Chronos 2.5″ 128GB Solid State Drive w/ 3.5″ Desktop Adapter Bracket $79.99 plus free shipping (normally $99)

Home Entertainment:

Refurbished Toshiba BDK33 Blu-Ray Player $39.99 plus free shipping (normally $169)
Seiki SC371TS 37″ LCD HDTV $249.99 plus free shipping (normally $299)
Quantum View QTC32A7F 32″ LCD HDTV $199.98 plus free shipping (normally $299)
Panasonic VIERA TC-L47E50 47″ IPS LED-Edgelit LCD HDTV $649.99 plus free shipping (normally $1299 – use coupon code: MCU76264)

Personal Electronics:

Diablo III Game (PC) $19.99 (normally $59 – use coupon code: TSE76456)
Sony Alpha NEX-5N 16.2MP Mirrorless Digital Camera w/ 18-55 mm Lens $429 plus free shipping (normally $499)
Refurbished Nikon D5100 16MP DSLR Digital Camera (Body Only) $379 plus free shipping (normally $499)
Canon PowerShot S100 12MP 5X Digital Camera $299 plus free shipping (normally $399)
ESPN Films 30 for 30 Collector’s Set: Films 01-30 (Blu-ray/6 Discs) $29.99 (normally $99)

Nov 08

Dish Network Wins Against TV Studios Trying to Ban AutoHop

Posted in: Today's Chili

Like many people, I have a serious love-hate relationship with movie and television studios. I love a lot of the content they produce, but they never cease to irritate me when it comes to their heavy-handed approach to trying to block viewers from accessing content the way we want to access it. I think one of the best DVR features I’ve heard of in a long time is Dish Networks’ AutoHop technology.

dish hopper dvr1

This technology allows Dish Network users with compatible DVRs to record prime-time programming on major networks, including ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox and automatically skip all the commercials. The users can watch recorded content the day after the original broadcasts without having to sit through any advertisements or having to fast-forward.

As you can imagine that feature made the networks very angry, and Fox sued Dish Network for copyright infringement among other things. Thankfully, Dish Network and TV fans around the country have won this battle for now, with the judge presiding over the case ruling in Dish Networks favor. The judge found no copyright infringement for customers using the feature and ruled that the PrimeTime Anytime feature doesn’t infringe on the studio’s exclusive reproduction rights under federal copyright laws.

Nov 08

Researchers Aim for 2000-Times-Faster Internet Using Off-The-Shelf Components

Posted in: Today's Chili

Prog group of researchers from the School of Electronic Engineering at Bangor University in the UK are working on a plan that could result in broadband Internet speeds up to 2000 times faster than we have today – with little additional cost. Incredibly fast speeds combined with little added cost comes from the fact that the technology uses off-the-shelf components available today. The trick is that data is transferred over fiber-optic connections rather than copper wire.

fast bb

So far, Professor Jianming Tang and his team have been able to reach speeds of 20 Gbps in testing. That is fast enough to download a full-length HD movie in only 10 seconds – a far cry from the minutes or hours it takes on today’s best broadband connections. The group of researchers are working on a three-year project to make this technology commercially available.

The way the scientists were able to significantly increase the speed of Internet connections is thanks in part to something called Optical Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing, or OOFDM. The hardware allows both coding and decoding of optical signals on-the-fly. The researchers believe that they will be able to hit speeds of around 40 Gbps soon.

[via BBC]

Nov 08

Elecom iPad Case Becomes Full-Fledged Keyboard

Posted in: Today's Chili

Keyboard-cases are nothing new for iPads, but it takes a certain mix of elements to make a really good one. After tackling your smartphone typing needs, Elecom decided to create a keyboard-case for your tablet.

elecom ipad keyboard case

The Elecom TK-FBP048ECBK is a transforming iPad keyboard case that isn’t too cramped. The clever mechanism splits its full-size keyboard in two and it folds away in a case which also acts as a stand for the iPad. It’s naturally Bluetooth-compatible, and a charge should keep it running for weeks.

elecom ipad keyboard case folding

It is 23mm thick when folded up, so that’s a bit much but I guess that the folding mechanism couldn’t be reduced in thickness. As with the Elecom smartphone keyboard, this case is pricey. Expect to pay ¥16,795 (~$210 USD) for it. Will it replace my Logitech Solar Keyboard Folio? I’m not sure.

[via Elecom]

Nov 07

VITREO Protects Your iPad Glass with More Glass

Posted in: Today's Chili

I’m here to tell you if you don’t have some sort of screen protection on your iPad, it’s only a matter of time before you end up with little scratches all over it. Scratches on the screen are annoying too because after a while you can pretty much only see scratches when you look at the screen. Many screen protectors out there are little pieces of film that stick to the screen surface.

vitreo tb

The problem with those sticky adhesive films is that over time they tend to bubble and look crappy. Seidio has unveiled a new screen protector that shouldn’t have such problems. The screen protector is called VITREO and it’s a piece of tempered glass that fits over the entire surface of your iPad, while still allowing usage of the touchscreen. The glass has a hardness rating of 9H meaning that it should withstand both scratches and drops, while protecting the underlying screen of your tablet.

The sheet of glass sticks to the surface of your tablet using a silicone adhesive. That adhesive promises to be removable without leaving residue behind if you want to take it off your tablet. The VITREO screen protector is available right now for $69.95, and is available for the iPad third and fourth-generation as well as the iPad 2.

Nov 07

BeBionic3 Prosthetic Gives You a Hand That Luke Skywalker Would Want

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Prosthetic limbs are getting more and more advanced. Between Oscar “Blade Runner” Pistorius, also known as “the fastest man on no legs”, and mind-controlled mechanical legs, it’s only a matter of time before full cybernetic replacement body parts are available. UK-based BeBionic is helping to advance this cause by giving amputees a very functional, and very cool-looking prosthetic hand.

bebionic3 bionic prosthetic hand

The BeBionic3 is myoelectric prosthetic hand that uses residual neuro-muscular signals from its wearer’s own muscles to operate some very precise functions. This hand is almost as functional as Luke Skywalkers’s hand in The Empire Strikes Back. It allows amputees to write with a pen, delicately hold glasses, bottles and even crack eggs.

It has 14 hand positions and grips, and also comes in a skin-tone glove so that cyborgs can blend in with regular folk.

[via DVice]

Nov 07

Nintendo Unboxes its Own Wii U

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The new Nintendo Wii U is coming to stores in North America on November 18th, but you can see exactly what you’ll be getting in the box thanks to the fine folks at Nintendo, who have decided to shoot their own early unboxing video, with Nintendo president Satoru Iwata doing the honors.

nintendo wii unboxing

The video is in Japanese, but has subtitles, and is easy to follow. It’s pretty crazy that the controller is almost as big as the console, and the power brick is still quite chunky as well. It sure would be nice if they could get the size down. Apple has proven it’s possible with the MacBook’s power supply, as has Asus, so why can’t everyone?

My favorite part of the video is the rubber gloves Iwata is wearing while unboxing the shiny black game system. Clearly, it’s gonna be a major fingerprint magnet – especially the controller. I wonder if they include a pair of gloves in the box.