Hasta La Gadget!

Pocket projectors are fast heading towards impulse-buy status, and Chinavision’s Mini Projector with Wi-Fi and Wireless Remote $200 price-tag is as impulse as it gets right now. And as you may have guessed, it has some fancy extras.

The projector itself uses a 3-watt LED lamp, unlike the increasingly common focus-free laser models, which puts out 10-lumens of light. That isn’t bad, but you won’t be watching anything bigger than a sheet of legal paper unless you turn out the lights. Resolution is a non-HD 640 x 480 pixels. It also has a small speaker (and an audio-out jack), plus USB and SD slots for playing back media directly, an IR remote and it hooks up to a video-source via RCA cable.

Not bad, but the pizazz comes from the Wi-Fi, which lets you hook it directly to the internet and watch YouTube videos, Flickr slideshows and so on. It can do this because inside the projector is a tiny Linux computer, which is controlled by the little wireless keyboard.

I have no hopes for the quality of this kit, but you certainly get a lot for your money: There’s even a mini-tripod included in the bundle. Available now.

Mini Projector with Wi-Fi and Wireless Remote [Chinavision via Oh Gizmo!]

See Also:

• Nikon Digicam Doubles as Computer Projector
• Pico Projector iDevice Dock Beams Movies, Games
• IOS-Ready Pico-Projector Turns Your Phone into a Theater
• NEC Demonstrates World's Brightest LED Projector

Art Basel down in Miami has been the go-to place to see the best and brightest in design this past week, with Troika’s ‘Falling Light’ installation falling squarely into the latter category. This mechanical LED sculpture needed a room to itself, as it hosts 50 ceiling-suspended devices with each incorporating a custom cut Swarovski crystal optical lens, a computer programmed motor and a white LED. As you can see in the video down below, the white metal armatures rise in syncopation by rotating cam before gravity releases them earthward, which then activates the LED to move closer to the crystal lens. Through the magic of diffraction, you end up with a rainbow effect being flung to the floor, creating a perfect environment for… let’s say, a rave. Or, you know, your next bedroom.

Continue reading Troika’s mechanical LED sculpture lights up Art Basel (video)

Troika’s mechanical LED sculpture lights up Art Basel (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 05 Dec 2010 08:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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See those smiling twentysomethings up there? That, folks, is the kind of happiness that can only be achieved with 150 glorious lux of LED intensity. Fortunately, Siemens subsidiary Osram Opto Semiconductors has packaged a new LED chip that capable of putting up such impressive figures, a claimed 50 percent brighter than its predecessor — and that makes it capable of evenly illuminating a 90-centimeter area from a distance of one meter away. Cameraphone flashes are an obvious application, but pocket projectors are another obvious benefactor — it’s nearly impossible to eke enough light out of ’em, and this should help. It’s not clear whether a brighter pocket projector would have the same positive effect on the demeanor of a bunch of stylish youths, though — more on that situation as we get it.

Osram’s new LED package 50 percent brighter, promises cameraphone flashes that suck 50 percent less originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 28 Nov 2010 02:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No one’s going to be calling Nokero out for falling behind. Just a few short months after revealing its first commercial light bulb for developing nations, the outfit has now rolled out a second version, the predictably titled N200. This guy strikes a vastly different pose compared to the original, with the LED enclosure hanging on a swivel that enables it to be positioned in a way that would optimally catch light. When night falls, users can flip the light north to create a lantern. Nokero claims that this edition is just as rugged and rainproof as the original, but it’s 60 percent brighter and lasts three times as long. A single NiMH battery is included, and that’s what is rejuvenated by the sun — once charged, it’ll provide between 2.5 and 6 hours of light, depending on the mode. It’s on sale now for $20 apiece (bulk prices are less), representing a modest $5 premium over the (still available) N100. Can’t say the Yankees will be looking to decorate their outdoor patio with lighting right about now, but for the nomads trekking to Panama to escape Old Man Winter… well, you know what to do. Vid’s after the break.

[Images courtesy of Larry Bollig]

Continue reading Nokero’s solar-powered, rainproof N200 light bulb: brighter, stronger, more flexible

Nokero’s solar-powered, rainproof N200 light bulb: brighter, stronger, more flexible originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Nov 2010 03:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The age of the underbody lighting craze on cars passed about as quickly as a bottle of N2O lasts on bracket night at the local strip, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still have some fun on your man-powered means of transportation. No, we’re not talking a skateboard here, it’s a Ripstik, featuring two narrow inline skate wheels and a weaving motion that will get you going where you’re going without kicking — so long as you aren’t in a great hurry. Now modder metsfan1938 over at instructables is showing us how to add a little underbody bling, wiring up blue LEDs that are as practical as they are stylish if you tend to ride in an area that could see you getting run over at night. A little soldering and a bit of Dremel action is all that’s required here, so if you live your life a wobbly quarter-mile at a time you’ll want to click on through.

DIY Ripstik underbody LED kit will make you look styley at night, still get heckled by skaters originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Nov 2010 10:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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