Hasta La Gadget!

A group of students at MIT have just unveiled a new prototype of a braille labelmaker / printer, the 6dot. Though not the first, the MIT group’s model is apparently more advanced, easier to use, and cheaper than currently available models. Designed with the blind and visually impaired in mind, the labelmaker features an around the neck strap, and six buttons (for each of the dots of a braille character), allowing quick production of accurate labels, including contractions. The internal processor of the device can store up to 16 characters, and “prints” the characters onto adhesive label paper, which the user can then affix for easy identification of household items, such as medications, canned goods, and so on. Though it’s still in prototype phase, it’s possible the device could cost as little as $200 when it does hit the market.

[Via Coolest Gadgets]

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Household, Science

MIT students develop new 6dot braille labelmaker prototype originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 Sep 2009 04:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While more and more printer manufacturers are gearing MFPs for the dual role of home and home office, Epson has focused its Stylus NX line squarely on the home market. Its latest, the Stylus NX515 , excels in the role of a home device that can print, scan, and copy, earning an Editors’ Choice,. The printer beat out HP’s recent entry, the Photosmart C4680 All-in-One , among others.

The NX515 is even good for home-office use, if your needs are mostly confined to light-duty printing. Its Ethernet and WiFi connectivity recommend it for a dual role, though its lack of an automatic document feeder (ADF) and a fax modem work against it; its lightning-fast printing of high-quality, smear-resistant documents is some compensation. The NX515 ‘s photo printing speed is less impressive than text, but photo quality is fantastic, especially for black-and-white images, is fantastic, and the prints are water- and scratch-resistant.

Although at $149 (direct) the Epson Stylus NX515 is higher priced than many of its peers, it offers enough to be worth the extra expense. And you may be able to find it at a considerable discount–as I write this, Amazon is offering it for just under $100.

Canon‘s just unveiled a compact little photo printer — the SELPHY ES40. Now, we don’t have a ton of info to go on in the press release, but we do know that this little guys boasts a voice-guidance system to work with its 3.5-inch LCD and scrollwheel to navigate through the menus. We don’t usually find printers to be in any way interesting, but there’s something about this one that we rather like — maybe it’s the fact that we’ve been “talking” to our own printers for years, and have sadly never gotten a response. No word on availability yet, but it’ll run you around $149.99 when it arrives. There’s another shot of this bad boy after the break.

Continue reading Canon announces voice-guided SELPHY ES40 photo printer

Filed under: Peripherals

Canon announces voice-guided SELPHY ES40 photo printer originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Aug 2009 09:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This whole global economic crisis, and its resulting massive loss of jobs got us thinking. We here at Engadget didn’t want to stand helplessly by, announcing every new round of misery without giving anything back — so we decided to take the opportunity to spread a little positivity. We’ll be handing out a new gadget every day to lucky readers until we run out of stuff or companies stop sending things. Today we’ve got two DYMO LabelWriter 450 Twin Turbos on offer, ideal for blasting out labels and sticky love notes at your desk. Read the rules below (no skimming — we’re omniscient and can tell when you’ve skimmed) and get commenting! Hooray for free stuff!

Big thanks to DYMO for providing the gear!

The rules:

• Leave a comment below. Any comment will do, but if you want to share your proposal for “fixing” the world economy, that’d be sweet too.
• You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you’ll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.)
• If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you’ll be fine.
  
• Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don’t make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
• Winner will be chosen randomly. Two (2) winners will receive one (1) DYMO LabelWriter 450 Twin Turbo. Approximate retail value is $209.99.
• If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.
• Entries can be submitted until Saturday, July 25th, at 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
• Full rules can be found here.

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Engadget’s recession antidote: win a DYMO LabelWriter 450 Twin Turbo! originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 25 Jul 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Office Depot isn’t just an office supplies store; it also carries electronics and computer hardware. This week you can enjoy discounted items in Office Depot’s 4th of July Savings. It’s offering $30 off on digital cameras, $10 to $60 off on USB keys, up to $70 in savings on printers, up to $200 off on select HP notebooks, some freebie offers, and more. All offers expire on July 4. Place $50 or more in your shopping cart online to get free next business day delivery (Monday through Friday between 8:30 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. local time).

In today’s TechSaver Test, I’m going to challenge Office Depot’s sale prices on the SanDisk Cruzer USB 2.0 Flash Drive (32GB), the HP Pavilion dv2 (1030-us) notebook, the Nikon Coolpix S560 camera, and the Lexmark X7675 Wireless Color Flatbed All-In-One. Is the Depot your savings hero? Find out after the jump.