Hasta La Gadget!

PCMag’s erstwhile editor-in-chief Michael Miller is currently in the middle of a whirlwind Asian journey. While in Tokyo, he took some time out to do some tech window-shopping–and sent us photos of some of his discoveries.

Writes Michael:

One thing I’ve always liked about visiting Japan is looking at different kinds of electronics.  There are neighborhoods devoted to the latest gadgets. The yen is so high so that bargains are hard to find, but you’ll certainly see things you would be unlikely to see in the U.S. 

For example, the portable TVs in the photo above. “One thing you see around Japan are portable televisions capable of receiving digital broadcasts even in places like subways.”

More photos after the jump.

Listen up, steampunkers: Have you been having a hard time finding an appropriate USB thumb drive to wear on a gold chain next to your pocket watch? Artype’s 16GB Mechanical Memory Key is a handcrafted beaut, with materials that include Purpleheart for the case and twenty-six rubies. When this device is drawing USB power it glows green from beneath the gears, taking you back to your days as a hacker during the reign of Queen Victoria. Sadly, the device pictured above has already been sold, but at $165 a pop we’re sure this particular artisan has plenty more of these guys in the works. Two more glamor shots for you after the break.

[Via Boing Boing]

Continue reading Mechanical Memory Key stores your data with the precision of an Antide Janvier timepiece

Filed under: Storage

Mechanical Memory Key stores your data with the precision of an Antide Janvier timepiece originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Jun 2009 23:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Got a game with a lot of commands, but are sick of supporting the Big Keyboard industry? Meet your rebel input replacement, the Peregrine. Demonstrated to us at E3, the Peregrine is basically an elastic glove with some wires sewn into it at various points. Connecting one of those points to conductive patches on the palm and thumb creates an electrical circuit, which the glove’s brain converts to a keypress. It’s like a glove but with power — a sort of power glove, if you will. The main application is MMOs, where you could touch your thumb and forefinger together to cast a spell in a role-playing game or touch your middle finger to your palm to heal yourself. Or your character, anyway. More impressions and some spec-ops intrigue after the break.

Continue reading Peregrine wires you into a keyboard, we go hands-in

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals, Wearables

Peregrine wires you into a keyboard, we go hands-in originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Jun 2009 21:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There are apparently an awful, awful lot of people out there with shoe boxes full of spare SATA drives. Somebody is buying all these new HDD docks, and while most surpass the previous editions by adding support for another obscure format of memory card, Brando’s latest seems like an actually useful update, adding HDMI and component ports through which it can output video at either 1080i or the always popular 576p. Standard resolutions may not be its strong point, and sadly there’s no mention of which video codecs it can unravel, but it does at least support the major flavors of audio files (MP3, WMA, AAC, etc.) and of course will read memory cards and thumb drives to boot. No, a bare drive may not look particularly appealing while rattling away on your entertainment center, and at $69 you’re not far from the price of a Windows Media extender or the like, but don’t let such practical concerns dissuade you from adding this unique focal point to your home theater.

Filed under: Storage

Brando’s latest HDD dock adds HDMI into the mix originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We know that HSPA+ (also known as HSPA Evolution, depending on who you ask and which side of the bed they got up on that morning) is in the mix for AT&T ahead of LTE, and in order to make that launch a successful one, good data cards are a must. It looks like two of the cards coming out of the gate later this year will be the Option 393 — an unassuming USB modem with a retractable plug and integrated microSD reader — and the Sierra “Triple Lindy,” a dual form factor ExpressCard in the same vein as the AirCard 402. The 393 will top out at 14.4Mbps down and 5.76Mbps up, while the Triple Lindy really burns rubber with 21.1Mbps down and 11.5Mbps up. Of course, all those speeds are purely theoretical — but if we can even average 10 to 15 percent of that in real life, we’re in good shape.

Filed under: Wireless

AT&T prepping Option and Sierra Wireless modems for HSPA+ launch originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 May 2009 15:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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