Airwash Waterless Washing Machine

It looks like soon we may be able to rid ourselves of the water-guzzling washing machines in our homes. The Airwash Waterless Washing Machine takes "dry-cleaning" to a new level. Instead of immersing a clothing item in water the Airwash cleans clothes using negative ions, compressed air and deodorants to clean clothes.





What is not clear is how honey dropped on my tie is going to be cleaned. I suppose there will still be times when I will have to spot clean a clothing item to get rid of organic materials.

However, in the "smart" (read that as "green" or environmentally friendly) home, any appliance that can be used to reduce the use of water in a household is to be welcomed. I can see an Airwash Machine installed in my bedroom, but other items will still need to be cleaned in the washing machine. Perhaps the Airwash Machine could cut the amount of "water washing" I do in half; that would still be a great saving.

This Airwash Machine is not available so we will have to wait a little longer before we see this in reality in our bedrooms.

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Tetris Puzzle

It's funny how serendipitous looking at gadgets can be. While reading a dead tree edition of Wired, I came across this cool little game:



Connect Four meets Tetris! Looks cool. Unfortunately, I can't find a place (in the US, anyway) that sells this game. I did find an online shop or two in the UK. But I did find something a bit better that is available: a dead tree edition of Wired.





Kind of reminds me of the Rubik's Cube except taking it apart and putting it back together is the trick, instead of a shortcut to solving the damned thing.

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Coffee Table to Run iTunes Connection

A company "Savant" are set to build a coffee table powered by Apple to run iTunes at home.



The idea is that from the coffee table on can use a 40" touchscreen that is fully integrated with iTunes.

The table is powered by a Mac hidden in the table. It will access a user's music, photos, movies and provide home automation functions. From the coffee table one can select to show movies, photos and other video on a home theater system, or can run music and pipe it through the home using a home audio system.



This is similar to what was announced by Microsoft except that the Apple innovation connects a table to iTunes.

Not sure I like the table, maybe it might be made available in a selection of furniture some of which may be more appealing than the table shown.

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With the HP iPAQ 614c and 914c

Probably the only French I know is "Voulez vous coucher avec moi ce soir?" But I had no problem understanding this:

Le premier le iPAQ 614c devrait avoir les caracteristiques suivantes :
- Windows Mobile 6 Professionnel
- 12 touches + Roue Navigation un peu à la mode iPOD
- Ecran 2.8 pouces d'une resolution de 240x320 (Ecran Tactile)
- Connectivite 3G & WIFI
- GPS Integre
- APN 3 Mega Pixels

Le second le iPAQ 914c devrait quand à lui avoir les caracteristiques suivantes :
- Windows Mobile 6 Professionnel
- Clavier alphanumerique (Look Blackberry)
- Ecran 2.46 pouces d'une resolution de 320x240 (Ecran Tactile)
- Connectivite 3G & WIFI
- GPS Integre


- APN 3 Mega Pixels
....because specs are universal! But if you still need help, here's what smartphonefrance.info was trying to say about the new HP iPAQ 914c and iPAQ 614c (when you reduce the text to its bare essentials):

The new HP iPAQ 614c runs on Windows Mobile 6 Professional (PDA Phone), features a unique touch-driven interface, a 2.8" portrait QVGA display, 3G and WiFi connectivity, integrated GPS, and a 3 megapixel camera.

The new HP iPAQ 914c also runs on WM6 Pro, and also benefits from the same connectivity, GPS, and camera feature set as the 614c. It has a landscape 2.46" touch-display and has a QWERTY thumbboard.

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No iPod hacking for you

TUAW - Quoted - "But even before his upload finished, we're told, his ISP showed up, with a takedown notice in hand. Apple had somehow found his site, had contacted his ISP, and let them know that it would be against copyright law for him to upload that code to the Internet."

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Secure, Portable Storage

Let's face it, flash drives are really convenient. However, if your flash drive falls into the wrong hands, so does your data. What's a paranoid geek to do?

Enter the Ironkey, sold by ThinkGeek. In addition to having up to 4gb of storage, it's encrypted on-the-fly with 128bit AES. When you stick the drive into a Windows computer, you have to enter the device password. If you fail the password entry 10 times, the crypto chip becomes permanently inoperative.



Like many a novelty, smile shutter's luster may tarnish quickly.

"More often than not, I'd recommend exiting the smile shutter scene mode altogether," Baig noted. "That's because whenever the smiley icon appears in the LCD, you won't be able to manually take a picture by pressing the shutter button. I missed out on a few promising family pictures by not changing the scene mode quickly enough."

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Talk about new Nikon digcams

Nikon released a dizzying lode of cameras at the end of the summer-eight new Coolpix models, as well as two new high-powered digital SLRs, the D3 ($5000) and D300 ($1800). If you want to learn more about the technology behind these new offerings, Nikon has posted a pair of podcasts at its Web site in which host Mark Ellwood and photography expert Steve Heiner discuss the new introductions and then dig deep into the workings of Nikon's latest high-priced DSLRs.

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A player that knows what you need

Well, it's fall 2007, so the much-anticipated Yamaha BODiBEAT MP3 Player should arrive in limited release any day now. If you're a workout nut or want to become a person who embraces exercise, BODiBEAT is going to blow your socks off (and your wallet out).

Unlike your iPod, BODiBEAT is loaded with workout management features. It analyzes your playlist by beats per minute and then matches songs to the speed of your workout. There are four music modes: "free workout" that matches music to your pace , "fitness" for optimal aerobic exercise, "training" for serious runners, and "music" for chillin' and listening whenever, wherever.


There are a ton of great benefits to this technology. Me? Well, I'm addicted to my iPod, I'm a control freak about my music, I love to exercise, and my very thrifty solution is FitPod's weekly download available via iTunes and at FitPod.com.

Price: $300. Learn more and view the demo at Yamaha.

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Most Complex Silicon Phased Array Chip in the World

UC San Diego electrical engineers have developed the world's most complex "phased array" -- or radio frequency integrated circuit. This DARPA-funded advance is expected to find its way into U.S. defense satellite communication and radar systems. In addition, the innovations in this chip design will likely spill over into commercial applications, such as automotive satellite systems for direct broadcast TV, and new methods for high speed wireless data transfer.

"This is the first 16 element phased array chip that can send at 30-50 GHz. The uniformity and low coupling between the elements, the low current consumption and the small size - it is just 3.2 by 2.6 square millimeters - are all unprecedented. As a whole system, there are a number of a number of firsts," said Gabriel Rebeiz, the electrical engineering professor from the UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering leading the project. The work was done by two graduate students, Kwang-Jin Koh and Jason May, both at the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department (ECE) at UCSD. Rebeiz presented the new chip at DARPA TEAM Meeting, August 28-29, 2007 in Chicago, Illinois. Additional details of the chip will be submitted to an academic journal later this year.



This chip - the UCSD DARPA Smart Q-Band 4x4 Array Transmitter - is strictly a transmitter. "We are working on a chip that can do a transmit and receive function," said Rebeiz.........

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Holiday Lighting Remote Kit

Tired of climbing behind your Christmas tree to turn it on? I always come out with a hair full of tinsel, which is a nice look, but more New Year''s, don''t you think?

This year we''re using Smart Home''s INSTEON Wireless Remote Starter kit which controls all your outside Christmas lights, that tasteful blow-up Santa on the lawn, and the holiday Douglas fir.

Smart Home tells us that the INSTEON Holiday Lighting Starter Kit can be set up "in less than five minutes" (it took me a little longer) to control any connected device remotely using a simple "Plug and Tap" setup process. For example, to control "linked" devices, you can tap one of the RemoteLinc''s buttons on or off, or you can hold a button to brighten or dim. Each of the six ON/OFF buttons on the RemoteLinc can be set up to control every light or just one light in your home remotely. (It can be used over 150'' from the Access Point .)



For only $89.99 you can simplify your holidays -- and leave the tinsel for the blow-out New Year''s party. Some lucky POPGADGET email subscriber will win one of these, so make sure you''re on Santa''s favorites list.

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Mini Droplet CD Player from Consonance

I do not know how a CD player with dimensions of 14x38x43cm and a weight of 20kg(!) can be termed "mini," but let me just say that the droplet CDP3.1 CD player from Consonance is neither portable nor affordable. This latest offering from Consonance follows the legacy of its predecessors and will leave you poorer by $2,495 to $2,995. And the specs won''t sweep you off your feet either - it''s a 24-bit, oversampling player with digital

circuitry to eliminate jitter (just imagine the horror of jogging with this thing). The top-loading player also has gold-plated RCA outputs and a remote. Check out the site to locate authorized dealers.

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Black Casio EXILIM EX-V8

If you grew tired of silver-colored Exilim cameras, Casio has a black version of the Exilim EX-V8. at least in Japan. My last experience with the Exilim EX-Z3 wasn't so great: the image quality was lower than the Canon or Nikon counterparts, even if the camera body was superb. Anyhow, here are the technical highlights:

• 8.1 Megapixel.
• 11.8MB of internal memory (that's it?).
• SD and SDHC support.
• Iso 1600.
• Video recording in H.264, 30fps (a variant of Mpeg4).
• 149g.

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Wireless Spy Camera Pen

Q should really order up this Wireless Spy Camera Pen for Mr. Bond, as it is certainly something 007 would use.

When you twist the cap of the Wireless Spy Camera Pen, it begins to start transmitting. Not only that, the pen connects to a 2.5 inch LCD screen that has a range of 20 meters. The video you will see is 882x240 resolution, but it has built-in memory of 64 MB of storage. There is a support for SD and MMC memory cards for 2GB.

Like it? It even comes with a solar charger. Get it now for a price of $330.

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Digital Clock Alarm plus iPod Dock in COLORS!!

PB Teen Catalog is a teen spin off from Pottery Barn stores and catalogs. This version of the catalog has some super hip, fun things to play/decorate and use for teens, kids and those who want a funkier style.



Called the "Rockin' Alarm Clock" comes in pink or navy blue and can be monogrammed.
This digital alarm clock features all the basics like sleep, snooze and alarm functions, plus an auxiliary jack that recharges and plays your iPod®. Includes a dual remote control that works with both the radio and your iPod®.
It runs off AC and also 3 AAA batteries (not included!). Retail price is $129.00 plus tax+ shipping.
This is a great gift for anyone who has an iPod and would love to streamline their clock and iPod. It does not update to iTunes though- that's still done with a computer dock.

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About noise canceling headphones

One of the common mistakes we all make when wearing headphones is that we crank up the volume when there is noise around us. This is the worst thing to do according to Electronic House in the article "The Buzz on Noise Canceling Headphones"



Real noise-cancelling headphones have a microphone on the outside of your headphones. The noise is then translated to an opposing sound wave that is then fed into your headphones along with the music. The sound waves that are provided with your music cancels out the sounds from around you.

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Motorola Now Number 3

Ouch. According to Gartner, Motorola has sold 38% less phones in the third quarter of this year than the same quarter of last year. Samsung has taken over the number 2 spot, while Nokia now enjoys 38% market share. All despite total mobile sales increasing by 15% to reach 289 units.

Gartner's report speculates on the reason behind Motorola's troubles:
Its problems have been two-fold, according to (Gartner analyst) Milanesi. Motorola hasn't developed a phone to ignite the imagination in the way its popular Razr did a few years ago, she said, leaving it with a weak line-up. "The Razr2 has done okay, but it's not had the same impact that the first Razr did," she said.


In addition, Motorola's sales into the channel - or the phones it ships to retailers - have been weak, she said. This was offset in the first half of the year because retailers had a buildup of Motorola stock, which they could sell at low prices to boost shipments, she said. "This quarter the sales into the channel are still weak, but they don't have much inventory to do fire sales like they could in Q1 and Q2."
In the same breath, Milanesi calls Nokia "unassailable," selling over 110 million phones in just one quarter. So it looks like that the dominance of the Finns isn't changing any time soon. Which suits me just fine. Let's just see what the other industry analyst companies say.

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