ASUS Designo MS Series LCD Monitors Introduced

ASUS today came out with a new LCD monitor series. Dubbed as the Designo MS, the newest Asus LCD monitor family features five monitors. The Designo MS is an ultra-slim (16.5mm Profile) family consisting of MS246 (23.6") / 236 (23") / 227 (22") / 226 (21.5") / 202 (20") LCD displays, each boasting "exceptional style and picture quality". Asus reports, the design concept behind the Designo MS Series is inspired by the binary state, incorporating a series of contrasting elements like the numbers 1 and 0, straight lines and circles, and black and white into an ultra-slim monitor with a 16.5mm profile. The unique spherical ring stand features Ergo-Fit Technology that lets users adjust the monitor's tilt angle with just one finger.

Lady Gaga earphones are definitely not the prettiest

Dr. Dre and Monster have announced the launch of their latest in-ear earphones which are being promoted by singer Lady Gaga. The earphones have a special design which would not appeal to many and even if it does then there is the price tag of $ 100 to $ 150.

iRiver Story an uber cool e-book reader

The Amazon Kindle sure has some competition first it was Sony, Asus and now iRiver is the latest entrant to grab some market share. Aptly named 'Story' it packs in a 6 inch screen powered by E-ink technology, QWERTY keyboard, 2GB onboard memory, SD card slot, speakerphone, microphone and compatibility with MP3, WMA, OGG, PDF, EPUB, TXT, PPT, DOC, XLS, ZIP formats. The battery is good for viewing 9000 pages of text or listening to 20 hours of audio. The iRiver Story measures 127×203,5×9,4mm, weighs 284 grams and will be available from September 16 in Asia for $280.

Navy scientists develop underwater laser communication technology

A better tool for underwater acoustics has been developed by the researchers at the Naval Research Laboratory. The new system will use laser light to create sound underwater from a distance. If this works properly then the floating buoys will be a thing of the past if planes will have to communicate with submarines. Well how is this done? Well, for efficiently converting light into sound, light has to be concentrated to ionize a small amount of water which will absorb the laser energy and superheat. This will result in a small explosion of steam which is capable of generation atleast 220 decibel pulse of sound. Wow!
[Slashdot]

Samsung Armani W820/8200 makes Korean appearance

The gold trimmed slider W820/8200 is a testimony to Samsung’s continued partnership with fashion designer Armani. The phone has a 3.1 inch WVGA AMOLED touchscreen display, HSDPA, T-DMB, Bluetooth, 5MP primary camera and a secondary front facing camera for video calling. It will be launching in Korea in the near future. No news on the price and the launch date but I am pretty sure how much the price is going to be. Hopefully Samsung releases one for the common pocket without the gold trim.
[Boygeniusreport]

Peregrine gaming glove turns your hand into a controller

This was seen at the Arcade Expo in Seattle. The controls of the Peregrine gaming glove are a little bit complex and attacks are often performed by hitting certain keys simultaneously. Sometimes by having a hot key on the glove would give the player an excellent advantage. What I meant to say is that the glove could in future become an alternative to the gaming keyboard. So if you want to do some extensive damage in Warcraft, you would need a mouse in one hand and the Peregrine Gaming Glove on the other. There is no information about the availability but it should cost around $129.95 when available.

Hooked to World of Warcraft forever? Spend $14,000 to get off the addiction

Washington State's ReSTART clinic is a rehab center that aims to help World of Warcraft players to get rid of their addiction to the game which might not be good news for Blizzard and it will cost you only $14,000! I just love the way these experts make money out of these World of Warcraft addicts. The center offers a 45-day program that employs a cold-turkey approach to help people get away from pathological computer use. It does not restrict to gaming itself but also includes other forms of addiction like video games, texting, social networks, online auctions and other technological time-killers. Whether such programs work in the long run remains to be seen.
[Destructoid]

Timetable adds more ‘visuals’ to meeting tables

A fantastic idea by Wieden + Kennedy has given some hope to all those dragged executives who face a lifetime of meetings. Besides snoring through the whole dragged explanation about what caused the economic slide last quarter, they have come out with a new design for a meeting table that has 10 RGB LED panels that broadly divide the meeting into 10 sections. Each panel lights up and plays a sound, thus determining every tenth of the meeting. The panels are sequentially switched off as time passes by.

LG’s first Android phone will have 5 MP camera, 3G

Keeping alive the hopes of an Android offering from their garage, LG drives forth their first venture with a bit of veil still hanging over it. Besides the pseudo name, ‘Etna’, and the bunch of tempting specs we don’t have too much to lean back on for more on this one. It’s a QWERTY slider with a 5 megapixel camera, GPS, Wi-Fi and 3G. The other suspects make it into the spec sheet comfortably. The keypad looks good and so does the 3 inch touchscreen. Fans will still have the mystery of the GW880 in mind as they hope for another Android wonder.

HTC Tattoo is anything but a needle impression

When you name something ‘tattoo’ you can well expect sharp edges or sweet, aesthetic design to be the driving force in its appearance. However, HTC think completely otherwise, atleast as far as design is concerned. Their new offering a. k. a. the Tattoo is sleeker than anything they’ve offered before. The buttons are placed gently along the palm area of the phone and the circular trackball (is it?) gives a serene impression on first look. The specs include 3.2 megapixel, 3.5 mm headset jack and a microSD expansion slot. The HTC Tattoo should be expected by October this year in Europe.
[Crunchgear]

Soak in Nirvana Bathtub and float in galaxy

Bathtubs come in many shapes and sizes, tagged with haunting price tags. Red Diamondtub is too gaudy for my taste and why would I need a Bullet proof tub? But I certainly am dreaming about soaking in the Nirvana Bathtub. Shaped out of i-Crylic, a translucent acrylic layer, it features 360 LED lights that glow to mesmerize all. Such an illumination fitting renders chromotherapy too. Designed and manufactured by Bangkok based Bathroom Design, it is also a winner of Product Design Award at Red Dot 2009. And it not only boasts of looks to kill but also claims to save 60% water than its counterparts. Ergonomically shaped, it appears to be made out of single piece. Also the control system is discreetly integrated beneath the bathtub to avoid any disturbance in its seamless form.

The ring shaped ORB Bluetooth headset

The ORB Bluetooth headset is designed and developed by Hybratech and Absolutely New. When you look at it first it will look like a ring but by giving it a simple twist it turns into a Bluetooth headset. There are two models available the standard model and the deluxe edition. The deluxe edition boasts of Flexible Organic Light Emitting Diode that shows off the caller id as well as calendar reminders and also features voice-to-text for communication purposes without having to remove the ring from the finger. Both the models are waterproof and come with a range of 30 feet. It also comes in different sizes ranging from small to extra large. It will be arriving next year at a price of $129 for the standard edition and $175 for the deluxe edition.

Philips SPM9800 - A wired Bluetooth mouse

Philips SPM9800 is an odd ball. It is a mouse equipped with Bluetooth technology but also has a USB cord cleverly hidden under it. The mouse has Philip's proprietary 360°TouchControl technology with which it can work even when there is no surface. It is available in select European markets for around $80.

The next generation Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Gullwig

A Merc is always a class apart. Yup! No doubt about it! And getting back to it, Mercedez-Benz has spilled the beans on the highly-anticipated, mouth-drooling SLS AMG which is going to take the iconic 300SL Gullwig to the next generation. At the first look, it has a retro-inspired shape but does contain unique design elements. To start with, you can choose from nine different paint shades including two matte finishes. The head lamps and taillights are LED so that means your beauty is visible at all times for the public to drool on. The cockpit of the car is airplane-inspired. Nappa leather, real metal trims and optional real carbon fiber helps to set the interior apart from the traditional offerings and Mercedes-Benz will be offering you five interior shades to choose from for personalizing the interior. The gullwing doors, a direct link to the 300SL, swing up 70 degrees to allow for access to the interior.

Medion Life S47000 is a digital HD sports camcorder

If you’re an outdoor person, you will definitely love to carry around one of the Medion Life S47000 digital high definition camcorder. It is splash resistant and hooks on to your belt too. You can record video with 720p quality H.264 videos but you have only 90 MB to store it on. So use it wisely. But all is not lost because it has a SD/SDHC slot for that extra memory. The screen is 2 inches wide and the build quality is tough enough to handle the extremes of sports. You can purchase it online for 99 Euros or US $ 164 approximately.
[Gearlive]

Regina a robot that lifts people at the hospital

The advancement of robotics can be seen only in one country and that is Japan. A local company Japan Logic Machine has created 'Regina' a health care robot. The specialty of this robot is that it can lift people as heavy as 200 kg. This robot outperforms its existing peers who can lift only up to 80 kg. The robot is almost in the final stages and will be shipped to Japanese Medical institutions by the fall of 2010. One Regina robot can cost anywhere between $60,000 – 80,000.

AFGT gaming device is one step ahead of Project Natal

Using tactility to enhance gaming experience is what AFGT gaming device is all about. It is made up of sensitive silicon that mimics the terrain in a virtual world and allows the gamer to feel through the environment. This is achieved by the individual silicon air pockets laid underneath and each of them is connected to air pressure actuator that changes the air pressure in each packet. Unfortunately still a concept but maybe this is something the folks at Nintendo are looking for?

Acoustic Research’s Xsight Touch and Xsight Color Universal remotes

The Xsight Touch model has a 2.2 inch color touchscreen and also slider control for navigation and the Xsight Color gets only a 2.2 inch color display screen with hard keys and toggle bars. The Xsight Touch is capable of controlling 18 devices and has built-in RF for controlling RF-enabled components with 433.92 MHz capability. Only IR operations can be done with the Xsight Color and can control only 15 devices. The Touch and the Color is priced at $249.99 and $179.99 respectively.
[iTechnews

Swedish clock displays time as well as your energy usage

We seen quite a few gadgets that display energy usage at your home. But most of them are in numbers which dont make sense immediately. But wouldn’t it be nice if it was displayed in some visual way so that it would actually keep your energy usage down. The Energy Aware Clock is designed by Swedish designers Loove Broms, Karin Ehrnberger, Sara Ilstedt, Erika Lundell and Jin Moen. That is a lot of brains for a clock-cum-energy usage displayer. The basic design of the clock will let you know how much energy is being used by simply visualizing that consumption on the clock’s face and that too automatically in real time. Numbers always don’t show how much electricity is being wasted but with this clock it will show you with a pattern. The larger it becomes, the more electricity you are using. The EA Clock is currently on display at the Visual Voltage exhibition at Design Vlaanderen in Brussels. The clock tells the time by using the energy usage graphic

USB Mosquito repellant

Here is something really weird and I have no idea if this will work also. It is the USB powered mosquito repellent dongle. It is similar to the other electronic pest deterrents by generating a repellent field that is sensitive for some insects. The manufacturer also claims that by plugging this into any USB socket, it is capable of repelling most of the flying insects. Costing only $6, you could keep one around if you ever encounter such an incident.
[Everything USB]