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GeoBulb LED light bulb uses just eight watts, rings up at $120
Ah, progress. Right around two years ago, we spotted a LED-filled light bulb that used "just" nine watts and cost a staggering $65. Now, we've got yet another option that sucks down even less power and costs nearly twice as much. C. Crane Company has been working on its so-called GeoBulb for a solid three years now, but at long last the device is shipping to affluent homeowners and headstrong Earth lovers. The bulb can provide as much light as a traditional 60W incandescent with just 7.5W, and it features a 30,000 hour (10 years) lifespan with typical usage. Now, the hard part: choosing between cool, soft and warm white.[Via Times-Standard]
Fortuna NaView GPS-610B gets thumbs-up from FCC
With all these foreign-based GPS units suddenly making their way stateside, we're thrilled to see yet another Taiwanese navigation device get that coveted FCC seal of approval. The latest to pave its way to North American soil is Fortuna's NaView GPS-610B, and while we only truly know that it'll sport an SD / MMC slot, built-in stereo speakers for MP3 playback / turn-by-turn guidance, rechargeable battery pack, external antenna connector, car mounting kit, mini-USB support, integrated microphone for handsfree use, an audio out jack, and a four-inch touchscreen LCD, we suspect it'll resemble the GPS-600 pretty much to a T. If it does, you'll find a SiRF Star III receiver, 64MB of onboard NAND memory, 64MB of SDRAM, a Samsung CPU, and an optional Bluetooth transceiver. Per usual, those FCC documents aren't spilling any beans regarding pricing or availability, but it shouldn't be too long until the GPS-610B can enjoy the American air (and mile-long traffic jams).[Via NaviGadget]
Maestro Classical Music Player for audiophiles
If you're going to take the time to listen to classical music, you might as well do it right, and there doesn't seem to be much of a better way than with Fortuna's new Maestro Classical Music Player. The unit is basically a Hush fanless PC running an iTunes-like interface which can be displayed on your TV or computer monitor via DVI, VGA or Component outputs. The interface is specially designed to sort through your collection by composer, conductor, artist, ensemble, genre and period, and also has jazz and pop modes for when you're not feeling in a classical mood. The system can rip your CDs into lossless WMA or lossy MP3 files onto its 400GB HDD, and syncs to Fortuna servers for digital booklets and other album information as long as you pay $10 a month for the privilege. Of course, it all comes down to the audio output, and the Maestro doesn't disappoint with analog, S/PDIF coax and S/PDIF optical outs. Sadly, none of this comes cheap, this glorified CD player goes for a whopping $5000, but at least that includes professional preloading of your music collection, and the peace of mind in knowing that yes, you are an audio snob.[Thanks, Ross]
