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95-decibel ring amplifier blinds, deafens you
You might think of this as the polar opposite of the "stealth" ringtone: an e-shop is offering a $60 device for blasting you with a 95-decibel ring (the same as a subway train at 200 feet, we're told) and a flashing strobe light when you receive a call. Now, we can clearly see some valid uses for this product -- for example, in a very noisy environment, when you can't be near your phone, or perhaps for the hard of hearing. But we can definitely see some misuses, as well -- if you have any friends giving the wine glass thing a try, can we suggest a covert nighttime switcheroo?
The DS Lite is "smaller than a brick"
Arstechnica has posted a comprehensive five page review of the DS Lite, with a large portion dedicated to comparisons with the DS Phat. This isn't the first review of the DS Lite, but it could possibly be the most well thought out. Here are the key points of the review:The screens Greater viewing angle - "it's now possible to watch someone else playing the system and actually see the screen" Brighter - "the upgraded screen may be worth the price of an upgrade alone" Dead pixels - "my unit has a stuck pixel on the top screen" Flimsy? - "the bottom screen seems to be floating in the system case, not held down tight like the DS [Phat]" The feel Lighter - "the system is lighter, making it easier for me to cradle it using the tips of my fingers" Buttons - "The D-pad is a touch smaller... and a bit less satisfying in the click department" although "the buttons on both DS products are a little bit on the small side" Central microphone "makes games that use voice recognition easier to play." The battery Six hours usually, although "it's not hard to get eight hours of battery life as long as you don't continually keep the system on its brightest setting." The overall feeling from the review is that if you're a DS virgin and have been mulling a purchase, now is the time to jump in. If, however, you're a DS Phat owner and haven't decided whether it's worth trading in for the updated hardware, the suggestion from this review is go for it. "If you're a casual gamer or a hardcore fan who takes your portable everywhere, you'll like the way your games play and look on the DS Lite".
Sony's Vaio TX3 lineup launched
Sony just revealed the details on their TX3 lineup of ultraportable, wide-screen Vaios. The TX72 finally brings these hotties into Core Duo Solo land by dropping the 1.2GHz U1400 CPU into that fine chassis. The TX72 also features a OneSeg digital TV tuner with iEPG programming guide for scheduling Japanese TeeVee recordings to that 80GB disk. Other than that, she still sports that same great 11.1-inch widescreen LCD with LED backlighting, now up to 10 hours off battery with the Core Solo at the wheel (7 if configured with 1.06GHz Celeron M), dual-layer DVD burner, 802.11a/b/g WiFi, and Bluetooth in a sleek 1-inch wedge still weighing less than 3-pounds. Expect to see 'em around Japan later this month for ¥229,800 nicely spec'd or about $2000 of the green stuff. Click-on to see 'er dressed-up in blue.
Averatec 7100 series laptops: lightest 17-inchers available
If you like it big and light (but not too powerful) then listen up son, 'cause Averatec just announced their 7100 series of laptops said to be the lightest 17-inch widescreen infotainment laptops available (though, as far as we can tell, that title still goes to the 17-inch PowerBook). Ok, considering all those 20-inchers dropping lately, they're not that big, but at 7.2-pounds and just an inch-thick they manage to pack in a 1.8GHz AMD Turion 64 ML-32 processor, dual-layer DVD/CD burner, up to 100GB disk, 2GB DDR RAM, 802.11b/g, and a healthy dose of USB, FireWire, PCMICIA, PC Express, and memory card slots for expansion in addition to that 1440 x 900 pixel display supported by an ATI Radeon Xpress 200M graphics card. These Microsoft Windows Vista Capable machines may not be the most powerful on the market, but at street prices from $849 to $1,199 (depending upon config) they're worth a look for the budget minded.[Via MobileTechReview]
Help the kids, buy an HDTV
Because we're all such huge philanthropists, I'm sure we will be lining up to purchase the 26, 32 and 37 inch LCD HDTV's NuVision is putting up for auction in conjunction with The Light Foundation. Besides their 1366x768 resolutions and 1000:1 contrast ratios, the 2 larger TV's will also be signed by members of the Patriots football team that charity founder Matt Light plays for. To make it even better, any winning bidders with 100 miles of the Patriots home stadium will have the sets installed and set up for free by Home Smart Home.The Light Foundation helps support youth oriented non-profit organizations in Ohio and Boston.The TV specs: 10ms response time 500cd/M2 brightness 16:9 widescreen 1366x768 Native resolution DVI w/HDCP Discrete IR control with IR direct input jack Giving back to the community, football and HDTV's. That's a win-win-win. Auctions end December 29th.[Via Hometoys]
