High-definition goes mini

Thinking of hooking up your Xbox 360 to a bedroom-sized TV for some high-definition (HD) gaming sessions? Check out the new LC-20B10M Aquos LCD TV which features a responsive 10ms panel ideal for overhead flying kicks and fast-paced racings.

As with all Aquos TVs, the set also comes standard with a long 60,000-hours backlight and proprietary OFC sensor designed for on-the-fly screen brightness adjustment. The latter eliminates guess work and enables optimal visual performance in varying room lighting conditions.

The Sharp LC-20B10M will be available from April though its retail price has yet to be finalized at press time.
More info here

egrips

If you have a PDA-phone, portable gaming console or MP3 player, chances are US-based egrips has the skin for you. It's actually a silicone-based film adhesive dimpled to produce a grippy effect. Slap it on your device, and voila. Rather useful especially when you've chucked your mobile on your car's dashboard and made a sudden swerve to avoid a jaywalker. Your mobile will probably still be in place; your heart and hair likely not. Which was what convinced long-time user Gerard Wee to rope in buddy Billy Chow to set up a Singapore distribution channel for egrips in Asia.

Chow assured the material is easily removable anytime you want to take it off or switch designs, without leaving a sticky residue. Given that these little "appliqués" are a rather low-cost way to save your costly electronics from gravitational disasters/ accidents, we reckon it's one accessory well worth investing in.

See packaging 1 | 2

Price: S$4.90 to S$24.90 (from US$1.95), depending on size
Availability: At Bugis, Shell stations, Challenger and Apple stores in Singapore, plans to distribute in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Thailand
Device: Non-slip skin for mobile devices
Basic specs: Variety of colors including see-through, custom skins available for certain products, good for six months to a year, alcohol wipes provided to ensure clean surface before installation

Samsung goes pretty in pink with Z500

Who'd have thought that pink would be the new black? With Motorola's hot pink RAZR inspiring other phone makers to go the Hello Kitty route, Samsung has also unveiled a sweet pink edition of its 3G-enabled SGH-Z500 clamshell. According to our UK sister site, this will be out in April as a joint collaboration between the Korean company and Vodafone. To complete the whole experience, there’ll also be a matching pink Bluetooth headset bundled in.

However, Asia-Pacific consumers hoping to get hold of the pink Z500 are in for a disappointment. Samsung currently has no plans to bring the pink Z500 here. (Click here for a larger image)

Vunex WiFiWalker FA-1200G

Dude, ready to surf the great Eastern Australian Current? It's no Finding Nemo, but Taiwan-based Vunex makes it fairly easy to ride the hotspot signals with its FA-1200G. What makes this unique is that it's both a Wi-Fi Finder and a USB-based wireless adapter. This means you can not only sniff out a signal, you just have to plug this 2-in-1 gizmo into your (older) laptop and, voila, you're connected immediately to the 802.11g network. An LCM display conveniently displays detailed information from a list of hotspots detected, while a rechargeable Lithium-polymer battery juices up everytime you plug into any USB port, eliminating the need for a battery. Righteous!

Take a gander at the bigger image

Price: US$60-$80
Availability: Japan at Rakuten and Taiwan at PC Home
Device: Wi-Fi finder
Basic specs: Standard: IEEE 802.11g/b, LCM size 96 x 32 with EL backlight, 4.2V rechargeable Li-polymer battery, USB 2.0, frequency band 2.4000~2.4835GHz, 64/128/256-bit WEP data encryption, WPA (IEEE 802.1x with TKIP) and AES, internal antenna, Windows 98SE/Me/2000/XP/2003 Server, transmit power of 16dBm, 14 x 28.5 x 91mm, 30g

Griffin iFM for PSP

We've hoping the PSP2 will integrate most of the functions that are now third-party addons, so there's no need to lug along oodles of accessories everytime one commutes. But for now, if PSP fanboys want radio, you'll have to check out something like the iFM for PSP. Griffin Technology, the folks who've built an arsenal of addons to max out on your game console's potential, have rolled out a handy device that not only integrates FM radio tuning, it's also a remote control. Just in time, it seems, for Sony America's announcement that it's launching a PSP dedicated radio program in five US cities, starting March 28.

See in use with PSP

Price: US$49.99
Availability: At Griffin Technology
Device: PSP accessory
Basic specs: Digital auto station scan with wraparound, six station presets, Band-Switch function for switching between US, European and Japanese FM bands for tuning anywhere in the world, LED, pass-through port for headphones, clip

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