Archives for September 2007
Printing in tongues
Edvarcl Heng | Sep 25, 2007
Fuji Xerox has a new concept printer that promises to translate on-the-fly.
The idea of a trilingual photocopier is pretty neat, though strictly speaking, it's really not since it can only translate Asian languages (Japanese and Korean) to English and vice versa.
But whatever its linguistic abilities, yakitori restaurants are going to love it. Why pay a language student peanuts to translate the contents of a Japanese menu to English when you can fork out a king's ransom for the same mangled translation?
The copier works by scanning a document (in the recognized language) before the built-in microcomputer translates the text and prints out a copy. We do not have any indication of its processing speed, though we are sure, as most translation gadgets go, that it's bound to get tongue-tied at some point.
Via uberreview
New Logitech gaming mouse and keyboard
Darius Chang | Sep 25, 2007
When we reviewed the original G15 gaming keyboard early last year, we were quite impressed with the vast array of programmable buttons and the innovative LCD GamePanel. However, we had doubts on the usefulness of the latter as it required gaming titles to write code to use the GamePanel.
The new G15 gaming keyboard did away with the flip panel and embeds the display above the keys instead. Otherwise, gaming support has increased and now World of WarCraft, Battlefield 2142 and Quake Wars are able to utilize the panel for vital stats. Frankly, at S$169 (US$111.18), it's still a little pricey if only three mainstream games makes use of this feature. It will be available in Asia come mid-October.
At the same time, Logitech has announced the arrival of the G9 Laser Mouse. As a gaming mouse, it has all the usual features we expect such as on-the-fly resolution adjustment, weight cartridge, LED indicators and 3,200dpi sensor. What's special? The interchangeable top cover and MicroGear Precision scroll wheel. There are two covers bundled with the mouse: A conventional smooth material and a rough-textured grip which can be changed easily with a press of a button. The MicroGear Precision scroll wheel switches between normal click-to-click and free wheeling modes to make scrolling documents faster. It is already in stores and goes for a rather hefty S$169 (US$111.18).
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Pre-charged rechargeable Duracell batteries
Juniper Foo | Sep 25, 2007
It's good to see battery manufacturers improving their cells for use with today's more energy-needy gadgets. Following in Sanyo's eneloop footsteps is the Duracell bunny. Yes, the original hare which predates Energizer's fluffy pink one. And the former has even more reason to beat its own bass drum. It now offers (for a premium, mind you) pre-charged NiMH batteries. That's good news for gadgets owners since it means you no longer have to tether those rechargeables overnight to the mains to season them first. Now you just pop them in straightaway to use. Plus these new batts, living up to the Duracell name, can now hold their charge for up to a whopping year (365 days to be exact) without use. More importantly, your other half won't be nagging you for long to get rid of those batteries stored in the freezer compartment, along with the frozen edibles.
Via PR Newswire
Price: US$12.99 for a four-pack
Availability: These should hit Asian shelves soon enough
Device: Rechargeable NiMH batteries
Specs: N.A.
Waterlogged DS Lite
John Chan | Sep 25, 2007
If your son has been bugging you to buy a Nintendo handheld console for him, this may just be the perfect copout. Introducing the Yoshi's Island water puzzle game. This faux DS Lite is filled with water and two buttons let you control streams of bubbles which will move tiny rings inside. The objective is to land those tiny rings into the right spots using your amazing bubble navigation skills.
We don't know if children these days are capable of having fun without a computer or (real) console these days, but this one should provide a wee bit of amusement--for all of 2 minutes.
Click for a larger image:
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Credit: Siliconera (via DS Fanboy)
More shades for LG Shine
Damian Koh | Sep 25, 2007
It has always been at the back of our minds, but we never thought it would really happen. Vendors actually listen to customer surveys and focus group discussions. Akihabara News is reporting that after some studies on consumer demand, the Europeans apparently like pink and the Asians prefer gold. So being the all-complying manufacturer, LG's coming up with new shades for its LG Shine in, surprise, surprise, pink and gold! We don't know when these will be available, but we wouldn't mind having a pink one for ourselves.
Update: The LG Shine "Titanium", "Gold" and "Pink" are currently available in Singapore priced at S$498 without contract.
Via Akihabara News
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