Slash-resistant T-shirt keeps knives at bay

If you're going to wear knife-resistant clothes around town, you may as well look sharp doing it (sorry, no more bad puns for the whole rest of this blog). Nihon Uni, a Japanese uniform manufacturer, has created a T-shirt that promises to provide at least some stab protection.

The cloth is made of a polyethylene fiber that's allegedly equal to aramid fiber used in body armor, according to the Daily Yomiuri. But if the picture to the left is any indication, the shirt's not as sci-fi/armor-ey looking as one might expect. Plus, it's machine-washable.

Nihon Uni, based in Osaka, reportedly came out with the garment in response to a rash of violent crimes against schoolchildren and convenience store clerks. The T-shirt promises to provide superior protection from slashing attacks, but its mesh fabric can be punctured by a sharp point.

The shirt will go on sale in June, with the short-sleeve version starting at about US$190 and a long-sleeve T going for US$220 and up. Just pair it with a bulletproof backpack, and you should be about ready to hit the mean city streets.

Via Crave CNET

A photo frame with a SIM card

At CTIA next week, Parrot is showing a digital photo frame that can receive pictures sent from a cell phone in a multimedia message. The Parrot DF7700 is the first digital photo frame (as least that we know of) with an integrated SIM card and dedicated phone number. The phone number will allow you to send photos directly from your camera phone to the DF7700. And in case you don't want to send a multimedia message, you also can add photos to the frame using its mini-USB port or its multiformat memory card slot. The DF7700 does not offer Bluetooth.

Set into a black leather frame, the DF7700 features a 7-inch display (720 x 480 pixels) that supports 262,000 colors. It comes with a variety of features including adjustable backlighting and brightness settings. Also, it will adjust the orientation of photos automatically when you change the position of the frame from landscape to portrait. Its internal memory capacity is 500 images in JPEG or GIF format.

We don't have pricing information or a release date just yet, but we do know the DF7700 will be available in North America. We'll be sure to check it out in Las Vegas.

Via CNET Crave

Creative launches TravelSound for the nano

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Good advice if you're Creative and Goliath is a fruit-branded company from Cupertino. So adding more sauce to the Apple pie is yet another third-party accessory, albeit a decent-looking effort, hot out of Sim Wong Hoo's wonder emporium. First glimpsed at CES 2008 back in January, Creative's TravelSound i80 speaker for the iPod nano (3rd Generation) is an extension of the i50 for the shuffle (2nd Generation). If you liked the latter, you'll probably like the former since Creative's roots are after all rooted in audio. Think Sound Blaster and Zen audio players. So sound-wise, we can assume it's more than sweet, particularly since it's powered by four independent micro drivers and a digital amplifier.

Design-wise, this latest TravelSound acts like a tight-fitting sheathe that you slide your nano into. The built-in rechargeable Lithium-polymer supplements your iPod's power, and can charge both once plugged into the USB connection on the speaker, giving up to 15 hours of playback. The speaker stand allows the speaker to tilt at an angle for viewing of photos and videos on the nano. A USB wall charger and pouch are included.
Read more »

Microsoft sets Windows Mobile event for Asia journos on April 2

Despite the sniggers abounding over a rumored April 1 launch for Microsoft's new Windows Mobile upgrade, it's no joking matter after all. An official invite arrived in our inbox from the Redmond giant, extending an invitation to local press to attend a launch event at a Singapore venue on April 2. While the invite did not elaborate further on what would actually be announced at the event, it did indicate a "DOT" theme which we are inclined to assume is the dot in Windows Mobile 6.1. So an April 2 launch for us in Asia, April 1 for the western countries, as hinted (spot on, we might add) by Pocket-lint.

In fact, rumors and supposed screenshots of the new handheld OS update started appearing on the Web as early as December last year, followed by talk of an upgraded OS for several upcoming devices at the Mobile World Congress in February, which my CNET Asia colleague John Chan was at. The first concrete piece of news, however, came earlier this month when Asus announced that its Lamborghini ZX1 PDA-phone would run on Windows Mobile 6.1.

If our guess is right (come on, who's Microsoft hoodwinking with the vague press invite?), you can expect to see more related announcements on Windows Mobile 6.1 OS, and possibly new handheld releases in the coming week as well as OS upgrades for current Windows Mobile 6 devices. So stay tuned for more updates.

My Touch Keys brings tactility to your iPhone keyboard

Just this afternoon I was ranting to a friend that it's hard to get up to speed using the onscreen QWERTY keyboard on the iPhone. That's because even though my friend has had the iPhone for quite some time now, he's still using one hand to type. Beats me how the man-in-black in Apple's video tour of the iPhone managed to type two-thumbed with superhuman speed.

Enter My Touch Keys.

My Touch Keys is a transparent screen protector with cutouts that match the keys on the iPhone's onscreen QWERTY keyboard. This lets you feel where each letter is on the textured surface so you will commit less typo errors. Obviously, this is something you'll have to try out for yourself and, at just US$7.99 for a pair, I think it's something worth investing in. Even if it turns out to be crap, you can just wave it off or use it as a face mask.

Unfortunately, shipping is free only in the US, so you'll probably have to fork out a bit more for third-party courier services.

The picture you see above is only an illustration as the actual product is transparent and the company claims you won't notice the cutouts, plus it won't affect the iPhone's multi-touch interface.

Via iPhone Buzz

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