Universal adjustable camera-phone binoc

Whatever is said of the "cheap Chinese crap" by BoingBoing about e-tailer DealExtreme, it's absorbingly fascinating trolling through the endless pages of OEM gadgetry on offer. I know colleagues who are addicted to the site and have put in good cash for the said "cheap Chinese crap". In fact, one of them recently purchased a brandless watch phone which, to my amazement and his self-justified glee, came with a touchscreen, a tiny stylus in its own discreet slot, and a respectable Bluetooth earpiece. A 3-in-1, all for a mere US$157; what we frugal Asians would call "a damn good deal", free shipping, too.

So out of curiosity, yours truly dug into DealExtreme's bag of tech goodies. And surprise, surprise. What came out was a Mobile Phone Telescope. We've heard of camera lens addons, but a telescope attachment with a 7 x 18mm magnification? It's a little silly to counsel caveat emptor since this gizmo is only going to set you back a sushi lunch special, or just US$17.90. All in, a cool deal, if it works. Particularly if you're into bird watching. The feathered kind, of course.

Useful USB phone straps

Instead of hanging that Hello Kitty face on your mobile phone, you could actually put something useful there. Case in point, the Triforce stylus featured earlier this week. Well, here's another one which doesn't require you to have a touchscreen display, the USB Smart Cable.

Though it isn't as cute as the mouthless cat, this lanyard from USB Geek lets you charge your mobile phone using its USB connector. So if you have this hanging on your device, you won't have to worry about running out of juice as long as there's a free USB port near you. It even has its own microSD slot so it works as a card reader, too.

Doing a one-up on this, no doubt, is Brando's Ultra-Smart Cable (pictured above). It does everything that cable can, plus the ability to sync data. It costs more, though--US$14 compared to the USB Smart Cable's US$9 price. Both products can be purchased from the companies' Web sites. But if you are feeling really cheap, we're pretty sure Dealextreme will carry something similar in time to come.

USB Geek's Smart Cable:



Brando's Ultra-Smart Cable:



Via Engadget and Gizmodo

Live pics and details of Nokia Tube leaked

More details about the upcoming Nokia Tube phone have made their way to the omnipresent Web after a recent developer conference.

According to enthusiast Web site Symbian Freak, the Tube will not be part of the Nseries portfolio. The first S60 Touch phone will also not be a flagship model. Instead, the second device which will come shortly after the first, is apparently the one to look out for.

The Tube (not its real name) is said to come with a 16:9 touchscreen LCD between 3 and 3.5 inches and has an autofocus camera that's "better than the one that we can find on an iPhone but still not as good as on the latest Nseries devices", says Symbian Freak.

Other purported features include quad-band GSM connectivity with Bluetooth, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA and Wi-Fi. It'll also have built-in GPS with support for geotagging functions. The report added that the phone will not have multi-touch capabilities, though it'll have "tactility feedback".

Nokia is keeping a very tight rein on information about the upcoming touch UI on the S60. It is not saying anything other than the fact that this is supposed to be out in the second half of this year (which we already know). But if what Symbian Freak blogged about turns out right, the phone will arrive in Q1 2009.

Picture credit: Symbian Freak

Get all Dick Tracy with this watch phone

We've come across several watch phones in the market so far, but this is probably the first we've seen with a flip cover. The latest of the Cool phone series for the Chinese market, the G108 incorporates a unique clamshell design that looks very much like an accessory from Dick Tracy's spy gear.

What's truly impressive about the G108 is its onboard feature set. Housed on one side of the clamshell is a 1.5-inch (160 x 128-pixel) 256K-color display, while on the other side is a circular keypad that shares an uncanny resemblance to the rotary dial on the B&O Serene handset. An additional LED display can also be found on the exterior of the flip lid.

The G108 supports quadband GSM and GPRS, on top of Bluetooth and USB connectivity. It comes with a pathetic 0.5MB of onboard memory which will definitely be insufficient for those planning to make use of the built-in 1.3-megapixel camera and multimedia player. Fortunately, users have the option to increase the memory via a memory card expansion slot. This timepiece also comes with a speakerphone function.

Don't expect this to be slim, though. With a 51 x 51 x 20mm footprint, the 65g Cool watch phone is bulky and will probably look weird on a tiny wrist. Having said that, it is undeniably a cool toy which will appeal to gadget lovers out there, though there's no word on when and where else you can find this watch phone.

Click for larger images:



Via Slashphone
Picture credit: Slashphone

Buy a Touch, help a kid with cancer

In an effort to raise money for the Singapore Children's Cancer Foundation (CCF), HTC has teamed up with Singapore fashion designer Nic Wong to create four limited-edition HTC Touch handhelds. Titled Season of Hope, these devices are no different functionally from a regular Touch, but have unique designs on their surfaces in four different colors.

To be auctioned off on eBay starting tomorrow, all proceeds of the sale will go to the foundation, which provides services like financial assistance, counseling and organization of support groups, among others, to children who suffer from cancer.

If any of the designs tickle your fancy (we think the back looks better than the front) and you're in the market for an HTC Touch, this isn't a bad way to give to the charitable organization. You don't even have to be in Singapore to bid for it, though shipping will have to be factored in if you win and need it to be shipped overseas. For more information, check out HTC's special eBay page.

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