Hi-tech Frontier

Shrek MP3 Player Isn’t Ugly At All An ogre definitely isn’t a great living thing, rather the appearance of an ogre makes us hate it but, when it is about Shrek, the total hatred theme disappears immediately. This is because this peach loving weird character is very much popular with us and consequently he deserves a special gadget that makes him more extraordinary. Sang Hoon Lee, a South Korean designer, has designed a concept Shrek MP3 player with a couple of chic headphones which will surely come to the focus with its release. The ease of finding a place of the headphone on the player reflects the approach that Shrek portends.

Leica debuts truly special Special Edition white M8 digicam Seems like Special Edition white digital cameras are quickly becoming a trend, and one that we'll freely admit to being fans of. The Leica M8 has gotten a fresh coat of paint (as you can see above) and it's looking pretty good. We're not hearing many details yet -- no release date or price -- but don't expect it to be cheap. The wild stuff never is.

Glacier Ridgeline W200 wrist PC, cool! This isn't the first time we've laid our eyes upon a wrist-worn PC, but if you're in the market for something ultraportable, you might want to check this bad boy out. Brought to you by Glacier Computer, the Ridgeline W200 is a wearable refresh of the company's vehicle-mounted Ridgeline family. With a case constructed out of a high strength, low weight reinforced magnesium alloy, the 10.2 ounce machine sports a 3.5-inch color display, touch screen, backlit keypad, hot swappable battery pack, and plug-and-play support for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS modules. Available in Windows CE or Linux flavors, the system integrates such features as tilt and silent reckoning for putting the device in standby when its not in use, and will remarkably make you feel like your entire life is a quest in Fallout 3. Now all we have to do is find some super mutants, a radscorpion or two, and a nest of unsuspecting raiders. Should be no trouble at all.

Acer launches first NVIDIA Ion-based nettop: AspireRevo Yet again, the rumors were (almost) true. A day earlier than anticipated, Acer is launching what amounts to NVIDIA's first Ion-based nettop beyond those on display at CES and the like. The AspireRevo is debuting today alongside a plethora of other Acer wares, boasting a 1.6GHz Intel Atom 230 processor, up to 4GB of RAM, up to 250GB of HDD space, a 4-in-1 card reader, HDMI / VGA outputs, gigabit Ethernet, six USB 2.0 sockets, audio in / out, Windows Vista Home Premium / Basic and a svelte black and white enclosure that measures just 7.1- x 7.1- x 1.2-inches. The built-in Ion GPU means that this bugger is completely capable of handling 1080p (and thus, Blu-ray) content, DirectX 10 and even mildly demanding games such as Call of Duty 4 and Spore. Acer's staying mum on a price and release date, but we're still hearing that the late Q2 time frame is a safe bet.

ViewSonic 24-inch VG2427 1080p LCD monitor With little to no fanfare, ViewSonic has followed up its recently outed VT2230 with an all-too-similar VG2427. Said display packs a 24-inch panel, 1,920 x 1,080 native resolution, 20,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, 300 nits of brightness, a height adjustable stand and hidden stereo speakers. Additionally, you'll find a 2-port USB hub, ECO mode for sucking down less energy (while idle, we presume) and a seductively slim bezel to boot. It's up for grabs right now for $499.

Toshiba Satellite Pro S300-EZ2521 Ready for one more excuse to snooze through hump day? Here you go. Toshiba's Satellite Pro S300-EZ2521, obviously the latest in its growing S300 line, is about as perfectly average as a 15.4-inch laptop can be. We're talking a 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 3GB of DDR2 RAM, a 250GB (5400RPM) hard drive, SuperMulti DVD burner, WXGA resolution panel, GMA 4500MHD graphics, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR and a built-in webcam. Furthermore, the actual enclosure just screams "Designed For Office Cubes," and while we don't have confirmation just yet, we'd wager that the 40 metric tons of bloatware would further substantiate that claim. There's no mention of a price, but those in the market for a strictly-business machine should find it shipping any day now.

Riiflex Wiimote weights up for pre-order Look out, vulnerable televisions -- your worst nightmare is already up for pre-order. The two- and four-pound Riiflex Wiimote weights have escaped the "yeah right" stage and are now just months away from piercing all manners of living room fixtures. The pair (one for your Wiimote, one for your nunchuck) of two pounders will set you back $34.95, while the heftier ones run $5 more pet set. Wait, are you seriously considering these? Be honest.

Corsair ultra speedy 256GB SSD My, how fast the cutting edge becomes dull. Nary four months ago, we were introduced to Corsair's first SSD: a 2.5-inch 128GB slab of MLC NAND goodness that promised 90MB/sec read and 70MB/sec write speeds. Needless to say, those numbers weren't about to shatter any records, so the company went out and produced something that just might. The benchmarking fiends over at HotHardware managed to scoop up a 256GB S256 from the company and put it through the first of many tests. As for results? Early reports show average read speeds nailing the 200MB/sec mark, while average write rates hovered just under 170MB/sec. The only issue is the breathtaking $749 price tag (expected, anyway), but at least you've apparently got a few months to save up.

Viliv S5 tablet PC unboxed We've seen plenty of Viliv's S5 tablet PC, and it's looking pretty great. The XP-running MID has a 4.8-inch touchscreen, a 60GB hard disk, an Intel Silverthorne-class 1.33GHz Z520 CPU, GPS, Bluetooth, WiFi, and 1GB of memory. It's available in Korea now, though it appears to have missed its European / U.S. shipping dates at the end of March -- but we'll let you know when we start seeing these babies hit the streets. They're supposed to be priced at $649 when they do become available in the States.

Spider-phone appears? We can't tell if this is an insane piece of crap or completely awesome. Spider-phone appears to be a new item, albeit pretty far behind the Spider-man product curve -- but, you know -- whatever. Regardless, it's got all the hallmarks of a finely crafted attempt to cash in on Peter Parker's alter ego... the webs, the webs, not to mention the fact that Tobey Maguire's on the box! This rad GSM piece boasts a 2 megapixel camera, a microSD slot, and a color swivel display. It's available in Hong Kong for HK$1180 (about US$152). Up next: a NewGoblin-phone with Franco napping on the box? We sure hope so!

Mitsubishi debuts 16-speaker Unisen LCD HDTV line With Mitsubishi's LaserVue lines humming along once more, it's time for the company to bust out a few more big announcements in the HDTV space. First up is the new Unisen line, comprised of the 151 Series (40-, 46- and 52-inches), the 153 Series (40-, 46- and 52-inches) and the high-end Diamond 259 Series (46- and 52-inches). Each set in the line comes with a built-in "5.1-channel" 16-speaker audio bar, much like the iSP LT-52149 that we reviewed last fall. Each model also incorporates a new UltraThin Frame design, Smooth 120Hz Film Motion technology, four HDMI 1.3a inputs and a USB media port. The top end crew also includes an iSP calibration microphone, Plush1080p 5G 18-bit digital video processing, a wired IR input and a few swank blue accents to really woo the ladies. The whole family should ship to the United States next month and range from $1,799 to $3,299.

Sewell WiFi-based HD Media Extender You know what's most annoying about wireless HD solutions? Two things, really. First off, 95 percent of 'em only come out to play at trade shows. Secondly, the other 5 percent require you to refinance your now-worthless home to even procure 'em. Sewell, a company known for delivering unexpected treasures when it comes to adapters, has just pumped out its very own wireless HDMI media extender. The good news is that it's shipping right now and it relies on 802.11a/n technology rather than WHDI, UWB or any other less ubiquitous option. The bad news is that 15 to 30 feet of cord-free AV goodness will set you back $1,199.95. You can weigh the pros and cons yourself, but we'll be begrudgingly sticking with coat hangers cheap-o interconnects 'til it becomes just a touch more of a bargain.

Mitsubishi debuts 3D-ready Home Theater TV line, 82-incher included No need for 16 speakers built right into your next HDTV? How's about the ability to watch 3D content whenever it infiltrates the home? Mitsubishi's other big introduction today comes in the form of its 2009 Home Theater TV line, a family that includes the 737 Series (60-, 65-, 73- and 82-inch), 837 Series (65-, 73- and 82-inch) and the standalone 82-inch WD-82737. The big screen crew is completely 3D ready and the whole lot features 120Hz dejudder technology, the firm's exclusive 6-color processor, four HDMI 1.3a sockets and a JADE Activity-based user interface. For those badly in need of a new set after suffering through March Madness on that 22-inch CRT, you'll be elated to know that every set mentioned here is shipping now from $1,499 to $4,999.

RKS Neuma Hybrid Tattoo Machine -- Less-Painful Neuma Hybrid Tattoo Machine is the result of cooperation between RKS Design and Neuma. This latest evolution of Neuma tattoo machine was born because of Carson Hill’s (the creator of neuma) desire to constantly push for improvement. With the help of RKS, Neuma has revolutionized the tattoo industry and usher in a new age of artistry, comfort, and safety. Neuma hybrid tattoo machine comes in small package and weight less than half as much as traditional coil machines, yet this machine is very powerful.