Hi-tech Frontier

LaCie DataShare SD and microSD Card Reader, looks nice While they’re not known for having the cheapest external hard drives on the market, you can’t argue that LaCie doesn’t have some of the most eye-catching ways to backup your data. But their new DataShare SD & microSD card reader not only has a clever design that splits apart revealing a separate reader for each card, but it’s actually reasonably priced at around $15. (£9.90)

Sony’s New DR-BT100CX In-Ear Bluetooth Headphones The last moment announcement that the iPhone 3.0 firmware update will finally add A2DP bluetooth support means I can start looking at wireless BT headphones again. At the moment there’s a few contenders on the market, but as of today there’s now one more thanks to Sony announcing their new DR-BT100CX in-ear headphones. While the wires aren’t completely gone, you at least won’t be tethered to your cellphone while listening to music, and the small dongle hanging off the earbuds lets you control playback, volume and even answer calls. It’s also recharged via USB instead of some proprietary cable, and you can expect to get about 8 hours of use between charges. According to the Sony press release, the DR-BT100CX headphones are available for order on the Sony Style Europe site, but I can’t seem to find them at the moment.

Pre-order The Fujitsu FLEPia E-Book Reader From Japan Trend Shop For Just $1,399 If black and white just seems too Gutenberg for your tastes, you’ll want to skip Amazon’s Kindle and Sony’s eReaders for Fujitsu’s FLEPia eBook. Its biggest claim to fame is its ability to display “full color” images instead of just grayscale, with 64, 4,096 or 260,000 color modes. It’s impressive for sure, but you’ll want to keep in mind that running in the maximum color mode will result in page refreshes that take a whopping 8 seconds. ##CONTINUE##Other features include an 8-inch XGA or 768×1,024 dot touch screen display, Bluetooth, wi-fi, SD card slot and embedded stereo speakers. The FLEPia also runs Windows CE 5.0 which means you have access to additional software like a web browser, email client and even the ability to publish office-type documents right on the reader. At the moment the Japan Trend Shop currently has them available for pre-order for a buck under $1,400, but they won’t actually be in ...

Genius G-Shot HD520 Camcorder Unveiled Over the last few years camcorders have changed drastically from devices that recorded to tapes of different types to machines that use internal flash or hard drives to store video. With the move to flash storage and HDDs the cameras were also able to shrink to more portable sizes. Genius has announced its first camcorder called the G-Shot HD520. The little camcorder weight less than six ounces and records video in 720p resolution. Video is encoded and compressed using MPEG-4/H.264 formats. In addition to recording video the camera can also take still images at 11-megapixels.

mypressi TWIST gives espresso addicts an easier way to indulge You know the story -- your daily craving for a shot of espresso hits right around 7:30AM local time, and if you don't have it in your grasp by 0800 hours, you're likely visiting the slammer for at least a day or two for barista battery. In a beautiful effort to keep addicts far away from prisons and ever closer to their productivity machines, Espressi has unveiled the mypressi TWIST, which is described as a truly portable espresso maker that delivers top-notch goods without the wait. The secret to the one-pound device is the pneumatic engine that provides constant pressure throughout the extraction cycle, and we're told that a single CO2 cartridge can provide around eight shots. It'll hit American shores this fall for $129 -- 'til then, it's on you to keep a local shop on retainer.

Fujitsu's FMV LOOX U C50N bumped up to 2GHz Atom Z550 proc, won't look back Fujitsu just stuffed Intel's latest Atom chip, the 2GHz Atom Z550, into the FMV LU C50N UMPC, the Japanese LOOX U version of its U2010 / U820 UMPC. Of course, the processor breaks through Microsoft's restrictions on XP for netbooks, so out of the box you'll have to take the performance hit of Vista, and then perhaps get in on some Windows 7 RC action to really feel the speed boost. Other specs include just about anything else you might imagine could or couldn't fit into this form factor -- including a 5.6-inch 1280 x 800 touchscreen.

Averatec debuts 12-inch $699 N2700 ultraportable If it's fancy you're scouting, you needn't look here. If you're fine with a classic design, a relatively low price and plenty of oomph to handle everyday tasks, you've got your eyes right where they need to be. Averatec's latest rig is a 12-inch ultraportable that gets powered by a 2GHz Core 2 Duo T6400 processor, a WXGA panel, 4GB of DDR2-800 RAM, a 250GB SATA hard drive, 8x SuperMulti dual-layer DVD writer, WiFi, gigabit Ethernet, a trio of USB 2.0 ports, FireWire and audio in / out. Furthermore, you'll find a VGA output, 4-in-1 card reader, GMA X4500HD graphics set, 1.3 megapixel camera and Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit. This four pound lappie will set you back $699, and if you're already sold, we're happy to inform you that it's shipping right now.

Sony rolls out new Bluetooth headphones for in-ear or out: DR-BT100CX and DR-BT101CX They're not exactly breaking down any barriers of style or function, but those looking for some straightforward Bluetooth headphones may want to consider one of Sony's latest offerings, which come in both in-ear and over-the-ear varieties. On the in-ear front, Sony has the DR-BT100CX , which includes some USB charging capabilities, a promised eight hours of playback time, and three different silicon ear buds to ensure a snug fit. Those looking for something a little less discreet can opt for the DR-BT101CX, which offers the same USB charging, a slightly better 12 hours of playback time and, most notably, a 30mm neodymium driver for a bit more oomph. No word on pricing just yet, but it looks like both should be available any day now -- in Europe, at least.

Belkin justifies $30 for a pillow, calls it CushDesk If you're still up for spending unnecessarily these days, Belkin has the perfect excuse to blow 30 bones on a couch pillow replacement. The oddly, almost comically named CushDesk, is nothing more than a sophisticated lap cushion with a somewhat sturdy top that acts as a portable tabletop for your molten-hot laptop. It's available in a number of soothing hues, and while it's fully compatible with mobile PCs and Macs up to 17-inches in size, we're still waiting to hear back about compatibility with UMPCs, MIDs and Linux-based netbooks.

Unitek's 3.5-inch SATA HDD bay / MicroSD card reader is more fun than it looks Aside from his stunning portrayal as Col. Kurtz ("I swallowed a bug"), Brando is our go-to guy for drive bays and memory card readers. If you're not holding out for a dock that plays DivX movies (or tells the temperature in your cube) this device should be right up your proverbial alley. The Unitek 3.5-inch USB Multi-Functional Bay sports a 2.5-inch SATA HDD enclosure, SD(HC) and MicroSD(HC) card readers, and a four pin power port -- 'cos you can't have too many four pin power ports. Since this is Brando, we were hoping to see something with a little more kitsch appeal, but we suppose that we'll just have to hold out for something from the Happy-Kid line.

UMID M1 gets unboxed Still no US release in sight, but UMID's M1 has now set the course for the land down under in the not-too-distant future. Pocketables has managed to get its hands on a non-HSDPA retail version to take it through the unboxing and review motions. The pictures are a good reminder at just how tiny this thing is, especially compared to the jacket pocket fave Vaio P. Unfortunately, it's also got a rather awkward set of adapters for USB and what appears to be headphones, as seen in the picture above. Australian retailer Justek's got the unit available for pre-order now, but you might want to glance at that $930 to $1426 price range before you impulsively hit the "pre-order now" button.

Asus' EeePC 1003HAG equips WWAN, ventures forth on NTT DoCoMo's FOMA network Following in the footsteps of past Eee PC's like the 901, ASUS' Japanese-bound 1003HAG boasts an internal wireless WAN module and supports NTT DoCoMo's FOMA network with 7.2Mbps on the downlink. For a more local connection, there's 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR. As for the rest of the hardware, it's pretty much netbook status quo: a 1-inch WSVGA screen, Intel Atom N280, 1GB RAM, integrated graphics, 160GB HDD, and an apparent 4.3-hour battery life. Price is 69,800 yen (US $722) and launch date is May 16th -- that should give you plenty of time to figure out if you want the black, white, or pink version.

Creative's cheap Zen MX even bores paid product models Well what do you know... Creative's still in business and pumping out yet another variation of its Zen media player. The Zen MX features the same played design that Creative's been pushing since 2007 including a 2.5-inch, 320 x 240 pixel display, and SDHC expansion. However, as Creative's new low-end Zen, the MX is stripped of all but its most basic codecs -- MP3, DRM'd WMA, JPG pics, Audible 4, and Creative's own CMV video format are all that remain. The result is 8GB and 16GB Zen MX players hitting Japan (and presumably elsewhere) on May 5th for ¥9,800 (about $102) and ¥13,800 (about $144), respectively. Oh, and Creative also cut the price of its 32GB/16GB/8GB Zen X-Fi players. A move that would usually indicate an attempt to clear out inventory as the company prepares for a new flag-ship product. However, given the global economic situation and Creative's own internal meltdown, let's just say we...

Rusted Steampunk USB Drive offers 4GB of storage, free tetanus infection Steampunk mods are becoming rather more prevalent these days as tech-addled creative types reject modern sensibilities and revert to a non-existent, whimsical past. The latest such escape is called "Rusted Steampunk USB Drive - no.2," a follow-up to an earlier, slightly less rusty object d'USB. It appears to be built around a 4GB SanDisk Cruzer drive, augmented with weathered, laser-cut hunks of metal. The curvy flourish on the front says "You probably shouldn't put this in your pocket," while the dueling swordfish on the back say "I survived a trip to Rapture and all I got was this corroded chunk of storage." Yours for $40.

Dell's touchy-feely Studio One 19 available Japan got the first crack at Dell's new multitouch all-in-one Studio One 19 in March, but it's finally headed our way. As expected, prices start at $699, with a Pentium E5200 Dual Core processor, GeForce 9200 integrated graphics, a 320GB HDD, 2GB of RAM and a slot-loading DVD burner in the low-end. Built-in webcams and multitouch features are present across the board. Check out a video of the multitouch functionality after the break: nothing much beyond the usual gimmicks, though we're a fan of letting your kid lay down beats with his jam-covered fingers -- that's true love.

HTC Magic In a surprise announcement, Vodafone Spain is set to launch Magic, HTC's 2nd Android handset, in just a few hours. The countdown timer appeared early this morning with local sales set to begin at 1700 hours. That gives Vodafone Spain subscribers an 8 day head start on the rest of the world -- an eternity for Android nerds. Unfortunately, while it's free with applicable contract on Vodafone UK, it's gonna cost you in Spain -- rates our Spanish friends describe as "outrageous." Let's see if our Canadian friends agree.

Motorola's rumored W7 causing us to lose faith Okay, yes, we understand that Moto's W series of handsets is targeted at the lower end of the market -- but is that any excuse for it to be ugly? We'd like to believe that this odd little beast is fake, but we have a bad feeling that it's the real deal -- all three mismatched colors of it. Add in the oblong d-pad, the forgettable camera, and the rumor that it'll be EDGE only, and we really don't care how water resistant the sports-oriented W7 might be, we're pretty sure we don't want anything to do with it. Maybe an overwhelmingly lukewarm reaction to the leak could send it back to the drawing board, eh?

iLauncher for iPhone makes you more dangerous than a dictator with an inferiority complex You might think that everything that could possibly be said or done with USB missile launchers had already been said and done, but you'd be wrong -- dead wrong. The next (final?) frontier for these staples of modern cube warfare has arrived in the form of an iPhone app, iLauncher, that'll allow you to control your PC-connected arsenal from afar over WiFi. It's the coolest use of a phone as a deadly weapon since James Bond ghost rode a Bimmer in Tomorrow Never Dies using some crazy one-off Ericsson, but air / ground supremacy doesn't come cheap: expect to spend $2.99 to nab this off the App Store.

VholdR ContourHD helmet cam upgrades your brain to HD The original VholdR was already one of the more attractive propositions when it comes to helmet cams -- let's face it, when it comes to strapping a video camera to your head, style is likely your first priority -- and now the even sexier followup is here: VholdR ContourHD. The camera shoots 720p at 30fps and WVGA (858 x 480) at 60fps, making it what is apparently the world's first HD "wearable camcorder." A goggle mount and flat surface mount are included, and the lens swivels 192 degrees for easy alignment, with dual lasers to help with setup and a 135 degree wide angle lens to catch your faceplants in a comprehensive manner. There's a 2GB microSD card included, and we must say the H.264 default codec is an extra nice perk. ContourHD is on sale now for $280, and starts shipping on May 15th.

Goldmund releases Telos 5000 amplifier Way to flaunt it, Goldmund -- while people are losing their homes, the company has introduced its flagship amplifier that costs as much as a house: the $189,600 Telos 5000. Look, we're sure the stereo (yeah, only two channels) sound coming out of this 5,000-Watt, 650-pound testament to a bloated ego sounds just great, but this kind of gear is what gives audiophiles who want something better than a HTIB a bad name and makes just about everybody else mutter "more money than sense." If you're just curious and hit the link, that's cool; but if you've got this kind of money, might we suggest paying for live musicians to follow you around instead?

Paper Flexpeaker could change the way you perceive posters Paper speakers go a long way back, but now finally seem close to making appearances in the real world. A few weeks ago it was researchers at the University of Warwick showing off their wispy wares, and now Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute is talking up its thin tweeters, called Flexpeaker. The initial goal is for 8.5-inch by 11-inch sheets that cost about $20, but the hope is to produce whole rolls of the stuff in the not too distant future, which will then be liberally applied to the exteriors of movie theaters, the interiors of automobiles, and the sides of the thinnest of thin-panel TVs. An effective range of 500Hz to 200KHz leaves an awful lot of lower frequencies lacking, but perhaps someone will invent a paper subwoofer one of these days.

Watch-like USB Hub: Just Cute Here is a new gadget introduced to you. A USB hub has a shape of watch dial. It costs you $10.00. Maybe you'll see it at home tomorrow.