Hi-tech Frontier

PeeWee Tablet Laptop Is Resistant To Drops, Spills, Screaming Children The PeeWee Pivot Tablet Laptop, as you may have guessed from the name, is designed for kids ages 3-10. As such, it comes with “age appropriate software,” a Disney Theme for Windows XP, and a security suite designed to keep your preschoolers from downloading hardcore pornography. Once you get past the kiddie stuff, though, this is actually a pretty decent machine. It’s essentially a netbook, with all of the features you’ve come to know and love and be bored by, including an Atom processor, Windows XP, 1-2 gigs of RAM, a 60 gig HD, USB, card reader, WiFi, 6 cell battery for 5+ hours of on-time, blah blah blah. But it’s also a convertible touchscreen tablet that comes with a stylus. And a webcam that rotates 180 degrees. And a spill-resistant keyboard. And drop-resistant shell. You know, stuff that’s nice to have in a computer that you carry around a lot. ##CONTINUE##You’ll pay more for all of these features, of course...

Century Netbook Stand Cools Your Lap, Reads & Burns DVDs While it wasn’t the reason I ultimately decided to part ways with my EEE netbook, the lack of optical drive did make things kind of a hassle when I decided to install XP. The problem was resolved with a $20 DVD-ROM drive and an IDE to USB 2 adapter cable, but this slim netbook stand that features a built-in DVD super multi-drive from Century looks like a better alternative. It connects to your netbook via USB and supports nearly every sub-Blu-ray disc format you could possibly need. The slim form factor means it’s not that difficult to travel with when you need to, and it even doubles as a cooling pad thanks to a built-in 4cm fan. It will be available in Japan on Friday, but the $100 price tag is kind of a hard sell given it’s roughly 1/3 the price of the average netbook.

A Shoe or a Satnav? Some people feel many benefits by using satnav device. It is because by using satnav, they do not need to worry again about being lost in the middle of nowhere. The most common satnav has a box design. Therefore, sometimes people get bored with the conventional design. There is a satnav device that has a very unique form which also has another function from its form. ##CONTINUE##Now, you can get the benefits of satnav and shoes by using this unique gadget. It is because these shoes feature GPS technology that will allow you finding the right path to walk. By using these shoes, you do not need to worry walking in the desert or jungle since your feet are protected and you know the direction where you should go. There is an LED DNav Bubble which will show you the visual guide. There is also a beep sound in case you are too stubborn to follow the guide. This product is powered by rechargeable AA batteries so you may need to bring the charger where ever you are if you do...

Epson Announces New Ensemble HD Home Theater Kits I really like home theater gear and have wanted a projector set up in my living room for a long time. The thought of a massive image in HD resolution for watching the UFC and playing games makes me giddy. The problem is that getting all the gear together to set up a projection system can be a pain and it’s expensive. ##CONTINUE##Epson has announced new Ensemble HD home theater kits using the latest 1080p HD projectors from Epson. The new Ensemble kits include the firm’s 3LCD 1080p front projectors, motorized 100-inch screen, integrated surround sound, AV controller with built-in DVD player, universal remote, and the components needed for installation.

2Sibling Vehicle: A funny innovation The 2Sibling is a vehicle that is able to become two. This innovative idea attaches the two siblings to each other in a back to back position in a way the allows only one of them to move ahead, while the other one remains neutralized and being pulled by the previous one. In this way, the 2Sibling can be used as a vehicle for 2 persons or as two tiny vehicles for city use, or as a vehicle of all-terrain. This 2Sibling vehicle will provide sheer fun to the riders of the city car and give a multipurpose solution for many people efficiently.

Connectland SATA HDD Dock with One Touch Backup: Looks like a toaster Features: Standable, convenient and trendy design Compact docking station design maximizes heat dissipation & exhaust Support SATA I/II 2.5" and 3.5" HardDisk USB 2.0 / eSATA connection Plugs and play and hot-swappable One Touch Backup* (OTB) function with Windows software LED indicators for status, activity, backup OTB Support Windows Vista/XP/2000, Mac OS 10 or above Dimension: 80 x 160 x 110mm (approx.) Weight: 272g Price: US$ 47.00

Birthday boy gets box of rocks instead of Nintendo DS No, you're not being mercilessly attacked by an unyielding feeling of déjà vu for no good reason -- we really have seen something eerily similar to this happen before. This go 'round, we've got a totally innocent ten year old boy who was given Guitar Hero for DS prior to even owning a console; as the mother finally ended the tease, she handed him a shiny new DS handheld for him to unwrap. Unfortunately for everyone involved, all that was tucked inside was a couple of stones, a Chinese newspaper and boatloads of disappointment. After the Walmart store from which she purchased it referred her to the Big N, she furiously admitted the following: "They don't want to do nothing. They want me to keep the box of rocks. I'm not buying a box of rocks for $138." Thankfully, Wally World finally refunded her and threw in a $20 gift card for the trouble (after being hounded by a local news station, mind you), but the...

PXP-900 handheld ditches the UMD drive, and the PSP A new PSP may well be on the horizon, but it looks like the knock-off business is still going strong with the classic model, and it's kicked out one of its most faithful / blatant homages to date with this new so-called PXP-900. While it doesn't do anything crazy like actually play PSP games, you can apparently make use of the included emulator to play NES, GameBoy, SNES, and Genesis games -- even including those rare few 32X games, from the sound of it. Otherwise, you can expect the usual basic PMP functionality, along with a 2GB of internal memory, an SD card slot for expansion, a TV out port, an FM tuner, and your choice of four different colors -- all for the low, low price of $89.99.

PhaseOne P40+ medium format camera hits the streets of Copenhagen It's been a few moments since Phase One had us lusting after one of its devices, and now the company is back with a 40 megapixel system named, appropriately enough, the P40+. Like the P65+ we peeped last year, this new guy offers two separate image-capture modes -- in this case, you're looking at either a standard mode for full 40 megapixel shooting, or a 10 megapixel Sensor+ mode that gives you a four-fold increase in light sensitivity (ISO to 3200), and a 1.8 fps capture rate. Both modes feature a 12.5 f-stop dynamic range. The camera is shipping now, and it will run you a cool €16,990 ($22,073). Or pick up just the camera back for €14,990 ($19,475). Actually, you might want to think about picking up two. You know, just in case.

LEGO iMac G4 Junior is iMac G4's smaller, friendlier sibling We tend to go a little weak in the knees for anything in miniature, so this iMac G4 "Junior" made with a 7-inch digital photo frame and a bunch of LEGOs sent us into hysterics. DIY-er Bjarne Tveskov says the creation is inspired by the film Luxo Jr., and though it has no functional G4 innards, it does do dislay basic, totally adorable smiley faces.

Samsung's Android-equipped i7500 confirmed for O2 We don't know everywhere that the i7500's going to land yet -- the presence of AWS 3G is still giving us loads of hope that it'll come to T-Mobile USA eventually -- but one place we're quite sure of is Germany, where O2's local outpost has now said that it'll launch in "the next couple of months." That lines up nicely with what we'd been expecting prior to the phone's announcement -- so now we just need, oh, say, about 20 more announcements around the world and we'll be good to go. Any time now, Sammy.

Nokia N97 specs The remainder of the N97's juicy technical details have now been spilled on Nokia's dev-oriented Forum Nokia site -- previously, only cursory data had been posted here -- and there are a couple notable bits that might be of concern to developers and would-be buyers alike. First off, the processor turns out to be a single-core ARM 11 putting along at 434MHz, just 65MHz faster than the 5800's. It's an improvement, yes, but when you consider that the competing i8910 from Samsung runs a higher-performance 600MHz ARM Cortex-A8, it throws a wet towel on the whole thing. Seeing how this is designed to be Nokia's premier device for 2009, couldn't they have gone for broke with the silicon? Secondly -- this is something we already knew, but the spec sheet reminded (and delighted) us -- the N97 supports charging via micro-USB, which the 5800 does not. Life's about tradeoffs, isn't it?

Samsung S5320 Tocco Lite reps the midrange in the UK In case you needed any more evidence that the full touchscreen cellphone fad is in full swing, we'd present to you this little midrange number -- Samsung's just-announced Tocco Lite for the UK market. Just the latest member of the now well-established Tocco series, the Lite is actually little more than a specific branding of the S5320 that we saw back in March, offering EDGE data, a WQVGA display, 3 megapixel camera, TouchWiz interface, and integrated FM radio. Look for it to hit up British stores come mid-May.

OPPO BDP-83 Blu-ray players Haven't nabbed one of OPPO's well put together BDP-83 Blu-ray players yet? Those who signed up early and got on the invitation list should be getting their hands on one very soon for $499 with an expected ship date of May 4. Everyone else? Read through our first impressions again (high build quality, fast loads, great audio decoding and easy to use menus) and wait for a wider release.

HP MediaSmart LX195 boasts 640GB HDD, 1.6GHz Atom, $400 MSRP Yearning for more info on the HP MediaSmart LX195? Here's some new concrete details for you to go along with the leaked images from earlier this month. As previously suggested, it's got a a single 640GB internal SATA drive with 7200RPM, with the only option for expansion being via the four USB 2.0 ports in the back. We're also looking at a 1.6GHz Atom 230 processor, 1GB RAM, Windows Home Server software and support for Apple's Time Machine. Mum's the word on price, but if you're looking to start saving early, suggested retail price is just under four Benjamins.

Sony debuts connected BRAVIA Z5500 LCD HDTV line And the hits just keep on comin'. Shortly after Sony introduced its connected BRAVIA W-Series to the world, in flies yet another trio: the Z5500 line. Arriving in 40-inch, 46-inch and 52-inch models, the set boasts Motionflow 200Hz technology, DLNA certification, the outfit's BRAVIA Engine 3, its own 'draw the LINE' design concept, a 1080p panel and a CI Plus interface, which only those parked overseas will truly understand. Furthermore, there's an integrated MPEG-4/AVC HD tuner, BRAVIA Sync (HDMI-CEC), an auto shut-off function, a dedicated 'Energy Saving Switch' and -- for the first time -- AppliCast. If you're curious, the latter feature enables users to access a range of online services (RSS feeds and all sorts of other widgets) via the built-in Ethernet jack. Sony didn't bother to share a price, release date or any hope of a US debut, but we'll be keeping our eyes peeled.