Hi-tech Frontier

Wristwatch Tattoo Lets Your Arm Tell Time When you hear the term wristwatch, you generally think of a timepiece that you wear on your wrist. Well someone is looking to change that definition. There isn’t a whole lot of information on his design, but I am going to assume for now that it is only a concept. The idea is a subdermal implant or “electric tattoo” that can function as a watch. It uses your natural kinetic energy for power (not unlike some watches out there) and somehow uses a wireless signal to sync up with an external clock to make sure it is correct. It only illuminates when you hold your wrist up to look at it. A very cool idea, if it could work.

Calvin Klein USB Sunglasses - Stylish Or Stupid? I guess if you’re shelling out hundreds of dollars for a pair of brand-name sunglasses it doesn’t hurt when they do something more than make you look like a tool. Calvin Klein’s new USB shades for example (available in October, just in time for the Summer to be long gone!) feature a detachable arm that reveals a 4GB flash drive. I guess it’s a handy way to carry a flash drive, particularly since you’ll be less likely to lose it because it cost you $199. The downside though? Forget about doing any file transfers or backups in the sun since you’ll have to take the glasses off before you can access the flash drive. No thank-you!

Thought Out’s PED3-TriPhone And PED3-TriPhone-FORM Adds A Tripod Mount To Your iPhone We’ve written about Thought Out’s unique accessories for the iPhone before, but this time they’ve got something particularly useful for photographers and videographers who’ve decided the 3GS is adequate enough for their needs. (Yeah, I don’t get it either.) The PED3-TriPhone and PED3-TriPhone-FORM are a couple of rotating mounts that allow you to connect your iPhone to a tripod or other stabilizing devices. And while the PED3-TriPhone mount ($28) is designed to work with a naked iPhone, the PED3-TriPhone-FORM ($32) will actually accommodate one in a protective case.

Strap-Ya’s cell phone strap: Strap and Charge Who doesn’t have cell phones today? Well, we already know how cell phone could make our life easier. With this gadget, we can be reach and communicate with other people anywhere, as long as network service available. The biggest weakness of the cell phone is that it is too much depending on its battery power. Off course we often got dizzy when the battery run out low while we are having an important conversation or should make an urgent call. It is not easy to find electric outlet to plug in our charger. Now, we can get power where ever we want with the Cell Phone Strap from Strap-Ya, This is not an ordinary cell phone strap but it has tiny solar cell that could collect power from the sun. Strap-Ya’s cell phone strap could be used to recharge you cell phone battery since it has universal port that compatible with most cell phone’s port. With the capability like the real charger, powered by the sun and could be easily strap on your cell pho...

Pen Drive with Floral Pattern Design With the technological advancement in the field of USB memories, several manufacturers are crafting innovative memory sticks with various functionalities and extraordinary design. This is a bracelet shaped concept pen drive that is decorated with a floral model for Polish Mountains. This pen drive will assure the users comprehensive safety against lost or theft issues along with stylish and unique appearance that will be appreciated by all range of people. It features a USB 2.0 interface and is available in three different colors, red, black and white to choose from and is branded under the name of POLAND.

Futuristic Bugatti 57 Atlantic Concept Car The designers of Bugatti 57 Atlantic must have envisioned the Aliens to come from outer space, therefore, they designed this futuristic car to offer them something of their level from both design and performance aspects. This concept is somehow away from reality so far but according to the French designer, human mind is free to imagine of anything. Though the close to the ground design of this two-seater car is unique from any point of view, the front end matches a bit with Jaguar, on the other hand, the rear part of the car merely looks like a car’s back.

Acer Aspire One (Refurb) – $259.99 I have one of these Acer Aspire One Netbooks and it’s very handy for letting my kids log onto their favorite Club Penguin or Disney online sites without having them all over my MacBook Pro. In the interest of fair disclosure my Acer broke down once (keyboard completely stopped working) and was replaced by Amazon. Since then it’s been smooth sailing. Consensus seems to be that you rip out the Windows 98 Home that comes pre-installed and put in Windows 7. Technical specifications – 1 Acer Aspire One D150 Intel Atom 1.6Ghz 1GB 160GB 6 Cell Battery WebCam 10.1” XP Netbook – any color you like so long as it’s black, blue or red. This is a one day deal so if you’re interested order today (July 9).

Samsung i321 unlocked Tri-Band (900/1800/1900) QWERTY – $89.99 If you’re on a GSM carrier and need a replacement QWERTY phone – here’s a deal that you should look closely at. This Samsung i321 is compatible with GSM carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile. Not all carrier features may be supported. It will not work with CDMA carriers like Verizon Wireless, Alltel and Sprint. Still how can you go wrong with an out the door price of $90 for a QWERTY smartphone. Under the hood there’s Windows Mobile 5.0 software. Add Bluetooth Wireless Technology, a 1.3 megapixel camera, a full QWERTY keyboard and a host of other fun and functional features, you have a world class communications supertool. The main feature here is that the phone’s unlocked so you can buy it without a contract for use on nearly any GSM based carrier.

Slacker 4GB – 25 Station – Wi-Fi Radio Player – $49.99 I like Slacker Online Radio so much that I paid $48 for a yearly subscription which provides me with unlimited song skipping, no advertising and the ability to connect a mini desktop player for times when I don’t want to listen through my web browser. Another nice feature of Slacker is that they offer portable devices like this 4 GB 25 station Wi-Fi connected player. After inserting your user name and password it automatically downloads your favorite stations and fills the player with music. When you become bored of the music, simply synchronize the player via Wi-Fi and it loads a new set of songs. GearSponsor LogicBuy is highlighting this offer from Buy which provides a 4GB older model of the Slacker for $49.99. I’ve got the newer model Slacker G2 and given the choice to do it again I would have bought this much cheaper earlier model.

Translucent XCM Eye Candy case encourages licking of DSi Oh sure, the DSi was the definite hotness when it sprung onto the scene earlier this year, but if you're growing somewhat bored of the same old camera + touchscreen action, why not spruce things up with an all new exterior? The case you're looking at above does require the disassembly of your console, and thus, you can kiss your remaining warranty goodbye. Frankly, we view the sacrifice as thoroughly worth it, as XCM's Eye Candy shell is practically guaranteed to get more eyes, fingers and tongues on your machine. And really, who wouldn't want that?

Dell launches Design Studio for Inspiron 15, new FastTrack delivery service Hey, you in the market for a cheap laptop with some crazy custom artwork glued to the lid? Dell's got you covered -- the Inspiron 15 has just been brought into the Design Studio fold, meaning you'll be able to select graphics from a wide variety of artists when you spec out your system. Most artwork seems to be priced around $60, but we're told that could vary -- considering the base Inspy 15 is just $499, we're assuming / hoping the ceiling won't be much higher. Dell's also launching a new FastTrack next-day delivery service for pre-configured machines -- the company claims it's constantly tracking orders and will be able to keep the most popular models on hand. Of course, that's sort of the opposite of the whole "totally custom laptop" thing Dell's pushing with Design Studio, but hey, sometimes you need a bog-standard PC, and you need it now.

OCZ's Sabre OLED gaming keyboard now shipping, priced at $135 We've already gotten the official word that it was coming last month, and gone hands-on with the identical United Keys OLED keyboard even earlier than that, but it looks like OCZ is now finally shipping its own Sabre OLED gaming keyboard and, consequently, given it a price. Somewhat surprisingly, OCZ is letting this one go for just $135, which, while still not exactly a bargain, is a heckuva lot cheaper than the $260 that the United Keys version still runs. That'll get you nine customizable OLED keys, along with most of the standard specs you'd expect from a gaming keyboard, including "super tactile" keys, plenty of macro configuration options and, of course, some blue LEDs to remind you that you didn't buy this thing for work.

Getac 9213 "business rugged" laptop tones down the toughness, the ugly Looking for something a little tougher than your average notebook yet a little less fugly than your typical Toughbook? Getac's 9213 is a "business rugged" device that sports a full magnesium alloy chassis, a spill-resistant keyboard and touchpad, and a 13.3-inch WXGA display. With a 45nm Intel Core 2 Duo Penryn-class ULV processor, 3GB of RAM, a shock-mounted HDD (up to 250GB), and a battery life of up to eight hours, this guy shouldn't be slouch as far as performance goes -- and if that weren't enough you can swap out the optical drive for a second battery (extending its life another fifty percent or so). As you'd imagine, the connectivity options here include draft-n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, and an optional 3.75G HSUPA module. Man, we can't wait to put this bad boy through one of our sadistic torture tests! Available now with an MSRP of $1,799.

Sony's VAIO P 'mark 2' hopefully learns from past mistakes While we had high hopes for Sony's sleek and beautifully crafted VAIO P back in the day, it's become a major point of frustration and thus, ridicule, ever since we first powered it up. This $900ish ultra-portable is the very symbol of what tends to go wrong at Sony: beautiful hardware is crippled by software leaving consumers wondering why they paid a premium for such an undistinguished user experience. Now Techradar is reporting that Sony has a VAIO P "mark 2" ready to launch in October or November -- we suspect right after Windows 7 launches. The only real detail provided is that the "mark 2" will feature a "much-improved boot-up time." Whether that's the result of inherently fast-booting Windows 7 alone or via some third party Instant-on technology like Corel, well, Sony isn't saying.

F88 netbook stands out with HD playback, VIA Nano What do we have here then? An OEM netbook, looking remarkably like a recent ASUS iteration, has come to our attention with some bold claims in tow. Spec'd with a 1.6GHz VIA Nano processor and S3 Chrome 9 graphics, this promises to be one of the most potent netbooks yet and backs up that claim with up to 4GB of memory and 500GB of storage. The major attraction of all this extra juice is full 1080p video playback, which is somewhat confounded by the 1024 x 600 resolution and 10.1-inch screen, but can be pumped out to an external display via HDMI. Expect this to be rebadged and hitting store shelves some time soonish, at which point we may consider the distinction between netbooks and laptops entirely academic.

Homebrewed Nikon D90 lens is a fish-eyed theft deterrent It may look like just a bit of corkwood taped to the front of a pretty expensive shooter, but that's only because it is. If you're already willing to withstand gadget muggles sniggering at your mighty DSLR and its six inch frontal protrusion, surely adding this sort of a ghetto mod isn't going to dent your self-respect too much. Put together using the ultimate in ordinary household objects, this fish-eye lens manages to kick out some pretty useful-looking images and seems a viable alternative for those with more time than money. Check out the read link for the full instructions and a gallery of photos taken with the lens.

ASUS U50VG announced, naming scheme remains impenetrable Coming in today with no less than five new laptops -- the U50VG, K50AB, K70AB, K50IJ and F52Q -- the king of market segmentation is clearly still in good form. Announced in Italy today, the main attraction for Intel fans is the U50VG, which sports a 2.1GHz Core 2 Duo T6500 chip alongside 4GB of memory, 250GB storage, and a Geforce G 105M for a price of €943 or $1,320. A backlit chiclet keyboard, WiFi and a 16:9 display stretching to 15.6-inches fill out the spec sheet. The AMD-based AB variants are 15.6 (€793 / $1,107) and 17.3-inches (€868 / $1,212) respectively -- their main attraction being an ATI Mobility Radeon HD4570 purring inside -- whereas the latter two models are targeted at the budget-conscious crowd. Click through for exhaustive specs and info on each model.

Nokia makes 3720 official, its "most rugged mobile handset to date" Nokia's not exactly known for its beefy, ultra-survivable gear, but unless the human race plans on getting a whole lot less clumsy, rugged phones will always be a good idea -- and Espoo's 3720 certainly seems to fill the bill. The Series 40-based candybar features a 2 megapixel cam with LED flash, triband EDGE (sorry, North Americans), FM radio, microSD expansion, and the latest and greatest Bluetooth 2.1, but the real news here is that the phone is built to meet IP54 standards. A quick check with our handy-dandy IP code reference tells us that means that "ingress of dust is not entirely prevented, but it must not enter in sufficient quantity to interfere with the satisfactory operation of the equipment; complete protection against contact" -- in other words, your phone might get nasty dirty, but it'll keep chugging -- and it can withstand "splashing" water. Scuba divers, the s...

HTC's Hero appears in soft and sensuous pink We've now seen the HTC Hero in white, black, and a full-on hot ugly pink, and thankfully HTC's apparently seen the light and pushed this softer pink version Carphone Warehouse's way. The cell superstore has it slated for launch in July -- subject to change, of course -- with the other members of its clan, so if pink's the color of your Hero, you're golden. Nice to see these things slipping outside of the realm of black and white, so now that we have a pink version, how about some other colors HTC?

Samsung Galaxy GT-I7500 The HTC Hero and T-Mobile myTouch 3G aren't the only Android phones making waves this week: the Samsung Galaxy GT-I7500 also launched on O2 Germany, and this is the first unboxing we've seen. Continuing the confusion over what handsets actually get the full Google blessing, this version of the I7500 runs pretty much bone-stock Android, but isn't a "Google Experience" phone, which in this case apparently means that firmware updates have to be loaded manually over USB instead of being pushed over the air. If you're keeping track, that's now a third axis of differentiation between Google-branded Android handsets and everything else, and we're starting to think no one really knows what all the rules and differences actually are -- hey, Eric, maybe you could set down that BlackBerry for a minute and sort all this out?