New Home Gadgets

Unless you’re really that inefficient with the keypad on your cell phone that you find it difficult to compose a text message within seconds, then perhaps the I-O Data Mini Keyboard is just the peripheral for you. It hooks up with your handset via Bluetooth connectivity, allowing to type away just like how you would on a standard QWERTY computer keyboard. Of course, I think this would be best suited for folks who have plenty of e-mails to send out while on-the-go as well as Word documents to complete. No idea on how much it costs though, nor when will it be available - if ever.

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Back in April, we reported that Research In Motion, the company that markets BlackBerry handhelds and services, began discussions with India, because of a requirement by the Indian government to have the ability to intercept and read all emails sent and received with a BlackBerry within the country. One idea set forward by an Indian official is to place BlackBerry servers within India which could be monitored by the government.

PCWorld is reporting that it sounds like RIM and India are not going to be able to come to terms soon, if at all.

(Read the full post about ‘RIM updates Indian customers about talks with government’…)

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Earlier last month, Google started up a friendly student competition to create cool new application gadgets to be embedded within its iGoogle and Google Desktop properties, as well as other pages on the web. (Google’s gadgets function the same as Apple’s Widgets, or the Web/Sidebar Gadgets of Windows Vista. Yes, the re-branding of gadget app names is pointless.) Anyway, the interesting thing is that Google did something different: it invited students from East Africa to the competition exclusively. This is good for a couple reasons: It is a nice opportunity for a group that is usually ignored in tech development, and it might result in localized gadgets that will help serve the community in ways only a local can understand. (Read the full post about ‘African Students Compete in Google’s App Gadgets Contest’…)

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Earlier last month, Google started up a friendly student competition to create cool new application gadgets to be embedded within its iGoogle and Google Desktop properties, as well as other pages on the web. (Google’s gadgets function the same as Apple’s Widgets, or the Web/Sidebar Gadgets of Windows Vista. Yes, the re-branding of gadget app names is pointless.) Anyway, the interesting thing is that Google did something different: it invited students from East Africa to the competition exclusively. This is good for a couple reasons: It is a nice opportunity for a group that is usually ignored in tech development, and it might result in localized gadgets that will help serve the community in ways only a local can understand. (Read the full post about ‘African Students Compete in Google’s App Gadgets Contest’…)

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The garden gnomes at London’s Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, have built a walkway through the trees nearly 60 feet off the ground. Dang. The exchange rate is probably going to prevent me from treetop walking this summer at least, but it’s got to be an extraordinary experience.

The walkway is also structurally extraordinary. The walkway design, carried out in steel, is said to be based on the Fibonacci number sequence. (Starting with 1, each new number in the sequence is the sum of the two before it: 2, 3, 5,8,13….. No prize if you can figure out the next one.)

Here’s what the Kew says about it:

The ratio provides a perfectly proportioned growth pattern.

(Read the full post about ‘Green tech: Plant yourself in London and walk in the treetops’…)

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As much fun as constant sneezing and itchy eyes can be, most of us who suffer from hay fever dream of spending an entire summer symptom-free. British company Health Innovations claims they can now make that dream a reality, thanks to a new gadget called Medinose.

Medinose works by using to photo therapy to inhibit the release of histamine. Insert the prongs of the device into your nose for 4-5 minutes, two or three times a day, and you could apparently see a reduction or even elimination of your symptoms. This has to be worth a try: it’s drug-free, simple, and at £79.95 ($158) is a lot less expensive than weekly prescriptions…

Via Shiny Shiny.

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The new Sony Bravia Z / Z4100 series is a new flagship LCD HDTV from Sony, which is available in two large sizes. Both are full HD 1080p LCD HDTVs, the smaller is the 40-inch Sony KDL-40Z4100, and the larger is the 46-inch Sony KDL-46Z4100.

(Read the full post about ‘Sony Bravia Z Series | KDL-40Z4100, KDL-46Z4100′…)

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I believe that I have mentioned on Coolest gadgets just how much I love Guitar Hero. Just playing the game makes me feel like a huge rock star. I have yet to play the similar game of Rock Band, which allows you to use a guitar, drum, keyboard, and microphone. The game has been selling as good as Guitar Hero, and encourages playing in a group instead of solo. Whether you play solo or in group on these musical games, a new product has come out that allows you to go with that “I want to be a rock-and-roll star” aspiration. So far, there has been very little information given about the The Stage Kit, a peripheral for Xbox 360’s Rock Band. (Read the full post about ‘Rock Band Stage Kit’…)

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Facebook has confirmed that it is opening up its platform to any other social network that wants to become “compatible” with Facebook. This basically means that developers will be able to roll the hugely successful Facebook Applications into other social networks, as desired. It’s supposed that they’re trying to counter the upcoming Open Social program, which has the mighty Google backing it (and their little buddy, MySpace).

(Read the full post about ‘Hoping to Gain Ground on Open Social, Facebook’s Opening Up’…)

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The landing of the Phoenix spacecraft on the polar region of Mars using rockets to slow down its descent was a great success. In fact, the folks at NASA were able to take a picture of the spacecraft as it fell through the Mars atmosphere with parachute in tow. In the past, such a picture would have been absolutely impossible but that was before NASA had the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter snapped the first picture of its kind. It was the first time one spacecraft had taken a photo of another spacecraft as it descended onto a planet. The photo shows a bright spacecraft with parachute deployed. There is enough detail so that you can actually make out the chords which attach the Phoenix Lander to the shoot. (Read the full post about ‘Phoenix Lander says cheese while landing on Mars’…)

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