As Photokina looms ever nearer, camera manufacturers continue their stream of announcements, and BenQ seems to think today’s their lucky day. They’ve got three new ones to show, and there seem to be plenty of megapixels and piddling feature sets between them. Headlining the trio is the C1000 (pictured), which packs a 10 megapixel CCD, 3x zoom and 2.4-inch LCD. There’s also 24MB of built-in memory, an 8 second shutter night scene mode, and quick 4 continuous shot mode — exciting, we know. Next up there’s the C540 and C740, which bump the LCD size to a whole 2.5-inches, and manage 5 and 7 megapixels respectively. Both of the cams feature a “Shake-Free” mode, along with 1000 ISO sensitivity for extra nighttime fun. Yeah, not a whole lotta excitement to be had here, but at least these three cams should be fairly cheap when they drop in September. Keep reading for pics of the C540 and C740.

Read – BenQ DC C540
Read – BenQ DC C740
Read – BenQ DC C1000
from engadget
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We’re a bit miffed that Maxtek chose to go soft on one of the three pillars of Korean gadgetry: PMP playback, but their new MNT-4300DMB device has plenty to love all the same. First off, there’s a 4.3-inch touchscreen, which can handle picture-in-picture just in case the GPS isn’t enough of a reason to keep your eyes off the road. Navigation is powered by a SiRF III GPS module, and TV is of the T-DMB variety. The device can also handle MP3s and photos with its unmentioned amount of storage, but there doesn’t seem to be any PMP functionality in sight. Not too terrible for 349,000 won ($363 US), but if PMP is your thing there will always be plenty of other choices.

More info
from engadget

We literally see a new iPod dock hit the streets every single day (when you can find ten of them at Target, it would seem that the market is already a bit oversaturated), however, Japanese manufacturer’ ZMP’s Miuro is the first one we’ve spotted that will actually follow you around the house and shake its groove thing at your behest (well, except for maybe the KNG DJ dock). A not-quite-accurate acronym for “music innovation based on utility robot technology,” Miuro is a 14-inch wide, egg-shaped device that can either pump tunes from your docked ‘Pod or wirelessly from a PC through its Kenwood-built speakers. The 9-pound bot — available in either white, black, yellow, or red — responds to your commands via the included remote, and can gain a little more autonomy with the addition of optional cameras and sensors. Miuro goes on sale in Japan today for a rather pricey $930, and should be making it Stateside sometime in the second half of next year. This will certainly be a boon to us lazy Americans, as soon we’ll be able to shed our hefty ‘Pods and let a little robotic slave tote them around for us — until the eventual uprising, that is, when swarms of these things will repeatedly attempt to crush your jugular in your sleep while almost unoticeably piping out “Killing Me Softly.”

[Via The Raw Feed]
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from engadget

It’s actually pretty hot that MSI’s new StarReader USB flash memory card can handle something like 52 different formats, including CompactFlash, MicroDrive, MemoryStick Pro, MemoryStick Duo, MemoryStick Pro Duo, SD, miniSD, microSD, MMC, RS-MMC, MMC mobile (when you click on the link and read the full list you’ll see they’re being a little shady and counting even slight variations in formats as different card types), but what we’re really digging is that it can handle SIM cards, too, something that’s still relatively rare in an all-in-one card reader.

[Thanks, Oliver]
more info
from engadget

Even though it may not be able to massage you, this pen from Japan, named the “SpyDisk” pen, is completely pimped out with a USB flash drive. It comes in 128, 256, and 512 MB storage denominations. What’s also cool about it is that it has an SD cart slot cleverly disguised on the pen cap’s clip.

It does of course also double as a regulation ballpoint pen. I’m not sure what color it is, but something tells me it might be black. This is the perfect little gadget for you to just carry around some of your more pertinent files that you may need in an emergency situation. If you’re like me and always carry a pen around, you’d always have access to said files without having to worry about carrying a flash drive everywhere.

The SkyDisk pen pricing tier goes something like this: Â¥2,800 ($24) for the 128MB version, Â¥3,880 ($33) for the 256MB version and Â¥4,800 ($41) for the 512MB version. That’s not too bad.

Product page. Via Tech Ticker

Report Published by: Mark Raby
from i4u

This morning, we wrote about a WiFi Scope that can read the airwaves, detecting cold zones. It was a one-off art project, but really, who couldn’t use more wireless range. So, here’s a roundup of some gear that’ll turn your hotspot into a data blast zone.

1. Go Parabolic
If you can do without the unidirectional spread of an access point, and know exactly where you want to point your data stream, go parabolic. Biggest and baddest is the Radiolabs Stage 1 parabolic Antenna. It’s $240, without the appropriate adapter. But once you replace the finger-sized antenna on your hotspot with one of these badboys, the you’ll gain 23db of signal boost which is good for over 64 times the power over a regular antenna. It’s 27-inches wide, and rated to stand up to 130MPH winds, so its definitely going to piss off the significant other if you mount it in the livingroom…unless you disguise it as a chandelier or piece of modern art. (Just add christmas tree lights.)

Too extreme for you? Hit the jump to see some familiar $10 dollar hacks, and a WiFi adapter with a built in dish.

2. A More Reasonable Dish
This Hawking 802.11 G/B USB WiFi adapter kicks up reception with a parabolic dish, sucking in weak-ass 802.11G and B signals at up to 300% more power than a non-directional antenna. What’s also nice is the LED signal strength meter. It’ll cost you about $75.

3. What Was That?
Of course, the traditional way to boost a network is to add a signal repeater, like this Linksys Wireless-G Range Expander. It picks up on your existing signal, and retransmitting it.


4. Budget Boosters
At the less than 10 dollar range, you can boost your signal surprisingly high with mere kitchenware and pringles cans. Hacks of wireless lore, by now, but still some of our favorites. Especially the pringles can, which is good for 12db, good for 16 times the power, according to OReilly Blogs

5. Placement
According to a recent Wired article, here are some tips on how to optimize the signal you already have.

Place your router: 1) Near the center of the house; 2) Off the floor, ideally on a high shelf; 3) As far as possible from your neighbor’s Wi-Fi router (which, of course, you’ve made sure is using a different channel); 4) Away from cordless phones and microwaves, which operate on the same 2.4-Ghz frequency. 

What else have you found to make your WiFi go further?– Brian Lam Parabolic Kitchenware [Cult of Mac] Pringle Can Antenna [Oreilly] Hawking Tech HWU8DD Hi-Gain USB Wireless-G Dish Adapter [Hawking Via Red Ferret] 2.4 GHz Parabolic hi-gain antenna [Will at Maximum PC] Linksys Wireless G Range Expander [Linksys]
from gizmodo

Slightly less embarrassing than carrying a fanny pack, this hipster lets you carry around your stuff in a little personal trailer. The hipster’s tied to your body, making you a half mule half, half rickshaw driving man with a trailer on your ass.

We suppose this is useful for, uh, long…walks…with stuff? Yeah, I got nothin. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Elseware via Hipster - Personal Trailer]
from gizmodo