The Mini Power Minder is an eco-friendly device that can actually make your life easier. You plug your computer in the primary outlet, along with a USB. When you turn off your computer, the second plug turns off automatically.

This is the perfect solution for those running printers, desk lamps, and all sorts of other stuff we might generally be too lazy to turn off. Sure, the $14.95 device only has one automatic plug, but there’s no reason you couldn’t stick a power strip into the socket*.

Now if we just weren’t too lazy to order it. – Mark Wilson

Order Page [via treehugger]
from gizmodo

Until now we’ve heard idle talk of 8GB SD memory cards coming by the end of this year, and now Toshiba has actually announced one. The bad news is this SD-HC008GT4 card, like all SDHC cards, isn’t compatible with existing devices that use those old-fashioned SD memory cards. That’s right, if you want to cram all those angels on head of this pin, you’ll have to spring for a shiny new device that supports the SDHC (that HC stands for “high capacity”) standard.

Just what we needed, a new standard. But those eight gigs might just come in handy, and there’s talk of these cards eventually being able to hold a 32GB of stuff, and they’re faster, too. Neat. Hope this one’s cheap. – Charlie White

Product Page (in Japanese) [Toshiba]
from gizmodo

C’mon, HTC certainly wasn’t fooling anyone after the Herald was unmasked and taken from under wraps, but now the QWERTY-packin’ device is finally getting a proper nametag. The HTC P4350, while far from being a new release, will “officially” sport a slimmer enclosure than the Tytn and foolishly lack onboard HSDPA. Apparently hoping to compensate, the quad-band unit will boast EDGE connectivity, Bluetooth, and WiFi options along with the usual compliment of smartphone functions. Aside from handling your Microsoft Office / Outlook needs, it will sport a 2.8-inch touchscreen, five-way navigational stick, 200MHz TI processor, 2-megapixel camera, 64MB of internal RAM, 128MB of ROM, and a microSD slot to store your extra files, tunes, or CIA material. Weighing in at 5.92 ounces, the 17-millimeter thick mobile should retail for “around $735,” and if all goes as planned, will hit European shores next month.

[Via The Unwired, thanks Jonathan]
more info
from engadget

There’s nothing like a good pair of headphones that can offer some decent, 5.1-channel surround sound support, along with planet destroying capabilities in a pinch. The new AON MDH-501H/D headphones from Wav-on can take a juicy S/PDIF plug straight from a HD source, which is then decoded for the six internal speakers inside the gargantuan headphones. Of course, with the power requirements of the decoder, along with the extreme bulk of all included components, it’s going to be a bit difficult to take this surround sound gig on the road, but we’re sure plenty of gamers and movie nuts can find refuge in its sound-containing capabilities for late night media consumption sessions. The unit should be available late November in Korea for 149,000 KRW, about $159 US.

more info
from engadget

The last time we mentioned Toshiba’s M400, it was rocking a lowly Core Solo processor and a 1,024 x 768 resolution LCD, but now Toshiba is upping the ante on the convertible by tossing in a Core 2 Duo chip along with HSDPA technology. Aside from receiving a 2GHz Intel T7200 CPU, the upgraded machine also sports a 12.1-inch SXGA+ display, 80GB SATA drive, 512MB of DDR2 RAM, dual-layer DVD burner, integrated stereo speakers, and the obligatory built-in UMTS / HSDPA SIM card slot for that 3G goodness we all know and love. Moreover, the Portege M400-3G touts a PCMCIA slot, 4-pin FireWire connector, S-Video / VGA outputs, 5-in-1 flash card reader, gigabit Ethernet, 56k modem, integrated WiFi / Bluetooth, and a trio of USB 2.0 ports to boot. It will reportedly also feature a “slice expansion battery” to prolong its life while computing out in the wild. While Toshiba hasn’t leaked any information on pricing, we do know that this svelte convertible will be hitting Middle Eastern shores in “Q1 2007,” but we sure hope Tosh brings the goods over to this side of the pond soon after.

[Via jkOnTheRun]
more info
from engadget

If you liked that 25.5-inch H-IPS panel from Mitsubishi we hit up a few weeks ago then check this professional panel from NEC. While most of the specs are about the same with NEC’s variation of the 25.5-incher — 1920×1200 (WUXGA) resolution, 800:1 contrast ratio, 400cd/m2 brightness, 178-dgree viewing angle, and 2x HDCP-capable DVIs plus one D-Sub15 input — the MultiSync LCD2690WUXi features an embedded integrated circuit with 12-bit look-up tables (i.e., gamma correction) for even smoother gradients. Hell, the panel also delivers a broad color gamut at 91% NTSC and even pivots 90-degrees to get your bigzz portrait on. Ideal for graphic design, photo re-touching or other professional uses. And believe us, at Â¥239,400 (about $2,036) you’ll be more than happy for the boss-man to cover the cost. Expected to hit Japan on 12 January of the new year.

[Via Impress]
more info
from engadget

Alfa Media has unveiled a tiny miniSD card reader that is just slightly larger than the memory card itself. Pricing and availability have not yet been announced.

The USB 2.0 compliant reader has no cables and simply slides into the USB port providing transfer rates of around 25MB/s depending on the card being used. Of course the device is plug and play and supports both Windows and Mac systems

[Source]
from techeblog