Navigon is also Coming Out with SatNav App for Android

Navigon, a leading supplier of GPS navigation solutions, has announced it is coming out with a navigational application for Android.  Google Maps Navigation may be about to take the US market because it’s free but outside the US, Navigon is set to step in while Google is trying to get its act together.  The Navigon Android satnav app can be used in all phones running Android 1.5 to 2.0.  Its features are similar to the existing Navigon iPhone application, with slight changes to fit in with Android phones’ interface and screen resolution.  Navigon’s Android satnav app will hit the markets on December 10, but pricing has yet to be announced.  It will probably be similar to the Navigon iPhone app, which costs somewhere around $140.

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Wheelchair Control Thru an iPhone?

Dynamics Controls has been a leader for three decades in innovations in the field of wheelchair controls.  Now, it has taken the technology to the next level by utilizing the iPhone as the control device.  This will allow disabled individuals the freedom to control their electric-powered wheelchairs via the iPhone or the iPod Touch.  The communication between the iPhone and the wheelchair controller is via Bluetooth eliminating those messy wires.  This iPhone app is expected to be available in the first quartet of next year. The freedom and independence to be offered by this technology to the handicapped is immense. This will pave the way for  them to have more control not only of  their movements but more importantly of their lives.

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The DS Just Got Bigger with the DSi LL

Nintendo have kept to its promise that it will release the latest version of its DS portable gaming devices, the DSi LL.  Japanese game lovers  got a taste of the new DS last Nov. 21, ahead of the much anticipated release in North America and Europe  (to be known as DSi XL) in the first quarter of 2010.  It is bigger than its predecessors and measures 161 x 91.4 x 21.2 mm.  It weighs 314 grams, heavier than the DSi’s 214g, the DS Lite’s 218g and the DS’s 300g.  The screen is also larger at 4.2 inches as compared to the DSi’s 3.25 inches and the DS Lite’s 3 inches. The Japanese version came out with three colors: Wine Red, Dark Brown, and Natural White. Nintendo has made no announcements yet regarding the available colors for the other regions.  There are also preloaded applications in the DS LL like the Browser, Flipnote Studio, Brain Age Express: Arts & Letters, Brain Age Express: Math, and Meikyou Kokugo Rakubiki Jiten, a dictionary program.

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Affordable Disaster Protection for your Precious Files with the ioSafe Solo

ioSafe Solo is a rugged fireproof and waterproof external hard drive that you can connect to your computer via USB 2.0.  It allows disaster potection for your personal files at an affordable price.  The available models have storage capacities from 500GB to 1.5TB.  The Solo hard drive takes advantage of ioSafe’s patented technologies such as the HydroSafe waterproof barriers, FloSafe air flow cooling, and the DataCast fire safe insulation.  With the Solo hard drive, you are assured that precious family, school or office digital photos are protected even when disaster strikes like fires and hurricanes.

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Bose SoundDock 10 – Pricey But Classy

Bose has came out with its giant iPod dock, the SoundDock 10, a heavyweight at 18 pounds.  It has a nice solid build and produces decent sound quality that comes from a compact, single-speaker system.  The unit plays loud sound without distortion and can fill a large room.  It conforms to classy and minimalist styling, and simple to operate.  It has interchangeable dock system and composite video output/line inputs.  The unit also has its cons, like you can’t charge your iPod/iPhone when using the Bluetooth accessory and video-out is limited to low-res composite connection.  While it’s expensive and not loaded with so much features, the Bose SoundDock 10 is classy looking and sounds excellent that is just right for a compact iPod/iPhone speaker.

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Canon EOS 7D Brings Both a Superb Stills and Video Experience

Canon’s EOS 7D is a decent piece of image-recording equipment, both featurewise and pricewise.  It comes with an amazing 18 megapixel APS-C sensor and dual DIGIC 4 processors, capturing superb images at up to ISO 12800 and speeds of up to 8 fps. It has a new all cross-type 19-point AF system for sharp focus on whatever situation. The EOS 7D’s Intelligent Viewfinder, provides 100% coverage and displays user-selected AF modes.  Another amazing feature of the EOS 7D is the ability to capture Full HD video with an array of manual controls. The EOS 7D is ruggedly built with a magnesium alloy body that is dust- and weather-resistant, and with shutter durability of up to 150,000 cycles.  With a host of brand new features at an affordable price, the new EOS 7D represents a whole new class of camera.

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Safa Xing MP3 – More a Toy Than a MP3 Player

Safa, a Korean firm, will come out with the new Xing MP3 player that looks more like a colorful toy than anything else.  It has five tactile buttons on the surface that are used to control 1GB worth of stored songs.  What is unique with this gadget is its face features 27 LEDs that can be either programed to display the icon of your choice or used for a game of Rock, Paper, and Scissors.  Its dimensions are 50mm × 22mm × 13mm and weighs only 12.2 grams making the Xing small enough to fit in any pocket or tiny compartment.  This device looks cute enough for kids, but may not be that attractive for adults.

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The Enhanced Creative Zen X-Fi2 MP3 Player

Creative has launched the new Zen X-Fi2, a second-generation gadget that adds a touch screen and TV-out capability to the earlier X-Fi model. The new device features a 3-inch, touch-sensitive, TFT LCD that is capable of up to 262,000 colors.  This new unit carries over the superb icon-based menu found on the earlier versions.  It is a bit longer than the first generation model and approaches the size of the iPod Touch.  It standouts from the rest of the MP3 players by orienting the unit in landscape mode, allowing an excellent viewing experience.  Creative continues to offer support in this model multiple audio (MP3, secure WMA, Audible, AAC, and FLAC) and video (WMV9, MPEG4-SP, DivX4/5, and XviD) formats plus JPEG and BMP photos.  It has an external speaker for sharing the tunes, a built-in mic for making voice recordings, and a built-in FM radio. The X-Fi2 also has basic PIM features for syncing calendar and contact information plus an alarm clock feature.  This next generation model is indeed armed and loaded.

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The Cheapest eReader: jetBook-Lite, jetblue.com

A gadget on the rise is an eBook reader with many appealing brands in various models out in the market. However, pricing constraints make this gadget unaffordable for consumers with most brands having a price tag of $250.

Now you might want to consider buying a new eBook reader costing $149.95. ECTACO has announced the release of jetBook-Lite dubbed as the cheapest eReader on the market. It may not be as sophisticated as its $250 counterparts but you can definitely live without 3G wireless connectivity and colored screens, don’t you?

For a $149.95 price tag, this device practically supports all formats including eReader DRM, ePub, Mobi, PRC, RTF, .txt, .pdf, .fb2, .jpg, .gif, .png, and .bmp. It is also capable of supporting books from Barnes & Noble. This eReader with a 5-inch screen has a built-in dictionary with several language settings. This gadget with an approximate 23-hours of run time is very promising indeed.

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Parent’s Worries Solved: Little Buddy Child Tracker by Insignia

As parents, it is our responsibility to keep our children safe at all times. Nowadays, we can never be sure where is the safest place for them. Even at the comforts of our home, some kids are victimized by online criminals. This makes us more worried when our kids are out of the house and without any adult companion.

A gadget to give you peace of mind is the Little Buddy Child Tracker by Insignia. This is basically a GPS unit where you can simply program the device as to where your child should be. If your kid moves out the defined location, the device will send a text message to inform you. Make sure though that you conceal this gadget from mischievous kids who simply don’t want to be tracked as they can easily throw this out of the window.

With a price tag of $99.99 plus tax, that’s all you’ve got to pay to be worry-free.

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