Research In Motion (RIM) knows that they have to do something to ensure they are still around in a few years’ time and avoid the path of irrelevance that Nokia is taking, and hence intends to go all out in maintaining their territory when it comes to the corporate smartphone market by making sure the BlackBerry is smart enough to segregate a user’s personal data from work-related emails as well as other applications sponsored by employers thanks to the Balance software. This software will more or less give you more from a single phone – making you feel as though you were using two phones in one, and RIM intends that this move will help combat the erosion of its market share in the corporate segment to other competitors such as Android-powered and iOS devices. Balance is currently undergoing testing and should hit North America within a couple of months’ time. In addition, Balance will arrive on the PlayBook tablet to make it one of the more exciting software releases for mobile devices these coming months.

Source: Reuters

Sennheiser intends to offer big performance in a small package with their CXC 700 ear-canal phones that will be part of their already successful travel range, where this pair of earphones will sport active noise cancellation. Since it is a completely new feature, you will find that the innovative NoiseGard digital system deliver a choice of three noise-cancelling profiles for travelers.

All three choices have been specially optimized for the wide range of surrounding noise that one encounters when traveling, regardless if it is a rickety old bus, the incessant hum of a jet engine, or even the loud chatter of a bustling morning market while you walk around, mingling with the locals and doing your utmost best to blend in – all while enjoying your favorite artist performing on your iPod.

Basically, the new CXC 700 is “smart” enough to adapt to its surrounding environment with but a single push of its button. We shall now take a closer look at the three noise-cancelling profiles that can be chosen to adapt NoiseGard to one’s immediate surroundings. Mode 1 is capable of absorbing low-frequency noise in particular (100 to 400 Hertz), so you can be sure engine noise from trains, buses or small passenger planes will trouble you no longer if it works as claimed.

Mode 2, on the other hand, will focus on cancelling noise in the medium frequency range (400 to 3,000 Hertz) that is derived from air-conditioning systems in large passenger aircraft or office buildings. As for Mode 3, this boasts a pretty wide frequency range (100 to 3,000 Hertz), where it will merge the noise-cancelling effect in the medium and low-frequency ranges. To put it in a nutshell, background noise with different noise components, including those that occurs at airports, railway stations or underground stations, can be suppressed to a certain extent.

Since the CXC 700 is extremely compact in size, it ought to be able to fit into just about any piece of luggage you tote around without causing you additional burden. You can even wear it to sleep without suffering from any adverse effects, as you are transported into a new musical world of your choice. A control unit has also been integrated into the cable as seen above for easy access. Out this month, would you want to give it a go?

Company Page

What you are seeing here is the Skizee, and it is designed to do what skis cannot, carry you uphill. Yes, I still remember that first lesson of skiing back in grade school: skis go downhill, and you need a rope-tow or ski-lift if you want to go up.

It looks like someone just cut a snowmobile in half and somehow figured out a way to put a tread with a 10.5 hp 4-stroke engine on your back, but you can watch the video after the jump to see that it gets the job done.

I suppose that the Skizee takes the fun of a snowmobile and gives it to the user in standing-up form. It also puts it in a small form, as this can be put in the back of a trunk along with the poles it comes in. Now you don’t need a pickup truck or a separate trailer to do your snowmobiling habit, assuming you can handle the new method where you don’t sit down.

So, is this a new method of going on snow? I remember when snowboards first hit the slopes, and things were never the same. I wonder what these things run on, and how efficient is their gas mileage.

The Skizee costs about $2,500, so that seems a little high to me. Perhaps it is too expensive to be the newest snow fad.

Source

Now that’s certainly one of the longer names for any device in my history with Coolest Gadgets, why can’t we just call it a spy voice recorder? Oh yeah, perhaps that will not help it stand out from the rest of the crowd, that’s why. The next time you go to work and tote a USB flash drive, make sure it is this $19.99 model since it sports an advantage that your colleagues’ don’t – it has a built-in sound recorder. Yup, even if it is lying prone on a table, it is capable of capturing crystal clear audio across a 5-meter radius, storing all of the recordings onto its internal flash memory. All you need to do for that to happen is slide the switch and audio recording happens instantly and automatically. We find it rather strange that audio is recorded in WAV format instead of MP3, but good thing its 2GB of internal memory can hold up to 4.5 hours of non-stop recording. Since it doubles up as a USB flash drive as well, this one has something slightly different – an integrated 120mAH Li-battery that takes 1.5 hours to juice up. We would have liked to see something with more internal memory though to keep up with the Joneses.

Ever wondered how an engine works? Well, you can spend some time with one up close and personal thanks to Hammacher who has come up with the Desktop Combustion Engine. This unique device is capable of generating a cool 2,000 rpm right in front of your own eyes, where it is crafted from solid brass, stainless steel, and aluminum by a German engineering company.

Needless to say, the German touch results in an engine that has a precisely calibrated carburetor, spark plug, and piston which will generate maximum mechanical energy in a smooth, efficient manner. It relies on butane which is readily available at camping stores to fuel it, where the engine will start simply by turning its flywheel.

There is also a piezo magneto that is attached to a timing disk which will send an electrical impulse to the spark plug, helping ignite the fuel within the cylinder. An adjustable fuel valve will control the engine’s speed where this simple yet elegant movement of the valve rod, cross head, and crankshaft are clearly visible at lower revolutions.

The whir of the engine is similar to that of a kitchen blender, where its dual exhaust pipes emit a non-toxic, invisible gas – so you can forget about committing suicide with this in a sealed office room simply because you can’t handle all the workload that’s thrown at you (alongside the fact that the hot secretary rejects your advances daily). A full tank will have this $999.95 engine run for 15 minutes.

Sennheiser intends to blow your ears away with a couple of their latest releases – the PX 360 BT and PX 360 collapsible, circumaural headphones. Of course, these debuted at the recently concluded CES 2011, and since we didn’t have the time to cover all the good stuff that came out, we thought that audiophiles would definitely want to hear about these two.

Of course, don’t judge a book by its cover – in this case, a pair of headphones by their ability to be folded away into a pocket-sized package – the new PX 360 BT and PX 360 are no slouches when it comes to performance, with the former’s “BT” suffix depicting Bluetooth connectivity support, while the latter will rely on the traditional wired connection.

It doesn’t matter where you are whenever you put on the PX 360 BT and PX 360, as either model will allow you to immerse yourself in Sennheiser’s rich world of sound. Featuring a natural sound with strong bass, the powerful Neodymium magnets thrown inside alongside Sennheiser’s Duofol diaphragms ensure detailed, lifelike sound reproduction with a frequency response of 15 to 22,000 Hertz. There is also a very good reason behind the closed design of the headphones that ensures background noise is effectively kept out, letting you enjoy music in peace even in noisy environments.

The PX 360 is touted to offer an exceptionally comfortable fit despite it being a wired headphones, where soft circumaural ear cushions allows you to wear it on without any adverse effect for hours on end. As for the Bluetooth-enabled PX 360 BT, it will allow you to play nice with a wide range of portable video and audio devices. The inclusion of SRS WOW HD SurroundSound technology helps spatially expand the sound image to offer an intensive sound experience with powerful bass.

Needless to say, all functions are activated and controlled by a control unit integrated into the ear cup. Stashing them away is a snap, just fold them and you can be on your way. Don’t fret about them cracking, since the folding headband has a metal reinforcement for maximum mobility and durability, while each purchase comes with its own carrying case. The PX 360 and PX 360 BT will retail for $199.95 and $399.95, respectively.

Press Release

I’m a huge fan of multitasking. In fact, the more a thing can do fairly well, the more fun it is for me. I never kid myself though, most of the time when something tries to do too much it doesn’t usually do most of it very well, like the Chinese pizza and taco place down the street.

However, if there were to be 3 things that should fit great together, why wouldn’t it be a seemingly ordinary, albeit simply gorgeous mouse, that when flipped upside down, offers a fully functional game controller and a PC remote that can bring up your iTunes with the push of a button, flip through some tracks, handle your power point presentation and shut down your computer.

The X1 gamepad that is built into the bottom includes a 5 stage adjustable 1600 dpi optical sensor with 125 Hz polling rate and connects to your laptop or desktop through a USB dongle over a 2.4 GHz wireless connection, and while all that certainly isn’t very high-tech by todays standards and I can’t be sure you’re going to be able to make it through Azeroth with it,  you can certainly enjoy it with some classic arcade video games from the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. Definitely more fun than pizza and tacos.

Available any minute for less than $60.00, info at  www.shogunbros.com

Source:  www.electronicinfo.us

You know what the big deal about using your cell phone while driving – it not only endangers your life, but that of other road users as well. Hence, in many countries, it is against the law to do so, making hands-free kits a must. Some people prefer to opt for a wired solution, while others look towards Bluetooth connectivity being their savior.

Aliph has brought their expertise to the world of wireless communications with the Jawbone ERA Bluetooth headset, which is also the latest in their collection. The Jawbone ERA Bluetooth headset is touted to deliver the highest quality HD audio experience on-the-go, boasting unprecedented intelligence courtesy of motion technology and a robust computing platform which will work in tandem to deliver richer applications.

Jawbone CEO and founder Hosain Rahman claims that they have “perfected a complete in-bound and out-bound audio experience that is so rich it is almost addictive – whether you are listening to your favorite song or a phone call.” Of course, apart from HD (High Definition) audio, the use of integrated sensors and intelligence will also pave open the road for new ways to interact with the device and apps via natural, intuitive motion control, and this alone is hoped to change the way we use headsets.

Thanks to a 25% larger wideband speaker, expect High Definition audio to be the norm even while you converse over the phone, listen to music, watch movies and play games. Jawbone will also be relying on their legacy of noise-cancelling expertise by including the newest version of military-grade NoiseAssassin 3.0 technology with the Jawbone ERA Bluetooth headset. Being able to detect your surroundings, it will then go ahead and adjust the inbound volume and intelligibility, regardless of whether you are in a restaurant, ball game or traffic, so that your ears will be able to enjoy the clearest, richest sound, automatically without any user intervention.

Not only that, the Jawbone ERA Bluetooth headset is also hailed to be the first headset with a built-in accelerometer and MotionX, being one of the more accurate motion sensing technology on the market thanks to their partnership with Fullpower-MotionX, the leaders in motion technology. Jawbone ERA is capable of detecting your natural movements when you interact with it right out of the box. Available for $129 a pop, it will come in Shadowbox, Smokescreen, Midnight and Silver Lining designs.

Press Release

This is an interesting device that looks to be on display at some convention somewhere, but my Source doesn’t say where.

I also don’t know whether or not that On/Off paint is this product’s official name, but it certainly is the best descriptor.

I’m also not certain how this works, but apparently, the user brushes or rolls the special paint on the wall, and then set up an electric switch for lights or whatever appliance you care to power up.

This certainly helps in situations where you are in a dark room and stumbling for the switch. Instead of knocking things off the shelf or bumping your knee, you can just touch the wall with On/Off Paint. That, or whatever spot you paint on the wall with the On/Off Paint.

Sounds great, right? I sure like the sound of it. Not only does this On/Off Paint have this uncanny ability to somehow conduct electricity, but the user can cover it with an entirely coat of paint or even wallpaper. I even heard that there is a way to dim the lights, but I don’t have any details on that.

I also do not have any information on a price or availability date. (Just full of non-specifics on this one!) I would imagine that it won’t be cheap, and it will hopefully made sometime soon.

Source