Amaete Umanah - Chronicles of Tech Geek » Handhelds

Ritmo Womb Speakers Will Have Your Unborn Dancing with the Stars (Video)

Amaete Umanah — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:33:02 +0000

The Ritmo™ Advanced Sound System by Nuvo is the most advanced and complete prenatal music player, delivering quality and safe sound to the tiniest listeners.

Ritmo allows you and your baby to share the sensory and emotional experience of bonding through sound and music, while being supportive, safe, and stylish at the same time.

Extensive scientific research shows numerous positive contributions of music to human fetal development.

Reactive listening begins at 17 weeks, so choose classical music for the calming Mozart Effect, the classic rock of The Beatles, or the upbeat show tunes of Broadway. Any type of audio you can listen to on your iPod/MP3′s earphones can be enjoyed by your baby at the same time.

And why not get Dad and other family members involved? Record Dad reading his favorite children’s book, siblings talking, grandparents singing a lullaby, or the family dog barking. Babies remember and prefer sounds they heard before they were born.

Ritmo was designed with your lifestyle in mind! Its soft fabric belt is lightweight, elasticized and supportive. Whether you’re doing yoga, walking the dog, working or simply relaxing, Ritmo will allow you to interact with and experience sound with your child in a whole new way.

After the baby is born, the Ritmo continues to adapt to your child’s needs and changing environments with new Ritmo™ Applications for the crib, stroller and toys.

Nuvo via Unplgged

Nokia To Bring Free, Global Turn-By-Turn Navigation to its Smartphones

Amaete Umanah — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 22:23:24 +0000

The download link for the free navigation is now live on Nokia’s site. For the list of compatible devices, go here. Another important thing: Navigation works offline, which is great if you want to avoid international roaming charges.

There’s no denying it anymore: GPS is becoming a free service. It all started with Google Earth and Google Maps, which offered detailed satellite imagery of Earth for free; then, the iPhone and other smartphones started coming out with GPS chips, and GPS navigation (together with other location-based services) became one of the most important features on smartphones.

Then, Google dealt a blow to companies like TomTom and Garmin, offering free turn-by-turn GPS navigation on Android smartphones. And now, according to Reuters, Nokia will offer free, global GPS turn-by-turn navigationon its smartphones.

Nokia’s offering will provide smartphone users with turn-by-turn directions covering 74 countries in 46 languages, with detailed maps for 180 countries. Since today’s smartphones have practically all the traits of a good GPS navigation device — large, bright screen, loudspeakers as well as Internet connectivity — it’s obvious that with this move, standalone GPS navigation devices have essentially become niche products. If you need a rugged, outdoor model or a boating GPS unit, you’ll buy a standalone device. But in most cases, the GPS chip and software that comes with your Nokia or Android smartphone (the price for GPS software for the iPhone is also plummeting towards zero) will be enough for your GPS navigation needs.

As for Nokia, there’s no denying that it’s been a bit bruised and battered by iPhone and Android growth (in contrast to its aging Symbian platform); with this move, they’re trying to stay ahead of the competition and offer some extra value to users of their smartphones. Looking at the short history of GPS on smartphones, free GPS was already inevitable; hat tip goes to Nokia for recognizing the trend and acting on it relatively early.

Mashable

Energizer Debuts a Solar Battery Charger

Amaete Umanah — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 18:11:04 +0000

Energizer debuted its latest green gadget, the Solar Battery Recharger. While we all love our Solios, if you wanted to charge batteries you still had to buy a battery charger that drains energy from the grid. This solar charger removes the step, allowing you to charge both AA and AAA batteries with renewable energy.

The Rechargeable Solar Charger holds several batteries at a time and also features a USB port that can charge some cell phones, GPS units, cameras, and even iPods. Besides drawing energy from the sun, the unit can also be plugged into an electrical outlet for quick charging in the event of a cloudy day. The device is neat and compact without extra parts or cords (aside from the AC power cord), and it is weatherproof and can handle the elements.

The solar charger should be available this summer for $49.99 and comes with two rechargable batteries. No details on charge rates or power output, so we can’t compare it to the other great solar charging devices, but at $49.99, this seems like a pretty good price and a great way to charge your batteries in an environmentally friendly way.

Inhabitat

Solar-Powered Bibles Heading to Haiti

Amaete Umanah — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:17:26 +0000

As international aid agencies rush food, water and medicine to Haiti’s earthquake victims, a U.S. faith-based group is sending Bibles to Haitians in their hour of need.

Not any Bible. These are solar-powered audible Bibles that can broadcast the holy scriptures in Haitian Creole to 300 people at a time.

Called the “Proclaimer,” the audio Bible delivers “digital quality” and is designed for “poor and illiterate people,” the Faith Comes By Hearing group said. It added 600 of the devices were already on their way to Haiti.

The Albuquerque-based organisation said it was responding to the Haitian crisis by “providing faith, hope and love through God’s Word in audio.”

With tens of thousands of Port-au-Prince residents living outdoors because their homes have collapsed or they fear aftershocks from Tuesday’s quake, the audio Bible can bring them “hope and comfort that comes from knowing God has not forgotten them through this tragedy,” the group said on its website.

How does the Proclaimer work?

An installed microchip contains Scriptures in the heart language; the chip will not erase or wear out from frequent playing.
The battery will play for 15 hours and can be recharged enough times to play the entire New Testament more than 1,000 times.
The Proclaimer has a built-in generator and solar panel to charge the battery.
The solar panel, in addition to charging the battery, will run the Proclaimer even without battery power as long as there is sunlight.
The sound is digital quality and loud enough to be heard clearly by groups as large as 300.

The Proclaimer was developed primarily as a playback device for poor and illiterate people who may not have any other source to hear God’s Word. Our goal is to use the Proclaimer in the majority of our FCBH programs worldwide.

Yahoo via Faith Comes by Hearing

Nexus One vs iPhone 3GS vs Droid vs Pre: Comparison Chart

Amaete Umanah — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 01:27:59 +0000

If you’re looking for the definitive comparison table between the Google Nexus One, Apple iPhone 3GS, Motorola Droid, and Palm Pre, here you have it.

Source Gizmodo

Become a Professional iCinematographer with the iPhone

Amaete Umanah — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 02:03:57 +0000

Finally Apple, through their infinite graces, has bestowed upon man the ability to shoot video with the iPhone… and there was much rejoicing. But of course man has a way of being dissatisfied and people grouched about inferior lenses and a mic that’s always pointed towards the floor. Now the OWLE iPhone Video/Rig solves that problem using anodized billet aluminum, a mini boom-mic and a wide angle lens. Simply nestle your iPod inside the metal and silicone case of the OWLE and get ready to shoot the best iPhone video you’ve ever seen. Still shots turn out great as well. The shoe mount on the top and screw mounts on the corners of the OWLE let you do things with the iPhone Apple never planned on.

ThinkGeek

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Mophie iPhone Credit Card Reader

Amaete Umanah — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 17:23:14 +0000

iPhone accessory maker and recession antidote regular Mophie is about to make the most buzzworthy move of its short history by offering a credit card reader and accompanying transaction app for the Apple handset. Positioned as a direct competitor to Jack Dorsey’s Square iPhone Payment System, Mophie’s solution looks to be integrated into an iPhone case — making it possible to keep the reader on permanently, albeit at a slight cost to your device’s aesthetics. The decidedly cube-shaped Square system has a less ergonomic design, but we suspect that the winner (if either of these two succeeds) will be primarily determined by the usability of the app and affordability of the service. Look out for more info to emerge at some point during the maelstrom that will be CES 2010.

Engadget

Digital Television on Your Mobile Phone – Watch Video

Amaete Umanah — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 23:46:58 +0000

Samsung Mobile and Sprint announced today that the Samsung Moment has been selected as the first phone to showcase a demonstration of a Mobile Digital TV chip. The Samsung Moment will receive live digital TV using Samsung’s Mobile DTV Chip, the world’s first single-chip solution for the recently approved Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) Mobile Digital TV standard. The ATSC Mobile Digital TV chip will allow Samsung Moment to receive live TV programming from local broadcast stations, including prime-time network programs, local news and sports and emergency alerts.

Engadget

Sportsband Bluetooth Headphones

Amaete Umanah — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 16:59:52 +0000

With product names like “Endorphin Rush,” “Freedom,” and “The Tiger Eyes” for its headphones, it’s always been clear that Jaybird strives for a little bit more when it comes to the image associated with its listening devices. So naturally the imaginatively named “SB1 Sportsband” set of Bluetooth headphones would bring one of the classiest designs we’ve seen for that purpose, and certainly Jaybird’s most stunning contribution to the market. The headphones boast about eight hours of stereo music use, feature moisture-protected music controls, and can even handle the odd call or two. They’re shipping now for $89.

Jaybird

Gizmodo

Optoma Handheld Pico Projectors For Business and Personal Use

Amaete Umanah — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 01:33:49 +0000

The PK301 delivers a feature set that makes it the ideal laptop and netbook companion and a perfect tool for road- warriors looking to share more content in a wide range of environments. Weighing just 8 ounces and measuring 4.7″(W) x 2.7″(D) x 1.2″(H), the palm-sized PK301 combines Optoma Introduces Pico PK301 & PK201 16:9 WVGA widescreen resolution, a 2000:1 contrast ratio and a full complement of connectivity options, including HDMI and a MicroSD socket that supports up to 16GB. The addition of an AC adapter allows the PK301 to pump out its 50 lumens of brightness indefinitely, while its internal battery produces 20 lumens for up to 45 minutes. For users who want longer battery life or prefer a brighter image under battery power, an optional extended power battery pack is available that will support the full 50
lumens output for 2 hours or more.

In addition to its mini HDMI input, the PK301 offers a host of other I/O connections, including a universal port capable of receiving VGA and component video signals. This makes connecting to the VGA port of laptops and netbooks for impromptu presentations easy. The component video capability allows higher quality connections to iPods and portable gaming devices.

Engadget