Thanko has introduced a unique optical mouse that features 3 button with scroll wheel layout. The unique feature that sets apart this mouse is a 2 inch fan that is present beneath. The 2 inch fan helps cool palm while you are using the mouse. If you are person who has got sweaty palms like mine then you really love this mouse. The fan can be switched ON or switched OFF using a switch that is present in the side panel of the mouse.

This mouse uses USB interface for connectivity,  measures 6 x 12.6 x 4 cm and works with Windows XP, Vista. You can get this mouse in Japan for around USD $18.

Via Fareastgizmos

SCiB the Super Charge ion Battery from Toshiba stables is battery that is primarily meant for industrial applications. The battery can be charged to 90% of its capacity in 5 minutes and can last upto 10 years or 5000 recharge and discharge cycles. The present lithium ion batteries that we use for day today use are capable of only 300 recharge and discharge and that is the reason that they start dying after about a year of usage. Another plus point that this battery got is that it maintains high safety standards and it won’t probably explode like the normal lithium ion batteries that usually make the news.

SCiB Major Characteristics

1. Excellent safety

SCiB adopts a new negative-electrode material that offers a high level of thermal stability and a high flash point electrolyte, and has a structure resistant to internal short circuiting and thermal runaway. The possibility of rupture or combustion is very low.

2. Long-life cycle

Capacity loss after 3,000 cycles of rapid charge and discharge is less than 10%. SCiB has an excellent long lifecycle, and is able to repeat the charge-discharge cycle over 5,000 times. This means that the SCiB can be continuously used for more than 10 years with a once-a-day recharge-discharge cycle.

3. Rapidly rechargeable

The superb safety characteristics of SCiB allow recharge with a current as large as 50 amperes (A), allowing the SCiB Cell and SCiB Standard Module to recharge to 90% of full capacity in only five minutes.

4. High power (practical capacity)

The SCiB has an input-output performance equivalent to that of an electric double layer capacitor. This feature is suited to high power applications.

5. Temperature

SCiB operates well in temperature extremes, with sufficient discharge at temperatures as low as -30°C. This characteristic also assures wide application in cold climates.

Tech Specifications of SCiB

Toshiba has really managed to make this battery very safe as the following video below shows you the live crushing of SCiB battery under operation:

Shivaranjan.com’s View:

We would really like to congratulate Toshiba’s efforts for bringing out this battery. This battery has got real potential probably we can soon see the death of the conventional lead acid batteries soon, that are largely being used for industrial purposes. We would like to see this technology brought to Laptop and mobile phone batteries soon as this battery can have lot of potential for growth in this section. Soon we would be able to recharge our laptops, mobile phone and other gadgets under 5 minutes and take advantage of long battery life as well.

Via Tohsiba Press Release

Robophilo offers you a humanoid robot for around USD $500 which can do many complex movements that includes walking. This robot has got 20 servo motors can be programmed by PC or the included remote control. The robot weighs 1.2 kg that includes battery weight and measures 13 inches in height.

Specifications of Robophilo:

Height: 13″ ( 330.2mm )
Weight: 1.2kg ( 1200g ) with battery
PCB Unit
- Dimensions: 2.99″ x 2.24″ x 0.06″ ( 76 x 57 x 1.6mm )
- Weight: 1.91oz ( 54g )
- Operating Voltage: 6V DC
- CPU: Atmega32 – 16PU
SV 4032 Servos
- Dimensions: 1.59″L x 0.78″W x 1.42″H ( 40.4 x 19.8 x 36mm )
- Weight: 1.3oz ( 37.2g )
- Torque: 4.1kg-cm
- Speed: 0.19 sec/60°
- Operating Voltage: 6V DC
SV 4104 Servos
- Dimensions: 1.57″ x 0.79″ x 1.5″ ( 40 x 20 x 38.1mm )
- Weight: 1.4oz ( 41g )
- Torque: 6.5kg-cm
- Speed: 0.16 sec/60°
- Operating Voltage: 6V DC
SV 2030 Servos
- Dimensions: 0.89″ x 0.45″ x 0.81″ ( 22.8 x 11.5 x 20.8mm )
- Weight: 0.28oz ( 8g )
- Torque: 1.3kg-cm
- Speed: 0.12 sec/60°
- Operating Voltage: 6V DC
7.2V 1000mA Charger
- Input: AC 100 – 240V, 50/60Hz 500mA
- Output: 7.2V 1000mA
- Dimensions: 1.69″ x 2.91″ x 1.33″ ( 43 x 74 x 34mm )
- Weight: 100g
- Charging Time: Approximately 1.5 hrs
6V Ni-MH 5 x 2/3AA 700mAh Battery
- Dimensions: 1.14″ x 1.57″ x 1.14″ ( 29 x 40 x 29mm )
- Weight: 75g
- Voltage: 6V
- Capacity: 700mAh

Pics of Robophilo

See the Robophilo in Action:

Shivaranjan.com’s View:

One thing that I would suggest these guys is to use the lithium ion or lithium polymer batteries instead of Nickel Metal hydride (NiMh) batteries as the lithium batteries offer better performance but the price definitely go up. Looking at video above we come to know that this robot is amazing and shelling $500 is really worth for this stuff. If you are robot enthusiast then this definitely a good buy for you this season.

Via Robot Dreams

Intel and Embraco recently demonstrated Refrigerated Laptop Docking Station in IDF 2007 which is a Laptop Stand cum refrigerated docking station.This refrigerated laptop docking station features three cylindrical compressors, each 2cm in diameter and 10cm long that drive the coolant around the unit and thereby pulling heat away from the laptop. They claim this docking station is capable of lowering the laptops temperature by more that 10 degree Celsius.

Shivaranjan.com’s View:

That is a pretty good docking station if you want your laps to feel cooler when working with your laptop for long durations. I am still thinking how would this docking station work without causing issues related to condensation in a humid city like Chennai, Mumbai etc. I guess they would have definitely thought about this even prepared a work around probably this too early to find about that.

Eye-Fi would soon be introducing 2 GB SD memory card which has Wi-Fi 802.11b/g capabilities. If you happen to use this card then you can forget using data cables and memory card readers as this card would directly upload photos to your PC from your digital camera via Wi-Fi interface.

How does this SD flash memory card with Wi-Fi capability work?

• Install this card in your PC or Mac with the SD USB adaptor that ships with it.
• Register your Eye-Fi card with PC or Mac using the Eye-Fi manager.
• Now remove the card from the PC and insert this in your camera and start shooting photographs.
• Now keep your camera powered ON so that the pictures can be uploaded to your computer via Wi-Fi interface.

You can read the detailed draft manual here.

Shivaranjan.com’s View:

It is great to know that most of the devices and gadgets that we use daily are slowly migrating to wireless technologies. It is always a wise decision to buy gadgets with wireless capabilities as they are always pretty useful. You should probably not use this card much when your camera is not near a power source the wireless capability of the card uses the battery power of your camera therefore you may see a dip in your camera’s battery performance. I am still not sure what kind of Wi-Fi security standard they are using to transfer the images from camera to computer. The bang for the buck that this card would offer is not yet known at present.

Update Nov 04, 2007:

Xbit Labs reports that this card has been launched.

Found Via TGDaily

If you want to get up from your slumber with a jolt then you lightning alarm clock is just right for you. This alarm clock has a glass tube that fills with high voltage electric charges that make buzzing noises to wake you up.

Features of Lightning Alarm Clock:

• Beautiful neo-classic alarm clock with white lightning effects.
• Wakes you to the sounds of light.
• Hour, minute, and seconds display.
• Super-bright lightning effect cycles through the hand-blown glass chamber.

Powering options for Lightning Alarm Clock:

• It can be powered with a standard AA battery
• It also comes with an AC power adapter.

This clock would set you back by USD $60 (INR 2,400). You can get his clock from here.

My View:

This clock is amazing and I have never heard of such a clock. If I have some excess cash and if I don’t know what to do with it, then I may buy this stuff keep as a show piece. At present I am quite contended with my Nokia 6630′s alarm functionality.

Found Via Scifi.com

Freecom has has launched thin USB flash drive that sport credit card form factor and claims that this is the slimmest flash drive. The flash drives comes in 256MB to 4GB capacities.

Specifications of Freecom USB Flash Drive:

You can get this 4GB drive for around 69.99 Euros.

My View:

The dimensions of flash drive are pretty impressive as it is only 2mm thick so it should easily fit in our wallets. The mechanism to fit the flash drive to the main body also looks good. But I would rather prefer the small factor conventional USB flash drive. Do you prefer a conventional flash drive or unconventional flash drive like this one?

Found Via ChipChick

Dlink would introduce UWB Wireless USB ktis (DUB-9240) which would allow you connect all your USB devices to your computer wirelessly. Dlink takes advantage of the ultra wide band wireless technology to make this possible.

What is ultra wide band (UWB) wireless USB (WUSB) technology?

Wireless USB is based on the WiMedia Alliance’s Ultra-WideBand (UWB) common radio platform, which is capable of sending 480 Mbit/s at distances up to 3 meters and 110 Mbit/s at up to 10 meters. It was designed to operate in the 3.1 to 10.6 GHz.

Dlink DUB-9240 UWB Wireless USB Kit Package Contents:

• Wireless USB Adapter (DUB-1210)
• 4-Port Wireless USB Hub (DUB-2240)
• Power Adapter
• USB Cable

Specifications of DUB-9240 UWB Wireless USB Kit:

Network Diagram:

Dlink DUB-9240 wireless USB kit is expected to be available by Q4 of 2007 and would retail at USD $219.99 (approx. INR 8,800).

My View:

This would really make my table lot more clutter free as I can move many of my USB based device away from my computer. Once I get this device, I would move my printer, external hard disk drive to another table that is around 2 meters away. This is definitely a good buy if you have lot of USB devices and less space to accommodate all these in your current setup. The price that it may retail for, looks a bit on higher side as of now but once people start adopting the price may come down. What do you think? Would you buy this when it comes to market?

Come August we can expect 8.5GB double layer DVD rewritable media (DVD-RW) from JVC. The specifications of the disc are:

• The discs would be 1.2mm thick, with two 0.6mm polycarbonate substrates bonded together.
• They can store data worth 8.5GB.
• Would be available upto 2X (22.16 Mbits/s) writing speeds.
• These discs are based on DVD-RW for DL Version 2.0 standard.

The existing DVD burners at present are not compatible with this media. I guess few of the present DVD burners can support these media with a firmware upgrade or the manufacturers may even release new model that may support this media. The price of these discs are not yet disclosed, we should hearing about this soon.

My View:

I would love to see DVD-RW double layer media coming up, as I can carry around 8.5GB of data with me. Until Blu-ray or HD-DVD technology matures it makes lot of sense to use the technology that is already mature.

Found via Techlogg.com

 AMD fans who are excited about the upcoming desktop Phenom Quad Core processor family can treat themselves with high resolution photographs of Phenom die in various backgrounds.

What is AMD Phenom Quad Core Processor?

Phenom is the AMD processor line based on the K10 microarchitecture. Dual-core versions (code named Kuma) will carry the name “Phenom X2″, quad-core versions (code named Agena) will carry the name “Phenom X4″, and high-end versions for AMD Quad FX platform (code named Agena FX) will carry the name “Phenom FX”. The processors will be on the Socket AM2+ platform, with the exception of the high-end model which will only be available for Socket F.

AMD Phenom quad core processor die photos: (click to view the full resolution photograph)

Found Via Neowin

Got tons of film negatives that need to be converted to digital photos? If yes then look no further than Hammacher’s portable USB film negative scanner. This small wonder can digitize all your film negatives with its 5MP CMOS with 10-bit color sensor.

Specifications and Features:

1. 5 mega pixel CMOS sensor with 10-bit color sensing capability.
2. Scan images up to 1829 dpi resolution.
3. Three LEDs used as a backlight source.
4. Aligns the slides or negatives that are placed in its tray.
5. USB interface.
6. Dimensions: 6.5″ x 3.5″ x 3.5″

You can own this device for around USD $ 99.95 (approx INR 4,035).

My View:

I am definitely considering buying this device as I have got lot of negatives that needs to be digitized. At USD $99.95 this worth buying as it would save me lot of money if I were to head towards a local photo store for my digitizing needs. Next thing that I would be doing is check with Hammacher if this product can be shipped to India. You can purchase this device from Hammacher’s Store.

Found Via UberGizmo

InflightPower has launched Inflight USB Power Unit that can provide power to your gadgets like mobile phones, music players and etc from the regular 3.5mm audio or music jacks that are available in flights, trains and buses.

How does Inflight USB power unit work?

Simply by plugging in the cable to the passenger seat headset jack, the cable converts the audio output into regulated USB power. InFlight is designed to work on ALL first class seats and business/coach class. With the new battery BOOST feature you can charge anywhere, even while not traveling.

My View:

This product would be most useful for those people who do lots of traveling and I would say that this device is worth keeping along with you to power up your gadgets during your travel. This product retails for USD $34.99 ( approx INR 1,400) and can be purchased from InflightPower.

If were to travel a lot then I would definitely consider buying this. Would you buy this device?

Fujitsu has unveiled 2.5″ 300GB capacity hard drives for notebooks which is the largest available capacity of currently. The drives are powered by 4200 rpm drive motor and use perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) for storing data on the hard drive. These hard drives will be connected via SATA interface featuring native command queuing (NCQ) technology and expected power consumption is around 1.6 watt. The pricing of the new drives as of now is not yet revealed.

My View:
The move to make larger capacity hard drives is always welcomed as the space needed to store your data is always growing. I would love to add this 300GB drive in my notebook, the only thing that I feel is not appropriate here is the 4200 rpm motor which drives the hard drive. I currently feel that even 5,400 rpm hard drives which ships with most notebooks are also not very fast performers. With introduction of these new drives the laptop hard drives are now matching the desktop hard drives in terms of capacity but they have a long way to go in terms of performance.

AMD showed off its native quad core Opterons chips code named Barcelona. These new chips are based on K8L architecture and would be manufactured using 65nm technology. If you are having a four socket server which is powering your applications then you can rejoice as you can pump in four quad core Opterons and get yourself a machine that has got 16 physical processing cores assuming you have a socket F compatible motherboard. The native quad core Opterons are expected to come in 68 watts, 95 watts and 125 watts TDP.

Image Courtesy: Cnet News

My View:
Even though AMD is late in quad core race when compared with Intel, this chip definitely looks promising. There is still not much details available for native quad core offering for desktop segment from AMD.
Found via TGDaily

Evergreen has introduced a set of memory card reader cleaning card which when used with your existing card reader will remove those pesky dust and dirt. Use of these memory card cleaners is actually a good idea to get most out of your memory card reader as over a period of time dust and dirt tend to get accumulated there by causing reading issues. The cleaning cards are available for all popular type of memory cards. Well there is no mention about the expected pricing for this product.

My View:
I wish this was available few months earlier because recently I got a new memory card reader as the old one was giving lot giving lot of reading errors, may it was due to accumulated dust and dirt. The purchase of this product makes lot of sense if you are in India which is dry and dusty weather.