Instead of showing a flat, bird eye view of your destination route, the Thinkware I-Navi K2 navigation unit spices things up a bit with a little 3D graphics action. This provides the driver with better orientation on where the exact destination is relative to the car’s current location. Beyond the graphics, the I-Navi K2 does double duty as a video and MP3 player, featuring a 4.8-inch WVGA (800 x 480 pixels) LCD, 256MB of RAM, built-in microphone, Bluetooth, integrated speakers with Yamaha 3D sound chip, 8GB SDHC memory card, DMB TV tuner, and a Geomagnetic sensor (G-sensor) — which is a 3-axis sensor able to detect the absolute orientation of the North Pole for better reliability in its path finding capabilities. Photo viewer, games, and e-book reader round out the features list.
For the driver’s safety, the Thinkware I-Navi K2 can sync with Bluetooth enabled phones to automatically take incoming calls. The I-Navi K2 can be used as a “hands-free” set using its built-in microphone. The GPS unit will hit Korea for 549,000 KRW ($549 USD).
So, here’s another Mario related post (can never get enough Mario, right?). The Super Mario Bros Sound FX Keychain is a little gadget that plays six classic Super Mario sounds sure to bring that 80’s nostalgic feeling right back into your heart. Okay, maybe not, but the keychain can play the Big (when you get a mushroom), Coin, 1Up, Jump, Start, and Ouch (death) melodies. The Super Mario Bros Sound FX Keychain is powered by 3 AG - 13 button cell batteries (which are included) and costs $5.95 at Firebox.
Etsy seller UrbanPrincess has a 5.5 x 75 inch long Super Mario themed scarf for sale. It even includes two pins: a mushroom and ? box for you to attach anywhere you like, on the scarf or on your clothing. You decide. $175. Yeah…I’m sure it’ll keep you nice and warm, but I live in sunny southern California, so yeah, for that price it’s not practical.
UrbanPrincess also has another Mario themed scarf, featuring the 1-Up mushrooms ($150). She even has a Pac-Man themed scarf as well ($40).
From Bug Labs comes the BUG, a mix and match of electronic devices that allows you to build the gadget of your choice. For example, want a gadget with an LCD display and digital camera? Fine. Just attach the BUGview and BUGcam2MP modules and now you have the device you want. Want a GPS? Just attach the BUGlocate module. All you need is the BUGbase, which forms the foundation of the device and includes (unfortunately, no Wi-Fi):
* 532MHz ARM-based microprocessor
* Linux (programmable)
* 128MB of RAM
* USB
* Rechargeable battery
* Ethernet
* a small LCD with button controls
Its programmable and “hackable” Linux OS allows you to essentially add any features and functionality you wish. Programming skills are required. The BUGbase has 4 open module connectors for you to connect your desired BUGmodules to. The currently available modules are: BUGlocate (GPS), BUGcam2MP (camera), BUGmotion (motion detector and accelerometer), and BUGview (2.46″ 320 x 240 LCD); costing an early adopter price of $79, $69, $49, and $99 respectively. 81 more modules are in the pipeline. The BUGbase unit costs $299. Orders do not begin shipping until May, but you can buy the BUG set at Bug Lab’s Store.
See more photos and full specs of the BUGbase after the jump.
The highlight of Samsung’s i458 digital audio phone is its Bang & Olufsen ICEpower audio module, providing its audio prowess. The i458’s 2.4-inch LCD, 3.5G (HSDPA) connectivity, Symbian S60 v3.1, 25MB of internal memory, 3.5mm audio jack, and microSDHC card slot (4GB max) rounds out the phone.
The Samsung i458 measures 101 x 52 x 17.8mm and weighs 110 grams. It should will come priced at 14,950 Taiwan dollars ($495 USD).
Reigncom is updating its current iriver NV line with its newest ‘Life’ line. The newer iriver NV Life navigational device includes Mappy United map software, WVGA resolution, dual CPU, DMB tuner, MP3 playback, video player, text viewer, and rear camera.
The iriver NV Life looks decent enough; however, Reigncom hasn’t announced pricing or shipping dates.
At 16.9mm thick, Fujitsu’s FOMA F1100 is relatively thin, equipped with a 2.6-inch QVGA screen, slide-out numpad, Windows Mobile 6 Standard, 3.6Mbps HSDPA, and wireless LAN (8022.11 a/b/g), 1.3 mega pixel camera, Bluetooth 2.0, and fingerprint scanner. Judging from the photo, it looks like it runs Opera as its web browser. Phone Mag is reporting that the F1100 will also work as a WiFi VoIP handset via NTT DoCoMo’s PASSAGE DUPLE service.
So, don’t hold your breath. I doubt the Fujitsu FOMA F1100 will make it Stateside.
Onda has a slender looking PMP in the works going by the model name VX767. This thing not only has the looks, but seems to pack the right amount of audio and video support. The VX767 supports MP3, WMA, APE, and FLAC audio files; FLV, AVI, MOV, ASF, MP4, WMV, 3GP, and MPG video files. It’s 4.3 inch, 16:9 (480 x 272) widescreen display should make video watching bearable during those boring flights/road trips. The Onda VX767 also includes:
* 400MHz processor
* JPG, BMP,GIF, and PNG photo viewer
* Flash support
* FM radio
* microSD card slot (32GB max)
* 8 EQ settings
* built-in microphone (voice recording)
* lyrics support
* TV-out
* USB 2.0 for quick file transfers
* Battery life: 40 hours for music/10 hours for video
I’m surprised “touchscreen” didn’t appear in its specs. However, Onda hasn’t released any pricing or availability details regarding the VX767.
