Sorell has announced that it has brokered a deal with Audiovox to bring the NF-1 multimedia device to the U.S. The NF-1 will be sold under the Audiovox name and the first shipments are expected to take place in April and should number between three to four thousand units. If you’re not familiar with the NF-1, it’s a flash based portable media player capable of playing video and audio files. It has a 2.2 inch color screen capable of rendering 260k colors and comes with 1GB of RAM. Now what makes the NF-1 a unique convergence device is the fully functional GPS built right in. That’s right folks - listen to your music AND navigate around town with the NF-1.

Other specs that I noticed from the Korea product website for the NF-1 include:

• Support for USB 2.0
• SRS WOW + EQ support
• MPEG1/2/2.5 Layer 3, WMA, TXT, WMA, OGG, MPEG4 support
• FM Radio support

[Check it out]

 

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The folks at the TechZone have posted a review of the BlueTake BT400 G5 Bluetooth Headset here on their website. We’ve seen plenty of reviews of this and many other Bluetake headsets of course but we thought it would be good to give yet another viewpoint here. The BT400 is your typical around the ear design and doesn’t come with really any major surprises. The only major problem with the design of the BT400 G5 is really the layout of the buttons on the front side of the headset. If you’re driving and you’re trying to manipulate the buttons, it becomes somewhat hard to figure out what is what on that side (which remains invisible to you if you are wearing the headset). The folks at the TechZone seem to agree but let’s see what their final verdict is:

With a street price of about $50.00, the BlueTake BT400 G5 is price lower than competing Bluetooth headset. Add in the fact the G5 is among the smallest headset you can buy and you got yourself a winner.

[Check it out]

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The TechZone has posted a review of the Logitech Cordless Desktop MX3000 Laser here on their website. This keyboard mouse combo features:

• Laser mouse precision, superior keyboard comfort and sleek media controls
• SecureConnect technology provides secure link with computer
• 2-handed navigation with scroll and zoom controls on both keyboard and mouse
• Easily manage music, images and videos with total media control functions
• Up to 6 months battery life with battery management technology

Here’s the verdict:

Overall, we’re very impress with Logitech’s newest Cordless Desktop. The MX 3000 laser offers the same high performance of the MX 3100 and delivers it at a lower price point.

[Check it out]

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The folks over at the MadShrimps (gotta love that name) have posted a review of the Zalman HD160 HTPC case here on their website. This seriously is a great looking case if you want something that looks like a HiFi component system. I love the knobs and the overall clean look of the case. Spec wise, the HD160 features:

• 435 mm x 420 mm x 160 mm
• Weighs 4.8kg
• Aluminum construction
• Compatible with ATX and microATX motherboards
• 4 x 3.5 inch internal drive bays
• 1 x 3.5 inch external drive bay
• 1 x 5.25 inch external drive bay
• support for seven slots
• Available in Silver or Black

Here’s their verdict:

Zalman delivered a very complete solution with the HD160 casing. As known from Zalman their finishing is excellent. The provided functionalities such as the flashcard reader, VFD display, MCE remote control and well thought out case cooling make this a total and effective HTPC solution.

But not everything is sunshine. The installation takes some time and some things, such as the drive racks are hard to install/service. You are also pretty much obliged to get Windows Media Center if you want to use all the HD160’s features.

[Check it out]

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ThinkGaming.org has posted a review of the Saitek ST90 Joystick here on their website. This joystick features:

• A revolutionary foldable stick for professional gaming performance
• Easy installation and configuration
• Rapid fire trigger
• 2 fire buttons
• 4 position digital throttle with LED indicators
• Single sprint gimbal mechanism
• great for left and right handers
• Retractable tripod legs for maximum stability and easy storage

Sounds and looks cool doesn’t it? So what’s the verdict?

I won’t be using the ST90 for FPS games, but for playing flight games it’s great.

[Check it out]

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Darn.. the Verizon XV6700 should have been THE Windows Mobile smartphone to get for Verizon Wireless. It’s similar in so many ways to the Sprint PPC-6700 - from looks to the guts to obviously the software. Ok.. the looks are a bit different with the Verizon XV6700 looking way cooler if you ask us. It’s a side sliding smartphone with a full QWERTY keyboard coming out from the side of the phone. Inside, it has a 416MHz Intel XScale processor which puts the Treo 700w to shame!! So what’s the problem exactly?? Well this is Verizon folks and they just had to find something to screw up. In the case of the Verizon XV6700, it’s EV-DO and WiFi support. If you want to use the built in Wi-Fi, you have to TURN OFF the phone which of course means you can’t surf with a hotspot AND receive or make phone calls. On top of this, you still can’t use this phone as a modem for your notebook. Why Verizon? WHY? We know you’ve made other phones available.. so what gives? Here’s the verdict from the PC Magazine review:

 Verizon’s decision to cripple the Wi-Fi and the absence of a modem plan sour this otherwise attractive, powerful Pocket PC phone.

[Check it out]

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It looks like there apparently is a winner for that Mac contest that was being held which challenged folks to figure out a way to load Windows XP onto an Intel based Mac. The winning enthusiast will get a nearly $14,000 prize from this contest which originally started with 100 dollars footed by Colin Nederkoorn. The winning solution is apparently downloadable from the website but the site has been rather well.. busy. Well it’s certainly more food for thought when it comes to getting a new computer these days. If I could have the option of booting either Mac OS X or Windows XP, that would be just awesome. 

 

[Check it out]

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Yes I’m still trying to catch up to some old news. SOO… let’s see. It looks like Logitech has unveiled a new version of their famous eyeball shaped webcams. In fact, four new versions of their QuickCam webcams came out. These new products include the QuickCam Connect, QuickCam Messenger, QuickCam Chat, and QuickCam Express. Each one of these new webcams feature a small eyeball design which will be a delight for those who have limited real estate space (although honestly.. the old designs weren’t exactly that large either).  The new design measures 45 mm wide which is 33 percent smaller than in previous models.

The four new products will be made available starting sometime this spring and will cost between $24.99 to $39.99. Some features to note - the QuickCam Connect and the QuickCam Messenger feature an integrated microphone with echo-canceling audio technology.

[Check it out]

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This was old news from last week but I thought I’d mention it here. Alienware is now equipping select systems in their product lineup with the new NVIDIA GeForce 7900 Series GPUs. The effected products are the Area-51 7500, the Aurora 7500, and the ALX systems. In addition to this, the Aurora ALX will now support QUAD NVIDIA SLI technology which means you can equip a system with FOUR NVIDIA GPUs for hard core gaming experiences. Gamers - start saving your cash because this is surely not going to be cheap. 

 

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Here’s a little recognition for Kodak from the folks over at.. umm Kodak. Ok I kid.. actually Kodak has announced that they’ve won two awards recently. First up, a German tech mag called CHIP has recognized the dual lens Kodak EasyShare V570 for innovation, style, and performance. The CHIP award was part of CeBIT’s highlights award.

The other award went to Kodak’s Scan Station 100 and it was called the Government Computer News Best of FOSE Award. FOSE stands for the Federal Office Supplies Expo and is basically the largest convention for government agencies and companies selling to the gov. The Scan Station 100 is designed to quickly turn paper documents into digital files which can then be stored on the network and shared with others all around.

[EasyShare V570]

[Scan Station 100]

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