GadgetsMonkey

This Apple-licensed dock has a transforming Optimus Prime up front, in iPod white that matches generation 1 model. In the back, the trailer folds, and transforms into a Pod dock. Get your preorder in before July when they ship. Does it makes proper sound while transforming I wonder? And yes, Megatrone iPod dock would be also great and, please, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles iPod speakers.

via gizmodo

iPhone

One of the most overhyped gadgets ever.

I’m not impressed with the iPhone. As a PDA user and a Windows Mobile user, this thing has nothing on my phone. It sure is good at what it was designed for, a phone that entertains and talks… other than that, I don’t see much potential. How am I supposed to put appointments on the phone with no stylus or keyboard?!

No keyboard is a bit worrisome. Apparently many people don’t realize how bad of an idea a touch-screen is on a phone. I foresee some pretty obvious and pretty major problems here.

I also wonder about the software stability. They are not letting people touch them at MacWorld, rather you can only see it in a glass case. This leads me to believe they have a lot of kinks to work out in the software, which makes me question their June schedule.

Resolution is 480 x 320, given 16:9 aspect ratio, 3.5 inches and “160 pixels per inch” (jobs). I’d say “highest resolution” is a big lie. Its funny how people are “orgasming” when you haven??™t even seen it being used or a real presentation of it just a mockup graphic on the screen.

PlayStation 3

The PlayStation 3 was one of the most anticipated products in the gaming market. Yet we are calling it one of the top 5 failures because the hype didn’t lead to a huge launch.

Well, the launch was “huge” for those that attended the events and waited in long lines. We think they mean “huge” in shock, scale and massive unit sales.

First, one can only move units if one can get their hands on units, right? TechDiversions.com was unable to get any high volume of units to justify selling them. The same goes for many large retail outlets - some using certain stores as the launch platform for over 100 units.

Yet, in the end, Sony failed to deliver a large enough count to satisfy even the hardcore Sony fans. This is highly disappointing and grinds the hype wagon to a halt.

According to IBM’s white pages, the cell processor being used in PlayStation 3 is considerably less powerful than what it has been hyped up to be.

Sony’s stupid move was in putting spyware on thousands of PCs. Sony’s copy-protection experiment has failed miserably and pissed off a lot of people. Sony employed a piece of software from First4Internet to protect music on CDs, but the technology, hid itself on computers by using root-kit technology and even worse it opened a remote access connection that called out to Sony which not only violates the user’s right to privacy, but it also exposed users to worms that take advantage of the stealth technology. In fact, Breplibot.c is one virus already that attempts to hide itself using the Sony root kit.

Motorola Q

As appealing as I found the overall look of the Q I was disappointed by its design in several aspects. The keyboard’s lack of a backspace button among the QWERTY keys proved problematic for me. I also found the click-wheel a bit stiff, and the soft key panel surprisingly tough on my fingers to navigate - in part because of the width of the unit (as compared with the more palm-friendly Palm Treo 700), and in part because I found it annoying to move over the deep rim surrounding the five-way nav control to the two upper soft keys. Those soft keys, to the right and left of the five-way nav control are integral for navigation. And given the unit’s lack of a touchscreen, how your hand responds to the feel of the buttons will determine how much you enjoy using the Q.

Another gripe: The position of the mini-USB port. I know I’ve often used a cell phone while it’s tethered to an outlet, getting its necessary juice. However, the mini-USB port - which doubles as the power port–is awkwardly situated on the lower left of the Q. This is incovenient if you try to use the device in your hands–either for reading content, or putting it up to your ear.

Video iPod

I think it’s pretty clear that Steve Jobs wanted it to suck.

Everyone’s criticisms of the video aspects of the iPod are valid and all of them with the exception of battery life (which they’ll clearly improve over time) are most likely management decisions. Steve is clearly biding his time. He owns digital music right now, and the next logical step is video. If you look at what the company’s done in the last year or so, they??™ve got their ducks so accurately in line, everyone else in the industry, including Microsoft and Tivo had better watch out.

See Steve knows that you have to combine a great device with great content. And there is no digital video available for legal download right now. Why? Because the studios are scared shitless. So what does Steve do? He compells them to take a baby step that in no way could possibly be threatening to them (320?—240 is a ridiculous resolution, after all). And he adds them into the iTunes Store so he can arm himself with some sales data.

Eventually Video iPod makes so little sense. It’s hysterical when I see someone trying to watch one of those microscopic screens. Is there really anyone over the age of 14 who would sit around watching music videos on that thing? Or anything for that matter.

Toshiba Gigabeat S

So it’s basically Microsoft’s version of the iPod? Same video problems (lack of formats, tedious conversion), same audio issues (lack of customizable EQ, weak sounding presets), low video output quality, poor battery life and so on.

Apple Corp. has announced that the 2007 release of its newest music player, the iPod Amoeba, has been delayed indefinitely due to a flaw in the overall design. Company officials are hesitant to speculate when the Amoeba may be ready for the consumer market.

“We really have no idea how this even got out of R&M,” said Apple chief designer Jonathan Ive. “We will be issuing refunds to everyone who pre-ordered the Amoeba because at this time, we can’t even say if it will be available at all in 2007.”

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