smartech

We constantly seek for interesting USB gadgets to bring to your attention, but this one, from Trekstor, has instantly caught our eyes. It’s a USB flash drive, made from solid brushed-aluminum finish, offering 1GB/2GB/4GB/8GB/16GB on one side, and a bottle opener at the other side, so if you meet with your geek friend for a drink, you can switch both the data and the beer between each other. Prices ranged from $12 up to $88. Regretfully, you will be able to find it only in Europe.

[via CNET]

Macally announces the release of the iVoicePro, a voice and audio recorder for your iPod, which supports iPod (5th Gen), iPod nano (2nd and 3rd Gen), and iPod classic devices.  The new iVoicePro is equipped with a built-in microphone, an external speaker, LED status indicator, input mode switch, 3.5mm output jack and even a USB port to charge your players while recording stuff. Unfortunately, there’s no info concerning price or availability at the moment, but you can expect this one to go out soon.

[via gmp3]

LG unveils new portable HDD lineup, coming up in Korea with 2.5 inch drives, SATA II interface and a USB 2.0 port. The new XD1series presents 3 different capacities, including 120GB, 160GB, 250GB to be released first, and a 320GB version to make a debut later on. All versions come with black pearl or red wine flavors at your choice, for a non disclosure price tag. Stay tuned for more information to come.

[via i4u]

If you’re a PS3 owner who look for a nice and speedy way to control your console’s UI, you can try hooking up a Wacom tablet into your Sony device and start navigating the menus by moving the drawing pen on the tablet surface. True, most of us don’t hold this graphic designers tool at our disposal but it’s another cool way to interact with the playstation 3 device. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work in games but it can really speed up your interface control as you can find in the following video.

[via PS3 Fanboy]

iRiver has announced the release of its new Domino USB flash drive series, coming up in 6 flavors, including white, silver, chocolate, black, pink or coral pink. The new flash drives offer 2GB or 4GB storage capacities with Sandisk-alike sliding USB connector and Windows Vista compatibility. Release date isn’t clear but those 2 gram flash drives will cost you $21 or $34 respectively.

[via AVING]

R2-D2 and Darth Vader are well known Sci-Fi Star Wars characters and from now on they officially been transformed into USB hub figures, thanks to Japanese company Cube-Works, who’ve managed to shift them from spaceship robots into your desktop companion, equipped with 4 full-speed USB ports on their front, for easy connection to your PC. In addition, you will be glad to hear that R2-D2’s head moves and lights up every 3 minutes, as Vader’s eyeballs glow with the appropriated sound effects. Release date was set to July – Japan only – so if you’re a Star Wars aficionado, I guess distance and $66 price tag won’t stop you from getting them.Checkup the videos after the break:

[via akihabaranews]

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Small accessories are essential for those who travel frequently. One of them is our laptop mouse that gets smaller and smaller on recent years, but not as tiny as the latest from Brando, which is to be considered as the world’s smallest wireless mouse. This lightweight optical mouse weighs only 32g and offers 400 / 800 / 1600 dpi configurations with a transmission range up to 7 meters. It comes in Black or Silver flavors and can last for 70 hours of continuous usage, so if you’re looking for small-scale devices, you can get it for only $29.

[via Brando]

Creative announces the release of the new Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 sound card, designed for PC or notebooks. This USB 2.0 audio solution can easily enhance your audio experience and turn your music into your own personal concert or your downloaded videos into a full cinematic surround sound, thanks to the X-Fi technology that provides playback up to 24-Bit/96kHz 5.1 and CMSS-3D Surround, for maximum enjoyment. It is equipped with all needed outputs, including headphone out, RCA outputs, optical SPDIF output, microphone in and stereo line in. In addition, it supports both USB1.1 and USB2.0 interface, so if you want to upgrade your  music, games or videos by a simple USB connection, the new X-Fi Surround 5.1 can be yours for only $59.99.

[via newlaunches]

Hp introduces the new Elite Auto Focus webcam, coming with 3 megapixels CMOS camera, supporting video shooting from 640 x 480 at 30fps to 1600 x 1200 at 5-6 FPS only. The Elite features a stereo microphone, USB 2.0, face tracking or Magic-i functions, and a privacy cover, to hide your intimate moments. It is compatible with all known video chat applications, like Skype, Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger, AIM and can be attached to your monitor easily. No word on price, but it seems the race for the pixels has reached the webcams.

[via gizmodo]

Western Digital has officially released the new My Passport Elite portable drive series, coming with stunning glossy colors and a Capacity Gauge to tell you how much space is available on your drive, whenever you want. The new Elite lineup features a luxurious soft-touch finish and shiny vivid colors, including bronze, titanium, westminster blue and cherry red. Likewise, you can find the good old automatic backup software and a secured 128-bit encryption, to protect all your data. Sized at 15 x 126.15 x 79.5mm, the new My Passport Elite drives are available in 250GB ($170) or 320GB ($200) storage capacity, so you can pickup your favorite color immediately, mine is the blue.

[via engadget]

This colorful USB hub from Evergreen looks really cool, as it can be shaped the way you choose. Just change the joint and design your daily desktop hub like a new artifact sitting on your table. No further details were given, except the fact it has 4 USB ports.

[via akihabaranews]

Another picture after the break.

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I’ve always wanted a gadget like Dixau. It can easily copy any text from your hard copy material, like papers, books or magazines, and shift it directly to any laptop. This feature enables people transferring full pages into their computers or just copy a word / line and translate them with online dictionaries. To do so, just drag it down the paper, mark the  desirable section and copy with the built in camera. The text will be displaced onto your screen and will be available to use digitally. Available in Korea for $90, the Dixau can be very useful, specially for students, bloggers and journalists. Having said that, we have no details concerning language support, so you might get stuck with Korean content.

 [via slashgear]

Creative wants to extend its audio lineup, introducing the X30, an X-Fi dock, designed for the iPod players. The new device sports a remote control, an S-video or an AV-output to connect your player directly to the tele, an audio output to plug a pair of speakers, and a USB hub. Unfortunately, there are no further details, but one thing is sure, the X30 won’t support any bluetooth or wireless streaming. The dock is set to be released in Europe around April for €79 ($125).

[via gmp3]

This new USBee flash drive concept won the first prize at the MS Industrial USB Competition. It features a bending neck (whatever it means), a ventilation cooling system to provide  chilled air around the circuit board (redundant), and a detachable cap that hooks at the back. No word on storage capacity or production, but i think i’m starting to like this “Bee-stick” design, only from the outside, nothing else.

[via yankodesign]

Another picture after the break.

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Transcend released the StoreJet 25, a small portable drive with a powered USB 2.0 bus connection (No separate power needed), easy one-touch sync and a silicone case, complying with US military standards. The external drive is equipped with an anti-shock functionality, so you can be sure your data will be kept safely in the 160Gb or the 250GB models. It is compatible with Windows vista or Mac OS 0.9 and you can get yours for $135 / $196, respectively.

[via slashgear]