Gadgets posts

Ever sent a text while driving? Thought it would be alright to just pick up the phone and have a quick conversation while trying to pay attention to the road? Chances are we’ve all done it. Now that Ontario has passed the ‘Countering Distracted Driving and Promoting Green Transportation Act,’ motorists have to wait until they’re off the road or use a Bluetooth device if planning to chat while driving. Voice on the Go unveiled their new hands-free idea today. DriveCarefully is a unique app that allows BlackBerry Smartphone users to keep their eyes on the road instead of on their phone. Completely…

The iPad may be grabbing headlines everywhere today – it’s hard to find anyone talking about something else – but Apple’s made a few enemies on its way here, and now Nokia plans its own iPad killer, set to ship this fall. Rodman Renshaw analyst Ashok Kumar says Nokia is working with suppliers and design manufacturers on a touch-screen tablet. “Nokia hasn’t fielded any breakaway products in years,” he said as reported by The Street. “This is a new window, and Nokia had better be at the starting gate if and when the product category takes off,” he said….

Even if you’re uncertain where you stand in the green debate, rising electricity bills alone should be enough to get you interested in Fujitsu Lab’s latest product, a power consumption monitoring power strip. What it does: It works just like any other power strip carrying plug sockets for up to four electrical devices. What it does that other systems don’t do is offer real time measurement of electrical energy output at each outlet to help you assess how much electricity each device uses….

Microsoft is about to introduce its very own attempt at smartphone, its own-branded phones, hitherto developed by the top secret Project Pink team. We’re learning that the phones are set to be introduced next week, though they won’t be called Pink. They are being described as robust QWERTY-enabled messaging devices with social networking features that will be aimed at younger users. Expect them to be called Turtle and Pure. We think the two Project Pink phones will make use of some of the technologies Microsoft acquired when it got its claws on Sidekick manufacturer, Danger. Reuters tells…

Hard-working disassembly sleuths at iFixIT spent their Easter weekend tearing an iPad apart to explore the Apple-designed A4 processor which powers the device. iSuppli tore an A4 chip apart (above), revealing it to be an ARM processor featuring package-on-package construction to improve the speed and efficiency of internal processes. Inside they found the RAM modules sit close by the processor, a move which speeds access to memory, cuts power consumption and reduces latency….

I can’t decide what’s more impressive about this video:  ‘Applegirl002′s’ skill in using iPhone apps to create music; or the fact that she sings Lady Gaga’s famous track while making an appropriately badass face. The techno-friendly musician got buzz a couple of weeks ago for her rendition of Beyonce’s “Irreplaceable” and has now set her sights of Gaga’s Pokerface. She spends the first part of the video breaking down how she goes about using iPhones and specific apps to create her songs, and then she goes on to use her impressive skills and voice to sing that song you won’t admit to liking but will…

While some of us here at Techi and around the blogosphere want an iPad, some don’t. Some even go as far to believe that a person is a “tool” for thinking that the iPad changes anything (harsh, Mr. Thurrott). However — no matter what the critics are saying — people are buying the iPad, and they are buying a lot of them. An analyst at Kaufman Brothers believes that iPad does change everything:  ”We believe iPad has potential to become a high volume device as it could revolutionize publishing and gaming markets, not to mention mobile computing itself.” Now a few hotshots on Wall Street are predicting…

I’m a total freak for Twitter. It’s the greatest thing to happen to the internet in ages, and I wish I had it on me at all times. I’d get an iPhone app, but the hell if I’m paying an iPhone-sized monthly bill. Fortunately for me, the designers at Tokyoflash are working on an alternative concept that will rock your socks into another dimension. I’d like to have a romantic relationship with this watch. Check it out: we’ve got three modes: microblogging, which can display your twitter and Facebook contacts’ status updates, world clock, which can give you the skinny on what’s the when…

I could make jokes about this all day, so before I do, please bear in mind that this is actually a pretty good idea: Australian company Simativa has developed underwear that texts when you poop. I can explain, I swear. The SIMsystem, as it’s officially known, is actually targeted at the elderly (SIM is Smart Incontinence Management) and lets caregivers know via SMS message when it’s time to get their hands dirty. It can even broadcast the ‘event’ over a facility’s entire paging system. Classy. The diagram below shows you how it works, though I suppose it’s pretty self-explanitory….

Detroit used to make cars, now they make auto-inspired watches. In a classic example of life imitating art imitating life, Equipe Watches, based in Detroit, makes watches with a distinctive, if inexplicable vehicular theme. With product names like ‘BUMPER’, ‘CHASSIS’ and ‘HEADLIGHT’, it’s clear that Equipe has been huffing gas fumes for quite some time. The watches are bold and chunky, with some featuring straps that look like tire tracks, or bevels that look like headlight rims. The designs will certainly appeal to the NASCAR crowd, if not many other people. It’s great to see Detroit reinventing…