Most of us are already familiar with using a USB thumb drive. But have you ever seen the real thumb drive with real thumb? A Finnish programmer who lost his finger in an accident has replaced it with a prosthetic finger that has a USB drive built in. Victim Jerry Jalava can now peel back his “Nail” and reveal a 2 GB “Finger Drive” for storing photos, Movies and software. Sounds like something out of a science fiction movie, doesn’t it? Yes, but its true.



To add an extra dimension of coolness/freak other people out, the USB finger is removable.  So, when he’s using the drive you’ll notice a finger sticking out of his computer.  When he’s done, he simply unplugs and reattaches it! This replaced 2GB USB finger looks like a normal finger but it is easy detachable.

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Apple has launched the first music player that talks to you! The new "talking" version of iPod shuffle music player, which uses VoiceOver technology is to be the world’s smallest music player at nearly half of the size of the previous model. The new VoiceOver feature enables iPod Shuffle to speak your song titles, artists and playlist names.



The new 4 gigabyte Shuffle will be priced at $79 and carry up to 1,000 songs, double the amount of the last generation of Shuffles. The stainless steel shuffle is smaller than an AA battery. The device provides around 10 hours of music playback on a single battery charge. iPod Shuffle can speak 14 languages including English, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish.

There are no buttons on the shuffle, instead it is controlled by a button on the earphone cord, which allows users to play and pause songs, adjust the volume, move through playlists, and listen to track information. iPod Shuffle requires a Mac with a USB 2.0 port, Mac OS X v10.4.11 or later and iTunes 8.1 or later; or a Windows PC with a USB 2.0 port and Windows Vista, Windows XP Home or Professional (Service Pack 3) or later and iTunes 8.1.

“Imagine your music player talking to you, telling you your song titles, artists and playlist names,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of iPod and iPhone product marketing.

For the time being, Apple is keeping the current-design 1 GB Shuffle in the product line as the least expensive iPod at $49. However, the 2 GB $69 version will be discontinued.

For more details visit here.

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News is spreading like fire that the Palm Pre is the right gadget to beat the iPhone and thus it has been dubbed the "iPhone killer". More, good news for Palm Pre is that it has topped the list of the 100 hottest gadgets on the planet compiled by gadget magazine T3.

Palm Pre was first unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January. The device runs on new software called Web OS, which lets users directly connect to information stored on the Internet, known as the cloud, rather than through a desktop PC.

The smartphone comes with a slide-out keyboard, 8GB of storage capacity, and a multi-touch 3.1 inch color screen.

The second place goes to the Sony X-Series Walkman, closely followed by Nokia N97 phone with a slide out keyboard taking the third position.

However, not a single Apple gadget made the top ten, with the iPhone 3G being 14th on the list.

The Top 10 hottest gadgets are:

1. Palm Pre

2. Sony X-Series Walkman

3. Nokia N97

4. Philips 21:9 Cinema

5. TomTom Go 940 LIVE

6. Sony Reader PRS-700BC Reader Digital Book Touchscreen

7. B and W Panorama

8. Toshiba TG01

9. Canon IXUS 980

10. Sony VAIO P-series

If anyone of you has used these gadgets, then do let know your experience about it.

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As already expected to be announced, Nokia has set out to make the best mobile imaging device by launching Nokia N86 in the second quarter of 2009. Nokia N86 is a 8Megapixel camera phone. It combines wide-angle Carl Zeiss optics and an 8 megapixel sensor, resulting in performance comparable to a stand alone digital camera. The Nokia N86 8MP mobile camera phone is designed to excel in both bright and low light conditions, and it's optimized for both video and still imaging. Its high-speed connectivity ensures easy and convenient sharing.

"People demand mobile cameras that take excellent pictures in all light conditions," says Juha-Pekka Sipponen, Director, Nokia N series. "That's why the aperture of the Nokia N86 8MP is comparable to that of a high-quality, stand-alone digital camera. Whether it's running with the bulls in Pamplona or capturing the panoramic beauty of a sunrise over Sydney, the Nokia N86 8MP mobile phone will take brilliantly clear, wide-angle images that are instantly geotagged to be uploaded onto sites like Ovi Share or Flickr."

The N86 really does pack a punch and take superb quality digital photo's that it can only be compared to that of a stand alone digital camera. There are some other fantastic features on the Nokia N86 other than the already mentioned brilliant 8 mega-pixel camera feature. There is a built-in music player system with dedicated music keys which supports MP3-MP4-eAAC+-WMA music file formats plus an FM Radio with RDS technology and an FM transmitter. Music can be enjoyed through the built-in stereo speakers or the Bluetooth stereo headset.

For other entertainment purposes the user can enjoy the Java MIDP 2.1 gaming facilities presented on the Nokia N86 mobile phone, especially with the N-Gage motion gaming feature which takes the gaming experience to a whole new level of fun and entertainment.

For the detailed specifications visit here. Lets wait for some more months to try hands on with this fantastic Nokia N86!!!

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We have not heard of the Zumbafone yet, but its makers are confident it could revolutionize the way we communicate. The Zumbafone is currently considered top-secret and hence they are not revealing us much more.

The Zumbafone is a carefully shrouded device being developed by a British company called IA Technologies. The company manufactures military technology and a bunch of other stuff too.

The Zumbafone is the size of a credit card and contains two interlocking pieces. One half snaps off to function as an all-inclusive earpiece-phone. The other, when connected, offers a more traditional keypad and screen.

Once we attach the earpiece half, the Zumbafone links us to an "Internet portal" that holds all of our information. Say the name of a contact, and we're instantly connected. By tapping a button, we can speak out a text message and have it sent wherever needed. Incoming text messages are displayed on the screen half of the phone if we have it attached, or spoken aloud if we're wearing the earpiece.

The device is slated to be on store shelves by the end of 2009. Visit PCWorld site for more details.

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AMD is planning to release more phenom 2 processors this year by increasing the stock clock speeds in increments of 100 MHz (0.5x multiplier) with a string of SKUs post Phenom II X4 950. This announcement comes after AM2+ exclusive Phenom II X4 940 showed impressive overclocking potential, while shipping with a clock speed of 3.00 GHz. According to the insider sources, a German website called AMD News caught up with this news.

For those who are not aware, the Phenom 2 is the new line of processors from AMD. They are built on the 45nm technology. They have a 2MB L2 cache and a 6MB L3 cache. They have a lower power consumption that their predecessors.

AM3 means that those processors support DDR3 memory. If those processors are used in AM2+ motherboards, they can also be used with DDR2 memory.

All the upcoming processors will be built on the AM3 package, making them compatible with DDR3 and DDR2 memory standards. With the Phenom II X4 950 being clocked at 3.10 GHz, succeeding SKUs take 100 MHz steps, starting from a Phenom II X4 960 at 3.20 GHz to a Phenom II X4 990 at 3.50 GHz. Despite the high clock speeds, the chips will continue to maintain rated TDPs of 125W. At some point within the succession, AMD will crank up the HyperTransport interconnect speed from 1,800 MHz to 2,000 MHz. The launch-schedule for these processors will be spread throughout 2009.

The models in the new series consist of:

• Phenom II X4 950 (3.10 GHz, 15.5 x 200)
• Phenom II X4 960 (3.20 GHz, 16 x 200)
• Phenom II X4 970 (3.30 GHz, 16.5 x 200)
• Phenom II X4 980 (3.40 GHz, 17 x 200)
• Phenom II X4 990 (3.50 GHz, 17.5 x 200)
  

Till now, no AM3 motherboard are out but are expected next month.

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Samsung is expected to introduce its new entry-level sliding handset, the S3500 soon. Recently gaining approval from the FCC, chances are that will be available from AT&T or T-Mobile in the US although nothing is finalized yet. Features of the Samsung S3500 include,

• Quad-band GSM/EDGE connectivity (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
• QVGA display with 262K colors
• Music player
• FM radio
• 2 megapixel camera
• Bluetooth and USB
• WAP browser, email
• 35MB internal memory
• microSD memory card slot
  

There is no word on pricing, but its expected to be an affordable one.

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Today, Samsung Electronics, announced that it has developed the world's first four gigabit (Gb) DDR3 DRAM chip, using 50 nanometer (nm) process technology.

With more and more data centers seeking a reduction in the number of servers they use, the development of low-power 4Gb DDR3 has become critical in reducing data center costs, improving server time management and increasing overall efficiency.

Using just 50 nanometer process technology, the 4Gb DDR3 DRAM chip runs at 1.6Gbps and is highly efficient consuming 40% less power, gulping only 1.35 volts to operate, in contrast to 1.5 volts consumed by the other DRAM chips. The 4Gb can be used in servers, desktop PCs, workstations and notebooks, given that it can be produced in chips in 16GB RDIMM, 8GB UDIMM and SODIMM modules.

DDR3 is 8 times faster than DDR2 memory and uses 30% less power. The new 50nm 4GB chip comes 5 months after Samsung introduced the first 2GB chips built using the 50nm process.

According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), a market research and analysis firm, the worldwide DDR3 DRAM market will account for 29 percent of the total DRAM market in 2009 and 75 percent in 2011. In addition, IDC estimates that 2Gb-or-higher DDR3 DRAM will make up three percent of the total DRAM market in 2009 and 33 percent in 2011 (units in bits).

If Samsung goes on to use its dual-die package technology, then its hoping for a breakthrough that will allow for 32GB DDR3 memory modules, giving a double boost to the chip capacity presently.

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A New Zealand man Chris Ogle (29) has experienced the real-time meaning of the old saying  "Burn after reading". Broadcaster TVNZ reported that, Chris Ogle found 60 US military files in an MP3 player that he bought in a secondhand shop in Oklahoma, USA. These sensitive military files dating from 2005 were clearly marked as 'secret' and contained the phone numbers of numerous soldiers serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Chris came across this data when he connected the $18 (£12) device to his computer - hardly the rock tunes, snapshots and video one might expect to. Although the information is some four years old, some of the details were still relevant as the television station found after attempting to contact some of the uncovered phone numbers. As for Ogle, he told TV One News that he would hand the files to US officials if asked.The more I look at it, the more I see and the less I think I should be looking, Ogle said.

How such a major security breach could occur has not been explained by the U.S. Department of Defense, although similar instances have been reported in the past. Neither the U.S. embassy in New Zealand nor the U.S. Army has ventured any comment on the breach.

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Few days back, we had posted about the Samsung World's Thinnest TV, which was unveiled at CES 2009. The images and other details of the same was not leaked till CES 2009.

Despite problems with upper management this past summer, Samsung, the South Korean consumer electronics giant, has released a protype of the LUXIA LED TV, the slimmest LCD television the world has ever seen.

If you’re wondering where the input is, it’s hidden away in the stand. Samsung’s Luxia LED TV sheds some weight by having a panel on top of a diffuser sheet, sitting on a Light Guide Plate that’s on top of an LED module.

Using an LED (light emitting diode) backlight system, this LCD TV is sure to please the gadget lover who just has to have the coolest thing out there. Being a prototype it’s not available in any shops now.

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Samsung has planned to reveal its world’s slimmest LCD TV at CES 2009. Though we are not able to believe, the emerging technological world has made it proved. First Apple released a laptop computer that could fit in a manilla envelope, and now Samsung Electronics has unvelied the world’s slimmest LCD TV at just 1/4 inches think(.26 inches or 6.5 mm, to be more precise).

The most interesting fact would be that this new LCD TV is slimmer than the vast majority of mobile phones. Other features will include the company’s 240Hz MotionPlus technology making sure that motion blur is completely obliterated. A separate tuner device is thrown in with the purchase so the TV can actually do what it was supposed to and not just be a mirror on the wall.

There is no information on the price and also images are not yet brought to limelight for this product, since it is possible Samsung is keeping things under wraps until the announcement in CES 2009. But sources say that the name of this device has been leaked and it is Samsung LUXIA LED TV. We have to wait till CES 2009 to know all the details.

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