HyperGadgetDisplays | HyperGadget

The 3D Innovation, Gimmick or Game?

mohseen lala — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 20:31:54 +0000

Forget HD (high definition) TV, the future is 3D. So we are led to believe by major entertainment and electronic companies. If a practical and budget concise view is taken towards the whole 3D trend, it honestly seems like a complete gimmick.
First of all it should be noted that 3D technology itself is an amazing piece of innovation, the problem is with its implementation. Also a major problem with 3D is that it has almost no compatibility with any modern existing technological standard, as a result users have to fork out extra cash to enjoy their 3D TV’s or game consoles. Speaking of extra peripherals, the following is a list of major reasons certain 3D outlets should be avoided, and also a list of 3D outlets that you should consider using if you do truly enjoy 3D.
3D CINEMA: the biggest craze for 3D content right now is in the form of movies, and this is a double edged sword. Some movies are certainly excellent when viewed in 3D, their storyline, shooting format and genre lend themselves very well to 3D technology (Transformers 1,2,3, Avatar). Unfortunately Hollywood disagrees, a majority of movies are coming out whether or not they would fit into the 3D realm of movie watching, a crying shame really. What’s worse is the cost, you have to fork out extra cash for those gigantic and awful looking 3D glasses to watch a movie that would have been perfectly suited to either IMAX or plain 2D.
3D TV: 3D TV is another piece of gadgetry made to suck your wallet or purse dry, most users are dismayed when they realize the only piece of 3D media they will be able to watch on their TV’s are 3D DVD movies and games, which require the purchase of 3D compatible games. Watching 3D DVD’s usually requires the extra purchase of a compatible DVD player, glasses and of course the actual screen. So just save your money and purchase a nice big HDTV, you will much better off as a result.
3D Games: 3D Games are generally worth the cost, especially if you are buying the Nintendo 3DS, whether or not to buy 3D compatible games for a Playstation 3 Depends on how big a fan you are of the game in question, but over all 3D gaming is a good way to spend your money as a 3DS fan.
3D Phones: There are only two 3D phones in the market right now, the LG Optimus 3D and HTC EVO 3D, both phones are definitely worth buying, particularly the LG Optimus 3D as it comes with 3D TV OUT, which means you transfer your 3D content to a 3D TV. It also shoots 3D video.
So there you have it, 3D cinema is only worth it if the movie compliments a 3D avenue, otherwise it a gimmick.
3D TV is a complete gimmick, requires a dozen or so peripheral and extras to work. Please avoid. 3D gaming is worth it on the handheld Nintendo 3DS, otherwise it depends on the game being played. 3D phones are definitely the future of 3D, as they do not require glasses or any other peripheral. So in short 3D games are good to go, so are 3D mobile phones. Otherwise 3D is still just a gimmick.

A Review: ZTE Blade

mohseen lala — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 19:23:37 +0000

Front and Back View

Here is a question; Which is the cheapest Android phone with the best features? The answer is the ZTE Blade, also known as the Orange San Francisco.
Most cheap smart phones have a miserable 320×240 resolution with a 3 inch display with and support for only 265 thousand colors.
The ZTE Blade has a Amoled screen and support for 265 thousand colors, your weren’t expecting that were you? It has a 600 MHz processor, 512MB RAM and 160 MB of memory plus optional 32 GB of storage.
All of the above costs one $100 dollars, this makes slightly more expensive then the Huawei Eidoes but the specs of this phone would easily make it worth $200 dollars.
Specifications:

2G: GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G: HSDPA 900 / 2100

Dimensions: 116 x 56.5 x 11.8 mm
Weight: 110g

Screen: AMOLED or LCD capacitive touchscreen, 256K colors, 480 x 800 pixels, 3.5 inches
Inside: Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate, Proximity sensor for auto turn-off, Multi-touch input method

Operating System: 2.2 (Froyo) Android
Storage:160 MB storage, 512 MB RAM, 512 MB ROM
Processors:600 MHz ARM 11 processor, Adreno 200 GPU, Qualcomm MSM7227 chipset

Connectivity: USB 2.0, Bluetooth 2.1 AD2P, WI-FI, WI-FI Hotspot, 3.5 mm Headphone Jack, microSD card slot.

Features:
Digital compass
SNS integration
MP4/H.264/H.263 player
MP3/WAV/eAAC+ player
Google Search, Maps, Gmail
YouTube, Google Talk, Picasa integration
Organizer
Voice memo
Predictive text input
GPS-A GPS
HTML Browser
JAVA MIDP 2.0
Stereo FM radio with RDS

So the ZTE Blade is quiet a whopper at only $100 isn’t it? There are some problems that should be noted before purchase though. The reason it is so cheap is because it is being sold on contract by the telecommunications company Orange, this phone is exclusive to Orange. In an effort to of sett the cost they have crammed the ZTE blade with tons of useless and expensive applications, not to mention a custom browser and music player. Both of which look ugly.

You can easily get rid of all the “bloatware” from the ZTE Blade by switching to native the Android home screen or simply re-loading the OS, you can either go for the older 2.1 (Eclair) or the newer 2.2 (Froyo).
The ZTE Blade has very few problems, almost all problems are a result of Orange tinkering with the OS, a fresh install should have the phone up and running in no time at all.
This is the only Smart phone at a $100 in the market with a AMOLED screen and strong video playback, it is your best bet for a good smart phone experience that will not break the bank.

Sony Bravia KDL52W4100

SHASHANK SHEKHAR — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 06:20:08 +0000

I am a big fan of Sony products because of their durability, style, finish and performance…I just bought the Sony Bravia KDL-52W4100 back in August, and i am absolutely still excited with the unit 2 months later of heavy daily usage in various ways. I have used my KDL52W4100 to watch Blu-Ray movies, unconverted standard DVDs, regular cable, high definition cable, HD-DVD videos, PS3, Xbox 360, original Xbox and a lot more, so to say the least I have lived with and used the Sony Bravia KDL 52W4100 that quite extensively before I wrote this KDL-52W4100 review:

I also used the very highly acclaimed and most popular Samsung LN52A650 6 series lcd television, and I will be throughout my review of Sony’s kdl52w4100 be using my opinion on the popular a650 Samsung as a bookmark to compare on.
Neither television is really all that much a significant advantage in pure picture quality, I would venture to say however that the Sony KDL-52W4100 does have a better overall video quality as compared to Samsung’s LN52A650 HDTV, but again nothing that really would blow you away. The Samsung has more noticeable glare in side by side lighting conditions, this is probably due to the glossy screen which also despite the worse glare give some points to the Samsung for aesthetics and black level performance. Pretty much the same with perhaps an overall edge going to the KDL-52W4100 as there is some noticeable clarity differences in the Bravia 52W4100’s favor in blue ray movie watching.

Digital TV Transition Starts Today

Amanda Allen — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 19:01:05 +0000

Many TV stations will end standard analog broadcasting at 11:59 PM tonight. That means if you use an outdoor antenna or “rabbit ears” to watch TV, you’ll need a digital converter box to keep your picture.

While the federal government ran out of money for the converter box coupons, there is a waiting list for them, and they can be bought relatively cheaply at stores like WalMart, Best Buy, and Radio Shack.

Simply connect your antenna to the converter box, and then connect the converter box to your TV. The box takes the analog signal and converts it to digital.

To view the new digital signal, you need to know what channel your converter box is set to put out a signal on. Then, tune your TV to that channel, and watch.

Those with satellite or cable TV don’t have to do anything, they are already prepared.

Read a related article here.

OLED Video Player with Watch

sheikh chandio — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:06:35 +0000

Are you looking for an affordable and compact portable video player but, you don’t like to carry it around everywhere you go? Well now you don’t have to worry because can now replace your wrist watch with a portable which you can wear just like your wrist watch. The video player that I am talking about has an OLED screen and can easily fit on your wrist. It has a bright screen of 128×128 pixels and it offers great results and a fun video watching experience. You can also listen to MP3 and WMA music files with this phone. You can also view pictures and record voices with this player. I find the recording feature very useful as it helps me alot in recording class lectures and then save them for future need. When you are not using it as a music player it works as a digital watch and displays time along with the current date.
Overall, it is a great gadget and it is very useful for having entertainment on the go. You can buy this player from Thinkgeek.com

Portable Blu-Ray player from Panasonic

babar ali — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 09:12:19 +0000

Thanks to Panasonic, now you can watch your Blu-Ray movie while you are on the go. Portable DVD players have become very popular now a days and they are easily available in the market. But, what will you do if you want to watch your Blu-Ray DVDs while you are on the go? I can answer this question. You will definitely buy a Panasonic DMP-BD15 portable Blu-Ray DVD player. Panasonic DMP-BD15 features almost 9 inch LCD screen with a resolution of 1024×600. There is a SD card slot if you want to free yourself from the hassale of carrying DVD’s where you go. It also has a HDMI(High Definition Multimedia Interface) socket. The only let down is the battery life which is only 3 hours, which means you can not watch more than 1.5 or 2 movie in a full charge (even battery of Nokia 5320 is better than this . Panasonic has not yet released this player and i hope they will fix this issue before its release.

Next Gen Yuno PC – definitely not decaf

Jennifer Gniadecki — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 17:43:33 +0000

There are many Next Gen PCs coming out that are going to make lives easier and change the way we rock our personal computers. One of these is the Yuno PC. While at first glance it might look like any other travel coffee mug, this one is very different.

From screensavers to checking your email to surfing the web, Yuno can do that and at the same time keeps your coffee (or tea) piping hot. It comes with selective email filtering so you only get your most important emails while on the go, but the touchscreen keeps you busy and working during your commute.

My fear, of course, is that this will be more distracting to morning commuters than the cell phone has been. Will it become illegal in some cities to drive with a Yuno PC in the car? Since it has a touchscreen, it’s not like a cell phone where you can plug in an earbud and be hands free. But, people have been drinking coffee on the morning commute for as long as there has been a morning commute, so what to do?

Outlaw the commuter travel mug? I don’t think that would go over very well. The Yuno does have a projector display so you can see directions and even information on your car window…but will this be even more distracting than checking email? Or will it be able to replace those little TomTom satellite directional devices.

Only time will tell if the Yuno Next Gen PC will be a commuters wildest dream or worst nightmare.

Mood Bowl

serenity — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 13:00:09 +0000

Well how do you like this? A glowing bowl that enhances the mood of the room!

But for it to work, it has to be plugged into an outlet. It will roll into a range of colors and you can pause and choose your favorite one. The glow of the light from the bowl is relaxing. If you’re having a party at home, it can be one interesting centerpiece your guest would surely rave about.

The bowl is made of pearl white glass. And the rounded dimension spreads light from all angles of the room.

Via DrinkStuff

Kurzweil-National Federation of the Blind Reader

Marsha James — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 18:01:13 +0000

I’m glad that this gadget is now available for purchase to the people who need it.

Dubbed the “Kurzweil-National Federation of the Blind Reader” this hardware allows blind individuals to be even more independent by reading themselves.

Unlike any other gadget which has been out, once you run this over words it immediately puts it into audio for those who can’t see, much more quickly than anything that came before it.

This is also the first text-to-speech apparatus that has been available and even though it is in the pricey range of $3,495 a small amount of these readers are available for $200. For more information please go to Kurzweil Educational Systems.

3 Times the Fun: Triplehead2go by Matrox

Nancy Callahan — Sat, 15 Apr 2006 22:11:09 +0000

The Matrox Triplehead2go splits a VGA connection three ways, tricking your computer into thinking it’s hooked up to a single 3840 x 1024 screen. It comes with software that modifies games for the extra large display.

The big problem is the price — the unit costs $300, and doesn’t come with the three necessary LCDs. So, total, you’re looking at a pricetag that’s well over $1,000.

Despite that big drawback, though, bit-tech only had good things to say:

We’d thoroughly recommend the Triplehead if you’re a hardcore gamer with enough cash to splash out.

Source: Engadget