Gadgets

For those of us taking our tech out on the road this summer, San Disk is offering words of advice on how to protect those flash memory cards used to store pictures in digital cameras.

And while San Disk is one of a handful of companies that make the postage stamp-sized memory cards (Lexar, Sony and Samsung are others), the company has some valid points about how to handle them. Call it one part public service announcement, one part self preservation. Still, there are those of us who don't know what kind of cards to buy or what to … Read more

Digi International has a new commercial-grade digital camera on the market that plugs into a USB port and lets you keep an eye on your stuff.

The company's Inside Out Networks Watchport/V2 is a follow on to its original design. New for this version is improved low-light sensitivity, JPEG compression that renders 30 frames per second at all resolutions, and new camera mounts. The camera is designed for use in kiosks, automated teller machines, ID badge checkpoints, cash registers and mobile computers.

Combine it with the company's motion detection software, and Digi said its USB camera can … Read more

If you start spotting fellow commuters donning extra-funky eyewear, this could be why: Scalar's Teleglass, which lets users privately watch movies or TV, read text or view pictures via a tiny screen attached to their glasses, just started selling on the Japanese company's Web site and is expected to hit stores soon. Might not be a bad way to pass a subway ride or endure a line at the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Connected to a mobile phone, portable DVD player or digital camera, the Teleglass projects high-resolution video on eyeglasses, with the wearer seeing images as if … Read more

King C. Gillette, the brains behind the razor and razor blade business model would be proud at TiVo's latest offer: The DVR maker is giving away a free factory-renewed Tivo box for customers who buy a 12-month or lifetime TiVo gift subscription. That means you have to shell out at least $149.99, the price of the one-year subscription.

The offer is good through July 17. The offer was e-mailed to some customers on Tuesday and is featured on TiVo's Web site.

Seems the new Joybee MP3 player is showing up online for sale in Taiwan with more bells and whistles than its predecessors.

The new palm-sized Joybee 220 from BenQ ships in three different versions: a 128MB device that sells for $156, a 512MB version for $181 and a 1GB version retailing for $223. Songs are loaded in through the device's USB cable.

The flash memory device features a 1.4-inch, 65,000-color LCD screen with a bright-colored dock, integrated loudspeakers and separate bass and gain control. Like its cousins, the new Joybee can accommodate MP3 files. But the latest … Read more

We all know the Fab Five have great tips on skin care and couture, but who knew they'd end up being a source for cool products?

Our friend Tim, an editor with CNET's Shopping Services & Advice group, did a little assessment of the gadgets featured on Bravo's "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and concluded that the iconic style mavens have pretty good taste when it comes to gear. Tim rounded up the tech gifts given to the straight-guy proteges on the show--an Apple iBook, a T-Mobile Sidekick, Polk Audio speakers and 42-inch Mitsubishi … Read more

Camera giant Nikon is coming out from behind the lens to bolster its imaging business in China, the company said on Wednesday.

The company said it has established Nikon Imaging Sales Co. in Shanghai as a wholly owned Nikon subsidiary. The company--worth an estimated $10 million--will focus on Nikon's import and wholesale imaging products such as its pocket-size Coolpix brand and its larger-size SLR cousins.

Nikon, which regularly dukes it out with Canon for the top spot in the digital camera world, said it is aiming for first-year sales of $92 million and third-year sales $303 million.

China could … Read more

How adorable is the Ebola virus? Pretty darn precious when it's in the form of a stuffed animal-like plush microbe. Yep, start thinking about germs differently, friends. Did you know that a flu microbe blown up a million times looks just like a cuddly green caterpillar?

These stuffed little germs, made by Delaware-based Giant Microbes, come in a variety of ailments: sore throat, syphillis, ulcer, flesh-eating virus, stomach ache, ear ache, mono and more. ThinkGeek, which sells the critters for $5.99 apiece, has an amusing photo gallery of plush microbe owners with their germ of choice. One shot … Read more

Staring at the very aggressive plasma television market, the crew over at Hitachi has decided to establish its plasma display panel division as a separate entity.

The Tokyo-based electronics manufacturer said this week that it will establish its Hitachi Plasma Patent Licensing as a wholly owned subsidiary on July 1. The division, worth an estimated $917,000, will manage Hitachi's plasma licensing portfolio. Plasma TV shipments are expected to grow to 18.2 million units in 2009, up from 2.1 million in 2004, according to analysts at market research firm iSuppli.

Hitachi is looking to differentiate itself from … Read more