I went see The Dark Knight movie this weekend and although it was a great film and there were many awesome moments in the movie, I'd say the one part that really caught my attention and stuck with me was when Morgan Freeman pulled out one of the most badass-looking cell phones I have ever seen. I couldn't wait to get home and research it.

All I could make out from the movie was that the phone was Nokia branded. After some Googling, I found out that the phone is one of Nokia's newest models, the 5800 or Tube. I use an iPhone, but if anyone asks me who makes the best and most reliable cell phone in the industry, I'd quickly say Nokia. Although it looks like another iPhone copycat, it's being reported that the fuctionality of the phone is much better than Apple's "Jesus phone". Here's a Q&A video and the specs:



* 3.2-inch touchscreen display with 16 Million colors
* 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus
* Quad-band (850/900/1800/1900Mhz) GSM/EDGE radio

-3G UMTS/HSDPA

* Bluetooth 2.0
* WiFi
* GPS
* 3.5mm headphone jack
* TV-out port
* 140MB on-board storage
* 111 x 52 x 14.5 mm
* 104g

No official release date or carrier has been announced yet, but the phone is rumored to hit the market between the end of 2008 and 1Q 2009. Can someone get Batman on the phone? He might have more info.

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I have to thank Chris Pirillo for hippin' me to this one.

Submitted for your approval: Hit Me On My iPWN!

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Nowadays, touch screen is pretty much a standard on most devices.

It existed long before Apple's widely successful iPhone, but not as intuitively. HP has taken a step in the right direction by releasing their touch screen pc and it looks pretty awesome. You know what would be better though? If Apple would release a touch screen Mac!

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"COMPUTER!"
"RAM!"
"MUSIC!" "SOUND!" "IMAGE!" "GO PANDA!!!!"

Panda: With your geekdom combined I AM TINY TECH PANDA!

Pandalicious here donning the "techie" hat to become TINY TECH PANDA! Now what could I possibly have up my tiny tech panda sleeve to share from Gadgetville in the land of ESH? This is simple ladies and gentlemen. Today I have a review of the one and only Razer Piranha!

Now I know what you all are thinking...and yes I dig snakes, but this isn't a snake! It is a headset of awesomeness and extreme comfort! On the rating scale I give this headset a 4 out of 5.

*~Panda Testimonial~*
::Cues spotlight, violins and light snowfall::
When I was a young panda before the days of Machood and true gamer l33tn33z, the only way I could hear other people was to actually have them in my house...or.... they would record themselves via WAV and send them through e-mails [I know what you are thinking! who would do such a thing?!]

However now I have gone through technology puberty and have HUGE tracks of pwn33z! Also I have the ability to access hearing more than just the sounds in the games I play. I can now listen to the people that I play with! Granted, those who have had XBOXes long before me have been using microphones for a while, but when they switch to their PC games what do they don their heads with? If these gamers were smart they would check out the Razer Piranha.

Da Pros
+Comfortable on the head
+ Big cushy earmuffs
+ Cool Stylish Logo instead of word labels
+ Nifty Volume control for easy access
+ long cord for moving around [and the grabbing of the snackage!!]
Da Cons
- Adjusting headset is a little difficult
- Mute button is sadistic and hates you!
- For Mac users you will need an iMic attachment to use it since it is designed for uncool Computers that aren't Macs!

Overall Tiny Tech Panda wasn't upset about the death of her third Logitech headset because of this divine piece of sweet head....gear!

To see more than what I mentioned here go to www.razerone.com, and feel free to tell me what you think!

This is Pandalicious and don't you dare say I don't know a thing about gadgets!

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When it comes to listing the current sexy [and expensive] cell phone gadgets, there's no denying that the Apple iPhone is seated firmly at the top of the list. If you have an iPhone and are terrified of damaging it, then this post may be helpful for you. I'm going to review the iPhone Defender case for the iPhone by OtterBox.

There are a lot of different cases made by a plethora of different companies that serve can project your precious device in various ways. If you carry your iPhone in your pocket then you probably are looking for a case that doesn't add a lot of bulk to your device, and that will protect it from the other items you may have in your pocket. If you carry it in a bag, you may look for a case that will keep your iPhone from being dented by the heavier items in your bag, or from liquids that you carry along with you during your daily commute. After a month with the iPhone Defender Series case by OtterBox, I can say that the Defender series can be a great protective case for your iPhone. Like many of the cases that OtterBox is known for creating, the iPhone Defender is a water resistant hard case with protection in mind. It features a silicone membrane that slips over the main hard case which aids in your gripping the phone so it doesn't slip out of your hand, or off the dashboard of your car. The hard case itself is made up of two interlocking pieces that once closed leave the headphone jack and dock connector area of the iPhone exposed for easy connection to your peripherals. It's good to note that the iPhone is not dockable when in this case. The texture of the membrane is keeps the phone comfortable in your hand if you have to hold the phone for long periods of time, which you are familiar with if you've ever used the google map feature for driving directions.

The Defender comes with a hard plastic holster with swivel clip that complements the case, but add quite a bit to it's overall bulk and is the first negative thing I have to say about the Defender. While the holster is solid, and firmly locks in place as you swivel, it's hard to overlook how much it affects the footprint of the iPhone. The clip of the holster is broad and not easily swayed from the pocket or belt you clip it on. While in the holster, you will only have access to the sleep/wake button at the top of the phone, the headphone jack, and the volume controls on the side of the device. This is where my other major complaint about this particular case comes in. While a great amount of detail went into this case, you have no access to the silence switch at all while your phone is encased in it. The only way you can turn sound on and off is by using the settings controls on the phone which is tedious at best.

All in all, the OtterBox iPhone Defender Case delivers everything it promises: protection against light precipitation, bumping, dropping, dirt and dust for your 4GB, 8GB, or 16GB iphone. It is not as affordable as some of the other cases that offer similar protection, but $49.95 is a small price to pay for extra protection of your $399 or $499 iPhone.

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Ok, I know what you are thinking. Here comes another startup company touting yet another ipod related set of products. The slick hand stitching and custom leather look of Phiaton's [Fee ah ton] Primal Series headphones certainly fits the bill of a company attempting to ride Apple's coat tails to the top of the personal music market.

Upon first look thats exactly what crossed my mind too. But these products boats quite a pedigree. They are made by a company called Cresyn, a Korean company that has made components for Sony, Audio Technica, Kenwood, and many others since 1957. So you have probably already been listening to their merchandise for some time.

The PS-500 series is the performance focused model of the line. These full sized head huggers claim a frequency range of 5hz-30,000hz reaching well above and below what our feeble human ears can identify (perfect human hearing covers from 20hz-20,000hz). You won't catch me complaining about super deep bass response or crystal clear high end. Plus they sport a high level of sensitivity and a huge amount of power handling. In short these things will rock your dome with the lowest lows and highest highs your ears can take before ever coming close to their point of distortion.

For you technological ninjas out there in need of something a bit stealthier, the Primal series offers up their PS 200 in-ear headphones. These lightweights still hit like their big brothers with a range of 8hz- 30,000 hz. They accomplish this impressive statistic by using a tiny woofer and tweeter just like your regular speakers, only these are sealed to your earholes with airtight memory foam tips. The in ear design also offers isolation from whatever's bugging you. Long flights, noisy metro cars or just the creepy guy who won't stop talking to you on the bus. Add to that their distinctive design and you've got a real crowd pleaser.

In ear headphones aren't for everyone though. For those of us who find them annoying but still need some isolation the PS 300 NC offer the perfect solution. Their active noise canceling system uses a custom designed “lithium-polymer” battery to provide 20 hours of uninterrupted listening.. Although I hope for your sake you'll give your ears a break and not test that claim. These are ready to travel with you with extension cables, four adaptors to recharge wherever you're stuck, and an extra battery all in a carrying case.

Posted By FreeLoader: Cmarks

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Wouldn’t it be awesome to play your favorite mmorpg on a portable device? I know what you’re thinking. “I do that already with my laptop.” Well I’m talking about something just a bit more portable than your average-sized laptop.

How many times have you missed the train or bus to work because you didn’t want to log out of your mmorpg? Have you ever wished you could take your mmorpg with you on that long family trip so you’ll have something to do in the car? Well the OQO model 0.2 might be what you’re looking for. The OQO is basically an ultra mobile PC capable of running XP or Vista and weighs about one pound. You can also play a variety of other pc games on the system.

Here’s World of World fully functioning on the system.

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I put a lot of effort into not turning this website into my personal rant space. I'm not the only member of the ESH Crew. My pet peeves may or may not be shared by the other editors or even you, our loyal readers, but something happened yesterday that to this very moment still pisses me off to no end. Allow me to explain.

If you are a regular visitor to this site, you know that I [like most of the ESHer] work a day job. This "do this in order to get your bills paid" obligation requires that I use the D.C. mass transit system to get from my humble apartment into the district. While most people tend to hate mass transit, I have been one of the few to totally embrace and love it.

I love riding the train in and out of work.

My commute into work [which is shortly over 40 minutes] is something I look forward to each day I go into work. The train I catch starts out just late enough to miss the morning rush hours, so I always get a seat. People soliciting for their respective religion/magazine/money have all left the station by the time I get there so it's a simple and smooth transition from point A to point B. I take my seat, pop in my earbuds, and watch some video on my iPhone or listen to some podcasts. It's great. Let me rephrase that. It's normally great.

Yesterday, I was running late leaving work and just barely caught the train. And by just barely I mean I had to run to make it to the end of the car in front of me. There was no place to sit, so I had to stand over the in the corner. No big deal, as the next two stops are usually the most popular stops for people exiting the train. So I, following my routine, proceed to whip out my earbuds and iPhone to start watching some video on my way home. I had started a movie in the morning and was picking up where I left of. The movie I started was SuperBad [which I'm loving by the way] and realizing that it probably isn't the best movie to watch in the wide open space, I backed myself into a corner to keep the screen from reflecting off of any surfaces and decided to not sit down at all during my trip home. I didn't want any of the people sitting behind me to be forced to see anything that they may find upsetting.

When we got to the next stop at least twelve people exited the train like normal, but a bigger bunch got on. I think a lot of people were running late because of the bad weather that was heading our way. So the train car became a little crowded. A very tall guy and his "lady friend" ended up standing near me. There were a couple of single seats available, but I guess they decided to stand until two seats together were available. I dunno, and now I don't really give a damn. Anyways, the tall dude is the closest too me and from the corner of my eye I'm able to see that he's looking down over my shoulder at the movie. I can hear him chuckle a bit, and think to myself, "oh cool, he "gets" this movie too," and decide to pay no more attention to him. I focus back on the movie. I'm at the part where Seth finally realizes what the stain on his pant leg is. It's a priceless moment really, but just then I catch more motion out of the corner of my eye. It's from the couple near me. Turns out I wasn't the only one that heard the tall dude chuckle, his "lady friend" heard him as well. Curious as to what he was laughing at, she moved in closer to me [she was also taller than me... what can I say, I'm mad short] and peeked over my shoulder at my screen. She however, did not "get" the movie, and started a tirade of what I can only call verbal diarrhea that in some circles passes for conversation not only with her "man friend," but eventually with others on the train as well.

It seems that this "lady" had taken huge offense to what I was watching on my iPhone. From the early bits of her little public speech I was able to gather that she felt that I had invaded her private space by having my video on and that my watching content "like that" in public just goes to show what little I care about the world I'm surrounded by. When her man friend only silently shrugs in total fake agreement, she gets louder and tries to recruit a couple of the people around her in her cause. "Well I don't think it's right to watch porn in public? And I doubt anyone on this train will either!" And, I'd agree with her on any day. Pornography in public is never a good idea. Kids are everywhere these days, and where there are kids, there should NOT be porn.

But I wasn't watching porn, I was watching a comedy.

I was watching said comedy on a device whose screen is less than four inches wide. I was listening to said comedy using a set of in ear earbuds, so there wasn't an audible noise coming from me. I never invaded "her" space, if anything she invaded mine. I was off in a corner by myself. I had my back to a non-reflective surface. Each of those people had to move from their original positions to look over my shoulder to view what I was watching. I didn't invite them over. At no time did I walk over to them and shove my iPhone in their face like, "Look! Look! You know you wanna watch my movie! If you're good I'll pause on the frame with the nipples!" So why am I looked down on, and made to feel the villain here when I've done nothing wrong. Who the hell are you to pass judgement on how I get through my daily commute? Who the hell are you to pass judgement on any person keeping their entertainment to themselves? Why does anyone person feel like they get to enforce their will on another on the basis of disagreeing personal opinions?

When she doesn't get the uproar that I guess she was looking for from other patrons on the train, she looks back down at me as if to shame me into turning my video off. The sad thing, is for a moment I was about to do it. I don't like rocking the boat unless it's really necessary. "NinJa" is just part of my pen name. I'm a gamer and not a fighter.

As I moved my fingers over the screen of my iPhone I realized that if I stopped this movie from playing, I would have let this "lady" completely bully me into doing something I didn't want to. I'm a grown ass woman, and I don't have to do a damn thing I don't want to. So instead of turning off my movie, I just turned my volume up and shifted my weight.

That "lady" wasn't pleased at all. She shook her head, rolled her eyes, and whipped out her Blackberry. One thing that I'm fairly sure of, whatever she was looking at on her Blackberry wasn't nearly as entertaining as my movie.

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You may not know about B&o, but I grew up with my father idolizing them and the products they made. He dreamed about owning some of their home stereo equipment and would keep some of their catalog pages like pinup pictures in his locker at work.

As I've gotten older and taken a deeper look at their products, I like my father before me have become infatuated with B&o.

I was lucky enough this year to attend B&o's small press event at the Venetian Hotel, and the word "impressed" does not begin to convey how I felt about the products they were demo-ing. Now before I continue, this is not a love song to B&o. Some of the stuff they were showing off really made no sense to me as viable products for those of us in the peanut gallery. While I loved their $1300 cell phone, it's not really viable as a real purchase option for me, or most of the people I know. But, B&o is definitely working towards entering a broader market with the introduction on the 32 inch BeoVision 8.

Retailing for $3950, this tv is by far not for the broke or those hovering around the brink, but if you want a tv that has truly amazing sound, a built in downward firing subwoofer built in that features a style truly all it's own you should really check this system out. With a system from B&o, you enter into a patnershi for the life of your device. B&o is known for it's commitment to service and quality of product that I have never seen from any other company.

I'll have some pictures for you soon.

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When it comes to great looking high fashion tech accessory cases you can have practical but ugly, great design but not really useful or you can get both great design and practicality but you are not going to get both without paying big bucks.

As a result we end up with mediocre bags that fit are needs but really were made with the supposed "hip" business men in mind... but no more Golla's new spring collection fills our particle side as well as having a mean design sense. They make every thing from bags for your phones and ipods to laptop sleeves and backpacks. The company is based in Finland and all of there products have a great European style to them yet the designers have thought about all the ways people are going to be using there technology.

Music Bags
The music bags really stood out to me because while they were design with the mp3 player in mind they really can be for a variety of devices from you phone to camera. There are multiple pockets where you can slip in an ID or metro card and there is even a great zipper pocket on the back so you can put items you want to be really secure. They have also opted to not do a belt clip in favor of a small carabineers which I think will led it's self to be more versatile.

Backpacks
Golla also introduced new colors with both males and females in mind for there backpack collection. For anyone who has had to dig through there bag trying to find that one item that you swear you had with you only for it get lost in the dark pit then this is the bag for you. The back compartment is for you laptop but unlike conventional backpacks you load your computer from the side making it so much easier to fit everything. The second compartment where I at lease end to just dump everything else into has see-through zipper compartments so you can put everything into it perspective place. But just in case you forget where you put it you phone those see-though pocket come in handy.

So the final part where can you get these bags? Depending on what you are looking for there are a variety of places from cellular store like AT&T Wireless for the phone and music bags to Target for the laptop sleeves and backpacks. While the holidays are over and we are all strapped a little for cash now you can think of these are part of your New Years resolution to get organized.

Posted by FreeLoader Megwin

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While there are thousands of great new tech gadgets being showcased at CES this week what has caught my eye is all of the fun cases out there to hold and organized all those gadgets. It is almost an overload of sparkling logo branded cases... so I am going to endeavor to select some of the more fun or exciting new products.

Crocs + Cell Phone Cases?
We are going to get it started with one of the most bizarre new accessories out there the Crocs Phone Case. The makers of those ugly, yet oh so popular shoes have decided that the shoe market is not enough and have created a phone holder. Now I am venomously apposed to the shoes some how the combination between the color and the shape always reminds me of clown shoes. And yet somehow I am kind of drawn to them as phone cases, minis the charms of course. The cases are made out of the same materials as the famed shoes, and sport a very sturdy belt clip. The only really drawback that I can see in the design is the flimsy plastic that the ID card slot is being made out of... after sliding those cards in and out a few times and that thing is toast. I would expect to see young children and soccer mom's alike sporting these babies in the near future.

Embracing Design...
While much of what Belkin has come out with is what you come to expect from them sleek urban design that while nice done not always scream I need to have. This year there were a few items that did catch my eye. In the iPhone/iPod case area much of what they have are just a variation on there same theme just in new spring colors. Though the new Nike-esk Micro Grip looks great though it only comes in lavender and smoke gray. Belkin was also featuring new laptop bags and the Ceylon Messenger Bag stands out as a must have for this spring. It comes in a variety of both boy and girl friendly colors and sports a cellphone case on the strap. The best part is that it is only going to retail for around $50 so that is not so bad is you are looking new look.

Posted By FreeLoader Megwin

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I landed [after a bit of a delay] in Las Vegas this morning, and after enduring the LONGEST TAXI CAB LINE EVER, I was able to get over to the Philips Press conference.

This year's event is not much more different than last years. The chairs were still covered with white slip covers giving the illusion of being at a wedding reception. There was a lot of talking heads, pumping up the new partnerships here and there. [Disney being one new Philips partnership meaning Philips has jumped onto the Blu-Ray bandwagon and RealNetworks being the other.]

No, the thing that I came away from the event with was the direct marketing to women that Philips seems dead intent on pushing to it's limits. In what was nearly a "did I really just see/hear that" moment, I watched as Stewart Muller Sr. VP US Sales at Philips explained to me how women shop and what we want. According to Mr. Muller, we want heart shaped Swarovski crystal encrusted USB pendants, and earbuds. Oh yeah, they "deliver high quality sound... and look great too!" Blah Blah.

Now, I'm a woman, and even I [along with the room full of nearly all male journalist who scoffed at these announcements loudly with almost with childlike glee] had to kinda laugh to myself on this one.

Philips 2008 - Pretty Pretty Princess Tech!

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I hope you folks have gotten all of the commercial crap done and over with so you can now sit back, and enjoy the rest of the holiday season. But on the off chance you haven't, here's a quick tip for you. If you still have some gamer folks, technophiles, or anime fans left on you list you still have time to get them something they'll love.

For the anime fan, you can gift them a copy of the anime Trinity Blood either via iTunes as a digital download or from your local Best Buy on the way to their house in the morning. Trinity has some deep moments, some light ones, characters that you genuinely come to care for, and a sexy vampire Vatican priest. What more do you need? If that may not get your otaku friends' attention, try handing them a copy of Death Note or Le Chevalier D'eon.

Now, that tricky technophile, and technophiles are damned tricky people... make no mistake. Now you could go the iPhone route, or get them something that they will worship you for, the Slingbox Solo. With this gift, they can watch TV [HD or SD] anywhere in the world from their computer or cell phone. Compatible with both the Windows and Apple platforms, you nearly can't go wrong. [Especially since it'll only set you back $180 buck]

And that gamer? Simple. Give them a $200 buck gift card to Game Stop. Why $200? Why Game Stop? Well, Game Stop works best because they sell used games for consoles as well as games for the Windows platform and DVD's. A gift card for this store will pretty much cover any video gamer you may have yet to buy for. They also sell some of the more popular trading card game card packs so you may even be a hero to that non-digital gamer friend you have. Why $200 bucks? Simple. A brand new game on the XB360 system or PS3 will run you between $60-$80 plus tax. You can't guarantee that your particular giftee will only purchase used titles. By giving them a couple of bones to play around with you give them the option to shop the new stuff and walk out with a couple of titles or dive deep into the previously played and take home a treasure trove of gaming, video goodness. Either way, you end up the person they brag about to all their other friends. Plus 10 awesome exp for you.

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Here's a big yay for you kids...

Third party apps are coming to the iPhonenext spring.

I saw this note on the Apple hotnews page and then a post on Wired and I got all happy in the pants area. Then I realized it was just because I was getting a text message on my iphone and I had it on vibrate. Whoopsies!

So, for all the people bitching about there not being a GPS app on the phone without cracking the sucker [thus voiding their warranty] quit yer bitchin' and get to coding. I want to see a true NES emulator and blogger native app by the summer.

That is all.

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Ok, what happens when you have a desire to be mixmaster mike, but the budget of a college student?

Well, you take your lappie, get your hands on an optical mouse, then score a copy of Xylio's Future Decks Lite, and a left over pizza box and you too can digitally scratch like the pros!

I give you, DJ Digiorno

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