You’re really, really hungover and in need of a powerful triple espresso shot just to get through the day. But that journey out to the coffee shop is just so harsh. Here’s where the Maginfica comes in. This elegant machine is, by far, the easiest of the bunch to use. The fact that it yields delicious espresso based drinks is just foam. Milk dispensing and cleaning systems are also outstanding. But regular drip coffee? Even with some of the best grinds we could buy, it didn’t have much better flavor than Taster’s Choice. But hey, when your head is pounding from pounding too many tequila shots the night before, lackluster mud is the least of your troubles. —Neil Gellar

WIRED Superb cup warmer. Milk container cleans up nicely and has a large capacity Single push button easily cleans milk container.  Good value.  Front loading trays are convenient with limited counter space.

TIRED Milk canister must be removed to gain access to water tank. Grinder loud enough to wake the dead. Very few preset drink buttons.  Bean hopper is challenging and awkward to refill.

$1500, delonghi.com

»read more from "Review: Delonghi Magnifica Is a Magnanimous Mud Maker"

Posted Jan 31st 2008 1:01AM by Nilay Patel
Filed under: Peripherals
We’re not certain making a huge investment in Cardbus adapters is the wisest financial decision you can make, but if you’re looking to add a little Wireless USB action to your older lappy in the most upgrade-unfriendly way possible, IOGear’s got you covered. The company’s new Cardbus WUSB adapter does pretty much what you’d expect, but doesn’t yet have pricing or availability details. Still, unless you’ve got a crying need to finally use that empty slot, we’d recommend you stick to one of the many USB-to-WUSB dongles trickling onto the market.

»read more from "IOGear busts out a wireless USB CardBus adapter"

Posted Jan 31st 2008 2:18AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: GamingAfter bleeding red for months, Sony’s games division finally turned a profit last quarter. This after Sony slashed prices on consoles, boosted game titles, and cut production costs internally. Of course, we’re sure Wii shortages aren’t hurting Sony’s bottom line either. Sony did lower its annual sales goal of PS3s from 11 million to 9.5 million (citing a slow start) while increasing projections of PSPs to 13 million from 10 million as originally expected. Sony’s fiscal year ends in March. Overall, Sony’s profits rose 25% for the quarter. Welcome back to black Sony, it’s been a long time coming.

»read more from "Sony’s game division finally turns a profit"

Eye-Fi’s claim to fame would be to create the first wireless memory card for digital cameras in the world, and it comes as no surprise that the company has just announced that it will be working with Nikon Corporation to deliver “enhanced integration of the Eye-Fi Card with Nikon’s new D60 digital SLR camera”. Sounds pretty exciting to all you shutterbugs out there, doesn’t it? Anyways, Eye-Fi will also throw in Nikon’s “my Picturetown” online photography community to its Eye-Fi Service as yet another photo sharing option for users - as if there aren’t enough of these available in the market already today.

This collaboration will see Nikon’s D60 digital SLR make life much easier for photographers to wirelessly upload images via an Eye-Fi Card to their computer or favorite online photo sharing site. I like the hassle free environment instead of cursing oneself for not bringing the correct cable, especially if you’re a few hundred miles away from home. The recently introduced Nikon D60 DSLR will also hold the honor of being the first camera to be part of the “Eye-Fi
Connected” program. I guess that sometime down the road, there will be other digital cameras joining the D60’s rank where Eye-Fi endorsement is concerned.

According to Tadashi Nakayama, General Manager of Marketing for Nikon, “Nikon has been on the forefront of embracing wireless photography and finding innovative ways for users to share memories. By working with Eye-Fi, we’re making it easier than ever to save and share pictures without the inconveniences of wires and cables.” Amen to that, brother. Nikon’s D60 is smart enough to detect the Eye-Fi card when it is inserted, automatically adjusting its power timer settings to ensure that photos upload effortlessly for sharing and storing without having you to lift a finger.

Press Release

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Resolution of 14.something megapixels seems to be the new standard for digital SLRs, but that’s likely to change with the development of a new Sony image sensor. The CMOS chip boasts resolution of 24.8 megapixels and is the same size as a 35mm film frame, promising better image clarity and no silly conversion formulas to figure out how much zoom you’ll get from a lens.

There’s no word yet on plans to adopt the chips. But with image sensors continually shrinking in point-and-shoot cameras, inevitably at the expense of image quality, here’s hoping more SLR makers will see the benefit of working with full-frame sensors.

PMA: Sony Announces 24MP 35mm CMOS Sensor [Adorama]

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Yup, if you guessed this was a UFO, crazy new portable grill or drug paraphernalia, you are wrong.  This funky looking Gizmo is called the Swiss Hot Steam Humidifier.

This compact humidifier boils water eliminating waterborne bacteria and viruses before pouring hot steam into the air improving air moisture in warm but very dry winter homes. The unit fits just about anywhere and is a conversation piece but actually works and can produce steam in as little as three minutes. You can adjust the output from one to two gallons per day and adjust the power consumption from 150- to 300-watts at the touch of a button. An LED illuminates when the humidifier requires additional water and the reservoir removes for ease of filling under a faucet.

Gimmie!

Suggested Price: $99.95

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I find it amusing how our phones now have more ways of interacting with them than just buttons. Accelerometers, touchscreens, proximity sensors, all make our experience with our phones a bit more interactive. Now we see the introduction of ShakeSMS, an app developed by a keen user, that employs the accelerometer in the Nokia S60 to interact with the phone. Instead of unlocking the device, then navigating to through menus to read a new text message, the user simply has to shake the device to read the message, and shake it again to close and lock the phone. This app is still being developed and lacks a UI, and is not currently available to the public, but still an innovative way to interact with a device. Check out this video to see the application in action.

Read [Symbian-Freak]

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Sharp has presented a lightweight (132g) handset for the Asian market, it is full of good features but sadly it can only be purchased in that part of the world.

The 922SH has two options for wireless connections - bluetooth to transfer files from one device to the other, and HDSPA so you can get connected to the internet. The 1-Seg service is good enough to receive audio and video signals, which means that you can either listen to radio or watch TV.

Since the Sharp 922SH can receive plenty of video content, it must have a good screen, and that is when the 3.5-inch display (with 480 x 854 resolution) joins the party.

It comes with four different colors including pearl white, metallic black, bronze gold and pearl pink.

PS - a QWERTY keyboard is also part of the handset that is suppose to be launched on March.

Via AVING

»read more from "Sharp announces 922SH handset"

The only thing luxurious about this handset from Tiffany’s would be the $94,000 price tag that includes 400 diamonds that come up to a total of 20 carats. The only thing we know about its specification would be having it run along at 3G speeds on Japan’s uber-fast Softbank Mobile network. It will launch sometime next month, and will probably make a trip to the pawn shop not too soon after I believe. Heck, if you own a jewelry shop, maybe you can pick this up, take apart the 400 diamonds and fashion them into rings to make a profit in the process.

»read more from "Tiffany Offers Luxurious Phone"

While lounging in your living room on a Pyramat with a console controller in both hands is relaxing, you can also get a similar Pyramat treatment with their new PC Gaming Chair 2.1. It looks like a fairly standard office chair at first glance, but one will notice two full range speakers located near the headrest and a PowerSub subwoofer for that added ‘oomph’ to your games. It connects to your PC sans wires thanks to an integrated digital wireless receiver. The future of comfortable gaming is here, complete with an input for MP3 players, an armrest mounted wheel and touch controls. The Pyramat PC Gaming Chair 2.1 will retail for £149.99 and was already on display at CES ‘08 under the Gaming Showcase section. Check out our past Pyramat stories.

»read more from "Pyramat PC Gaming Chair 2.1"