New Gadget & Gizmos in Market

Nokia N900

The Nokia N900 is designed to bringing mobile and desktop computers closer, in terms of experience. One of the primary focuses in this device is the ability to heavily multi-task, so the device does not slow down if you get a call while surfing the internet and want to dig into the contacts you have to message. There is a touch screen interface, as well as a full QWERTY keyboard that slides out. Under the hood is an ARM Cortex-A8 processor, 32 GB of RAM with 768 MB of virtual memory that essentially gives applications over 1 GB of memory to work with. The device will use a customized version of the Linux OS called Maemo, on the heels of Google’s adoption of Android, another Linux-based mobile OS. The device is available at around €500 (Rs. 35,200)

Surface Tension

The Surface Tension Arcade Table is an innovative approach to furniture. Surface Tension manufactures tables with a large touch screen interface, and a computer built in to the table itself. The Arcade edition of this coffee table has two set of full arcade controls and comes with over 60 retro games, and any game that is compatible with MAME can be installed later on. Windows XP is used on the machine, so you can install any software you want and use the table as a regular computer. Additionally, you can play movies, browse through photos and surf the internet all with a great 1200 by 700 mm touch interface. The Arcade edition is available for £2,999 or Rs. 2,39,690 from www.surfacetension.net

Canon Powershot SX20IS

The Canon PowerShot SX20 IS is a follow up on the well received Canon Powershot SX10, which they released last year. The camera brings pro features to the point and shoot domain, with easy to use functionality, but leaving the option for a pro to manipulate settings manually. The camera packs in a 1 by 2.3 inch sensor with a 12.1 MP count, a staggering 20X optical zoom, 1280 x 720 full HD movie recording, and an continuous shoot feature that lets you shoot till you fill up the card. The camera is priced at $400 (Rs. 19,300)

Fender 57 Champ Custom

Fender is bringing back an old classic amp, that would put any buyer in the same league as the best of rock legends. Eric Clapton, no less, used this particular model to record Layla. The materials used for the amp are the same used when the amp was originally made, and the entire piece is hand-wired. This is not an imitation, or a mass-produced abomination, you can own an authentic piece of rock history for $1,000 (Rs. 48,500)

Samsung LN65B650

This astonishingly large (65-inch) CCFL backlit LCD TV from Samsung is sure to give those large Plasma screens a run for their money. The TV boasts of a propriety Auto Motion Plus 120Hz refresh rate and a 4 millisecond response time, with a full HD 1080p resolution. This reduces blur during the action scenes of a movie, but users can customize the blur settings. The Medi@2.0 suite can stream wireless content, or play clips off YouTube, among other connectivity options. What is really appealing is the power consumption, as the device meets the latest Energy Star standards, something that not too many Plasma screens can claim. The TV is available for $6,000 (Rs. 29,300)

GigaPan Epic 100

The GigaPan is a set of robotic systems that lets users take astoundingly large images using an automated robot. The device is a mount with a clicker that carefully moves a camera, and takes as many shots as the user specific, in a grid, and stitches the photos together resulting in large, very detailed panoramas, with tremendously large megapixel counts (called GigaPixel by the site). GigaPan systems was teasing the world with some amazingly detailed shots put up on their website, and a product is finally out in the market. The GigaPan Epic 100 is available for $449 (Rs. 21,720)

PSPGo

Sony’s rationale for making the PSP Go seems to be to make a smaller, more compact and lighter device for pocket gaming. The PSP Go, which has hit the American markets early this month, sports a 16GB flash drive instead of the UMD memory, and a screen that slides up to reveal the controls beneath. The only means of distribution of games however, is the official PSP store, a new mini-game section of which has opened along with the launch of the PSP Go. The PSP Go sells for $250 (Rs. 12,130)

Compo del Cielo Meteorite Fragment

Meteoritemarket.com sells a lot of space rock fragments. Most of the pieces for sale are tiny slices of a rock, that have been cut out from bigger stones. While those may be rare, hard to find and therefore expensive, if you just want to show off a big chunk of space rock, pick the Campo del Cielo fragments, which don’t look like they have been cut out from a larger piece, and there are pretty big pieces on sale too. This is a particularly large piece (over 5 KG) that is available for $700 (Rs. 33,980)

JVC LT-32WX50

JVC is debuting in the backlit LCD market and how. The LT-32WX50 is just 7 mm thin at its thickest point, and goes down to 6.4mm at its thinnest. This particular screen wouldn’t look ugly or intrude into space when mounted on a wall. The screen weights just around 5 KG. The LT-32EX50 offers full 1080p HD resolution, a 4000:1 contrast ratio, and displays 90% of Adobe’s RGB color space. Be prepared to shell out US $ 3,000 (Rs. 1,45,711) though

Leica M9

The Leica M9 is a spectacular piece of craftsmanship. The M series has a long history, and this is one of the world’s smallest rangefinder cameras. Although the body is tiny, at 139x37x80 mm, the Leica M( manages to pack in a large 24×36mm sensor. The large and chunky dials make it easy for photographers to adjust the settings, and the M9 has a dial just for the ISO settings. The Leica M9 includes a license for Adobe Lightroom in the package. You can pick one up for £4,850 (Rs. 3,93,300)