Da Gadgetz

It's been awhile since we last saw the xpPhone, a quick, quiet demonstration at Computex that left us doubting whether the thing would ever see the light of day outside a packed showroom floor. It seems our doubts are about to be put to rest as ITG, creator of the thing, has thrown up a pre-order page on the phone's website. There's no mention of a price, and indeed you won't be asked to plunk down any cash right now (it's not much of a pre-order), but what's interesting is that it asks you to choose between 3G modules for Vodafone, Orange, or AT&T. That means ITG seemingly has aspirations of a global release for this thing, and while we're not sure how many people are going to want to lug around a MID-sized monster celly with a "super big" 4.8-inch LCD and a weight of nearly a pound, surely some nation in the world has pockets big enough for this.

Z Corporation has unveiled its latest 3D scanner that claims to be the world’s most affordable 3D scanner. It may well be the world’s most affordable, but it is still hugely expensive with an MSRP of $28,900. The scanner is designed to capture 3D data and put the data into a computer.

The scanner is designed for reverse engineering, product design, and other applications. The ZScanner 600 has a resolution down to 0.1mm and XY accuracy of up to 80 microns. The scanner is handheld and very portable and can scan an object in one continuous scan rather than in multiple shots that require lots of post processing to form a cohesive scan.

The scanner also includes the ZScan Lite software that produces a .stl file automatically for importing into a 3D CAD software package and output to a 3D printer. The scanner “paints” the object being scanned with a laser crosshair and the surface is then scanned by the binocular cameras. The software the scanner runs on generates a mesh of the surface on the computer screen in real-time. The object being scanned can be moved during the scanning process. The scanner is available to purchase now.

The chassis (which we expect is at least 12 pounds) is built around the 15.4 inch screen (though the first units that come to market will have 16-inch or 17-inch screens) and its twin, identically sized screen slides out from behind the first using a uniquely designed sliding mechanism.They will run Windows 7 and be powered by Intel Core 2 Duo processors (we would love to see some mobile Core i7 love here), 4GB of RAM and high-end Nvidia GF900M GT discrete graphics. The plan is for fast 7,200 RPM hard drives and six or nine-cell batteries. It will also have a DVD player so you can watch a flick on one screen and refresh Giz on the other. "It is absolutely the opposite of a netbook," he told us. Yea that is no kidding with a price tag that he is hoping to keep under $3,000.

Barely more than 24 hours after the Nokia stunner of the century -- the company's announcement of the Booklet 3G "mini laptop" -- we're starting to get some more details about the 10.1-incher. Netbook News is reporting an unnamed source that claims the netbook will run $799 -- certainly not a netbook price. The Booklet will boast a 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530, and will reportedly boast a 120GB HDD, plus integrated 3G, a swappable SIM card, A-GPS, Bluetooth and WiFi. There is no official word on pricing or release date, but we're expecting to hear tell of all that at Nokia World (which is on September 2nd).

Specifications (base version)

Manufacturer Nokia
Model name Booklet 3G
CPU type Intel Atom Z530
CPU speed 1600 Mhz
OS Windows 7
Display Size 10"
Hard Disk 120 GB
Keyboard YES
Mouse Pointer YES
Weight 1250g
Size(w/h/d mm) 265/185/20 mm

Physical Interfaces
HDMI
SD card slot
USB2.0 (x3)
Line-out / Headphone (3.5mm)

Wireless Interfaces
802.11b/g
802.11n
BT (type unknown)
HSPA (7.2/2.0Mbps)

Additional Specs and Accessories (can vary)
WebCam

Optional Specs and Accessories (can vary)
Stereo speakers

Stylish alluminium casing, high battery life claim of 12hours, integration with OVI and OVI Maps.

An intermediate step between Livescribe and a touchscreen, the Duo by KCI Communications lets you use a stylus on your standard desktop or laptop display. It works (on devices up to 17-inches) by using a base station to track the XY coordinates of the pen as it makes its way around the screen. If that weren't enough, the pen also features functionality similar to Livescribe -- you can keep notes on traditional paper and transfer them to your PC later. Currently, this bad boy is only available for WIndows machines, but Mac drivers are in the works. Now, we haven't had the opportunity to play with one of these things, but maybe you'll want to take the plunge? If so, hit the read link -- shipping now for $119.95. But not before you check out the commercial after the break -- it's a classic.[Via CNET]

The historians once pontificated that we'd all be cruising about in flying cars right around the year 2000, and while that whole Y2K fiasco threw us a tad behind schedule, it looks like the future may actually still be upon us. Parajet, the same company responsible for that downright unnerving personal flying machine we peeked back in '05, has now placed its long-awaited SkyCar up for pre-order. Said vehicle has evolved quite dramatically over the years, but now that dollars (er, pounds) are being dropped on it, we have to assume that the design is near final. The vehicle is completely street legal and can accelerate to 62mph in just 4.2 seconds, thus making it the world's first "usable, road-legal flying car." If you're champing at the bit to be the first on your block with one, you can drop £10,000 ($16,381) now and pay the remaining £50,000 ($81,905) just before it ships in "late 2010." Of course, we're not making any promises about it actually shipping, but that's a risk you'll have to take.

It's not much, in fact, these screenshots are incredibly easy to fake. Still, a hastily constructed WordPress blog has been setup to host what are claimed to be the world's first screenshots of Google's new Chrome OS -- hailed as both a Microsoft Windows and Apple OS X killer or a Google FUD generator depending upon who you're listening to. As the story is told, a Google representative demonstrated a private beta build of the OS to an anonymous Acer parts supplier yesterday, presumably somewhere in Taiwan. The picture above was grabbed breathlessly while the Google rep was distracted. Highlights of the demonstration break down as follows:

• The "elegant" install on the Acer Extensa 4620Z laptop took about 10 minutes and 1 restart
• Reboots desktop-to-desktop in about 25 seconds
• It was "amazingly fast" in its stripped-down beta form
• The blue orb on the auto-hiding "Chrome Bar" along the bottom of the UI is essentially the start menu
• Navigating the file system can be done in "exploration" (like Windows explorer) or "browser" (search based) modes
• The Chrome Bar can also host a search bar if configured
  
• Future Chrome OS net books will feature an iconified Chrome key on the keyboard similar to the Windows flag key

Of course, it's a long, long time before this OS appears on next generation ARM and x86 smartnetbooks -- second half of 2010 according to the Google -- so who knows what the interface will look like by then. One more image after the break.

Simple plug and play operation with included software that allows you to magnify objects and view them on your PC up to 200X and take snapshots and time-lapse movies. You can also manipulate images with drawing and painting tools. The QX5 microscope is detachable from the stand to allow you to get closer to large objects.

• Take snapshots, video, and time-lapse movies
• 3 magnification levels - 10X, 60X, and 200X
• Super-brite LED lighting for bright top and bottom illumination
• Video playback at 15 frames/sec
• Resolution of 640x480
• Software works with Windows 98, Me, 2000, XP
• Handheld mode allows for expanded viewing possibilities
• Comes with: Microscope, USB cable, Stand, Specimen Jars, Sample Slide, Tweezers, Eye Dropper, Slide Clip, and Software CD-ROM

Graphic cards have gotten more and more complex in recent years, and these tend to let out a whole lot of heat as well. Thermaltake has a solution to that problem with its DuOrb AX VGA cooler that brings a couple of 80mm fans to fight the heat, boasting a maximum airflow of of 23.8 CFM at 2500 RPM when connected to an aluminum heatsink with a copper base and a couple of 6mm heatpipes. There is no word on pricing, but it ought to arrive in store shelves within two weeks’ time. The DuOrb AX VGA cooler is compatible with the following video cards :-

• NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT
• NVIDIA 8800 GTX/GTS/GT
• NVIDIA 8600 GTS/GT
• NVIDIA 7900 GTX/GT/GS
• NVIDIA 7800 GTX/GT/GS
• NVIDIA 7600 GT/GS
• NVIDIA 6800 GT/GS
• AMD/ATI Radeon HD 3870
• AMD/ATI Radeon HD 3850
• AMD/ATI Radeon X1950 PRO/XTX/XT
• AMD/ATI Radeon X1900 GT/XTX/XT
• AMD/ATI Radeon X1800 GTO/XL/XT