Crave

Finally, a civilized way to wake up

Now this is our kind of alarm clock. Forget about those other ones that blow out your eardrums or fly and run away from you.

The "Jeeves" clock from Voco awakens you with one of 49 British quips from the voice of Stephen Fry himself, classically designed with Roman numerals and Ionic columns. An example from Pocket-lint: "Good morning, Sir. The prime minister phoned again. I told him you were not available. We shan't be treated like THAT again!" Indeed.

Blow away your camera's dust

As dust-busting has become an increasingly important factor in digital photography, competition has inevitably heated up in the resulting cottage industry. But this is the first cleaning device we've seen that comes with its own rocket.

The "FireFly" uses a "Giotto Rocket air blower bulb and advanced ionizing technology" to blow away tiny debris, quite literally, from a digital camera's sensor. The trick, according to Gadget Lab, is to use anti-static air that strips dust particles of their electrostatic charge.

Static superpowers aside, the FireFly still doesn't seem as sophisticated as the "… Read more

High-tech apparel goes bulletproof

Much of the clothing that's appeared on Crave has focused on technologies like music or communications gear sewn into the fabric. (Except for those dorky ties that Caroline McCarthy is so fond of.)

But if you're looking for a truly urban outfit, this may be for you: the bulletproof raincoat, which Spycatcher claims will resist everything from a pocket knife to "9mm Full Metal Jacket Round Nose projectiles." But Gizmodo notes that the $2,000 garment still leaves your neck exposed, so don't expect it to be of much help against vampires.

If you're … Read more

Jeepers! BetterLight's 416-megapixel camera

LAS VEGAS--Maybe BetterLight's 384-megapixel Super 8K-HS scanning camera is just too wimpy for you.

Well, you're in luck, because the San Carlos, Calif.-based company announced a new high-end model, the Super 10K-HS, that offers 416-megapixel images.

The company's products are geared for professionals with demanding needs in areas such as landscape or catalog photography. The new Super 10K-HS, announced Thursday here at the Photo Marketing Association trade show, is intended in particular for reproducing artwork or museum artifacts such as scrolls.

Technically, BetterLight doesn't sell cameras, but rather camera "backs" that attach to … Read more

DxO revamps photo editing tools for Vista

LAS VEGAS--DxO has updated two photography programs, releasing DxO Optics Pro 4.2 with Windows Vista support and adding new options to its FilmPack 1.1.

DxO Optics Pro is a stand-alone application or Adobe Photoshop plug-in that lets users adjust color, correct lens geometry problems, reduce noise. The new version 4.2 is compatible with Windows Vista and adds a feature called SmartVibrancy that increases color vividness without throwing skin tones out of whack. The company announced the moves at the Photo Marketing Association trade show here on Thursday.

The company also is working on a DxO plug-in to … Read more

Call a Sherpa: Sigma's 200-500mm lens

LAS VEGAS--When it comes to SLR cameras, there are big lenses with a long focal length, there are fast lenses with a wide aperture to gather lots of light, and flexible lenses with a wide zoom range.

Squeezing all three into the same lens is tough, but Tokyo-based lens maker Sigma has done just that with a model with a 200-500mm zoom range. It's got a wide aperture, F/2.8, for taking higher-speed shots.

But there's a catch: the lens weighs 40 kilograms, or about 88 pounds.

The company is showing off a prototype here at the … Read more

Verizon's LG VX9400 could launch this month

Just last week, Crave was in a bit of fix over the launch of V Cast TV from Verizon Wireless. Though we were excited to see the service take off, we couldn't help but bemoan the fact that only the Samsung SCH-U620 was supported at launch. It's not that the SCH-U20 was particularly bad, but rather that the other V Cast TV phone, the LG VX9400, was especially good. Not only did the quality look better on the VX9400, but we also loved the nifty swivel design of the ample display. Now, thanks to an anonymous tipster, Engadget Mobile … Read more

Bose upgrades in-ear headphones with free accessories

Last week, Bose indicated that it was revisiting the "stability issue" of its recently released in-ear headphones. At a media event today at its New York City Columbus Circle store, the company filled in the blanks on the somewhat vague invitation it issued last week--and the result is good news for any existing or prospective owner of the headphones.

Bose will be releasing an updated version of the in-ear headphones starting next week (March 15). Physically, the "new" headphones are identical to the existing models, except for the addition of a zebra-like black-and-white color scheme on … Read more

Palm reader: What's in the future for Palm?

Now, we're not ones to gossip (OK, yes we are) but there are a ton of rumors floating around the Internet about the future of Palm. Frankly, the stories have been so fast and furious over the past several days, it's all a bit dizzying. Kind of like whether Britney is in or out of rehab, but I digress. Getting back to the topic at hand, here's what we've heard so far, and remember these are just rumors at this point.

Is Palm for sale?: Speculation has started to grow that Palm is looking for potential … Read more