With my Sprint contract running out and having been frustrated with my HTC Mogul--more like Windows Mobile 6--it was clearly time to upgrade.
Our smartphone senior editor Bonnie Cha pointed me in the direction of the Palm Pre since I was adamant about having a touch-screen and physical keyboard. I was also drawn to the Pre because of the new WebOS operation system and Synergy functionality.
After having waited in line for almost two hours outside a Sprint store in downtown Manhattan, I was thrilled to get home and start playing around with my new Palm Pre.
A few hours later disaster struck. The phone began occasionally resetting when I opened or closed the sliding keyboard (see embedded video). A day later, it happens almost every time. After some quick searching on the PreCentral.net forums, I found that I was not alone. The issue doesn't seem to be widespread, but there are people out there who are experiencing the same thing.
Unfortunately, the Pre seems to be sold out everywhere here in Manhattan, so getting a replacement isn't going to be easy.
Anyone else having similar problems?
Make sure to check out today's episode of The 404 for an extended look at my Palm Pre situation and more launch day stories!
(Credit:
Kilian-Nakamur)
If you've ever wanted to look really, really close at your gums on television, then you might have a bit too much time on your hands. Fortunately, you can satisfy your strange videoral desires with the Miharu Intraoral Camera. The funky, toothbrush-shaped Japanese camera plugs into your television to pipe live footage of your teeth, gums, tongue, or any other body part you'd like to see close-up. For your reading pleasure, we've left out the sample pictures shown on the camera's site.
This isn't the first time we've looked at a gadget that gets up close with tiny things. The Dino-Lite handheld microscope can also take a good, clear look at your palette. Of course, it costs almost four times as much as the $159 Miharu, and it doesn't come with 25 disposable covers for keeping the slobber off of the lens. On the other hand, the Miharu can't magnify up to 200x and connect to a computer for easy photo or video capture; it only has a single RCA video cable for plugging into a TV. Either way, if you're jamming electronics onto or into your body and looking at the various bits close-up, you should take a good, long look at yourself. Figuratively.
Forget Black Friday. For the best deals on gadgets and PCs this holiday season, look no further than your neighborhood CompUSA.
The embattled electronics retail chain was dealt its final blow Friday when it was sold to Specialty Equity, an affiliate of private equity firm Gordon Brothers Group. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but the immediate result is that Specialty Equity will close all 103 CompUSA stores in the United States, according to a press release issued late Friday.
Gordon Brothers will "initiate an orderly wind-down" of each of the stores, the company says. That's great news for consumers looking for bargains. CompUSA will remain open through the holiday shopping season, presumably with "Everything Must Go!"-style signs.
It was clear all was not well at the retailer when in March it closed half of its stores due to pressure from bigger chains like Best Buy and Circuit City.
(Credit:
Yamagiwa)
Just like in the movies, they attack when you least expect it. It had been months since we'd encountered any spherical alien vehicles, but they're back--disguised a harmless air filter.
The "Antibac2K" claims to be a lightweight air-cleaning device that eliminates 99.99 percent of bacteria and other contaminants. That's a whole 0.02 percentage points more than other air filters, and we germaphobes all know how important that difference is.
But benefits aside, this circular menace is betrayed by its LEDs, which we all know the classic alien calling cards. We hope only that it doesn't joins forces with the evil Sanrio empire.
(Credit:
Tanita)
Admit it: At one time or another, you've tested your breath to see if it's lethal (and if you haven't, maybe you should). But the traditional unassisted olfactory methods--hand cupped over mouth and nose, etc.--are questionable at best.
"Breath Alert" to the rescue. When you're all out of gum or Binaca, this erstwhile gag gift could suddenly become as serious as a meatball sandwich with extra onions.
The device, which Coolest-Gadgets says "measures the volatile sulfide compounds and hydrocarbon gas that are present when breath is bad," assesses the grade of offensiveness on four levels. Sure, you may have your doubts about its effectiveness, but in an intimate situation do you really want to take a chance?
The 'Ball PC System'
(Credit: Directron)
The 'Barry' lamp
(Credit: Flux)While so many other computer companies are trying to hide their CPUs, a handful of brave mavericks are actually trying to draw more attention to them. But that doesn't mean they're building the standard and deadly boring old gray boxes.
Directron, for example, is selling one that looks more like a rubber ball than a PC--hence its name, the "Ball PC System." Not much is offered in the way of specs, pricing or availability, but SCI FI Tech says the shiny sphere splits open, spaceship-style, to reveal a 40GB hard drive between its hemispheres.
That means it will go perfectly with the "Barry" spherical LED lamp. If you get both of these, you'll be in good sted when the aliens come to take over the world.
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