Awesome Tech

Measuring a scant 0.8″ thick and 4.2 oz, Pentax’s P80 is their new flagship ultra-compact camera; it boasts a 12 MP sensor, 720p video recording, 4x optical zoom, and 2.7″ LCD.

Drowning in a sea of hard drives from defunct computers? The USB to SATA/IDE kit can rescue your data from 1.8″-3.5″ IDE drives, 2.5″-3.5″ SATA drives and even optical drives.

We’re for efficiency, and Logitech’s tiny Unifying Receiver delivers it six-fold: it’s a 2.4 GHz wireless receiver that’ll connect with up to half a dozen mice, keyboards and other wireless devices.

Sticky Light is a smart laser scanner that uses a laser diode, mirrors and detector to trace contours, enabling you to play games like air hockey and pinball with bare hands. Thanks, Chris!

A-Data’s XP Plus DDR-2200+ DRAM is not only the world’s fastest at 2,200 MHz, but features CL8-8-8-8-24 timings, 2 oz of copper PCB layers, and a NASCAR paint job to match.

It may be a little bit geeky, but you’ll be guaranteed the full color spectrum with this Ink Cartridge Lamp; it uses the same eight Epson K3 cartridges found in 7800 and 9800 series printers.

Sony’s new 5″ Reader Pocket and 6″ Reader Touch e-readers both hope to undercut Amazon’s Kindle, with 512 MB, USB 2.0 port and $199/$299 price point; still missing: Wi-Fi.

D300s Pro Perspectives is a series of videos by photographers Robert Bosch and Ami Vitale using Nikon’s new HD video-capable D300s; the results are nothing short of spectacular.

Nikon’s 12.1 MP Coolpix S1000pj is the world’s first compact camera with a built-in LCOS projector; it’ll project VGA images up to 40″ in size with a 30:1 contrast ratio for up to 1 hour.

Blind Ear Music’s Wi-Fi Symphony is remarkable not just because it’s run wirelessly via a system of laptops; the composer is dynamically creating music using real musicians in real-time.

Launch your own satellite with the TubeSat Kit; price includes a 0.75 kg module with solar panels and antennas, a ride aboard a NEPTUNE 30 rocket and a few weeks in low earth orbit.

Withings’ Connected Scale gives new meaning to the World “Wide” Web: it uses Wi-Fi to keep track of your weight and body fat online, which can be accessed via iPhone or browser.

A scaled-down Gorillapod, the Gorillamobile secures cellphones and mp3 players to unconventional places; it uses the same three flexible legs and includes a trio of adapters.

Available 9/2/09 at AT&T, Samsung’s Solstice is a mid-range touchscreen phone with a matching price; it packs a 3″ haptic touchscreen, HSDPA, 2 MP camera and TouchWiz UI.

Logitech’s Webcam Pro 9000 gets a significant update: it can now record in 16:9 720p HD video thanks to a 2 MP sensor (good for 8 MP still shots) and Zeiss optics with autofocus.

Leaked in a video, LG’s BL40 “New Chocolate” is official; it boasts a 4″ wide-screen LCD good for 800×345 pixels and a Dual Screen UI, with a rollout beginning Q3 ’09 in 54 countries.

If you’ve got an Xbox 360 with an HDMI port, you’re in luck: the XCM Black Light Case is a stealthy black case with LED-backlit pre-cut window that’ll rotate between seven colors.

Nikon fleshes out its entry level DSLR offerings with the new D3000; a replacement for the D60, it sports the same 10.2 MP CCD sensor but packs a larger 3″ LCD and 11-point AF system.

Stephen Hobley wowed us with his Laser Harp, but it gets better: he’s hacked it to work with open-source Guitar Hero clone Frets on Fire, appropriately dubbing it Laser Harp Hero.

Kodak’s Zi8 gives the Flip a run for its money with full HD 1080p video recording, built-in image stabilization, SD/SDHC card slot, 5 MP still picture shooting and an external mic jack.

It won’t be abducting cows anytime soon, but AESIR’s Embler is UFO-like in its use of the Coanda Effect to create lift; it’s part of a line of UAVs the aerospace company is developing.

Sounding like an iPhone 3GS, Nikon’s 12.3 MP D300S gets speed and video: HD 720p @ 24 fps recording with autofocus and faster 7fps continuous shooting are its chief improvements.

As slick as the A40 Audio System is, we’ve been hesitating until now: the Cardboard Tube Samurai Edition sports Penny Arcade tags and spearheads Astro Gaming’s Artist Series.