Awesome Tech

HTC’s Touch Cruise is mid-range phone targeted towards globetrekkers; it includes a cradle for in-car GPS navi, a Footprints app for geotagging, a 2.8″ QVGA screen and quad-band GSM.

Not content to rest on their photographic laurels, Leica’s Pradovit D-1200 is their first digital projector; it sports a retro design, 16:10 format, 2500:1 contrast range and up to 2000 Lumen.

Though virtually the same as Razer’s premium Megalodon in terms of headphone and mic specs, the Carcharias halves the price by leaving out the virtual 7.1 channel surround sound.

Trackball mice are out of vogue, but Kensington’s SlimBlade pays more than lip service to their remaining users with a low-profile design, four buttons and multi-mode software.

If you hate tangled cords as much as we do, these Flexicord Cables are a godsend: they remember their original coiled shape, allowing them to reduce clutter yet stretch when needed.

Nearly half a decade in the making, Phantom’s Lapboard is finally shipping February 20th; Gizmodo already has a review up: pricey and awkward, but it fits comfortable in your lap.

Fujitsu’s F-01A seems destined for some primo beach time; it’ll survive up to 30 minutes underwater and features a 3.2″ touchscreen, 5.2MP camera, GPS and TV tuner.

If you thought your custom-etched iPod was cool, Chris Maguire’s laser-etched Eee PC will knock your plumber’s overalls off: it details the complete level maps of Super Mario Land.

Let their be light … and sound: this SoundBulb concept seems a mite futuristic, as it not illuminates with LED lamps but streams music via Wi-Fi or bluetooth through 8ohm speakers.

Available starting March 2009, iLuv’s i1166 portable media player is jam-packed with goodies; it not only plays DVDs at 16:9 on its 9″ TFT LCD, but unfolds to serve as an iPod dock.

In addition to controlling your iPod, the Nike+ iPod Watch Remote takes their Sport Kit one step further: it’ll give you voice feedback on your time, distance, calories burned and pace.

They look a bit clunky, but Rainer Spehl’s oak wood laptop cases for the MacBook and MacBook Pro are more about style; they’re lined with leather and close with a magnetic latch.

Michael Arrington/TechCrunch’s low-end tablet, Prototype B is in working order: it features a 12″ touchscreen, Via Nano, 1GB RAM, 4GB flash drive, Wi-Fi and camera for about $299.

The Creative HS-1100 is their latest gamer-friendly USB headset; it uses Silencer tech to wipe out ambient noise while improving speech clarity, dual mics and 3D positional surround sound.

If you’re expecting a dry summary of the 2009 CES in Vegas, look elsewhere; Current’s Ben Hoffman spends his time ridiculing absurd gadgets and harassing hapless exhibitors.

Viliv’s X70 Atom MID is a lighter, non-swiveling version of the S7 with the same 7″ touch screen, but swaps one option for another: no 1.86GHz, but buyers can choose Linux or XP.

It may not be pretty, but Motorola’s Tundra meets US Military specs for abuse while managing to pack a decent feature set with 3G, SMS, email, 2MP camera, aGPS and microSD slot.

Most likely the fastest single-GPU available, NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 285 is about 10% faster than its GTX 280 brethren; it sports 240 stream processors and 1GB of GDDR3 memory.

Panasonic’s RP-HJE900 in-ear headphones are the first to be made with Zirconia (ZrO2); the material boasts less resonance than plastic or aluminum for distortion-free sound reproduction.

At 10,000 lumens, Sanyo’s PLC-XF71 screams ultimate bachelor pad; however, with a 3000:1 contrast ratio and 1024×768 resolution, it’s really a pro-level projector for presentations.

Leica may seem overpriced and obsolete to some, but die-hard fans are no doubt salivating over this M8 Safari, which sports brushed silver accents and a Summicron 28mm F2.0 bundle.

Although largely unremarkable, Panasonic’s Lumix FS15 and FS7 cameras have an ace up their sleeves: a 29mm wide-angle Leica lens with stabilization and 4x-5x optical zoom.

While we question their quality, Sony’s Japan-only MDR-EX36SC earbuds use convergence on a small scale: the protective case actually doubles as a passive speaker.