Awesome Gadgets

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.

Impracticalities of a wood case aside, this S-series handset by student Simon Enever is an interesting blend of bamboo, black acrylic and stainless steel; any chance that’s a touchscreen, Simon?

eFizz doesn’t instill much confidence name-wise, but this all-in-one iPod dock and 2.1 stereo system cranks out 70 watts RMS through Cabasse speakers; it includes a HandMusic remote.

While the tiny numbers may not be ideal for the mainstream users this Freedom 2010 concept phone targets, its “keep it simple, stupid” philosophy features strike a chord with us.

Electro Harmonix’s Voice Box is a vocal synth processor: in short, sound like a synth-robot, add backup singers or even do a little gender bending (hey, it’s your music).

Physical media will eventually go the way of the dino, but until then we’ll settle for Baba Akcja’s Floppy Disk CDRs, which are a double dose of nostalgia; they’re shaped like 3.5″ floppies.

Though similar in size to Sony’s Vaio P, Viliv’s Atom-powered S7 MID has our attention with 9 hours of movie playback on a 7″ 1024×600 swiveling touchscreen, 3G/4G and GPS.

Part media player, part projector, Samsung’s Pico weighs only 5.6 oz and projects up to a 50″ image at 480×320; it also includes a 2.2″ QVGA LCD screen, headphone jack and speaker.

Developed with Intel, Olidata’s Conte laptop is inspired by the MacBook Air; the high-end model will get a 13.3″ 16:10 screen, 3GB of RAM, SSD, backlit keyboard and MiMAX or 3G.

Straight from the shipyards of Q’onos, this Klingon Keyboard is a standard 105 key with a PS/2 connection (USB is for Federation wussies); just don’t spill any gagh on it, you p’tahk!

Ideal for all sorts of YouTube tomfoolery, Samsung’s SMX-F34 camcorder includes a Web & Mobile mode that records at 640×480; it features a 680K pixel sensor and 34x optical zoom.

A remote in the hand is worth one Ipod in the dock, at least with Ewoo’s HandMusic; a remote with a 1.8″ TFT LCD lets you keep your iPod docked while you pick tunes from 500 feet away.

While it may not zoom as much as Olympus’ SP-590UZ, the Samsung HZ10W sets the high watermark for affordable point and shoots with a 24mm Schneider lens and 10x optical zoom.

Boomboxes are alive and well with Sony’s “Muteki” LBT-ZX66i; made for iPods, it features two three-way bass reflex speakers with a 7″ sub and 1″ tweeter, good for 560 watts.

Never wonder where you shot your videos (or get lost) again: Sony’s HDR camcorders include GPS and NAVTEQ maps for geotagging, all viewable through 3.2″ touch panel LCDs.

Talk to people nearby you without removing your bluetooth headphones with Altec Lansing’s Backbeat 906; they use a separate “OpenMic” that pipes in sound from the outside world.

A substantial update to the Chargepod, the Chargepod V2 is a portable charging hub that can simultaneously accommodate one laptop, three cellphones and three USB devices.

For touchy-feely types, JVC’s 120-watt UX-GN6 micro audio system features a “laser touch” panel for volume and playback control, plus motion activated wake from standby.

Palm is back in a big way with the Pre; this multitasking phone features a 3.1″ multitouch screen, slide-out QWERTY keyboard, 3MP camera, wireless charger and webOS platform.