Wize Blog

Program Your Own Robot

KumoTek KT-X (KumoTek-X) is the latest robot to be born into the world of education. It’s controlled by a PlayStation 2 gamepad controller.

 

The robot can run, walk and get up from lying down. (It programs itself to pull itself up after falling down.) It can pick up objects. It can dance and do martial arts.

 

The robot’s 13-inches tall and has 17 joints. It works on a 60 MHz processor and has 75 programmed acrobatic movements.

 

You can buy it assembled or put it together yourself. For more info, go to www.kumotek.com.

Memorex 10" Widescreen Digital Picture Frame

Here's a picture frame that seems to do everything. It's widescreen, full color display (16X9 aspect ratio).

The frame supports MP3 and includes speakers and remote control. The resolution is 800X480. It has USB 2.0 for transfer and memory card slots.

Cool deal.

Here's the video--

LG Vu Offers Mobile TV

I don't know about you, but the thought of watching TV on a tiny cell phone screen isn't exactly thrilling, but that's not stopping AT&T Mobile TV delivery.

LG Vu (pictured to the left) and Samsung Access are the two mobile phones that will offer what's called FLO TV, the service that provides the television programming.

The LG Vu has an interactive touch screen, a music player and a 2MP camera.

The service will begin in May.

Digital Keychains Could Be Big Hit for Companies

Companies looking to get name recognition now have another product to help them along. It's a digital photo keychain  into which you can upload photos. The keychain has a 1.5 inch screen.

The keychains, which can be purchased wholesale cost $19.99. For an extra $5.99, you can engrave something on the back (11 characters on each of three lines).

Jeff Foster of wholesalekeychain.com said of the keychains, "“Personalized photo keychains with the company logo engraved on them will be of great use for those who want to give the customers some thing more useful than an ordinary keychains."

The only thing that's not explained in this keychain deal is how to upload photos into it.

What is BD-Live?

With PlayStation 3 BD Live support coming soon,  Blu-ray players have one more thing going for them--Internet access.

You'll be able to play games with others online, download content and use social networking sites.

Earlier this year at the CES 2008, Sony used a BD-Live player to demonstrate downloading items from the Internet.

PlayStation 3 (rated 96 at wize.com) definitely steps up to the plate with the new BD-Live capability, which is due out in late summer or early fall.

Below is a video that explains how BD-Live works:

Has it become all about Color?

Here's an interesting quote..."Many people like to match their personality to their digital camera," wrote Jennifer Nelson in the Washington Post.

The quote assumes that some people not only want a digital camera to take good pictures and have lots of options, but they also want a device that'll match their wardrobe, handbags or other personal attire.

I, personally, am not used to looking at cameras (or any other devices) in that way. Give me a camera with all the bells and whistles and I'm happy, but this isn't the case for many others. For them, color is a reflection of personal style.

If you're into color, thinking about it and style in general on the outside of your camera--Bohemian Brown and Pink Melody, for example--then the Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS and others like them are for you. They come in a variety of colors, so that, yes, you can pick a color that matches your personality.

The trend for device makers these days is to offer devices wrapped in a choice of designer colors. You don't have to look any further than Apple's iPods to see how color has erupted all around us (see image to left).

In this world, style has become an attention getter.

Just the other day I roamed the lobby of a five-star hotel in Santa Monica CA and spotted jungle red finger nails typing on a ruby red MacBook.

Go figure.

Nikon D60 Reviews

Since Nikon's announcement last January of the D60 (full story at dpreview.com) and a video that was posted at wize.com about the camera, more reviews have been coming in.

Dphotojournal.com has a complete list of reviews of the camera.

Here are the ratings for each outlet reviewing the camera:

ComputerActive  4/5
Photographyblog 4.5/5
Letsgodigital 4/5
PocketLint 8/10

To see sample photos from the camera, go here or here.

The camera costs about $750.

Pearl 8120 Carries Many New Features

The reviews for the Blackberry Pearl 8120 are pouring in. PC Mag gave it a 4/5 saying it added a better camera (it's 2MP now), an improved Web browser and a jack that can be used for standard headphones.

The Washington Post says, "It's the first Pearl with Wi-Fi support, which speeds up Web surfing and e-mail access. It's also the first with memory expandability via a MicroSD slot. The Pearl 8120 improves on its predecessors with outstanding software for multimedia management..."

The Post also reported that calls were loud and clear on busy city streets.

It's interesting to note that with the WiFi, Internet access is better near WiFi hotspots, otherwise it's at dial-up speed outside the WiFi zone where it operates from the cell phone towers.

You can also use the phone internationally, great for business travelers.

CNN Money  likes the phone too, saying, "The new BlackBerry Pearl 8120 handset enables AT&T's business customers to use the broadest domestic and international coverage area for wireless data services of any U.S. carrier."

Exilim EX-Z80 is YouTube Ready

Casio has updated the Exilim EX-Z77 with the new EX-Z80. You can purchase the camera at provantage.com for about  $175.

The 8.1 MP camera comes in 6 colors.

It was recently reviewed by the New York Times, which highlighted the fact that the camera is able to shoot video that's recorded in a YouTube-friendly format. There's also software that lets you upload the video to YouTube.

The EX-Z80's specs include:

38-105 mm equiv, 3X optical zoom lens

red-eye reduction

shutter speeds of 4 to 1/2000 seconds

up to 1600 ISO

Dpreview.com has much more info about the camera.

LG Glimmer Launches Tomorrow

The LG Shine according to CNET is a combination of the LG Shine (rated 88 at wize.com) and the LG Viewty.

The phone's features, according to howardforums.com are:

Sleek touch screen Hidden slide-out keypad for easy dialing

Music player with Customizable Equalizer (supports MP3, WMA, AAC, AAC+)

2.0 mega-pixel camera with video

Pre-loaded with Alltel Navigation

RealTone JukeBox

Axcess TV

Expandable memory slot

GPS capable

The phone will be launched tomorrow, March 13. The non-contract price is $420.