By Evan Ackerman

The Eye-Fi Pro X2, which debuted at the beginning of this year, offers “endless memory” by deleting pictures off of itself after wirelessly uploading them to your computer and/or online photo storage service using built-in 802.11n WiFi. Not unexpectedly, such a useful feature isn’t cheap, with the 8 gig Eye-Fi Pro X2 costing a staggering $150.

Eye-Fi has just released two more SD cards in the X2 series with the endless memory feature, the Eye-Fi Connect X2 and the Eye-Fi Explore X2. The Connect X2 holds 4 gigs of stuff (not like it matters that much with the endless memory), while the Explore X2 is 8 gigs and includes lifetime geotagging of dubious quality and a year of hotspot WiFi access. The best news is that the Connect X2 is only $50, which is way more than a regular 4 gig SD card but way less than the $150 Pro X2 or even the Explore X2, which costs $100. If you don’t have an Eye-Fi card yet, the Connect X2 is definitely the one to get. If you’re looking for justification to upgrade to the Explore X2, if you travel a lot, Eye-Fi would also like you to know that their WiFi hotspots now include Starbucks and BP gas stations.

Incidentally, at CES Eye-Fi told me that the card’s ability to delete pictures off of itself is a hardware thing, not a software thing, so it’s not something that they can add to older cards with a firmware update or something like that. Sad, but sometimes, that’s the way the cookie crumbles.

You can find Eye-Fi cards at Best Buy, Amazon.com, Adorama, and B&H among other places.

[ Eye-Fi ]

By Chris Scott Barr

I’ve used PDA’s and smartphones for a very long time, and with each one my biggest complaint was always the software available for it. There were a handful of sites that had some free apps here and there, or I could go to the store and buy something that may or may not be terrible (more often than not it was). Naturally, I find that having the App Store to be one of the most useful parts of owning an iPhone. However, the absence of one feature has always bothered me just a little.

I know a number of people that own iPhones, so we tend to share new apps that we’ve found with each other. I’ve always thought it would be great if I could actually purchase an app as a gift for someone. I do this already with Steam (a digital distribution service for PC games), and it works out rather nicely. Well now Apple has decided to give that capability to its customers. If you click on the drop-down menu next to the “Buy” button, you’ll be able to purchase it as a gift for one of your friends. Before you even ask, no, you can’t gift free apps to people. That would be far too easily abused.

[ Apple ] VIA [ SlipperyBrick ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Originally designed for the military as an easily deployable way to reduce the dirt, dust and debris that gets kicked up by a helicopter’s rotors, these Sand Free Multimats, from an Australian company called CGear, are just as effective at keeping the stuff out of your tent or off your gear while at the beach.

The mats feature a clever dual-layer mesh design that allows dust and sand to fall through without coming back up. So when placed in front of the entrance to your tent they’ll provide an effective way to keep the sand on the beach and out of your sleeping bag. The consumer versions of the mats are available in 3 sizes, 6×6 feet, 8×8 feet and 10×10 feet for $50, $60 and $75 respectively, and should be available in popular sporting goods stores sometime in May.

[ CGear Sand Free Mats ] VIA [ Gear Diary ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Many years ago Casio had a line of watches that doubled as fairly capable universal remotes, but oddly enough it’s taken 3 iterations for the iPhone, a device considerably more capable, to gain such functionality. On one hand the Rē from NewKinetix is a little cumbersome since the NK100 IR dongle attaches to the bottom of your iPhone or iPod Touch, meaning you have to use it upside down, but on the other hand the touch-screen display means the remote can be easily configured any way you want it.

Everything is powered by the Rē Universal Remote Control App which is of course available as a free download from the iTunes App Store, and even though it comes with an extensive and updateable IR database for almost every remote on the planet, it’s also able to learn commands from that obscure device you picked up the last time you were wandering through the Akihabara district. And since memory isn’t an issue, you’re also able to program an unlimited number of macros or favorite channel lists, even on a room to room basis. With a price tag of $69.95 there are still cheaper universal remotes on the market, even with learning capabilities, but if a large touchscreen is on your feature list this is a no-brainer if you’ve already got an iPhone or iPod Touch.

[ NewKinetix Rē Universal Remote IR Dongle ]

By Andrew Liszewski

By now you’ve probably already heard that last night Nintendo spilled the beans on the successor to their immensely popular DS portable gaming system. Well, spilled the beans maybe isn’t best way to describe their announcement about it, more like just cracking open the can and letting us have a whiff of what’s inside. In fact, here’s the extent of what they ‘announced’ regarding the new Nintendo 3DS.

Nintendo Co., Ltd.(Minami-ward of Kyoto-city, President Satoru Iwata) will launch “N intendo 3D S”(temp) during the fiscal year ending March 2011, on which games can be enjoyed with 3D effects without the need for any special glasses.

“Nintendo 3DS”(temp) is going to be the new portable game machine to succeed “Nintendo DS series”, whose cumulative consolidated sales from Nintendo amounted to 125million units as of the end of December 2009, and will include backward compatibility so that the software for Nintendo DS series, including the ones for Nintendo DSi, can also be enjoyed.

We are planning to announce additional details at E3 show, which is scheduled to be held from June 15, 2010 at Los Angeles in the U.S.

At this point all we can do is speculate on what the system will look like and how it will work, but no one had really predicted any kind of 3D being part of the new system’s functionality, even though it’s all the rage now. Of course given Nintendo’s history with 3D gaming systems, I’m going to try and remain cautiously optimistic about the 3DS, but so far I’ve yet to come across a glasses-free 3D display that didn’t leave me feeling woozy after just a few minutes. So here’s to hoping Nintendo has something really revolutionary up their sleeves while we count down the days until E3.

[ PR - Launch of New Portable Game Machine ] VIA [ Kotaku ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Modeled after the city of Taipei in Taiwan, these coasters will slowly flood on a hot Summer’s day when used with a beverage cold enough to product significant condensation on the outside of the glass. First the river will fill up, and as the flood waters continue to rise they’ll make their way into the miniature city via its narrow streets and alleyways. A set of 2 with either a black or clear finish is available from MollaSpace for $12.

[ Flowing City Coasters ] VIA [ 7Gadgets ]

By Andrew Liszewski

A Korean company called Primpo has developed a new type of ‘cane’ for the visually impaired that provides more detailed feedback about the world around them. Using a built-in supersonic sensor, the iSonic can detect obstacles that are above the user’s waist and has a horizontal range of about 25 degrees with a vertical range of about 50 degrees. It’s sensitive enough to detect objects that are narrower than 3cm wide, and as far as 2 meters in front of it. And as the visually impaired person gets closer to an obstacle, the iSonic will vibrate more intensely in their hand letting them know just how close they are.

It even has a special color sensor which is able to discern between 10 different shades of varying brightness, and will audibly announce the color of an object to the user. While there’s no official word on if or when the iSonic will be sold to the public, field tests conducted last September with 15 people were apparently very successful.

[ AVING USA - Primpo to introduce 'Isonic', its revolutionary white cane for the visually impaired ] VIA [ The Cool Gadgets ]

By Evan Ackerman

It’s about bloody time somebody recognized the hundreds, nay, thousands of years of suffering that my people (that would be, left-handed people) have dealt with. Finally, Razer has designed a mouse specifically for us. This lefty version of their DeathAdder gaming mouse has the same slick and subtle curves that the right-handed version does, just reflected over to the sinister side. And that’s sinister as in left, not sinister as in ‘sinister.’ Honestly, there’s no need to be afraid of left-handed people… Here are some left-handed facts to get you better acquainted with us:

-Somewhere between 8% and 15% of people are left-handed, and only half as many women are left-handed as men.

-The Incas thought that left-handed people had special spiritual powers. Pretty much everyone else thought that left-handed people were either just unfortunate, or pure evil.

-Left-handed people tend to be smarter than average. They also tend to be dumber than average. In other words, lefties are more likely to be at one end of the spectrum than in the middle.

-On average, left-handed men who graduate college are 26% richer than right-handed men who do. Nobody knows why, and this doesn’t apply to women.

-50% of left-handed people use a mouse right-handed (and I’m one of them).

You want to know why 50% of left-handed people use a mouse right-handed? It’s the man, man. The establishment. The right-handed industrial complex. So thank you, Razer, for helping us break free of the oppression and tyranny of the right-handed world… Who cares if nobody buys your mouse because we’re all used to right-handed ones? You’ve struck a mighty blow this day, a mighty blow for the forces of all that is just and good and right in this world!

Er, wait. Left, I meant left.

As far as specs go, the DeathAdder is more mouse than you’ll ever need (3500dpi Razer Precision 3.5G infrared sensor, five independently programmable “Hyperesponse” buttons, and it’s wired as all serious gaming mice are), and it’s yours for $60.

[ Razer ] VIA [ HotHardware ]

By Chris Scott Barr

When a person starts to run low on USB ports, usually the first thing they get is a hub of some sort. However, instead of adding three extra ports, why not just have one of your cables add a single port. Think of these as similar to a strand of Christmas lights. The ones that had an extra plug-in on top of the one you put into the wall.

These concept cables actually don’t sound like too bad of an idea. Unfortunately they’ll likely only work if you’re using a device which has a standard USB (mini, or micro as well) plug on the other end. I bet if they made an iPod/iPhone charging cable with that extra port, they’d make a fortune. No word on whether or not this concept will make it to store shelves.

[ Yanko ] VIA [ Technabob ]