By Evan Ackerman

Wearable computing hasn’t caught on nearly as much as portable computing, and I think there is a distinct possibility that it’s because you look soooo much like a nerd when you put on a pair of video goggles or a HUD. Some of us actually enjoy looking like nerds, though, and it’s this unfortunately unapologetic segment of the tech-obsessed that Nikon seems to be targeting with their Media Port UP300x “multimedia playback headset device.”

The UP300x a single integrated unit that incorporates a tiny fold-down VGA display (which is nonetheless the equivalent of a 50″ screen viewed from 3 meters), headphones, 8 gigs of onboard memory, A/V input, and some kind of WiFi that allows media to be downloaded directly to the device over the internet. There is some ability to browse the internet directly, but I imagine it must be impossibly frustrating. It’s got a USB interface and runs for a couple hours on 2 AA batteries. There are controls on the left earphone, but the UP300x also has a motion sensor that you can use to play, pause, and select video or music by moving your head around. ‘Cause that’s gonna look totally cool and all.

Read how this will get you killed, after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

By Luke Anderson

Shuttle is well known for being a big player in the small form-factor PC market. I’ve owned a number of their barebones kits in the past, but nothing quite like their new D10 PC. Like many of their other products, it’s far smaller than your average desktop. However, what makes it stand apart from the crowd is the built-in 7-inch touchscreen.

The PC itself will be customizable with up to an Intel Core 2 Duo E4000 series CPU and 2GB of RAM. The LCD screen will operate at a resolution of 800 x 480, which would be a bit of a strain on one’s eyes unless they were using it to control media functions and such. The Shuttle D10 will be available later this week in Japan starting at a little under $500 (depending on the configuration of course).

[ Shuttle ] VIA [ AkihabaraNews ]

By Jonathan Kimak

A while back I did an article about a toaster inspired by Battlestar Galactica. Well now another innovation in toaster technology has brought us the toaster computer.

A modder from the website Impress converted a 4 slot toaster into a fully functioning computer. The toaster now has a 3600 MHz processor, 2.5 inch hard drive, DVD-rom drive and even a router. I’ve seen many other stealthy computers and most are quite clever. But I’ve got to admit that a toaster would not be one of my top choices for a unique computer case.

I wonder if the producers of Battlestar prequel Caprica will use this as an origin story.

[ Impress(Japanese site) ] VIA [ TechEBlog ]