Oh! Gizmo

By Evan Ackerman

The somewhat ironically named company Cables Unlimited announced yesterday that their wireless USB adapter kit is now for sale in various places including Amazon and Fry’s Electronics for about $80. No special software is necessary, it’s as simple as plugging one adapter into your computer’s USB port and the other into the USB port on the device up to 30 feet away, and letting your computer recognize the connection just as it would if there was a USB cable there.

According to the instructions, it works on USB hubs as well as individual devices, meaning just one adapter set can be used for up to 127 different USB devices. If that’s not enough flexibility for you, Cables Unlimited will at some point be selling the adapters separately, so that you can use multiple wireless USB devices with only one receiver on your computer. It would be cool if you could also use multiple receivers to share a wireless USB enabled device on multiple computers, but I’m not sure if that’s part of the deal. And needless to say, there’s no wireless power transmission, so these aren’t going to be able to directly power things like webcams (or USB volcanoes).

[ Amazon ] VIA [ Engadget ]

By Andrew Liszewski

When it comes to price, this $48 tiny wireless keyboard from Brando can’t quite compete with their $25 super tiny keyboard I wrote about back in September. But when it comes to functionality, I think the extra $23 is worth it since not only do you get a whole mess of other shortcut buttons making it particularly useful for an HTPC, but it manages to squeeze a trackball in there as well. As one of 5 remaining people on Earth who actually likes trackballs and wishes someone would use them on a laptop again, I definitely like. And while the 2.4Ghz wireless USB receiver definitely isn’t the smallest one on the market, it does allow for a half-decent operating range of about 32 feet. The keyboard can be ordered now on the Brando website, but it won’t start shipping until the beginning of November.

[ Brando 2.4Ghz RF Wireless Multimedia Tiny Keyboard ] VIA [ GadgetGrid ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Imation recently announced a couple of new additions to its Apollo line of external hard drives, including the Apollo Pro WX which uses WiQuest Communications’ “complete wireless USB solution” to cut the cords. (As long as you ignore the power cord.) The drive will provide the same functionality as a standard plug-and-play mass-compliant USB drive including similar transfer speeds, security and automated backup features. In fact, according to Imation, “the frequency in which consumers perform important incremental backups is affected by the hassle of finding and plugging in a USB cable.” But since the Apollo Pro WX will automatically connect to your PC whenever it’s in range, you’ll be able to easily setup automatic incremental backups without having to remember to plug in your drive. The Imation Apollo Pro WX will be available in capacities ranging from 250Gb to 1.5Tb in the 4th quarter of this year (pricing hasn’t been announced) but at launch it will only be compatible with devices like Kensington’s 4 port wireless USB docking station and a handful of Dell laptops.

[ Imation Launches New Apollo(TM) External Hard Drive Products ] VIA [ Popgadget ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Yesterday Nikon let the cat out of the bag regarding their D90 DSLR, and in addition to a slick new pseudo-HD recording function and a host of other features, the new camera also plays particularly well with the Eye-Fi wireless SD cards thanks to a collaboration between the two companies.

While Eye-Fi cards work seamlessly with conventional SD-compatible digital cameras, the Eye-Fi Connected Nikon D90 gives users an improved out-of- box experience and more control of wireless capabilities. The camera will detect when an Eye-Fi card is inserted and manage its power settings to ensure that photos upload effortlessly for sharing and storing. In addition, the Nikon D90 will include an Eye-Fi menu that allows users to turn the wireless function on or off, giving the user more freedom to customize how and when they want to use the Eye-Fi card. For example, if a user is in a hospital or on an airplane, or anywhere else where wireless connectivity is not allowed, the user may disable the wireless function through the Eye-Fi menu.

The Eye-Fi Home, Share and Explore SD cards each come with 2GB of storage and varying levels of wireless functionality and range in price from $79.99 up to $129.99.

[ Eye-Fi Collaborates with Nikon to introduce the ‘Eye-Fi Connected’ NIKON D90 Digital SLR Camera ] VIA [ Rob Galbraith ]

By Andrew Liszewski

If you’re like me and truly hate the annoying wires connecting your MP3 player to your earbuds, you’ll like these wireless alternatives from Sennheiser. While they’re no where near as small as a set of wired earbuds, they’re definitely the most discrete wireless models I’ve seen to date. Instead of Bluetooth, they actually use the Kleer Corporation’s digital transmission technology, and while it works in the same 2.4 GHz range as BT, it actually allows for the transmission of uncompressed CD-quality sound.

They do require you to carry a transmitter with your MP3 player (or any device with a headphone jack) but that seems to be a minor inconvenience. On a full charge the transmitter will last for about 10 hours, while the earbuds will last for about 3 to 5 hours. However, they come with a special carrying case that has a built-in battery of its own allowing you to fully recharge the earbuds up to 3 times. All in all the only real dealbreaker I can find is the $499.99 price tag from Amazon.com, and unfortunately it’s a big one.

[ Sennheiser MX W1 Totally Wireless Earphones ] VIA [ Cool Material ]

By Luke Anderson

I’ve spent several years working as a network technician, and can appreciate the need for security. Unfortunately many people just don’t seem to understand the importance of locking down their wireless network, and thus I can connect to no less than 3 such networks while sitting in my living room. Sure, some of them might know it’s a bad idea, but are scared to set up their encryption for fear of destroying the internet. Well, if you pick up one of these new wireless routers and a USB adapter, anyone can set up a secure network.

With these new EZLink-enabled devices from Asus, you can set up a secure network simply by pressing a button on the router, then a button on your USB wireless adapter. Alternatively, you can simply enter a PIN which is located on the device. Either way, this is definitely the easiest method for securing a wireless network that I’ve seen.

The USB-N11 adapter supports 802.11n Draft up to 150Mbps, and will work on Windows, Mac and even Linux operating systems. No word on pricing or availability.

[ Asus ] VIA [ EverythingUSB ]

By Luke Anderson

The mailman shows up to deliver my mail around 10:30 every morning, and is usually on time. However, it seems that when I’m expecting something rather important, he comes just a bit late. Then when I open my mailbox, I have no idea whether he’s not been there, or I haven’t received any mail. It usually ends up being the former, as it is a rare occasion that I don’t get junk mail.

Here is a clever little gadget that will let you know the moment you get mail. Essentially it is just a simple motion sensor with a wireless transmitter. You stick one end to the inside of your mailbox, and the other somewhere in your house. When the mailman goes to stick in the mail, you’ll hear a chime. If you don’t mind hearing this thing go off every single day, then you can pick one up for around $50.

[ HSN ] VIA [ Red Ferret ]

By Andrew Liszewski

While the Loc8tor Lite lacks the fancy back-lit screen of the original Loc8tor, it more than makes up for it with a considerably smaller package. The credit card sized device can be used to find anything that has one of the homing tags attached to it like your keys, your car and even your pet. While the unit only comes with 2 tags, it’s actually able to track up to 4 different ones that have been registered to it.

To use the Loc8tor Lite you basically just have to select which tag you’re trying to find, turn around in a full circle and then walk in the direction of the strongest signal indicated by the LED lights or audio beeps. It has a range of about 400 feet (with a clear line of sight) and will guide you to within an inch of the selected homing tag. You can get it directly from the Loc8tor website for $79.99 while extra tags are available in packs of 2 for $44.99.

[ Loc8tor Lite ] VIA [ The Gadget Blog ]

By Evan Ackerman

I cannot tolerate flaky wireless internet. Without 100% connectivity, I wouldn’t be able to bring you the (ahem) reliably high quality gadget news that I do here at OhGizmo. I have a Linksys WiFi PCMCIA card in my laptop, and it strains to pick up signals from a router 30 feet away through a wall… I’ve been looking into some kind of antenna to boost the signal, and this USB dish antenna from Hawking sure looks like it would fit the bill. The 8dBi directional dish antenna (most wireless antennas are omnidirectional at about 2dBi) is supposed to boost reception by up to 300%, as long as you’re pointing it in the right direction… The built-in LED signal strength indicator should help you with that. I’m not sure what you’re supposed to do if the router you use is down below you somewhere, but with a USB interface and for only about $60, it gives other high quality external wireless solutions some competition when it comes to price and performance, if not size.

[ Hawking HWU8DD ] VIA [ GadgetGrid ]