Sharp announced the SP700 Portable Media Player a couple of months ago, but just recently they actually made it available for all the consumers to purchase. One of the impressive features on the “new” Sharp player is being compatible with plenty of different audio and video file formats, more specifically:

• video - DivX, MPEG1,2 and 4, Windows Media Video 7, 8, and 9
• audio - MP3, WAV, WMA

Additionally, the SP700 can also playback files in the H.264 video format, and on top of all these kind of different formats, the player comes with T-DMB - Terrestrial Digital Multimedia Broadcasting, which means that you can watch TV on the Sharp player, pretty cool, huh?

Other features on the Sharp SP700 include electronic dictionaries so you can learn a new language or take a look at specific words when you’re in another country on vacations, SD/MMC memory card slots to expand the memory, and a USB host so there is no need to use a computer when you need to transfer data from/to the player. Finally, the player that uses Windows CE 5.0 as the operative system has a price tag of $520 – a bit expensive don’t you think?

The last time Tiago mentioned the Zune was to talk about the pink-colored version of the player, but this time there are news about the second generation of the Microsoft player, also known as Zune 2. The shipping date is set for November 13, but in case you want to make the process of buying a Zune a lot easier, just pre-order one at Amazon.

Source : Tiago of Gadgetizer

Best regards

Lionel, CrowdSpirit Founder

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Products like globalbagtags remind Hoyun that there’s still room in this world for innovation through simply recognizing an obvious need. What frequent traveler hasn’t experienced losing a bag and having to track it down through primitive means (starting with filling out reports inexactly describing the bag and its contents)? Chris Truelove, founder of globalbagtags.com, Ltd (based in the UK), set out to find a better system after a nightmarish travel experience in Australia. His lost bag likely ended up in one of many lost luggage warehouses where bags with untraceable ownership end up. Apparently, when those flimsy paper airline tags fall off and your bag ends up in the bag orphanage, bag and contents are sold to places like the Unclaimed Baggage Center, which then resells your stuff on the open market.

Each globalbagtag has a serial number which is entered into an online database and is registered to the owner. Your personal and travel information is stored on the database and is accessible only by you and authorized airline personnel, but the tags themselves give away no identifying information. If your bag goes missing, you can go online 24 hours a day and begin the tracing process.

The tags come in two varieties: universal tags which fasten onto handles with a metal security fastener, and standard tags with adhesive for hard surface bags. Approximately $16.95 per tag (including two years’ registration).

Source: popgadget

Best regards

Lionel, CrowdSpirit Founder

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Best regards

Lionel, CrowdSpirit Founder

Stuff magazine have released their list of what they think are the coolest gadgets of 2007:

1. The Apple iPhone
“The coolest gadget of the year…by a country mile.”

2. The Leica M8 Camera
“’A 20th-century classic gets a 21st-century makeover.”

3. The Tonium Pacemaker
“Like an iPod for DJs, this has potential to revolutionise a whole branch of entertainment.”

4. The Sony Vaio UX1
“The tiniest, most gorgeous Windows PC we’ve seen.”

5. The Nintendo Wii Games Console
“This motion-sensitive console has reinvigorated gaming, injecting real innovation and imagination.”

6. The Sony Ericsson W880 Phone
“Superslim music phone with an unequalled wow factor.”

7. The Shanling MC-30 Valve Amp
“Hi-fi for the MP3 age, this valve-powered iPod throne that sounds as good as it looks.”

8. The Wattson energy calculator
“Measures household energy consumption in real time and displays it either in pounds sterling or Watts. Being eco-savvy has never been so cool.”

9. The Sony Erickson MBW-150 Bluetooth Watch
“A new technology for this year… control your mobile phone from your wrist.”

10. The iPod Nano MP3 Player
“No other MP3 player comes close.”

source : coolest-gadgets

best regards

Lionel, CrowdSpirit Founder

This new Portable Media Player form china is again a very good example how manufacturer can decide to completly disregard user’s experience. The button array is a total mess !! One of the aim of CrowdSpirit is to avoid such crazy ergonomic design.

source : pmptoday

best regards

Lionel, CrowdSpirit Founder

Mike is pretty much constantly amazed at how cheap webcams have been getting. As the quality and number of features increases, the price keeps on going the same. That hold trues for Logitech’s new Quick Cam Pro– it can even take 8 megapixel stills as well as a whole lot more.

Mike hates to sound like an ad, but man, Logitech certainly gives you a bang for your buck. The lens itself is high quality with Carl Zeiss optics. Technology wise, the camera has advanced autofocus , RedLight 2 to ensure quality video even in dark environments, and RightSound technology that keeps background noise and echoes out and your voice in. While we really don’t quite know how well all that cleverly named technology works, you’ll have to admit, it sounds good. Even without all those fancy technologies, the video would still look good, as it is HD at 960 by 720 pixels. You’ll never see Grandma so up-close again, that is, if her connection can handle it.

Logitech also provides some fun software that allows you to add effects to your video; you can also create avatars with likenesses to your own face.

Logitech’ QuickCam Pro, which shoots HD and takes 8 megapixel stills, retails for only $100. Buy a 3-pack for the relatives, they’re really that affordable.

Source: Coolest Gadgets

Best regards

Lionel, CrowdSpirit Founder

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While the PSP is an excellent portable gaming device, its thriving homebrew scene makes it all the more attractive. Italy’s Filippo Battaglia has released the Nanodesktop Blind Assistant that uses its webcam to identify and locate people within a room. This code is still proof-of-concept and currently relies on a PC to serve images, but developers have already promised that the next version will be “official” and “fully working”. Will someone be able to make a homebrew program for the DS Lite that enables deaf folks to “hear”?

Source: Coolest Gadgets

Best Regards,

Lionel, CrowdSpirit Founder

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Back in the 80’s and early 90’s most of the music pirating…um…archiving, was done on blank cassette tapes. You had to have a dual tape deck to copy tunes; the process wasn’t nearly as easy as it is today. If you have a bit of old school flair or just really miss those cool cassette tapes, but want to make your mix with digital tracks Mixa is for you.

Mixa is a 1GB flash drive that connects to your PC via USB. The drive housing looks like a cassette tape and comes with a USB extension cable, which you will need considering how wide the Mixa is. You get to custom design the look and packaging of the Mixa device by using ready-made images on the Mixa site or by uploading your own personal images. Pricing for the Mixa device is about $41 USD including worldwide shipping.

Source : EverythingUSB

Best Regard

Lionel, CrowdSpirit Founder

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as promised on the previous post, let’s avoid wasting time and here is the first gadget article. Several ideas around remote control have been sent on the CrowdSpirit Platform. Here is the summary :

Here is an example of a very interesting remote control : The TeleMax III device combines the idea of a universal TV remote control and a hands free phone that targets living rooms in homes all over the world.

The final product would come in a sleek, compact, and easy to use package, featuring a virtually unbreakable body (which works great especially in homes that have little kids who seem to have a penchant of destroying just about every single fragile item in your house) that is tough against accidental spills as well. The TeleMax III is shaped like a small tray, complete with handles on both sides that give you an easy grip as you go about pressing all the individual buttons contained on it. Your comfort is not compromised as it was designed to be ergonomic in nature.

Designed by Australian company Tiller + Tiller, the TeleMax III features extremely large buttons that make it easy even for grandpa to use. These buttons are also pretty limited in number, and at first glance it looks as though you’re taking a couple of steps backwards on the technology front after being used to touchscreen based gizmos like the iPod Touch and iPhone. Nevertheless, there is good reason to limit the number of buttons on it, since the majority of us will only make use of the most common features, where obscure functions are accessed only by a limited few. Each button comes with raised black lettering that stands out well against a white illuminated background face, making it a snap for those with either visual or physical disability to see and use. Whenever there is an incoming call, the TV will automatically enter a mute mode. To make things easier, you can also program emergency numbers into the TeleMax III for instant access.

The TeleMax III is still in its prototype phase, and Tiller + Tiller are hoping to release a commercialized version within the next 18 months - hopefully it won’t fall too far behind the technological curve where remote controls are concerned by then.

Source: Gizmag

Best regards

Lionel, CrowdSpirit Founder

Ok, it seems that most of you really like gadget in general, so I will now propose you to have daily articles speaking about gadget from several sources in addition to the CrowdSpirit news.

best regards

Lionel, CrowdSpirit Founder