The guys over at Dealnews have published a rather nonsensical list that will probably help you discern what exactly is a good buy and what’s not on Black Friday.

1. Know the Price History for the Item
2. Consider Other Colors
3. Compare to Prices on Similar Items
4. Consider Bundle Offers
5. Look for Coupons That Apply to Your Selection
6. Look for a Coupon for Competing Stores
7. Does Shipping Kill the Deal?
8. Don’t Forget Sales Tax

Sounds like common sense, sounds like something we all should already know, but let’s be honest. If you have 16 screaming, kung-fu grip mommies around you grabbing everything around you and you get caught up in the fever of purchasing a $79 dollar point-and-click camera made by a name brand that’s only sold in certain stores and perhaps isn’t the best name brand out there I’m not talking from experience… I’m really not… damn cheap friggin’ camera…

So yes. Head over to Dealnews.com and read the whole article. Who knows, you might be able to save some money on some rather useless camera gadget and buy more bang for the buck.

[ Links: Dealnews - 8 Tips to Get the Best Deals on Black Friday ]

I love gadgets. I hate wires. I’ve said it numerous times on this blog. And when I travel, I have take along enough chargers to probably alert TSA on multiple levels.

Inductive charging, when one device is designed to receive power from another device that sends power (think of the connections on a Sonicare Toothbrush) and do so without the need of wires. It’s not a new technology, but to finally see folks like Energizer get into the act, it’s definitely something I can get behind.

Designed in cooperation with WPC co-founder ConvenientPower, the first generation of the Energizer Inductive Charger is designed to conveniently charge up to three devices at one time. It features two large inductive charging zones that don’t require locking the device into a precise position, so consumers can simply set down their phone and be sure that it will be charged and ready to go. It also has a USB port so it’s easy to charge an additional device such as a phone, headset, mp3 player, camera or GPS. Two LED charge lights indicate that the device is charging.

The Energizer Inductive Charger will be introduced with a Qi Sleeve for the iPhone 3GS/3G and a one-time replacement Qi Door for the BlackBerry Curve 8900, so consumers can enjoy the convenience of Qi right away. Soon, consumers can expect to have Qi built right into many of their devices.

With the addition of the Qi standard, any Qi-enabled device (the list is growing daily) will charge without incident. I just can’t wait to see this for more devices that I currently own take the hint, Energizer.

The Energizer Inductive Charger will be available at retail starting this October with a suggested retail price of $89. The removable Qi sleeve for the Apple iPhone 3GS/3G and the Qi door for the BlackBerry Curve 8900 will be sold separately for $34.99 each.

[ Links: Energizer Inductive ]

Hitachi-LG Data Storage Inc. (HLDS), a global leader and technology innovator in optical disc storage (ODD) revealed to introduce SAT 6.0Gbps based 2nd Generation, ‘Hybrid Drive’, as a successive product to ODD Hybrid Drive 1st Generation introduced in Taiwan last June which was loaded with SSD(Solid State Drive) for the first time in the world, at CEATEC 2010 held in Makuhari Messe, Japan, from October 5 to 9.

The 2nd Generation, ‘Hybrid Drive’, is an innovative product equipped with SATA III(6.0Gbps) based improved speed, and a comprehensive SATA port, by accumulating ODD & SSD circuits in a integrated PCB. This is a perfect reincarnation of the previous ODD structure, and users of all PC products can utilize HDD, ODD, SDD at the same time without having to change the entire system, by just exchanging the previous ODD.

Differentiated functions have been added to the Hybrid Drive such as the Green Playback; a low electricity- Title playing technology, and a comparison of real functions between Hybrid Drive applied products and non applied products of AIO(All-in-one) PC, Mini PC, HTPC, Gaming/Premium Notebook, will be introduced at this CEATEC 2010.

PC News Media K-Bench(www.kbench.com) and Editor of Betanews(www.betanews.net), who recently progressed Benchmark of the 1st Generation Hybrid Drive, foresaw that 256 GB supported 2nd Generation, ‘Hybrid drive’, will play big roles in the distribution of SSD, as SSD will be seen as a tool for driving OS & Application through Hybrid Drive, such as for decreasing PC Booting time and Performance increase, no longer as just a simple saving apparatus.

To support this, according to the Benchmark progressed by PC News Media ‘Betanews’, there seems to have been discrete differences between 1st Generation ‘Hybrid Drive’ and general Hard Disks, in PC System( Windows 7 64bit Ultimate Edition) Booting time where each respectively recorded 16 sec and 29 sec, in Starcraft 2 Battlenet Loading time where each respectively recorded 20 sec, 38 sec, etc. (PC System Specification : 1st Generation ‘Hybrid Drive’ and 2.5inch 5,400RPM 320GB Hard Disk each on Intel Celeron Core SU2300, DDR3 4GB Memory , ION Based ITX System) In addition, relations explained that results will become more dramatic once various Applications are installed in the PC.

[ Link: HLDS, Aving News ]

It’s been already noted that Motorola is building an Android-based tablet to be sold by Verizon later this year, with functionality tied to FiOS TV. Now come reports that HTC is building a Chrome-driven tablet computer for Verizon that will launch on November 26.

Tablet mania has clearly infected many ISPs, who will either be offer TV Everywhere Internet video apps for tablets (Comcast, Cablevision, AT&T, Time Warner Cable) or offering tablets themselves later this year. Much like the recent netbook craze, expect ISPs to give these things away at a subsidized price point if you sign a long-term wireless broadband contract.

Update: Verizon today also expanded on their iPad application ambitions today in great detail.

Update: Seems like this was a hoax. Damn.

Link to the original article…

A University of Southern California team has produced flexible transparent carbon atom films that may have great potential for a brand new variety of solar cells. Inside a paper recently published in the journal ACS Nano, researchers stated that organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells have been proposed as a method to obtain low price energy due to their ease of manufacture, light-weight, and compatibility with flexible substrates.

This work shows that graphene, an extremely conductive and highly transparent type of carbon made up of atoms-thick sheets of carbon atoms, has high possibility to fill this role. While graphene’s existence has been known for many years, it has only been studied extensively since 2004 due to the impracticality of manufacturing it in high quality and in quantity.

The University of Southern California team has produced graphene/polymer sheets ranging in sizes nearly 150 square centimeters that in turn may be used to create dense arrays of flexible organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells. These organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices convert solar radiation to electricity, although not as efficiently as silicon cells.

The energy provided by sunlight on a sunny day is about 1,000 watts per meter square, for every 1,000 watts of sunlight that hits a square meter part of the standard silicon solar cell, 14 watts of electricity will be generated, Organic solar cells are less efficient; their conversion rate for that same 1,000 watts of sunlight in the graphene-based solar cell would be only 1.3 watts.

But what graphene organic photovoltaic (OPV) lack in efficiency, can potentially be compensated by its lower price and, greater physical flexibility. Researchers think it may eventually be possible to cover with inexpensive solar cell layers extensive areas like newspapers, magazines or power generating clothing. In the meanwhile Prof. Ruoff and his colleagues of the mechanical engineering department at the University of Texas at Austin, are studying the basic science in the introduction of graphene-based ultracapacitors for usage in electronics and other fields.

Prof. Ruoff says batteries are relatively slow, they can store energy but require sometime to charge up, and then they distribute energy slowly, over time. Ultracapacitors can be charged very quickly, in seconds, and discharge quickly, but, today, they can’t store very much electrical energy. The introduction of stable and cheaper ultracapacitors should be a key step in using wind or solar-generated power, especially if researchers will find ways to enable capacitors to store energy longer, which is not yet possible.

Even with their current storage capacity, the graphene devices could provide quick energy when needed in certain situations on the ecological way. They could be used, for instance, to absorb heat generated in braking an automobile or train, and store it for a short time, and then employ it for the electrical needs of the vehicle (i.e. starting the automobile or acceleration).

About the writer – Sophia H. Walker writes for the solar battery charger blog, her personal hobby weblog dedicated to tips to help individuals save electricity using solar energy for small gadgets.

Sometimes I get gifts or items that despite their novelty, I might never find a use for them. Useful Things sent along a package that included the silicone mold for some shot glasses that once filled up with water and frozen would allow you to imbibe and cool off at the same time.

After a few experiments, I finally figured out that I’d have to slightly thump the silicon mold to get rid of any air bubbles and toss it in the freezer to get nice and hard. Novel? Yes. Worth a purchase? After a week of 100 degree weather each and every day; hell yes.

Despite being made out of ice, the shot glasses do last for quite a while even in the aforesaid heat. You can easily pour two to three shots if you’re just a casual sipper or pound quite a few shots if you so wish and never worry about the shot glass dribbling out the contents. The ice shots can equally take on adult beverages or juice without any incident.

The Ice Shot Glass Mold sells for $9.95 at Useful Things and worth every penny.

[ Links: Useful Things, Ice Shots ]

Whenever Apple launches a new product everyone in the world has to take note, whether they like it or not. The iPad has caused more controversy than some of Apple’s previous offerings and naysayers have been vocal in their criticisms. However, in many ways the iPad is just as revolutionary as the iPhone or the iPod before it. It just requires a little understanding and a healthy bank balance for anyone to get onboard with Apple’s take on the tablet computer.

The iPad is a slim, large device that is designed to be held with one or two hands and its 9.7 inch screen has been praised for its bright, crisp display capabilities. Inside is a 1GHz processor and you can choose different amounts of internal storage from 16GB up to 64GB, depending on your preference and the heft of your wallet.

The iPad uses version 3.2 of the iPhone operating system and many have commented on how similar the two look. The similarity in software is most obvious in the interface, as the iPad uses a slightly spruced up edition of the iPhone’s basic menu system. This is not just a skin deep similarity, as the iPad is compatible with all of the applications which are available on the iPhone. However, the iPad has a big advantage in that it has its own exclusive range of iPad-only apps to download and try out. These benefit from higher resolutions and more complex graphics which can be handled better by the iPad`s significantly beefier hardware components.

The iPad is said to offer one of the best internet browsing experiences of any format. It uses multi-touch technology to let you manipulate web pages with your fingers and it can be held either in portrait or landscape mode, with a key on the side allowing you to lock the automatic rotation of the screen orientation. The screen and lack of physical buttons also make the iPad a real contender for the crown of most desirable eBook reader. You can use the iBooks app to browse, buy and download thousands of books to read on its large screen and there is even an Amazon Kindle app which exists to bring Kindle owners all of their back catalog and open up an even more extensive library of titles from the past and present.

As well as having several internal storage capacities, the iPad can be pigeonholed into two distinct versions. The cheapest is the one which only has Wi-Fi connectivity, which means you can only take the iPad online when a wireless network is available. Many people have Wi-Fi in their own homes and you can also find Wi-Fi hotspots in many different public places, although it is a short range connectivity solution. The more expensive edition has Wi-Fi and 3G. This means you can sign up to a mobile broadband service and connect to the internet for browsing wherever you are. The arrival of the iPad will definitely have people scrambling for cheap broadband deals from the main mobile broadband providers and with early versions criticized for their poor Wi-Fi performance, the 3G is arguably the more logical choice.

[ Links: Apple, Apple iPad, 5 Reasons Not to Buy an iPad ]

The slight lack of updates doesn’t mean that the site has been abandoned. In fact, that’s about as far from the truth as you can get. Just a bit of retooling behind the scenes, a few database scares and above all some cool

Just bear with RTL a little bit and daily reviews, updates and articles. More VoIP, more gadgets, more cellphones, more good stuff.

Thanks in advance.

AVerMedia has shown off its Video Capture USB at CeBIT 2010, which allows users to watch and record digital TV on PC.

It can convert piles of video tapes and turn recordings in diverse analog devices into a comprehensive DVD format without a loss of quality. Plus, real-time Apple iPod and Sony PSP format recording allows you to take your favorite shows on-the-go. This USB device is Windows 7 certified. It can run on both AVerTV 6 and Window Media Center with superb reception ability even while commuting.

Link to the original article…

There may be people that get their cubicle party on, but I am guessing that pocket-sized mixing decks will mostly be destined for the classrooms of overindulged teenagers – and for lonely adults seeking to entertain themselves. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t approve.

From Think Geek:

• Everything you need to mix back and forth between two MP3 players.
• Pocket sized for instant DJ action.
• Preview the next song with a separate, volume-controlled headphone jack.
• Easily fade between MP3 players with the smooth slider.
• Includes: Mixing deck, 2 short audio cables (for connecting to MP3 players), 1 long audio cable (to connect to speakers – not included), and earbuds.
• Batteries: 4 AAA (not included)
• Dimensions:
  • Mixing Deck: approx. 4.5″ x 2.5″ x 1.25″
  • Long Cable: 40″
  • Short Cable: 17″

Price: $24.99

Link to the original article…

While Magic Jack’s cheap VoIP dongle generally works rather well, Broadbandreports.com’s forums are occasionally littered with complaints about the company’s business practices, be it it for little things like a website hit counter that used to artificially inflate their trial participant count (since fixed), or misleading marketing practices (like saying today is the last day of a free trial promotion, every single day). Users generally overlook these problems for one reason: the service is dirt cheap, and works.

Like many companies, Magic Jack also likes burying things in their fine print and terms of service. Among them, the company includes language that requires users engage in binding arbitration – a process that usually ends with the consumer losing, since the arbitration company works for the corporation being complained about. For most of the decade, the courts have repeatedly told companies that this language isn’t legal, but that hasn’t stopped it from being included in TOS anyway.

Back in 2008, gadget and culture blog Boing Boing ran a rather simple post highlighting some of Magic Jack’s more dubious practices, including their bogus free trial user counter, their use of behavioral ad technology, and their inclusion of arbitration language in their terms of service. Magic Jack didn’t like the post very much apparently, because they wound up suing Boing Boing for defamation. Unfortunately for Magic Jack, all of Boing Boing’s claims were true, and Magic Jack has been forced to pay the website $50,000:

We had no idea that it would file a baseless lawsuit to try and shut me up, that CEO Dan Borislow would offer to buy our silence after disparaging his own lawyers, or that MagicJack would ultimately face legal consequences for trying to intimidate critics. . . At several points in the process, we could have taken a check and walked away: as it is, the award doesn’t quite cover our costs. But we don’t like being bullied, and we wanted the chance to tell anyone else threatened by this company what to expect.

According to Boing Boing, Magic Jack’s suit claimed the blog’s post subjected the VoIP outfit to “hate, ridicule and obloquy.” The site claims MagicJack CEO Dan Borislow contacted them once he learned of the tenuous nature of his case in California court, agreed to a settlement, and then subsequently backed out. Once forced to settle, Magic Jack then demanded that the settlement dollar total be kept confidential. Boing Boing, unsurprisingly, didn’t think that was a good idea:

We offered not to publish the amount of this settlement if Borislow would donate $25,000 to charity. MagicJack, however, offered to pay our entire legal bill only if we’d agree to keep the whole dispute confidential; when we refused, Borislow wrote that he would ‘see us in court.’ Nonetheless, we’re happy with the outcome. The irony for MagicJack is that the proceedings are public record, so the silence it sought was effectively worthless.

Of course the lesson learned is that in the Internet age, the harder a company works to stifle criticism, the more attention that criticism gets. The better path is perhaps to listen to what your customers are saying about your business practices, and change them where possible if you value your customers.

Boing Boing has posted all legal documents pertinent to the case for those interested.

Link to the original article…

Sprint alerted Forbes that the carrier’s first Mobile WiMax handset will launch in the first half of this year. Given the fact that the Sprint/Clearwire Mobile WiMax network has a limited reach of 27 U.S. markets, most of them little, the device will of course be dual mode – switching to Sprint’s EVDO network when Mobile WiMax isn’t available. It’s also rumored to be the HTC Supersonic, an Android-based phone that’s been gossiped about by gadget nerds since January.

Clearwire is going to need to quadruple their footprint in 2010 in order to meet their goal of serving 120 million customers by the end of the year, including the mega markets of New York and San Francisco. Later this year the 4G race begins to get more interesting, as Verizon begins launching LTE service in between twenty five and thirty markets.

Link to the original article…