Taiwanese company RoyalTek's just announced the first of what will apparently be five pico projectors it releases in 2010. The RPJ-2000 boasts 3M's second generation LCoS chipset, VGA and NTSC / PAL inputs, and 0.5 watt speakers. The projector can project a 65-inch image at 640 x 480 resolution with 14 lumens of brightness. Disappointingly, there is no onboard storage or media player on this little guy, but we're betting one or more of those other models RoyalTec is set to unleash probably will have those glorious extras. If you want to use this baby with...Read More »

This is not the first time we've heard about a robotic hummingbird, but they're still a rare enough species to warrant our attention. Japanese researchers at Chiba University near Tokyo have developed a new bot which behaves much like the quick-winged bird, which is controlled by an infrared sensor. The little birdie weighs in at less than an ounce and can fly in a figure eight, moving up, down, left and right. Next steps for its development -- which the researchers say will arrive by 2011 -- include the ability for it to hover mid-air, and have a small...Read More »

Look, we don't like having to constantly be skeptics who don't believe in anything unless there's absolute proof of its existence... oh, wait: yes we do. Especially in scenarios like this, where sources are unclear, a bit vague, and poorly translated. Regardless, we're hearing that it's possible that Lenovo is actively developing an e-reader and may already be in an internal testing phase according to "sources" cited by Tech 163. Such a move wouldn't be wholly unexpected -- the e-reader bandwagon is getting more crowded every day. Still, we can't be sure yet, though Tech 163 apparently asked...Read More »

If there's even a faint need for a recharging solution, there's a decent shot that Sanyo will have an Eneloop device to fit the situation. Take the newly announced music booster, for instance, which is designed to sit alongside your Tube Screamer, TU-2 Chromatic Tuner and RV600 Reverb Machine in order to keep the juice flowin' even if a breaker trips mid-solo. Truthfully, the device could be used to energize pretty much anything that taps into a 9V power source, and if you're concerned over noise interference, Sanyo assures us that you shouldn't be. The unit -- which...Read More »

Remember the Bolt from CES 2009? Man, that was ages ago. If you'll recall, projector phones were actually all the rage for around 4.67 minutes at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, and ever since we've been dealt months of nothing alongside one lone ranger of something in the LG eXpo. Evidently Logic Wireless is hoping that we'll forget all about the Bolt that never shipped and instead focus on the next best thing: the 150LGW. Available for order now at Skymall (of all places), the projector phone looks significantly slimmer and more stylish than the...Read More »

The tap that keeps on leaking has inadvertently let loose an internal "notebook index" document that corroborates earlier rumblings of a forthcoming Envy 14. Sourced from HP's Korean site, this little ditty reveals Envy 14 and Envy 17 models, which both tick the 'HP external USB DVD Drive' category, bringing up the intriguing possibility of a 17-inch laptop without an integrated optical drive. The bigger machine is also listed alongside "new" 6- and 9-cell battery packs, but other internal specs remain unknown. In other news, successors to the Elitebook 2730p tablet, 2530p ultraportable and Read More »

Oh, Brando -- how we do love thee. Be it random accessories we don't need at all or legitimate peripherals that make our lives all that much easier, you're always there -- steadfastly waiting for us to fall in love over and over again. Mushiness aside, the outfit's new USB 3.0-to-SATA adapter is indeed one of those remarkably useful devices, enabling any old SATA hard drive to be accessed externally at USB 3.0 speeds. Essentially, this is the pocket-friendly version of Sharkoon's latest SATA QuickPort, but rather than forcing you to carry around a...Read More »

In the land of netbooks and nettops, the tried-and-true all-in-one PC still has a place in this world yet. MSI is living proof of that, with its 21.5-inch Wind Top AE2220 bringing Windows 7, multitouch and an eye-pleasing design to the collective masses. Said machine just started shipping to consumers at the tail end of last month, and we've been fortunate enough to spend a few weeks tinkering with one of the most cost effective AIO options on the market right now. Thankfully for those who enjoy doing anything with relative speed, MSI overlooked...Read More »

Sick of parking up outside Starbucks to eek some free Wi-Fi? (err, no... we definitely don't do that either). Well there's good news for the mobile but web-starved: Ford is set to offer its new car customers the option of turning their vehicles into moving Wi-Fi hotspots in 2010. The next gen Sync in-car entertainment system will use a USB mobile broadband modem to establish a secure Wi-Fi connection. - Best of 2009: the year's hottest motors The system will be available in 2010 on selected Ford cars and will not require users...Read More »

It's been a bumper year for eBooks. As more and more readers hit the shelves at more and more competitive price points, reading a tome via e-ink screen has gone from novelty idea to genuine, tree-saving alternative. The good news continues today, as word's filtered through to T3 that eBooks have outsold paper books for the first time this Christmas - according to Amazon.com. More people bought Kindle books than physical ones on Christmas day, making it the "most gifted item in Amazon's history", although there is no indication yet on whether the value of eBooks sold is...Read More »