Sony finally released their widely rumored and very sexy Playstation 3 Slim at Gamescon on Tuesday, with coverage from every angle on the device. I’ll definitely consider buying it once I get my hands on the device but while reading and writing about the PS3 Slim, I couldn’t help think about the many gadgets that could easily be made slimmer. It’s just a natural thought process when it comes to gadgets. Slimmer devices are easier to carry, and more convenient especially when we’re on the go.

The first device I’d want to be slimmer is my iPhone. I think the iPhone is capable of becoming slimmer, maybe not as slim as the current iPod Touch but very close. And who wouldn’t love a slimmer, skinnier TV or computer monitor? And what about the Kindle 2? I love my Kindle but wish it got rid of the keyboard and added touchscreen, making it smaller, lighter and maybe even slimmer. Sony’s decision to go slim with the PS 3 is great for any gamer.

If you could slim down any gadget you owned, which one would it be?

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Hahn-Bin, a 22-year old South Korean violinist, owes it to the cabbie and the driver’s GPS system for helping him locate his $493,000 Giovanni Francesco Pressenda violin. The musician left his violin in a yellow cab in NYC after a performance in Long Island. He didn’t notice his mistake until hours later while taking a shower.

After calling the police and the taxi dispatcher, Hahn-Bin was reunited with his violin thanks in part due to the GPS tracker installed in every yellow cab in NYC. “Losing an instrument is a greatest fear, even more than making a mistake on stage,” said Hahn-Bin after getting his violin back. This isn’t the first time musicians have lost their instruments in a New York City cab. More »

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When Russian investment group, Digital Sky Technologies, decided to purchase a $100 million of common stock from former and current Facebook employees, no one thought it would cause the frenzy that it has. The program, introduced on July 13th, gave current and former employees and others who held Facebook stock, the option to sell up to 25% or $1 million of their stock to DST.

The offer to sell stock options, was given to current employees first, followed by former employees. Many employees took the offer and sold a portion of their stock. While some would argue that cashing in stock options were premature, even calling the employees mercenaries, I think these employees did the right thing and here’s 4 reasons why. More »

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Wall clocks are getting more sophisticated every day. Check out this clock, the Good Afternoon, which uses diffuse light as hands instead of the traditional ticking pieces of metal or plastic. It’s a design created by Japan’s Mile Project.

There’s a glass surface with narrow slits that allow rays of light to act as the hour, minute and second hands. Now looking at the design, it’s so simple, yet so cool. It makes you wonder why someone hasn’t come out with the design already. Wall clocks are definitely getting more high tech, I’d love to have one these, wouldn’t you? More »

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Louis Braille would have been ecstatic if he had somehow known that his system for the blind is being incorporated into a phone. The Braille Universal cell phone, from Samsung, can raise the top part of its surface to allow a visually impaired person to know what numbers they pressed, of course with the buttons being in Braille too.

In order for the phone to do this, EAP (Electric Active Plastic) technology must be built in, so the plastic can move to form the Braille numbers typed in by the user. The letter dots are provided in 2×3 dot matrixes and allows the visually impaired to write messages, make and receive calls. More »

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Yesterday’s announcement of the Playstation 3 Slim brings up a few questions; why did it take Sony so long to release the Slim, why so long before the price cut and will I buy it?

The obvious answer for the first question is: price. The actual cost to build the original PS 3 was upwards of $800. When it was first released, it cost to the consumer was $599 for the 60GB version. $499 for the 20GB version. It was the most expensive gaming console out in the market but Sony was still losing money on it, hoping to make it back by selling more games for it. It didn’t happen. The price scared many, who jumped to the cheaper Xbox 360 and then the highly successful Nintendo Wii.

As for the slim, no one knows why Sony took so long to release it. One theory might be, they were hoping after a price reduction and a slew of updates on the original Playstation 3 (went through various minor hardware updates including hard drive capacities), people would eventually buy the system. That didn’t happen either. More »

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Blockbuster is making a comeback after the emergence of Netflix and other video streaming sites. Blockbuster has decided to take it a step further and allow their Blockbuster OnDemand movies for download on new Motorola phones.

Users of this service will be able to download movies straight to their phone on the go, which will drastically improve the movie watching experience through Blockbuster. Blockbuster has stated that they will allow thousands of current OnDemand selections for download on select Motorola phones. More »

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Why carry a clock and a USB hub when you travel, why not make it easier on yourself and have it all as one device? With the Oregon Scientific USB hub, not only will you be able to power all of your USB devices, you’ll never have to program a clock again. That’s right, wherever you travel the clock will program itself to that timezone and automatically change the time.

The USB clock gives you the option of setting an alarm on the inverted LCD display and has timings for 25 different cities built in. Like a standard USB hub, there are four ports for your USB devices. It seems like a bulky device with the alarm clock and USB hubs. More »

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Twitter grew from one of the smallest start ups to a powerful social networking site that people use all over the world. It seems almost as if Twitter was famed overnight. Among Twitterers, the personal ones, the celebrities and even companies, no one has taken more advantage of Twitter than the Broadway musical Next to Normal. They performed the entire play via tweets, about 5 tweets a day and attracted thousands of new fans for the growing Broadway show.

Next to Normal, is a play about a suburban family whose mother suffers from bipolar disorder. It attracted lots of attention and praise but was selling tickets at 72% capacity. After six weeks of the show’s opening, the Twitter production had over 30,000 followers, tweeting lines from all the characters and offering audio links whenever a a musical number came up. More »

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As phone become more sophisticated, new designs and concepts start to pop up. Here’s one from designer Seunghan Song, the Window Phone. The concept is a translucent phone, that will display information on a window like surface.

Just by looking at the concept phone, it’ll have a hard time actually being practical but you can’t blame the designer for thinking outside the box The phone will have the ability to change its look based on how the weather is outside (clear screen on sunny days, virtual rain drops on rainy days). It’s going to be a tough sell if this thing ever does come into fruition. More »

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iPhone Dethrones Rebel XTi as Most Popular Camera on Flickr -

The L.A. Times‘ Mark Milian has been watching Flickr stats like a hawk, but he says the explanation for the spike in images uploaded by iPhone users is unclear. We think it’s pretty obvious: Unlike most cameras, the iPhone is internet-enabled, meaning shooters can share their pics just seconds after taking them. Combine that factor with the new iPhone 3GS’ improved 3.0-megapixel camera (up from 2 megapixels), which includes an auto-focus lens, and bam — rapid growth. (Alex Dejong, a blind photographer, also praises the iPhone 3GS for its accessibility and quick uploading process.)…Wired

Back-To-School: Crap you wont need in college -

Right around this time of year, every store bigger than a breadbox is trying to cash in on college kids by pointing out everything they’ll need for the days ahead. Bed-risers! Over-the-door shoe holders! Thing is, packing for college isn’t like packing for camping. Stuff that seems oh-so-functional when you’re standing in the dorm room aisle with full reign over Dad’s credit card becomes nothing but added weight once you’re on your own. They’ll be great for measuring how much dust can gather on one thing over a few months, but that’s about it… CrunchGear

Acer reportedly set to launch three touch-enabled, Windows 7-based devices -

Another company producing yet more products that take advantage of Windows 7’s much-vaunted touch capabilities? Amazing but true, at least according to DigiTimes, which is reporting that Acer is set to launch no less than three “touch-enabled products” loaded with Windows 7. That word apparently comes straight from a product manager in the company’s mobile computer department, who also went on to say that touch-enabled netbooks might see “good market acceptance” if they’re marketed as cheaper alternatives to tablet PCs, although it’s not clear if the products in question are actually touch-enabled netbooks. In other touch-related news, Acer is also reportedly looking at using in-cell touch panel technology when it becomes widely available, which should be cheaper to produce than conventional touch panels that don’t have all the necessary touch components built right in at the LCD panel level…Engadget

The PS3 Slim Up Close and Hands On -

Well, it’s smaller, it also holds some unexpected surprises. The matte finish won’t scratch or fingerprint like the original PS3 fat. The Slim is definitely noticeably lighter, but it’s still kinda big…Gizmodo

10 Important Gadgets in Modern History -

Since the dawn of time, technology and gadgets have gone in hand. You couldn’t talk about one without mentioning the other. To this day, it hasn’t changed. We use the latest technology in our gadgets to make our lives easier and because of that, we’re able to do more in less time than ever before. With that in mind, we’d like to pay tribute to some of the most important gadgets of our time, gadgets that have made our lives easier while becoming a necessity of everyday living…Ziggytek

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All the news we hear about Microsoft seem to be about the Zune HD but that’s changing as Microsoft is set to release the first HD webcam, the LifeCam Cinema 720p. It’s the first consumer webcam to offer HD capability and with video at 30 frames per second.

For $80, you get a lot with this camera. The Lifecam comes with an autofocusing glass lens, noise-canceling mic and sturdy aluminum construction. The only problem some will have with this device is no online service, Skype, AIM or iChat, offer HD video. Right now the LifeCam is only compatible with Windows Live Messenger. More »

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Since the dawn of time, technology and gadgets have gone in hand. You couldn’t talk about one without mentioning the other. To this day, it hasn’t changed. We use the latest technology in our gadgets to make our lives easier and because of that, we’re able to do more in less time than ever before.

With that in mind, we’d like to pay tribute to some of the most important gadgets of our time, gadgets that have made our lives easier while becoming a necessity of everyday living. More »

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It’s finally official. Sony has released their highly rumored Playstation 3 Slim. The Slim which has been popping up everywhere with pictures and rumors, will be available to the public in the first week of September and will cost $300 before taxes.

The new PS 3 Slim is lighter, smaller, has a 120 GB HDD and offers all the similar features of it’s older and heavier brethren. While the new PS 3 Slim was announced, Sony also dropped the prices on the older Playstation 3 models by a $100. But like I said before, why would anyone pay $300 for a heavier, older and less capacity PS 3 when you can get the Slim with more capacity for the same price. I wish Sony had cut the prices a little bit more, maybe $150 or $200, because most people will not buy the older Playstation 3. Sony finally has a day for themselves after all. Pics from the announcements after the break. More »

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A new survey recently announced that the iPhone was the most popular phone in Japan. To celebrate this occasion, Softbank has announced some special edition iPhone cases. The Japan Texture Special Edition for the iPhone pays homage to Japanese history, with images harking back to the days of the Samurai and Shogun.

The cases feature five different design, each with some historical significance. As great as these cases are, the prices for them are astronomical. For a price of 99,800 Yen ($1,057) you can own of these special edition cases. And that’s without the actual phone. More »

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