Microsoft and McDonalds team up on WiFi access for Zune

It seems that McDonalds is serious about going after wireless traffic enjoyed by users at Starbucks and is seeking out like minded partners who can help them create an alternative. That’s where Redmond comes in as the two giants in their perspective industries have joined forces to provide free wireless connectivity to Zune users for the Zune Marketplace. That means the Zune faithful will be able to buy and download music from the Zune Marketplace through Wayport wiFi gateways in more than 9,800 McDonald’s restaurants.

“Wayport is pleased to be working with Microsoft to make it easier for Zune users to access music on the go,” said Dan Lowden, vice president of business development and marketing for Wayport. “Our ability to enable and manage applications and devices over converged networks creates exciting new opportunities for our clients to attract new customers whose digital lifestyle extends beyond their home and office.”

The partnership comes at the same time that Microsoft begins offering new colors for their 16GB Zune 2. Users can custom order blue, red, pink, and green only through Microsoft’s refreshed Zune Originals site. And through its latest software update Zune users can also stream music and purchase it directly from the built-in FM radio. Zune customers have a choice in how they acquire music — they can pay per track or choose a Zune Pass subscription. Zune Pass subscribers can download or stream music from their Zune or computer interchangeably, all for a flat rate of $14.99 (U.S.) per month.
To give people a chance to experience Zune Pass subscription, Zune is offering a free, 14-day trial to all new customers. More information is available at http://www.zune.net/setup.

Hat tip – Engadget

JVC HXD77J Mini System

JVC HXD77J Mini System player looks cool, it looks like it is going to shoot out something. The JVC HXD77J Mini System includes a five-disc changer, support DVD and home-burned CDs containing MP3, WMA (Windows Media Audio), and JPEG files. You can also connect your mp3 player or other device through the front auxiliary input. Check out more after the break.

Features
• 5-tray DVD/CD changer
• disc exchange
• plays DVD-Video, DVD-R & DVD-RW discs, DVD+R & DVD+RW discs, and Video CDs
• plays CDs, audio CD-Rs & CD-RWs, and MP3 & WMA discs
• plays digital picture CDs (JPEG)
• 99-track programming, repeat, and random play
• 3D Phonic movie sound modes (Action, Drama, Theater)
• 3 EQ presets (Rock, Pop, Classic)
• 3 Live Surround modes (Dance Club, Hall, Stadium)
• 4 Game modes (RPG, Sports, Action, Night)
• video output for TV (composite, S-video, component video)
• progressive-scan DVD playback
• built-in Dolby Digital and DTS decoders (2-channel)
• optical digital output for Dolby Digital/DTS/PCM
• USB input
• auxiliary input
• 540 watts total power (180 watts x 2 for subwoofers, 90 watts x 2 for woofers, mids and tweeters)
• 4-way, biamped, bass-reflex speakers with dual 6-5/16″ woofers, 2-13/16″ midrange, 13/16″ tweeters, and 6-5/16″ subwoofers
• video-shielded speaker design
• remote control
• component: 6-15/16″W x 14-11/16″H x 17-1/4″D
• speakers: 11-11/16″W x 17-13/16″H x 13-11/16″D
• warranty: 1 year

The player is available at $262.

[via Redferret]

fitbit

Fitbit is a tiny wireless tracker that you can hook it on your clothing to track your daily movements which include steps, miles, calories burnt, and more.

The Fitbit Tracker is wireless. Walk within 25-50ft of the provided basestation and your data will be automatically uploaded to the Fitbit website. After that, you can login to the Fitbit website to see details and also participate in collaborative fitness goals with friends, family and co-workers. The auto-sync software runs on both Macs and PC’s.

More pictures after the break.

:: Product pag

[via Uncrate]

LG introduce new Plasmas with bluetooth, PVR to the UK

A "new, even smaller" model announcement is an odd thing for a TV manufacturer - usually we hear about larger, louder, brighter sets. There is method to the madness though - historically, plasma TVs have only been available in larger sizes - 40" and above. With the 32PG6000 LG have squeezed Plasma technology into a 32" screen.

Coming soon after the launch of the new LCD TV range this Plasma launch breathes life into a technology many other manufacturers are abandoning, with some innovative new features.

As with the recent LCD launch there are a myriad of model numbers and screen sizes covering a wide range of features and budgets. The 32" set sits at the bottom of the range, while the monster 60" 60PG7000 stands at the top.

Even the 32" model gets a huge array of inputs with 4 HDMI sockets, component, SCART and VGA ports. Moving up the range gets you bluetooth connectivity and an integrated freeview PVR. This is a really nice idea, you get two tuners so you can watch one program while recording another, and a 160GB hard drive for over 80 hours of recording capacity.

You can get more details of all these sets on the LG Blog, or on the LG website

If you’ve got to the bottom of this post and are wondering what the difference between LCD and Plasma is anyway and why you’d care, we asked LG to give us their take on it. You can get their explanation here.

The Mickey Mobile Phone

Here’s another Mickey phone that is not from Disney. But at least, it has a better design…than the Tian Lai F4.

It comes with a Mickey theme, 2.0-inch 262k TFT touch screen, 1.3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, microSD slot, FM radio and all the basic functions such as currency convertor, to do list, world clock, unit converter, health test, and calculator

The LT2 Mickey phone is available for $142.82

Desktop Grenade Lamp

Once in a while you will come across a gadget that is so wacky, not sharing it with the rest would be tantamount to sinning. Today we have the Desktop Grenade Lamp that is a lovely combination of two ideas - pulling the grenade’s pin will turn the lamp on instead of resulting in a deadly explosion. Pretty neat idea, although I think this would be more suitable in a boy’s room that your daughter’s. The $139 price tag is rather steep IMHO, but then again good ideas are hard to come by, and when they do, they are rarely cheap.

Product Page via Nerd Approved

Casio High Speed EXILIM EX-FH20 is one of the fastest on the market

We’ve covered Casio’s EXILIM series before, and they have just recently announced their new HIGH SPEED EXILIM series, which includes the Pro EX-F1. That camera was released earlier this year, and it has to its credit as being the “world’s fastest digital camera”.

The EX-F1 can shoot at 60fps and record high speed movies at 1,200 fps. Now Casio has recently unveiled the EX-FH20, a camera that is capable of shooting 40fps and can record video footage at 1,000 fps. Of course, you don’t have to record video that fast, as the HD movie function is capable of 30fps at a resolution of 1,280 x 720.

The company gave the EX-FH20 a compact body that is 27% smaller than the EX-F1, and is also 28% lighter. The EX-FH20 has 9.1 megapixels, and a wide angle zoom lens of 20X.

The EX-FH20 is also capable of high speed burst shooting of 7 megapixel images that are adjustable up to 40fps. That means that this camera is capable of prerecording 40 still images that somehow will be there before a user hits the shutter button.

It also has a High Speed Anti-Shake function and Night Scene setting, which makes pictures as perfect as possible. The Casio ELIXIM EX-FH20 is slated to be in stores in next month for about $600.

Source

Dot Gloves allow for easier use of the iPhone

Sadly, it is getting late in the year which means for many of us that it’s about to get very cold. Which also means you’re going to have to start bundling up, but that can cause some issues for those with iPhones. If you decide to throw some kind of protection on your hands to keep them warm it will end up making it hard to punch anything into your phone. That is unless you decided to opt for fingerless gloves, but those aren’t quite as warm. Of course, that wouldn’t be too bad in some areas, but those of us that get bad winters would end up having frozen fingers. Well these Dot Gloves are designed specifically for situations like that.

They may look like silly gloves with rubber tips, but those rubber tips make for entering things on your phone much easier. If you only type with specific fingers you can have the dots placed on those fingers only. They are sold in either knit or ragg wool, the ragg wool is said to be a lot warmer but still soft. The knit gloves however, come in more colors and are cheaper. The knit are being sold for $10 and the ragg wool for $15 from Dot Gloves.

Source: GeekyGadgets

LCD shift knob from AC Schnitzer

AC Schnitzer is a famous name when it comes to modified vehicles as well as accessories, and this time round the famous badge has made its way into the world of shift sticks - in particular, their knobs. Each of these knobs will feature a LCD display that lets you know the current gear/transmission you are engaged in at a glance in red, instead of looking at the base’s print as with traditional automatic vehicles have. You will be able to find this unique LCD shift knob in future BMWs and Minis. No idea on how much more the final vehicle price will be jacked up because of this.

Source: Likecool

Japanese Popping Edamame Keychain

Folks with itchy fingers who need to keep them occupied while performing other tasks such as going through a list of numbers or talking to somebody over the phone will definitely find the Japanese Popping Edamame Keychain to be a boon.

Each Japanese Popping Edamame Keychain has three beans. The end beans are small and immature. The middle bean, however, has one of 12 random faces printed on it. Why? We don’t know, but there is nothing like the smile it puts on your face. And the beans are connected to some sort of elastic band, so they pop back in to be popped again as many times as you want. It sounds silly, but trust us, these things are highly addictive. They are also a great way to keep your fingers busy during boring meetings and your mood positive - because no one can frown when their edamame smiles.

ThinkGeek is currently selling these pointless yet fun keychains for $8.99 each