Section: Gadgets / Other, Household, Lifestyle, Miscellaneous If you’re trying to lose weight or stay healthy and enjoy metrics and graphs, then you should check out the Withings WiFi Body Scale. The scale’s built-in Wi-Fi automatically transmits your weight, lean and fat mass, and body mass index to your own Withings webpage. You can also have the data transmitted to the free Withings iPhone app called WiScale. Body fat is calculated as actual weight rather than as a percentage using bioelectric impedance analysis. Up to 8 users can track stats per scale - the scale automatically detects who the user is once he or she steps on the scale. The scale design is pretty sleek - it’s only 0.9” thick in a mix of black, steel, and glass. The scale is shipping now and is available from Withings.com or Amazon.com for $159. Product Page: [Withings] Full Story » | Written by Merlyn Akhtar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Web, Web Apps, Websites, Google  For most of us, today was a day of extreme disappointment as we found out that we didn’t receive one of the 100,000 Google Wave invites that were sent out. That’s no reason to not learn as much as possible about Wave before we get a chance to use it. Developers have been hard at work to bring extensions to the service while we’ve all been waiting for its release. One the more interesting extensions is 6rounds.
6rounds was given the opportunity to be the first video chat option on Google Wave and seems to have been a great choice. 6rounds offers not only a chance for plain video chat, the service also has features such as effects and “gifts” you can give the other person involved. What sets it apart from other video chat options is the opportunity to visit websites with your chat partner or play games offered by 6rounds as well. All of this can be done within a Wave without having to install extra applications. 6rounds looks to be an interesting addition to Google Wave and its features could add a lot to the service. The fact that you can use it without having to setup an account with 6rounds makes it even better; that way you will only need to convince people to use Google Wave, as if there should be any convincing at all. 6rounds was given a great opportunity in being chosen to make a Wave extension and it looks like it’s done a good job. Read [PR Web] Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Video, DVD/DVR/Blu-ray, Computers, Netbooks, Gadgets / Other, Gaming 
With the economy still on a downturn, tech retailers are preparing for the upcoming holiday season by offering a variety of cheap gadgets. With no hot new must have gadget this year and consumers not as willing to snap up pricey gadgets, retailers are hoping that cheap gadgets will have enough appeal to keep their sales up. Netbooks, digital cameras, digital picture frames and speakers are some of the items retailers are hoping will be big sellers for the frugal set. Best Buy is also hoping to cash in on the growing popularity of e-books by setting up sections in stores dedicated to several varieties of e-readers all going for less than Amazon's Kindle. RadioShack is offering a 7 inch portable TV for $199, and Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo have all slashed prices on their video game consoles. Walmart meanwhile has dropped the price of some Blu-ray players to $99. Some retailers, such as Sears and Kmart, are hoping their layaway programs will help encourage consumers to make some big ticket purchases. Electronics are already the most popular items placed on layaway. Sears also plans to follow Best Buy's lead and offer e-readers this holiday season. While experts agree that most consumers will be budget conscious this holiday season, and predict sales will be the second worst in 42 years, manufacturers still plan to push some high ticket items such as the new LED ultra thin TVs that go for upwards of $2000. Vizo is hopeful its latest model, which connects to the internet and comes with a roll out keyboard, will be a hot seller but the $1700 price tag may turn off many. Most consumers will be looking for deals on small ticket items rather than splurging. Retailers plan to appeal to this mindset by offering BOGO deals and promoting add-ons and accessories. What are your plans for this holiday season? Do you plan cut back on gift buying? Let us know what your holiday shopping plans are! Read [Wall Street Journal] Full Story » | Written by Sue Walsh for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Gadgets / Other, ebooks Go figure. You’d think publishers would be all over reducing overhead and being content providers. You’d think reducing how much they are chained to print houses and paper producers would make publishers thrilled. Fact: apparently, I don’t know the first thing about publishing. But I do know that publishers are holding out on the Kindle. Former Governor Sarah Palin’s book, “Going Rogue: An American Life,” is not yet available for Kindlers. The publisher is holding out for more hardcover sales thinking that those interested in the inner thoughts of public figure are willing to shell out more cash at the holiday. We’re not talking about pushing it back a week either. The book will be on sale Nov 17th while the Kindle edition won’t be here until after Christmas. If book lovers have Kindles, and every Kindle owner I’ve run across is so passionate about the darn gadget, then the non-book lovers are the new target of publishers? It would seem publishers will starve the very same folks that talk up books at work, at the gym, in airplanes and as a result, they sell fewer hardcovers. But to reiterate, I don’t know the first thing about publishing. If I were a Kindle owner, this would bug the heck out of me. The publishing industry is conspiring against Kindle owners, the very ones who devour books? Wha? What’s more, this isn’t the only title or publisher making these kind of staged launches. This is the first time for Harper, but Twelve, an imprint of Lagardère SCA’s Hachette Book Group has also delayed the Kindle version. Amazon’s Kindle would seem to have less value if publishers are going to play these kind of games. The WSJ says this is possible more about Amazon’s policy of selling new titles for $9.99 and the publishing industry refusing to become more or less a $9.99 album ala iTunes. Read: [Wall Street Journal] Image from Amazon Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Web, Web 2.0 / Social Networking, Web Apps  If you are a developer, you better watch the content you post on Facebook or else you could be on the receiving end of a Secret Service investigation. This has occurred after a third party application was pulled that allowed users to create Facebook polls. A recent poll that was placed on Facebook posing the following question: "Should President Obama be killed?"
The answers to the poll were either "yes," "maybe," "if he cuts my healthcare" and "no." The Secret Service agency spokesman James Mackin has said an investigation has been launched because of the poll. Facebook users reported the poll to the site owners and it was quickly taken down. The application has been suspended until the developer can prove that they can better filter the content generated by the poll creator. Facebook handles these situations by asking users to police the site and flag any inappropriate content. It appears that the application was created over the weekend and first appeared on the developer's page Advanced Alien Technology. The user that created the poll has yet to be named. Read: [LA Times] Full Story » | Written by Heather Wood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Communications, Mobile, Computers, Wireless Borders has recently announced that they will begin offering free Wi-Fi in their 500+ retail locations. The announcement comes as part of the recent partnership with Verizon and will allow for customers visitors to surf the Internet for free beginning sometime in mid-October. According to the official announcement; Borders Group chief executive officer Ron Marshall stated that “re-engaging with customers as a serious bookseller is one of our strategic priorities.” Of course, to me that seems like they are making a move to get people to start visiting their retail locations a little more often. He also went on to state that “by offering free Wi-Fi, we are extending the open atmosphere of exploration that is at the core of every great bookstore experience and furthering the sense of community we have always fostered at Borders.” That said though, this seems like a move that had to happen, if for no other reason than their competitor (Barnes & Noble) began offering free Wi-Fi back in late July. It does make you wonder what took Border so long to make the announcement though. But hey, why turn down free Wi-Fi? Now book reading wireless moochers will have yet another place to sit and take up space. Via [Gear Log] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Communications, Email / IM, Web, Web 2.0 / Social Networking, Web Apps, Websites A TechCrunch 50 finalist, Threadsy is a compelling way to consolidate communication. I’ve been using Threadsy for the past week instead of GMail and the results have been impressive. Here is how Threadsy might make your life easier. Inbound In the left pane, email is displayed along with @me Twitters and Facebook messages. The idea is to have only the stuff that was specifically directed to you be in your inbox. You can choose to view all of this or just the incoming mail from individual providers (like just Twitter). Users can search through messages and this search was surprisingly fast. Emails can be composed as either quick replies right from this screen or open and reply seeing the full message. Unbound In the right pane (which users can control its width), are the streams you follow from Twitter and Facebook. As with the Inbound pane, you can choose to filter just Facebook or Twitter streams or view them all. Another tab on top allows you to access GMail chat, which is very handy. Impression I really dig this web app. Bringing all this together enriches the experience and should make communication better. Neatest trick: open an email and Threadsy shows you their latest Tweets, latest Facebook status and bio; pretty slick. This is the application I’ve been looking for. Overall, Threadsy was speedy and didn’t have too many problems. Keep in mind, this thing just went live last month, so there are some kinks. Things like sometimes emails I deleted would show up again, the feed from Facebook would show status updates with the incorrect time (making them seem like they were new), new chat messages don’t alert you very well that a reply is expected and the program sometimes felt sluggish. There are some quirks, to be sure, but the app has enough things going for it to overlook these for now. Will I keep using Threadsy? Heck yes. Bringing together all these streams of communications is awesome. While I too can’t wait to see what Google Wave has up its sleeve, Threadsy has a lot of great features going for it and it is only getting better. The company is currently in a private beta but invites seem to be steadily flowing out. So sign up to get an invite and check it out. Product page: [Threadsy] Image Source: Technologizer Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Gaming, Accessories, Peripherals, Storage Cards for PSP SanDisk is introducing its brand new line of M2 memory cards for the Sony PSP Go. The PSP Go has 16GB of internal storage, but that is expandable with these m2 cards. This new standard was developed by both SanDisk and Sony. SanDisk is packaging the m2 cards with Memory Stick Pro Duo adapters so if you have any other PSP you can use the m2 with the adapter. SanDisk is aiming to keep the pricing competitive with Memory Stick Pro Duo cards. - 2GB $27.99
- 4GB $44.99
- 8GB $74.99
- 16GB $142.99
SanDisk is also introducing a new Memory Stick Pro-HG Duo at a whopping 32GB capacity and it has a MSRP of $279.99. 
Nintendo DSi cards For the Nintendo DSi, SanDisk has a special SDHC card. What makes it special when compared to other cards? There’s a Nintendo seal of approval on these things. SanDisk told us that there were very strict guidelines in order to get that Nintendo seal of approval, so these cards are guaranteed to be compatible and will be very reliable. There will be two cards for the DSi, a 4GB model at $32.99 and an 8GB mdel for $47.99. Company SIte: [SanDisk] Full Story » | Written by Iyaz Akhtar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile  Assuming we can believe these recent images, then it looks like AT&T will soon have the BlackBerry Bold 9000 available in white. Nothing really to this story just yet, however there is, for better or worse a white BlackBerry Bold 9000 being listed.
Personally, I like white phones and I like a good BlackBerry, but something about the Bold in white just strikes me as being a little off. Let’s just hope they do not try and offer this with the leather backing that they have currently have on the black model. Finally, as you would expect when being offered an image as evidence of an upcoming release, there is nothing being said in terms of when it will be available. Read [BGR] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Communications, Accessories, Cellphones, Mobile Screenshots of the TiVo app on BlackBerry TiVo and RIM are releasing a TiVo app today. What does the app do? It lets you schedule recordings from your BlackBerry and your TiVo will do the rest. The TiVo BlackBerry app will let you go through categories and television show information like title and airdate. The TiVo DVR Scheduler will let you see daily picks and conduct searches via title, keyword, or actor. Site: [TiVo app]
Alternative Site: [TiVo app]
Demo: [InsideBlackBerry.com] Full Story » | Written by Iyaz Akhtar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
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