Peripherals

If Eee mania hasn’t set in yet, it’s about to. Earlier this week pictures of the Eee PC 903, 904, and 905 were leaked. Joining these “unofficial” pictures of new Eee PCs are some shots of the Eee Monitor, or what looks to be an Eee PC all-in-one, which was first talked about by the Taiwanese company at Computex 2008.

Our ASUS rep had no specs on the monitor or availability. However, based on the photos, we’re wondering whether this is actually a monitor or a new all-in-one PC or a rip off of the iMac.

To our discerning eyes, the monitor looks to be 19 to 20 inches and has a webcam centered on top of the display. Below the screen are controls for adjusting the brightness and contrast. The right side of the display sports 2 USB ports and a card reader.

In addition to 4 USB ports, the back of the monitor is strangely equipped with two Ethernet ports, three audio ports, one for a mic, and 2 audio-outs. What we don’t see is a VGA or DVI port, making us wonder whether this is meant to be a monitor for an Eee PC or a self-contained all-in-one computer. If it’s meant to serve as a monitor, it must also double as a docking station, because otherwise there’s no reason to have Ethernet and audio ports.

The Denon logo on the bottom right of the display indicates that this potential all-in-one may have a built-in Denon amplifier and speaker system. If it is a standalone system, we suspect its CPU is none other than Intel Atom, but other than that we have no clue what’s inside. The Eee Monitor has been rumored to have a built-in TV tuner and a starting price of $500.

We have all the shots you could dream of below.

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After Jerry Shen whipped out his Eee Sticks, we just had to get some hands on time with the pair of motion-sensing game controllers that look strikingly similar to a pair of Wii nunchuks (or that ZeeMote we did a hands on with a few months ago). Very few details were given about the Eee Stick, but we did get some time with the two controllers.

Both controllers fit right in the groove of your hand and are responsive to your movements. One control sports a four way D-pad and three additional buttons underneath. The other has an 8-way D-stick and 2 buttons on the front. A USB dongle wirelessly connects the remotes to the Eee PC.

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I couldn’t have gotten through college without my laptop’s docking station. When I would return from the library with my Dell Inspiron 8200, rather than plugging in all my connections one by one—mouse, keyboard, external monitor—to my notebook, I had a Dell dock or port replicator on my dorm room desk. All I had to do was drop my laptop into the dock and I was up and running.

Whether you’re a current HP notebook owner or a college-bound student looking to buy an HP, HP’s xb3000 Notebook Expansion Base is a solid docking solution. Though it has a larger footprint than most docks and is a bit pricer, the $249 station wraps quality Altec Lansing speakers and a laptop stand into one.

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I’m not sure what incited the demand for floral-print flash drives. Are these tiny storage units really so unsightly as is? SanDisk did a number on its ug-tastic Fleur USB drive a few months back. PNY Technologies announced on Monday its Lady Attaché drive, adorned with a gothic floral design, in 2GB and 4GB capacities. And Transcend recently released its own artistic interpretation of what tech women want in the JetFlash 168, which harbors a more impressive 16GB of space. It features what Transcend’s press release describes as “intricate oriental artistry,” and we hear proceeds will go to lessons in political correctness for the company’s PR team.

Transcend at least couples the JetFlash’s etched design—representing “a delicate balance of cutting-edge technology and exquisite transitional beauty” or something—with some pretty sweet features women may care more about than the zen pseudo-philosophy: Windows Vista ReadyBoost compatibility (to use the drive as an extra memory boost for your notebook), free JetFlash elite software (loaded with security and backup options), and a lifetime warranty. Remember, designers, we like pretty and practical.

Today 3D Connexion announced its SpaceNavigator, a 3D mouse for notebooks that lets you zoom around within any 3D environment you’re creating. It’s a fraction smaller than the original SpaceNavigator mouse. The company claims it’s supported by over 120 applications, including Google Earth, 3ds Max, Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended, Microsoft Live Search Maps, and 3D CAD. To navigate throughout each world, you can either push or pull up/down on the device, push forward, pull backward, or pan left and right. You can even twist it to rotate the environment currently on screen.

We just got one of the units in our office, and we’ll have a review up shortly. So far, we’re big fans of the smooth controls and sturdy base. We can say for certain that we definitely wouldn’t replace our regular mouse with the SpaceNavigator, like we could with the Sandio 3D Game O2 mouse, but it’s a pretty cool addition to a standard keyboard/mouse combo in Microsoft Live Search Maps. Stay tuned for our full review of this $129 peripheral.

Looks like today is the day for colorful mice. Today, Microsoft announced plans to release its Wireless Notebook Optical Mouse 3000 ($29.95) in five special edition colors: Pomegranate (red), dragon fruit (dark pink), aloe (green), milk chocolate (brown), and crème brûlée (khaki). The mouse, which Microsoft claims is the number one bestselling in the country, has a snap-in USB transceiver, is right- and left-hand friendly, and has sculpted finger grooves.

The rest of you will have to wait until June to get your hands on these special-edition mice, but we’ve had one for weeks now. Watch as, at long last, Todd tears through the packaging in record time (and gets so excited he forgets to start the timer). For those too lazy to count Mississippi’s, it’s 19 seconds. Stay tuned for part II of the video where we actually tell you what we think of the mouse!

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HP, not a usual suspect in our webcam roundups, just unleashed a beast of a camera, the Elite Autofocus webcam. I don’t use the word “beast” lightly: its boxy shape is conspicuous, and even a bit sinister. That said, its specs steamroll those of every other $99 webcam on the market: it takes 12-MP still photos and 3-MP video, outputs HD video, autofocuses, and has an instant chat button that you can sync with every major IM client, including Skype and AIM. Although its size is clumsy, you get a plug-n-play, pan-and-tilt design that fits any LCD.

Look for the Elite Autofocus in Best Buys nationwide starting April 6th.

As promised, I took our newest electronic instrument - Jada’s Air Guitar Rocker - out on the town. We began in Times Square, but with New York City’s current freezing temperatures, my fingers froze up and seriously impacted my performance. I decided it best to play underground in the Subway.

While the Rocker gets some decent volume in a bedroom or office cubicle, in the loud subway it could really use a louder amp. We did enjoy rocking out with Desmond Ivey, a New York City-based musician who plays throughout the subway system. You can check out his web page and can also download his songs on iTunes. Ivey was a bit perplexed by the small air guitar device and even attempted to jam with us, but honestly his tunes sounded a whole lot better than our electronic music.

In the end, playing the Air Guitar Rocker in midtown Manhattan made me a total of 50 cents. But all the stares were just priceless! Practice will make perfect.

My partner in crime, Jeffery Wilson, documents his first experience playing the Rocker in the video below. (Note: Michael “turn down that ruckus” Prospero enters at the end because the Rocker is just not meant for closed conference rooms or office buildings!).

We have been waiting to get our hands-on a lot of stuff we saw at CES 2008. But beyond the Lenovo Idea Pad U110 and the Wi-Max EeePC there is Jada’s Guitar Hero Air Guitar Rocker. The “toy” (though personally I think it is much more than that) lets you unlock your inner rock star without having to be tied to your PS3 or XBox360.

The product, which will be available March 4 for $29.99, includes all you need to play the mobile electric air guitar. In the box are guitar pics and a rockin’ belt buckle that, when connected to a wearable mini-amplifier, allows the user to wave the pick over the belt buckle and play air guitar to some seriously mobile music.

Jada stopped by our offices today and, to be honest, we couldn’t wait for them to scoot their way out the door so we could be left alone with our new Air Guitar Rocker.

After they left, we grabbed a video camera as my partner in crime, Jeffrey Wilson, tried on the Rocker.
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HYmini couldn’t have come up with a more perverted company name or a more convenient green charger. The personal wind turbine or charger can power your phone, camera, and any other small electronics. You simply attach the fan looking device to your bike or even your bag and it captures wind and then converts it to power.

We ventured over to the HYmini booth where they appropriately have green M&Ms on the table. They didn’t get the joke at the booth, so we hope you will.

The wind charger is extremely lightweight and simply hooked onto my laptop bag. We plugged in our BlackBerry to the mini-USB charger attached to the fan and watched it charge. Check out the video.

HYmini is offering their wind charger along with a mini solar charger as a package deal for $59.99.