The Droid x from Motorola Droid is the newest smart phone -- as of July 15th. It has a built in (720p) HD camcorder, 8 MP camera (with dual flash), and you can watch movies on a crytal clear 4.3” HD screen, great for use on the airplane. There's HDMI output so you can watch your videos on the big screen at home or the hotel. (Be sure to bring your own HDMI hookup cable.) There’s also Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and of course, GPS (with turn by turn voice navigation, but not live traffic.) The Droid x has some newer initials too: DLNA which stands for wireless Digital Living Network Alliance technology. It's a way for different formats to work on a wider variety of devices.  Droid X is shipping with Android 2.1 with an updated version of Motorola's Blur coming later in the summer. It will be an over the air update, so you don’t have to take your phone anywhere to have it upgraded. Something I’m really impressed with is the Swype typing app which is preinstalled. Swipe your fingers across the keyboard to spell words and they appear on the screen with a very high degree of accuracy. I was sure the phone couldn’t figure out exactly what keys I was dragging across, but the word I wanted appeared on the screen. It’s like typing with some amazing ESP app. But wait there’s more. This gizmo has three microphones. Two are for directional audio capture and one is to add in noise cancellation. If you're eligible for a Verizon Wireless upgrade at any point in 2010, you'll be able to pick one up for $199 (after a $100 mail-in rebate). The phone comes with 8GB of internal storage and a 16GB microSD card installed. A data plan is set at $24.99. the Droid X lets you create your own WiFi 3G HotSpot that can connect up to five devices, but that will cost you an extra $20 a month. It comes with a perhaps unwelcome 2GB data cap.  

www.verizonwireless.com

Hear or See this episode: www.twit.tv/dgw1126    (Yes, now there's a video version of The DGW!)

A work light with lots of LED's. 80 of them!

Since this was Tom Merritt’s first week subbing for Leo on The Daily Giz Wiz I explained to him that we love all things LED. Turns out I didn’t have to sell Tom on LEDs. Especially on the Might D Light, a clever new folding LED worklight. The Might-D-Light folds into the shape of the letter D when closed. I assume that’s where the D in the name comes from. When the D is opened, there’s an array of 80 LED's – 40 on each side protected by a polycarbonate lens. I wanted to try it out, so I looked for a dark place to light up. I went into the bathroom since they are no windows there. I shut the lights off & I thought they didn’t go off. But they had gone off. The Might D Light was as bright as the normal bathroom lighting. This cordless rechargeable unit comes with both an AC and a DC charging adaptor for use in the car, boat, van, etc.  It charges in about four hours. When you first plug the charger to the unit, a red light comes on. When it turns green, the built in battery is fully charged. The company, Cooper Lighting, says a full battery should power the light for about two hours.  I was surprised there was no “high-low” switch or a way to turn on 40 LED’s at a time. The Might-D-Light can stand upright; lay flat on its back or be positioned at many different angles to shine the light right where you need it. A nylon hook at the top allows you hang the device. But wait, there’s more! Powerful Neodymium magnets allow the Might-D-Light to be secured to metal surfaces like tool boxes, car hoods, car doors, pretty much anything metal. Another nice touch are reflectors on backside of the unit for increased visibility during roadside applications. About $44. I haven’t shopped here, but it’s available at the Amazon link below:

http://tinyurl.com/2a3lo9n 

Hear or SEE this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1128

A camera and camcorder you wear - underwater!

Liquid Image says this is the world's only dive mask that has an integrated waterproof digital video camera plus can shoot photographs at 5mp. I showed the Shot videos & stills underwater while you keep your hands free as you dive! I showed the Camera Mask D1 310t operates to a depth of 65ft / 20m and eliminates the need to hand carry an underwater camera. They’re ideal for snorkeling, scuba and shallow scuba diving. The goggle lenses are made of tempered glass and have integrated crosshairs that helps you to line up shots. Turn the Camera on, and choose a mode with the a button. Simply press the shutter button to record pictures or videos. An LED inside the mask tells you if you are in still image (red) or video mode (blue). Downloading images is as easy as plugging in the mask to your PCs or Macs USB port (USB cable included) and pressing the power button. The included software (PC only) allows you to edit your content. There’s a small amount of built-in memory (16MB), which can store approximately 27 pictures, or approximately 40 seconds of video. But the microSD/SDHC card slot allows you to expand memory up to 16GB for plenty of additional pictures or videos. Powered by two AAA batteries, which are also included. Under $150.00

 www.liquidimageco.com

Hear or SEE this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1129

Put the sun to work for you.

You can have power in your pocket if your travel with the Scosche SolBAT II battery/solar charger. It has a full sized USB port so you can charge most small electronics on the run, on the plane, in the woods. It comes with removable suction cups that let you recharge it in the car as you travel. Inside this device is a 1500mAh capacity battery. The USB output is the typical 5-volts. Now there is a downside to this device being so small. It’s small, which makes the solar panel smaller. That means, according to the user manual, it’ll take up to 4-5 days to fully charge the internal battery using the solar panel. (I guess a day or two in the desert.) Reading some other reviews of this unit, it seems that the 4-5 thing is the absolutely worst case scenario. Our friends at Laptop Magazine placed a solBAT II outside for 3.5 hours on a mostly sunny day and it gathered enough power to charge an iPhone 3G to 75% before giving out. That’s seems really good to me! The kit includes a USB cable so you can charge your device with your computer. Or you can do what I did, hooked the charging cable to one of those AC plug/USB adapters and charged it with AC. Computer or AC charging will bring the battery up to full power in about four to five hours. But if you’re out in the sun use the included belt clip or suction cups to keep this device in the sun to the charge up. At the CEA Line Show in June, a spokesperson at the Scosche booth said that fully charged the SolBat II would charge most cell phones twice before the unit needed to be recharged. I also noticed in the instruction they call it the SunVolt. Seems like a better name than the SolBat II to me. It’s under $30, but on Amazon I saw this gizmo for under $20!

http://tinyurl.com/2fejgmk

Hear or SEE this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1131

Here's a Bluetooth headset that has its own Anroid app.

The BlueAnt T1 Bluetooth headset is designed to offer durable and reliable high quality audio in challenging conditions. The company calls one of the new features of this gizmo Wind Armour Technology. It’s designed to deliver clear audio in wind speeds up to 22 mph. BlueAnt says that’s the best wind noise reduction of any Bluetooth headset on the market. Leo used it on the Daily Giz Wiz to make a Bluetooth call so we could all hear the audio quality which was quite good. The T1 features removable and interchangeable soft-touch silicon covers to protect and cushion the headset from moisture, minor bumps and accidental impact. Now here are the unique features that Leo liked. It has Caller Name Announce - the first Bluetooth headset that can read out the name of the incoming caller. It copies and stores up to 2,000 names from your phone’s database. Respond to the call by just saying Answer or Ignore. The T1 also offers A2DP for streaming audio of podcasts and turn-by-turn directions from GPS applications on your mobile phone. Users with Android devices can further enhance this device by installing the BlueAnt T1 Android application. The application provides text message readout directly into the headset and includes help and support for your T1. Although the list price is $79.99, Leo found it on Amazon for about $56, so do a web search when (and if) you’re ready to buy one. 

http://www.myblueant.com/products/headsets/t1/ 

Hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw1132