If you are a blogger and you were happy to write about just about anything, think again. You may come under the scrutiny of Federal Trade Commission and if they find out that had been writing nice things about a certain laptop because you were given that laptop by the manufacturer, you may be fined up to $11,000. In fact, FTC has taken the matter so seriously that anyone who writes about gadgets and technological products on blogs may come under their scrutiny.

If you have purchased the product on your own and you are writing about it, then you would not be fined or charged anything. Just make sure you do mention the fact that you had received a certain product as a gift and that you are writing about it, as that keeps things clean and honest.

It would also rule out unscrupulous bloggers from misleading readers into buying bad and nasty product by writing awesome reviews about the, In my opinion, it may actually a huge blow on certain sections of bloggers but a great news for the rest of us!

Via: Mashable

According to a report published in the London Times, Asus, a Taiwanese company is soon to come up with their eReader called the ‘Eee Reader”. If the report is true, then Asus will provide two versions of their e-book, of which one will be the cheapest in the market, while the other one will also be relatively cheap. Besides the cheap price, Asus is also creating a book like e-Reader complete with hinged spine, like a printed book.

This will enable the readers to read an ebook much like the same they read a normal book. The users can use the touchscreen to turn the pages. If you wish to use the device as a laptop, then you can do so as it has one of its touchscreens that functions like a keypad. Asus will be available in full color.

It may also come with speakers, a webcam and a microphone for Skype so that you can use cheap phone calls on the internet. Asus also claims that its ebook reader will be much cleverer and more versatile than the current ones available from Sony and Amazon. According to Jerry Shen, the President of the company, their Eee Reader will be available by the end of this year.

Via: BestTabletReview\TimesOnline

Come September 15 and the Android based 5-inch Archos Internet Media Tablet will be released. This tiny 5-inch device will run on a resolution of 800×400 pixel that will produce a good quality picture on a big screen. It can perform the basic functions like a laptop can. You can use internet, watch movies, listen to songs and also play games.

The best part is that Archos 5 also comes with a useful accessory called the ‘DVR Station’, which will not only allow you to record your favorite TV programs but it will also allow you to fix the Archos 5 to your TV for a bigger screen view. Better still is, the DVR can charge the Archos 5 while in the dock.

This touch screen device is a must-have in today’s technological world. Considering the umpteen features, you might not find the Archos 5 very user friendly but you will definitely fall in love with it after using for a few days. It will be just great if Archos 5 comes with a screen cover as the device is pretty fragile. It often tends to gather dust as well.

Via: EnGadget

If you planning to splurge a huge sum on a Tablet PC, then just hold on and take a look at what DUO offers you. By incorporating the next generation technology, DUO converts almost any laptops or computers 17 inches smaller into a touch screen with full tablet functionality. It is a small device, which acts as a “base station” clips onto the top of the monitor. The DUO is a must have for any business professional, student, graphic designer, artist, and for everyone.

It comes with amazing features. It allows you to write, type, draw directly on documents or your desktop. You can also highlight important information by using a variety of lines, shapes and colors of your choice. You can also capture your personal hand writing or automatically convert it to ASCII characters for clear and easy reading. The pen is very smooth and, if you want to draw or write with varied line texture and brush strokes, the use the pressure sensitive tip.

For easy touchscreen typing, you can use the virtual keyboard. This will be very useful for your business meetings or class lectures. If you wish to, you can email the meeting or lecture notes to your friends or colleagues. The coolest feature is that you can write in eight different languages like Korean, Chinese, Japanese, English, French, German, Italy and Spanish. You can buy this cool device for $111.95.

Via: Cnet

If you are tired of carrying the cumbersome laptop bag on your shoulders then, just get rid of it and get yourself a laptop sleeve instead. We have just discovered a cool laptop sleeve designed by Byrd & Belle. It is made of very thick grey felted wool.

This petite but modern laptop sleeve is designed with heavy duty graphite snap. The leather used in this sleeve is a recycled one, which was somebody’s car bucket seat. However, due to its small size, the sleeve can fit only 15″ laptop. I don’t know if this will be very safe for your laptop as the front sides of the sleeve are open and it leaves the sides of your laptop open.

Somehow, the typical laptop bag seems to be safer though it may not look very modern or classy like this laptop sleeve. However, you can buy the laptop sleeve for $55.00 USD. In case, you have a bigger sized laptop and want this sleeve, you can order for customized sleeve with the color of your choice. It will cost a tad more for customized sleeve.

Did you ever wish to have a cleaner and more spacious desk for your laptop so that you no more have to live with the untidy workspace? If so, then you must take a look at the BlueLounge StudioDesk. It is a clean utilitarian desk and is a compact workspace with a size of 47″ x 27.5″. It comes with a simple but innovative storage compartment, which is carefully hidden by a sliding desktop surface.

A single cable that runs from the desk to the wall allows you to hide all your cable clutter. The desk is made from a blend of solid mahogany and laminate. It doesn’t have a heavy design but a simple one, which looks very elegant. It is suitable for any space and hence, you can place it in your favorite corner of your house and create a cozy personal workspace for yourself. You can buy this beautiful desk for $600.

Indeed, this is worth buying although it might cost somewhat heavy for your pockets especially considering the recession bug. Nevertheless, I would like to buy one for myself.

Via: Uncrate

Google is slowly diversifying into computer and hardware market as well. Its stakes are supported by its operating system Android. Now, luckily for Google, Acer has come with an Android powered netbook. It was announced at the Computex and seems to be quite promising and interesting. It just takes 18 seconds to switch on and 1 second to turn off.

There is no information about either the price or what specifications the netbook would come with. It would also have a 10 inch screen and a built in Firefox for all your Internet requirements. It will apparently be launched as soon as possible in the market but the only problem seems to be people having to adapt to Android OS on laptops.

However, this is still in a beta stage and when the netbook is finally ready in sometime; people may actually try it out. The only problem seems to be Google’s ability to dominate everything in its sight.

Via: Engadget

Starting today, early afternoon we would be showcasing the best weekly finds across fêted blogs, ensuring that our readers miss nothing while catching up with the latest trends. To begin with, we are simply floored by the inclusive compilation and presentation of trends by Jeremy Gutsche  and his team, therefore we move ahead in starting our series by capturing the best of best over trend hunter in past week.

Stay around to get your daily dose of trends across various channels and do send a teaser (via comments) if you happen to discern out-of-box trends featured on established or newbie blogs, worth covering as a part of our weekly recap series.

Quilted Capelets:  Dressed to Kill! Alexis Mabille warmly commemorate its 150th anniversary of making goose and down-filled fashionable stuff by offering curious collection for Pyrenex

90 Stellar Supercars: Ready for a stylish warp drive?

Vintage Slide Handbags:  Designer RedCamper handbags’ collection stands at par in recalling you the origin of the slides. They are also known for creating on-demand customized work with your own vintage slides.

Solar Panel Necklaces:  Kudos to Mae Yokoyama for such intelligent offering. The tiny solar powered shingles on the neck piece can be charged in the sunlight, facilitating the LEDs on it to gleam at late night parties, thereby not only rotating few eyelids but breaking heads.

Foldable Scooters:  Yes, you heard it right. I stayed quiet for a while and so must be the designer as RoboScooter bagged Buckminster Fuller Prize.

19 pioneering Laptop Concepts:  When did the need for laptops or netbooks to go innovative aroused? The answer lies with you my dear geeks. It was when you starting considering them as more of a lifestyle statement.

Philippe Starck’s Sleek ‘Starck K’ Collection for Duravit is eye catching and aims at adding beauty to your kichen decors.

We would bring you the best of INHABITAT in our tomorrow’s weekly recap.

If you think your appliances and gadgets don’t use up electricity just because they’re not in use though plugged into sockets, you’re completely wrong. Your cell phone charger continues to use electrical power at 1 watt per hour on standby. That’s probably 8 watts if you left it in the socket while you were out of the house the whole day. If you charge your cell phone, you’d be using 5 watts an hour on the charger.

Your television set on standby mode uses 10 watts per hour as opposed to 100 watts while in use. The DVD player uses 7 watts while on standby as compared to 12 watts while on.

Here’s something interesting. Your PC set guzzles up 130 watts an hour while in use. Unplugged, the same set uses 15 watts per hour. Your PC monitor alone uses 70 of those 130 watts when in use, while 11 of those 15 watts on standby. Maybe, you would like to opt for laptop instead which uses 29 watts per hour of use as opposed to 2 watts in standby mode. Your modem is a quaint thing. Whether in use or off though unplugged, it uses 14 watts an hour.

So, turn off all these commonly unplugged appliances and gadgets when they are not in use. Electrical power may be cheap in your area but think of the environmental impact that your gadgets and gizmos contribute to. Don’t be sucked by vampire power – that’s the electricity your unplugged electrical things continue to suck up even if they are not in use. In the US alone, vampire drain costs consumers upwards of $3 billion annually.

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Via planet green

Laptops of the future have arrived carrying shapes and designs as were never conceived before. No longer is it necessary for laptops to carry the traditional flat and slightly rectangular shape. In some time, it would be passé and almost unfashionable to be seen carrying a laptop of such an ancient design.

Though many cool designs have been offered for the laptops of the future, most are either unrealistic or two far away in terms of production. Some have awesome designs but fall flat when it comes to practicality. The D-Roll laptop concept wins on all accounts. Designed by Hao Hua, the D-Roll or Digital Roll laptop is intended to be the next generation laptop design and completely deviates from the traditional look of today’s laptops. Designed like an artist’s scroll, the D-Roll laptop has an OLED screen which can be rolled up and includes straps at the side for easy portability. The straps also work as places for USB plug-ins. The D-Roll laptop comes with a detachable webcam which can be worn on the body. The keyboard slides out and the laptop includes a mouse as well.

The D-Roll laptop may be a concept currently but the design is inspiring and would definitely catch the eyes of other designers wishing to create a better looking and practical laptop. If this hits the market, it would be swept off the shelves in no time.

Via: Geeky-Gadgets/DVice