By Michael Santo
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews

Burton Snowboards and Motorola will soon allow those on the slopes to stay connected as well as listen to their iPod. The jackets will retail for $599.95 and will hit stores in December.

We Say: Definitely cool … at least for the iPod connection … though it would be nice to be able to use other MP3 players. And considering the studies of late on how cell phone usage affects driving, I’m not 100% sure I want people skiing next to me and talking on their phone.

Embarking on a long term wireless integration collaboration, Burton Snowboards and Motorola Inc. recently revealed plans to launch a collection of Bluetooth-enabled winter gear for snowboarding tech types that want to stay connected.

Burton and Motorola have been and will continue to work together to explore the possibility of integrating Bluetooth Wireless Technology into snowboard apparel, enabling users to control their music and mobile phones while on the slopes, the companies said.

The end result is a series of three technologically advanced Burton Audex Snowboard Jackets with wireless connectivity that give consumers access to their cell phone and iPod (or both at once) without having to handle the devices in any way.
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By Michael Santo
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews

The government is looking into whether or not MREs that are being illegally sold on eBay were actually ones which were given out freely after Katrina, Rita and Wilma. (Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MRE) is a self-contained meal in lightweight packaging produced by the United States of America for its soldiers in the battlefield where organized food facilities are not available. They replaced C-rations in the early 1980s. Wickipedia)

Representatives for eBay, the online auctioneer company, say it is impossible to prove that any of the meals were meant for hurricane victims. They note that MREs can be bought in camping stores and Army-Navy surplus outlets.

But at least some of the MREs advertised on the Web site are being sold from Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida and other Gulf states, and are individually packaged with a disclaimer that clearly notes: “U.S. Government property — Commercial resale is unlawful.” Source: SFGate via AP

We say: If the investigation finds this allegation to be true … well, it’s really disturbing.

By Michael Santo
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews

We Say: Standalone PDAs continue to drop in price … take a look at the $99 price point of Palm’s latest offering, the Z22. Color and pretty nifty styling at a nice price. Converged devices are much more expensive. But the people who really need the data, appointments and additional programs of a PDA are generally people in the corporate world who need to stay connected … or those technophiles with a lot of disposable income. The days of the standalone PDA are ending. There is still a market, but it’s surprising that so many models continue to be introduced.

More thoughts here.

Framingham (MA) - It is increasingly difficult for PDA manufacturers to sell “unconnected” handhelds. According to a report from IDC, sales in this segment took yet another hit in the third quarter of this year and posted their seventh consecutive decline.
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By Mark Evans
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews

If Skype co-founder Niklas Zennstrom is looking for guidance on how to spend his eBay windfall, he might want to have lunch with eBay founder and chairman Pierre Omidyar, who has a growing investment portfolio being done through Omidyar Network. His latest investment is Digg.com, which recently raised $2.8 million, according to Silicon Beat. Omidyar’s other investments include Feedster, Socialtext, ex-San Jose Mercury columnist Dan Gilmour’s Grassroots Media and search guru John Battelle’s FM Publishing. Zennstrom may want to follow the path taken by eBay’s first employee, Jeff Skoll, who has become very involved with philanthropic work. With eBay CFO Rajiv Dutta poised to become Skype’s new president, perhaps Zennstrom should start looking for his next gig.

We Say: The world is Zennstrom’s oyster. When he walks away from Skype - and you have to believe it has to be fairly soon given he’s a rebel working for a global goliath - there will be no lack of offers to back what he wants to do next.

For more thoughts, click here.

By Michael Santo
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews

Yep, it’s the Swissbit SWISSMEMORY s.beat … combining a Swiss Army knife and a USB memory key / MP3 player.

The s.beat will be available in capacities of 1, 2 and 4GB and will be able to playback MP3, WMA and OGG – I’m always glad to see the latter, since so few players support this superior codec. There’s a built-in lithium polymer battery that charges directly from the USB port of your computer and gives approximately eight hours of use.

There’s also a built in FM tuner with six presets and despite its diminutive size there’s a three line, high-contrast LCD display. The player is removable from the knife body and a protective cap for the USB port is also supplied for when you use it without the knife – in case you want to take your music with you on an aeroplane.

Source: TrustedReviews

We Say: With a blade, a pair of scissors and a nail file/screwdriver as well as the MP3 player/memory key, what more could you possibly want? The kitchen sink? I have a few friends who still carry around Swiss Army knives so this could kill 2 birds with one stone. However, at 235 euros, this is pretty expensive.

By Michael Santo
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews

The world’s first sports car phone with alcohol Breathalyzer has gotten tremendous popularity in Korea. The cell phone by LG was a big hit from the beginning mainly because its outward appearance of a sports. Equipped with an alcohol measurement sensor, the LG-SD410, LG-KP4100, and LG-LP4100 have sold over 200,000 in the four months that it has been available, and is still selling around 1500 per day.

Having an alcohol measurement device attached to something like a cell phone is nothing but brilliant, especially among younger crowds who regularly drink after work or school and like to party. To use the sensor an intoxicated individual simply opens the phone and blows on the sensor, the LCD will tell you whether your level of alcohol in your blood is safe to drive.

Besides the alcohol measurement feature of this cell phone it is equipped with an advanced remote control for your TV, DVD and karaoke machine, etc. These two functions make this sports car phone appealing to most youths.

According to the National Center for Injury and Prevention Control, Alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes kill someone every 31 minutes and non-fatally injure someone every two minutes in the US. Maybe, it’s time to bring this technology to North America? Source: MobileMag

We Say: Ideally, people should be able to control their alcohol intake on their own. But anything that prevents accidents and deaths is probably worth looking at. These are selling like hotcakes in Korea, apparently.

By Michael Santo
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews

Chip maker Micron released a second generation sensor chip that functions better in low light and works with NTSC and PAL cameras.

The chip can process images at up to 30 frames per second and automatically reverses video input so that displays can show what is going on behind the vehicle. The chip can be used with lane tracking, parking assistance, adaptive cruise control, and to eliminate blind spots.

It looks like the rear and side view mirrors may soon go the way of the dodo bird. A center dashboard panel with multiple image views would eliminate having to look left, up, and right to see what’s going on behind you. Source: Wired Blogs

We Say: I’ll keep my mirrors, at the very least as backup. It’s cool, but it’s just one more piece of electronica that may break … or, as more cars have Bluetooth installed, one more thing that has the potential for being hacked. Also, I can see glare might be a problem at night … and what about mud on the lens? Finally, there’s always going to be a blind spot. Sometimes manual operation is better and this might be one of those cases.

By Michael Santo
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews

I’ve seen so-called battery extenders for things like iPAQs … extenders that take AA or AAA batteries and have special connectors for the SPECIFIC device. These extenders are usually pretty inexpensive, however (I found one for $10 including shipping for my SX66 on eBay).

There are also specific extenders for notebooks as well, such as this one by APC. This particular one has a suggested retail price of $249.99 (ouch!).

This week Xantrex released a power extender, the XPower Pocket Powerpack, that reportedly works with any portable device, including laptops. It has an AC power outlet and a USB power outlet. It can plug into a regular AC outlet, a cigarette lighter or a airplane outlet (standard). Source: technologyexpert.blogspot.com

We Say: The price is a little high, at over $100 (plus it’s a little big to put in your pocket, despite the name), but when you compare it to previous standalone exclusive power solutions for laptops, it’s actually quite reasonable. If you have a laptop or multiple portable devices, this might be ideal for you.