It’s an ingenious solution to getting them from point A to point B intact. When refrigeration isn’t needed, the solar system even provides lighting at the clinic. It’s win/win. Despite being in the desert, the sun doesn’t always shine and for those times they have a foot-powered generator.

[MAKE]

By Evan Ackerman

This, folks, is a solar powered camel. Let’s all just ponder that for a second. Truthfully, this camel is not, in fact, powered by the sun, but the refrigerator on its back is. The cooled-down camels are used to transport vaccines and the occasional pint of Ben & Jerry’s to remote health clinics; when they arrive, the panels can be detached and used to provide additional electricity to the clinic. A foot-powered system can be used as backup during the 15 minutes at night when the sun is not actively trying to fry you.

The camels are part of Princeton’s Mpala project, helping nomadic communities in Kenya to use technology to improve their lives.

[ Mpala Project ] VIA [ TreeHugger ]

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The GPS device was developed in a joint venture between MIT and the Department of agriculture. The GPS unit relays information about the cows location to a central server back at the ranch. If the cow leaves the pre-determined area music plays through a speaker built into the hat to nudge the cow back to where it belongs. If this fails an electric shock is enabled which will turn the cow around.

This is the first solar powered device we’ve seen that can play back MP3’s and deliver the occasional electroshock so it gets a four star review. In reality though it shows how far GPS technology has come in the last few years. Who would have ever thought GPS would impact the way cowboys worked?… via

Onkyo has your listening interests at heart with its new pair of wireless headphones known as the MHP-UW2. This $200 model will rely on the 2.4GHz digital connection in order to deliver high quality audio to your ear canals, and boasts the Made for iPod certification which allows it to be used with a wide range of iPods of present and past, including the iPod classic, iPod touch, iPod nano and iPod mini. The internal battery is able to last for up to eight hours of non-stop use, and is rechargeable via AC adapter or USB. When traveling, the latter method would come in most handy. There is no word on when the Onkyo MHP-UW2 will be released outside of Japan though, but it will arrive at the Land of the Rising Sun next month.

Add a comment | From: Onkyo MHP-UW2 Wireless Headphones | Visit Ubergizmo | Good deals

Bluetooth headsets are plenty popular, but unless you’re a corporate powerhouse who’s on the phone nonstop or a yuppie too cool to hold a phone in their hand like the rest of us plebeians, headsets aren’t that practical to be wearing all the time. Honeywell’s recently-launched Airlite 900 aims to provide an alternative hands-free solution for the car. Measuring up to the size of a credit card, this little sucker offers quite a bit for something so tiny, but be prepared to make some compromises.

The Short Version

Airlite 900
By Honeywell ($99.99)

Specifications

• Bluetooth version: 2.0
• Power: Class II
• Range: Up to 10M (33ft)
• Wireless compatibility: Bluetooth devices supporting headset & hands-free profiles
• Frequency: 2400-2483.5MHz
• Security: pairing, encryption and authentication
• talk time: Up to 10 hours
• Standby time: up to 250 hours
• Weight: 1 oz
• Dimensions: 3.5″ x 2″ x 0.2″

Pros

• Loud
• Slim and portable
• Bundled accessories put it at home in the car

Cons

• Tinny sound
• Pricy
• External speaker or headset just as good

Verdict
Good sound volume in a small package is great, especially when it avoids mid-driving phone-fumbling, but your cell’s speakerphone probably has better quality, and will cost you considerably less than $99.99.

The Long Version

Presentation

The layout of the Airlite 900 is pretty simple, and when it comes down to it, slimness is one of its key selling points. A plus and minus button let you easily adjust volume, and the phone button handles all of pairing, answering calls, starting calls, powering up and powering down. A Privacy key lets you swap between handsfree and handset mode especially easily. A little indicator LED above the phone button lets you know when its paired, searching, or turning off. The speaker itself is near the top on the front face, while the mic and charging slot are along the bottom edge.

Functionality

Pairing up with my BlackBerry Bold was dead easy, and recognized the built-in voice dialing application no problem. It’s actually really convenient having something immediately bring up voice dialing, as it’s cumbersome (not to mention dangerous) to try navigating menus while in the middle of driving.

In terms of actual sound quality, I was a little disappointed. Maybe the Bold’s incredible external speakers have spoiled me, but the Airlite 900 came off as pretty tinny. That’s a compromise you’ll have to make for size, but the sound is generally clear and can be surprisingly loud if you crank the volume. The device works with the Bold’s media player fine, but I wouldn’t recommend playing a lot of music on there.

After taking a call on the Airlite 900, I was wondering why I wouldn’t just leave my phone on a car’s dashboard, or even get a mount if I were feeling fancy. After all, any mobile with Bluetooth is likely to have a speakerphone available too. Well, the biggest convenience is in being able to access controls without having to shuffle around for your phone in mid-traffic, which folks may well need if they can’t keep their phones somewhere handy.

The Airlite 900 charges via microUSB and will provide a solid ten hours of talk time on a full charge. That’s pretty damned good for something so slim, and ensures you won’t have to recharge all that often. Even when you do, it comes with a cigarette lighter charger, which can actually be pretty helpful if your phone happens to use the same plug. Alas, I’m stuck with miniUSB. A standard wall charger is also included.

Overall

Overall, it’s a tricky accessory to market. With alternatives like headsets and built-in speakerphones readily available, the only thing really going for the Airlite 900 is portability. As you can see, it fits just dandy in a wallet, and the accompanying leather clip lets you put it on sun visors or anywhere else that works for you. Sure, this could be an appealing accessory to the right person, but for your your average consumer, $99.99 may be a bit steep. The Airlite 900 has a cool form factor, and it does what it says it does, but in the end, this is one gadget you can easily live without.

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This cute little night light - with a shining sun for day and sleepy moon for night - is actually a clever behavioral modification device designed to help little munchkins learn to sleep by using visual cues. With all the recent studies about our Circadian rhythms using external cues such as daylight to control our bodies' sleep patterns, I'm surprised it took someone so long to invent this for small children.

Studies have shown that a well-rested child is happier, less cranky and learns better than those kiddies who are sleep deprived. Designed for children ages 3-5, it's plug and play and uses a default 7am to 7pm period for sleep (which is easily modified), and automatically shuts off during the day.

Available in September for $34.99 at Good Nite Lite.

Posted by Evan    Category: body | devices | home
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]]> Wed, 08 Oct 2008 10:29:42 +0000 night night light nite lite studies recent studies day external cues visual cues default 7am Good Nite Lite - Better than a night light http://mobileratty.com/article/e900fa9f0189cfb17054b46b652072fc http://mobileratty.com/article/e900fa9f0189cfb17054b46b652072fc Fall is the best time of year for games, not only because it's crunch time for holiday releases, but because of all the yearly gaming conferences! And the biggest one of the year is about to start — the Tokyo Game Show!

Although I couldn't travel to the Land of the Rising Sun for the annual game blowout, I'll still be doing my best impression of being there to round up all the hot and juicy gaming news this expo has to offer. From Capcom to Konami, from games to music, everyone is showing their stuff this week. I can't wait to see what's in store.

What are you looking forward to in gaming this year? Tell us in the comments below!