Stuff Geeks Want

We featured a few weeks back a Nikon digital camera with built-in pico projector. Here we go again, but this time one that works with thr Apple iPod.

It’s the PK101 Pico Pocket Projector from Optoma. Smaller than any iPod and weighing only 4 ounces, this little baby displays images as large as 60 inches up to 10 feet from your iPod.

At 4.1 x 2.0 x 0.6 inches, it is not much bigger than the remote control bundled with many larger projectors, yet it’s able to accommodate not only a DLP imaging engine and an LED lamp but also a rechargeable battery capable of powering the device for 1.5 hours—and even a tiny speaker.

We were very impressed with the image quality and ease of use. We were able to get images up to about 8 feet diagonally from about 12 feet away. Color was good, but the better the resolution of your images or video the better the projection quality will be.

Based upon the latest LED illumination advances and DLP imaging technology, it’ll give you two hours of viewing time. it’s got a built-in, re-chargeable battery that you hook up via USB or with the included AC power adapter.

Buy for $219 from Amazon

The standard, upright toaster. Oh hum. Not for Bodum who’s announced the Bistro Flatbed Toaster.

It lets you to defrost or toast any size of bread directly on a flat stainless steel heating surface, so you can do more than a bagel or slice of white bread. It’s great for pizza, tortillas, hamburger buns or any other oversized food item previously deemed un-toast able.

Its sleek design makes it a perfect complement to any countertop or buffet station. There’s a simple dial allowing you to specify the level of browning, and when not in use it can be stored on its side, freeing up counter space.

Buy for $80 from Amazon

This handy pistol-like NightVision digital video camera lets you record 640×480 VGA video or shoot 1.3 megapixel still images in complete darkness and store it on the built-in 32 megabyte memory or a 2 gigabyte SD card.

You’ll get about two minutes of recorded video on the built-in flash RAM and about 75 minutes with the SD card. The camera works in regular light and automatically switches to night mode with the sun goes down. A ring of infra-red LEDs around the lens will illuminate your subject no matter the level of darkness.

It’s got a 2-inch LCD display on its back side and is powered by four double-A batteries. You hook it up via its USB connection. It’s got a trigger-type record button and a full set of display control buttons at the rear. Downside: a fixed focus lens.

Buy for $80 from Amazon

They are one of the smallest top quality 2.0 speakers on the market, yet they have a big range of sound. They’re the Creative Labs GigaWorks HD50 2.0 Multimedia Speaker.

Their rigid titanium super tweeters give you clear high notes, while built-in BasXport technology provides awesome bass. For a set of speakers no taller than a 12-ounce glass, they’re incredibly loud.

These are the perfect speakers for gaming on a PC as well. You’ll notice the clarity of sound effects and voices in games as well as booming explosions and rumbling atmospherics. These little puppies deliver an incredible sound at a good price.

Buy for $150 from Amazon

Peek Inc., the New York-based maker of handheld devices, has introduced the TwitterPeek, touted as the world’s first dedicated Twitter device. it’s a Twitter-only handset, so you can read Tweets, send Tweets, reply, retweet, send direct messages, and download followers.

When you receive Tweets, the TwittertPeek vibrates or makes a tweeting sound, and lights up a blue light. The TwitterPeek features a 2.5-inch LCD display, a full QWERTY keyboard, a trackwheel on the side, and a battery that gives you about three days of life before re-charging.

You can get it with lifetime service or six months of free service. After that service will run you $8 a month. Downside: No camera to upload your own pics.

Buy with lifetime service for $200 from Amazon

Buy with six months of service for $100 from Amazon

Just about everyone has heard the hype surrounding solid-state drives. But the
Intel X25-M Mainstream 160GB SSD drive is getting rave reviews.

A solid state drive – or SSD – consists of NAND flash-memory chips and lack moving parts that give it an edge over regular drives (more shock-resistant, fewer chances of mechanical failure, and they’re able to withstand jostling and sudden impacts). While they’re more expensve, their speed is unsurpassed…65 microsecond latency versus a standard hard drive at 4000 microseconds.

This drives speed is impressive and it should be. It’s aimed at the mainstream market and is ideal for those that will be making the move to Windows 7.

Buy for $467 from Amazon

The trouble with digital cameras today is that they want to throw everything and the kitchen sink. We want a camera that just shoots awesome pictures.

May we point your viewfinders in the direction of the Olympus Pen E-P1. Sporting the same sleek style first created in the same film camera introduced in 1959, it feels like a camera should: weighty (3.2 pounds) but not heavy, and small enough to fit in a coat pocket. The attain the smaller size, Olympus had to ditch the optical viewfinder for a 3-inch LCD display (a separate lens comes with a clip-on viewfinder).

The camera’s SLR-quality sensor produces good low-light shots, and the camera comes loaded with useful features, including image stabilization and a digital leveler.

Boasting a 12.3 megapixel sensor of SLR-quality, the E-P1 comes fully compatible with a vast range of Olympus’s lenses, but comes standard with a 17mm f2.8 lens. It also shoots HD video (1280×720 pixels) and a rate of 30 frames per second.

Buy Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX1 for $900 from Amazon

Just because the iPhone or iPod touch is so ‘finger-dependent’ doesn’t mean we have to be obsessed with constantly touching it (really!). The Viewbase from In Your Face frees your hands for more important things.

Clamp it to a plane’s tray table, your monitor at work, your car visor, or anywhere else you go, then snap in your iPhone or iPod touch.

Every model will fit the Viewbase, including a protective cover, and grips both flat and round surfaces up to two inches in width. It features a flexible 8-inch neck and an adjustable swivel head for optimum viewing.

Buy for $30 from Amazon

There’s a bunch of new stuff under the hood from Audi. The 2010 Audi S5 has added a new soft-top Cabriolet with a supercharged V6, but the real rush is the classy V8 coupe. If you want a luxury performance coupe or convertible, the S5 belongs on your short list.

The coupe’s 4.2-liter V8 churns out 354 horsepower and 325 lb-ft of torque. A seven-speed manual transmission is standard on the coupe, and a six-speed automatic with manual shift control is optional, which can transfer torque during cornering to reduce understeer. The manual-transmission will get you from zero to 60 mph in a pace-quickening five seconds.

The S5’s attractive and high-quality cabin is one of its strong points. The front sport seats are excellent for both enthusiastic driving and long-distance cruising. There’s little doubt it’s a sharp-handling car, with tenacious AWD traction.

Buy Starting at $52,400 from Audi

They’re calling Burberry’s cologne, The Beat for Men, “An addictive woody fragrance with a beat of energy” aimed at ‘the guy 18 to 25′. The perfumers actually listened to the music of the bands like Razorlight, the Fratellis, Arctic Monkeys and Kasabian to get the feel and fragrance that is The Beat.

The Beat for Men was created by perfumers Olivier Polge and Domitille Bertier, and The Beat’s listed notes are leatherwood, Bourbon vetiver, cedrat, black pepper and violet leaves. Perfect for the Fall and Winter. The beat goes on.

Buy the 3.4 ounce bottle for $43 from Amazon