KOR ONE water bottle now available for order

After some delays, KOR ONE became available last Thursday. You can order it online at their website.

For previous coverage of KOR ONE, click here.

iPod touch 2G can be a phone with fring

You can now get a free VoIP app called fring for the iPod touch from the App Store. This is pretty big news for iPod touch 2G owners as well as those still contemplating on buying touch 2G or iPhone 3G.

According to the comments section in iLounge’s article, iPod touch 2G does work with fring. It’ll require a compatible microphone such as Apple’s In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic.


Wifi everywhere + iPod touch 2G = a phone!
If you can get a wi-fi connection everywhere like using CradlePoint’s PHS300, then your iPod touch 2G can be truly used as a phone.

PHS300 + iPod touch 2G = the closet thing to an iPhone with an iPod touch 2G
All you’re missing is the SMS, contacts integration, and a camera (well, and a real GPS, but with wi-fi, you can still find your location with Google Maps).

Ok, so in order to make the touch 2G into an iPhone, what do you need with you at all times?

• iPod touch 2G (with fring installed)
  
• PHS 300 + modem (of course, with a data plan)
  
• A camera
  

iPod touch 2G vs. iPhone 3G: my decision
As for me, I’m still leaning towards buying an iPhone 3G. One reason is that I like to take lots of pictures, and I don’t want to bring a separate camera. Right now, I’m holding out just a little bit to see if a 32GB iPhone comes out.

On a side note, considering a VoIP app got approved, there are no reasons why Skype won’t and can’t release their official app.

Thanks for reading!

Source:
iLounge
fring

Purchase and Unbox Pics: Buffalo DriveStation Duo 1.0 TB (HD-W1.0TIU2/R1)

So I finally decided on a backup solution for my MacBook. I couldn't find a "white" two hard drives in one enclosure solution I like, so I settled with the DriveStation Duo (Unbox pics can be found here on Flickr).  It's not white so I'll be putting it under my desk where it's not visible.

Here in Japan, I bought it for 19,840 yen (around 180 USD). If you're in the US, on Amazon, you can find it for $253.99.

What I like:
It's 1TB split among 2 500GB hard drives. Here's what I like about it:

• no power brick 
  
• auto power feature - Turns on when your computer is on and off when computer is off. 
  
• dual interface for USB and firewire - I could use firewire and leave one more USB port open.
  

How I'm using it + Impressions

Instead of using RAID, which is supported, I wanted to use one drive as an external drive for data and the other one for Time Machine. The drives are pre-formatted as FAT32, so the first thing was to reformat to Mac's format and configured it. The process was smooth, no problems.

The fan seems quiet, and so far it's working like it's suppose to. If you plan to put the hard drive a little further from your computer, you might find the USB cable and firewire it comes with too short.

Want another 2TB one for my Mini
My Mac Mini, which serves as a media center, is hooked to two separate 500 GB hard drives right now. A 2TB Drive Station Duo would be nice for my Mini - one less cable and one less plug. I'll wait and hope some price dropping begins before I fill up 500 GB hard drives.

Unbox photos here!
Lastly, you can find the unboxing photos here at Flickr.

Thanks for reading SWG!

OMG: What happened to my iPod earphones?!

I'm not sure what happened... maybe it was under my MacBook when it was super hot... oh well, one pair of iPod earphones down the drain...

Epson Colorio me E-530 – printer for digital photo lovers

The Epson Colorio me E-530 is a photo printer. Put the memory card (the popular formats are supported) in, choose the pictures you want to print, wait, and you’re done.

Features of the E-530 include:

• adding a frame to your photos
  
• enhance and retouch photos
  
• trim photos
  
• can be powered by lithium batteries (optional)
  
• wirelessly print from your cell phone through IR
  

The E-530 comes in three colors:

1. Ice silver
   
2. Sugar pink
   
3. Silky cream
   

Epson sells it for 22,980 yen (around 217 dollars) on their website in Japan.

BREAKING: Nintendo announces the Nintendo DS i

As a press conference earlier today, Nintendo puts the rumors to rest with the announcement of the new version of DS. Here are the details:

General Info

• Name is called Nintendo DS i
  
• Release date: November 1 st, 2008 in Japan. 2009 for other countries. 
  
• Price: 18,900 yen (around 180 dollars)
  

Hardware: Smaller than the Lite with 2 cameras and SD card slot

• Form factor is similar to the Nintendo DS Lite. It is now 2.6 mm thinner.
  
• Both screens are now 3.25 inches (previous DS screens were 3 inches)
  
• Both screens are touch-compatible
• “2” .3 mega pixel camera – one on the inside and one on the outside
  
• Comes in black and white.
  
• SD memory card slot
  
• The GBA game slot is now gone
  

Software: Introducing the Nintendo DS i Shop

• built-in software to playback mp3 music files
  
• Nintendo DS i Shop (basically, the DS version of the Wii shopping channel)
  
• From this shop, users can download a Nintendo DS i browser (free) to browse the web. The other application that is free is the “Ugoku Memo Cho,” translated as toe “Moving Memo Pad" - an app for you to draw comic flip books. Users can also buy other apps called DSi Ware like calculator. Sounds like iPhone’s apps store.
  

Other stuff
At the press conference, there are also other announcements such as new DS and Wii games. For me the big news is Punch Out for Wii coming in 2009. You can find more coverage at IGN.

The Nintendo DS i sure has some similar things with the iPhone. Black and white color variation. Nintendo DS I Shop and App Store. Hmm… interesting ain’t it? Perhaps Miyamoto-san and Jobs-san are good friends.

Source:

• Nintendo Press Release (Japanese)
  
• IGN
  

Best of SWG for September

1. iPod touch 1G vs. iPod touch 2G
   
   
2. iPod touch 2G vs. iPhone 3G
   
   
3. SH906i: Sharp’s Answer to iPhone?
   
   
4. Trying to make iPod touch 2G into an iPhone 3G using CradlePoint’s PHS300
   
   
5. iPod Touch Tip: How to take screenshots with iPod touch
   

Thanks for reading!