Mighty Gadget Blog: The latest technology news & reviews in the UK

We’ve talked before about gadgets supplying wireless electricity. Palm’s touchstone, The Powermat and Dell’s new Latitude Laptop, utilise the technology to charge or power themselves without the need for a straight to the mains connection. Sony has got it’s boffins working on the efficiency of wireless power, enough to power a whole television, ideal for those who don’t like wire clutter or no hanging wires from your wall mount.

Sony’s power supply will use magnetic resonance to send the electricity through the air to the TV without the need for a plug. Sony have claimed to have hit an efficiency rate of 60% which means it can send 60W of energy within a 50cm range. This means that although the TV will not require no trailing power leads it would still have to be in range of a power socket.

When the tech or the TV will get launched is unclear but CES isn’t far away and that usually leads to the competing TV companies to show off some goodies.

I'm here at the Toshiba seminar entitled 'Take a closer look'. When I return I will be giving you lucky people an insight into the latest technical goodies that they have on offer. I have to admit that there are some delightful little gems on offer and have some photos to prove it. It's a hard life being jetted to Paris, put up in a swanky hotel and let loose with some toys. It's a sacrifice I was prepared to take.

Ok so I am about 10 years too late blogging about the MacBook Air, but it is pretty big news so I am going to blog about it anyway. So what is the MacBook Air? It is a ultrathin, ultraportable laptop with a 13.3 inch widescreen.

From Apple.com

MacBook Air is nearly as thin as your index finger. Practically every detail that could be streamlined has been. Yet it still has a 13.3-inch widescreen LED display, full-size keyboard and large multi-touch trackpad. It’s incomparably portable without the usual ultraportable screen and keyboard compromises.

The incredible thinness of MacBook Air is the result of numerous size- and weight-shaving innovations. From a slimmer hard drive to strategically hidden I/O ports to a lower-profile battery, everything has been considered and reconsidered with thinness in mind.

MacBook Air is designed and engineered to take full advantage of the wireless world. A world in which 802.11n Wi-Fi is now so fast and so available, people are truly living untethered — buying music and TV shows online, downloading software, and sharing and storing files on the web.

Some of the key features include:

• 13.3" backlit LED with 1280-by-800 resolution
• 2GB of RAM
• 80Gig hardrive
• or 64GB solid-state drive (very expensive)
• 1.6GHz or 1.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• Built-in iSight camera
• 5hrs Battery
• Oversize trackpad with multi-touch technology
• 1 USB Port
• Headphone Jack
• Micro-DVI

There is no CD/DVD drive built in to keep the size down, though a USB powered external drive will apparently be available.

The batter is not user replaceable but it is apparently possible to pay for a factory fitted battery for you. Apple are quoting $129, I would expect it will be a bit more here in the UK.

In order to reduce the size of the laptop it has been reported that Intel have used the Montevina based chip that was scheduled to be launched later this year. Combined with the Intel 965GMS chipset with integrated graphics the chip has had a 60% reduction on its footprint size. The power rating of the chip is just 20W, as opposed to 35W from the Core 2 Duo

Some more pictures after the jump.

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Hacking your EeePC is becoming a bit of a geek hobby at the moment, and this hacked EeePC has to be the ultimate of them all. This hacked EeePC has been documented over at IVC Wiki and takes hacking your EeePC to a new level.

The upgrades include USB hubs, GPS Module, Bluetooth, SDHC reader, WiFi, FM transmittor, modem and a 2 GB DDR2 module.

The cost? Well not that cheap really.

• USB hubs - 11.20 USD
• GPS module - 36.70 USD
• Bluetooth - 5.65 USD
• SDHC card reader - 6.45 USD
• Adata SDHC 8 GB - 74.50 USD
• Corsair VoyagerGT 4 GB USB drive - 90.94 USD
• Switch + Prototypingboards - 2.66 + 30.10 USD
• Intel Wireless adapter - 62.69 USD
• Airplay FM transmitter - 14.98 USD
• Conexant Modem - 11.89 USD
• Crucial 2 GB DDR2 module - 106.62 USD

Totaling 454.38 USD which included the shipping to Europe. More Pictures after the jump or go to IVC for a detailed run down of the mod.

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