::: Star Weekend Magazine :::

Sci-tech

Dr. Frog Reminds You to Water Plants
If your plants always look like they came out of the jungle where Predator and Governor Schwarzenegger did battle, invest in Doctor Frog. He's an accredited Ph.D. in plantology, and uses what's left of the lower half of his body-he was in a horrific golf cart accident to detect the conductivity of your soil. Once he decides that your plants need water, he'll give out intermittent croaks, which make you go "what the hell was that," before you realise it's the darn frog again and throw some H2O onto your ferns. Also, Dr. Frog is for indoor use only.

Hands-On With BlueQ Bluetooth Wristbands
The BlueQ is a simple device: a wearable Bluetooth wristband that vibrates when your phone gets a call, letting you place your phone into your pocket, bag, or briefcase without fear of missing anything. Why is it useful? Because even if you do keep your phone in your pants on vibrate, most of the time it's still loud and annoying. Or, your phone can even be the opposite and vibrate too softly for you to feel it. We got our hands on the BlueQ wristband and can safely say they do everything it claims to, but it'll make you look like a dork in the process. Well, more so than you are now.

iPhone vs. LG Prada
We're a month or so from the iPhone, and phone nuts talk about the LG Prada as being one of its main competitors. Let's check out the difference. The LG is smaller, sure. It's a better size, for a smartphone. It's the nicest LG I've ever seen. But it often uses it's touchscreen to boring effect. There is no interface advantage here. You touch buttons on screen to scroll and click around, much like a Palm or WM6 Phone. The 3-inch diagonal comes in useful as the entirety of it becomes a viewfinder in camera mode. The touchscreen let's you drag the home screen's clock around, and that fishy in the photo is actually "touchable". And it ships with some touchscreen games. But generally speaking, it operates just like a regular phone. No revolutionary usage models here, either. The iPhone uses it's touchscreen to zoom photos and web pages, flick scroll through long lists. iPhone has all the iTunes and data syncing integration built in, and the neato factor of coverflow. iPhone has networked widget compatibility for weather, stocks and more. The Prada's sync software is rudimentary, allowing you to transfer contacts and calendar appointments. The Prada does have 3G, although that may be in Europe only flavors, while the iPhone only has EDGE and WiFi. The LG's 3-inch screen is 240 x 400. The Apple's is 3.5 inches, at 320 x 480. 8GB vs whatever you can fit into the LG's few megs of internal mem, plus the microSD slot though the LG phone has the advantage of being able to run J2ME progs. Everything said and done, all I can say is that the iPhone is just so much better.

Dell's Display
Port Prototype
Feast your eyes on Dell's sexy new LCD. It measures about half an inch thick and packs a resolution that's 4x sharper than the current HDTV resolutions. It's part of Dell's new Display Port technology. The new interconnect will let you daisychain multiple monitors and connect other peripherals via one bi-directional cable. As you can see from the picture, it'll also allow for embedded peripherals around the display (this one has speakers built in on the side). The tech can also be used with notebook displays. It's expected to come out later this year and if this is a sign of what's to come, we can't wait.

Grim Reaper-Like Bot
Looks-wise, the Type 02 isn't the kind of robot you'd wanna bump into in a dark alley. Yet despite its black, Grim Reaper-like profile, the Type 02 isn't a Terminator in disguise. This baby was created for the Tamanoi Vinegar Corporation to give presentations on vinegar. The robot stands 6 feet tall, and is 220 pounds. Its first job will be to entertain guests at Tamanoi's "Cyber Trip" amusement theatre, which sits in the company's offices.

Tablet PC Concept Folds Up and Doubles as Cellphonea
Design-wise, the Flexi PDA concept may be one of the most interesting Tablet PCs I've seen in a while. When its unfolded, it works like a tablet and features its own QWERTY keyboard. Thanks to the handheld's flexible screen, you can also fold it in half and use as a cellphone.
The device, which was designed by Daniel Alexander, is also water-resistant, making it a nice companion for outdoorsy types who want to remain connected without being bogged down by a laptop. Overall, it's an interesting concept that we hope manufacturers pick up on.

Compiled by IMRAN H. KHAN

Source: Wired.com and Gizmodo Online.