College students and people who enjoy watching movies on their computers will enjoy this AU Optronics 24-inch monitor, which is the world’s first 16:9 aspect ratio display for your desk. Why would you want something that’s 16:9 as opposed to the slightly narrower ratio that traditional “widescreen” desktop monitors have? Because 16:9 is the ratio many HDTV programs and movies are filmed in, and this AU set will get you a native 1080p display. Other details: CCFL-lit display (not LED), 1000:1 contrast ratio, and various different size displays coming soon. Is a 16:9 aspect ratio display worth it just to not have black bars when watching a movie? Probably not unless you’re a nut that hates black bars. [Electronista]

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KontrolFreek, the company that made the SpeedFreek add-ons to the Xbox 360 controller that we reviewed last year, has a new accessory coming soon called the FPS Freek. It’s essentially a snap-on to your controller’s thumbsticks, which lengthens them and makes small adjustments in aiming easier. Why is this necessary? IGN Gear says the first 20% of the range of motion is the hardest because of spring resistance, which makes small tweaks to aiming especially difficult.

KontrolFreek also tells us that this product is legal in competition, but there’s no notice released officially yet. If you pre-order, you’ll get a 20% discount on the $9.95 for two and $17.50 for four. We haven’t tested these ourselves, but IGN did take a look at an earlier prototype version and found that it did make the small aiming adjustments (in the first 20% range of motion) easier. We’ll have to frag for ourselves. Their target release date is June 1. [KontrolFreek]

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There ain’t nothing cooler than really intense watches. Take this ridiculous cellphone watch, for example. At over a half an inch thick, it’s certainly large, and it contains way more inside than you’d want in a watch. That includes an unlocked GSM cellphone with a 1.3-touchscreen, a stylus for operating said touchscreen, an MP3 player, 2GB microSD support and Bluetooth. But wait! It also has a 1.3MP digital camera built in, a first for the illustrious category of cellphone watches! You’d better buy one right now! Or, you could just carry around a good cellphone and not weigh one side of your body down with something this ridiculous. It’s your call. [Product Page via Geekalerts]

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InFocus’s new IN83 DLP projector may look the same as the previous IN82 model but it does pack some slight upgrades. Displaying full 1080p HD, the IN83 features the latest DarkChip4 DLP chipset and HDMI 1.3. The IN83 specs appear to be just a step above the IN82, and this slight upgrade wouldn’t be complete without a price increase. So here’s what’s new about the IN83.

The newest feature for the IN83 is its ability to project a 2.35:1 Cinemascope/widescreen aspect ratio, which allows the project to hook up to any video source since no external scaler is needed. Aside form the new aspect ratio, the following specs are a nice upgrade. The contrast ratio has been bumped up to 5,000:1, from 4,000:1, and can produce a maximum contrast ratio of 15,000:1. And the IN83 now has a max of 1,600 ANSI lumens, up from 1,500. The unit also packs Pixelworks DNX 10-bit video processing.

WIth a $500 price increase over its older sibling, the IN83 will be available later this month for $5999. If you have been interested in the IN82 and don’t mind layin’ down a few extra hundreds for a slight increase in performance, the InFocus IN83 is right up your alley. (Although 1080p projectors have been dipping below $3000 lately.) [InFocus via Electronic House]

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Remotely connecting to your parents’ computer to show them how to send email or file their taxes is fine if everything’s working correctly, but how about when there’s some sort of hardware or operating system error? IOGear’s PCPortal actually bypasses the issue entirely by being a hardware solution that hooks directly up to an Ethernet port and to the computer you’re trying to connect to like a KVM.

This way, you can control the machine from the comfort of your own home, diagnosing problems that you couldn’t otherwise manage (if Windows doesn’t boot up all the way, for example). It’s also quite efficient for fixing machines that do boot up, but have various software glitches that prevent you from remotely tunneling in. The PCPortal costs $499, but if you’re frequently administrating other people’s machines, or if you need an easy way to get into your own from the outside world, it’s a decent investment. [Iogear]

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Say goodbye to those lousy movie plots where some girl that looks like Jennifer Garner cuts off a high-ranking execs’ finger in order to gain access to some room. Futronic’s latest FS88 fingerprint scanner is not only FBI approved, but it can detect the difference between live and dead fingers. As an added bonus, it can even reject fake fingers that are made out of Play-Doh, rubber or other materials people make fake fingerprints out of. No pricing yet, but the unit comes with a USB cable and an LED-illuminated scanning window, meaning that your home office just got a lot fancier (and secure). [Windows For Devices]

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A few weeks back, T-Mobile rolled out a new broadband-based landline-replacement service in Dallas and Seattle test markets, allowing customers to port their landlines to their T-Mobile account then pay $10 per month for unlimited calling via a special router. Here’s a glimpse of the router, a modified Linksys, with Ethernet jacks and two phone jacks, plus internal slots for two SIM cards. It’s a good deal, and will be cool for many people when it rolls out this summer, but there are things you need to know:

• SIMs used for landlines can’t—or rather shouldn’t—be used in cellphones, since they may not work, and if they do work they will rack up a la carte charges.

• The reverse is also true: you can’t use your cellphone SIM in an @Home router because it won’t have the appropriate E911 information, and won’t be configured correctly. (The second SIM slot and jack are for a second line, but not your cellphone as originally suspected.)

• People who have a landline just for their fax will be sad to hear, faxes are not compatible with the @Home landline service at this time. Engineers are working on it, but for now it’s not an option.

• You need to be spending at least $40 per month to add on the $10-per-month landline replacement.

• One wonders what a DSL provider might think of this setup. If memory serves, some DSL providers require you to pay for landline service anyway, so check with your broadband provider before switching—you may even be able to strike a deal.

Stay tuned for the national rollout, and actual product tests, in the late spring or summer. [T-Mobile Hotspot @Home]

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ExtremeTech just compared seven one-terabyte hard drives with varying platter sizes and architectures and discovered that the drives are actually all quite similar, but with minor variations in power, noise and speed. If you’re looking for a low power, low noise drive that’s lightly slower than the rest—perhaps for a media center box— Western Digital’s GreenPower (WD1000FYPS) drives could be for you. If you’re looking for the absolute best in performance, then Samsung Spinpoint HD103UJ won most of the tests ExtremeTech ran. And at $260, it’s actually the second cheapest drive they tested. [ExtremeTech]

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LG’s previously leaked Glimmer phone does something interesting that we haven’t seen much of before—combine a touchscreen with a slide-out keypad underneath. The 2.8-inch touchscreen lets you control the 2-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, and AGPS (assisted GPS), but if you’ve got ham hands and feel like touch-dialing is a bit of a chore, you can slide out the keypad and call from there. It’s an interesting compromise, and definitely an worthwhile phone if you’re an Alltel subscriber. No price or availability dates yet. [Electronista]

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The much-rumored Sandisk Sansa Fuze has finally been brought out of the shadows, coming in 2, 4 and 8 GB sizes for $79, $99 and $129, respectively. It’s also worth noting that this is the first Sandisk player to support Macs[Gearlog]

SANDISK INTRODUCES THE STYLISH SANSA(R) FUZE™ MP3 PLAYER Multi-Faceted Music Player Rounds out the Sansa Product Line

MILPITAS, Calif., March 11, 2008- SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK), a
leading seller of MP3 players in the United States, today unveiled the
multi-faceted Sansa(R) Fuze™ MP3 player. The stylish music player is loaded
with capabilities and features to keep consumers well entertained while on
the go. Not only is it easy on the eye, it’s easy on the pocketbook. With
availability planned for early April in the United States, the Sansa Fuze
player comes in a wide array of colors (pink, red, blue, black and silver)
and capacities (2, 4 and 8 gigabyte1 (GB)) with an expected starting price
of only $79.99 MSRP.
In addition to playing music, video, photos, FM radio and audiobooks, the
thin Sansa Fuze is packed with extras, including a microSD card slot to add
and transport content with ease; a voice recorder to capture thoughts on the
fly, and a bright, 1.9″color screen that allows users to easily navigate
their music or watch videos in landscape mode.
“The Sansa Fuze is an eye-catching player that consumers will enjoy for its
looks, capabilities and incredible value,” said Eric Bone, vice president of
product marketing for Sansa, SanDisk’s audio/video product line. “This new
MP3 player combines some of the best features found on other Sansa products,
including great sound quality. It’s yet another strong offering by SanDisk
in the sub-$150 music player market.”

A distinguishing feature of the Sansa Fuze player is its microSD™ card slot.
This memory slot provides consumers the ability to quickly add content onto
their device and expands storage capacity, giving ample space for thousands
of additional songs, hours of video and numerous photos. Plus, by using a
SanDisk microSD card, users can easily carry their music and other content
from their Sansa MP3 player to their mobile phone, or even their PC.

The Sansa Fuze MP3 player gives users access to subscription download
services from numerous sources, including Rhapsody To Go(R), Napster, eMusic
and others. In addition, it supports playback of a wide range of popular
music formats such as MP3, WAV, Audible (for audio books) and Windows Media
Audio (WMA) in both unprotected and protected files. Sansa Fuze supports
MPEG-4 video and JPEG photos. Its internal rechargeable battery will play up
to 24 hours of audio and five hours of video between charges.2

The MP3 player works with computers running Windows XP or Windows Vista. It
also works with Mac and Linux operating systems (under MSC mode).

Expected Pricing, Colors and Availability

The Sansa Fuze player is expected to be available in U.S. stores in early
April. The music player comes in a 2GB capacity (holds 500 MP3 songs3) with
an MSRP of $79.99, 4GB (1,000 MP3 songs) for $99.99 and 8GB (2,000 MP3
songs) for $129.99. The 2GB Sansa Fuze is available in black; the 4GB Sansa
Fuze is available in black, red, pink or blue, and the 8GB is available in
silver. For more information visit http://www.sandisk.com/sansafuze/.

The player is expected to be available from retailers in Canada and Europe
in late spring, with other regions of the world to follow.

The flash-based Sansa Fuze player rounds out the Sansa product family,
joining the popular, tiny Sansa Clip and video-centric Sansa View. The Sansa
audio/video line offers consumers highly affordable, yet fun and fashionable
music players loaded with appealing extra features.

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