The iPosture can be worn as a pendant, attached to the skin with adhesive patches, or clipped to a shirt or bra.

(Credit: iposture.com)

Thanks to nanosensor technology, your mother doesn't need to tell you to stand up straight anymore. A new gadget called iPosture will do that job for her.

The battery-operated device contains a microchip that monitors the angle of the wearer's upper chest several times per second, vibrating briefly when it senses a deviation greater than three degrees from the programmed ideal stance. Specialized software filters spurious movements, which allows the iPosture to adapt to various body types and activities--presumably stopping it from zapping you in the middle of sit-ups, for example.

It's an inch in diameter and can be clipped to a shirt or bra, worn as a pendant, or attached to the skin with special adhesive patches.

(Credit: Business Wire)

The idea for iPosture was born while Memphis, Tenn.-based neurologist and pain management specialist Moacir Schnapp and his wife, Dr. Elma Schnapp, were writing Young, Sexy and Healthy: The Ten Best Exercises for Your Posture. The book offers workouts for patients with spinal pain and musculoskeletal diseases.

The Schnapps cite manifold reasons to stop slouching. They say women with good posture are less prone to osteoporosis fractures; men with good posture are twice as likely to keep their balance and function as they age; and everyone who stands up straight generally happier and more confident.

Oh, and they also note that "women with improved posture become more attractive" and "men with good posture are seen as more successful."

But lest poor-posture havers fear they'll have to lean on this device for life, the docs say it's designed to be worn for approximately four hours per day for the first two to four weeks to ingrain good behavior that will continue once a user takes the zapper off. However, the user should continue to use the device two to three times per week thereafter to maintain posture improvement.

The iPosture will be available online soon for around $99.95. And don't worry, moms. You can still tell your kids to clean behind their ears.

(Credit: Energizer)

Disposable lithium batteries--a market seemingly cornered by Energizer's Ultimate Lithium batteries--are great if you need enduring power. They're not great for the environment and they're too slow to use in a camera flash, but they last tons longer than alkalines and significantly longer than rechargeables. At about $3 apiece (based on the street price of a 4 pack), they're also someone sticker shocking. So we shouldn't be surprised that Energizer has decided to sell a version with a kindler, gentler price of about $2 each, Energizer Advanced Lithium.

The company only cites the performance of the Advanced batteries to that of alkalines (Energizer Max)--claiming 4x the life in a digital camera compared to 8x for the Ultimates. So unless you can find the Advanced cells for less than half the price of the Ultimates, the Ultimates should remain the better buy on a per-shot basis.

Samsung's new Blu-ray player already seems to available, but information about it is strangely scarce.

(Credit: Best Buy.com)

Panasonic and Yamaha have already had their Cedia Blu-ray plans leak out, and we suspect the same may have just happened to Samsung. A new Samsung Blu-ray player, the BD-P2550, has appeared on Best Buy's Web site, and is apparently ready to ship for $500. Although the Best Buy listing is pretty light on information, we were also able to track down the manual (PDF link) for the BD-P2550 online, which reveals that the BD-P2550 will sport 7.1 analog outputs, Dolby TrueHD onboard decoding, a USB port, and an Ethernet port. It's not yet apparent whether the player is Profile 2.0 compliant, but the inclusion of both the USB port and the Ethernet port seem to indicate it will at least be Profile 2.0-ready, like the BD-P1500, which means it can gain access to BD-Live features after a firmware update sometime in the future.

Beyond the manual and the listing on Best Buy, images posted by a member of AVS Forums seem to confirm that the BD-P2550 will feature HQV video processing. We're usually pretty skeptical about branded step-up features like HQV, but we've seen excellent performance time and time again from players with HQV processing, so we expect it to be a significant feature if it's true. The old Samsung BD-P1200 also featured an HQV processor and although it's had its share of troubles, we always found it had excellent image quality on both Blu-ray Discs and DVDs.

We've contacted Samsung to find out more about the BD-P2550 and will update this entry as we receive more information.

The SoundDock Series II is similar looking to the SoundDock Portable--but it doesn't take batteries.

(Credit: Bose)

Like a lot of other iPod audio speaker companies, Bose is introducing a GSM-shielded "Works with iPhone" certified version of its iPod speaker system, the SoundDock. It's calling this one the SoundDock Series II and it says it's been "updated to more closely resemble the clean and distinctive lines of the Bose SoundDock Portable digital music system." Priced at $299, the SoundDock Series II will be available in early September in glossy black for a $100 less than its portable sibling. Meanwhile, the original SoundDock can be had for around $220.

Here are a few other highlights from the press release for those who care:

The system features a new auxiliary input that lets users connect other audio devices, such as an MP3 player, portable CD player, or music-enabled phone. It provides dock-and-play simplicity and will charge an iPod or iPhone while in use. No additional setup is required. An included infrared remote controls the system and basic iPod and iPhone functions, including playlist navigation, from across the room. Volume controls are located on the unit.

The SoundDock Series II system maintains a small footprint, measuring just 6 5/8 inches high by 12 inches wide and only 6 1/2 inches deep.

The SoundDock Series II system works seamlessly with the iPhone 3G and original iPhone models. It also works with most iPod models, including iPod Touch and any iPod featuring a click wheel, including all Nano, Mini, Photo, Video, and Classic models.

Bose SoundDock systems sound good, but you can today get better-sounding systems that cost less and have more features. For instance, it would have been nice if this model had an AM/FM radio. A clock and alarm would have been nice additions as well--especially for $300.

The Sony PlayStation 3 has a lot of settings that pertain to Blu-ray playback.

(Credit: CNET)

I had a question regarding hooking up my PS3 to my Panasonic TH-50PZ800U HDTV. I want to use my PS3 as a Blu-ray player for my TV. Would you be able to tell me the best settings/configuration for watching Blu-ray movies? Thanks. -- Khurshid, via e-mail

Well, Khurshid, it's no secret that the PlayStation 3 is the best Blu-ray player-- it's the reference Blu-ray player we use here at CNET, and we're not the only ones. To get the most out of your PS3 as a Blu-ray player, however, you'll need to get the settings right. What follows are the settings we use for our reference PS3 units here at CNET for testing HDTVs, including your Panasonic. The two menus referenced below can be found under the main Settings menu.

... Read more

(Credit: Aston Martin/Jaeger-LeCoultre)

As if Aston Martin DBS owners don't feel enough like James Bond while driving, Aston Martin and luxury watchmaker Jaeger-LeCoultre have announced the AMVOX2 DBS transponder watch. The transponder watch will allow wannabe-007s to lock and unlock their DBS coupe by pressing the open and close positions respectively on the watch's glass.

The wristwatch features a prominent DBS logo, as well as bezel and dial details designed to reflect the gauges of the DBS. Aston Martin says the transponder module only adds a few grams to the weight of the watch and that the electronics inside have been shrunk to half the size of the same system in the DBS key.

For security and safety purposes, the transponder system can only be paired to the DBS at the dealership.

The AMVOX2 DBS transponder watch will be available in titanium or a very un-James-Bond pink gold this December and should add a whopping 27,500 euros (about $41,000) to the DBS's $262,000 suggested retail price.

As much as we like the idea of keyless entry hidden in a slick-looking watch, it'd be nice if the watch included more advanced smart-key tech, such as proximity detection or keyless start, or more 007-worth features, such as a laser cutter or remote detonator.

(Credit: Aston Martin)

Young Chad has a bit of an attitude, it seems.

(Credit: Alltel Wireless)

We all love Chad, don't we? You know Chad: the good-looking, unassuming guy who's taller than his rivals, but not too tall as to intimidate shorter guys, with the square jaw and fauxhawk (are those still in play?), who's so nice and just sincerely wants everyone to be able to share their wireless plans? As long as the plan is from Alltel Wireless Network, that is.

Well, haven't you always wondered what it would be like if we saw those guys as kids? No? Me neither. That's not stopping Alltel from releasing a new spot debuting August 22, but already on YouTube, which shows Chad, as well as his antagonists, as kids.

In the spot, Chad is running his own lemonade stand and is letting his customers share their lemonade with their families. The Sprint (and whatever) kids, they don't like it. The end. The sequence is actually a lot shorter than I expected, but that's probably a good thing. I have to say, though, Campbell-Ewald Detroit, the company that developed the ad, did a great job with casting as the young actors they got to play the kid versions are very spot on. I still miss the chubby Sprint guy they replaced a few months back, though.

The Little Rascal--I mean the "Sales Guys" as kids.

(Credit: Alltel Wireless)

Alltel is using the spot to promote its new "My Circle" Family Choice Plus plans. According to Alltel, for $84.99 per month, customers will receive two lines with 1,000 shared minutes and the ability to call any 10 numbers on any network. Also, customers can receive two lines with 2,000 shared minutes and unlimited calling within their "Circle" of 20 numbers for $114.99.

In addition to the unlimited calling within their "Circle," Family Choice plan customers will receive unlimited mobile-to-mobile calls and unlimited nights and weekends. Customers will also have the ability to choose either free evening calls starting at 7 p.m. or 1,000 text/picture/video messages.

The plans include unlimited texting to their "Circle of Friends" and other Alltel customers. Also, customers can add lines to their My Circle plan for $9.99. Not bad, actually. Too bad I just bought an iPhone 3G (which incidentally works much better in Minneapolis than it does in San Francisco, just FYI).

It appears the TV industry's self-prescribed medicine of pushing smaller flat-panel sets is working.

The second-quarter check-up is in, and the industry is in far better health than a year ago. DisplaySearch's Quarterly Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report was released Thursday, and worldwide TV shipments increased 11 percent from the same period in 2007, but just 3 percent from first quarter of 2008.

(Credit: LG Electronics)

Still, the news is encouraging to an industry that was wringing its hands back in March over running out of places to sell its rapidly maturing, but still-pricey sets.

Around that same time, some of the bigger tier-one manufacturers began pushing smaller screens in an attempt to attract buyers who might be tightening their budgets as gas and food prices rose.

Vizio made a splash with its 32-inch plasma, a size that hasn't been available in that technology in the U.S. for a while. Even the big guys like Panasonic, LG, and Sony and Samsung were going small: 32, 40, 46 inches.

"Sony and Samsung launched what we termed 'fighter models,' because they were designed to reach new pricing lows," said Paul Gagnon, who monitors the TV industry for DisplaySearch. Vizio's smaller plasma was specifically launched "to blunt the impact" of Samsung's and Sony's moves into smaller-and-cheaper sets, he added.

Vizio's 32-inch plasma sells in club stores for about $550, while Samsung and Sony's 32-inch LCDs each retail for $699, the lowest price each has ever offered for that size TV.

The result has been a resurgent plasma TV business. DisplaySearch is reporting that shipments of plasma worldwide increased 52 percent from the same quarter a year ago, or 3.4 million units. That's way behind LCD TV shipments, but it's encouraging for a technology that many of the biggest vendors had basically left for dead.

Plasma shipments are on the rise everywhere, but they are particularly healthy in China, where they rose 285 percent in the last year.

To be sure, LCD TVs are still the new television of choice for most. LCD shipments jumped 47 percent in the last year to reach 23.7 million units (compared to plasma's 3.4 million units) in the second quarter worldwide, DisplaySearch says.

Despite LCD's established presence in many North American living rooms, it appears that the introduction of smaller sizes and lower prices are helping retailers to move plenty of product. Last year, LCD shipments to the region were dropping. But second-quarter shipments increased almost 30 percent from a year ago.

And LCD prices have still been dropping more quickly than plasma. With major shopping opportunities like Labor Day, the beginning of football season, and Black Friday fast approaching, plasma's recovery could be brief.

Sony and Samsung tend to set the pace on price reductions, and Gagnon of DisplaySearch says the other brands will all react in order to maintain their brand position in the market. If Samsung drops its 42-inch LCD $100 in the coming weeks, expect Panasonic to do the same on its 42-inch plasma.

But it doesn't appear there are going to be bold moves on the part of plasma to steal some more share and get ahead. For all the brands, said Gagnon, "it's all about maintaining price differential."

SAN FRANCISCO--Steve Wozniak got his start as a down-to-earth engineer, but the Apple co-founder made the case for keeping your head in the clouds sometimes.

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak at the Intel Developer Forum.

(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET News)

In an on-stage interview with Tech Nation's Moira Gunn here at the Intel Developer Forum, Wozniak talked about a life driven by his passion for the electronics and computing. And passion can be a more important incentive than money, he said.

"The rewards are in your head. The reward is invisible. It's what you like to do," said Wozniak, who designed the Apple I computer and its commercially successful successor, the Apple II, largely during his spare time.

Wozniak was in the right place at the right time, falling into computer design during an era when electronics were growing more powerful but were still simple enough that designs could be done by a smart human being. And he found a small circle of technophiles who shared similar views and ended up building the first personal computers. They, too, were driven by passion.

"We had dreams that computers would improve education and improve communication and help us achieve a lot of tasks. A lot of us in our group understood it," though their vision didn't extend as far as today's broadband-connected Internet. "What we were doing was not (figuring out) how build a computer, it was how you get a computer that fits into the home. Price, looks--a lot of that stuff. It gave us more passion. We used the word 'revolution' all over the place."

(Credit: Swany)

If you're snowboarding and your wrist starts to vibrate, let's hope it's an incoming call on your g.cell glove and not a muscle spasm caused by that run-in with a tree you just had.

Swany's g.cell incorporates a fully integrated Bluetooth-adaptable cell phone in an insulated water-repellent glove for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports.

As mentioned above, incoming calls announce themselves via vibrating wrist action, and you push a button on the back of your hand to answer. A voice-command dial system lets you call out, with a speaker and listening device integrated into the palm and thumb areas of the glove.

Swany says the phone will last for 12 hours on standby, with 4 hours of talk time, making it a potentially useful gadget for those who find themselves stranded in the snow or in need of emergency assistance.

The g.cell is set to show up around the holidays for a suggested retail price of $495. Also suggested (by us at least): not calling your friends while barreling down the mountain.

(Via Newlaunches.com)

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