EXO-Wing is world's smallest jet -- worn like a backpack

Oh daddy, would you look at that. Forget jetpacks, we've got a deep ache in our G-Jetson-loin for this, Atair Aerospace's EXO-Wing, the world's smallest human-piloted jet. Smaller even, than the Gryphon parachute. It's on display right now in New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art as part of its Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy collection. The only thing we know about the EXO-Wing is that the twin micro-turbine-powered contraption is light enough to be worn as a backpack. Hell, we don't even know if it really works. Regardless, we've got our weekend booked... up, up and away!

P.S. The webbed creature below the EXO-Wing is sporting an Aerosuit for skydivers and Aquaman wannabes with a thing for Tom Jones.

OCZ's DIY Gaming Notebook

We've seen this attempted a few times before, but it's hard to imagine OCZ's entry into build-it-yourself laptops will be any more successful. The new OCZ DIY Gaming Notebook is a 7 pound 15.4-inch backbreaker, which comes standard with an NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT video card, Intel PM965 northbridge, SATA support for hard drives, 8x dual-layer DVD burner, four USB 2.0 ports, ExpressCard and a fingerprint leader. The problem is that the "optional components" are WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0 and a TV tuner, with only the last of those being truly optional on a regular enthusiast laptop. It's nice of OCZ to provide documentation and a warranty for those who really want to get under the hood of a modern laptop, but we're guessing most gamers these days would give up a bit of a customization for a straight-up well priced performer. No word on price or availability.

Green Vehicles' Triac officially coming in July, for reals this time

In the latest of a series of when-can-I-get-the-Triac false starts, the three-wheeled electric car of obscene cuteness has a real launch date. No, really. According to AutoblogGreen, Green Vehicles is accepting pre-orders for July delivery of the Triac, which means you could actually be silently cruising the beaches in this thing come summer. For those concerned about safety and all that "not dying" stuff, Green Vehicles has assured the press that a safety cage designed by race car fabrication experts has been integrated into the car's design. Also, they promise that the lithium-ion batteries are good for at least 2000 cycles, which should last you about 5 years. We're being told that the Green Vehicles site will be updated today with reservation info, so keep an eye out.

Philips X800 and X-Connect touchscreen phones go legit

Not one to string us along endlessly, Philips has 'fessed up to its pair of touchscreen phones, the X800 and the Xenium X-Connect. The X800 does it low-end with a 2.9-inch 240 x 400 screen, 2G GSM for data (no EDGE or WiFi!), a 2 megapixel camera, microSD slot and Bluetooth. Interestingly, the phone offers a documents reader and handwriting recognition, but this hardly seems to be that next do-it-all handheld you've been dreaming of, though the battery life is laudable. The Xenium X-Connect steps things up considerably, however, with Windows Mobile 6, UMTS and HSDPA, and a 3-inch display -- which hopefully sports a few more pixels. Still no WiFi, though, and other details like launch price and date are still slim.

Fujitsu Handy Drive now does 400GB

Fujistu's long-running and questionably-named Handy Drive line of external drives got a bump today with the Handy Drive 400. As you may imagine, the 400 packs 400GB of storage on a 4200rpm platter and connects via USB 2.0. The entire, sleek case measures just 82 x 141.5 x 22mm and weighs in at 230g. It's available in Japan -- US release and pricing surely to come.

Source: engadget.com

Creative Launches Pocket-sized Video Cam

Creative has launched the Vado Pocket Video Cam, which is small enough to fit in your palm.

The Vado doesn't incorporate discs or other media, rather it records up to two hours of high-quality video on its built-in 2GB of memory. It has a removable rechargeable battery, allowing you to shoot two hours of video on a single charge.

It has a built-in USB connector like a thumb drive and comes with a software program built right into it that will prompt you to copy the video, or you can just drag the videos directly to your PC. The software can also take you to YouTube or Photobucket to post videos. It comes with a 2-inch color LCD screen with a resolution of 640 x 480 VGA.

It's available in silver and pink, and is priced at $99.99.

Sagem Launches New Entry-level Handset

Sagem has just launched a new entry level handset in India – the Bleu 453x. It’s quite loaded with essentials that most users would expect from their cell phones. This GSM/GPRS-enabled handset has a slim candy bar design and comes equipped with a 1.5-inch display with a 128 x 128 pixel resolution and 65k colors.

The 453x also has a host of other features that include Bluetooth with an A2DP profile for stereo Bluetooth headsets and a VGA camera with video recording. It also has an FM radio and an MP3 player. The integrated video player supports 3GP, AVI and Mp4 file formats. The phone also features a rather sophisticated Mobile Tracker application that allows users to block the handset by simply sending an SMS from another SIM and a whole lot more including formatting the phone book remotely.

The 453x supports the use of microSD cards for external memory.

The Sagem Bleu 453x is priced at Rs. 3,350 and will be available in 2 colors.

Dell Launches Gaming Desktop, XPS 730 H2C

Dell has launched its XPS 730 H2C edition, a premier gaming desktop in India that comes with support for optional quad-core processors, quad GPU graphics solutions and up to four hard drives.

The XPS 730 H2C (starting at RS. 1,39,900) brings together some of the top bleeding-edge performance technologies such as the new NVIDIA nforce 790i Ultra SLI chipset with standard ATX motherboard. It also has support for a variety of optional high performance graphics solutions, including the ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 in four- way CrossFireX or NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT with SLI technology.

"We are delighted to bring our premium XPS gaming machines to India", said Girish Mehta, Director of Consumer Marketing, Dell, India. "With the XPS gaming systems, we have been progressively delivering an awe-inspiring experience to gamers across and world and now, we have set the bar for the same in India as well."

Dell Launches XPS M1730 Gaming Laptop

Dell has announced the XPS M1730 notebook - the world’s first notebook to incorporate AGEIA PhysX Mobile Technology and Logitech’s GamePanel LCD - in India.

The PhysX processor helps deliver realistic movement and environmental interaction at incredible speeds without affecting the overall performance. The GamePanel LCD allows gamers to view game stats, create new macros and track important system information without leaving the game.

Dell maintains that the XPS M1730 supports the overclocking of Intel Core 2 Extreme processor X9000 to Bin +2 (up to 3.2GHz) and features NVIDIA SLI technology with support for DirectX 10 graphics.

The notebook features an aggressive, brawny design that can be personalized with three color accent choices - Crimson Red, Sapphire Blue, and Smoke Grey. Other features include a backlit keyboard with separate 10-key number pad, a high-definition display with a lightning fast response time of 7 milliseconds and support for Dell's LightFX application, allowing users and developers to manipulate the system's multi-colored perimeter lighting LEDs.

"Dell is committed to the creation of PCs that will take hard-core gamers to new frontiers," said Girish Mehta, Director of Consumer Marketing, Dell India. "The XPS M1730 engineering team worked with developers on leading titles such as such as The Orange Box from Valve’s Half Life 2 and 2K Games’ BioShock to help ensure this notebook can deliver the full-throttle power required for the most anticipated PC games."

"The seamless integration of PhysX into this innovative new product clearly raises the bar in mobile PC gaming," said Manju Hegde, CEO of AGEIA. "Exciting new PhysX-powered games such as Tom Clancy’s GRAW2 from Ubisoft, NetDevil’s Warmonger and Midway and Epic Games’ upcoming Unreal Tournament 3 are a perfect match for the XPS 1730."

Other features of the XPS M1730 include, 4 GB dual channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz; NVIDIA SLI technology with dual NVIDIA GeForce Go 8700M GT GPUs with 256MB; Optional AGEIA PhysX 100M processor; 200GB 7,200 RPM hard disc drive; 8x DVD+/-RW; Intel Pro/Wireless 3945 802.11 a/b/g Wireless with WiFi Catcher and Bluetooth version 2.0+.

It also features a 2.0 MP built-in webcam with dual digital array microphones; Logitech GamePanel LCD panel embedded above the keyboard; 4 USB 2.0, Dual-link DVI-I (support for 30-inch displays); 8-in-1 card reader; HDMI via DVI adapter; Consumer IR; dual headphones; microphone (stereo line-in) and support for 5.1 audio out.

Users can choose between Microsoft Windows Vista Premium or Windows XP Professional.

The laptop comes with a one year XPS Premium Service and one-year complete cover at a starting price of Rs. 1,00,800 (including tax and delivery).