Samsung makes Memoirs with Helena Christensen

by Annie Scott on

As of yesterday, the new Samsung Memoir is available through T-Mobile for $249.

The Samsung Memoir has an 8-megapixel camera, along with Xenon flash, CMOS auto focus and a 16x digital zoom. That’s pretty impressive. Secretly, that’s almost as good as the regular camera I use. It would be really handy if my phone were my regular camera. I long for the day when we kiss the USB cord goodbye — and I’d love not to have two similar-but-different things in my purse.

Anyway, as you can see, Samsung has Helena Christensen on board with the phone. She took a bunch of pictures with it in New York and Barcelona, and you can see them here, and you know what? Turns out this model can take a picture! Well done, Helena!

Hit up T-Mobile if you’re interested in the phone — oh, and it also has a music player, a full Web browser, a GPS navigation system and one of the most advanced touch screen phones in the world. Suck it, iPhone.

Improve your chances of getting a cab

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Sometimes, it’s easy to catch a cab. Three or four pass by, and all you have to do is get the attention of one of them. Contrast that, however, with a rainy day in Manhattan at 5:30 PM. You and the rest of the world want 35 blocks of yellow car bliss, and most will be disappointed. Fortunately, there are now a few ways you can take control of your transportational fate.

I remember taking the train from New York to Boston a few years ago. A blizzard brought LaGuardia to a standstill, and I had no other choices. I realized about an hour from South Station that the entire train would be hunting taxis desperately in a city not known for swarms of them clogging the streets. So, I called a taxi company from my neighborhood (East Boston, at the time) and gave the simple instruction: “Don’t let anyone in unless they give my name.” The driver understood … and promptly let the word out that there was an insane amount of business.

Without that call, I’d still be waiting for a ride from Southie to Eastie.

Of course, that’s an extreme case. Everyday life provides enough challenges. Hailing a taxi on the street is the baseline, though some cities use taxi stands instead. If you’re out in the ‘burbs, reach out and touch some one. Calling for a taxi not only adds a bit of predictability, it lets the driver know a bit about you. Details such as home or work address and phone number can come in handy if a fare turns into trouble.

Instead of using the phone to talk, you could take advantage of new technology (such as Taxi Magic for the iPhone). Tap the screen a few times, and you can book your next ride. Taxi Magic is available in 25 cities in the United States. Sadly, though, New York is not among them.

In any city, iPhone or not, bad weather or periods of high demand could leave you frustrated – and stranded. The temptation to take a ride from a “bandit” (i.e., an unlicensed cab) can be pretty high. After all, you just want to get from A to B. Fight the urge! These rides are illegal … and for good reason. Unlike licensed taxi drivers, bandits aren’t checked for criminal histories and drug use. The cars aren’t inspected, and they may not even be insured. Roll the dice if you like, but understand that the stakes are high. All you get for winning is a trip home.

[Via CNN, photo by Brian Sayler]

Amplified Journeys

by Brenda Yun on

Road trips can often be infuriating if you don’t have the right musical ambiance. That’s why the Hong Kong-based company Amplified Journeys is introducing an easy, pain-free way of compiling a special soundtrack for your journeys cross-continent.

Whether you’re driving from Maine to California or from Paris to Istanbul, Amplified Journeys will help you create a personalized music collection for your journey. The way it works is quite simple:

  1. From the Amplified Journeys website, enter your destination starting and ending point
  2. Then, select your preferred genre of music and a musical artist within that genre
  3. Hit “Play” and you will be given driving directions as well as cool tune suggestions that are easily downloaded from the site itself!

It really is that simple, and even the least computer savvy individual can figure it out. When I tested the site (entering Boston to New York City and rock/Boston music), I was transported to a page with a split screen where I could view my journey on a map (with driving directions), as well as a pretty eclectic playlist that matched the locations I would be driving through with songs that would match my genre preference.

You can further personalize your soundtrack by selecting the ones that you want and ignoring the rest. Within minutes you will have a great soundtrack to your awesome, amplified journey. It’s a pretty cool tool for your iPod or iPhone, or just download the songs into your iTunes library and burn your own CD!

One little tip: search for shorter (maximum 5 hours travel time) destinations, as it takes longer to compile music for lengthy trips. Just piece your trips together later.

[via Springwise.com]

Product review – Scosche ReviveLITE iPod/iPhone charger/nightlight

by Scott Carmichael on

The Scosche RevieLITE is the kind of gadget that always manages to get my attention – it takes a really basic feature, and adds something “cool”.

In this product, Scosche combined an iPod/iPhone charger with a nightlight into a slick portable device.

The unit features a set of folding prongs on the rear, and a folding iPod charger on the side. On the front is an LED with a light sensor and a power switch for the nightlight.

It’s about as simple as can be – plug the unit into the wall, plug your iPod in, and let it charge. When you arrive back at your hotel room and you are too drunk to find the light switch, the reviveLITE will show the way to your bed – provided you were able to find a suitable outlet.

Of course – even the simplest of products often have one major flaw, and in the case of the reviveLITE, it is the lack of rotating prongs. Everything is fine and dandy if you use it with a vertially placed outlet, but a horizontal outlet will mean your iPod hangs on its side. Not a massive inconvenience, but still pretty annoying.

The Scosche reviveLITE retails for $39.99, but is available from retailers like Amazon for under about $10 less, which is not too bad for a quality iPod charger. The charger weighs just 2.7oz, which is lighter than most iPod chargers, especially since those usually require a separate cable in your bag.

Road test: Google public transit maps on the iPhone

by Grant Martin on

The most recent firmware upgrade to the iPhone brought significant improvement to the mapping functionality, specifically with the addition of Street View and Public Transportation overlays. You’ve probably already seen Street View while browsing through neighborhoods on your local Google Maps computer. Basically it shows you what any (urban) storefront looks like from the street and is a good cross reference for when you’re walking around on foot.

What about the Public Transportation tool? To find out, I decided to give the service a try while visiting San Francisco last weekend. Follow along for a quick road test.

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Google maps with the 3G iPhone in and of itself is an excellent tool if you’re on foot in any urban environment. Need to find out where you are? Turn on the GPS, find out what corners you’re on and figure out what direction you’re going in. Type in your target address, place a pin and walk towards the pin.
If you wanted to take public transportation? Before, you had to navigate to the local public transportation website (ie, open up a Safari window and visit mbta.info) browse around, find a schedule and download it. It’s possible, but cumbersome, and you have to find a quiet corner to mess with your phone where nobody will disturb you.

With Google’s new functionality, however, schedules and fares are integrated into the map. So when you select the “Public Transportation” option from the top of the map menu, it uses your location, finds a bus/subway/train stop near you, gives you directions to the stop then gives you the departure time, schedule and fares.

Let this soak in for a second. It tells you exactly where you are, where you need to be, how to get there on public transportation, how much it will cost and when you’ll arrive. That is nothing short of amazing.

In San Francisco last weekend, I found myself in Alamo Square a few minutes before I needed to meet a colleague. Punching in “3292 22nd St” into Google Maps, I pressed the Public Transportation button and received the following:

“Departs a 1/18/09 10:21 AM, Arrives at 1/18/09, 10:46 AM — $1.50”
“Walk to Fillmore St & Hayes St”

And so the journey began. Seven minutes later I was on the 22 heading south on Fillmore, and before I knew it I was standing at Boogaloos, right on time.

Now, mind you that this is in the most technologically advanced city in the country on a clear, traffic free day. The Public Transportation option doesn’t work in all cities (cough, New York) and under all conditions. But if San Francisco is the marker by which the travel world will soon change, then a revolution is soon at hand.