GADGET geeks salivated amid a swirl of snappy iPod cases, wireless PDA keyboards and smart phones at the Metropolitan Pavilion on Tuesday.
The Post got an insider’s look the summer’s coolest new technology. Here’s a sneak peek at the few choice products that made our inner techie tremble.
Improving the iPod
Targus RemoteTunes wireless iPod remote
($50; targus.com/us)
About the size of half an egg, this swellegant, water-resistant doodad lets users control their music up to 150 feet away from their iPod or iPod mini. Operating on RF frequencies, it works whether the player’s in your pocket or on the other side of a wall.
It’s available now on the Targus Web site.
Targus also just released its SoundUP High Definition Sound Enhancer ($40), which coaxes “richer and crisper” sound from Apple’s cult-like white headphone buds – or any ‘phones used with an iPod. That’s slated for release in mid-July.
TV to go
Archos AV 700 mobile digital video recorder
($600 for 40 GB model, $800 for 100 GB; archos.com)
It’s only the size of a paperback book, but this smashing gizmo from Archos holds up to 200 full-length movies on its whopping 100 gigabyte hard drive. Plus, it displays them on a glorious, crisp 7-inch color screen.
A portable digital video recorder, the AV 700 works like an old-fashioned VCR – without the tapes. Connect it to a TV, DVD player, VCR, cable box or satellite receiver and record programs and movies in real time for later viewing.
Since it also stores music and games, it’ll keep the kids quiet on the drive to the Hamptons, and let you watch last night’s Yankees win at the beach.
You’ll have to wait a bit for this mid-summer dream. It will be available by the end of July.
Twist and shoot
Nokia N90
(nokia.com)
This camcorder-phone combo is so hot off the factory floor that the price hasn’t been set yet (though it’s expected to run between $400 and $700). Taking a feature from traditional digital camcorders, the 2-megapixel phone uses the familiar flip-and-twist display screen for easy shooting.
It captures up to one hour of video in MP4 and 3GP formats. Plus, users can share video via e-mail, make two-way video calls and transfer movies, photos and data to a home computer or laptop via USB port.
The N90 has all the other cool things you’d expect on a modern phone, including Bluetooth, email, video streaming, MP3 player and an Internet browser. It’s due out in August.
Garage rock made easy
M-Audio’s iControl
($180; m-audio.com)
Just released, this console works in breezy conjunction with Apple’s popular GarageBand software, letting music-makers record songs with studio-style faders and knobs rather than keyboard commands.
Its eight rotary knobs can be custom assigned to control frequently used features, such as volume or equalization. It also lets users mute or engage “solo record” on up to eight tracks at a time.
It’ll make you feel more like a real record producer than just a homestudio geek.
You can take it with you
PalmOne LifeDrive Mobile Manager
($500; palmone.com)
Palm, the personal digital assistant pioneers, offers the first PDA with a hard drive – and the LifeDrive has 4 gigabytes instead of the usual 32 or 64 megabytes.
With this snazzy gadget, users can play with hundreds of video clips and family photos – or listen to their favorite rockers’ MP3s while e-mailing, Web surfing or adding dates to their calendar. The beauty of this device is the playing-card size screen, which renders photos and video in full-color glory.
Paperless-minded peeps can also import and export Microsoft Word documents. It’s just out of the box and available now.
