If you're a Mac user and want to maximize your wireless connection, check out the  QuickerTek Connect WiFi amplifier. According to QuickerTek, this wireless device can quintuple the wirless range of your MacBook’s AirPort card and boost its speed. You can attach the QuickerTek device to your notebook’s display or just lay it beside your Book. It’s powered via USB or, when mobility isn't a concern, the accompanying AC adapter. The Connect runs $200 and there are models available for iBooks, PowerBooks, MacBooks and MacBook pros, and they’re all compatible with most popular routers.

[Via Ubergizmo]

Epson Japan has partnered with Industrial Facility on a revamping of portable color printers. Admittedly, the result looks like an Igloo cooler you’d see on a construction site, but we like the design and think it evokes a certain blue collar toughness. The new line promises to work plenty hard, too, with built-in 2- or 2.5-inch preview displays, an IR port for printing from mobile devices and the ability to run on batteries. The lid doubles as a paper tray, and there’s also a Bluetooth connectivity upgrade available. The printers, which carry the “Colorio” brand, are available from the Espon Japan Web site. We expect to eventually see them elsewhere, but there’s no word on when that might be.

[Technabob]

Ultimate Ears is raising the bar on ear buds. It’s new triple.fi 10 Pro features three mini speakers per bud — two bass drivers and a high frequency driver. The buds, which are modeled after the company’s professional-grade UE-10 Pros, also come with a selection of ear tips for a custom fit that will filter out background noise. The first 1,000 collector edition sets can be pre-ordered now. It’ll cost you $399, but you get superior audio and a cool engraved carrying case. The standard edition will be released in December for the same price.

[Via Gizmag]

Toshiba has developed an alternative to costly home theater components. The TDP-ET20 is an “instant theater” – a home theater projector with an integrated DVD player. Perfect for small living rooms, the unit projects a 100-inch image from just 1.3 meters, supports Dolby Digital 5.1 and has a built-in subwoofer. No word yet on pricing or availability, unfortunately.

[Via New Launches]

Fujitsu has recalled 287,000 notebook PC batteries made by Sony Corp. For those of you keeping score, that’s more than 7.5 million Sony cells recalled since the August announcement that they could overheat and catch fire. Fujitu's recall comes a day after news that Sony would announce its own battery recall later this month. 

 

Since Apple and Dell recalled 1.8 million and 4.1 million Sony-made notebook batteries respectively, the recall has expanded to include laptops from Lenovo, IBM and Toshiba. Virgin Atlantic also implemented restricitions on the use of Apple and Dell notebooks on its flights. 

The Fujitsu recall effects notebooks sold both inside and outside Japan.

 

[Via Reuters]

Just months after introducing the MyBook Pro Edition external hard drive, Western Digtial has unleashed the MyBook Pro Edition II. It retains the same cool bookish design but it has swelled to “War and Peace” proportions thanks to its 1TB of storage space. That’s around 125 hours of HD movies or over 75 hours of DV video. Like its slimmer predecessor, the MyBook features FireWire 400/800 and USB 2.0 connections and RAID striping for quicker transfers. Available now for $549.

[Via CrunchGear]

The Christmas shopping season is closer than you think, and this Road Warrior Kit 2 from Zip-Linq would make a great stocking stuffer. It features most of the connections a frequent traveler could need in a pinch: a USB 2.0 a Male to mini 5 Pin USB Cable; USB Notebook Light; USB 2.0 A Male to A Female, Cat5e Twisted Pair Gigabit ready patch cable; Cat6 crossover adapter; Male to Male USB adapters; stereo headset with microphone; and a USB mouse. You can get a jump on the holiday rush and buy one now for £35.

[Via Tech Digest]

Call it a Bluetooth rival or a replacement, but cell phone manufacturer Nokia has unveiled its own short-range wireless technology, dubbed "Wibree." Like Bluetooth, it has a 30-foot link range and operates at 2.4GHz, but its small size and low energy consumption make it a solution for wireless keyboards and mice as well as smaller, low-power devices such as heart-rate monitors and wristwatches where Bluetooth isn't well suited. Nokia expects the first Wibree products to be available in the second quarter of 2007.

[Via Reuters]

The Privaris PlusID is touted as the world's first biometric fingerprint fob. It can be used to access up to four secure "applications" -- such as buildings, computers and networks -- and operation is pretty straightforward. You just hit the button that corresponds to the door or PC you want to unlock, point the fob at the device and swipe your finger over the sensor. According to Privaris, the PlusID works with most existing security systems, and because your biometric information is stored on the fob rather than an external computer, personal privacy isn't compromised. As for the cost, apprarently that's top secret.

[Via Red Ferret]

So you say you're backing Blu-Ray in the next-gen DVD showdown? Then why don't you put your money where your mouth is and grab one of the CopyWriter Blu-Ray duplicators that Microboards Technology is shipping this week. The system includes four or 10 Blu-Ray recorders in a tower that can be used standalone or hooked via USB 2.0 to a Mac or PC. The CopyWriter features a display with control menu, records and duplicates at 2x speed and can burn 25GB BD-R and BD-RE discs, as well as DVD-R discs. But remember what we said about money? The four-disc model retails for $8,995, and the 10-recorder system goes for $19,995.

[Via Gearlog]