HP recently bought VoodooPC, and already we’re seeing the effects of that in the way new systems are designed
The Blackbird 002 PC is one of the most amazing looking designs from HP in a while now. With a price range of anywhere between $2,500 and $7,000 (Rs 1,00,000 to Rs 2,80,000)—depending on configuration—there better be power under the hood. 
You can get an over-clocked Core 2 Extreme QX6850, SLI-ed 8800 Ultras and 4GB of memory. All that hot hardware is cooled using liquids, heat pipes and heat sinks. You can customize your configuration and opt for AMD instead. A special HP Blackbird Dedicated Edition will be released soon, which will add on a Voodoo keyboard and mouse and the Half Life 2 Orange Box. What’s subtracted is the overclocking on the QX6850 and a mere 2 GB of RAM instead of 4. The price for the Dedicated Edition is $5,500 (Rs 2,20,000)…
Goldmund U-room
In a world of HDTVs, HD audio with giant LCDs and audiophile sound systems, all available at a retail store near you, nothing seems to awe us anymore. Until now, that is. The $300,000 (Rs 1,20,00,000) Goldmund U-room will make you want to smash your LCD and sound system. Here’s why: The U-room consists of a 6-metre screen that is 1080p compliant, a 64-channel surround sound setup that outputs 130db of sound with a frequency range from 5Hz to 50kHz. If you have Rs 1.2 crore to spare, give the Goldmund crew a call.
Fanatec Porsche 911 Turbo Wheel
We all love cars, but not all of us can afford a Porsche, can we? Thanks to Fanatec, you can own something by Porsche that your grandchildren will not still be paying for! The Fanatec Porsche 911 Turbo Wheel is brilliantly designed for racing game enthusiasts. The steering has hand stitched leather, an H-pattern gear shift, force feedback and the wheel has a turning angle of 900 degrees. It connects wirelessly, but you have to power it to get force feedback. The battery operated pedals are designed to feel just like the real thing—no plasticky nonsense here. The USB dongle and wheel have neat Porsche badges. Price? A mere $350 to $420 (Rs 14,000—Rs 16,750) depending on where you plan on buying it.
iRobot ConnectR
The iRobot ConnectR might look like a hi-tech baby potty at first, but is in fact a very smart gadget. The ConnectR uses the power of the Internet (and a webcam and microphone) to allow its users to talk with others. Spy on your loved ones, or keep an eye on your toddler using this little robot. It moves around the house, controlled over the Net using a joystick or a mouse. So how much does a walking, talking, potty seat cost? A mere $499.9 (Rs 20,000).
OQO model e2
OQO model e2 is a new comer in the UMPC market. It’s powered by a VIA 1.6 GHz processor, 1 GB DDR2 memory and comes with Wi-Fi. The 5-inch screen is capable of a resolution of 800 x 480, and if this doesn’t suffice, you’re free to connect to a display using the VGA, DVI or HDMI outputs for a maximum resolution of 1920 x 1200. Did we mention that it runs Windows Vista?
There’s an option of a 120 GB hard drive, or a 32 GB solid state drive. A QWERTY keyboard (with a number pad) are designed into it—all in the size of a small notebook. At 450g, it’s heavy only to the weakest of geeks. Price is another matter, and the rumoured figure is between £846 and £1,359 (Rs 47,782 to Rs 76,756)—making it heavy on your pocket. Pun not intended.
Pacemaker
No, this gadget will not save a life; it will, however, let you party wherever you go. It’s a cool looking portable DJ-ing system with 120 GB storage. You can mix music easily, and on the move. All the well known audio formats—MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV, Ogg Vorbis and even the lossless FLAC are supported!
The Pacemaker has a set of effects like crossfade, bend, pitch, etc., which can be controlled using the multifunctional touchpad. Outputs include headphone and line-out, and the device lets you control two channels individually. Even if you aren’t a DJ, its huge storage capacity lets it double up as a really good portable music player! We’re clueless about the price but we’ll assume that the rumours hold some truth—around Rs 30,000 is what it might be.