Logitech intros MX5500 Keyboard / Mouse combo

Those looking for a matching keyboard and mouse set now have yet another option from Logitech, which today busted out its new MX5500 combo. This one includes the company’s existing MX Revolution laser mouse with its speedy metal scroll wheel, along with a new keyboard that boasts a built-in LCD along with the usual array of controls for music and other features. Both peripherals also rely on Bluetooth 2.0 to keep ‘em untethered from your PC, and each promise to let you take full advantage of Flip 3D and other Vista-specific features (though Vista is not required). Look for this set to be available later this month for $170.

Dell intros 17-inch Precision M6300 laptop

If you’ve been waiting patiently on Dell’s monster of a laptop, the 17-inch, Santa Rosa-based behemoth known as the Precision M6300, feel free to get really excited. Very soon, all of you business boys and girls will be able to get your hands on the company’s new enterprise-centric laptop (a follow up to the M90), that rocks a Core 2 Duo X7900 CPU (2.8GHz with an 800MHz FSB), Nvidia’s Quadro FX 1600M graphics chipset, up to 4GB of RAM, and a 120GB or 200GB hard drive. Dell also plans to make a SanDisk 32GB SSD available for the road-ready laptop, and is offering a DVD, DVD-RW, or Blu-ray writable optical drive. Of course, the M6300 has all the regular bells and whistles, like 802.11a/g/n, Bluetooth 2.0, DVI, Firewire, plus a not-so-usual optional AT&T HSDPA card. You can also choose between XP, Vista, or RedHat Linux for the OS. No word on price of availability, though it appears these will be landing sometime this month.

Fujitsu’s LOOX U50XN ultra-portable PC gets colored

It’s been a tick since Fujitsu’s LOOX ultra-portable PC lineup has garnered our attention, but there’s no better way to do that than offer up the machine in four dazzling colors and bump the hardware while you’re at it. The FMV-U50XN is now available in white, blue, black and red color schemes, and includes an 800MHz Intel A110 processor, up to 1GB of DDR2 RAM, between 20GB and 40GB of hard drive space, a 5.6-inch LED-backlit LCD with a 1,024 x 600 resolution, 802.11b/g, USB 2.0, VGA output, SD / CF card slots, an integrated speaker, and Windows Vista to boot. After you mull over exactly which hue to choose (take a peek after the break for closeups), you can snag your fav for around $1,600 right now.

Sony’s video download cards revealed?

The Wall Street Journal — citing “people familiar with the situation” — claims that Sony is poised to enter video-downloading services whole-hog. Think Go!PSP, only extended with new “products and services to let users download television shows and movies” to Sony’s sweet, suite of PS3s, PSPs, and Bravia televisions “similar to the way” people use the Apple ecosystem. Go!PS3, Go!Bravia, Go!Rolly? Sure, why not. Unfortunately, the WSJ piece doesn’t provide any dates or any real details to speak of. Regardless, none of this comes as a surprise what with PS3s doubling as DVRs in Europe, video-capable Walkmans finally released in the US, and the looming shutdown of Sony’s ATRAC-based Connect music services. Hell, Stringer already ceded portable music dominance to Apple back at the June shareholders meeting in Tokyo where he noted that Sony has “worked very hard to catch up so that in the age of video we will not suffer as much as we did in audio.” We’ll see. Hey Howie (sorry, Sir Howie), we hear NBC could use a new on-line storefront soon. You know, quick-wins and all.

Solar Bottle solar-powered water purification

Generally an energy-intensive, wasteful operation, but designers Alberto Medo and Francisco Gomez Paz have done a neat end-run around those problems with their Solar Bottle, a portable water bottle that purifies water using the sun. The bottle, which holds just over a gallon of water, uses a purification process called SODIS that takes six hours to kill off a whole host of baddies, including Oregon Trail favorites cholera, typhoid and dysentery. Just a concept for now, but the design has been well-received and won several awards, so hopefully someone will step up and take it into production soon.

Samsung's Croix: yet another 'iPhone rival'

Honestly, we're getting a bit tired of all these so-called iPhone rival handsets, but Samsung's elusive Croix doesn't do a whole lot to shake the stereotype. The mobile, which happens to boast a very similar layout to Apple's darling (and Samsung's own F700), just won an iF Communication Design Award 2007, and while details are scant about the actual hardware, it sounds like Sammy is hoping to grab your attention with a sensationally sleek interface (seen in detail after the break). The name, which translates to "Cross" in French, supposedly symbolizes the phone's "progressive continuum, as opposed to discrete transmission from one item to another," and touts an "intuitive interface through on-screen touch input mapping which supports five different ways of interaction." Of course, only time will tell if this thing actually goes commercial (or proves real, to be honest), but it certainly has the look.

IOGEAR

We know, "back to school" isn't exactly a phrase that brings a smile to most students, but IOGEAR is hoping to get you a bit more jazzed up than usual about the fall semester with a new duo of products. Following the Digital Scribe, the firm has now unveiled a 4GB Flash Wallet Drive and 3-in-1 Wireless Phaser Presentation Mouse to presumably help you with your studies. The uber-thin wallet drive ($69.95) measures in at just 3-millimeters thick and ought to hold quite a few research papers, while the wireless mouse ($59.95) combines a laser pointer and track ball to aid you in making those presentations go as smoothly as possible. Both products should already be available at your campus store or nearby big box retailer.