Who Farted? Oh It’s A Smell Tone! November 10, 2005
READ MORE Gadgets
Keitai KunKun have developed “smell tones” as the next-gen ringtone. Using the these smell tones, you simply set up the enclosed liquid to hang off your phone. When you get a call or message, instead of a ring, you can get a smell alerting you to pick up your phone. I don’t see how this could be useful when your phone is shoved in your pants and your jeans start to reek of Doraemon-scent after awhile. However if multiple scents could be used, it’d be genius. When your girlfriend calls, a perfume scent could eject and if it’s your buddy, the stench of warm beer could emit slowly from the phone. They’re retailing in Japan for 1980 Yen a pop or about $17 here and come in scents like Hello Kitty, Disney, and Doraemon. What, no Transformers motor oil scent? What gives?!
Sniff N’ Talk [Red Ferret]
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High-Tech Solution For Low-Tech Phones November 10, 2005
READ MORE Portable Media
Though not quite cutting edge, Boyounb Tech has come out with a product that will allow you to use Bluetooth technology for a handsfree cellphone headset without a Bluetooth-compatible phone. The product includes a bluetooth dongle that attaches to the ear phone aperture of your cellphone and comes in 4 colors with matching dongles. Runs for about $120 though if you want to use it with a Bluetooth phone (and without the dongle) it’ll cost you $60.
Bluetooth headset that works with a non-Bluetooth phone!? [Phoneyworld]
Art Project or Vacuum Cleaner? November 10, 2005
READ MORE Gadgets
This baby is called the Cyclone Cleaner and I’ll give you one guess to figure out where it comes from. If you said Japan, give yourself a pat on the back, because yes, you’ll only find this fantastical sucker—HA!—in the Land of the Rising Sun. Sleek, easy-to-use and damn fine-looking, the Cyclone is cordless with a folding handle and a hose that contracts so it won’t catch on the front or back of the vacuum while cleaning. That’s about all I can figure out from the really bad English translation, but I think that should do it, huh?
Cyclone Cleaner [Metaphys]
Casio Calculates 3G Phones for US Market November 10, 2005
READ MORE Mobile phones
Casio is joining the big phone party in the US of A. Although this Japanese company is mainly known here for those exciting calculators, it now plans on supplying us with 3G cellphones as well as ramping up its brand name for digital cameras. This all comes from the President of the company, Kazuo Kashio, who is the brother of the company’s late founder.
Casio, which is using digital cameras to spearhead its overseas push, will easily hit its target of selling 5 million cameras this business year, Kashio said, adding that continuous innovation was necessary in such a competitive market.“Every half year you have to market a new model with new technologies,” he said. “If you fall behind in this schedule, you will lose.”
Unfortunately, we won’t be seeing the company’s hit Japanese product, the electronic dictionary. And I have to say, I’m bummed.
Casio in mobile talks with U.S. carriers [CNN]
Gaming On The Go With XEG November 10, 2005
READ MORE Games
There have been mobile gaming pads in the past, all with a recurring theme: they suck. The XEG Mobile Gaming Pad, on the other hand, has a sharp design and excellent form factor — and might even induce me to play a game on a cellphone one day. The controller is arranged like a basic gaming pad, the D-pad on the left and 4 buttons on the right. The XEG doesn’t stop there, though. The controller also features L and R triggers and 2 buttons on the bottom called MODE and END. It’ll need to be powered by two AAA batteries, but after that just slap in a compatible phone, load up your game, and play away. This is the kind of excellent controller that would work well with games like Afterburner, Mech Assault, and uh, Bejeweled.
XEG The Mobile Phone Pad [Akihabara]
Ferrari Monitor: Not Fast, But Expensive November 10, 2005
READ MORE Peripherals
Okay, it’s not a car. But it’s still a Ferrari, right? So you could tell everyone you own a Ferrari. What you really own is the limited edition Acer-branded Ferrari LCD monitors: the F-19 and F-20. A 19-inch and 20-inch monitor, respectively, the F-19 weighs in at 7.1kg, has a 500:1 contrast ratio and includes 2-Watt stereo speakers while the F-20 weighs 6.9kg, has a contrast ratio of 800:1, and 5-Watt speakers. These monitors obviously mimic the Ferrari design, showing a good amount of clever ergonomics and elegance. And they are made to match those Ferrari-branded Acer laptops and the PDA too. But you better act fast if you’re interested because only 1,000 of these red hot babies will be available. Looks like it sells for around $800.
Acer Ferrari-Branded LCD Monitors [Biosmagazine]
Product Page for Acer F-19 [Techstore.co.uk]
Product Page for Acer F-20 [Techstore.co.uk]
Heck Does It Again: NES Micro November 10, 2005
READ MORE Games
Ben Heck, maker of all systems portable, has done it again! Inspired this time by the Game Boy Micro, Heck has created his own NES Micro. Designed from the ground up, he manufactured his own case, complete with graphics, to house the system. Then he went and ripped out a bunch of NES parts, wired everything together, and ended up with a great looking system. It takes full-sized NES cartridges, for that true nostalgic feel. It runs off of 4 AA batteries and has a speaker to jam out to your favorite Mega Man boss tune while on the go. Gotta give Ben props for sticking it to Nintendo again. I’d much rather have a portable NES player than my Micro. Now if only he could embed ROM files somehow to eliminate the cartridge. That’d be golden.
Yes, we wrote about this a month ago — but the blogosphere gave us reason to do it again!
Benheck.com Page [via BoingBoing]
Students Design Ferrari of the Future November 10, 2005
READ MORE Gadgets
Ferraris are gadgets for the well-heeled. You can argue that they are a valid mode of transport from A to B, but in reality they have almost zero practicality, cost more than your divorce (either the one behind or in front) and are exceedingly good fun. All the hallmarks of a great gadget, then. So, would you let students take a shot of designing the next one? That’s what Ferrari has done. OK, so these are not philosophy students with goatees and roll-ups, they are automotive designer wannabes. Students from the Center for Creative Studies of Detroit, Coventry School of Art and Design, European Institute of Design of Turin and Tokyo Communication Arts all vied for a place in the last 20. A winner will be picked next week. Frankly, most of them look like Ferraris of the past with only a couple of stand-out efforts – even those look a little like cars from other sports car manufacturers. Maybe what’s going on under the hood and inside will be a little more exciting. Make your own mind up
car gadgets design lifestyle Ferrari
iLoad - Load Your iPod Without PC November 10, 2005
READ MORE Portable Media
Aren’t we all past the point where we need to rip our CDs? The whole “Rip, Mix, Burn” era peaked in 2002 and anyone with CDs at this point should probably just keep listening to the Technics 100-disk changer and give it up. Anyway, the iLoad is a little thingie that rips CDs to your iPod. I’m thinking this is a proof-of-concept patent thing for future lawsuits—“PATENT 1,100,033,032,095 - A device that removes data from compact disks and transfers it to a portable music player”— but we’ll see what comes of it. No specs or info yet, just a “Spam me” link.
Product Page [iLoad]
Olympus to MP3: I Break With Thee, I Break With Thee (Throws Dog Poop On Shoes) November 10, 2005
READ MORE Digital Audio , Digital cameras , Gadgets
Last night Olympus took the M-Robe for coffee and said, “it’s not you, it’s me.” Olympus is all camera, and should have known it was never going to work out with an mixed-breed MP3 player that had some camera functionality on its mother’s side of the family. Not a huge surprise that it couldn’t, “keep up with stronger players such as Sony Corp. and Apple Computer Inc. in the fast-growing market.” So, Olympus is going to start seeing more of those high-end, single lens reflex cameras making the scene (at least he didn’t dump the M-Robe for one of those slutty compact digital cameras that are all over town).
Japan’s Olympus to shrink compact camera business [Reuters]
SkyFone Works On Any Open WiFi Net November 10, 2005
READ MORE Mobile phones , Wireless
Skype is taking over the world, one handset at a time. The SkyFone WM1185-T, made by Accton Technology, is a WiFi cellphone capable of up to 4 hours of talk time and 20 hours of standby time on a single charge. Designed specifically for use with Skype, you can use the phone on any open WiFi network to place calls. Due out in the US later in the year, the phone will retail for over £85. No word yet on whether you’ll be able to use it with any other options besides Skype. Another model is due out from Accton next year that will feature both GSM and WiFi VoIP calling, and it’s sure to be a hit among cheap bastards such as myself.
Accton Launching Skype Cellphone [Wireless Watch]
Pentax Optio50L November 10, 2005
READ MORE Digital cameras , Portable Media
Pentax has announced the Optio 50L, a low-end 5 megapixel compact built with ease-of-use in mind. They are advertising a “Simple” mode that allows you to select optimal settings for a particular subject just by choosing a comparable icon (wait, don’t all digi-cams have this special mode nowadays?). It’s packed with 3x optical zoom, a 2.5-inch LCD screen, 12MB internal memory with an SD card slot for more storage, and it takes AA batteries. Price is unknown, but it’s set to be available this December.
Pentax Optio 50L [Letsgodigital]
Peter Jackson’s King Kong MP3 Player November 10, 2005
Hollywood bandwagon ahoy! Toshiba released a special “King Kong” edition of its Gigabeat mp3 player for the Japanese market. (Which explains that invitation Toshiba sent out for a “private viewing of King Kong” to “showcase our promotional partnership” on December 13.) Clutching desperately at straws or a stroke of certified genius? We’ll let the 5 people who actually buy it decide that one.
So what kind of crazy King Kong-style features does it have? Hugely increased storage space? Ability to fold out into a trebuchet and hurl feces across the room? Unfortunately, no. This special edition Gigabeat has been King Kong-ified by:
1) a King Kong engraving on the back
2) it — you might want to sit down for this one — comes in
a King Kong-themed CARDBOARD BOX
3) it comes pre-installed with 5 King Kong wallpapers.
Other than that it’s the same 20GB player as the non-special edition. However, the movie tie-in and the fact that this is also a limited edition (only 1,000 players are up for pre-order on the website) may help turn this thing into quite a hot little item.
Toshiba’s King Kong Gigabeat [Product Page]
LED Cap. Why? November 10, 2005
READ MORE Gadgets
There’s cool and naff and a hazy area in between. It applies to all gadgetry and personal taste counts for a lot here. So, where do you stand on the LED Cap? We recently had the LED belt - Wear Your Words - so we are feeling a theme coming on here. Is this the height of street fashion or bad 1980s flash nonsense? Personally, any sod wearing this baby is just asking to get punched in the mouth, followed swiftly by it being snatched off his head and worn by his attacker who, later in the day, will be stomped on by a bigger shark. And so the cycle continues. The LED is a 17 x 7 dot matrix which can store up to 6 messages with up to 256 characters per message. Light colours include green, red, white, blue, pink and yellow. Pointless, yes. Unless of course you give it to your boss, or comatose drunk friend, and programme it with: “I have a weenie wiener. Would you like to see it?” and “I’ve been a very very naughty boy. Spank me.”
Free Movie Downloads With Cereal November 10, 2005
READ MORE Home Entertainment
I remember being so excited about getting a snap together plastic car inside cereal packets. It was crap and bore only a minimal resemblance to the tricked out photo on the packet - but I was happy. But that was last week and if someone wants me to ingest more cardboard-tasting fibre to keep the Log Express on schedule, then I need something better than plastic. How about a free movie download? OK, I'm listening. General Mills, uber-food brand, which produces Honey Nut Cheerios and Golden Grahams - among others - has done a deal with Movielink in the US. Buy the cereals and get a code worth $5 to download a free flick over broadband. You mean I actually get to choose the movie, unlike the cheapo freebies that come in newspapers? Great. Could this be the future of conning our kids into eating 'somewhat' healthy cereals? It's working for me.
Mario Bros. Get Their Own Speakers November 10, 2005
READ MORE Gadgets
Want a real piece of video game nostalgia to make you soooo happy when listening to video game remixes? Of course you do, and you wan’t it Mario Bros. style. Too bad these special Mario speakers can’t be bought anywhere as far as anyone knows.
They come in 2 different styles: The trademark “question-mark” blocks where mushrooms, fireflowers, and stars pop out of, and the old school “POW” blocks for knocking everyone upside down. They’re beautifully crafted and would make a killing here in the States I’m sure. They’ll hook up to anything with a headphone jack port like an iPod, MP3 Player, or your old 1986 walkman if you’re feeling extremely nostalgic.
Mario Bross Speaker [Akihabara]
Vertu Channels Racecar For Phone November 10, 2005
READ MORE Mobile phones
Now that so many cellphones are being targeted to women, luxury phone company Vertu decided to go back to its roots and make a manly phone. The Motorsport limited edition (only 997 phones available) takes its cues from the company’s participation in the Porsche eMichelin Supercup and Porsche Infineon Carrera Cup Asai. Say that 5 times fast why dontcha? The phone is black and made from liquid metal alloy and oil resistant leather, so it’s pretty tough to mess up. And the sapphire crystal screen could show Apple a thing or two about what it means to be scratch-resistant. It includes the brand’s dedicated concierge service as well as tri-band (GSM 900,1800 and 1900) with Bluetooth and modem support. Oh, and to make sure it’s worth the $5700 price tag, the company claims it actually ran the damn thing over with a racing car. Eat the rich!
Vertu launches “Motorsport Limited edition” [Phoneyworld]
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