Motorola S705 SoundPilot June 23, 2006
READ MORE Mobile phones
This gadget is kind of strange. The S705 SoundPilot connects to your cellphone using bluetooth and lets you listen to music at the same time. When a call comes in, you switch your music off and pick up the call by using the device. It's also got FM radio and 8 hours listening time, 7 hours talk time and 75 hours standby time.
The S705 works with any bluetooth phone or music players that support A2DP. It's also compatible with "Motorola Bluetooth Stereo adapters; PC850 USB for the PC, TEN Technology naviPlay Bluetooth Stereo Adapter for iPod, and DC 800 Bluetooth Gateway for the home stereo system".
Available Q3 2006.
Motorola S705 SoundPilot [Slashphone]
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Motorola W210 June 23, 2006
READ MORE Mobile phones
Motorola's releasing another low-end fashionable phone: the W210. This CDMA phone has FM radio and "Motorola's Lantern feature for illumination at night or in dark environments." It has a 128x128 resolution screen and launches Q4 2006. No how much the price will be.
Motorola W210 [Slashphone]
Maillardet’s Automaton June 23, 2006
READ MORE Robots
Here's the story of one of the most complicated Automatons made at the turn of the century. It was donated to the Franklin Institute in 1928 in really bad condition from a family who had it for many years. The family told the staff that the automaton used to draw pictures, and after fixing it up, they found that it drew four elaborite drawings and wrote three poems. After writing the last poem, the automaton wrote, "Ecrit par L'Automate de Maillardet", telling everyone that it was made by Maillardet!
The Franklin Institute's Automaton has the largest "memory" of any such machine ever constructed--four drawings and three poems (two in French and one in English). Maillardet achieved this by placing the driving machinery in a large chest that forms the base of the machine, rather than in the Automaton's body.
The memory is contained in the "cams," or the brass disks seen below (left). As the cams are turned by the clockwork motor, (below right) three steel fingers follow their irregular edges. The fingers translate the movements of the cams into side to side, front and back, and up and down movements of the doll's writing hand through a complex system of levers and rods that produce the markings on paper.
Absolutely amazing.
Bill Gates Intrigued By Xbox Mod Community June 23, 2006
READ MORE Consoles
Now that he's all set to retire, Billy G is throwing all the old rules out the window. The most current one: the company's disdain for modders and console-backup-players. In an interview with Ars Technica, a MS employee recounts a story about a member of his team who brought his modded Xbox to show Bill Gates.
A little over a year ago, one of the people in my group modded an Xbox, installed Avalaunch, and put all sorts of Xbox mod scene apps on the box, like XBMC, RSS readers, etc, along with some "backup" games. :rolleyes: He brought this box along to a meeting with Bill Gates. Bill saw a demo of this, was quite impressed, and asked something along the lines of "How can we engage this community?" - instead of saying something like "How can we squash this?" It's long been on the back of everyone's minds in the Xbox group - how can we get students and hobbyists involved without disrupting the console business model? The good news is that it's still on the radar, we'll see what happens in the future.
That's quite interesting that there would be legitimacy given to the Xbox mod scene by Gates. Maybe instead of saying how they can engage them, maybe Microsoft should be figuring out how they can learn from them. The XBMC mod for Xbox is light-years ahead of the media playback capabilities of the Xbox 360. If they could somehow catch up even halfway, with DivX playback and media storage, many of these Xbox modders would jump on the 360.
But, it's nice to see that they're paying attention to what's going on and actively trying to make their product better.
Is Bill Gates learning from the mod community? [Ars Technica]
French Lawmakers Approve Softened iTunes Bill June 23, 2006
READ MORE Home Entertainment
Good news for French iPod fans as lawmakers in France approved a softened copyright law that allows a workaround for Apple to keep their iTunes and iPod in the market. The law still tries to make Apple open up their online music service to other MP3 players, but also has a loophole that allows companies like Apple to make a deal with copyright holders—the record companies—to keep the iTunes/iPod bundling intact.
Along with having to get permission from the big 5 record companies, iTunes needs to track down all independent labels and strike deal with them too—something the indies may not be quite willing to do. This could possibly mean that parts of iTunes tracks will be available to non-iPod players in France. Something we'll have to keep an eye on.
French lawmakers approve compromise iTunes bill [Marketwatch]
BlackBerry 7130g First Look June 23, 2006
READ MORE Mobile phones
A blackberrycool reader was at a Roger's launch party and lucky for them (and us), won a 7130g. He took a few pictures and told the world what he thought about the new device.
The first thing you notice when you place the 7130g in your lucky, lucky hands is how junky it makes the 7100 feel. They seem to have shaved about half a centimeter off the length of the device and a few solid millimeters off the width. In every way the 7130g looks smoother, slimmer and generally more aesthetically pleasing than the 7100; they've basically taken the best design elements of the 8700 and the 7100 and thrown them together.
Other thoughts he had was that the the 7130g takes some design cues from the 8700. The square keys makes it a bit easier to hit, even though the space key has been shrunken quite a bit. It was easy for him to transfer his stuff from his 7100 onto the 7130g by making a backup and loading them onto the new phone. The guy really likes the 7130 more than the 7100 and thinks it may make convert some 8700 users that want a more "phoney" phone.
First look at Rogers' BlackBerry 7130g [BlackBerry Cool]
Automatic Hose Reel June 23, 2006
READ MORE Gadgets
What kind of chump would wind their own hoses when you can use Reel Smart hose winder to wind it automatically.. The reel winder uses its own water pressure and a three-piston engine to wrap up the hose in 90 seconds. Sharon Stone loves it, and you know she's an expert in hoses.
Available on Amazon for under $69.
Hydro Industries [via Seihin-World]
Rover TV Portable Media Player June 23, 2006
READ MORE Portable Media
Promising to "change the way we watch TV," Doghouse Electronics has released the RoverTV, a portable multimedia recorder and player that does something the company claims has never been done before: directly record TV without the use of a computer in a pocket-sized player. The RoverTV is available in two configurations, a $300 "Big Screen" model and a $350 "Wide Screen" model. Both are identical save for the screen size, with the "Big Screen" featuring a 3.5" (320 x 240 pixel resolution) screen and the "Wide Screen" featuring a 4" (480 x 272 pixel resolution) screen.
Since the company believes that hard drives are "clunky," RoverTV uses flash and SD cards; 1 and 2-GB SD cards are included in the package. On those cards you can store MP3s, JPEGs, videos from TiVo's TiVoToGo service and the like, making the RoverTV a fairly capable device.
As for the ability to record TV sans a PC, the RoverTV uses the efficient MPEG4 codec to store video. Of course, you can later offload all that recorded content to a PC with a USB 2.0 connection. The battery life is also generous, offering 12 hours of playback when listening to audio and six hours when viewing video. Look for it in online retailers today.
Product Page [Doghouse Electronics via Digital Trends]
FAA Says Not So Fast To LA Sheriffs’ Drones June 23, 2006
READ MORE Gadgets
Remember those unmanned drones the LA Sheriffs were going to fly? The FAA is pooping all over this party and in turn, making the Sheriffs "peeved" as hell.
The FAA wants to investigate the demonstration the sheriff's dept. conducted last week to make sure everything's on the up and up, hopefully clearing these drones to peep on you and your sexy wife along with "looking for lost hikers and children".
"A private citizen can go to the store and buy one of those model airplanes and fly them around. But because we're doing it as a public service, we have to deal with the FAA?" said Sheriff's Cmdr. Sid Heal.
Yes.
FAA Grounds L.A. Sheriff's Drone Plans [Chron - Thanks Mathis!]
White Sony Ericsson w810i Officially Announced June 23, 2006
READ MORE Mobile phones
Following up the success of the white W900, Sony Ericsson is making their w810i also available in "#FFFFFF" by July/August. Of course, the white will cost more than the current black, since, you know, white paint costs more?
The cellphone will have the same specs and come with a grey headset and memory card. Quick refresher on the w810i specs: EDGE, 2 megapixel camera, quad-band, USB 2.0, Memory Stick Pro Duo of up to 2GB, and 22MB internal memory.
Sony Ericsson W810i White Edition officially announced [New Mobile via Slashphone]
Lumen Lamp: Decorate With Shadows June 23, 2006
READ MORE Gadgets
Lumen is an oil lamp made of stainless steel that uses an object that lighting designers call a cookie (cuculoris), a pattern which blocks light, to cast a shadow on the wall behind it.
Brooklyn artist Adam Frank designed the oil lamp which uses clean-burning 17-hour fuel cells (we're thinking this might be a gel fuel similar to Sterno), and it's available with either the tree pattern you see here, a nest, or a flock of birds. Just 5.75 inches tall, it's $48.
Product page [Elsewares, via SciFi Tech]
Extreme Hamocking June 23, 2006
READ MORE Gadgets
It's Friday. That means it's time to undo the tie and let loose a little bit. But this weekend let's do something slightly different: let's go hammocking—extreme hammocking. A Web site that's sure to become a cult favorite, extremehammock features a man in a snappy hat hammocking on location in various extreme locales, such as in a construction area, from tall precipices, over train tracks and under a bridge, just like a troll.
Perhaps while you're extreme hammocking this weekend, you could use the time to try out a couple of extreme gadgets, such as a carbon fiber toilet and, um, an extreme ice cream maker. Bring on the weekend!
Home Page [Extreme Hammock]
Lexon On-Off Hands On June 23, 2006
READ MORE Gadgets
Just got an On-Off alarm clock in from GreenerGrassDesign. It was supposed to be for a bit on Canadian TV, but the punks pulled the slot at the last minute and left me hanging. Anyway, Canada sucks.
That said, the On-Off clock doesn't suck. It's actually quite smaller than it looks in the images but it's very readable and very elegant. You set the time, set the alarm, and then flip it back and form forth to turn it on and off. Alarm goes off, you tilt it back, and rock and roll. Not quite portable, but it would make a nice conversation piece next to your lonely, lonely bed. About $36.50.
Product Page [GreenerGrassDesign]
Nacho Liebre iPod Skins June 23, 2006
READ MORE PC
What's a better way to show the world that you love horrible Jack Black movies than to plaster it all over you cherished iPod. Okay, at first glimpse it wont look like a Nacho Libre themed skin, rather it will just look like a horrible skin with a very stupid design. No offense Jack Black, but you should just stick to the Tenacious D. These are made by iSkin and use the same silicon casing that iSkin has been made famous for. The iPod video version retails for $40 and the iPod nano version retails for $35. No big deal, you already spent $10 seeing this horrendous movie at the theatres, what is $40 more?
Product Page [Via Ubergizmo]
Friendtech iDea Wireless Home Dock and Wireless Hi-Fi Headset Hands On June 23, 2006
READ MORE Home Entertainment
This iDea Wireless Home dock is pretty much an iPod dock that can support PSPs, any MP3 player and mobile phones (using the cellphone adapter).
The iPod portion of the dock works just like a standard iPod dock&mdash you plug in your iPod, plug the dock AC adapter into the wall and USB 2.0 cable into your computer and blammo, just like the official universal dock. The neat part comes when you use the RCA and S-Video cables to connect this to your TV.
Nokia 770++: Webcam and WiMax June 23, 2006
READ MORE PDA
In my humble opinion, I think the 770 is one of the best portable devices in all the land. It does what its supposed to do and it actually does it better than even UMPCs and tablets. That said, they're improving it slightly in the next iteration by potentially adding a webcam and WiMax. What won't it have? A SIM-card slot. The 770 is supposed to sit somewhere between a PC and a cellphone, so they don't really think the 770 will have cellular connectivity any time soon.
While the cell phone maker is taking a never-say-never stance on the issue of cellular connectivity, it maintains that there are no tablet devices that can connect to mobile networks in the pipeline.
http://news.com.com/2100-1044_3-6086747.html?part=rss [CNET]
Samsung SGH-E500 Photo Swirl June 23, 2006
READ MORE Mobile phones
This artsy little phone showed up back in May, but the only images available seems to focus more on the very attractive model holding the phone rather than the phone itself. Well we here at Gizmodo won't stand for sexy models distracting from the gadgets, so we present you with better images of the Samsung SGH-E500 phone. Supposedly the design was inspired by the famous Botticelli masterpiece "The Birth of Venus."
For a refresher the SGH-E500 is a clamshell phone that has a large 1-inch outside OLED display that actually doubles as a mirror—you know, for applying your lipstick, guys. It also has a 1.76-inch internal LCD, 1.3-megapixel camera, 80MB of internal memory, Bluetooth support and a music player. Hit the linkage for the full photo swirl, no girls allowed!
Samsung SGH-E500 Live Shots [Techeblog]
SageTV Wireless Media Extender June 23, 2006
READ MORE Home Entertainment
Users of SageTV, the DVR software for Windows and Linux, can now wirelessly share their media, including live and recorded TV, in the house thanks to the Wireless Media Extender. (There's also a wired option, but who cares about that?) The extender streams the media over any standard 802.11b/g Wi-Fi network. Once connected to the desired TV, the media extender taps into the SageTV server where all the content is stored and multimedia bliss ensues.
All the popular digital media formats are supported, including MPEG 1/2/4, Divx and Xvid. It's available now for $159.95.
Product Page [SageTV via Zatz Not Funny]
Live from Chicago: The Nokia Store June 23, 2006
READ MORE Mobile phones
Reader Nick informs us that class warfare was rampant at the Nokia Store in Chicago. However, like the Samsung "store" here in New York, we're pretty sure this designed to be uber-swanky and actually pretty cool when they let people in.
They had an uber-swanky party that I wasn't allowed into last night filled with douchebags in sportcoats and hawt women who looked like they used the Motorola RAZR. Between that and the local media, I was able to piece together that they will have a Vertu store inside of the Nokia store, just so, you know - if you wanted to drop 20 large on a phone after shopping at The Gap next door, you can.
Chicago to Open Nokia Store [Gizmodo]
Petito USB Flash Drive Shipping June 23, 2006
READ MORE Storage
So the Petito micro USB flash drive has been lingering around for a while now, including an appearance at CEbit, but we are happy to say that it is finally available for purchase. This miniature flash drive is available in sizes up to 1GB in size. The Petito is available in 4 colors including gold, silver, blue and a dark gray. It might be a good product for insecure ladies who are ashamed to carry around a USB flash drive. Don't worry ladies, I think carrying around a flash drive is pretty sexy, especially a Petito.
Product Page [Via Akihabara]
Drop the Kids Off at the Pool, in Style, with the Carbon Fiber Toilet June 23, 2006
READ MORE Gadgets
And by pool we mean absolutely beautifully crafted carbon fiber toilet. This toilet would look perfect in an contemporary bathroom. It would also look pretty good as the shift knob in a tricked out Honda Civic. You kids love that carbon fiber look. So carbon fiber is generally synonymous with high-quality auto parts, so does that make this toilet high-quality? Quite possibly. All I know is that this toilet will let you take the Browns to the Superbowl, in style.
Product Page [Via Coolest-Gadget]
The nice folks at Friendtech June 23, 2006
The nice folks at Friendtech sent over a few things for us to review. We’ll get to the other later, but first up are the iDea Cellphone Adapters.
These adapters are for the later model Motorolas, Nokias and Sony Ericssons. You have to pick up the one specific to your phone, since none are inter-operable, so if you ever change phone manufacturers, say from Nokia to Motorola, you’ll have to pony up for another set. You’ll probably want to though, since the kit doesn’t just come with one adapter, it comes with four adapters that makes this your phone pluggable into pretty much any audio device you have in the house.
Find out what we think after the jump.
Give ‘em The High-Tech Finger with Driv-e-mocion June 23, 2006
READ MORE Gadgets
Sticking your arm outside the window to give the bird can be too much effort sometimes. Driv-e-mocion is the perfect device for the ultimate lazy aggressive driver. It is a small electronic display that can attach to the back window and allow any kind of message include smilie faces, frownie faces, kind words and even some four-letter words to be displayed. Given, the four letter words may anger the person behind you even more, it is still cool to put them in their place, geekily. $20 for an increased chance of being ran off the road, worth it to me.
Product Page [Via Sci-Fi]
American Ingenuity MiniBeam Flashlight June 23, 2006
READ MORE Gadgets
The MiniBeam is an LED flashlight that has a lightweight and pocket-sized compact design yet can be seen a mile away. The company says it will run for 36 hours on a set of batteries, and fishermen will like the fact that it's buoyant enough to float. It's available in silver, metallic blue, purple, wood grain or camouflage as you see pictured here.
Its manufacturer, American Ingenuity, also plans to offer a variety of accessories for the MiniBeam, including a special mini tripod, a hands-free arm light holder, as well as a reading light bracket. You can also get the MiniBeam with a red LED for night reading or a green LED to enhance peripheral nightvision. It will be available soon for $8, with the green or red LED units priced at $10. Small, cheap, and bright? Sounds good to me.
MiniBeam Product Page [American Ingenuity]
Nexxion Curve, Combination TV+DVD Player June 23, 2006
READ MORE Home Entertainment
The Nexxion Curve will no doubt draw comparisons to Apple's old iMac, given the striking resemblance. The Curve isn't a computer, though, but merely a TV that features an integrated DVD player. The 15" LCD has an decent contrast ratio of 500:1, but with combination players like this, style may take precedence over substance, as further indicated by the somewhat slow 12ms response time.
As with most DVD players, the Curve will also be able to play discs loaded with MP3s. While it probably won't output enough sound to make George Lucas happy, it may be acceptable for people in small apartments or kids in dorm rooms. It comes in the five colors seen here, but pricing and availability information are MIA.
Product Page (in Japanese) [Nexxion via Akihabara News]
It’s Official: HDMI 1.3 Finalized June 23, 2006
READ MORE Home Entertainment
We mentioned last week that Deep Color capabilities would be added to the next version of HDMI, and today the HDMI 1.3 upgrade was finalized and published by the seven companies behind it. This was the final step in the implementation of the updated standard, announced in January by the founders of HDMI: Sony, Matsushita Panasonic, Hitachi, Philips, Silicon Image, Thomson and Toshiba.
Enabling that Deep Color capability is an increased data transfer rate from the current 4.95Gbps to 10.2Gbps. Another improvement is called "lip sync support," which automatically synchronizes video and audio tracks. The new spec also rolls out a smaller version of the HDMI connector that can be used with digital cameras, camcorders and mobile devices.
Along with that announcement, Sony added that it would implement the HDMI 1.3 technology into its upcoming PlayStation 3 gaming console. Could this finalization of the spec have something to do with the latest delay of Sony's Blu-ray disc player?
HDMI 1.3 upgrade finalised, published [Reg Hardware]
Mercedes Introduces Integrated Bluetooth Telephone Module June 23, 2006
READ MORE Mobile phones
Mercedes has announced an accessory that will accompany some of their vehicles and allow for a very convenient way to make calls from the car, hands and wire free. The device sits in the center console and will interact will your cell phone and all parts of the car. The system links up with a cellphone over Bluetooth when the phone is within range and the system will download all information from the SIM card and internal memory. Almost all functions of the cellphone can be controlled using the integrated controls on the steering wheel and central display. It also works with the audio system in the car. It will begin being rolled out in Europe, but the module should be hitting the states in the future. Thanks, Ashley
Mercedes Introduces Telephone Module with Bluetooth [eMercedesBenz]
Samsung SDP-07 Digital Picture Frame June 23, 2006
READ MORE Portable Media
Samsung's SDP-07 digital picture frame has a 7-inch 800x400 display and plays back audio and video as well as still pictures. It offers a variety of ways to feed media into it, such as an Ethernet connection, slots to accommodate your choice of SD or CF memory cards, and also a USB port. The company also says you can transmit images and video files from a mobile phone into the frame, which is offered in your choice of black or white.
Too bad there's not a WiFi connection going into the frame such as the one offered with the eStarling picture frame we mentioned back in January. That frame promised the ability to link with online photo hosting service Flickr, updating pictures as you add them to the Flickr account. However, we noticed that the eStarling currently can't be bought anywhere for any price right now. Not sure why that's happening, because it seemed like a good product.
As far as availability for this Samsung SDP-07, it's said to be currently only offered in Korea, selling for $310. No word on US availability yet.
Samsung SDP-07 Photo frame with Audio / Video playback [Newlaunches]
Sony Blu-ray Player Delayed Yet Again June 23, 2006
READ MORE Home Entertainment
Here we go again, where Sony delays its Blu-ray player once more. We told you about how Sony's $995 BDP-S1 had been rescheduled for an August 15 launch, and now the company has gone and postponed the launch of that Blu-ray player again, this time until October 25.
Our pale-faced yet lovable cohorts at Kotaku astutely wonder about the strategy of releasing this Blu-ray player just weeks before the release of Sony's cheaper Blu-ray-packing PlayStation 3 gaming console, which will sell for between $500 and $600. Could the BDP-S1 be a shill, set up like a stooge to make the PS3 look like a tremendous bargain? – Charlie White
Sony's First Blu-Ray Player Slips Again [Kotaku]
Mustek P100D Portable TV June 23, 2006
READ MORE Portable Media
Never miss an episode of Things People Will Do For Money again with the Mustek P100D portable TV. This German-engineered TV comes with a DVB-T tuner, letting users in countries with such broadcasts tune in on-the-go. What's most impressive is the TV 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio, making the PT100D ideal for sports events.
Perhaps you're at the stadium but have crummy seats. Just whip this out and watch the telecast on the 7" active matrix LCD. There's a car adapter included in the package, too, so you can quiet your noisy kids whilst on the road.
The PT100D has a few other things going for it, including the fact that the built-in speakers are actually stereo, a welcome move from the usual cost-cutting mono often seen in portable TVs. You can find it online for around $185.
Product Page [Mustek via Shiny Shiny]
Laptops, Internet for the Homeless June 23, 2006
READ MORE Laptops
Hobos need sick fetish porn too, right? Damn straight they do and they are getting it in Fillmore, Calif. According to a report from Wired News more homeless people have e-mail addresses nowadays rather than post office boxes. With the Internet and Wi-Fi access becoming so prominent Internet access is providing a gleam of hope for homeless people all across the globe. It is allowing for business opportunities and social networking to happen easier. For those unfamiliar with the underground, urban lifestyle this is definitely a good read. It provides quite a bit of insight how these people are still managing to stay connected and even blogging.
Image courtesy of harborareafarmersmarkets.org.
Laptops Give Hope to the Homeless
Ricky Gervais Beats Podcast World Record June 23, 2006
READ MORE Digital Audio , Mobile phones , Online , PDA , Portable Media
Funny man Ricky Gervais is claiming to have beaten his own Podcast World record. Actually, if the figures are to be believed he’s not just beaten it, but hammered it to death.
The World’s Simplest Mobile Phone June 23, 2006
READ MORE Gadgets , Mobile phones , Peripherals , Smartphones
Texters go home. In fact, avert your eyes now in fear of having a coronary.
The National Institute of Design in India has created what has to be the world’s most basic mobile phone with a grand total of - wait for it - five buttons. If you’re not already hyper-ventilating, jump now.
The Top 50 Worst Game Names Ever June 23, 2006
READ MORE Consoles , Gadgets , Games , Home Entertainment , PC , Software
Naming a game is often as important as the game itself, if it’s going to attract potential customers. I mean, after years of strolling around games stores I’ve found a good name will always make me pause for a second look: Warcraft, Command & Conquer, Doom, Final Fantasy, Strip Poker etc. But how about Um Jammer Lammy or World Soccer Winning Eleven 5: Final Evolution? Check out some the 50 Worst Game Names ever after the jump.
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