Human-Sized 1/12 Scale Gundam RX-78-2: Giant Toy Robot, Not Yet Big Enough to Pilot August 4, 2006
READ MORE Gadgets
Twisted sister-site Kotaku reports on this 5-foot tall fully articulating Gumdam sex doll for the missus action figure. Designed for "men in their 20's to 40's" it costs $3000, weighs 77 pounds, includes a ginormous black gun, 14 moving parts, and an infrared remote.
1/12 Scale Gundam RX-78-2 [ Insert Credit via Kotaku ]
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Xbox 360 PGR Bundle Confirmed - Preorders Available August 4, 2006
READ MORE Games
It looks like the Canadian tipsters that confirmed to us the new Xbox 360 SKU with PGR3 were right on the money. Future Shop has the new bundle up on their website for $499 CND ($443), which is the same price as their regular Xbox 360 Premiums without the PGR3 and Xbox Live.
Their release date says August 9th for now, but may change depending on availability. We're pretty sure the US will get this bundle as well, but it's just a matter of when and how many Canadians we need to kidnap.
Xbox 360 PGR Bundle Product Page [Future Shop]
Fire + Water = Hearthfall August 4, 2006
READ MORE Gadgets
Here's a combination of the soothing effects of a waterfall with the tranquil cracklings of a fire: the Hearthfall. Think of it as a fa
ade for your fireplace, giving that focus of your living room's attention something to do during the summer. What's that? The TV is the focus of your living room? You have our sympathy.
There's a variety of styles crafted of your choice of a variety of woods and stone, and each has a back panel that can be removed to view a fire in the fireplace behind it. There's such a variety of styles, you must configure your choices just like you would a PC, and these things aren't cheap, either. Some of the marble units cost well over $2000. But stare at one of these instead of the TV for a while, it'll do you some good.
Product Page [Hearthfalls, via Coolest Gadgets]
Touchscreen iPod Due This November Says Our Secret Source August 4, 2006
READ MORE Portable Media
Apple's upcoming iPod will make its debut this November and will definitely feature a touchscreen, Gizmodo has learned. Let's just say that we have a couple of people fairly high up the Apple food chain who have made it known that the iPod's touchscreen is truly the bee's knees. Apple is also apparently working its tail off to make sure that the planned November launch of the new iPod will still happen.
Our super secret sources didn't reveal any information regarding the iPod's rumored wireless capabilities, however.
Oh, and those pictures? Those were supplied by a fine reader of ours, Samuel Mularczyk. Supposedly, they were found on Apple's Web site. Granted, they pictures do read "iPhone," but no one ever said that the iPod and iPhone won't be one in the same, right? (But yes, it could just be another silly mock up.)
Apple Home Page [Apple]
T-Mobile Secretly Testing T-Mobile-At-Home August 4, 2006
READ MORE Mobile phones
It looks like T-Mobile is getting their product testing company Centercode ready to start tests on their upcoming T-Mobile-At-Home (TAH) service. From what we hear, TAH is a wireless router-type device that broadcasts GSM and does VoIP through your broadband connection.
What this means exactly, we're not sure. But the GSM broadcasting could mean you're getting a stronger signal at home—like from a GSM repeater—and the VoIP is VoIP through the T-Mobile system. Most likely a flat rate for $X a month, or using up your minutes. All conjecture at this point until we receive more details after they roll out the test on August 11th.
They're only signing up customers over email and having them reply via email. People who call up customer service or go to T-Mobile stores cannot sign up. Read the PDF for more details.
T-Mobile At Home Customer Pilot Recruiting PDF
PolarIP Atomic Cordless Skype Phone For Mac August 4, 2006
READ MORE Peripherals
This PolarIP Atomic Skype phone is the first cordless Skype phone designed to work with both Macs and PCs. This isn't like the Standalone Skype WiFi phones that don't require a computer to operate. The Atomic plugs into your Mac via the base station and communicates with the cordless handset wirelessly.
The handset has an LCD for displaying your Skype contacts and numbers, uses the 2.4GHz band and has speakerphone for hands-free chat-chat. It's available for
49.99 ($92) on the Skypestyle site. PolarIP also released Mac drivers for their two cheaper handsets, the PowerME and the EZY, which are
29.99 ($54) and ($35) respectively.
PolarIP Atomic Product Page SkypeStyle>
PowerMe Product Page [Skypestyle]
EZY Product Page [Skype Style]
Techno-Box o' Fun: Satellite Suitcase August 4, 2006
READ MORE Portable Media
Yes, you can take it with you with the Satellite Suitcase, a complete satellite signal receiving kit including a 39cm (15-inch) dish, an LNB (Low-noise Block Converter), an SCART (21-pin connector for connecting audio-visual equipment together) cable, various mounts and most importantly, a satellite locator to help you pinpoint those sometimes-illusive extraterrestrial birdies. Figure out how to tune in HBO and you'll be the hit of the terrorist camp.
There's even a remote control for the dual voltage satellite receiver included, and the most remarkable part of it is its price,
79.99 or about $150. Heck, it wasn't that long ago when it would cost you $150,000 to have this capability.
Product Page [Maplin Electronics, via Red Ferret]
Eye-Catching MHP-A1 Onkyo Wireless Headphones August 4, 2006
READ MORE Peripherals
Onkyo is just a few weeks away from launching the MHP-A1, a pair of wireless headphones that are actually pleasing to the eye. Operating on the 2.4-GHz part of the spectrum, the headphones have a range of up to 30 m, enough to waltz around the living room while you yell at your Skype buddies. The transmitter has a number of inputs to ensure that the headphones don't live their life performing with the same equipment over and over again, including optical digital and plain Jane RCA. The over-the-ear headphones ("cans") are due to hit Japanese shores on September 22 for around $220.
Product Page (in Japanese) [Onkyo via Digital World Tokyo]
Tymphany LAT Subwoofer: Stacked Drivers Make More Boom August 4, 2006
READ MORE Home Entertainment
Tymphany LAT, featured in a looong piece at Wired.com, is supposed to be a subwoofer that takes up much less size than others. If you read the website, which refers to speakers as "audio transducers", your head will fill up with jargon and spill out of your nose. Read:
The Tymphany LAT displaces air using a linear array of multiple smaller diaphragms...the Tymphany LAT has been designed with opposing end motors that cancel out structural vibration.
Here, I speak nonsense fluently, let me translate: The LAT uses a number of small speakers to create the same punch as a bigger subwoofer. The Tymphany makes minimal vibrations, as the speakers are stacked, and the driving force for one speaker cancels out shake from it's neighboring speaker.
Cool. Available in the Tymphany LAT 500, which is as powerful as twin 10-inch subs in 5-inch wide case, and the LAT 700 that is the equivalent of two 12-inch subs in a 7-inch case.
Typhany LAT [ via Wired.com ]
MOTOFONE F3 Hands-On: Sexy, Cheap August 4, 2006
READ MORE Mobile phones
Last night Motorola had quite an event. Our own Nicholas Deleon was live on the scene for the event and you can check out his first look of the RIZR here. After that, check out MobileBurn's first look of the MOTOFONE F3 from the Motorola event last night. The F3 is the affordable handset in Motorola's line of ultra-thin cellphones.
The spec sheet may be weak, but don't rule out this phone yet. At only .35 inches thick this phone definitely stands out for a lower end phone. It also uses a monochromatic EPD "Clear Vision" display that has a retro-feel to it. At $50 without any kind of carrier ball-busting contracts this will definitely be one of the more popular low-end cellphones.
Hands On with Motorola's SCPL Based MOTOFONE F3 [MobileBurn]
Robotic Perception Kit: Be a Robot, Fo' Real August 4, 2006
READ MORE Robots
Now you can do the real robot. None of the 1990s male caucasion robot dance crap, this helmet and goggles allows users to experience the world as a robot would. This oddly designed head gear is the work of Paul Granjon.
Final kit: the helmets are fitted with one ultra-sound sensor and an infra-red beacon, which are connected to LEDs in the goggles which are otherwise blind. The ultra-sound sensor provides information about the presence of obstacles ahead, while the IR beacon indicates if another robotic perception unit is present in the close environment.
This is kind of an interesting idea. It doesn't seem to serve any kind of practical purpose, but it would allow the user to get freaky with some true robot cosplay. Oh yeah, dirty robot sex.
Robotic perception kit [WMMNA]
Motorizr Hands On, First Impressions August 4, 2006
READ MORE Mobile phones
The recently announced Motorizr ("RIZR" rhymes with Pfizer, the pharmaceutical company) made the rounds in New York yesterday and I was able to spend some time with the new kid on the block. Basically, if you're already a RAZR fan, you'll probably like the RIZR. If you're one of those people who can't stand the RAZR (either for its aesthetics, form/function or the "oh look, I have a RAZR—I'm cool!!1" mentality), the RIZR probably won't change your mind.
To me, it seemed like the RIZR was actually thicker than its RAZR cousin when it's closed. Since it's a slider, this is probably to be expected. The keypad is similar, if not identical, to the RAZR's, but, again, the smaller size of the RIZR means that everything, keypad buttons included, feels a little more cramped. The buttons push just as well as they do in the RAZR, so Motorola fans should feel right at home. The two-megapixel camera works as advertised (it takes pictures!), so no surprises there. Jump for a few more pics.
HD DVD and Blu-ray Compared Using Identical Source Material August 4, 2006
READ MORE Home Entertainment
Until earlier this week, there was no way to directly compare a Blu-ray disk to its competitor on HD DVD using identical source material. But then Warner Home Video released Training Day, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Rumor Has It... on Blu-ray, making them the first movies available on both formats, allowing a direct comparison of the quality of each. Surprisingly, there were noticeable differences.
Details after the jump.
[Graphic courtesy Sci Fi Tech]
Antrax Drop Fireplace: Hot Italian Design August 4, 2006
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This five-foot-wide fireplace from Antrax, called "Drop," is made out of varnished steel cut with a laser. It hangs from the ceiling with three open sides, and its designer, architect Massimo Iosa Ghini, describes it as a "mouth receiving fire."
Looks like an aesthetically pleasing example of the avant-garde movement in Italian design. Wonder if it's available in a natural gas model. There's no indication of price or availability of the fireplace, but we're thinking if you want one of these in your house, you're going to have to Drop a few bucks.
Product Page [Antrax, via Trendir]
The Mouse BT II: Like a Mighty Mouse, But Less Sucky August 4, 2006
READ MORE Peripherals
MacMice has announced The Mouse BT II, set to ship August 9. The company tried to improve upon Apple's pathetic Bluetooth Mighty Mouse, whose scrolling device is smaller than a nipple on a Chihuahua, with its MicroScroll wheel. Come to think of it, improving upon the Mighty Mouse's miniature trackball was an easy thing to do.
Even though MacMice has designed this latest Bluetooth pointing device from scratch, it somehow, like all of its other products, looks to us like a butt crack. We also can't help but notice the way the mouse appears to be humping its charger.
Anyway, the company says the Mouse BT II's small scrolling wheel, which works with both Macs and PCs, is highly precise, and gives you a "silky smooth feel." Cop your silky smooth feel for $70.
The Mouse BT II Product Page [MacMice]
PlayStation 4 To Be Neutered, Rendered Disc-Less August 4, 2006
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The PlayStation 3 isn't out yet, but that doesn't stop Sony's Phil Harrison from making wild speculations about the capability of Playstation 4. According to him, the PS4 won't support physical discs. At all. He opines:
I'd be amazed if the PlayStation 4 has a physical disc drive.
So you mean in 5-10 years, our home's series of tubes/big trucks/broadband connections will be fat enough to download a 50GB game in a decent amount of time? We sure hope so.
But wait, Phil! You mean those precious Blu-ray discs that your company's humping so hard is going to be gone by the time PS4 is out? Oh wait, Kotaku's Ashcraft already beat me to that joke/conclusion. Damn you Ash! Damn you and your 16-hour head start.
The Infinite Arcade [Wired via Kotaku]
PC World's Secret HDTV Test Lab (AKA Nerd Cave) August 4, 2006
READ MORE Home Entertainment
Not many people know this, but PC World does one hell of a job testing out TVs. According to my inside sources, they've a entire HDTV facility dedicated to LCD, Plasma, and CRT molesting. This week, editor Laura Blackwell spilled the beans on how they put the sets through the wringer to "evaluate technology products in a real-world setting, with applications that an average user is apt to use day in and day out." Like:
We use a color analyzer to choose the preset color temperature setting that most closely matches the recommended setting of 6500K.
What, you don't have a color analyzer? Silly Eggheads — OMG, no one has a color analyzer at home! Likewise, Archnemesis PC Magazine at Ziff Davis has their own HDTV testing lab. So, who has the bigger test bench?
How We Test HDTVs [ PC World ]
PURE Launches Elan RV40 DAB Radio August 4, 2006
READ MORE Digital Audio , Gadgets , Home Entertainment , Portable Media , Wireless
DAB masters Pure Digital are at it again with another addition to its line-up of digital/FM radios.
Trading retro for more sci-fi, the Elan RV40 comes with the really smart ReVu feature that lets you pause live radio and rewind so that you can double check to see if Howard Stern really asked his guest to stick that overlarge vegetable where you thought he did. Normal people will obviously find it useful for catching all of a song or the news. Up to 30 minutes of radio can be rewound. Stylistically, it's nothing new from previous Elans but that's not necessarily bad.
It comes with textSCAN for pausing and scrolling DAB text, which is very handy for those Web addresses and overpriced competition hotlines. Typical features include 20 presets, clock with kitchen and sleep timers, alarm, USB for upgrades and RDS support. The battery will give you 15 hours and it can be yours for a penny under £90. More.
technology news music radio DAB gadgets
UK Scientists Invent Moody Art August 4, 2006
READ MORE Home Entertainment , Laptops , Online , PC , Software
They say art can influence your mood but now you can have art that changes with your moods. Scientists from the UK and US, working at the fringe of usefulness, have come up with a digital painting that recognises your mood and changes accordingly.
The artwork picks up your facial gurning and the artwork changes accordingly. Shiny happy people get lighter colours smoothly dabbed while Mr. Angry gets darker colours smeared with more violent brush strokes. The painting comes with a Webcam on top and changes in real-time according to the various tics, eyebrow raises and lips curls you go through while looking at the painting. For once, it really is the painting and not the drugs. Dr John Collomosse of the University of Bath, said:
“The program analyses the image of eight facial expressions, such as the position and shape of the mouth, the openness of the eyes, and the angle of the brows, to work out the emotional state of the viewer. It does all of this in real time, meaning that as the viewer's emotions change the artwork responds accordingly.”
It’s bad enough when the sunshine of my life constantly remarks about me being in a foul humour without the goddamn artwork taking her side. Even if she is right. I’ll be sticking with old fashioned, non-interactive art on this one. Via Reuters
news art technology geek science
Motorola Q Heading to Sprint Nextel Q4 2006 August 4, 2006
READ MORE Mobile phones , PDA
Good news to all you poor bastards who are tied to Sprint Nextel because that's the service that some schmuck at work—who's long gone by the way—decided the company should use. Sprint Nextel's CEO Len Lauer said that they're going to get the Motorola Q come Q4 2006. Their poor financial results discussed at during today's conference call were seen by some analysts as caused by not carrying the popular Motorola phones like the RAZR or SLVR.
Check out all our previous Q coverage to see what's in store for you and whether you want to switch phones.
Sprint Nextel to add Moto's Q and Slvr to lineup [Chicago Business via Q Users]
Golden NES Zelda Mod August 4, 2006
READ MORE Gadgets , Games , Peripherals
With the Nintendo Wii coming out any month now, we at Giz have got the fever. And the only cure is more Zelda. But until Twilight Princess hits the shelves, we'll have to make do with this neat golden NES Zelda mod.
The modder carved the triforce into an old NES console which was painted gold along with the NES controller. The transparent triforce lets us see into the guts of the NES—namely, the metal contacts that got dirtied after use, causing us to blow like wild animals onto our carts.
NES Zelda Edition [Kotomi via Kotaku]
Sharp BroadbandFax August 4, 2006
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This Sharp BroadbandFax isn't as cool as I thought it would be on first look. Sure, it plugs into your phone line and your ethernet cable to receiver faxes directly into email. And sure, you can use it to "fax" something to someone who doesn't have a landline or fax-machine by faxing directly to their email. But it doesn't enable you to receive faxes from the internet without a land-line from people with regular fax machines.
You could achieve a similar result with a regular scanner and an account on efax.com, but this makes the process easier for those who aren't as computer savvy and quick with email. Available later in August for £100.
Press Release [Sharp USA via SCI FI Tech]
Egge MP3 Players - Guess What It Looks Like August 4, 2006
READ MORE Digital Audio , Portable Media
No points if you guessed "iPod", and only half-credit if you said "testicles". The Egge music player has an 1-inch OLED display and houses up to 1GB of tasty music goodness. Not only does it play back MP3s, the Egge player has FM radio support and plays back WMV and AVI files! We're not sure if anyone would want to watch the Indiana Jones trilogy on an egg, but it's nice to have the option.
The display also flips upside-down at the press of a button so you can still see what song is playing when it's hanging from your neck. No pricing yet, but we're sure it will be eggs-celent when it's released in October. We're eggs-tatic.
Product Page [Playengine via Shiny Shiny]
Kodak EasyShare C875 With 8-megapixel Sensor and 5x Zoom August 4, 2006
READ MORE Digital cameras
The as-of-yet unannounced Kodak C875 8 megapixel camera is up on Argos UK's website for preorder. In addition to the 8 megapixel censor, there's 5x optical zoom, 1GB of SD memory support, video out, 2.5-inch LCD, and PictBridge compatibility.
The C875 is the highest of Kodak's C point-and-shoot series in terms of megapixels. Its 5x zoom is fairly decent as well for a compact-body camera. No official announcement from Kodak yet, but it's £250 from Argos.
Product Page [Argos via Digicam Review]
Kodak EasyShare C875 [Fotocentraal]
Apple Powerbooks Eksploderer Too August 4, 2006
READ MORE Laptops
It looks like Dells aren't the only laptops on the block to catch fire. Employees in Kristiansand "got an unpleasant surprise when the battery In their 12" Powerbook G4 laptop suddenly caught fire yesterday."
The fire originated from the battery, and then "fell out, even though it was locked." He pushed the laptop into a metal trash can to contain it, but that's when things got interesting.
I would compare this to the type of fire you saw in Kuwait during the first Gulf war, Skrede tells. - This type of laptop uses lithium-ion batteries, and they create their own oxygen when they burn. So you can't stop the fire by choking it, halon doesn't work either. Putting out the fire with water is not to be recommended, as poisonous gases develop, and water dissipates it faster.
Full translation of the article after the jump.
Mac tok fyr p
skrivebordet
CorTemp Ingestible Temperature Monitor August 4, 2006
READ MORE Gadgets
Designed for athletes to monitor their internal body temperature, the CorTemp consists of a small pill that you gulp down with some water, and a handheld device that thankfully stays external. The CorTemp data recorder picks up the wireless signal from the pill and keeps track of 99 different sensors simultaneously and stores data for downloading onto your PC to analyze later.
The pill consists of sophisticated instruments and a battery, which probably makes it not so cheap to make. However, we'll be willing to trade a few more bucks to ensure that these pills aren't reusable—Even if CorTemp says it's "designed for human use only."
Product Page [HQ Inc via SCI FI Tech]
More iPhone Fakes August 4, 2006
READ MORE Mobile phones
Sssh. Promise you'll keep this a secret, okay? We just got tipped from an inside source that this is what the iPhone will look like! Really, we're serious. Keep this between us.
I won't check this email again. Do not ask me how I got this, as I could get into big trouble. I will give you more as time permits. I have 2 more iphone pics, and some leopard info on handout that will be given to conference attendees. You can post this up now though - I will give you other info when I can dafely do so.
Really, let's not get Jason Bourne, super spy, in "big trouble". C'mon, you promised!
The other comes from Slashgear and is a bit less "top secret". It combines the touchscreen patent we saw from Apple earlier this year with an equally un-Apple-like design. Check the jump for pics.
iPhone Concept Design [Slashgear]
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