If Snoop Dogg made an iPod accessory, this would be it. This is the Zoundz from Zizzle – I kid you not.
Put some jizzle in your frizzle with the shizzle from your drizzle, and what you end up, with up is this barking mad contraption. At its most basic it’s a music maker where the six pieces all emit different sounds and riffs. Move them around the baseboard and they create different sounds. It can record your voice too and if that’s not enough, just hook up your MP3 player and get really freaky as it turns into a light-emitting speaker.
“You can even bend and blend sounds and adjust volume, tempo, echo and reverb via touch-sensitive buttons on the amorphous base unit. It's a mind-blowing multi-sensory symphonic experience that you control. No musical training required!”
Did I mention that you can use it as alarm clock too. This musical smorgasbord can be yours for £30.-Martin Lynch
PMP? Mini console? MP3 player? Call it what you like, the Gemei X-900 is a neat little bag of tricks. Essentially it’s a 1GB portable video/music player that comes with a separate ‘joypad’, sporting dual-analog sticks. Why? Because the X-900 supports old 8-bit and 16-bit games from Nintendo and the Sega Megadrive.
The player itself has a 4.3in display with a resolution of 480 x 272 pixels. It supports video and audio playback, has an FM tuner, in-built digital camera and supports photo viewing. There is also support for FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) that allows you compress CD audio without screwing with the quality.
I wish I could give you a price and date on this little wonder from China but I can’t. There’s a review of it here though.-Martin Lynch
UMD has still got legs according to Sony’s UK MD, Ray Maquire. Despite the lashing the controversial, proprietary format has gotten in the press – and from some users – the loss of film studios and its shrinking floor presence in many major retailers, UMD could still be a contender. In an interview with games site MCV, Ray says:
“We’re pretty pleased with UMD. UMD has a fantastic attachment ratio. Where we’ve struggled a little is getting a decent proposition for full-length movies. UMD is not the problem – it’s getting the right content that’s the challenge. When we put shorts on UMD they sell really well, and that’s related to PSP usage. It’s about getting the offer right, and we will do that.”
Right now, I can’t help comparing the future of UMD to the hilarious Black Knight scene from Monty Python and The Holy Grail. You know the bit: mouthy Black Knight lies on the ground, legless, armless, spurting blood like a fireman’s hose, and all the while shouting:
“Oh. Oh, I see. Running away, eh? You yellow bastards! Come back here and take what's coming to you. I'll bite your legs off!”-Martin Lynch
The onboard memory in Cowon's new iAUDIO F2 audio player may max out at a piddly 2GB, but wow – don't it look just like a cellphone? Gimmick-hungry gadget fans in Japan may be in for a shock, however, as the F2 has more than just its looks going for it. Aside from the usual MP3, WMA (DRM10) and WAV playback, the thing supports OGG and FLAC too.
That tiny 1.3-inch color LCD will also happily display JPEGs and XviD movies at up to 15 frames per second and the battery is rated at 8 hours for video and 22 for audio. If you're so inclined, it'll also permit you to record from its FM radio, via the line-in or through the internal mic. As for the rest of the stats, you're looking at USB 2.0 mass storage, a weight of 39 grams and a gadget tax of ¥21,980 (£90) for the 2GB model. – Jonny Hiratsuka
Googleplex is going solar. Well, part of it is. The Mountain View-based company announced its plans to power part of its HQ using solar panels. 9,200 solar panels to be exact. The search engine giant hopes to set an example for corporate America and said it will power up to 30% of its facilities using the good ol' sun. Google wouldn't go into detail as to how much the project will cost them, but we do know it's being headed by Pasadena-based El Solutions. Google, we salute thee on your noble efforts. –Louis Ramirez
We value our time spent on the can, so the thought of having commercial-playing displays in the bathroom pisses us off (lame pun intended). But apparently that's how it's been going on down under. This image of a hand dryer in Australia shows an ad playing right off the dryer's display. We don't wash our hands to begin with, but at least now we can say we're doing it to protest the advertising. –Louis Ramirez
I got my hands on the DS-Xtreme media enhancer for the Nintendo DS and DS Lite that we first told you about back in August. This "enhancer" also has the ability to play game backups and other media files on the DS. This card has 512MB of internal memory that can store homebrew application, game backups and audio files. This is the first DS mod that is truly painless—it is entirely plug and play compatible. The cartridge has a miniature USB port that plugs into a PC, the PC recognizes it as a flash drive and simply drag and drop the media onto the DS-Xtreme.
Get more first impressions along with a big, beautiful photo shoot after the jump.
Developed by various defense companies, the Trophy system is basically an active forcefield around a tank or an armored vehicle to defend against RPG rounds. It's not an actual forcefield like the USS Enterprise, it's a system that detects when a round is incoming and shoots out a projectile to eliminate the threat. Best of all, there's only a 1% chance of injuring surrounding personnel when the round is exploded. – Jason Chen
Gizmodo loves charts. This stuff holder from Artemy Lebedev, makers of the Optimus keyboard, looks like a chart of the gradually increasing diameter of my gut, from age 20-29, when you face its green side towards you. Flip it around to see the...
The Haier Black Pearl is honestly the smallest phone we've ever seen. It's hard to get a sense of how small it is from the picture, but you can see that it's about the length and width of two of my fingers, and around the thickness of one of my fingers on end. And I don't have large hands.
To recap: the BP is an unlocked GSM phone with MP3 playback, FM radio and Bluetooth compatibility. It's shiny—shinier than an iPod—and very very round. Take a look at the gallery and we'll have a full review for you later this week. – Jason Chen
Fujitsu may call it a mini laptop, but we all know the P1610 is the illegitimate love child of a UMPC, ultraportable, Tablet PC threesome. It's got a swiveling 8.9-inch display, an 80GB hard drive, and built-in Wi-Fi/Bluetooth. There's no dual-core love here though. Instead it's powered by a 1.2GHz Intel Core Solo processor. The 3-cell battery is claimed to last 4.5 hours (sounds too good to be true) and the unit also has a fingerprint sensor. Looks pretty sweet design-wise, but the swiveling display bugs us a bit. We've always thought Tablets had a cheaper/flimsier feel and would prefer a sturdy mini laptop over a fragile mini Tablet any day. It's expected to debut in Korea for about £1,200. –Louis Ramirez
[Fujitsu Korea to present 8.9-inch mini laptop via AVING]
Digital DJs have one more way to keep the floor-filling beats going thanks to the X-Session Pro. The USB-powered controller fuses the standard controls of a two-channel DJ mixer with the transport and pitch controls of a turntable. It may not be not be suitable for pros, but it'll let you control volume, pitch, EQ, and cueing. It'll also let you make smooth crossfades. The £80 X-Session Pro is out now for Macs and PCs. –Louis Ramirez
We're all for enhancing our TV-viewing experience, but this 6-pound helmet looks more like a prop from SpaceBalls than something we'd wanna wear. Still, Toshiba claims the helmet will give its wearer a 360-degree panorama when watching TV or playing games. Personally, we'd rather use it to scare small children.
Our recent ruminations about nuclear weapons and who's got 'em/who doesn't got us to thinking about apocalypse. It's the stuff of science fiction, but what would happen if all of a sudden there were no people on Earth? The Times of London put together a timeline of what the Earth would look like 20 years from now, 100 years from now, all the way up to 200,000 years from now, if humans simply vanished.
What evidence of our existence would be left behind? Hint: after about a thousand years, not much. For a reminder of just how temporary we could be, take a look at the full chart, after the jump. – Charlie White
If you've always wanted an LED watch, but were never quite into the whole cyborg look, TokyoFlash's new Retsu model can satisfy your craving without swallowing your entire wrist. The new Retsu watch is just 8mm thin (or 0.31 inches) and weighs 40 grams (just over an ounce). It's still impossible for mere mortals to tell time with it, but at least it's skinnier. –Louis Ramirez
Honda takes GPS navigation to the next level, planning to add weather data and social networking to its upcoming factory-installed car navi systems. It connects to the Japanese InterNavi Premium Club, showing you what the weather is like wherever you are, and what it will be like on your proposed route. There's also a social networking service (SNS), where you can bookmark establishments such as restaurants and hotels, letting other subscribers know about your experiences there.
The system will be available in Japan first, but we're hoping this will be the next step for all GPS units. What a great idea, to have digital footprints from those who have gone before, letting you know where the good restaurants are, and also letting you know where the bad weather is. – Charlie White
Because of our No Bra Left Behind policy here at the Giz, we're compelled to show you this year's fantasy getup from Victoria's Secret, this time tipping the bank account south by £3.5 million. The Hearts on Fire Diamond Fantasy Bra has a total of 800 carats—more than 2000 round diamonds—spread out across both breasts and on the straps, and a 10-carat diamond brooch right there in that sweet spot between those mountains of love.
We'd rather get up close and personal with that babe wearing the bra, lovely supermodel Karolina Kurvoka, than the absurd garment itself. But if you find yourself coming up short of cash for one of these bejeweled brassieres this Christmas, perhaps that $1.89 million solid gold bra would be more in your price range. – Charlie White
It won't be ready till 2010, but Russian nuclear energy company Rosenergoatom is planning to build a £100-million mobile plant to bring electricity to the hard-to-reach territories near the White Sea. The football field-size barge will have two reactors and be launched/floated toward a port near the mainland where it'd be connected to power lines and bring electricity to potentially 200,000 people. Rosenergoatom, however, won't comment on the type of safety measures they'd take into consideration. Our advice, stay away from Russian seafood in the next 20 or so years. –Louis Ramirez
The first TV ad for the PS3—"The Wait"—is now floating around that damnable Internet and we've really got to hand it to Sony: not only does the ad not tell us a single thing about their upcoming system, but they've somehow managed to create an ad that evokes the same type of feeling you get when you watch the "Daisy" ad and a "say no to drugs" commercial. Bravo. At least there's no melting clocks this time around. – Nicholas Deleon
Sony gets into even deeper shit with its exploding and burning laptop batteries, and a recall of over a 7.5 million batteries and costs of up to $257 million may be just the beginning for the Japanese company. Now Toshiba and Fujitsu are thinking about asking for even more compensation for their trouble, maybe asking Sony to pay back more than just shipping and replacement costs for the reputation-searing hot potatoes. But this will only happen under certain conditions, according to Fujitsu spokesman Toshiaki Koike:
"We recognize we are recalling the products on the request by Sony so we will ask them to shoulder the cost. But we would only consider seeking more compensation for missed sales opportunities and a damaged brand image if retail outlets start returning products or consumers start no-buy campaigns."
This could be an even bigger mess for Sony, because if it has to pay big bucks to Fujitsu and Toshiba, all those other companies with Sony battery trouble such as Apple, Dell, Lenovo and Hitachi will line up for their pound of flesh. For Sony, that might feel more like a ton of bricks. – Charlie White
Unequivocal proof that humans evolved from Roombas. Or wait - was it the other way around? Just when you thought that man could not love an automatic vacuum at any greater capacity, it goes all Every Which Way But Loose on us.
The AuraOrb is a notification device without the fine woodworking of other gadgets we've talked about lately.
Its specialty is to use social awareness cues, such as eye contact, to determine when it should light up its 360-degree display with your latest information updates. Touching the orb transfers messages directly to your computer screen. In our opinion, the orb makes a lot of sense for appearing anywhere other than right next to your computer.
No information on whether or not this will ever be available to the general public, but we like the idea of passive interfaces. Now if we could only update Gizmodo by stumbling around drunk while sobbing about our latent Oedipus complex. – Mark Wilson
Here is video that's been floating around a bit, showing just how simple it is to program wiimote movements through the dev tool LiveMove. We'll admit it - this is a boring video about a cool topic, but we cracked up about halfway when he says, "Imagine me as a cowboy...I'm lassoing a steer..." And he's totally in the moment. – Mark Wilson
The Mood-Light Chiller is an LED-infused ice bucket, suitable for your finest vintage. Constructed from aluminum and frosted plastic, the Chiller can display a seamless color show, or can be frozen (again, no pun intended) at any moment to hold a color of your choosing.
We appreciate that the Chiller can run on a rechargeable battery for up to eight hours. If you can't get your mojo on within eight hours, we suggest you actually drink the wine instead of just displaying it. – Mark Wilson
Billed as "possibly with world's first hand-crafted luxury computer peripheral" - The Device is a status-indicator for virtually anything your computer monitors. Connecting via USB, packaged software can customize what The Device tracks. Examples include CPU usage, Counterstrike frags, Ebay auction status and radioactive decay rates.
The Device displays information through 3 methods. The first and most obvious is the pair of analog dials. The "Ethereal Glowing Tube" is filled with an Agar-based gel that can glow at 5 intensities. And the "Red Incandescent Lamp" (a.k.a. party light) can either be set to glow or blink "in extreme circumstances".
We freaking love this thing, from its ridiculously opulent styling to its pretentiously wordy name. The Device is still in prototype form running on Windows OS only, but Mac and Linux support is coming soon.
Siemens knows that driving is really hard with a phone, PDA, GPS and stereo to worry about, so they've invented a system to read signs for you.
A camera scans the field ahead while an onboard computer searches for patterns. In the case that a speed limit sign is detected, a windshield display will place the new speed limit next to your current rate of travel. The system can also be configured to automatically adjust your cruise control accordingly if you are a "slowpoke".
Look for it in 2008 - after you're too poor from moving violations to ever afford it. – Mark Wilson
Sure, we think we're just having fun, posting our hilarious lipsyncing antics and PG stripteases. But in all reality, we're just working for the man like everybody else. Stephen Colbert breaks down why we all (mostly just him) should get a piece of that sweet $1.65 billion merger between Google and YouTube.
But what do you think? In an age of user-created content, do the bandwidth providers/media hosters owe us anything? Or are our little nuggets of genius just a small payment for their free services? – Mark Wilson
McDonalds Japan recently ran a contest giving away 10,000 MP3 players preloaded with 10 songs. However, the players were preloaded with QQpass malware - which transmits usernames, passwords, etc. off your computer. McDonalds set up a 24-hour hotline to troubleshoot the problem. Most conversations go something like this:
"Hi, welcome to McDonalds."
"My identity has been stolen because of your shitty MP3 player."
"Ok sir. Is our food unsafe for consumption?"
"Well...uhh...yeah, I guess."
"But that's why it's so tasty, no?"
"Sure, I guess."
"McDonalds also thought that unsafe music could be extra good, too...but if you're watching your credit line..."
"No, no, I'm not."
"Then would you like to try our new McSledgehammer. It's really, really bad for your computer."
If Snoop Dogg made an iPod accessory, this would be it. This is the Zoundz from Zizzle – I kid you not. 
UMD has still got legs according to Sony’s UK MD, Ray Maquire. Despite the lashing the controversial, proprietary format has gotten in the press – and from some users – the loss of film studios and its shrinking floor presence in many major retailers, UMD could still be a contender. In an interview with games site 
Editor and Contributor | Martin Lynch
Contributor | Tamlin Magee
