If this isn't a sign that we're getting way too lazy, then I don't know what is. European phone carrier Orange France has teamed up with YCD Multimedia to create the SMS Jukebox. After making its debut at the Cannes Film Festival, the jukebox is being rolled out in bars, cafes, and restaurants throughout France. Customers find a music "menu" on their table and after selecting the song(s) they want, text in the code. As much as I text (and believe me, I text a lot) I prefer the old fashioned way of walking up to the jukebox and manually selecting the songs I wanna hear. – Louis Ramirez
SMS Jukebox [via The Red Ferret Journal]
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Entertainment Weekly's Dalton Ross received a note from woman who was happily engaged and ready to get married to her fiancé and spend the rest of their lives together until one month her fiance went on a little binge. No, not drinking or gambling, but iTunes purchasing. He racked up an $8,000 iTunes bill in one month. Add that to his already existing $43,000 credit card bill and the lady called off the wedding, entirely, according to the note sent to Dalton. Seriously, somebody teach this man how to torrent, asap. Gizmodo does not support piracy. – Travis Hudson
Wedding called off over $8k one-month iTunes tab [iLounge]
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The Ubiko is yet another robot to come out of Japan, but this one plans to steal jobs from hard working Americans. You see, Ubiko is a helper robot, in that he helps greet customers, talks up products on display and do other such menial tasks commonly found in a service economy. Apparently, it's got an annoying voice as well, so really, it's not at all unlike the greeters at Wal-Mart and the like.
Such labor doesn't exactly come cheap, as the robot costs nearly $900 to rent per two-hour block. Do you know how many disaffected high school kids you could hire for that kind of money?
Ubiko looks friendly enough, but you have to wonder what he'll be like when his switch is flipped from "good" to "evil." – Nicholas Deleon
Product Page (in Japanese) [Ubiko via Akihabara News]
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PC
Insult them all you want. OCZ's new DDR2 PC2-9200 FlexXLC memory sticks know how to keep their cool. Operating at speeds of up to 1150MHz, these memory modules can dissipate heat via their built-in air fins or can be kept from blowing their lid via water cooling, which is injected through the module's copper tubes. The modules are overkill if all you're doing is checking e-mail and playing the occasional game, but for serious builders, they'll be available soon as 2x1GB dual-channel kits (pricing has yet to be set). – Louis Ramirez
OCZ [Press Release]
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What you furtively read under the covers at night is your business, and you can keep it that way with this Full Page Illuminator with a flat lens that reflects a battery-powered LED, evenly lighting the page. Yes, a page, in a book. You remember books, don't you?
If you're not reading undercover, it keeps its light shining just on the page and away from your bedmate, letting you read on and on into the night without bothering anybody but yourself. Its four AAA batteries last 40 hours, and you can get it in sizes to fit hardcover or paperback books. Both are $69.95. My take on this thing, after the jump.
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Not that you'd want to drop this sucker in the water or anything, but Pentax calls its LX Gold camera the world's first waterproof and dust-resistant SLR. That's right, Gizmodians, this is not a digital camera, it's a nod toward those olden days when our forefathers used something that was known as "film." But Pentax did this relic up right, with shiny gold and alligator trim, celebrating the company's 60th anniversary.
Just to show that the company actually has its shit together, Pentax also trotted out its K10D, a 10.2-megapixel premium DSLR camera with a pretty cool "shake reduction system." Jump for pics of that and a few more beauty shots of this waterproof golden fossil of a camera. – Charlie White
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Dell Home has $43 of instant savings on this very nice 20-inch wide LCD display. It also includes free shipping that would likely knock off another 20 bucks or so. The technical specs for this display are not-too-shabby with a 1680x1050 native resolution, 5ms response time, 800:1 contrast ratio, HDCP support, and DVI and VGA inputs. It also includes a three-year warranty from Dell. – Travis Hudson
Product Page [Via Dealhack]
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PDA
The guys at Mobile Review have gotten their hands on a copy of what they're calling Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.0 for Pocket PC, otherwise known as Crossbow. While they decry its paucity of all-new features, the good news is there will be increased interface speed and bundled IP telephony, along with a bunch of new noises the thing makes. Too bad they're getting rid of my personal favorite sound, Old Telephone.
Another welcome new feature: support for HTML in messages. It's about time. Other than that, it looks like there's not a whole lot of new stuff here. It looks like this is just stopgap for the holy grail, Windows Mobile Photon, which is expected to be released in a couple of years. But when will we see this version? And will we be able to upgrade our existing phones?
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Few iPod docks resemble the front bumper of a car, yet that's exactly what Shaper Image's iBeam Speaker Dock manages to do. It connects with any dockable iPod and uses SRS WOW technology to deliver surround sound. On board you get everything you'd expect from a speaker dock like an AM/FM radio, a backlit LCD, and an auxiliary input for connecting other MP3 players. The iBeam can also be hooked up to the company's optional Woofi subwoofer ($49 bucks) for additional thumpage. At $169 dollars, it's not that pricey and I admit the weird car-like design helps it stand out from the rest of the pack. – Louis Ramirez
Shaper Image iDock [via New Launches]
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Sony has reportedly released version 3.0 firmware for the Sony PSP in Japan, and although details are sketchy so far, its claim to fame is its tight integration with Sony's impossible-to-get PlayStation 3 console. Using its WiFi capabilities, the new firmware lets you access images and music on a PS3, and lets you use the PSP as a remote play device for the PS3. The firmware is also able to accommodate a forthcoming add-on camera, and lets you toggle a function that causes a game to automatically load when you insert a UMD.
Take a look at the image here and more pics after the jump, and you'll see that this is apparently a Japanese version of the firmware upgrade.
Update: The 3.0 update is available via the Network Update feature on the PSP now.
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The iPhone has been the recipient of more hype than the Second Coming, so it comes as no surprise that highly paid analysts are already predicting the development of a second iPhone before the first has even come out. The analyst at American Technology Research predicts that the new iPhone will integrate with iTunes and have IM capabilities... as if a phone being able to IM is something new or exciting or something; its predicted name is "iChat Mobile." (The same report, rumored to be titled "I Get Paid To Make Shit Up," also predicts that we'll see the first iPhone sometime in early 2007, which sort of meshes with earlier reports we've received from human rights-abusing factories in China.)
Finally, Mr. Analyst says that the iPhone will most probably resemble an iPod nano.
Don't you just love random guessing?
What I want to know is, will the iPhone drop my calls, have a terrible battery life and useless camera? If it does, well, I already have a cellphone like that, thank you very much. – Nicholas Deleon
Analyst: Second iPhone in the Works [eWEEK/Yahoo! via SlashPhone.com]
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The next big thing in kids movies this Christmas is, without a doubt, Eragon. Based on the books by teen wunderkind Christopher Paolini, it’s a tale of one boy and his dragon and all the evil shenanigans that go along with that kind of thing.
Tying in with the launch, Samsung phone users can access all kinds of Dragon-y content from their handsets, including trailers, exclusive content etc. etc. etc. Are there any big movies these days without phone tie-ins?
Competitions for lots of Hollywood holidays kick off this Friday. So, when your kid is dragging you off to the movie next month you can impress him with your in-depth knowledge of the saga and some phone-based trailers. Or not. –Martin Lynch
[More]
news technology phone gadgets movies books
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I’ve yet to have my wallet emptied by any portable sat-nav device but then that’s probably because I spend my life in a shed at the bottom of the garden.
However, sat-nav devices are the proverbial ‘dog’s bollocks’ these days and this Christmas will no doubt see squillions of them sell to hordes of directionless motorists. The AA launched its very first model last week and now UK PC outfit, Evesham has launched its latest, the Nav-Cam 7700. Are they the same device, just with different names?
It comes with a healthy 256Mb of internal memory and AA Navigator 2007 bundled for its £150 price tag. There are 2D and 3D maps and the usual turn-by-turn voice and visual prompts.
Speeders will be happy to know it has “directional, visual and audible speed camera alerts for all six UK speed camera types, and is supplied as standard with 6 month free speed camera database updates.”
It sports a 3.5in screen, SD Card slot, USB sync cable, car charger and windscreen mount. Another photo after the jump. –Martin Lynch
[Evesham]
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Coming hot on the heels of yesterday's launch of the sleek Creative Z600 dock comes even more Creative audio goodies.
Meet the PlayDock Z500 and TravelSound Zen V portable speakers. The glossy PlayDock portable speaker system is designed to be used with the Zen V, Zen V Plus and Zen Vision :M players. It powers the various players while playing tunes, while video and photos can be output to TV or other display devices using the audio/video connections. It boasts in-built, telescopic FM antenna and can be run-off batteries for up to – a claimed - 16 hours. It will cost around £130 next month.
The TravelSound Zen V (pictured), as the name suggests, is for the dinky little Zen V and Zen V Plus players only. Charges while it plays and boasts 25 hours off 4 AA batteries. Expect to pay around £80.
Neither system is what you would call a bargain.
Jump now for more photos.-Martin Lynch
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Editor and Contributor | Martin Lynch
Contributor | Tamlin Magee
