Had enough of those bothersome iPod cables getting in your way? This little black silicone spelunker is hanging around and here to help. He'll keep everything in order for you while you're wearing your iPod, letting you wrap all that excess "rope" around his waist. Then, he doesn't mind being tied up with all that wiring when your iPod's at rest.

Until the iPod's voluminous wires can finally be completely eliminated, this might be a practical solution to that spaghetti bowlful of cable cascading down your torso. – Charlie White

Silicone Man For Wrapping iPod Cords [TokyoMango]

Yesterday, Samsung execs brought us up to speed on their plans for a wireless high-def TV system. On target for September, the 50" and 58" models (FP-T5094 and FP-T5894, respectively) will feature 802.11n for a range up to 300 feet, and will support 1080p wireless video. Bill Dickey, Samsung's plasma TV sales manager, told us that if the sets were 720p, they could be ready sooner, but because Samsung is shooting for 1080p, they have to deal with Hollywood. Dickey says Samsung is "in negotiations" with the major movie studios, and hopes to have their approval of a secure wireless transmission system by June, so Samsung can finish development in time for September.

Dickey's boss said that DRM wasn't the only concern.

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LG has announced that it is developing a cellphone with DMB that will enable people to feel the programme as well as seeing it. According to LG Electronics spokesman Song Keun-Young, the technology "adds the sense of touch to the traditional modes of sight and hearing."

Roughly speaking this means your phone will vibrate when the ball goes in the back of the net if you're watching a soccer match, or if the hero's car crashes during the movie you're engrossed in. Any bombs will set off light-emitting diodes which will blink in time to the explosions. The South Korean company plans to market new models (both hand-held devices as well as car terminals) which contain 3-D and sensing technology some time next year, after they have secured content.

Okay, so I lied about the phone sex. But you wish, eh? – Ad Dugdale

LG develops tactile broadcast phone [Physorg]

Russia has been chosen as the first port of call for Samsung's new smartphone, the SGH-i400. Launched at the S60 summit in Madrid this morning, the i400 is a follow-up to last year's i520, due to be launched over here sometime this quarter. It's a slider phone which uses Symbian's S60 operating system, which hopefully won't make it as slow as the Nokia N95. It's way better-looking than the N95, though - think early Van Damme as opposed to Hulk Hogan.

It's got a 2 megapixel camera, supports Bluetooth and its full browser speaks all the standards necessary for Web 2.0 surfing. On top of that there's a microSD slot for up to 4GB cards, it has a music key and a stereo dual speaker to annoy everyone in the subway. And there's 2.3 inches of 262K QVGA TFT screen for you to ogle at. Weight is 92 grams and vital statistics are 101 x 50 x 15.8 mm. Come on Samsung, we want it now. – Ad Dugdale

Samsung unveils the Symbian OS smartphone SGH-i400 [Korea Newswire]

This Fold-Flat Barbecue could make you the most popular guy on the block this summer. It's not like it's the first portable grill, but it is probably the easiest to carry around. It's made of pressed steel and folds out into a 45 x 30 cm cooking area with a high enough windbreak to cope with a stiff summer breeze.

This Briefcase Grill could have been the perfect answer to the prayers of those NY subway travellers who had the misfortune to be on the same train as Borat and his hens. Char-grilled chicken wings could have been the perfect way to calm everyone down. It costs $40 on its own and $50 with the rucksack.

– Ad Dugdale

Product Page [I Want One Of Those via Sci-Fi Tech]

Witness the obliterating power and sheer magnificence of the new Sony CineAlta 4K SRX-R220, the projector that can display 8.850.000 pixels of ultra high definition footage in movie theaters, crazy people with really deep pockets homes and probably be integrated as weaponry in any space battle station.

This technological terror is the latest iteration of Sony's SXRD (Silicon X-tal Reflective Display) line. Like the SRX-R1xx series it still can't reach 10 megapixels, but it comes loaded with more gear than the Death Star itself: LMT-100 media processor, LMS-100 screen management system, a gazillion gigabytes of RAID storage and uninterruptible power supply are all built-in.

More photos, so you can see the scale of the SRX-R210/R220, full specs, price and availability after the jump.

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Have a butchers at Lenovo's newest ThinkPads, the T61 and the R61. While there's nothing particularly scrummy about the design, the laptops do have Intel's Santa Rosa platform under the hood. Both models will be available from next month, with updated versions following on in June (a WWAN model of the T61) and July (a Blu-Ray DVD burner on the R61). There's even fingerprint technology on some of the T61s to keep your private stuff just that.

Both models have 14.1-inch displays, Intel Turbo memory card for some KITT-like Vista performance turbo-boost, hard disk encryption, SmartCard support and NVIDIA graphics. And if you were looking for the IBM badge, you can forget it: Lenovo has finally scratched it off - the first time they have done that since they bought the company's PC division in 2005. All the new technology specs of both models after the jump, but no prices as yet.

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The retail outlet boasts more than 6,000 locations in the United States, and is known best for its wall-sized displays of obscure-looking analog electronics components and its notoriously desperate, high-pressure sales staff. Nevertheless, it ranks as a Fortune 500 company, with gross revenues of over $4.5 billion and fiscal quarter earnings averaging tens of millions of dollars.

"Have you even been inside of a RadioShack recently?" Day asked. "Just walking into the place makes you feel vaguely depressed and alienated. Maybe our customers are at the mall anyway and don't feel like driving to Best Buy? I suppose that's possible, but still, it's just...weird."

The Onion is funny, but I have an answer -- where else are you going to go other than Radio Shack for DIY project parts and AV cables that aren't 10x more expensive than they're supposed to be?–Brian Lam

Even CEO Can't Figure Out How RadioShack Still In Business [The Onion]

Samsung is breaking down a barrier of sorts with its motorized wall mount, which we scooped on video during CES. They are the first TV maker to sell an automated mount that both tilts and swivels, as far as we know. The price is a couple hundred dollars less than any comparable mount you'll find from a custom installer—and it will work with most any brand of flat panel bigger than 40 inches. Details on the integrated UI, memory feature and video after the jump.

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In honor of the recent Earth Day festivities, here is a great speaker to add to your repertoire of outdoor entertainment activities. The speaker can wirelessly play (up to 150 feet) from a beacon attached to a media player. Even better is that it recharges with the help of the sun's happy rays of light. $200.

Product Page [Via TechDigest]

So you went ahead and bought every annoying office projectile you could get your hands on, and now you've come close enough to getting fired that you have no one to use your toys on. Boy, being the office manchild sure is tough, isn't it?

Well, you don't need to harass your poor co-workers to enjoy your goodies. Just take aim at this Automatic Cube Weapon Target instead. It's built to withstand foam bullets, and it won't complain to the boss that you never get any work done and you creep everyone out, which is a big plus. –Adam Frucci

Product Page [ThinkGeek]

Anzac Day today, so we're on reduced activity on the local front. We'll keep an eye on the US feed, though, so you're not missing out.

Spare a thought for those who have fought the good fight.

This project is the latest of designer Susanna Hertrich. It is a traditional 365 day calendar but it will shred the day. It unfortunately isn't a real product, but rather it is a product in a series of "fictional products designed to be useful for human hibernation." Any makers out there want to tackle this project? I'll pay for it (as long as I get to keep it). –Travis Hudson

Chrono_Shredder [Josh Spear]

LG-Nortel seems to be a bit early on this one, but they've made what looks to be the first WiMax-enabled phone. It's a standard phone with a videophone built in, which is where the WiMax fits in. With a camera and a screen for seeing your caller, it doesn't look to be anything all that revolutionary. I don't think WiMax is going to do anything to help videophones catch on, as the speeds aren't anything faster than current broadband that videophones can plug into now, but I guess we'll see.

There's no release date for this, but I wouldn't expect to see it for a while, as there isn't going to be WiMax coverage in the States until next year, and even then it'll only be in a handful of crappy cities. Yeah, I'm still bitter about that. –Adam Frucci

Aving [via Ubergizmo]

I guess designer portable, tabletop vacuums are an area yet to be tapped, until now. This is a miniature vacuum (think Dustbuster), but it is shaped like a cheeseburger. If you didn't feel like enough of a pig before, try cleaning all of those crumbs off your gut with an actual cheeseburger. $20.–Travis Hudson

Product Page [Via Nerd approved]

Here's a few treats that popped up while you were all tucked up in bed.

Fridge thinks it's a toolbox.
Sadly, this will probably never land here. But it would be PERFECT out in the proverbial garden shed! "No, honey, I'm working out here!"

Westinghouse 52-inch LCD 1080p TV just $2,499USD.
No idea yet on local possibilities, but this is promising whatever happens.

Solar panelled swimwear
Practical? Hardly. But is that the point?

Dell sneaks up on the solid state scene.
Boom! All solid state, all the time. Bring it on.

Amiga announcing new PCs!
I probably wouldn't replace my Macs with it, but damn I want to buy one out of principle. Long Live Amiga!

Sonic Screwdriver pen (sans actual sonic screwdriver)
Yeah, it won't fix anything, but it is still a damn cool Dr Who pen with UV light.

New robot overlords on the way.
Boeing and iRobot work together to bring about humanity's demise. It's only a recon bot for now, but you just know what's next on the agenda...

Meanwhile, pigeons get their robotic comeupance.
Where can I buy a fake robot falcon? That'd be sweet.

It's not the first home theater in a box to pack HDMI outputs, but Onkyo's top-of-the-line HT-SR800 is still an impressive system for anyone looking for an all-in-one package. Announced alongside today's other surprises, the SR800 cranks out 110 watts per channel and can process Dolby Digital EX, DTS-ES, and DTS 96/24.

Price-wise, the $599 package is pretty solid and thanks to the extra audio (format) support, offers a better HTiB experience than Sony's alternative, which is about $100 cheaper, but lacking in the features dept. If you're really tight on cash, the SR800 will have two younger siblings:

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When we first received an Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 1080 projector earlier this week, we were eager to take it into our test theater for a look-see, wondering just how much projector you can get for your $3000 these days. Surely there must be a catch to a 1080p projector that costs so comparatively little. It didn't look like it was missing anything when we looked at the spec list: Packed with three LCDs, this puppy has the latest HDMI 1.3 input in the back, a quoted 12,000:1 contrast ratio, that Blu-ray and HD DVD-friendly resolution of 1080p, and it doesn't look half bad, either.

The first thing we wanted to try was an HD DVD using its HDMI 1.3 port. Loading our newly acquired HQV benchmark test HD DVD disk, it was hard to find anything wrong with the picture we were looking at. The blacks were some of the blackest we've seen with an LCD projector at any price, and blacks are a weakness of LCDs. There were hardly any visible jaggies in the diagonal lines test, and that "screen door effect" of visible gridwork that plagues LCD projectors was nowhere to be found here, unless you stuck your nose right up next to the screen.

But how does it look blown up to projectus giganticus size?

(* Pretty sure this is the same unit as the TW1000, so you know what we're seeing here. Local RRP $6999 last we heard, which seems a nasty premium over this US pricing. -giz.au*)

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Our friends over at TechEBlog are kings of the top 5 list and YouTube embed. They post an entertaining top 5 list nearly every day, which is a hell of a lot harder than it looks. But we fear that they may hitting a wall. After months and months of top 5 list after top 5 list, they present to us "Feature: 5 Strange Gadgets."

5 Strange Gadgets? 5 Strange Gadgets?! We love you guys, but come on. There's got to be at least one category of gadgets out there left untapped that you haven't done a top 5 list on. We refuse to believe that you've drained the well of all your lists. I can't imagine living in a blogosphere without your many lists. Don't do this to me. –Adam Frucci

(We thought this list was silly, but fun... -giz.au)

Feature: 5 Strange Gadgets [TechEBlog]

We could definitely see the need for a text input attachment for the 360, especially with the upcoming Windows Live Messenger update, but for the Wii? Not so much. That's probably why Nintendo's only just now thinking about adding a Wii keyboard peripheral to make Web surfing easier—as if anyone really used their Wiis for Web surfing anyway.

What kinda peripherals would we like to see for the Wii? How about more games. Does that count as a peripheral? – Jason Chen

Nintendo looking into keyboard peripheral [Nintendo Wii Fanboy]

Okay boozers, here's the beer drinker's equivalent to that stash box that looks like a Windex can. Does this look like a Craftsman toolbox? No one will be the wiser that hidden among all those other toolboxes is a refrigerator where you've stashed a few brewskis or maybe some sandwich fixin's. They'll all be right where you need them after tuning up that hot rod of yours. The 4.4-cubic-foot refrigerator will set you back $350. – Charlie White

Product Page [After 5, via Oh Gizmo]

Flipping out the accordion of pictures of your kids (or cats for the singles) is no more. This $50 wallet comes with a small digital photo frame that can hold up to 55 pictures. Connect it via USB for picture transfer and for recharging. The 1.4-inch screen is just small enough to prove that you can actually procreate, but not too big where people will see how ugly the kids (or cats) are. –Travis Hudson

Product Page [Via Outblush]

Professionally, I despise Nick Douglas, former Editor of Valleywag, for preferring Gizmodo's competitor, Enga..Enga..Engadget over his Home Team's Gadget Blog. Personally, I enjoy his pleasant demeanor, cutting wit, and ability to talk around a given subject like V-Moda headphones for minutes on end. It's better than it sounds. Look Shiny is about 100x more entertaining than watching that Justin.tv dude. Worth watching just to see a red headed white guy rap. – Brian Lam

V-moda Vibes [Look Shiny]

Despite the PS3 not having any heating problems (as far as we know), Pelican's getting ready to release a cooler attachment for the PS3. The unit will slip on next to the disc drive, run on its own AC power and supposedly lower temperatures by up to 15 degrees.

Luckily, the cooler's design is just like the PS3's, so you're not going to get a gigantic inconsistency. Hopefully this won't have all the problems Nyko's Xbox 360 cooler did, since this uses a separate AC adapter instead of a pass-through. Speaking of Nyko, their previously announced Intercooler still hasn't shipped yet. – Jason Chen

Pelican Air Flow Cooler for PS3 [IGN]

Because I was kind enough to ask, Westinghouse told me that the TBD price on the 52" TX-52F480S LCD HDTV we mentioned this morning had indeed been determined, and it was $2,499. For now, you'd be hard-pressed to find a 42-in. 1080p for that price. The unit I saw (and that I photographed, above) was an engineering sample, but Westinghouse reps said it was a revision of the sample they showed at CES. It was tasty. I didn't have special equipment to test the claim of 6.5 millisecond response time, but I have to say, I went in fairly pessimistic, and it looked tasty. 52 inches of awww yeah. Come September, we'll try to get one in for a face-off with some of its bluer-blooded competition.

Click here for the roundup of stuff on display at the Westinghouse show. – Wilson Rothman

(These guys sell whitegoods here, but TVs? We'll see what we can find out about any local distributors. -giz.au)

2007 Digital House Party Press Room [Westinghouse]

We got two things wrong this week. We'd incorrectly said the sub-$1000 Yamaha RX-V861 would upscale your non-HD sources to 1080p. It actually only goes to 1080i.

Then, we'd described the JVC HD-58S998 as a DLP. Silly us, it's an LCoS or Liquid Crystal on Silicon display under JVC's D-ILA branding. Both posts have been corrected.–Brian Lam

There have been prototypes before but this Triumph's Solar Swimsuit seems to be the first that is going to be commercially available. Created by lingerie and swimwear manufacturer Triumph and photovoltaic cell manufacturer Conergy, it will provide enough power to feed a cellphone or an iPod.

Spanish swimming champion Gemma Mengual presented it today at the America's Cup in Valencia, and while she's no Laura Ocaña, she will do just fine for a Tuesday. No price yet, but it's supposed to be part of their 2007 collection. –Jesus Diaz

Lingerie firm hope for a brief triumph [Swindon]
UN BAÑADOR PARA CONECTAR EL IPOD [El Mundo.es]

We hit up Onkyo's press event in Jersey City this afternoon where in addition to its new line of uber-receivers and HTiBs, the company also quietly unleashed the world's first three-way radio tuner (it's the one on the bottom). The T-4555P is a radio lover's wet dream come true, with built-in tuners for Sirius Radio, XM Satellite Radio and HD Radio. The $499 tuner is scheduled to ship soon, so all you radio fans who like having multiple options will benefit from waiting an extra week or so. If you're wondering what's sitting on top of the T-4555P.

(Of course, HD radio is hardly a twinkle in the eye of broadcasters here in Oz -giz.au)

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For those of you unfamiliar with our Dr. Ashen, he's the man that's reviewed all sorts of shoddy products. Whether it's a piece of shite MP4 player, a piece of shite green laser, or a piece of shite handheld console, Ashen's been there and made fun of it. Now he's about to review a Megacrisper.

Will he like how the Megacrisper saves him money and gives him tasty snacks in the comfort of his own home? What do you think? Hit the video to enjoy his sexy, sexy accent and to find out whether it's worthy of buying. – Jason Chen

Onkyo's got a press event today—in Jersey City, of all places—where they're showing off their top-line TX-NR905. The most important thing you should know about the NR905 (and 875) is that it uses a Reon-HQV video processor. That's the same processor that the Samsung BD-P1200 Blu-ray and the Toshiba HD-XA2 HD DVD players use to do their stunning DVD upconversion to 1080p from all video sources. So, it's likely when videophiles like Gary Merson get their mitts on it, they'll have the same scaling verdict as they did with the players: Awesome.

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Instead of going half-in half-out with hybrid drives like Samsung, Dell's going all in and offering solid state drives on two of their laptops. The Latitude D420 (heh-heh) ultra-mobile and D620 semi-rugged notebooks will both be entirely solid state, and are supposedly the first corporate notebooks to offer such a feature.

However, since the drives themselves are $549, don't expect bargain basement prices for these laptops. But think of the electricity you'll save in not charging these as often, and the speed increases you'll get when checking email and working on your PowerPoint presentations! – Jason Chen

Press Release [Dell]

Philips rolled out four new mice and a wireless keyboard/mouse desktop combo, and the company touted their clean design, but the only thing that reminded us of cleanliness was the mice's bar-of-soap-like appearance. The four mice include a tiny 1600dpi wireless mouse aimed at notebook users and equipped with Philips's twin-eye laser sensor, a wireless desktop mouse with that same sensor, an LED wireless desktop mouse with a seven-month battery life, and a 1000dpi corded mouse with extra-comfy silicone cushions.

Philips also rolled out a wireless desktop whose keyboard has a weird feature: drainage holes in case you spill something on it. Odd. The company didn't say whether it was liquid proof, but better to have that coffee on your lap than inside the keyboard. It also includes a wireless 1000dpi mouse, and Philips says that configuration can last seven months on a battery, too. All these input devices will be available next month at an unspecified price. – Charlie White

Press Release [Philips]

Here's the petition to open up the PSX's RSX under Linux. This is why you should sign it: You see, when Sony announced that it was going to allow people to install Linux on their PS3s without going through backdoors, everyone rejoiced at all the possibilities of playing back DivX and using it as a DVR under Linux. But if you've gone through the process of installing Yellow Dog Linux onto your PS3, you'll note that something's missing. Namely, hardware support.

You see, right now the Linux on PS3s have no access to the RSX (the graphics processor), which means playing back DivX or using any kind of meaningful graphical app is out of the question. Not to mention emulation (SNES, NES) gaming or real gaming under Linux. So go over and sign that petition so we can actually use Linux for something useful. – Jason Chen

Petition Page [PetitionOnline via The Inquirer]

Buffalo's two latest high gain routers bring the answer of three antennas to the question of "How do I get more range on my wireless router?" Their WZR2-G300N 802.11N router has the standard features just about all routers have, including an external switch to flip between router and access point modes, in case you've already purchased a router with Gigabit Ethernet (this one doesn't have it) and want to use this only for your wireless needs.

In 802.11g news, the WHR-G125 also has that flip switch, but comes with only one antenna and 10/100 wired networking. These two are on the low end of the router spectrum, offering bare bones features at a bare bones price ($99 for the N, and $49 for the G). If all you need to do is get on the Internet, then Buffalo's got you covered. – Jason Chen

Press Release [Buffalo]

Those of you who are still unable to grab your own Nintendo Wii despite the Best Buy and Circuit City sales this past weekend can rest easy. This SNES Wii modder didn't ruin a new Wii in order to shove the guts of an SNES inside. He created an entirely new replica case and shoved the guts inside.

We especially enjoy the front-loading cartridges and the blue LEDs, but the mod as a whole is pretty good. Why pay for virtual console games when you can play the originals you already have? – Jason Chen

Project Page [KotomiBlog via Nintendo Wii Fanboy via Technabob via Slashgear]

This Pillete concept Bluetooth headset is tiny. So tiny that it barely pokes out of your ear, making you look even crazier when you walk down the street and seem to be talking to yourself. While it doesn't exist quite yet, it's a look at where headset design will be headed.

The main problem with designs like this is getting the fit right, as everyone has different ears. As anyone who's struggled to adjust to earbuds can tell you, one size does not fit all. However, once they figure out a way to get these things comfortably rammed into your ear canal, look for more headsets to shrink down to sizes like this, with more awkward interactions like this being the result. –Adam Frucci

GearFuse [via Ubergizmo]

If you've still got any amount of fondness for the Amiga brand in you, you'll be happy to hear that the old-timey PC maker is planning on releasing two brand- spanking-new PCs next week. Amiga's still using the PowerPC architecture, which makes it unlikely that you're going to be running Windows Vista on it natively.

However, for those who have been eagerly awaiting Amiga's OS4, which has been in development nearly as long as Duke Nukem Forever, next week will be a good week for you. – Jason Chen

Press Release [Amiga via TGDaily]

This 62-inch-high clock uses a pendulum on a spring to power itself, bouncing up and down and keeping time, just like you used to do when you were dancing The Pogo back in the '80s, or perhap