We were already thinking the Meizu M6 was a damn good multimedia player, with FM and video playback plus a lower price than the iPod nano. Then Meizu announced its Meizu M6 Mini Player SE late last year, identical to the M6 except in one very important respect: It's scarcely thicker than a credit card. How does 7mm sound to you? That's just a hair fatter than the iPod nano's 6.5mm thickness.

Now it looks like we'll be seeing the finished product this August, offered only in 8GB trim, for the reasonable price of $130. Hey, that's $119 less than the 8GB nano. – Charlie White

Super Thin Meizu M6 in the Works [Meizu Me]

So here are Sony's official pics of the new DAV-IS10 mini home theater system. Last night they demoed a 2.1 system (with an annoying John Mayer song that's still stuck in my head), but the official system is a 5.1 setup. The satellites are abnormally small (I'd say they're smaller than the Neonode handset), but pump out 50 watts of power each along with a normal-sized subwoofer that delivers 200 watts. Would I personally buy them? Probably not. Here's why.

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Since we told you about Sony's PS3 firmware 1.8 rollout yesterday, there's new info about what it will and won't play over a network, and some revealing screenshots surfacing as the firmware rolls out across the world.

Since the announcement and rollout yesterday, what else have we learned about the PS3 1.8 firmware?

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This cross between Darth Vader and C-3PO is not really a robot like we told you before, but I bet it can still squash your head like a ripe melon with its air servos. The 220-pound, 6-feet-tall beast with 24 movable parts is really an automaton designed to mimic a protocol droid, which means that is remotely controlled and its functions are pre-determined, much like the automatons you see in DisneyWorld rides. And the rest of us. Still, the design is amazing, as you can see in this new gallery and a new video after the jump.

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You may or may not have heard of the iGasm, a variation on the theme of iPod-compatible vibrator, this time made by Ann Summers, purveyors of sauce and smut to saucy, smutty people in the UK.

News of this product has reached the ears of the suits black turtlenecks in Cupertino and apparently they are not happy. More, plus a picture of the iGasm unboxed (and unPantsed, you'll be pleased to hear) after the jump.

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Fohenz's new 2.1-channel PC speakers are called Aqua. For $27 (Korea only, which is a shame) you get a 3.5-inch woofer, 2-inch drive unit, mic and headset inputs, and they support 6W output power. And they've got a nice neon light that looks all '80s porno to me. With a name like Aqua, though, I think they should have made them waterproof. – Ad Dugdale

Waterdrop shape 2.1-channel PC speaker AQUA [Aving USA]

Ever wanted Dog Vision? Nope, me neither. Artist Hung Chi-Penh (whose work can currently be seen at the Virgil de Voldaire gallery in NY) however, has created a helmet that gives you the canine perspective on the world—as well as possible dizziness.

Mr Hung's helmet, shaped like a dog's head, natch, has small LCD displays inside, that are connected to a knee-high tube that looks like an elephant's trunk with a camera at the end. The camera can be controlled either by hand or by moving the body, so you can view the world from different perspectives. So, to recap: knee-high vision; dizziness— sounds more like a Friday night-cocktail-Ad-chums-high heels-dancefloor interface to me. – Ad Dugdale

'One Eye Ball' Gives You a Dog's Perspective of the World [Gearlog]

The Afterglow chair, designed by Douglas Homer, is the perfect present for the entomologist in your life. Allow me to do a little bit of sexy scene-setting for you. It's a balmy summer evening and you and he/she have been making the bug with two backs for—ooh, almost seven minutes now (and that was doing it twice).

While you lounge in the afterglow, sated and unashamed, that special insect lover in your life is studying the Afterglow on the porch, checking the creepy-crawlies and roaches that climb with wild abandon over its HDPE surface. There's an armless two-seater as well as an ottoman if you really want to glow to town. – Ad Dugdale

Afterglow HDPE chair [NOTCOT]

I've been waiting for someone to do something like this for disco light years, and when they do I find there's something a bit too Bratz about it for any serious discophile to contemplate it. As someone with a PhD in all things light-up dancefloor and Sylvester, I can tell you for starters that that pink is NO NO NO. As is the mouse mat. Whoever made this should have contacted me. I would have made it glittered and shiny and, basically, fuckable - which, let's face it, is what disco was all about. It's $20 and WRONG. – Ad Dugdale

Product Page [BB Shopping via Shiny Shiny]

Don't forget, we're tracking your comments this week and next, looking for the best and brightest to win our first prize: the XtremeMac Luna iPod dock alarm clock.

So be warned. Or advised. Or enthused. Or something... -Seamus Byrne

You gotta love those clever Nikon marketers, trying to tease us into begging them for a review unit by giving us a sneak preview, simulating the Nikon D40x with this whimsical T-shirt.

Why do they always make these things XXXXXXXXL?

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I've been waiting quite some time for this (PRODUCT) RED action to arrive here in Australia. It's all about sexy new product colours with profits going to charity. Everybody wins!

We've got hot new colours of RAZR V3 (if you're one of the eight people who don't already own one) and an H500 headset from Motorola. Strangely, the (PRODUCT) RED Motorola action is attached to Optus - wouldn't Voda be a better match? Or were they worried the colour would clash with the hue of their own red? Hmmm... Anyway, this is a bundle (RAZR + H500) going for $249.

My favourite is the RED iPod nano. I've been a nano hold out since I first saw this one pop up last year, and now I can finally succumb to the tasty red goodness. It's in 4GB and 8GB, for $279 / $349.

More product pics after the jump, including a gratuitous David Beckham shot for the ladies.

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I've always disliked UMPCs, little computers trying to run full windows to full effect. Which is why a Palm powered UMPC rumor has so much Boom! to it.

The rumored target date for the rumoured Palm UMPC continues to narrow down, while the odds go up based on the timepeg. The Brighthand boys say it's next week. But let's be clear - they have 10,000 words of speculation, but little fact. It's basically Coffee Talk ("Talk Amongst yourselves") but with pasty Treo nerds instead of New York hags.

But at least they've given the device a neat-o moniker, "Hawk" after Palm founder Jeff Hawkins. Who happens to be speaking at All Things D next week. Coincidence? I don't know, but don't go buying any stock. Please. You wall street types are animals. Seriously, go read a newspaper. – Brian Lam

Brighthand's Predictions for Palm's "Hawk" [via Gadgetlab]

It's a few days after Maker's, and I'm still in awe of how the whole nerd-fest went down. We're still sorting through the videos, and we've compiled a medley of all the dangerous Maker's Faire exhibits. You know, anything involving fire, lightning bolts, and/or killer bots. And we've set it to a background track of Loverboy. And yet, the entirety of Maker's Faire was still cooler in person. – Brian Lam

Videos by Andrew Baron for Rocketboom and Sarah Meyers for Gizmodo, with editing by the amazing Richard Blakeley.

If you're worried about accidentally throwing your Wiimote at your TV, you could either get the LCD Safety Shield we showed you yesterday or you could get this Wiimote Batarang controller adapter.

All you have to do is plop your pretty Wiimote into this ugly-ass plastic Batarang and it's sure to come flying straight back at you when you chuck it. Good news for gaming, but bad news when you try to throw this back at whoever designed this atrocious mess. And Heath Ledger. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Gametech via Wiiinside via Kotaku]

Motorola has an interesting campaign on, showing the fact that it is tough to spot the difference between genuine Motorola Bluetooth accessories and nasty Asian copies.

There are some cool test sheets doing the rounds in Asia, with side-by-side shots of legit and fake H500 and H700 units, as well as a fully packaged H700. The sheet has a peel back face so you can make your guesses, then reveal whether you got it right or wrong.

Why not give it a try? Answers below the fold.

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Did you know that when dialing 911 from your cellphone, the police can't pinpoint your location exactly? And that if you're dialing from a rural area, it becomes even worse—up to a five-mile radius? That's why this Freedom GPS text message unit is useful.

By programming in five numbers beforehand, you can activate the Freedom unit to send out your exact GPS location by SMS. This way your family members know exactly where you are when you get lost or stranded, which makes their "officer, I had no idea where to look for them, I swear!" excuse not hold up in court. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Globalsources via Slashgear via Crunchgear]

Circuit City has a decent Sony SA-FT3H 5.1-channel surround sound system for $180, which is at least $70 cheaper than most other places. The speakers are less than 1.3 inches deep and include a 150-watt subwoofer. Not a bad... Read More »

What happens when you take a talking dog bowl and add automatic feeding to it? You get an Automatic Electronic Pet Feeder with Voice Recorder, of course.

The bowl feeds your dog/cat/baby with three separate trays, which can be programmed to open at 8-, 12-, or 24-hour intervals. That means the maximum you can leave your house for is three days, unless you somehow put enough food in each tray to last more than one day.

Our idea? Make one of these for wives to use when they go away on business trips so their husbands don't starve. No really, we're totally serious. – Jason Chen

Product Page [WildElectronics via Nerd Approved]

Is your Sixaxis feeling left out from all the Wiimote charging stations you've been scoping out? Now you can build one yourself for the PS3.

All you need is some wood, USB cables, cutting blades and the ability to not hack your fingers off while you're working. On second thought, you'd probably be better off waiting for a pre-made one. – Jason Chen

Instruction Page [Instructables]

I am a bit of a wine snob, if I do say so myself. Every time I am ready to crack open that bottle of Boone's Farm I have to make sure I know it is the right temperature for consuming. That stuff is pretty classy at $3 per bottle and I wouldn't want to ruin a bottle by compromising its flavor. Checking wine temperature is even easier with this device. It uses infrared technology to check the temperature of the wine and if it is ready for drinking you can flip out the corkscrew and get drinking. It also includes a bottle opener if you want to know your beer is the right temperature and also a knife so can temperature check that fish before hacking it open. Haven't you heard the proverb: "Those who hack a cold fish go home a warm duck"? $130. –Travis Hudson

Product Page [Via Coolest-Gadgets]

HP won an a contract with NASA worth $5.6 billion dollars. The contract will have HP supplying the U.S. space agency with computers, servers and printers for the next 7 years.

Nintendo set their prediction for the total lifetime Wii sales in North America at 35 million consoles, just shy of the PS2's total from last generation. Who would have guessed numbers like these for Nintendo during the Gamecube years?

2006 was another record setting year for online ad revenue. It reached almost $17 billion dollars, showing a 35% gain over 2005. Now if only they could actually start making the ads fun or interesting.

Palm's stock rose 4% yesterday, all because their CFO canceled a speech due to his back going out. However investors thought it was an indication that they were going to be bought out. Looks like the jokes on them.– Ben Longo

Sony dropped some big news at it's New York event Wednesday night. It debuted the new DAV-IS10 DVD home theater system. What sets it apart from the rest is the size of the satellites. As you can see from the pic, they're just a few notches bigger than a quarter. The 2.1 system will debut in July. It'll also be able to upscale DVDs to near HD quality. It'll sell for $799. – Louis Ramirez

Press Release

Insomniac's won't need to hear, but the rest of you 'sleepers' better read on.

Bose patents surround sound speakers embedded in your chair.
Yeah, we've never seen that already on the market.

Wireless guitars confirmed for all platforms on Guitar Hero 3
Rock out with your plug out.

Hitachi to add mind readers to their product range?
The trick is to get from concept to reality.

Solar aircraft getting set for round the world trip in 2011.
For now it's the greenest flight sim on the planet.

No more putting our iPods in sandwich bags for us! This completely waterproof TwinBird MP3 player withstands shower water, sink water, bath water, and even pool water in order to bring you your 128MB of music wherever you go. Wait, 128MB? That waterproofing must have taken up just about the entirety of the player for it to only have a 1998-level of storage. – Jason Chen

Throw your DAP in the water ! [Akihabara News via Uber Gizmo]

After all of the downtime shenanigans, XM is making it worth your wild, your 87 wild cents. All you have to do is call up their customer care number (800-967-2346), complain and XM will credit you with two days... Read More »

Now that we've undressed the ThinkPad T61, Lenovo's teasing us with a special "Reserve Edition" ThinkPad that has us reaching for our cameras once again.

Little is known about the model, but the folks at Electronista seem to think it'll be a leather-bound ThinkPad, which makes sense considering the teaser site. I'm not too keen on leather notebooks, so I'm hoping its not. In the meantime we'll have to sit tight till more news is released. – Louis Ramirez

Teaser Site [via Electronista]

It may be the warmer time of the year (for most of us), but that doesn't mean we can't look ahead to the winter. This is a conceptual design of a footwarmer that is "powered" by a laptop power brick. They are regular slippers equipped with a pocket that can hold powerbricks of all shapes and sizes. Just boot up your laptop and let the brick do the rest.

This sounds like a solid way to heat your feet, but don't come running to us when you get third-degree burns on your feet because the slippers caught on fire from improper ventilation. Just for your own reference, this is from the same folks that brought you the hotdoll. –Travis Hudson

Feeladdicted [Via OhGizmo!]

I'm 30 today. I woke up this morning and went for a jog up to Twin Peaks. I noticed how much harder it is to run with an extra couple of inches on my waist. Then I looked down and realized it could be the gigantic Halo 3 Zune in my hand. I got back to the apartment, thankful for the kind weather and the rare chance to exercise, and made myself a lumberjack platter of pancakes, 3 eggs, sausage, bacon, potatoes and a cup of ketchup and maple syrup. Damn Zune, slowing me down.

So what do I want for a present? Oh, so nice of you to ask! You don't have to get me anything. I have what I need. Buuuut....since you asked, there are some things I'd really, really like:

I'd like an interview with Steve Jobs, where...

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Here's a little widget from Matrox that tricks PCs and Macs into thinking they're outputting video to just one monitor, but DualHead2Go feeds that signal to two monitors with resolutions up to 1920x1200 each depending on your system's graphics capability. What's really new is the ability to take that VGA output from your notebook or desktop computer and turn it into two DVI outputs, each feeding its own digital display on the other side.

You can even have three monitors if you also use the screen on your laptop. Plus, it'll give your desktop machine dual DVI monitor capability even if has just a VGA output. Take a look at the gallery below to see how small this palm-sized dongle is. Shipping this month, just add a couple of displays and it'll satisfy that dual-monitor jones of yours for a mere $229. – Charlie White

Press Release [Matrox]

With the recent launch of CableCARD Vista Media Centers, many people are reconsidering buying (or upgrading to) a high definition DVR. But with all the different choices and various benefits and drawbacks of each, it's hard to choose the... Read More »

This is wrong on so many different levels, but Lamps Plus is now selling a night light that comes in the shape of a frosty brew. Traditionally night lights are used for children who are afraid of the dark, so beer isn't really an appropriate theme for kids, but regardless the $15 night light will remind the little tykes who is in the next room over waiting with the belt.

Yesterday we saw a more traditional beer mug lamp and I pondered why these beer lamps have so much head, and I think i realized it. If there is not head on the beer lamp it will just look like a giant mug of piss, and nobody likes that. –Travis Hudson

Product Page [Via nerd approved]

Remember that leaked Zen Wav we told you about? It's official. Officially meh, that is.

The player has two built-in speakers, a 1.5-inch screen, 2GB storage, 30 hours of battery life, MP3/WMA/WAV playback, and Transcoded AVI support. There's not much else going on with this player, but as far as we know it's only in Singapore for now. Check out their site if you want a closer look. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Creative]

Hey dudes. We're looking to do some video conversion and want to ask you, the readers, what you think is the best for online video conversion.

YouTube is a little slow in conversion, so we're looking elswhere.

So far the contenders are HeyWatch, Media Convert, Mux and Zamzar, with HeyWatch in the lead. Which ones do you prefer?

– Jason Chen

If you're anything like me, you'd have poor circulation and really cold hands even when it's 75 degrees outside. Don't feel sorry for me, because I'm going to order this heated keyboard.

It's AC powered and not USB powered, unlike the Thanko USB warming mouse, which means it should have no problems getting up to an optimal temperature in a reasonable amount of time. We're not sure whether it's the keys that are heated or if there's heat coming through the cracks, but either way this is totally better than improving circulation through exercise. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Gizmodo via Pocket Lint]

We're usually not too stoked about printers, but this slim wall-mounted wireless printer is different. This design concept is thin enough to hang on the wall like a picture frame, or you can prop it up on a tabletop. When you've printed your page, it displays it for you right there as if it were a work of art. Push the printed paper out the slot on the side, and you're good to go.

We are a little curious about how it gets its power; surely this is not a battery-operated printer, is it? Could it run on a mini fuel cell? For a perfect plug-in installation, perhaps you could fish a wire through the wall to feed it power from behind. Nevertheless, a design like this could be handy, reminding you that you've printed something by displaying it right there in your face. This is a design concept whose technology is here today. Somebody, please build one of these. – Charlie White

Wall-Mountable Wireless Printer [They Should Do That]

If you hate wires as much as I do, you'll find this DIY interesting. It's the brainchild of Bob Loblaw, a user (and fantastic lawyer) over at Instructables who created his own wire-wrangler/charger for his Motorola RAZR. The steps are pretty straightforward if you've got the time to build your own accessories (although oddly enough, it requires a shotgun cleaner). Otherwise you can do like I do and use a small cord/rubberband to tie up loose wire. Any other suggestions to get rid of wires, feel free to drop 'em in comments. – Louis Ramirez

Cellphone Charger Wire Wrangler & Dock [Instructables via Gearfuse]

We recently got a close look at the latest 1080p Ambilight LCD TVs from Philips, the ones that cast colorful glows against the back of your wall in a way that is known to soothe and delight Brian Lam. First introduced at CES, they mostly have "2-channel Ambilight" but one, the premium 42-inch model mentioned below, has full "Ambilight Surround."

If tripping the Ambilight fandango isn't your idea of a good time, there are other features that might be more interesting to you. The 120Hz refresh rate found on half of the models is intended to beat the 8ms response time. (This effect is achieved using a multitude of differing techniques, and it might take six months or so for us to be sure who has it figured out.) The Perfect Pixel HD technology for sharpness is also key. Make the jump for my thoughts on a side-by-side comparison with a Samsung, a gallery of my Ambilight shots, plus a cute little newcomer called Modea.

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The T-Mobile Wing is on one hand, another HTC smartphone with that same old HTC form factor. On the other, it's the first Windows Mobile 6 Professional phone on this side of the pond...either pond. So what did the... Read More »

I got time with the Zonbu, a $99 Linux PC that is amazingly as simple to use as a Mac. That's because it's preloaded with best-of-breed open source software for almost anything you'd need, all managed via the other cool thing the Zonbu has: A 4GB CF card that acts as a cache for the 25-100GB of personal storage on Amazon's S3 servers. In other words, this machine syncs, swaps, backs up your data automatically, over the wire. I love it.

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It's not quite the 2.0 firmware rumored to be coming out soon, but this 1.8 firmware for the PlayStation 3 seems to have some nice features of its own too.

Among the sparklers are upscaling PS1, PS2 and DVD movies to 1080p, remote play on PSPs over the internet, and streaming of pictures, music, and video over the network from DLNA3 enabled devices. We haven't heard much about Digital Living Network Alliance before, but it's a bunch of companies that collaborated into making interoperability easier. We're not sure which products support this though. If Sony keeps up this line of fantastic firmware updates, the PS3 may actually be something worth buying by the middle of 2008! – Jason Chen

Press Release [Sony]

The Solar Impulse is Bertrand Piccard's 100% solar-powered airplane. He plans to go around the world with it in 2011, but the pilots have started training today using an extremely complex virtual simulator that takes into account all its features. It has a 262-feet wingspan full of photovoltaic cells that power its 40kW engines. The Solar Impulse can move its 4,409-pounds carbon-fiber body at an altitude of 39,370-feet, while maintaining a 43.9mph average speed. Full specs and a picture of the team after the jump.

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Tired of all the pocket (or shirt, if you're a tool) real estate your iPod shuffle takes up? Monster's iFreePlay cordless headphones (which look extremely familiar) let you jack your shuffle directly into a side dock built into the left ear.

These arguably work better than their nano counterparts, though, since you can control the shuffle pretty easily without actually eyeballing it. While cheaper than some other "wireless" setups, $50 seems a bit high. More eyeCandy after the jump.

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Vending machines are just too inefficient, and Brit company Waterwerkz aims to change that with its PouchLink system. It combines the convenience of a drink machine with the assembly method of soda fountain, adding filtered water from outside pipes to quickly mix drinks inside a machine that amounts to a mini factory.

Just like any soda fountain, water is mixed with syrup inside this machine, and the concoction is placed inside a flexible pouch that will be available in different sizes. Unlike conventional drink machines, this technique could allow a machine to store the fixin's for 2000 drinks. When unfilled, those pouches are surprisingly compact, and 2000 of them fit on a reel that resembles a big roll of toilet paper.

The company has Nestlé on board with one of its new fruit drinks, as well as another UK soft drinks manufacturer, Bottle Green Drinks. There's no word whether carbonated drinks will work with the system, or if soda giants Coke or Pepsi are interested.