Remember the Chumby? It’s that kinda fat, always connected Widget browser. A few production models have gone out to the public, and it’s looking pretty good if you fall for their marketing, referring to it as “cute” instead of “obese.” (Note: I think it’s ugly in black but I dig the leather grips.)
This video is more for the hardcore Chumby enthusiast, but fast forward to the middle if you want to see the Chumby in action. YouTube seems quick on the device, with fluid playback. And for $200, it might be a nice toy to fiddle around with on a lazy Sunday morning. Did that come out perverted to anyone else? It wasn’t meant to. (For once, I know.) [cheapedia via engadget]
According to Ars Technica, the iPhone bills are a complete waste of paper and resources. Knowing that they can go up to 52 double-sided pages long and beyond, we agree. Apparently, AT&T itemizes everything in the most detailed way, even when and how you surf the Internet via EDGE.
For instance, I know that on July 27 at 3:21 p.m. I had some data use that, under the To/From heading, AT&T has helpfully listed as “Data Transfer.” The Type of file? “Data.” My total charge? $0.00.
Personally, I think it’s great that they give their clients all the detail they possibly can, but here’s a free tip for the guys at the Death Star: send the bill with the short summary and provide all the billing details on-line. Or while you are at it, create a special billing page optimized for the iPhone screen so people can check their usage and spending on-the-go.
Really, The Steve is not going to be a happy bunny about this, Randall. [Ars Technica]
A dead man got a $218 trillion bill —trillion as in $218,000,000,000,000 Washingtons— from his cellphone carrier and a letter telling him to settle within ten days or face legal action.
One of the drawbacks of the 2nd gen. iPod Shuffle was that it lacked an integrated docking method. Monster obviously noticed the flaw and released the iSlim Shuffle charger in response. It is impressively small. At $14.95 the price is reasonable. Considering the Shuffle is an absolute minimalist player, spending more to kit it out probably is not the main idea. Still, that has not stopped it being decked out in 18K solid gold in the past.
There has been much ado in the last week about how incredibly stupid Apple fanboys are. Eat some humble pie MS lovers, how crazy is this? A Microsoft House!
In contrast, we had the plastic surgeon that operated on his big clunky thumbs so he could use the iPhone with improved accuracy. Then Heather got her knickers in a twist over at Jezebel—apparently, her boyfriend has as good as traded her in for an iPhone. She retorted with the blazing article, “The iPhone Is Cool And All But Can You Stick Your Dick In It?”
While Dell is not officially supporting their Windows Mobile 6 on their Axim X50 and X51 models, those who own the VGA versions might be interested in a new port created by a philanthropist programmer. Maybe the mod scene is the only place various smartphone users will find their WM6 fix, because it sure seems like there are a lot of dragging feet when it comes to mobile OS upgrades. We know it’s just software, big corporations. And we know that in many cases we don’t need new phones to run it. [XDAdevs via downloadsquad]
DOOM is on the iPhone! Hoorah! The iPhone was worth the $599 after all! Well, almost. The game runs, but it can’t be controlled and it’s lacking audio of any sort.
Think of it as a Hello World app but with satanic monsters attacking your defenseless body. We do, however, very much look forward to blasting away hellspawn with the touch of a finger. A middle finger. [iphoneworld]Thanks everybody!
There really isn’t anything you can’t build using LEGO. Case in point: Check out this LEGO dock for the Sharp [es]W-ZERO3, a slightly older Japanese smartphone. The builder has cradles for both vertical and horizontal orientations of the phone, and each one has a LEGO man standing guard over it to stare down marauders. It’s not the most hardcore LEGO project ever, but it’s definitely one of the more practical ones. Should we go ahead and place our bets on how long it’ll take for a “special” iPhone version to follow?
galleryPost('legocrade', 4, 'LEGO Cellphone Cradle');
[Arupapa via Gizmodo Japan]
Word on the Web is Google are shutting down their—not so hot—premium service branch of Google Video. This would not be a big deal if upon closing any content that was purchased still remained playable—but this is a big deal because any purchased content will be rendered useless when Goggle sticks the knife in on August 15, 2007.
You may be thinking that no one actually purchased from Google Video, but contrary to popular belief that is not true. At least one person did, (Tom over at CNET) and we suspect there will be a few more disgruntled customers, too. Tom at CNET received an email yesterday detailing Google’s big plan:
This papercraft engine only needs to sit on a cup of hot coffee to drive its pistons. No, it’s not the precious caffeine that drives the motion, but the Stirling engine design, in which the difference between alternating hot and cold gas pressure is harnessed for power.
Running for up to an hour on a boiling cup of coffee, the engine is said to work even better over cold surfaces, like ice. For $30, you get both a small piece of history and to make the world of paper your bitch. Not a bad deal at all. [product via boingboing]
