The best thing about Casio's latest Exilim, the Hi-Zoom EX-V8, is the new 16:9 video format, which pumps the recording resolution to 848 x 480 pixels, using the H.264 Advanced Video Codec. Like the previous models, these can send videos directly to YouTube, but now in panoramic format. Specs after the jump.

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Just in time for IFA in Berlin, Amazon has spilt the beans on the Creative Zen, their new flash-based portable media player available in 4GB, 8GB and 16GB with full color 2.5-inch display, FM-tuner and SD slot.

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HP's Photosmart A826 is that blue egg-shaped printer you may have seen bopping around the web of late. This $250 DIY home photo kiosk with 7" touchscreen is just bizarre enough to tickle our fancy. The Photosmart C8180 is HP's most ambitious all-in-one in a while: For $400, you get integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, plus a built-in CD and DVD burner with HP's Lightscribe laser-etching label technology. And oh yeah, HP is rolling out like 13 other printers, but none that exude quite the same level of sexiness. [Crave]

Here's a helium balloon with a twist: the Air Ray is modeled after a manta ray but instead of lazily plying its way through the ocean, it floats gracefully through the air. The guys at Festo, a company that specializes in factory automation but seems to have a lot of spare time for fun projects, created a beating wing drive for this lighter-than-air remote-controlled craft, using the "Fin Ray Effect" to make it fly like a sea creature. Better not try flying this outside with any winds blowing—you'll need lots of space in a swank Eurostyle atrium to pull this one off. [Festo]

Amimon showed us its WHDI (Wireless High Definition Interface) working perfectly at last January's CES and today the company is shipping that chipset to manufacturers of TVs, projectors and other consumer electronics products. The chipset enables uncompressed 720p and 1080i video to be transmitted over the 5GHz wireless band, using 20MHz of bandwidth and reaching distances up to 100 feet with the same quality as HDMI cable. Two of the chipsets ganged together send 1080p video wirelessly, using 40MHz of bandwidth. Amimon officials talked with Gizmodo about the cost of this technology and when we'll be seeing it roll out to consumers.

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I lied. Logitech's newest ClearChat wired headsets are not the sexiest of accoutrements, though they may prove useful in a frantic booty-call situation. The ClearChat Comfort ($40) features plush padded earcups and in-line volume control, plus a noise-canceling microphone. The step-up ClearChat Pro ($50) has a few extra features.

On the Pro, SoundSwitch lets you juggle different noisy apps (games, music, Skype) without going deaf, and its headset-based controls for muting and volume take the place of the inline slider.

Either one you choose may be useful in making that successful call, but for your own sake please remember to take them off when she comes to the door.

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Monster Cable's Noel Lee is about to play his next card: His move is to stratify his assorted cable offerings into five distinct categories, starting in the $30 range. Each category will be designated by a "speed rating," and will deliver "demonstrable difference in high-def image quality." But as many of you know, Gizmodo research has found that many cables determined too poor to carry 1080p signal in tests nevertheless do fine in real-world scenarios.

The five categories are bewilderingly named as follows:
Standard Speed - MC 500HD and U3 V500 HD
High Speed - MC 700HD and U3 V600 HD
Advanced High Speed - M650 HD, MC 800HD and U3 V850 HD
Ultra High Speed - M850 HD, MC 1000HD and U3 V1000 HD
Ultimate High Speed - M1000 HD

My guess is that these cables will all be of decent to high quality across the board, and more importantly, I will bet that even the "Standard Speed" cables will deliver 1080p video over short distances (3 to 6 feet) and perhaps over longer ones (35 to 50 feet) without trouble. Why? Because Gizmodo has already discovered cheap cables that can do this with no problem, so Monster's would have to be worse than the generics in order to prove the value of the high-end ones. This is my guess, let's call it my "educated guess," and I will be happy to test the theory out when Monster feels like sending over some test samples.

In the meantime, feel free to peruse the press release:

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Looking like something Doc would own in Back to the Future, Richard Mille's Planetarium-Tellurium clock is a beautifully intricate device, able to provide extremely accurate details about the workings of our Solar System. The clock provides not only the exact positions of the Earth, Venus, Mercury, the Sun and the Moon (who needs the other planets, anyway?) but the current axis of the Earth, its position relative to the Sun, the rotation of the Moon, and even the current signs of the Zodiac.

Mille used a famed astronomer-physicist to help with the exact calculations, and the only data that's a bit faulty is the current axis of the Earth -- which can get off by plus or minus one degree every 7.7 years (just faulty, faulty craftsmanship.) No price or release info just yet, but we're going to guess it's going to cost somewhere between a flux capacitator and a human kidney. [WatchLuxus via Technobob]

Want to make friends with sex offenders but aren't quite sure where they live? Let Vision 20/20 help you. The free web-based program gives users the ability to find the location of any sex offenders living in their area -- including the crimes and the intensely creepy mugshots for each. The program is easy to use -- simply input your address, city and zip code, and a flashy map pops up with mustached, Village People-style markers showing you where your local neighborhood creep is.

According to the Vision 20/20 website, there's 650,000 registered sex offenders in the US and they've got them all placed neatly on a map for you. Try it -- it's fun for the whole vigilante-loving family. [Vision 20/20 via TechCrunch]

Looking like something created in a joint venture between Nickelodeon and a mysterious Alien Race, the mi VDO FX DV Cam, made by B2Stuf allows would-be LonelyGirls to take pictures, record video and edit their films on-the-go. The cam includes a 1.5" color screen, a 4x digital zoom, a built-in speaker, an SD slot that is expandable up to 2GB, and 18 built-in special effects.

The quality isn't great -- but that really doesn't matter when it comes to YouTube, especially if you've got a kitten laying around, just waiting to do something adorable. The gadget is available for $99 at Target and is particularly great to have whenever an orgy spontaneously occurs. [B2Stuf via ChipChick]

If there's one thing the world sorely needs it's some sort of place where robots can go to chat, find love, and make plans to destroy Humanity. Luckily, South Korea is well-aware of their plight and has announced plans to build "Robot Land" -- a city entirely created for the robotics industry. The city will feature facilities for research, development, and production of robots -- it'll even have a stadium for robot-related competitions, like the much-heralded "Who Can Malfunction And Kill Everyone First" contest.

The project will cost $530 million dollars and will begin construction sometime in 2009 -- which is also the year North Korea begins construction on their very own "Crazy Killer Robot Land" -- a land that may or may not have nuclear weapons. [WaziWazi via SciFi]

PinStack.com has posted new pictures of the upcoming BlackBerry Pearl 2, as well as some new spec information that will make your eyes bleed in profound joy. According to Pinstack, the new Pearl 2 will have a slew of improvements -- from a better email layout and display to improved voice control software. It'll also have a WiFi-browser, an external entry MicroSD, a 3.5mm headset jack and the 4.3 OS installed.

Still not much information on pricing or a release date, aside from the Thanksgiving rumor, but we're definitely liking the slimmer body -- it's something we could really see ourselves settling down and starting a family with. [Pinstack]

In CEO-orgasming news, Pano Logic announced their network-based Pano Device, which, using a main host, virtualizes a copy of Windows XP and Vista without the need for an actual PC. Coming equipped with an Ethernet jack for the network connection, along with three USB ports, a VGA port for the display and audio I/O jacks for dedicated speakers and microphones, the tiny Pano promises to cut Total Cost of Ownership by 70%.

The Pano Device requires a Pano Management Server that hosts copies of XP or Vista and will cost $20 dollars a month per Pano device attached to the network. The server and device will be available in September and will bring a tear of joy to a business owner's eye. [Panologic via Electronista]

A guy claims that he's figured out how to use the iPhone's accelerometers to do wacky stuff and games such as the ones shown in the video. Real? Or fancy video editing? We'll find out soon, since he promised to post the source in his blog. [Medallia]

Well, if the papers want to finger us for dumb stuff, we'll poke them right back.

In yesterday's Herald Sun, a story on the latest iPhone unlock (you know, those unlocks we've covered here every which way over the past umpteen weeks) they leak some clearly confidential news that Apple has sold off that part of the business to Microsoft.

Haha. Suck it, News! We're so much better than you. When we typo shit like that, we can come straight back in and edit history. Print is forever (though so too are screen grabs and the Wayback Machine, I guess...) -Seamus Byrne [iPhoneMojo]

According to an internal employee email, the year-and-a-half old ad campaign from AT&T that claims they're the network with the fewest dropped calls is reportedly over. This decision comes from JD Power giving T-Mobile the most dropped calls award in... Read More »

This might look like a normal, albeit outdated, landline phone, but it hides a whole lot more than that behind its unassuming exterior. It actually contains a motion detector that'll give you a call and allow you to listen in on whatever's happening in the room. It's perfect for listening in on, uh, robbers. Yes, that's it, robbers. [Product Page via Product Dose]

Yeah, I loves me some pancakes.

Hey, movie quote trivia - where's this from: "Where is pancakes house?"

Record broken for 5GHz Wi-Fi distance.
Italy to Sardinia in 5Mbps. Whooosh!

Sanyo LP-Z2000 enters cheap 1080p projector battle.
And we all know who wins this kind of battle... you! Yes, YOU!

Sony VAIO LT HD PC/TV is a mini entertainment centre.
Would be great in student housing, if a student could afford one.

Video of Frucci playing Xbox 360 on that boring little Panasonic TV.
Okay, the stunning 103-inch plasma. Yeah, I'm jealous.

A lot of the DIY projects we feature require soldering, which unlike soldiering, doesn't usually involve loss of life, but is still painful as crap. Instructables has a guide on soldering for beginners, which is totally useful if you didn't spend a semester soldering your fingers together because your female lab partner didn't know what she was doing (but managed to help you through the "math" part of the class). [Instructables via Lifehacker]

Although laptop coolers are all pretty mediocre when it comes down to cooling, this cooler design from Bostjan Majcen actually looks quite nice. The fan in the middle is hidden behind an Apple logo—which pleases the Apple fans—and the body itself has four USB ports and a tilted, lifted stand so you can see your screen better. If they made that fan in the middle powerful enough to actually do something other than blow slightly warm air gently on our crotch, we'd actually like one of these. [Yanko Design]

Nokia's really into this new fangled Bluetooth techno-mology, shooting out Bluetooth addons like they shoot out phones—scattershot, hoping they hit something good with at least one. They've got the LD-4W GPS module, BH-903 Stereo Bluetooth Headset with A2DP, BH-0-2 (non-Stereo) Bluetooth headset, MD-7W Bluetooth speakers, and the DC-1 Power Pack. These are all made for standard Nokia phones, save for the headsets, which will probably work with most other Bluetooth devices. The most interesting one is the BH-903, which doesn't just have A2DP, but AVRCP, PBAP, HFP, HSP, and TSFU profiles. [Nokia via All About Symbian]

Well, pop my steampunk posting cherry; this delight of the age that was not, from Hove in England, is actually for sale. The guys at Boing Boing have dubbed it the "Ocular Thingy" and we are thinking that is a pretty accurate title.

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There's been a lot in the news lately about China's penchant for putting cancer-causing lead paint on children's toys that they then ship to the States. If you're worried that the pacifier you're about to stick into Nerd Jr's mouth is hazardous, just grab one of these intimidating-looking X-MET3000TXR+ (now that's a gadget name) from Oxford Instruments. It'll scan for lead as well as arsenic, cadmium, mercury, chrome, nickel and other hazardous metals, ensuring that the only thing going in your kid's mouth is good old-fashion American plastic. [Open PR via The Raw Feed]

Here's a wild idea for a design concept: put together a speaker with 12 sides, otherwise known as a dodecahedron, and you'll get a 360-degree blast of music. These spacey-looking Quasar speakers send their sound all over the place, so no matter where you are in the room, their sweet audio will be spilling out from within their crystalline confines, heading right for your ears.

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This is NASA's new rocket engine, the liquid-methane-powered 5M15, being tested in the Mojave desert. It runs on methane for a few reasons: "It's cheaper, it requires much less insulation and it exists on several planets NASA hopes to travel to." Yes, this is the rocket that'll take our grandkids to Mars. You're gonna want to turn your sound up for this one. [Wired via Book of Joe]

I just tested the Apollo IM Version Negative 1, which is touted as an early beta but is actually probably an early alpha. Although it actually loads my buddy list on after the login information's entered, it only loads a... Read More »

This Princeton Bluetooth adapter is probably the smallest USB adapter we've seen yet, being made of mostly a USB tip and a tiny little body. The USB adapter works on both PCs and Macs, has Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, and sticks out only a tiny bit so you don't accidentally snap it off. If our laptops didn't already have Bluetooth, we'd be on this faster than Big Daddys on Little Sisters. [Princeton]

You saw the photos of me nerding out with Panny's 103-inch TV and an Xbox 360, now see the video of it in action. Yeah, I'm standing way, way too close, and I did get pretty motion sick playing for more than five minutes, but it was totally worth it. The video, shot by enterprising videographer Alex Goldberg, includes commentary by Panasonic Display President Andrew Nelkin, who really loves himself some Wii Boxing.

Most MP4 watches look fantastic if you're 12 years old and really love plastic and rubber watches, but Epoq's latest MP4 watch brings a slight bit of class to the video watch business. Made of stainless steel, this watch has a 1.5-inch LCD screen, 2GB memory, MP4 video and MP3/WMA/WAV audio. $199 isn't cheap, but how else are you going to get video on a watch? [First To You via Sci Fi]

It was around this time last year that Sprint raised their SMS rates to $0.15, allowing you to get out of your contract for free, since it constituted a material change. They've gone and raised SMS rates again, from $0.15... Read More »

You can read about it all you want, but to be in its presence is another thing altogether. And no, I'm not talking about Frucci. We gave you a sugary lick of its sweetness last Friday on site, but now here are some of the technical details and a nerdier gallery of our experience with Panasonic's 103-inch $70,000 1080p plasma wunderscreen.

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Microsoft just launched a new blog on their MSDN network (their network for developers) for hackers. Microsoft, of course, hires "white hat" hackers to come and work for them by throwing money at "talent," and having them test Microsoft products for security vulnerabilities and weaknesses. (Something tells us they need to throw more money at this problem.) In any case, despite being called and aimed at hackers, who knows whether actual hackers will get any use out of this blog. [MSDN]

Although the "upcoming" Zune music kiosk download feature seems obvious thanks to the player's Wi-Fi capabilities, being able to download music onto your iPod or iPhone on the go seems less obvious. However, 22Moo has just announced a date for their iPod- and iPhone-compatible internet kiosk station that lets you download movies, videos, games and music onto your player when you're on the go. The launch is planned for January '08 at CES and MacWorld. [iPhoneTower]

You'd better hurry up and get in line, because the limited-edition Young Woz and Jobs Playset is going on sale in just two days. Tomy will be cranking out this little PodBrix set made out of modified LEGO, featuring the young Steve Jobs and his Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak working in Steve's parents' garage to create one of the first Apple computers. It looks like they're well on their way toward Appledom in this set, though, because that looks more like an Apple II than that primitive first PC created by the dynamic duo.

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Beer companies have been using regular women to sell their product for a while, but when they get into robotic women, that's when we start to pay attention. Thanks Ray!

If all you've got is a handful of albums in your MP3 library, this 1GB EcoLong player should be all you need for your portable music needs. Not only does it play back over 85 hours of continuous music, it does it on one single AAA battery. Oh, and it has FM frickin' radio! C'mon. If this came out in 2001, it would have dominated the MP3 scene. [NHC via Impress]

This week on Coolness Roundup, Gizmodo's Charlie White and Sci Fi Tech's Stephen Schleicher spill the beans on Adobe's new version of Flash. Could high-def YouTube be far behind? The duo also answer listener email talk about a new rumored Apple iPod nano. [Free Podcast on iTunes or at Coolness Roundup]

We like to celebrate all things drinking just like the next guy, but we're kind of scratching our heads over this goofy table lamp that attempts to splash the color of your favorite booze all over your walls. Just insert the neck of that bottle of wine, liquor or whatever else into this rocker-shaped lighting fixture, and the spotlight within shines up through the liquid, bathing your drinking space with the muted crimson hue of a fine Cabernet or making it murky with the earthy caramel color of that Johnny Walker Black.

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Even though these Wolverine ESP players are not exactly sleek, they can do just about anything with video and audio, and now this one's packed with 250GB of storage. Except for a bit of a color change, it looks just the same as its predecessor that we reviewed last year, with that same 3.6-inch LCD display that's looking pretty damn good at 320x240. We found the Wolverine ESP to be quite useful, even though we don't really flash it around to impress anybody.

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Sure, it's cool to have a "unique" abode that sets you apart from all the cookie-cutter apartment dwellers, but there's a fine line between interesting and impractical. The Single Hauz goes ahead and takes a flying leap over that line right into crazytown. I mean, I'm sure that living on top of a pole in the middle of a lake is fun and all, but the commute to work has got to suck. [ProductPage via GadgetLab]

This Sony LT HD PC/TV makes its mark as a mini home theater with its Blu-ray drive on board as well as a CableCard slot. But that Blu-ray drive not only plays back HD movies on the PC's 22-inch widescreen, but can also record 50 gigs of sweet HD on a single disk. It has a lot more that'll turn it into a space-saving entertainment center, too.

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While some people try to decide if an iPhone is really worth the $600, a Russian rich-man without a violin tried to buy a U.S. B-52 Stratofortress bomber a few days ago, at a Moscow air show.