Monday, October 1, 2007
Nokia is buying Navteq, the world’s biggest …
11:45PM Wilson Rothman | Nokia is buying Navteq, the world’s biggest digital map maker for $8.1 billion. Nokia wants to be a leader in location-based services, and buying Navteq gives it the best access to the best database. GPS-maker TomTom is in the process of buying Tele Atlas, Navteq’s only major worldwide competitor. [NYT] More »
James Randi Offers $1 Million If Audiophiles Can Prove $7250 Speaker Cables Are Better
11:45PM Charlie White | Our rant about those $7,250 Pear Anjou speaker cables found its way to the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF), and Randi offered $1 million to anyone who can prove those cables are any better than ordinary (and also overpriced) Monster Cables. Pointing out the absurd review by audiophile Dave Clark, who called the cables “danceable,” Randi called it “hilarious and preposterous.” He added that if the cables could do what their makers claimed, “they would be paranormal.” More »
Diamond-Coated Nokia N95 Costs $24,000 (Limit 10 Per Customer)
11:26PM Wilson Rothman | Phew. After months of waiting, your diamond-encrusted Nokia N95 is finally ready. In fact, Alexander Amosu, ringtone mogul and maker of the oh-so-necessary golden iPod, has built 10 of these N95s, each with 325 diamonds covering its 18-ct white gold surface. You’ll be glad to hear that when you pay the £12,000 sticker price, your phone also gets a year of “free” concierge service and a limited-edition number—you know, from 1 to 10. [Amosu] More »
Nokia Taunts Apple with New “Open to Anything” N95 Campaign
11:16PM Jesus Diaz | It looks like Nokia is firing cannons against the Apple armada: their latest campaign—spotted in New York last Saturday—argues that their phones are better because they are not closed devices and they are open to any third-party development. More »
Evander Holyfield Announces Real Deal Grill
11:03PM Mark Wilson | After kicking George Foreman’s arse in the ring, Evander Holyfield hopes to kick his arse again in the kitchen (with a grill, not boxing gloves). After signing with manufacturer CirTran Corp, Holyfield produced a 30-minute infomercial about the $99 Real Deal Grill that will surely Change Your Life. At the moment, we’re only moderately excited about the new animal-flesh-charring matchup. Get Don King on the line and then maybe we’ll talk. [defamer/AP] More »
Samsung SGH-t539 Beat Hits T-Mobile
10:50PM Wilson Rothman | T-Mobile’s clammy Samsung Beat EDGE music phone is official, as expected, with a 1.3-megapixel camera and music controls on its front side. Previously undiscussed are its stereo Bluetooth support and the fact that it actually comes with USB cable and 1GB microSD card, so you don’t have to pay the accessories mafia any extra. [Press Release] More »
Bush DAB Indicates Touchscreens Coming to Everything Soon
10:35PM Haroon Malik | The Bush TR04DABBLK is a retro-looking, piano black DAB, with touchscreen controls. The device has a two-line display showing useful information, including artist and station; onboard memory will store a pathetic 10 DAB and 10 FM stations. More »
Nintendo DS Sales Top 50 Million
10:29PM Mark Wilson | In just 3 years, Nintendo has sold more than 50 million DS units. Sure, that number includes two iterations of the portable—both the original fatty version and the updated light—but we offer the same sales flexibility to other consumer electronics, like iPods and PS2s. Given that Nintendo took 11 years to move over 100 million GameBoys, the DS is on track to become the most successful portable gaming system of all time, even if the new PSP Slim outsold the DS last week in Japan. [pcworld] More »Guy Riding Down a Snow Slope Breaks World Mountain Bike Speed Record: 210.4km/h
9:45PM Jesus Diaz | As you saw last Saturday, Crazy Austrian Markus Stöckl has smashed the world bike speed record on a plain mountain bike: 130.7mph (210.4km/h.) Now, here’s the video of him going down a one-mile-long snow slope in La Parva, Chile. Markus—who is also a Red Bull Air Races pilot—crushed his own record by 14.3mph. It’s not the 152.2mph that Olympic cyclist John Howard got in 1985, pedaling behind a 500hp car at Bonneville Salt Flats, but his 40-second run down that slippery slope captured on video sure looks a lot scarier. [Red Bull] More »
