This meter-high ladybug is a prototype robot cleaner but, if tests go well, could be the new face of washroom hygiene in Japan. As well as putting a nice shine to the bathroom floor with its scrubbing abilities, the light-up insect, which is being developed for NEXCO, has all sorts of other skills. More »
Responding to Vodafone’s whining and legal action about the iPhone in Germany, T-Mobile has published a press release that basically tells Vodafone to TFSU: T-Mobile thinks that Vodafone’s claims are without merit and only driven by self-interest. To avoid legal trouble, however, they are now offering an unlocked iPhone for $US999, just like every manufacturer (including Vodafone) do with every other mobile phone out there. More »
The Nintendo DS TV Tuner was released yesterday in Japan for about $60 and the people from Impress have got their hands on one. The device will let you watch digital terrestrial television on the DS top screen while giving all sorts of controls on the bottom part. The surprise: it includes the all-time-classic Game&Watch Fire game in the package. Can’t remember Fire or even the Game&Watch? Check the retro godness after the jump: More »
Eye-O Data calls their flash-based 16GB HDMC UZ16ZM a “Pocketable HDD,” but knowing that its 2 x 2.3 x 0.7-inch body is waterproof and can survive under a meter of water, we will call it “Dunkable HDD”. Just because we can and because I feel like doughnuts and coffee. Available for $241 in Japan, the Eye-O Data HDMC UZ16ZM includes a rubber USB cable: More »
We just got the advance word on the American Express holiday My WishList deals, running from November 27 to December 13. If you recall, Amex sells certain hot products for super cheap in very limited supplies, but you have to go to the site and try to buy it on a certain day (and yes, with an American Express card). It’s really just a game, because demand always comically dwarfs supply. But there are other products that go on sale immediately, and are available at low but not necessarily insane prices until they sell out. And they always sell out. Before you go and shoot your wad during the Black Friday frenzy, you might want to check out this year’s lineup, edited down to the most Giz-appropriate selections (i.e. no spa retreats or studded mini clutches):
AU: I don’t own an Amex, but if you do it might be worth looking for an Aussie equivalent? The tie-in with the pre-Christmas sales is probably US specific. Of course, here in Australia it’s all about post-Christmas sales. Which are obviously better for retailers than consumers. -SB
While the gaming press leaves you with impressions of the king of all rhythm games, Rock Band, I’m going to tackle the hardware, which the Best Buy in SF had plenty of as of this afternoon. Let me start out by saying that the gear looked smaller on the internet; I’m too old to have toy instruments cluttering up my living room. I guess that leaves lying about them being MIDI devices, since I’m not getting rid of this stuff any time soon.
According to Informationweek and Computerworld, Segate has inked a deal with Staples that will bring data recovery services to all of the retail chain’s 1400 stores. The deal will allow users to reclaim their lost data from any type of digital media, regardless of brand or condition. After a free evaluation, the experts will determine whether or not the data can be salvaged and what fee should be charged for its recovery.
The data recovery will be done on site unless the problem is particularly tricky — in that case the device would be sent to the Seagate lab. Turnaround times are expected to be 3-5 days for smaller devices and a week for large devices. The recovered data will be presented to the customer on a Seagate USB device, or a 6GB Seagate pocket drive depending on the amount of data recovered. In the event that the process fails, the customer will not be charged.
The Staples / Segate partnership definitely sounds like a great option for anyone who isn’t in the habit of backing up their vast porn collections. However, until more pricing information is made available, it is hard to tell whether this presents a cheaper alternative to other services out there —although it had damn well better be a better option than the f’ng Geek Squad. [Informationweek and Computerworld] More »
According to iSuppli, Vizio, of Sam’s Club and other fine club merchant fame, holds on to its spot as no. 1 supplier of LCD TVs in the US for Q3 2007, with 13 percent of sets shipped. But that’s a .7 percent drop from last quarter, while every other major player saw a spike.
Climbing to 12.8 percent, Samsung’s now just .2 percent away from the LCD lead (it’s winning in flat-panels overall). If the trend continues, Vizio will drop a couple of spots as soon as next quarter. The question is whether that’s because brand name sets are getting cheaper, or people are now simply willing to pay a bit more to get a better quality TV. [Bits]
AU: Who the hell is Vizio? (Budget, budget, budget) -SB
newVideoPlayer("pcstore_gawker.flv", 475, 286);PSN’s director of operations, Eric Lempel, walks us through buying and downloading stuff to your PSP from the freshly launched PC PlayStation Store. It’s not the most elegant setup, and you’ve gotta use a loader app, but it’s not too painful either. Mac support and Wi-Fi transfer—or better still, a direct PSP store, a la iPod touch—are big things they should to add. What else do you guys wanna see? [Playstation.Blog] More »
Even though there’s already been a comparative plenitude of HD DVD player deals, users are shunning the chance to pay $150 for a Blu-ray player to get a whack at a $150 HD DVD player in Amazon’s Customers Vote. Toshiba’s HD-A35 has nearly double the votes of Samsung’s BD-P1400. It’s informal, but it points to the state of Blu-ray in the general consumer mind. So where do guys stand as giftwrap looks to be filled with HD goodness? Or are you holding off for yet another holiday season?
AU: The special deals are sadly unique to the US and their whomping great ‘Black Friday’ pre-Christmas sales. But the question holds. Are you waiting out another season before you go HD, or are you looking for the right deal? Or will you buy an HD player for your significant other as a gift to get around the idea you don’t want to buy one for yourself just yet? -SB
