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BlackBerry Kickstart Flip Phone In the Flesh (Looks Chunky)
Posted by Matt Buchanan at 11:50 PM on June 13, 2008
The dudes at Crackberry have scored some serious camera time with BlackBerry's first clamshell, the Kickstart, shooting it from every possible angle. I think I'm back in the "it's, um, ugly" camp--it's definitely not a svelte or sexy number, and I don't really see it appealing to teens or other youngins if that's who the new flippiness is aimed at. But I failed art classes and Jesus cries whenever I open Photoshop, so maybe I just don't have any taste.
We've shown you both 
Most people need the proper software and equipment to jailbreak their iPhone. Not Woz. On his way to a black tie event, he casually mentions to Kathy Griffin, "Some people would criticize you for not having hacked your iPhone." And then he proceeds to hack it. With just his hands/mind/Woz powers. (UPDATE: and yes, probably the .tif exploit you party poopers.)
As if you needed any more reason to get excited for the new Batman movie, the Nokia 6205 Dark Knight edition is coming soon. The black flip phone with the movie's logo on the back comes loaded with the trailer, as well as themed wallpapers, ringtones and screensavers. It also comes in white, if you hate Batman as much as Harvey Dent. The 6205s have 1.3MP cameras with flash, microSD slots expandable to 4GB, and external music controls. It's US$120 before rebate with a two-year Verizon contract, press release below. [
Denon is selling the AK-DL1 cable to link up your Denon-link audio components, and apparently it's able to "bring out all the nuances in digital audio reproduction." How does it achieve this magic? By having "high purity copper wire and high performance connection parts" plus a woven jacket to "reduce vibration." Vibration? M'kay... Best of all, if you're a 
Asus singlehandedly created the budget mini-laptop market. And now, sadly, it would seem that they've priced themselves out of it. Laptop Mag finally got Asus to announce a prices of their new 
As well as its promisingly sci-fi-sounding name, the Joint Optical Reflective Display is actually designed to help people with vision problems. It's a head-worn magnifier with autofocus that can provide up to 30x zoom, and is designed to help people with vision loss caused by macular degeneration, glaucoma or other conditions. Plus, its docking station lets you use it as a desktop 50x zoom, illuminated magnifier with digital output—so, it's not quite up there with Geordi LaForge's visor, but it's pretty powerful. No info on pricing, but demonstration models are available from manufacturer Enhanced Vision. [
A new technology presented in the New Journal of Physics may lead to completely soundproof homes, cars, or any other space using a meta-material called sonic crystals. One of the developers, who is not Reed Richards but Dr José Sánchez-Dehesa of the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain, says that this "acoustic cloaking will deviate sound waves around the object that has to be cloaked."
Wired's Man in Barcelona, Charlie Sorrel, has made a rather wonderful e-book reader using his iPod Touch and a Moleskine sketchbook. The version you see here is Mark One, and he's already working on Mark Two, as the flap he created after the touch kept falling out of the notebook isn't really practical enough. Sorrel claims he did this to look cool and hip in Barna's bars and cafes and thus get the girls, so I'm looking forward to the follow-up post detailing his successes and failures. How-to video is below.
While we've been watching the development of 
We knew that the 
Forget 
Remember the 108-incher from Sharp, that Leviathan of the LCD world? It's ready to be flogged to those of you who can afford it—in Japan. Weighing 195 kilos, and with a 176º viewing angle, the LB-1085 can be yours for just 11 million yen. That's $108,567 to you, guv. [
If you do like miniature versions of you that make funny noises and poop in their pants, then you may also like the idea of editing a website for parents.
That upcoming mini laptop from Dell that we 
Lego enthusiast Brian Kescenovitz created a Lego mecha with a hatch mechanism that reveals a pilot in the cockpit. Called the UM-5 War Doll, it's inspired by the VS suits from the game Lost Planet, but I can't help but think of MechWarrior. Best Lego mecha ever, right? [
Apparently inspired by 
Chauhan Studios and Humax had this awesome concept TV on display at the Milan Design Show, which looks straight out of the spaceport in 2001: A Space Odyssey. And being named HAL, it's likely where the designer drew influence from. The LCD also has an extra set of speakers in the base to add sound depth. And with most design shows, there were no details on pricing for the HAL TV, or even a release date. [
No one has ever created a remote controlled tire before? Really? I'm shocked. Believe it or not, only one company was crazy enough to develop an RC tire, and that is a Vietnamese company named Tosy. In fact, because of its odd shape and apparent capability to move forward, backward, left and right--I'm not even sure this thing really exists. Still, the product is up on the Tosy site--sans pricing and availability information. [
Solar energy for household use is a pretty genius idea and one that we think will be come more and more commonplace in the next few years. These curtains are semi-transparent and flexible, turning sunlight into electricity whenever you're blocking out light to keep the home cool. These, along with h