In an interview with TomTom spokesperson Yann Lafargue, French site Mac Generation hit on a few interesting tidbits about 3rd party navigation software on the iPhone. During the interview, Lafargue confirmed that there was a version of TomTom software running on the iPhone but he does not know if they will ever actually ship the product. You would think that the major reason for not shipping would be the clause in the SDK agreement that states “applications may not be designed or marketed for real time route guidance,” but Lafargue insisted that is not a problem.
For those who have been softened by years of artificially produced 22-degree work, sleep and play, this “air-conditioned bed” is a promising tool to fight midsummer sleep sweat. A simple air pad that circulates fresh air under your body, the air-conditioned bed gets the cool air just where you need it–under your sweaty backside (a lesser man might call it “swass”). And for a measly 24 cents a day in operating costs, the US$399 price tag becomes a little more reasonable. [Japan Trendshop via Techfresh]
There are few reasons to maintain a landline phone these days, which is why Verizon will offer a US$8 to US$12 discount per month to landline-free wireless customers who sign on for internet or TV service with their new Flex Double Play bundle. Wireless customers that tack on DSL service with downloads at 3 Mbps and FiOS at up to 20 Mbps are eligible for the discount. Futhermore, adding FiOS TV to the package increases the savings by another US$8 per month. The plan is set to roll out next week. [Eagle Herald]
Watching the iPhone commercial yesterday, I wondered if the mellifluous tones on the iPhone 3G ad belonged to Robert Downey Jr. I emailed Apple, but they weren’t interested. So, I asked around in Campfire, our virtual office, if they thought it was Tony Stark. What do you lot reckon?
Korg’s nanoSeries line of noise makers are unlike other Korg synths because they rely on computer production software to work. The slim, USB (data+power) devices are made to be portable, so you can take your studio on the go. nanoKEY is a 25-note keyboard, nanoPad has 12 Akai-style sampler/drum pads and Kaoss pad, and nanoKONTROL is a portable mixing board with 18 switches and 9 knobs. Release date and pricing are still TBD. [Music Radar]
Just because you have a baby at home doesn’t mean that your partying days must come to an end. Fortunately, mothers that like to go out on Saturday nights and have a few drinks can prevent passing boob booze onto their kid using a system called Milkscreen. Basically, Milkscreen is a litmus test that screens breast milk for alcohol that could have a negative impact on a baby’s health. The whole thing seems a little weird in a contentiously irresponsible sort of way, but I suppose it is better to be safe than have a drunken baby on your hands. Available for US$20 for a large pack.[Milkscreeen via Inventor Spot via Ubergizmo]
According to GamesIndustry.biz, Sony’s in the middle of working on a PlayStation 3 controller that splits into two units, giving the player motion-sensing functionality much like the Wiimote + Nunchuk combination on the Wii. Their source knows of no official announcement timeline, but working units have been given to developers to test and integrate into future games.
Hey Nyko! Don’t know know that no one but Nintendo is allowed to make money on the Wii? And according to them, you’ve violated their patents on the nunchuk. It doesn’t matter that you made a (superior) wireless version of their US$20 peripheral. They claim that the Kama Wireless Nunchuk “wholly appropriates the novel shape, design, overall appearance and even the colour and materials used in the Nintendo Nunchuk controller.” You, of course, heartily disagree. [Bloomberg via Kotaku]
And now, a Giz PSA: The iPhone 3G might have dealt a pretty solid blow to the value of a vanilla iPhone, but when you see an offer on Craigslist for a case of 10 iPhones for US$2,000 with a meetup in an isolated part of a shady neighbourhood, it might not be legit!
Digitimes is reporting that Intel is about to pop a series of cheap quad core processors (Q8000) to slap back at AMD’s budget triple core offerings. The first will be the Core 2 Quad 8200, which’ll run at 2.33GHz with a 4MB L2 cache, supporting a front-side bus of up to 1333MHz for around $200. Difference between these and standard Q9000 series is that these don’t support Intel’s Trusted Execution or Virtualisation Technology.
