RSS Feeds
|
BR DE ES FR IT JP NL UK US
Babblebaby
|
Defamer
|
Gizmodo
|
Kotaku
|
Lifehacker
Are any of our readers sporting Mylo 2s? If so, carrying that smartphone-sans-phone is finally starting to pay off as today's firmware update brings video recording. There's other stuff too--16GB Memory Stick and general UI improvements--but the video is the big upgrade. Just stick with that Mylo 2 a little longer and who knows what good things will come of it? [Sony]
Pleo, the robot dinosaur loved by everyone—except dogs and blogs—is celebrating its first birthday a little early by going on sale for US$235. Head over to Ugobe's store from now til July 11 and use semi-creepy coupon code PLEOWORLDISONE,... Read More »
Just as MSI saw the opportunity to create an Eee of their own with the Wind, so too will they create an Eee Box with their Wind mini-desktop. The internals will be very similar between each version of the Wind, with the desktop featuring the same 1.6Ghz Atom processor and 35W power supply as the laptop, along with Windows XP, 1GB of RAM (expandable to 2), DVD (burner?), up to 160GB of storage and Wi-Fi. Priced between US$199 and US$299, the Wind mini-desktop is not slated for a US release when it hits this September...but were the Eee Box a huge success in the States, it wouldn't be crazy for that to change. [infoworld]
Any fans of Rock Band in the audience? I said, ARE THERE ANY FANS OF ROCK BAND IN THE AUDIENCE??? YEAAHHH!!!!!!! Rock Band 2 is on the way. Here are the full details, along with a picture of the new guitar.
Asus is working on a couple of new Eee PCs, the 904 and 905, say sources of DigiTimes. The models take the 8.9" screen from the 900 and 901 and mash it up with the bigger keyboard on the Eee 1000, which doesn't seem like a very good idea to us because the mini-notebook appeal is precisely its compact size. The new models may replace the current 900 series line entirely, but that, along with potentially increased battery life and storage capacity, is still up in the air. The price, however, are expected to remain the same. [DigiTimes]
I like this Life Clock. What makes it for me is not the fact that you can do it yourself using Arduino components--the open-source electronics prototyping platform--or that it can tell you the temperature and play Conway's life on its own. No, what makes it all come together is the simple wood design and the use of 60s sci-fi spaceship computer lights. [Make]
The Maxx Digital PDV-8500BLK is a) a portable DVD with a 8.5″ TFT screen with all kinds of format support on both disk and flash cards, b) PSP's dumb older brother, c) a future PSP on steroids, or d) all of the above.
It may not be crazy high-tech architecture, but there's something about this Chilean home hanging over the Pacific that has me glued to the screen with a mixed feeling of complete awe, peace, and envy. The materials, the clean design, the floor plan, the breathtaking views, all of it, make it the perfect place I want to live in.
At last it's here: in-game crossbar menubar in the PlayStation 3. Sony's Eric Lempel says it's coming "very soon" on July 2 as part of PS3 Firmware v.2.40, and in the meantime he teases PS3 fans with its features, as well as the other new functions like the Google Search Bar or the new Trophy system, which looks great in the following video.
Posted by Nick Broughall at 4:34 PM on June 30, 2008
Posted by Nick Broughall at 4:15 PM on June 30, 2008
Just received the email everybody's been expecting for weeks... Telstra will be selling the iPhone 3G, along with Optus and Vodafone, on July 11.
They've also announced some pricing information:
iPhone 3G will be available from Telstra on July 11 with a range of specially designed Next G™ iPhone 3G plans that meet the needs of any customer. The Next G iPhone 3G plans start at $30 per month with an upfront cost of $279 for the 8GB model and $399 for the 16GB model. Customers will receive the 8GB iPhone 3G model at no cost with the $80 plan and either the 8GB or the 16GB model at no cost with plans starting at $100 per month. All plans include free Wi-Fi access at Telstra hotspots and require a 24-month contract.Obviously, this doesn't go into detail of how much data will be included, although the added benefit of Telstra hotspots is nice - there's one of those at most Starbucks and airport lounges around the country.
Posted by Nick Broughall at 3:26 PM on June 30, 2008
Posted by Nick Broughall at 2:42 PM on June 30, 2008
At last week's HTC Touch Diamond launch, I had a chance to sit down with HTC's CEO Peter Chou. I was going to chat with Horace Luke - their CIO - as well, but he had to run down to prepare the presentation.
The main focus was obviously the new Touch Diamond handset, but we also touched on things like the evolution of TouchFLO, the Touch Pro, HTC's pricing and their move into the UMPC market. He also deftly avoided most of my Android questions as well.
Here's part one of the interview:
Giz AU: With TouchFLO, what brought about the development of TouchFLO 3D - How did it morph from something "so simple that a baby can use it" to having a series of icons down the bottom?
Peter Chou: It's the same thing - trying to offer this kind of very intuitive, simple experience. However this is giving you a much more colourful, much more 3D animated kind of experience. If you go to the applications table, you can still enjoy the kind of TouchFLO experience.
This device is about one hand, one touch. We've tried to optimise the form factor in the hand and everything is one hand one touch, so that kind of concept.
Mitsubishi's 149 iSP series LCDs have a 16-speaker sound bar built-in for people who are too lazy (like me) or don't know how (like my parents) to set up a home theatre. The integrated Sound Projector, as it's called, sends sound flying around the walls to act like surround sound--in my experience, it was way better than typical front speaker-only setups but didn't match the immersive feeling of true surround.
Rhapsody, known for its subscription music service, just opened a DRM-free MP3 store. The MP3s are encoded in 256kpbs CBR, and run US$.99 per track and US$9.99 per album. Shoppers can preview 25 full-length tracks a month from the standard 5 million song catalog, which is extra sweet if you ask us. To kick things off, the first 100,000 sign-ups to the store until July 4th get one album for free, so give it a try and let us know how it stacks up against the big boys.
AU: I haven't checked yet, but I'm almost certain that this will be US only. Feel free to let me know if we can access it down under.[Rhapsody]
Congratulations, Sony Ericsson, for winning what was ultimately a barely challenging competition to become the greenest electronics company around. Our favourite Swedish-Japanese conglomerate rose to the top of Greenpeace's Greener Electronics Guide by exceeding Energy Star requirements, making all its models PVC-free and banning the most harmful chemicals from phones launched since January 2008. Unfortunately, it was valedictorian in a class whose scores have plummeted all around.
The Mummy Megaphone is a gag gift for parents that bills itself as a "sure-fire way to get everyone to listen." It has a speak mode and a siren mode, can project over 150 metres and is allegedly weather and baby-resistant. With an adjustable volume range of 5 to 10 Watts however, it's almost completely useless. Kids are yelly; when I was young, I'm pretty sure I'd hit 10 Watts in a normal conversation. You know what would be more effective? Holding up a paddle. That always got me to listen right quick. [Nerd Approved]
Manufacturers are powering up on their Blu-ray disc development, now the format war's over: just two weeks ago we had the 6x speed ones, and now Delkin have these archive-quality discs. According to Delkin they're the first BDs "guaranteed to preserve data safely for over 200 years" and they use some sort of patented phase-change tech to make the discs resistant to UV degradation. They're also 25GB, 4x speed burnable, and have an anti-scratch coating. You're only going to want to preserve really important stuff on them though: a ten-pack will cost you US$250. Now, to find a Blu-ray player that'll last two centuries... [Reghardware]
For those of you who have seen the Angelina Jolie/James McAvoy violence-fuelled campfest Wanted, Wired has an expose up on how they filmed some of their craziest scenes. Russian director Timur Bakmambetov used his own Moscow-based special effects company to create the movie's non-stop, over-the-top action. At his disposal was everything from a European high-speed train equipped with hydraulics that rotated 360 degrees to scanned digital stunt doubles. Warning: If you haven't watched the movie yet and actually want to, the article contains a load of spoilers. [Wired]
In the battle for video card domination, dark horse Matrox never seemed to even come close to keeping up with Nvidia and ATI's crazy GPU arms race. But after fading almost completely from the gadgetsphere, the company has suddenly returned with the launch of five new graphics cards under its "M-Series" line. The M-Series targets the multi-display market and consists of two low-profile PCIe cards and three standard formate ATX PCIe cards.
I've just installed a set of colour-change lighting strips in my new apartment, but now I kinda wish I'd spotted these new lamps from original lava-lamp makers Mathmos first. The Poplights are cuteness exemplified: just six inches high, and in hand-blown glass. They've got a set of LEDs inside the central "bulb" and change between blue, purple, violet, magenta, red lighting, and you turn them on my simply pushing down on top, which I guess must be the "pop" part. Available now for US$75. On second thoughts, I might buy them anyway... you can't have too much colour-change moodlighting can you?[Technabob]
Posted by Nick Broughall at 7:31 AM on June 30, 2008
New details have been leaked about Creative's answer to the iPod touch and Zune, a wireless music player with Wi-Fi media sharing capabilities called the Zen X-Fi. Pictures show the device sporting a chrome-and-black plastic look that's vaguely reminiscent of the iPhone, along with a nine-point directional pad. Besides certain Internet features, X-Fi will also come with an SD card slot and a built-in speaker.
"Argh, um, ooh... actually that's kinda interesting" is an approximate record of my thoughts as I heard the Time Harp play in this vid for the first time. The robo-musical instrument grinds plastic discs against strings to make them resonate, activated by motion sensors. And it produces...well, a kind of vooming hum that is almost, but not quite, entirely unlike the sound of Dr Who's TARDIS dematerialising. Designed by Larnie Fox, I like it for its low-tech strangeness and eerie sounds. Plus its the sort of sound that'll pop up in the background of some dance tune or other, and now you'll know where it came from. [Makezine via Crunchgear]
In yet another attempt to further plant and human inter-communication, a company called PlantSense is now offering a USB stake that monitors the soil around your greens and gives you advice on how to keep them healthy. Great for people like me, who have trouble getting even herbs to grow right.
Over a year after their Southern neighbours, Canadians are finally getting their hands on the magical iPhone. But Rogers Communications, the only carrier with a contract to sell the phone, has a data plan that makes AT&T look positively philanthropic. A US$75 a month plan comes with a mandatory 3-year contract, 100 text messages, 300 weekday minutes, and a 750MB cap on 3G usage. To combat this injustice, Canadians have appealed to the top dog himself, Steve Jobs, in a letter asking him to intervene on their behalf.
DIY gadgeteer Carlos at Carlito's Contraptions and Tony Stark have at least one thing in common: they like to tinker with homemade gizmos and strap 'em onto their bodies. Sadly Carlos didn't have access to Tony's array of sci-fi gadget impossibilities, but that didn't stop him from producing this palm-mounted ultra-bright LED flashlight in a sturdy aluminium frame that's activated with a cocked wrist. Check out the video to see it in action.
While everyone this week spent time recognising Bill's achievements, I'd like to recognise Mrs. Bill, Melinda Gates. In a quarter-century's time, after her husband has shuffled offstage at the Nobel Prize ceremony in Stockholm clutching his gong, after the applause has died down, those people who like to discuss such things will say, "It was the wife wot won it."
Designer Haishu Zhang has created the Sweety concept gadget to help soothe away people's stresses. Apparently he's designed to be your 24-hour listener, so I guess you just sound-off in his direction rather than at a real person. And Sweety reacts with graphic patterns and colour changes that, um, help you somehow. I'm a little confused how that bit's supposed to work, but I do understand it's interactive mode: when the rage hits you, you can just wrestle and pound the little bugger's soft body. And that's therapy. [Yanko design]
