For those of you keeping score at home, HTC’s Dream, due to hit T-Mobile in October as the first Android phone, just got tapped by the FCC’s rubber stamp. Unfortunately there aren’t any of those h-o-t product shots that the FCC is usually known for to give us a better look at the device, just a lot of black and white. But it does confirm the Dream moniker, that it’s got a jog ball, Wi-Fi and it’s running on the 850/1700/1900MHz bands. Very exciting! [FCC via Engadget]
Were I an old geezer right now, my gadget-cravings would no doubt include this multifunction walking stick. It’s adjustable, has in-built suspension, an LED flashlight, flashing signals and an alarm and is one bad-arse walking assistance device. Ok, so it’s probably designed mainly for hikers and other outdoorsy-types, but if your grandma or grandpa is into gadgets and has walking troubles, then I can imagine they’d love this. Available now for US$31. [Gadget4All via 7Gadgets]
Before Gizmodo, I worked in the bowels of the broadcast industry for a number of years. I was either shooting video or cutting video every day, all day. And while Final Cut Pro and Adobe After Effects were both tools I used with some proficiency on a daily basis, I’ve never seen a post production demo as incredible as this clip from the University of Washington.
The classic arcade cabinet of yesterdecade gets a snazzy makeover in the Retro Space machine from designer Martijn Koch. It’s a tribute in part to “honour the design of the first ever arcade cabinet” which was Computer Space, from 1971. So it’s got arcade-quality controls for two people, including the ever-important trackball (good news for Missile Command fans) and squeezes in 100+ games and a suite of emulators.
Until now to telescopic-zoom an image with your iPhone 3G involved a quick sprint in the general direction of your photo’s subject: But now Brando has a version of their telescope add-on for the phone. The lens is a 6x zoom bolt-on, and comes with a transparent mounting system/iPhone case much as before. It’s also still very awkward looking: You won’t be sneaking up to many curtains to peep unnoticed with this in your mitts. Available now for US$19. [Brando]
Brassieres pop up surprisingly often at Giz… and here’re a few more tech-laden ones: the LumiTops. They’re from Lumigram, and have fibre optics that emit a “soft and sensusous” glow when you connect up their batteries, thereby ensuring that the wearer’s boobs become even more eye-grabbing than usual. The batteries are interchangeable and are good for up to 12 hours of party-going glow. There’s also other clothing in the evening-wear range, including shawls and men’s clothing, but frankly these items are the best, don’t you think? Prices range from US$145 to US$250 at the online store. [Lumigram via Inventorspot]
Way back in April was when we first showed you details on Lenovo’s Ideapad U8 mobile internet device, and Lenovo’s just launched it at the Beijing Olympics. The palmtop phone/PC has an Intel Atom Z500 ticking away inside at 800MHz, GPS, dual cameras, and with 1GB of RAM and a sizable 6GB SSD. Connectivity-wise, it’s fully loaded with 802.11 b/g wi-fi, Bluetooth, EDGE, 3G support and apparently “WiMAX support.” There’s also a dongle for picking up China Multimedia Mobile Broadcasting signals so you can watch the Olympics for free. But therein lies the rub: The 300 gram, vaguely PSP-like U8 is a China-only gizmo, so you won’t care that it’ll have a price “equivalent” to other smartphones. [Pocketables]
News is just out of a new way to jailbreak your iPhone, and this time the tool is specifically designed to work “quickly and easily, without requiring a full restore.” Quickpwn has been released as a beta, intended to complement the main PwnageTool. It works with iPhones and iPod’s running 2.0.1 firmware, and operates very quickly without needing iTunes to rebuild/restore your device afterwards. This beta version is basically feature-complete, but lacks a “funky UI” (they’re adding that soon) and is currently windows only (other OS’s are “coming soon”). It’s available here. Keep your eyes open for a complete version (though remember that even though it’s development software, it’s apparently “impossible for this to permanently damage your device”). [iPhone-Dev.org]
Back in June we brought you the news that NASA’s astronauts would be wearing brand new-designed space suits when they walk on the Moon next. But now it looks like the firm Oceaneering, who had been awarded the contract, have had the deal pulled by the government after protests about the procurement from a rival suit manufacturer. It’s a US$745 million contract for 109 suits (24 for the moon,) so we get why it’s important. But I hope the mess is sorted soon: you don’t really want astros popping open their space wardrobe and thinking “Oh, I can’t go out tonight, I’ve not a thing to wear.” [AP]
Lenovo recently went official with details on the upcoming Ideapad S10 ultra-portable notebook, and now there’s data on a little brother version, the S9 Lite. The S9 will have a slightly smaller screen, at 8.9-inches, with a 300-kilopixel webcam, 512MB of RAM and a 4GB SSD. It’s got the same Atom N270 and 945 GSE chipset, though, so it sounds very much like its bigger S10 brother, and comes with Linux and a “multitouch function” trackpad. In three colours, the diminutive PC will cost you US$370 upon launch in Hong Kong. [UMPCFever via Engadget]
