Thursday, September 11, 2008
Music
Apple’s Next-Gen Running Shoe Has Force Sensors, GPS Support
11:40PM Jesus Diaz | Apple wants to take Nike+ to a different level to perform precise, real-time tracking of runners’ performance and–shiver–offer location-based information and advertising. Their latest patent not only details how they will get rid of the current RFID sensor and add a series of force sensors instead–as well as GPS support–but also how they are contemplating other “authorised” shoes. Does this mean they are abandoning their relationship with Nike? More »
Gadgets
ION LP 2 Flash Turntable Rips Your Vinyl Records Straight to a Thumb Drive or SD Card
11:20PM John Mahoney | We’ve seen turntables designed especially for digitising your crusty old vinyl for years, but ION’s LP 2 Flash deck one-ups all that I’ve seen by recording straight to an SD card or USB thumb drive for quick transferring to a computer or recording straight to your PMP. And if you get tired of being so retro, it’ll reverse the flow and play any MP3s you have on your cards or disks, outputting to your stereo via standard RCA jacks. It’s a UK import for now, at a price of £130 (US$228). More »
Peripherals
SanDisk 32GB Extreme III Is Fully Prepared To Capture Your God-Awful Photography
11:17PM Mark Wilson | You’re special, no really. You have a unique view of the world. It’s so unique, in fact, that you need at least 32GB to capture your Vision (sometimes it comes out blurry, but not like cool artsy blurry)—and you need speed, because you never know how many unique world views will collide on a millisecond basis. The SanDisk 32GB Extreme III reads and writes information at 30MB/second. Is that good enough for you, Michelangelo? Or is the world still not ready for your revolution in sepia? US$299 this October. More »
Gadgets
Vertical Squirrel Launcher Takes Furry Terror to New Heights
11:00PM Jesus Diaz | Here’s the Short Take-Off Vertical Landing version of one of Giz’s classics: the squirrel catapult. Somehow, I think this one is less cruel than the original one, as the squirrel is more used to these kind of jumps and landings than horizontal launches. But yes, I can’t stop watching this time either. Sosumi. More »
Games
Rock Band 2 Standalone Instruments Shipping Next Week
10:40PM Mark Wilson | When the original Rock Band released, there was a huge distribution hiccup and standalone instruments (like an extra guitar or set of drums) just wasn’t something you could buy right away. But it appears that involved parties have learned from their mistakes and the new Rock Band 2 instruments will be available individually with the Xbox 360 game’s release sometime next week (ironically, you won’t be able to buy the original combo though). The wireless drums run US$90, the wireless guitar US$70 and the monster ION drum kit US$300. I’d just gotten over Rock Band/Guitar Hero…and now I find myself mentally budgeting… [Joystiq] More »
Software
PhoneSaber Strikes Back, Returns as LightSaber Unleashed
10:20PM Jesus Diaz | digg_skin = 'compact'; digg_bgcolor = '#f1f8fa'; digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/PhoneSaber_Strikes_Back_Returns_as_LightSaber'; After being voluntarily retired from the iTunes App Store, following a call by THQ Wireless, the most useless yet completely obligatory iPhone app–PhoneSaber–is returning to the store as LightSaber Unleashed. The lightsaber simulator will tie in with the new LucasArts’s game, including completely new graphics, “dueling music,” and characters from the game: More »
Screens
Amazon Video-On-Demand Official on Sony’s Bravia Internet Video Link, HD Films Too
10:00PM Kit Eaton | We’ve been bringing you news on Sony’s Bravia Internet Video Link for ages (it’s that net-connected, wired, Bravia-TV compatible movie-player device) and now Sony’s announcing official support for Amazon’s Video on Demand service. So you’ll have “tens of thousands of premium movies and TV shows” for the device, and more importantly “streaming high-definition content” from Dailymotion, Sony Pictures Entertainment and other providers will be available too. Since it also streams YouTube and other sources, is it possible that the US$300 BIVL may make a dent in the home-streaming HD TV market? It could, with the might of Amazon and the sheer number of Bravias sold alone. Press release below. More »
Software
Apple Pwns Pwnage, Pwnage Pwns Apple Back
8:49PM Jesus Diaz | Since they can’t avoid hacked iPhones no matter how hard they try, Apple seems to have prepared iTunes 8 to avoid pwning, disabling this ability in mint iPod touch and iPhone devices. But don’t fret, because the iPhone Dev Team has already launched a counterattack: More »
Toys
RC Hovering Astronaut Is Unholy Son of a Cylon and the Silver Surfer
8:21PM Jesus Diaz | This Remote Controlled Hovering Space Surfer has to be the best toy among the ongoing barrage of RC flying apparatuses: a nine-inch Cylon-Silver Surfer-Bender-bred astronaut who one day got all the Beach Boys albums and decided to surf on a 11-inch board capable of hovering, spinning 360 degrees, and moving straight in all directions with ease. It has enough thrust to get up to a 20-metre ceiling, but having a 8m range, I would advise against pushing it that high unless you are willing to wait 15 minutes until the batteries run down. [Hammacher via Toylogy] More »
Phones
