Monday, September 29, 2008
Online
You Actually Have to Own iPhone Apps to Slam Them Now
11:40PM Matt Buchanan | Unlike their usual tack lately, Apple is doing something at the App Store that actually helps developers. Before, you could review—and slam—any app you wanted willy-nilly, even if you didn’t own it. That changed over the weekend—now you have to own an app before you can review it, preventing an onslaught of one-star reviews for Tetris simply because EA is charging eight bucks for it. Now if Apple could apply some of that logic and fairness on their end and stop jerking developers around. [Alley Insider] More »
Gadgets
Art Lebedev Design for the Rest of Us: Pixelated Mouse-Pointer Fridge Magnets
11:20PM John Mahoney | When they’re not designing $US1,500 OLED keyboards or hot WiMax phone concepts, it’s good to know the guys over at Art Lebedev Studio like to keep the common folk in mind, sometimes. The common folk who will like to pin up printouts of Gizmodo posts to their fridge with these pixel-art mouse-pointer magnets. They’re about 2.5-inches tall and will run you $US4 in the Art Lebedev store. [Art Lebedev via Pocket Lint] More »
Design
Russian Artists Create Man-Sized, Melted, Working iPod
11:00PM John Herrman | The ‘WowPod’ might not the be first oversized, semi-functioning iPod, but it’s probably the strangest. Perhaps taking cues from Salvador Dali (The Persistence of Flash Memory? Anyone? Sorry?), Aristarkh Chernyshev and Alexei Shulgi have not just blown up and distorted an iPod — they’ve thrown in some functionality. Their site is low on details, but from the looks of it they may actually have the display connected to a iPod Classic’s video output. The rest is up to speculation: are the controls mapped? Are the earbuds speakers? What does it mean? What is art? Who am I? and so on. [XLGallery via Make] More »
Games
Nintendo Neither Confirms Nor Denies New DS
10:40PM Mark Wilson | After Japan’s mainstream newspaper Nikkei announced a new DS with a camera, music player and enhanced wireless functionality, Nintendo had to say something in response. To gaming magazine Famiitsu: More »
Software
iPhone Heart Monitor Tracks Your Heartbeat Unless You Are Dead
10:20PM Jesus Diaz | Here’s a really cool application for the iPhone: Heart Monitor uses the iPhone microphone–especially the one built into your headphones–to record and track your heartbeat from your chest, wrist or neck. Watching the video, it looks like it will be a perfect application for both sports people and hypochondriacs, even while it comes with a couple of disclaimers: More »
Toys
BREAKING: Tamagotchi Still Exists, Has Evolved Colour
9:20PM John Herrman | Undoubtedly reopening the emotional wounds of millions of bereaved Millennials across the world, Tamagotchi has come back from the dead (they always do!) with a familiar line of life support simulators. This time, though, they come in colour, presumably to make the short, hungry, futile lives of those unfortunate little mutants that much more real to impressionable children. It remains to be seen if, 12 years later, today’s young children, many of whom already (and inexplicably) have a mobile phone and/or iPod, will take to the ‘Gotch. Japan only for now, but if and when they arrive in the US expect a price of around $US50. Enjoy some exciting, action-packed screenshots after the jump. [UberGizmo via Inventorspot] More »
Phones
Motorola Building a Huge Development Team for Android, With 350 Humanoids
9:00PM John Herrman | TechCrunch is reporting that Motorola is getting pretty serious about Android, with immediate plans to expand their dedicated project team from 50 to 350. If true, this could mark a turning point for Motorola, whose phones have been seeming less and less competitive every day. While putting more than a few eggs in Android’s basket might not be advisable quite yet, our own succinct Brian Lam put it best: “Motorola hardware plus Android OS = WANT” (This is how he always talks, by the way). In case you were wondering what exactly that unfamiliar sound was, Motorola, I’ll tell you. That was the sound of unbridled enthusiasm for one of your potential phones, AFTER 2004. Did you enjoy it? Then keep hiring. [TechCrunch] More »
Robots
Little Seiko Unicycling Robot Caught On Video, Unicycling Straight Into Your Heart
8:28PM Kit Eaton | Here’s video of Murata’s Little Seiko balancing robot up to its tricks on a unicycle. It’s a smart little thing: as well as balancing on that single wheel with nifty gyro and counterbalance robotic action, it can do collision avoidance. And boy, if it isn’t the cutest little robot you ever did see. [Bot Junkie] More »
Networks
Sprint XOHM WiMax Quietly Goes Live In Baltimore
7:40PM John Herrman | Just over a week ago the word was that Baltimore, the first city in a pilot program for the new wireless tech, might not see WiMax until October. With a minimal announcement and little fanfare, though, it looks like the service has gone live in select parts of the city. The pricing options are interesting though already controversial, as there are different fees for unlimited monthly access depending on whether or not that access comes from one or many locations. More »
Phones
