Apparently it was optimistic to expect Prada to understand the difference between a fashion accessory and a phone accessory, because now look what’s happened: Prada and LG have announced the Prada Link, a Bluetooth watch that pulls text messages and your call information from the Prada II phone. To be honest though, it doesn’t look so bad. The stylish Link has a tiny little OLED screen that displays the content of text messages, call history data, a call rejection option and, of course, the time. The only downsides are the 48-hour battery life, which leaves you latching your watch to the phone for charging every couple of days, and the lack of a US release date. It’s not yet clear if the watch will come with the phone for free, but considering that similar watches have retailed for around $US400, I’d guess not. [Prada via Akihabara]
These noise-cancelling headphones from Hitachi Maxell are unlike many previous similar types since they don’t require separate power. Instead they connect to iPods via the dock connector, and can suck on the batteries through there. They do manage about 20dB of noise cancelling with an “Active Noise Rejection” system, but the design is curiously crippling: they can only connect to iPods (4th gen or later) and iPod touches—not the iPhone. And to draw power this way means you’ll get reduced iPod battery life, which may be as much as 50%. And the iPod’s volume control doesn’t work, so you have to use the slider on the headphones. Weird, but these HP-NC20.IPs are only about $US80 in Japan, so you may still be tempted. [AVWatch]
We’re not the only ones obsessed with CNN’s over-the-top magic wall, which they use in equal measure to cover elections, entertain babies and just fill time — fake TV news has been milking it for all it’s worth. Now The Daily Show is on the case, and they’ve sent John Oliver to talk to Jeff Han, the man behind CNN’s recent multitouch renaissance. What he finds aren’t easy answers to his questions, but an unexpected mix of new technology, furtive military operations and terrifying, omnipresent newsreaders. This is bigger than CNN’s secret baseball — so much bigger. [The Daily Show — Thanks, Rafael]
Snow Leopard, that eagerly awaited rebuild of the Mac OS X, could be coming in the first quarter of 2009, if you are to believe Apple engineering director Jordan Hubbard’s “presentation slides” from the LISA ’08 conference. The next version of OS X won’t come with too many crazy new features, but it does offer dramatically smaller application files and a complete overhaul to deliver serious performance gains. A Q1 release would mean that 10.6 is arriving a lot sooner than most people had expected, and that a demo may possibly be shown off during Macworld San Francisco 2009. [Macrumors]
Maybe it’s because I have the hugest crush on David Pogue of the New York Times, but I find his recently released product finder guide, the Pogue-O-matic, absolutely adorable… and useful too! The Pogue-O-Matic is divided into four parts: cameras, camcorders, smartphones and televisions. If you were planning on getting people any of the above for the holidays, stop by and have little e-Pogue explain what details you should look out for. Being a gadget blogger with a finger on the pulse of the latest and greatest, I personally don’t need the advice. But I’ll be stopping by anyway… for you, Pogue. Just. For. You. [Pogue-o-Matic on the New York Times]
Just a quick note for Mac users lusting for some PC software functionality: Local distributor Conexus today announced Parallels 4 for Australia. New users can pick it up for $140, and if you happen to own a previous version the upgrade only costs $70. If you picked up Parallels 3 after September 1 this year though, you’re eligible for a free upgrade to the latest version, which as you remember purports to be 50% faster. [Conexus]
In what’s a slightly suspicious coincidence, but Sony’s suddenly pulled a bunch of its movies from the Xbox’s Netflix Watch Instantly streaming service just a few hours before Microsoft’s New Xbox Experience goes live. Previously available titles like Superbad and Bad Boys, which are owned by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment subsidiary Columbia Pictures, have been made unavailable for Xbox users. Netflix VP Steve Swasey says there’s no foul play involved, and that the NXE Instant Queue had just run into a licensing issue with Columbia Pictures. [Joystiq via Engadget]
HP’s Touchsmart tx2 is awesome because its the first consumer-oriented convertible notebook to feature a multitouch technology built into the display. The 12.1-inch screen uses a capacitive touchpanel that can track two points simultaneously, operates with fingers or a stylus, and comes with the Mediasmart 2.0 interface customised for the notebook. While Dell’s oft-mentioned Latitude XT came out last year with the multitouch power to simultaneously track all five fingers, the feature was kept dormant until the middle of 2008 and lacks any really mainstream software to take advantage of the tech. galleryPost('hptouchsmarttx2', 3, '');
According to a recent article in the China Economic News, HTC is apparently planning on launching the HTX Max 4G Wimax phone in Australia by the end of the year. It would be an odd move, considering that only Unwired really has a somewhat respectable Wimax network in the country, and from personal experience it has a long way to go before it can compete with something like NextG in terms of both coverage and reliability. But it’s on the internet, so it must be true, right?
Wrong. After making a couple of phone calls, we can confirm that the HTC Max won’t be coming to Australia. We’re not sure where the China Economic News got its info from, but a local HTC rep confirmed that the HTC Max is a Russia only handset at the moment, and there are no plans to bring it to Australia. Consider this rumour officially smashed…
I’ve been staring at this ad for hours and I still can’t really figure out who Japanese company Wish Room’s Man Bra (or, as Seinfeld fans would probably call it, The Bro) is for. Drag queens unsatisfied with the options at their local Victoria’s Secret? Dudes with a fear of nipple chaffing? Kevin James? Either way, this manssiere is promising to make you feel just as purdy as the vaguely Russian-looking man modelling for them. Considering he’s not even wearing one, I wonder if he has any idea what he’s posing for. [Wish Room via Gizmodo Japan]
