Sunday, August 16, 2009

Software

iPhone TomTom GPS Application Appears In New Zealand App Store

11:40PM August 16, 2009 | Jack Loftus

The much-awaited TomTom for iPhone GPS navigation app has popped up in the New Zealand App Store with a reported asking price ranging from about $US81 to $US125. The app price does not include the car kit. [MacRumors]

Gaming

Reno Redbox Kiosk Begins Spitting Out $US2 Video Game Rentals

11:15PM August 16, 2009 | Jack Loftus

The first of the long-rumoured Redbox video games kiosks has gone live in Reno. Rentals are $US2 per night for an at-the-moment limited selection of 13 Xbox 360 titles. More »

Mobile

HTC Hero “Sense” UI Officially Coming To The Magic

12:03PM August 16, 2009 | John Herrman

The HTC Magic is getting an official update to the Hero’s wonderful “Sense” UI, but there’s a catch: the T-Mobile MyTouch 3G, which is basically the same freakin’ phone, probably won’t get the update, for lame licensing reasons. More »

Software

Apple Exec Phil Schiller Reaching Out To Rejected App Developers

10:00AM August 16, 2009 | Dan Nosowitz

When Rising Card, a magic trick iPhone app, was rejected from the App Store, the creators were crushed; six months of hard work went right down the drain. But they got help from an unexpected source: Apple Exec Phil Schiller. More »

Gaming

2.5cm Thick Xbox Mod Makes One Sexy XBMC Unit

9:00AM August 16, 2009 | Dan Nosowitz

A modder by the name of Bandit5317 created this amazing mod of an original Xbox, cramming in a 320GB HDD (though no optical drive) in the process. It took six months to build, but looks absolutely amazing. More »

Cars

Steamboat Willy Human-Powered Hovercraft Crosses The Thames

7:45AM August 16, 2009 | Dan Nosowitz

This pedal-powered hovercraft, built by a flight group at the University of London, is constructed out of the absolute lightest materials possible (carbon fibre, glass cloth, styrofoam) to make it floaty enough to cross the Thames. And it does! More »

This Bridge Is Alive

7:00AM August 16, 2009 | Dan Nosowitz

In Cherrapunji, India, one of the wettest places on Earth, the locals mould the roots of the Ficus elastica tree into stretching across rivers and taking root on the other side, forming amazing natural, living bridges. More »

Entertainment

CRISTAL: Control Your Living Room By Dragging, Dropping, Swiping

6:15AM August 16, 2009 | Dan Nosowitz

CRISTAL is a research project that moves the universal remote to a Microsoft Surface-type table with incredibly intuitive gestures. Want to watch a movie? Drag the cover to your TV. It even lets you trace a path for your Roomba. More »

Borders Bookstores Include Mysterious “Apple iPAD” In Survey

5:30AM August 16, 2009 | Dan Nosowitz

A recent survey from Borders Bookstores seeks to find how familiar its customers are with eReaders from Amazon, Sony and Plastic Logic. This particular survey, however, includes “the Apple iPAD (large screen reading device)” which is exceedingly interesting. More »

Cameras

Sony’s 24.6MP A850 DSLR Leaked, May Be Pricier Than Expected

5:00AM August 16, 2009 | Dan Nosowitz

Sony’s A850 DSLR, which looks exactly like the A900, was found lurking in a European online shop both by itself and with a lens kit. The bad part? It might be quite a bit more than the suspected $US2000. More »