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The Winglet is Toyota's Segway killer--as if there was anything left to kill--a personal transport assistant that comes in three different models, all destined to fail in the US to the lack of sidewalk vehicle regulations and cheeseburger/cup holders. The three models--Type S, M, and L--look great, especially the small one, with no handlebar at all.
Maybe I'm not a slope-wise skier, but when I'm hurtling down a mountain I love to hear wind sounds—not music from my iPod. Other people are different, and this waterproof MP3 player from Lancer certainly fits the "rugged enough for big snowboard crashes" bill. The Laqa3's design is a plain metal tube. And... well, that's it. There's a headphone connector, and presumably controls somewhere, but other than that it's a plain metal tube. You may dig its industrial-look, or not, but it weighs just 25g, has IPX7 waterproofing so it's good for swimming, and comes with IPX7 silicon ear buds. It plays MP3s and WMAs, has an eight-hour lithium battery. It's released July 25th in Japan for about US$185, which is lots considering it's 1GB. [AVWatch]
It's the third birthday of Sony Ericsson's Walkman phone label, and to celebrate it's launching three new music-based mobile phones. The W302 and W902 (left, centre in the image) are both candybar handsets, with the 302 having an FM radio, and 2-megapixel cam, and the 902 with a 5-megapixel cam and apparently matching the high audio quality of the W980 phone. The W595 is a slide phone with built-in stereo speakers so users can "share sounds with their friends" (read: annoy passers-by with irritating tunes) but it also has twin jacks so you can share music privately. All four phones are quad-band GSM, have "shake control," come in a selection of colours and will hit the streets at the end of the year. Press release below, which also details some new accessories like wireless portable speakers.
It's been a while since we brought you some news from Ultimate Ears (the cat eating through the cable to my UE Super.Fi's doesn't count, sadly). But now UE has released its newest offering, and it's for the kids: the Loud Enough earphones. "They've gone barking mad!" you might say, citing expense and the potential damage that might be done to young ears by a max-volume burst of Noddy. Well, you'd be wrong: these earbud 'phones have special volume-limiting tech built in. Plus they're US$40. They've got silicon buds down to extra-small size... so I guess the only danger is what inventive kids will get up to with those. [Crave via Gizmodiva]
It's been a while since we brought you some serious gadget bling here on Giz, so now here's some... and it's serious. "Headphones encrusted with 204 real diamonds and made of white gold" kind of serious. From designer Thomas Heyerdahl, the iDiamonds are a limited edition of just 1,000 units, so you'd better rush. That's if you've got US$6,400 in your wallet, of course. Serious. [Luxury launches]
Laughing in the face of the clip-on Coolman MP3 player and almost widdling in the trousers of the iPod shuffle itself is Philips' new GoGear SA2840 PMP. It's petite, clip-on and comes with a 4-line screen. Yup, even though it's just 4 cms square and 1.5 cms deep its got a 128 x 64 pixel OLED and 4GB of memory. There's also voice recording, a sound-enhancing FullSound system and it sells for around US$80. There's the SA2825 as well, with just 2GB but an FM radio function, and this'll set you back about US$45. [Philips via BBGadgets]
I've said it before and I'll say it again: Bluetooth headsets are not a good fashion statement, even Borg-like ones. But with these little earpieces from Sony, you might be able to get away with it and not look too geeky. The DR-BT140Qs double as normal earphones with a frequency response of 16Hz to 24kHz and have 30mm drivers, while the Bluetooth part is 2.0 and supports A2DP/AVRCP/HFP/HSP profiles. The built-in battery will last you about 12 hours, and they're available in July for US$138.89 in silver, white, black and pink. [Akihabaranews]
Ruggedized, retro aviation, we've done portable iPod docks a-plenty. But until now I've not liked the look of any of them... so here's the Eino. It's pretty simple, with two speakers per channel pushing out 1.4W from a Class-D amp and a bass-enhancement system called Maxx BassR. The 7.7-inch wide thing fits into a carry case, with room for your iPod. And if you're not into the colour combos in the pic, there's a blue, white and black frame option. It's available for around US$56, but that's from a Japanese site. [Technabob via BBGadgets]
Forget DIY camera stun guns: they're just a stunt. If you want real pocket protection, these charmingly disguised stun guns can deliver 350,000 volts of agony to an assailant. Will they think it looks like you're just brandishing a tube of lippy at them? Probably not an experiment to try. They have an LED flashlight built-in, and come with a charger. If carrying this around in your purse makes you feel safer, they're available for a paltry US$49.95 in a variety of shades and shapes. So you can, you know, coordinate your electro-shock defence with your outfit. Weird. [Red Ferret via Gizmodo UK]
One of ThinkGeek's many fantastic April Fool's products is now becoming real, following the same path as the 8-bit Tie last year. This one, the Personal Soundtrack Shirt, takes a little bit more engineering effort than a tie, so if you're interested in one you'll have to put yourself on their notification list. But think of it, being able to blast the Imperial March or Magnificent Seven theme or the Get Smart theme whenever you enter a room? That's what we call quality. [Think Geek]
