Dvice says the digital camera and the MP3 player were the only prototypes on display, which are limited both in function and technical prowess (1.3 megapixel sensor for the cam, 2 gigabytes of storage for the MP3 player). But it’s the quirkiness of the stop motion cam that appeals to me. If you ever had a box full of Lego bricks and a video camera growing up, I suspect you’ve made some stop motion shorts in your time. Now, you can apply that same aesthetic to real world videos.

Lego plans to release the digital camera and MP3 player in the fall for $US40 and $US50, respectively. Who knows about the rest of the stuff—Lego didn’t reveal many details on those. [Dvice]

Despite the branding and look of the devices, which will be accompanied by a secondary line of larger items like boom boxes and alarm clocks, they aren’t actually made of bricks, or at least ones that you can disassemble. It’s obvious that a digital camera or MP3 player couldn’t be completely or sturdily constructed out of Lego bricks, but to sell a Lego toy that can’t be disassembled at all is just… out of order.

How about a camera with little detachable lenses? Throw in a brick-mount plastic fisheye and a gimmicky zoom lens and you’ve got yourself a neat little lomo with a Lego twist. Or what if the MP3 player is made up of components, so that the storage unit disconnects for uploading, then seamlessly integrates into the player’s body? Anything to make these toys something more than Lego-themed—and therefore at least a little fun—would have been just fine. [KidsTechReview—Thanks, Brian!]

The reason was simple: distance. At the beginning of the construction they used walkie-talkies–which are light, durable, and have a long battery life–across the site. However, these stopped working after some time, as the tower kept raising over the desert. With unreliable communications, Samsung Corporation–the main contractor–had to turn to a different kind of link between workers to avoid misunderstandings that may have jeopardized the safety of workers (even more, because plenty of people have had fatal accidents in the tower) and delayed the project.

Fortunately for them, they turned to mesh networks, which are similar to the ones used in mobiles, but local. For that they used a company called Firetide, using several Wi-Fi-enabled VoIP phones over a HotPort wireless mesh, which also serves as the transport for the security video in the site.

For older kids, probably the Zeki’s real targets, there’s also alarm clocks and downloadable games. Supposedly the phones use “near-field communication technology” to connect to each other, but since this is usually applied to RFID devices like proximity swipe-cards, we’re a little sceptical.

The devices also incorporate an anti-electromagnetic device of some kind, to allay fears of cooking kid’s brains, and are made of materials harmless to the human body. Thank goodness for that, we were worried about them being made of cyanide-coated lead.

Actually the most worrying thing about these phones is that clearly kids will be carrying communications devices from a very young age, and that just creeps us out a little. Zekis will be available for around US$105 in Korea. [Aving]

The luxury T5 will offer 121 channels, 16 hours of battery life and 3.7 mile range. Plus the T5 will feature hands-free functionality (which, though funny, could be useful in certain survival situations). Though no prices have been announced at the moment, the T3 and T5 will be released in October when the walkie-talkie army is set to overthrow cellphones and the internet for global communications domination. [pocketlint]

The two coolest things about these walkie-talkies is that they’re so waterproof you can dunk them under 3 feet of water for 30 minutes, plus they can show you the location of whomever you’re talking to right there on your screen. You can also do “location polling,” letting you can see the location of all other Garmin Rhinos within range. With one of these things, it’s virtually impossible for outdoorsy types to get lost in the woods. Great for marauding bands of deer-slaying hunters.

See the next page for pricing and a huge pic of the 530HCx.

The 520HCx is $450, $32 less than the retail price of its predecessor. The 530HCx, which adds a seven-channel weather receiver, an electronic compass and an altimeter, will cost you $500, and that’s $35.70 less than its less-feature-rich forebear. Both will be available in June. – Charlie White

Press Release [Garmin, via GPS Lodge]