Gizmodo, the Gadget Guide

BlackBerry

Kickstart: First Blackberry Flip Phone Needs a Kick in the Design Pants

This fine piece of flip phone is Blackberry's very first clamshell, codenamed Kickstart. It's not very attractive—it's got a smugly RAZR-esque silhouette. The inside is Pearly, with a trackball and SureType keyboard. Boy Genius says that the internal LCD is "decent looking," but the shot of the external has a weird sheen over it, so it's hard to tell there. Sort of an odd choice from RIM, I think—was there an untapped demand for a flip Blackberry? No other specs, but expect it by the end of the year. Profile shot after the jump or hit BGR for the full five. [BGR] More »

11:48 PM on Wed Apr 30 2008
By matt buchanan
18,058 views, 46 comments

Latest by AskTheAdmin: Any updates on this?? more »

Home Entertainment

Building B/Sezmi One True Set Top Box Aims to Kill TV as You Know It

Last week, we had a demo of the TV godbox we reported on last summer by Building B—now Sezmi. If anything, their claims have actually gotten bolder: They're promising the "first complete TV 2.0 solution" that rolls up traditional TV with movies, on-demand, DVR and internet video, all presented seamlessly to viewers. That's a tall order, and moreover, an extremely complicated one. More »

11:11 PM on Wed Apr 30 2008
By matt buchanan
6,907 views, 13 comments

Latest by proxops-pete: I'm here visiting my in-laws in Korea and they already have this! My brother-in-law's cable service provider, Mega Internet. It has Internet-based (off freakin' fast 32 Mbit/sec!) on-demand TV and movies and all kinds of media goodness!! more »

Blu-Ray

HD DVD's Death Hasn't Helped Blu-ray Sales, Which Are So Bad NPD Won't Talk About 'Em

You guys have apparently been listening to our warnings about not jumping into the Blu pool just yet. NPD says that even after HD DVD stopping peeing in it and lied down to die, not only have Blu-ray sales have only jumped a meager two percent (after falling 40 percent from Jan.), but they're so bad, they won't even release the actual numbers. NPD pegs price as one major factor, with the wait for BD-Live players as another. Course, it's more likely the deeply feared DVD problem: For most people, it's still good enough. [Yahoo, NYT]

9:30 PM on Wed Apr 30 2008
By matt buchanan
8,449 views, 140 comments

Latest by kcmurphy88: I sure hope that HD DVD doesn't climb back out of the grave. Sure it was a simpler and cleaner format, designed for J6P at J6P prices, had consistent behavior across players, cheaper disc prices ovewrall, no region codes and tame more »

Google

Google Goes Back to 1500, Plans to Map the Oceans

As a natural progression from Google Earth and Google Sky, the Mountain View monolith now plans to create 3D maps of the Earth's oceans and seas and make it available via Google Ocean. The software will allow users to navigate the aquatic bottom and see the topography that exists down there. Google also plans to include interactive data about various subjects such as weather patterns, coral reefs, shipwrecks and currents. The goal for Google Ocean is to use as much high resolution photography of the underwater terrain as possible, offering more than just a map. But researchers say such a process could take upwards of 100 years. And Google, if you're going to include an Easter egg similar to Google Earth's flight sim, could we get a guided tour with a virtual Team Zissou? [CNet News]

9:00 PM on Wed Apr 30 2008
By Adrian Covert
8,454 views, 26 comments

Latest by wineaux: Instead of Street View... Sub View! Maybe now we'll be able to avoid some of those troublesome data cables and fishing boats... more »

Design

Tangled Wires are Ugly, But What About Tangled Wire Lamps?

Exposed cables can be downright hideous or damn near artistic depending on the situation. Apparently, when South Korean designer Kwangho Lee sees a mess of tangled wires, he thinks "art." The concept behind these "lamp sculptures" was to strip lights down to the bare essentials and weave the exposed cable into intricate designs. Whether the final result can be considered art is a matter of opinion—but I can tell you that I won't be hanging one of these in my apartment anytime soon. [MoCo Loco via Gearfuse]

8:30 PM on Wed Apr 30 2008
By Sean Fallon
3,027 views, 38 comments

Latest by macserv: Sean Fallon wrote: Tangled Wires are Ugly, But What About Tangled Wire Lamps?@Sean Fallon: Yeah, tangled wire lamps are ugly too. more »

Free Wi-Fi

AT&T Giving Free Starbucks Wi-Fi to iPhone Users?

Some Macrumors readers are reporting that AT&T's Starbucks and Barnes and Noble Wi-Fi hotspots are coughing up free internet access for iPhone users. When you hit up the wireless at these locations, you get directed to a special iPhone-formatted page that asks for your phone number. Once you punch that in, you're free to check email and Facebook at decent speeds. AT&T declined to comment, but didn't officially deny anything. [MacRumors]

8:01 PM on Wed Apr 30 2008
By Jason Chen
10,236 views, 49 comments

spy tech

RC-12 Mini Camera is Tiny, Works Underwater, Wireless to 30 Meters

The RC-12 Mini Camera is essentially a 1.2 GHz wireless camera with a 30 meter range, a 2.7 MP CMOS sensor and waterproof housing. It looks about as big as a LEGO brick and can shoot 45 minutes of video on a single charge. This camera isn't anything I have any practical use for, but it's the type of gadget I would find a non-practical use for (and no, I won't drop some lame girls' locker room reference here—wait...shit). I'd probably have this thing express shipped to my doorstep if it didn't cost $270. That hurts. [Killian Nakamura via Ubergizmo via Oh Gizmo!]

8:00 PM on Wed Apr 30 2008
By Adrian Covert
4,181 views, 11 comments

Latest by MasterYong: WANT. C'mon Giz... do a review!!! But PLEASE don't have it involve hairy interns, bathtubs, & toasters... no one needs to see that... oh, wait. Seriously though- if it got a good review I might get one... otherwise, $270 is more »

trek tech

"Real" Star Trek Tricorder Invented

If you ever watched an episode of Star Trek and wondered when we were going to finally get our hands on some cool medical gadgets like the tricorder, you will be happy to know that a primitive version already exists. Researchers knew that current medical scanners were too bulky and expensive to reach their full potential. So, in order to remedy the situation, they developed a simple portable scanner that can be plugged into a standard cellphone. The phones would send the raw data to remote processors, which would interpret that data and relay it as a image that is viewable on the cellphone screen. More »

7:30 PM on Wed Apr 30 2008
By Sean Fallon
6,334 views, 14 comments

Latest by chaoslink: @Daimyo Nintendo: Wow, somebody's got issues. Overcompensating much? Seriously - I'm not foolish enough to think that Americans are not generally ignorant of other foreign matters, but I always have to chuckle when someone from another country is arrogant enough more »

Question of the Day

Question of the Day: Leave Your Computer On Or Turn It Off?

Eco-friendly is the a word thrown around a lot these days, and an ever-increasing number of people are going out of their way to conserve power. Combine that with a desire to increase the longevity of our hardware and you have the basis for a question that has been floating around forever: do you leave your computer on or turn it off when not in use? More »

7:00 PM on Wed Apr 30 2008
By Sean Fallon
54,137 views, 159 comments

Latest by VaraneseMontufar: @bandit: Read the amount of watts used on your pc, your monitor, your scanner anything else related to your pc and write then down. Add then all together. Maybe something like 1200 watts. Two ways you can finish this: Let's say your setup more »

Gadgets

Neocube Is Better Than the Rubik's Cube Because There's No Right Answer

Rubik's Cubes are nice if you actually want to think, but how about for those times when you're just sitting there and you want something to fiddle with? The Neocube has 216 spherical neodymium magnets that connect and make a cube, a sphere, or any other obscene shape that springs to mind. Show me a man who doesn't like playing with magnets and I'll show you a man I don't much care for. All yours for just $34.95. Bonus video after the jump. More »

6:30 PM on Wed Apr 30 2008
By Jason Chen
21,982 views, 81 comments

Latest by UniComp: I got one after 2 months of ordering it. The 1st video where he splits it in half is even more impressive because it is near impossible to do. Most of the time I crush the cube trying to do more »

lg tv

Hollywood "Stars" Punk'd Into Going to Scarlet TV Premiere

We weren't the only ones fooled by LG's Scarlet TV that masqueraded as a TV series. LG managed to convince Hollywood's red carpet-loving "starlets" to come out as well, thinking that it was for the premiere of some show made by a Smallville and Sopranos director. We hope attendees got to take home one of these HDTVs, because we'd be pissed if we had to put on pants for nothing. [MavrixOnline via Shiny Shiny]

6:00 PM on Wed Apr 30 2008
By Jason Chen
19,784 views, 27 comments

HDTVs

Samsung's High End 650 Series LCDs Reviewed (Verdict: Great)

CNet's reviewed Samsung's 52-inch 650 series LCD, the LN52A650. While there is a 750 series, it's worth noting that those sets get MPEG and MP3 playback from USB drives but have the same picture. So, for this generation of Samsung LCDs, this is as good as the picture gets. In summary, David Katzmaier loved the set. More »

5:50 PM on Wed Apr 30 2008
By Brian Lam
11,728 views, 7 comments

Home Entertainment

Warner Bros. to Release Movies for Apple TV and On Demand Same Day as DVD

The format war over, and Blu-ray safely enthroned as the victor, Warner can now turn its sights beyond—to downloads and the infinite format war. Time Warner's chief executive announced today that Warner Bros. will release movies for on-demand systems like Comcast's and Apple TV on the same day they are released on DVD from now on. More »

5:26 PM on Wed Apr 30 2008
By matt buchanan
3,039 views, 24 comments

Wireless

On TMO Doing 3G Voice Only...

BTW, you might have seen our post this morning about T-Mobile not having 3G data at launch. What I've learned from Wilson is that actually, updating networks with voice first and data later has happened in previous generations. There's history for this in pre-3G networks. (And EVDO based systems are, by nature, data only.) We're also hearing conflicting stories of rollout dates, by the way, varying between the 1st and a few days later. The point is, it makes sense that data will follow, so don't worry too much about this right now. You've waited this long for 3G data on TMO, what's a few more weeks/months/years? [TMO 3G]

5:03 PM on Wed Apr 30 2008
By Brian Lam
1,143 views, 12 comments

Latest by TendoMentis: Okay, just to clarify, I didn't say that UMTS is for voice ONLY, I said it is the "3G for voice" that others were saying didn't exist. I know that UMTS can carry data (just as GSM did in the more »

Robots

Israeli Military Guardian Vehicle is Like the Batmobile Without Batman Driving

Other than taking obvious influences from the Tumbler from Batman Begins, this Israeli Guardium unmanned patrol shares more in common with the iRobot PackBot than Batman's roof-hopping car. The Guardium can either be self-controlled or steered by an operator miles away, and is loaded with cameras, night-vision sensors and machine guns. Unlike the PackBot, which demands that a human be in the loop at all times, the Guardium can be autonomous if the need arises. Let's just hope its programming is really, really good and it doesn't go off killing because it thought it saw a ghost. [Fox News via NewLaunches]

5:00 PM on Wed Apr 30 2008
By Jason Chen
6,960 views, 42 comments

Latest by iTheophilus: @Rabid Penguin: Erm, see here, that just isn't right now. I say this as someone who has visited Israel, liked the country and the people, and absolutely believe in its right to exist. I also agree that people in more »

Displays

Fujitsu's "Zero-Watt" Monitor Uses Zero Power in Standby Mode

Fujitsu Siemens has developed a new monitor that claims to use zero power in standby mode. This money-saving monitor miracle is made possible thanks to a built-in switch that shuts down the monitor completely when a signal from the computer is absent—and then abruptly brings it back to life when the signal reappears. This sort of technology will prove especially useful for businesses, which is why Fujitsu is aiming squarely at this market when the monitor is released this summer. Fortunately for the rest of us, this new model will sell for the same price as conventional monitors. [Physorg via Treehugger]

4:30 PM on Wed Apr 30 2008
By Sean Fallon
2,870 views, 26 comments

Latest by Major-General: @EQC: Good idea. Let's start with the iPhone. more »

iron man

Video: How Iron Man Gets Dressed

Here's a trailer I haven't seen before of Tony Stark getting ready for a night on the town. No Tux, but the Mark III suit. What's impressive about the movie's suit design is that they've not only detailed the red and gold of the outer shell, but the entire underlayer of the chassis and fastening system. That chest repulsor still looks like a simple halogen bulb, though. More »

4:09 PM on Wed Apr 30 2008
By Brian Lam
30,580 views, 85 comments

Latest by AmishJohn: Anyone remember the Bullfrog TBS game Syndicate? When you upgraded your Agents, they went into a rig like this... granted, the rig ground off limbs so prosthetics could be attached, but still.... more »

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