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Cellphones
Promo Box for Nokia 6205 Dark Knight Edition Is Cooler Than Phone Itself
Nokia just sent us the 6205 Dark Knight phone in a promotional box and man, is it cool. The box, that is. As you can see in the clip above, the purple box with pretty green bow on top surprised the hell out of me when I opened it—it cackled in the Joker's voice. The box is also packed with a DVD of Batman Begins and a creepy Joker card that has the scribbles of a madman all over it. Way to go with the box, Nokia...now where's the psycho purple 6205 Joker Edition to go with it? [Verizon Wireless]
5:42 PM on Mon Jul 7 2008
By Benny Goldman
10,490 views,
14 comments
Latest by Th3Chos3n0n3: Geeeeeeeeeeeek more »
Weapons
Democratic Convention Protestors Will Be Blasted With Ray Guns and Sticky Goo
If you're unhappy that Hillary Clinton lost the nomination to Barack Obama, you better think twice before showing your displeasure at next month's Democratic National Convention. According to CNN, the city of Denver is purchasing tons of high-tech weapons to use on unruly DNC protesters, which may include goo-guns that shoot an impossible-to-escape sticky film, sonic ray guns that produce a blood-curdling blast of noise, and a microwave device that can make you feel like your skin is burning. The ACLU is suing the city to see what weapons will end up in the final arsenal, but if you're going to the Denver, be prepared; this could make the 1968 DNC look like a picnic. [CNN]
July 4th
Giz Service Announcement: Aim Fireworks Into the Air, Not At Your Mom
Well, we hope you've had a good day off, a great BBQ and plenty of watermelon. Also, we hope that you didn't blow up your face. We'll leave you with one last Consumer Product Safety Commission clip that proves, once and for all, that it is NOT okay to point fireworks at friends and family members. They may end up in a storm of smoke and fire. Happy 4th everybody! [CPSC]
July 4th
Giz Service Announcement: Fireworks + Indoors = Bad Idea
If you're anything like us, you're probably deep into your 12th beer by now. You may think that now's the perfect time to test some of those firecrackers in your kitchen. Well, don't, or you may end up like this guy and his house, both blasted to smithereens by some lousy M-1000s. Take it from us and the Consumer Product Safety Commission and have a happy 4th everybody! [CPSC]
July 4th
Giz Service Announcement: Fireworks Can Blow Up Your Face
Hey everyone, just checking in again to make sure your day is going well. And you haven't blown your face off with some giant aerial fireworks. Because believe me, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission: If you act like the mannequin (manikin?) in the clip above, the last place you'll end up is in a hospital emergency room. Happy 4th everybody! [CPSC]
July 4th
Giz Service Announcement: Fireworks and Watermelon Don't Mix
Hey, we here at Gizmodo, together with Nancy Nord of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, want to remind you to have a safe 4th of July. Don't use illegal fireworks for anything dangerous. Like blowing up an M-1000 inside of a watermelon. In slow motion. Happy 4th weekend everybody. [CPSC]
Webapps
Hands-On Google Talk for iPhone (Verdict: Stick with Installer.app)
Google's brand new Gtalk webapp for the iPhone is as crappy as I expected it would be. It has a nice design, and sending messages was easy, but at the end of the day it's still running in Safari—which means if you get a call you are signed out of chat. And unlike other web-based IM apps, Gtalk doesn't work in the background, so interruptions as simple as going to the home screen sign you out too. Also, there are no preference settings, so you are stuck looking at your whole contact list, online and off. Gtalk's AIM support is also curiously absent from this release. In short, this program sucks. If you're looking for a solid IM solution before the App store opens, I strongly recommend Agile Mobile's AM client recently released on Installer, which I've been playing around with. More »
Laptops
Asus B51 Business Laptop is Ruggedized for Xtreme Work
Asus is jumping on the bandwagon led by Panasonic and HP and releasing the B51, a super strong ruggedized laptop. The B51 is Mil-Spec 810F tough, can survive three-foot drops and has a keyboard drainage system in case you can't keep your OJ in a glass. The heavy (7-lb.!) lappie runs Vista, has a Core 2 Duo processor, supports 4GB RAM, carries a HDD up to 320GB and has optional 1.3MP webcam and Bluetooth. Screen size, availability and pricing are still unknown—hey, what do you expect from Asus?—but the press release is after the jump. [Asus via Laptoping] More »
World Records
Firefox Claims World Download Record (No One Disputes It)
Mazel tov, Mozilla, for claiming the Guinness world record for most downloaded software in a 24-hour period after 8 million of your minions snagged Firefox 3 on launch day. It's not that big of a feat considering you took the record from absolutely no one, but you sure set the bar pretty high for anyone planning on breaking it. [Firefox via Reuters]
Cellphones
OpenMoko Neo Freerunner Finally Available on July 4th
The OpenMoko Neo Freerunner we caught back in January will be available to order on July 4th. That makes the Linux-based cellphone a perfect birthday gift for Uncle Sam, assuming he's into shell commands. It'll run $400, press release after the jump. [OpenMoko] More »
Lists
BBG Perfect Gadget List Shows That Tech Can't Improve Everything
BBG has done an impressive thing: It came up with a list of 10 perfect gadgets, unchanged by time or tech. No need to build the better mousetrap, because the tried and true mousetrap made the list. So did the wristwatch, the toilet and scissors. I don't agree with the inclusion of the toaster (I prefer a toaster oven), and I can't figure out how they left off the fork (unchanged since the Bible), but it's a good read. Hit the link and let us know of any gadgets that are MORE perfect. [BBG]
Beer
Kegstand Keg-On-Wheels is Great for Weak Frat Boys, Bloggers
I once had a job delivering beer to bars but I only lasted a day, mostly because my body is built for blogging and not manual labor. If the Kegstand was around at that time I may have gone down a much different career path. This tub-on-wheels makes the keg easy to roll around, has a snap-on—and hopefully watertight—tub that can be filled with ice to keep your brew cool, and a drainage spout to empty out all that nasty beer water at the end of the night. Sadly, you'll still have to keep pumping iron if you want a keg at your next party—it's just a concept for now. [The Greener Grass via Core77]
Notebooks
Leaked Shots of Asus Eee 904 & 905 Laptops Show Half-Baked Idea
Shots of the rumored Asus Eee 904 and 905 leaked, and they look like we expected—big keyboard and a small screen with way too much plastic around it. (If the screen gets too large, they aren't allowed to use Windows XP.) There's also a 903 model in the shots, but it just looks like a slightly updated 900. I get what they're onto here: The small size of the EeePC is nice, but the keyboard on the 900 is still too tiny for my fat fingers. But honestly, how long before Asus just makes full-sized laptops? Oh that's right, they already do. UPDATE: Asus confirms the 904 HD, with HDD instead of SSD, but not the 903 or 905...yet. [903, 904 & 905 via i4u]
Cars
Prince Charles' Modded Aston Martin Burns 4.5 Bottles of Wine Per Mile
Prince Charles has discovered the perfect use for crappy English wine: He is using it as biofuel for his classic Aston Martin DB6. The Prince converted the 38-year old car to accept ethanol to play his part in reducing carbon emissions in the UK. The wine in question is a white distilled from the excess stock of a vineyard near Swindon, Wiltshire, which has the leftover wine because of EU quota restrictions, and not because it sucks or anything. Chuck's ride gets an awfully low 10mpg, equal to 4.5bwpm (bottles of wine per mile), but it pairs nicely with his tilapia-powered subwoofer, so who's to complain? [Daily Mail via Jalopnik]
10:05 AM on Tue Jul 1 2008
By Benny Goldman
5,195 views,
47 comments
Latest by VideoVampire: So the wine powers the car, where is the cheese? Oh, ha! the cheese is the Prince, that cheesy bastard more »
Patents
Sony Patent Hints at PlayStation Phone, Possible Mystery Device?
The prospect of a PSP phone looks even more likely now that we've seen Sony's patent for a touchscreen handheld. The patent describes a device with "digital tactile pixels" that respond to touch and give feedback via vibration. This patent was submitted by Sony Computer Entertainment, the group behind PlayStation, and not Ericsson, like the last alleged PSP phone patent. The mystery device is covered to play games and music and browse the web, but also make phone calls, so what else could it be? [patent via Tech Digest]
7:01 PM on Mon Jun 30 2008
By Benny Goldman
4,266 views,
13 comments
Latest by TUIRC: You touch the screen. The tactile pixels are on the perimeter of the screen. Then, what are tactile pixels for? more »
Dealzmodo
Pleo Turns One, Learns How To Make Itself Over $100 Cheaper
Pleo, the robot dinosaur loved by everyone—except dogs and blogs—is celebrating its first birthday a little early by going on sale for $235. Head over to Ugobe's store from now til July 11 and use semi-creepy coupon code PLEOWORLDISONE, and the dino can be yours for a cool $115 less than usual. Whether you teach Pleo the joy of Christmas or how to be robot food is up to you. [Pleo via Shiny Shiny]
Notebooks
