Eco Media Revolution: Part PMP, Part Cellphone Defibrillator

Mark Wilson — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 17:00:00 EDT

The original Eco Player was a wind-up PMP that offered 40 minutes of music per one minute of cranking. It was chunkier than a nano, but it also wasn't gonna run out of juice in the Himalayas, either. The new Eco Media Revolution is the sequel, a 4GB A/V player that also packs an SD card reader, FM radio and can charge your cellphone. Apparently a minute of cranking is equivalent to one emergency call. And if only we had some cool wilderness adventure to go on, we'd shell out the $240 in a heartbeat for one of our own. [Ethical Superstore via Smart Planet]

Crank 2: High Voltage Being Shot With Cheapo Best Buy HD Cameras, Still Ridiculous

matt buchanan — Fri, 02 May 2008 20:30:00 EDT

Apparently, the only thing crazier than Crank 2: High Voltage's plot (Jason Statham survives falling a thousand stories from a helicopter, thanks to his super adrenaline heart, which is stolen by a really old Chinese dude, and his mechanical replacement needs to be constantly zapped, hence the awesome title) is the cameras they're using to shoot it. They're straight from Best Buy and Circuit City: Canon's $1000 HF10 and XH A1 (now about $3500), though they're shooting with up to 12 simultaneously, and plan to destroy loads of them throughout the process.

Interestingly, they moved away from using another RED camera because of the size and the fact that they can be as fussy as 35mm film cams. So there's definitely a pro market for $3000 pocket-sized Scarlet beyond the obvious prosumer angle—it's small, cheap and shoots at an insane res. The other takeaway is that consumer cams have really gotten to be pro, or nearly pro level, which is a great thing for the rest of us. Though Crank 2 might not be. [Collider, Thanks Steve!]

Gizmodo: crank

Eco Media Revolution: Part PMP, Part Cellphone Defibrillator

Crank 2: High Voltage Being Shot With Cheapo Best Buy HD Cameras, Still Ridiculous