Hands

Question of the Day: Do You Support Hands-Free Laws?

It seems like common sense—if drivers have two hands on the wheel they are less likely to get in an accident on the road. Therefore, all states should adopt a hands-free law when it comes to driving and cellphone use. However, there are studies out there that suggest hands-free driving with a Bluetooth headset is as dangerous as driving under the influence of alcohol. Whether that is true or not, there is still the problem of implementing the law in such a way that it becomes a truly effective deterrent. So, despite these potential shortcomings, do you support hands free laws? More »

5:00 PM on Fri Jul 18 2008
By Sean Fallon
7,544 views, 133 comments

Latest by witnessx: Keeping both hands on the wheel really isn't the answer, otherwise they'd ban manual transmissions. more »

dealzmodo

Bluetooth Headset Deals For Anyone Who Breaks the Hands Free Law

Congrats on being a lawbreaker! Why? Because it will earn you a $20 discount on a new Jawbone Bluetooth headset thanks to a new promotion Aliph is running on their product website. Not a fan of the Jawbone? No worries—Headsets.com is giving away a free Plantronics Discovery 925 (a $149.95) headset to the first 734 applicants who have been busted by the long arm of the law. Apparently crime does pay! [Jawbone via Boing Boing Gadgets and Headsets.com]

3:26 PM on Wed Jul 16 2008
By Sean Fallon
5,266 views, 21 comments

Latest by n/a: @pockygt: Speaker phones are allowed under the law, as well as holding the phone for dialing purposes.Read the law...[www.dmv.ca.gov] "Q: Does the new "hands-free" law allow you to use the speaker phone function of your wireless telephone while driving? A: Yes." more »

iphone

iPhone's MobileMe Push Mail Hands-On Shows Why BlackBerry Is Dead

As you can see in the video, MobileMe push mail is now active, fully operative, and perfectly armed. My iPhone is now getting all email in real time, both over a Wi-Fi connection and using a cellphone network. I even use EDGE—not 3G—and a non-official carrier on roaming. So far, not a single problem. Bad news, RIM: BlackBerry is dead, dead, dead. Dead. More »

2:20 PM on Thu Jul 10 2008
By Jesus Diaz
81,319 views, 169 comments

apple

First iTunes Remote App for iPhone Hands-On

One of the first apps I downloaded while doing the App Store video walkthrough today was the new iPhone Remote for iTunes. There's only one word to describe it: perfectomfgthisissocool. As you can see in the video, it just works, giving you full control of all the music, video, podcasts, and movies stored on your computer or AppleTV. The applications show you the art, your personal playlists (including the smart ones), all in real time. Updated: second part of the video is up, plus some more impressions. Verdict: download it now. More »

10:04 AM on Thu Jul 10 2008
By Jesus Diaz
75,898 views, 86 comments

Latest by halos: In case connecting to remote is still an issue with anyone I'm posting a solution that worked for me on my XP machine. (I found it on iLounge): "I had issues getting this working as well. Here are steps to get more »

apple

MobileMe Setup in iPhone OS 2.0 Video

We already knew that MobileMe email services are now fully active and accessible through any desktop mail client. This morning I tried to set up MobileMe on my iPhone with OS 2.0 and I discovered that the calendar, bookmarks and contacts all synchronized fine, even while push synching—the ability of MobileMe to make changes to your iPhone over the air as they happen—is not active yet. More »

11:45 AM on Tue Jul 8 2008
By Jesus Diaz
29,406 views, 31 comments

CALIFORNIA CELLPHONE LAW

Hands-Free Law, Smands-Free Law: Distracting, Dangerous and Ridiculous Things You Can Still Do While Driving

The big day has now passed for California drivers and cellphones are effectively banned on the road. At least not without a hands-free device...which Californians will inevitably forget to charge or lose. Other states have this law, but California is the driving-while-talking state. California is regularly ranked the worst for traffic congestion, and its 60 million residents spend more time in traffic not driving than just about anybody else. It's a big deal, but also, this law is a joke: The fine is only $20. The dumbest thing, however, is that there is a laundry list of far more distracting gadget and non-gadget tasks that are still perfectly legal behind the wheel of a car: More »

2:20 PM on Tue Jul 1 2008
By John Herrman
42,837 views, 171 comments

Latest by n/a: Oh, and apparently jackin'-it while driving is still okay because one time I called the highway patrol on a guy for just that and they couldn't have cared less. more »

blackberry bold

BlackBerry Bold Hands On (It's Great)

Tonight, we finally got our hands on the BlackBerry Bold, and it was worth the wait. You've already seen the UI, which yes, it's that snappy and smooth. The screen is nice 'n' crispy, if a lil' tiny for extended cinematic pursuits. But the real q: How's the browser? Damn skippy. It not only renders Giz correctly (a feat that makes most mobile browsers cry blood), it's fast (thanks AT&T), and zooming in and out with the trackball works pretty well. More »

11:41 PM on Wed Jun 25 2008
By Benny Goldman
27,039 views, 58 comments

Latest by brundlefly76: I am a big blackberry fan and have the 8800. But I don't get the point of the move from full color icons to monochromatic interface at all. Seems like a step backwards. more »

Intel R&D

Robot Hand Can Sense Objects Before Touching Them

Over at Intel's R&D fair, Wired got to play with a robot hand that is able to sense an object it's about to come in contact with before actually touching it. Using electrolocation, the fingertips of the robot hand send out a weak electrical impulse, and approaching objects interfere with that impulse, which allows the hand to form to the object before touching it. More »

11:26 PM on Wed Jun 11 2008
By Adrian Covert
3,033 views, 18 comments

Latest by n/a: @Denver_80203: I thought they might have been French ticklers...thanks for clearing that up! more »

iphone 3g

3G iPhone Hands On

In my hand, the 3G iPhone is lighter, fits better, and noticeably thinner feeling as it doesn't have the same squarish shape. (You won't notice that it is thicker at all.) I made a call with it, side by side with my 1st generation iPhone, and the reception is noticeably better as well. I can't even believe this is frigging AT&T anymore. I'd called Lisa and asked her if she noticed if it was clearer or not. She replied, "It's a lot better, but it's also better that you're actually calling me." A tough crowd. More »

5:50 PM on Mon Jun 9 2008
By Brian Lam
222,019 views, 198 comments

Latest by n/a: WTH no A2DP........so what I get to buy a cool, sleek, ubbercool phone and have to plug some gay ass WHITE no name headphones into it, oh wait I guess I could go buy some $200 dollar earbuds to really more »

skyfire browser

Hands-on With Windows Mobile Skyfire Browser Beta 0.6

Skyfire just got its 0.6 update, bring with it a few more features (listed after the jump) and a bit of compatibility increase that makes it feel more like a real browser than it was even when we saw it at CTIA. The overall idea is the same: Skyfire servers render pages into image form, which then makes it onto your Windows Mobile phone over an internet connection. On our Sprint HTC Mogul, Gizmodo loaded pretty damn fast over EV-DO, and features like Flash actually seemed to work well. More »

3:30 PM on Tue May 6 2008
By Jason Chen
11,259 views, 31 comments

Latest by takoattack: this browser is awesome, it a little slugish to load, but it can display yahoo! sports fantasy leagues amazingly well, and also the stattracker app. Its worth it just for helping my fantasy sports teams, as there are no more »

robotic tweezers

Robotic Hand May Be Tiny, Has Strong Grip

Scientists have developed a pair of robotic hands that are both strong and sensitive. The tweezers can guide themselves to pick up and move individual cells without damaging them, and have a grip that can be as slight as 20 nanoNewtons of force. In fact, so advanced are the little grippers, that they can be hitched up to a microscope and, with the right software, function without human control. More below. More »

12:00 PM on Thu Apr 17 2008
By AddyDugdale
2,618 views, 8 comments

wii fit

Wii Fit Helpin' Us Ski This Summer

With the snow season practically over, we are starting to miss those winter days of snowboarding and hot tubbin'. This summer when the snow is long gone we might actually have an outlet for our snow-sport deprived lives. The Wii Fit. There is a whole set of mini-games that take place on the mountain. With games that range from ski jumping to snowboarding, it makes us wonder if it will be enough to kill the mid-summer, snow-missin' blues. More »

6:01 AM on Tue Apr 15 2008
By Christopher Mascari
3,827 views, 9 comments

Latest by B1663R: oh well, good for the kids i suppose. more »

cellphones

Up Close and Personal With the AT&T Motorola Z9

A lucky Laptop Mag writer recently got a close up view of the upcoming Motorola Z9 at CTIA and came away notably impressed by the 2.4-inch screen, smooth sliding action and tactile feedback of the keypad. Features like AT&T Navigator support, CrystalTalk noise suppression, and video sharing were also noted. On the negative side, the quality of streaming video on the device was less than stellar—although that could have been a reception issue. All in all, not bad for a first impression, although pricing and a release date remain elusive. Hit the link for the full details. [Laptop Mag]

8:15 PM on Mon Mar 31 2008
By Sean Fallon
3,818 views, 8 comments

Latest by MIKEAWESOME: My Z6cW is probably my favorite phone ever. It's got a nice weight to it and feels really sturdy, not to mention that since it's the worldphone edition I have the ability to switch over to a GSM network and more »

question of the day

Question of the Day: Do You Use a Bluetooth Headset?

With numerous states looking to regulate talking on your cellphone while driving, using a Bluetooth headset is one of your best alternatives. However, there are still plenty of tools out there who wander around with two free hands talking on these things at the top of their lungs (here is a tip for that by the way), as well as corded headset users and people who never use a headset of any kind. So, the question is: do you use a Bluetooth headset? More »

7:45 PM on Mon Mar 31 2008
By Sean Fallon
20,096 views, 154 comments

Latest by n/a: @Daimyo Nintendo: YEAH, AND SEATBELTS TOO. DON'T GET ME STARTED. more »

elmo

First Video of Elmo Live Singing and Dancing Shows He Got Skillz

Holy crap, I want this Elmo, and I don't even like Sesame Street. It makes Pleo look like a dumb hunk of plastic. The ways it moves and interacts is incredible—it tells stories, sings songs, dances and is simply the most expressive toy we've ever seen. It even yells out "Jazz Hands!" when he finish performing his newest rap hit, "Elmo's Gotta Get On Up." More information and videos after the jump.

More »

11:10 AM on Thu Feb 14 2008
By Benny Goldman
110,362 views, 130 comments

Latest by n/a: Holy crap, I'm transfixed on the guy who wills Elmo to life. I can only imagine the angst he'll feel for each little Elmo package that leaves his care..."Elmo misses you..." more »

design

Hands-Free Bolo Tie Lets You Chat, Be a Crazy Texan

If you're going to wear one of those wired handsfree headsets for your phone, why not go all out and make it a fashion accessory? This Hands-free Tie does just that, with an embedded mic on the "tie" part and convenient gestures for you to answer your phone. We say "convenient," but they're actually kind of awkward, what with pulling up or down being accepting or declining the call and swinging the tie left or right to adjust the volume. It's a good idea in theory, but kinda screws up those Rodney Dangerfield comedic/nervous tie adjustments we enjoy doing at parties. [Yanko Design]

5:30 PM on Tue Feb 12 2008
By Jason Chen
2,613 views, 13 comments

Latest by takeshi: @axiomatic: My money's on Calgary, actually -- based on what I've heard about Stampede. more »

nokia

Nokia N-Gage Video Hands-On

We played a bit with the new Nokia N-Gage service, which will be one of the core services on all the new Nokia phones presented here at the Mobile World Congress 2008. As we already knew, it's a very similar philosophy to Xbox Live, a social-oriented game service with N-Gage points, pictures, reviews, scores and rankings, so you don't have to play against a friend live, but you can still compete. The experience was smooth, the games themselves fast and crispy, all of them playable before purchasing them. Could Nokia make it work this time? More »

8:26 AM on Tue Feb 12 2008
By Jesus Diaz
26,012 views, 17 comments

Latest by DJTripleRRR: Told ya so :P more »

pma 2008

Hands On Panasonic Lumix TZ5 10X Zoomer and HD Camcorder

First off, you can zoom while recording movies in 720p. It's a nice, slow 'n' steady zoom too, not a jerky or overly fast one, keeping things smooth while you shoot. The LCD is big and bright enough for HD videorecording on this kind of level, though it's not astounding or anything. It's sorta hard to tell just how silky and pristine the video is without hooking it up to a real live HDTV, but based on our fondlage, this could be a great point-and-shoot for bloggers (or even regular people!) who want to be able to shoot quick clips in HD since it's light but feels up to taking some abuse. [Original Post]

10:00 AM on Thu Jan 31 2008
By matt buchanan
19,396 views, 34 comments

Latest by AndersonBMX: @Jeremias: BTW, are you happy with your TZ3? foi uma boa dica que te dei? more »

Gizmodo

Steve Jobs Says He Doesn't Have Cancer (And Why It's Not Your Business...

Gizmodo Team

Gawker Media Network