Update: Jalopnik says it's going to have 225 miles per charge. Wowzers!

Update 2: Tesla head Elon Musk also made statements that they want to get prices down to $30,000 within four years, but Jalopnik says take that with a grain of salt. It doesn't seem like a $60k to $30k drop in four years is out of the question if you strip out some luxury items, but we'll see.

Matt's achieved such precision in such a short time of working on this project, I can't help but wonder about it. Look at that robotic femur—it's just polystyrene, but surely this is step one on the road to metal-cutting self-replicating robots? The thought of one of these, armed with that eerie-sounding cutting tool, advancing across the floor towards me is a real heebie-jeebie inducer...

Just kidding, of course. As long as it doesn't choose to remodel anyone's face with that Dremel cutter, it's a pretty cool project. [Project page via Robosavvy —Thanks Limor]

[Video and images courtesy of Bob Parrish]

DUN DUN DUN! [Surface Blog]

The completed ship is 231 studs long (that's almost 73 inches, for us non-Lego-geeks), 41 studs wide and weighs about 30 pounds. It's packed with attention to detail that has to be seen to be believed, down to different antenna sizes dotted around the tower and complex engine-plumbing. Mark's decision to avoid too many exposed studs must have added considerably to both the expense and building time, but has resulted in something that looks almost like a prop from a Lucas' set.

Whether you think "dedication to hobby" or "Lego nutcase in action," you've got to admit its pretty awesome. Now, who on Earth would think of taking on a project like that? [Lego Invisible Hand via Brothers Brick]

Hey wait a minute, didn't we meet this girl at the blackjack tables at the Imperial Palace last January? [I4U News]

You can even build and operate an electric train, windmill, solar cooker, solar hot water tank, hygrometer, electric motor, power hoist and sail car. And let's not forget that action figures need to eat. You can take care of their needs by planting watercress, preparing sauerkraut, and making chewing gum. All in all you can conduct 70 experiments and 20 building projects with the Power House kit —all of which are outlined in the included 90 page instruction manual. Available for $149.95. [Product Page via EcoGeek]

Mix up some of the included citric acid and water in the launchpad, apply a bit of current from the batteries in the base, and before you know you've separated the hydrogen from the oxygen. Sure, it's not the liquid hydrogen that propelled the Saturn V, but close enough. Push a button and the canned countdown begins, and then up it goes with a sound similar to a cork popping out of a bottle. Looks like $39.95 worth of fun, mayhem not included. [Discovery]

OQO Updates Award-Winning model 02 Product Line New Products Deliver Increased Storage Capacity and Solid State Drive Option, Faster CPU Speeds and Wireless Connectivity, and Reduced Prices

SAN FRANCISCO - September 10, 2007 - OQO Inc., creator of the model 02, the world's smallest PC running Windows Vista® and the first ultra mobile PC (UMPC) with embedded 3G mobile broadband, today announced new model 02 products with high performance features that deliver increased Anytime/Anywhere Productivity™ and extend OQO's lead in the category. To accelerate consumer and enterprise adoption of the model 02, OQO is aggressively pricing its upgraded UMPCs starting at $1,299.

Better Storage: Bigger HDDs, New Flash Memory SSD

The improvements to the model 02 product line start with a choice of high-capacity storage options. In an industry first, OQO now offers an ultra-mobile PC with a 120GB hard disk ideal for video, audio, and data-intensive applications. At the same time, HDD capacities have increased across the board: to 40GB in the entry-level model, and to 80GB in the standard high-end configuration. For users requiring an even more advanced storage solution, OQO now offers the model 02 with a flash-based 32GB solid state drive. The SSD provides up to 50% faster boot and application launch times, as well as increased battery life and the ultimate in rugged physical data protection.

Faster CPU Speeds and Improved Wireless Connectivity

The new model 02 delivers faster CPU speeds of up to 1.6GHz, another industry first in a UMPC. WWAN configurations of the model 02 are now available with higher-speed wireless connectivity provided by EV-DO Rev. A with mobile broadband service from Verizon Wireless or Sprint. EV-DO Rev. A offers data rates of up to 1.4Mbps, improved upstream speed, and lower latency. Users will find Rev. A particularly useful for online video, interactive web content, and bandwidth-intensive enterprise applications.
Reduced Prices

Due to increased volumes and new technologies, OQO is delivering the new model 02 with a lower price point or improved functionality at every level of the product line. The entry-level price for an OQO model 02 has been reduced by $200 (to just $1299) while increasing disk drive capacity by 33%. Additional pricing is available at OQO's online store at www.oqo.com/store.

"With today's announcement, OQO further extends its lead in the fast-growing UMPC category," according to Bob Rosin, senior vice president of marketing & alliances. "OQO created the UMPC and our new products offer performance, wireless and storage options that further advance our vision of anytime/anywhere access to information, applications, corporate networks and the full PC internet."

The updated OQO model 02 can be ordered today at www.oqo.com/store, by calling OQO sales at 877.676.6688, and through a range of distribution partners with a base price starting at $1,299. Retail locations where the model 02 can be purchased are listed at www.oqo.com/about/retail_locations.html. The OQO enterprise sales team can be reached at www.oqo.com/about/oqo_corporate_sales.html.
About OQO

Based in San Francisco, California, OQO, Inc. has redefined mobile computing with its groundbreaking products, including the new ultra-small, powerful, ergonomic, and connected model 02 released in 2007. The OQO model 02 is a full-featured computer running standard Windows® XP or Vista with embedded EV-DO wireless broadband capability and award-winning design, in a pocketable, dockable form factor that gives the mobile individual or workforce true Anytime/Anywhere Productivity.

OQO, the OQO logo, and Anytime/Anywhere Productivity are trademarks of OQO, Inc. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. © 2007 OQO, Inc. All rights reserved.

Yes, unlike surround bars from Yamaha, Denon, Philips and Polk, which provide either virtual, psychoacoustic or projected surround sound, the TVee Model Two is just stereo. It takes over the sound coursing through your TV set, supplanting your TV's crappy speakers. As low-tech as that sounds, the unit itself can learn the volume commands off of your TV's remote, for instant control. Also, the subwoofer is wireless, and can be placed anywhere in the room (near power, of course) thanks to a 2.4GHz RF connection. And in case you never heard of the Model One, don't feel bad: Boston Acoustics decided to skip straight to Model Two.

Boston Acoustics Introduces Groundbreaking Video Accessory to Dramatically Improve Television Sound: "TVee™" Model Two - A Television Entertainment Enhancement System"

— Innovative TV Accessory Enhances Enjoyment of Watching Everything from Sitcoms to Game Shows,
Sports, Movies and More! —

Peabody, MA, August 13, 2007 — Boston Acoustics, Inc., a world-renowned manufacturer of highperformance
loudspeakers and entertainment products, today announced the introduction of the TVee Model Two, A Television Entertainment Enhancement System (SRP: $399.99). This simple TV accessory is designed to enhance the enjoyment of TV watching. The innovative system consists of a slim single "soundbar" that can be placed above or below a television, or easily mounted on the wall, along with a matching wireless woofer that can be placed anywhere in the room to deliver added dynamic bass response. Once hooked up, viewers will enjoy an overall enhanced TV experience.

Convenient "One Wire" Hook-Up - and No Additional Remote Required!
Everything about the TVee Model Two is designed to make it quick and easy for anyone to add enhanced performance to their TV viewing. Users simply plug a single wire from the sound bar into their television's line-level output, and because the woofer is wireless, it can be placed virtually anywhere, even in a corner behind the couch, and still provide added bass response. Adding to user convenience, the TVee system features a special "Learning Function" which simply learns a user's existing TV remote to control TVee's volume and mute commands, eliminating the need for a separate remote control.

Eli Harary, Boston Acoustics Senior Vice President & General Manager noted, "TVee Model Two was
designed from the ground-up to improve the Television experience, especially in flat panel sets... simply! With TVee there's no tangle of wires, no extra remote, and no clutter of loudspeakers. It simply adds great sound to enhance your enjoyment of watching TV."

Like all Boston Acoustics products, TVee utilizes the highest quality loudspeaker components and build materials to achieve high quality and natural sound. TVee's soundbar features four 2.5-inch Mid Bass drivers and two 1/2-inch Dome Tweeters to deliver powerful room-filling audio, and the wireless woofer features a 6-inch Down Firing Bass Driver, and delivers a total system output of over 100 Watts RMS.

"Make It Your Own" with Boston Personal Option Plan (P.O.P.)
To make it easy for customers to individualize the look of their TVee Model Two and "make it their own," the system features the company's new P.O.P. (Personal Option Plan) design concept. P.O.P. lets users customize the look of their product using easily removable & replaceable cloth grilles that are available in a wide variety of colors, including Glacier, Rosebud, Onyx, Pearl Gray, Caramel, Chocolat, Silver, and Chili Pepper. To purchase a new grille, customers can simply visit the Boston Acoustics website (www.bostonacoustics.com/POP) and select the color of their choice or contact those dealers that will be stocking the grille color options. Boston Acoustics TVee Model Two and its optional P.O.P. cloth grilles are scheduled for shipment to retailers in September 2007.

At $199.95 it's a bargain, and you could even use it for Christmas too—just throw a Santa suit on him. Dry ice not included. [Hammacher]

It's a lot slimmer than the N80—you can see the two phones compared. The N81 will be announced at the end of the month. [Phone Daily via Just Another Mobile Phone Blog]

Since we're long-time electric razor users around here, we'll be able to compare this $79.99 Cool Skin directly to Norelco's earlier models, seeing if its design is just a pretty face or if it can actually outperform its predecessors. Blade users, this may not interest you much, but if you like electric razors, you'll want to hear about what it's like to use this new Cool Skin product.

The Cool Skin is designed to work with Nivea shaving conditioner, lubing up your skin and whiskers for easier cutting. You can either fill up the razor with a week's worth of the goo, or there's an optional $149.99 recharging station that also takes care of the lotion situation, too. Of course, you'll need to fill up that fancy optional recharging station with lotion once it's empty, but we didn't get one of those to test.

The standard charging station is a big improvement over its predecessors. The two little prongs on the razor have to merely touch the two contacts in the charging stand, and there's no awkward plugging in necessary. You just set it down on the stand and it's charged up and ready after a four-hour initial charge. That's good for about 45 minutes of shaving. After that initial charging, in a pinch, a quick nine-minute electro-blast is good for a three-minute shave.

First, I wanted to try using the razor without the lotion, since I'm not a big fan of spreading smelly slime all over my face just to do a quick shave. That's right, I am one of those lazy electric razor users, and we don't like messing with any liquids. So, I defiantly shaved one side of my face without using the Nivea lotion, and the razor performed admirably, doing a splendid job of removing facial hair and giving me a smooth shave without any lotion at all. It was even able to easily remove those stubborn neck hairs that grow close to the skin and usually resist cutting. And, the razor's slim profile fit perfectly in my hand, better than Norelco's fatter predecessors.

One drawback I immediately noticed was the whiskers falling on the front of my shirt and onto the countertop, unlike other Norelco razors that hold the trimmed hairs inside until you release them. I also don't care for the sideburn trimmer, which doesn't just pop out—you have to remove the cutting heads and replace them with the trimmer. Not good.

Besides those drawbacks, it shaved every bit as well as the three-year-old Norelco electric I've been using. That's saying a lot, because that previous model cost well over $200. But then, its blades may not be as new and sharp as these.

Next it was time to put some lotion into the razor and see what difference it made to spread that on the other half of my face as I shaved. To fill the razor with lotion, it's an action that reminds me of an FA-18 fighter refueling from a B-52, or maybe a John Holmes movie. But unlike Holmes, it takes just a few seconds to fill this hole up with spunk, and then you're good to go.

To release the goo, I pushed the blue button which squirts a small amount of the lotion onto the two top cutting heads. It looked kinda gross, as if the heads were having some sort of ejaculatory climax. This whole thing is so phallic. But hey, let's see if it lubes up the shave. Undaunted, I began shaving the other half of my face.

This is some slippery stuff, and it actually smelled good—not too strong at all. However, all that jizzy slime didn't improve the closeness of the shave, and actually made it harder to cut the facial hair. It felt as if the blades didn't have anything to grab onto, because this stuff was so slippery. Perhaps I used too much, so I tried using just a tiny bit of the lotion on a different part of my face, with the same result. In my opinion, this razor works better without the lotion, but on the other hand, when you use the lotion, the resulting whiskers don't fall all over you and the countertop.

Using the trimmer, it works extremely well, but it's just inconvenient to install it each time you want to use it. It's also quite noisy, and holding it right next to your ear to trim your sideburns is a lot noisier than the razor when it's using its triple heads.

Those complaints aside, I like the Norelco Cool Skin razor. I can certainly do without its Nivea lotion, the inclusion of which I think may have to do with more with selling lotion than enhancing an electric shave. I'm looking forward to testing out the high-end version of this razor, which Norelco has dubbed Arcitec. It doesn't use this gooey concoction, and has a prettier carbon fiber finish, but uses the same cutter head technology. However, it costs nearly $200 more than this Cool Skin razor, which at $79.99, turns out to be cool, indeed, and an excellent value. – Charlie White

OQO Model 02 HSDPA Mod [tnkgrl Mobile]

1:1 Scale 1940 Ford Coupe Model Kit [OhGizmo!]

Let's put 20 horses in a real world context for scale. Pretend you are riding in a carriage pulled by 2 horses. Now take that feeling and multiply it by 10. (Feel free to use a slide rule if you need to). Our only concern is that with as poorly as women already drive their horses, we can only imagine the damage they'll do with multiple beast motor power. Though maybe if a lady were to lie on the car she would appear 20 times more beautiful.– Mark Wilson

Press Release

Flipstart vs. OQO Gen 2: The Second-Generation UMPCs [Digital Trends via i4U]

These cards have more circuitry than ever, with three quarters of a billion transistors on board, and NVIDIA says not only can they display larger graphics faster than ever but use a concept called GP-GPU, allowing general-purpose programs to run on the GPU instead of the CPU.

Sharing some of the same technology with NVIDIA's GeForce 8 series of consumer cards released last November, these cards are aimed at high-end film effects artists and oil and gas explorers, and maybe a few absolutely fanatic gamers. More info, pics and pricing, plus a tantalizing hint from NVIDIA about Apple's interest in this technology, after the jump.

These cards have a brand-new GPU architecture on board, representing a brand new approach to graphics, where NVIDIA goes away from the pipeline model and into parallel processing.

Jeff Brown, General Manager, Professional Solutions Group at NVIDIA told us these new cards were four years in the making, and that NVIDIA spent half a billion dollars putting together this technology. He also gave us what might be a hint at what Apple has to show at NAB in April with its rumored workstations that are geared toward professional video editors and effects artists.

Said Brown, "Image processing is the fundamental algorithm set that video editing guys use, and traditionally that has been very CPU-centric, and now we're starting to see more and more image processing moving to the GPU. So folks like Adobe, Apple, Avid are excited about this concept. It gives them much, much higher levels of performance."

Expect to see those video editing giants, Adobe, Apple, and Avid, taking advantage of these graphics cards, perhaps showing systems involving the technology at the National Association of Broadcasters convention in mid-April. We'll be there to see what happens.

Meanwhile, these graphics cards aren't cheap, where the Quadro FX 4600 will retail for $1995, and the Quadro FX 5600 will run $2999. NVIDIA didn't say what its highest-end Quadro Plex VCS model IV will cost. – Charlie White

Press Release:

NEW NVIDIA QUADRO® ARCHITECTURE DELIVERS GREATEST GENERATIONAL LEAP IN COMPANY HISTORY
New Quadro Solutions Launch with Advanced Features Including: Unified Architecture, Shader Model 4.0, and GPU Computing for Visualization

SANTA CLARA, CA—MARCH 5, 2007—NVIDIA Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA), the worldwide leader in programmable graphics processor technologies, today unveiled a new line of professional graphics solutions: NVIDIA Quadro FX 4600, Quadro FX 5600, and NVIDIA Quadro Plex VCS Model IV. Armed with the largest increase in GPU power and functionality to date, these solutions are designed to help solve the world's most complex professional graphics challenges.

Tackling the extreme visualization challenges of the automotive styling and design, oil and gas exploration, medical imaging, visual simulation and training, scientific research, and advanced visual effects industries, these new Quadro solutions offer:

Next-Generation Vertex and Pixel Programmability—Shader Model 4.0 enables a higher level of performance and ultra-realistic effects for OpenGL and DirectX 10 professional applications

Largest Frame Buffers—Up to 1.5 GB frame buffers deliver throughput needed for interactive visualization and real-time processing of large textures and frames, enabling the superior quality and resolution for full-scene antialiasing (FSAA)

New Unified Architecture—Industry-first unified architecture capable of dynamically allocating compute, geometry, shading and pixel processing power for optimized GPU performance

GPU Computing for Visualization—Featuring NVIDIA CUDA technology, developers are, for the first time, able to tap into Quadro's high-performance computing power to solve complex, visualization problems

"Today's cutting-edge gaming and film experiences are built around tremendous 3D imagery. Designing this content requires high quality real-time feedback regardless of complexity," said Bill Roberts, director of product management at Softimage Co. "NVIDIA's support of shader Model 4.0 combined with the real-time shader architecture of SOFTIMAGE|XSI allows game developers to quickly create advanced visual effects for the Microsoft Vista OS by providing the most accurate visual feedback. Also the massively scalable visual compute power provided by CUDA is what fuels modern software architectures like SOFTIMAGE|XSI and Face Robot, built on our unique Gigapolygon core, which are inherently designed to take advantage of parallel computing power."

Additional features in the new Quadro solutions include faster 3D texturing and massive 8Kx8K texture processing for better performance when zooming and panning of high-resolution images; NVIDIA® SLI™ technology for improved graphics performance; dual dual-link display connectivity; and NVIDIA® PureVideo™ technology for outstanding picture clarity, smooth video playback, and accurate color and precise image scaling for SD and HD content. NVIDIA GSync and HD SDI options are also offered.

"We bundle NVIDIA Quadro solutions with our kernel technology to accelerate simulations in the electromagnetic and energy markets," says Ryan Schneider, CTO for Acceleware Corp. "The CUDA SDK exposes an exciting new compute model that will help Acceleware to continue to make our products faster each year. This will also help our customers, including major cell phone and medical device designers, get their products to market faster, better and stronger."

NVIDIA Quadro solutions are widely available through leading OEMs such as HP, Dell, IBM, and Sun; leading workstation system integrators; and NVIDIA channel partners PNY Technologies (US and EMEA), Leadtek (APAC) and Elsa (Japan). For more information about the full lineup of NVIDIA professional solutions, please visit www.nvidia.com/quadro. The Quadro FX 4600 has a MSRP of $1995 and the Quadro FX 5600 has an MSRP of $2999.

NVIDIA Corporation
NVIDIA Corporation is the worldwide leader in programmable graphics processor technologies. The Company creates innovative, industry-changing products for computing, consumer electronics, and mobile devices. NVIDIA is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA and has offices throughout Asia, Europe, and the Americas. For more information, visit www.nvidia.com.

It does use the same lift principles as helicopters, though. You start its rotors spinning so the craft can lift off, and then you're holding its string and flying it like a kite. With Spring on the way, this might be a good way to celebrate the upcoming thaw, if it ever arrives. It's available now for about $30. – Charlie White

Product Page [Crazy About Gadgets, via The Uber Review]

While Laptop Mag, Popular Science, Shiny Shiny, Infosync, Reg Hardware, Maxim, and Pocket Lint have taken lemons and made lemonade, we are taking lemonade and making...super lemonade. Hit the jump to see the absolute cream of the crop products, the one list to catch you up on all the lists: The Best Of, The Best Of CES 2007.

Media Player
LG Super Multi Blue
"We love the quality of Blu-ray, we love the quality of HD DVD, but we don't want to get involved in a format war and back the wrong one. Seems LG doesn't either with the launch of a dual player." (pocketlint)

Portable Media
Sansa Connect
"This WiFi portable audio player provides streaming Internet radio, as well as WiFi content acquisition in one nicely priced package. In other words, any time you find yourself in a WiFi hotspot, you can download new songs." (maxim)
It's just like a Zune, but useful.

Television
Sharp 108" LCD

Computer
OQO Model 02
"Roughly the size of two iPods, the OQO 02 could easily be mistaken for a handheld videogame system or even a slightly oversize Blackberry. But don't let it fool you: It's a fully functional, standalone computer capable of running Windows Vista." (popsci)
And it's a lot nicer than this UMPC.

Phone
LG VX9400
"Though we've seen swivel screen phones abroad...Verizon's V Cast Mobile TV announcement brought forth the first swivel screen for the US...very light, and surprisingly slim, we expected more bulk from the first generation of true mobile TV phones. The screen swivels to landscape mode and clicks nicely into place, and though it isn't very large, we were happy to see video commandeering the entirety of the screen's real estate." (infosyncworld)
No, we weren't tacky enough to say the iPhone.

Robot
iRobot Create
"From the company that brought you the Roomba vacuum cleaner comes a robot designed for students, geeks and other 'bot lovers to create their own programmes. See it in action here fetching beer from the fridge or even being controlled by a hamster. Genius." (reghardware)

iPod Dock
Viewsonic PJ258D
"... sleekly designed and weighs less than four pounds. The docking station connects an iPod video player directly to the projector...also supports other digital media, including S-Video and VGA...has a 1024 x 768 XGA resolution, 2000 lumens of brightness, and a 2000:1 contrast ratio." (LaptopMag)
If you don't think iPod docks deserve their own group, you weren't at the show. And it's among the world's most expensive, ludicrous iPod docks at $999.

What were your favorites? –Mark Wilson

OQO Model 02 [Gizmodo]
Innowell UREN V1 [Gizmodo]

Geared Toward With its come hither looks, the Oqo Model 02 is geared toward the tech elite, those that must have the greatest gadgets the minute they're announced and require Net access 24/7/.

The Spin Fujitsu wowed us last night with their UMPC concept, but then they broke our heart when they told us there was no way in hell it was coming out. Well, looks like we found ourselves a new crush.

Counterspin At $1,499, the new Model 02 will take a big bite from your savings account. You could get more power and a bigger screen if you just buy a notebook.

Buy It If... Your ultraportable is starting to feel a little heavy. – Louis Ramirez

Oqo Model 02 [Gizmodo]

Now we'd never shoot this anywhere near any human beings, but we've seen far too many garden-hungry varmint rabbits marauding around the premises here that could use a good plinking. Save the cheerleader, save the world and save the azaleas for $86.95. – Charlie White

Product Page [Hobbytron, via I4U News]

We're talking exact, too, with the same 12-cylinder engine, gearbox, radiator, suspension, controls—in fact, if you were a one-third-sized person and sat in this Ferrari, you'd insert a perfectly-engraved key (that's identical to the real one) into the ignition and start the car exactly the way you would in the full-sized car. It even has a one-third scale fuel injection system that's exactly the same as the one of the full-sized Ferrari.

It took the guy 20,000 hours to build this perfect replica. Amazing. – Charlie White

Ferrari 312 [Fine Art Models, via Jalopnik]

Ricoh Caplio [Dottocomu]

This 24-inch high tornado demonstration model includes seven experiments you can perform with it, and then you can make up some of your own involving Barbie dolls and so forth. Wonder if this thing is really noisy—might be fun to have one running on the desktop 24/7. Office looks like a tornado hit it? Here's your excuse. – Charlie White

Product Page [Ward's Natural Science, via Sci Fi Tech]

But have you ever heard one of those radio controlled jets whining away at full tilt? It's a shrill scream that stays with you for a while, making you feel like you just sat through a couple of Grand Funk Railroad concerts in a row (for all you youngsters, that group is called "the loudest rock and roll band in the world"). A server cooled with one of those pocket rockets will have to be buried deep underground. Better get some nice long cables. – Charlie White

Cooling Computers with Tiny Jet Engines [Technology Review]

We've certainly seen the PS3 before, both at E3 last year and at CES in Januray, but we have no idea if either of those times the devices were thoroughly working models. It's said that though graphics were being generated from these boxes, they were just rolling demos.

Now there are rumors that the first playable Sony Playstation 3 will be presented at next week's Taipei Game Show. It looks like Sony is going to devote a full quarter of its 80-booth space at the show to the next-gen gaming device, so this could be the very first fully operational demo. Fingers crossed.

Sony plans Taipei Game Show splash for PS3 [reghardware]