Though running certain apps in a tiny window could actually be pretty useful, Dell ultimately felt the cost didn't justify the gimmickry. And though the red prototype above put the notebook's ports into a concealed pop-up panel—and was only just thicker than the final design—it was still deemed too fat.

Perhaps coolest of all, is the glossy purple/blue concept. Not due to the color, but because it had capacitive-touch buttons. It got ditched over concerns that people wouldn't react well to a keyboard that doesn't move, but as you know, Dell kept the heat-sensitive capacitive latch. Lots more pics and background over at: [PC World]

The final version below. See our hands-on for more.

It's slightly thicker than a normal netbook, but the insides are pretty much the same: Windows 7, 1.6GHz AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 processor, maximum 4GB RAM, and 160GB hard disk. How battery life would be affected remains to be seen.

Like Lenovo W700, one screen can slide behind the other if you don't need to use both. It's slightly thicker than a normal netbook, but the insides are pretty much the same: Windows 7, 1.6GHz AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 processor, maximum 4GB RAM, and 160GB hard disk. How battery life would be affected remains to be seen.

Kohjinsha didn't say if it plans to actually start selling the concept (or how much it would cost), so if dual-screens are your thing, you best hope gScreen gets its act together. [Akihabara News]

At present, the device is set to analyze the following brands: Johnny Walker, JB, DYC, Pampero, Brugal and Havana club, although in future version we expect that Rotgutonix will be able to analyze the chemical composition of over 20 well-known brands, mainly rum, whisky, gin, and vodka.

The site also says the device is currently "a prototype still in the marketing phase", but we'll look out for it.

A fun side note: it's designed by the guy who gave the world the Condometric (a condom with a ruler stenciled on it) and the ball and chain student study aid (with built-in unlocking timer). Right then! [Curiosite via Technabob]

[noquedanblogs via notcot]

In case you didn't notice, the motorboard glides over a GOD DAMN LOG. A LOG! And you can sit and carve on the thing like it was a little snowboard. I have no idea when this is coming out, if ever: these Aussies are trying to raise capital for their project. But I support the Powerboard in spirit, even if my wallet can't. [Scarpar via Engadget]

I like how the matte screen looks. And definitely, I love how fast this thing is. The Interface icons are fugly, but the combination of colors and the rounded buttons remind me of the computer consoles in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Not bad at all. Actually, someone should try something like that for real: A total ST:TNG makeover of the iPhone interface. [eBay via Nowhere Else]

• Skank is the new black.
• Nine parts perspiration (in reference to Picasso's—one of Jobs' idols—words about inspiration and perspiration)

And my all-time favorite: "Say hello to the Newton MessagePad 3000." Indeed.

According to the seller, these are the complete details:

Phone #1:
-Powers on OK - GSM service works
-Plastic matte screen (see pics)
-Serial number YM649xxxxxx which corresponds to a factory in China, manufactured week 49 of the year 2006.
-Runs iPhone OS 03.06.01_G (iPhone Launch OS 1.0 was version 03.11.02_G)
-Good cosmetic condition

Phone #2:
-Doesn't turn on (tried leaving on charger for awhile, along with various reset procedures)
-Glass screen
-Serial number YM650xxxxxx which corresponds to a factory in China, manufactured week 50 of the year 2006. (The iPhone was announced on Jan 6 2007 and release June 29 2007.)
-I replaced the battery and still doesn't work. Currently apart right now, can leave as-is for buyer or reassemble.
-Has various scratches, it is in fair cosmetic condition at best

[eBay via iLounge]

This is technically the second prototype, but the first doesn't really bear noting—it barely started, didn't yet resemble the planned project and had a bare-metal accidental Steampunk aesthetic. This, well, this looks pretty close to the concept. The machine boots, browses the net, and operates with only a touchscreen and an onscreen keyboard. Behind the screen is a a Via Nano processor, 1GB of RAM and a 4GB flash drive, running a stock Ubuntu install and a custom WebKit browser (Konquerer with bigger buttons?).

The whole thing works pretty well, and I have to give Arrington props for pushing the project along this far. But! There's a catch:

We were aiming for $200, it looks like $299 is more realistic

and:

The real question for us is whether this project has legs and should go forward towards production units, which is a very big step from a working prototype. That would require spinning the company off from the blog and building a team around Louis. It’s a decision we haven’t made yet.

Yeah, I'd say "are we going to even make this thing?" is a "real question", but even for $300, I kind of hope they do. [TechCrunch]

Naturally, no details have been released on the phones, but Sony considers them "highly valuable to competitors." Based on that, I can only assume that the employee planned to sell them to the enemy like some sort of cold war cellphone spy. Either that, or he is just a really early adopter. [IDG via USEB]

Hello there. We're starting to release the details of some of the things we'll be showing off at Gizmodo gallery, and I think for our first, we'll show off one of the most interesting and mysterious: This Frog Design made Apple prototype which I cannot find many official details of.

There are photos of the concept floating around the net with a check writing program on the monochrome stylus touchscreen (1980s PayPal!) but neither Frog nor Apple can or will tell me anything about this curious machine other than it was worked on by Hartmut Esslinger, founder of Frog, and The Steve, as part of the Snow White design language applied to the IIc and original Mac. It was unveiled by Esslinger's son last year, who described the thought process going on between Jobs and his father as not only thinking about the drinking glass, but the very nature of thirst itself. It will be at Gizmodo Gallery this December 4th-7th, in NYC, along with another Apple Prototype which I will save for the exhibit itself. I hope you can come. Till then, if you know anything about this device and can give me some back story, I'd love to hear it. [Gizmodo Gallery]

[Thanks to REED ANNEX and thanks to our benefactor gizmine.com]

Gizmodo Gallery
Reed Annex
151 Orchard Street
New York, NY 10002

Gizmodo Gallery Reader Meetup
The reader meetup takes place across the street from the Gallery, at a place called The Annex (not to be confused with REED ANNEX where the gallery is hosted.) The address is 152 Orchard Street and we'll be there at 9 PM SHARP on Friday December 5th.

Gallery Dates:
December 4th-7th

Times:
12/4 Thursday
12-8

12/5 Friday
12-8

12/6 Saturday
11-8

12/7 Sunday
11-4

[Read more about our Gizmodo Gallery here and see what else we'll be playing with at the event.]

The prototype runs at a full 1080p resolution and features an overkill contrast of 1,000,000:1. (Most scientists will tell you that the eye cannot distinguish such contrast, but marketers will disagree.)

Its color gamut is 107% of the NTSC standard and it features a luminance of 200cd/m2 (peaking at 600cd/m2).

Unfortunately, Samsung is quick to explain that their main assembly lines are not equipped to produce OLED screens beyond 31 inches (earlier roadmaps slated 40 inchers for 2010). Nevertheless, our home theater system is suddenly feeling extremely inadequate. [NYT and Tech-On]

Kitson expounded upon the Laser projector, saying that it could be used for collaborative teleconferencing, and "social TV," where someone can insert themselves in a friend's video feed. Other prototypes include foldable, multi-part displays, as well as lego-style modular displays that are scalable in size and shape. E-paper was another technology Kitson admitted to working with, which seems odd for a cellphone in my opinion. Asked about when we might see some of this technology, all Kitson would say is that it's working in the lab now, and some of these will hopefully surface in the future. But hey, I'm just glad the StarTac 2 isn't their "next big thing" in the lab.

The coolest part though, are the connected fans, which speed up and slow down in relation to how fast you're flying. You definitely get a sense of wind resistance with this rudimentary setup, so I'd be curious to see what they could do with more resources. Ilia Rosenberg, one of the main NYU students behind the project, said they tried using Wiimotes, but they didn't offer the same sense of feedback that the USB controller did. [Microsoft Research]

In the last part of the video, you can see the insane amount of input points the UnMouse Pad can track, and the rising bars indicate the amount of pressure applied at each point (especially when I press my whole hand on the pad). According to creator Ken Perlin, the technology used in the UnMouse Pad is dirt cheap as well, which could make it friendly for consumer markets. [Microsoft Research]

The music player in its current form is a humongoid set of headphones that can do things like adjust the volume based on what direction you roll your eyes, or change the track by moving your eyes from side to side. The telephone is a ball-shaped ring that sits on your finger and uses bone conduction to transmit the sound of the caller to your ear. And theyre also working on a wristwatch that can interpret taps between the thumb and forefinger as remote control commands, like a modern day Morse code. But this is all R&D stuff, of course. Don't expect it in stores anytime soon. [AP]

The ultimate goal for Intel researchers is to give robots the sense of pre-touch, which they describe as having a range longer than touch, but shorter than vision (kinda vague, no?). Anyways, the video is worth watching, just to see the claw adjust to objects placed within its proximity. [Wired Science]