John Herrman, Author at Gizmodo

Nextar Does Solar Gadgetry Right With Sun-Powered Handsfree Kit

Honestly, most of the solar gadgets we see aren’t terribly practical, and often rely on a primary, wired power source. Not the Nextar NXBT handsfree kits—these are the real thing. The NXBT is modest in its goals, serving as a no-frills Bluetooth handsfree kit for your car. It offers a simple caller ID interface as…

Tech News John Herrman

30GB Zunes Failing Everywhere, All At Once

Right, so this is a weird one: we’re getting tons of reports—tons—about failing Zune 30s. Apparently, the players began freezing at about midnight last night, becoming totally unresponsive and practically useless. Update: The easy official fix here. https://gizmodo.com/official-fix-for-the-zune-30-fail-5121822 The crisis has been dubbed by Zune users ‘Z2K9’, due to the apparently synchronized faceplantings across the…

Tech News John Herrman

‘Help Lock’ Doorknob Protects Olds From Bathroom Peril

Sometimes, old people fall and they can’t get up. It’s a fact! Designer Haishan Deng has proposed a simple, timed bathroom doorknob for folks who are prone to such accidents, living alone, or clumsy. Here’s how it works: In the initial setup, you program a time limit—say, 20 minutes—for your future bathroom. From that point…

Tech News John Herrman

LG to Show Off 480Hz Trumotion Display at CES

In a classic more=betterer move, LG is planning to top their current 240Hz sets (and Sony’s wonderfully advertised 200Hz Bravias) with an otherwise mysterious 480Hz LCD television. https://gizmodo.com/sonys-enormous-bravia-zoetrope-caught-zoetroping-5102294 The display is claimed to have a 4ms response time, and uses a “scanning backlight” technology to leverage the company’s 240Hz Trumotion technology into an effective 480…

Tech News John Herrman

OK People, It Might Be Time to Lay Off the BlackBerry Storm Hate

Sure, lots of important people weren’t too impressed with the Storm. But this slippy, Freudian Google News headline sums up the unbridled hate towards the handset much better than it does the article. Much. https://gizmodo.com/blackberry-storm-review-verdict-not-quite-a-perfect-s-5093715 Issues to consider: 1) AT&T users experienced widespread outages in the upper Midwest a few days ago 2) AT&T does…

Tech News John Herrman

Microsoft Proposes Obnoxiously Restrictive Pay-As-You-Go Computing System

Many have said that the future of Microsoft will be in subscription-based software, cloud computing or some combination of the two. Well, let’s hope that it doesn’t turn out anything like patent application 20080319910. Much of the application is unsurprising, and even somewhat dated. The vision incorporates heavily-subsidized hardware (though not under a timed service…

Tech News John Herrman

John Lennon Digitally Reanimated for Unsettling OLPC Ad

The OLPC Foundation’s last advertising effort was close to perfect, with a strong message and affecting imagery. Their latest? A creepy, boomer-manipulating, possibly effective oddity. Lennon’s soliloquy, a patchwork of Beatles allusions, catchphrases, old footage and digital additions, is distractingly strange to the point that it loses what little efficacy it could have had, at…

Tech News John Herrman

NYT: Text Messages Are an Even Bigger Ripoff Than You Thought

We all know that text messaging is overpriced, but the NYT has pulled back the technological shroud to find out that the prices aren’t just bad, they’re practically extortionate. The article goes into depth about how text messages are transmitted. In short, texts are unsurprisingly transmitted between towers over the main, wired network in the…

Tech News John Herrman

LG Touchscreen Watch Phone Will Support 3G, Speech Recognition, Little Girl Fingers

Details of a new LG watch phone, likely to be announced at CES, have trickled out through the company’s Korean site. And surprise! It looks hard to use. But not—and this is important—unusable. The first thing to notice is the specs: unlike last time around, they’re actually pretty solid. The GD910, as it’s called, will…

Tech News John Herrman

Financiapocalypse Kneecaps Christmas Gadget Sales

Analysts knew it would be bad, but not this bad. Retail sales this year are down 5.5% in November and 8% in December overall, but electronics specifically fell by an astounding 27%. Consumer electronics are always hit harder than average in tight times, but massive drop confirms what my various visits at barely-busy big box…

Tech News John Herrman

Apple Patent Shows Nifty Keyboard Gestures for the iPhone

While many non-imminent Apple patents can edge into the realm of wishful thinking, this one is pretty doable: useful little gestures for the iPhone, which are received over the phone’s onscreen keyboard. According to the patent application, simple input commands like delete and space would be controlled with simple back and forward-swipe motions. While remapping…

Tech News John Herrman

Purported Rogers Phone Roadmap Makes Me Want To Move To Canada (Not Really)

Who says Canada sucks for gadget lovers? This leaked Rogers/Fido roadmap says they’ll get just about everything next year, including a 3G Blackberry Pearl Flip and a Storm with (ohgod) Wi-Fi. https://gizmodo.com/why-canada-sucks-for-gadget-lovers-5020940 The full handset list, as transcribed by BGR, is here: * Blackberry 82XX Pearl Flip (3G version of 8220 Pearl Flip but with…

Tech News John Herrman

Sony’s January 9th Announcement Will Be That Oblong Netbook… Thing

The cryptic countdown in New Zealand and the FCC info about the strange, elongated maybe-netbook are almost certainly for the same product, according to a Japanese teaser site. https://gizmodo.com/rumored-sony-vaio-netbook-could-arrive-in-january-5115242 In the flash animation at the front of Sony’s Japanese Vaio page an masked device that matches the leaked dimensions of the shallow, long miniature laptop…

Tech News John Herrman

50 Christmas Wii Flip-Outs Make You Hate Nintendo, Holidays, Children, The World

Remember Nintendo 64 kid? Apparently that was just the tip of the iceberg. Much kudos if you can sit through this whole video without weeping, returning everyone’s gifts or scheduling a vasectomy. MERRY. CHRISTMAS. [PwnOrDie via NewLaunches] Click to view

Tech News John Herrman

NASA Begins Outsourcing ISS Supply Missions to Private Companies

Following (some) successful launches and prior rumors of deals, NASA has given SpaceX and Orbital massive contracts to send supplies to the ISS. https://gizmodo.com/james-doohans-son-speaks-up-poignantly-about-failed-spa-5033144 The contracts, for $1.6bn and $1.9bn respectively, demand each company to deliver about 20 tons of vital cargo to the International Space Station. The private flights will serve as a temporary…

Space & Spaceflight John Herrman

SlingPlayer For Windows Mobile Comes to Loads More Phones

The aging SlingPlayer for Windows Mobile has been updated, and almost exclusively for compatibility. The app will now run on most modern phones, including (finally) 640×480, 800×480, 400×240 and 320×320 handsets. The official list of supported phones now includes the following: Sprint Treo 800w Sony Ericsson X1 Palm Treo Pro Sprint HTC Touch Diamond Sprint…

Tech News John Herrman

An Extensive, Obsessive Performance Test Of… USB Keys?

Test Freaks wrangled as many flash drives as they could and ran them through an oddly intense testing regime, finding out that your choice in USB stick brand may actually matter. The test is by no means exhaustive, as there are many hundreds—if not thousands—of USB drives on the market today. The test did include…

Tech News John Herrman

Running Out of Options, Psystar Challenges OS X Copyrights

In the latest bizarre turn in a protracted, anything-goes legal battle, Psystar is basically claiming that Apple doesn’t own the copyright for OS X. Sound unlikely? It probably is. According to court papers filed on Psystar’s behalf: Apple is prohibited from bringing action against Psystar for the alleged infringement of one or more of the…

Tech News John Herrman

Energizer Solar Recharger Will Juice Up Your Batteries, USB Gadgets

Energizer’s Solar Recharger looks, at first glance, like a confused device. Is it an iPod battery extender? AA charger? Solar adapter? Well, it’s all of these things, which is why it’s awesome. The heart of the gadget is a simple battery charger, intended for regular rechargeable AA and AAA batteries and primarily powered by an…

Tech News John Herrman

Steampunk AIO Computer Is a PC That Looks Old, Which is Apparently Still Exciting

Saying that steampunk is played out is almost getting played out itself, but they just keep making things. This week we have a another winner: a computer! Covered in brass! With horns! Die. https://gizmodo.com/intricate-steampunk-mouse-might-have-gone-a-bit-far-wit-5105169 The screen, as is painfully obvious, is the centerpiece of this mod, which is the first problem. A good Steampunk device…

Tech News John Herrman

John Herrman

Nextar Does Solar Gadgetry Right With Sun-Powered Handsfree Kit

30GB Zunes Failing Everywhere, All At Once

‘Help Lock’ Doorknob Protects Olds From Bathroom Peril

LG to Show Off 480Hz Trumotion Display at CES

OK People, It Might Be Time to Lay Off the BlackBerry Storm Hate

Microsoft Proposes Obnoxiously Restrictive Pay-As-You-Go Computing System

John Lennon Digitally Reanimated for Unsettling OLPC Ad

NYT: Text Messages Are an Even Bigger Ripoff Than You Thought

LG Touchscreen Watch Phone Will Support 3G, Speech Recognition, Little Girl Fingers

Financiapocalypse Kneecaps Christmas Gadget Sales

Apple Patent Shows Nifty Keyboard Gestures for the iPhone

Purported Rogers Phone Roadmap Makes Me Want To Move To Canada (Not Really)

Sony’s January 9th Announcement Will Be That Oblong Netbook… Thing

50 Christmas Wii Flip-Outs Make You Hate Nintendo, Holidays, Children, The World

NASA Begins Outsourcing ISS Supply Missions to Private Companies

SlingPlayer For Windows Mobile Comes to Loads More Phones

An Extensive, Obsessive Performance Test Of… USB Keys?

Running Out of Options, Psystar Challenges OS X Copyrights

Energizer Solar Recharger Will Juice Up Your Batteries, USB Gadgets

Steampunk AIO Computer Is a PC That Looks Old, Which is Apparently Still Exciting

Artemis 2 Live Updates: Humanity’s Epic Return to the Moon 🔴

NASA’s Artemis 2 Mission Blasts Off

Disney’s Robot Olaf Dying Is the Funniest Thing to Happen in 2026

Kia’s EV3 Is Headed to the US This Year With Up to 320 Miles of Range

This Is the Way to Lego’s April Releases

Group Pushing Age Verification Requirements for AI Turns Out to Be Sneakily Backed by OpenAI

Amazon Facilities in Bahrain Hit Again as Iran Follows Through on Threat, Report Says

Why the PS6 Handheld Will Matter More Than the PS6

DNA Study Casts Even More Doubt on Shroud of Turin’s True Origin

Sam Witwer Is Ready for Maul’s Moment

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?