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Broadcom to Bring Bluetooth to Set-Top Boxes

Chip manufacturer Broadcom has gone ahead and decided to add Bluetooth to its reference platform for consumer set-top boxes. Not only does this mean that you might be able to use a Bluetooth device as a remote control, but also opens up the possibility of having direct audio transfers. That means either wireless speakers or…

Toshiba unveiled a prototype 1.8″ hard drive offering up to 120 GB on a single platter. If used in the iPod’s dual platter HDD setup, storage sizes could be as big as 240 GB. [Mac Rumors]

HTC’s Shift Does Not Run Windows Mobile Says HTC

Contrary to what we’ve been hearing HTC’s Vista-capable, UMPC-like Shift will NOT run Windows Mobile, but only use WM as a data modem, provide push email while the device is asleep and run some of the same apps that you’d see in a Windows Mobile device. That sounds WinMo-ish to us, but we’ll take HTC…

Samsung SGH-X830 Swivel Cellphone Coming to Verizon?

The Samsung SGH-X830 and SCH-U470 cellphones are Samsung’s weird swivel phones with the weird dual column keys that we never thought would make it anywhere outside of Korea. But Phone Arena is saying that Verizon—a Korean cellphone manufacturer-friendly provider if we ever saw one—will be bringing the phone sometime in 2008. That’s right, following up…

Iron Man Trailer Hits the Web; Nerd Obsession Countdown Begins

Well, Transformers has come and gone, making all the fuss we had over it seem like a distant memory. But what fun is it to live without some super-dorky movie full of fancy tech and explosions to get really excited about? It’s a good thing the first full Iron Man trailer hit the web today.…

BB Spot mocks iPhone rebates with 20-Year, $7k Apple Lisa rebate parody. “Sales figures from that year show that if all people who bought the computer claim the refund, Apple could be liable for almost $70,000.” LOL! [BBSpot]

Easily look up whether your old PS1 and PS2 titles will work on your PlayStation 3 with this Sony Backward Compatibility checker. No giant list—you’ll have to enter a title manually. Again, the 60GB has hardware emulation, so if back-compat is important to you, grab one of those now while it’s still in stores. [PlayStation]

Plantronics Voyager 855 Bluetooth Headset Does Mono Calls and Stereo Music

Plantronics’ latest headset, the Voyager 855, may look like a normal headset, but it actually allows you to be twice as dorky-looking with an add-on earbud attachment to turn it into a stereo headset for music. That’s right, the 855 supports A2DP, and you can activate stereo mode by just plugging in the earbud cable,…

Lightning Round: Newertech miniStack NAS

The Gadget: Newertech’s miniStack NAS, which lets up to 20 people access 750GB of data over a 10/100 Ethernet connection. https://gizmodo.com/newertechs-ministack-nas-brings-network-storage-on-the-289486 The Verdict: Mediocre speeds (~6MB/s), quirky drive formatting, limited sharing options, and the mandatory use of their drive mounting utility means this is more suitable as a network drive to share smaller chunks of…

Scrap Metal Sci-Fi Sculptures are Impressive to Say the Least

We showed you some cool metal Star Wars models last week, found in a mall in Dubai. Well, Yumi Modal is a workshop in Bangkok that makes all sorts of awesome sci-fi models out of scrap metal. Everything from Yoda to the Predator to Spiderman are represented, and even if Darth Vader looks a lot…

Hello Kitty Microwave is Your Worst Nightmare

Picture this: you’re on a date, it’s going really well, and she invites you back to her place for coffee. You’re excited; you think things are going great. Then, you get to her apartment and you see that she has a Hello Kitty microwave. Oh, sweet mother of god, no. Because, really, is there a…

What You Missed This Past Weekend

Here is the best of the weekend past, just in case you missed it. (What could you have possibly been doing without us?) Firefox reached a staggering 400million downloads. Thirty-five years of Tokyo architectural progression was squashed into a 10s clip. Sony developed a new impressive CMOS prototype. Verizon couldn’t take no for an answer.…

iPhoneSimFree Goes Retail, But Shipments Still Elusive (Advice: Wait to Buy)

The hack works, we’ve seen it with our own eyes. And you can order it for $99 now in the US, or less than $50 from Australia. But the fulfillment process isn’t live yet, according to the Wireless Imports, the only US-based retailer of the hack: “We are awaiting to hear from them later today…

Tilt-A-Car Flips Your Car On Its Side for Easy Access

The Eastwood Tilt-A-Car will throw your car up on its side, allowing you to work on its undercarriage without having an expensive lift installed in your garage. You’ll need to drain all the fluids out of it first, which is a pain, and you have to hook it up directly to the lug nuts so,…

Alienware Sticks Both SSD and HDD in One Freakish Laptop

Alienware now gives you the option of sticking both a 64GB SSD as well as an additional 200GB platter-based hard drive into their top-of-the-line laptop, delivering the benefits of running a computer off an SSD (less power consumption, faster startup, etc) with the higher storage of traditional hard drives. It’s not the first laptop with…

Genetic Disease, All Over Your Face

Instead of mapping chromosomes and protein patterns, London scientists have developed software that can detect 30 different genetic diseases with an accuracy of 90%, just by analyzing a 3D facial scan. And while it may seem…superficial to judge disease through a patient’s face, apparently there are over 700 genetic diseases that have identifiable facial patterns.…

Apple Eying Open Wireless Spectrum Battle

According to multiple Business Week sources, Apple has been considering the merits of bidding on the 700Mhz open wireless spectrum that goes up for grabs this January. Expected to sell for around $9 billion, most say Apple has the liquidity to make the purchase—even among competition like Google. What would the deal mean for Apple…

The Loit Eagle Audio System with CD Player Looks Gorgeous, May be Art

Russian design-meister Art Lebedev has got something to do with this audio system, which consists of a high-end CD player sitting atop a triangular, uber-minimalist amplifier. More pics, including one of the classiest remotes I’ve ever seen, below. Seductive, isn’t it? [Art. Lebedev Studio]

Sony Planning Price Drop for 80GB PS3, New $399 40GB Model?

Citing their mole with a proven track record, Opposable Thumbs is reporting that the PS3 will re-emerge with two SKUs this holiday season: a $499 80GB model and a $399 40GB model. So if you want a $499 PS3, you might actually want to wait for it. The $100 cheaper 40GB model would be a…

OQO Model 02 Gets Spec Bump, Price Dump

OQO’s updated the specs for their model 02 line pretty much all around. The fastest available processor now runs at 1.6Ghz; hard drives go up to 120GB, plus they’ve added the option for a flash-based 32GB solid state drive; and WWAN’s been upgraded to 1.4 Mbps EV-DO Rev. A. Finally, the price for the entry…