Gadgets

Samsung’s SH-203N DVD Burner Burns Dual Layer at 16x

Samsung’s Super-WriteMaster may not be the fastest burner for regular DVD+Rs (Line-Ons can burn 20x too), but its dual-layer burning seems to be tops. Jumping up from an 10-12x found in other burners, the SH-203 has 16x dual-layer burning, along with 20x for DVD+ and -R, 12x DVD-RAM, 8x DVD+RW and 6x DVD-RW. It runs…

Verizon Earnings Report: iPhone Effect Seemingly Non-Existent

It looks like AT&T’s impressive growth of 2 million additional wireless subscribers didn’t take too much away from Verizon, who posted 1.8 million net additional subscribers for a total of 63.7 million, trailing AT&T’s total by 2 million. Quarterly net income was down over half a billion, to $1.27 billion from $1.92 billion last year,…

Samsung OLED Product Roadmap Shows 40-inch TVs in 2010

OLED fans will have to be patient, as Samsung’s roadmap for the technology shows them only in small handheld devices for this year and next, ramping up to laptop and desktop displays in ’09 and finally 40-inch TVs in 2010. After these TVs invade your home and take all your money in the process, Samsung…

Looks like the only rhythm game Red Octane cares about anymore is Guitar Hero, as they’ve categorically denied making new dance pads for the 360—or any other system: “There are no immediate plans to create new dance pads outside of the current products available.” [Kotaku] http://kotaku.com/gaming/ddumps/red-octane-has-no-plans-for-xbox-360-ddr-pads-316220.php

Hulu Private Beta Goes Live Tonight; Will YouTube Blink?

The bastard child of News Corp. and NBC’s love-hate relationship with GooTube, Hulu, is making its public debut this week, with the private beta going live tonight. The log-in form’s already up, but those of us at Giz who’ve signed up for the beta haven’t gotten our invites in the mail yet, so we haven’t…

How to Fall Up an Escalator

You’d think that by now people would know how to handle those tricky new-fandangled moving stairways. That’s gotta be embarrassing. [Glumbert]

Comedian Stephen Fry Gets Guardian Column on Gadgets

Hoping to put us out of a job, The Guardian gave British comedian Stephen Fry his own column about gadgets. You’ll remember that we wrote about Fry’s huge rant on smartphones (the same rant that got him this job), taking to task just about every manufacturer (including Apple) for sub-par work. In his new column,…

Homemade Hose-Powered Magnetic CD Turbine with Sawblade Might be a bit Dangerous

If you’re looking to lose a finger or two in the most creative and dorky way possible, “Mr. Fix It” Rick’s “Magnetic Tesla CD Turbine” is the way to do it. Consisting of a bunch of CDs, a CD spindle case, a hose, a saw blade, magnets, and some creativity, it uses the power of…

Glass-Bottomed Car in the World’s Highest Ferris Wheel Creates Fears of Heights

The Odaiba Ferris Wheel in Tokyo is the tallest in the world, bringing riders up to a height of 377 feet at its zenith. We went on it and, stupidly, decided to ride in one of the 4 glass-bottomed cars on it. It was basically the scariest thing ever. We were level with the surrounding…

NVIDIA has just announced their new GeForce 8800 GT. It makes all those new Direct X 10 accessible to your midrange budget. Look for the cards for $199-$249 starting…NOW! [nvidia]

CD Fanboys Are Ready to Kick Ass, Slice Sausage

When most of us look at this Russian group CD-ROM cult, we’re silently relieved that the Cold War is over. I mean, how does one defend against assailants armored with the best hits of the 80s, 90s and today? Your only real defense is to make friends over a bottle of wine and some cured…

USB Blender Alarm Clock Mixes Worst of Eras

The USB Blender Alarm Clock was designed as the ultimate throwback gadget. Celebrating the the disco revolution by playing your favorite 70’s jingles, co-workers will marvel at your sense of history. But the really acute among them will recognize that since USB gadgets are sort of the alarm clock gadgets (80s) of the new millennium,…

Steampunk Time Machine is a Prop for the Ultimate Nerd Halloween Costume

What would happen if comic-obsessed Internet nerds remade Back to the Future? This steampunk flux capacitor would replace the normal one, and it would be in the back of a carriage pulled by a steam engine made of brass with leather accents rather than a DeLorean. Also, instead of “Great Scott!,” Doc’s catchphrase would be…

Whazatt Chicken Foot Drive, WhazTF?

I was just sitting here thinking that what I really need is a flash drive that looks like a chicken foot and damned if one doesn’t show up. Whazatt has a suitably weird flash drive sporting 1GB of flash storage inside and taking the form of a chicken foot that could have come right off…

LG Shine Wood (Not Actually Made of Wood)

The LG Shine Wood LG-LB2500H, by all logical reason, should be made of wood. And while the Wood does sport a fine wood grain, users will be saddened to realize that no trees were killed in the making of this phone or its painted visage. Other than that, this Korea-only phone sports goodies you will…

Torment the Dog, Kids, and Wife with the Palm Z RC Airplane

I have an unnatural obsession with all things remote controlled, probably stems from the need to control the things around me. The new Palm Z Silverlit Mini RC Airplane is the Picco Z for this year and these things are every bit as fun as the Picco Z, minus the vertical takeoff and landing bit.…

Shredmaster JR Turns your Kids into Little Shredders, Spandex Not Included

If you are tired of fighting your kid for play time on Guitar Hero, get them a Shredmaster JR Micro Plug N Play Guitar. This suitably Guitar Hero looking plug n play guitar connects to any TV with AV inputs and has a list of actual music that you have heard of that is fully…

Comcast “Assessing” Wireless Field, Sprint Looking Good for Acquisition?

During their luster-lacking quarterly earnings call, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts responded vaguely enough to a question about wireless strategy (i.e., investment or acquisition)—”It is something we are constantly assessing,” although “there is no new news today”—to stoke the speculation fires about a possible Comcast entrance into the mobile space. On the less-than-denial, WSJ’s Deal Journal…

Warner Music Considering Dropping Yearly iTunes Contract for Month-to-Month Deal

In yesterday’s Washington Post, buried on page two of Frank Ahren’s three-pager headlined “Apple in a Fight for Rights to TV Shows,” is the nugget: Warner Music Group, whose contract with Apple expires at year-end, is considering switching to a month-to-month deal with Apple, said a source with knowledge of the discussions who spoke on…

AT&T’s broadcast mobile TV service with Qualcomm’s MediaFlo has had its launch date nudged back from year’s end to early 2008. The reason given is fine tuning, though what kind of “tuning” was left unspecified. Verizon’s, on the other hand, has had its MediaFlo-based offerings up and running since March. [Reuters via Phone Scoop]