Gadgets

Sony’s NW-A910 Series Video Walkman Smallest and Lightest for TV

Sony’s latest Video Walkman series, the NW-A910, is to be released next month in Japan. Available in 16GB, 8GB and 4GB models, Sony claim it’s the smallest and lightest device to watch and record digital TV on. And that’s not all: The 16GB model can record up to 100 hours of digital terrestrial TV, programmable…

USB Security Lock Prevents People From Shoving Stuff Into Your Ports

We’re not sure who would really have a use for this other than paranoid sysadmins trying to lock down everyone’s computer, but this USB Security Lock inserts a USB stub into a port so nothing else can go in. Sure, it’s good for corporate security, but if you don’t trust your own family members enough…

Ceramic Paper Speakers Look Better than they Sound

Singaporean Yong Jieyu’s ceramic paper speakers (actually, they’re less speaker than amplifier) are made from clay &mdash one of the best materials for sound amplification thanks to its low sound absorbent coefficiency &mdash and recycled music scores. Place your an earphone inside each “speaker” and voila! your tunes can be heard by all and sundry.…

Transparent Pinball Machine is Awesome, Beautiful

This is the Transparent Pinball Machine, a custom piece created out of a 1976 “Surf Champ” unit by Michael Schiess, owner of the Lucky JuJu Pinball Arcade in Alameda, CA (which looks like the coolest place ever). It is, without a doubt, the most beautiful pinball machine we’ve ever seen. And unlike most custom fetishized…

Sony Sells 250,000 PSP Slims in Japan in Four Days

Apparently, the Japanese were just waiting with wallets in hand for Sony to drop the new version of their PSP; they went ahead and bought 250,000 of the things in the first four days they were on sale. That’s about how many units Sony sold of the original PSP in the two months leading up…

Send Fido Into Mordor with Confidence in Ancient Doggy Armor

Paul Hersey makes fantasy-based armor for you, your kids and, most adorably, your pets. Yes, now your dog can ditch that obnoxious, emasculating sweater and put on a sword-stopping breastplate that’ll make him seem like the badass warrior that you know lurks within. Or, just get a cowboy hat that looks like it was made…

Scientists Hack CD Player, Transform It into Lab Scanner

When researchers at the Universidad Polit cnica de Valencia needed a lab scanner, but didn’t have the cash to pay for it, they didn’t panic. Instead, Angel Maqueira and his colleagues bought a bog-standard CD player &mdash and hacked it, saving themselves a potential $70,000 in the process. By soldering two additional light sensors inside…

Medion GoPal P4425 SatNav has Fingerprint Recognition

Given that SatNav systems are one of the hottest items to steal these days, Medion’s latest GoPal might go some way in redressing the balance. Its P4425 model boasts fingerprint recognition for extra security, meaning that not only will thieves be unable to use it, but might find it that little bit harder to find…

Arrow Bookshelf a Must-Have for Tetris Mongs

Furniture designer Timothy Ben’s Arrow bookshelf modules are made from MDF and come in 20 different colors, with either a lacquered or laminated finish. Although they’re probably meant to be stacked in that delightful chevron effect, I’m sure you can play a basic form of Tetris with them if you’re really bored. [Timothy Ben Furniture…

New Au Infobars Shave Corners, Just Need Lube

Au’s Infobar 2 is hitting the streets in Japan in November. Impress describes it as “Square it was and the form like whether the candy dissolved in the mouth and had roundness of,” which makes me certain that it was designed by Yoda (another clue is that it comes in Yoda Green.) The 2.6-inch OLED…

Microdot Squared Voice Activated Recorder Smallest Ever

The Microdot recorder, which Joel over at BB and Nigel from RedFerret have pointed out to me, is supposedly the world’s smallest digital audio recorder. It’s about the size of an index fingertip, or about the size of a piece of japanese chewing candy, if that gives any context at all. (it’s 12x35x17mm) It’s got…

Samsung Armani Phone Hands On Video

Susi from Shiny Shiny has a hands-on demo of the Samsung Armani phone we showed you earlier. Not to spoil anything, but the phone has part of a UI that’s Cover Flow-esque. Oh, and Susi dies at the end. [Shiny Shiny] https://gizmodo.com/official-launch-of-samsungs-armaniphone-in-milan-303263

Samsung’s still the world leader in TV sets. iSuppli reports they’re doing 12.4% of the market, globally, in the April to June quarter. LG and Philips are next wtih 11.4 and 7.1%. For some perspective: Cathode ray TVs are projected to still have 38% of shipments in 2009. Crazy, I know. [Yahoo!]

Adjustable Trash Can Fits All Sizes

The reason Japanese people are so short is because space comes at such a premium (it’s true, we read it on Wikipedia). This adjustable trash can, however, is great for small rooms that need small cans, but can adjust upwards to accomodate large rooms as well. This way, instead of throwing out your garbage when…

Solar-Powered Air Conditioner is a Great Idea, in Theory

The oddly-named “Psychro-ray” is a solar-powered air conditioner for your car. It’s just a concept, and something tells me that there’s no way solar power alone could power something as power-hungry as an air conditioner with a ” carbon filtration system and electrostatic dust collector,” but hey, I like the way you guys are thinking.…

Glow In The Dark Chess Matches Radioactive Kasparov

Do you like playing chess…in the dark? Daan Van Tulder does, which is why he designed this LED chessboard complete with transparent and translucent pieces; all for the sole purpose of having a fantastic blue light to give your games that much more romantic ambiance. After all, don’t all your chess matches end with you…

Miniature Shopping Carts Let You Play Bag Lady Barbie

Have you ever wanted to know what it was like to be a shopping cart-type homeless person? If you did, the Korean store IdeaTopic offeres miniature shopping carts that not only roll around, but fit into each other just like real carts. In fact, if you buy enough, you can even make-believe you’re going on…

NEC Creates Mobile DNA Lab, Baby Daddies Run in Horror

Maybe we’ve been watching too many CSI reruns, but NEC’s mobile DNA lab looks awesome. Not only does it bring portability to DNA analysis, but it even improves upon the typical versions. To complete its barrage of tests takes about 25-minutes &mdash and, by comparison, a typical DNA lab would take an entire day. NEC…

Router Drones to Deliver Wifi From the Sky

Military personnel already use unmanned drones for spying on areas from above, but Wired’s Danger Room reports that soon they’ll also be using them for a less exciting but just as important task: wireless networking. AeroVironment, a company that makes unmanned aerial vehicles, has been working on making router drones, planes that can fly around…

Hong Kong Fiber Optic Rates Prove Verizon’s FiOS is a Rip-Off

While Verizon is out aggressively trying to sell the country on their FiOS fiber optic web connection packages, which range from $40 per month for 5Mbps to 30Mbps for $180 (extra for TV and phone service!), Hong Kong residents can now enjoy their own fiber optic connections from Hong Kong Broadband Network Limited… which happen…