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At CES, we heard that Rand McNally and Navigon were partnering up to make some interesting GPSs. And the results of that torrid affair, the 7300T and 4300T, do have some pinchable cheecks. https://gizmodo.com/navigon-integrates-rand-mcnally-travel-guides-into-gps-5125067 The 7300T (above) is the flagship 4.3-inch touchscreen GPS. Priced at $400, it features the standard text-to-speech, voice commands and Bluetooth…
Architecture student Viktor Ramos has a brilliant idea that may be the key to the Israel-Palestinian Gordian Knot: Instead of building grim walls or tunnels, create livable bridges so two states can live together, superposed. Can architecture make Israel and Palestine coexist peacefully together? Sounds like a pie in the sky proposition—no pun intended—but with…
Feeble people of the world, rejoice, because the “magic mirror” will show your inner anatomy, demonstrating that below all my wine-and-tapas-induced bag of jell-o fat, there are some bones and muscles. Or so I think. It’s not Total Recall material, but a tracking system developed by professor Yoshihiko Nakamura of the Information and Robot Technology…
World of Apple says March 24 is the possible date for a refresh of the entire Apple’s desktop line. We don’t have confirmation of this yet, so as always, remember our rule about rumors. Never trust them. The rumor doesn’t have any details as to what could happen, so if true, we can only speculate…
Samsung’s forays into high-performance photography gear have so far been cautious (read: derivative), but the NX series, set for an unveiling at PMA this week, is half-DSLR, half-P&S, and very interesting. https://gizmodo.com/samsung-gx-20-dslr-pentax-k20ds-guts-different-body-348589 The announcement is short on details, but here’s the pitch: the NX series is a hybrid system, meaning that it doesn’t have a…
The Always Innovating Touch Book does something I’ve never seen from a netbook: it has a fully detachable keyboard dock and transforms from a standard looking 8.9-inch netbook, to a stand-alone tablet. Spearheaded by Gregoire Gentil, the man behind the Zonbu Desktop and Laptop, the Touch Book is his latest project, and a promising one…
President Obama isn’t very excited about his fancy new helicopter, but that’s not his fault—he just hasn’t seen its super-neat blueprints yet, because he’s not allowed to have Limewire. https://gizmodo.com/obama-is-not-too-excited-about-his-expensive-new-helico-5160723 Right, I’ll back up for a second. The embattled chopper(s)—under fire for their cost and alleged foreign manufacture—have been trotted out by republicans as an…
The RNSK “Bang! Bang!” iPhone app recreates the sound of several firearms using authentic Hollywood special effects, and will probably get you shot up for real. You even hold it like a real gun. OK, strike that. This app will get you shot for real. Kai Cherry, of RnSK Softronics, told Tomorrowland that each gun…
MIT’s latest creation, a speedy solar car cheekily named Eleanor, can reach 90 mph (good for enticing lead-footed Americans) and is packed with tech that could outfit mainstream hybrids soon (good for everyone else). Eleanor, with her flying saucer-esque lines and solar panel skin, was constructed by students in MIT’s Solar Electric Vehicle Team. The…
A cheeseburger-shaped mini-vacuum for your dirty desktop? Sure, why the hell not? If you seriously can’t stop salivating over this thing, it’s $20 at FredFlare. [FredFlare via technabob]
After only seven hours of availability, the recently released Nokia 5800 XpressMusic has been yanked from the Nokia flagship store in NYC, apparently due to widespread 3G network access issues. Update. https://gizmodo.com/nokia-5800-xpressmusic-to-come-stateside-on-feb-26-for-5150444 A Nokia sales associate said that the phone was available yesterday, but only for a total of seven hours before it was pulled…
This is “Ogre,” an autonomous, projectile-launching, LEGO block-destroying remote control tank. Ogre could honestly be the first LEGO creation I wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley. No minifig is safe this afternoon. Ogre is a “Tank” built around a Zamor launching system nicknamed “Hailstorm”. It uses three XL PF motors, controlled either by…
If this rumor pans out, AT&T could soon offer disgruntled cellphone users a “phone trade-in program,” good for a few bucks off a new phone, should you really hate the one you just bought. However, according to the lads at BGR, the program has a few caveats worth taking a look at: * The phone…
After viewing Jesus’s Bruce Springsteen iPhone photos again this morning, I was all prepared to continue staring spitefully at my own iPhone camera. But then I found these amazing iPhone photos. World: Upside down. https://gizmodo.com/why-i-hate-the-iphone-camera-and-loved-the-best-rock-c-5028534 But before we get to the goods, credit where credit is due. These 100 really, really cool images were sought…
Inspiration can strike anywhere—including the coffee table. Just ask java-obsessed Ivan Vakarelski, who discovered tomorrow’s TV screens in those annoying rings that currently make my coffee table look like the surface of the moon. This isn’t to say Starbucks is going to start churning out overpriced TVs tomorrow alongside their overpriced Caffè machiatos. Instead, let’s…
We reported the Author’s Guild’s litigious anger about the Kindle 2’s text-to-voice feature, claiming it violates audio book copyrights. It’s an arguable position, but Amazon has gone ahead and caved to the literate man. https://gizmodo.com/authors-guild-claims-kindle-2-text-to-speech-somehow-vi-5151237 Amazon has backed down for the Guild’s comfort rather than for any legal motivation, since it’s pretty clear that a…
Asus’ out-of-nowhere P835 smartphone is packing some pretty decent specs, from an 800×480 touchscreen to HSPA support for lightning-fast downloads, but it’s still packing Windows Mobile 6.1. Still, it’s worth a look. Here’s the rundown: • HSPA (DL: 7.2Mbps, UL: 2Mbps), UMTS 900/1900/2100 EDGE/GPRS/GSM 850/900/1800/1900, Class 12 • Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 • 3.5″ WVGA…
In an effort to cut costs wherever possible, some consumers are going back to the cheaper, crappier-in-every-way dial-up we all cast aside years ago. This recession has just gotten serious. Sales of the often sub-$10 dial-up subscriptions have increased after the stock market crash and many report that they’ve switched from broadband, though NetZero CEO…
This water droplet-shaped concept from Ilshat Garipov makes a good run at it, but no matter how small or slick or arty they are, Bluetooth headsets are just never going to look good. Is it the association they have with bankers, lawyers, and other douche-types? Is it the inherent awkwardness of watching somebody talk into…
Welcome to another edition of Gadget Deals of the Day. Today we’ve got the cheapest 1.5 TB external drive ever seen, TVs, PMPs, and for you slobs, a bargain-priced Snuggie. HDTVs: • Sharp AQUOS 720p 32″ TV for $480 (normally $580) • Sharp 720p 32″ TV for $460 (normally $550) Portable Media: • 1st Gen…
