Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
Those of you who didn’t win our inappropriate Gizmodo browsing contest for a Nokia N810 internet tablet are probably patting yourselves on the back now, since it seems like Nokia will introduce a WiMAX-enabled version on April 1 at CTIA. So claims Boy Genius and his tipsters. [Boy Genius Report] https://gizmodo.com/inappropriate-gizmodo-browsing-contest-gallery-some-ns-327174
Innovations for Learning just announced a blue GameBoy-like handheld computer designed for schools. It’s got directional buttons, a few face buttons, a 2.5-inch LCD, USB sync, SD card storage, AC/USB charging, and a 3.5-hour battery life. Inside the teachermate is a “complete reading and math curriculum that is aligned with all of the major reading…
The Wi-Fi-enabled BlackBerry Pearl, which was previously Europe-only, has finally made its way into the US by way of AT&T. The 8120 had a 2-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, and a price of $199 with a two-year contract and rebates. What would you use that Wi-fi for? How about watching TV shows over Slingplayer? [Crave] https://gizmodo.com/hands-on-with-slingplayer-mobile-blackberry-version-340349
The creative brain of designer Kyle Cherry has had a go at reinventing the laptop, with the specific needs of “creative” users in mind. Keeping the design clean and simple so artistic efforts are unhindered, auxiliary controls sit outside of the keyboard area and include a four-way navigation joystick. He envisages it being a touchscreen…
We’re not sure whether this patent will actually be implemented or if it’s one of those cover-our-asses sort of filings, but Apple’s had a DVR-like patent in the works since at least 2006. The figures show a TiVo-ish program that records TV, but then makes the recorded files available to watch on their iPods. There’s…
According to the Wall Street Journal, DirecTV is testing a new video-on-demand service that depends on both the customers’ satellite dish and their internet connection. To be launched in the second quarter, the service will use the satellite to send a limited number of movies to store in all DirecTV DVRs, for instant on-demand playback,…
Looks like those concept building shingles that double as solar-electric cells are getting a real-life counterpart in SRS Energy’s solar roof tiles. Designed to look like “normal” roof tiles, they come in active and inactive tile versions, incorporating special connectors so wiring-up is simple. https://gizmodo.com/grow-shingles-shame-leaves-and-solar-panels-362715 You can attach them in the usual way with a…
Aaron Greenberg, group product manager for Xbox 360, told Reuters that Microsoft isn’t exploring any kind of Blu-ray add-on for the Xbox 360. https://gizmodo.com/xbox-360-blu-ray-drive-rumor-fueled-by-steve-ballmer-365338 Microsoft, which has stopped making an HD DVD add-on for the Xbox 360, would continue to invest in its Xbox Live online service that already lets users rent hundreds of movies,…
This week at Uncrate: We put on our construction hats and rev up the B-16 Concrete Bomber, lust after the sweet memorabilia up for auction in the Pugliese Pop Culture Collection, and go retro with Vintage New York Subway Signs. We also get nostalgic with Carve Your Own Post Cards, add to our out-of-hand bar…
Taiwanese manufacturer Netronix is promising a new spin on an old idea: putting a touchscreen on an the EB-100, an E-Ink-based e-book reader. We’ve actually seen the basic design before, in the gen-3 Cybook by Bookeen. But there was never promise of touchscreen, nor anything said about 802.11g Wi-Fi, which Netronix is also offering. The…
That little USB socket gets put to some weird and whacky uses in the name of decorating your desk, and now here’s yet another: USB neon signs. If you’re a terminal cubicle customizer, you might be able to brighten things up a bit with these $20 gizmos, available in @, 🙂 and “bar” designs. Just…
The Nikkei business daily is reporting that Toshiba will take a $986 million hit this year for its ill-fought HD DVD campaign, though somehow the manufacturing supergiant will manage to post a roughly $2.5 billion profit nonetheless, down from a projected $2.9 billion or so. The estimated cost of HD DVD for the company this…
Nokia’s luxury subsidiary Vertu is celebrating 10 years of selling over-designed, under-featured, overpriced cellphones with a new collection of over-designed, under-featured, overpriced cellphones called the Monogram Constellation. Soon to reach your nearest Louis Vuitton shop in Chinatown, these models have the V monogram printed on the leather back in a four-hour process that is for…
Here is our exclusive video of the iPhone with hacked 2.0 firmware, running on a T-Mobile network instead of AT&T. Despite what other reports have erroneously stated, this is not a jailbroken iPhone with firmware 2.0, but a completely hacked version of the firmware that allows you to run any app and use any compatible…
The science-fiction sounding Audeo can apparently detect nerve impulses your brain sends to your vocal cords, and then translate them into meaningful electronic speech without a sound escaping from your mouth. While secret agents everywhere are presumably rejoicing at the idea, it’s actually intended to help people whose disabilities mean they can’t speak. Don’t believe…
Today, digital photo frame maker Pandigital is unveiling a frame that’s also a 720p HDTV and a “digital cookbook.” Say what you will about digital photo frames, but one thing’s for sure: they can be anything their makers want them to be. https://gizmodo.com/20-million-digital-photo-frames-to-be-sold-to-20-millio-352375 This $400 15-in. “mess-proof” sealed display has MP3 and video (MPEG, MP4,…
And I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder: One of the four beasts saying: “Come and see.” And I saw. And behold, the definitive iPhone knock-off! 99%-exactly like the real thing except for the front and back cameras, and the sign of the Anti-Christ: the inverted Apple! Right after the iPod touch clone.…
If Gigantor was the original Iron Man (he was called Tetsujin 28-gō, which means “Iron Man #28”), the sleek-black 5.5-pound 17-inch-tall BlackOx robot has to be the predecesor of Titanium Man. And like Titanium Man, this biped fighting robot is also probably the only baddy that really looks like he can kick Iron Man’s ass.…
The lion engraving on the back of this Chinese all-in-one cellphone/PDA is presumably what gives it its strange name. The strangeness doesn’t end there though: it takes dual SIM cards … and has a standby time of 365 days? Yes, this is what the manufacturer says. One year chaps. A typo error, perhaps. But it…
Design student Alvin Aronson has rethought our interaction with digital timepieces by making a robotic LED/LCD display, with parts that slide in and out to form numerals. So, really its more a “physical digital” clock, rather than properly analog, but you get the point. Once you see the video of it gently transitioning its display…