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In an interesting move, NTT DoCoMo intends to invest about 12 billion yen to gain a 42 percent stake in Tower Records Japan Inc (A privately owned company, no longer a part of the US mother company since 2002). They’re basically planning some in-store promotions and of course, mobile marketing, but the main point seems…
Putting entire computers into cars is the next evolutionary step beyond stereos that sound like concussion grenades. It started with the versatile Mac Mini. But for those of us who aren t that Mac savvy, there are some micro form PCs that could fit cozily into any crappy Honda. These SUMICOM’s have some nice car-oriented…
If owning a RAZR wasn t trendy enough as it is, Vaja, gadget case makers extraordinaire, have released a cute (yeah, I said it) leather case to house the RAZR. The case is named the I-Volution (how original) and goes for a hefty $55. These cases are also fully customizable. How do you get a…
Next time you’re cutting the cheese hardcore at the kitchen table while working on the big report, at least try to cover up the smell. Save your word document and plug in this sucker: The USB Aroma Generator from Thanko. Choose one out of three different scents for you to suck in through your nostrils…
Tired of all those ugly cables snaking behind your entertainment system? Try turning that electrical octopus into BLESS cable jewelry. This is a kit that comes with all kinds of fashionable accouterments to turn your schmutz into gold pretty jewelry. It comes with materials like crystals, fur, pearls, lace and wooden cubes. If only the…
Are you a geek with a cubicle who needs a little something to keep your mind off work since you’ve been coding in C# for the past six-hours? Of course you are, and you demand your toys be open-source like your code. That’s why the TileToy is here. TileToy is an open-source game consisting of…
The North Face means a lot to me. On weekends here in Philadelphia when I walk up to University City to UPenn and Drexel, I see every kid around me (including myself) wearing a North Face “Denali” or some other kind of North Face coat. We wear them because of one reason: They keep you…
The SmartSlab is being described as the world’s toughest digital video display for walls, floors, billboards and buildings. Each slab is designed in a honeycomb structure that was inspired by the optics of a fly’s eye. Instead of using standard pixels it uses hexels (hexagonal pixels) that provide an 18% better resolution than just the…
Ever since the first sit-down with gaming journos, Microsoft has been hyping a feature of the Xbox 360 that allows for an iPod — or any other MP3 player — to be plugged into a USB port on the front of the console and played as the soundtrack to a game. Cool beans! Until… Redmond,…
Although Nokia has been telling us we’d have to wait for the new Nokia 770 Internet tablet, it looks like folks in Europe are already getting product. The device, a linux-based terminal that is WiFi enabled, is not a phone. Let me repeat that. It is not a cellphone, even though it’s being made by…
Don’t you hate it when marketing folk put blatant female-oriented imagery next to a product in advertisements to dictate which market they are aiming for? I do, especially when the product is sexy as hell and I want one, but buying one would mean I am a big smelly girl. Japanese tech sites are fawning…
Fans of meccano might enjoy this — a series of aluminium insect model kits to create your very own army of terror with which to send out and conquer the planet whilst you sit back stroking a luxurious cigar and smoking a fine white cat. Alas, these model kits don t feature motorised parts, but…
Designing Technology Systems: The Evolution of Increasing Complexity By David Hoffer “Complex mechanical devices can go wrong in many ways,” writes Don Norman in his book Emotional Design. “And many a person has fallen in love—or become outraged—over the transgressions of automobiles, shop equipment, or other complex machinery.” Norman is speaking about individual devices. The…
Add HP to the list of manufacturers working on a practical form of e-paper. Trees shouldn’t be breathing sighs of relief yet: the technology’s not quite ready for prime time. [San Francisco Chronicle] Stanford braniacs laugh at current consumer GPS devices’ measly 5-10 meter margins of error. Their goal? A navigation system accurate enough to…
Behold the power of half-assed Wi-Fi! You can now make your phone Wi-Fi compatible with this cute little CF card from Sophia Systems. You plug it in to your CF slot on your Windows Smartphone and you’re all set. Why half-assed you ask? Windows CE only. No Windows Mobile. Ouch. If you can get over…
Taking a page from the Sony playbook—when in doubt, make up a, nonsensical name for an entire product line—Samsung is introducing its new “Magic Station” PCs. They will be released that range from a powerhouse Maserati to a fully-loaded Kia. The MZ50 packs every imaginable feature into a Windows XP Media Center Edition PC and…
This guy looks happy doesn’t he? That’s because he doesn’t have to wait to find out exactly when we’ll see the PS3. In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Sony’s dandy CEO Howard Stringer (that’s sir to you) mentions that the next generation PlayStation console will be ready for the U.S. for the holiday season…
More bad blood in the land of gadgets this week with Qualcomm filing a lawsuit against number one mobile phone maker Nokia, accusing the company of infringing a dozen patents related to Wideband-CDMA or UMTS technology. Qualcomm is out to see Nokia stop selling and producing GSM products in the U.S. and is asking for…
The rumors have been circulating for awhile, but there are firm details: Yahoo! will be partnering with Cingular to create a Yahoo! branded cellphone. No, they’re not going to manufacture a handset from the ground up — it’s just going to be a re-branded version of a Nokia. It will have a 1.3 megapixel camera,…
Yahoo and TiVo have partnered to enable you to schedule recordings via the Yahoo! TV portal. If you’re signed into Yahoo! and head to tv.yahoo.com, you’ll see a “Schedule now to your TiVo” option. Just go to an episode you want to record, and click “Record to my TiVo box.” The next time your TiVo…