31 May, 2008
by Donald Melanson, posted May 30th 2008 at 10:49PM Audi has already manged to work some LEDs into a few of its cars (concepts and otherwise), but the automaker has gone all out with its latest Audi R8, which employs LEDs for seemingly every lighting function. That includes the 24-LED running lamps the R8 had before, along with some brand LED high and low beam headlights, and LED turn signals, which add up to some 54 LEDs in all. Of course, given the prices that single LED bulbs demand these days, it should come as no surprise that this is quite the pricey option, with it adding a full €3,590 (or about $5,560) to the R8’s already lofty sticker price. (Read the full post about ‘Audi R8 boasts LEDs aplenty’…)
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31 May, 2008
In the latest indication that Apple truly is revolutionizing mobile phone technology, Google appears to be borrowing one of the most anticipated features from the forthcoming iPhone 2.0 revision. While an official announcement has not been made, comments by Android project leader Andy Rubin indicate that an Android App Store is definitely in the works: “It would be a great benefit to the Android community to provide a place where people can go to safely and securely download content and where a billing system would allow developers to get paid for their effort”. (Read the full post about ‘Android to offer iPhone-like App Store’…)
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31 May, 2008
Digital Trends reviews the Samsung BlackJAck II (i617) and writes, “Phone calls are straightforward and clear, and the equally effective email system works with AOL, Yahoo! and others. The same goes for Instant Messenger. The 2-megapixel camera isn’t so bad for a phone, but any photos or video requires a good, consistent light source. Pressing the camera button on the keypad turns it on quickly, and pressing the right menu button switches the still camera to a video camera. Both can be easily attached to email or text messages.” Read more about the Samsung BlackJack II (i617). (Read the full post about ‘Samsung BlackJack II (i617) Review - Digital Trends’…)
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31 May, 2008
A UK theme park has decided to ban PDAs from May 25th until June 1st. Their explanation for it is that they want to encourage families to fully connect with each other.
Anyone caught with a PDA in the park will be asked to leave it in a specially designated “PDA Drop Off Zone”.
Russell Barnes, Divisional Director for the Alton Towers Resort explains; “What we have here is the ultimate short break location where every member of the family can unwind and
have fun.
(Read the full post about ‘PDA devices temporarily banned from UK theme park’…)
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31 May, 2008
by Joshua Topolsky, posted May 30th 2008 at 7:52PM The folks at Konami have been trolling the forums again, kids, and this time they’re fighting back. Reps from the game-maker have issued a statement on the company forum addressing the furor over the inflated cost of the forthcoming, limited edition Metal Gear Solid 4 bundle. According to Konami, the bumped up price ($600 for a 40GB version of the PS3, plus Dual Shock controller and MGS4 game) is due to the special material used to create the gunmetal gray system and controller casing. The company seems to take issue with the fact that some are calling it simply a “paint job,” and points out that the run of units is only 10,000, and the package also includes a version of the game with an extra disc of additional content. (Read the full post about ‘Konami defends inflated MGS4 bundle cost’…)
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31 May, 2008
by Darren Murph, posted May 30th 2008 at 5:46PM If you’re anything like our boy Ryan, you’ve been wearing that Wii Fit out ever since you took delivery. Unfortunately, you’ve probably been doing a bit of unintentional jogging when logging miles back and forth to the local mini-mart for batteries. If you can’t seem to keep your Wii Balance Board charged, Nyko has introduced a novel solution: the Energy Pack for Wii Fit. Our pals over at Nintendo Wii Fanboy were able to get ahold of this very unit and put it through its paces, and generally speaking, they were quite impressed with the $20 peripheral-for-a-peripheral. Head on over for the full writeup and a smattering of pics.Read PermalinkEmail this7 CommentsFile (Read the full post about ‘Nyko’s Energy Pack keeps your Wii balance board juiced’…)
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31 May, 2008
InfoSync reviews the Helio Ocean and writes, “Helio’s YouTube app looks even better than the similar program on Apple’s iphone, with a polished looking interface and easy searching, thanks to the Ocean’s real, QWERTY keyboard. We had no trouble logging onto our YouTube account and finding our favorites. We were even more surprised to be able to upload videos directly from the phone, using the phone’s built-in camera. The quality wasn’t great, as we’d expected since we weren’t thrilled with the camera in our original review. Still, the feature is unique, and we’re sure there’s an audience for this concept.” Read more about the Helio Ocean. (Read the full post about ‘Helio Ocean Review - InfoSync’…)
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30 May, 2008
by Darren Murph, posted May 30th 2008 at 6:30PM With all this hubbub floating around about the elusive 3G iphone, let us not forget about the latest touchscreen smartphone to land at AT&T: LG’s Vu. After getting official earlier this month, we were able to sit down with the Mobile TV-supporting handset and form a few opinions of our own. Here, however, we’re interested in your take — do you feel the $549.99 (or $299.99 on contract) price tag is reasonable for what you get? Are you pleased with the hardware / software? Are you feeling buyer’s remorse like never before? Go on and spill it, we’re all friends here.PermalinkEmail this24 CommentsFiled under: cellphonesTags: mobile devices, gad (Read the full post about ‘How would you change LG’s Vu?’…)
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30 May, 2008
Maybe because it’s spring, season of green, here in the Northern Hemisphere. Or maybe because of climate change or the parlous state of the world’s finances — unless you’re a citizen of, say, Saudi Arabia. But the sudden interest in ecoproducts and other greenmatter is pretty astonishing. Here’s an entry that could hardly be more homely. Blogger DLTK lists 101 things to do with an empty cardboard toilet paper roll. Most of these are kid items, like making bowling pins for a birthday party game. But a few are suitable for a kid-free household that’s nonetheless undergoing both greenmindedness and frugality. For example, pencil cups. Wreaths (using 14-16 rolls per each, which is a lot of TP for a kid-free household. (Read the full post about ‘Green tech: Recycling empty toilet paper rolls’…)
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30 May, 2008
Earlier this week, some Swedish dude got a lot of notoriety for pretending to "draw" a planet-sized self-portrait using GPS tracking. Today, we bring you a Finnish guy who is doing it for real, albeit on a somewhat smaller scale. Antti Laitinen has used a GPS to "draw" his face across maps of various European forests and cities. He started by tracing his portrait on a map. Then, with a GPS recorder in his pack, he started trying to walk the line he drew, using just a map and a compass to get his bearings. (The GPS was just for recording his path.) When he was done, he uploaded the GPS path to his computer. The result: A self-portrait of the artist as a drunken psychotic. But hey, GPS lines are a little wobbly. (Read the full post about ‘No-B.S. GPS Art: From Geocaching to Geodrawing’…)
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