Archive for July 2007

The guys over at RedPost come right out and say it. They want you to hack their new digital picture frame and do whatever you want with it. For starters, the RedPost/Kit is a gorgeous digital picture frame with a large 19-inch Hannspree LCD screen.

The guys over at dutch design firm OOOMS are best known for their wooden memory sticks, but here’s another interesting contraption that they also are responsible for. Looking like a treadmill on wheels, the Speedy Rollator uses a special gear drive system to multiply your walking efforts and increase your pace.

This ridiculous cell phone from China is capable of blasting out ringtones and media files at an earsplitting 120dB. For those of you not familiar with the Decibel Scale, that’s somewhere between “Front Rows at Rock Concert” and “Threshold of Pain.” Unfortunately, this video of the phone in action doesn’t really capture just how load 120dB is.

This high-tech watch from Nixon is perfect for surfers or anyone else who frequents the land of sun and sand. Their Lodown digital watch offers its wearer tidal data for 200 beaches around the world for the next 15 years.

Electronics manufacturer Sharp has revealed their first Blu-ray high definition video disc player. The BD-HP20S is expected to hit stores towards the end of this year and looks like a pretty nice player overall. The BD-HP20S will feature full 1080p resolution with 24 frame-per-second playback, which is ideal since most movies are shot at 24fps.

The Theremin is quite possibly the strangest musical instrument ever made. Invented in 1919, it was one of the world’s first electronic instruments. The Theremin produces its otherworldly sounds without ever touching it. Soon, you’ll be able to get your own miniature Theremin to put on your desktop.

In response to all the recent buzz about the high failure rate of their Xbox 360 console, Microsoft today announced that they will be extending the manufacturer’s warranty on many consoles to three years. If your console suffers from three flashing red lights on the “ring of light,” you’re covered.

Seems like the latest trend in technology is to make fabric versions of your favorite electronic gadgets. A couple of weeks back it was the felt Nintendo. This week, some kid’s Mom was way too cool, and knit him a wool iPhone.

[UPDATE 7/9/2007: The rumors were true. Sony has cut the price on the PS3/60GB to $499 effective immediately. They also announced the August release of an 80GB model for $599, including a copy of Motorstorm] MaxConsole is reporting the receipt of an anonymous e-mail from a supposed Circuit City employee claiming that Sony’s PlayStation 3 will soon be selling for $100 less than launch price.

Korea’s I-Dear speakers measure in at less than 1-cubic inch and hook up to your favorite media player to provide stereo sound wherever you go. They’re made from natural hardwoods so they really stand out from the plastic crowd.

Looks like the iPhone isn’t the only multi-touch device Apple has up its sleeve. According to a recently filed patent application, Apple has designed a mouse with a multi-touch surface covering its entire body. The design features a mouse with a sensing surface that can be programmed to interact with objects and shapes on screen in a similar way to multi-touch screens that we’ve seen (and experienced – thanks iPhone!) Apple’s mouse concept uses a backlit transparent shell and a tiny camera with a super wide-angle lens on the inside to record the position of fingers on the surface.

Using a couple keys from a spare keyboard, this guy made up his own custom USB memory stick that looks like a computer key. Modder Alex over on Hacker Zen shows you step-by-step how to make your own using an old keyboard, a flash drive, an Xacto knife, a file and some glue.

This watch uses a tiny globe to tell the time instead of conventional hour and minute hands. As each hour passes, the globe gradually rotates around the North Pole, making a full revolution every 24 hours.

This innovative portable light provides a soft, warm glow wherever life takes you. When you’re ready to head outside, just grab it and go. Vessel’s $249 Luau portable lamp works indoors or out, and provides illumination equivalent to a 50-watt light bulb.

If you own a bunch of portable gadgets like me, you know how carrying around all of those chargers can be a real drag. Now you can grab a single cable that charges many of them from your computer’s USB port.

It seems like it wasn’t very long ago that Sony released their first ever electronic ink book reader for around $350. For a limited time, you can pick up one of these nifty devices for just under $100.