by Donald Melanson, posted Apr 16th 2008 at 5:03PM ZMP’s Miuro may have been doing the whole music-playing, rolling robot thing even before Sony’s Rolly stole the spotlight, but it had the slight disadvantage of costing nearly $1,000. The company now looks to be changing that situation, however, with it teaming up with Sega Toys to release a slightly scaled-back but considerable cheaper version of the ipod dock, now dubbed the Music Robot ODO. Among other things, this one drops the built-in WiFi and camera of the Miuro, although it does hang onto the LCD that displays the ODO’s “emotion” as it’s dancing, and you do get a remote control to keep it from straying too far. (Read the full post about ‘Sega Toys and ZMP team up for Miuro-like Music Robot ODO’…)
by Darren Murph, posted Apr 16th 2008 at 8:29AM
Typically, you’d think a pricey bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne would be the star attraction on a night out, but we’d have to suggest otherwise if said container is being toted around in this thing. The Karim Rashid-designed apparatus, which is limited to just 500 pieces worldwide, is said to be a “modern reinterpretation of the traditional French chandelier.” As for utility, it promises to keep your alcohol chilled for four solid hours, and considering the built-in LEDs will also flicker out after the same amount of time, we suppose that’s a good indicator of when it’s time to toss ‘er back and get going. (Read the full post about ‘Karim Rashid-designed Globalight champagne cooler steals the show’…)
Another day, another compact camera announcement. This time it’s Panasonic, which is faithfully following the industry-wide tradition of releasing new models with tiny, almost unknowable feature differences. The DMC-TZ50 is not much more than a TZ5 with added WiFi.
The twist is that the camera comes with access to T-Mobile’s Hotspots, which means there’s about to be a whole lotta pictures of coffee shops up on the web. The service sends direct to Google’s Picasa photo service, although we’d have preferred Flickr.
One year of T-Mobile service is included in the price, and that year begins the first time you access the network to upload (the offer expires on August 31st 2009).
(Read the full post about ‘Panasonic’s New Lumix Camera Packs WiFi And Free T-Mobile Access’…)
The April issue of Vazy Mag is out. Apart from the gadget coverage provided by yours truly, this issue features an eye-opening photo essay on the state of affairs in Iraq. A must read.
We won’t give away the rest of the content, so check it out yourself. It’s a free download that you can snag off of their website, VazyMag.com. All you need is a PDF Reader (we like Foxit Reader).
Tags: gprs, ipod, home cinema, wi-fi
What’s so special about this USB flash drive from Buffalo? Well, the Ruff2 certainly offers more protection for your data stored within compared to other USB flash drives. This one comes with an integrated fingerprint security module on it, ensuring only the right people will be able to check out what’s inside. Capacities range from 512MB all the way to 8GB, while 256-bit AES encryption surely makes the life of a hacker more frustrating. Tags: consumer electronics, lcd, gadgets, M4A (Read the full post about ‘Buffalo Ruff2 USB Flash Drive’…)
Tilmann Schlootz phas received a Michelin Challenge Design Award 2008 at Detroit Auto Show 2008 for the Audi Snook design. This multi-directional engine features “a sphere-wheel and enables the driver to navigate and steer the auto-stabilized cain in every direction.”
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Tags: TV, consumer technology, cable, electronic toys
BenQ today expands its Joybook R series lineup with the launch of Joybook R45. Meticulously designed and built, the BenQ Joybook R45’s leather-like finish with latch-free closure evokes a handsome leather-bound folio that enables the R45 to fit in with any personal accessories. The WLAN and power buttons are set in a stunning aluminum decorative strip with a striking crimson seam making the laptop the one that truly stands out from the rest.
by Nilay Patel, posted Apr 16th 2008 at 12:43AM We’ve already gotten the disappointing word that the Eee PC 900’s processor is the same 900MHz Celeron M found in the 701, but perhaps our hearts can be warmed by all the new details that came flooding out today. First, we’ve got word that the 900 will actually carry two different flash storage units, with 4GB soldered onto the motherboard and an 8GB SSD in the PCIe slot for XP versions and a 16GB unit for Linux models. The dual-storage system means you should be able to upgrade easily, but we’re still wondering why the lighterweight OS gets more storage — we’ve got a feeling that since both models will be priced at the same $500 - $650 price point depending on territory, Windows license fees have something to do with it. (Read the full post about ‘Eee PC 900 details, launch dates come trickling out’…)
Inflatable movie screens - who would’ve thought that those would actually sell? Blimpscreen has a plethora of different sizes to suit just about any budget, whether you are interested in a backyard home theater or to wow Joe Public with a full blown al fresco theatre in the park. Just make sure you have a pretty powerful projector to go along with the Blimpscreen and hope that the airblower used won’t drown out your sound system. Oh yeah, do engage some security guards as well in order prevent any cases of vandalism where the Blimpscreen will be unable to rise to the occassion (literally). (Read the full post about ‘Blimpscreen lends a soft touch to viewing movies’…)
by Darren Murph, posted Apr 15th 2008 at 9:03PMThough we originally expected (read: hoped) that Microsoft would dish out Service Pack 3 for Windows XP late last month, it seems the deed may actually get done before May dawns. According to an “internal schedule” fetched over at Neowin, OEMs, volume license, Connect, MSDN and TechNet subscribers will have access to the update on April 21st, while most average joes / janes won’t notice it until April 29th when it hits the Microsoft / Windows Update download center. For folks too busy carrying on to worry over which SP their XP is running, they could very well overlook the automatic update scheduled to land on June 10th. (Read the full post about ‘Windows XP SP3 release just around the bend?’…)
