Gadgety News

The Sony Rolly has always been an enigma to me.

Ok, it’s cute - It’s probably one of the cutest small speakers around.

But.

It’s a portable, trundling, dancing speaker - but the sound isn’t great for £250.

It’s a music player able to stream via A2DP Bluetooth or play from its internal flash but there’s no place to shove your 3.5mm lead.

 Sony are now updating it - and it will be controlled by YOU!! MWAHAHAHAHH!!!

Ahem.  Next month, Japanese Rolly buyers will be able to get the new SEP-50BT version complete with Bluetooth controls thus allowing them to make Rolly dance and spin like a performing monkey-bot all directed via their mobile phones.

I can imagine the high jinks and thoroughly wicked japes to be had through controlling the egg-shaped dancing speaker under somones chair and then unleashing a choice cut from ‘Cannibal Corpse’ as the little mp3 player starts its own circle pit :) 

The new system will actually give you control of up to seven of the little blighters at the same time using a mobile phone or laptop.

I reckon it’s time for some synchronised dancing……….

Gizmodo

This is great!

I see the point of having a mobile signal on the tube, on planes and trains but there’s so many people that’s going to abuse this.

A commuter rail company here in the UK (C2C) will install cellphone signal-blocking film on train windows in order to keep the peace.

The film, which was developed in America, prevents cellphone signal from entering (and leaving) the train. With no signal getting through, people won’t be able to talk, loudly or otherwise, on their cellphones.

HURRAH!!!!

This film will only be installed on cars that are designated as quiet cars - you know, the ones that are there to stop the endless prattle of “I’m pulling out of the station now” or “so, what do you fancy for dinner..”.  The film will merely help ensure that the—no phones!—part of the quiet coach takes place.

Now, if only they could get a film that ensures hand-held games are muted when not used with headphones and that headphones do not have audio-leakage…………..

Read the full Daily Mail article - it’s priceless

Daily Mail via CrunchGear

pic credit

Another ‘Worlds First‘; this time The Exilim Keitai W63CA has bragging rights to rockin an 8.1 megapixel camera - in a phone!

The latest Japanese super-phone squeezes 480 x 800 pixels into a 3.1-inch OLED display.

It also finds room to shoe-horn in features such as a wide-angle lens, 9-point auto focus, face detection, anti-shake, and a YouTube video mode that records VGA video at 30fps to microSD.

All this in a flip-fone measuring a mere 110 x 50 x 17.4 ~ 22-mm!!!

It launches in early November but no news on whether it is going to be available anywhere other than Japan as yet.

Some more limited edition greatness in time for Halloween - this time in the form of some portable speakers.

The “Headphonies” iPod speakers range includes 5 figures created by several artists (including Frank Kozik), and 2 blank versions that you can decorate yourself.

I wouldn’t expect fantastic definition from these arty speakers but those who have heard it claim that the sound is “surprisingly good.”

Each viny toy speaker collectable will be sold in 500 to 1000 limited quantities starting on November 30th.

Unlike most collectables (I collect vintage Rado watches if you want to treat me ) these are a more than reasonable $30 apiece.

Headphonies via SpankyStokes via Ubergizmo

The Mir:ror tag is a little misleading as it’s not reflective (as far as I can see) and you’ll need to connect it via USB to a puter so hanging it on your hallway wall maybe a little tricky.

Instead of checking yourself out before you leave home you’ll be waving your various possessions over its USB-connected sensor.

Why? Well by the magic of small RFID stickers, enhanced-reality style info will be displayed on your computer.

What?

Put simply: Wave your brolly handle over it and get a weather forecast, your TV remote to get tele listings and so on.

An oddly cool concept yeah?

It’s made by Violet who are also to blame for bringing us the animated internet “buddy” bunny Nabaztag.

The RFID bit is in the little ‘Ztamps’ you stick to your gear, and the magic all happens through Violet’s new website.

The mir:ror can recognise quite a few things straight off however with dedicated stamps, but through the site you can configure more of your stuff to work with it.

$70 buys you the sensor, a skin for the sensor “puck”, 2 nanotagz rabbits (those little Nabaztaglets) and 3 ztamps.

You can buy more RFID stickers for the rest of your portable gear.

I’m strangely tempted

Dynamism via Technabob

Fancy yourself a butler/maid/skivvy but can’t afford the wages?

Well, a one off payment of around $10,00 could score you the “Home Assistant Robot”.

The housproud bot is the product of joint research between Toyota and the University of Tokyo.  It stands 5-foot tall on its practical wheels and weighs in at 286lb.

The HAR uses five cameras and six lasers to map and navigate round your home and has fairly free movement - the neck alone can be moved in three directions while the arms move seven!

The helpful HAR can open and close doors, tidy up rooms, mop floors, do your laundry and put away dishes - all this without a marriage certificate :P  ~ducks out of the way of flying frying pans~

What impresses me is that mechanical home-help is clever enough to move furniture out of the way to clean floors and such and then place it back in its original position when the chore is done.

I’m not exactly sure how the robot learns from its mistakes but the programming seems to operate on simple “Magic Eye”-type principals distinguishing what’s different about a room from its original room image and correcting the differences accordingly.

You can get between 30 to 60 minutes of graft per charge and can be expected to arrive at homes in the next decade.

So, save a grand a year…………..

Asahi via CrunchGear

Here’s one for those creepy Halloween phone-calls from your iPhone.

“Do you like scary movies?………………………”

Now the chance to disguise your voice either as Darth Vader or Mickey Mouse or just mess around with the echo layering effects is available at the app store thanks to SonicVox from Smule.

As an added bonus you can connect your iPhone through a 3.5 mm cable to the line-in of your computer and use it as a microphone with Skype.

Here’s the official blurb:

Tired of your same old voice? Seeking a little vocal variety? Get into character with Smule’s Sonic Vox, the real-time voice shifter.

• With Sonic Vox you can alter your voice with a swipe of your finger. Want to cross over to the Dark Side? Slide your finger to the left. Now say it. You know you want to. “Luke, I am your…”

• Or maybe you are feeling conflicted about having lost a “preciousssss” ring? Move your finger back and forth horizontally and go ahead, rant on.

• Transform your voice even more. Simply swipe your finger up and down and hear what happens… happens… happens…

• We recommend using Sonic Vox like a microphone: just plug your iPhone into speakers. You can test it out by just talking into your phone. Or try it with headphones.

• Adventurous? Connect your iPhone (speaker-out) to your MacBook (mic-in). Switch the system preference to Line-In. Launch Sonic Vox. Launch Skype. Make that call.

Here’s the link for it at the App Store

In my run of Halloween gadgety loveliness I’ve kinda ignored the more creative of you.

Well, why not treat yourself to the Dremel Pumpkin Carving Kit from Firebox?

So, instead of carving your hands whilst trying to get that grin suitably scary and the eyes level this kit is dead easy to use:

1. Hollow out your pumpkin
2. Download the stencils from this link
3. Stick one to your seasonal vegetables
4. Start hacking away at the skin
5. Carve with the pumpkin carver attachment

Then a totally cool piece of vegatitive art is yours

iPhone Firmware 2.2 - Cut and Paste, video and pics over MMS, typing emails and texts in landscape are all the things that aren’t going to appear!

What you will get, however, is Google Street View and walking directions - obviously more important than those I mentioned above.

There is something a little more interesting on the horizon though.  It sounds SDK is now supporting line-in audio devices - this could open up some potentially interesting apps.

If you are on of the few that’s been hankering over streetmap views check out iPhoneyap’s gallery.

Boy Genius Report

I am still lovin my 3Gesus iPhone.

But, it still aint quite the perfect machine - not yet.

Fullsix has launched a site dedicated to the more vociferous moaning-mini’s out there called “Please Fix the iPhone.”

The site gets owners to vote on the most pressing issues that’s ‘bugging’ them and their iPhones - hopefully Jobs and friends will get to work on them faster.

There’s even a version of the site specifically made for the Apple handest’s browser, so that you can complain about your iPhone via your iPhone.

Here’s the link: Please Fix the iPhone via Josh Spear via Gizmodo

The results of a poll conducted by The London Games Festival of 500 gamers shows that Sega’s blue hedgehog is the most loved character and Nintendo’s Mario had to settle for second.

As you read through the full top ten below you’ll probably recognise that most of these iconic characters have been showing up in games for a decade or more.

The n00bs (comparatively speaking) in the list are Grand Theft Auto IV’s eastern European gangster Niko Bellic and the other Rockstar front-man, Max Payne.

1. Sonic the Hedgehog (24%)

2. Super Mario (21%)

3. Lara Croft (Tomb Raider) (16%)

4. Donkey Kong (11%)

5. Pac Man (10%)

6. Link (The Legend of Zelda) (5%)

7. Max Payne (4%)

8. Pikachu (Pokemon) (3%)

9. Niko Belic (Grand Theft Auto IV) (2%)

10. Blanka (Street Fighter) (1%)

Do agree with the list - is there anyone missing?

Let me know
 

The Telegraph

It’s coming up to the Emergency Services’ busy period once more.

It’s also 2008 so when instructed to light your fireworks at arms length with a special taper we should laugh heartedly.

Not because we’re a little simple but because there is now the Firework Launcher.

This gadget keeps you well away from those annual explosives.

The aptly named Firework Launcher can fire off five fireworks in sequence at any one time from a distance of 25 metres.

It’s also programmed to only work with only one ID at time so if your neighbour has read this and purchased the same there’s no risk of setting off his ornate display when you’re trying to let fly 5 super airbomb repeaters at once :)

The Firework Launcher is battery-powered, available now and costs £19.99.

Maplin via T3

Personally the thought of a brown laptop does not thrill me in the least.

But the Asus Eee PC S101 actually manages to make that brown casing not look so bad close up.

If you’re already gasping for this “mocha” coated chunk of Eee PC goodness you’ll be pleased to know that it comes loaded with a 1.6GHz Intel Atom chip, 1GB of memory, 32GB of solid state storage (split between a 16GB SSD and the rest via SD card), a 10-inch 1,024×600 res display, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and a copy of Windows XP.

It weighs in at just 1.06Kg and measures a mere 266×192×38mm.

It’s gonna cost you somewhere just shy of £500 though.

Those lucky folks over at UMPC Fever managed to get their grubby little mits on one of these and have published what can only be termed as an extremely in-depth report.

They start from staring at the classy black cardboard box right up to a loving close up of the hinge.

You’re excited; I can tell.

Go click on this now!

To be filed safely under - “nothing special but too cute to ignore”.

These headphones from Greenhouse are for all of us that like the idea of having a mini Angel and Devil shoved into our lugholes.

They’ll rock out an average sounding 5mW output, 20Hz to 20kHz response and are unleashed in Japan in five different color combos for about $10.

Not sure if that stand does anything apart from give you somewhere to sit the little fellas and ask them “should I stick toffee on the dogs back teeth again?”……………

NewLaunches

It can be such a chore.

When you’re on a roll, blogging, working, writing or being creative having to break off to grab a fresh cup-o-Joe.

This little Desktop Coffee Maker could keep you nicely caffeinated throughout the day.

You don’t need special single-serving sachets just regular ground coffee.

The coffee maker also comes with two black cups.  You can actually make two cups at once if you want to make a cup for a nearby office buddy as well - or this could win your gaffer over

Check with your manager that you can have one on your desk

then nip over to  Firebox, pay your £19.99 and go get wired!

Mr Jobs refuses to make one so Amex Digital has stepped in to give new MacBook / MacBook Pro owners the ability to watch and burn Blu-ray Discs.

You get a choice of black or white for this external drive but it is pretty much the Blu flavour of the portable Super Multi Drive that Amex Digital released back in July.

It’ll burn BD-RE / -R (single-layer) discs at 2x, while dual-layer versions will only toast at 1x; as for blank DVDs, they’ll get done at a rate of 4x to 8x.

It can be yours for $289.

Amex Digital

A pool table in the shape of a coffin seems a great idea to me and  Casket Furniture thinks so as well

Their Manhattan Casket Pool Table has a starting price of $4995 but that can swiftly rise depending on various options.

Some of these optional features include 14K gold ($5000), Maple Housing ($4,500) and a granite one piece playing surface ($18,000).

So whether you’re a Goth or just want to throw the bestest Halloween party ever…………..

………this table is dead cool!

Sorry - couldn’t resist.  It was difficult being dead-pan all through this.  Just glad I didn’t corpse…..

errmmm,,,,yeah…I’ll keep a lid on it.

T-Mobile has finally announced that the official U.K release date will be the 30th October.

Pre-orders for the Google G1 have already notched up 25,000 in the U.K already!

It seems a global buzz is defying the predictions of some analysts.

The HTC manufactured handset is expected to notch up 600,000 sales by the end of the year, which will give the iPhone some stiff competition for the expectant busy Christmas period.

In the words of Harry Hill……..

FIGHT!!!!!

Apricot Computers has returned to the UK with an entry into the netbook market.

Apricot’s “PicoBook Pro” is an 8.9-inch netbook boasting optional WiMAX support that will be priced at £279. Oh, and it’s tiny!!!!!

It runs either Linux or Windows XP, has a 60GB hard drive and boasts a battery life of 4 hours.

They even throw in 1GB RAM, wireless LAN 802.11a/b/g and a VIA processor, graphics and chipset.

The PicoBook Pro is light, weighing in at 0.98kg, gets a “generous-sized” keyboard, VGA output, Bluetooth, two USB 2.0 ports and a memory card slot.

Apricot Computers claims the device is green as it uses tree-loving ultra-low voltage (ULV)/1.2GHz and fast-booting in under 30 seconds.

It’s available to order now to be shipped on 1 November.

For £279 you get Linux pre-installed, XP will be charged extra.

Well, the age of people like me is slowly coming to an end.

Bandai corp unveiled the  at the Japan Robo Fair.

NetTansorWeb is made for home use and is controlled remotely via WiFi and comes equipped with cameras and motion sensors to avoid obstacles.

It can be used for surveillance and it can even send the video to a cell phone. So far we’ve heard this all before.

Apart from all that though, it’s able to read RSS feeds, update your blog with certain filters and process reviews (which includes answering simple questions from readers).

So, If someone writes a comment in which they desire to see a certain part of a picture posted in an article more clearly, the robot will parse the text and react accordingly.

The NetTansorWeb has a battery life of 2.5 hours and is sized at 190×160×160mm. Bandai plans to sell the Japan-only robot in December for $500.

Thankfully it can’t play bass………

………………yet.

Crunchgear