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Vertu to sell 4 golden cell phones in Japan (price: $215,000 each)

Posted: 26 Mar 2010 02:27 AM PDT

Nokia pulled out of Japan, one of the world’s biggest mobile markets, as early as November 2008. But because this country is quite wealthy, the Finnish company decided to conquer Japan with their luxury brand Vertu [JP], starting operations in September 2009. Initially the plan was to market handsets priced between $16,000 and $50,000.

But today Vertu Japan announced a “golden” handset with a price tag of 20 million yen (it’s made-in-Japan gold lacquerwork, to be more exact). That’s $215,000, with the price including free domestic calls. Buyers will be able to choose between four equally priced models: Kinko (pictured above), Kikusui, Nanten and Daigo (pictured below). The different designs stand for the different seasons of the year.

The occasion for these super-limited editions is the first anniversary of Vertu’s flagship store in Ginza, Tokyo next month. Vertu plans to sell just four of these handsets worldwide (more pictures over at Keitai Watch).

Via Keitai Watch [JP]

Rocket candy: DO NOT EAT

Posted: 25 Mar 2010 07:48 PM PDT

So this is candy made of sugar, spice, and stump remover. Click through to see a Furby eating it. Also, Jeri Ellsworth is the coolest geek girl in the whole wide world.

Apple patent watch: sun-lit displays

Posted: 25 Mar 2010 07:36 PM PDT


Apple has submitted a rather mysterious patent application, which appears to be a set of methods for lighting a display with external light sources — among which the sun seems to have the most… prominence. We all know how little patent illustrations actually resemble the devices which proceed from them, so I wouldn’t take these weird-looking line drawings as accurate representations of future apple products. Instead, try to wrap your mind around what they’re supposed to do.

It seems that Apple is looking at ways of leveraging existing light sources to make its displays visible. Not by internal reflectance, which is how e-ink is visible in sunlight, but by piping and reflecting the light to the edges or back of the display.

The applications of the technology are enumerated in the patent:

…these electronic devices may not be used effectively in certain physical settings, such as, for example, where the external or ambient light is brighter than the illumination of the display screen. As a result, a user may not be able to view the information on the display screen sufficiently. For example, a user may have difficulty viewing the information presented on a display screen of a laptop computer while outdoors on a sunny day.

Therefore, it would be beneficial to provide apparatus and methods for collecting external light to help illuminate a display screen of an electronic device.

As for the actual device, they give a few options. One would have a reflector that shines light toward the back of the screen, another would have a “light harness” which I suspect would be a way of gathering light in one area and releasing it in another, and the third method I can’t seem to figure out.

Would it work? Who knows? Chances are someone thought of something cool and their manager at Apple said “patent that sucker.” At least Apple admits that their stupid glossy screens suck in the daylight.

[via The Register - "Apple display patent enslaves sun," lol]

“Text 2.0″ eye-tracking reading companion: crazy or crazy awesome?

Posted: 25 Mar 2010 06:20 PM PDT


It’s an interesting time to be in the e-book business. E-readers in their many varieties are sussing out the perfect user experience, and the race to the bottom might end up with students packing a Kobo into their bag instead of 20 pounds of expensive textbooks. When it comes down to it, though, you’re selling a mostly static experience — as indeed books have been for a long time. Interaction in books is the realm of children: pop-ups and coloring books. But the move to new and interesting devices has some people excited about the future of text — and this Text 2.0 idea may just change how you think about interacting with books.

The idea is that it tracks where you’re looking, and based on a number of factors, triggers one of several context-sensitive actions. An eye-tracking interface is an entirely new beastie, however, and somehow I’m not convinced that real life usage will be quite as easy to collate and react to as this video seems to suggest.

Now, there’s a whole world of UI implications that follow from the ability of a device to track where you’re looking. A whole system of navigation and file management controlled by gaze and blinks — the possibilities are endless. Remember the EyeWriter, a project allowing a quadriplegic artist to sketch things with only his eyes? But I digress. What’s on the table now is this Text 2.0 implementation of eye-tracking.

While I appreciate what’s on offer, I have to wonder whether it’s something human beings would really appreciate. The simple fact is this: we don’t interact with things using our eyes. That’s what our hands are for. And that’s why the next generation of books and magazines is going to be both rich and tactile. While certainly you could train yourself to “click” with your eyes, I’m skeptical of the preferability of that over a simple touch-based interface. When the eye is the only or best input (as with the EyeWriter) then it’s a go, but for all others, any action that might be taken with the eye (getting a word definition or something) could be done just as easily with a quick gesture — and there’s much less room for error.

Speaking of error, I’m also concerned about the level of precision necessary. This thing has to be able to tell whether I’m looking at the last letter of a sentence or the asterisk above it; that’s probably more than you can ask of a pair of tiny bezel cameras with fixed-focus lenses. The technology they’re using to develop Text 2.0 costs upwards of $10,000 — of course, that could come down or the software be ported to more cost-effective hardware, but can it really do what it says it can do and still be affordable?

Well, I can see I’m coming off as a sort of tech pedant here. This isn’t a ready-for-market product, it’s a cool concept being worked on by some very smart people, and I can think of quite a few applications for this right off the top of my head. Kids learning to read would be a perfect example — a couple of these in a remedial reading class would probably raise scores significantly. But they clearly have some hurdles ahead of them if this is to be anything other than an academic project.

In the end, though, I think these guys are a little too far ahead of the curve, if anything. If gaze detection is to play a part in any future UIs, I get the feeling that the meta-text interface will follow from established user behavior patterns in a broader UI scheme, rather than being specific to a single purpose, as they are in Text 2.0. That all will be seen, however — as soon as we get our eye-tracking Chrome OS iPad XPs.

[via Wired and H+]

UFC (along with SpikeTV) embraces the Internet, launches Ultimate Fighter Web site: Full streaming episodes, Twitter & Facebook integration

Posted: 25 Mar 2010 05:30 PM PDT

All that talk of UFC not "getting" the Internet? Yeah, it’s time to put that idea to rest. The company’s longtime TV partner, SpikeTV, launched ultimatefighter.com earlier today, a place where mixed martial arts fans can watch the entire Ultimate Fighter library online. For free. Let that sink in—still think Dana White hates the Internet? In addition to serving up all 231 fights in the show’s history, fans can also interact with each other on social networking services like Twitter and Facebook. Not a bad job, really.

The site mirrors MTV Networks other "verticals," like those associated with The Colbert Report and The Daily Show. Full episodes can be streamed, or fight fans can pick out individual fights from the 11-season library. Perhaps you fancy seeing Kimbo Slice’s first fight again? Or maybe you’re a newcomer to the sport, and want to see how Forrest Griffin made his name? It’s all there for you, free of charge.

Oh, and the videos are fully embeddable. Handy.

The site serves advertisements à la Hulu, so be prepared for the occasional U.S. Marines commercial. Gotta pay the bills somehow, folks. Web sites don’t build themselves.

One thing to note: season 11, which begins next week on SpikeTV, won’t be available on the Web site for a little while. The current rough plan is to make the episodes available after the season’s conclusion, to sorta bridge the gap between season 11 and 12. In the meantime, though, fans can check out the Web site after every new episode that airs on TV to watch exclusive coverage of said episode. Terribly constructed sentence, yes. You know, things like post-show analysis (Dana White chips in after the first episode), unseen footage, etc.

And not just "meh, lame" bonus footage, either. We’re talking full fights that, for whatever reason (time constraints, I’d imagine) never made SpikeTV in their entirety.

Twitter, darling of the Internet, has been integrated into the site pretty visibly. On the right-hand side is a small box that monitors UFC-related hash tags, including #UFC, #TUF, #DanaWhite, etc. This might not seem to exciting on a random Thursday afternoon, but during UFC events—pay-per-views, The Ultimate Fighter, SpikeTV Fight Nights, and so on—the trash talking should really fly.

Just as easily accessible is the show’s Facebook page, where you can view photos and post comments about, I don’t know, how amazing GSP is, or whether or not you think Frank Mir is a jerk. (He is, but he’s the greatest jerk in history.)

The very idea of UFC giving away fights is pretty much unthinkable, when you consider that three-quarters of the company’s revenue comes from pay-per-view buys. In the kick-off meeting this morning, SpikeTV explained that it took "many meetings" to convince UFC brass to go along with the idea of putting fights—any fights!—online for free. We all know that UFC actively pursues people who go offer illegal streams of their events—the company just recently sued the owners of two Web sites that were offering illegal UFC 111 streams —so finally making at least some of its content available online is a move that should be applauded. Remember, this is a company that lived and died (well, mostly lived these days!) on its pay-per-view buys, so giving away fights for free may felt a little strange at first for Dana White & Co.

And now we wait for Frank Mir to choke out Shane Carwin, setting up Lesnar v. Mir II. That has pay-per-view buys written all over it.

Dog high chair

Posted: 25 Mar 2010 05:00 PM PDT

Grabble grabble grabble! GORF GRABBLE!

Satisfying a mutual desire for companionship, this high chair permits your dog or cat to accompany you at the dinner table. The high chair clips securely to tables up to 2″ thick and its height adjusts without tools to elevate your pet to near eye level.

Grabble grabble! Product Page! Strange woman who lives alone! Ford to City: Drop Dead! Grabble!

via RedFerret

DIY Segway skateboard. Yeah, you read that right: DIY

Posted: 25 Mar 2010 04:37 PM PDT

I know of only one person who would be able to build this thing – my buddy Paul – but I would totally grab a beer and watch him solder everything together and then ride around on this thing like a little freak. Heck, if you try to build this, tell me and we’ll come by and film you riding it. Seriously.

The instructions are pretty complex and you need quite a few parts, including a powerful motor and a go kart wheel.

It uses an Arduino board and an motor controller to handle the self-righting systems and requires a pretty heavy motor and battery. The self balancing circuit is right here

Flasks disguised as electronics let you get your drink on like a blogger

Posted: 25 Mar 2010 04:07 PM PDT


Yeah, should be a good match, they’re on a streak right now. Okay, let’s see: row 122…123…124. Here’s me, and you’re Q, right? All right. Not bad seats, huh? Friend of mine usually goes with his wife, but they had to go down east for some reason this time around. Oh, there’s the peanut guy. HEY GUY! Yeah – whoop, nice throw – AND A BEER! There we go, okay… what’s he saying? Ten bucks? Are you kidding me? Man, give me a break! Fine. God, they really chisel you here, don’t they? Hey, aren’t you going to get one? No? What – are you going to take my picture with that knockoff Casio you’ve been swinging around? Wait a second, is that – MY GOD, IT’S FILLED WITH WHISKEY!

I hope you’ll excuse that little flight of narration. It just seemed like that’s how it would play out.

I mean, I’m not some big drinker, but I am very poor. I can’t afford six-dollar beers, or eight-dollar shots of my favorite middle-shelf liquor! These faux-electronics flasks are pure genius, if you ask me. Yeah, they’ve probably been around for a while at joke shops, but hey, why not order a couple online? The Bevburry is only $11. I would consider these things to be a very practical move. Economical.

And also, you can get tore up.

[via DVice and Geekologie]

Samsung to expand NX series with more compact NX5?

Posted: 25 Mar 2010 03:30 PM PDT


The internet was abuzz with Samsung NX10 rumors for quite a while last year, due to it simply being displayed at a trade show behind glass, with no specs or information at all. I don’t know why more companies don’t do mysterious stuff like that, it starts the equivalent of a wildfire on the internet. At any rate, the NX10 came out and is apparently only the first in a whole line of NX-mount cameras, the next of which will be the NX5, if this slip-up on a Samsung flash compatibility notice is to be believed.

The NX5 is rumored to be a competitor with the Olympus E-PL1 (which we just reviewed), just as its big brother competes with the likes of the Panasonic G2 and GH1. Note these are all digital shutter cameras, not to be confused with DSLRs, though they share some similarities, most important of which is interchangeable lenses. Here are the rumored specs for the NX5:

  • 14MPx CMOS sensor
  • ISO 100-3200
  • 3FPS burst shooting
  • Built-in flash and obviously a shoe for the flash shown
  • 3″ LCD (640×360 likely)
  • 720p/30 H.264 video
  • Mono audio :(
  • HDMI/AV/MicroUSB connection
  • SD storage

So you’re looking at less megapixels, no EVF, and a much smaller LCD, all likely results of a smaller body. The NX mount will be the same, though, so lenses are inter-compatible.

And the rumored pricing:

NX5 + 30mm = $599
NX5 + 18-55mm non-OIS = $549
NX5 + 20-50mm non-OIS = $499 (late 2010)

Could be interesting. Can’t wait to get the official word on all this.

[via 4/3 Rumors]

Build a better mousetrap

Posted: 25 Mar 2010 03:00 PM PDT

So the saying goes, “Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat down your door”. If that is true, Mark Fuller is about to be a really busy guy. Check out the mousetrap that Mark created using CAD, and a 3D printer.

Mark created this gravity powered humane version of a mouse trap as part of a prototyping class at the Pennsylvania College of Technology. As you can see in the video, the mouse climbs into the trap after the bait, and then tips the device over, closing the magnetically sealed door. What’s even cooler about this demonstration is that Mark designed the piece, and then printed it out in about six hours on a 3D printer. Very cool stuff. Be careful watching the video though, because that music will get stuck in your head.

[via Make]

Wherein the LOTR Blu-ray is compared against HD broadcasts and deemed inferior

Posted: 25 Mar 2010 03:00 PM PDT

The Lord of the Ring Blu-ray discs will be released on April 6, but a few lucky nerds already have access to it. And they don’t like what they see.


Take a look at this first image posted by AVS Forum user eric.exe. It’s from the 23Mbps VC1 Blu-ray encoding. Good, right? Well check out the 17Mbps MPEG-2 version below and compare the sharpness, not the color as the user notes that it was probably skewed in the broadcasting.


Notice anything different? Load both in seperate tabs and compare the two. Gandalf’s face should look a bit more smooth, almost plasticy in the Blu-ray version. The same goes for the wooden door frame. It looks blurry in the Blu-ray release where the HD broadcast version has a lot more detail.

But the difference can clearly be seen in Gandalf’s beard with the Blu-ray version showing a lot of extra noise. There are about a dozen more examples posted on AVS Forum if you need more proof.

Sure, these are the things that only nerds with advanced A/V setups will see and care about, but god bless them. Without their watchful eyes, who knows what type of crap movie studios would release. [via The Blu-ray Blog]

WhiteyBoard: An instant whiteboard for your instant office

Posted: 25 Mar 2010 02:34 PM PDT

While I’m not sure what I think about the name, I do like WhiteyBoard’s game. WhiteyBoard is an “instant” whiteboard made of plastic that weighs less than two pounds and slaps right up on your wall without screws. Instead of those standard, crazily heavy and expensive whiteboards you’re used to, you simply buy a 18-inch, 3-foot, or 6-foot WhiteyBoard, slap it up, and start brainstorming.

The creator, Jason Wilk, went to Staples one day and found a 6×4 foot board for $300. Convinced there was a better solution, he basically made a sheet of plastic that you can draw on with dry erase markers. You can cut it to any size, it’s “child safe” because it won’t fall off the wall, and they ship anywhere in the US. The Lexis (2×3 feet) costs $15, the 4×6 foot Bertha costs $25, and the 12×18 inch Sonia costs $10.

Shipping is free.

Update – WTF


Here are the cached prices before I posted this. I’m checking with the company as to what’s up.

Spell what’s on your mind

Posted: 25 Mar 2010 02:30 PM PDT

The Mind Speller is a communications tool from crazy world. Designed by Belgian researchers, the device takes an EEG scan of your brain activity and “writes” letters based on feedback.

The idea isn’t new, but this interesting implementation is. It looks like they did their first video demo last year but it seems the product is now more than just a proof of concept.

It detects and interprets P300 event-related potentials in the EEG-signals of a person that is selecting characters from a display presenting alternate rows and columns of characters. P300 potentials are often used as metrics of cognitive function in decision making processes. However, currently available P300 devices are large, expensive and uncomfortable in use. The Mind Speller, on the other hand, uses a portable device, not larger than a matchbox, connected to a cap that contains electrodes located at specific positions on the head to capture the relevant EEG-signals. The electronics in the matchbox are developed by imec and Holst Centre. It contains imec and Holst Centre’s proprietary ultra-low power 8-channel EEG-chip to process the EEG signals, a commercially available low power microcontroller that digitizes the EEG signals and a low power 2.4GHz radio that transmits the EEG signals wirelessly to a nearby PC. The data is interpreted on the PC by powerful and robust signal processing algorithms developed by the team of Prof. Marc Van Hulle at the lab of neuro- and psychophysiology of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.

You presumably can’t buy this thing anywhere but they’re working on new models that use dry electrodes, thereby allowing paralysis victims the ability to use the tool without much mess or fuss.

via MedGadget

Shadow eBike makes spokes and wires a thing of the past

Posted: 25 Mar 2010 02:15 PM PDT

While not the first bike to do away with spokes, the Shadow might be the first to see mass production. And its certainly the first to be wireless. Yes, that’s correct. Wireless bicycles.

The Shadow’s designers determined that most eBike malfunctions occur at connection points or due to loose wiring. So hey! Why not just get rid of them? Instead, the braking system, throttle, pedal-assist system are all controlled wirelessly.

The housing within the wheel well holds all of the necessary electronics.

Specifications:

  • HEIGHT: 1.1 meter
  • WIDTH: .61 meter
  • LENGTH: 1.7 meter
  • TIRES: 26 inch WEIGHT: 59 lbs / 26 kilos
  • MOTOR: 500W or 1000W
  • RANGE: 50km Single Battery / 100km Dual Battery
  • CONTROLLER: Daymak Drive™
  • POWER CHARGER: 36V – 110V/220V
  • INCLINE: 20° Single Battery / 30° Dual Battery
  • TOP SPEED: Limited to 32 km/h

Only 300 are being made in the first run, so if you’re looking to get one of these Canadian constructions, get your fifteen hundred bucks out now.

via [RedFerret]

Alienware M11x gallery and first impressions

Posted: 25 Mar 2010 01:30 PM PDT


We’ll have a full review of Alienware’s pint-sized gaming machine, but in case you guys haven’t seen enough pictures of it (or there just wasn’t enough bokeh in those other sites’ shots), I’ve put together a nice little gallery for you. I’m happy to take more pictures too if you want close-ups of this or that.

I literally just took it out of the package a few minutes ago, and I have to say my first impressions are very positive. They clearly knew what they wanted to do this this thing. The build feels very solid, the screen is bright, the lighting isn’t as over-the-top as I’ve seen on other Alienware models, and a quick Geekbench run gives it an 1889, which is significantly faster than some other slim-and-lights I’ve tested recently.

Please go ahead and comment if there’s anything you’re wondering about in particular, and I’ll try to answer those questions in the full review. In the meantime, enjoy these artistic shots of this very good-looking machine. I stacked it on a 15″ MacBook Pro there for size comparison — it’s very compact.

Wanted: Comment shills for a “large project”

Posted: 25 Mar 2010 01:06 PM PDT


Are you in the Harrisburg area? Are you able to type in English? Well some weird company wants you to shill for them, offering $50 for your trouble. Here’s the post:

We are an internet marketing company that increases market awareness for our clients and there is a large project with a March 29th deadline, requiring 50 comments for each brand.

All you need is an internet connection and excel. No posting is required, only the blog post URL and comment is needed.

The estimated time for 50 comments is 3-4 hours.

50 comments – $50

We will offer future work to quality comment writers.

This is an ideal opportunity for students, stay-at-home moms, or anyone with writing skills looking to make extra money.

Seriously: is this actually still happening? First, no social site worth its salt will be affected by “50 comments,” a fairly small number in the first place. I’m amazed that anyone would try this in this day and age but $50 is nothing to sneeze at, especially given the economy. Instead of flaming us in comments, get over there and put your skills to good use, readers!

Note: I’m not condoning this. I think it’s ridiculous.

Infinity Ward defending the cost of MW2’s DLC

Posted: 25 Mar 2010 01:00 PM PDT


To say we were a tad flabbergasted that Modern Warfare 2’s 5 map pack DLC costs $15 is about right. We weren’t exactly outraged. It’s just a video game after all and really doesn’t matter that much. But $15 is a bit much for five maps with two of the recycled from previous Call of Duty games. Infinity Ward’s Creative Strategist Rob Bowling disagrees. He calls it an investment. Well, Creative Strategist is just code for Public Relations so he kind of has to say that.

NowGamer

A lot of people think they should be getting the old maps for free. Don't you think 1200 MSP is a little bit expensive for what is essentially three new maps?

Rob,

I have no doubt that anyone who downloads this map pack is going to get their money's worth. They're going to feel their investment is worthwhile. Because if you're playing Modern Warfare 2 like myself or many other people do every night, that's actually going to give you a bunch of new mileage and a bunch of extra gameplay – to really explore and discover them and to really, you know, come up with new tactics and experience them in a whole new way. Regardless of what the price is you're going to feel your money's well-spent.


The $65 Creation Tech netbook. You know it’s going to be great!

Posted: 25 Mar 2010 12:20 PM PDT

I’m not sure how useful this will be, but it sounds interesting. Chinese manufacturer Creation Tech is selling a 7 inch ultra mobile PC for $65. The specs aren’t very impressive, but for that kind of money what do you expect?

I guess it’d be ok for doing your computing in the cloud, but the CTEB7G wouldn’t be useful for much more then internet browsing. The thing is powered by a VIA 533MHz processor, has 128mb of RAM, 2GB of flash storage, and sports an 800×600 display. You’ll also have built in wifi, 3 USB 2.0 ports, and it runs Windows CE 6.0. Bad news though, this particular machine is only available in China at the present time. Perhaps it’ll show up at your local drugstore in those wire bins near the check stand. Or WalMart.

T-Mobile MyTouch to get wire-free charging

Posted: 25 Mar 2010 11:50 AM PDT

PureEnergy is selling their WildCharge wireless charging solution at select T-Mobile stores and will be offering a special charging pad for the MyTouch, T-Mo's popular Android phone. This is one of the first wireless charging solutions out there and, in addition to the Palm line, one of the first carrier-approved wireless charging solutions. Click through for the presser.


Need HP black and color 60 ink? Buy this printer.

Posted: 25 Mar 2010 11:43 AM PDT

Skoofy — a site I’ve never seen before today but appears to be a dog-themed Woot clone — has a nice deal on an HP printer. It’s just a basic Deskjet model (D2660), but it’s only $28.99 and comes with brand spanking new ink. Normally the printer sells for $49.99 with additional ink cartages fetching $31.99 for a combo black and color pack.

Do you see the deal here? The damn printer costs less than the ink cartages. Of course the deal is only good for a limited time and expires 11 hours from the time I wrote this, but the moral of the story is that HP ink is ridiculously overpriced. [Skoofy via deals.Woot]
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