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Suunto Core Extreme Edition Silver Watch Review

Posted: 02 Aug 2010 04:58 AM PDT

A few years ago Suunto first released the Core. It was to be a stylish, highly variable in design, multi-sensor watch for everyone. The concept seemed to combine everything people likes about Sunnto and multi-sensor watches together. The Core was an immediate hit, but like all complex computerized item, it has some issues. People complained about battery life, durability, etc... Like many other watch brands with similar watches, and similar problems Suunto got to work on fixing these issues. Now, several years later, the Suunto Core is fitted with a much better movement. Here is the relatively new Suunto Core Extreme Edition Silver. It is a limited edition version of the Core, with a look that reminds brand lovers of their popular big dive computer timepieces.


CrunchGear Week in Review: Test Pattern Edition

Posted: 02 Aug 2010 12:04 AM PDT

Why Is This Man Selling a Gizmondo in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn?

Posted: 01 Aug 2010 08:20 PM PDT

When you find a rare and beautiful unicorn, you see them mostly on the glens of Nellseven or the Seven Hills of Valpinore – not down in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. However, our buddy BrklynSurfer brought this new-in-box Gizmondo to my attention including the spam-gasmic extra text and a blurry-cam photo so blurry it could be mistaken for modern art. But friends, if this is a real Gizmondo it’s definitely in unicorn territory.

The Gizmondo is a handheld gaming console which was released by Tiger Telematics in March 2005.[2] It has GPRS and GPS technology. The electronics design was undertaken by Plextek Limited[3] and the industrial design by Rick Dickinson.

The Gizmondo sold poorly, and by February 2006 the company discontinued the device and was forced into bankruptcy.[4] In 2008, founder and CEO Carl Freer announced that he had reached an agreement with the liquidators, and planned to re-launch Gizmondo [5] as Gizmondo 2.[6]

I kind of suspect this is fake so I’m going to have to check this thing out, considering I live down by this guy. Anyone want to go in on this with me? We can all play it for like a week a year.

Review: Cadence 4-Bit Watch

Posted: 01 Aug 2010 03:59 PM PDT

Short version: Simple, geeky, and clean, the Cadence 4-Bit watch is stylish without being gaudy. Priced right at $99, if you still wear a watch, this is definitely one to take a look at.

Features:

  • Leather band
  • Japanese movement
  • Simple design doesn’t distract
  • $99 MSRP

Pros:

  • Improves your geek cred
  • Battery powered movement never needs winding

Cons:

  • Maybe too basic – lacks even a date window
  • No luminescence on the hour and minute hand

Full review:

A few months back, I received an email from Cadence, a small watch company based on the east coast, telling me about their 4-Bit watch, and I told you about it. Well, the representative from Cadence just sent me a 4-Bit watch to review, and I’m happy to tell you it actually looks better in person.

It’s a simple watch, lacking even a date display, but since the cell phone has become ubiquitous it’s a bit of a anachronism to even wear a watch, much less a complicated one. As such, I didn’t really find that I missed the date window — on those rare occasions that I do need to know what the date is, I can always look at my computer, or cell phone.

The 4-Bit watch uses a simply displayed binary notation to indicate the hour markers, instead of the standardized Roman or Arabic symbols that most watches use. You don’t necessarily have to know how to read it, since we’re all familiar (well, most of us) with telling time on analog face and can tell the time based on the just the location of the hands. It’s a subtle and tasteful way of advertising your geekiness without sacrificing function.

One thing that I found strange: there’s luminescence (the stuff that makes watches glow) on the hour markers on the outside of the face and the second hand, but not on the hour and minute hands. This makes it pretty much impossible to tell what time it is in the dark unless you have some other light source. Not a major issue, but something that might bother some people. I mentioned this to my contact at Cadence, and he said that it was conscious decision by the designer. Apparently that’s the price you pay for high style.

Conclusion: Regardless of my minor complaint about the hands not glowing, the 4-Bit watch is nice. It’s got just enough geek in it to make the design different from the rest of the watch world, but it’s still stylish enough to look good under a shirt cuff. Is it worth $99? That’s a decision that you have to make for yourself, but I like it. One other item worth mentioning if you do decide to order a Cadence 4-Bit watch; they recently changed their packaging to a more environmentally friendly bubble wrap pocket, instead of a cardboard box that you use once and then throw away. Good for them.

Product page: Cadence 4-bit wristwatch


GeekBeat.TV #16 – A New Kindle and Robots Making Pancakes

Posted: 01 Aug 2010 11:37 AM PDT

Amazon’s got a new Wi-Fi-only Kindle, Redbox video rental gets Blu-ray for $1.50 per movie, Google Earth will tell you the weather anywhere in the world, and the robot army is learning to make pancakes! Cali Lewis brings you all the tech news in GeekBeat.TV #16.

Elliptigo: The Bike for Runners

Posted: 01 Aug 2010 11:04 AM PDT

Are you a firestarter? A twisted firestarter? Because that’s what you’ll end up being if you watch this video for the Elliptigo, a “runner’s bike” that lets you experience all the cardio benefits of elliptical training with all of the benefits of looking like a real weirdo on your elliptical bike.

The video and product are a little old – there was a blip back in 2009 and then silence – which suggests not many people have tried these. I, for one, enjoy the free and easy feeling of biking but find it rarely gets my heart racing like a good run therefore this chocolate and peanut butter combo just might make for a great proposition.

Has anyone tried these things? Thoughts?


Sweet Merciful Fates: Telenoid R1 Spermbots Offer Telepresence

Posted: 01 Aug 2010 08:35 AM PDT


This strange, spermoid robot is a case study. Basically, its creators wanted to build something so “unlikable” that their other robots would be downright cuddly in comparison and, more important, they wanted to reduce the mental clutter associated with telepresence. So what you have is a spermoid robot with actuated face and tiny stub arms.

The device, when it’s finally launched in 2011 for about $8000, will track the user’s face and mimic his or her expressions. You can then put spermbot in a room and have people talk to it. I also suspect people will draw all over its pure white carapace.

Prof. Hiroshi Ishiguro designed the robot with his researchers at the ATR in Japan. The robot is 31 inches long and weighs a mere 11 pounds. It will haunt your dreams for all eternity and only the cold solace of a blade to the brain will save you.

via ATR via Plasticpals


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