Gadgets Future

Believe it or not, there are actually still folks out there who design websites and applications for devices other than the iphone. It may sound like crazy-talk to Apple die-hards, but it’s true.

The latest company to recognize that people do use other phones is Godiva, which has teamed up with Digby to create a mobile application that provides BlackBerry users with secure shopping and quick access to the chocolatier’s bestsellers. Featuring full-color images, Godiva Mobile integrates with the phone’s address book and BlackBerry Maps to simply on-the-go online purchases and identify the nearest retail store for in-person browsing.

To download Godiva Mobile, simply fire up your blackberry browser, visit www.godiva.com/mobile, and follow the on-screen instructions.

Via I4U News.

Online mega retailer Amazon isn’t at all happy with a new tax law passed in New York state. So much so, in fact, Amazon is letting loose their legal department and have launched a lawsuit against the northeastern state to have the new law declared illegal. The nexus of the dispute? It’s all about collecting sales taxes.

A new law recently passed in New York demands that online retailers now must collect sales tax for purchases made by residents living in the state. Called by some state officials, as the “Amazon Tax, ” this new tax law has Amazon officials saying, “No thanks,” so to speak. Amazon lawyers have written in their complaint to the New York State Supreme Court that the new law violates the equal protection clause of the New York state and U.S. constitutions by intentionally targeting the online retailer. Also declared in the filing, Amazon states they do not have a “substantial” physical presence in New York and therefor cannot be held to collect taxes as they don’t own or lease property in the state.

We’ll be watching to see where this legal battle goes as it may have implications for all online retailers depending on the outcome. In 1992 there was a Supreme Court case (Quill v. North Dakota) that restricts states from requiring companies to collect taxes from customers unless the company has a physical presence in that state. So at least by way of legal precedent, this new tax law in New York might not stand up in Supreme Court.

Read more at CNET.

Going for driving lessons can be a pretty harrowing experience for first timers, but with the advent of technology kids no longer need to sneak into their father’s rides in the middle of the night just to experience driving some stick. Drivers Ed Portable for the DS aims to provide a fun way for new drivers to study the written portion of the driver’s license exam, with the aim to get across the message of just how serious road rules really are. It could turn out the other way though, as kids might think that driving is like a video game and place less value on lives while behind the wheel.

Drivers Ed Portable will feature two modes: Test and Train. Test mode will include sample tests for the written part of the driver’s license examination for all 50 US states, 13 Canadian provinces and territories, as well as Spain, Italy, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. User progress will be tracked, so the player will know where they need to improve their study in order to be successful in their actual test. Train mode will include three fun and educational mini-games targeted to new drivers.

Drivers Ed Portable will be out sometime this fall in supported countries.

After an early announcement and months of waiting, Lenovo’s ultraportable IdeaPad U110 has finally arrived. Not only can consumers order one today, but we actually have one in-house. I’ve only been able to test it out for a few hours now, but here are a few photos to get you excited for the upcoming review.

Just to get the basics listed–the system starts at $1899 and comes in both red and black. It runs a Core 2 Duo L7500 processor and has an 11.1-inch display. It has no internal optical drive, but ours came bundled with a USB one–it’s not red, but it is covered in Lenovo’s soft-touch material (found on the X300’s palm rest). Our model uses a 120GB 1.8-inch disk (no SSD option, yet) and it weighs in at about 2.3 lbs.

That’s it for now, except I can say that the notebook is incredibly cool. After spending lots of time with the X300 (which is about the same price if you account for the X300’s standard 64GB SSD) I didn’t think the U110 would be too exciting, but it’s quite interesting. It’s very different from a ThinkPad, but it still has a lot going for it. Gadget lovers will appreciate all the extra attention Lenovo paid to it (texture LCD cover, touch sensitive back-lit controls, intricate heat vents, etc.) and road warriors will really like the 11.1-inch size. As for the price and practicality, we’ll look into those in the review.

Baz Luhrmann, the creative brains behind Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge! is innovating again: in an exclusive deal with Apple, the director has arranged for a series of video podcasts (I’m sorry, I can’t bring myself to use the term ‘vodcast’ - it always sounds like there’s something stuck in my throat) from the set of his new film, Australia.

The podcasts will feature Aussie actors Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman talking about making the film and are part of a bigger promotion, which includes the chance for students to win a set visit to Oz to learn all about movie production. Talk about the trip of a lifetime!

If you’re interested in watching the v*dcasts and entering the competition, see the Set to Screen series on Apple’s site for more details.

Via The Australian.

Remember the Rocket Belts we brought you last year? Now the same company, Technologia Aeroespacial Mexicana (TAM) is planning a possibly even more dangerous personal flying machine: The Rocket Helicopter.

We don’t know what’s more scary: the rotor blades whirling inches above your head or the rockets stuck to the end of those blades to drive them. The designer, Elio Parruca, says that this is one of the safest and simplest types of strap-on chopper; because there is no engine to generate torque, no tail rotor is needed to stop you spinning. He seems to know what he’s talking about. The photo you see above is of Parruca, aged 19, with a jet engine he built himself.

The idea isn’t new, but then, neither was the idea for a rocket belt. It’s just that nobody else ever built a cheap and reliable one until TAM came along. The idea of a rocket ‘copter was first mooted in the forties, but our favorite prototype is that from daredevil Eugene Gluhareff, made in the sixties. He built his own rotor blade and powered it with a single pulse jet. On the other end was a counterweight.

If you have ever heard a pulse jet in action, you’ll know how loud they are. You’ll also appreciate the cojones on Gluhareff, who had this terrifying device spinning above his skull. According to Parruca, the jet became soft with the heat and the huge centrifugal forces tore the melting metal apart.

Given TAM’s track record, the Rocket Helicopter has a good chance of coming to market. As with the rocket belt before it, I’m happy to give it a try. But again, you can go first.

Product page [TAM via DVICE]

My Beating Heart. Ostensibly a relaxation device, it is in fact a cynical arrow aimed straight at the hearts of new age saps, the kind of people who might believe that angels actually help them to find a parking space. As if the promise of love isn’t enough, the people behind My Beating Heart have thrown some technology into the marketing mix. Not any tech, mind you, but some of the most up to date buzzwords to be found: Haptics and Artificial Intelligence.

My Beating Heart employs new advances in computer science, Artifical Intelligence, and haptic design. But we also developed the technology inside each Heart by combining the practice of meditation and yoga with software and hardware development. This lead us to design a small micro-computer to run of out specially made software.

The $50 pillows ‘beats’ to a randomized, algorithmically controlled pattern, mimicking a human heart in a relaxed state. The needy whiner’s own heart will synchronize, relaxing them in turn. It is especially suited to those who sleep alone:

When hugging My Beating Heart, the physical heartbeat may remind you of hugging a purring pet or loved one.

Right now, of course, the pillow is being hawked at the Mother’s Day gift market. My mother will not be receiving one. She will be getting the same thing I buy her every year, the same thing that our family has used to relax for generations: Gin and cigarettes.

Product page [My Beating Heart]

by Nilay Patel, posted May 1st 2008 at 8:02AMEngland is already drowning in CCTV cameras, so it looks like Big Brother is starting to get creative in finding ways to deploy more: local councils are now outfitting crossing guards with camera-equipped stop signs. Yeah, crossing guards. With cameras in their stop signs. The cameras in the £890 ($1765) poles are fairly conspicuous, and the hope is that it’ll curb aggressive driving around crossing zones, which resulted in 1,400 incidents last year. There’s no word on how anyone plans to measure the effectiveness of the program, but we’re certain the crossing guards who get passed over for the poles and end up with the hat-mounted cameras also being deployed will have a few choice words about things.

• Read
• Permalink
• Email this
• 52 Comments

Filed under: Misc. gadgets

by Darren Murph, posted May 1st 2008 at 7:00AM
Startup ZeeVee isn’t out to flood the market with yet another ho hum media streamer, it’s out to change the way you look at ‘em. The June-bound ZvBox ($499) plugs into one’s computer (VGA) and sends on-screen content to every TV in the house over existing coaxial cabling. Put simply, the unit enables users to view any kind of internet media right on their television with no subscription fees or wireless dropouts. Aside from bringing internet video over, users can also access any other computer application (web browser, built-in DVD player, etc.) right from their set. In order to handle said tasks, the box comes bundled with a wireless ZvRemote / Zviewer, but those comfortable with managing their own desktop won’t be bothered with any fancy interfaces. Suffice to say, those looking to easily pipe their Media PC recordings to the family TV will certainly find reason to take notice. Head on the past the break for a few more details.

Gallery: ZeeVee’s ZvBox streams your PC to your HDTV

Put simply, the ZvBox ports your computer desktop to every HDTV in your house by creating its own channel (RF) that is picked up by the tuner packed within your set(s). Here’s a few tidbits to clarify how the thing actually works:

• PC’s content piped through VGA, which is then sent through coaxial cabling to every TV in your home
• VGA pass-through ensures your PC monitor continues to operate normally
• Audio (including Dolby Digital 5.1) is inputted via USB
• No equipment is needed at the TV end for reception; all signals are received from the TV’s QAM-capable internal tuner
• Users can opt to view their unadulterated desktop
• Otherwise, the Zviewer lays out customizable launch icons to take you directly to Netflix, Hulu, ABC.com, YouTube, MOJO, KoldCast or any other destination you choose
• Users have total control of their PC from their television; watching back PVR recordings, playing DVDs, viewing photos, etc. is all possible
• ZvBox possesses no fan, thus there’s no noise
• ZvRemote controls volume / channels, has built-in touchpad for interfacing with PC
• Optional ZvKeyboard coming this summer (no price disclosed)
• Shipments will begin in June, consumers can pre-order exclusively from Amazon beforehand

Quite honestly, this looks like the device to bridge the gap between living room TVs and internet / OTA-accessible content. Rather than being locked into material available on a number of other STBs, the ZvBox is only limited by the amount of content accessible via the web, your computer’s DVD player and your PC-based OTA TV tuner. Needless to say, that’s an awful lot of media. We’ll be getting our hands on one and giving you the rundown just as soon as we can.

• Permalink
• Email this
• 35 Comments

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

by Nilay Patel, posted May 1st 2008 at 6:34AM
Just hold on a little while longer, Canadian Zune-lovers — it seems that your wait is almost over. A job listing just popped up on the Vancouver Craigslist, looking for a “Microsoft Zune Program Coordinator” who will “represent our client Microsoft on their launch of Zune in the Canadian marketplace.” The job calls for applicants to be available between May 12 and June 20, so if it’s legit — and we hope it is, just because we prefer to believe no one is sad enough to fake this — it looks like the Zune will finally roll into Canada in just a few weeks.

It might be in a slightly smaller posse, though: the crew over at ClicZune recently took a gander at Microsoft’s Canadian Zune promo page and noticed that the Zune 30 and the green flash Zunes are conspicuously absent. (Also missing is the recently released red Zune 80, but that was announced after the pages in question were made.) It’s hard to tell what this means — do Canadians hate green things? Are the 30 and green on their way out in the US as well? — but hopefully we’ll get some answers in just a couple weeks.

[Via ClicZune, thx Penny]

Read - Craigslist ad
Read - Microsoft Canadian Zune promo page

• Permalink
• Email this
• 27 Comments

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video