The folks over at Tokyoflash tend to come up with some pretty inscrutable watches, but their latest creation, the Kisai 3D Unlimited, looks refreshingly simple. Its cube-like, "3D" time display may not be conventional, but its mirrored LCD doesn't require a degree in cryptology, either (the time displayed above is 12:34. See it?).
The watch also features a pretty sleek, stainless steel design, with a case measuring just 8.5mm thick, and a fully adjustable strap that can fit even the daintiest of wrists. If you're interested in grabbing one, you can choose from seven different colors for about $120 here.
Social influence-ranking service Klout released some interesting numbers yesterday showing BlackBerry users are more influential than Android or iPhone users. Take that, you smug RIM-hating jerks.
Klout reported that the average Blackberry user it tracks scored a 43.6. The average iPhone user was a 42, while Android users came in behind both at 40.6. The average score on Klout is 20. Justin Bieber scores a perfect 100, baby.
Klout tracks some 80 million people on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. It then purports to measure influence by looking at how one's posts on those networks affect others, and assigns a score from 0-100. It weeds out the bots, and places less importance on follower counts than it does action counts. For example, if you share a link, and many of your followers re-share it, or respond to it, or retweet it, that will raise your score. Likewise, if your network is made up of very influential people, that will also raise your Klout score.
Which sort of explains why BlackBerry users would win this thing. Who gets BlackBerrys? Corporate executives, often C-level types. My guess is that if you looked at the BlackBerry demographic on Klout, it would be an older and more professional user group than iPhone and Android with well-developed networks. Similarly, if you think about how many Android phones are free phones, it makes sense that a lot of those are going to end up in the hands of young people who haven't had the time or inclination to develop the kind of peer networks their elders have.
Taking center stage this year is Microsoft's Touch Mouse -- a multitouch gesture-based peripheral. Microsoft has finally made official its answer to Apple’s multitouch Magic Mouse: the Microsoft Touch Mouse for Windows 7.
The ergonomics are quite solid too—unlike the Magic Mouse, which is passable, but not great. As you can guess, the hatches dotted all over the mouse mark the touch area.
There's a new Samsung Galaxy S II rumor circulating the web today -- this time, it's emanating from South Korea, where specs and images of an LTE smartphone, reportedly codenamed "Celox," have just surfaced. According to its listing, the phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8060processor, sports a 4.5-inch WVGA Super AMOLED Plus display, and boasts 16GB of internal memory, with a microSD slot offering an extra 32GB.
The phone also runs on Gingerbread, rocks a 1750mAh battery (compared to the smaller Galaxy S II's 1650mAH cell), offers 800MHz LTE support (at up to 50Mbps upstream, 100Mbps downstream) and features an 8MP rear-facing camera, along with a 2MP sensor up front
These happy-looking automatons are currently jetting passengers around Heathrow airport without any supervision at a 25 mph clip. Man, when did the future happen? I totally missed it.
Created by BAA, these Ultra PRTs whiz around Heathrow's business parking lots independent of human intervention and have yet to experience what we call "an accident." Breakdowns are also extremely rare and the system has a 95% reliability rate.
Albeit it's Donut, but the Italian "I'm Watch" (yes, that's what it's called) has plenty of flair in its bright colors and 1.5-inch screen that you can preview emails and texts on, plus screen calls like a normal Bluetooth watch.
Some basic Android apps work on the I'm Watch, and you can browse photos and play music from the 4GB of onboard storage, for 48 hours (or 30 if you're using the Bluetooth features). It'll set you back a fair ol' whack though—around $350. Get it here.
The Bold 9900 is already standing proudly up for pre-order at Vodafone UK, along with a commitment to arrive at your doorstep in roughly a week's time if you take the plunge. However, just like the leaked T-Mobile USA pricing, it won't come cheap in the UK either: you'll need to swallow a £41 ($67) monthly price plan on a two-year contract before they'll give you the handset for free.
Alternatively, you can opt for a monthly contract at half that price and pay a daunting £399 ($650) upfront for the phone. Nevertheless, if you're a BB fan and you're convinced of this form factor, then we predict you'll get on well with 9900's particularly chunky keyboard, high-res screen and top-notch build quality
The data above shows the places that broke heat records by day and by night. You can practically see the entire continental US in each graph! According to the Daily:
Last month almost 9,000 daily heat records were broken or tied across the country. This includes 2,755 highest maximum temperatures and 6,171 highest minimum temperatures (nighttime records).
When Microsoft dissolved the eHome team that developed Media Center and renamed the MVP program to Windows Entertainment and Connected Home, there was some serious questions about the future of the product. While that question won't really be answered until September, when Microsoft is expected to reveal the feature complete beta at the company's Build Conference, a few leaked screen shots at TheGreenButton.tv show the same old Windows 7 Media Center running on Windows 8.
In terms of compatibility with Vista and 7, so there's really no reason for Microsoft to pull it. We're not the only one who'd be surprised to see new features though, as everyone we know seems to agree it would be silly to think otherwise.
Shake Weights were found to be pretty useless in the past, but BodyVib's weights could change that: they vibrate 2,160 times per minute, which is 10x faster than traditional ones.
A 30 - 50 minute charge is apparently good for 2.5 hours of lifting, and according to the company the 1.2mm amplitude is enough to amp your training by up to 50 per cent. I'm not too sure about those claims, but if you want to test them out yourself, go ahead—they cost from $1,060 to $1,190 for the 1.5kg, 2.8kg and 4.6kg pairs. Get them here.
On the right, you can see the iPhone 4. But look on the left! There's an iPhone 5 slim just like the one leaked in France! Or is it?
It looks real, but it is not. The fact is that it only took me ten minutes to make that image in Photoshop. It looks even more real than the alleged iPhone 5 image captured in France. Of course, that one is fake too.
That image was originally posted on Twitter by user Robin P, it was reposted on MacRumors Forums.
Happy birthday, World Wide Web! Hard to believe you're turning 20 already. It seems like just yesterday we were hearing the pitter patter of little dial-up, delighting at the words "you got mail," and getting frustrated when calling our friends and receiving that dreaded busy signal. You're all grown up now, helping people learn how to farm and become overnight pop sensations.
What, we wonder, will the next 20 years bring? At the very least, you'll eventually have to move out of your parents' basement, get a real job, and settle down. It's hard to pay attention to that kind of stuff, though, when you've got another year of sneaking beers ahead of you. So go ahead, World Wide Web, enjoy yourself tonight -- just make sure to be home by midnight.
Pioneer has announced their newest flagship digital AV receiver, the 9.1 channel, 140-watt Elite SC-57. It uses the most powerful amplifier of any multi-channel A/V receiver on the market. And yes, it runs Airplay.
The SC-57 uses proprietary D3 digital amplifier technology to drive nine channels at 140 watts each, simultaneously. The amount of powered supplied to each channel of traditional analog amps drops precipitously as more channels are connected. The SC-57 loses virtually none, meaning that you can listen to HD multi-channel Dolby soundtracks as ear-shatteringly loudly as you like. What's more, the amp uses fewer parts (causing less electrical leakage and ringing), a more direct signal path (for faster response times), and an advanced 3600 thermal dissipation circuit board to minimize sound distortion.
The SC-57 wirelessly streams your entire iTunes library and, if you don't use Apple, also features DLNA certified 1.5 streaming via an Ethernet connection. It even connects with Bluetooth to stream content from Androids and Blackberries.
One the video side, the SC-57 uses Marvell Qdeo™ processing technology to not only convert analog video signals to HDMI but also scales video signals up to 1080p/24fps. It will even optimize the video signal depending on what kind of TV you have—Plasma, LCD or Front Projection. Get it here.
The Carzor (credit card-shaped razor) can actually be bought—and for only $17, too. The razor/mirror tucks into wallest for scraggly-faced emergencies in the office or public bathroom.
Bizarrely, you can also choose to "scent" your Carzor, choosing between mint, sandalwood, lemon, ocean or orange strips to moisturize and freshen you up. I suppose there's no harm in smelling like mint when ditching the homeless/hipster look, but ocean? Get it here.
Put your pig-tail light bulb aversions aside, because Philips has just won the DOE's $10 million L Prize Competition for the creation of a decidedly non-curlicue 60W equivalentLED lighting solution. The company was named the first winner in the 60W replacement bulb category at a Washington DC event.
It's taken three years to find a winner that could meet the high standards set forth by the DOE, specifically "ensuring that performance, quality, lifetime, cost, and availability meet expectations for widespread adoption and mass manufacturing."
Requirements further stipulated that the 60W incandescent killer use less than 10 watts of power, and provide energy savings of 83 percent. If Americans replaced all of their 60W incandescents with Philips' little winner, the DOE estimates savings of $3.9 billion in a single year. The bulb is expected to hit shelves as soon as early 2012.
Vivitar may have bad-mouthed newfangled digital cameras last year, but that hasn't stopped it from selling them. The company's latest is the 690 HD, a compact, Flip-like camcorder that records 720p video and is rated for use up to ten feet underwater.
You'll also get an SD card slot for storage and a 2-inch LCD 'round back, but you'll have to make do without other niceties like an optical zoom or HDMI port -- compromises that shouldn't be too hard to take considering the $60 price tag. Get it here.
Naked and Famous, the Canadian jeans company, has remixed their standard pair of selvedge denim by coating it in glow in the dark resin. Wear it and you'll look like you work at a nuclear plant gone awry...or Kanye West.
The jeans are charged up by light (and look great in it too) to become obnoxiously bright in the dark. Even the selvedge edges glow in the dark! The jeans, as quality denim tends to do, will fall, crease and mold into your wear patterns—which will create unique glow in the dark lines and fades tailor made for your bootie. Who cares if you look like the green panted weirdo in the club, you got style man! $240 here.
How seriously is Apple considering the possibility of adding inductive charging to its line of iOS devices? Seriously enough to submit some crudely drawn images to the USPTO, at least. The company's application for "Using an Audio Cable as an Inductive Charging Coil" surfaced today, featuring some interesting solutions to the problem of inductive charging
Another proposed system also puts the earphones to work -- though without the need for that giant charging post. Instead the headphones slip into an acoustic charger, which cause their speakers to vibrate, creating a current that charges the device. As ever, just because a patent application surfaces doesn't mean a final product will ever see the light of day -- and these methods (particularly that big charging post) do seem like a long way to go to shave off the precious millimeters that inductive charging traditionally brings. But hey, Apple's all about the svelte devices, and stranger things have certainly happened.
It's not expected until this fall, but Apple's already been giving the thumbs up to iOS 5-compatible apps. Mashable's app spells out "iOS 5 compatibility," while Camera+ skirts it with "compatibility with that upcoming OS That Must Not Be Named."
iOS 5's beta 4 has been available to developers since late-July, and the fact that Apple is already approving apps that support the new OS suggests that perhaps we don't have too much longer to wait. (Though obviously these app updates are based on iOS 4.3 rather than the iOS 5 SDK).
With the iPhone 5 expected to launch in either September or October (depending on which rumor you wish to believe), it wouldn't be unfeasible to hope that iOS 5 won't arrive too much later.
You can never have enough HDMI ports, what does that gaming rig you just put together have? Two? And that MacBook Pro of yours doesn't have any at all. But, if there's a DisplayPort hanging around, you can add a pair HDMI jacks with an adapter from Zotac.
This little dongle turns any DisplayPort or Mini Displayport into a dual HDMI hookup, with support for two 1920 x 1080 monitors -- provided your graphics card can handle it and the HDMI group doesn't kill the product first. Price $50.
