Oh! Gizmo

By Andrew Liszewski

Sony’s Bloggie cameras were introduced at CES earlier this year, and while I wasn’t exactly blown away by the lowest-end PM5 model, I have to admit I was quite enamored with the slightly more capable CM5 with its optical zoom and flip out LCD. But here we are just 8 months later and Sony’s already introducing a third member to the Bloggie family with the Bloggie Touch.

The most obvious upgrade over the previous two models is a 3-inch LCD touchscreen display and a new UI allowing you to ‘touch and flick’ your way through photo galleries and video clips. It’s got 8GB of internal memory in lieu of an SD card slot which is kind of limiting, and according to the Sony Europe press release that’s enough for about 4 hours of 720P video, in 29 minute chunks. Obviously at full 1920×1080P that will be considerably less. It’s also got the requisite flip-out USB connector for offloading photos (12MP) and clips, a much appreciated HDMI port and should be available by early November with pricing TBA.

[ PR - Sony Europe - Have fun shooting Full HD video and 360 Videos with new-generation Bloggie™ Touch by Sony ‘All-in-one’ web sharing solution with camera, software and Personal Space online service ] VIA [ Gizmodo ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Even though my current commute has me barely rolling out of bed in the morning to get to work, were I required to leave my home I think this half-scale Porsche 356 would be the funnest way to get there. While it’s probably designed with kids in mind, the “6 and up” rating means there’s really no limit to who can drive it, and the seat and pedals are adjustable to accommodate us taller types. It’s got a composite chassis and body shell and a range of gas engine options starting at a 50cc motor and going up to high-performance go-kart engine. Your choice of manual or automatic of course, including reverse.

Each half-scale Porsche 356 also includes disc brakes, electric starter, working lights and horn and rack and peanut pinion steering. The Harrington Group website doesn’t appear to be too forthcoming with prices, but given you can even customize the color of the body, the interior and the leather, you can bet they’ll come at a premium. But I’m sure they’re far cheaper than a real Porsche 356, and from the looks of it you can probably squeeze this thing into the elevator and your office at work, saving you from having to pay for parking every day. Sold!

[ Half-Scale Porsche 356 ]

By Chris Scott Barr

We’ve written about the shoes from Back to the Future II on more than one occasion. Mostly because it’s one of the few “futuristic” technologies that might have a chance of being made by 2015. A little while back we showed you a custom shoe that was made using an Arduino board. It was cool, but not exactly practical for wearing. So who do we look to for a real pair of these self-lacing shoes? Nike.

Yes, the company that “made” those sneakers in the movie have actually patented the idea. Specifically, they’ve received a patent for:

An article of footwear with an automatic lacing system is disclosed. The automatic lacing system provides a set of straps that can be automatically opened and closed to switch between a loosened and tightened position of the upper. The article further includes an automatic ankle cinching system that is configured to automatically adjust an ankle portion of the upper.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Andrew Liszewski

I don’t know the entire back story behind this little contraption, but apparently the mailbox for this home in Independence, Missouri is located at the bottom of a steep hill designed to separate their property from traffic. Taking the long way to fetch the mail involves a two block walk, which probably sucks when it’s raining or snowing. So instead of just building a staircase down the hill they decided to totally over-engineer the solution with this mailbox tram system.

The rails run right up the hill, over the bushes and through the quaint picket fence, and it would be particularly cool if the system was motorized allowing them to retrieve their bills and Netflix discs at the flick of a button, though I don’t think it is. Personally I would have gone with the Mr. Rogers miniature railroad solution, running the track right into my house and along my bed so I would only have to roll over to get my Tiger Direct catalogs.

[ Apartment Therapy Unplggd - Yodelayheehoo: Automated Mailbox Ski Lift ]

By Andrew Liszewski

I usually only expect to find rock-disguised speakers in the pages of a Hammacher Schlemmer or Sharper Image catalog, built and designed in some name-less overseas factory. But this little monolith comes from Creative under their Sound Blaster brand. You can use it as a standard speaker if you feel like running cables to your backyard (not that you have to use it out there) or it will communicate with Creative’s Sound Blaster wireless music system, making things a whole lot more convenient.

Now since it doesn’t use wi-fi you’ll need one of Creative’s $99.99 USB wireless transmitters in order to send music to the speakers, but thankfully they’re currently throwing one in for free if you pony up the $199.99 for the Wireless Rock. Other notable features include a weatherproof design allowing you to leave it outside 24/7 and a removable rechargeable battery good for 6 hours so you don’t even need to run a power cable.

[ Creative Sound Blaster Wireless Rock ] VIA [ SlashGear ]

By David Ponce

Don’t think it’s a good idea to ask why it’s taken this long. Chalk it up to yours truly being some kind of moron. Nevertheless, better late than never, so here you have it, our Facebook Page. We’ve also inserted a little widget in the sidebar, but we’re not sure just how many people ever really look there… so I’m making a post about it so you can all luxate a finger in your excitement to go follow us on Facebook.

What are we going to do with it? Well, aside from reposting our articles, there will be the occasional giveaway that will be announced there only. And maybe you’ll see photos or videos of your favorite editors getting into increasingly embarrassing shenanigans. Or maybe not… we like to keep an aura of pretend professionalism around here. We’ll see, and we welcome suggestions.

In the meantime, Go Press That Button!!.

[ OhGizmo!'s Facebook Page ]

By David Ponce

We’re told that it’s the first time HP’s Envy 14 Beats has seen a discount. Here are the details:

HP direct store has released HP ENVY 14 Beats edition 14.5-inch Laptop starting at $1,249.99 – $50 off Coupon Code = $1,199.99 with free shipping. Also includes Beats lightweight on-ear solo headphone, an audio console that lets you customize output through a powerful equalizer and a red backlit keyboard.

You can customize the Envy 14 Beats with Intel Core i5 (-450M, -520M) or Core i7 with Quad Core (i7-720QM, i7-740QM, i7-840QM). The Envy 14be (Beats Edition) is one of the thinnest and lightest quad-core Laptops for its size, mesuring 1.16-inch thin and 5.69 pounds.

[ Get Your $50 Coupon ] VIA [ LogicBuy ]

By Andrew Liszewski

I still hold the iPod Shuffle in high regard as one of Apple’s greatest creations. It immediately replaced my larger iPod which had taught me the novelty and joy of just randomly shuffling through my music. But as these diminutive players grew in capacity, allowing us to carry larger chunks of our music collections, being able to occasionally call up a specific track was a missed feature. So that’s why I’m really enthralled by the new iPod nano which is kind of a fantastic hybrid between the Shuffle and the iPod Touch.

Gone is the previous generation Nano’s buttons, vertically oriented landscape display and camera (which I’m pretty sure won’t be missed) and in its place is a square multi-touch capable screen large enough to accommodate 4 icons. While it’s a bit larger than the new iPod Shuffle (also announced today) it’s 46% smaller and 42% lighter than the previous generation Nano, which always seemed odd and out of place to me. Also gone is the ability to watch videos which makes sense given the tiny display, and again, it’s another feature that probably won’t be missed. The multi-touch display gives you full access to your music as well as other useful functionality like an FM radio, connectivity with Nike’s accessories and even the ability to view tiny photo slideshows. And instead of a gyro inside to detect when you’ve rotated the device, you can manually spin the screen’s orientation with a couple of fingers and a twisting gesture.

Available in 7 colors starting next week the new multi-touch iPod nano comes in 2 capacities: 8GB for $149 and 16GB for $179.

[ iPod nano with Multi-Touch ]

By Andrew Liszewski

A few weeks ago the internet was all abuzz over Sharpie’s ‘new’ liquid pencil (sorry Sharpie, I used an equally disappointing liquid graphite pencil 5 or 6 years ago) but I’ll choose this Frosting Deco Pen from Kuhn Rikon over a faux-permanent pencil any day of the week. Whether I use it for decorating cupcakes, signing birthday cards or endorsing checks. Powered by a couple of AA batteries the Frosting Deco Pen is compatible with most store-bought frosting (Duncan Hines, Betty Crocker and Pillsbury) and includes a filling plate that snaps over the tub making the pen easy to fill. (From what I can tell it works like a syringe.)

The Frosting Deco Pen kit comes with 3 refillable cartridges allowing you to swap in different colors as needed and 6 different tips for creating those standard frosting designs. $30 available directly from Kuhn Rikon. (KUUUUUUUHN!!!!!)

[ Kuhn Rikon Frosting Deco Pen ] VIA [ 7Gadgets ]