By Andrew Liszewski

The last moment announcement that the iPhone 3.0 firmware update will finally add A2DP bluetooth support means I can start looking at wireless BT headphones again. At the moment there’s a few contenders on the market, but as of today there’s now one more thanks to Sony announcing their new DR-BT100CX in-ear headphones. While the wires aren’t completely gone, you at least won’t be tethered to your cellphone while listening to music, and the small dongle hanging off the earbuds lets you control playback, volume and even answer calls. It’s also recharged via USB instead of some proprietary cable, and you can expect to get about 8 hours of use between charges.

According to the Sony press release, the DR-BT100CX headphones are available for order on the Sony Style Europe site, but I can’t seem to find them at the moment.

[ PR - New Sony noise cancelling Bluetooth® headphones produce flawless wire free audio ] VIA [ Tech Digest ]

By Evan Ackerman

This is Mashimaro. It’s supposed to be a rabbit, but it’s called Mashimaro because it looks like a marshmallow or something. It is, I guess, Korea’s defense against Hello Kitty, in that it supposedly has some kind of anime series behind it (that “puts a humorous light to toilet habits”) but it’s most often seen on products of dubious quality and usefulness. And here you go, it’s a Mashimaro MP3 player.

Measuring 54 x 38 x 38mm (about matchbox sized, just fatter), the 19 gram MP3 player comes with 2 gigs of storage. It has light-up ears that also serve as a five way controller. There’s a butt-jack for headphones as well a USB connector in there somewhere that charges an internal battery for up to 9 hours of playback. the Mashimaro MP3 player costs about $45, comes in white, sky blue, or soft pink, and you may or may not be able to get it at the partially translated website below.

[ Sorikom ] VIA [ PMP Today ]

This post is syndicated with permission from GamerFront.net

I’m a huge Van Halen fan, and was really stoked when I saw Hot For Teacher on Guitar Hero: World Tour (and You Really Got Me on GH II). I can’t remember how many tries it took to get through the drums on Expert, but it was a rush. There have been plenty of rumors about the band getting their own Guitar Hero title, joining Aerosmith and Metallica. Now it looks as though GameStop has officially let the cat out of the bag.

The page has since been removed, but for a short time the gaming giant was taking pre-orders for Guitar Hero: Van Halen on the Wii, 360, PS2 and PS3. If GameStop is to be believed, we can expect the game to drop on August 4th. Will I buy it? Yes. Will I be happy if I can’t export these tracks and add them to my regular GH: WT setlist. Of course.

[ Joystiq ] VIA [ GamerFront ]

By Evan Ackerman

Last week on BotJunkie, we kicked things off with video of a giant robot beetle, got some details on Mech Warfare at RoboGames as well as a look at a bot by Trossen Robotics, found some cute little autonomous robot crab kits, felt a weird mix of grossed out and fascinated with a new SquishBot concept from Boston Dynamics that’s based on a robot snail from MIT, learned about a new generation of military UAVs, got our LEGO on with some modular cubic bots that you can connect together to make whatever kind of robot you want, were saddened to hear that Pleo developer Ugobe has filed for bankruptcy, ran across some cute and cheap robot earrings as well as a cute (but not as cheap) robot bunny, listened to a robot made out of a boombox that plays tapes while driving over them, realized that the real reason making robots is fun is because you can terrorize your girlfriend with them, met Probo the robotic therapy elephant thing, celebrated Earth Day with the news that artificial human intelligence can be good for the environment and with a robot growing grass out of its head, watched Willow Garage’s PR2 robot demonstrating fine motor skills, imagined the possibilities with an entire PC stuffed onto a robot controller board, saw a couple different bots climbing walls with sticky elastomers, said hi to uncanny valley with a picture of a robot friend, ran screaming as giant spiderbots invaded Japan, and ended the week watching an autonomous robot race.

This week, we’ve already posted about a robot that begs for change, tiny little humanoid robot toys, information on designing micromice, robot jazz musicians, and a robot mower that calls for help with text messages.

Enjoy a special “oops I forgot so it’s actually Monday Bot With Stuff” edition Friday Bot With Stuff, after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

By Andrew Liszewski

I’m sure the thrill of riding a motorcycle can’t really compare to what it’s like to be in the cockpit of an F-22 fighter, but if you like to imagine your chopper has a jet engine and ejector seat, this new line of helmets from Diesel will at least make it look you belong in the Air Force. They feature a stitched ergonomic neck protector, a padded lining that’s removable and washable, an interchangeable anti-scratch & UV filtering visor and of course an aeronautical military design. They were created in association with AGV, who are already well respected when it comes to motorcycle helmets, and while there’s no pricing info, the fact that they’re emblazoned with the Diesel logo across the back tells me they’re probably not going to come cheap.

[ Diesel Motorcycle Helmets ] VIA [ Acquire & UberReview ]

By Andrew Liszewski

It’s not uncommon to find a real sword with a back-up dagger hidden in the hilt, so it only makes sense that the Jedi and Sith would keep a similar ace up their cloak’s sleeve. These new Duel Action Electronic Lightsaber toys available for pre-order on StarWars.com feature a miniature lightsaber tucked away in the hilt, perfect for stabbing, shivving or looking really bad-ass while eating an apple. They won’t be available until August at the earliest, but you’re welcome to shell out $46.99 now and just wait it out.

[ Sith & Jedi Duel Action Electronic Lightsaber ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Last Sunday we wrote about Steve Eves’ 36-foot tall Saturn V model rocket that he hoped would put him in the record books for being the largest model rocket in history. Well if you recall, the launch for this behemoth was scheduled for April 25, aka yesterday, and based on these photos that Gizmodo reader Ben submitted to their site, the launch looks like it was a complete success.

There’s even a video of the launch that I’ve included after the jump, and I hate to sound cynical, but it doesn’t actually look much more exciting than the Estes model rockets I used to launch as a kid. But I’m sure experiencing the launch in person would have been an impressive experience.

[ Gizmodo - Shots of the 36-Foot Saturn V Model Launch: That's a Big Rocket ]

Read the rest of this entry »

By Luke Anderson

[ The following concerns a paid campaign currently running on the site. ]

Is it warm enough outside for you yet? It’s finally in the 80′s here in the Midwest, so I’ve been spending a lot of time out in the sun. Don’t worry though, I’ve still found plenty of time to answer your burning questions over on the Laptop Experts site. Check out what I’ve been up to this last week.

Have you ever wondered why your hard drive isn’t the exact size that was advertised? Well check out the answer here. Drivers for 64-bit versions of Vista and Windows 7 are still pretty hard to come by, much to the dismay of one person. Overheating laptops is a common issue, especially if you’re wanting it to run completely silent. Finally, what do you do when you get a “video mode initialization failed” error?

If you haven’t checked out the Laptop Experts site, I’d definitely recommend it. Maybe you’ll find the solution to a problem that’s been bugging you. If you don’t see the answer you’re looking for, just submit your question and one of us will gladly do what we can to help.

[ Laptop Experts ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Given they’re smaller than the NES cartridges they’re designed to play, the recent onslaught of portable gaming devices that will accommodate an actual NES cart just look plain ridiculous. But the FC Mobile II might be taking things too far since it also comes with a set of wireless controllers and a convincing clone of the original Nintendo light gun. Now I’m pretty sure those accessories are only designed to be used while the FC Mobile II is connected to an external monitor, but bonus points will be awarded if those controllers can be used while staring at that tiny LCD display.

The FC Mobile II is expected to ship sometime in May with a price tag of just $60, but keep in mind you’ll need to have a collection of NES carts lying around, otherwise this thing is useless.

[ Technabob - FC Mobile II ] VIA [ Kotaku ]