By David Ponce

It’s no secret Apple fetches some healthy margins for its products. How healthy, exactly? Check out the above graphic, showing Apple averages 40%, with RIM far behind in second place at 20.7%. Of course, they don’t have the highest revenues since margins aren’t everything, Nokia still sells a lot of phones ($17billion in the first half of the year) but with an 11.3% margin they still managed a lower operating profit than Apple.

[ Ismashphone ] VIA [ BoingBoing Gadgets ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Whether you’re really unskilled at BBQ’ing, or have just always wanted a pair of tongs with a built-in LCD display, these digital BBQ tongs look like a half-decent accessory for what little there is left of Summer. Sensors in the tip measure the meat’s internal temperature and sound an alarm when it’s ‘done’ according to one of the seven meat-type presets you’ve selected. It of course also includes a built-in LED flashlight for grilling in the dark or during a solar eclipse, and runs off 2xAAA batteries which are actually included. $39.98 from Taylor Gifts.

[ Digital BBQ Tongs ] VIA [ 7Gadgets ]

By Andrew Liszewski

These mini Street Fighter joystick cellphone straps are really pushing the boundaries of what you can hang off your phone. One one hand they’re monstrous, and pretty much negate the years of technological research and development that have gone into shrinking cellphones, but on the other hand, by pushing the right combination of buttons, you can trigger an authentic Street Fighter voice clip! “Hadouken!”

The joysticks straps appear to be available in Ken, Ryu, Dhalsim and Chun Li versions, and before you get all excited about importing them, just keep in mind they’re each limited to 1,000 pieces (~$13 each) and will probably sell out well before they reach North America.

[ Street Fighter Cellphone Straps ] VIA [ Joystick ]

By David Ponce

There are levels to nerdship and we’re pretty sure that spending countless hours building your very own miniature replica of the Tumbler from Batman Begins and The Dark Knight qualifies your for a lifetime achievement award. Ebay user “tully712″ did just that but at least had the presence of mind to try and capitalize from his obsession by putting up plans to his creation for auction. The starting price was $29.88 and with 13 hours left, bidding is unfortunately only up to, well, $29.88.

Should you be the lucky winner of this auction you will receive a zipped copy of the files by email, granting you a license to build this yourself although not ownership of the design itself. We’re not certain about the legal implications of this user profiting from a car actually designed by a multi-million dollar cinematic production, but we doubt anyone really gives a damn.

Keep reading for a video of the Tumbler Go-Kart in action and a little photo gallery.

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By Chris Scott Barr

When you think about upgrading your computer, the first things that usually come to mind are the processor, memory, and if you’re a gamer, the graphics card. In the days where you only had spinning hard drives to consider, you didn’t really gain much from upgrading to a new one, except more storage. Sure, a few extra MB of cache didn’t hurt, but it really didn’t make a huge difference. With solid-state drives becoming increasingly popular, we thought we’d take a look and see just how much you would benefit from upgrading to one.

OCZ was kind enough to send us one of their new Summit series drives to test out. Specifically, the 64GB version. Yes, 64GB doesn’t seem like very much storage, especially when we’re already hearing whispers of 2.5TB hard drives. Then again, I stream my music and videos from a network drive, so aside from a few games and applications, I don’t need tons of space. I might feel more comfortable with a 128GB or 256GB one, which is why they have those options available.  Hit the jump for my full review.

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By David Ponce

Freecom is selling this 2TB external hard drive for 350 euros. What’s great about it is that it can only be accessed if you happen to be carrying one of two AES-encrypted, RFID-enabled, credit-card sized keys on your person. No key, no access.

The bad part now. For one, 350 euros is a lot of cash for 2TB. But worst of all, it’s out of stock, and no ETA.

Bummer. Still, you can check out the product page and obsessively refresh every day until there’s stock if you’re seriously that concerned about privacy.

[ Product Page ] VIA [ Crunchgear ]

By David Ponce

We’ve been chronicling Russia’s Art Lebedev studios’ products for a long time. Ever since the Optimus Maximus keyboard, actually. Now we’re hearing about the Navigarius GPS concept. Its features are nothing out of the ordinary, it’s a GPS mapping device that attaches to your windshield like so many others, has touchscreen controls, USB, microSD, cigarette lighter adapter and a thin, detachable stand.

But it’s round.

Really, that’s its claim to fame and to be honest, we think it looks swell. If you’re going to be staring at this thing while trying hard not to get lost, it might as well look half decent. Of course, like many of Art Lebedev’s products, this is a concept that may or may not go into production. Pester them long enough and it might become reality, like with the Maximus Optimus. Just don’t expect it to be cheap.

Once again, keep reading for a few more pictures.

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By Chris Scott Barr

If you spend most of your workday at a computer like I do, then you’ll want to make sure you’re as comfortable as possible. A comfortable chair, a nice big monitor to look at and a good keyboard/mouse set are probably the most important. Today, Logitech announced their new Wireless Desktop MK700 keyboard and mouse, which are aimed at being both comfortable and convenient to use.

The new MK700 keyboard features a new type of key that they’re calling “Incurve keys.” These concave keys are supposed to keep your fingers in the right place and have softly curved edges to be more comfortable when moving from key to key. Other features like a cushioned palm rest and longer key travel should make things more comfortable in general.

So what makes this set so “convenient” you say? Well you’ve got things like an LCD dashboard that lets you know things like the status of Caps Lock, Num Lock and your battery life. They’re also using 2.4GHz wireless technology to ensure a strong connection (up to 30 feet away), because no one likes pressing a key and having nothing happen. The real kicker is the battery life. You can expect the batteries in your mouse to last for up to a year, while the keyboard can go up to 3 years without needing changed. Oh, and that’s on 2 AA batteries each. I hate changing out batteries, and measuring the time between changing them in years instead of months should be enough of a selling point for some people. Look for the MK700 bundle later this month for around $100.

[ Logitech ]

By David Ponce

The Thiphone is a strap that holds your iPhone onto your thigh. Really, that’s all it does, and it’s $30. It’s brilliant, especially if you’re into multiple car pileups and looking particularly douchey as you wait for your plane. Why these two suggestions? Well, that’s because that’s exactly how the device is being marketed. The Thiphone is perfect “For Commuters or Truckers” or “For Frequent Flyers” says the website. We couldn’t agree more. And as if to further emphasize the douchiness feature, the model displaying it is wearing sun shades indoors. He’s just missing three popped collars; someone alert their marketing department asap.

It comes in three colors, uses a suction cup to hold your device (technically making it work with anything that has a flat surface) and angles your cellphone for optimal viewing enjoyment.

Hit the jump for one more picture (with douchey model).

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