Oh! Gizmo

By Chris Scott Barr

Remember that interesting BlackBerry watch that I told you about last week? Details were a bit sparse, but Allerta, the gadget’s creator, has finally released some of the more important details. The watch features a 1.3-inch full color OLED display, Bluetooth 2.0, glass lens, vibrating motor (for alerts) and a microUSB port for recharging. Firmware updates will actually be done over-the-air. Battery life is expected to be around four days.

As for which phones will work, it seems that any running BlackBerryOS 4.3 or higher will be able to install the necessary application. The device will ship in February 2010 and can be pre-ordered now for $149.

[ Allerta ] VIA [ GearLog ]

By Chris Scott Barr

Back in August we told you that Microsoft had signed an exclusive deal with Netflix, making the 360 the only console which could stream their movies. Well it would seem that either the exclusive deal was carefully worded, or was only for a very short period of time. Why? Because the company just announced that later this year the PS3 will get a similar treatment.

That’s right, PS3 owners will soon be able to stream the very same movies to their console, with the added benefit of not needing to pay for something like Xbox Live Gold. The downside is that in order to stream the movies, you will need a special Blu-ray disc. This will be provided free of charge to all Netflix subscribers who request it. A minor annoyance, likely in place due to the existing agreement with Microsoft. There’s no word on exactly when this is going to be rolled out, but you can reserve your Netflix Blu-ray disc now.

[ Netflix ] VI A[ Crave ]

By Andrew Liszewski

As long as your nightclub/hotspot of choice has plenty of black lighting installed you can now wear your glowsticks with the ‘Flash For Fun’ clothing from Diesel. Everything in the new line, which includes denim, tees, underwear and sneakers, is specially coated so that it will glow with unique patterns and illustrations when exposed to a black light. And the glowing designs are completely invisible in regular light, allowing you to wear them during the day without looking like a complete and utter tool. Men’s jeans seem to run around $150 (100 Euros) while tees are about $38 (25 Euros) but this time you’re paying for more than just a name.

[ Diesel Flash For Fun Line ] VIA [ Cool Hunting ]

By Andrew Liszewski

If you’ve yet to make the move from analog cassette tapes to digital audio files, the Tape Express from ION Audio will make the transition a bit easier for you. First of all, the device looks like an old-school Walkman, and if you’re still listening to cassettes on a daily basis, there’s a good chance you’re a master of that technology. Converting your tapes to MP3s is as easy as connecting the device to your PC via USB and hitting play. The included EZ Tape Converter software will take care of the rest.

And if you’re having a difficult time transitioning to this futuristic circa-1995 digital MP3 technology, the Tape Express also works like a regular tape player, allowing you to listen to your music the old-fashioned way. IWOOT appears to have it for just over $80, though they’re sold out at the moment.

[ ION Audio Tape Express ] VIA [ Retro To Go ]

Stanford University is already famous for its autonomous robotic vehicles, including Stanley (who won the DARPA Grand Challenge in 2005) and Junior (runner up in the DARPA Urban Challenge in 2007). This weekend, Stanford held an event to showcase their partnership with Volkswagen on a new $2 million autonomous innovation laboratory. On display was Stanford’s latest autonomous vehicle, a robotic Audi TTS named Shelley. Shelley currently holds the unofficial world speed record for an autonomous car at over 130 mph, and will be racing up Pikes Peak all by herself next year:

Stanford also demonstrated an autonomous valet parking system, where an almost stock Volkswagen Passat entered a parking lot, located an empty space, and parked itself:

We’ve got a bunch more details over on BotJunkie:

[ Pikes Peak Audi TTS ]
[ Autonomous Valet Parking ]
[ Volkswagen Automotive Innovation Laboratory ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Epoch’s new Sound-Touch Pudding is supposed to be along the same lines as those keychain bubble-wrap simulators, but instead of popping plastic bubbles it lets kids enjoy the feeling of pudding, without getting their hands dirty. Yeah. Apparently my parents were mistaken when they thought pudding was a dessert, and not a toy. As an added bonus when you touch the pudding it triggers a cute female voice, which is another area where my childhood puddings were lacking. Anyways, if you want one you’ll probably have to head over to Japan or have them imported once they’re available on November 21 for about $7.

[ Sound-Touch Pudding ] VIA [ Japan Trends ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Whether you can’t afford an iPhone (what are they? like $7 now with a 10-year contract?) and want to look like you can, or you need a prop for a photoshoot or something, iPhoneDummy.net will sell you a non-working iPhone 3G display model for just $19.95 with free worldwide shipping. The iPhone ‘dummies’ as they’re called feel and weigh exactly like the real thing, but don’t contain all the electronicy bits inside that are necessary for them to turn on, make calls, etc. And if you send them videos or photos of your iPhone dummy “smashing/crashing/trashing/microwaving” you’ll get 25% off your next order!

[ iPhoneDummy.net ] VIA [ The Gadgeteer ]

By Andrew Liszewski

With a resolution of just 640×480 I don’t think Vivitar’s new DVR 510 has what it takes to dethrone the almighty Flip, but it does have a few unique features that will make it stand out in an already crowded market. It’s waterproof up to a depth of 5 meters thanks to what appears to be a sealed housing that they’re incorrectly using in that product shot (isn’t the DVR 510 inserted backwards?) and it’s got basic night vision too making it actually usable in the dark.

The 2GB of built-in storage isn’t much, though more than enough when you’re only capturing VGA resolution footage, but that’s expandable thanks to an SD card slot. It’s also got a 1.8-inch LCD screen, TV-out, a sliding USB connector and is available now for just $49.99.

[ Vivitar DVR 510 ] VIA [ Chip Chick ]

By Chris Scott Barr

Toast is one of the more simple foods to make in the kitchen. It’s arguably only more difficult than boiling water. Of course there’s no good way to know exactly when the bread has gotten to that perfect brown color. Sure, you can fiddle with that little slider or or knob, but it never really does any good. Of course this wouldn’t be such an issue if you could actually see the toast as it’s cooking.

One designer decided that they would solve the problem by using glass sides to heat the toast. This would allow you to watch it as it cooks. Unfortunately the glass won’t actually get hot enough to toast the bread (and I’m really not sure how you’d get it out of there without burning yourself). It looks like this one will permanently be in the ‘concept’ stage.

[ Inventables ] VIA [ CoolestGadgets ]