blogsJam : Gizmos & Gadgets

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video Sure, it doesn't look like much thanks to the FCC's staunch aversion to photo glam, but that's iriver's Spinn PMP, a product which had us at a full, rigid swoon back at CES. While this would generally be good news, the model approved features a DAB .. read full article »

According to The Register, "Off the cuff remarks by Austrian government officials suggest that Skype conversations might be intercepted" via a backdoor or through the encryption keys. The comments were made at a recent meeting on lawful interception between ISPs and Austrian regulators. The off .. read full article »

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets There was a time when the world was more innocent and Lincoln Logs in elementary classrooms were a given, but now that teachers are looking to squash every ounce of fun between 8AM and 3PM (okay, so maybe we just had a rough experience or two), LEGO's taking the back .. read full article »

Filed under: Peripherals Mizanur Rahman is clearly sick and tired of traditional mousing devices. So sick and tired, in fact, that he's kicked out a rendering of the Project: Alien Mouse. In short, this decidedly gigantic mouse shoots for ergonomics by providing a place for your wrist, lower arm .. read full article »

Filed under: Robots All work and no play makes Robosapien a dull bot. All work and no play makes Robosapien a dull bot. All work and n0 play makes R0b0sapien a dull bot. All w0rk and no play makes R0101ap1en a dull b0t. A11 w0rk a1d n0 play m01es R0101ap1en a dull b0t. A11 101k 11d n0 p10y m01es .. read full article »

With the latest economic news showing a little bit more consumer confidence (how could it get must worse), we can all do our own little bit by buying a gadget this weekend. Perhaps it's just a cell phone charger for the car (hey, just did that on Wednesday), a new DVD to feed the player (that .. read full article »

With the latest economic news showing a little bit more consumer confidence (how could it get must worse), we can all do our own little bit by buying a gadget this weekend. Perhaps it's just a cell phone charger for the car (hey, just did that on Wednesday), a new DVD to feed the player (that .. read full article »

Being compared to one of the biggest marketing fiascoes corporate history, New Coke, is certainly telling. That's how Forrester Research views Windows Vista, as detailed in their latest survey on Enterprise Trends, released on Thursday.It is, however, a case of good news / bad news. According .. read full article »

What a brilliant idea by someone at LG to name their KF600—a phone we've covered before—the Bikini. What better way can you think of, besides more money, to convince your models to pose in Bikinis? None. None better. Just when we thought Samsung had the upper hand on shoehorning Korean .. read full article »

Filed under: Gaming, Portable Audio, Portable Video Okay, so we're trying not to judge this book by its cover, but Taijia's PSP-860S just reeks of chintzy. The handheld gaming PMP not only plays back the elusive MP4 file format, but it also snaps presumably lackluster still shots with its .. read full article »

They don't call it The Boy Genius Report for nothing! If you can't get enough data on staying current -- actually, out in front -- of the latest developments in mobile phone tech, then you must check out the BlackBerry Bold video that the Boy has posted. (Click on the link above the take you .. read full article »

I'll be the first to admit that having someone massage your hands is relaxing, especially after a long day of typing away on a computer. If you agree, a finger massage from this DanBall device may be just the thing to help melt away your stress. According to the manufacturer, it can give you up .. read full article »

It’s a relatively age-old question: do cell phones cause brain cancer and other bad things? Well, it seems no conclusive link has been found. But some white coats did find that EEG patterns in the gray matter slow down during cell phone usage: Although no studies have shown a correlation .. read full article »

Jaime del Val isn't your average flasher. Old-fashioned flashers lurk around in trenchcoats, praying on women walking the streets alone—but not Jamie. Nope, he is a new breed—a high-tech pervert that strapped a projector to his shoulders, powered it with a car battery and proceeded to walk .. read full article »

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets Not that mad scientists haven't figured out a way to convert waste heat into energy, but a team from Ohio State University has developed a new material that does the same sort of thing... just way, way better. The new material goes by the name thallium-doped lead .. read full article »

Life behind bars just got a little tougher -- adult prisoners in England and Wales are being banned by the Prison Service from playing computer games rated 18. (This is the UK version of "Adult.")Good behavior will allow offenders to play other games. However, eligible inmates would have to buy .. read full article »

Life behind bars just got a little tougher -- adult prisoners in England and Wales are being banned by the Prison Service from playing computer games rated 18. (This is the UK version of "Adult.")Good behavior will allow offenders to play other games. However, eligible inmates would have to buy .. read full article »

We're not sure if Brando's version of the external iPhone battery pack bests the others we've seen in performance, but it's definitely the cheapest by far. At $25, it's a whole $18 cheaper than the iPhoneck, and twice as costly as Macally's PowerLink. Is it any good? No clue yet. But it's cheap, .. read full article »

Here's a rather interesting take on USB flash drive design as it incorporates on of the more popular family names in Japan. The word "Sato" is an extremely popular family name in Japan, and Solid Alliance has decided to come up with a USB flash drive in honor of that name. I think this idea .. read full article »

Don’t get too excited, because there isn’t a ton to tell, or get here.  Wired got a screen shot of the iPhone 2.1 beta download screen.  Currently this version is designated for those ‘dedicated to iPhone OS 2.1 beta development’.  That should read ‘not you’.  Apparently, the .. read full article »

If you do not have the luxury of setting up an actual band, why not settle for Rock Band instead? It is far from the real thing, but at least a bunch of your mates will be able to get together and exercise that wild imagination. Of course, the "instruments" used aren't real, but here's a way to .. read full article »

The future of Vonage is certainly looking brighter. Vonage recently settled patent disputes, including one with Verizon. This week they secured a $215 million financing deal this week from Silver Point Finance LLC. Now, according to The Wall Street Journal, the company is about to bring in a new .. read full article »

Instead of carving out a flap on your front door for your pooch to enter/exit as it pleases, why not settle for the Plexidoor electronic dog door? After all, it helps keep your home secure while offering freedom to Fido to go out and relieve himself when necessary without having to wake you up .. read full article »

Ahhh, the products people build. This one cools your wrists while typing. Unless you’re the controller for a space shuttle launch or hitting the nuclear launch reset key, how many times will this thing come in handy? Plus, the added keyboard width might prove uncomfortable for the large .. read full article »

Filed under: Gaming Let's face it: you don't have nearly enough game controllers and accessories adding to the spaghetti that is your entertainment center. This USB M.A.D. Game Pad gives you the option to remove a little steering wheel for those moments when you're not driving about. Compatible .. read full article »

Man, to think that even fingers need some massaging! What next, just a toe massager (never mind those automated foot reflexology machines)? This DanBall device comes with three receptacles for you to stick three fingers in, and it will automatically apply an intense shiatsu massage to the .. read full article »

When Apple said it didn't care about cut and paste on the iPhone, it's possible that it meant "not right now, but soon, possibly." Because over at MacNN they're reporting that the developer firmware 2.1 may have hints of copy-paste within it. "In exploring the Localizable.strings entry under .. read full article »

The Amosu Ultimo Diamond is touted to be the most expensive iPhone in the world, retailing for a whopping $177,300. This high price tag is a reality no thanks to the 1,179 diamonds encrusted all over, weighing 16.18 carats. Since you're already forking out such a huge amount of dough for it, .. read full article »

3 has managed to snag more than 1 million in terms of sales of USB mobile broadband dongles in the areas of UK, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Denmark and Austria. They won't be resting on their laurels though, offering a new USB dongle this time round - the Huawei E160G. Available in either black or .. read full article »

"Spam King" Edward Davidson, who has been missing since escaping from a minimum-security work camp on Sunday, has been found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, apparently after first killing his wife and three year-old daughter in his home town of Bennet, Colorado. An .. read full article »

Reports are coming in: those who want an unlocked iPhone 3G but aren’t willing to sign up for any two-year AT&T plan will have to pay for the plan’s value up front. Assuming this is true, this represents an additional “fee” of up to $1,900 in the US. The ones really feeling the effect .. read full article »

In a continuation of Yahoo Music's move to send their customers over to Rhapsody, YM's shutting down their DRM servers as of September 30. Unlike when MSN's Music servers shut down and then re-opened, it's very unlikely that Yahoo's will do the same, seeing as there's a process to convert your .. read full article »

Filed under: HouseholdVOIP provider Vonage is doing a bit of reshuffling at the top, while putting the finishing touches on a $215 million infusion of cash from Silver Point Finance LLC. Dry enough? Perhaps, but we're sure Jeffery Citron, CEO and current interim chief executive of the recently .. read full article »

Summer is here, and Thanko is on a mission to keep things cool with their new Thanko Cooler USB keyboard. It works pretty much the same way as those bowling lane machines do, featuring air vents to keep those fingers and palms dry. Good thing the built-in fan comes with a switch on the front end .. read full article »

Last night, David Letterman had some expensive toys at his disposal. He checked out the Pleo, then he got to test drive a crazy, $1,000 remote control monster truck. Naturally, the docile, innocent Pleo wasn't going to fare well in such an environment. Oh, Letterman, you cruel bastard! read full article »

This waterproof MP3 player from Lancer is definitely not the first, but it is tough enough to function in freezing temperatures while boasting enough intestinal fortitude to take in spills and falls during your next snowboard adventure down a slope. It weighs a mere 25 grams and comes with a .. read full article »

Frankly, I've never heard of Journey before until this day, but I'm sure that there are some hardcore Journey fans who will be more than willing to part with their cash for this Journey MP3 player. It comes with 1GB of internal memory and boasts 11 of Journey's new songs in addition to 11 .. read full article »

This ought to be the geekiest belt buckle ever - the NES Belt Buckle. It doesn't miniaturize the parts of an NES into a board small enough to fit in a belt buckle, but relies on an entire NES instead to be the belt buckle. I'm not sure if having a beer guy would bode well, but otherwise it ought .. read full article »

Asustek Computer wants to include a new feature in their Eee PC range that would be more than welcome - a "whole day" battery life as well as Internet storage. Word has it that Asustek will also roll out software and hardware upgrades each month to fill gaps in the netbook market, but will that .. read full article »

Ichikoh Industries of Japan have developed a white LED-based adaptive front lighting system (AFS) which is smart enough to control the light angles of both left and right headlamps independently, which would work fine if my car could suddenly split up into two Batpods. The headlamp boasts a .. read full article »

Designer Joongoo Lee has dreamt of this Samsung Costume 2.5" hard drive concept that takes its inspiration from a ladies make-up compact located in most hand bags. It will fit comfortably into the palm of your hand, and I will even go out on a limb here and speculate that the Costume will be .. read full article »

Chinavasion might not manufacture any iPod-killing devices, but they do have what is touted to be the "thinnest portable media player" on the planet - the nigh unpronounceable CVSJ-1304. Measuring a mere 4.5mm thin, you get 4GB of internal memory, ASF format support, compatibility with major .. read full article »

We've noted in our iPhone 2.0 software review that iTunes' full image backup of your iPhone when you've made changes to what apps you've got installed can take a really long time. We're talking tens of minutes. If you're the type of person that doesn't really store anything important on your .. read full article »

And you thought Etch-a-Sketch was tough. Ian Cook made this portrait of a Chevy Camaro by by soaking the wheels of remote controlled cars in paint and then painstakingly driving them around on his canvas. He also uses full-size tires to fill in large blocks of color, but still, the results are .. read full article »

Filed under: Cellphones According to the oracle-like superbrains at J. Gold Associates, Google's Android OS and Nokia's Symbian will "combine to provide a single open source OS," sometime in the very near future... say, three to six months. Sure, Android is just about to launch on devices in .. read full article »

Not content with muddying-up the waters of the Eee brand, Asustek is apparently keen to "push out software and hardware upgrades every month to fill gaps in the netbook market." Though that sounds like a bad idea, at least one benefit may come of it: according to Digitimes, one of the upcoming .. read full article »

Filed under: Tablet PCs Poor xTablet. First it's used as a hammer and now it's submerged under water by an accented man in a wetsuit. In the latest test of the xTablet T8700, the guys over at RuggedPCReview swam gingerly with the machine all the while tapping away at its screen, amazed that it .. read full article »

This is the YachtPlus 40 Signature Series, a 134-foot ship designed by architects Foster + Partners. Unlike other superyachts, this one is not just a stunning rendering, but it's now being constructed in Italy and should be available to buy for a whole load of dollars in September. I would say .. read full article »

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Portable AudioIn a move which at best could be described as unsurprising, Yahoo! has announced that it's taking its Music Store DRM license key servers offline come September 30th... and freezing customers from ever registering their music with another computer. .. read full article »

In the above video, the famous tricycle scene from The Shining is reenacted with a WowWee Tribot and a couple of Femisapiens who meet some gruesome demises. It's pretty awesome. After the jump, check the original scene for comparison's sake. Yep, still creepy after all these years. [Boing Boing .. read full article »