Its Electronica

This seemingly toy-ish Ferrari is in fact a cellphone. The dialing pad is located underneath the car where the axle should be. The idea is interesting, but I agree with my friends from techdigest that I do not like the idea of talking where the back axle is. It’s purely psychological of course, but why do you think that the original ipod was white and shiny like a bathroom? Price: 96 British pounds.

• 2.2” display (260k colors)
• Music player
• Video player
• 1.3 Megapixel camera
• Memory slot (which type?)
• USB connector

Nikon’s adventure in the world of compact digital cameras has not ended yet with the introduction of two more models - the Coolpix S52 and the Coolpix S52c. Both of these cameras will feature Nikon’s stunning wave-surface camera body accompanied by advanced features designed to produce incredible pictures with ease. They also boast 9.0 effective megapixels, a 3x optical zoom, 38-114mm Zoom-NIKKOR lens, Optical Vibration Reduction (VR) Image Stabilization and manual sensitivity settings as high as ISO 3200, helping you take (supposedly) stunning photos without much hassle.

The COOLPIX S52 and S52c feature Optical VR Image Stabilization technology, which compensates for camera shake as well as ISO capabilities up to 3200, which provide more opportunities to capture fast moving subjects and greater flexibility and clarity when shooting in low-light settings. These cameras also boast an AUTO ISO control, which automatically selects the optimal sensitivity across a range between ISO 100 and ISO 800, and up to ISO 2000 in High-Sensitivity mode.

Providing even more control and freedom in photo taking, the S52 and S52c come with a 3x Zoom-NIKKOR lens designed to capture brilliant detail and vivid colors in every photo and a huge 3.0-inch high-resolution LCD screen allowing easy sharing and viewing of images. Also, these new cameras are built on Nikon’s innovative EXPEED digital image processing system designed to enhance noise reduction and improve the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio.

The S52c comes with WiFi connectivity, allowing yo to send images through email directly, letting friends and family alike view your latest photos without having to tote a laptop around with you wherever you go. The Nikon Coolpix S52 and S52c will retail for $249.95 and $279.95 respectively, and will be available throughout the US this May, so now would be a good time to start breaking open that piggy bank.

Press Release

Imitating the looks of a F1 Ferrari, this red blushing beauty is a car phone with a difference. Like the phone that masqueraded as a cigarette box, this one’s got a Ferrari hangover. It F1 features a 2.2″ LCD touchscreen, MP3, 3GP, and MP4 file support, it can be expanded via a transflash card and it weighs 82 grams. Besides these specs and really hot looks, there’s little else going for the phone. Spending ₤96.54 ($191) on this seems a tad too ambitious.
[Source]

Microsoft is reportedly looking into opening retail stores. Selling expensive stuff to consumers has a lot to do with hands-on experience and branding and that is exactly what Microsoft hopes to boost. Microsoft products currently sell through a channel of partners and retailers, but you can imagine that there’s no “Microsoft Experience” there… One can imagine that software, video games, consoles, music players plus accessories will be part of the mix. Now what about releasing a music player or a phone that’s cool?

BD Touch is a technology from NetBlender that lets your iPhone talk to your Blu-ray player over a WiFi connection. Essentially, it is just a set of tools which allow some fancy remote control of the player using the iPhone interface (including accelerometers), but the list of possibilities looks intriguing.

First, applications could be built to leverage the data from a Blu-ray player, building an iTunes like catalog of movies into the iPhone, for example, and offering title recommendations. Far more exciting though, is the possibility of sending movies direct from disk to the iPhone, ready to play. The demo video on the site is laughably fast, showing a transfer which takes just seconds (if you’ve ever compressed a regular DVD for use on an iphone, you’ll know how ridiculous this is) but the idea is very attractive.

In fact, it seems that the infinitely changeable iPhone interface, together with WiFi, makes it a perfect universal remote. There are a few browser based ways to control your Mac already, but I’m talking full home automation controlled by iPhone. Why not? It’s just software, right?

Introducing BD Touch [NetBlender]

In yesterday’s post about Blockbuster’s alleged video streaming box, I complained that if we’re forced to use a new set-top box for every service, our living rooms are going to fill up pretty quickly. Joel Johnson from BoingBoing gadgets agrees, reasoning that the "The Web Is the Only Set-Top Box That Matters."

One new box, though, might change the game. The Myka is a set-top BitTorrent device which dispenses with proprietary technology in favor of open standards. Unlike vendor-specific hardware like Apple TV and the forthcoming NetFlix/LG venture, Myka works with anything the web has to offer, downloading and playing MPEG2, h.264, WMV and, of course, DivX media.

The beauty of this box is that it takes the nerd-factor out of BitTorrent, giving you access to all the content (licit and illicit) available on the P2P network without requiring advanced skills. The Linux-based box connects to the TV using HDMI, composite, S-Video or SPDIF connectors and hooks up to your internet connection via ethernet or WiFi. An internal hard drive (80, 160 or 500 GB) takes care of storage, and all the user has to do is point the device’s browser at a torrent tracker file and click.

I know what you’re thinking: There’s no way the content providers will allow this pirate box on the market, right? Wrong. Myka already has the official BitTorrent service on board, which means it will carry legitimate content from 20th Century Fox, MTV, Warner and Playboy, amongst others. And at the NAB, or National Association of Broadcasters, show, which kicks off today in Las Vegas, Myka is planning to announce details of more media partnerships.

Of course, legit movie downloads are great, but if you want to watch anything more current than six-week-old (or six-month-old) releases, you’ll be heading to the darker side of BitTorrent. Myka knows this, and has already teamed up with notorious tracker search site isoHunt. IsoHunt users will even get a $25 discount on the hardware when it ships this summer.

I spoke to Myka president Dan Lovy to learn more about the little box, and to find out just why it looks so much like a chunkier, uglier version of the AppleTV.

Gadget Lab: How do you browse to torrents? Can I go to, say, the Pirate Bay and grab stuff from there? Can I run third-party applications, e.g., Miro?

Dan Lovy: Bit Torrent is actually installing their certified system onto Myka. Any torrent can be pointed to by the box and downloaded. We will be adding a "send to Myka" button on many of the larger torrent sites. Check out the news piece on isoHunt. We are currently running an ad campaign with them.

GL: Is RSS supported (i.e., can Myka handle torrent files sent as RSS enclosures)?

Lovy: Absolutely.

GL: Do you think this will be a geek toy or is it easy enough to use to gain mass market appeal?

Lovy: We are starting with the BitTorrent community. We will actually licensing our system to any hardware vendor as a white label service. We think this is the future. The torrent community is our beachhead.

GL: Myka looks a lot like the Apple TV. Coincidence?

Lovy: Actually, yes. Our hardware vendor designed that enclosure before we arrived.

GL: How does Myka serve video via the internet? Does it work like the Slingbox?

Lovy: We are in discussions with a few vendors that have Slingbox-like features. Too early to really talk about.

GL: The big boys are switching to internet delivery: Blockbuster, NetFlix and of course, Apple. Do you think Blu-ray and even DVD are already dead as delivery media?

Lovy: In terms of switching to internet delivery, it’s not an "if," it’s a "when." I have a 16-year-old son. He listens to a lot of music, has never bought a CD. All but one of the video rental stores in Concord, Mass. has gone out of business. I’m not smart enough to tell you the time frame but it is inevitable. It’s a "cars replacing horses" scenario.

In terms of current formats being dead: Not yet of course. A large supply chain has a vested interest in its survival. A friend of mine once said of the entertainment business, "It’s not about the money, it’s about ALL the money." It’s only a matter of time.

Remember this scene from Robocop? It’s the public unveiling of ED-209, and a programming glitch causes the giant killer robot to gun down an innocent suit. A chilling scene, and one which was almost re-enacted for real in Iraq.

Last year, three remote controlled, gun-toting robots, named SWORDS, were deployed in the war zone and then suddenly pulled from duty. Nobody knew why until Popular Mechanics quizzed the US Army’s Kevin Fahey at the RoboBusiness conference this week. Apparently, one of the robots went rogue: “the gun started moving when it was not intended to move” said Fahey. Unlike ED-209, the ‘bots were shutdown before any shots were fired, but it seems that the incident left people spooked enough to pull the plug on the operation.

Non-Answer on Armed Robot Pullout From Iraq Reveals Fragile Bot Industry [Popular Mechanics via the Reg]

Killer Ground ‘Bots Out of Iraq: How Come? [Danger Room]

Apple MA592LL A USB POWER ADAPTER USB iPod Power Adapter

Dont fret about running out of juice on the road: use this compact, convenient USB-based adapter to charge your ipod whenever your iPod is not connected to a computer.

Technorati Tags: Apple

The crafty folks at TiVo have admitted they can predict the future…kind of. Using the company’s audience measurement tools, TiVo execs say they have accurately predicted the outcomes of the past four American Idol competitions.

In essence, the company is looking at TiVo user’s fast-forwarding and rewinding habits. Those performers who are most frequently fast-forwarded though also happen to be the ones who receive the fewest votes. Conversely, performers who are rewound and re-watched get the highest votes. Not rocket science, but apparently it’s accurate enough.

In case you’re interested in tonight’s outcome (or want to make a friendly wager), the company is predicting that Syesha Mercado will be getting the boot. As Rolling Stone notes, while predicting Idol results is cool and all, a more compelling application for this technique might lie in measuring the popularity of something like, say, a presidential speech or debate.

UPDATE: Yeah. The TiVo execs were wrong. Back to your day jobs, fellas!

[TMZ via Rolling Stone]

Photo: Flickr/hunkdujour

If you are an RSS addict like myself then you are always on the lookout for that new fresh feed to grab and add it to your feedreader of choice.  With the new service Toluu finding new feeds has never been easier and never been more social!

Toluu overall is a pretty easy service to sign up for and begin sharing and discovering in no time.  When you begin you have two options for getting started by either manually adding feeds as you go or if you have an OPML file you can import that into the system and share all your feeds with the world which is where the social aspect of Toluu comes in.

The social aspect is probably the coolest part or the part that really stands out for the service. You can of course add friends to get a network going, but you can also search for other users out there who based on the services algorithm match you the best as well as the system recommending feeds you might want to add to your daily reads.

For me besides just the concept of the service being a great idea I think the support and interaction with the developers is top notch!  On several occasions I have spoken to Caleb Elston about ideas, issues, or just getting a feel for the service and where they want it to go.  I think that really helps a young and developing service to embrace the community aspect.

So with all that said I cannot recommend Toluu enough.  Its a beta service that still has some holes and improvements but they are coming and the service seems to improve daily.  Currently it is invite only so if you are interested in checking things out feel free to comment and leave your email address.  We will get you an invite ASAP.

Read [Toluu]

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