Live in a swamp? The Handycooler Personal Air Conditioner might not do you much good, but if you reside anywhere else, evaporative cooling might be just what you need to beat the heat. With this handheld unit that’s about the size of an ’80s cellphone, cooling off is as easy as dampening a small sponge and placing it inside. As long as you haven’t used up the five hours’ worth of power afforded by Handycooler’s required four AA batteries, it’s instant coolness.

If its manufacturer is to be believed, this 7-ounce cooler can lower the temperature of the air by “up to 25 degrees Fahrenheit.” We’re thinking that must’ve been measured in a desert somewhere, but still, this might well worth its $40 price. It’s no LEGO air conditioner, but it’ll probably offer you some semblance of relief until the blast-furnace-like weather finally goes away.

Via Think Geek

Continue reading...

With all this talk of OLED screens on the way, it had to happen: an OLED laptop. Samsung says it aims to roll out this beauty with a 12.1-inch, 1280×768 AMOLED screen by the end of next year, and it might even be available as early as the third quarter.

Samsung SDI is the world’s largest OLED screen manufacturer, so it would be only natural for it to be first up with an OLED notebook. This will certainly be a premium item — nobody’s talking price, but we’re guessing this sexy lappie will probably cost at least $5000. Fast forward five years, and OLED laptops will be commonplace … and cheap.

OLED Info and techradar, via Gizmodo

Continue reading...

What does it feel like to have a fighter jet fly just a few feet above your head? Only this brave soul and his cameraman know for sure. We especially like the way the guy seems unfazed by a jet fighter zipping along in excess of 600 miles an hour, flying low enough to almost hit him.

By the way, the video’s title specifies an “F18 Hornet” (known in the real world as an F/A-18 Hornet), which this aircraft is not. The Hornet has two vertical stabilizers — this jet clearly has just one. Nor is this an F-16, like the upgraded Thunderbirds we saw earlier this summer. This is more likely a Harrier Jump Jet.

YouTube, via Geekologie

Continue reading...

Sprint, forlorn over missing that ambitious target of selling 1 – 1.5 million Palm Pre phones in its first year on the network, will now try its luck with the lovely Android operating system, too. Sprint’s entry into the Google Android derby will be this attractive HTC Hero, bringing all its touchscreen goodness on October 11.

It’s the first Android-running phone on the Sprint network, and judging from the number of Android phones multiplying like rabbits lately, it won’t be the last. This is a fine-looking phone, and thank goodness it’s lost that ugly chin of the T-Mobile version, and especially of its homely forebear, the Android-pioneering T-Mobile G1.

Like most phones of its ilk, expect to pay steep prices for Sprint’s HTC Hero, with $180 buying you the phone with a two-year contract, and then a cheaper-than-AT&T $70 tariff each month to keep the calls and data flowing. It might be worth it, because we’ve tried Android, and love it. It’s especially useful for running Google Voice and Flash apps. All it needs is some decent hardware and a good network, and it’s a winner. Tall order.

Via Geeky Gadgets and GigaOM

Continue reading...

Put on these magic glasses, and suddenly your know-nothing automotive skill set transforms into that of a BMW mechanic. This kind of step-by-step visual assistance is on the way for BMW, reading the field of view and superimposing animated directions in real time, complete with an audio track to talk you through the repair.

Augmented reality might be great for mechanics, Ikea furniture assembly and piano lessons, but surgeons, this is not for you. Never mind that — it’s not even ready for cars yet, and BMW’s not saying when it will be. The idea is compelling, though. What else could this be used for?

Via Jalopnik

Continue reading...

Sony’s ICF-CL75iP Dream Machine is a nightstand entertainment center that might bring you more media than you want your bedroom. The $150 iPod/iPhone dock has a gigabyte of built-in memory for your favorite music or video files to play back on its 7-inch 800×480 LCD, and if that dock gets in the way, it retracts into the unit’s base.

Its clock radio wakes you up to AM-FM music, iPod/iPhone tunes, nature sounds, or a 10-second voice recording of your choice. If you want to watch a video in your bedroom, its 7-inch screen displays MP4, M-JPEG, and AVI movies, and doubles as a digital picture frame displaying pics from your iPod, iPhone, or USB-accessible internal memory.

If you like to sleep in total darkness, we’re thinking this relatively big screen is going to light up the night too much for your taste, even when dimmed down. Nevertheless, while this isn’t Sony’s fanciest iPod dock, it’s one fine-looking clock radio. Too bad there’s no ceiling-projected time and temperature. Oh well, you can’t have everything.

Sony Insider, via Ubergizmo

Continue reading...

Sony must have reached into our dreams of the ultimate laptop, and pulled out the VAIO X. The machine makes its debut today at the IFA 2009 trade show in Berlin, and this 11.1-inch-screened laptop weighs a mere 1.5 pounds. That’s made possible by its featherweight carbon fiber frame and aluminum keyboard, resulting in a premium laptop that Sony says will be “aspirational.” You know what that means.

Sony’s VAIO X prototype is running an Intel Atom processor, which would add credibility to the company’s claim that its battery will last all day. Sony also left open the possibility of more powerful (yet power-saving) processors inside, too. It’s not going to be cheap, retailing for around $2000, and it’ll be available toward the end of next month. Just in time for the Windows 7 launch.

Continue reading...

Lexus has a tricky hybrid up its sleeve, planning to show the LF-Ch Compact concept at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show in a couple of weeks. The sporty five-door compact has the Lexus Hybrid Drive with its EV (electric vehicle) Mode that gives you all-electric driving at lower speeds.

Unlike the Chevy Volt, which uses a gasoline engine to power the battery, the Lexus Hybrid drive works like its cousin, the Toyota Prius, with the gasoline engine kicking in when higher speeds or more power are required.

Looks like the LF-Ch could be a worthy addition to the existing line of Lexus “full hybrids.” Lexus isn’t saying when this sweet ride might be available — you know how it goes with concept cars, many of which never see the light of day outside of a trade show — but for now we have this enticing graphic, along with one more of the rear end of this snazzy electro-Lexus:

Continue reading...

Sure, there have been much bigger displays, even a 150-inch monster, but not at such a respectable 85-inch size or relatively cheap $30,000 price. Of course, that’s way out of reach for most of us, but we can remember 10 years ago when a 42-inch 720p monitor cost $30,000, so let the past be prologue — affordable huge screens like this can’t be far behind.

This model TH-85PF12U brings the kind of specs you’d expect, rocking the 1080p at a depth of 3.9 inches. Make sure you get a hefty couple of buddies to help you schlep this thing into your home theater because it weighs 260 pounds. And you’ll have to have a space that’s 74 inches wide to accommodate it. But just look at it — it’s the perfect-sized TV. Now wait a couple of years for the perfect price to match.

Via CNET

Continue reading...

Just when we thought Sub-Zero built-in refrigerators were the coolest, in sashays Jenn-Air with its fully flush refrigerator. Check out the space between the doors, exactly matching those of the other cabinets, so your guests will certainly be flummoxed when they start looking for the refrigerator.

In the picture is the 42-inch French door bottom-freezer refrigerator with custom cabinet panels; Jenn-Air also announced three other fully flush models, including a 36-incher with doors like this one and a bottom freezer, and 42- and 48-inch side-by-side fridges.

Jenn-Air’s flush-mounted tech is unique, using a special articulated hinge that lets you swing open the doors to greater than a 90-degree angle. Besides that, you get lots of high-tech performance for your $6900, including a precision management temperature system that gives you customizable coolness in different areas of the refrigerator.

It’s elegant, and it’s not that much more expensive than conventional built-in models by Sub-Zero, GE Monogram, Bosch, Viking, and others.

Jenn-Air, via The Appliancist

Continue reading...

Skeptical of Bluetooth altogether, we just got schooled in what a portable Bluetooth speaker can do. The Spracht AURA BluNote Bluetooth Speaker is about the size of two palms next to each other, but sounds like it’s a whole lot bigger. You can hook it up to any cellphone or music player that supports the Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP), so we tested it on our iPhone 3GS.

Pairing was just as easy as pushing a button for a couple of seconds, and the BluNote instantly recognized our iPhone. From then on, it was smooth sailing, where the little speaker system deftly played songs wirelessly from the iPhone, sounding remarkably good for such a tiny package. There was even an impressive amount of bass coming out of the minuscule drivers.

Suddenly, a phone call came in. After the BluNote automatically lowered the music volume, we answered the call by pushing a button on top, and it quickly went into speakerphone mode. It works just as well as any good speakerphone, and as is typical, you need to be 2 to 3 feet away for it to sound good. But when you’re close enough, it really works. It also senses when you initiate a call on your iPhone, switching over to speakerphone mode. I made a phone call to a persnickety friend who didn’t even notice I was using a speakerphone. It’s that good.

AURA thought of everything when they were designing the BluNote, adorning it with gorgeous design, surprising sound, bass boost and stereo widening that doesn’t sound fake, and its thoughtful designers even included four AA batteries to complement its AC adapter. And if you want to avoid Bluetooth altogether, there’s a standard 3.5mm line input in the back, with a cable provided. Nice. It’s an excellent product that’s well worth its $99 price.

Continue reading...

Last winter we kept the ears warm while enjoying our tunes with Stereo Toasters and their less-attractive rival, the Earmuff Headphones. When winter arrives just a few short months from now, the rest of my follicularly challenged head will stay toasty too with iHat, a skullcap with a couple of speakers embedded in just the right places.

Plug it into any standard headphone jack and you’re rocking and running in two seconds flat. We like its slightly severe, do-rag looks, too. If you’re up for coldy-walks, the timing might be right, making it a worthy way to spend $25 come December 14.

Just think, to keep your head warm, you don’t even have to wear a dorky, inexplicably-brimmed and knit Nike headphone hat. Or you could just reject all this headphone/hat-ness altogether and slip on your earbuds underneath your normal winter headgear.

Via 7 Gadgets

Continue reading...

Canon raised the stakes in the hot digital SLR market with its EOS 7D digital SLR, aimed at high-end amateur photographers and also touted as a second camera for pros. The company says the 7D’s 19-point autofocus system is “all-new,” and Canon’s packed its CMOS sensor even tighter with 18 megapixels. It features remarkably high ISO speed settings, going from 100-6400 with the ability to push that to 12,800. It can fire off stills at eight frames per second, giving you a total of 126 large frames at a time. There’s also a nice big 3-inch LCD viewscreen, three new lenses — including one with the world’s first hybrid image stabilization — and optional wireless file transmission via Wi-Fi and Ethernet.

The camera’s no slouch in the video derby, either, giving you a sophisticated 1080p camcorder on board that will let you select frame rates of 24p, 25p or 30p. Making it actually usable for pros is its full manual control, and the ability to use an external stereo microphone. Canon’s also added a dedicated Live View button for both video and stills, and you use that button to start and stop video recording. Hey, that’ll feel just like a camcorder.

Look for the 7D to go on sale at the end of this month (September ’09). The EOS 7D’s $1699 body-only price slightly undercuts Nikon’s entry into this market segment, the D300s announced a few weeks ago, but the 7D looks like it’s going to whip Nikon’s entry with features that go far beyond the capabilities of the D300s. Whoa. This all-new DSLR is bound to heat up an already hot market segment.

Continue reading...

Dell is slipping sideways into the cellphone business with its Mini 3I, and here are the best pictures of the incoming handset yet. Running the Android operating system, the intriguing DellPhone will show up in China first, as you can see by the weird Chinese “OPhone” flavor of Android on board in these pics.

Given Dell’s proven design chops, this could be a first-rate cell phone, with a 3.5″ 360 x 240 capacitive touch screen, 3-megapixel camera and a microSD slot. Now if Dell can just get the gumption to bring this little sucker Stateside, it might prove itself to be a nicely designed addition to the Android stable.

Continue reading...

Okay conspiracy theorists ( otherwise known as “truthers“), swallow this: Scientists at Purdue University and the American Society of Civil Engineers spent two years creating the most comprehensive computer model yet of the impact of an American Airlines Boeing 767 into the North Tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Just as we thought:

“Purdue’s findings confirm the report by the National Institute of Standards and Technology: that widespread fires initiated by the jet fuel weakened the steel columns and brought down the towers.”

Sure, it’s exciting to think government spooks planted high explosives in the World Trade Center towers, bringing both down just after a couple of planes crashed into them. But really, how could they have kept such a widespread conspiracy a secret? Truthers, take off your tinfoil hats and please let us know, how much evidence do you need?

National Geographic, via Dvorak Uncensored

Continue reading...

Watching the development of super-thin OLED video displays is a lot like watching a baby grow up. The early pictures show a little, cute, and sometimes clever toddler, showing great promise. Soon the kid starts getting more sophisticated, like this 15-inch OLED HDTV from LG that goes on sale in Korea this November, and the rest of the world next year.

Of course, we’re assuming you’ll pay a pretty penny for this attractive, ultra-sharp bauble, probably in the neighborhood of Sony’s $2500 11-inch XEL-1 OLED display that rolled out a couple of years ago. So LG is next. And then there were two.

Bigger OLED screens can’t be that far off, but wait, now we find out LG’s 30-inch OLED display has been delayed until 2012, and Sony is putting off its next OLED screen, too. What’s the holdup? Entirely new manufacturing techniques must be developed. One day soon, though, these fantastic displays will be cheap.

Continue reading...

In the gigantic Apple App Store with its vast selection of nearly 100,000 applications, there are bound to be some stinkers. Amid such a garden of delights, most of us are vulnerable to being lured into a regrettable purchase. That’s just what happened to us as we hoarded apps with reckless abandon.

We’ve picked out 10 of those apps that initially intrigued us but ultimately disappointed us. At first glance, they seemed so wonderful, filled with such bounty and promise, but ultimately didn’t hold our interest enough to get us to launch them again. Ever.

Have your own regrettable, loathsome app downloads? Spare all of us the anguish by warning us about them in the comments. Love some of the apps we didn’t? We want to know! Continue reading to see our by-no-means-comprehensive rogue’s gallery, and consider yourself warned:

Continue reading...

While treehuggers bustle about looking for better ways to gather solar energy or wind power, designer Dmitriy Shcherbakov thinks they’ve overlooked an energy source right in front of them: constantly changing temperature. That’s how he plans to power Greenergy, a music player that also inexplicably contains a heating module and a “personal light” on board.

The idea of harnessing energy from slight temperature changes is nothing new — that’s how Atmos clocks work, and they were invented way back in 1928. Those clocks can run for two days on each degree Celsius of temperature change. But if this cool-looking gizmo is going to work, it’s going to need to gin up significant amounts of energy to emit enough heat to warm up even a small room.

Dimitriy’s not saying yet how much energy his odd multipurpose design concept can create, so it’s not entirely clear whether this is a viable invention or merely wishful thinking. In any case, his shiny, undulating and unusually architectural design is certainly creative, unlike anything we’ve ever seen, unless you’re talking about a building by Zaha Hadid.

Continue reading...

Who wants to lug around a bulky battery extender for the iPhone or iPod touch when you can get a Mophie Juice Pack Air? The idea of the product is to provide an auxiliary battery hidden inside an attractive case, and Mophie has done an admirable job of doing just that. We tucked our iPhone 3GS (also works with the 3G) into one of these shiny black cases, and did an informal endurance test over the weekend, marveling at the long battery life of our iPhone when wearing this shiny battery-packed jacket.

You can set the Juice Pack to deplete itself first, or let the iPhone run out of battery power and then automatically switch over to it. You can also charge your iPhone and the Juice Pack at the same time, by plugging in the Juice Pack while the iPhone’s inside it. It’s supposed to also sync the iPhone when charging it this piggyback way, but unfortunately, I got error message when I tried to do that. And too bad the Juice Pack uses an oddball micro USB plug to hook up for charging.

The bottom line: This thing makes your iPhone keep on going and going. Compared to the iPhone’s paltry battery life on its own, this baby makes the iPhone feel like it could go on forever. It would be great for road warriors and tradeshow denizens.

The downside? The thing is just too damn big. Even though it’s called the Juice Pack “Air,” that air must be the kind you’d find in a sweaty, smoky jazz club — heavy and thick. The 2.2-ounce Juice Pack makes the iPhone weigh 7.1 ounces, which feels a whole lot heavier than it does naked. When you have it in your pocket, it starts pulling your pants down. And it makes the iPhone feel at least twice as thick.

The Juice Pack lets you add lots of battery life to your iPhone, but as far as battery extenders go, you’ll be substituting that clunky auxiliary battery hanging off the bottom of the iPhone with a clunky extender surrounding it. Take your pick. Besides the few flaws I’ve mentioned, Juice Pack looks great (while not exactly “air-y”), works well as a protective case, and fixes the biggest drawback of the iPhone, its laggard battery life. With the Mophie Juice Pack Air, I used the iPhone for three days without a charge, instead of sticking with my customary daily charge routine. If you’re on the road a lot, or working long days, it’s well worth its $80 price.

Continue reading...

The rumor mill has been running rampant with whispers about Sony’s latest version of its Walkman S-series, and now the company’s making it all official. No, dear reader, this is not the Walkman S-series of a year ago. This Sony Walkman S540, available next month, rocks a couple of mini speakers to annoy anyone near you, it’s 10.2mm thick so it’s easier to slip in your pocket, and it has longer battery life, 42 hours of audio and 6.5 hours of video, according to Sony.

We’ll have to give these speakers a close listen to know for sure, but the diminutive drivers are packed with tricky tech that Sony says makes them sound good even though they’re so small. Using whiz-bang verbiage like “linear phase correction,” “digital linear phase speaker system,” and “virtual bass,” Sony’s getting creative. We’ll believe it when we hear it.

But look at those pictures. This is a beautifully designed player, with a nice sharp new 2.4-inch 320×240 screen, aiming underneath the iPod nano with an 8GB model retailing for $110 and a 16GB for $130. Dang it, Sony should own this media player market, just like it did with the Walkman decades ago. Even though the company lagged far behind Apple at the beginning of this decade, it’s doing a pretty good job of playing catch-up now. But it just might be too little, too late.

Continue reading...

No need to worry about getting stuck in the middle of nowhere with no tunes or phone. Not when you have this Cyrus USB SunDrive Solar Charger on hand. You might die of thirst, but you’ll be well entertained while you suffer. Heck, you’ll even have enough power to charge up that digital camera, creating fascinating photo documentation of your demise.

Look how small this thing is. It’s a mere 2.5 x 1 inches, about the size of a book of matches. A recent Kodak attempt at a solar charger looks downright clunky by comparison. This SunDrive might be a good gadget to have on you just in case you need to charge up that cellphone or music player while wandering through the wilderness. About $23, it’ll be available in Korea first, but this technology will soon be widespread.

AVing, via Tech Fresh

Continue reading...