Olympus M:Robe finally finds its calling: running Linux
Filed under: Portable Audio
While hackers eagerly work on getting Tux onto their Zunes, M:Robe fans can rejoice as their wait is finally over. After cracking the firmware, crafty "Shirour" has managed a great feat in not only getting his media player to run Linux kernel 2.6.15, but also in creating a touchscreen driver for it and putting together a serial interface to make those "wasted job hours" more productive. If you're interested in taking advantage of the fruits of his labor, the modified Linux files are available for download, allowing you to breathe some new life into your favorite (or not so favorite) discontinued music player. Just remember, those of you who opted for the extended warranties, any damages incurred during the course of this hack will undoubtedly void it.
[Thanks, Daniel P]
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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time
Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
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Thanko makes the best even better, updates hand-warming mouse
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Thanko, not just content with keeping our feet warm this season, has released an update to its USB hand-warming mouse as well.The new device, though, seems to be nothing more than a redesign, as all the specs have remained the same. For those unfamiliar with this toasty gadget, the mouse can reach a maximum temperature of 45°C and has an 800dpi resolution. It claims to only support Windows NT/ME/2000/XP, but since it's driver-less, we're sure that it won't leave Mac users out in the cold. While we enjoy the bump in aesthetics it got, we think we'll take our chances with frost bite and hold out for the third version, when perhaps it will have a higher resolution and a few extra buttons.
[Via Book of Joe, thanks David B.]
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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time
Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
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New Year’s Resolutions/Predictions
It's about that time to bust out the champagne toasts, and you know what that means. (No, not a life of cold sores from the stranger you kiss at midnight). It's time to make New Year's resolutions that you won't keep and make predictions that won't happen.
I'll go first. My New Year's Resolution is to keep better track of my gadgets and their necessary batteries, cords and the such. As of now I have hundreds of dollars in lost tech in a perpetual state of dead battery in a travel bag beneath a dirty pile of clothes. My New Year's prediction (sorry kids, "iPhone" thing is taken) is that the PS3 will see a substantial price drop by 2008.
Now it's your turn.
Oh, and Happy New Year, readers!
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Happy New Year: Night Shooting Japan with the Canon 30D DSLR
New Years happened in Tokyo a few hours ago. I had a nice dinner with Lisa's family, and then we headed out to a local temple not far from their house in Ebisu. I took along the Canon 30D DSLR, my favorite low light shooter ever, and the 18-85mm f/4.0-5.6 lens with image stabilization. More on the camera after the jump, but let me not forget the point of this message.
All of us at Gizmodo wish you a happy and prosperous 2007, filled with love and gadgets.
The Cam: As you can see from the above photo, at 3200 ISO grain is much better than what you'd in other DSLRs. The lens has image stabilizing, true, but what I've noticed is that its slowness takes away some of the charm. So I'd actually prefer the cheapo kit lens, which is faster, over the IS lens, if it weren't for the zoom (55mm vs. 85mm). Crazy, I know. Below, there's a gallery of a few more photos I took haphazardly.
I've pushed the saturation a bit, because I feel like I'm addicted to the Nikon D40's Skittles-like color filter. Accurate? No. Fun? Yes.
Tokyo Found [Gizmodo]
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First “Googlephone” ends up being Samsung’s Ultra Edition 13.8 (Z720)
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless
Contrary to previous beliefs, it looks like neither Orange nor HTC will have a part in producing the first "Googlephone," and instead it seems that Samsung is slipping in the back door to steal the limelight. When the Ultra Edition 13.8 (formerly known as the Z720) got official a few days back, we noticed the relatively unexpected suite of Google apps swarming the mobile's innards, and aside from the handset not exactly abiding by the Opera agreement that is supposedly falling into place, it seems a good fit for the first Google-infused mobile. Of course, the programs that come loaded are all available as free downloads on supported handsets, but it seems the European-bound 13.8 will be numero uno in what's likely to be quite a lengthy list of Googledmobiles.
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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time
Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
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FCC approves $87b AT&T + BellSouth merger: now what?
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Ok, quick refresher: in 1984 the government splits up AT&T into the Baby Bells; through a series of mergers and acquisitions, most of the original AT&T is reformed into a new company with the old brand, spearheaded by the business formerly known as SBC. SBC's new AT&T owns in whole or in part: Cingular, AT&T Wireless, AT&T -- and now its closest ally in business (and co-owner of Cingular), BellSouth. That is, after months of deliberation and delays (we won't bore you with the political details as to why -- if you want to know more, check here), the $87 billion merger (hey, that went up 20 billion!) was finally given the greenlight by the FCC and SEC, as you may or may not have heard. So what does that mean customers can expect from the newly reformed AT&T? Here's a taste:
- The Cingular brand eventually will die and actually become AT&T Wireless -- the very brand it paid billions to acquire.
- AT&T has agreed to maintain net neutrality for up to two years; after that, we're of what happens. This concession can be overturned if Congress passes anti-net neutrality laws, which we're all hoping, of course, that it doesn't.
- AT&T has agreed to sell "naked" DSL for $20 a month as a standard package.
- AT&T is likely also to strive for more aggressive triple (or quadruple) play packages, as it rolls out U-Verse-based IPTV. In some regions, customers can expect to get TV, DSL, phone, and cellphone service all under the AT&T brand.
- Baby Bell remnants still competing with AT&T in one vertical or another: Verizon, Qwest, Cincinnati Bell.
For more info on how AT&T was broken down and reformed, check out The Engadget Guide to AT&T Wireless/Cingular/SBC/AT&T merger mania.
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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time
Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
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Gizmodo Weekends: A Year End Review
I like to think we have a sort of prestigious weekend club around here. We're casual, tend to lean toward lighter posts and don't require pants. I appreciate our weekend readers (a number that has grown to my delight) because most of you aren't sneaking off to read us because you're bored during the work hours, but giving us the precious free time that you could be (better?) spending with family, housework or Internet porn.
That's why I assembled this little weekend year end review. I put together some of my favorite "remember the time" posts along with a few touches of backstory. But you've just got to hit that jump to read more.
My Favorite Weekend Gadget 
Brando MP4 Watch - Video Killed the MP3 Star
Even though I write about gadgets all the time and use little restraint in my purchases, for some reason I still haven't bought this $98 watch. And I'm remedying that...probably after my holiday credit card statement is paid off in 2 weeks.
My Favorite Weekend BS Gadget
Glass CD - Sounds Like A**
Glass CDs: yup, the Future Is Here, for $830.
My Favorite Overpriced Gadget 
12-Foot Inflatable Home Theatre, Minus The Theatre
This inflatable garbage bag screen will run you $1299. Nice. Also, this story was my first big digg, which gave me warm/fuzzy feelings inside.
My Favorite Tackiest Product/Weekend Revision 
uBreakup: The Tackiest Way to Dump Someone
I think the company that makes the uProducts (automated phone calls that take care of your dirty work for you) is hilarious. I like their marketing, and their ideas are good as both drunken novelty and social commentary.
Anyway, after posting this story and getting a few harsh comments from our readers, the company wrote me and urgently demanded I put a new banner with the story. I think the old banner had word bubbles in which the guy said something like, "I'm getting married, c-ya!" So believe it or not, companies listen to your comments (even if they probably aren't the companies you could give a crap about).
My Favorite Gadget That's Not Really A Gadget
While writing the post, I almost pulled the story about 3 times since it really is on the edge of what should be posted on Gizmodo. But then I'd watch the video again, remember how awesome it was and keep typing. Luckily you all agreed.
My Favorite Not Gadget News Post
Fast Food Tech: Prototype Intercom?
One of my biggest pet peeves is a poorly maintained chain restaurant. I don't care if it's fast food or "family dining", if a company insists on taking over the world, I want that world be assembled correctly.
My wife and I were actually driving through the night before (something we actually avoid for the most part) when we saw the pitiful intercom system. She vowed to return in the morning while I posted, and I contemplated (again) how this felt more like a Consumerist post than something for Gizmodo.
By the way: the extra fast food meal I consumed for that story is just another example of how we go the extra mile around here.
My Favorite Reader Response 
Offensively Binary: Passive, Aggressive
It's not every day that you can out-geek geeks, but we had a secret weapon: binary code. You cracked me up.
My Favorite Overall Weekend Post
Excuse Box: No Reason to Tell the Truth
I'd hate to explain a joke, so I will just say that this one was my favorite.
I hope you all had as much fun reading as I did writing in '07. And thanks.
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Cabbies Track Cellphone Reception, Drive Cabs
Ericsson has been authorized to place mobile sensors in the trunks of 50 New York City cabs with the goal of tracking drop zones. Apparently the random driving patterns of cab drivers are effective for finding holes in the grid.
While Ericsson was contracted by an undisclosed wireless provider for this job, logic would tell us that since Ericsson deals exclusively in GSM technology, they can only be working for a GSM company like Cingular or Tmobile. While cab tracking seems like a neat idea, aren't these companies getting far more data from all of their customers? Apparently the cab devices must be more effective.
New York City Cabs... [via digg]
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The 2006 Engadget Awards
Filed under: Announcements, Misc. Gadgets
Well, we're all about to wave 2006 a very fond goodbye, but that doesn't mean we can't take a moment to reflect on all of this year's best (and worst) devices -- the very tech plunder we'll be using well into 2007. Welcome to the thirdannual Engadget awards!
We've set up 21 categories -- including most of our regular product categories, as well as best and worst gadget of 2006, and the most anticipated gadget of 2007 -- for you to cast your nominations. Here's how nominating works:
- Leave a comment as you normally would with what you're nominating in each category (remember, comments must be validated!).
- Don't include your reasons for nominating it or any of that stuff, just leaving the name is fine.
- Limit your nominations only to devices (or technologies) that were introduced and sold for the first time in 2006 (which means no concept devices or prototypes, although we will allow updated versions of previous products).
- Nominations only need be made once to be in the running, so make a quick scan to see if someone's already beat you to your suggestion (i.e., don't nominate anything more than once!).
- We'll keep the nominations open until 11:59PM EST on Saturday, January 6th
The editors of Engadget will then round up the best nominations, and pick the finalists for each category. These will then be voted on for the Reader's Choice Awards -- we'll also select our own winners for the Engadget Editors' Awards (i.e. each category will have two awards). The vote will take place in January (probably after CES), and winners will be announced later that month.
Here are the different categories, please post your nominations on each page!
- Gadget of the Year
- Worst Gadget of the Year
- Most Anticipated Gadget of 2007
- Cellphone of the Year
- Smartphone of the Year
- Desktop of the Year
- Digital Camera of the Year
- Display of the Year
- Game Console of the Year
- GPS Device of the Year
- Handheld of the Year
- HDTV of the Year
- Home Entertainment Device of the Year
- Laptop of the Year
- Peripheral of the Year
- Portable Media Device of the Year
- Robot of the Year
- Storage Device or Technology of the Year
- Tablet PC of the Year
- Wearable Device of the Year
- Wireless Device or Technology of the Year
Good luck!
See also: 2004 and 2005 Engadget Award winners.
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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time
Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
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iPod owners report whining sound emanating from 2G nanos
Filed under: Portable Audio
In a thread over at the Apple Discussions forums, dozens of iPod owners are reporting high-pitching whining and / or buzzing sounds emanating from their 2nd Generation iPod nanos. Many of the owners cite that their units are fully functional despite the whining, although the volume of the unwanted sound varies between each report; for example, russgra states that the whining sound was the first thing he noticed after picking up his 8GB nano, although Energie claims that he wouldn't have noticed had he not seen the problem popping up in forums. There doesn't seem to be any correlation to any particular model within the range either, with 2, 4, and 8GB owners all reporting the annoyance -- notably, none of the reports notice any sound on their previous generation nanos, leading some to suggest that it's caused by a new or upgraded component such as the backlight or battery. In the interests of investigating the problem ourselves, we commandeered a nearby 2GB nano -- although we could hear a faint whining sound once pressed to our ear (which oddly changed tone after we shook it), we found the whine to be inaudible unless we practically lodged it in our ear. Could it be that this encounter is simply a reverberation of the post-Consumermas hangovers, or is this scenario a repeat of the whining problems with the MacBook? If the latter case is true, then it's worth noting that Apple was relatively quick to fix the problemand silence the buzz, along with the vocal minority of people who had brought the issue to the attention of everyone else.
[Thanks, David B.]
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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time
Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
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