In his tireless (some say obsessive) quest to test cellphones to their utmost claimed limits, intrepid PC Magazine phone analyst Sascha Segan may have gone a length too far. Take a look at his review of Verizon's waterproof G'zOne (and how the heck are you supposed to pronounce that, anyway? Gee-zone? Gee-zee-one? Guzoney?).

Waterproof? thought Sascha. Must then bring it into the shower and a swimming pool, and have someone take pictures of me using the phone in the water, and show everyone in the world the pictures! You have to see this slideshow.

So you know all about TiVos, and DVRs are old hat, but have you ever heard of the Toy Quest Rip Roar Video Free? Neither had I, but this little device might be the next big thing for those who want to watch their favorite shows on the go without spending gazillions of dollars to do it.

The Rip Roar is a video recorder and portable media player in one small device. The recorder has a 2.5-inch TFT-LCD and 512MB of internal memory that can be expanded to a much nicer 2GB with an SD card. The included lithium-ion battery gives you 5 hours of running time in continuous video-viewing mode, and you can preprogram up to eight different shows. Video-in inputs allow you to run video straight through the device to record, and the built-in speaker means you don't have to fumble with headphones or earbuds when you want to watch your shows on the road.

But for all the specs, which honestly are kind of so-so for a portable media device, the real question with the Rip Roar is, How easy is it to get media onto it? According to Toy Quest, the Rip Roar connects between your TV and set-top box. You can use any remote to train the cradle and program the desired shows for recording. Once it's time to record, the Rip Roar automatically switches to the right channel. As soon as it's finished recording, you can unplug the Rip Roar and watch your video on its screen or dump it onto your PC with the included USB cable.

With a $199 price tag, the Toy Quest Rip Roar will hold appeal as a kids's gadget. But when it hits the market (according to Toy Quest, it recently shipped and will be available at walmart.com and samsclub.com soon), it might also appeal to anyone who want this kind of functionality at an affordable price.

Post by Don Reisinger

As if photographers didn't have enough to worry about when it comes to low-light situations, Eclipse, the environmentally sound gear company that's pushing to incorporate a solar panel into everything (for more information on its manifesto, please consult the solar-power Fishing Tackle Box), has introduced the Nova Solar Camera Bag (a mere $149.95). Designed with D-SLR owners in mind, the Nova features adjustable dividers and foam inserts for maximum customization, and of course, a built-in solar panel for charging AA and camera batteries.

The company will also be rolling out the Nomad Bicycle Bag, thereby covering every outdoor sport but curling (and I fully expect to see a curling product on shelves by the time the next Winter Olympics rolls around). I'll also be saving up for an Eclipse solar-powered food cooler, thus finally realizing my lifelong goal of harnessing the sun's energy to power irony.

Thanks to Web producer Brian Heater for this post!

Don't bother waiting in line to buy a Sony PlayStation 3 or Nintendo Wii: Microsoft might already be hard at work on the next-generation Xbox. OK, to be fair, at this point the Redmond software giant is just looking "seriously" at designing its own chips, or so reports GameDaily today; its story quotes a New York Times report.

Microsoft has had a long relationship with Intel, though it used an IBM PowerPC-based design for the CPU of the Xbox 360. But now it looks like the house that Gates built might be starting a new project, which the NYT report suggests could be called the Computer Architecture Group. These efforts could be split between the HQ in Redmond, Washington and the MS campus in Silicon Valley.

What all this means for gamers is unknown, but two things are clear: First, it is never too early to think about the next gaming console, and second, the days of Skynet might be drawing a little closer...

Post by Peter Suciu

The Korean Institute for Industrial Technology’s new EveR2-Muse android robot finally made its debut at Seoul’s international Robot World 2006 (which runs through Oct 22). The walking, talking, singing 5.4-foot robot was scheduled to open the event with a song earlier this week but suffered a neck injury, sending developers back to the drawing board.

Now, the EveR2-Muse (yes, there was an EveR1) has performed her Korean ballad “I Will Close My Eyes for You” to enthusiastic applause, The Korean Times said. However, Korean other news outlets reported that the injury still plagued the android muse and that she “had to stand stiff-necked and lip-sync to the music with minimal arm motion.” Sounds a little bit like Ashlee Simpson’s Saturday Night Live "performance." Could she be a robot, too?

Thanks to robot overlord Lance Ulanoff for this report!

When I entered the job market, my e-mail inbox soon started filling up with baby pictures. There's something about graduating and getting a desk job that makes your friends and coworkers start reproducing by the boatload. I like babies all right, I guess—they're cute and squishy, and that whole eating/pooping/sleeping thing is something I aspire to return to some day. But if there's one complaint I have about this nation's bottle-sucking population, it's their inability to rock out. I mean, Keith Richards doesn't have any teeth either, but he's still up on stage five nights a week.

The folks at Munchkin have finally addressed the needs of our nation's rockless infants. Featuring a strap that adjusts to your crib, two speakers, a nightlight, and a timer that can be adjusted to your baby's sleep patterns, the iCrib Sound System brings America's favorite MP3 player (guess which one) to the teething masses. Just pop in Metallica's "Enter Sandman," and watch the rocking babes drift gently off to sleep. Get your own iCrib Sound System for just $29.99 at Amazon.

Thanks to Web producer Brian Heater for this post!

This week on Gearlog Radio, our weekly podcast: Hosts Dan Costa and Jen DeLeo, along with Carol Mangis and Kyle Monson, talk about the products that really stood out for us at the DigitalLife show--especially the Best of Show winners. Sure, the playable PS3 was amazing and really packed in the gamers, but there were lots of smaller companies with stellar offerings too.

Related posts:

• DigitalLife: Best of Show Awards
• Gearlog/DL.TV Meetup a Success!
• DigitalLife Has Begun!
• DigitalFocus: Hands on With the PS3

Download the MP3 here.

Hosts: Dan Costa, Jen DeLeo

Panelists: Carol Mangis, Kyle Monson
Audio Engineer: Scott Bernstein

Theme Music by Terry Sullivan

-> Subscribe to the Gearlog Radio podcast in iTunes

-> Subscribe to the Gearlog Radio podcast via RSS

Yes, it is software and not gear, but Will Wright's Spore is cool enough for Gearlog. The game won't be out until 2007, but the creator of the popular Sims games showed it off yesterday at Pop!Tech. The game lets you create evolve a character from a single-celled organism, through civilization, all the way to exploring space and terra-forming planets. Although that sounds outrageously complex, creating your own creature is as simple as dragging-and dropping various attributes; Wright did it on stage in less than 3 minutes.

A lot of the game design will come from users themselves, whose creations will be uploaded and populate the world of spore for other players. "Playing the game is the process of building this world." Wright says. "I don't want players to be Luke Skywalker, I want them to be George Lucas."

A generative game this complex is always in danger of being more like classwork than a game. Wright says he is aware of the risk, in part because of experience with past games like SimEarth, which replicated a massive complex ecological system. "It was a wonderful simulation," Wright said, "But, as a game, it kind of sucked."

Finally, Sony's taken the wraps off the eagerly (to say the least) anticipated PlayStation 3 console, and PC Magazine's Editor-in-Chief Jim Louderback has the whole story. He write, "Although there was lots of game play and many demos, the focus of the launch was more on the Internet-based capabilities and what else you could do with the console, like playing movies, music, and photos." Jim said the menus look like those of the PSP, and in addition to gaming, he was most impressed by what the PS3 lets you do with photos.

Sony also talked about 1080p, the online community features, the online PS3 store, and the more than 20 games that'll be available launch; pricing is set at $59.99 for first party-titles. For the full story and a nifty screen-grab slideshow, head over to PCMag.com's story, "Sony Unveils PlayStation 3 and Game Details."

Just imagine, you're at your friend's door, hand poised to knock or ring the doorbell, when suddenly, the knocker starts rapping on the door with a disembodied hand and arm attached to it. Eeek!!  That's just what you get with the creepy "Stranger at the Door" knocker from Fright Catalog ($14.99). The thing is motion activated so it's guaranteed to freak out all your guests and trick or treaters this season.  And it's so popular, it's currently on back order!

But you can't stop there. If anyone dares enter your home, you've got to have a few more tricks up your sleeve (or up the disembodied arm's sleeve). What about a mirror inhabited by a demon? Hang a "Magic Mirror--The Demon" on your wall and see how long your guests will stay. . . Like the door knocker, it's motion activated, so when someone stands at the mirror hoping to gaze at themselves, they get a surprise. A shrieking and leering demon appears instead of their face!! He'll talk to anyone passing by as well, so he's a great ice-breaker for parties too. You can mount it to your wall or rest it on its built-in stand. Powered by 2 AA batteries (included), the mirror measures 15 by 12 by 2.5 inches. ($19.99 from Smart Home.)

Did you know? According to ancient superstitions, if you start into a mirror at midnight on Halloween, you'll see your future spouse. (Hopefully, not a demon)

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Welcome to Scarelog: The Thirteen Days of Halloween