Over at PC Mag, our lead phone analyst Sascha Segan took a look at AT&T's new LG Vu CU920, calling it, "the closest thing so far to a true iPhone competitor." We asked him to take us through the paces of the phone including its cool touchscreen interface and excellent TV service, all while explaining why it doesn't quite live up to the standard of Apple's much-loved handset.
Remember when we told you about Sandisk's new Sansa Fuze player, oh, I don't know, about two posts ago? Well, Sandisk was nice enough to pop by our Manhattan offices to give us a sneak peak of the player, alongside the company's other two current entries in the Sansa line, the View and Clip.
We asked Sandisk's Carmella Lyman to take us through the paces of what makes their nano competitor so cool.
We just got Lenovo's ultraportable X300 in at the PC Mag labs. Seen by many as a more sensible, business-oriented alternative to Apple's 1.6-inch thick Macbook Air, the X300 is a bit thicker than Apple's ultraportable--that's what you get for insisting on an internal optical drive.
In honor of the infamous trick performed by Steve Jobs at the last Apple keynote, we attempt to squeeze both the Air, the X300, and Toshiba's ultraportable Portege R500 into a Ziff-Davis inter-office envelope. Enjoy.
We've been waiting to get our hands on a Modbook since Axiotron first announced the model over a year ago. Eager to circumvent the rumored Apple-produced tablet, Axiotron took matters into its own hands by adding a touchscreen with Wacom capabilities to a Macbook. The result is a slate tablet that runs Mac OS, theoretically ideal for graphic designers.
In this video, PC Magazine's lead laptop analyst Cisco Cheng takes us through the paces with the Modbook.
Of all the booths I managed to check out at Toy Fair yesterday (and I checked out a lot), die-cast model company Corgi's proved one of the more impressive. The British company showed off a wide array of licensed products, ranging from the Muppets, to Harry Potter, to the upcoming Star Trek film, to Nintendo characters. Maybe it's all that time I've been spending over at GoodCleanTech, but nothing impressed me quite as much as the H2Go car the company was driving around on a little track outside of their booth.
According to Corgi, the H2Go HF Mach 3.0 is, "the world's first and only hydrogen-fueled radio controlled car that requires no disposable batteries." The kit comes with a car, refueling station, a solar panel, and a remote control.
I spoke with a few representatives at the company, and they noted that, the technology may also be utilized in the creation of more environmentally-friendly cellphone and gadget chargers in the near future. In the meantime, we'll just have to settle for the awesomeness that is the RC car.
Check out a video demonstration of the car, after the jump.
Toy Fair 2008 kicked off today at the Javits Center, in midtown Manhattan, showcasing everything from little ponies, to giant robots, to punk rock-themed board games. I hate to play favorites, but I'd be lying if I said that Lego and Indiana Jones didn't hold a special place in my heart.
I've got a lot more cool stuff to show you from the convention's first day, but I couldn't resist getting up a post about Lego's new line of Indiana Jones playsets ASAP. The sets follow our hero through the original trilogy and onto to this year's long-awaited Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
The sets from the classic films are available now. The ones that tie in with the forthcoming installment will drop closer to the movie's release date, which is set to hit theaters in May.
More images and a video, after the jump, and stay tuned, because there's plenty more Toy Fair coverage to come on Gearlog, including lots more from the awesome Lego booth.
I have a new favorite gadget, for the moment. My coworkers, on the other hand, are not so fond of the thing. As a general rule, I like things that make noise--and once I get one, I can't stop playing with it until a shiny new gadget displaces it in my heart. Just one of the many charming qualities I share with your average five-year-old.
Yesterday I put down the Infinite Bubble Wrap for the first time in a week, thanks to the fine importers at Firebox who sent along a package containing, among other things, British company Re: creation's Stylophone.
It's not that I seek out completely useless products--they seem to find me. And when it's your job to check out new gadgets all day, sometimes you can't help yourself--especially when you dive into the world of Japanese gadgetry. Yesterday we took a look at the Sony Rolly. It doesn't serve any useful function, per se, but who's going to argue with the thing once it starts getting its groove on to "Thriller?"
Along with the Rolly, our package from importer Dynamism also included this gem. It's a tight race, to be sure, but Infinite Bubble Wrap (it's Japanese name is Puchi Puchi) gets my nomination for the most useless gadget yet--but damned if I can't stop playing with the thing.
Thanks to the nice people at Dynamism, we managed to get our hands on the Sony Rolly, which, at the moment, is still unavailable in the States. This means that the instruction booklet and the included software are only available in Japanese. The first one isn't a huge problem. We have a couple of people in the office who speak Japanese. Plus I'm not really the instruction reading type--though that picture toward the end of the Rolly emitting plumes of smoke did have me a bit worried. The second, however, is more of an issue, as my computer wouldn't load the disc.
Jada, you've made my Friday. I just received my very own Guitar Hero Air Guitar Rocker kit from the California-based toy company, and have been running up and down the halls, tormenting my coworkers with it, ever since.
We caught our first glimpse of the device at this year's CES, and were immediately taken with the goofy little toy. The kit comes in two pieces. There's a receiver/belt buckle and a miniature amp, both of which clip to your belt, allowing you to play the riffs from such rock masterpieces as Black Sabbath's "Iron Man," Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water," Motorhead's "Ace of Spades," Van Halen's cover of "You Really Got Me" (what, no "Eruption?"), and of course, that classic among classics, Boston's "More Than a Feeling," simply by strumming one of the two including guitar picks in front of the belt buckle.
Representatives of PC Magazine, GoodCleanTech, and Gearlog attended the first-ever Greener Gadgets conference, held at the McGraw-Hill Conference Center in midtown Manhattan.
Presented by design blog Inhabitat and research agency Marc Alt + Partners, the conference was quite attended for a first-time event, filling its seats with designers, engineers, college students, members of the press, and various other attendees.
The conference was split between a impressive lineup of speakers and an exhibition floor showcasing the latest in environmentally-minded consumer technology. Check out a few highlights of our coverage, after the jump.
Any self-respecting tech fan surely knows Make Magazine, the tech pub devoted to do-it-yourself projects. Brian Jepsen, one of the magazine's contributing editors, was on hand at the Greener Gadgets Conference--showcasing, among other things, a DIY switch-mode device charger housed in an Altoids gum tin.
The MintyBoost v 1.2 Kit is available for purchase via Adafruit Industries' site, along with downloadable instructions. Of course, if you're not the type of person who has some soldering tools on hand at home, this might not be the kit for you.
We spoke with One Laptop Per Child's former Chief Technology Officer, Mary Lou Jespen, at the first ever Greener Gadgets conference in Manhattan. Jepsen was on-hand to discuss the greener aspects of the organization's newly-introduced XO laptop.
As CTO of OLPC, Jepsen was charged with innovating new, low cost technologies that could be deployed to children in developing nations. As she and her fellow OLPC employees discovered, low cost and green need not be mutually exclusive.
Most people aren't too keen on regular bugs, but put a robotic arachnid or insect in front of them and they'll ooh and ah like they've spotted a new-born puppy. This little critter, the Hexbug Microrobotic Creature is part of a new collection of updated robot bugs launching at this year's Toy Fair in New York City. Hexbug Charlie, as he's affectionately known, comes from Radio Shack, and this year he'll be joined by a new Inchworm and a crab.
What makes Charlie a robot? Notice the fine, wire antenna. They're actually sensors that indicate when he's about to run headlong into a wall, your hand, or some other object. When Charlie feels a little resistance, backs away for a few steps, and then uses his six legs to change direction. He doesn't have edge detection, though, so he will skitter right off a table. Throw him on his back, he moves all his legs in frustration, but really can't do anything about it.
Toy Fair runs Feb 17-20 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in NY.
CES 2008 did have its share of robots, including these two. The first is a prototype from WowWee (which introduced a bunch of other robots at the show). It's the sexy Femisapien. The second is a helper bot from Fujitsu. Enjoy the video.
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