Gadgets Blog

Remember that awesome contest? You know, the 31 notebooks that HP is giving away? It starts today.

The contest starts over at Absolute Vista, so you can go by right now and enter to win.  You can enter there any time in the next week and then tomorrow you can move on to the next site (Ars Technica), and then new site every day until June 1. This means the last day to enter the final contest, is June 8… got it?

The rules vary per site–it looks like Absolute Vista wants people to submit a short story. Seeing how there is some work involved, the chances of winning there will probably be higher than on some of the other sites, but there is no way to know. Geek’s giveaway runs May 21-28 and we’ll probably just have a short survey or something. Unless someone has a better idea…

I love leaks, as they tend to whip up the Internet community into a frenzy. Should the following contents of a leaked consumer survey from Garmin be accurate, it looks as though AT&T will be carrying the Garmin NuviPhone in the near future. One of the main questions from Garming was this - would potential customers make AT&T their carrier of choice if they offered the NuviPhone for a 2-year subsidized price of $499, along with a $20/month data add-on that includes unlimited browsing and GPS navigation? I don’t know about you - $499 is rather high and it doesn’t even have the hype of the iphone’s release last summer, but the $20/month data add on is extremely tempting.

Remember the Rocket Belts we brought you last year? Now the same company, Technologia Aeroespacial Mexicana (TAM) is planning a possibly even more dangerous personal flying machine: The Rocket Helicopter.

We don’t know what’s more scary: the rotor blades whirling inches above your head or the rockets stuck to the end of those blades to drive them. The designer, Elio Parruca, says that this is one of the safest and simplest types of strap-on chopper; because there is no engine to generate torque, no tail rotor is needed to stop you spinning. He seems to know what he’s talking about. The photo you see above is of Parruca, aged 19, with a jet engine he built himself.

The idea isn’t new, but then, neither was the idea for a rocket belt. It’s just that nobody else ever built a cheap and reliable one until TAM came along. The idea of a rocket ‘copter was first mooted in the forties, but our favorite prototype is that from daredevil Eugene Gluhareff, made in the sixties. He built his own rotor blade and powered it with a single pulse jet. On the other end was a counterweight.

If you have ever heard a pulse jet in action, you’ll know how loud they are. You’ll also appreciate the cojones on Gluhareff, who had this terrifying device spinning above his skull. According to Parruca, the jet became soft with the heat and the huge centrifugal forces tore the melting metal apart.

Given TAM’s track record, the Rocket Helicopter has a good chance of coming to market. As with the rocket belt before it, I’m happy to give it a try. But again, you can go first.

Product page [TAM via DVICE]

by Darren Murph, posted May 1st 2008 at 9:44AM

Ooh, shiny! ASUS’ CES-announced M50S has finally found its way out of whatever lair it has been tucked away in, and thankfully, the shutterbugs over at PC Perspective snapped a few shots for the world to see. Initial impressions are that it should handle most gaming needs with ease, yet won’t destroy your back when toting it from LAN party to LAN party. The built-in Blu-ray burner and multi-function trackpad are quite nice, too. Hit up the read link for the full preview — a bona fide review should be following shortly.

[Thanks, Ryan]

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Filed under: Laptops

by Darren Murph, posted May 1st 2008 at 11:14AM

Here it is: the hotly anticipated list of best homes as selected by Electronic House. Interestingly enough, this year’s winners are quite different than the champs of 2007, and we suspect all that talk of green these days has something to do with it. Yep, for the first time ever, an “energy-efficient, sustainable” home snagged the highly-coveted gold, but make no mistake, this domicile is packed to the gills with electronic goodness (some of which actually helps keep energy waste down). Even if that doesn’t pique your interest, EH has selected a plethora of other swank abodes to highlight, including the best home theater, a pimped out yacht and cribs with hidden treasures. Go on, get lost in the pages upon pages of snapshots and descriptions below — and feel free to brag in comments if your pad wound up a winner.

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Filed under: Misc. gadgets, Home Entertainment, Household

by Thomas Ricker, posted May 1st 2008 at 6:04AM

We’re been fans of Kleer wireless audio technology since we first gave it a listen back at CES in January 2007. Unfortunately, lackluster products have held back its potential over Bluetooth audio. While DigiFi’s Opera headset isn’t likely to tip the balance, these headphones are interesting nonetheless. The buds ship with a mini-jack dongle and offer 10 hours of playtime and CD-quality sound. Not bad, but they also allow you to tune in up to 3 additional Opera wearing friends. Silent raves will never be the same. Available today in Korea, worldwide eventually for $98.

[Via AVING]

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Wearables

Many of us fear for our safety, but unfortunately only few could really afford a security system. For the rest of us, there’s always the dummy security camera.

Nothing says “Careful, I’m watching your every move,” like a security camera. So if you’re going to dupe someone into believing your home is well-protected, there’s nothing better than a fake security cam. Best of all, this fake cam is equipped with blinking LED lights to actually catch people’s attention. Neat, huh? Check it out at ThinkGeek for just 7.

Samsung has just launched charging stations for mobile devices in two airports in the US - terminals at LaGuardia and Orlando International Airports. Known as the Samsung Mobile Charging Station, these enable travelers to juice up their cell phones, laptops and various other electronics for free, making the aforementioned airports to join the growing number of charging stations found in Los Angeles, JFK and Dallas/Forth Worth International airports. There will be a dozen of such charging stations at LaGuardia’s Terminal C, with four outlets located in each of the 8.5 foot tall poles. Any 120V device can be charged, just make sure you’re alert of your device sitting down there lest it be nicked away during a momentary lapse of concentration.

Office pranks can be fun… remember the Annoy-a-tron?

Welcome to the next generation of office pranks… the Phantom Keystroker. The Phantom Keystroker may look like a harmless circuit board, but it’s actually a devious contraption of unlimited office-based torture. Simply discreetly attach the Phantom Keystroker to any extra USB port on your victim’s computer, no drivers needed. The Keystroker emulates a keyboard and mouse and periodically makes random mouse movements and types out odd garbage text and phrases. A simple jumper setting allows you to choose between either keyboard garbage typing, annoying mouse movements or both. An adjustment pot sets the duration between “events”. We recommend you don’t set it too frequently so as to extend the agony. Your hapless co-worker pal will think his computer has been possessed or infected by a destructive virus. As he writhes in anger and furiously dials tech support you can rest easy with a job well done.

Gimmie!

Suggested Price: $24.99

Posted in Computers, Gizmo of the Day

by Thomas Ricker, posted May 1st 2008 at 1:26AM

MediaFLO is about to cut loose for AT&T customers and we’ve got video to prove it. After the break you’ll find Mobile TV running on LG’s new $300 (2-year, after $100 rebate) Vu, one of just two Mobile TV compatible handsets launching on AT&T May 4th — the other being the $200 (2-year, after $100 rebate) Samsung Access. Performance looks reasonably snappy when scrolling through the channel guide although some of the exclusive PIX and CNN Mobile Live content is not yet available. S’ok, AT&T has three more days to throw the big blue switch on the broadcast TV service which includes a $15/month unlimited Mobile TV access plan. Hear that Verizon? AT&T’s about to step all over your portable TV game in the US market.

[Via MyFoxUtah]

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Filed under: Portable Video