Gadgets Blog

The word is out: yesterday morning, Sirius had a private, invitation-only party in New York City to announce the release of its newest product, the Sirius XM Skydock for the iPhone and the iPod touch. Nicknamed the “Skydock” with a market price of $119.99, the product will be able to turn the iPhone or iPod touch into a working satellite radio and adapt to your own playlists, too. It will work in tandem with the Sirius/XM iPhone app and will have the ability to tag songs for download from iTunes as you hear them on the radio. It also gives users access to the all XM and “the Best of SIRIUS” channel. No exact release date has been set, but the official Sirius press release promises the product in stores in fall 2009 () .

For more information, visit xmradio.com.

Source:  digitaldaily.allthingsd.com

Sorry, but you’re not going to elicit my sympathy for the big corporations who have been “shanzhai-ing” independent inventors since inventing was invented.  Check out a video of the Chinese iPhone knock-off:

YouTube - Watch 

C’mon. Microsoft is one of the biggest revampers ever. Maybe taking someone else’s idea and rebuilding it or improving it isn’t entirely fair, but it’s undeniable that it’s one of the best motivators for technological progress and expansion of capabilities.

Innovations and improvements should be celebrated. I poo on your “gray market” labels, well, not really but you get the point.

One of the basic tenets of engineering and invention is to build a better mousetrap. It’s much more efficient to take a basic idea and improve upon it. That’s not to say completely new ideas are non-existent, just rare in occurrence.

Jeez. I’m just sayin’, even Hollywood knows it’s cheaper to make “Pirates of the Caribbean 7 – The Third Return to Davy Jones’ Locker” than it is to sell a completely new script to a fickle audience. And that’s just for a $12 movie ticket.

I doubt they lost as much money as they claim; “potentials” are vague. Maybe those customers only wanted iPhones that were also shavers? : ) You never know.

Source: ComputerWorld

Aw… remember this? Does everyone else have one of these yet? I don’t.

If you’ve been thinking, “my bathroom’s quiet… almost too quiet,” or maybe you feel you need a little company during that usually very solitary time, or maybe you simply must have your life’s soundtrack playing at every moment in every room, this charming little item can help.

It wouldn’t take up much room, as the iCarta iPod Stereo Dock and Bath Tissue Holder doubles as your bathroom tissue holder as well as a charging dock for your iPod. It’s compatible with all iPods with dock connectors — iPod 3G, 4G, 5G (Video), iPod Mini, iPod Nano, and iPod Shuffle (plays but will not charge iPhone 3G or iTouch Version 2) — and has an adjustable spacer. The iPod dock also features four high-performance moisture-free speakers and charges the iPod while playing your tunes. An AC adapter is included. The speaker arms fold so it appears to be a normal docking station when not being used to hold the T.P. It’s also easily removable from its wall mounting so it can travel from room to room with you.

Not only can it provide musical entertainment during showers or your regular morning routine, it can also provide just a bit more privacy in close quarters by turning up the volume a little. It just might be a great gift for a music lover who has everything or a charmingly cheezy gift exchange item. I can’t decide where I am on this one… brilliant or kitschy? Maybe a little of both.

Find it here on Smarter.com.

This week in gadget blogs and news from around the Net:

•  The World’s Largest Cheetoh Eaten Over the Most Expensive Keyboard - Gizmodo
• Speakers that look like trash cans - Engadget
• Wooden iPhone cases - OhGizmo!
• Self-propelled suitcase drives itself - Technabob
• Blue Space submarine - Machines that Go Bing
  

And this week in the Smarter Gadgets Blog we talked about:

• SkyMall Deal: Save $25 off $150 at SkyMall 
• Xbox Stimulus Package; Hero Hawking Hospitalized
• Logitech Deal: Save 10% on Logitech Security Camera
• Banned Apple App: Apple Takes Down Baby Shaker
• Top 8 Helpful Gadgets for the Unemployed
• How to Buy an LCD: Tips on Buying an LCD TV
  

Apparently Apple, for a very brief moment in time, did not like crying babies.

Apple approved a controversial iPhone application, “Baby Shaker,” then immediately had to take it down, due to outrage and protest from child protection groups.

The app does just what it says. It puts a baby on the screen. It begins to cry. And then you see how long you can take the annoyance before you shake the crap out of your phone.

“On a plane, on the bus, in a theater. Babies are everywhere you don’t want them to be! They’re always distracting you from preparing for that big presentation at work with their incessant crying. Before Baby Shaker there was nothing you could do about it.

“Now, Baby Shaker gives you a charming drawing of a baby sure to make those with a less than iron will fawn. True to life, it begins to annoy you immediately. See how long you can endure his or her adorable cries before you just have to find a way to quiet the baby down!”

Very interesting, and yes, a cruel attempt at fun and humor.

I’m sure Michael Vick for a brief moment in time was thinking of how to create an app for fighting pitbulls to help him earn his millions back.

Source.

This week in gadget blogs and news from around the Net:

• 10 of the geekiest music videos of all time - Gizmodo
• David Beckham goes Terminator for Motorola - Engadget
• 3,500 Per Square Inch - Yanko Design
• Fujitsu’s Secure USB memory device, with erasing capabilities - OhGizmo!
• Star Wars T-shirts for the eco-geek - Technabo

And this week in the Smarter Gadgets Blog we talked about:

• Dell Monitor Discount: Save 10% at Dell on a 20-Inch 
• Sleeping on Air: Floating Cloud Sofa
• Save 30% off ANY HP Photosmart Photo Printers
• Video Chatting: Next Gen iPhone to Have Video Chatting

I love how Apple keeps trying to keep the iPhone.

The latest Apple patent shows how Steve Jobs and the boys have applied for a patent for a type of video chatting. There are looking to create a front-facing video camera for chatting for the next generation iPhone. Also included in the patent is a morphing interface that will adapt to the motion of the user. Meaning, if you’re shaking like crazy, the elements on the screen will get bigger so you can punch them with your stubby digits.

Now, will they just figure out a way to send picture messages through text messaging. Is that to much to ask Mr. Jobs!?

Source.

This week in gadget blogs and news from around the Net:

• Hyundai BLUE WILL to debut in Seoul - Engadget
• Dexter iPhone cases…Why not - Destructoid
• iPhone 3G now available without contract - The Boy Genius Report
• Pizza machines dispenses pie in 3 minutes - The Raw Feed
• Cooking in Space - Gizmodo
  
• iTune Premium Tracks to go for $1.29 - OhGizmo!

And this week in the Smarter Gadgets Blog we talked about:

• Dell Mini Deal: Save $50 on a Del Inspiron Mini 12
• James Bond DVD: Quantum of Solace Out Today
• HP Savings: Save $30 off Purchases of $150 at HP
• Odd Car: Mercedes Benz F-Cell Roadster

This week in gadget blogs and news from around the Net:

• All Circuit City stores closing permanently March 8th - Engadget
• Crazy tea bag lighting - Toxel
• Live in a shipping container - Gizmodo
• Elevation’s prediction that the end of the iPhone is near - Daring Fireball
• Fish on the brain - OhGizmo!
• Mood Walls in Amsterdam - Ubergizmo
  
• The latest Star Trek Trailer - Crunch Gear
  

YouTube - Watch 
And this week in the Smarter Gadgets Blog we talked about:

• Ongoing Office Depot: Take $30 off $150 Purchases
• NEO Asteroid to Just Miss Earth Today
• Rubik’s Cube is No Match for the Pentaminx Dodecahedral
• Be Like Bill, Ignore iPods and iPhones: Microsoft Zune Deals
• Smell Like a Trekkie: Star Trek Fragrances

So you’d think the richest man on the planet would have pretty much everything. Especially something as cool and affordable as Apple’s iPhones and iPods.

You’ve thought wrong.

Bill Gates has some pride and among the things that is banned from his family at their technologically advanced home are, you guessed it, Apple iPhones and iPods. Finally, something the kids at school can tease the Gates children about.

“Oh, you have a G5 jet, well I have a 3G iPhone! NeeNer NeeNer!”

Even the wife Melinda Gates apparently has an eye for Apple’s creations.

“Every now and then I look at my friends and say, “Ooh, I wouldn’t mind having that iPhone.”

But until Bill lets go of the reigns, it looks like it’s Microsoft Zunes and Palm Treos for everyone.

To check out all the deals on Microsoft Zune media players on Smarter.com, click here.

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