Author: Katherine Hannaford
Microsoft Zune MP3 players landing in Canada June 13th, possibly discontinuing 30GB model?
As Bill Gates promised back in January, the Zune is landing in Canada!
Officially landing on Friday the 13th (of June), the 80GB version will be CA$249, the 4GB CA$139, and 8GB CA$189. Microsoft hasn’t mentioned the original 30GB Zune, which still remains on sale in the US, so my guess is as they’re not rolling out the model in new territories, they’ll probably soon discontinue it in the States as well…
That desktop Eee PC? Yep, it'll be renamed as the Ebox, and announced by ASUS June 3rd
Remember the rumours regarding a desktop PC version of the ASUS Eee? Finally, some more concrete evidence has landed in our RSS feeds, albeit with the same mocked-up images as before.
Just like their Eee, it’ll be a budget sub-desktop PC, with just 2GB of memory and a 160GB hard drive. They’ve given it a catchy name and everything – the Ebox. Think dyslexics will have a tough time discerning between the Ebox and Xbox? Me too.
The Register is claiming the Ebox will run on Linux, although my bet is they’ll add an XP version a few months after the launch. Also…
Disposable mobile phone manufacturer announces Hop1800 phone, still hates environment
Looking more mobile phone than cardboard cut-out, Hop-on’s latest disposable phone certainly has the edge over the previous design. It still doesn’t have a screen, but for US$10 (£5), that doesn’t seem like too much of a problem.
Rather cheekily, they’re advertising this mobile as the ‘anti-iPhone’, which to be fair, could be any budget handset’s cry. Still, there’s four hours of talk-time…
Looking for the perfect woman? The 'perfect woman' robot launches June 11th!
Meet the ‘perfect woman’. As of June the 11th, you’ll be able to order your very own Angelina, Gwyneth and err, Julie Andrews. The company AI Robotics has created the most superior robot to date (pardon the pun), which can cook meals for you, go shopping, do the housework and even given ‘massages’.
In addition to that, she can hold a conversation just like any other woman (well, most), and can entertain you with topics including music, culture and world travel. Just like the UGOBE Pleo, her skin contains thousands of sensors, her eyes have integrated cameras, and she even has inbuilt Wi-Fi!
Click over for a video of this impressive robotic girlfriend…
Shiny Video Review: Nikon's S52 and S52c digital cameras
Early April saw the launch of these two cameras from Nikon, which are almost exactly the same as each other – except for a small bulge added to the side of the S52c, which gives it Wi-Fi capabilities.
You can upload to Flickr, or to Nikon’s very own social-networking/photo-sharing site, PictureTown. I’m hoping it’s just like Funky Town, only with less Lipps Inc. Pick…
Hack your vinyl toy collection, turn a Munny into a speaker
I can’t believe I haven’t ever seen this before, or even thought of doing it to one of my many Munny, Qee, or Bearbrick vinyl toys. A chap over at Instructables has put up his instructions on how to melt the face off a Munny, and insert a speaker in its place.
He used a pair of 3″ Tang Band bamboo fiber cones, however depending on how big your chosen toy is (I’m eyeing off one of my 9″ Qees currently), you could really choose any size of cone for the job…
ASUS shows off the lovely leather U2E laptop in Korea – WANT!
With any luck this leather laptop from ASUS will be a darn-sight cheaper than the $5,000 offering from Lenovo – I’m a vegetarian but even I can appreciate how gorgeous that dead cow is, reclining on the metal interior of the U2E, above.
Measuring 11″, it’s just launched in Korea, and features an energy-efficient LED backlit display (1366 x 768, if you must know), a 32GB solid-state drive, and an Intel Core 2 Duo U7600 processor. There’s a DVD-Super Multi…
Flame head robot walks upright, mistakes hat-stand as girlfriend
If this isn’t your new best friend, then I’m shocked. Look! It’s a bipedal flame-head robot! According to BotJunkie, it walks just like a human, which is no easy feat for designers of robots to accomplish.
Measuring 1.3m tall, it was developed by a Ph.D student, Daan Hobbelen, who used seven motors, balance organ and springs to ensure it has a smooth gait, like that of you or I. Check out the video below the jump of Mr. Flame Head in action…
Shiny Video Review: Andrée Putman's photo frame for Parrot
A good few weeks ago, Parrot announced the Andrée Putman-designed digital photo frame. Now, I don’t know about you, but with a price-tag of £250, I’m slightly dubious as to what this photo frame can offer above all the other sub-£100 models. Take a look above for Susi’s thoughts on it…
Lazy blogger's guide to using Twitter to control your light switch
Control Lights with Twitter from Justin Wickett on Vimeo
Our office is fairly obsessed with Twitter, which reminds me of…oh, when we were last obsessed with Twitter, a year ago. It seems to be the one social-networking site that pulls people back after vowing never to return to that Twitter-town again.
I think I’m not the only one who would readily admit to wanting the skills and know-how to set up this home automation service, like Justin Wickett here. Using an INSTEON switch and a computer, whenever he tweets a specific command from his mobile, the PC turns the light on and off. Perfect for lazy bloggers who just can’t be arsed walking five metres to the light-switch, and for…
