Hasta La Gadget!

Medion has been cramming fingerprint scanners into its GPS units for a little while now, but it looks like it’s now firmly committed to the technology, with its latest batch of models each packing the extra level of security. Those include the GoPal P5235, P5435 and X5535, which each boast a 5-inch touchscreen display, voice recognition, and live traffic updates, plus a nearly identical appearance. The P5435 one-ups things slightly over the P5235 with some handsfree Bluetooth calling, while the X5535 goes all out with a built-in gyrometer that promises to pick up some of the slack when the GPS signals drop out. No word on a price or release date for any of ’em just yet, unfortunately, but we wouldn’t expect the base model to be too far off the $269 that the nearly identical model that just hit Europe demands.

[Via Electronista]

Filed under: GPS

Medion intros three new fingerprint-scanning GPS units originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Personal Soundtrack Shirt started as an April Fools’ joke by ThinkGeek, but now it’s available as a real, buyable product.

Featuring a Velcro-detachable speaker that’s powered by four AA batteries, the Soundtrack Shirt includes a 20-button remote to cycle through preloaded or personal music and sound effects that are sure to put the “assy” in “classy.” (And we mean that in the best way.)

But in case you aren’t interested in using the remote, the shirt also accepts a standard 3.5mm input, allowing you to play your MP3 player of choice through the speaker all day long and share your adroit musical tastes with everyone from that creepy dude on the subway to that annoying “boss” at your “work.”

As for washing, the shirt complete with internal wiring is apparently fine to hand wash or throw in the gentle cycle as long as you remove the other components. That means your $40 Personal Soundtrack Shirt is a somewhat practical purchase, which is something we never expected to say when we rolled out of bed this morning. [ThinkGeek]

The App: A multitouch skateboarding game that uses your fingers as legs. It’s like a Tony Hawk game, but you’re looking straight down at the board and kickflipping with your index finger. It’s got tutorial videos, jam sessions and competitions, and there are a slew of bonus boards for you to unlock as you rack up the points.

The Price: $4.99, at the moment

The Verdict: Touchgrind is pretty great, but it’s not without its annoying quirks. The basic premise, that your fingers act as feet on a skateboard, is beautifully executed. It takes a few minutes to get used to controlling the board (I actually prefer using my thumbs to the two finger method they suggest), but it’s incredibly responsive and the graphics and sound effects are top notch. Performing tricks becomes pretty intuitive after a little while, and just fooling around in the park when you’ve got a few minutes to kill is great.

The problem is that the skateboard takes up most of the screen. You’re in a skate park full of jumps and tabletops and rails, but you can’t see them until you hit them. You can zoom out to see the whole map, but you can’t control the board when you’re zoomed out, as the board is too small for your fat fingers to control. There are also symbols that point towards the different elements of the park, and they flash when you’re supposed to execute your jump, but the timing feels off. Also, you often run right into the side of a jump, as the icons don’t differentiate what direction you’re supposed to come from.

Overall, however, it’s a fun time waster with a seriously high level of polish. Due to the limitations of the iPhone, I’m not sure how exactly to solve the issue of not knowing where the hell you’re going, but if they do come up with a solution you’re looking at one of the best games available for the platform. [Touchgrind (App Store link) via Touchgrind Official Site]

The Sprint/Clearwire joint WiMax venture announced back in July is a done deal, as is the $3.2 billion investmentfrom Intel, Google and others. The WiMax network will branded Clear, replacing the stupid Xohm moniker.

Initially, the network will deliver an average of 2-4Mbps downstream, with the first devices outside of laptops and USB modems arriving in the middle of next year—stuff like mobile internet devices and MP3 players. Another interesting tidbit: Clearwire is building the Clear network with equipment that can be used for LTE, meaning they can upgrade to it if they have to. And the way things are going for LTE—everyone is on board with it as the pick for 4G—that’s a pretty smart move. [Clearwire via GigaOM]

Cyber Monday is here and the boss is still dazed and confused from the endless mouth stuffing over the Thanksgiving holiday. Should you take charge in the meeting and offer your qualified advice to the sleepy and listless work brigade? Of course not.

Instead, we recommend you take advantage of the slow work day and sneak your way to the dozens of sites offering good deals on your favorite gadgets.

We’ve pored over a few of the deals since they started coming in this morning and picked some of our favorites and sorted by site. If there are other deals you think are worth mentioning, please let us know in the comments.

Amazon.com

• Leatherman Micra Multitool – $12.99 (last price: $29) It’s the Leatherman for the price of a movie ticket. No need to explain, really. But here’s one reason.
• Black & Decker 8-Inch auto wrench – $20 (last price: $51.19)
• Sony VAIO laptop (4 GB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, Blu-ray drive, Vista Premium OS) – $799.99 (last price: $1,199) Quality laptop, even if it has all that lovable extra crapware you need to erase once you get it.
• Skullcandy Smokin’ Buds Headphones – $10. The lowest price these ‘buds have seen in their lifetime. Buy three to stuff in your kid’s stocking. Then, in your own stocking, start up an investment fund to pay for their hearing aids 20 years from now.
• Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28K (10MP Digital Camera, 18x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Zoom) – $280 (last price: $400)

Dell.com

• Studio 15 (15” notebook) – $700 (last price: $919). Dependable laptop maker with an OK new design and a fine price makes it an OK deal. Specs: Intel Core 2 Duo (2.00 GHz/800Mhz FSB/2MB cache), Windows Vista Home Premium OS, 15.4 WLED widescreen display (1280 x 800), 3GB DDR2 at 800MHz, 320GB Hard Drive.
• XPS m1530 -15” laptop – $1200 (last price: $1807). This version of the XPS-brand of Dells isn’t quite the line’s showstopper, but for the price, the modern design, and the quality specs (on the mid-level of the gaming spectrum), it’s a good deal to us. Specs: Intel Core 2 Duo (2.5 GHz/800Mhz FSB, 6MB Cache) Windows Vista Home Premium Edition SP1, 15.4 inch widescreen LCD (1440 x 900), 2MP Camera, 4GB DDR2 at 667MHz, 320GB Hard Drive.
• Sharp LC-32SB21U 32” 720p Widescreen LCD – $500 + free shipping. This is among the lowest prices we’ve seen this TV reach in its short lifetime. With a 7,500:1 dynamic contrast ratio and 450 cd/m² brightness, it’s a pretty good energy-saving LCD that’ll last long enough to ride out the recession. Or, until you find a better position that’s impervious to layoffs and will pay you enough to afford the upcoming 30-inch OLED TVs. Good luck with that!

Moleskins

• Moleskins Large Daily Planner – $20. For scribes who love nothing better than a clean and perfectly bound notepad, it’s hard to beat the trusty moleskin. Pick up a few with free shipping by typing in this code at checkout: BKFR08

SanDisk.com

• SanDisk Cruzer Micro Flash Drive (16GB)- $44 (last price: $80)
• SanDisk Standard SDHC (Flash Memory Card for cameras) (8GB): $23 (last price: $44.99)
• SanDisk Ultra II SDHC (8GB) – $20.99 (last price $49.99)
• SanDisk microSDHC (8GB) with SD Adapter – $30 (last price: $70 )

Circuit City

• Skullcandy Lowrider Headphones – $15 (Last price: $29.99) Everyone knows that Circuit City was always a bit on the high end of the pricing spectrum. But you could always find a weird deal on a gadget you never expected, and these comfy headphones fit the bill, snugly.
• Sony alpha DSLR A300K 10.2-Megapixel Digital SLR Camera & 18-70mm Lens – $550

BestBuy.com

• Sony VAIO 2 GHz 15.4" widescreen notebook – $650. A $150 overnight drop for a pretty good lappie pushes it in to our list. Specs: Intel Core 2 Duo T5800 2GHz dual-core processor, widescreen LCD (1280 x 800), 3GB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, webcam, Windows Vista Home Premium OS. 
• The Godfather Collection (4 Discs / Blu-ray) – $42 (last price: $130) The re-mastered collection of the mob classic, on a Blu-ray Disc. Basically, a head-cracking, blood-spattering no-brainer.
• Sanyo – Xacti 8MP Digital Camcorder with 2.5" LCD Monitor (model VPC-E2W) – $200 (last price: $400). Not only does this almost-rough camcorder produce quality video, but we saw the happy net geek Cali Lewis use it as her personal video cam during CES last year. That’s good enough for us.

Fry’s

• Samsung LN46A500 LCD – $900 Samsung TVs have been out in front for the last couple of years and this one is a good deal. With 1080p resolution and 20,000:1 contrast ratio, you won’t be complaining over its clarity.

TigerDirect.com

• Toshiba 32" 720p widescreen LCD – $450 + free shipping. This TV has dropped in price three times over the last ten days or so, which means you might like to wait a few more days to see how far it down it goes. With a 720p resolution, 1,000:1 contrast ratio, 8ms response time, and two HDMI inputs.

Walmart.com

• Samsung BL103 10.2MP 3x Zoom Digital Camera – $69. This camera has the lowest price out there for a 10-megapixel Samsung digital camera. Comes with a 3x optical zoom lens and 2.7-inch LCD.
• Lenovo IdeaPad Y430-3222U 14.1" Widescreen Laptop Model #: LEN Y4303222U – $550 (last price: $650)

Sears

• Kenmore Blender/Food Processor – $50 (last price: $80) All gadget lovers need a new blender every couple of years. ‘Nuff said.

Shoes.com

• New Balance Men’s 992 Running Shoe $80 + free shipping.  Brethable shoes (we tried them out earlier this year and they were crazy comfortable) can be had with the following coupon code: RUN2008.

PHOTO: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images