Hasta La Gadget!

You can now archive apps on your MicroSD card.

(Credit: RIM/BlackBerry)

One of my biggest complaints when BlackBerry App World debuted this past April at CTIA 2009 was that applications installed to Flash memory, giving you no option to store more apps on a microSD card. On Friday, RIM, …

Originally posted at The Download Blog

For a four-week period, I’m awarding one Leatherman Freestyle CX to the Gadget Lab reader whose comment best contributes to this site.

This week’s winner is “heroisum,” whose comment on the potential of an Apple tablet adds the hope that tablets will help save magazines and newspapers from extinction. “We need something that can replicate an actual page of content — design cues included,” heroisum writes.

That’s a debatable point, to be sure. And heroisum wins for “comment of the week” not because we agree, but because this is a thoughtful, personal comment that advances the argument.

The prize is a Freestyle CX (above), one of the smallest tools Leatherman makes. It’s got a pair of pliers and a hard, 154CM stainless steel blade, and that’s about it. It fits nicely in your pocket, feels good in your hand and looks cool. Thanks very much to the Leatherman company for donating these as prizes.

There are two more weeks, so keep those comments coming. And as a reminder, here’s Gadget Lab’s comment policy.

Runners-up for comment of the week:

• Gadget Lab is patronizing to “ignant people in ‘third world countries’”
• Greenpeace activists are not terrorists
• An Apple tablet would kill the Sony eReader, not the Kindle
• Some more ways Nokia doesn’t get it
• A folksy bluegrass country tale about peeing over a fence

In most cases, a nerd standing on a beach is like the Queen of England standing on stage at a strip club. It just isn’t right. However, these 10 gadgets can make you feel more at home.

I don’t think I need to explain the merits of a drivable beer cooler to anyone—much less nerds used to a sedentary lifestyle. The Cruzin’ Cooler can hit speeds of 15mph with a payload of 24 12oz cans on board. [Cruzin’ Cooler and 19th Hole Carts via Link]
The Grinch Winch features a tow rope and a 7HP engine that will hurl you head on into the surf. [Distortionboarding via Link]
I would hope that you are smart enough to generously apply SPF 50 sunscreen to that pasty body of yours, but you still might need a backup to prevent overexposure to the sun. The Minox Suntimer monitors UV rays and sounds an alarm when it thinks you’ve had enough. [Optix Planet and Link]
For the gadget fanatic, it’s not enough to merely admire the underwater landscape, it must be recorded. Thanko’s underwater video camera (25fps QVGA) is small enough to mount on a pair of goggles. [Link]
Of course you brought your laptop to the beach. As sad as that is, the LapDome was tailor made for people like you. Basically, it’s a mini tent for your laptop that protects it from the elements while shielding the screen from from that unfamiliar fiery orb in the sky. [LapDome via Link]
When a simple beach chair just won’t do, the Astone inflatable massage chair will provide a more luxurious solution. In addition to the vibrating massage pads, the chair also features a dock for your iPod, speakers and a handy remote control. [Axpertz via Link]
In keeping with your nerdy sensibilities, this unique surfboard was designed by Thomas Meyerhoffer—a guy that spent time working at Apple and was a driving force behind the design of Chumby. [Myerhoffer via Link]
If you are going to be out in the sun, you are going to need a pair of sunglasses. This Calvin Klein model look a bit Blues Brothers, but it does feature 4GB of storage. [Link]
It’s a shark! It’s a submarine! No, it’s some fat guy wearing a Superman wetsuit. If you can imagine it, the guys at Wetwear Custom Wetsuits can make it. [Wetwear]
When you are a guy and you have a set of man jugs like this, do us all a favor and wear a man bra with a t-shirt over it. [Link]

Looks like Apple pulled the trigger on patching that nasty iPhone SMS vulnerability a little earlier than we expected — the iPhone OS 3.0.1 update just hit iTunes. It’s not some lightweight, either: you’re looking at 280MB of love here, so get downloading, friends.

Update: Here’s what Apple rep Tom Neumayr had to say about this little episode.

We appreciate the information provided to us about SMS vulnerabilities which affect several mobile phone platforms. This morning, less than 24 hours after a demonstration of this exploit, we’ve issued a free software update that eliminates the vulnerability from the iPhone. Contrary to what’s been reported, no one has been able to take control of the iPhone to gain access to personal information using this exploit.

Well… what do you know about that?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Filed under: Cellphones

iPhone OS 3.0.1 update released, fixes SMS vulnerability (updated with statement from Apple) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The early morning of July 22 found me in Jinshanwei, southwest of Shanghai, hoping to see the longest total solar eclipse of the 21st Century. I was there as part of a tour sponsored by the Planetary Society. (Jinshanwei, also known as Shanghai Beach, is actually within the city limits of Shanghai, although more than 60km from the city center.) The weather was quite murky, and though the clouds briefly thinned enough for us to see the partially eclipsed Sun from time to time, they closed in again so that we were denied any view of the totally eclipsed Sun in the otherwise dramatic midmorning darkness.