Hasta La Gadget!

Ken Goldman makes jewelry. Weird, dangerous jewelry that is functional, but if you used it you would probably cause yourself some irreparable damage.

Above right you see his Tenderizer Ring which, if used to hammer a sheet of meat into succulent submission would likely do the same for the knuckle within. It is actually built from a spare tenderizing hammer he had at home. Thankfully he has never made a Ring Tenderizer.

The Ring It Up is equally dangerous, putting a scary paper-spike onto your finger. Useful, we guess, when you are explaining to your accountant that that $2000 dinner at Lotus of Siam was a legitimate business expense.

Thankfully both home-made, and staying that way. Make your own, or head over to Ken’s Flickr pages to check out his dangerous creations.

Product page [Flickr via Core77]

Just in case you haven’t heard, we’re letting you in on a little secret here: Engadget German is the official blog of IFA 2009, so we figured we’d give you a small taste of what’s going down in Deutschland in case you’ve yet to make it over. Our well-traveled compatriots have already dug up a few gems at the show, with the most notable being the Dension Wi Drive. Put simply, this system enables users with HDD-based entertainment systems in their vehicles to access files and playlists whilst at home. ‘Course, it seems as if this would be all the more helpful done in reverse, but hey, you’ve got to start somewhere. There’s also a few new headphones from the good folks at Sennheiser, and a new take on the old range booster from Wi-Ex. Have a look through the read links below, and just in case you’re wondering — yes, you can expect English translations directly on their site for the best IFA has to offer going forward.

Read – Dension Wi Drive
Read – New Sennheiser headphones
Read – Wi-Ex zBoost
Read – Creative Inspire S2
Read – New Audio-Technica earbuds
Read – Alien-inspired Altec Lansing speakers
Read – Hello Kitty YP-U5 audio player

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Home Entertainment

Engadget German at IFA 2009: early morning roundup originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Sep 2009 05:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

To say that Panasonic’s existing lineup of V10 NeoPDP sets were widely adored would be grossly understating things, so it makes sense to see the outfit unleash two new sizes in the family over at IFA. In the midst of mindless bragging about a Full HD 3D system that absolutely no one will be interested in until 3D content delivery is sorted, Panasonic has managed to confess that two new V10 sizes will be produced. If you’ll recall, the set was already available in 42- and 50-inch flavors, but if those just felt too small for your palatial den, the new 58- (TX-P58V10E) and 65-inch (TX-P65V10E) models just might fit the bill. Specs wise, everything here will remain the same; a 1080p panel, 600Hz sub-field drive technology, VIERA CAST functionality for pulling in web content, THX certification and a laughable dynamic contrast ratio of over 2,000,000:1. There’s no exact mention of a price or release date, but you can bet we’ll be hounding the booth attendants for those tidbits as soon as we track ’em down.

Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment

Panasonic adds 58- and 65-inch models to heralded V10 NeoPDP family originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Sep 2009 04:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Panasonic’s IFA press event is just underway, and you know what that means: a whole bunch of TVs. 3D TVs, to be exact, and Panasonic has teamed with James Cameron’s flagship 3D feature Avatar to push those wares. Best sign of this blossoming friendship? A few tons of movie prop guarding the Panasonic booth entrance. Hide your pristine wildlife and mystical native forms of understanding, people!

Filed under: Robots

Panasonic commandeers ‘Avatar’ Powersuit for IFA display of force originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Sep 2009 04:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Apple’s carefully thought-out notebook designs, as well as the clean lines of the iconic Apple Stores, make things very easy for smash-and-grab thieves.

Better. Faster. Easier. That is the slogan for Apple’s new operating system, OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. It could also refer to the heist that took place yesterday in Marlton, New Jersey. First, the uncluttered, open design of the store, unencumbered by ugly metal shutters, made it easy to smash the plate glass window with just one blow.

Next, the thieves signaled to the security guard that they had a gun and then took off along the long, clear tables of merchandise, the straight run allowing them to efficiently scoop MacBooks and iPods into their swag bags. The magsafe cords detached instantly, offering no resistance and leaving power sockets undamaged.

Finally, the stiff unibody shells meant that the villains could grab the notebooks one-handed from a corner with no flexing, and no risk to the internal circuitry, the tough aluminum bodies resisting the jostling clanks inside the sacks.

And so we see that it is true that Apple really does design for the end-user, with small efficiencies that all add up. Thanks to Apple, the scoundrels managed to load up their booty — 23 Macbook Pros, 14 iPhones and nine iPod Touches — in just 31 seconds.

As Steve Jobs might say, “Boom!” Store employees should watch for anyone wanting to buy 23 mains adapters in the next few days.

Laptops, iPhones stolen from Apple Store [ABC Local via TUAW]