Hasta La Gadget!

I what has become an annual occurrence, the yearly leaking of new iPod cases has begun. In previous years, these have given us hints about the presence of cameras, whether correct (Nano) or not (iPod Touch). This year, things are more interesting thanks to the whole antenna-gate fiasco, and its subsequent fix via free cases from Apple.

Above we see what are likely to be the cases for a new Nano and Touch. The Touch case has a cut-out for a rear-facing camera, and we’d guess that it will also sport a front-facing camera for FaceTime calling. Notice that although it has a bumper-style colored strip around the edge, the transparent rear is curved just like the current Touch. My guess is a form-factor almost identical to the current one, only with cameras, a Retina display and the game-friendly gyroscope.

The other, smaller case is probably for a touch-screen Nano. What? Yes, I think that the small square screens that have leaked out over the last few months are not for a shuffle but for a tiny Nano. It probably won’t run anything from the App Store, but if the Nano is to get any smaller, the only way to do it is to combine the screen with the controls. The cut-out on the rear is probably for the existing video camera to peek out through.

As ever, all will be confirmed at the Apple Event next Wednesday September 1st, and I can begin my own yearly ritual of buying the new Touch and passing the old one down to the Lady for use as an alarm clock and not much else. This year the lucky thing will have a 32GB, multi-tasking monster to wake her up.

Accessories appearance early exposure iPod touch 4G leaked [SJ.91 via iLounge]

See Also:

• IPod Touch 3G Cases Already On Sale
• How Apple Designed the iPad Out in the Open

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MQ-8 Fire Scout UAV resists its human opressors, joyrides over Washington DC originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Aug 2010 06:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Electricity might not grow on trees, but it is freely available in the air — provided you know how to catch it. Such is the contention presented by Dr. Francesco Galembeck of Brazil’s University of Campinas at the 240th annual American Chemical Society shindig. He and his crew have shown how tiny particles of silica and aluminum phosphate become electrically charged when water vapor is passed over them. This aims to prove two things: firstly, that airborne water droplets do carry an electric charge, and secondly, that metals can be used to collect that charge. Detractors have pointed out that Dr. Galembeck’s team may be generating the droplets’ electrical charge by the act of pumping the air over the metals — which might imply you couldn’t practice this technique with still, humid air — while there’s also the rather large caveat that the little electricity they were able to collect from vapor was a hundred million times less than what you could obtain from a solar cell of equivalent size. Still, it’s another new door unto a potential alternative energy source and we don’t ever like having to close those.

Continue reading Airborne electricity is ripe for the picking, claim researchers

Airborne electricity is ripe for the picking, claim researchers originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Aug 2010 06:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s one of the key sights of a Japanese summer: women shading their fair skin from the fierce sun with a parasol.

But has anyone seen any men? Personally, I’ve yet to catch one myself though I’m intrigued by a new fashion trend, the male parasol-user (日傘男子, higasa danshi).

This news might not surprise everyone, especially when you consider how metrosexual Japanese men sometimes are, and what a record-breaking scorcher of a summer it’s been. Perhaps the most infamous famous example are the soushokudanshi (草食男子; literally, herbivore boy), who value shopping and preening over dates and sex. Certainly these fellas would want to protect themselves against UV rays.

[Pics via Unkar.org]

Department stores actually stock parasols especially for male consumers now, with simple designs ideal to match with jeans, t-shirts or suits. J-Cast reports that Isetan have broadened their range of male parasols from five types last year to twelve in 2010.

One specialist store in Osaka established in the Meiji period has sold over a thousand male parasols so far this year and stock some rather fancy designs! The majority of customers have been businessmen in their twenties, thirties and forties, says Sankei. Hankyu have also been selling many more parasols than in previous years — more and more men are concerned about getting heat stroke while out and about.

There also seems to be some history of this, with samurai and others certainly using higasa, including even in snowy regions to keep dry.