Hasta La Gadget!

Amazon has its own applied theory of special relativity, in the sense that we never really know definitive sales figures and instead have to rely on the occasional ratio and comparative figure (based upon aforementioned unknown variables) to glean any sense of success. Jeff Bezos and company are happy to announce the latest Kindle has, in its three months or so since release, surpassed sales of the previous device in its 2009 holiday season (the shopping-heavy October through December period) — in other words, it expects even greater sales for this year’s equivalent quarter, but it can’t exactly time travel to report on the future (yet). Ready for more? Amazon’s also boasting that, for its top 10 bestselling books, Kindle digital books are outselling print (both hardcover and paperback combined) at a rate “great than 2 to 1.” We’re going to guess those are better figures than its tipping point back in July, but Mass-Sales Equivalence was never our strong suit in college. More fun factoids and artistic displays of applied statistics can be found in the press release after the break.

Continue reading Kindle books outselling print 2 to 1 for Amazon’s top 10 bestsellers, and other relatively positive sales figures

Kindle books outselling print 2 to 1 for Amazon’s top 10 bestsellers, and other relatively positive sales figures originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Oct 2010 12:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Panasonic’s Power Loader Light slims down, stays out of fights with aliens originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Oct 2010 12:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The human body is weird. A U.K. man recently underwent surgery to remove a tooth growing in his ear. And who could forget the tale of the newborn baby who had a fully-formed foot growing in its brain!? Crazy, right? But, as it turns out, it’s not just the occasional misplaced tooth or aberrant foot, everybody is a freak. According to a recent discovery: we can taste with our lungs.

Researchers at the Maryland School of Medicine recently published their findings regarding a strange discovery: we all have bitter taste receptors growing in our bronchial tissue. The team came upon the find accidentally while pursuing unrelated research into muscle receptors in the lungs.

The bitter taste receptors are the exact same kind located on the tongue, but with two differences: unlike on the tongue, the lung receptors are not bunched into taste buds, and they don’t seem to communicate directly to the brain.

However, these findings may have very real implications for asthma patients. Bitter taste receptors tend to tighten or constrict muscle tissue around them. These lung receptors may exist for a very practical reason: to prevent bitter-tasting plant based poisons from entering the body. But in asthma patients, these reactors may become stimulated by man-made chemicals that they mistake for naturally-occurring plant toxins.

Just nuts.

Sony’s gaming handheld, which has been trying hard to keep up with the Nintendo DS, gets a $50 price cut.

Originally posted at The Digital Home

You know what this world needs? More Silly Bandz. The little silicone bracelets, whose wild popularity has already become the bane of teachers and parents everywhere, are about to go multimedia. Game publisher Zoo Entertainment today announced that the colorful little pieces of stretchy plastic are becoming the subject of their very own Nintendo DS title.

Hitting the market just in time to make the holiday wish list of everyone in the country under the age of 15, the game has “players rescue trapped Silly Bandz by catapulting them to freedom.”

Angry Birds, anyone?

Yep, “To rescue captured Silly Bandz, players use the Bandz in their in-game collection to take aim at the cages in each level. Once free, the Silly Bandz join players’ collections and can then be used to help rescue others.” Sounds like it’s a few ill-intentioned pigs away from becoming the popular Rovio title.

The game is rated E. it will be available in early December for the DS. Priced at $29.99, it will included, naturally, a 12-pack of Silly Bandz shaped like a joystick, arcade machine, and pinball machine.