Hasta La Gadget!

The +YvesBehar phone shuns the touchscreen trend

Yves Behar-Designed Cellphone Gets Its Design Inspiration From European Watches
If you want to trade in your touchscreen-centric smartphone for a dumphone that’s not short on looks, you can’t go wrong with Yves Behar’s +YvesBehar phone. Swiss and French watchmakers developed the watch band-inspired metalwork, which is available in either stainless steel or gold. Those slick looks come at a price though: It’ll cost 7,000 euros when it debuts this spring.

Yves Behar Desings a Sleek Handset [Gizmodo]

Eminent Planning an Android HD Media Player
The EM7297 hdMEDIA AND, which will run an unspecified version of Android, will let you play HD movies and Android apps on your HDTV. It’ll support USB 3.0, Flash 10, Gigabit LAN, and OpenGL. It’s unclear if regular apps or only specifically built Android applications will be able to run on the set top box, but it could be a nice option for fans of Google’s OS when it debuts.

Eminent to Develop HD Media Player with Android [Eminent via Geeky Gadgets]

HTC Thunderbolt Coming March 17, According to Tweet
A regional sales manager for HTC accidentally tweeted that Verizon’s first 4G LTE smartphone, the HTC Thunderbolt, will arrive March 17th. This date lines up with previous rumors and expectations. The tweet, by Imran Shahid, was quickly deleted.

HTC Rep Confirms Thunderbolt Launch Date [Droid Life]

AT&T Will Begin Capping DSL and U-Verse Internet In May
In a move purported to only affect “less than 2 percent of [their] Internet customers”, AT&T will begin capping their Internet services May 2nd. Landline DSL subscribers will have a 150GB cap; U-Verse customers will have a 250GB. For every additional 50GB of data used, a $10 overage fee will be charged, following a 2 strikes and you’re out rule—the third month you go over, you’ll get slapped with the fee. An online tool will let you monitor your usage and send out an alert when you reach certain percentages of your monthly allowance. Apparently, the top 2% of their subscribers use 20% of their network’s bandwidth—equal to the usage of “19 typical households.” AT&T will begin notifying customers of the change this week.

AT&T Will Cap DSL and U-Verse Internet [Engadget]

Recharge Old Alkaline Batteries with the Wattsclever Alkaline Battery Charger
The Wattsclever Alkaline Battery Charger can charge up 4 of your old batteries in 4 hours. A microcontroller checks that they won’t overheat and die. It’s made of recyclable material, and promises to recharge standard alkaline batteries up to 20 times, so if you find yourself constantly throwing those suckers away, a $46 investment in this gadget could pay off.

Alkaline Battery Charger [Wattsclever via Red Ferret]

Is this the creepiest ad ever produced to introduce a new video game console? That’s a high bar to pass — but is it the creepiest ad for a new smartphone? Perhaps. The minute-long spot for Sony Ericsson’s upcoming Xperia Play called “The Donor” appears to explain the backstory behind its last ad, relaying the tale of a young gentleman who was clubbing with friends, met an attractive woman, took her home, and woke up the next morning to discover that his thumbs were stone cold gone (notice the dirty, poorly-bandaged stumps on the table as he tells his tale of woe to a local law enforcement official). Cut to the next scene, where we’ve got our cute, lovable Android bot waddling around town… oh, and he’s got human thumbs crudely sewn onto his arms. Go ahead, recoil in horror, vomit in the trashcan next to your desk, then cue the inevitable increased desire in owning this phone. Follow the break for the video, if you dare.

Continue reading Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Play ad: gross human thumbs stitched onto robots, drugged clubgoers, not much more we can say

Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Play ad: gross human thumbs stitched onto robots, drugged clubgoers, not much more we can say originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Mar 2011 19:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wireless retailer Wirefly is pushing ahead with pre-orders for the beleaguered HTC Thunderbolt starting at midnight Pacific Time this evening with the promise that they’ll start shipping this Thursday, the 17th; that lines up with a whole lot of noise we’ve heard recently, so we can’t really argue with it at this point. They’re also confirming a couple rumors that have been floating around since the phone’s January debut: first, they’re saying “no Skype,” which we’re taking to mean that the promised Skype video calling app won’t be installed out of the box. We’re also assuming (or at least hoping) that you’ll be able to install the standard voice-only version. Secondly, they’re saying that the phone definitely does simultaneous voice and data over 3G, a feature that was just recently made possible on Verizon’s CDMA network through software upgrades — and the Thunderbolt, it seems, will be the first retail device to have the pleasure of taking it for a spin.

Wirefly: ‘no Skype’ on Thunderbolt, but simultaneous 3G voice and data is a go; ships on March 17th originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Mar 2011 19:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ever see the movie The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes? Well, we don’t have humanoid computers yet, but take out the word “Wore” from the movie title, and Gabriel Dishaw has exactly what you’re looking for!

Dishaw, of Indianapolis, created the above sneakers out of “a motherboard, an old typewriter case, a USB port, chipsets, power connectors and even an oxygen mask from a 747 airplane.”

Okay, so they don’t look like the most comfortable things ever, but they do look undeniably cool. It’s the latest project for Dishaw, who has been engaging in the curious art of junk-made shoes since he was in 9th grade. He’s now 30 years old.

Via Freshness Mag

**Read Part 1 “Life Continues in Tokyo**

Smiles, laughter, sunshine, children playing, ladies chatting…..not the scenes you immediately imagine just 3 days after one of the worlds biggest earthquakes, tsunami, and ensuing nuclear instability struck Japan.

Kids play in the park.

However walking about the neighbourhood today that was exactly what I was met by. Despite the troubles and constant aftershocks people are going about their daily business with an amazing resilience. In the North of Japan things are obviously significantly different, but in and around the capital life goes on, shaken but by no means down. In a world where the media works hard to capture an ever demanding audience by sensationalising journalism by focusing on images of disaster and catastrophe, it is easy to loose track of what is also happening unreported.

A shop has plenty of vegetables in stalk (hahaha!)

Chatting to the locals in Chiba Prefecture there is a distinct air of determination, of a town determined to try their best to get things as near to normal as possible. Already work is underway to clear up the damage, the pride showing through to get the area back to its orderly best again.

Park staff smile while inspecting the grounds as a woman navigates the debris on her bicycle.

People go for hair cuts, cashiers smile at customers, friends meet over coffee, and children play as hard as the workers fixing the pavements. Whilst of course we do not underestimate the incredible loss experienced in the North of the country for which our greatest sympathies are extended. It is also important to see positive Japan, the unreported japan, the one that is filled with determination, with smiles shining through despite the hardships and a fantastic resilience to continue life apace.

Customers relax in a cafe with friends

Commuters wait for their bus into the city.

Kids playing in the schoolyard.

Construction unrelated to the earthquake continues at it’s usual, leisurely pace.

Hair is cut and curled.

A couple browses for a vacation (or quick getaway) to Hawaii.

**Read Part 1 “Life Continues in Tokyo**