Hasta La Gadget!

The rare albino iPhone 4 has been spotted numerous times in the wild, skulking through the trees in the magical United Kingdom, cavorting across the mysterious lands of Vietnam, and most recently standing in formation in Belgium. Now it’s coming somewhere rather less exotic: the Apple Store. Apple has finally announced it will release the white iPhone 4 tomorrow around the world. Here in the US it’ll come in both AT&T and Verizon flavors, warming the hearts and minds of those who like a little less pigment on their handsets. Other than a proximity sensor tweak nothing else has changed on the device, and so the pricing remains the same: $199 on contract for the 16GB model, $299 for 32GB. Sadly, though, your contract also remains the same, and we’re pretty sure really wanting a new phone to match your earbuds isn’t grounds for avoiding an ETF.

Continue reading White iPhone 4 releases tomorrow, finally

White iPhone 4 releases tomorrow, finally originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Apr 2011 08:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The X-Grip Wiper protects shopping carts from the evil ‘Public John’

The X-Grip Wiper is a sanitizer that zaps the germs which inhabit the filthy handles of shopping carts. It also has the potential to become a weird infinite regress, a matryoshka of paranoia. But first, how does Kim Kwang-won’s concept work?

The X-Grip sits on the handle in place of the regular coin box and chain (and integrates these along with as its own magic). When you get your cart, you simply grab the box and slide it across the cart’s handlebar. Germicides inside the handle are wiped across its disgusting surface leaving the whole thing safe and gunk-free.

But wait. What about the unit itself, which has to be touched by every user? The handle may be sparkling clean and safe, but the box will itself become a haven for the very microbes you’re trying to kill. The solution is to put another cleaner on top, but then that too will need to be cleaned. You see the problem?

According to numbers quoted by Kim, the handle is indeed a wretched hive of scum and villainy, coming in above your mouse, a bus handle and the handle on a toilet. In fact, I need to quote a line from Kim’s presentation, as it has a wonderful turn of English. “According to the analyze, it tells us that a handle of a shopping cart has bacteria 4 times more than a handle of public John.”

Public John! Who is this fellow, and why is he contaminating our shopping carts?

X-Grip Wiper [Yanko]

See Also:

• Germs
• This Mouse Doesn't Carry Germs
• Cell Phones Filthier Than Bottom of Shoe
• Slay Germs With Germicidal Lamp
• Gluvi: A $10 Condom for Remote Controls

We’re still waiting for Microsoft to blow us away with its strategy for tablet domination but, thanks to the latest build of Windows 8 to drip through onto the internets, we have yet another indicator that the company’s hopes rely on that OS. Of course we already know that it’ll run on ARM processors, and now we have a look at a set of settings that have strong tablet implications. On display in the video below (and the picture above) are toggles for mobile broadband, Bluetooth, and GPS. Sure, laptops have those too, but here it’s all presented with a Metro flair that, frankly, looks like a real chore to manage with a mouse. (Just look at those scrollbars!) But, with a 16:9 screen and gesture swiping, maybe it’ll all come together. Meanwhile, WinRumors is reporting that there will be six separate flavors of Windows 8 and that tablets are actually quite far along, again pointing to a Q1 2012 release at the latest. Yes, we’re already looking forward to next year’s CES, aren’t you?

Continue reading Windows 8 settings page suggests tablet compatibility, embraces Metro scrollbars (video)

Windows 8 settings page suggests tablet compatibility, embraces Metro scrollbars (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Apr 2011 07:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Is your fancy new phone lacking that certain extra G that makes it special? Worry not, it’s not just your device, Verizon’s entire LTE network seems to be having problems as outages have been reported from across the US. We tested our own Thunderbolt in San Francisco this morning and it was indeed making do with only 3G connectivity. It’s important to note that Verizon’s 3G network seems to be ticking along quite alright, it’s just 4G service that’s down at the moment. Some folks have reported losing both 3G and 4G connectivity, but that’s owing to a documented issue with 3G provisioning on the Thunderbolt — we’ve noted the way to overcome that problem in a previous post. For now, just enjoy your regular-speed mobile internet until the super-fast stuff is fixed and back up.

Update: The Verizon Wireless Twitter account has confirmed the issue, and that the company’s network engineers are “working to resolve quickly.”

Update 2: As of 4:13pm ET Verizon has determined the cause and is “working with major vendors to restore connections.” Still no ETA for a fix.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Verizon’s LTE network takes the night off, leaves a bunch of Thunderbolt users bewildered originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Apr 2011 07:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Flipbac’s camera grips help you grapple with today’s tiny cameras

Today’s tiny, tiny cameras are very comfy to use. If you have tiny, tiny hands that is. The problem is that most of us don’t have pathetic T-rex-style paws but normal mitts with fingers that just can’t grip a digicam very well. The answer — aside from a thumb graft — is to add an extra grip.

These three grips come from Flipbac. They’re made from silicone and have a sticky 3M adhesive back that holds them firm but leaves no sticky residue when removed. The three models are all the same size — 38 x 22 x 6mm — but each comes with a different-shaped bulge. These shapes are “inspired by” the grips on the Canon G12, the Panasonic GF2 and the Samsung TL500.

Available in three delicious, chewy silicone flavors

Choose the one you think would be most comfortable for your big shovel-like hands, stick it onto the flat surface on the front of the camera and you’re done, now able to take pictures with one hand.

The very best part of this is that the grips cost just $10 each. In the world of overpriced photo accessories, that’s virtually free. Available now.

Flipbac Camera Grips [Flipbac via Oh Gizmo]

See Also:

• Custom Grip Makes Canon S90 Almost Perfect