Hasta La Gadget!

Mimoco has been offering Star Wars themed flash drives for a long time now. In fact, the latest batch of five themed flash drives is the eighth series to come from the company. I happen to think this series has what might be the coolest of all the Star Wars Mimobot flash drives the company has ever offered.

Any male geek out there who is a fan of Star Wars probably remembers one specific scene from Return of the Jedi and that would be the scene where Princess Leia is clad in a gold bikini and chained to Jabba the Hutt.

Mimoco is offering that Slave Leia flash drive complete with a chain around her neck and a bikini top. Granted the curved nature of the flash drive makes slave Leia a bit more portly than she was back in the 80s.

The series also includes a Jabba the Hutt flash drive, Admiral Ackbar flash drive (It’s a trap!), and Luke Skywalker Jedi drive. While that Princess Leia flash drive is most appealing to me, anyone intent on collecting these Mimobots want to keep an eye out at San Diego Comic-Con for a very limited edition Biker Scout drive. Only 1000 of those will be made and they will only be available at Comic-Con. The drives are available in 8 GB to 64 GB capacities here.

[via EverythingUSB]

Ever heard of HEX before? HEX is an award winning and fashionable technology accessories brand, and they have been around for quite some time already. I suppose one of their more notable products have been the watch band accessory for the iPod nano which transforms your iPod nano into a multimedia thumping digital timepiece.

Today, HEX announced a sharp 15-piece collection of bags and sleeves which will target not only laptops but iPads as well, calling it the Academy. Plenty of smarts oozing out in that name, that’s for sure! In order to be in line with general trends this fall, the range will come in reverse grey denim alongside a contrasting deep-red interior. Not only that, the Academy collection will also sport two fresh bag silhouettes which we will look at in greater detail after the jump – the Laptop Duffel and the Convertible Sleeve for 13” MacBook Pro.

Each of these fashionable bags will include thoughtful functionality, sporting integrated padded pockets that will offer protection for laptops, iPads and iPhones. The bags’ exterior comes with a wax coating in order to offer protection for the devices from splashes, spills or unexpected rainfall whenever you head out. The Laptop Duffel delivers a package that holds your gadgets and belongings in place while looking chic. Some of the features include padded and microfleece laptop storage, a trio of exterior pockets, where one of them has been specially padded and lined to hold a phone, not to mention a removable shoulder strap.

As for the Convertible Sleeve Backpack, this particular puppy will come with a multi-functional design that enables the bag to transform from sleeve, to handheld, cross-body, and backpack courtesy of its multi-functional straps. The Academy range is already readily available at the moment, where depending on the product that you choose, it will retail from $39.95 and will go all the way to $99.95.

Company Page

[ HEX introduces the Laptop Duffel and Convertible Sleeve for MacBook Pro copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

For whatever reason, the Nexus 7 tablet lacks a rear-facing camera. This makes Google’s tablet incompatible with many Android camera apps including Instagram, a fact Asus recently confirmed to The Inquirer. According to Tim Smalley, digital marketing manager at Asus, Google Play will throw an error if an owner tries to add the app to their Nexus 7.

This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. The Nexus 7 only features a front-facing 1.2MP camera primarily designed for video chatting and not taking pictures. The rear facing camera was probably axed as a cost-cutting measure. After all the Nexus 7 is only $200 but still manages to sport a Tegra 3 SoC and a 7-inch screen with an impressive 1280 x 800 resolution.

There’s probably an argument to be made that Instagram could default to the front-facing camera. But then again, this incompatibility is probably best for the human race. Taking pictures with tablets is dumb.

Scientists have been studying an exoplanet dubbed HD 189733b as it passes in front of its parent star dubbed HD 189733A. The reason scientists and researchers are scrutinizing this planet and star pair with the Hubble space telescope is because the planet appears to have an atmosphere that is quickly evaporating. The planet and star were first discovered in 2010 and was observed again in 2011 following a large solar flare from the star.

The planet is Jupiter-sized and scientists say that the intense plume of gas coming from the planet as it passes in front of the parent star was triggered by a massive eruption on the surface of the star. Scientists say that there were noted changes in the atmosphere of the planet after was bombarded with intense x-ray radiation from a solar flare emanating from the host star.

Observations made in 2011 showed that the planet’s atmosphere was evaporating and releasing strong bursts of gas at a rate of at least 984 tons per second. Scientists are studying the planet and its parent star to learn more about space weather outside our solar system. Planet HD 189733b is a gas giant that orbits extremely close to the parent star. The planet orbits at 1/30 of the distance between the Earth and the sun and is approximately the size of Jupiter. The parent star is slightly smaller and cooler than our Sun, yet the surface temperature on the alien world is believed to be about 1830°F due to its close orbit.

[via Space.com]

Star eruption likely caused distant planet’s atmosphere to evaporate is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Google has explained why it selected ASUS rather than Motorola Mobility for the Nexus 7 tablet, arguing that the good of the Android ecosystem is more important than giving the US company preferential treatment. ”We acquired Motorola to help the ecosystem in terms of patents and intellectual property” director of Android partner engineering Patrick Brady told CNET, though conceded that he could understand other partners looking on with some skepticism and fear.

“It was important for us when we acquired Motorola to stress to our partners that we weren’t buying Motorola to get in the hardware business and compete directly with them” Brady said. As far back as August 2011, Android chief Andy Rubin was insisting that Motorola would not be a lock-in for the future Nexus products, something that panned out with Samsung keeping the reins for the Galaxy Nexus.

“At first I think our partners weren’t sure whether we really meant what we said about not giving Motorola preferential treatment” Brady admitted. “But they’ve seen us do another Nexus smartphone with Samsung and the Nexus 7 tablet with Asus, so I think they see that Motorola is not getting preferential treatment. It’s all about the ecosystem.”

In fact, Brady is confident that other OEMs have subsequently been quick to recognize the advantages of Google wading into hardware development. “Android is open source, so they understand that by developing these products we’re working with silicon vendors to make sure all the technology works with the software” he points out. “And we’re enhancing the software.”

The Nexus 7 has been particularly lauded for its relatively affordable price tag, starting at $199 for the entry-level 8GB model. That’s down to a combination of cheaper components and different priorities; you can find out full review of the tablet here.

Google: Nexus 7 is proof we won’t give Motorola special treatment is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.