Hasta La Gadget!

In the U.K., the iconic 8-bit home computer of the 1980s was the Sinclair ZX Spectrum. Few keyboards have surely been pounded as hard as the Spectrum’s rubberised complement of grey rectangles.

Released in 1982, the 48K computer-in-a-keyboard was last produced in 1990. But if this Kickstarter campaign (from veteran Spectrum games dev Elite) hits its funding target then the ZX Spectrum will be reborn as a Bluetooth keyboard for iOS, initially, with plans to add support for Android, Windows Phone, PCs and Macs down the line.

Elite is seeking £60,000 (~$99,000) in crowdfunding to fund production of the first 1,000 units and bring the Spectrum back to life. The Bluetooth ZX Spectrum will be able to be used, not so much as a tough-to-type-on Bluetooth keyboard, but to recreate that authentic rubbery Spectrum gaming experience in conjunction with future app releases from Elite that will be available to buy from the iTunes App Store (and later from Google Play, Amazon’s App Store and Microsoft’s Windows Store).

The Bluetooth ZX Spectrum keyboard will also be backwards compatible with Elite’s existing ZX Spectrum: Elite Collection apps — which feature Spectrum gaming classics such as Jet Set Willy, Manic Miner, Cybernoid, Monty on The Run and Skool Daze (to name a few). The apps will be sold separately to the keyboard — which is being priced at £50 to early Kickstarter backers (which includes Elite app credit and delivery in the U.K.).

The Bluetooth ZX Spectrum keyboard may also work with some third party apps — so you could use it for other keyboardy functions, albeit the form factor was never designed for speedy touch-typing — but Elite notes that compatibility cannot be guaranteed.

Elite is licensing the ZX Spectrum trademark and has been granted the right to replicate the Spectrum’s form factor — and says it’s the only company that has been granted that right from the IP holder.

Nostalgia fans should direct their clicks to Elite’s Kickstarter page. The company has raised £17,000 of its £60k target so far — from more than 280 backers, and with 28 days left to run on the campaign. If successful they are aiming to ship the Bluetooth ZX Spectrum keyboard to backers next September.

The Samsung Galaxy Camera 2 adds a host of new smartphone-like features, including an Android bump, NFC, and a new touchscreen.

One of the perks of Snapchat is how the media you send over gets deleted after a short period of time, meaning that you can rest assured that anything private you send will not be permanent. Unfortunately it seems that it was recently that Snapchat has experienced a security breach whereby they have managed to get ahold of Snapchat’s 4.6 million usernames and phone numbers and have posted it as a downloadable database a few days ago, although at this time of posting the website appears to have been suspended. Ironically enough Snapchat was alerted to several exploits by a security group called Gibson Security, but released a statement in which they claimed to have safeguards in place.

As it stands the hackers have blurred out the last two digits of each user’s phone number and have indicated that they might be willing to turn the data over to the right party, although it seems that their motives were just to let raise public awareness. According to the anonymous group of hackers, “Our motivation behind the release was to raise the public awareness around the issue, and also put public pressure on Snapchat to get this exploit fixed. It is understandable that tech startups have limited resources but security and privacy should not be a secondary goal. Security matters as much as user experience does. The company was too reluctant at patching the exploit until they knew it was too late and companies that we trust with our information should be more careful when dealing with it.”

Snapchat Hacked: 4.6 Million User Names And Phone Numbers Stolen original content from Ubergizmo.

Coinbase has released Coinbase Merchant, a point-of-sale app for accepting payments in Bitcoin. The app functions like a traditional POS app (like Square, for example) except it works for the … Continue reading

Fitness enthusiasts probably rely on some accessories or apps which they use to track their progress, whether it be how long they’ve run for, how many calories they have burnt, or how many steps they’ve taken, there’s an app or accessory for that. The good news for Fitbit users is that if you were hoping for similar functionality that was introduced with the Nike+ Move and Runkeeper, you’re in luck as the app has been recently updated that has not only tweaked the app’s user interface a little, but has also introduced a new MobileTrack feature that takes advantage of Apple’s new M7 motion coprocessor in the iPhone 5s.

The new MobileTrack feature allows the app to track the user’s steps, distance, and calories burnt and will be a feature that will work only on the iPhone 5s, at least that’s what the company claims. However given that the iPad Air and Retina iPad mini also sport the M7 coprocessor, we don’t see why the app can’t work with those devices as well, although we guess it’s not very convenient to carry a tablet with you while you run. In any case the app itself is free for download so if you own the iPhone 5s and would like to take it for a spin, hit up the iTunes App Store for the download.

Fitbit For iOS Updated With Support For M7 Coprocessor original content from Ubergizmo.