Hasta La Gadget!

I’ve long thought that one of the coolest technological innovations in recent times is 3D printing. The technology originally allowed manufacturers to rapidly prototype parts and products. 3D printing technology is far from inexpensive, but the cost has come down as more consumer oriented 3D printers have hit the market. Nokia is now helping people who have access to a 3D printer and might want to create custom shells for the Lumia 820 smartphone.

Nokia has offered new detail on the Lumia 820 3D printing community project. As part of the project, Nokia has offered up 3D templates, case specs, recommended materials, and best practices for individuals to 3D print their own customized shells for the Lumia 820. Nokia calls the materials its 3D Printing Development kit or 3DK for short.

The idea is that individuals can 3D print their own cases for the smartphone or businesses can begin taking orders for customized Lumia 820 shells. I think this is a very interesting idea, not that I expect this to make Nokia’s Windows Phone 8 smartphones any more popular with most users.

Some smartphone manufacturers let users hack the software on their devices, so it’s nice to see someone allowing users to hack the hardware to suit their needs.

Dell Wyse – the cloud computing company acquired by Dell in May 2012 – may soon be entering its bet on the emerging PC on a stick genre. While the previous examples of these flash drive computers we’ve seen use Android as their primary operating system, Dell’s product will also run on Android, but will give customers the freedom to choose from different OSes to actually use.

Currently known as “Project Ophelia,” the computer is meant to be used mainly as a gateway to Dell Wyse’s cloud services. According to Quartz, “It allows access to Windows, Mac OS, Google’s Chrome OS, Dell’s custom cloud solutions, Citrix cloud software, and even Google’s Chrome OS, using virtual instances of those operating systems running in the cloud.” The PC will plug into (and draw power from) a display via USB. Then it will connect to Dell Wyse’s servers via Wi-Fi and to hardware peripherals via Bluetooth.

Dell’s vice president of cloud operations Tarkan Maner said that they’re planning to sell Ophelia for only $50 (USD) each, though he didn’t mention how much the cloud services would cost. That’s probably where they’ll generate most of their revenue.

From a tech support perspective, this could make it a lot easier to secure and manage a large number of computers. But I wonder if it also poses a risk of data theft, disconnection or lack of access on a massive scale should things go wrong. It also takes away a lot of control from the user in return for the convenience it provides. Either way, it’s too early to see what kind of effect Ophelia may have on the PC industry.

[via Quartz via Boy Genius Report]

Changing SIM cards can be quite an annoyance, especially if you travel to the same places often, and don’t want to deal with international roaming fees. That’s one of the reasons why dual SIM smartphones are pretty useful. The Samsung Galaxy Grand (model i9082) is one of the latest phones to offer dual SIM slots.

Even though the phone has a 5-inch screen, it lacks Full HD resolution and comes with a paltry WVGA (800×480) TFT LCD display. It’s powered by a dual core 1.2 GHz processor, with Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. It has 1GB of RAM, 8GB of built-in storage, and a microSD card slot. The battery is 2,100 mAh. The main camera is 8MP, with a front-faced 2 MP.

The unlocked Galaxy Grand will cost about €409 (~$547), making it more expensive than previously thought. Samsung has been somewhat quiet about when this dual SIM phone would be released, but Samsung Ukraine issued a press release at the end of December, indicating that the Galaxy Grand would be released quite soon, and the current prediction is that it will arrive in Europe this February.

You can certainly get more powerful phones for the price, but if you want a Samsung and need dual SIM slots, you might want to check it out.

[via Unwired View via Ubergizmo]

We’ve seen transparent casemods or rear panels for past versions of the iPhone. Now it’s the iPhone 5′s turn to show off its goods, courtesy of the Translucent Mod Kit from iPhone5Mod, the same aftermarket shop who makes the magnetic keyboard and gamepad for the iPhone 5.

Aside from letting you see what your iPhone is made of, iPhone5mod claims that the kit’s plastic parts are more resistant to scratches and fingerprint smudge compared to the default aluminum rear panel. I’m not sure if it’s tough enough that you won’t need to cover your phone with a protective case though.

You can order the Translucent Mod Kit from iPhone5Mod for $40 (USD). As shown in the video above, the kit comes in seven colors; if you have extra money you can get all the available colors for $169. Keep in mind that the kit only comes with the parts and not the tools needed to actually install it on the iPhone 5, so you’d better know someone who can do it for you before you order the kit.

[via Fancy]

After the numerous times I’ve dropped my iPhone, I totally believe in the protection of a sturdy case. Thanks to cases, my current phone still has no scratches, so when I inevitably upgrade, the pain in my wallet will be a lot less thanks to the resale value I’ll get from a non-messed-up phone. While my current case offers good protection, this case is definitely something I’d like to try out since it offers a neat feature that others don’t.

My phone is always in silent mode, but I rarely miss any important notifications because I use the flash notifications setting. This case design takes that basic concept of visual notifications a bit further.

The Endliss Smartcase has LEDs built into its back, that will flash in a number of different ways, displaying icons and other information to let you know of any notifications that you might get.

The case has an 8×16 LED grid that syncs to your iPhone 5 via Bluetooth 4.0. It can also display the time and comes with a 1,500 mAh battery, which is enough to power the lights and give your phone a bit of extra juice.

The Endliss case was shown off at CES 2013 last week. It’s a pretty slick concept, but there’s no word on a price or release date yet.

[via Chip Chick]