Hasta La Gadget!

Panasonic just unveiled a new mid-level Micro Four Third camera, the Lumix G DMC-G5. It’s the successor to the popular G3 and packs some cool new features. These kinds of cameras take impressive photos, while being easier to lug around than a full-sized DSLR.

The DMC-G5 has a 16MP sensor, and is capable of recording video up to 1,920 × 1080 at 60p full HD video in AVCHD Progressive with stereo sound. The camera can record stills up to 6fps at a maximum ISO of 12,800. The G5′s display capabilities looks great, with a high-res live viewfinder offering an equivalent 1.4 million pixels of resolution, and a large 920k tilting LCD screen.

The camera’s OS has 16 different filters, allowing you to to create Instagram-style photos even if you’re not on your smartphone. The camera will be available in black, silver or white, and will go on sale this August. Pricing has yet to be announced.

[via FarEastGizmos]

We hear more and more about military drones that spy or even conduct attacks, but a company called Rotary Robotics knows that Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or UAVs can be used for peaceful purposes too. The company is working on bringing affordable drones to the masses. So you can spy on your neighbors and attack them with water bombs.

Rotary Robotics calls their project Drones for Peace. The company has entered the MassChallenge program – a competition for startups and entrepreneurs – to boost the project’s progress. As for the drones themselves, they won’t be as high tech as the ones used by the military (nor should they be). The goal is to create $100 drones that are meant to take pictures from the air. To further reduce the costs, these drones won’t be controllable. Instead, users will tell the drone where or what to take a picture of via a smartphone app. Once the drone is launched, it determines its movements on its own, goes to the right spot, takes the picture and goes back. So scratch the water bomb attacks.

There are already alternatives for sale like the Parrot AR.Drone, but a $100 drone will be a game changer. Rotary Robotics hopes that their cheap drones will help enhance activism and citizen journalism, as well as help people do their jobs and of course have fun. Unfortunately, once they see this, thieves and perverts will also no doubt be eager to take their lows to new heights.

[via Fast Co. Exist]

A team of young engineers have invented a wearable keyboard. They’re calling it the G.A.U.N.T.L.E.T. – the Generally Accessible Universal Nomadic Tactile Low-power Electronic Typist. I can’t decide which is more awkward, the acronym or the G.A.U.N.T.L.E.T. itself.

The glove was conceptualized by Jiake Liu, who was inspired by sci-fi movies Children of Men and Minority Report. The glove pairs with devices via Bluetooth, which makes it convenient. What doesn’t make it convenient is the position of the letters, which are scattered all over the glove.

It appears that Liu and his peers invented G.A.U.N.T.L.E.T. as part of a school project, so even though the device itself isn’t that practical I am still thoroughly impressed. Liu imagines a future where the glove can be used to operate almost any device: “Need to microwave something? Touch the microwave oven with GAUNTLET (version 10), and through NFC (near field communication) you are paired with the oven, whose interface will pop up on your glasses, and you can use GAUNTLET to set the cook time.  Need to print something? Touch the printer, and now you can control the printer. Etc.” But if you need to type something? Stick with your phone’s keyboard.

[Gauntlet via Ubergizmo]

As with most Apple offerings, the option to get increased storage space for new Mac notebooks are insanely expensive. Sure, external drives are cheap nowadays, but it would be more convenient if you didn’t have to carry another gadget around. That’s where the Nifty MiniDrive comes in.

The Nifty MiniDrive is simply a microSD card adapter that plugs into the SD card slot of MacBooks. Its main selling point is that it sits flush with the computer’s side when plugged in. You can just leave it there and make it part of your laptop.

A pledge of at least $30 (USD) on its Kickstarter fundraiser will make you one of the first owners of a Nifty MiniDrive. It’s available for the MacBook Air (note that the 11″ Air doesn’t have an SD slot), MacBook Pro and the MacBook Pro with Retina Display.

It’s no secret that companies who come up with the most creative ads are the ones that get the most attention, therefore, achieving their goal. Procter & Gamble decided to go the unusual route recently, and drummed up a lot of publicity when they launched their QR truck store on the road.

It’s basically a regular old truck that invites people to buy some of P&G’s basic household stuff simply by pointing their smartphones at the QR codes beside the pictured goods. No details on how the P&G will deliver the items to the customer, although it’ll probably be shipped over to their home. While a fairly novel idea, we’ve seen something like this before with the virtual grocery store over in Korea.

The downside is that it’s probably not the greatest thing for the environment, with all the gas it’ll consume while making the rounds in the city.

P&G’s trucks were only deployed until June 27th as part of a promotional campaign. There’s no word on whether this is something they’ll be doing on a regular basis.