Hasta La Gadget!

Cell phones are great, but they aren’t always cheap – especially after you get wrangled into a service contract. If you want all of the basic functions of a phone, but don’t want phone manufacturers to get your money, just make one yourself. Sure, it won’t have all of the bells and whistles of a real phone and it won’t look as polished, but at least you had a neat project and created something.

This do-it-yourself cell phone by David A. Mellis really works. It will make and receive calls, send out texts, and display the time. No mobile gaming on this phone, but for homemade, it’s not bad. It builds on the hardware and software in the Arduino GSM Shield but extends it with a full interface, including display, buttons, speaker, microphone, and more. You can choose from a grey LCD or red LED dot-matrix display. Plus, you can decorate the wood case pretty much any way you’d like.

The main circuit board will cost you $60(USD), but the completed phone will cost you about $200 in parts. Okay, so it isn’t cheap after all, but it will be a fun project and maybe you will learn something along the way. Go all get the details here, and check out more photos of the DIY cell phone’s various incarnations on Flickr.

[via This Is Why I’m Broke]

While it’s comparatively easy to get started with Raspberry Pi programming, it can be tough to find suitably challenging projects afterward — what’s good for rookies may bore seasoned pros. To solve this, Element14 has launched a Raspberry Pi Projects hub that organizes community projects by skill level. First-timers get tutorials for basic tasks, such as loading Minecraft: Pi Edition, while veterans learn how to build home monitoring systems and other advanced devices. Those who want a faster start on their projects can also spend $40 on a new Raspberry Pi Model B bundle that includes both the tiny PC and an 8GB SD card preloaded with six operating systems. There’s no guarantee that you’ll become an expert through Element14’s hub, but you’ll at least be saved from getting in over your head.

Filed under: Misc

Comments

Source: Element14 (1), (2)

Watching TV can have its dull moments. At least when you are channel surfing. And if you are channel surfing, you are probably lonely. Wiebelbot can help. This small USB powered robot wobbles every time you switch a channel, keeping you company and keeping you entertained while you try and find something to watch.

This little guy is cheap and easy to make, with its body made out of a ping pong ball. It simply reacts to the infrared transmissions from any remote control. To build one, you’ll need some basic electronics and soldering skills, but otherwise it is simple.

Much like a Weeble, this little guy will wobble, but not fall down. If you want to create your own little robot TV friend, check out the instruction guide on Instructables.

Beats Electronics got control of a lot of digital music rights and technology when it acquired the streaming music service MOG last year. Now, Beats is launching a new service—Project Daisy—to sell you beats by every artist you can think of. More »

Remember the Book Scarves? Well, now you can do more than just wear your favorite story around your neck.

If this campaign on Kickstarter gets, well, kick-started, you might soon be able to wear your favorite work of literature on your shirt. I’m talking about Litographs.

Printing the entire text of a literary masterpiece on an article of clothing isn’t exactly a new concept, but Litographs managed to take something that has already been done to a different level. Instead of just printing the text on the shirt, they’ve set it so that the cracks and spaces in between reveal an image that’s appropriate for the story.

Check out the gallery below for the first Litographs shirts that are going into production.

The project is currently up for funding on Kickstarter, where a minimum pledge of $30(USD) will get you one Litographs shirt of your choice. Contributing $25 more will get you one of Litographs’ prints to hang on your wall.