Hasta La Gadget!

What’s the difference between using a wheelchair and wearing glasses? Both take advantage of technology to adjust or enhance human capabilities. Yet we tend to consider people in wheelchairs as disabled, and people with glasses as, well, relatively normal. It’s all about perspective.

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Earlier this morning some images and details of a rose gold Samsung Galaxy Note 3 smartphone surfaced via the Samsung Argentina website. Those product listings were then removed from the site. The official press release for the new rose gold and red smartphones has now surfaced.

Samsung has confirmed that in addition to the existing black, white, and pink Galaxy Note 3 smartphones, two new gold versions and a merlot red unit are coming. The gold versions include rose gold with white or black accents. The forthcoming Merlot red version is a dark red color, but not quite maroon.

Other than being offered with new colors on the outside, the rose gold and merlot smartphones are the same as the earlier versions. Samsung says that the rose gold Galaxy Note 3 smartphones will match exactly with the rose gold Galaxy Gear smartwatch for those who like to coordinate their fashions.

“At Samsung Mobile, we understand that consumers view their mobile devices as an extension of their personal style, and Samsung is committed to delivering fresh ways for consumers to express themselves,” said Younghee Lee, Executive Vice President of Global Marketing, IT & Mobile Division at Samsung Electronics. “By introducing these new editions of Galaxy Note 3, we want to provide our fashion-forward consumers with more ways to express their personality and tastes through our technology.”

Drones are often thought of as weapons of war, but a few years from now people may come to know them as delivery bots. In a recent interview with CBS show 60 Minutes, Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos unveiled Amazon Prime Air, a futuristic service in development that would use unmanned aerial vehicles to deliver goods to customers in just 30 minutes after they order.

In the interview, Bezos explained that the drones will be able to operate in a 10 mile radius from its shipping centers and will be able to carry goods weighing up to five pounds. While that means you can’t expect your future TV to be airlifted to your house, Bezos says that 86% of the goods they sell are under that weight limit, so it’s not such a significant limitation. More importantly, that means tacos and burritos are not out of the question.

Bezos also said that the delivery drones won’t be controlled manually. Instead they’ll be given the customer’s coordinates and the robots will be smart enough to figure out how to get there on their own, avoiding obstacles and hopefully foiling thieves and pranksters trying to shoot them down.

Here’s the full version of the video that Bezos showed off:

If it gets the approval of the FAA, Amazon could theoretically launch Prime Air as early as 2015, though it’s likely to take a few more years than that. Your move, FedEx.

[via Amazon & 60 Minutes via Mashable]

It amazes me as to the variety of survaillance cameras are on the market.  They come in almost every shape and size, can be hidden inside anything from a USB drive to car keys, to fake air fresheners.  How paranoid are we that this has become a thriving market?  Check some of these mini spy gadgets out…

The Eggbot is an art robot that can draw on spherical or ovoid surfaces. Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories originally made the Eggbot to decorate Easter eggs, but because the robot can accommodate any ball or egg-shaped object between 1.25″ to 4.25″ in diameter, you can also use it to decorate Christmas ornaments. Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories is giving away a pack of holiday designs to give Eggbot owners a head start.

The Eggbot Holiday Super Pak includes all of the designs shown in the image above and more. Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories recommends that you use ornaments with a satin finish. They’re easier for Eggbot to grip and their surface contrasts nicely with marker ink. You may not get vivid drawings on transparent or shiny ornaments.

Here’s a short video by YouTuber sean berry showing the Eggbot at work:

Check out Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories’ blog post for the link to download the holiday designs. The shop will add more designs to the pack so keep an eye on that post.You can order an Eggbot here for $195 to $220 (USD).