Hasta La Gadget!

For less than a third of the price of the cheapest iPad, you can buy Barnes and Noble’s adorably-named, but often ignored e-reader: The Nook. One aspect of The Nook that is often overlooked is the fact that the little sucker is Android-powered. That’s open-source Android-powered. Which, if you think about it, kind of makes The Nook the very first Android-based tablets (or tablet-like gizmos) that the nerdosphere has been buzz–buzzing about.

Of course, The Nook’s scope is a far cry from heavy-duty tablet territory–it’s designed for basic e-reading first and foremost. However, with a few slight “adjustments” you can pimp your Nook with additional functionality such as a Pandora and Twitter app. For free.

Hackers had previously developed a method to RoboCop-up the humble e-reader that required performing some open-Nook surgery. However this newest non-invasive technique can all be accomplished with a spare microSD card and some simple software fanoogling. All under a half hour.

Note: this will definitely void your B&N warranty. However if you’re looking for a simple e-reader that will perform basic web functions without being forced to sacrifice food, rent, inoculations, etc. this may be a handy alternative.

Directions over at NookDevs.

hat tip to popsci

There might be a tiny bit of upheaval up at the peaks of Nokia management today, but that doesn’t mean we all need to stand around looking serious and forecasting who’ll leverage what synergies in order to actuate the requisite paradigmatic shift in the company’s device portfolio. No, we’re much more inclined to go check out a new ad video that show off the mods and hacks Nokia users have put together with their handsets. It’s quite the breathless run-through, this ad, but if you’re careful you’ll spot a few of your old favorites used in quirky new ways. March past the break for a gander.

Continue reading Nokia celebrates its users’ inventiveness in latest N8 ad (video)

Nokia celebrates its users’ inventiveness in latest N8 ad (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 09:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Nokia (YouTube)  | Email this | Comments

Continue reading Apples In Stereo man controls his Moog… with his mind! (and you can too)

Apples In Stereo man controls his Moog… with his mind! (and you can too) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 18:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Boing Boing  |   | Email this | Comments

Two weeks ago you’d have to pay an Australian importer for a specialized USB key. Four days ago open-source software let you roll your own. Today, there’s no need for any of that — you can hack your PS3 with a tethered smartphone. Working closely with the PSGroove team, hacker Kakaroto adapted the same jailbreak to the Nokia N900, and the open-source community lost no time porting it to the Palm Pre as well. If the videos after the break are any indication, both versions work just as well as the original, and you too can get your game on with downloads and detailed instructions at the source links below.

Sadly, the aforementioned Australian importer OzModChips is a casualty of this little story, with all its shipments of the PS Jailbreak dongle seized (and the item subject to injunction) by an Australian court, but we suppose knowing its product has enabled the hardware hacking community thus might somewhat soften the blow.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading PS3 jailbreak adapted to Nokia N900, Palm Pre in wake of Australian ban (video)

PS3 jailbreak adapted to Nokia N900, Palm Pre in wake of Australian ban (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 05 Sep 2010 16:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Maemo.org, Exophase, BBC News  |  KaKaRoTo’s Blog, PSX-Scene  | Email this | Comments

Perhaps the worst, and least repairable, shortcoming of touchscreens is their failure to act as viable game controllers. Keyboard-equipped smartphones alleviate that pain a little (particularly if you pair them with a Game Gripper), but ultimately we’d all prefer real controllers for our real games. Such was clearly the thinking behind the homebrewed setup here, which combines an HTC EVO 4G — with Android and an NES emulator inside — with an Arduino board, a BlueSMiRF Bluetooth module, and a classic NES control pad. The result might look like a mess of wires, but who cares when you can rock Super Mario 3 the way Nintendo surely intended?

Continue reading NES controller pressed into service to Android overlord (video)

NES controller pressed into service to Android overlord (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 03:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Hack a Day  |  sketchsk3tch (YouTube)  | Email this | Comments