Gadget Lab Notes: Personal Vehicle Concept Makes Walking a Thing of the Past

The Peugeot XB1 is a concept electric trike

Gadget Lab Notes is an eclectic roundup of gadget news briefs and intriguing products that catch our eye.

In the Future, Why Walk When You Can Wheel Around on the Peugeot XB1?
The XB1 is a cross between those hovercrafts from Wall-E, a robot, and a silver Honda Civic. The fully electric tri-wheeled concept vehicle would include GPS and smart phone integration, and top out at 35 km/hr. If the slew of recent concept bikes, trikes, and scooters are any indication, it looks like future humans won’t have much use for their legs.

Peugeot XB1 [Yanko Design]

Now That The iPad 2 Is Available, Let’s Move On To Some iPhone 5 Rumors
What would iPad 2 launch day be without some fresh iPhone 5 rumors? This time in the form of mold engineering diagrams. The images, from iDealsChina, show a slightly larger display (edge to edge) and essentially the same form factor as the iPhone 4. The design appears to match a photo of the bezel that they also released. Although the renders could be phony, it’s worth noting that the site has a track record: they previously leaked accurate renderings of the 4th gen iPod Nano before its release.

China’s Latest iPhone 5 Rumors [iDealsChina via Macrumors]

GroupMe Texting Service Is Poised to Get Big at SXSW
Group texting service GroupMe, which lets you easily send texts to a group of people regardless of carrier or phone model, looks like it may be a breakout hit of SXSWi. Having used it at this year’s CES, I can attest to its awesomeness. It’s an efficient way to deliver a message to a group of friends or colleagues. Watch out if you have a limited texting plan though—add a couple of drinks to the mix, and you could wake up to dozens of ah, colorful, messages just waiting to be read (that is, unless you were the sender).

GroupMe [GroupMe via FastCompany]

Get Your Race On With an iPhone Steering Wheel Speaker
Similar to the Wii steering wheel wiimote, this circular speaker has a place in the center where you pop in your iPhone 4. Two external speakers add some audio oomph to your game play, while the circular shape makes steering in racing games a bit more fun and realistic.

iPhone 4G Steering Wheel With Speakers [Focal Price via Ubergizmo]


This Is Not The Droid You’re Looking For: R2-D2 Hacked With an Xbox 360 and Projector
On second thought, this fun mod, which includes luminous blue LEDs, a speaker, and an Xbox 360 as a brain, might be the droid you’re looking for after all. The built-in projector displays images 15-50 inches away, and R2’s hull includes touch-sensitive buttons and auxiliary hookups for other input devices (like a Wii or Playstation) if you just want to use the projector. R2 also has HDMI out and optical audio out.

Star Wars R2-D2 Xbox 360 [Instructables via Dvice]

Don’t Arm Wrestle Your Opponent If They Are Wearing the x-Ar Exoskeleton Arm
The x-Ar Exoskeleton Arm is designed to provide arm support, particularly for those who constantly have to lift or transport heavy objects. The x-Ar attaches to the arm at the wrist with a cuff and uses steadicam-inspired technology so that arm movement is not hindered, just made more powerful. I hope these are available to rent before the next time I have to move.

x-AR [Equipois via Crunchgear]


Beautiful Foley Artists’ Toolkit Makes You Want to Slap Something

Chiara Onida’s gorgeous sound-making kit for foley artists

The only time I ever think of foley artists is when I’m listening to a BBC Radio play and I hear somebody trudging up a gravel path. This always distracts me from the story as I imagine the invisible actor stepping up and down in a box of cat litter.

So thank goodness for Chiara Onida, a designer who has come up with a specialty toolkit for foley artists. Like a chef’s knife-roll, the tools roll into a canvas bundle. When opened up at the studio, it reveals a marvelous range of straps and paddles that would be more at home in a Dominatrix’s night-stand.

The various straps and flaps can be struck against anything and everything, including each other. They will produce wet flaps, dry slaps and sickening thunks. The one thing won’t produce is the Wilhelm scream, but I guess that has already been used quite enough. The tools even have wonderfully onomatopoeic names: whump, bwak, thoup, schaa, shwop, fash.

Onida’s beautiful design exists only as a one-off piece, and to be honest, I’m not sure quite how useful it would be. On the other hand, one of the pleasures of a trade you do with your hands is the tools you use to do it, especially if they’re this well designed. I still have my cocktail shakers and other kit from my time as a bartender, and I still love using them.

Foley Toolkit [Chiara Onida via Yanko]

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Gadget Lab Notes: USB DJ Controller Offers High-End Features For Cheap

The Gemini FirstMix USB DJ Controller, at $80, would be an option for the DJ on a budget

Gemini’s FirstMix USB DJ Controller Won’t Break the Bank
Amateur and would-be DJs can get started spinning tunes without doling out a lot of dough with the Gemini FirstMix USB DJ controller. For $80, you get many of the same features as high-end controllers, like dual touch-sensitive jog wheels with volume, effects, 2-band EQ, and a cross-fader. FirstMix includes MixVibes’ CROSS LE software, which supports MP3, MP4A, WAV, AIFF, FLAC, and OGG audio file types and is compatible with other popular DJ programs. You can start scratching on your own Gemini FirstMix in May.

Gemini FirstMix [Slashgear]

Microsoft Kinect Is Now The World’s Fastest-Selling Gadget
With an average of 133,333 units sold each day over its first 60 days, the Kinect is now the Guinness World Record holder for fastest selling consumer electronics device. Over 10 million Kinects have been purchased since its debut in November. In the past, the iPhone and iPad have been titleholders. Let’s see how long the Kinect can hold this record with the iPad 2’s rapidly approaching launch.

Kinect Confirmed as Fastest Selling Consumer Electronics Device [Guinness World Records via Wired UK]

Angry Birds Seasons Gets in the St. Patrick’s Day Mood
Rovio just released 15 new levels for Angry Birds Seasons, filled with pots o’ gold, shamrocks, and leprechaun hats in celebration of St. Paddy’s Day. iPhone and iPad versions are available now, and an Android update will be released tomorrow. And just like with their Valentine’s Day themed update, when you like Angry Birds on Facebook you can unlock three more bonus levels. If that’s not enough for your insatiable bird-flinging appetite, Angry Birds Rio is also expected to come out this month.

Angry Birds Celebrate St. Patrick [CNET]

Teradek Cube Turns Your Camcorder Into a Livestreaming Machine
The deck of cards-sized Teradek Cube is the first wireless HD video encoder that can sit atop your camera and stream 1080p over Ethernet or WiFi. It’s designed to be easily mounted on a baseplate, hotshoe, cage, or rail system. The Cube is available in six different models, including two with support for 4G, with pricing ranging from $1490 to $2190.

Cube [Teradek via Geeky Gadgets]


Spire Clock Combines Japanese Folding Fan And A Saw Blade
The minute hand and hour hand are represented by each end of the fan, which folds and unfolds “in the rhythm of a Japanese fan.” That’s nice, but what about those sharp looking spikes on the end of each of the blades? Those look like they could do some damage.

Spire Clock [Moco Loco]

Wireless Luggage Finder Makes It Easier To Locate Your Luggage At The Airport
easy2pick, a little gizmo with attachments for a keychain and your luggage, was created to make sure you don’t miss your bag as it goes by on the luggage carousel after an arduous day of travel. It sounds an alarm, flashes, and vibrates when the two tags come within 66 feet of one another. Each keychain has a unique ID code, so if someone else also has one, your signals won’t get crossed, and included sensors that measure sound, light, and altitude deactivate the device when it’s in the cargo bay or in the air.

Wireless Luggage Finder [X-treme Geek via Oh Gizmo]


Gadget Lab Notes: DIY Laser Gun Melts All In Its Sight

This DIY laser pistol can send out a kW-pulse of infrared coherent light.

DIY Pulse Laser Pistol Can Decimate Styrofoam and Plastic
Built by Patrick Priebe, this Pulse Laser Gun sends out a kW-pulse of infrared coherent light. When the beam is focused, it can blaze through plastic, Styrofoam, and even a razor blade—so don’t aim it at any parts you’d like to not see melted. It weighs in at two pounds, is 320mm long, and has a 3m range.

Geek Creates DIY Pulse Laser Pistol [Slashgear]

Logitech’s Z906 Surround Sound Speakers Make Their Debut
The successor to Logitech’s Z-5500 speaker set will be available later this month for $350. Boasting 5.1 channel surround sound and 500 watts (RMS) of power, the Z906 includes digital and analog inputs, a wireless remote, and compatibility with computers, televisions, Blu-ray, DVD, game consoles, and other audio sources through digital coaxial, digital optical, a 3.5mm jack, or RCA audio.

Logitech Intros 350 Surround Sound Speakers [Engadget]

The Book-Like Dodocase Now Has Models for the iPad 2
For $60, you can grab the standard Dodocase, which shares the same looks and traditional bookbinding construction as the original iPad version. But if you want something a little more special, they also have a $90 Limited Edition Dodocase with a solid core of bamboo and a cover of black and white Moroccan fabric.

Dodocase [Dodocase via Crunchgear]


H2O Shower Powered Radio, A Green Way to Jam While You Clean
The H2O Shower Powered Radio, debuting in Europe, gets its power from the flow of water through your shower hose. Water runs inside the case and goes into a micro turbine, which gets a generator spinning; this creates power that’s used to charge up the radio’s batteries. It gathers energy that otherwise would “literally go straight down the drain.” The maker, who previously commercialized another green product, the Wind-Up Radio, claims it’s compatible with 99% of showers.

H2O Shower Powered Radio [Tech Digest via Geeky Gadgets]

RC Bald Eagle Is Basically a Really Expensive Motorized Kite
It’s a gorgeous day outside, you don’t quite feel like the flying the kite, and the neighbors just built some fancy RC helicopter. One up them with this 9.5-foot remote controlled bald eagle. The wings are made of a nylon/Polyester blend and the frame and struts are constructed from carbon fiber. A rechargeable lithium battery allows up to 8 minutes of flight time after 20 minutes of charging. All this for the bargain price of $500.

The 9 1/2 Foot Remote Controlled Bald Eagle [Hammacher Schlemmer via Geeky Gadgets]

Tilt Sensing Quilt: Not Your Grandmother’s Kind of Quilt
This quilt not only keeps you warm when it’s chilly out, it includes 41 textile tilt sensors that can interact to provide a rough height-map so you could figure out what it’s currently draped over or covering (OK, so it’s not super useful, unless you want to discover if your roommate is borrowing your quilt while you’re out). It took a year to complete the quilt, which incorporates 6 tilt sensor petals and 41 tilt sensing beads. Data can be sent to a computer via Bluetooth or a USB.

Tilt Sensing Quilt [Instructables]


Super Fast Samsung Stealth Comes Out of Hiding

Image of Samsung’s previously unnamed 4G LTE smartphone, the Stealth. Photo: TechnoBuffalo

An anonymous tipster leaked photographs and specs of Samsung’s previously unnamed 4G LTE phone, now reportedly known as the Samsung Stealth.

According to TechnoBuffalo, the Stealth will include a 4.3-inch, 480 x 800 Super AMOLED Plus display, an 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and autofocus, a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, and an upgradeable Android 2.2 OS running on a 1GHz Hummingbird processor.

A 1500 mAh lithium-ion battery is purported to provide all day, 8-10 hour service with no problems.

This new smartphone is anticipated to harness Verizon’s full LTE speed capabilities—5-12 Mbps down, 1-5 Mbps up.

The Samsung Stealth was originally spotted at CES in January amidst a bevy of other Android handsets including Samsung’s own Infuse. It was referred to as the SCH-i510, and only information about its screen size and type and camera specs were available. Originally set to become available mid-year, the Stealth is now headed for a mid-April release according to the tipster.

The Stealth, which has already passed through the confines of the FCC, is said to include Samsung’s standard TouchWiz interface (although the leaked photos show it running Android LauncherPro).

HDMI out, a microSD card slot, 828 MB internal storage, and a 3.5mm headphone jack round out the phone’s hardware specs.

Samsung Stealth Caught in the Wild [Technobuffalo]


Gadget Lab Notes: Nokia’s X1-00 Is Designed for Developing Communities

The Nokia X1-00 has a large back speaker for sharing audio with friends and family

Gadget Lab Notes is an eclectic roundup of gadget news briefs and intriguing products that catch our eye.

Nokia’s Bright Orange X1-00 Is Designed For Developing Markets
Retailing for a mere $48, the Nokia X1-00 is built for music fans and communities in entry level growth markets. It’s got a large, powerful speaker on the back that can play audio over the noisy sounds of traffic and other loud ambient noise, and a 3.5mm jack allows it to be plugged in to headphones or speakers. It features five phone books, so the phone could be shared among folks with differing contacts, and also has a built-in flashlight and an impressive 61-day battery life.

Nokia X1-00 Is Here [Nokia Conversations via Slashgear]

Private Conversation in a Public Place? Use the Yamaha VSP-1
For the James Bonds and Jason Bournes of the world, privacy is key when engaging in phone conversations (or just about any conversation). Yamaha has developed the VSP-1, a speaker-like Sound Wall device that can make your dialogue up to 89% less audible to passersby. The VSP-1 works by playing different sounds to cover your voice, such as beach, forest or river.

Yamaha Releases VSP-1 System [Akihabara News]

Pioneer Adds A/V Receivers to VSX Line, Including an AirPlay Compatible Model
Pioneer added four new A/V receivers to their VSX line today. With an optional Bluetooth adapter, they become smartphone compatible and can stream audio. The highest end model, the VSX-1021, also features AirPlay compatibility. The receivers range in price from $249 to $549 and include internet radio and DLNA. For controlling the system and your music playlists, custom Pioneer iOS apps such as Air Jam can be downloaded.

Pioneer Announces New Receivers [Crunchgear]



Wheel Around On The Barebones EX Trike
If you’re looking for a little more adventure than your traditional two or three-wheeled vehicle provides, perhaps The EX is right for you. The EX is nothing but a metal frame, modified bike parts, 3 wheels, and some custom CNC milled joints. Oh, and dual 18-volt screwdrivers as an engine (bringing along some spare batteries on your ride would probably be prudent). Speeds top out at about 18mph.

The EX [Nils Ferber via Oh Gizmo]

Easy, Endless Poking With the SNAK Social Keyboard’s Facebook Hotkeys
If you need this keyboard, you really, really have a Facebook problem. It’s got 19 Facebook-specific hotkeys that let you quickly jump to your photos, events, inbox, and more. What if someone else uses your computer and keyboard? No worries: When you sign out, they keys become disabled. The Windows-compatible Social Network Access Keyboard (SNAK) can be yours for $30.
SNAK [Social Keyboards via Engadget]


Gadget Lab Notes: Crystal-Studded Phosphor Wristwatches

The Reveal line from Phosphor displays time with Swarovski crystals

Gadget Lab Notes is an eclectic roundup of gadget news briefs and intriguing products that catch our eye.

Phosphor Reveal Wristwatches Ditch E Ink for Swarovski Crystals
Phosphor, a wristwatch maker that normally sticks with minimalist E Ink clock faces, has taken a turn for the shiny with their latest line. Using a low power “proprietary Micro-Magnetic Mechanical Digital technology”, colored Swarovski crystals are rotated around to display the time. There are six styles to choose from (two for guys, and four for the ladies) which start at $199.

Phosphor’s Reveal Wristwatch Uses Swarovski Crystals to Tell Time [Engadget]

Samsung’s Galaxy Pro Is Aimed At The BlackBerry Crowd
Samsung’s latest handset reveal is the Galaxy Pro, which features a 2.8-inch touchscreen with a four-row QWERTY keyboard underneath. Designed for business types, the “Think Free” Office Document Editor is included for viewing and editing Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint docs on the go. Other known specs are pretty standard and include an 800MHz processor, a 3-megapixel camera, and that it will run Android Froyo.

Samsung Galaxy Pro [Samsung Hub via Engadget]

Goodbye Paper Charts: Delta Pilots May Be Testing iPads in the Cockpit Soon
The FAA began granting approval for professional iPad use in the cockpit in February, and now Delta Air Lines, the world’s second largest carrier, is looking for approval to try them out next quarter. Over the past ten years, pilots have gotten approval to use bulky “electronic flight bags,” which are computers for aviation use. The iPad would be a much lighter option. iPad flight navigation software is already in development at the request of pilots.

Apple iPads in Cockpits [Bloomberg via Apple Insider]

Western Digital Gobbles Up Competitor Hitachi GST
Hitachi’s hard drive unit was recently purchased by Western Digital in a $4.3 billion deal. Western Digital, currently the largest manufacturer in the hard drive industry, attempted to buy another competitor (Seagate) earlier this year. That plan failed due to antitrust concerns.

Western Digital Acquires Hitachi Hard Drive Unit [All Things D]



DIY Apple-Style Speakers Look Great Next to Your iMac
Since Apple doesn’t manufacture speakers that match their brushed aluminum devices, one DIY-er decided to use a CNC machine to make some of his own. A Dayton Audio amp powers the 2.1 speaker system and a subwoofer is hidden below the table. The gold-finish of the speaker cones does deviate from the color scheme a bit, though.

Apple-Inspired Speakers [Hackaday via Slashgear]

Vague Clock Only Tells The Time When Its Squishy Surface Is Pressed
Created under the principal that time is often the cause of stress, the Vague Clock has a soft white surface that only reveals the time when it’s pressed. Unfortunately, the time is still displayed on your monitor, your smartphone, the oven, the microwave…

Vague Clock [Yanko Design]


What’s Inside a Lightbulb? Twenty Inches of Tungsten Coil

You probably know that an incandescent light bulb uses a tungsten filament.

What’s even cooler is that it’s got 20 inches of double-coiled filament — and tungsten is a brittle mineral that, under normal circumstances, can’t bend at all.

How do they hammer out a brittle metal to a super thin ribbon and then coil it up not just once, but then coil up the first coil?

The answer is in this approachable video (below) by University of Illinois engineering professor Bill Hammack, aka “The Engineer Guy,” who not only dismantles a light bulb but also presents animations and other illustrations to show how this thing is manufactured.

This is the first in the third series of videos produced by Hammack, who earlier tackled such fascinating subjects as how an old-school, pre-digital flight recorder works.

“We specifically aimed the last series and this series toward the Wired/Slashdot/Make magazine community,” Hammack told me in an e-mail. “While we want it approachable to people who don’t have too much scientific background, we always try to put something in there that will surprise the person with more knowledge.”

Mission accomplished!


Olivetti Tablet Disappoints with Humdrum Styling, Specs

Olivetti’s Olipad tablet lacks style

Olivetti, once the maker of beautiful typewriters, has gotten into the tablet game. The inevitably named Olipad will be sold through TIM, the Italian telecom company, from today for €400 ($561). That sounds like a lot, but it’s €100 less than the entry-level iPad, which goes for €500 ($700) here in Europe.

The Olipad eschews Olivetti’s history of beautiful design and instead opts for an ugly slab-like block. Inside, the tablet is equally uninspiring. In fact, you can probably guess the commodity specs in just the same way we used to “guess” the specs of every single netbook: Dual Cortex A9 NVidia processor, HDMI and USB ports along with an SD card slot, a ten-inch screen and a customized version of Google’s Android OS (no mention is made of the version).

The tablet also works with some custom accessories: a dock, a capacitive pen and a “touch mouse”.

It’s hard to get enthusiastic for such a humdrum machine. It almost seems like there’s an Android tablet factory somewhere in China that pumps out generic slabs and slaps on a logo, the computer equivalent of getting pens printed with your corporate colors.

It’s especially sad because Olivetti was such a great brand, now squandered. Why? Because — according to the proud press release — “Olivetti is a 100%-owned subsidiary of Telecom Italia”. Sigh.

Olivetti Launches Olipad, Italy’s First Tablet [Olivetti]

See Also:


Gadget Lab Notes: A Camera With An Onboard Makeup Studio

The Panasonic LUMIX FX77 includes a touchscreen makeup studio

Gadget Lab Notes is an eclectic roundup of gadget news briefs and intriguing products that catch our eye.

Panasonic LUMIX FX77 Is a Point-And-Shoot With a Virtual Makeup Studio
You’ve probably never stopped and looked at a just-taken photo on your digital camera and thought “Gosh, I wish I’d put on a little more eyeliner”—but your girlfriend probably has. The 12.1-megapixel LUMIX FX77 lets you add lipstick and rosy cheeks to images right on its 3.5-inch touchscreen display. It also features an SDXC memory card slot, a 5x optical zoom and Leica optics, optical image stabilization, HD video capability, and an HDMI port.

Panasonic LUMIX FX77 [Red Ferret via Slashgear]

Smart Surfboard Is Jam-Packed With Sensors To Track Board and Rider Performance
The SurfSens surfboard, developed by Pukas and Tecnalia, is loaded with a GPS compass, gyroscope, accelerometer, strain gauges, and pressure sensors. Data is recorded on a stick of flash memory. These tools are used to measure the performance of both the riders and the board, which Pukas will use to improve their surfboards’ design and features in the future.

The Future of Surfing [Singularity Hub via Gizmag]

I Double-Dog Dare You To Get a Random Tattoo From the Automatic Tattoo Machine
Auto Ink, a DIY CNC-ed tattoo machine, assigns operators a religion (at random), then inks the corresponding symbol onto that person’s arm. There are so many bad ideas wrapped up in this one device, I don’t even know where to begin. Let’s just hope it has an easy to reach manual kill switch, at the least.
Automatic Tattoo Machine [Makezine]

“Megaphones” Hide Speakers Inside Their Familiar Shape
When you want to blast sound into your living space, what better shape to signify that than that of a megaphone? These megaphones are built of wood instead of plastic, and would house legit hi-fi electronic speaker components instead of the voice amplification circuitry you’d find in a regular megaphone.

Megaphones [Yanko Design]

Giant Slide to Unlock Magnet Faux Simplifies Life
Don’t you wish you could slide to unlock everything? It’s so easy a baby could do it (no really, there’s proof on YouTube). Well, some things are definitely better left secure, but you can always pretend with this 17-inch Slide to Unlock magnet. For $6.99, you can affix it to your fridge, the car, or anything else made of metal.

Slide To Unlock Magnet [Perpetual Kid via Craziest Gadgets]

Geminoid-F, A Realistic Humanoid Robot That Blinks and “Breathes”
The first Geminoid robots were developed in Japan in 2005. The Geminoid-F hails from Denmark, and although less complex than its predecessor, its ability to look like it’s breathing and performing involuntary muscle reactions help it jump over the unfortunate gap of robotic creepiness referred to as the uncanny valley.

Incredibly Realistic Robot [SayOMG via Crunchgear]