Hasta La Gadget!

“Hi, My name is Theo Watson, and this is a little app I made this morning,” says the author of Spinning Vinyl. “Right after smoking out.” he doesn’t add, despite the rather stoned sound to his voice.

Spinning Vinyl, seen above, takes a music track and plays it back and forth against the needle, back and forth back and forth, depending on how fast you spin your iPhone. It uses the accelerometers to determine the rate of rotation.

And yes, it appears that Theo did write this in just one morning. Sadly unavailable in the iTunes Store, but we’re publishing this in the hope of stirring Theo from his soporific stupor for long enough to submit it to Apple.

Product page [Fffff.at via Make]

Microsoft could be working on creating a new smartphone of its own

Apple has its iPhone. And Microsoft may have ‘Pink,’ a new Windows Mobile-based cellphone that it is reportedly developing in partnership with Verizon.

A phone born out of the ‘Pink’ project could be available early next year,  according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

The latest round of speculation around ‘Pink’ is reminiscent of similar buzz from last year. And it follows fast on the heels of rumors that Apple is also in talks with Verizon about potential iPhone-like devices. But so far Microsoft has denied that it is working on a device of its own.

In December, Brian Seitz, group manager of Zune spoke with Gizmodo in response to rumors of a Zune phone offering some basic details about ‘Pink.’  Seitzer indicated that the Microsoft Pink project is more “a platform of services that could allow Zune like services to run on platforms like Windows Mobile.”

That may still be Microsoft’s plan but the company could have decided to take the plunge towards creating its own device in a bid to restore Windows Mobile’s position in the market.

Over the last two years Microsoft has seen rival operating systems gain ground.  Last year Google launched Android, an open source mobile OS that has so far been included in three phones–HTC G1, HTC Magic and Samsung I7500.  Meanwhile, Palm, which has been a long time Windows Mobile user, has launched web OS.  web OS will make its debut with the much-anticipated Palm Pre and if the device is a hit, it is likely Palm could move away from Windows Mobile.

Betting on its own device to showcase Windows Mobile’s capabilities could spur other partners to action. But it could also backfire. Microsoft’s move could put it in compeition against handset makers such as LG that use Windows Mobile OS extensively. In February, Microsoft said it has signed a deal with LG to integrate Windows Mobile into at least 50 LG smarpthones.

Microsoft’s track record in terms of consumer hardware devices also doesn’t inspire much confidence.  After all,  how many users would want a Zune-like phone?

See also:
Zune Manager Slams Zune Phone Rumors

Photo: (mtlin/Flickr)

The presidential CrackBerry is undergoing final testing before being handed back. The NSA is hammering on the SecurVoice software which has been loaded onto the Obama-phone and is in the last stages of testing just how secure it might be.

The BlackBerry is an 8830, the standard business handset, but the added software encrypts both calls and messages. Cellphone calls are encrypted anyway, but there are some back doors if you know where to find them (and of course, the NSA knows exactly where they are).

The company behind the SecurVoice software is Genesis Key, which is handily based in Washington DC. Be careful not to confuse this with spam-alike secure-voice.com, whose site reads, rather unconvincingly, thus: “The development of the Secure Voice lasts from 2001 and we have now a wide range of devices as well as Landline version of the solution.”

Since winning the election, President Obama has been limping along with two devices — a standard BlackBerry and a secured handset called the Sectera Edge, an unwieldy device that not only offers encrypted communications but is also so ugly that nobody would ever want to steal it. Both machines need to be tethered to each other to work, making every presidential e-mail look something like a game of Wii Boxing.

If the NSA tests come up clean, he could have his customised BlackBerry in his hands soon, which in governmental terms means a couple of months. And of course, secure communications aren’t much good if the person you are talking to is an open and easy target. To this end, Mrs. O should be getting one, too.

The odd fact is that the NSA usually likes everybody else to be locked out but itself. Giving the SecurVoice such a big endorsement will either mean that the encryption is indeed unbreakable (and therefore fit for the president) or that it wants everybody to think that it is unbreakable, therefore giving the NSA back-door access to every single SecurVoice customer. Paranoid conspiracy theory? Hell yes. Accurate speculation? Maybe.

Inside the Ring: Obama’s BlackBerry [Washington Post]

Photo: BohPhoto/Flickr

See Also:

• Obama: My BlackBerry Is Coming With Me
• President-Elect Obama Must Surrender His BlackBerry, Says Gov’t …
• Photo Confirms Obama Has Presidential BlackBerry
• Obama Disappointed by Retro Whitehouse Tech

Fancy yourself as the next Jonathan Ive or Frank Nuovo?

Here’s a chance to prove that.

LG, Crowdspring and Autodesk have kicked off the ‘Design the Future’ event to audition for ideas on what a mobile phone should look like in the next few years.

The idea is to let users design a concept phone that could become part of the LG portfolio. "We’re not looking for a long list of specs or phone ideas that already
exist," says the competition web site. "We’re looking for a cool new concept or big idea supported by
usage scenario illustration."

Entrants will have to use the Autodesk Sketchbook Pro software to design their concept phone. The competition will pick 43 entries as finalists and there’s some good prize money available for the winners: $20,000 for the first place,  $10,000 for the second place and $5,000 for the third place. More details of the competition are here including judging criteria. And yes, feasibility of design is a factor.

The deadline to submit their entries is June 7 and the winners are expected to be announced a month later.

Photo: LG Muziq (nino63004/Flickr)

This article was written on April 02, 2008 by CyberNet.

An official press release from Microsoft puts to rest concern that Microsoft Surface is really just vaporware. Starting on April 17th, select AT&T stores will receive the Microsoft Surface computers to change the way that consumers purchase mobile devices. Instead of just looking, they will be “exploring their mobile worlds using touch and device recognition technology.” The first stores to receive the computers will be in New York City, Atlanta, San Antonio and San Francisco, and more stores around the United States will be receiving them throughout the year. Despite the fact that the press release is dated April 1st, this really is no joke.

Each Microsoft Surface Computer is a table that measures about 30 inches. We first wrote about the Surface Computer back in May last year. There were several videos we attached to the article titled “Microsoft’s Surface Computer has the WOW Factor” that are worth taking a look at if you’re unfamiliar with what Surface is all about.  At the time, “The Slasher” commented that he thought “the wow needs to be reserved ’til it’s in the real-world and actually deemed useful.” Amazingly enough, in less than two weeks it will be in the real-world and then we can determine if it’s really useful in a retail setting. Our guess is that customers will be blown away with the experience they’ll have when picking out a new mobile phone and it will in fact be useful…

Here’s how it will work.  Customers visiting AT&T locations that have a Surface Computer will be able to place mobile phones on the “screen” of the computer and then they’ll be able to learn all about the phone, its features, accessories, even rate plans. Multiple phones will be able to be placed on the computer at the same time for easy comparison. If they’re wanting to determine whether their area has good coverage from the carrier, they can view the coverage map on the table and navigate it using their hands.

As SeattlePI reports, AT&T wasn’t even one of the original customers announced by Microsoft so it’s interesting that they’re the first to actually start using them. Additionally, at this point, the full potential of the computers will not be used.  Some of the videos Microsoft released last year showed customers completing transactions by placing their credit cards on the table. AT&T customers will not be able to actually buy a phone with the computer in such a manner, they’ll just be able to explore and learn more about phones that they are interested in (for now). Eventually AT&T hopes to bring the Surface Computers to all of their 2,200 retail locations.

This sounds like a very practical use for Microsoft’s Surface Computer in a retail setting, doesn’t it? Now our only question is how/if/when Microsoft will market these computers for consumers…

Thanks for the tip Omar!

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