Hasta La Gadget!

Turns out that leak we saw of the Jawbone Icon was for real after all, but it was only one of the six designs straight out of Aliph’s oven: (clockwise from top left) The Thinker, The Rogue, The Hero, The Ace, The Catch and — our favorite — The Bombshell. While these are the smallest and lightest Jawbones ever, Aliph has managed to cram in an allegedly improved NoiseAssassin and simultaneous dual-phone linkage, along with an onboard ‘AudioApp’ which vocally broadcasts battery level and caller ID. If you prefer a visual indication, the Icon also does a battery gauge on the iPhone — a first on a non-Apple Bluetooth headset — and apparently “Apple’s aware of this” so a firmware update shouldn’t kill this Palm Pre-style. We’re digging the MyTALK website — currently in beta — where you can pick and install other AudioApps and DialApps (for the multifunction button; e.g. voice dialing, free directory assistance and voice-to-SMS) onto the Icon, and both will be free except for some DialApps which require subscription. Oh, and there are seven earbud sizes plus an earloop to keep everyone happy too. When you’re done with picking, hit the Verizon stores for the initial launch today and pony up $99.99. Press release and video walkthrough of the MyTALK website after the break.

Continue reading Aliph Jawbone Icon Bluetooth headset launched in six lush flavors (Update: video!)

Aliph Jawbone Icon Bluetooth headset launched in six lush flavors (Update: video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Jan 2010 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just two weeks after researchers broke the encryption inherent to GSM networks comes word that another team has cracked 3G encryption.

The attack takes just a few hours on a typical PC, reports Ars Technica. That’s enough time to crack 3G’s KASUMI system, which is based on a simplified type of Fiestel encryption called MISTY (pictured; good luck with that.) MISTY uses multiple keys and a recursive, multi-round encryption process.

The “simplified” KASUMI algorithm was supposed to make it “faster and more hardware-friendly” without compromising security. But as the report indicates, it seems that’s no longer the case. This doesn’t mean that every AT&T and T-Mobile cell phone is suddenly insecure; a research environment is very different than the real world. But it’s food for thought nonetheless.

By day, the Airstash is a common, ordinary USB card reader. But by night, it dons the mantle of wireless connectivity, taking to the streets and sharing pictures an images in an ad-hoc, daredevil manner.

The Airstash looks much like a regular card reader, with a USB plug on one end and an SD card-shaped hole in the other. In between you can find a tiny, battery powered 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi router. Slot in a card and it can be reached wirelessly through the web browser of any Wi-Fi enabled computer or phone.

The design is simple, but the uses are manifold. You could use this to wirelessly copy photos from card to computer, but that, apart from saving you a USB port, is a little boring. What about carrying an extra 32GB of movies and music that can be streamed from the built-in server direct to your iPhone? Or creating a fully functional wireless network for sharing, well, anything? Because it uses vanilla Wi-Fi, it works with anything. And because it uses USB, it charges when you plug it into a spare port.

The product was shown last week at CES, and right now has neither a price or a shipping date (”available soon” is the only hint on the product page). If it is cheap, and if the battery in such a tiny case can last long enough to be useful, then this could be a very useful toy. And if it is given away at next
year’s CES in the same fashion as pen drives were at this year’s show, we’ll be very happy indeed.

Airstash product page [Airstash via Oh Gizmo!]

IOGear is more commonly known for its desktop and laptop KVM switches and peripherals, but at CES this year, home theater and media devices dominated the company’s booth. It is making a strong push into the home theater market, including the ability to wirelessly transmit HD content from the devices in your entertainment center to your TV. 

VIZIO’s announced 2010 lineup is alright and we’ll get to them in a minute, but a few slick concepts were more than enough to distract us momentarily from nearer future products. What did we get our eyes on? Check the gallery and continue our shared experience with a 1/4″ thick “Blade” LCD TV, 24-inch portable wireless (WiFi) HDTV, universal touchscreen IR remote, Quad HD display, Bluetooth headphones and of course the 58-inch 21:9 ultrawidescreen beauty shown above. We wouldn’t be surprised if at least some of thse are closer to production than several announced products here in Vegas, so check the video & press release after the break before trawling the shelves of local Wal-marts looking for a leak.

Continue reading VIZIO CES concept designs show a future of ultrawidescreen, ultrathin & wireless HDTVs

VIZIO CES concept designs show a future of ultrawidescreen, ultrathin & wireless HDTVs originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Jan 2010 22:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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