Broadcast 11: Top 5 handphones of 2008

If you ever need a hole in your wallet ... get this

Leading the spot for the top 5 mobile phones of 2008 is none other than the Nokia N96.
“It’s design is amazing, being a graphic designer, that means a lot to me! GPS software could be better… the way it breathes is amazing ”

The Samsung Tocco, not to be mistaken for a Taco

Second, Samsung F480 Tocco
“The full touch screen is really easy to use and the screen is easy to read and large”

The Storm, who came up with the name?

Third, Blackberry Storm,
This device is a real rival to the dominance of the iPhone. The “clickable” touch screen is a new and exciting development, but arguably this feature will be the one that decides it success. The applications and browsing are very good, as one would expect from a Blackberry, but the Storm does not have Wi-Fi, which could seriously dent its credibility in the Smartphone market. It seems that RIM is targeting consumers and business users with this application packed, slick mobile.

Isn't this the one in the James Bond ad?

Fourth, Sony Ericsson C902
“Camera qualities are excellent and far better than some digital cameras about and saves carrying your phone and a carmera around with you, same for the music walkman its fabulous and saves carrying around an iPod.”

Another WinMo phone

Fifth, Samsung Omnia
“Great phone with excellent features. This phone is great for watching movies on the go or listening to your favourite MP3’s, GPS built in – get yourself satnav software and this is a great feature on a phone, plus it works a treat. People complain about the battery life, and yes this could be better. But when you consider this phone comes with such a large screen and the backlights then I can live with charging it daily as I would expect a screen of this size to use more juice than my small screened SE W810i.”

Broadcast 10: Cellphone gun, Nokia 6260, Milk Glass LED Lamp, etc

No more cold ... lonely lunches

The USB-powered heated lunch bag is probably something you’ll want to look into. It apparently keeps your food at a steamy 140 degrees Farenheit all day, though it gives us pause that we’re warned to “make sure the plastic container that you store your food in is of a certain grade and quality” to ensure that there’s not “an adverse chemical reaction,” but we figure that’s probably a minor concern. Source: Engadget

Where's the QWERTY!?

Nokia just went official with the 6260 slide. Unfortunately, “slide” in this case reveals a numeric keypad not a QWERTY. Otherwise, it’s pretty much an iterative step beyond the 6220 classic. As such, we’re looking at a 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens, WiFi, and HSDPA/HSUPA data to quickly share photos and video on Nokia’s Ovi service with the promise of support for other photo and video sharing sites you might actually use. The 6260 slide also features Nokia Maps riding AGPS — a first for a mass market, Series 40 device.

Check out the HUGE trackball

The Seiko WN-1 is a very cool time piece to wear, especially if you want people to strike up a conversation with you. It’s a toy watch with a small rotating earth that makes a full rotation once every 24 hours, just as the real Earth does. The time zone indicator points to the correct hour on the bezel.

Got Milk?

For a buy it now price of RM38 on Ebay, you can own this fun gadget. Designed to resemble an ordinary glass of milk, this cool gadget is the Milk Glass LED Lamp.The main control switch on this cute lamp is located on the bottom of the glass. Once in the on position, tilting the milk glass LED lamp right side up, causes the lamp to light up. Reposition the lamp on it’s side or upside down and the lamp will turn off. Three AAA batteries are required to power this unit.

No colour screen, No GPS, No SMS ... but it kills

Italian police officers recently seized a tiny gun that’s disguised as a cellphone. It can hold four bullets and is powerful enough to kill somebody.

Broadcast 9: Razr stopped bullet, Gmail Hack, 125 phones from LG, etc

Too bad it doesn't stop time

This may be the first good news Motorola’s had in a long while: RJ Richard down in the New Orleans suburb of St. Tammany Parish was on his lawnmower in his backyard when something struck him hard on the chest. When he pulled his Moto RAZR out of his breast pocket to see if it had been damaged by what he presumed to be a pebble, a damn .45 caliber bullet fell out! Having saved the man’s life, the phone fell apart.  Source: Gizmodo

Now the rest of your fingers won't be jealous!

Master modder Bryan Gardner has found a way to hack multi-touch capabilities into his G1 and even though it’s still in beta as he admits himself, is still looking pretty darn good and provides a solid base for other Android G1 modders and coders to run with.

Can't be too careful these days

Gmail Hack: A Route to Domain Theft? According to a proof of concept by Geek Condition, there is a security flaw in Gmail that allows an attacker to forward GoDaddy account reset information to the offending party unbeknownst by the victim. This is done by creating a filter that forwards GoDaddy’s “change of password” mail to the attacker and deletes it from your inbox.

Life is still good for LG

LG has said that it plans to launch 125 phones globally in the next year.That’s just an amazing number of mobiles to produce, that’s basically two different types of phones launched across the globe. VP marketing LG mobile global, Chang Ma, has said: “We have to work with different operators in different countries, we don’t think it’s a big number.”

How can you run out of bandwidth?

Nemertes Research has been checking out usage patterns and monitoring bandwidth usage for a while now, and their conclusions are rather alarming if you believe them: by 2012 the internet as it stands will pretty much max out on bandwidth.

Broadcast 8: Yahoo’s top 5 mistakes :)

Yahoo ... woohooo

Aborted Projects
Yahoo! is rife with projects that have been started, with great fanfare, only to die quietly months, sometimes years, later. Rank and file employees don’t deny it: “They wasted a lot of money on projects that have been scrapped,” one engineer said of the company’s management.

You got steamrolled!

Missing the Google Express
Yahoo! had the chance to buy Google in 2002. Then-Chief Executive Terry Semel reportedly balked at the $5 billion price after months of negotiation. In retrospect, that was clearly a mistake.

He looks like Arthur Petrelli from Heroes

Hiring Terry Semel
Another commonly cited mistake: hiring former Warner Bros, studio honcho Terry Semel as chief executive. Yahoo! stumbled in the wake of the tech bust early in the decade. It brought in Semel to turn things around. In retrospect, however, Semel was just riding a powerful rebound that other managers, such as the boys at Google, were playing far more skillfully. Semel declined to buy Google; at the same time, he funded a push into media that has largely foundered.

Click click.

Failing to Click With DoubleClick
Another deal Yahoo! missed out on was DoubleClick. The advertising network specialized in the display ads that had long been Yahoo!’s strength as it struggled to hold back a surging Google. But when Yahoo! didn’t move quick enough to purchase the ad network, Google pounced, helping to close the gap.

Balllmer ... seriously?

Not Bonding With Ballmer
Perhaps Yahoo!’s biggest bonehead maneuver was failing to deal with Microsoft’s acquisition offer quickly and cleanly. As a result, the drama dragged on for months, sapping Yahoo!’s energy and opening the door to Carl Icahn, the aggressive corporate raider who grabbed three seats on Yahoo!’s board in August. The move undoubtedly led to Yang’s ouster this week.

Source: Forbes.com

Broadcast 7: Flying Car, Laser Tanks, Rapist hurt by iPod, etc

Ugly Flying Fridge ... car.

The Pentagon has commissioned DARPA to build a military grade flying-car. The Personal Air Vehicle Technology project aims to create a car which could drive on the road, and in an instant take off from the road and fly like a helicopter.

Dangerous weapon

An alleged (and formerly convicted and released) rapist was picked up in Staten Island, New York after being selected from a lineup by the victim. Sources said the woman struck back during the attack by stabbing the perpetrator in the neck with a nearby iPod charger, and the man picked out of the lineup bore the twin bruises of an AC adapter on his neck.

... but, does it sound cheap?

These “CupSpeakers” from designer Dmitry Zagga are MacGyverific. With nothing more than a large disposable drinking cup, a couple of toothpicks, and the included iPod earbuds, Zagga has constructed a sleek, cheap, and easy speaker system for his iPod.

Finally, a freaken laser tank!

Northrop Grumman has just announced that the first ever high-energy, solid-state lethal laser for actual war applications is now available for ordering. The new Firestrike units offer 15 kilowatts of power, but can be combined to offer 100 kilowatts of technological terror, capable of actually destroying the enemy.

Broadcast 6: Facebook phone, Wookie, iPhone Malaysia?, etc

The Facebook phone! Never miss a poke again

The INQ1 is touted to be the most advanced social networking phone in the world, and it will be available exclusively on 3 in the UK. This handset is meant to democratize access to mobile internet services on an unparalleled level, offering a mobile Facebook experience with with one-click access and live updates pushed straight to the INQ1’s display.

SPAMMMMMMMMMMM

Noticed a drop in the number of email spam lately? Well, I have. Apparently an ISP, McColo was taken down on Tuesday by upstream provider Hurricane Electric, rendering McColo’s downstream ISP without most of its Internet traffic. That drop was at least 35%. The exact figure is still debatable, but experts speculate that the ISP was responsible for anywhere between 35% and 70% of the world’s total spam. BAD BAD ISP! Wonder how does TMnet fare?

UoooWhhhooaOOooOuUhhooo

These fun Wookie warmers are bound to keep your feet warm, don’t worry though no Wookie’s were harmed in making these fun slippers.

No iPhone for Malaysia?

Officially, Singapore started selling iPhone since 22th August, now Thailand is going sell original 3G iPhone in coming months! True Move, Thailand’s third-largest mobile phone firm, announced yesterday that they had signed a deal with Apple Inc. to sell the 3G iPhone in Thailand. So, where’s our turn!?

Broadcast 5: Hot Geek Chick, SE W705, HTC Touch, etc

That's a rocket scientist you're looking at

Summer Williams is a Houston Texans cheerleader. She’s also a rocket scientist. Williams is a 25-year old aerospace engineer for the Jacobs Engineering Group, which is NASA’s main scientific support contractor. Williams, a small-town Kansan, is an assistant project manager on the group that figures out how to keep the international space station habitable.

i hAz wiFi

The W705 is the first Walkman phone to have built in Wifi, as well as that there is 2.4 inch LCD screen, and a 3.2 megapixel camera. No information yet on how much it will retail for in Malaysia.

Companies Scan Japanese Brains To Better Target Ads

Research firm Nielson and California-based NeuroFocus have launched a service in Japan that scans the brain waves of potential customers to help companies improve marketing. Spoooky.

25GB in 70 seconds with USB 3.0!

The USB 3.0 specification guarantees an increased performance of 10 times compared to the capabilities of the current USB 2.0, providing a bandwidth of 600 MB/s second. Devices employing USB 3.0 specifications are planned to be available to consumers in 2009 or 2010 and would be backwards compatible with USB 2.0 and USB 1.1.

The lovely ladies. We're talking about the phones.

The HTC Touch family just got bigger with the recent introduction of two new models to the existing lineup – the HTC Touch 3G and the HTC Touch HD. The HTC Touch 3G is a 3G enabled version of the previous Touch, while the Touch HD comes with a 3.8 inch wide-screen VGA display (WVGA), a standard 3.5mm audio jack and a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus. The HTC Touch 3G will be available from the end of November and will retail at RM1,999 while the HTC Touch HD should hit the shelves by December at a retail price of RM3,399. Source: Lowyat.net

Broadcast 4: Nail watch, Google talk + video, shower heads, etc

Don't use the nail clipper?

This comes from the Core77 Year 2154 Design Competition. A fun and novel idea, clicking on the edge of the nail turns on and off the glow feature. We just hope the ladies (and boys) don’t paint their nails while wearing these!

Is that your ugly face?

Google today announced a major update for Gmail: video and voice chat. To make this work, users only have to install a small browser plugin. The new chat functionality will work on PCs with Windows XP or Vista, as well as on Macs with OS X 10.4 or later. The plugin will work with all the major browsers, including Google’s own Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Safari.

Disco Shower!

The colour phasing shower light lets you know the varying temperatures of the water. Temperature changes from green (when the temperature is less than 32C) to red (at more than 45C.

Vrroomm ... I mean, tick-tock ...

Some clever fella made these bikes out of dead watches. Now, this would really be cool if it was life sized.

Have Starbucks with style

The eco-friendly Coffee Cuff designed by Contexture is made from reclaimed veneer. The Coffee Cuff serves a dual function as both a bracelet as well as a jacket for your next latte.

Broadcast 3: Nokia N96, Diamond Tequila, Walking House, etc

This will burn a hole in your wallet

The lastest offering from Nokia, the N96. An over featured, over powered, over priced piece of technology. But hey, who wouldn’t want one? Now, officially launched in Malaysia for a cool price of RM3399

Tequila brings the bling

Tequila may be just another drink for some of us, but to a team of scientists in Mexico their country’s native alcohol turned out to be a gem; a diamond, to be precise. Javier Morales, Luis Apátiga and Victor Castaño at the National Autonomous University of Mexico made the alchemist-worthy discovery while experimenting turning various organic solutions, such as acetone and ethanol, into diamonds!

Just don't walk into a lake

Can’t stand your noisy neighbours? How about taking your house for a walk? Houses are normally fairly stationary objects, and that’s not considered a bad thing. But innovation never stands still, and a new prototype house that can walk on six legs has been built . The house is ten feet high, powered by solar panels, and is outfitted with a kitchen, toilet, bed, and wood stove. Does it float?

The iRiver wave

Another brand new touch screen phone to tease us! This time from the famous Korean MP3 player manufacturer, iRiver. Other than a touchscreen, the phone packs WiFi, multimedia playback, FM radio, e-books, an electronic dictionary and a 3-inch 480 x 272 touchscreen.

Look while being a target

RM37,240 bullet proof designer clothing that can repel automatic gunfire. A designer by the name of Miguel Caballero has been selling bullet proof designer clothing to diplomats, politicians and other prominent people who want the protection of a bullet proof vest, without the bulk.

Broadcast 2: Facebook, Freaking expensive keyboard, iPhone robot, etc

Facebook, mighty conqueror!

Social-networking giant Facebook is continuing to grow like mad. In fact, the company grew its active membership total from 90 million users in early July to 120 million now, according to Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer. While speaking at Salesforce.com’s Dreamforce conference, Sandberg also noted, “We got more (members) in the last three months than in the first three years of our existence.” There’s 6.7 billion people on this world, that’s almost 2% of the population having a Facebook account!!

The flippin most expensive keyboard in the universe

Meet the RM16,200 keyboard. The key tops of HHKB Professional are hand coated with Urushi, the Japanese lacquer. Each Keyboard receives more than 10 coatings and 1 coat of sprinkling gold dust. You have to be a skilled typer to own one of these because there’s no characters painted on them.

Only thing missing, are laser guns ...

Some clever modder has turned his iPhone into a robot. This clever iPhone robot was made using an Arduino CPU board and development environment, a TA7291P motor and it is powered via 4 x AA batteries. Now, all that is missing are laser guns.

Now, you don't have to type!

Those natty guys over at SymbianV3.com have posted an application for Nokia mobiles, which effectively turns them into an optical character recognition scanner via its camera.

Let's hope there isn't any leak somewhere

Here’s something you don’t see every day: a town built in the middle of a lake. Not on an island, but actually below water level. It’s the ancient city of Seuthopolis, in Bulgaria, which was discovered in 1948. Six years later, a dam was destroyed and it was covered in water, ending up at the bottom of a huge lake. Now, the city is being unearthed via the most insane architectural project ever.

Broadcast 1: Darth Vader Toast, NoseVac, Miracle Berries, etc

Dark Vader toast

Deep down inside, you know you’re a nerd. A Star Wars nerd to be exact. Now, how about having some Darth Vader inside of you? Literally speaking

NoseVac, won't suck your brains out

NoseVac: A vacuum cleaner for your nose … yes, all this does sound a little strange, but Nosevac is a nose hair trimmer with a built-in vacuum cleaner, which sucks out all the stranded hair that gets cut. Cool or yuck?

Now, everyone can break into your home

In this era that we live in where satellites can zoom in on objects as small as a license plate, it doesn’t seem unreal that scientists at the University of California are working on a technology that will allow the owners of this software duplicate a set of keys without being in physical possession of them.

So, are you a floppy or a USB drive?

Remember the good old days of the floppy disk? Here’s one USB drive shaped like an floppy disk, great for those wanting to take a trip down memory lane.

Happy berries, the legal kind

Miracle Fruits (sometimes called Miracle Berries) have been a secret wonder of the world for centuries. Though they were first documented by a French dude in 1725, they’d been consumed for many generations prior. They were eaten before meals to make the meals taste better. “How?” you ask. By making sour and bitter foods taste sweet. “But how?” you scream. The truth is, science doesn’t completely know (it has something to do with the protein miraculin that bonds to your taste buds, but the exact cause is still a mystery). But the berries work, and it’s a miracle.

Tech Geek @ Pacmee.com

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