New Years happened in Tokyo a few hours ago. I had a nice dinner with Lisa's family, and then we headed out to a local temple not far from their house in Ebisu. I took along the Canon 30D DSLR, my favorite low light shooter ever, and the 18-85mm f/4.0-5.6 lens with image stabilization. More on the camera after the jump, but let me not forget the point of this message.
All of us at Gizmodo wish you a happy and prosperous 2007, filled with love and gadgets.

The Cam: As you can see from the above photo, at 3200 ISO grain is much better than what you'd in other DSLRs. The lens has image stabilizing, true, but what I've noticed is that its slowness takes away some of the charm. So I'd actually prefer the cheapo kit lens, which is faster, over the IS lens, if it weren't for the zoom (55mm vs. 85mm). Crazy, I know. Below, there's a gallery of a few more photos I took haphazardly.

I've pushed the saturation a bit, because I feel like I'm addicted to the Nikon D40's Skittles-like color filter. Accurate? No. Fun? Yes.
–Brian Lam

Tokyo Found [Gizmodo]

Filed under: Portable Audio

While hackers eagerly work on getting Tux onto their Zunes, M:Robe fans can rejoice as their wait is finally over. After cracking the firmware, crafty "Shirour" has managed a great feat in not only getting his media player to run Linux kernel 2.6.15, but also in creating a touchscreen driver for it and putting together a serial interface to make those "wasted job hours" more productive. If you're interested in taking advantage of the fruits of his labor, the modified Linux files are available for download, allowing you to breathe some new life into your favorite (or not so favorite) discontinued music player. Just remember, those of you who opted for the extended warranties, any damages incurred during the course of this hack will undoubtedly void it.

[Thanks, Daniel P]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

It's about that time to bust out the champagne toasts, and you know what that means. (No, not a life of cold sores from the stranger you kiss at midnight). It's time to make New Year's resolutions that you won't keep and make predictions that won't happen.

I'll go first. My New Year's Resolution is to keep better track of my gadgets and their necessary batteries, cords and the such. As of now I have hundreds of dollars in lost tech in a perpetual state of dead battery in a travel bag beneath a dirty pile of clothes. My New Year's prediction (sorry kids, "iPhone" thing is taken) is that the PS3 will see a substantial price drop by 2008.

Now it's your turn.

Oh, and Happy New Year, readers! – Mark Wilson...on behalf of the drunk Gizmodo staff

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

Contrary to previous beliefs, it looks like neither Orange nor HTC will have a part in producing the first "Googlephone," and instead it seems that Samsung is slipping in the back door to steal the limelight. When the Ultra Edition 13.8 (formerly known as the Z720) got official a few days back, we noticed the relatively unexpected suite of Google apps swarming the mobile's innards, and aside from the handset not exactly abiding by the Opera agreement that is supposedly falling into place, it seems a good fit for the first Google-infused mobile. Of course, the programs that come loaded are all available as free downloads on supported handsets, but it seems the European-bound 13.8 will be numero uno in what's likely to be quite a lengthy list of Googled mobiles.

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Ok, quick refresher: in 1984 the government splits up AT&T into the Baby Bells; through a series of mergers and acquisitions, most of the original AT&T is reformed into a new company with the old brand, spearheaded by the business formerly known as SBC. SBC's new AT&T owns in whole or in part: Cingular, AT&T Wireless, AT&T -- and now its closest ally in business (and co-owner of Cingular), BellSouth. That is, after months of deliberation and delays (we won't bore you with the political details as to why -- if you want to know more, check here), the $87 billion merger (hey, that went up 20 billion!) was finally given the greenlight by the FCC and SEC, as you may or may not have heard. So what does that mean customers can expect from the newly reformed AT&T? Here's a taste:

• The Cingular brand eventually will die and actually become AT&T Wireless -- the very brand it paid billions to acquire.
• AT&T has agreed to maintain net neutrality for up to two years; after that, we're of what happens. This concession can be overturned if Congress passes anti-net neutrality laws, which we're all hoping, of course, that it doesn't.
  
• AT&T has agreed to sell "naked" DSL for $20 a month as a standard package.
  
• AT&T is likely also to strive for more aggressive triple (or quadruple) play packages, as it rolls out U-Verse-based IPTV. In some regions, customers can expect to get TV, DSL, phone, and cellphone service all under the AT&T brand.
• Baby Bell remnants still competing with AT&T in one vertical or another: Verizon, Qwest, Cincinnati Bell.

For more info on how AT&T was broken down and reformed, check out The Engadget Guide to AT&T Wireless/Cingular/SBC/AT&T merger mania.

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Portable Audio

In a thread over at the Apple Discussions forums, dozens of iPod owners are reporting high-pitching whining and / or buzzing sounds emanating from their 2nd Generation iPod nanos. Many of the owners cite that their units are fully functional despite the whining, although the volume of the unwanted sound varies between each report; for example, russgra states that the whining sound was the first thing he noticed after picking up his 8GB nano, although Energie claims that he wouldn't have noticed had he not seen the problem popping up in forums. There doesn't seem to be any correlation to any particular model within the range either, with 2, 4, and 8GB owners all reporting the annoyance -- notably, none of the reports notice any sound on their previous generation nanos, leading some to suggest that it's caused by a new or upgraded component such as the backlight or battery. In the interests of investigating the problem ourselves, we commandeered a nearby 2GB nano -- although we could hear a faint whining sound once pressed to our ear (which oddly changed tone after we shook it), we found the whine to be inaudible unless we practically lodged it in our ear. Could it be that this encounter is simply a reverberation of the post-Consumermas hangovers, or is this scenario a repeat of the whining problems with the MacBook? If the latter case is true, then it's worth noting that Apple was relatively quick to fix the problem and silence the buzz, along with the vocal minority of people who had brought the issue to the attention of everyone else.

[Thanks, David B.]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Handsets, Software, Samsung, Java, GSM, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS

Contrary to previous beliefs, it looks like neither Orange nor HTC will have a part in producing the first "Googlephone," and instead it seems that Samsung is slipping in the back door to steal the limelight. When the Ultra Edition 13.8 (formerly known as the Z720) got official a few days back, we noticed the relatively unexpected suite of Google apps swarming the mobile's innards, and aside from the handset not exactly abiding by the Opera agreement that is supposedly falling into place, it seems a good fit for the first Google-infused mobile. Of course, the programs that come loaded are all available as free downloads on supported handsets, but it seems the European-bound 13.8 will be numero uno in what's likely to be quite a lengthy list of Googled mobiles.

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Filed under: Announcements, Misc. Gadgets

Well, we're all about to wave 2006 a very fond goodbye, but that doesn't mean we can't take a moment to reflect on all of this year's best (and worst) devices -- the very tech plunder we'll be using well into 2007. Welcome to the third annual Engadget awards!

We've set up 21 categories -- including most of our regular product categories, as well as best and worst gadget of 2006, and the most anticipated gadget of 2007 -- for you to cast your nominations. Here's how nominating works:

• Leave a comment as you normally would with what you're nominating in each category (remember, comments must be validated!).
• Don't include your reasons for nominating it or any of that stuff, just leaving the name is fine.
• Limit your nominations only to devices (or technologies) that were introduced and sold for the first time in 2006 (which means no concept devices or prototypes, although we will allow updated versions of previous products).
• Nominations only need be made once to be in the running, so make a quick scan to see if someone's already beat you to your suggestion (i.e., don't nominate anything more than once!).
• We'll keep the nominations open until 11:59PM EST on Saturday, January 6th

The editors of Engadget will then round up the best nominations, and pick the finalists for each category. These will then be voted on for the Reader's Choice Awards -- we'll also select our own winners for the Engadget Editors' Awards (i.e. each category will have two awards). The vote will take place in January (probably after CES), and winners will be announced later that month.

Here are the different categories, please post your nominations on each page!

• Gadget of the Year
• Worst Gadget of the Year
• Most Anticipated Gadget of 2007
  
  
• Cellphone of the Year
• Smartphone of the Year
• Desktop of the Year
• Digital Camera of the Year
• Display of the Year
• Game Console of the Year
• GPS Device of the Year
• Handheld of the Year
• HDTV of the Year
• Home Entertainment Device of the Year
• Laptop of the Year
• Peripheral of the Year
• Portable Media Device of the Year
• Robot of the Year
• Storage Device or Technology of the Year
• Tablet PC of the Year
• Wearable Device of the Year
• Wireless Device or Technology of the Year

Good luck!

See also: 2004 and 2005 Engadget Award winners.

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

I like to think we have a sort of prestigious weekend club around here. We're casual, tend to lean toward lighter posts and don't require pants. I appreciate our weekend readers (a number that has grown to my delight) because most of you aren't sneaking off to read us because you're bored during the work hours, but giving us the precious free time that you could be (better?) spending with family, housework or Internet porn.

That's why I assembled this little weekend year end review. I put together some of my favorite "remember the time" posts along with a few touches of backstory. But you've just got to hit that jump to read more.

My Favorite Weekend Gadget
Brando MP4 Watch - Video Killed the MP3 Star
Even though I write about gadgets all the time and use little restraint in my purchases, for some reason I still haven't bought this $98 watch. And I'm remedying that...probably after my holiday credit card statement is paid off in 2 weeks.

My Favorite Weekend BS Gadget
Glass CD - Sounds Like A**
Glass CDs: yup, the Future Is Here, for $830.

My Favorite Overpriced Gadget
12-Foot Inflatable Home Theatre, Minus The Theatre
This inflatable garbage bag screen will run you $1299. Nice. Also, this story was my first big digg, which gave me warm/fuzzy feelings inside.

My Favorite Tackiest Product/Weekend Revision
uBreakup: The Tackiest Way to Dump Someone
I think the company that makes the uProducts (automated phone calls that take care of your dirty work for you) is hilarious. I like their marketing, and their ideas are good as both drunken novelty and social commentary.

Anyway, after posting this story and getting a few harsh comments from our readers, the company wrote me and urgently demanded I put a new banner with the story. I think the old banner had word bubbles in which the guy said something like, "I'm getting married, c-ya!" So believe it or not, companies listen to your comments (even if they probably aren't the companies you could give a crap about).

My Favorite Gadget That's Not Really A Gadget

Fletcher Capstan Table: Dinner Party Transformer
While writing the post, I almost pulled the story about 3 times since it really is on the edge of what should be posted on Gizmodo. But then I'd watch the video again, remember how awesome it was and keep typing. Luckily you all agreed.

My Favorite Not Gadget News Post
Fast Food Tech: Prototype Intercom?
One of my biggest pet peeves is a poorly maintained chain restaurant. I don't care if it's fast food or "family dining", if a company insists on taking over the world, I want that world be assembled correctly.

My wife and I were actually driving through the night before (something we actually avoid for the most part) when we saw the pitiful intercom system. She vowed to return in the morning while I posted, and I contemplated (again) how this felt more like a Consumerist post than something for Gizmodo.

By the way: the extra fast food meal I consumed for that story is just another example of how we go the extra mile around here.

My Favorite Reader Response
Offensively Binary: Passive, Aggressive
It's not every day that you can out-geek geeks, but we had a secret weapon: binary code. You cracked me up.

My Favorite Overall Weekend Post
Excuse Box: No Reason to Tell the Truth
I'd hate to explain a joke, so I will just say that this one was my favorite.

I hope you all had as much fun reading as I did writing in '07. And thanks. – Mark Wilson

Ericsson has been authorized to place mobile sensors in the trunks of 50 New York City cabs with the goal of tracking drop zones. Apparently the random driving patterns of cab drivers are effective for finding holes in the grid.

While Ericsson was contracted by an undisclosed wireless provider for this job, logic would tell us that since Ericsson deals exclusively in GSM technology, they can only be working for a GSM company like Cingular or Tmobile. While cab tracking seems like a neat idea, aren't these companies getting far more data from all of their customers? Apparently the cab devices must be more effective. – Mark Wilson

New York City Cabs... [via digg]

Filed under: Displays, HDTV

Proton's no stranger to taking the wraps off new products in lively Las Vegas, and this year it looks like those yet-to-be-named LCD HDTVs we've been hearing about will finally be getting a model number and a full list of specs to boot. Dubbed the first two sets in the company's "premium" LED-backlit lineup, the 42-inch P42D5 and 47-inch P47D5 both sport a newly designed aluminum enclosure, 176-degree viewing angle, and a "Puriti" processing engine that purportedly helps to eliminate jaggies among other color enhancements. Aside from the full blown 1080p support, built-in digital / analog tuners, PIP, and HDMI inputs on both sets, the P47D5 also features a 1200:1 contrast ratio, 500 cd/m2 brightness, 8-millisecond response time, and a pair of integrated 5-watt speakers. Both sets should be on display at next month's CES, and while the 42-incher will sell for $1,999, the flagship 47-inch model will demand $2,999.

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Digital Cameras

You may have seen or heard of marketing campaigns that are annoying or even offensive in their own right, but it's not very often that you'll see one that aims to notify the viewer of a personal annoyance: in this case, that they're suffering from a socially unacceptable hair-based ailment. That's not to say that Head and Shoulders' photo booth-based dandruff detecting campaign is an entirely benevolent one, but we appreciate the thought nonetheless. Saatchi & Saatchi was the agent behind the idea of placing a camera into the ceiling of British photo booths in order to deposit a photo of the recipient's hairline, with the obvious intention of selling their client more shampoo. Although the British may be used to 24/7 surveillance nearly everywhere they travel, at least in those cases they can fool themselves into believing that the only eyes on the other end are those of a bored security guard. With the dandruff detector, the suspicion is far more personal: how is an innocent Briton to know that information on their bald patch won't be surreptitiously stored and resurface years later in the form of anti-balding marketing leaflets through their door? Yes, that was a joke, but we're sure there are still going to be people that won't take lightly to being told by a photo booth that they should wash their hair more often. As they'll no doubt argue, isn't getting a photo of one's face traumatic enough? Personally, we know exactly what to bring if we ever had to visit one of these -- that tin foil hat hasn't failed us yet.

[Via Core77]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

What says “Happy Holidays” better than a new computer? Trinkets of course! And there are some real beauties on the list. Personally, I can’t decide between the possibilities of getting high off my love for Apple with their kite, or passing out in a drunken depression over Apple’s newest lawsuit troubles with their tumblers. Either way it sounds like a fun night.

I’d kill for one of these t-shirts. And am I the only person here who would sit through a Where Are They Now? on these models?– Mark Wilson

Flashback [via digg]
And more Apple ads Here.

Pink, meet blue. Blue, meet pink. Just 3 LEDs change the color of this entire kitchen We like it more than painting, and the "coat" will last 4,000 days before burnout. – Mark Wilson

Kitchen Confidential [via treehugger]

Remember the Red One camera that we've all been wet dreaming over since NAB? You know, that camera that, if released, would give Hollywood a good kick in the nuts?

Well, apparently they've almost finished the prototype dubbed "Spike". The company released pictures of their new matte finished camera that's no longer glimmering like an American Chopper...a relief to gaffers everywhere. But then last night, they released shots of their matte black version, which is looking pretty good as well (pictures after the jump).

While I want nothing more than for this camera to be the second coming of the video world, I'm remaining a skeptic until a real production model is in someone's hands. Still, nice pictures.– Mark Wilson

Spike Silver
Spike Black
[via dvguru]

Filed under: Cellphones

There's acceptable ways to drop the H-Bomb and F-Bomb, and there's "when good toys go bad." Presumably turning a joyous, thrilling Christmas morning into one giant moment of awkwardness, a South Carolina mum was aghast when her son's toy phone, which was purchased from K-Mart as an innocent symbol of motherly love, vocalized "profanity" (mmkay?) instead of "the number six" when pressed. The phone reportedly shouts out numbers when the respective keys are mashed, but unfortunately for Brandy Cunningham, "six" didn't exactly turn out like it should have. Leading to eventual embarrassment, she claims her son has repeated the taboo vocabulary in places like "church" and "the grocery store," leaving the parent in quite a predicament. She even purchased yet another one just in case the phone was a one-time mishap, but found that not to be the case. A spokeperson for Sears / K-Mart has assured everyone that the company is investigating the incident and the toy itself, as it doesn't "intend to sell children's products that contain profanity." It's just a hunch and all, but we think somebody in the manufacturing line is going to have a little explaining to do if all this proves accurate.

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Handsets, Features, Reviews, Nokia, Symbian, GSM, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS

Even as it celebrates its one-year anniversary in public circulation, Nokia’s N80 keeps on scrapping with the best smartphones the world has to offer. After all, S60 3rd Edition is still fresher than anything Microsoft or ACCESS has to offer, the 3 megapixel camera is well above and beyond the standard fare, and the 416 x 352 display simply blows lesser QVGA screens out of the water. It makes sense, then, that while we all wait for the next-gen Nseries devices, Nokia would be looking to extend the useful shelf lives of the elder statesmen in their lineup by tweaking, bundling, and renaming. Among the devices to get a makeover is the N80, becoming the recently-released N80 Internet Edition with a slightly revised software bundle and two fantabulous color choices: black and bronze. Since the hardware is identical to the original N80, we’ll concentrate on a couple of the Internet Edition’s software goodies — and don’t worry, original N80 owners, most or all of it comes with yours, too, or can be downloaded free of charge.

We really can’t emphasize it enough: the N80 Internet Edition (”N80IE,” if you will) is an N80 through and through. If you like the N80, you’ll like the N80IE; if you despise the N80, your seething hatred will run every bit as deep with the N80IE. The similarity carries right through to the handset’s model designation in the upper left hand corner, which simply reads — you guessed it — “N80.” It’s great that Nokia’s committed to revising its generally stellar smartphone lineup as it ages, but we do think that selling it with a new name is marginally misleading. Our only fear is that a few N80 owners might be duped into “upgrading” to the same phone. Heck, the Pearl Black shell (which looks fantastic, for what it’s worth) isn’t even new, though Patina Bronze is.

The lion’s share of the N80IE’s revisions lie within Nokia’s new “Download!” client. We love it; it’s a concept that no smartphone should go without. Think of it as a streamlined version of S60’s Catalogs app — which is now a part of Download!, coincidentally — that offers a straightforward, foolproof way to download new apps straight to your phone. In fact, much of the N80IE’s alleged new functionality isn’t even present on the phone (Yahoo! Go, Gizmo VoIP, and Amazon, among others), you grab it as you need it using Download!. We found the download and installation process to be quick and utterly painless, despite the fact that we were topping out at EDGE speeds; freshly-installed apps are dropped into the phone’s “My Own” folder, ready to run. The client also enables users to buy commercial apps, though we didn’t have an opportunity to give it a shot.

After selecting an app to download, it’s unceremoniously launched for initial configuration. Notice the second screen of Yahoo Go! where we’re asked to select a country. If this isn’t proof positive that the N80’s American launch was an afterthought on Nokia’s part, we don’t know what is. Ah, Cingular-branded N80… we wish we’d gotten to know you.

Some of the new software is nothing more than a thin wrapper around a WAP site or two. Much of Yahoo! Go fits into that category, as does Amazon’s offering. We’d like to have seen something a little richer to take advantage of the N80’s dazzling display, though S60 3rd Edition’s glorious browser makes browsing a breeze.

Mmm, WiFi…

The Barcode Reader and Podcasting apps are two of the cooler downloads currently available. Though not terribly useful, the Barcode Reader did a decent job of reading any kind of barcode we threw at it (QR codes included) — just set the camera to macro mode and let ‘er rip. As soon as a barcode is detected, a box comes up with the detected text, allowing the user to save or discard the data. That’s about all it does — but hey, still cool, especially in areas of the world (read: not this one) where QR codes are commonplace. The Podcasting app does a good job finding, organizing, and synchronizing podcasts on a schedule of the user’s choosing. Best of all, the podcasts can be updated in the background — very handy, especially for folks stuck on EDGE or GPRS that want to pull down a 5 or 10MB ‘cast.

All told, our evaluation of the N80 Internet Edition is, like the hardware itself, identical to that of the original N80: it’s a good phone / PDA in EDGE coverage that’s made great when blanketed with UMTS and WiFi. The phone makes a great introduction to S60 for newly-minted smartphone users, while current N80 owners can keep their wallets firmly planted and start digging through the ‘nets for the N80IE’s added (free) goodies.

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Filed under: Household

Who among us has not been thwarted by the microwave at some point -- constantly having to heat and reheat, trying to get our food at that perfect temperature. While some take the smart appliance approach, those who enjoy a low-tech aesthetic might be interested in The Added Touch's color changing spoons. Each one is heat-sensitive and adjusts hue when your food reaches 120 degrees F, indicating that it is ready. While being the only color changing spoon we have seen that didn't come in a cereal box, it might also be the only one in our dish rack that doesn't melt or get to sparking when left in the ol' nuker.

[Via Core77]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Announcements, Gaming

It's time for the 2006 Engadget Awards, and we're asking for your nominations for the Game Console of the Year.

Nominating is easy, here's how you do it:

• Leave a comment as you normally would with what you're nominating for this category (remember, comments must be validated!).
• Don't include your reasons for nominating it or any of that stuff, just leaving the name is fine.
• Limit your nominations only to devices that were introduced and sold for the first time in 2006 (which means no concept devices or prototypes, although we will allow updated versions of previous products).
• Also, products only need to be nominated once to be in the running, so make a quick scan to see if someone's already beat you to your suggestion (i.e., don't nominate anything more than once!).

Thanks, and good luck to all the gadgets!

 

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