Dean Kamen's Luke Arm, All Things D

Gizmodo was at All Things D where Dean Kamen (of Segway fame) was showcasing his revolutionary Luke Arm. It's a mechanical prosthetic arm that you control with your mind. As unbelievable as that sounds you have to actually see it in action. Named after Luke Skywalker (yes really) the arm is capable of incredible things. You really have to see it to understand what I mean. Head over to Gizmodo and check out the video and pics they have up.

Via Gizmodo

The Glovephone, Need I Say More

I don't even know what to say...dude, it's a freaking glovephone! I mean look at the damn thing. While I would have put the numbers and screen on the top side of the glove, this could very well be the best damn thing I've seen all month! Sadly it's just a concept, but hit the link to check out all the details.

Via Nikoladesign

NTT Docomo Show T-mo USA, Rest of World How its Done. Release 19 Phones You Only Wish You Could Have

Remember that post about how T-Mobile USA was gonna release 16 new phones in the next few months? Well Japanese powerhouse NTT Docomo would like to school you on how its really done, outrageous my mobile can kick your mobiles ass, style. The 906i and the 706i series continues Docomo's tradition of introducing phones you only wish you had. Of the 8 906i handsets, all, yes I said all, have VGA screens. HSDPA-check, GPS-check, 1seg tuner-check, credit card payment-check, aww it doesn't even seem fair to go on. The other 11 706i handsets round out the pack with decidedly less, but with still way more than you'll get on your typical American carrier. You guys can all sit and wait for your 3G iPhone, I'll secretly be wishing for that sweet Bravia SO906i.

Via Engadget Mobile, Via NTT Docomo

iPhone 2? You Decide

What is it about Apple products that get people in a frenzy? Rumor and speculation run rampant when ever the mere mention of the fabled iPhone 2 hits the intarwebs. Ever since the release of the first iPhone, people have been clamoring for something better, faster, more lust worthy. It's true that the first iteration left something to be desired. But since that time, it has practically eclipsed nearly every product that has come before or after it. The iPhone has become the bar that every manufacturer has tried to over come. We've all seen the impostors from LG and Samsung. Even global market leader Nokia has conceded its relevance and is making a completely touchscreen device. So that picture above, is that the long awaited 3G iPhone? You be the judge, but come June, we will all know for sure what Apple truly has up it's sleeve.

Via iPhoneclub.nl

Willcom 03, Just One Reason I Wished I Lived in Japan

Willcom has been pumping out phones in Japan for some time now, and the company has just announced the Willcom 03. Aside from the pretty color schemes, you get that monstrous WVGA screen (800x480) 1seg tuner (Japanese mobile TV), WinMo 6.1 and 128MB RAM, 256MB ROM. Other specs are pretty typical of a high end WinMo phone, like WiFi, Micro SD slot, Bluetooth 2.0 and 2 MP camera. Not listed though, is what seems to be a secondary morphing touchscreen ala the LG Venus. Stifle that desire to import one of these bad boys though, as it only runs on Japan's PHS network.

Well, there's always AT&T's Tilt...sigh...

Via Engadget Japanese, Via Sharp

BGR Hands On-Nokia E71

BGR has done it again. Not that it's much of a surprise, seeing as how he manages to get his hands on anything and everything he wants. This time, our favorite scoop man has gotten his mitts on Nokia's hot hot E71. All I can say is that this is going to be my next phone, BlackBerry Bold be damned! Along with it's good looks, its got what any good smartphone should have under the hood. Quad band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and US HSPA, GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.o, 3.2 MP cam, QVGA screen. Spec nuts might be alittle let down with those numbers, but when you cram that into a package thinner than an iPhone, well, you wont hear me complain. The Boy Genius can't seem to put it down, and we don't blame him. Nokia just loves a good tease, and between this, the E66, the Bold, and the iPhone 2 the rest of 08 looks to be a phone lovers dream. Now if we can just get release dates Nokia, that would be great.

Via BGR

Realistic Racing Wheel For Mario Kart Wii, For That Authentic Feel?

Blazepro thinks they have a solution for a problem that probably didn't exist. If you are having trouble with the in-box controller Nintendo provides, Blazepro thinks they can help. For a scant $5.87 you can sharpen your racing skills and "own the road with the most Realistic Wii Racing Wheel". Seems like a steal to us, but if you're serious about Mario Kart Wii, then you probably already have a classic controller or a GameCube controller plugged in for all your racing needs. The Blazepro wheel attaches to any flat surface and can be detached for in air use. You know, for when you want that throw my controller at the TV Wii feeling.

Via Wii News

T-Mobile to Release 16 Handsets This Summer, Join World Elite

Tired of that old phone in your pocket (or purse)? Looking to sign your life away for 2 more years? Well if TmoNews' info is correct, T-Mobile USA just might have something that will interest you. Some of these devices on this info list have been rumored for some time now and some are totally new and even a little surprising. The devices and their release dates are all subject to the same, 'none of this is concrete' business we have all come to know and love. Look for them between June 16 thru August 1.

Releasing that many handsets in such a short time frame is pretty much unheard of in the US, so this is a pretty big deal even if most of the phones are low to mid tier jobs.

Here's the incomplete list:

Nokia 5310
Nokia 5610
Shadow II
Nokia 2760
Nokia 1208
Nokia 6301
Shadow III
Samsung T339
Samsung T229
Blackberry Bold
Blackberry KickStart
Motorola W450
Motorola Rokr E8

As you can see some of these devices conflict with other info we have, such as the Bold being an ATT exclusive, but that Kickstart sure looks sweet doesn't it? Your guess is as good as ours...

Via TmoNews, Pic Via BGR

Palm Treo 850 out in the open, who knew?

Here's some exciting news that my last post failed to contain. Looks like Palm does have a trick or two up it's sleeve. What you are looking at there is a pic courtesy of BGR which shows, well, which shows a brand new Treo. Spec's and details are super limited right now, but it's rumored to have a 400 MHz processor and about 100 MB RAM. Looks like some flavor of WinMo 6 is on board as well. Not too shabby, if you dig that Centro like styling. Now all Palm needs to do is completely and utterly shock us with a brand new design and maybe we'll come crawling back. Flowers in hand Palm, we promise!

Via BGR

Treo 800w, Does Anyone Still Care?

You know, I had this post all thought out. It was gonna be an informative post with my usual sarcasm peppering what I was writing about. But then I thought, it's just another damn Treo. Can we really get excited by another overpriced, under spec'd Treo? I don't know about you guys, but this one just ain't cutting it. Here's the rundown though if you are interested: WinMo 6.1, 320 by 320 touchscreen, 400MHz processor, 128 RAM, 256 ROM, EVDO rev A, GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0 and a 2MP camera. Welcome to 2008 Palm, HTC wants it's Delorean back...

Via Palminfocenter

Remote Controlled Toilet, Cuz Manual Toilets Are So Last Year...

Flushing that toilet becoming a chore, how about actually having to turn around to fiddle with the bidet buttons, well good folks, worry no more! Blooming Bidet has heard your cries and brings you the remote controlled toilet. All your toilet needs can be had from the best seat in the house, all in the palm of your hand. Never again will you sit there and wish your toilet could be more future like and high tech. All your rear-end cleaning needs right at your finger tips, now just don't lose the damn thing.

BlackBerry Thunder!

The BlackBerry news just doesn't stop. Gizmodo (via Boy Genius) is reporting that RIM's latest and greatest is going to be a Verizon (!) exclusive for the lifetime of its product life. Seems like a waste if you ask us, but hey no one ever does. Rumored specs are one big touchscreen, EVDO rev C (?) and HSPA for international roaming, and well, that's all we got for now. Could be misinformation, or someone yanking everyone's chain, so we'll keep you updated as the info comes in.

It would seem as RIM is missing out on a huge market by making it CDMA only. Even the iPhone was released for different carriers in different countries. Somethings just not right with this one...

Blockbuster to Buy Circuit City, Entire World Sez Wait...What?

No I don't make these post up. With a share price offering of between 6 to 8 dollars a share, Blockbuster hopes to create an 18 billion dollar converged mega retail renter super store, or something.

I can't really see how this helps either company. I don't rent movies, and when I do, it's usually from my cable box or my xbox live. If I buy movies, it's usually from amazon for their cheap(er) Blu-ray selection. I guess I still buy my electronics from big box retail, but that still doesn't help Blockbuster as I'm not there for movies in the first place. Impulse buying is the last thing on my mind after I just dropped a couple of hundred on whatever it was I was there for in the first place.

I guess we'll just have to wait it out...

BlackBerry Bold?

BlackBerry maker RIM finally pulled the wraps off one of the worst kept secrets in the biz. No not that badly kept secret, but the long fabled BlackBerry 9000. Aside from the outright crappy name, specs were pretty much spot on with what was rumored. Along with quad band GSM, GPRS, and EDGE data you get Tri band HSDPA (yah tmobile!) and WiFi. A new 624 MHz CPU powers the new device and you get 1 Gig of on board storage. A 480 by 320 pix display, Bluetooth 2.o with AD2P, GPS, and a 2 Mega Pixel camera round out what appears to be the most lust worthy BlackBerry yet. Of course you can get any number of phones with these specs right now, but you wont get that crackberry feel out of them. But we all know how popular BlackBerry's are with the super cool, ultra hip crowd, so we're sure you'll wait.

Legendary Maps - Halo3

Same crappy online jerks, but cool new places to be a jerk based on Halo and Halo 2 maps.
Some people will argue that they should be free, those people should wait three months and they'll be free like the Heroic maps. Me? I paid. Why? Because I was tired of High Ground, The Construct, The Narrows, Last Resort and Guardian. Also, because the Heroic maps just didn't do it for me. The Heroic maps are too spread out. Too much time looking for people, not enough time kicking ass.

There's Ghost Town - lots of nooks and crannies to get into. Battle takes place in the daylight. Ghost Town is the ruins of a 24th century water processing plant built in a shallow ravine. Buildings and pipes make good hiding places. Trees, shrubs, and vines growing on the remnants of this "town" make good scenery, and good snipe-spots. Everything is close together. It's easy to get around Ghost Town which makes it more fun when you encounter your enemy. There are so many ledges to jump onto and from - they make for good ambushes and great escapes.

Blackout (based on Lockout) is my favorite new map. So much fun. Takes place at night on a drilling station. Lots of platforms that are good for death-defying jumps. I am a big plasma grenade fan, I love throwing plasmas on this map because they almost always connect with your target. On each level of the station there is something for everyone's style of play. I feel like this one is more spread out than Ghost Town, but there are so many drop points that any given time the enemy can be above you or below and make contact. You can also go to the tippy top and snipe, or use a battle rifle to get the unsuspecting respawned across the board. Super Fun.

Avalanche (based on Sidewinder) is okay I guess. The times that I have played the new maps, for some reason, I don't get Avalanche much. I have only played on Avalanche about 4 times. From what I gathered, it's a nice tribute to Halo's Sidewinder. Warp to the other side of the snow-covered hill, walk across, air lift, or take a vehicle (Ghost, Warthog, Mongoose). The map is U-shaped and the action takes place in the daytime. It has one piece of equipment the other maps don't have - trip mines. The reason for that is probably because they intended a lot of vehicle use for this map due to the terrain and long distance between bases.

For screenshots and more info go to: http://www.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=topnews&cid=13499

What's Your Ultimate?

We all have that ultimate something, you know, that dream thing that you just gotta have. For some, its the ultimate sandwich, for others its a bra that doesn't leave indentations on your chest. For me its the perfect cell phone. Of the hundreds of phones that I've had, 95 percent of them just didn't make the grade. There have been a few that have come close but alas, not one has put that ring around my finger.

Maybe I just have a compulsive desire for something fresh and new, or maybe it the perfectionist in me that can notice the slightest flaw, however small. It's a good thing I don't put nearly as much effort in anything else. Otherwise, I'd have shirts that say things like Conversation Snob...oh, wait...

But what about the rest of you? Is there an ultimate something out there that you just haven't found yet? Or maybe you have, and like a bitter bored housewife you are looking for the next best thing...Let us know!

The End of TV?

For those of yous still living under a rock using rabbit ears to fill your TV lust, come February 2009 the FCC hopes to break your lil heart by shutting down analog TV. Thankfully there's hope for the millions of cave people (yes millions) still sticking coat hangers out of their TeeVee's.

You could opt for cable or worse, satellite TV or you could sign up for a rebate on one of those set top boxes you can find at Walmart that will save your TeeVee from becoming a 150 pound paper weight. Or, you can wipe the drool off your chin and TV induced coma out of your eyes and go for a walk and discover fresh air. Your call

What The Hell Is Going on With Sprint?

The rumor mill and the blogosphere are abuzz with talk of a few different things coming Sprints way. First and probably the biggest and most unrealistic rumor is that T-mobile parent company Deutsche Telekom is considering buying the struggling American carrier. Sources are saying the deal would make it the biggest carrier in the USA. It would also make it the carrier with the most acronyms seeing as how Tmo uses GSM, Sprint uses CDMA and Nextel is kicking and screaming with it's iDEN network. For the uninitiated, none of those work with each other. Lot of good that will do...and with Tmo finally starting to roll out its 3G network, things just get messier and messier.

The other rumor, the one that actually seems like it might (and should happen we might add) happen is that Sprint is considering spinning off or selling outright, Nextel communications. Ridding Sprint of the baggage that is Nextel could be step one in the 12 step program in bringing back what was once a competitive and cutting edge carrier. As it stands now, with Sprint bleeding customers, the FCC and spectrum issues (Nextel) and its stock being downgraded, getting rid of excess baggage and being bought up doesn't seem like a bad idea at all.

Somethings gotta happen Sprint...and we don't think WiMax is the answer...

Mario Kart - Wii

Mario Kart for the Wii is awesome!  Just like the old school game you used to play when you were younger except with much better graphics!  If you play it on a 52 inch plasma...even better!

All of the cool things about this game are even cooler on the Wii.  The only thing I must warn you of:  Your arms will get very tired using the Wii steering wheel.  I raced four circuits in a row and my triceps were burning (shaadup, I know, I'm out of shape).

I don't remember if there was a boost feature in the original Mario Kart, but they have a mini boost feature in this one.  Hold the accelerator button down for about thirty seconds on a straightaway and your cart will throw out blue little flames and you rocket out a little.  Cute. Oh, and you can do tricks when you hit the half-pipe ramp!  Nothing like Yoshi bustin a move.  

Vehicles -  Standard Kart, Bikes, Racing Baby Walkers (check the game out for yourself if you want to know) and other Karts. 

The circuits are a little harder than I remember too, but that may be just because I am getting older.  Some are old, some are new, but it's all based on the original game, so I like!  

Another cool thing;  the Mii's in the Coconut Mall.  If you pay close enough attention, you will see some Mii's watching you race and some Mii's on advertisements throughout the mall.  

Anyway, that's it for now, I haven't played enough of it to give you more details.  My next review will be of the Halo 3 Legendary maps.  I know I said I quit, but I went back to test out the new maps.