Dave The Funky Shoulder Monkey Has Elmo In His Sights This Christmas Season
By Andrew Liszewski
I’ve lost count how many years Elmo has been on the ‘most wanted’ list for Christmas, but this year a small robotic chimp named Dave is hoping to be the source of holiday shopping-related stampedes. Tech Digest recently had a demo of Dave, who’s designed to strap to your shoulder and perform one of 30 different actions with accompanying monkey sounds thanks to an included wireless remote. And besides entertaining kids of all ages, he also seems like the perfect sidekick for pirates who might be allergic to the real thing. He’ll be available for ~$40 (£24.99) in the UK at least, and since you’ll be able to find him at Toys ‘R Us stores hopefully it means he’ll be available in North America at some point as well.
[ Tech Digest - Video: Robot chimp? You got it; enter Dave the Funky Shoulder Monkey ]
US Marines Take Solar Technology Into The Field
Solar technology seems to be making inroads into the military as an infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps is planning to deploy to Afghanistan with a new collection of solar-powered equipment that will be able to reduce their fuel consumption by 30 to 50 percent. In a recent field exercise conducted, they managed to rely completely on solar energy to power the equipment for nearly a week. Currently a single soldier in Afghanistan is estimated to use 22 gallons of fuel a day, and delivering each gallon there costs between $300 and $400, so if everything goes according to plan with the solar technology, it could significantly bring down the reliance on batteries and gas.
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Apple Patents Aims To Reduce The Size Of Audio Jack For Nano Devices
As Apple often makes tiny audio devices such as the iPod nano and iPod shuffle, it’s worth remembering that the size of the device is also affected by the 3.5mm audio jack component, and a recent patent filing by Apple confirms that Apple is looking into possible ways to meet the demands of its ever-shrinking media players. The patent describes a new audio jack that uses pogo pins to provide the necessary conductive contacts, which could possibly pave the way for an even-smaller media player in the future. Engineers out there who are interested in the messy details of this patent can check out the full patent details and perhaps use it in their weekend project.
Permalink: Apple Patents Aims To Reduce The Size Of Audio Jack For Nano Devices from Ubergizmo | Hot: iPhone 4 Review, Droid X Review,
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Dell Looking Glass Android Tablet Caught On Video For Closer Inspection
Dell’s upcoming Looking Glass 7-inch tablet wasn’t pictured extensively when Michael Dell took it out, but a video of the event has since surfaced, giving us a slightly better look at this upcoming Android device. In terms of hardware, a volume rocker can be seen on the side of the device, along with a headphone jack, a PDMI connector port (similar to the Streak), and a switch (possibly for rotation lock or silent mode). You can check out the device’s appearance after 1:27 into the video clip after the jump.
Permalink: Dell Looking Glass Android Tablet Caught On Video For Closer Inspection from Ubergizmo | Hot: iPhone 4 Review, Droid X Review,
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T-Mobile G2 Up For Pre-order Now!
Right on schedule, T-Mobile has made its hotly anticipated Android-powered G2 phone available for pre-order on its website. The pre-order deal is currently available till October 4th exclusively to current subscribers and will set you back $199.99 on a two-year contract, or $499 with no strings attached. The pre-order deal will also be available via selected T-Mobile retail stores and Customer Care. The bad news is that the T-Mobile G2 site seems to be down (at time of writing), probably due to the amount of traffic directed there, though hopefully it won’t be down for too long.
Permalink: T-Mobile G2 Up For Pre-order Now! from Ubergizmo | Hot: iPhone 4 Review, Droid X Review,
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