Global-Shopper.net

For those who want a water-powered clock without having to insert wildlife—what am I, a florist?—this water-powered H2O clock survives for two months on one “charge” of water.

Fill the transparent tubes with tap water—canine saliva should work—and watch as the non-backlit time ticks away the minutes to your eventual retirement from the circus. It’s only $12, which is about as much as you’d expect to pay for a travel clock that isn’t backlit, doesn’t have an alarm, and whose only notable feature is that it can be powered by fluid from my body. And when you send yours to me to charge, please have a self-addressed, pre-paid return box and specify what type of bodily fluid you wish for me to use. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Select Solar via Crib Candy via Oh GIzmo]

The makers of a sound-activated vibrating sex aid, a two-man company in Osaka, Japan, have managed to get Apple all riled up. The reason? They’ve named their gadget the gPod, after “the G-Spot and jii, the Japanese word for masturbation.” Stuck inside the cooter (the official medical term), the gPod connects to iPods, cellphones or music players, and apparently vibrates in sync to the audio.

Apple started fighting the Japanese company when the latter started applying for trademarks around the world, eventually sending a Japanese lawyer and repeated requests to stop using the gPod trademark. The company laughed off Apple’s requests and said they would fight if Apple ever decides to sue.

Apple Computer Inc., meanwhile, is, unlike gPod users, keeping tight-lipped about the case.

– Jason Chen

Buzz on handy gPod a poison apple for US giant [Mainichi - Thanks Walter!]

Are your AA rechargeable batteries dying after only a few minutes of use? The WizardOne MH-C9000 Battery Charger and Analyzer can give them little bit more life through analysis and conditioning. In addition to showing your batteries’ max charge, the WizardOne can break them. You input the maximum charge, and the gadget performs a “forming” charge, juicing them up to the optimum capacity.

There’s also a cycle mode that charges and discharges batteries automatically for up to 15 cycles, useful for resetting a battery that lost a great deal of its charge. The WizardOne ships in December for $69, and is pretty useful if you go through a lot of AAs in various electronics around the house. – Jason Chen

Product Site [Maha Energy via i4u]

Made for people who carry around two phones—one for work and one for your wife to nag you at work—this KTFT EV-K170 slider allows you to dial and receive calls with two numbers simultaneously. There are two modes, an “H” mode and a “B” mode (Home and Business, anyone?) that can be swapped back and forth depending on which number you don’t want your mistress to see.

Other features: FM radio, 1.3-megapixel camera, voice recorder, and FM radio. It doesn’t appear to be available anywhere outside of Korea—when’s the last time you had a KTFT-brand phone—but it is a cool idea for cellphone cowboys. – Jason Chen

one mobile phone with two different numbers [AVING via Mobile Mag]

Not everyone wants to purchase an expensive DSLR camera just to take pictures of our friends’ weddings and vacations to Reno—but some still want the option of tinkering around with DSLR functionality on occasion. Here are three sub-$1000 cameras: the Sony Alpha A100, Canon Rebel XTi and the Nikon D80. Which one’s the best for you? It depends what you want.

If you’re looking for better image quality, the Canon is the winner. If you’re looking for quicker shot to shot speed or startup to shot speed, it’s the Nikon. The Canon also had less noise and more dynamic range, but the Nikon performed better in low light. However if you’ve got troubles holding your camera still, the Sony is the winner in image stabilization. If you’re looking for which camera looks the best (subjective), they anoint the Nikon as the king.

The Sony Alpha A100 is intended for buyers who don’t plan to buy more advanced equipment soon. The Canon certainly could be, and the Nikon is not just an entry camera, it’s an appropriate backup body for prosumers and pros on a budget.

– Jason Chen

Faceoff [Digital Camera Info]

When you first watch these series of videos, you think the Sarcoman robot is a breakthrough in robotics. After all, what robot can dance, juggle, play air hockey, balance a pole, and play paddle ball (not simultaneously)? But then you’d be saddened to discover this robot was controlled off camera by a human wearing a harness, and that Ford’s been using this robot in exhibition auto shows since 1995.

So the next time you see a robot from Ford doing crazy things, it’s probably because some doofus is controlling him backstage. See the rest of the videos after the jump.

– Jason Chen

Sarcoman - The Robot That Can Do It All [Fresh Creation]

We’ve already given you the lowdown on HP’s new 30-inch monitor, and now that HP has given us pricing on the LP3065 (it’ll go for $1,699) we can see that it’s gonna sit comfortably in between Dell’s $1,274 3007WFP and Apple’s $1,999 Cinema Display. With a faster response time and higher contrast ratio, we think HP has the upper hand (at least on paper). What say you, readers, which LCD do you think will deliver the best punch? – Louis Ramirez

HP LP3065

This week at TreeHugger: In what might be the sleekest implementation of LEDs for the consumer electronics enthusiast, the Mix Lamp would be right at home next to your titanium Mac. We discover St. Louis Park, an unassuming city a few miles west of Minneapolis, that may be the first town in the country to provide solar-powered wireless internet to its residents. Sticking with solar, the BCKSolar cooker is a compact solar cooker and food carrier that can be folded into a handy tube for travel, and can heat water hot enough to cook rice, pasta, soup, eggs and more. Lastly, check out Spin, a series of slick kitchen appliances which make use of the same two-speed motor embedded within a kitchen countertop.

The Mix Lamp from Luceplan is another stylish integration of LED lighting for the work space. This elegant lamp would be right at home next to your titanium Mac, and delivers “an intense warm and pleasing light.” The Mix has a 50,000 hour life, and its LED Chip on Board technology only drinks up 5 watts of power. The light color can also be changed with an integrated filter.

St. Louis Park, an unassuming city a few miles west of Minneapolis, may be the first in the country to provide solar-powered wireless internet to its residents. If the idea gets the thumbs up in a City Council vote, they will begin the installation of a network of wifi nodes powered by some 400 PV panels situated on public infrastructure around the city. Through a public/private partnership, residents would be able to pay $15 a month for 128 kilobyte speed or $20 for 1 meg. The city expects to save $40,000 to $50,000 a year by using an entirely solar-powered system as opposed to grid power.

From solar wifi to solar cooking: the BCKSolar is a compact solar cooker and food carrier that can be folded into a handy traveling tube. It uses our smiling sun to heat water nearly hot enough to boil, which making it suitable to cook rice, pasta, soup, eggs and more; once hot, the cooker also allows keeping the food warm as a thermos container would. Doesn’t look like it slices, dices or makes julienne fries, though.

Lastly, take a juicer, a can opener, a coffee grinder — ever wonder why every appliance needs its own motor? That was the question designer Iftah Poran asked himself when he conceptualized Spin, a series of kitchen appliances which make use of the same two-speed motor embedded within a kitchen countertop. We’re waiting for such a concept to motorize our entire lives.

TreeHugger’s EcoModo column appears every Tuesday on Gizmodo.

We get a demonic baby, Japan gets a revelation while brushing, and Europe gets exploding furniture that touts the benefits of High Definition? It’s hard to say which region is the winner—I think we’re all losers here. – Jason Chen

PS3 Films

Despite already airing ads on prime time TV for the Samsung SYNC music phone yesterday, Cingular didn’t actually have any available in stores. Why? Because of a manufacturing defect that rendered the phone unable to sync to your computer to load DRM-ed Windows Media files. Oops!

So yes, a phone that’s called the SYNC had problems syncing to Napster and Yahoo Music, despite the support of such technically inclined people as Ludacris, The Pussycat Dolls, and those dudes who dance on the treadmills. Cingular says they expect the SYNC phones to be available today. – Jason Chen

Launch of Cingular’s Samsung SYNC Delayed [Laptop Mag]

Press Release [Cingular]

With Guitar Hero II in stores today–the faithful have called in sick and are already shredding, no doubt–we found a man who clearly puts the Hero in Guitar Hero. Mike Smith spent a series of nights transforming his 2 year old’s Tickle Me Elmo guitar into a fully functioning Guitar Hero controller. This was no simple transplant–the-guts-from-GH-controller-into-Elmo-guitar either. Smith actually used the wiring from a PS1-era DualShock for the Franken-Elmo’s inner workings.

The Elmo guitar only has four fret buttons instead of the traditional five, which means his daughter can only play the game up to the medium skill level. “I didn’t think she’d have a chance to get beyond that point anyway,” Smith explained.

To activate Star Power, in Smith’s words, “You have to press the Elmo head button.”

No word yet on Smith’s daughter’s shredding abilities. –Scott Jones

Elmo as Guitar Hero Controller [Guitar Hero Forum]

We haven’t been too keen on the whole HD Radio concept, but at $175 the Accurian HD Radio is the least expensive model available, so we bit the bullet and checked it out.

For those not in the know, HD Radio is essentially a new digital radio format that makes your standard FM stations sound sharper and clearer (like CDs) while also improving the sound of your AM stations (making them sound like FM stations). The problem is, with the satellite radio twins taking center stage, HD Radio has been treated like a red-headed step child. Nevertheless, we called in Accurian’s new Tabletop HD Radio. Looks-wise, it’s no different than your standard radio, the build is plastic and toyish. More impressions and unboxing after the jump.

Click through for the unboxing.

Reception on the Accurian was excellent from every corner of our apartment and finding HD broadcasts in the NY area was easy (you can also look them up on HD Radio’s website). Sound-wise, however, we weren’t that impressed. Yeah, it was better and clearer than our static-ridden analog radio (what isn’t), but after comparing it to our non-HD Tivoli SongBook there just weren’t enough features on the Accurian to sustain us. Adding insult to injury, the Tivoli sounded just as good, if not better, than the HD Radio.

As much as we tried to like HD Radio it lacked the excitement of when we got our first XM tuner. We like that HD Radio displays artist information (as does satellite) and we enjoyed discovering the few local HD broadcasts in our area, but until pricing on the players goes further south, it’s best to save your money.

– Louis Ramirez
Accurian Tablteop HD Radio

Inspired by the Centurian model rather than Number Six (damn!), this USB Snowbot has a speed-variable LED eye, adjustable arms, red or blue eyeball glow, and an evil sound to make you say “what the frak was that?”

Much better than Frosty the Snowdork, this $14.99 Snowbot is the perfect present for Xmas or Cylon day, whichever you celebrate. See out more pictures of the bot after the jump.

– Jason Chen

Product Page [ThinkGeek]

FIC’s taking more than just a page from the Linux community with its FIC-GTA001 smartphone—its taking their entire playbook. Hoping to capitalize on what is essentially free programmers for the project, FIC is releasing a Linux-based smartphone complete with an SDK (Software Development Kit). This allows end-users to develop their own programs and functionality for the phone (picture an army of geeks making sure you can play back DivX on your phone).

The phone itself has a 2.8-inch VGA display, USB mesh file sharing, multi-touch sensor recognition, GSM, GPS, 128MB RAM, a Samsung ARM9-based processor and MP3 playback capabilities. The concept of their multi-touch gestures is that you can use two fingers to control a variety of tasks, such as two finger scrolling like the PowerBooks and MacBooks. Some demo pics of the gesture abilities after the jump. Even though the phone will probably only sell to DIY-ers and Linux enthusiasts, there may be some interesting applications that come out of this.

– Jason Chen

FIC Linux Cellphone - can it capture the imagination of the open-source community? [Slashgear]

It’s alive! (This holiday season) The OQO 01+ is what I like to call the original UMPC. This thing has been lingering around the consumer electronics world for well over a year. Finally, freaking finally, this device will be available at retail outlets. For those unaware, the 01+ is a small-form-factor computer that has a slide-out keyboard. It is powered by Windows XP Tablet Edition and includes a 30GB hard drive, 5-inch touchscreen, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB 2.0, 1.0 GHz processorand 512MB of ram.

RCS Experience in NYC will be carrying the OQO 01+. It carries a hefty price tag of $1,700 $1,300. No matter what the reviewers say about the 01+, I will always love it. OQO 01+, will you marry me? – Travis Hudson

Product Page [Via CrunchGear]