Be Smart

I remember the Japanese Pokeman characters from an addictive cartoon show which featured the just-too-cute-for-words yellow Pikachu, but as my daughter became older, he lived primarily on her DS. She should have entered the Pokeman Video Game showdown; she's been playing it long enough.

Over the past two weeks, more than 1,000 Pokemon fans swarmed Los Angeles and New York, for the chance to become the ultimate Pokemon Video Game Champion. From as young as 6 to 43, contestants vied across the nation for their title, with the decision to be made in Florida.

Competing on Pokemon Diamond or Pokemon Pearls Nintendo DS ( who wouldn't want one of those?), the Japanese finalists will take on the American winners August 16th at Orlando's Disney World.

Winners receive: A trip for four to Tokyo, New York, or Oahu (Hawaii); a custom Nintendo DS game system, and a Pokémon prize pack. Valued at $10,000.

My cuddly 5' tall Pikachu doll would have enjoyed the trip.

The socially awkward have a new tool at their disposal: a service called Slydial (available only in the US) allows you to call someone's voicemail, bypassing any chance of ever having to speak to a real person.

The possibilities are endless: that old friend who keeps calling, but you can't stand to speak to? Give her a Slydial. The boss who scares you but asked you to ring him with some info? No problem! And that relationship that wasn't going anywhere but neither of you dared to admit it? Well, it's cruel, but Slydial comes in handy there, too.

Just don't forget that all those people can also use Slydial to clog up your voicemail with their abuse...

Via Shiny Shiny.

Oh, tech manufactuers... why do you think that making a phone or a hard drive look like a powder compact is the way to our hearts? Nothing makes me more annoyed - except covering everything vaguely girl-oriented in pink, perhaps.

As Engadget gleefully reports, Samsung has designed a concept compact hard drive that looks similar to a piece of make-up - and this picture shows it surrounded by make-up, to prove the point. You know, 'cos we women are so crazy about cosmetics, we'll buy anything if it looks like we can paint our faces with it.

So far though, this is just a concept - and maybe it should stay that way. I think the design is sleek and all, but I don't agree with making tech designs gender specific. (Don't small, sleek designs appeal to men, too?)

How about letting us all buy what we want, whether we're male or female?

Crave reports that a Brazilian designer named Bruno Oro de Abreu has been working on a Bluetooth-enabled teddy bear aimed at reducing isolation and improving socialisation for kids with cancer, or who have to spend long periods bedridden for other reasons.

The bear has a holographic display that can be used to surf the Internet, play games, attend remote classes, and make friends with other kids who have a Dilus. It also comes in a range of designs. At the moment, this is a graduation project, but Bruno Oro de Abreu hopes to have it on the market by 2010.

I'd hate to rain on his parade, as this seems like an ingenious design with very noble goals. It's just that... well, I still find talking teddy bears in loud designs as creepy as I did when I was 10. (But today's kids might be braver than me!) Also, there needs to be some way to monitor exactly who your kids are talking to...

I can't help wondering if a cute little Asus Eeepc is a better option. What do you think?

While most of us would agree that Apple designed products are aesthetically beautiful, as well as functional, every once in a while you may want to spice up clean lines with some fun colors.

You can accent the sleek look of all your Apple products with SeeThru cases from Speck, candy-colored translucent hard plastic cases, like the one for the iMac or this one for your MacBook, available in nine colors.

Maker of the popular Pixel Skins, Speck consistently comes out with practical yet fun cases.

And we'll be giving away a Speck SeeThru set, including one for iMac ($49.95), MacBook ($49.95), and iPhone 3g ($29.95) to one of our Popgadget Drop email subscribers, so sign up already.

Peepholes are all very well, but you actually have to leave your chair to find out who's calling, and that's never good. Thankfully, there's now a more high-tech option for the sedentary (or peephole-lacking) among us.

The Secure Sight records all your visitors, whether you're in or out, so you can see who's calling right now as well as who came by when you were at the market. (Better than TV!) You fit the camera to your door and put the viewer wherever is convenient.

Personally, I'd also put a sign up to let people know they're on candid camera, so you don't get any pesky accusations of eroding civil liberties... and also I'd consider upgrading to 4GB with an SD card.

Via Apartment Therapy.

The fact that I don't actually own a 3G iPhone - yet - hasn't kept me from buying, testing, or sampling all of the new accessories. (Sadly, I am limping along with my "old" iPhone until the lines diminish at my local Apple store.)

The new 3G cases from Griffin are some of my favorites, especially since a few of them, such as the Nu Form, feature the EasyDock solution, a clever new way to dock your phone without taking the entire case off. The bottom section just slides off and on for charging and syncing.

Made of a 2-piece shatter-proof polycarbonate shell, it snaps around your iPhone, giving you plenty of protection while still allowing full access to all the controls. Available in black or white, it's $24.99 at Griffin and Amazon.

Scary alien pig alert! Scary alien pig alert!

I mean, seriously. How freaky looking are these pink and white pig loudspeakers? They're already equipped with speakers beneath their volume-controlling ears, as well as where their bellies should be. Did the sadistic manufacturer really have to gouge out their eyes and stuff two more speakers into the sockets?



There's a possibility that I could be coaxed into appreciating the bass control located on the pig's behind, but there's no way I'll ever think that nuclear glow coming from its mouth is okay. I can't get on board with the whopping $105 asking price either.

Via

I'm sort of a fan of the FitFlop "mini-wobble board sandals", which I wear around the house, because although they don't appear to actually do anything to make me more fit, they're pretty comfortable, at least for short periods. One thing I definitely don't have the sartorial panache to pull off, however, is the flip flops with the cute dress look. On me, it looks much less casual chic and much more like I've just escaped a house fire and was lucky to have anything on my feet at all.

FitFlops has addressed the, um, need, for dressier flip flops by coming out with a few new styles more appropriate for wearing when you're not at the beach. The Aurelia Gladiator is either so ugly it's cool or maybe just trying way too hard, I'm not sure. The Gladiator sandal is supposedly THE trend of summer 2008, but other than admiring the look on Gwyneth, I haven't really seen anyone manage to wear them without looking like someone who works at a Gladiator-themed mall restaurant.

At the very least, if you wear these, you'll have some amusing pictures that you'll be defending by saying, "they were so HOT in 2008, seriously!". And possibly, you'll have some added muscle definition in your creatively laced up legs.

The Aurelia is a limited edition designed in collaboration with Kirna Zabete. The black kid leather is $150 and the snakeskin is $165, both at Kirna Zabete.

After finally realizing that the slow 3G connection on my new iPhone 3G was due to some clever network manipulation by AT&T, I'm now thrilled with my very fast new phone. The new iPhone looks almost identical to the original, but the tiny bit of extra width means that the cases for the original will no longer fit. I stuffed my iPhone 3G into a leather case meant for the original, and while I just managed to get its slightly wider load inside the case, after a few hours, the leather cracked. If you want a perfect fit, you'll have to upgrade your case as well.

Disappointingly, I haven't found a single case yet that I think is worthy of the iPhone. They're all clunky and chunky and either add a lot of bulk or a flimsy silicone skin. Generally I would never think of buying a phone case that costs very nearly as much as the phone itself, but Miniot's beautiful iWood tempts me. The iWood is carved from a single piece of wood, and comes with a personal engraving so you can brand your phone. In five beautiful wood finishes, from Cherry to the actually much redder Padouk, every iWood is slightly different due to the natural material. It's sleek but the form-fitting style offers excellent protection as well. You can also purchase an optional matching wood dock.

The iWood for iPhone is about $125 (€ 80) and available from Miniot.

And hey, if your company is making cases for the iPhone 3G, something a little unusual or stylish, we'd love to review them. Please contact us, or forward review products to
Popgadget, Attn: Mia Kim
4189 S. Four Mile Run Dr.
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Leapin' lily pads!

That there's a wool-felt frog case that someone actually thinks would be used to carry an iPhone 3G around in public. The case is kind of cute on its own with its stitching details and feet snaps, sure, but I don't know anyone who stood in line for hours upon hours on iPhone launch day who would slip their newly curve-backed phones into something like this. Well, okay. Frog fanatics who haven't yet mastered the art of ribbiting and still need to rely on mobile handsets for communication would probably want to call the Gregory iPhone cozy their own.

Just $25 (that's 5 pounds of flies according to current conversion rates) from Fred Flare.

Via SlashGear.

I still can't decide whether packaging a news and politics site aimed at young women in pretty fuschia and black, and giving it a very Sex and the City-inspired theme is a good move that should get girls interested in current events . . . or more than a little patronizing.



British TV presenter (and ex-politician's girlfriend btw) June Sarpong obviously hopes it's the former, as she has just launched her pet project, Politics and the City, a new site for the Cosmo crowd, which so far seems to be a big success. As you'd expect, it has a British slant, but there's enough about Barack Obama and Amy Winehouse's husband to keep an international audience interested, too.

But is this the best way to get young women passionate about politics? I'd love to know what Popgadget readers think. Leave your comment below or join the Popgadget community to join the discussion.

This weekend was my stepsister's wedding and as is traditional in England in July, the grass we stood on to take photos was still a little damp from an earlier downpour, leading to many a sunken, muddy high heel disaster (for once, I was sensible and wore wedges: yay me).

Disaster could have been averted, however, if the vertiginously-heeled among us had been aware of a new invention from Solemates: The High Heeler. This nifty little design slips on over the heel of your stiletto or kitten heel to allow a better grip on grass or uneven pavements. The website shows a woman comfortably playing golf in her heels, but I'm not sure I'd go that far... for weddings in damp old England though, this would be ideal.

Only in clear (but coming soon in black), it costs $19.95.

Via Crave.

Human beings require such a tremendous amount of routine hygiene to be presentable that all I can do is wonder what on earth Decor Craft Inc. was thinking when they came up with these ladybug earbuds. Sure, ladybugs are making their mark in the tech world, but there's a big difference between using one as a mouse and having them look as though they're crawling out of your ears.

Duck, pig, and (worst of all) fly varieties are also available. Pricing is currently unknown, which I personally think is for the better.

Via Fashionably Geek.

I'm a big fan of contemporary art - my mother was a painter (audreygarwood.com) and my father a playwright - but at some point it all comes down to personal taste.

I'm just not that into the street-artist Krink's work, curated by Arkitip, which launches with the KRINK Sleeve, a limited-edition collaborative effort between Arkitip, Incase and KR, as he is known. If you check out his website, or line of markers and pens, it's all one note, or should I say, one drip.

Made of polyurethane with a satin interior, the computer sleeves feature heavy-duty branded zippers, so what you're paying for is the dripping ink aesthetics.

And it's not like they're inexpensive - $79.95 for the 15" sleeve. For that kind of money, I'd buy a few blank sleeves and make my own.

Okay, I did say almost. For most of us, it's going to take a little more than a cartoonishly-bright mini fungus to ever make cleaning fun, but I'm glad that manufacturers Brando made the effort anyway.

Their battery-powered Mushroom Desk Mini Cleaner is designed to distinguish dust and can also be used as a lint remover for the lazy. Or it could just sit on your desk and look cute... It comes in red, orange, green or purple and costs just $12.

Via Shiny Shiny.

Not the first time we've seen plants in little bubbles that you dangle from a keychain or cell phone, but this one is a little more fun because the plants are vegetables that you can transplant into a real garden once they reach a certain size. To grow cabbage, sweet basil, cherry tomatoes, or bell peppers, you put little seeds with water and soil into this teardrop-shaped clear capsule, wait a week for the seeds to sprout, then plant in a larger pot or garden. Made by Masaki Environmental Engineering & Consulting Co., this little toy will cost you 1,890 yen (about $17). Wear it on your device, as a necklace or earring, or dangle it from your rear view mirror (but I'm not sure how much abuse it can take before it dislodges from the soil and makes you sad).

Via The Nikkei Weekly (subscription).

Let Gizmodo make fun of this little microwave, I say there's a place in the world for miniature appliances like this. Why wouldn't this be perfect in a tiny dorm room or in your office (or am I the only one who's too agoraphobic to risk going into the communal kitchen down the hall to microwave my lunch)? So what if you can get a whole regular sized microwave oven for the $130 you have to pay at SkyMall for this little one? You're not going to cook a turkey in your dorm room.

Via Kitchen Contraptions.
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One of my favorite blogs ev-ah is the fabulous Mimi Smartypants. But being a laid-back, non-techie type of lady, she refuses to admit she even has a blog (she prefers the term "online diary") so it's not too surprising that RSS has passed her by.

Since I became obsessed with Google Reader earlier this year, I've found it more and more of a hassle to have to call by her website every week and check for updates, so I was delighted to find out about a free service called Page 2 Rss, which is simple, brilliant, and... simply brilliant.

You just go to the site, add the URL of a website you want to keep an eye on, and Page 2 creates an RSS feed for the site which you can add to the feed reader of your choice. It couldn't be easier to use, and I can vouch for the fact that it works really well. I'm impressed!

Via Geekbrief TV.

Here's a new twist on your earbuds or cupped headphones - Air Drives, which clip over the ears but don't actually go in the ear canals. Using a new technique called InAir, they transmit surprisingly good sound without damaging the listener's hearing.

Frankly, I was a little skeptical because I'm very fussy about my audio experience and inseparable from my V-Modas, Shure's and Bose earbuds with noise-cancelling technology, but after trying these out, I'm a convert. (To read more about the science behind this technology, check out this page on the site.)

Athletes are already using the Air Drives since they allow in ambient nosie - essential for joggers - and of course the nautral audience for these are kids,who haven't yet damaged their hearing . (Too many concerts,standing side-stage, have pretty much blown it for me but I'd be glad not to get Tinnitus at this point.)

Here's something I've been meaning to write about for a couple of weeks: om-tastic websiteYoga-Abode has been around for a while, but recently had a fantastic re-launch. The site now has a cool clean look, a blog and a shop plus articles on yoga, teacher profiles, recommended poses and an online discussion forum.

Lucia Cockcroft, the site's editor, says:

“Our new eco-friendly products shop brings a hand-picked selection of premium mats and props together, taking the legwork out of sourcing yoga accessories that don't cost the earth. We hope that yoga fans can also have fun and make friends using our new social networking area.”

If you're into yoga, or you'd like to be, I recommend checking out the site asap.

You packed the sunscreen and a trashy beach read, and are now looking in dismay at your tangle of electronics. Here are a few handy devices designed for travel to lighten your load. The ComboSaver, an easy-to-use combination lock from Kensington, has a low-profile design and self-coiling cable for easy travel. The cable, which anchors your laptop securely so it doesn't walk away, extends from 3-in to 6-ft and fits into the security slot found in 99 percent of notebook computers. $18.95 at Amazon.



You're renting a car? The LiquidAUX Bluetooth Car Kit, also by Kensington, takes up almost no room in your luggage and enables you to listen to your tunes through the car stereo and enjoy legal, hands-free talking. Two features to love: built-in microphone with advanced noise/echo canceling filter for clear conversations; and 2.4GHz wireless remote control lets you play/pause, skip tracks or answer calls on your phone. $74.99 at Amazon.

I am one of those people who never wears a watch on my wrist. Among the lame reasons that I don't is that I find all watches cumbersome to fasten. Lazy me.

The runner-up at the global watch design competition “Timex2154: The future of time,” held by Timex and Core77, is a stunner that promises to fundamentally change the way watches are worn and used. TX54 is a concept for a translucent watch that can be worn on your . . . thumbnail. Add to that a lovely indiglo display with color options for the displayed text, and the translucent feature that allows the watch to blend completely into your nail unless it is “activated.” A deadly combination of fashion and functionality, if you please.

Well folks, since I am pretty sure that I will not last until 2154, I am just keeping my fingers crossed (and ready) in the hope of seeing this selling sooner.

Via Gearfuse.

After experimenting with almost every Bluetooth headset, I'm back where I started with the Aliph Jawbone, but with a shiny new one, which is 50% smaller than the original, with improved noise elimination technology ( amusingly called "NoiseAssassin" technology).

"Military-grade" NoiseAssassin technology - Aliph develops technology for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, you see - means the Jawbone literally feels your speech with its patented Voice Activity Sensor (VAS) and distinguishes the sound of your voice from ambient real-life noise. (I couldn't test it with Cluster bombs going off in the background, but found the closest comparison - a car filled with raucous teenage girls, all talking at the same time.)

Just like the old model, the Jawbone II is simple to use. Two streamlined buttons are operated by touching the outside shield, and they control all the functions of the headset, which is extremely lightweight at just 10 grams.

A nice touch is the customizable feature so it even fits my petite ears by providing three sizes of earbuds and four earloops that can be worn on either ear - two sizes of soft, stitched leather earloops and two sizes of slim earloops, ideal for use with eyeglasses.

Compatible with all Bluetooth-enabled phones, the new Jawbone supports more than four hours of talk time and eight days of standby time. Featuring a new fast-charge battery that charges up to 80% of capacity in just over half an hour, the new Jawbone can be charged with the included USB cable on a computer, or with the wall-charger.

Available in black, silver and the new "rose gold" (more like a dull yellow actually), it's $129 at the Jawbone store, and is also available from Amazon.

Lap it up Lego fans, now you can get yourself some Lego-like cutlery if the Snack and Stack utensils from Fred and Friends start selling on the market. Each set of three (fork, spoon and knife) utensils has handles made of silicone that lock into each other just like Lego blocks. And apparently that’s not just for fun, but for utility as well. You can stack up the threesome easily enough for storage, or discover further uses with your imagination.

Methinks they have the potential to liven up a dull kitchen or even inspire a fussy child to have a hearty meal.

Via Slippery Brick.

Why is that rather ugly-looking sawed-off USB cable worthy of mention, you ask ? Well, because it is a clever camouflage for what is infact a 2GB USB drive. Now do we see you nodding in appreciation ? An invention from designer Windell Oskay, this product is expected to start selling soon at Fred and Friends.

To mention the perhaps-insignificant-thought that just crossed my mind – I was just wondering if the intended disguise would end up attracting more unwelcome attention to my laptop. Well, never mind.

Via Gadgetell.
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Hoping to win a fair lady's heart? Well, listen up. Maybe in the olden days, before cell phones, you had to actually have a sense of humour, or clean up nicely -- not any more. According to The Daily Mail, a new survey by British directory inquiry service 118 118 has discovered that 90% of women prefer text messages to phone calls when first getting to know a potential date.

So knowing good text is an essential skill to improve your love life. Here's what you really need to know, says the team behind the survey:

Almost all I've heard and read about since the launch of a certain new, improved iPhone last week is applications - the popularity of the new apps store, the best free apps... it's been, quite frankly, apps up to my ass. But I'm not easily impressed. There's only so long I can be enthralled by Tetris or Scrabble on my phone (and that's quite a long time, but we all get bored eventually).

What I'm really interested in knowing about are honest-to-goodness useful applications that could actually make my life easier (my imaginary life, where I own an iPhone 3G, that is).

And Jott is one of the few apps to actually get me interested.

Sometimes, I'm such a stereotypical girl. Yes, the new iPhone is all very exciting, but it means nothing if it doesn't give me the chance to do some more shopping (even if it's virtual, since I don't actually have an iPhone, 3G or otherwise).

And top of my virtual shopping list are these hot new cases (in cool colors) from one more thing, which are made from pure silicone, with no nasty bits added, and which were tailored especially for the contours of the iPhone 3G. The yellow one makes me happy just looking at it!

Via textually.org.

Though I think that these colorful ball-shaped speakers for the iPod seem rather fragile given their daunting mission, they are too adorable to resist. The ZumReed Sound Ball speaker is a plastic ball with an in-built battery that charges via USB. Each plastic ball can be attached to a bag or keychain, and plugs into the audio-out of the iPod to belt out your music.

The speakers are available in pink, lime yellow and violet. Get yours from Dreams6 at $24.

Via Technabob.

As much as I resent being left out of anything, here's an offer I could refuse: ever predictable, and never up on the zeitgeist, Playboy has discovered blogging a good five to ten years after the rest of the Internet. They've also discovered that - gasp! - some bloggers are women.

So, Playboy joined those dots, and has created a list of the "hottest" female bloggers and podcasters they could find. (We all know being sexy is the most important virtue a girl could have, don't we?)

They're asking readers to choose their faves, who will be asked to pose nude for Playboy.

I can only hope the winners say "hell to the no." It's too late for some people, but maybe the rest of us can be known for the quality of our writing rather than the size of our chests or pretty our byline picture is.

Maybe.

[Via Shiny Shiny]

It's an ambitious project: trekking 4,000 miles of jungle paths over an 18 month period. I feel tired just thinking about it (then again, I feel tired just thinking about trekking into the kitchen for a snack, which might explain why it's almost dinner time and I still haven't had lunch. But I digress...)

I can't think why friends Ed Stafford and Luke Collyer, both from Britain, thought that an iPod (plus solar charger) wasn't an essential item for their trip in the first place. Or why they believed that they wouldn't get sick of each others' company after so darn long. But they were optimistic and naive, and their story came to a sorry head on day 68 of their journey, when Luke told Ed he was sick of the sight of him.

Hrmph. Looking at these Office Fairy Lights ($12.95) from Baron Bob, I can't help but feel a little annoyed.

No, I don't mind that the stars attached to the 36" string of lights are actually made of plastic. I'm reasonable enough to understand that the fairies can't deprive the night sky of real stars just to dress up the earthlings' computer monitors and laptop screens. But to power the lights via USB when there are endless supplies of pixie dust available in Fairy Land? Well, that's just insulting.

Via Nerd Approved.

Yogurt Ice Blended from Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is cold, refreshing, NON-FAT, contains 4 active cultures, and is packed with protein. Like the Coffee Bean's brew, it's not too sweet. It has a tangy bite and comes in 3 tasty flavors - Strawberry, Mango and Original (my personal favorite). My grilfriend - and guinea pig - prefers the mango for the citrus boost.

A relatively guilt-free treat, it's made with non-fat yogurt with four very lively cultures, with 25% to 50% of the total recommended daily calcium intake and between 9 to 18 grams of protein per serving.

But don't take our word for it. We'll be giving away free coupons to Popgadget Drop email subscribers. Sign up here for our free emails.

Remember Friendster? Many of us created Friendster accounts way back when, but then along came MySpace, and then Facebook, and well, we just plain forgot about little old Friendster. Poor Friendster, the forgotten, dowdy older sister.

But, wait, what's this? According to a story in VentureBeat, Friendster is actually a contender in the competition for global domination of the social networking market. No! Really? In what alternative universe?

Well, in the universe where there's a little country called "China" with a population of over 1.3 billion people. Friendster's user base has nearly doubled in the past year due to growth in Asia, with versions available in Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Spanish and Malay.

Developers knocking each other over for a share of the market for Facebook applications, should perhaps pay more attention to opportunities to create applications for the growing Friendster crowd, which has been building its own developer platform. The underdog in me is rooting for Friendster in its second act (but still wishing it looked a little better after all these years).

If you've never tried screaming to your lungs' full capacity, you really don't know what you're missing. But what if you don't live in the woods, away from all other humans? What if you have neighbors who aren't supportive of your efforts to rid your body of primal pain. Screaming into a pillow just doesn't cut it when you really want to scream from the depths of your soul.

Japan Trend Shop sells this shouting vase for $79. It's a plastic thingy that goes over your mouth and converts your explosive, pained, angry, gut-wrenching cries into little whispers that come out at the other end. Hmm, I don't know. How much of the release you feel after screaming comes from merely letting it out? Without hearing your screams pierce through your brain, do you get the full therapeutic value? Will this vase merely mock your pain by turning your torrents into insignificant droplets?



Via Random Good Stuff.

After 5 days now with the new iPhone 3G my feeling is, "Well done, Apple." Well done on the hype, the expectations, the ability to get people to line up day after day for fear that iPhones will soon become extinct, even though more and more get "unexpectedly shipped" each day. Do I sound bitter? Actually, I did very little waiting in line, although I gawked a lot, because it was a hot, hot weekend and I saw people looking near death as they waited for hours in the sun.

The lines were spectacular, and all made possible by the in-store activation that was required for each iPhone sold, a procedure made interminable by the overload on the iTunes servers. Last year, when the iPhone came out, I decided to wait until the fanatics all had theirs and there was no wait, and that turned out to be about 2 hours after they went on sale. Well this year, there are lots of people still pining for an iPhone, and many red "sold-out" notices on the iPhone availability site. If you're planning on stopping by the Apple store for your iPhone, thinking the craze has died down, I'd strongly advise you check the site to make sure your store has stock first. The list is only live while the store is closed so you have to check the night before.

On to the phone itself . . .

Oh, why the heck not?

Hello Kitty, entrepreneurial feline that she is, has already slapped her face, stamped her paw, and dipped her tail into every other product in the world. It was really only a matter of time before she went to computer medical school and emerged, stethoscope in tow, with her degree in anti-viral studies.

The anti-virus software is only available in China at the moment, but that doesn't sadden me at all. Hello Kitty is a fictional kitten, for heaven's sake! What's she going to do, apply bow-bedecked bandages to my laptop's boo-boos?

Via Shiny Shiny.

Last Friday's iPhone 3G launch is being called a number of things, among the most clever "iPocolypse" as coined by Apple's own fan-boy Robert Scoble. My good friend Meg Fowler, proud owner of a non-iPhone, however, decidedly proclaimed her word-of-the-day as "iDidntGetScrewed." Meaning, most everyone racing to the software and hardware upgrades did get screwed. How can a brilliant company deliver such a bad experience? Are we just suckers to Steve Jobs to have not seen the debacle coming?

Pre-game Excitement
In anticipation of iPhone 3G and iPhone 2.0 upgrades, Apple launched the App Store, and the internet lit up with buzz, building excitement for the subsequent d-day upgrade and download. I spent the night among colleagues at new iPhone-focused startup. We wrapped breakfast gift bags to pass to the people waiting in line all night for first dibs and hacked into Apple's new App Store analyzing streams of background data. So, how did Apple screw its loving all-nighter-pulling, waiting in line for too long, doting, recession-spending user-base?

Poor Planning
Clearly, early adoption of new technology comes with the disclaimer of the imperfect; you pay a higher price and deal with growing pains. Last year's iPhone lines wrapped around city blocks and there was a lot of frustration two months later when Apple dropped the price by $200. I'd like to say iLearnedMyLesson when it comes to jumping on the Apple bandwagon, because the brilliant design company continues to storm when it comes to delivering this particular device smoothly. Apple's market strategy for large-scale adoption and its delivery is a failure on a grand scale.

Last year's sticker price $599 reduced the size of the user-base, the ability to activate outside of the store, and a simple proprietary software platform delivered a great launch day. How could Apple not have foreseen or planned for a business and tech crisis that will forever be called: iPocolyspe, iBrick, iFAIL.

Four Reasons Why Users Got Screwed

1. App Store release 24-hours to launch day

2. iPhone 2.0 software upgrades to iPhone & Touch on launch day

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Apple, AT&T, and a touchscreen keyboard not your thing?

Then click over to the Sprint website and consider the 5-ounce Palm Treo 800w. It's running Windows Mobile 6.1, has a microSD card expansion slot, features a 2.0-megapixel camera with video recording capabilities, is GPS-enabled, and can be purchased for $250 (2-year contract and eligible data plan required).

The Sprint servers can handle the extra load (at least a dozen or so people, right?), so get the new Treo now before we learn another lesson in supply and demand.

Via Gadgets on the Go.

We have nieces and nephews, and “adopted” children through our co-workers, friends, and extended family. Moms we are not, but doting “Aunties” suits us just fine (love em' and leave em' at someone else's home).

The demographics of women’s lives have dramatically changed. Most of us aren’t married with 2.1 children. In fact, “childless” (but child-loving) women represent more than 50% of the adult female population. Outside of Jane Austen novels and romantic comedies we’re largely overlooked and underrepresented online, in spite of our buying, recommending, and overall superpowers when it comes to the spoilage of children we love.

These thoughts combined with her own experience of becoming a doting auntie, took Melanie Notkin on a self-described "wild carpet ride" from expert interactive marketing employee to “aunteprenuer.”

Notkin’s perseverance and smarts just gave birth to online community savvyauntie.com. A year in the making, Savvy Auntie, unlike mom and parent-focused niche social networks, finds its place with women who do not (yet) have their own children, but have children in their lives.

My initial reaction to the concept was that the focus on the site would be shopping-centric on what to buy for children, but almost instantly I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Savvy Auntie is a content and community site. Sure, you’ll find lots of information there on what to get and what to give, but you’ll also have the opportunity to connect with other like-minded women.

Why is it that the Japanese have such cute toys, though I suppose they would call them collectibles?

Meet Peegee, the third installment of the series, created by the artist Tourma and sold at the Japanese site Tokyocube,
who ship worldwide.

Standing just 4.6 inches (12 cm) tall, he is the perfect companion for my computer desk, which is already jammed with slightly demented Japanese characters from tokidoki , a Doraemon, a giddy robot cat who has no ears because they were chewed off by rats, to the original yellow cutie, Pokeman, who started my collecting frenzy in the first place.

I just hope that Bastardino makes Peegee welcome.

What looks like an iPod that got into an accident is actually a flash drive (USB 2.0) that borrows heavily from its famous cousin. And in the process, retains all the cuteness as well. The face of the drive resembles the iPod and is made of flexible silicon – so that it bends to expose the USB connector when you stick it into your computer. The drive is available in capacities of 1GB ($40) and 2GB ($50).

Via Fosfor Gadgets.

While the idea of having a personal oxygen bar to de-stress sounds appealing, I must admit that being the hyperactive person that I am severely limits my chances of ever sitting down to enjoy one.

Nevertheless, the Tranquil Sounds Oxygen Bar caught my eye since it promises to entertain you as you settle down to catch up on your breathing. And that is accomplished by playing out “tranquil” songs from its in-built player while you relax. The flip side is that there are only 4 pre-loaded songs to choose from. Which means, you will have to take a chance and hope that your music sense is not completely incompatible. Among the other features, the device doesn’t need filter replacements and can also accommodate essential oil for aromatherapy.

The oxygen bar will set you back by around $300.

Via Chip Chick.

Related posts on oxygen:
O2hi personal oxygen machine
Would you care for a glass of oxygen?

News coverage on great iPhone apps is sure to ramp up in your readers from here on, and I’m particularly excited to learn more about some stunning apps and report back along the way. Before I dive into the new Apple App store, I'd like to encourage you to take a closer look at a newly released jail-broken app, Instinctiv Shuffle™.

I'm addicted to my music and music gadgetry, but the single feature that I've never been fond of and almost never use is the "random shuffle." True to its name "random" there's no rhyme or reason to how my iPod chooses the lineup, and mostly it leaves me flipping around or onto the next song, rendering the feature an epic fail. Instinctiv Shuffle is the first app that truly seems to understand how I listen.

The application smartly shuffles my music in a few seemingly simple steps (note there’s a bunch of crazy stuff behind the scenes bringing together the brilliant outcome):

Step 1. Instinctiv Shuffle gathers the names of your songs and their associated playback.

Step 2. Via a secure and anonymous connection, this data is uploaded to Instinctiv Shuffle servers.

Step 3. That data is analyzed and new information is returned to your iPhone, enabling your formerly random shuffle feature to now determine the perfect songs and mix for you.

The iPhone 3G was released today, at 8 AM, and my plans to casually stroll into an Apple store at about 8 PM and buy a phone with no wait, as I did last year with the release of the original iPhone, may not work out. I've been calling around my city (Washington DC) and getting calls from people in other parts of the country and it's all chaos. The mighty Apple machine, in all its soothing hospital tones, may be falling apart, at least for today.

The Apple stores I've called in my city all have plenty of stock, but estimate at least a 5-hour wait to get into the stores. All the New York City Apple stores are reportedly out of stock in every size and color. The online Apple store is completely out of stock too. Our own Brian, the master of procurement of new mobile phones at least a week before anyone else, has not yet managed to get an iPhone 3G, despite lining up before the AT&T store opened. This is much crazier than last year - we were both able to get our phones easily.

Another warning - there is such demand on the iTunes activation service that people aren't able to activate their phones, in stores, or at home. Even if you get a phone, you may not be able to get it to work today.

Will Brian get an iPhone 3G today? Will I? Stay tuned.

Don't worry, this quest has a happy ending, with the new 3G iPhone not only in hand but activated. As anyone with an iPhone noticed, the Apple servers crashed from all the new customers trying to activate their new phones and leaving old iPhone users in limbo, frozen trying to download the 2.0 upgrade which adds great new features and services to older versions of the iPhone (more on that later from Mia.) Add to that over 500 new apps and it's like you've got a new phone. (Pictured below, the new tap-and-tilt game, Super Monkey Ball.)



A tech fiend friend of mine, Kevin, in Manhattan Beach, CA. tell this story:

I got to the AT&T store at 5:30, thinking I would be first in line. Boy was I wrong. I was 30th in line. By the time the store opened, I would guess there were about 150 . . . wrapped around the corner and beyond! I got a quote from the person at the front of the line. His name was Justin Levin. He got there the night before at 9 p.m.!! He waited in his car until he saw people coming and then got in line which was about 3 a.m. His favorite application was the AIM, so he could "keep in touch." He wanted to upgrade because of the "new features and it's about time!" His favorite function is the 3G aspect for speed. The traffic didn't seem to be affected besides the normal morning traffic . . . but it was very crowded. I found out that the AT&T store sold out at 10 o'clock, about an hour after I got mine.

With activation almost impossible, Kevin waited to this morning to plug into iTunes, and most original iPhone owners have been able to download the new software.

AT&T is reporting this morning that they have sold out of the iPhones at most of it's 2,000 retail stores in the US, but they are taking orders for the devices.

And the best part of the story? Kevin bought two new iPhones.

Our publisher, Hoyun, has been after me to start using eWallet, usually after I pester her for the password for one of our accounts for the umpteenth time.

eWallet lets you secure your personal information on multiple PCs and mobile devices using Windows Mobile or Palm OS. And waiting in the wings is the long-awaited version for the iPhone and iPod Touch, which is scheduled for release as early as this Friday when the new 3G iPhones first become available in stores. The software is finished and ready to launch, pending final word from Apple. Today's update from Ilium Software:

"We're not trying to be cagey with iPhone info about our apps - there still are a lot of unknowns. We hope we'll have eWallet in the iPhone App store Friday, but we haven't yet seen confirmation of that. We want to send reviewers copies as soon as we can, but we're not quite sure when the mechanisms will be in place. We're not sure if we'll have a way to give existing users a discount on the iPhone purchases, but we do have a plan in place to be sure they're taken care of."

eWallet safely stores and secures your PIN numbers, bank account information, passwords, credit card numbers, and other sensitive information, using government-level (FIPS) 256-bit AES encryption. For me, this means no more using weak passwords just so I'll remember them.

Take a look at the sneak preview on the Ilium Software Blog, and another preview screenshot after the jump.

Seen on Tokyo Mango, this lighter disguised as a match, is available from Thanko Inc.'s Rare Mono Shop, seller of wacky (and useful) Japanese gadgets. Good news for those of us in the U.S. - they start shipping here in August - see their U.S. site here.

In early 2009, Nokia is set to release its new HS-67WL Wireless Loopset, which will provide people with T-coil equipped hearing aids or cochlear implants to obtain better audio quality and hands-free operation of cell phones and other portable devices. The device is compatible with Bluetooth handsets, and enables users to receive calls wirelessly through their hearing aids as well as vibrating alerts, while filtering out background noises. It comes with a neckloop and a single button to handle calls.

The Loopset is expected to be priced at around 200 Euros.

Via Gearlog, by way of textually.org..

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Want to become a paid Popgadget freelance writer? See details here.

Are we heading towards a time when we'll be able to fulfill all of our material needs without ever making human contact? These vending machines in Japan that dispense fresh vegetables make me think maybe yes.

The vending machine craze hasn't quite taken off in the U.S., though people who are nostalgic about New York's Automats from the olden days can visit BAMN in the East Village, where you can get hot comfort foods from automat machines.

Via Trends in Japan.

It's just a few days until we get our hands on the new 3G iPhone and now we have some idea of the pricing from AT&T.

Just how much will AT&T gouge their customers already under contract but who are not eligible for an upgrade yet? On their website, AT&T reveals that customers not eligible for an upgrade will have to pay $399 for an 8GB iPhone 3G and $499 for the 16GB version. (Also, AT&T has announced that they will offer no-contract-required iPhones in the future at $599 and $699 price points.)

And if you are going to go stand in line, keep in mind that Apple is limiting sales of the iPhone, just like last time, however, they will let you purchase up to two, rather than the one per person limit from AT&T. Strange, but maybe Apple is figuring you might pick up some other Apple goodies while you're hanging out in line?

Will there be iPhone frenzy on July 11? We know that there will be plenty of phones to go around, but still my friends and I are already planning to line up at the Apple Store in the wee hours of July 11th to get first dibs. Why do we care this much about a mobile phone upgrade?

The new iPhone 3G has a lot going for it—simply stated, the pricing strategy alone is a win-win (we'll pay less upfront and about $40 more in the long-term). But, it's not about the price or the 3G tech, or the new plastics involved.

Far more significant than the hardware upgrades, all iPhones will be able to connect to the App Store, an online service from Apple that will allow us to easily install third-party software that utilizes all of the iPhone's capabilities. This newfound ability to run virtually any application will soon let the little, mobile Apple computer in our pockets do things for us that the machines on our desks could only dream of.

But what will all these life-changing applications cost us? Will the $200 I save on my iPhone 3G just eventually get gobbled up by the App Store instead? Will the average iPhone customer even want to pay for these apps? And, how in the world will companies focused on the Apps, like newly launched Instinctiv.com actually monetize the software?

Enter Eric Litman, founder and CEO of Medialets, a New York-based advertising delivery platform whose work I hope will end up saving me a lot of my hard-earned cash. His company encourages developers who might otherwise charge up-front licensing fees to instead give their wares away for free. The costs of development would be supported by showing innovative, dynamic advertisements displayed inside the apps with Medialets technology.

Unlike most LED clothing, which make the wearer look like a tacky neon lamp, the designs from Rhyme & Reason are stunning pieces you could actually wear. Designer Mary Huang, who describes her creations as a combination of light and fashion, makes her scarves from a machine-knit material, and her ethereal white dress is a combination of woven cotton jersey and hand-crocheted flowers. About two dozen bright white LEDs are embedded in each.

To go out and dazzle the town, snap on the battery pack, and when you're home just plug it into the wall via an adapter. Imagine having a night wedding wearing this dress!

Unfortunately, there's no word on pricing, but you can contact the designer through the website.

Via Device.

Far be it from me to encourage you to work while you're on vacation, but . . .

If you absolutely must toil while you broil, Download.com has gathered together a nice brief collection of software that will ease the pain. Or at least help you complete your tasks with dispatch and get back to your inflatable pool lounge.

Many of these tools were new to me, but I can attest that one of them. Documents to Go, works as advertised. (It displays several common file types like .doc and .xls on most mobile devices and, even better, permits you to create and edit them.)

Download.com neglects to nag you, so I will: Slathers of sunscreen, please, and keep the work to a minimum. You deserve a holiday!

Every year our block in the South Bay has a wild (but very well-organized ) July 4th Block party. We do it up right - get a permit to close down the street, rent a double slip n' slide, run pop-ups and tables down the middle of the street, set up cooking in "BBQ alley" (Brad's driveway), referee a volleyball and basketball tourney, and string up pinatas. In the evening, the neighborhood band plays and we all dance - munchkins and seniors alike. And all the while I'm serving up my "famous" margaritas.

What's so fabulous about them? It's not the homemade mix, fresh limes, or margarita salt. It's the Herradura tequila, a secret among tequila aficionados. Located and produced in the heart of Mexico’s tequila region, in the tiny town of Amatitan, Jalisco, Tequila Herradura is 100% blue agave tequila carefully crafted using traditional methods, such as cooking the agave in clay ovens and fermenting naturally with wild yeast. They are one of the few producers to grow their own blue agave, which takes up to 10 years to mature. Like a fine wine, they are aged in oak for different lengths of time. For example, the Herradura Añejo Herradura Gold (Reposado) ferments for 2 years, and my favorite, the Herradura Silver, for only 40 months, and none of their tequilas contain carmel (for coloring), sugar or additives.

Now here's a gadget. In fact not just a gadget, but arguably the gadget. It's the Large Hadron Collider at Cern, the European laboratory for particle physics near Geneva, scheduled to have its Grand Opening next month.

Stephen Hawking explains what the LHC is for:
"It will smash particles together to recreate the moments after the big bang, producing a new golden age of discovery for physicists."

There's more, lots more, and the Guardian has just unveiled a group of articles and multimedia and podcasts that explains it all.

They've been rumored for a while, but it appears that they will actually be in existence in a couple of months: laptop bags that can get through airport security while your precious laptop remains snug within. If you carry your machine in one of these bags, you won't have to remove it in order to pass X-ray inspection, according to the New York Times.

Two major makers, Targus and Pathfinder Luggage, have already announced models that will be available by fall. Half a dozen other manufacturers are said to be scrambling to catch up. Targus is planning 4 models, priced from $39 to $100. Pathfinder's offerings, a briefcase and a wheeled model, will be more expensive, about $150.

Since the bags don't yet exist, there are no photos. So it's not quite clear to me how the design(s) will ensure that laptops can be inspected easily while still in their jammies.

The problem up to now, the Times says, is that cables, mouses, and other impedimenta essential to actually using your machine on the road have gotten in the way of the X-ray pics. How the new bags will solve that problem is not at all obvious from the description, to wit:

"The new cases include either a fold-down section in a bigger briefcase or a stand-alone protective sleeve that contains no extra clutter and can be readily viewed through the scanner."

Fold-down section in a bigger briefcase? Stand-alone protective sleeve? Hello, we've been using those for years.

I await clarification. Meantime, I hope someone will find a way to get rid of the hassle of airport foot gear removal. I mean, besides those humiliating rubber flip-flops.

For those of us plagued by thoughts of waste when contemplating ditching our old iPhones to upgrade to the 3G iPhone, there's a bit of good news, as it turns out that the packaging for the new iPhone to be released on July 11th is made of recyclable potato starch. Dutch company PaperFoam, maker of carbon-friendly packaging, is providing millions of paperfoam packages to Apple.

Via The Register, by way of textually.org.

WEbook (pronounced "we-book"), a collaborative book writing website that launched this past spring, puts to the test several premises about writing and publishing, the first being that every person has at least one book - or one story - in them worth telling (or some variation of that idea). The second premise is their tagline, "Writing loves company," which is already proven, in part, by the fact that hordes of people participate in writing workshops every year to have their writing critiqued and to critique the writing of others. The third premise may or may not flow naturally from the first two: that aspiring writers, if given the opportunity and the right tools, would be drawn to collaborate on writing books with other writers with like interests. And the hope is that this kind of online collaborative environment for writers will produce books that are worthy of being published, and that people will buy and read.

Users can sign up to review other peoples' writing, to open up a writing project for a select group of their insiders to contribute to or comment on, or start a project and invite others in the community to participate in writing it. So, the system is somewhat flexible to suit your interests and level of desired collaboration.

Never mind kids, I know a few adults who would love to decorate their walls to look like the inside of a Super Mario Bros. game with these Nintendo Wall Decals. Made with blik Re-Stik, the decals are movable and reusable (in case you have a change of heart and decide to relocate the decals to your kid's room), and are based on the same 8-bit graphics of the original game. For $75, you get 36 decals. They also sell New Super Mario Bros. decals and Donkey Kong decals - directly on the Blik website.

Via Tokyo Mango.