Find Our Latest Video Reviews on YouTube!
If you want to stay on top of all of our video reviews of the latest tech, be sure to check out and subscribe to the Gear Live YouTube channel, hosted by Andru Edwards! It’s free!
Latest Gear Live Videos
Acrilan Radio
Posted by John Goulden Categories: Design, Home Entertainment, Music, Portable Audio / Video,
Satellite radio has me spoiled. I can’t remember the last time I listened to normal terrestrial radio and I have no intentions of going back. However, there are those of you who still partake of FM broadcasts, and for that there’s the Acrilan Radio. The Acrilan is a 4 inch diameter piece of acrylic whose outer body controls the volume, and pop-up center button handles power and volume. Not much going on in the color choice department with only white and silver up for grabs but that’s a minor quibble. A mono speaker and blue LED lighting round out the package. Only one major problem - since it’s made for the Japanese market the frequency range (76.1 - 96.3 MHz) doesn’t match up with that of the U.S.
Read More 
| AssistOn (jp) via The Red Ferret
Gallery: Acrilan Radio
Advertisement
What do you get for the person who seems to have everything? How about a desk made out of a Mini Cooper (the original, not the BMW remake). If you’re willing to part with $4,500, you too can own (or gift) a nostalgic piece of automotive history. Of course, for around that same amount of money you can buy yourself a whole Mini Cooper to actually drive.
Read More | Uber-Review
Gallery: Mini Statements Mini Desk
I know there are a lot of Mac users reading the blog, so for those of you (like me), who use Adobe apps as part of your daily workflow, you may want to read this. The following is from an Adobe employee blog written by John Knack.
We’ve posted an FAQ concerning Adobe’s plans to ship Intel-native (Universal) Mac applications. Highlights:
Yes, we are working on Universal versions of our tools. The FAQ includes a list of those being converted.
No, we don’t plan to update CS2/Studio 8 to be Universal. That means native support will come in a future version, which is some time off. (The FAQ cites an 18-24 month historical cycle for product updates. CS2 shipped in April 2005, Studio 8 in September.)
Yes, most of today’s applications will run in Rosetta (the emulation layer for PowerPC code running on Intel), though that’s not a configuration Adobe has tested extensively. The Version Cue server component won’t run on Rosetta.The Lightroom beta, made available first on Mac, will be available in Universal form very soon.
It’s important to make a few things clear: We’re working really hard, together with Apple, to make this conversion. Apple staff are on site at Adobe every day and have been for quite some time, helping our teams make the required move to the Xcode development environment & taking our feedback on how to make Xcode support large projects like Photoshop.Everyone—Mac users, Adobe, and Apple—wants to get Adobe apps running natively on Mactel as soon as possible, but doing so while maintaining their quality will take time. If we knew how to do this more quickly, we would do it.
I’d like to make one other point: in the first 18 months that Mac OS X was in the market (starting with the shipment of 10.0.0), Adobe released (by my recollection) 13 OS X-native applications. That averages out to better than one release every six weeks for a year and a half. Name another company that showed up for the game on that scale. Please bear that history in mind the next time someone on a user forum starts raising doubts about Adobe’s commitment to the Mac.
So the short of it is, if you are working as a professional designer or anyone who uses Adobe’s apps fairly frequently, make sure you know what you are getting into when buying that new Mactel. I for one am looking forward to a new MacBook Pro soon - real soon - but I absolutely must have Adobe’s apps work on my machine from day one. I hope they pound this out pronto.
Read More | John Knack Blog
Gallery: Adobe On Mactel: An FAQ
So there you are, trying to decide what to get for your loved one this Valentine’s Day, and the thought hits you that a flower with your picture on it would be just swell. Now, how do you go about accomplishing this feat? Enter our beloved Asian brethren to save the day. The aptly named “Flower Printer,” allows you to print a graphic image of your choice on a flower. Yes, apparently a real, live flower. The details are sketchy, but for a mere $1250 you too can
impress the person you hold dearest with a personalized flower just for them.
Read More | Compact Impact via Gearlog
Gallery: Flower Printer
Send Us Your Optimus Keyboard Questions! We Are Interviewing Art Lebedev
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Announcements, Design, Features, PC / Laptop,
So, back in July we were the first to report on the Optimus OLED keyboard. After we posted it, everyone and their mother picked it up - just check out the press clippings area on the Optimus site (notice - we are the earliest!). This is the keyboard that took the Internet by storm. In just a few days, the precursor to the Optimus Keyboard will be unveiled - that being the Optimus Mini Three.
We will be chatting with Art Lebedev, the designer of the Optimus keyboard, and wanted to be sure to get in as many of your questions as possible. If there is anything you would like to know about Optimus Keyboard, the Mini Three, or Lebedev Studios itself - let us know here.
Gallery: Send Us Your Optimus Keyboard Questions! We Are Interviewing Art Lebedev
The bandwagon - it’s that thing every manufacturer seems to jump on when it comes to product design. Original concepts and thinking take a backseat to minimal R&D costs and the ability to kick the product out the door as quickly as possible. Take the SanDisk Sansa e200 for example. It certainly isn’t an outright clone, but it doesn’t deviate too far in looks from Apple’s iPod nano. It’s got the requisitive blue glowy lights that are so popular today, and feature-wise it does have the nano beat on a number of points. Unlike the nano it comes in 2, 4 and 6GB versions, includes an FM radio (with recording), native support for WMA files, and has video playback capability (although the nano can be hacked for video). For those craving even more storage space, the e200 also includes a microSD slot which could net you an additional 1GB of storage (the largest size microSD at the time of this writing). In an apparent dig at Apple’s problems with the nano, the Sansa has the following - “Strong Liquidmetal® back casing provides excellent durability and scratch resistance”. News flash for SanDisk - it’s the FRONT of the nano scratching easily that has everyone up in arms, not the back. Barring any issues with the user interface, the Sansa e200 sounds like a great little player when it arrives at the end of March. It’s hard to argue with what’s popular, but it’s a shame a little more thought wasn’t given to the exterior to differentiate the e200 from it’s competition.
Read More | SanDisk via ubergizmo
Gallery: SanDisk Sansa e200 MP3 Player
MII Flashcam Tactical Flashlight
Posted by John Goulden Categories: Cameras, Design, Smart Home, Misc. Tech,
Apparently nothing is sacred anymore. Take the humble flashlight for example. A ubiquitous device, the flashlight as we know it has its origins in 1896. Along the way it has received various upgrades - LED technology and magnetic induction come to mind. However, the core idea of a simple object that spits out light on demand, has remained the same - until now. Enter the MII Flashcam - an 85,000 candlepower LED flashlight that adds the ability to record audio/video as well as take digital still shots. For covert operations it has a ring of infrared LED’s to light up your subject, and all video can be viewed on it’s 1.5” TFT-LCD. For storing your audio and video the Flashcam has 1GB of integrated memory which will allow for up to 2 hours of footage. Seeing as how the Flashcam is being marketed toward the law enforcement industry, it comes as no surprise that the light is shock resistant (handy when the need arises for incapacitating a fugitive). If you can afford it ($2,500) the MII Flashcam can be yours, but don’t expect to be allowed the privilege to record audio unless you’re a member of law enforcement. Video functionality on the other hand is seemingly “a-ok” regardless of who the purchaser is.
Read More | MII Flashcam via Ubergizmo
Gallery: MII Flashcam Tactical Flashlight
Just When You Thought You’d Seen It All - iAttire iPod Costumes
Posted by Kristin Wenzel Categories: Apple, Wearables, Design, Misc. Tech, Portable Audio / Video, Toys,
We really thought we’d seen just about everything - we were wrong. We came across iAttire, a company devoted to outfitting…your iPod. Their selection ranges from the feminine to the masculine, from the cute to the absurd, and there’s a costume to fit any iPod - even the Shuffle and Nano. These aren’t the silicone wetsuits you’re used to - these are actual, honest-to-goodness costumes for the iPod, including a whole line of “Valentines Day” themed outfits like a chiffon negligee, boxer shorts, or even a corset.
The rest of the line covers just about every fashion you’d think to, er, dress your iPod in, from Pop Diva to Fairy Princess. And for the boys (is your iPod a boy or a girl?) there are a variety of manly disguises, like the Pirate, Cowboy and even Santa Claus - and here we were, thinking the iPod madness couldn’t get any crazier. We’ll give points for creativity and good fit, however, who’d have thought to make iPod costumes?!
The best part? They’re planning on releasing a series of iPod Portraits painted on velvet. Oh, the cheese of it! While my iPod is perfectly happy lounging about naked (that perverted iPod!), we’ve got to admit, iAttire has a great idea - it sure brought a smile to our faces.
Read More | iAttire
Gallery: Just When You Thought You’d Seen It All - iAttire iPod Costumes
Aptera 330 MPG Hybrid Vehicle
Posted by John Goulden Categories: Design, Misc. Tech, Transportation,
It’s pure speculation as to what would cause three engineers to create a startup company whose current focus is creating a hybrid vehicle that they claim will get 330 MPG (miles per gallon). Maybe they have a grand vision of the future as a place with little dependency on fossil fuels or possibly they just saw dollar signs. Regardless, their goal is admirable even if it seems a bit hard to swallow. Their company, Accelerated Composites, is hell-bent on mass-producing this lightweight (850 lbs), aerodynamic, two-seat vehicle that will combine incredible fuel efficiency with a high safety factor. Oh, did I mention that all of this can be yours for under $20,000? While I remain doubtful of the vehicle ever achieving large scale production numbers, I’m hoping they can achieve some success with their product.
Read More | Accelerated Composites via Gizmag
Gallery: Aptera 330 MPG Hybrid Vehicle
We love insanely odd gadgets from the Orient. Today, Sega’s iFish has caught our attention. The iFish is basically a toy fish that “swims” across your desk on two wheels. It plays 50 “healing” sounds (read: nature, oceans) and reacts to movement with light effects built into it’s head. Hook it up to a music source, and the iFish will move and groove to the beat, similar to the way the iDog does it’s thing. If you want to import, check out Brando where you can pick one up for $64.90 USD. The iFish hits stores in Japan later this month.
Read More | iFish Product Page (Japanese)
Gallery: The Sega iFish
Advertisement
© Gear Live Inc. {year} – User-posted content, unless source is quoted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Public Domain License. Gear Live graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, videos, articles, blogs, forums, scripts and other service names are the trademarks of Gear Live Inc.