Gizmodo

Posts Tagged “

Feature

”
battlemodo

Cut-the-Crap iPhone Headset Battlemodo

Whether you love or hate your iPhone, you'll get tired of holding that big sticky piece of glass next to your face eventually. Want have a talk while you work or exercise? Need hands-free calling behind the wheel? Do you just have lazy, withered arms? Chances are you need a headset. Though the famed white earbuds are good enough for some, why settle for them just because they just happen to come free, and with an embedded mic? Other companies want a piece of that iPhone action, and have headsets that fit and sound a lot better. "Oh, but fair and wise Gizmodo, which headsets hath you divined for my unworthy purchase?" you might ask. Look no further. Well, no further than after the jump. (And by the way, this review is actually useful for any phone with a 3.5mm mic-and-stereo jack.)

More »

Feature

12:00 PM on Thu Aug 21 2008
By John Herrman
11,095 views, 67 comments

Latest by Kaiser-Machead's WALL-E fetish: @Pope John Peeps II: I've always found Sony's buds to be among the flimsiest sets I've ever purchased. more »

designmodo

Motorola Insider Blame Game: Engineers Shoved Designers Aside

These days, most in-the-know folks would sooner eat glass than carry a Motorola phone. The company has shredded its reputation by failing to address basic interface design issues: freeze-prone software, head-scratching menus, keys that demand Herculean strength. It's baffling that such a venerable company could build such frustrating phones, considering the zillions presumably spent on development. How did Motorola make such a bollocks of its wireless division? Now that the company has annointed new wireless division chief Sanjay Jha, we surveyed former staffers for the inside scoop, as well as their advice on how to right the ship. More »

Feature

11:00 AM on Wed Aug 20 2008
By Brendan I. Koerner
16,112 views, 59 comments

Latest by n/a: @kaosfere: Not the way its worded there. Thats why I say it wasn't a well written or researched peice. Same with more »

photo contest

The Most Inventive Ways to Void Your Gadget Warranties

For this week's contest, we took a little break from the Photoshopping. Instead, I asked you to submit photos of gadgets being used in ways other than originally intended. Below the jump, you'll find a bunch of photos of people getting pretty creative with their toys (and breaking some warranties along the way). Hit the jump for the top three winners and then check out the best of the rest in our Gallery of Champions. (Warning: one of the winners is relatively NSFW.) More »

Feature

2:00 PM on Tue Aug 19 2008
By Adam Frucci
30,211 views, 38 comments

Latest by Ginsu: @Con Seannery: For smearing the good name of Apple, I hope you die. In fire. more »

thank giz it's friday

10 Gadgets For Guys Who Hate To Cook (But Love to Eat)

Look around. You probably have soda cans, pizza boxes and take out containers lying all over the place. Come on man, just because you are a lazy bachelor doesn't mean you can't enjoy a little home cooking every once in awhile. So, with that in mind, check out the following list of gadgets. You too can eat like a king at home—and save a little money while you are at it. More »

Feature

4:00 PM on Fri Aug 15 2008
By Sean Fallon
32,909 views, 80 comments

Latest by Ariel_Wollinger: better that TOFU or better that STFU? more »

iphone gaming

History Proves the iPhone Will Never Win the Handheld Gaming Wars

Super Monkey Ball is arguably the current zenith of iPhone tilt gaming. The gameplay involves navigating your bebubbled monkey through a series of elevated, edgeless mazes without letting him fall—it's fun, if repetitive. Nintendo’s Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble is similar: The player guides Kirby through mazes using tilt-sensitive control, collecting stars along the way. Both games are entertaining, and both won positive reviews for nearly identical control schemes. So why is Monkey Ball getting all the attention? Well, for one, Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble is only available for the the Game Boy Color. Oh, and it was released in 2001. More »

Feature

2:00 PM on Fri Aug 15 2008
By John Herrman
11,177 views, 57 comments

Latest by dkoemans: thank god you are a writer and (presumably) not a developer. the app store has been up for barely two more »

star wars: the clone wars review

Star Wars: The Clone Wars Review (Or, The First Star Wars Movie You Will Truly Hate)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars is a lot of firsts. It's the first new Star Wars film since Emperor George Lucas wrapped up the canonical series three years ago. It's the opening salvo of a wave of Expanded Universe TV series—the film launches The Clone Wars animated series, and meanwhile a live-action one set between the prequels and the original trilogy is deep in development. It's the first animated Star Wars feature film. And most importantly, it's the first Star Wars movie you will truly loathe. More »

Feature

11:00 AM on Fri Aug 15 2008
By matt buchanan
52,644 views, 181 comments

Latest by n/a: I just watched the trailers on the official site, and thought they looked pretty good. Of course they left more »

roundups

10 R/C Toys That Are Extraordinary (or Just Plain Weird)

My experience with R/C toys growing up was limited because it was simply too expensive to take up as a serious hobby. The rich kids had some fancy R/C cars though (damn those rich kids!), and every once in a while I got a chance to take one out for a spin. Needless to say, I loved every second of it. There are countless R/C gadgets on the market these days, but I have put together a list of 10 that are extraordinary, unique, amusing or just plain weird. More »

Feature

5:00 PM on Wed Aug 13 2008
By Sean Fallon
46,682 views, 20 comments

Latest by GadgetPlay: @qbrad: If it were a "magical toolbox," it would be that hammer that flew. (Is it possible you don't know more »

giz explains

Giz Explains: The Magic Behind Touchscreens

Touchscreens. They're everywhere, as if electronics makers aren't cool unless their phones or media players have them, and soon that will be true for laptops as well. Touchscreens aren't going to completely replace the mouse and keyboard in the next year or two, but we're hurtling toward a future where they're the dominant way we interact with devices. The catch is that "touchscreen" can describe a few very different technologies that all perform a similar function. Here's a breakdown of the most popular techniques for making touchscreen magic happen—and the crazy new techniques that will succumb to your caresses in years to come. More »

Feature

2:00 PM on Wed Aug 13 2008
By matt buchanan
19,428 views, 65 comments

Latest by jtwaverly: Am I the only one that likes to use my fingernail on a touchscreen? When I first used an iPod more »

photoshop contest

60 Video Games Bastardized with Unnecessary Gadgets

For this week's Photoshop Contest, I tasked you with adding gadgets to your favorite video games, and what results we have. Many a childhood memory is sullied in our Gallery of Champions, adding Segways and iPhones where they really didn't belong or really make a lot of sense. Again, it was tough picking three winners from this lot, but I did. Hit the jump for your top three winners and then the rest of the best in the Gallery of Champions. More »

Feature

12:30 PM on Tue Aug 12 2008
By Adam Frucci
57,894 views, 45 comments

Latest by jozen: @BB7: great job more »

olympics

Olympics Watching: Ultimate PC/HDTV Strategy Guide

The 2008 Olympics have begun, and now that we've had a few days to digest the coverage, we've found the best (and worst) things about watching the games online and on your TV. Those of us stuck here in America and not lucky enough to own Vista must deal with NBC's often delayed event broadcasts. Sure, if it's American basketball or track you're looking for, you can find everything you need without stepping away from your HDTV set. But if you've waited four years to watch table tennis or want to see how that Latvia-Angola rivalry plays out, you'll definitely have to use NBC's streaming online player. Here's a rundown of the tradeoffs between HDTV and NBC's online viewer, and some helpful tips to keep you from getting too mired in the programming. More »

Feature

5:00 PM on Mon Aug 11 2008
By Benny Goldman
23,792 views, 46 comments

Latest by earthling: The quality of the video on NBC only sucks because you can directly compare it to the HD source. more »

thank giz it's friday

10 Back to School Gadgets for Lazy Students

Summer has gone fast hasn't it? Hard to believe that many of you will be heading back to school sometime in the next few weeks. That means it's time to get on a schedule and prepare yourself for another semester of boring lectures, homework and tests. Sure, there is a lot of fun to be had—but the party is going to come to a screeching halt when you get out there into the real world. That's why you have to apply yourself now so you can get a good job when all is said and done. Either that, or you have to learn how to cut corners more effectively. Since this is the Thank Giz It's Friday roundup, we are going with the latter. More »

Feature

4:00 PM on Fri Aug 8 2008
By Sean Fallon
63,838 views, 55 comments

Latest by n/a: I loved the cheat shirts...and I think I'm going to have to get the Orgamo Alarm Clock...for research purposes. more »

how to

How To Hack Your PSP Slim For Homebrew Apps

One of the topics discussed at our roundtable with Sony at E3 (besides their dislike for paying for features and their 20/20 hindsight as to what went wrong with the PS3's development) was piracy. Piracy was half the reason SCEA's Jack Tretton gave to why the PSP is not living up to its promise as a powerhouse portable console, with the other half being the straight-shooting admission that PSP owners didn't want to pay for ports of PS2 games. So what can you loyal fans do when developers aren't putting out the type of content worth playing? Homebrew, the magical world of quasi-legal third-party PSP software including web apps, radio apps, Super Nintendo/NES emulators and ripped PS1 games. I'm going to show you how to get your PSP to do all this and more. More »

Feature

12:06 PM on Fri Aug 8 2008
By Jason Chen
24,646 views, 91 comments

Latest by n/a: Is that a Speaker or a button on the bottom left hand side of the PSP? I wonder, because if more »

battlemodo

Ultimate Cut-The-Crap In-Ear Headphone Battlemodo

Why do music lovers put up with cheap stock earbuds? You've spent hundreds of dollars on an MP3 player then effectively nullify your investment with headphones that suck the soul out of the music that you love. Choosing a higher-end set of earphones is almost impossible, since there are way too many, and they are deliberately marketed to blur the distinctions from best to worst. I tried out $2,000 worth of in-ear earphones—16 pairs made it to my final evaluation—and since I like you, I will share the results of my hours of ear penetration. More »

Feature

2:00 PM on Thu Aug 7 2008
By John Herrman
36,787 views, 141 comments

Latest by Chip Chanko: John: could you explain the "mushroom" eartips in more detail? Is this something they haven't released yet? None of the more »

giz explains

Giz Explains: How Broadband Usage Caps Will Kill Internet Video

NBC's scheduled coverage of the 2008 Olympics is absolutely breathtaking in its scope: It's broadcasting over 3,600 hours of the world's greatest athletes performing feats that reveal how shapeless and amoebic the rest of humanity is—that's 1,000 more hours than the last 12 Summer Olympics combined. The internet is a huge component of their nearly omniscient coverage. You can even download and watch full-length events. But NBC has a fat red warning on the page: If you've got metered or capped broadband, you might want to think twice before downloading. It's the first shot by major media in the next great battle for the internet's future. Here's why you—and most media companies—should be worried about the new wave of internet pricing. More »

Feature

3:00 PM on Wed Aug 6 2008
By matt buchanan
19,800 views, 142 comments

Latest by kylo4: This was a fantastic article that I only hoped would be written somewhere. Thank you Matt Buchanan, thank you for more »

firmware

When Good Firmware Goes Bad... And Why You Should Wait To Update

"Firmware update" sounds like something you'd want. Something solid, yet fresh and new. But lately deciding to update is getting more complicated. The newest firmware is no longer just a nice downloadable present from a benevolent electronics overlord; on many devices, it has been buggy or downright dangerous to install. Manufacturers like Apple, Nintendo and Sony are increasingly releasing firmware that disables functionality for business reasons—or that just make products worse by being halfbaked. Here is a rundown of firmware updates that weren't exactly beloved by users. More »

Feature

1:00 PM on Wed Aug 6 2008
By Dan Nosowitz
33,411 views, 77 comments

Latest by n/a: I happen to like the similarity between Nintendo, and Apple. My Wii matches my white DS, and my white Mac, more »

MS Paint Contest

90 Visions of Future in MS Paint are Terrifying, Insane

This week's Photoshop Contest wasn't a Photoshop Contest at all — it was an MS Paint contest. And while I knew I was going to get a boatload of insanity in my inbox, I wasn't quite prepared for what I got. You guys are insane. In a good way… I guess. In any case, I whittled the entries down to my favorites, and yet again, choosing a top 3 was next to impossible. This week, there's a top 3 and an honorable mention that I singled out because I'm vain and it mentions me getting a Pulitzer. Deal with it. Hit the jump for your winners and your completely schizophrenic Gallery of MS Paint Champions. More »

Feature

3:00 PM on Tue Aug 5 2008
By Adam Frucci
81,007 views, 113 comments

Latest by kylo4: I thought those were great, my only suggestion is that for the honorable mention, the one by Steve McGann, the more »

millenium falcon

Guest Review: Millennium Falcon Legacy Edition by Heroes Producer Jesse Alexander


The only thing cooler than a review of the new Millennium Falcon toy? A review of the Millennium Falcon toy by geek storyteller Jesse Alexander, who has worked on Giz favorites like Heroes, Alias and Lost. P.S. I think that's an Emmy on his desk. More of Jesse's impressions, below: More »

Feature

2:24 PM on Tue Aug 5 2008
By Brian Lam
8,619 views, 32 comments

Latest by Purple Dave: I'd really have to put this at fourth best Star Wars toy of all time. Top of the list is more »

jetpack video

Hands On: Jetpack!

“Don’t cover your ears, this is what you paid to see!” Glenn Martin shouts to me over the apocalyptic roar of an F22 fighter jet performing a leisurely flyby. He’d abruptly broken off a conversation with someone else just to make this point—before we’d even been introduced and hours before I flew his pack. “That’s 3.15 billion of your tax dollars at work!” More »

Feature

11:30 AM on Tue Aug 5 2008
By Mark Wilson
17,381 views, 81 comments

Latest by n/a: I can't believe how many anal-retentive morons post their short sighted comments about this "first of a kind" commercialy available more »

next »