Setting Fires With a Giant Electric Blower
This weekend, I’m going to be sparking up the grill with the Looftlighter, an electric firestarter that looks like an oversized curling iron, sounds like a hair dryer, and gets a good-sized pile of charcoal briquettes ready to grill in just a few minutes. I’ll admit I was skeptical about the $80 Looftlighter, which comes from [...]
03-09-2010 09:59:57Hands-On With HDR Photos in the Next iPhone Update
A software update for Apple’s mobile operating system is due for release next week, and Wired.com has had hands-on time with a major new feature of the OS: high-dynamic range photography. HDR, an automated processing feature aiming to deliver a “dummy-proof” photography method, will be included with the camera app on all iPhones running iOS 4.1 when [...]
03-09-2010 09:13:21Steve Jobs: iTunes 10 Icon Does Not ‘Suck’
While winding down from Wednesday’s iPod announcements, Apple CEO Steve Jobs appears to have taken some time to respond to an e-mail criticizing the new look of the iTunes icon. Joshua Kopac, who oversees design work for advertising firm ValuLeads, sent Jobs an e-mail blasting the new iTunes icon (right) — a blue bubble containing a [...]
03-09-2010 07:44:19Travelling Around the World in a Gadget-Filled Ford Fiesta
Last weekend Jeremy Hart — Wired.com contributor and a global traveller with 120 countries under his belt — left Los Angeles for a 60 day, 21 country, 15,000 mile drive around the world — in a Ford Fiesta. Jeremy will be filing occasional updates here and on our sister blog Autopia. Here, he’ll be [...]
03-09-2010 07:30:51Gadget Lab Podcast: iPods, Apple TV and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab
runMobileCompatibilityScript('myExperience602079690001', 'anId');brightcove.createExperiences(); This week’s episode of the Gadget Lab podcast is heavy on fruits. High on vitamin A, Dylan Tweney gushes over the pluot, a plum-apricot hybrid, while yours truly dishes out this week’s announcements of brand new Apple gear. Apple’s iPod family all scored major [...]
03-09-2010 06:52:25The Hidden Link Between E-Readers and Sheep (It’s Not What You Think)
It’s easy to figure out why e-readers and tablets are the size that they are: They’re all about the size of paperback books, whether trade (iPad) or mass-market (the Kindle 3). Some oversized models, like the Kindle DX, are closer to big hardcovers. But why are books the size that they are? It turns out [...]
03-09-2010 05:34:45DIY Friday: Make an Altoids Mini-BBQ. Perfect For S’Mores!
This is adorable: a tiny charcoal BBQ grill using an Altoids Sours tin, two metal computer fan guards, and some sheet metal screws for legs. It looks like it fits one regular-sized briquette. As one of the commentors notes, this is great for marshmallows, but you could also cook a shrimp at a time. Making it [...]
03-09-2010 02:39:40Mobile Devices Need Custom Maps
GPS maps for smartphones generally require a fairly high-speed wireless internet connection, consume significant processor resources, and are optimized for driving. But what if your 3G connection is unreliable or unavailable, and you still need to get from point A to point B — perhaps on foot? Last week, I spoke with Eric Gunderson and Ian [...]
02-09-2010 09:29:22First Look: Official Twitter App for iPad Feels Smooth as Butter
The official Twitter app for iPad is finally here, and star developer Loren Brichter has polished yet another gem. Twitter for iPad sports a really elegant interface that’s significantly faster and more intuitive than competing Twitter clients we’ve tested (such as Twitterific and Tweetdeck). Formerly called Tweetie, Brichter’s popular iPhone app impressed the big wigs at [...]
02-09-2010 08:50:47For Printers, ‘All-In-One’ Really Means ‘Way-Too-Much’
All-in-one printer/scanner/fax machines are so yesterday. Maybe the way to go is with better, single purpose devices: A compact, portable scanner combined with a fast, monochrome laser printer. I hate my all-in-one machine. It sits on my desk, filled up with its expensive color ink cartridges, mocking me. I never print photos or make copies, and [...]
02-09-2010 08:01:07Samsung Introduces 7-Inch Tablet to Rival iPad
After weeks of leaked photos and videos, Samsung’s 7-inch tablet called the Galaxy Tab is finally here. Samsung has announced the launch of the tablet that could become the first major Android powered challenger to the Apple iPad. The Galaxy Tab runs Android 2.2 Froyo operating system and has a 7-inch LCD display with a 1024 [...]
02-09-2010 07:06:38With Arc Touch and XBox Play & Charge, Microsoft Makes Mighty Morphin’ Power Peripherals
Microsoft has made two new controllers — one for your computer, one for your XBox 360 — that can switch into different shapes depending on your needs or preferences. The well-leaked, much-anticipated Arc Touch Mouse is shipping now; the new wireless XBox Play and Charge kit will be out stateside in November. Exactly a month ago, [...]
02-09-2010 03:42:15Exclusive Gallery: 1983 Nintendo Family Computer Teardown
Nintendo Family Computer (Famicom) Teardown [iFixit. Thanks, Kyle!] Captions by Charlie Sorrel and Kyle Wiens
02-09-2010 10:00:48iPod Touch Camera Is Less Than One Megapixel
Just when you thought the only differences between the iPhone 4 and the iPod Touch were the size and the phone, a closer look reveals that the Touch actually has a different camera. Apple’s specifications page for the Touch lists a resolution of 960-by-720 pixels for the rear camera, which is roughly one megapixel. That’s several [...]
02-09-2010 12:47:05Apple Redefines the Remote Control — Now, It’s Your Cellphone
There’s a lot to say about the new Apple TV that Steve Jobs presented today. But I’m not going to talk about the tiny little box. Instead, I’m going to talk about that remote. Additional coverage of Apple’s event on Wired.com: Hands-On With New Apple iPods Hands-On With New $100 Apple TV 5 Reasons Why Apple TV Is [...]
01-09-2010 11:14:26