When the robots rise, they'll likely come in the form of giant, goose-stepping cock roaches. Don't believe us? Just check the 32-inch, 44-pound Halluc II which features the ability to walk or roll via a simple rotation of its jointed appendages. This 8-legged vermin is powered by the screams of children and the Linux-beast within. When things get out of hand, you'll want to aim your slingshot at its 800MHz AMD Geode central processing unit and hope for the best. Now go ahead and click through for some video of it bewildered by the flashing camera lights in some makeshift, Japanese LSD lab. It's always a good idea to study your enemy before the big fight.

Continue reading The Halluc II: a robotic flashback of your creepy cockroach hallucinations

Brando's versatile universal solar charger

Relying on the sun to juice up your gadgetry is nothing new, but Brando has deviated from its cockamamie ways a bit and actually cranked out a product that is remarkably useful. The Universal Solar Charger was designed to fit neatly in your knapsack whilst traveling and provide power to any number of mobile devices via the use of adapters. Users can rely on sunlight or default to an AC outlet if stuck indoors, and most notably, the switchable voltage function allows you to handle a vast array of devices without damaging any circuitry. Unfortunately, the status quo of sub-$30 or so for a Brando gizmo has been shattered by this one, but if you're a worldwide traveler looking for portable (and renewable) power, $69 still ain't too bad.

Rocobo perfects the "annoying robot" concept

Filed under: RobotsThe Roboco is a robot toy that seems to exist for no other purpose than to annoy flesh-based lifeforms, with its whole premise being to "react" to the owner's mood. For example, if you're angry and shout at it, it'll flap its wings and aggravate you even more: if you're nice and stroke it, it'll aggravate you again by "singing," or displaying a smile graphic -- let's just say at least it can't compose lullabies. At ￥1,130 (under $9) it won't exactly break the bank, but if you're just going to throw it out the window within five minutes of buying it, you might as well hold onto your bucks.

[Via TechDigest]

SITA Air Transport IT Summit

I am in Brussels today speaking at the SITA Air Transport Summit. My talk is part of session called "Getting ready for your digital traveler". I will be speaking on Mobile based services in travel- where are we today ? Challenges and opportunities".
I was fortunate to share a van ride this morning with Yemmi Agbebi, Director of Portfolio Marketing from SITA based in the UK. Yemmi was directly involved with the Bluetooth test at Manchester Airport. Essentially SITA working with the airport installed Bluetooth stations that enabled various services for travelers. Announcements are made every few minutes instructing travelers to go to a Bluetooth area and and agree to receive messages regarding their flight. Research showed that the average traveler checks the flight board 4-5 before going to the gate. By enabling the Bluetooth communication, travelers received information about their flight lessening the anxiety associated with the boarding process. The most interesting aspect of this test is the impact on airport stores. Once enable and accepted by the user, airport stores send electronic coupons with bar codes that offer discounts to items at the shops. So how did the test go? (note I am quoting these stats by memory so please treat them as estimates). Approximately 7.2 million passengers go through the Manchester airport on an annual basis. 42% of them enabled this Bluetooth connection. The average expenditure per passenger increased from approximately 12 BPS to 16 BPS. The general feedback has been very positive as customers appreciate the information about boarding and the discount offers from the airport merchants.
This is another example of how Europe is way ahead of the US in mobile technology. Considering the current economic pressure on airlines and airports, the Manchester mobile test proves that mobile marketing can have an impact on consumer behavior.

Virtual Wide Screenfor iPod

This innovation just can use if you have video at your iPod.This item like 3D glasses that can be headset and screen tosee your video.

Myvo Solo can use for iPod version 30GB, 60GB dan 80GB. Features at this gadget: in-ear noise-reducing earbuds, controller video and audio, protection from microfiber and lens protection.

Airline Ancillary Revenue and the Long Tail

This week I am London and I had the pleasure of presenting to and participating in the Datalex User Group meeting. Datalex who has been a Travel Tech client for many years, provides a distribution platform to airlines and travel agencies. The audience consisted of major carriers and travel distributors. One of the hottest topics we discussed is the concept of ancillary revenue. This can be defined in a number of ways. The traditional model was developed by low cost carrier RyanAir who essentially charges for all services (bags, refreshments, etc..) and in addition also sells merchandise on board. Due to the fuel crisis we've seen the legacy carriers follow suit with baggage charges and other fees. The airline term is ancillary revenue, but I believe the real opportunity is the Long Tail. At the conference, I had the pleasure of meeting Chase Cunningham most recently of the now defunct low cost carrier Skybus. Chase was in charge of ancillary revenue for SkyBus. Chase spoke about selling everything from in flight advertising to merchandise (a la RynanAir) . Due to his efforts Skybus even sold Ohio State football tickets on their Website.
I believe the coming wave in mobile and in-flight technology presents an interesting opportunity for airlines to expand the concept of ancillary revenue. By expanding the ancillary revenue definition beyond fees for formerly free services, to more of a Long Tail concept, airlines have a unique opportunity to help promote airport merchants, and destination services. The mobile platform in particular is an excellent way to provide more destination type of services. Rearden Commerce a major corporate booking tool supplier has released a Blackberry version of their product that allows ancillary services such as show tickets and restaurants reservations to be made on the smartphone. There is no reason airlines could not provide a similar service and profit from the referral. When onboard Internet arrives courtesy of suppliers such as AirCell, the airline can use the captive audience to sell a much more expanded version of SkyMall. Now a days when you go to the movies, all sorts of advertising is displayed while you wait for the previews to start. Airlines have an equally captive audience. Of course care needs to be taken to not overload the passenger with promotions as that could anger the traveler and hurt the brand. Providing the right balance of destination oriented content for the on board and mobile experience is in the near future and represents an important ancillary revenue opportunity for airlines.

ZAP announces mysterious high-performance electric car

Filed under: Transportation

ZAP (which stands for Zero Air Pollution) announced another new entry to its electric car stable, an as-yet-unnamed sedan that will apparently sell for $30,000. The California based company claims their new model will reach a top speed of 100 mph, and will have a 100-mile range between charges. But here's where this story gets really interesting: ZAP announced a different model back in January which still hasn't seen the light of day, and AutoblogGreen questions whether the company has been using press releases as a method of increasing their stock price for short term cash-flow. Competitors like Tesla have prototypes on the road, but no such luck with ZAP, which certainly raises a number of questions, and definitely gets you thinking about the word vaporware.
Read -- ZAP press release
Read -- AutoblogGreen's take on ZAP

Minox debuts waterproof DC 6033 WP, slim DC 7022

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Next time you're "under the sea" and want to try and snap some photos of Flounder, Scuttle or Sebastian, you'll be all set thanks to Minox and its DC 6033 WP watertight camera (pictured above). The 6 megapixel, waterproof (to ten meters) camera features a MINOCTAR fixed lens, SD card support, and 16MB of onboard flash memory.

For those of you remaining on dry land, Minox offers the DC 7022, a 7 megapixel camera with 4x optical zoom and an extra large 3-inch TFT screen. The 7022 is sized along the lines of a Canon Digital Elph, in that it's small enough to keep in your pocket, and features ISO settings from 50 to 1600, SD card support, and 32MB of flash memory. Both cameras use PictBridge technology, allowing direct from camera printing, and have USB connectivity. No word yet on pricing or street date.

[Via LetsGoDigital]

Raon Everun UMPC

Raon keluarkan Everun STD dan Lite. Ultra minci PC hanya memiliki berat 0.5kg, ketahanan 12 jam dengan baterai besar, 4.8" LCD WVGA 800xx480, WIFI b/g, Bluetooth 2.0, option HSDPA/Wibro, Qwerty keyboard

Sharp's KD-E1: the e-dictionary for your offspring

Filed under: Handhelds

We've always wondered why companies kept cranking out e-dictionaries for the demographic too proud to actually bust one out in public and get their learning on, but Sharp is making amends by offering up a new model in the KIDSDIC series. The KD-E1 arrives in a colorful orange and white enclosure, and features an internal speaker, headphone jack, color display, several mini-games, stories, and songs to keep your kid intrigued in between vowels. Judging by the button layout, it looks like this is a Korean-only gizmo for the time being, but those in Seoul can try to convince their kids that this is cooler than a PSP for a stiff ₩365,000 ($397).

[Via AkihabaraNews]

Foleo: New Innovation from Palm

The leader of moving gadget Palm now spread their product not just PDA, they was launched Foleo: The gadget like notebook with smaller size and use Linux for the operating system.
This gadget is improvement from telephone Palm Treo that can use for checking email, internet and many more.