All of the Slobots made by crafter Slobot are handmade and one-of-a-kind, with no molds used. This particular Slobot is made of polymer clay with aluminum arms, and his eye glows in the dark. He’s just under 3 inches tall.

If you’re thinking this is a toy, think again. Slobot admonishes you that this guy is not suitable for kids or pets and you’re not even allowed to play with him. Hmm. That makes him seem a little less fun, but still cool.

This mini masterpiece will only set you back $25. You can also email for a custom ‘bot. Get it from Etsy.

Denver, CO - Last night, in a cavernous ballroom of the Denver Convention Center, Panasonic revealed the TH-65VX100U 65" Plasma display, but this time, (as opposed to the last time it made TV news), size had nothing to do with it.

With a 60,000:1 contrast ratio that leads to a larger dynamic range, the company promises this display will have the deepest blacks out there. Sounds familiar? Pioneer revealed their 'absolute black' 9th-gen Kuro plasmas last January at CES, and the dynamic colors were the talk of the show. So with this reveal, Panasonic seems to be saying, if it’s an ‘Ultimate Black’ you want, then, this is where this fight lies.

Unfortunately, it's a fixed fight. This TV will only be a custom install, which means the regular Joe and Jackie can't make a quick trip to Best Buy, unlike the plans for the next year's Pioneer. That will be a regular mass-market display (albeit one ready to be very expensive). 

Second, and more importantly, it was recently revealed that Pioneer is selling off most of the hardware side of their Plasma display business to Panasonic. What does this mean? That Panasonic probably is making Pioneer cry uncle and is slowly forcing them to reveal the secret dark sauce of the Kuro.

However, the early consensus is that the effect of the blacks in yesterday's demonstration did not disappear into the dark room in the same way the Kuro’s did, and don't match the color range yet. So the sauce is leaking, but there's plenty left in the pot, if you will.

It must be noted, however, that both technologies have only been experienced in very limited, confined productions and can’t be rated yet.

The VX100U is expected to come out in January of next year, and it features 116 adjustment menus and a customizable scale of gamma preset curves (for super precise details and over 7,100 shades of visual gradation (with an 18-bit correction – 15 and 16 bit is the top of the line at some of the new monitors seen here this week).

In the last few years, Panasonic has used big electronics conferences to unveil giant TVs, a wireless camcorder, and competitively spec-ed out Blu-ray players. But until last night, the company had not re-defined a current product line with their technology, or had taken on the specific niche of a competitor so bluntly, like they’re doing against the Kuro.

Even though Panasonic makes successful products, but they haven’t had a ‘Kuro’ or a ‘TiVo’- level difference-making product in awhile. Expect them to push this tech from the custom install league into the mass market by next year.

Zdziarski was one of the first to successfully open up the iPhone to 3rd party development, so you have to wonder what is the real motivation is here. Is it about educating and supporting law enforcement on methods of gathering information, or is it really targeted towards hackers who may or may not have a malicious agenda? [Wired Gadget Lab]

Each coaster is made up of 110 individual 1cm square “pixels” which are perfed in a way that lets you selectively remove blocks from each square. Through what sort of amounts to “pixel sculpting”, you can create your own personalized designs.

They come in a stack of 50 coasters, which start out conjoined into a 500cm (almost 200″) long chain which can be broken apart into individual pieces. Each square has a random arrangement of color shades, so each coaster is just a little different from the next one.

They’re made from a resilient paper fiber that should hold up to the condensation you might get on the bottom of your cup, or the occasional spill. In addition to the blue palette (which I prefer), there’s also a hot pink version if you’re looking for something a bit more girly.

At this point Pixel Coasters are only available from Taiwanese design retailer 25togo, I’m hoping somebody eventually imports these to the States. A pack of 50 coasters sells for 260 Taiwan Dollars, or just about $8 bucks.

When Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 was announced, the tech communities are abuzz with how great it would be. Unfortunately, the delayed release date and the entry of other touch screen handsets effaced the XPERIA X1 into the background.

Good thing it’s now confirmed that the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1’s release is right on track. According to Register Hardware, whatever the handset’s problem was with Windows Mobile 6.1 has now been fixed. There’s a wee bit of an issue regarding video capture, but all is well. Germany, UK, and USA will be the first countries to get the handset; other countries—that means us—will have to wait until next year. On a similar note, the SDK for the development of custom interactive panels of the touch screen device is now available for free.

Via Register Hardware and Sony Ericsson

Panasonic’s latest plasma technology can be found in the 65″ custom-install-only VX100 monitor, boasting specifications that are said to beat Pioneer’s Kuro range. It does so with the following specs :-

60,000:1 contrast ratio7,160 shades of gradationHandles 120% of HDTV color gamut

Add a comment | From: Panasonic VX100 Monitor | Visit Ubergizmo

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The iPhone 3G is not your new bicycle (someone else has that role), but it will be the new universal remote control real soon.

Custom installation companies jumped all over the Jesus Phone today, offering custom applications for a variety of A/V systems. They include a Windows Media Center App, lighting fixture controls, and even a full security-monitoring app.

As a result, you're now able to perform wondrous tricks, like leaving the house with the door unlocked, walk a block, then lock it through your iPhone. That will be perfect for childish shenanigans on Halloween.

Here are some of the new iPhone apps of the installers:

ILoveControl's app works with Cestron systems and is available as a free download at the Apple App Store starting today. It controls up to 16 zones of A/V systems (like climate and shading), lighting and more. While you can't customize your own system yet, Cestrom says it will add this feature to the iPhone app in the near future.

Check out more iPhone A/V apps after the jump.

Savant Systems - The control platform of the main Savant systems are based on Apple’s OS X Leopard and an iPhone app was only natural. Savant has created a colorful app that controls all of its main systems, and it is creating an ‘Excellence in AV’ program where Apple developers can use the guts of the systems and create new design applications.

kanos Consulting's Go Gadgets - Use your iPhone to go through Windows Sideshows for presentations. Then imagine Bill rolling in his money ditch, thinking about ways to create a Zune-phone App Store.

All kidding aside, using Kanos as an in-between hardware installer with the iPhone as a remote seems like a good idea. Especially when you realize that it can work with Outlook, if that’s what you’re into.

SmartLabs’ NetLinc Insteon Central Controller - Insteon gadgets manage everything from the lighting of the gymnasium to the security of a house, which is why many installers seemed very excited about the possibilities with the iPhone.

One thing people weren’t that excited about? The fact you still need a receiver for every electrical plug in order for it to be placed under the iPhone’s control. Also, the UI of the app is not that well designed, as you can see from the picture. Mainly, it’s too small, simple, and ugly too look at.

AirRemote – Uses a global cache adapter to control different A/V home systems, but apparently, is supposed to cost over $100 to manage from your iPhone. That doesn’t sounds like a great buy incentive.

At CEDIA, they announced an update to the App, taking into account the 36 card slots for customized A/V configurations of their new systems.

Command Fusion’s iViewer – This third-party app works with Control4 and Crestron devices, and just like a few others, you can control the lights, and the temperature of one or many rooms.

SpeakerCraft’s MODE Multiroom App – The company known for crazy kooky rock speakers will include their iPhone app along when an installer buys its full in-wall speaker system.

We didn’t get to see it live today, but from the looks of it, the UI needs to be cleaned up a bit.

HAI WL3 – HAI Control Systems can already be manipulated by most other PDAs, since it’s built on top of WL3 software.

My House UI for Control4 A/V Systems (see lead photo)– Expected by the end of the year and first previewed here at CEDIA, My House UI controls multi-room music, and the home theater, though it’s only supposed to work on the same WiFi network at the same Control4 system, disallowing the openness the device is meant to offer.

Panasonic's latest plasma technology can be found in the 65" custom-install-only VX100 monitor, boasting specifications that are said to beat Pioneer's Kuro range. It does so with the following specs :-

• 60,000:1 contrast ratio
• 7,160 shades of gradation
• Handles 120% of HDTV color gamut

Add a comment | From: Panasonic VX100 Monitor | Visit Ubergizmo

Though the first buyers will likely be rich dudes, the movie business is also going to be interested in it as a monitor, since it can handle 120% of the HDTV color gamut, enough to maybe get a good looking movie on a TV for one damn time. And let's not forget that Pioneer has shut down its own panel production lines and plans to go with Panasonic's. I asked if Pioneer would get a shot at the sweet new one—though there wasn't a straight answer, the sense I got was "probably not, at least not at first." Go Panasonic, kicking some TV ass!