[MobileRatty] tag: payment

At Gizmodo Gallery: The Full List of Wonderful Stuff [Gizmodo Gallery]

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 08:00:00 +0000

For a few weeks you've been hearing about the Gizmodo Gallery in NYC, catching plenty of teasers for the cool stuff—contemporary marvels, homemade wundergear and pieces of history—we're showing down at the Reed Annex on Orchard St. from today 12 noon through Sunday 4pm. Now, for the first time, we're revealing the whole list. And it's annotated, for your pleasure.

Stuff You'll Never Own
Panasonic 103-Inch TV
The biggest production HDTV in the world, this 103-inch diagonal plasma is coincidentally the largest set we could fit into Reed Annex.

Sony 11-Inch OLED TV
OLED technology will power all flat-screen TVs in the future, but the beautiful, high-contrast wafer-thin screens are still excruciatingly expensive—in this case $230 per diagonal inch, or $2500 for the set.

Draganfly X6 RC Helicopter
A carbon-fiber remote-controlled helicopter designed to be stable in 18mph winds or even if some of its motors die. It's GPS enabled and can be armed with a high definition camcorder or night vision. And it looks like a Terminator.

Optimus Maximus Keyboard
A keyboard with little OLED screens under each key, which can be programmed to display whatever character, picture or animation and trigger any keystrokes you want.

Carbon Butterfly RC Plane
This remote-controlled airplane is lighter than a piece of notebook paper because of lightweight balsa, carbon fiber and Swiss-made gears.

Au Infobar2
Despite it lacking a lengthy feature list, the Infobar2 is the most beautiful phone from Japan's AU company and I think maybe the most beautiful in the world. On Loan from Gizmodo Japan and Au.

Red One Movie Camera
A digital movie-making revolution and a future-proof modular platform, the 10-lb. digital video camera shoots pristine 4K-resolution movies with its 12-million-pixel "ultra high def" sensor.

Stuff You Might Convince Your Mom To Buy You
Yamaha YSP-4000 Surround Sound Bar
This soundbar is a 5 channel surround sound system that uses cold war submarine sonar tech to bounce beams of audio against walls and to your ears from different angles.

Amazon Kindle Ebook Reader
The first wireless E-Ink ebook reader with a cellular connection, so you can buy and download books without the need for a computer. It bests the paperback but can't be safely read in the bathtub.

Pentax W60 Waterproof Camera
I've had many happy times in Hawaii with this camera. It's my favorite because it works to 30 feet and yet is small enough to pocket without causing a bulge.

Yamaha Tenori-On Music Maker
A revolutionary rethinking of the music keyboard, this 16x16 pad of light-up keys interprets a player's finger strokes and performs a light and sound show in response.

USB Heated Gloves
Thanko's Gloves use the power from a computer's USB ports to warm your fingers on cold winter mornings.

USB Neck Tie
Thanko's USB powered neck ties have a built in fan for hot office afternoons.

USB Wrist Charger
If it has a plug, Thanko's battery-loaded bracelet will charge it.

Gundam Robot Slippers
They make giant robot stomping noises when you walk. Only in Japan, in more ways than one.

Wicked Lasers Torch
Currently pending Guinness records for being the most powerful flashlight of its kind, the 4100 lumen Torch can easily set paper on fire.

Blendtec Blender
We don't know if Blendtec makes the best blenders, but if they can shred bananas the way they can shred gadgets on their famous YouTube videos, we're sold.

Casio Exilim EX-F1 Super-Slow-Motion Camera
The first consumer-grade camera to deliver 1200-frames-per-second slow-mo, it can also shoot 60 full-resolution stills per second.

Chumby
It's an internet machine disguised as a pillow. I use it to check the snow report, play internet radio, tell the time, check the surf and read the news, but it can run hundreds of additional widgets.

Aiptek V10 PMP Pico Projector
Battery-powered mini projector plays movies from an SD card, using an LED to project a picture up to 50" on the wall without burning your hand. One day, all cellphones will have these.

WildCharge Charging Station
A charging matt that uses nubs on a matt instead of wires to charge your devices.

Philips LivingColors Lighting System
These lamps can display 16 million unique colors, controlled by a remote with a color wheel. What can we say? We love pretty lights.

The Original LED Watches
These Tokyo LED watches were the original inspiration for all other Japan streetwear timepieces.

Tenmetsu Tokyo Flash Watch
Tokyoflash's Tenmetsu watch is one of the cleanest designed of their collection, and has never been seen before the Gizmodo Gallery.

Lego Death Star
This Lego diorama includes 3800 pieces, 21 minifigs and is one of the biggest sets ever made. It's also the only one that can destroy entire brick planets at will.

Godzilla Beer Pourer
This Japanese gadget looses a Godzilla roar when you lock in a can and serve beer from its mouth.

Stuff You'd Have To Make Yourself
Ben Heck Custom Atari VCSp
Almost a decade ago, Ben Heckendorn sparked an entire underground scene of custom, hand-built game consoles when he deconstructed the classic Atari 2600, transforming it into the Atari VCSp, complete with built-in screen, sound amplifier, battery power, and aluminum frame. On loan via Ryan Block, gdgt.

Jonah's Slot Machine
This web 1.0 bubble art project checked for short URLs and if you land on an available address, you've hit the jackpot.

Make's Phil Torrone and His Laser Etcher
Yes, our friend Phil from MAKE Magazine is showing up with his laser etching device to brand custom images onto any and every surface.

Back To the Future-Modded DeLorean
Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads. Oh wait, yeah we do—this mod is pre-Mr. Fusion.

NES Bong
A Nintendo controller modified into a contraption for smoking tobacco and only tobacco. On loan from some stoner.

PC Running Mac OS X Using Hackintosh
We're partial to Macs at Gizmodo, but there's plenty of nice PC hardware that we'd love to run Mac OS on, like this MSI Wind Nettop that uses Hackintosh to get it done. On Loan from Brian X. Chen of WIRED.com

Limor's Wave Bubble Radio Jammer
An open source radio wave jammer that will disable connections like those from Wi-Fi, GPS, cellular and RF. Illegal. Small enough to hide in a pack of cigarettes.

TV B Gone
This pocket sized remote spams IR power codes of common TVs to shut off different makes and models. Not recommended for trade shows. Trust me.

The Stuff of History
Apple Phone Prototype
In the early 80's, Frog Design and Apple collaborated on this phone prototype with electronic check payment and a stylus for use on the monochrome screen.

Apple Tablet Prototype
From Frog and Apple's "Snow White" design language comes this tablet, looking very much like a cousin of the IIc.

Apple 20th Anniversary MacintoshUnveiled at MacWorld on Jan. 7, 1997, Apple called it "the most beautiful thing we've ever built." Both historical and ahead of its time, you can see the Mac's past, present and possibly future.

Sony's First Walkman
The TPS-L2 Walkman did not record and was panned by the press before its release in Japan in 1979. Right before becoming a huge success. On loan from Sony Tokyo Archives.

First Sony Digital Mavica Cam
This 1988 electronic camera paved the way for modern digital cameras. It wrote to a floppy disk and had a TV output cable.

Blickensderfer Portable Typewriter
George Blickensderfer's portable typewriters, introduced around 1892, were advertised as "The Five-Pound Secretary." The Model 6, first sold in 1906, offered an aluminum framework, at that time a relatively expensive and rare metal. On loan from Christopher Bonanos.

Polaroid Land Camera, Model 95
In the fall of 1947, the chemist Edwin Land brought a few dozen new cameras and a pile of film to Boston's Jordan Marsh department store, to demonstrate the instant-photography system he'd developed.

Bell Labs Briefcase Phone
First used in 1984 as an early example of a transportable cell phone (most other cell phones were car only phones). On Loan from the AT&T Archives and History Center.

Bell Labs Picturephone
The first Picturephone test system, built in 1956, was crude—it transmitted an image only once every two seconds. But by 1964 a complete experimental system, the "Mod 1," had been developed and was
displayed at the New York World's Fair, paired to a model at Disneyland. On Loan from the AT&T Archives and History Center.

Dyson G-Force Bagless Vacuum
James Dyson invented a bagless vacuum, which no one would manufacture because it would kill bag sales. It was picked up in Japan in 1983, though, and James used the proceeds to launch a company that today builds the world's suckiest vacs.

Sony Aibo ERS-111
Sony's first revision of their 1st generation robot pet was able to learn and grow from having puppy-like logic to dog-like logic. They were too unsophisticated to run or seem very lifelike, but they paved the way for true robotic toys like the Pleo dinosaur.

First Cameraphone Prototype
Philippe Kahn built the first cameraphone in 1997 out of a digital camera, a laptop and a Motorola handset with some clever software. To date, well over a billion cameraphones have been sold. You do the math.

[Links above wrangled by intern Erica—Thanks Erica!!! And thanks to our host REED ANNEX and our benefactor gizmine.com]

Gizmodo Gallery
Reed Annex
151 Orchard Street
New York, NY 10002

Gizmodo Gallery Reader Meetup
The reader meetup takes place across the street from the Gallery, at a place called The Annex (not to be confused with REED ANNEX where the gallery is hosted.) The address is 152 Orchard Street and we'll be there at 9 PM SHARP on Friday December 5th.

Gallery Dates:
December 4th-7th

Times:
12/4 Thursday
12-8

12/5 Friday
12-8

12/6 Saturday
11-8

12/7 Sunday
11-4

[Read more about our Gizmodo Gallery here and see what else we'll be playing with at the event.]

RIM Attempting to Buy Out Security Firm for $66 Million

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 14:17:39 +0000

As if RIM’s BlackBerrys weren’t secure enough, they’re initiating a takeover bid for Certicom, a security firm based out of Mississauga, Ontario. Certicom has worked with RIM in the past to provide public-key and elliptic curve cryptography technology to BlackBerrys, but they’re holding onto upwards of 350 juicy security patents, ones used by even the American NSA. RIM plans to be paying out $1.50 per share, amounting to a $66 million buyout, which is a fairly generous offer considering their current stock price. If you’re looking to get rid of some Certicom stock at a good price, the take-over starts on December 12th.

[via RIM]

Thanks, dad.

Related News from IntoMobile:

LG Renoir Arrives in Oz

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 11:00:25 +0000

Yes, LG’s 8Megapixel camera phone is now available in Oz. LG Renoir is a touch screen phone similar to Viewty but with an 8MP camera rather than a 5MP one. Like the Viewty, it has finger-friendly icons. The camera, on the other hand, boasts features such as xenon flash, smile and face detection, focus assist, and something called “beauty shot” that automatically removes imperfections on one’s face.

The LG Renoir has a 3-inch touch screen display, HSDPA and WiFi, a-GPS, 120 fps video capture capability and a 14mm thickness. The video player can handle even DIVX and XVID files. In short, it’s a feature-rich phone in a slim form factor. The LG Renoir is now reportedly available in Optus, 3 Mobile and Vodafone on contract for an upfront payment of AU$799.

via GIZ AU

Tags: camera phone, LG, LG Renoir, LG Viewty, phone, Renoir, Viewty

Instant Cashback for some

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:41:00 +0000

Microsoft's Live Cashback offer just got alot better. At random people have been getting instant cashback. Just today I purchased a $499.99 Asus EEE 1002ha from Ebay and received an instant $150 back to my paypal account. Normally you have to wait 60 days to clear Cashback payment. So far no one knows the formula MS is using to decide what gives you instant Cashback savings.

Pret A Manger Go For Wireless Transactions

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 14:45:35 +0000

All 171 UK outlets of Pret A Manger will be going wireless from next April onwards with Near-Field Communications (NFC) equipment installed, allowing customers to enjoy reduced queuing times so that they can get to their meal faster than usual. Guess there is no slowing down when living in this world, eh, where everyone wants things to be done fast and in an instant. Currently, a few restaurants have already installed similar wireless payment technologies, including Yo! Sushi, Coffee Republic and selected O2 stores.

Permalink: Pret A Manger Go For Wireless Transactions from Ubergizmo (US, FR) | Good deals | Hot: Storm Review

QIWI now in the mobile phone

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 15:52:00 +0000

All users payment service QIWI (KIVI) were able to pay their bills and everyday people using their own mobile phone. Billing Services QIWI designed to save users from their routine concerns about the payments. The strategy created a new tool for access to payment service QIWI - «QIWI mobile».

Every month, residents of Russia receive quipu accounts for the Internet, mobile phone, cable TV, ZHKU, electricity bills for international calls. To pay all bills and services, most of our fellow citizens lose half day off: you have to go to the bank or the office of the service provider and defend several bursts.

Paying all your bills through the application «QIWI in Mobile», the user is not used by any of the place or time. It can carry a payment at any time, using the balance of his «Personal Cabinet QIWI».

Set «QIWI mobile» easy: you need to send sms-message with the text «QW» to the number 4443 (sms-messages cost EUR 0.15 excluding VAT). In response will sms-message with the link to download the program. There's also a free download «QIWI mobile» at wap.qiwi.ru / or pda.qiwi.ru / via mobile phone or choose the correct version on the site.

iProfi: new store Apple

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 20:24:00 +0000

December 1, the Auchan City Marina Rosche was called one of the biggest in Moscow shops Apple product called iProfi. At 150 meters of commercial floor iProfi you can find all the products from Apple, as well as related equipment from world producers. All the space of the shop arranged by the standards of premium partners Apple - shopping hall with a fully connected equipment, specially-fitted training area, the availability of experienced consultants, as well as a separate area of professional equipment for work-related audio, photos and videos.

In the early days of the shop limited batch iPhone 3G 16Gb will be sold at a record low price: 23 000 rubles. Number of phones is limited.

All equipment, represented in the trade hall, open to free access, connectivity and can be tested by the buyer. Dealers shop, certified Apple, help you with a choice of computers and software, and will provide the necessary advice for dealing with poppy seeds, if you are the first computer from Apple.

In iProfi also be organized by pro-zone, which certified specialists in the field of photos, audio and video buyers will be able to provide professional solutions based on the technology Apple, such as for example, Final cut - solution for video editing, Logic Studio - a package of applications for Users who work with sound, or Aperature - a professional photo editor.

Convenient new store in terms of payment and delivery: in iProfi will take the opportunity to purchase goods at retail and wholesale with free delivery to Russia, to pay for the goods will be available to all possible types of payments. Shop located in the Auchan-City Marina in a grove at Shemeretevskaya street. St. 60a, works seven days a week.

Nokia to cease sales in Japan

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 17:28:00 +0000

TOKYO (Reuters) - Nokia, the world's biggest mobile phone maker, said on Thursday it will stop selling mobile phones in Japan except for its luxury Vertu brand after struggling to expand its presence.

Finnish Nokia has previously said it will cut costs 'decisively', expecting global mobile phone sales to shrink next year amid an economic downturn.

Japan is the world's fourth largest mobile phone market after the United States, China and India. But it makes up only a tiny part of sales at Nokia, whose products have failed to lure customers away from more sophisticated Japanese ones.

Mobile phone companies also see limited scope for growth in Japan, where 109 million subscribers, or some 85 percent of the population, already own a mobile phone. In addition, a new sales model based on higher handset prices is expected to slash annual mobile phone sales in Japan by some 20 percent.

"In the current global economic climate, we have concluded that the continuation of our investment in Japan-specific localized products is no longer sustainable," Nokia executive vice president Timo Ihamuotila said in a statement.

He added that Nokia's Japanese business would concentrate on research, development and sourcing for the global market as well as specific projects such as the Vertu brand.

The quirks of Japan's mobile phone market have prevented foreign companies, including Nokia's rivals such as Samsung Electronics and LG, from successfully targeting Japanese consumers.

Most of the mobile phones used in Japan are part of third-generation networks and boast features such as TV broadcasting and electronic payment functions.

This makes it tough for foreign manufacturers to compete with domestic handsets.

Foreign companies, excluding Sony Ericsson, only occupy around 5 percent of Japan's mobile phone market, according to IDC Japan, a research firm. Japanese manufacturers, in turn, have only a small presence outside their home market.

"Nokia is facing global earnings problems and many other issues, and this shows Japan was a low-priority market at a time when they are shoring up global operations, even though it may still be attractive," IDC Japan analyst Michito Kimura said.

"I'm not very surprised by the decision."

The move was still rather abrupt as NTT DoCoMo Inc, Japan's biggest mobile phone operator, said just this month that it would sell a new Nokia smartphone as part of its product line-up for the winter shopping season.

Third-ranked Japanese operator Softbank Corp also sells Nokia phones.

Nokia, which has a nearly 40 percent global market share, had originally said it aimed to increase its market share in Japan to a double-digit figure. It took only around 0.3 percent of the Japanese market last business year, according to the Nikkei newspaper.

Instead of a broad expansion, it will now focus on Vertu, its luxury unit.

The Yomiuri newspaper reported on Saturday that Nokia plans to launch mobile phone services for Vertu customers in Japan, using DoCoMo's network.

Vertu, founded in 1998, sells gem-encrusted, hand-built mobile phones with prices ranging from 3,500 euros to over 100,000 euros.

Nokia Research Center innovations in the spotlight at Heureka, Finland

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 16:47:00 +0000

Several innovations from the Nokia Research Center (NRC) will be showcased at Heureka, the Finnish Science Center in an Innovation Finland exhibition on Sunday, November 30, 2008. The event will put a spotlight on a series of significant innovations from three Finnish companies. Eight demonstrations from the Nokia Research Center are among these.

The Heureka event aims to answer the question: how does an invention become innovation? To provide an insight into the question from a Nokia Research Center perspective, Petteri Alinikula, who heads the Core Technology Research in Nokia Reserch Center, will discuss innovation in NRC.

“Demonstrating eight innovations from the Nokia Research Center at the Heureka event is both a great opportunity for us to get our research work in the hands of the public and also valuable recognition of the cutting-edge research that we conduct. Our open innovation approach fosters the development of an incredibly wide variety of innovations, as these examples demonstrate”, said Petteri.

The spectrum of the eight demonstrations that the Nokia Research Center team will unveil to the public at the Heureka event is colorful. Many highlight the way that sensors (such as Global Positioning System (GPS) and accelerometers) are changing mobile devices by turning them into true interfaces between the user and their environment and thereby transforming the way we experience the world around us. Many of the demos are also available for download from Nokia Beta Labs.

The following demonstrations show a glimpse into innovation in the Nokia Reseach Center:

Nokia Image Exchange: a combined mobile image gallery and web service for sharing and browsing images taken on a mobile device. Just snap and share!
Nokia Friend View: a location-based service which lets people share their moves and moods on a world map from their mobile device and also from the desktop using a web browser.
Mobile Video Conferencing: a conferencing service which enables users to bring together friends and family in a video conference – see and talk, all on one mobile device screen.
Nokia Storm Detector: warns mobile device users about approaching thunderstorms via specific software on the mobile device which listens and reacts to the radio lightning caused by thunder.
Nokia Carbon Calculator: automatically detects a mobile device user’s travel method, calculates carbon dioxide emissions caused by travelling and thus motivates users to reduce their carbon footprint.
Near Field Communication (NFC): NFC will make the mobile device the most convenient means of payment, travel pass, building access and interaction with advertisements, just by touching an NFC tag with a device.
Shaker Racer: introduces a new dimension to radio controlled cars by allowing the user to control a car via a mobile device, based on the user’s movements.
Morph: leveraging nanotechnology in a completely new type of device concept, which is not only small and thin, but also transparent and stretchable and context aware by adapting to the environment.
The Innovation Finland event is held on Sunday, November 30, from 12 noon until 5pm and is free to the public. Petteri will be delivering a talk at the event at 2.30pm.

For more information on the Nokia Research Center, visit http://research.nokia.com
For more information on the Nokia Beta Labs, visit http://www.nokia.com/betalabs
For more information on the Innovation Finland event (in Finnish), visit http://www.heureka.fi/portal/1021

New Sprint Ads Tout Value, Network Superiority and Focus on the Overall Wireless Customer Experience

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 17:58:00 +0000

Families can save from $240 to $1,000 annually with Sprint wireless plans

OVERLAND PARK, Kan., Nov 25, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- --Sprint has America's largest, most dependable 3G network

Ready Now revolutionizes customer service - one phone at a time
One Click provides an industry-leading data experience

Sprint (NYSE: S) has released a series of ads that position the company as the industry leader in value, network superiority, customer service and wireless user experience. The ads, which began running on Nov. 23, challenge Verizon and AT&T head-on and issue a call for wireless customers to "Join the Now Network."

"Consumers are looking for a company that provides a tangible value in family plans, a full range of handsets and an outstanding customer experience," said Bill Morgan, senior vice president of Corporate Marketing for Sprint. "We have all of those, plus the superiority of America's largest, most dependable 3G network. Sprint's Now Network means our customers get what they want when they want it."

Head-to-head savings demonstrated

The new ads will be integrated into the current national advertising campaign and will include print, television, online and radio to help tell Sprint's story. Unique comparison charts will demonstrate how families can save at least $240 and up to $1,000 annually based on comparable rate and service plans offered by Verizon and AT&T.

With families pressed for cash every month, a $480 savings during the course of two years represents a car payment, a needed appliance, a month's worth of groceries or a deposit into a child's college fund. In these times, the Now Network is not just fast and full of wireless data possibilities; it's also sensitive to the finances of today's family.

With the Sprint Everything plan, just $99.99 buys a month's worth of unlimited talk, Web browsing, email, text, video messaging, picture sharing, GPS, push-to-talk, Sprint TV, Music and exclusive NFL and NASCAR applications.

"Our ads highlight 'Now' by showing how we deliver to consumers what they want, when they want it," continued Morgan, "and with a full-range of handsets and the most affordable, full-service family and data plans available today -- all of which provide a solution that financially-savvy consumers really appreciate."

Simply Everything offers savings for unlimited data -- more than $480 annual savings vs. AT&T and Verizon on an individual plan

Earlier this year, Sprint revolutionized unlimited pricing in the wireless industry by moving beyond its competitors to deliver more features for a flat rate of $99.99. Sprint's Simply Everything plan provides unlimited nationwide calling, texting, email, Web browsing, GPS Navigation and much more -- all for only $99.99. Comparable yearly messaging and data plans on Verizon and AT&T cost the consumer an additional $480 and $540, respectively.

A great example of the value offered by Sprint is the cost savings available with the Samsung Instinct vs. the iPhone. The Instinct is $70 less than the iPhone after a mail-in rebate, but that is only the start of the savings. When comparing similar rate plans for both phones, customers who purchase an iPhone will pay approximately $1,200 more for similar services during their two-year contract than customers who purchase an Instinct. Sprint's plans with unlimited data begin at less than $70 per month.

America's largest, most dependable 3G network

In addition to the value message, the new advertising will highlight the fact that Sprint has America's largest (based on number of square miles -- including roaming, Sprint has four times the coverage of AT&T's current 3G network) and most dependable 3G network. The dependability statistic is backed up by independent, third-party drive-test data on connection success and session reliability for the top 50 most populous U.S. markets from March to September of this year.

Device lineup second to none

Sprint's advertising will continue to promote the company's holiday handset line-up, six of which were highlighted by Forbes.com in its Top 10 best phones for holiday gift-giving. Led by the Samsung Instinct, named by CNET as "Best In Show" at CTIA's spring show, Sprint also offers the Samsung Rant -- named by LAPTOP Magazine as best cell phone at CTIA's fall show. The Rant is available for $49.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and eligible upgrade or new line activation with a two-year agreement.

Sprint One Click -- a user-friendly interface for consumer devices

Sprint One Click is a highly interactive user interface design that gives customers the ability to easily access the features they use most on their non-PDA phone. Offered exclusively by Sprint, it provides a widget-based stand-by screen and the ability to easily access the most-used features on the customer's wireless phone. Sprint One Click is available on four new phones: LG Lotus, Samsung Highnote, Samsung Rant and Samsung Eclipse.

About Sprint Nextel

Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including two wireless networks serving nearly 51 million customers at the end of the third quarter 2008; industry-leading mobile data services; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. For more information, visit www.sprint.com.