Why use a perfectly good water bottle on your bike when you could use a complex, expensive and awkward to use “hydration system” instead? That’s the promise of the VelEau Bicycle Mounted Hydration System.
The VelEau comes in several parts. First, there’s a saddlebag which holds 42 ounces (1.4 liters) of water. Then there’s a tube through which you drink, much like those found on CamelBak water bags. This runs from under the seat, along the top-tube to the handlebars, where it is secured to a retracting cord on the stem.
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Sony Ericsson’s Xperia line of Android smartphones were set to launch this spring. The earthquake that struck Japan last month, however, has delayed a wide release of the Xperia Neo model till the fall.
“Due to supply chain disruptions resulting from the situation in Japan, we have shifted the timing of Xperia Neo’s broader launch,” a spokesperson from Sony Ericsson told Wired.com.
Continue...Seagate’s ‘Slim’ Hard Drive Is World’s Skinniest 4th Apr 2011
Seagate claims that its new GoFlex Slim external hard drive is the world’s slimmest. It certainly is skinny, and with its clean and handsome slab-like lines, it might be the perfect companion for the storage-impaired MacBook Air.
In fact, this looks like a pretty good portable drive, period. It may be as thin as a pencil (9mm) but it manages to pack in a desktop-speed 7,200rpm platter, 192-bit encryption and a USB 3.0 interface.
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The da Vinci Surgical Robot Makes Paper Planes the Size of a Penny
The da Vinci surgical robot is normally used to perform precise, delicate incisions in the operating room. Dr. James Porter decided it’d be perfect for some other applications as well, namely, making ridiculously tiny paper airplanes. I’m talking paper airplanes smaller than a penny.
8-Bit Pocket Camera App Wastes Your Smartphone’s Megapixels for Fun Photos
5-megapixel cameras, 8-megapixel cameras? Totally unnecessary—at least that’s what the makers of the 8-Bit Pocket Camera app want you to think. This $1 iOS app lets you take 200 x 200 tiffs reminiscent of the pictures (and quality) that the Game Boy Camera used to take back in the day (which were 128 x 112). The black and white pixilated pics you snap with this app can also be stylized, distorted, or enhanced with a border or different paper color, and will export as PNG files when emailed or posted online.
Based on Past Sales Patterns, Apple Could Sell Over 100 Million iPhone 5s
If history is any indicator, it looks like the iPhone 5 (whenever it does debut) could sell over a hundred million units. That would be as much as all previous iPhone model sales combined. This is based on the chart above, which shows the monthly sales of every iPhone model thus far; each one has roughly doubled in sales over its predecessor.
American Express Debuting App-Based Digital Payment Service
Not to be outdone by other credit card companies getting in on the digital payment arena, American Express has revealed Serve, an iOS and Android app that manages a digital account that’s used for person-to-person transfers, bill payments, and online purchases.
If you’re cycling through Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts and you get a flat tire, or decide that your saddle is too high, or that you just have to put on that new set of pedals you bought right now, then you’re in luck. The city has installed bike repair stations as part of a trial that could spread to the rest of the city if people have a little respect and don’t smash up these pilot stations.
The stations, which were inspired by stations on MIT’s campus, have a pump with pressure gauge and an assortment of tools — Allen wrenches, screwdrivers, a 15mm wrench — hanging from cables.
Continue...Verizon’s 4G Network Leaves Other Carriers in the Dust 19th Mar 2011
Have you been wondering if that new 4G smartphone you purchased is really getting 4G speeds? Wonder no longer.
performed an extensive study to determine how each network’s 4G speeds are holding up to their claims. The testing was performed across the Seattle area.
Their findings showed that Verizon’s LTE network performed at a 100 percent data-success rate. Its average data speeds were between four and 14.5 times faster than competitors, and average upload speeds were between 4.7 and 49.3 times faster.
Continue...Steel Disk Replaces Paper Aeropress Coffee Filters 15th Mar 2011
Anyone serious about their coffee has likely tried — or at least heard of — the Aeropress. It’s like a giant espresso-making syringe. You load it with coffee and hot water, plunge the plunger and mainline the coffee, not into a vein but into a waiting cup.
In short, it’s a great way to make cheap, quick espresso-ish coffee, with one possible problem — paper filters.
Continue...Clever Insert Turns Any Bag Into a Camera Bag 13th Mar 2011
Remember the Gadget Lab home-made stealth camera bag? It was an old, ugly army surplus canvas bag with padding added inside to make it both camera-friendly and thief-unfriendly. Well, if the Any Bag Camera Bag Insert had existed back then, I may never have made it.
The insert is a small, strap-free bag that “turns every bag you own into a camera bag.” The minimal bag has a magnetic snap-closed flap, five small pockets around the edges and a moveable velcro divider.
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