This power strip that was sighted at a graduate show at the Kyoto University of Art and Design certainly looks detailed and eye catching. The only downside is that it doesn’t do anything special. It would have be a whole lot cooler, albeit a waste of electricity, if the power strip were to light up mini lights in the miniature city, but you can’t win ‘em all, right? Would you want a power strip like this in your living room, or do you think that it’s a complete waste of space?

Permalink: Miniature City On A Power Strip from Ubergizmo | RSS Sponsor: Win a Fellowes Microshred Paper Shredder!

Nobody can resist giant LEGO sculptures, and next up we’ve got a giant BlackBerry Tour 9360 made out of LEGO pieces. That on its own would be a great feat, but the fact that the sculptor, Nathan Sawaya, managed to build it around a flat-screen LCD TV just makes it so much cooler. Of course, you won’t be able to send or receive emails with this, but you could probably figure out a way to hook your computer up to this giant LEGO BlackBerry. Have you built any giant LEGO sculptures before?

Permalink: Giant LEGO Sculpture Of The BlackBerry Tour 9630 from Ubergizmo | RSS Sponsor: Win a Fellowes Microshred Paper Shredder!

The folks at Asus seem to have finally got it, as the top management decided to stop manufacturing as well as shipping the recovery DVD which comes with each package of the Eee PC. Why, you ask? Just in case your memory eludes you, there is no optical drive with the Eee PC, so you will need to fork out more money to get an external DVD drive instead, and it would be interesting to do a simple survey and find out just how many Eee PC users actually own a DVD drive. Good call, Asus, better late than never and at least you will do your bit in saving the environment.

Permalink: Asus stops shipping recovery DVD with Eee PC from Ubergizmo | RSS Sponsor: Win a Fellowes Microshred Paper Shredder!

Folks who have long been looking forward to the Plastic Logic QUE proReader that was supposed to come out sometime in the middle of next month will be disappointed since it has been delayed to an unspecified date in the summer. There were no exact reasons behind the delay, but apparently it was meant to "fine-tune the features and enhance the overall product experience." How will this shape the battlefield of the e-reader market? Will the iPad's head start (albeit it not being a dedicated e-reader) prove to be too monumental a task for the QUE to overtake later on?

Permalink: Plastic Logic QUE proReader delayed from Ubergizmo | RSS Sponsor: Win a Fellowes Microshred Paper Shredder!

Want to make your living room look a whole lot better via a touch of geek? That can be done courtesy of Mexican industrial designer Gabriel Cañas with the Tetris Chair. Doesn't look too comfortable, but since it comprises of various parts of the Tetris blocks, who are we to complain with a cool looking piece of colorful furniture located right smack in the middle of your living room?

Permalink: Tetris Chair does not look too comfy from Ubergizmo | RSS Sponsor: Win a Fellowes Microshred Paper Shredder!

Getting one's driving license is more or less the first sense of freedom that a teen gets, knowing that he/she is now big enough to go anywhere they want, subject to the amount of gas left in the tank, of course. The traditional image of a first time driver in a boneshaker is always hilarious, but that doesn't stop them from trying out crazy stunts they see in TV! The SafeDriver Wireless Vehicle Monitor is here to help, as it comes with a personal tamper-proof PIN which will record the vehicle's highest speed, distanced traveled as well as instances of sudden braking. At $69.99 a pop, it won't deter anyone from speeding there and then, but at least you can wield the rod or unleash a typhoon of scoldings once you check the driving record which is not as impeccable as you would like it to be.

Permalink: SafeDriver Wireless Vehicle Monitor from Ubergizmo | RSS Sponsor: Win a Fellowes Microshred Paper Shredder!

Picture: the Alcatel-Lucent Dashboard launched at MWC, picture with new features coming soon

[SXSW] Alcatel-Lucent today announced the packaged API (Application Programming Interfaces) bundles, and an associated revenue sharing model that eliminates upfront costs for developers and offers new revenue streams for service providers. Additionally, a new business and application modeling tool has been released; it allows developers to get the most out of their applications, according to the company. I am not a developer and I have not seen the bundles or the tool, if you are a developer attending SXSW, go to the “Eleven API Lounge” of the Hilton Hotel, (directly across from the Austin Convention Center): Alcatel-Lucent will demo its new offering, which is part of its developer platform and program. More info about the new product after the jump.

Permalink: Alcatel-Lucent New API Bundles for Developers from Ubergizmo | RSS Sponsor: Win a Fellowes Microshred Paper Shredder!

[SXSW] Today, Nikon, in partnership with Yfrog, launched an image sharing website where bloggers armed with Nikon cameras will upload their photos and videos from around Austin during the SXSW conference. The Nikon/Yfrog site is live since noon CT, and you’ll be able to see pictures from Chris Brogan (@chrisbrogan), Jeff Pulver (@jeffpulver), Sarah Austin (@pop17), Brooklyn Vegan (@brooklynvegan) and the winner of the Nikon Film Festival, Marko Slavnic. SXSW attendees can participate as well, any images and videos uploaded through Twitter using the #SXSW, #SXSWpics or #SXSWpix hashtags will automatically be shared through the gallery. Additionally, the #SXSW Twitter feed is displayed on the side bar, making the Nikon/Yfrog site a great place to get the SXSW news.

Permalink: Nikon Photo Video Online Gallery At SXSW from Ubergizmo | RSS Sponsor: Win a Fellowes Microshred Paper Shredder!

Users who are planning to purchase Apple’s iPad with a 3G modem probably already know that AT&T is offering two data plan prices for the device, which are $14.99/month for 250MB or $29.99 for unlimited data. While it’s not too hard to walk into an AT&T store to request for the change in plan, it seems that Apple has gone one step further, and made things easy for everybody. You’ll be able to sign up, check your data usage, manage your account, and even cancel your service directly from the iPad. Since there is no contract binding you to a specific data plan, you’ll be able to switch between plans as and when you wish, which is certainly good news. Users who are on a 250MB/month plan will be sent 3 alerts (20%, 10% and 0% remaining), in order to let users know when additional data might be needed for the month. As an added benefit, AT&T’s 3G service plans for the iPad allows users to access over 20,000 of Verizon’s Wi-Fi hotspots, which just makes the deal seem sweeter.

Permalink: You'll Be Able To Purchase Your iPad Data Plan Directly From The iPad Itself from Ubergizmo | RSS Sponsor: Win a Fellowes Microshred Paper Shredder!

Considering the open source nature of Firefox, it’s always fairly easy to guess and check out the new features that Mozilla is working on. Now it seems that Mozilla is planning a rather useful account manager, which should be especially helpful to users who are logged into many sites at once. Initially, the support should include sites such as Facebook, Google and Yahoo!, not to mention 3 other Mozilla sites (Addons, Personas, and Bugzilla). With this in place, you’ll notice a key icon on your Firefox toolbar, and when you click on it, you’ll be able to check out the variety of sites that you’re currently logged into, and disconnect from any of them. Looks like you won’t have much of an excuse to post something weird on your partner’s Facebook account anymore.

Permalink: Mozilla Is Testing Firefox Account Manager from Ubergizmo | RSS Sponsor: Win a Fellowes Microshred Paper Shredder!

The HMK 561 Carbon Fiber Motorbike might seem like it’s from another planet, but seeing as there’s already a prototype in place, maybe humans did come up with it after all. The HMK 561 has special electrical properties that hold power right inside the frame. Since Carbon fiber is conductive, the designers are using it to distribute power instead of wires. The power will be used to power the lights and the motors between the rims. The bike also uses the energy to turn the wheels using a counter-turning axel in lieu of gears and chains, which hopefully means less maintenance as well.

Permalink: HMK 561 Carbon Fiber Electric Bike Concept from Ubergizmo | RSS Sponsor: Win a Fellowes Microshred Paper Shredder!

While there was a rumor going around before this that Google’s Nexus One might be sold through Verizon Wireless’ stores, if this latest rumor is true, then it will certainly quash the previous one. According to a leaked screenshot that has surfaced online, the Nexus One will still only be available through Google’s phone store, though the surprising bit is that the phone might actually come with HTC’s popular Sense UI. The original Nexus One shipped with just the stock Android 2.1 user interface (UI), and didn’t feature any fancy UI, but if Verizon’s Nexus One does sport Sense UI, it’ll be interesting to see if HTC has revamped it for the Nexus One. Word is that Google and Verizon might be announcing the Nexus One (for Verizon) on March 23rd at CTIA, though there isn’t any official confirmation on that just yet. Will the inclusion of the Sense UI help you make the decision to get this phone, or is it just another gimmick to you?

Permalink: Verizon Nexus One To Offer Sense UI And Will Only Be Sold Online? from Ubergizmo | RSS Sponsor: Win a Fellowes Microshred Paper Shredder!

It is not uncommon to see a mild-mannered person turn into a monster behind the wheel, as there can be a lot of anger flowing through rush hour traffic. Well, perhaps if road transport departments worldwide were to adopt the smiley traffic light idea, things could brighten up at busy intersections. After all, isn't the Internet generation all about emoticons?

Permalink: Smiley traffic light from Ubergizmo | RSS Sponsor: Win a Fellowes Microshred Paper Shredder!

It seems as though the iPad support page has revealed more than Apple might have liked to, where we now know that iPad 3G owners who choose the limited 250MB data plan will be greeted with a data limit warning once you approach the 250MB limit, popping up at intervals of 20%, 10% and no data remaining. These data alerts are meant to earn the mobile carrier more money - wait a minute, we meant giving you the option to top up your data plan for more portable surfing. Well, at least there is some degree of corporate responsibility without robbing consumers blindly!

Permalink: iPad comes with data limit warning from Ubergizmo | RSS Sponsor: Win a Fellowes Microshred Paper Shredder!

Looks like the Android OS is gaining traction not only among notable hardware manufacturers, but those who walk on the clone side as well. Here we are with the Eston N97 Mobile Internet Device (MID) which was announced in November last year, where it comes with a trackball located right under the display, a pre-installed copy of the Android OS with the option to run Windows CE and Ubuntu as well, a 624MHZ Marvell PXA303 processor, a 7" touchscreen display at 800 × 480 resolution, Wi-Fi connectivity and a 2,800mAh battery that supposedly offers up to 4 hours of working time. No idea on storage capacity and pricing details, but you can place a pre-order in China already.

Permalink: Eston N97 MID runs on Android OS from Ubergizmo | RSS Sponsor: Win a Fellowes Microshred Paper Shredder!

We’ve brought your attention to the VirtuSphere some time ago, but that was before it was ready to be shown to the general public. Now you can actually check out the VirtuSphere as it was demoed at the GDC (Game Developers Conference). In case you’re wondering what all this is about, the VirtuSphere is a virtual reality control device, which allows the user inside it to control his game character by walking (literally) in the VirtuSphere. Since the user is also wearing a visor that controls the camera’s view as the player looks around, you’ll feel even more immersed in the game you’re playing. A video (available after the jump) shows the VirtuSphere in action.

Permalink: VirtuSphere On Demo At GDC from Ubergizmo | RSS Sponsor: Win a Fellowes Microshred Paper Shredder!

If you happen to own a BlackBerry Tour 9630 and are feeling a little bit more adventurous compared to other smartphone owners, why not give the OS 5.0.0.548 leak a go? After all, this is not an official release, so the chances of things running awry is much higher than that of Iraq carrying WMDs all those years back. Installation of this OS leak is done at your own peril, so make sure you always make a backup! Apparently, this update will come with a Push-To-Talk feature that costs $5 per month over Verizon’s data network. Word has it the official version will be released within the next month, so stay tuned.

Permalink: BlackBerry Tour 9630 gets OS 5.0.0.548 leak from Ubergizmo | RSS Sponsor: Win a Fellowes Microshred Paper Shredder!

Toshiba looks like it’s doing its part to ensure that we all have little helper robots to serve us in the future. The company has come up with the prototype “Wheelie” robot, which is an indoor, autonomous, 2-wheeled robot. It looks a little like something a marriage between a Segway transporter and mini bar would produce, but as long as it’s cute, right? The aim of the robot is to help out with the daily chores, such as serving food. Currently you’ll still need to place the plates and glasses on top of the robot’s head, and it will sort out the rest. If you want to see this little robot in action, check out the video after the break.

Permalink: Toshiba Wheelie Is A Cute And Autonomous Robot from Ubergizmo | RSS Sponsor: Win a Fellowes Microshred Paper Shredder!

If you happen to live at a place where snow is more common that a bright, sunny day, then chances are your shoes will suffer from the problem of being wet most of the time. While there are tons of ways to keep your shoes dry or help them achieve that status, the Universal Drying Apparatus offers much more, since it can not only dry shoes but other household items including clothing, accessories, umbrellas and heck - even seeds and berries! A trio of extenders are located on this sphere which can be clamped on or moved around to support a wide range of configuration.

Permalink: Universal Drying Apparatus from Ubergizmo | RSS Sponsor: Win a Fellowes Microshred Paper Shredder!

[DEMO 2010] Ubergizmo is a media partner of DEMO and we have a good deal for our readers to attend DEMO Spring 2010 in late March: instead of $2,995 it will cost only $1836. Click here to register and save $1159 (Click "New registration", then select "Attendee" on the second page and the special price will then appear).

DEMO has been around for 19 years and is recognized as one of the best conference for its selection of high quality startups and its well-crafted organization. It is one of my favorite tech conferences, and you can stop by Ubergizmo in March to follow our live coverage of the 50+ demos (live.ubergizmo.com). This session is the first one with Executive Producer Matt Marshall , the successor of Chris Shipley.

Throughout the 2 ½ day conference, 50 to 70 startups will present their new products on stage, during a 6 minute demo, in front of an audience composed of investors, innovators, entrepreneurs, industry influencers and top-tier media.

This year, the seven themes selected by DEMO include:

• Social and Media Technologies
• Health and Life Science Technologies
• Clean and Sustaining Technologies
• Cloud Technologies
• Enterprise Technologies
• Mobile Technologies
• Consumer Technologies

To get a feel of this great conference, check out our last year photo gallery and the hilarious (and educational) blog post from Redgie Snodgrass, former VP Business Development of DEMOgod Award recipient Skout. Check the agenda page for more info.

Permalink: DEMO Spring 2010 Preferred Rate For Ubergizmo Readers from Ubergizmo | RSS Sponsor: Win a Fellowes Microshred Paper Shredder!

If you’re a Disney and Sony fan, this will probably have you drooling uncontrollably. Sony Japan has officially announced its new Sony Walkman S series (NW-S740/S740K/S640/S640K Series) that come emblazoned with Mickey and Minnie mouse characters at the back. There will be three versions available, Mickey only, Minnie only, and the couple together. There are also two accessories up for grabs, which are a case ($18), and a Mickey phone stand ($29). The devices mentioned here are currently available at Sony Style (Japan).

Permalink: Sony S Series Walkmans Get The Disney Treatment from Ubergizmo | RSS Sponsor: Win a Fellowes Microshred Paper Shredder!

We certainly don’t mind tech seeping into our everyday items, and the Audio Lounger concept certainly looks like one of those things we wouldn’t mind making room for. It sports four built-in high quality speakers and a (rather noticeable) large subwoofer, not to mention a touchscreen panel on the upper side of the seat to keep you in touch with your favorite music. This design by Matt Hardman also includes LED lights that offer ambient light that can be set with a range of colors, giving this concept lounger a futuristic look. Now we only have to wait for someone to mass produce this.

Permalink: Audio Lounger Concept Looks Desirable from Ubergizmo | RSS Sponsor: Win a Fellowes Microshred Paper Shredder!

[SXSW] We published about Lunch.com when it launched in April 09 at Web 2.0. Lunch.com connects people with similar interests via the proprietary “Similarity Engine” and provides them a platform to publish and share opinions and reviews about various topics.

Today, Lunch.com announced the release of “Communities on Lunch” a new feature that allows users to manage their own review websites on the Lunch domain, with a combination of their own content and contributions from others. Anyone with a passion is able to become a community manager, using Lunch’s broad range of tools to create, select and share the most valuable content. Content creators can choose from ratings, reviews, wikis, lists, and Twitter-length micro reviews to express their opinions and share their advices. The community manager can set a simple editorial guideline by providing review templates to the community members to ensure consistency of content.

We have private beta invites,check the complete article.

Permalink: Lunch.com Launches Communities: Yelp meets Wordpress meets Wikipedia from Ubergizmo | RSS Sponsor: Win a Fellowes Microshred Paper Shredder!

[SXSW] I saw Sobees for the first time at DEMO 09, it is a social sites networks aggregator that looked pretty good when I saw the demo, it offered a monetization model via brand sponsorship. Today, the company launched Sobees for SXW and MIX10: the Sobees event applications aggregate Flickr photo stream, Google news, Twitter real time search, the official RSS feed from the event, the official Twitter messages from the event, your personal Twitter and Facebook accounts. Sobees partnered with Salsadev.com to provide the trending keywords within each conference, allowing to refine the search and finding news, photos and tweets related to the trending topics at SXSW and MIX10.

You can try the applications here (Silverlight 3 working on Macs and PCs for most browsers):

• http://sxsw.sobees.com
• http://mix10.sobees.com

Permalink: Sobees For SXSW and MIX10 from Ubergizmo | RSS Sponsor: Win a Fellowes Microshred Paper Shredder!

Solar gadgets never seem to get old, and next up is Landport’s Solar Sound speakers, laying claims to be Japan’s first set of solar powered speakers. The solar panel is rather obvious at the top of the speaker, but in case you want some music to serenade your partner at night, you don’t have to worry, as the device can offer between five to eight hours of playback time, thanks to its built-in lithium-ion battery, which can be charged via USB. The Lanport Solar Sound speakers are currently going for 5,250 yen (US$60).

Permalink: Landport Solar Sound Speakers from Ubergizmo | RSS Sponsor: Win a Fellowes Microshred Paper Shredder!

This is still firmly in the rumor bin, but word is going around that Google is working on a scaled down version of its Android-powered Nexus One for new markets such as India. There isn’t any concrete info on this device just yet, but if it’s true, it might be slimmer than the Nexus One, and will sport a lower resolution camera and less internal storage space. Do you think that such a device could be introduced, or is this just smoke and mirrors at the moment?

Permalink: Scaled Down Nexus One Heading To India? from Ubergizmo | RSS Sponsor: Win a Fellowes Microshred Paper Shredder!

If you rely on Wii Fit to help you keep in shape, you’ll probably have noticed that the Wii Fit balance board gives you a limited range of push-up motions, so you can’t do the really tough pushups that you think will turn you into the cover for a magazine. With the Wii Push Up Bar, you’ll be able to perform much deeper push ups, giving you a much better workout. It'll work in conjunction with the Wii Fit balance board, and is currently going for $25 on Amazon, which is probably a small price to pay for the perfect body, right?

Permalink: Wii Push Up Bar For Your Exercise Needs from Ubergizmo | RSS Sponsor: Win a Fellowes Microshred Paper Shredder!

While most of us haven’t moved to a cloud computing operating system just yet, Microsoft has just made its cloud-based operating system, Windows Azure, available in India. In terms of dollars and cents, a cloud-based operating system hosted on Microsoft’s data centers will be available for $0.12 per hour, while storage on Azure will cost enterprises $0.15/GB on a monthly basis.

Microsoft already claims to have over 3,000 applications developed from India that are currently hosted on the cloud platform, which should give it a good kick start. Based on figures from Microsoft, it’s said that the Windows Azure Platform can reduce the Total Cost of Operations by up to 30-40% over a three-year period. Are you looking to move your operating system to the cloud, or are you happy with things are they currently are?

Permalink: Microsoft Azure Unveiled In India from Ubergizmo | RSS Sponsor: Win a Fellowes Microshred Paper Shredder!

If you were wondering what HP has up its sleeve with is latest $40 million “Let’s Do Amazing” ad campaign, you’ll be able to find out now, and the company has released a couple of ads to the general public. Stand-up comedian, Rhys Darby, is the person going through the ads with you, and you’ve got Dr. Dre waxing lyrical about the HP Beats audio too. Check out the videos after the jump.

Permalink: HP Launches New Let's Do Amazing Ad Campaign from Ubergizmo | RSS Sponsor: Win a Fellowes Microshred Paper Shredder!

If you’ve been jumping up and down in anticipation of the iPad launch on April 3rd, here’s a little tidbit to further whet your appetite. You can begin to pre-order your iPad online at apple.com at 5.30am Pacific Time on Friday, March 12th. You’ll can pre-order any model you like, though Wi-Fi models will be available on April 3rd, while 3G models will arrive in late April. Have you managed to save your pennies in time for the official launch yet?

Permalink: Pre-order Your iPad At Five-thirty In The Morning, April 3rd from Ubergizmo | RSS Sponsor: Win a Fellowes Microshred Paper Shredder!