Filed under: Speakers

MartinLogan, the name synonymous with electrostatic speakers, is celebrating its 25th anniversary by launching the flagship CLX speaker. Here’s what to do if your golden ears find the sound of the company’s panels let down by the integrated conventional cones in other models: come on back down to Earth (we think ML’s marriage of cones and panels is great) and audition the CLX. This beast packs one 57-inch membrane for the high frequencies and another one for the lows. put it all together and you get 100-pounds of speaker that use low-mass films to cover a 56 - 23,000-Hz range. No, it doesn’t spec out at the magical 20-Hz, but if that figure is all that’s important to you, then you won’t appreciate what these are about; besides, a little bird tells us these pair up quite nicely with the company’s Descent subs. The CLX will show up in June at $20,000/pair (in a variety of finishes), but act soon and you can get on the list for the 25th Anniversary Limited Edition for $25,000. More eye candy in the gallery; sorry, no ear candy.

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Filed under: Cellphones, Digital Cameras

Oh sure, those with no shame whatsoever can snag a completely sketchy LV 2008 with an attachable zoom lens, but those of us with a shred of dignity are waiting on something better. Enter Tessera Technologies, which is today announcing that its OptiML Zoom solution is available for licensing. Said innovation brings a unique lens design and specialized algorithms to replace “traditional mechanical zoom capabilities,” giving equipped cameraphones 3x optical zoom capabilities in a “compact camera module without moving parts.” Hailed as the industry’s first non-mechanical optical zoom solution, it promises to not degrade images the way digital zoom does, and while it’s eager to see handset OEMs pick up the tech and integrate it into forthcoming mobiles, we’ve yet to hear of any large players jumping on board.

[Via PhoneScoop]

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Filed under: Robots

We’d explain this thing, but we’re really having trouble taking our eyes off of it long enough to string some full sentences together. Suffice it to state Festo’s AirJelly is powered by some magical jelly fish properties, a lithium-ion battery, an electric motor and a bit of helium. If that’s not floaty enough for you, there’s also a water version, AquaJelly. Videos of both are after the break.

Continue reading Festo AirJelly flies through the air with the greatest of ease

Popularity: 1% [?]

Popularity: 1% [?]

Filed under: Handsets, LG, Verizon Wireless, EV-DO, CDMA

phoneArena appears to have scored information on exactly when Verizon will be (or would like to be, anyway) releasing three new models from LG, all of which should be attracting some serious attention in their own right. Headlining the group is the VX9700 “Dare” — Verizon’s Prada-alike, if you recall — which is allegedly now being targeted for a July 4 on the internet release and an in-store launch shortly thereafter (we’d say those dates put it at risk of cannibalization from the Glyde, but the Dare’ll win the photography battle with a 3.2 megapixel sensor versus the Glyde’s measly 2). Next up, the trick VX8610 with the internal Bluetooth headset has apparently been christened “Decoy” and is tracking for Might 30 online and June 9 in store. Finally, the VX8650 Chocolate Flip gets ready to mercilessly slaughter its VX8600 predecessor come June 24 on your trusty web browser with brick-and-mortar locations getting theirs in July. Naturally, launch dates tend to have the solidity of Jello, so don’t be dropping your life savings on any wagers here with your shady friends. Not yet, anyway.

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Filed under: Transportation Alternatives

A new self-service bicycle rental service called SmartBike is launching in the nation’s capital. Docking stations for the bicycles will be located at ten locations around Washington, DC. To use the bikes, people will have to buy a $40 annual membership. Subscribers will get an ID card that they pass in front of the reader on the docking stations. The station will then unlock one of the bikes so it can be used. The bikes can be returned to any of the docking stations. The bikes can be used for up to 48 hours at a time. If a bike is not returned in that time the subscriber will get billed $200 for the bike.

[Source: SmartBike]

Popularity: 1% [?]

Filed under: Laptops

Ugh, it’s springtime again. So in addition to the pools of human secretions warming into an olfactory howdy-do on city sidewalks, we get these, the pink laptops. The pink XPS M1530 and M1330 now official. Check the late-nite Dell Infomercial after the break; Ron Popeil Productions must be so proud.

[Thanks, Matus]

Continue reading Video: Dell’s XPS M1530 and M1330 now pink like flowers and pigs

Popularity: 2% [?]

Filed under: Transportation

Our siblings over at AutoblogGreen discovered a tiny video hinting that a new three-wheeled, 70MPH electric automobile called the Triac is available… now. While we wait for the Aptera to hit the road, it seems Green Cars went ahead and made the Triac, tested it, and got it all sorts of market-ready. For those who don’t know, the Triac is highway capable and will go 120 miles before needing a recharge. Video after the break.

Continue reading Triac: the highway-capable, three-wheeled electric car available now?

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Puzzle addicts looking to train their brains on the go will appreciate this latest homebrew game by developer Brooke for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch. Entitled “iMemory”, it features the classic flip card memory game which never seems to go out of style in terms of playability.

The game grants players to match up different icons of various Apple gadgets in a 4

Popularity: 1% [?]

Filed under: Gaming

Nobody really expected Wii Fit to be a flop, and obviously the rampant success in Japan should’ve tipped us off, but it looks like the tiny exercise-centric peripheral is really doing alright for itself over in Europe. Dixons.co.uk states it sold a Wii Fit each four seconds on Friday, and Amazon.co.uk states they sold out within 24 hours. No word on overall sales yet — they’ve sold over 1.8 million units in Japan since the December launch — but we’d advocate you get yourself a preorder or a nice spot in line if you plan on working that flab off anywhere near the Might 21st launch date in the US.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Filed under: Displays, Pioneer, LCoS, Projector

Aw yeah, that sexy-on-paper Kuro projector you’ve been dreaming about the past few weeks just got real today in Munich, as Pioneer made official (even more official?) the KRF-9000FD. Stated beamer will be packed with LCoS technology, twin HDMI inputs to go along with the component / composite / S-Video sockets, full 1,920 x 1,080 native resolution, 600 lumens and a 30,000:1 contrast ratio; you’ll also find a RS-232c control port, a noise level of just 24-decibels in normal operation and a striking likeness to JVC’s DLA HD100. Here’s to hoping you weren’t anticipating this thing to be a bargain, however, as it’s all set to land in the next week or so for a stiff €8,000 ($12,460).

[Via Heise]

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Popularity: 1% [?]