My Buy Watcher Blog

Filed under: Cellphones

While many of you may be waiting for some other handset to launch on T-Mobile, BlackBerry addicts may very well be counting down the hours ’til this one lands on the aforesaid carrier. If we just rang your bell, chances are you’ll be extremely interested in this here preview, which delivers a whole gaggle of photographs, a decidedly ho hum video (hosted after the break) of the Pearl Flip 8220 in action and a lengthy writeup explaining the ins and outs of RIM’s first flip phone. As for highlights, this thing turns into a real monster (read: it’s big) when opened, but when closed, it’s a real looker. For more on the aesthetics (not to mention some shots beside a few other BlackBerry siblings — Bold included), head on down to the read link and dig in.

Continue reading RIM’s BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 gets photographed, previewed

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Here’s one way to tap the parallel processing power in Nvidia’s graphics cards: Wi-Fi security hacking. Russian hackers reportedly bored through WPA and WPA2 encryptions using a brute-force technique juiced with one of Nvidia’s latest graphics cards (they don’t say which ones). The card supposedly made the “password recovery” process up to 10,000 percent faster. The report’s notably skimpy on the details, but if true, that’s a whole lot of busted for Wi-Fi security. [SC via DSL Reports]

Apparently, your cat enjoys it when a soft, vibrating material is rubbed against it. That’s why this vibrating pet glove exists. When your cat feels lonely and just needs a tender touch, slip on the vibrating pet glove and give it the massage it so desires. It even wipes clean with a damp cloth if your cat is wet or dirty. It uses 3 AAA batteries, and it totally doesn’t look like a vibrator, so you can just leave it sitting out and not worry about your mom popping over to visit and making your feel uncomfortable. I mean it, uh, doesn’t look like a regular pet brush. [Product Page via Book of Joe]

Filed under: Laptops

It’s pretty far behind the likes of Dell and HP in getting to the bottom of the whole defective NVIDIA GPU situation, but Apple has now finally come out and confirmed that some of its MacBook Pros are indeed affected by the problem. According to a just posted Apple support document, the specific models affected were all made between May 2007 and September 2008, and include all 15- and 17-inch models equipped with NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processors. As with other laptops, the problem shows itself in the form of distorted or scrambled video, or a complete absence of video on the screen or external display. If your MacBook Pro falls into that lot, and the problem occurs within two years of your original purchase date, Apple says it’ll repair it free of charge, even if it’s out of warranty. It’s also issuing refunds to folks that have already paid to get their MacBook Pro repaired. Hit up the link below for the complete details.

[Via AppleInsider]

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It’s been a rough week. We’ve seen so many stock market trend graphs looking like cross-sections of the Grand Canyon, so many sad traders. Doomsday proclamations a-plenty. So a hard week calls for an escape for hard rest, and thankfully, the App Store this week is eager to provide the visual and audio accompaniments for your weekend sensory/media deprivation.

Bloom: Highlight of the week here at Gizmodo HQ is Bloom, Brian Eno and Peter Chilver’s generative music app in action above (crank up the sound!). Touch the screen and create instant loops in a Music For Airports piano style which will degenerate and evolve in real time. You can also watch it do its own thing, creating a generative loop that’s always different. Because why shouldn’t a few spare minutes in line or on the can be enhanced by improvisational iPhone-assisted ambient sketches? Take the pain away…for $4.

RjDj: In a similar vein and just released today is RjDj. It records sounds from your environment via the iPhone’s mic and then processes them into a playback loop, adding delay and shifting pitch according to preset “scenes.” The effect is really, really cool, even just walking around the house. An ice cream truck rolled by my open window and I almost fell over, just now. There’s a free version with one scene, and a $3 version adds another processing scheme. Check out the video above for some serious beatboxing with RjDj—neat stuff. Thanks, Gaby!

i.TV: Your weekend needs a well-structured plan for backlit entertainments. And thankfully the value quotient is very high with the free i.TV, which is a nicely designed TV schedule app that does a lot. Aside from giving you a nice schedule grid, it also pulls descriptions, reviews and images from each show, YouTube trailers for any movie on TV, and allows you to bookmark individual shows, channels or genres to keep track of them individually. Oh, and it also finds nearby movie theaters for showtimes and trailers for current theater runs, too. Free.

iNietzsche: Your sensory deprivation hovel also needs Nietzsche, obviously. iNietzsche provides a random quotation from our favorite nihilist at varying levels of translation precision. Free.

CameraBag: And for when it’s time to go back into the world, CameraBag. It’s not new this week but I want to right the wrong of missing it by mentioning it here anyway, because it’s very cool. There are a lot of cheap-o photo effects apps in the store, but CameraBag is the first I’ve seen to add unique effects from actual classic cameras/film types to your iPhone’s pics. You can add the distinctive vignetting of a Holga, a nice Kodachrome color effect, and a few others. Sure you could do all of this in Photoshop too, but CameraBag is a one-stop shop. $3

This week’s app coverage on Giz:
•A sneak peak at the forthcoming South Park iPhone app shows downloadable show clips, wallpapers, contact icons and looks generally great. No streaming episodes though, yet.

•A nifty trick blocks ads in mobile Safari, for jailbreak only.

•Those greedy sonsabitches at MLB.com are already selling next season’s version of the MLB at Bat baseball news and stats app, because you’re forced to buy the same app again for each new season.

•TouchType adds a highly desired feature—the ability to use the landscape keyboard for emails for 99 cents.

•iPhone OS 2.1 is caught scrimping on the email downloads while in sleep mode.

•And a peak into the innards of the iPhone software 2.2 beta reveals Street View for Google Maps, the ability to turn off auto-correct while typing and Japanese emoji icons.

This list is in no way definitive. If you’ve spotted a great app that hit the store this week, give us a heads up or, better yet, your firsthand impressions in the comments. And for even more apps: see our previous weekly roundups here, and check out our original iPhone App Review Marathon. Have a good weekend everybody.

Filed under: Cellphones

So the BlackBerry Storm hasn’t even made it onto Verizon yet, and in flies word that RIM is actually doing something other than resting on its laurels (and contemplating buyout offers from Microsoft). The Boy Genius has it from two independent sources that RIM is currently hard at work on a “super-phone” of sorts, complete with a 5-megapixel auto-focus camera, 1GB of memory and a “near-HD quality screen.” In all seriousness, it’s not too shocking to hear that the outfit is working up a formidable opponent to go against HTC’s Touch HD / T8290, but it’s not stopping there. We’re also told that a second and third-generation Storm are already being whipped up in the design room, but it’s pretty safe to say you won’t be seeing those in the flesh for a good while. Regrettably, that’s it for the details, but you can rest assured that we’ll be keeping an ear to the ground for more.

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Filed under: Portable Audio

Onkyo’s latest aren’t the most stylish headphones we’ve ever seen — far from it, actually — but those more concerned with audio fidelity and iPod compatibility may be able to overlook the pedestrian design. The wireless MHP-UW2 headphones transmit tunes over the 2.4GHz frequency and come bundled with a handy-dandy iPod adapter that should work with practically any dock-connecting unit out there. We’re told it can last around 8 hours before needing a recharge via USB (or AC adapter, should you choose), though it’s hard to say when it’ll ever ship to any market outside of Japan. Nevertheless, those in and around Tokyo can find the kit next month for ￥20,000 ($201).

[Via UberGizmo]

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Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

Even with today’s wireless video game controllers, you can’t stay untethered forever. After a few hours of gaming on the PlayStation 3, you’ll have to plug in that SIXAXIS or DualShock 3 USB cable to charge. Starting December 18th, Sony Japan will offer an AC adapter intended for PS3 controllers at a price of ¥2,800 (just under $30). Like third party solutions we’ve seen, it has two USB ports so you’ll be able to do two controllers or toss in a Bluetooth headset. Nothing yet on availability outside of Japan, but if we get word we’ll be all over it, ’cause we feel slightly guilty for leaving the PS3 on overnight to charge — what with the world’s dwindling energy supply and all.

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“His Wi-Fi sneakers light up to indicate signal strength whenever you walk near a zone.”

So says Vodafone’s graphic artists.