Like something out of a Sci-Fi flick, the iWave Dragon Speaker really brings your iPod to life.  Four flexible 5-Watt speaker arms stretch sound out in any direction you want.  I have to admit, the thing looks a little creepy and in a dark room, it may freak people out.  Like four eyeballs piercing in the the room.   Includes remote control and can connect to other audio players through a standard 3.5mm audio cable.

$99.99 - iWave Dragon Speaker

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SAN JOSE -- Apple's 10 million iPhone users are now meaningful research subjects for IBM's Almaden Research Center.

Scientists studying the mobile web are seeding Apple's iPhone Applications Store with research projects in a bid to see how users in the real world take to them. The projects include an experimental text-input system and an application to sync multiple devices.

Almaden is so interested in the iPhone, it is making them available for free to all 100 of its computer scientists to help them understand how consumers use the device.

"The iPhone App Store gave us a chance to experiment in the wild," says researcher Shumin Zhai, who has added the experimental text-input system WritingPad to the App Store as a free download. "Putting it on the iPhone App Store gave us a sense of the value of the technology."

Computer scientists’ interest in the iPhone is not surprising. The device is quickly becoming the first mainstream mobile computing platform. The iPhone has already captured about 17 percent of the U.S. smartphone market, according to the NPD Group, and the App Store has become a quick and easy way for third-party developers to distribute their software. As of August, more than 60 million iPhone apps had been downloaded, according to Apple.

IBM researchers at Almaden are thinking broadly about how to redesign the user experiences for common applications like e-mail and calendar for desktops, laptops and smartphones. And the iPhone with its touchscreen has set the standard for user interaction among smartphones and possibly, future computers.

Using the iPhone App Store to distribute research projects appears to be a novel way of studying experimental software, says Tim Bajarin, president of consulting firm Creative Strategies. Bajarin says it’s the first time he has heard of a major research lab using Apple's distribution platform.

"The idea is innovative and conceptually has a lot of potential," says Bajarin. "Researchers as well as software developers often come up with great ideas but don't have ways to test them, especially from the standpoint of getting them to a lot of people," says Bajarin. "So this could be invaluable."

"The iPhone is one of the most interesting devices out there in recent years from a computing perspective," says Jeff Pierce, a researcher at IBM Almaden focusing on the mobile web, "and the App Store is one way to bring research ideas to a bigger group of users."

Earlier this year, researcher Zhai added to the store a text input system called WritingPad that traces words on the keypad instead of inputting them letter-by-letter.

With WritingPad, words are "drawn" by tracing a continuous line from letter to letter on a keyboard. The system infers the word from the pattern drawn across the keyboard allowing users to increase their typing speed on a touchscreen significantly.

"In the first 24 hours of the program's release on the App Store it bagged about 60 reviews from real users. Now more than 500 reviews have been written of it," he says. "You can never have a total sense of user experience by doing lab studies."

Zhai has been studying for years ways of improving human-computer interaction and his technology was first released in 2004 internally for IBM employees to test.

At that time it was targeted at Tablet PC users. But the device never achieved mass adoption and when the iPhone came along it seemed like a perfect vehicle to test out the technology, says Zhai.

Next from Alamden could be Pierce's project known internally as the Personal Information Environment. It's a new way to synchronize and manage data across multiple devices. The application uses an instant messaging-like protocol to allow users to add different devices to an IM-like client and then share information and data across those devices.

Pierce who plans to present the research at a conference in Monterey, California, later this month thinks an iPhone app could be the next step for his idea as it offers an alternate platform.

There are many different criteria and standards on what ideas from the research lab can eventually make an IBM release as a product," says Pierce. "But it could be easier to make it available to the larger public through the App Store."

The App Store is also significant for another reason, says Bajarin. Though IBM has alphaWorks, a website to offer access to emerging technologies from its stable. and other open source sites to make its projects available, the App Store offers a unique way to reach potential users.

"What Apple has delivered is a solid distribution channel and a targeted one," says Bajarin. "That's a major difference compared to just putting it on a website."

It's not all rosy for the researchers who have to deal with Apple's whims and culture of secrecy. Apple's recent non-disclosure agreement that muzzled developers and placed severe restrictions on what they could say led to IBM Almaden clamping down on its efforts to potentially bring more of its projects to the store as apps.

But with Apple lifting some of the NDA requirements, Pierce says he will restart work on developing an iPhone version of his project.

Pierce and his colleagues are no Apple loyalists. When the Google's Android operating system based T-Mobile G1 phone becomes available next month, they may use it in their projects. But for now, the focus is firmly on the iPhone.

IBM Almaden's experiment with the App Store eventually could have wider ramifications for the research community. Other organizations could follow IBM's lead and bring some of their projects to the App Store, says  Bajarin.

"I think more research institutions will be open to it," he says. "You have to see what IBM has done here as a test case."

Photo: (shapeshift/Flickr)

There was a time that if you wanted you BlackBerry to look like this you would have to send it off somewhere to get a custom paint job or your would have to oder decals online.

It would appear, however, that RIM is finally starting to figure out that consumers like a bit more variety and flavor in their mobile devices above and beyond the standard black, blue, and silver.

The device you see in the picture above is a BlackBerry Pearl 8110 that will come out on AT&T. We don’t have an official date, however, I’d be willing to bet that it will be out in time for the holidays.

[Via CrackBerry.com]

Boston University researchers are devising a method to transmit data through light rather than a traditional Wi-Fi router.

The technology involves utilizing LEDs that flicker at imperceptible speeds, communicating with network-enabled devices at speeds from one to 10 megabits per second. That's a tad slow compared to the current 802.11g Wi-Fi standard, which transmits data at rates up to 54 megabits per second. But researchers are aiming the light technology at networking household appliances, such as refrigerators, photo frames or printers -- bringing us a step closer to the dream of a wireless household.

An LED wireless system would certainly eliminate clutter taken up by a traditional Wi-Fi or femtocell hub. But, as TechDigest also pointed out, I wonder if my shadow would interfere with wireless communication with a device? That would be slightly annoying, no?

Lightbulbs Could Replace Wi-Fi Hotspots [Cellular News via TechDigest]

Photo: Cellular News

The MyKey feature will roll out in 2009 onwards as standard equipment on the 2010 Focus coupe, and it will also be a standard feature on other Ford models to follow including the Lincoln and Mercury lines. Owners will be able to program a key to limit the vehicle’s top speed and audio volume, where the former will be limited to just 80 mph while the audio system cannot pump out anything more than 44% of the maximum volume. Perfect to let the parent sitting on the passenger side in front to continue nagging the new driver beside without having the latest track from Linkin’ Park drowning out the one-sided conversation.

In addition, one can also program in speed alerts that chime at 45, 55 and 65 mph speeds. This reduced speed function works great since fuel economy can be improved as well, as research has shown that driving 55 mph instead of 65 mph consumes 15% less fuel, while being forced to mastering eco-driving habits such as avoiding jackrabbit starts and excessive idling will be able to further improve fuel economy by over 50%. The MyKey system also has an earlier low fuel warning at 75 miles to empty instead of the usual 50 miles, which will prevent parents from getting a call in the middle of the night to drive out and meet their kid in a stalled vehicle that’s run dry.

Source: Autoblog

It's not the final version, so the options are a bit limited, but it's definitely looking good. Here are a couple more screens, but you can see the rest at Boy Genius. Now if Microsoft would just make the Zune compatible, then Macs would finally be just like real computers.

[BGR]

Created in South America, the sculpture is named "Inkuku," which translates to "chicken." And it's a bit more impressive than your standard, tacky, rubber poultry. [Ryan Frank via Curbly]

Never one to let a trend pass it by — even a year or so after it's hit prime time — Lenovo is finally getting into the low-cost netbook game with the IdeaPad S10.

And again Lenovo proves that by sitting back and learning from the mistakes of others it can put together a solid, classic product that ranks among the best in its class.

There are no huge surprises to be found in the IdeaPad S10, but the machine impresses at every turn. It's pint-sized, light (2.7 pounds), and bereft of big power, featuring the now-standard 1.6-GHz Atom CPU and 1 GB of RAM. But dig deeper and you'll find a series of impressive upgrades over the competition: The most visible is a 10.2-inch LCD vs. the 8.9-inch screen that's become the norm on mini-notes. Another modest upgrade puts a 160-GB hard drive at your disposal, the largest among all netbooks we've seen. And you get Windows XP, not yet another Linux of the Month flavor that you'll have to learn from scratch (and thankfully not Vista, which runs like molasses on these machines). Performance isn't great, but compared to the category, it's at the top. At the very least, it's one of the few machines that were able to actually complete our benchmark routine.

Others (like HP) have tried to take netbooks upmarket, ending up with machines that cost $700 and up. Lenovo's last big surprise in store for you is its price: A mere $469, which is on par with many 8.9-inch netbooks and far, far cheaper than most 10.2-inch models. For comparison, the comparably-sized Asus Eee PC 1000 runs about $600.

We'll take two, thanks!  —Christopher Null

WIRED Amazing combination of price and performance. Sophisticated, decidedly non-toy-like styling. Touch-typing is as easy as it gets in this category.

TIRED White laptop, white power brick, black power cable: Epic design fail! Some trouble getting USB hard drives recognized. Sub-two-hour battery life and slightly dim screen are letdowns on an otherwise near-perfect device.

$469, thinkpad.com