GeekSugar

Closer Look: Fake Korean Shuffle Returns

GeekSugar — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 09:00:14 -0700

When I first shared a sneak peek at this faux shuffle that a friend of mine found in Korea most of you were mesmerized by its octagonal navigation and suspiciously familiar body shape and color. Some of you even wondered if the packaging for the fake shuffle was anything like the real Apple packaging. I was able to get my mittens on some additional pictures and the verdict is in: The creators of this noteworthy knock off may have focused on making the iClip.Se MP3 look just like the shuffle, but they went for more modern, iPhone-inspired packaging. (Note the plain black cardboard and the sleek plastic case.) Is it just me, or is this thing more entertaining the second time around?

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Photos courtesy of chuger

Would You Order Food Via RFID?

GeekSugar — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 16:00:41 -0700

We've all agreed that the idea of organizing your wine rack with RFID technology, an automatic identification method that relies on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID tags or transponders, is completely geek chic. We've also agreed that the prospect of H&M allowing shoppers to purchase items via a Semacode bar that is read by a cell phone may revolutionize shopping, but is the notion of ordering food via RFID as intriguing?

This week The Korea Times reported that McDonald's and SK Telecom have unveiled a new ordering system that will allow customers to use mobile phones and infra-red sensors to make orders from their table. The system will send customers a phone message when their meal is ready. Apparently, the "Touch Order" menu is the first in the world to utilize the radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology in a self-ordering system at a restaurant. Do you think you would use this service?

Source: Korea Times

Korean Knock Off Shuffle Goes Octagonal On Us

GeekSugar — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 03:00:13 -0700

Remember Molly's Dispatches From The Future (i.e. awesome diary from her trip to Hong Kong)? Well, consider this a Back 2 The Future part two moment. A friend of mine is in Korea for work and managed to snap us a picture of this fantastic faux iPod shuffle, which provides us a tiny window into the Korean iPod Black market. Oh. I love it so. It doesn't look as authentic as the ones Cult of Mac's Pete found in San Francisco's Chinatown, but its octagonal navigational bar gives it a fun twist and a fair chance should a copyright lawsuit ever come up. ("No, your honor, it was inspired by the Apple shuffle, but it's completely different, see the octagon? It looks nothing like the Apple wheel!") No word on whether it comes in light green or purple. I've spent the last five minutes trying to make out the other MP3 player copy cats in the background. Yeah, I'm just geeky like that.

Thanks, Chuger!

David Beckham Takes Off His Shirt For The RAZR2

GeekSugar — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 12:50:06 -0700

We've all seen David Beckham's new sharp Motorola RAZR2 ads, which feature Becks showing off his RAZR2 in a chic suit, but who really wants Becks or his phone when his shirt is on? Motorola's Korean site has released some saucy pics of our favorite celebrity gadget endorser showing off his new phone in all his shirtless, tattooed glory. They've also created a fun "Becoming Becks" flash feature that I can't understand, but I can totally appreciate. Did I mention the RAZR2 is now available in the US? I may have been overwhelmed by his beauty.

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South Korea Plans To Build 'Robot Land'

GeekSugar — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 03:00:00 -0700

When it comes to real robot love and adoration the US is light years behind other nations. Sure, we're down with dancing robots and fancy robot parking garages, but we don't seem to be as obsessed as other nations.

Case in point: Word is South Korea is investing in a huge industrial park dedicated to robotics. Construction of the industrial city, aptly named 'Robot Land,' will begin in 2009 and cost more than $500 million. Unlike our geek Mecca Lego Land, which is purely an amusement park, Robot Land will house research centers, manufacturing sites and exhibition spaces for robot competitions. The location will be announced later this year.

(Photo from this year's Maker Faire in California.)

Welcome to 2007, Where's Your Robot?

GeekSugar — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 12:44:14 -0800

After months of playing coy with the press, EveR-2 Muse, the world's first entertainer-robot, has finally shown her many, creepy faces. Designed by KITEC (Korea Institute of Industrial Technology), EveR-2 Muse was first introduced to the world last October at the Robot World 2006 at COEX in Seoul, and is apparently quite the singer.

According to the Korea Times, EveR2-Muse has the "appearance of a typical Korean woman in her 20s, can talk and sing, thanks to an embedded dialogue engine." She sang the new Korean ballad "I Will Close My Eyes For You" during the opening ceremony of the robot festival. For more about EveR2-Muse - and a full body shot, just read more

Korea Times says: EveR2-Muse, which received enthusiastic applause, will see her singing career flourish; she is scheduled to appear on television and star in music videos.

The robot has motor functions, enabling her to walk, stand up and sit down. Her predecessor, EveR-1, was stationary and couldn’t move. Also, EveR-2 is larger than EveR-1 - 165 centimeters and 60 kilograms versus 160 centimeters and 55 kilograms.

You all know I love a geeky girl, but this may be too much!

Daily Tech: The HTC HD2 Is Coming to the US Early Next Year

GeekSugar — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:18:52 -0800

The latest from HTC, the HD2, is expected to the US earlier next year - Gizmodo
Wal-Mart confirms that the Xbox 360 will go on sale for $199 this Saturday, and it even comes with a $100 gift card - Kotaku
Did you suffer from a T-Mobile service outage today? T-Mobile says everything should be restored now - Engadget
The iPhone App Store has just surpassed 100,000 apps - The Silicon Alley Insider
A court in South Korea has just ruled that cab drives can continue to have televisions on their dashboards - BBC News
It's giveaway time on GeekSugar! Log in for your chances to win one of these AT&T Smartphones - GeekSugar

Daily Tech: LG Debuts Its XD3 Slim Portable Hard Drive

GeekSugar — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:04:50 -0700

LG's new 320GB external hard drive has surfaced in Korea for about $90 - Engadget
Take a virtual trip around the world with Google's newest 5.1 version of Google Earth - Lifehacker
Check out which video games made it to store shelves this week - Green Pixels
Morgan Ritchie took tweets from the past 100 days from British actor and writer Stephen Fry's Twitter page and turned them into an illustrative masterpiece - Mashable
Wow. You can pick up a Rock Band kit and Rock Band 2 for only $79 - CrunchGear
It's giveaway and game time on GeekSugar! Be sure to log in and play our Best Video Game ever bracket! - GeekSugar

Samsung's New eBook Reader Comes on the Scene

GeekSugar — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:10:24 -0700

Samsung joins Sony and Amazon (and, most recently, Barnes and Noble) with its foray into the eBook reader market with the new SNE-50K, released in South Korea first and hopefully internationally sometime next year.

Previously known as "Papyrus," the SNE-50K is pretty petite: it's got a 5-inch screen and weighs 6.5 ounces (perfect for slipping into a small bag). Pricing (converted) is about $270, and hopefully it'll stay in that lower range when it comes to the US.

Image Courtesy of Samsung

Daily Tech: Obama Keeps BlackBerry For Personal Use

GeekSugar — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 12:00:24 -0800

Great news! President-elect Barack Obama will be able to keep his BlackBerry for personal use, but he'll need to use a NSA-approved phone for business. - CrunchGear
Could it be true? Is Apple really working on a 15-inch MacBook Air that is rumored to be coming out in the second part of this year? - The Apple Inside
Designed by Thomas Thomassen, this mint-green Retro Mini-Media Center is absolutely exquisite! - Unplggd
Motorola has just unveiled the adorable PEBL Rose Bloom cell phone that will be available in Korea and will hopefully make its way to the US. - Gizmodiva
Match.com has just announced a new free dating site called Down to Earth. - Switched

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