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Projection mapping cars

Though the technology is beyond me, the use of projection mapping in auto shows is clearly a win.

With the help of a Russian marketing team Radugadesign (Translation: RainbowDesign), Audi has incorporated projection mapping into its showcases. Though Audi’s showcase is far more complex than ‘The Lamborghini Project,’ which also used projection mapping, the man-hours behind the project look mindbaffling.

However, as slick as it looks, the point of the presentation is a bit over our heads, other than promoting individualism and Marlboro. Yes, the cigarette company. The relation between the two companies confuses us, but the two working together can sure produce a sick showcase.

Click to continue reading Projection mapping is the future of showcasing

Read More | Autoblog

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Toyota Window to the World

Many of us have been on road trips. Growing up I loathed long, dreary, monotonous road trips. But now, as a driver, I love them. However, that does not mean that my passengers always do. 

Toyota is aiming to solve some of these issues of boredom on road trips. Though the technology is aimed at a younger audience, it’s something that can be enjoyed by any creative mind.

Engineered and designed by Toyota Motor Europe and the Copenhagen Instituted of Interaction Design, Toyota offers the ‘Window to the World.’ Similar to all modern smartphones, it features touchscreen technology embedded right into the passenger car window.

The Window to the World is still in the concept stage, but the video below shows what can be expected to come.

Click to continue reading Toyota’s Window to the World brings touchscreens to passenger windows

Read More | Autoblog

Maserati KuBang

In the world of luxury SUV's, buyers are limited to their choices of flavors—vanilla, Rocky Road, chocolate, and strawberry. There’s the usual German engineered and slightly over-engineered variant; leaving the buyer faced with purchasing a Benz, BMW, or anything from VW’s automotive family (vanilla.) Or there’s the ever classic, “I can do anything and go anywhere, but I rather just stay on the streets” Land Rover/Range Rover as a plausible option (Rocky Road.) Skim across the pond and you’re faced with rugged, bloated “luxury” SUVs; more fitting for cattle herding, rather than a night on the town (chocolate.) Finally there’s the likes of Lexus and Acura, which over-saturate suburban streets on any given day (strawberry.) This puts a potential buyer in conundrum if they want something different than their neighbors. What if the buyer wants a little Cold Stone Creamery action, rather than the usual everyone else seems to get? Enter the Maserati Kubang.

Like Cold Stone Creamery, the Maserati Kubang, has a bit of everything mixed into one glorious package. Maserati took bits and pieces from others and remixed into their own, dare I say, delicious concoction. Ever since Fiat Group acquired Chrysler Automotive (back during the Big Three’s financial meltdown,) Fiat has gained access to Chrysler’s resources and technologies. Fiat has been slowly marrying the two. Maserati, being apart of Fiat, has long been working on producing a luxury SUV for quite sometime and finally the Kubang has been born; well at least in the concept stage.

The Kubang is said to have a heart of a Ferrari. Boosting V8 designed by none other than Paolo Martinelli. Though you maybe thinking fast, sleek, and sexy after reading that Ferrari has their fingers in the project, Maserati’s “implication has been that the Kubang will be more SUV than sport,” reports Joel Johnson of Jalopnik. Furthermore, the SUV is based on Chrysler’s Jeep Grand Cherokee platform. The Maserati Kubang will be built alongside its cousins the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango. The price is still to be announced by Maserati.

Read More | Jalopnik

The WVIL (which stands for Wireless Viewfinder Interchangeable Lens) camera is one of our favorite gadgets from CES 2012, it's just too bad that it's just a concept and not actually real. Still, the concept alone is genius! If you're crazy about photography--or just cool gadgetry in general--this will statisfy your thirst. What you see is a camera with a removeable lens and viewfinder, which allows you to place the lens anyway, while controlling the viewfinder like you would any other mobile phone or tablet device. Meanwhile, we'll try to get ahold of Artefact, the company behind the concept, as they happen to be stationed here in Seattle. We've got one more video after the jump that shows what the camera would look like in a real-world scenario, but don't let it fool you! This is a meticulously planned out demo that isn't actually real. Still, cool concept.

Click to continue reading WVIL: The amazing future camera concept


Smart For-Us concept

Smart recently showed off its new hybrid pickup truck. Yup, you read right, a pickup truck from the company that makes the tiny ForTwo vehicle. The Smart For-us aims to recast the vision of the pickup as green and urban friendly. We’re not too sure how that will pan out, as most pickups are used as utility vehicles or off-road beasts. By the looks of the Smart For-us, it looks like it would be afraid to tread on grass, let alone the American roads. Though a concept idea, this “truck” would be powered 55-kilowatt magnetoelectric motor, achieving about 80 MPG. Though great on gas mileage, the Smart For-us leaves much to be desired by the average truck buyer. 

Read More | Jalopnik

Diamond Tears Edge headphones

This morning Monster announced the debut of its Diamond Tears - Edge high definition music headphones at CES 2012. Developed in partnership with J.Y. Park, the Diamond Tears - Edge is the first in a line of planned audio products from Monster and JYP Entertainment. The design of these over-ear headphones is based on J.Y. Parls musical talent, including Rain, Wonder Girls, and more. They say these headphones are "edgy like diamonds, but smooth like tears." If that strikes your fancy, then you can look forward to picking them up in the first quarter of the year for $279, with an in-ear model to follow in the second half of the year.


Last minute holiday gifts

[Editor's Note: Andru Edwards of Gear Live and the Ask Andru column joined us on this week's GeekWire radio show and podcast to share his top picks for technology gifts this holiday season. Here's a rundown of his choices, just in time your last-minute shopping.]

Kindle Fire: Amazon's $199 tablet is often compared to the iPad, but in many ways it's more appropriate to compare it to the iPod touch, based on the price and feature set. If you want a cheap tablet that can ship to you by Christmas, the Kindle Fire is it. There are some bugs. In terms of responsiveness and the accuracy of its touch interface, the Kindle Fire doesn't always live up to Apple iOS devices, but for $199 you're not going to find anything else that has this feature set, and many of the bugs will be fixed by software updates.

Crayola ColorStudio HD: This $29.99 accessory is a digital marker for the iPad, turning the Apple tablet into a virtual coloring book when used in conjunction with a companion app, with music and animations. With the digital marker, kids can do more with the iPad than just play games. They can be color, they can make their own coloring book pages. Input styles include crayons, markers and paint. Features include Facebook sharing and printing through Apple AirPrint.

Click to continue reading Ask Andru: Eight last-minute ideas for cool tech gifts


The rare HP TouchPad Go tablet has come and gone on eBay, but fresh on this week's list of geek-themed eBay offerings comes a one-of-a-kind desktop computer designed by esteemed Star Trek graphic designer Michael Okuda – the same guy who designed a number of the control panels for the very computers featured in some of the earlier Star Trek movies and television shows.

As it turns out, the system–up for $8,000 on eBay as a "buy it now" auction–gets even geekier than that. Two were created as part of a giveaway by Maximum PC magazine: One went to a sweepstakes winner at this year's San Diego Comic-Con; and the other was built specifically for (and to the specifications of) former Star Trek writer David Gerrold. Yes, that's the same Gerrold who conjured up the concept of the mighty "tribble" in the 1967 episode he co-wrote with Gene Roddenberry, "The Trouble with Tribbles."

Click to continue reading Custom Star Trek PC on eBay for $8,000


This is an entry from our 2011 Holiday Gift Guide. Check it out for suggestions on what to buy your loved, liked, and hated ones this holiday season!

star wars blueprints holiday gift

We know how many of you are Star Wars geeks, so we had to get some love for you in our 2011 Holiday Gift Guide. As you know, there are enough Star Wars books out there--enough to line the walls of the Jedi Academy. But these...these are a collection by J.W. Rinzler, executive editor at LucasFilm, where he's brought together amazing content from all six films. Yes, that includes original sketches of the Death Star. This is enough to make any fan tingle with glee. The set normally sells for $500, but you can get it on Amazon for $450, a 10% discount.


Nest thermostat

If your house is less than 20 years old, you probably have a programmable thermostat. It's probably a plain rectangle with a handful of buttons and a monochrome LCD screen, and it's probably a slight nuisance to program. It also probably isn't connected to your home Wi-Fi network. Nest is trying to change that with its new Nest Learning Thermostat.

The thermostat is a round metal dial with a circular color LCD screen that works a lot like an iPod classic click wheel. That could be because Nest was co-founded by former Apple employee Tony Fadell, one of the creators of the iPod. You can turn the temperature up or down by twisting the dial, or you can go through its menus by pressing it in like a button. It can be set to automatically change the temperature based on the time and whether you're present.

Click to continue reading Nest: The amazing iPhone-controlled learning thermostat

Read More | Nest pre-order

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