The Daily Slash: April 14th 2010
It's the hump day that we discussed yesterday, and hopefully you've survived to see the other side. And tonight's Daily Slash, of course. But that goes without saying. Tonight we've got a nice assortment of stories, ranging from the moderately ridiculous, to the just plain awesome. Up first, within the Best of R3, we've got a 55-inch TV that's running Android, iPads being confiscated, and the sixth largest wireless carrier in the United States getting very lucky. And then in the 'net, we're happy to bring you a snowmobile to destroy all other snowmobiles, a charger that will juice up your gadgets, an egg that needs a nest of paperclips, and finally a keyboard that's perfect for the office.The Best of R3 MediaThis 55' LCD TV Runs Android, but Not the Anroid We Want: We're fans of big TVs here, an we love big TVs that have plenty of features. A great feature that a TV can have, for the record, is a mobile Operating System as powerful as Android. And, while this isn't the first Android-based TV to make an appearance recently, it doesn't make this one look any less attractive. Featuring things like a USB port, HDMI, S-Video Out, a backlit LED 120MHz display, and an ARM Cortex A8 processor under that very thin hood, it makes us wish this was actually coming to the United States. Instead, you'll have to be in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, or Finland (or six other countries this bad boy is heading) to get your hands on it. Oh, and the bad news? It's running Android 1.5. We know, we know. It almost ruins the whole thing, doesn't it? [via Android Community]The iPad Isn't Allowed in Israel Right Now: Were you planning on taking your brand new Apple tablet to Israel on your next trip over there? Were you planning on doing it any time soon? If so, you might want to rethink your travel destination, because it looks like you're likely to get your iPad confiscated when you go through Customs. That's right, the Communications Ministry of Israel has issued a ban on iPads, and they're completely blocking any and all imports of the tablet from entering Israel. The reason is the lack of compliance with the country's WiFi, apparently, and the Ministry's engineers don't want to address the situation quite yet. So, no iPads in Israel. And no buts! [via Everything iPad]US Cellular is Getting the HTC Desire. Wait, what?: US Cellular is what you'd call a regional carrier here in the United States. Regional carriers, for all intents and purposes, aren't necessarily known for carrying the latest and greatest when it comes to cell phones. Sure, there's some exceptions to the rule, but for the most part, it just doesn't happen. And it especially doesn't happen with a device that's one of the best of its kind, and only available in Europe. But, if a recently leaked US Cellular rebate sheet is to be believed, the HTC Desire is indeed hitting the sixth largest wireless carrier in the States. There's no official launch date, obviously, but the rebate form says that if people want to take advantage of the rebate, they need to purchase their Desire between April 16th and July 15th. Yeah, that's soon. [via SlashPhone]The Dredge NetMeet the Snowmobile from the Snowpocalypse, Only in Russia: A few months back, the East Coast of the United States was literally pummeled by a ridiculous amount of snow. Subsequently, the locals started referring to the ensuing snow storms as the "snowpocalypse," and it just fit. Now, after seeing this snowmobile, we think this would have been perfect for travelling over those growing dunes of white powder. Created from scrap metal, and configured with an old Yamaha motorcycle engine, this snowmobile is light enough to grace atop snow piles, and get you where you need to go in just about the coolest way imaginable. Basically, we want one. [via DVICE]The FreePlay ZipCharge Gives Hours of Charge in Just 60 Seconds: If you're a fan of technology like we are, then there's probably been a few times where you've stepped out of your house, got to wherever it was you're meant to be, and then realized the gadget in your pocket is dead. Yeah, it's a terrible situation to be in, and we hate it as much as you do. Thankfully there's superchargers like the FreePlay ZipCharge, which can give your iPod 2 hours of music playback, or 15 minutes of talk time on your phone. Which, oddly enough, is 8 hours of standby time. If you're feeling frisky, you can plug your device into the ZipCharge for ten minutes, and you'll get a charge good for up to 10 hours talk time, or 20 hours of music playback on that iPod (or other MP3 player, that, you know, can get up to 20 hours of music playback in general). The supercharger is only available in the United Kingdom right now (shucks), and it goes for a cool £49.95. Think it's worth it? [via Gizmodo]The Paperclip Nest Needs an Egg, Thankfully You Have One: From the sound of that little title, you'd suggest that there's some kind of crazy nest of paperclips out there, and we think you should get an egg that fits right into it. Well, you'd be wrong. Instead, you should get this crazy magnetic egg, and then build your new egg a nest of paperclips. Yes, that's right. It's the only way it will keep warm, and you need to baby that egg. The display art says so. We're not sure the last time we actually used a paperclip, but we know there's plenty of people out there still trying to get their little clips in order, and this is a great way to do it. After all, it's an egg, and you get to build it a nest. Wouldn't that make you feel accomplished? It's designed by Feng Cheng-Tsung and Wang Bo-Jin, and right now (well, after we finish typing this), we're giving them a round of applause. [via Yanko Design]Simpsons Keyboard Sports a Great Message for Office Workers: Honestly, there isn't much to actually talk about here, but you've just got to appreciate the irony here. Or, at least, love the Simpsons as much as we do, and think these are just about the coolest keyboards we've seen in a long time. They're designed by Keyscaper, and they've actually given you options to choose from. There are three wired keyboards, and three matching (although wireless) mice. You can actually order your very own right now, but the price may make you waver: $50 gets you a keyboard, and $35 gets you one of the matching mice. Though, with an image like the one displayed above, we might say it's perfectly reasonable. [via Nerd Approved]