Blackberry Z10′s Low Light Camera Performance Leaves Something To Be Desired

 So the Blackberry Z10 was announced just yesterday and we’re sure that many Blackberry fans are eager to get their hands on the device. Now it is a pretty accurate statement to say that cameras on Blackberry devices in the past weren’t exactly its selling feature, but with the Z10, Blackberry is looking to change that perception by introducing some pretty interesting camera software, but just how does it hold up against the likes of devices like the iPhone 5, the Nokia Lumia 920 and the Samsung Galaxy S3? Those three devices mentioned have been known for their high quality photo, with the Lumia 920 being touted as being able to produce the best photos under low light conditions and according to the folks at Gizmodo, it seems that the statement still holds true.

They have pit the Z10’s camera against the iPhone 5, the Lumia 920 and the Galaxy S3 in low light conditions and as you can see in the image above, the Z10 falls pretty far behind in the competition and you would be hard pressed to figure out what exactly is in the photo if it weren’t for the comparison shots. Of course this will matter to users who shoot constantly in low light settings, so it is only one aspect of the camera that might disappoint. We have yet to conduct our own review of the device so it remains to be seen if the camera under normal lighting will be able to hold its own, but for now if low light photography is your thing then perhaps the Z10’s camera might not be what you are looking for.

Apple Job Listing For A Plastics Tooling Engineer Coincides With Low-Cost iPhone Rumors

 There have been rumors surrounding the possibility of a low cost iPhone which could be pieced together using various iOS device components. As to whether that is true or not remains to be seen, but thanks to a recent job listing by Apple, it seems that at the very least Apple is looking for new ways to use plastic in their products. So far Apple has been known for using high quality materials for most of its offerings, such as glass, aluminum, stainless steel and whatnot, but the job listing for a “Tooling Engineer” in plastics has revealed the Cupertino company’s interest in using plastic in non-traditional ways to help shape and control the material better.

This seems to somewhat corroborate the rumors that this low-cost iPhone could be made using a plastic body compared to the iPhone 4/4S and iPhone 5 which used a combination of glass, stainless steel and aluminum. Then again plastic is prevalent in other Apple products such as the Magic Mouse, cables, keyboards and etc. so it is possible that this job listing might not be related to the iPhone at all. Either way with rumors about a low-cost iPhone running rampant, this job listing seems to be rather coincidental in nature, but we’ll keep the speculation to a minimum and suggest you do the same.

Valve’s Gabe Newell Believes Apple, Not Consoles, Is The Biggest Threat For Living Room Gaming

 Earlier this month at CES 2013, Valve unveiled the Piston which was a collaborative effort between them and Xi3 which was Valve’s stab at taking over the living room gaming space which is currently dominated by consoles like the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and the Wii U. At least from a layman’s point of view, that certainly seems like the case but apparently Valve’s Gabe Newell doesn’t seem to think so. In fact during a talk given by Newell at the University of Texas (via Polygon), he claims that Valve’s biggest threat is not console manufacturers like Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo (with the former 2 pegged to unveil next-gen consoles later this year), but rather surprisingly Apple!

As far as Apple’s gaming efforts are concerned, there has not been much apart from providing discrete graphic cards in their Mac offerings, so it was certainly an interesting perspective. “The biggest challenge, I don’t think is from the consoles […] I think the biggest challenge is that Apple moves on the living room before the PC industry sort of gets its act together.” At the moment the only living room product that Apple offers would be its Apple TV, which at its current state does not pack enough power to play the kind of games that gamers will expect, so it is interesting that Newell managed to arrive at that conclusion, but what do you guys think?

2013 Honda Accord, Acura RDX And Acura ILX To Get Siri Eyes Free Option

 Siri Eyes Free is a feature that automobile manufacturers are beginning to install in some of their vehicles. Basically what this does is that it allows drivers to activate Siri on their iPhones with a press of a button and talk to it while keeping their eyes on the road, hence “Eyes Free”. Considering that we are starting to see more smartphone integration in our vehicles these days, we guess this is one of the features that can be expected, and the good news is that if GM’s cars aren’t to your liking, Honda has revealed which of their vehicles will be coming with the Siri Eyes Free feature, which includes the 2013 Honda Accord, Acura RDX and Acura ILX. The partnership with Honda was revealed last year but it is only now that we know which particular models Siri Eyes Free will be installed in. This is an option that can be chosen by potential buyers and integrates with the HondaLink and AcuraLink entertainment systems. It is unclear as to how much this option will cost buyers, but it is one of the options out there for those interested.

Microsoft To Officially Launch Surface Pro Tablet On February 8th At Best Buy New York

 Microsoft already announced the official coming of the Surface Pro tablet, which is on the 9th of February. But it looks like Microsoft will be holding a special event prior to the aforementioned date in order to welcome the tablet. ZDNet has learned that Microsoft is inviting guests to a formal launch on February 8th at the Best Buy in Union Square in New York City. The invited guests will be among the first to get a hands-on of the tablet.

Moreover, these people whom Microsoft calls “Surface Windows 8 Pros” will also be among the first lucky ones to buy the tablet. Joining the said event is Panos Panay, Microsoft’s General Manager of Surface Team, and a few members of the Windows team. Mary Jo Foley of ZDNet says that she was not invited to the event. However, Foley claims that she was able to see the invitation. It’s also worth noting that Microsoft also held a special event prior to the commercial availability date of the Surface RT tablet.

ColorSonik Computer Speakers Adds Color To Sound

 Looking for a one-of-a-kind speaker for your PC? Perhaps the ColorSonik Computer Speakers will get your attention. Made by a New Jersey-based entrepreneur named Bruce Nilson, ColorSonik offers a natural and clear sound with deep bass wrapped in a visually stunning box. Nilson’s inspiration came from his love of old school design and vibrant retro colors. Nilson has another noble reason as to why he used plastic instead of other materials.

“Using plastic may seem retro, but we don’t believe chopping down trees for speaker boxes is sustainable. Clear cutting forests and endangering Pandas to grow eco-friendly bamboo for speakers sucks too,” he said. Basically, as you can see above, ColorSonik features a transparent plastic enclosure that is painted in various color flavors. The speakers are 4x4x7.25 inches and its 3-inch full range driver has a deep bass sound that goes down to 60 hertz. Amplification is 15 watts per channel, and it comes with a standard 3.5mm connector. ColorSonik also has optional color-matched Bluetooth receiver dongles, just in case you want to go wireless.

Google Maps The Grand Canyon

 Google has just mapped the spectacular Grand Canyon, the steep-sided canyon carved by the great Colorado River. Today, Google is releasing panoramic imagery of the national monument. Beautiful and interactive images, covering more than 75 miles of trails and surrounding roads, were captured by Google’s very own Trekker. Google’s mapping team strapped on the Android-operated 40-pound backpack carrying the 15-lens camera system. They walked the rocky terrain on foot, endured the temperature swings, and suffered a few muscle cramps, just to capture more than 9,500 panoramas of this masterpiece of nature.

So if you’ve been planning to visit the Grand Canyon, Google Maps can be a good option for now. You can virtually take a walk down the narrow trails and exposed paths of the canyon, hike down the famous Bright Angel Trail, gaze out at the mighty Colorado River, and explore scenic overlooks in full 360-degrees. Instead of driving a couple hours to see the nearby Meteor Crater, a simple click of your mouse or tap of your finger will transport you to the rim of this otherworldly site. “So no matter where you are, you don’t have to travel far or wait for warmer weather to explore Grand Canyon National Park,” Google said. Well done, Google!

Case-Mate Outs BlackBerry Z10 Cases

 BlackBerry has taken the wraps of its BlackBerry 10 devices, namely the Z10 and the Q10. In case you missed them, we did a hand-on of the two devices yesterday. Moving on, Case-Mate has unveiled its latest accessories for the BlackBerry Z10. Case-Mate has three cases for the Z10 – Crafted Woods Collection, Gunmetal with Black Brushed Aluminum, and the Black Signature Flip. First, the Crafted Woods Collection is made from a blend of premium natural materials with superior finishing detail. It is priced at $80 and it comes in Rosewood and Ashwood. Get this case here.

Next is the Gunmetal with Black Brushed Aluminum case. Priced at $50, this case offers a metallic look and a sleek luxurious feel. The brushed aluminum effect also adds a modern look to the Z10. You can get this case here. Lastly, Case-Mate also has the Black Signature Flip case. This case is fashioned from genuine leather and the tailored design offers complete front and back protection. This one retails for $80 and you can buy the case here. All of the said cases should keep your Z10 warm and well-protected. Stay tuned for more BlackBerry 10 cases. More will be coming, that’s for sure.

Vertu Smartphone With Android Not Confirmed Just Yet

 Elizabeth Kranz, an Assistant Account Executive for Sharp Communications, Inc. who happens to have Vertu as one of their clients, has reached out to us after we commented on the very real possibility of a new Android-powered Vertu luxury phone that is set to hit the market sometime this year.

Here’s what Ms. Kranz had to say about the situation, “Thank you for your interest in Vertu’s upcoming product releases. We are unable to confirm any new product details at this time. However, Vertu has recently referenced a ‘strong product road map’ and we can confirm that we will be making an official announcement to the global media on the 12th February. The announcement will mark the beginning of a series of international events held by Vertu, starting in our home market, London, England.”

Well, I guess all we need to do now is to wait for a couple of weeks more before knowing more about the situation as the official details look set to break a couple of days before Valentine’s.

Temple Run 2 Outpaces 50 Million Download Mark

 Imangi Studios sure as heck has a hit on their hands with Temple Run 2, where it continues to outpace all the other competitors on the mobile gaming front when it comes to the number of downloads. It seems that Temple Run 2 has already been downloaded more than 50 million times across three platforms – iOS-, Android-powered and Kindle devices.

Going beyond 50 million downloads in a matter of 13 days meant it had pushed Rovio’s Angry Birds Space to second place, where the bird slinging title tool 35 days instead to achieve the 50 million milestone. Temple Run 2 was first released over on the App Store on January 17th, where it peaked at the #1 slot in Free Apps in no time at all as it picked up half a dozen million downloads in under 24 hours.

Following that, Google Play and Amazon Marketplace releases saw this gold-chasing sequel of a game continue its run of success (pardon the pun), hitting the #1 spot on both stores. Will Temple Run 2 surpass its predecessor’s total amount of downloads that stands at 170 million times (and counting) in due time? I am quite sure that it will, the question is, how long will it take

LG Optimus L7 II Dual Rumored

 Has it been one year already? Apparently so, and we are referring to the introduction of the L-Style family of smartphones from LG, namely the L3, L5, and L7, which were introduced at last year’s edition of Mobile World Congress. Well, the next edition of MWC is about to happen in under a month’s time, and you can be sure that as the event’s date draws ever closer, more and more rumors will be accompanied by news reports to keep the entire industry buzzing, where it requires a keen mind to tell which is true, and others need to be taken with a pinch of salt. Word on the street has it that LG has an L7 successor in the pipeline, calling it the LG Optimus L7 II Dual.

This rumored smartphone is touted to come with a dual-core 1GHZ dual-core processor, a 4.3-inch IPS-display, an 8-megapixel shooter at the back, dual-SIM support, running on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean with a 2,460 mAh battery in tow. It is also speculated that the LG Optimus L7 II Dual will arrive in Russia sometime in the second half of next month for approximately $430 a pop. That’s mighty pricey for a mid-range handset, don’t you think so?

Gameloft Optimizes Popular Titles For BlackBerry 10 Platform

 Do you think that the recently introduced BlackBerry 10 operating system is set to be a success? The quick answer from me would be yes, although the size of its success is surely far more difficult to predict. However, Windows Phone 8 might want to look over their shoulders, and it is encouraging to see and hear that developers too, want in on the BlackBerry 10 pie, and leading global publisher of games, Gameloft, has announced that they intend to bring over some of their most popular titles for the new BlackBerry 10 platform.

The list of titles that will be optimized include Shark Dash, N.O.V.A. 3: Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance, Asphalt 7: Heat, and UNO, as Gameloft believes that these will benefit from the features which are found in the BlackBerry 10 operating system, where among them include multiplayer capabilities which will enable users to have a completely immersive gaming experience.

The games mentioned will be available somewhere right after BlackBerry App World is launched, while other titles such as Oregon Trail American Settler, Ice Age Village, Real Soccer 2013, The Amazing Spider-Man, Six Guns, Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour, The Dark Knight Rises and Let’s Golf! 3 will be thrown into the mix a few weeks after that.

2-in-1 Stereo Bluetooth Headset Capacitive Stylus

You wanna make Flautist crazy?



Get her one of these.



Now that would be funny.



But I digress.



Even after reading the product description I still don't quite understand how it works.

The pictures muddy the water even more.

Are you supposed to use the thing like a Water Pik to clean out ear wax?

And maybe the stereo music vibrates the fragments, kind of like a mini fracking operation in your external auditory canal?

It'll cost you $59.95 to find out.

"Anti-Lonelineness" iPhone Noodle Bowl — WANT

From Pat's Papers: "This is ridiculous. But it's also kind of awesome. Yes, that's a ramen bowl in the above photo, complete with a built-in iPhone dock. Inspired by a noodle-eating man who refused to put down his phone, the designers say their hi-tech bowl is more tongue-in-cheek than practical: 'We did it for fun — it's kind of sarcastic, we're not trying to promote everyone looking at their screens all the time.' The New York Daily News advises caution if you decide to try it out — there’s nothing to prevent your screen from broth splashes."



According to the Daily News, "The designers of the... vessel said they got the idea after seeing a solitary Taiwanese man chowing down with one hand while holding his phone with the other."



"'He just couldn't let the phone go!' said Minnie Jan, 33 [below, next to co-designer Daisuke Nagatomo].



'We thought it would be a good idea to help him restore his manners.'"

Jan and Nagatomo, who run Taiwan-based MisoSoupDesign, named their creation the "anti-loneliness bowl."

Said Jan, who along with Nagatomo attended Columbia University, "We're not trying to promote everyone looking at their screens all the time."

"Nagatomo, 35, said the pair would love to break into the U.S."

"One downside to the iPhone bowl? There's nothing to protect the device from splashes."

"'If you're afraid of getting your screen messy you're probably not looking at it while eating, anyway,' Jan said."

Note to the designers: These just might make it into the Apple Store — can't hurt to try.

Oyasumi Goodnight Brow Stretcher — "Sleeping band fights wrinkles on skin at night"



Sounds good to me: I mean, who else is looking out for you while you get your beauty rest?



Combat those unsightly wrinkles that can develop on your brow or between the eyebrows with this Oyasumi Goodnight Brow Stretcher, a simple but effective remedy for improving the condition of your skin and fighting the signs of aging.



While you sleep you can put the time to good use!



The band fits around your hand snugly and comfortably, so light you do not even realize it is there.

But it is there and it's fighting wrinkles by stretching the skin.

Also, on the inside of the band are a series of far-infrared dots that work to heat up the skin.

Meanwhile the silicone and hyaluronan compound materials provide moisture and support to the surface of your face, making anti-wrinkle stretching even more effective.

Details and features:

• Size: free (fits head size 54-59cm (21.3-23.2")

• Nylon, polyurethane, silicone

• Made in Japan

5200mAh Power Bank Wi-Fi Router

Description:
Power Bank + Wi-Fi Router All-in-One!
Built-in 5,200mAh rechargeable Li-Polymer battery, support iPhone, iPad, iPod, Samsung or samrtphones.
Li-Polymer battery with 5V DC / 1000mA output.
Built-in short circuit protection.
Blue LED battery indicator.
Automatically recognize ADSL / DHCP and WAN / LAN without any preset profile.
Complies with 802.11b/g/n standard and data speed rate up to 150Mbps.
Wi-Fi repeater for extending your wireless coverage range.
Dimension: 95 x 45 x 30mm (approx.)
Weight: 130g

Wi-Fi Spec:
Frequency band: 2412 ~ 2483MHz
Support 802.11b/g/n up to 150Mbps
Encryption: WEP AUTO, WPA-PSK, WPA2-PSK, WPA, WPA2, WPA-PSK/WPA 2-PSK, WPA/WAP2, 802.1x
WPS supported
Support max. 20 Wi-Fi users at the same time

3-in-1 iPhone 5 Photo Lens

Description:
Attach or remove the lens in seconds.
Fisheye, wide-angle, and macro lens.
Microfiber carry case doubles as a lens cleaner.
Works with all your favorite apps.
Dimension: 61 x 39 x 27mm (approx.)
Weight: 22g

Features:
Wide-Angle lens
The Wide-Angle lens is great for when you need that extra field of view, approximately double that of the normal iPhone 5.

Fisheye lens
The Fisheye lens captures approximately a 180° field-of-view and produces some striking images.

Macro lens
The Macro lens applies roughly a 10X multiplier and allows you to focus the iPhone 5 within 12-15mm of the subject.
It is cleverly concealed within the lens system and can be accessed by unscrewing the Fisheye lens that is normally attached to it.

iPhone 5 Protective Ninja

Description:
Compatible with Apple iPhone 5
Anti-slip with skin textured surface
Prevents and shields your mobile from scratches, damages and dust
Easy access to all controls and ports
Durable and tear-resistant

Ultra Zoom Microscope for Samsung Galaxy S3

Description:
Ultra zoom microscope attachment for the Samsung Galaxy S3
Attaches to the lens of your Samsung Galaxy S3
Zoom in at 60x to 100x magnification
Built-in brightness white LED
See tiny things, verify watermarks, stamps, jewelry, notes and more
Take photos of the things you're examining and share them
Batteries: 3x LR1130 (included)