This Hover Board, for those of you unaware, first appeared in the science fiction comedy action movie Back to the Future: Part II with Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd. In that movie it was a push-scooter-like toy which, once the character Marty McFly popped the bar off, became the greatest hovering skateboard in this history of future visions. This release will “glide” over most surfaces, and will be “movie accurate” but will not float over the ground like the film quite yet — Mattel has noted that it’s not quite 2015 yet, of course. Mattel’s press release reads like this:

Back to the Future Hover Board: Finally! This totally awesome 1:1 replica of the hover board from the BTTF 2 and BTTF 3 films includes multiple whooshing sounds and will glide over most surfaces (does not actually “hover” – check back in 2015 for that feature). We’ll be taking orders for it March 1 – March 20, 2012, and the final product will be shipped around November/December 2012. Because this is such a high-cost item, there will be a minimum number of orders required to go into production. If we don’t receive the minimum orders, won’t go into production and customers will not be charged. The price will be announced later this month. (Note: Hover board does not work on water.)

There are a couple of images released for this beast already, both showing off the spot where the front handle was ripped out by Marty in the movie – so we’re looking at quat might be the closest thing to the real deal thus far. You can see a poster from Toy Fair 2012 photographed by ToyArk in the gallery below with a small image of the bottom of the board as well as several slightly larger images of the board from MattyCollector who seem to be the only group on earth with a close-up view of the board thus far. Here’s hoping for more action soon!

People submitting to CUUSOO requires that you get an idea, create the project you dream of, post it up to the site, get 10,000 supporters, and whammo! You’ve got your own project. If your project passes the CUUSOO review here, it will be produced by LEGO and you the creator will receive 1% of total net sales throughout the project’s lifespan. Have a peek at the CUUSOO concept here in this fancy animated video:

Then know that the creator of this Minecraft project was none other than the developers of the game itself: mojang. To get the project going, mojang worked with a couple Minecraft fans to produce some awesome sets that would help to inspire CUUSOO users to bring them into the LEGO fold. It appears that the set above might be the one to be winning in this situation, but the ones below are magnificent as well, of course! Read this statement from mojang and jump with glee!

Minecraft is about placing blocks to build anything you can imagine in the virtual world. You can build anything you imagine with LEGO bricks in the physical world. Minecraft and LEGO were meant to be together.

We’ve invited a couple of the LEGO fans behind the earlier LEGO Minecraft projects, suparMacho and koalaexpert, to collaborate with us to shape the idea. We’re also interested in your ideas, and will select the best LEGO Minecraft models to also join our efforts.

As the official Mojang LEGO Minecraft project, we will work with the LEGO Group to secure a licensing agreement and donate the 1% royalty from LEGO CUUSOO to charity. Let’s make LEGO Minecraft happen together!! =D

Will you pick up the Minecraft lego set? It really truly is a match made in heaven – if you’ve played with both you’d have to agree!

[via CUUSOO blog]

This feat has brought fourth the attention of Lego themselves, who sent a congratulatory letter to the boys complimenting their ingenuity and thanking them for using Lego to do the deed. “We are always amazed by the creative ways in which Lego fans use our products, and humbled by how many unsuspecting places we appear, like attached to a helium balloon in … space,” said Lego’s brand relations director Michael McNally. At the moment just one video has been uploaded from the set of media the boys have collected, seen here:

The whole assembly consisted of a rip-stop nylon parachute that the boys tested by lobbing off their 40-story condominium unit, an $85 weather balloon, and $160 in helium from a party store. In addition there was a wide-angle video camera, a cell-phone with GPS (for locating the setup after it landed), and several more point-and-shoot cameras, all inside a styrofoam box which also held out the Lego man. The entire craft traveled to around 80,000 feed, that three times the average cruising altitude of a commercial aircraft, and fell to the earth payload intact.

We look forward to the rest of the photos and video from these two awesome scientists!

[via YouTube]

All you’ve got to get is a bit of paper, some scissors, and maybe a bit of glue and you’ll be well on your way to creating the same awesome structure everyone in the hipster world’s favorite band of all time They Might Be Giants are pushing in this video! They’ve got a concert coming up, and their monster truck is telling you to get interested in it! Along for the ride as well is none other than Jonathan Coulton, famous for his ballads “the First of May” and “Still Alive” from the end of the Portal video game series (notably the first one.)

Now if you’re interested in creating this fine piece of automotive awesomeness, you can either make it full sized at over 12 feet tall, or you can choose to make the wimpy version at just a little closer to 4-inches. If you’re the kind of person who doesn’t have a lot of parking space, we suggest going for the smaller model. ALSO if you’re interested in going to the tour of these fine fellows, you’ll want to know that it all begins on the 27th of January in Santa Cruz. You can find the rest of the dates down below the video complete with links on TMBG’s YouTube. Get in on it!

In Icons first announced the Jobs action figure early this month and was quickly and inevitably slapped with threats of legal action. The company explains that it had originally set out to create the doll as a way to commemorate Jobs and was in no way attempting to overstep copyright and trademark rights.

Besides the legal threats from lawyers, In Icons says that it is the “heartfelt sensitivity to the feelings of the Jobs family” that led to the decision to cancel the action figure. The company apologizes to Jobs fans and promises to refund pre-orders.

[via AppleInsider]

And your dog won’t be the only one watching the action go down, your cat and your kid will have a fit as well. What you’ll see in the hands-on video is the device running on one of its automatic modes, registering what’s in front of it to make turns and back up and flip out squawking and beeping and flaring up lights, and that’s not the half of it! This little beast gets a full 15 minutes of use per 40 minutes of charging, and the charging might be the cutest part of the whole equation. See that action up in the main picture? That’s the tank plugged in with its fold-out USB stick into the side of our laptop PC. When it’s charged to the top, it lets you know with a successful “blerp!”

In this case, the device is autonomous and does seem to enjoy pestering the pets, as it were – here are explanations of each of the three control modes:

Mode 1: In obstacle avoidance mode, the Tankbot searches for obstacles and does not travel in a straight line. If no obstacles are found, it spins around and goes to sleep. Waving an object within a few centimeters in front of the product will wake it up. If a climbing angle of Tankbot is too steep, it will reverse turn.

Mode 2: In light and sound mode, if a climbing angle of the Tankbot is too steep, it will reverse turn.

Mode 3 Control: iDeskPet Universal Remote must be aimed at the Tankbot from a distance of 1m to 3m and towards the front black screen of the Tankbot and not from behind. If the item is not controlled for more than 60 seconds, it spins around and goes to sleep.

This device can run on its own artificial intelligence via sensors dictating its path, or you can control it with your smartphone. A simple download and setup process will have you rolling around in no time, just a simple dongle deal with a couple of lights plugged into your smartphone’s headphone jack has it connected with great ease. You’ll notice in the official app that there’s a small family of these vehicles growing as you tap, catch them all as the group expands! Now we’ve only to wait and see how long it is before these little beasts learn to fly or run in the water – boats and spaceships ahoy!

You can head over to RadioShack right now for the least expensive place to pick one of these up: $19.99 and a perfect stocking stuffer you shall have. Know what I mean?

It was this week that Handl, 31, found it pertinent to call local authorities and ask if his favorite hobby was legal. When asked what his intentions were for this entire ordeal, Handl let the world know that his plan was nothing malicious. “I have always been interested in physics and chemistry,” Handl noted, saying that he’d simply always wanted to “see if it’s possible to split atoms at home.” Sounds reasonable to me!

On the other hand, local authorities have not thusly agreed, finding Handl’s month’s long blog on said experiments and late July call asking for information on whether or not nuclear experiments in his kitchen were legal. Each of the radioactive elements radium, americium and uranium were found in Handl’s apartment when the raid was conducted, Handl now facing possible fines and/or up to two years in prison.

What do you think, ladies and gentlemen? What would you do if you were in charge of sentencing Handl for his crime of science? Or on the other hand, would you allow him to continue his evil genius ways?

[via Telegraph.UK]

The downside is the survey crews didn’t appreciate it at all. We would use plain old sticks in a pinch, but no matter what we used someone would inevitably end up with bloody knuckles after getting whacked in the hand with another stick sword. A very cool concept over on Naama Agassi’s page is called simply the Branch Holder. It looks like it’s made from one of those things you use to get a grip on a jar with a tight lid only it’s patterned and has two holes in it.

The idea is that you can pass your stick through it and you get a hand guard. That would have saved me several fistfights and scrapped up hands as a kid. Everyone knows hitting the hand of the opposing sword fighter with your stick sword is off limits and immediately calls for a butt kicking. That thing would have looked awesome on the handle of a surveying stick. This is something that the designer should build, but it looks easy enough to cobble your own up.

[via Wired]

The cards will be limited edition and the little screen will be used to show 20 minutes of career highlights for the player the card is featuring. The cards were created a company called Recon Group Inc for Panini America. The company makes cards for the NBA, NHL, and NFL. The cards are still made from cardboard but are “many times thicker” than the traditional cards. The screen can be turned on and off and it has 2GB of storage for the user to upload more content to the card.

It runs from an internal rechargeable battery and the card appears to have its own USB connector. The special video cards will be limited edition inserts in Panini’s Totally Certified Basketball card line. The packs will include normal cards as well. Apparently, you will never know if you are getting a video card or not. A pack of five cards is about $20. The company will offer autographed video cards too.

[via LA Times]

Orbotix is touting an open and absolute killer of an API and they are seeking the smartest developers to help reinvent the concept of play with Sphero. Developers who register for the program will have access to the full SDK for both Android and iOS platforms, sample apps, developer guides access to developer forums and an idea portal, exclusive hack-a-thons, bounties, contests, and educational discounts. Developers that register now can get a Sphero at a special discounted rate with early delivery, early access to software features, access to new prototypes, and may even have a chance to win a free Sphero.

To develop a killer app for the Sphero you wont actually need to have one. However, Orbotix will be hosting various Hack-a-thons for their developers to code and test with the robotic ball present. It may take them awhile to deliver the Sphero into developer hands, but they’d like to build up a community of active developers first. They will be at the opening reception of Google I/O this evening.

To register for the Sphero developer program go to www.goshero.com/developer

Watch Sphero robotic balls in action:

The device is a pair of Etch A Sketch tablets that are hacked together to communicate and allow whatever is drawn on one screen to be automatically drawn on the other. That means that two people can collaborate on a drawing. In my case that also means I can have some two player light cycle battles like I always wanted. When one player is done with their image on the device and shakes it to erase, the other user is notified to shake their screen too.

The designer of the cool toy is Andrew Little, a product design student. Little said, “We all love to leave personal messages for one another, be it productive or playful, Connect A Sketch was designed to take this interaction to a larger scale. The reason I chose to do this through an Etch A Sketch is because of my appreciation of the toy I grew up with.” The Connect A Sketch will be unveiled at the 2011 Dundee Degree Show and at the London exhibition, New Designers.

[via DesignaLittle]

This Zuckerburg bobble-headed-looking doll comes with a number of amusing odds and ends. The Like it button can be replaced with a Poke button if you’re feeling a little punchy, or pokey as the case may be. The kit also comes included with customizable speech bubbles that stick into the back of his big head. Make him say something Johnny!

[via M.I.C. Gadget]

R3 Media Network

Editor’s Choice
DIY Transformers 2 Megatron tank is utterly crazy
Nintendo 3DS games detailed: Nintendogs, Steel Diver, more
AT&T Motorola ATRIX 4G on sale now

SlashPhone
Sprint to Reveal a New Phone, Suspected to be The HTC 7 Pro
BlackBerry Bold Touch Caught in Wild
O2 Getting White Xperia Play

Android Community
Advent Vega Dock now on sale: HDMI and USB
Android Community Big Fat Android Toy Giveaway #1 WINNERS
Motorola XOOM priced by Verizon: No big subsidies for first Honeycomb slate
Toshiba updates AC100 to Android 2.2 with Flash Player support
Motorola ATRIX 4G arrives on AT&T for $200
Flash Player 10.2 for Motorola XOOM “within a few weeks”
Motorola DroidX & Droid 2 get a fancy Gingerbread Port
Motorola XOOM Street Egg Ad Released
Motorola ATRIX 4G Laptop Dock Demo
Motorola ATRIX 4G HD Dock Demo
Android Toy Series 2 Secret Figure #2 [SPOILER]
VCast Music gets updated on Android
Verizon fuels sales for Motorola Mobility
Samsung Pulls Captivate Update Page After News Leaked
Motorola Roadster Review [In-Car Bluetooth Speakerphone]
Twitter lets third party clients out of the penalty box
Samsung Epic 4G to get some Froyo today
HTC ThunderBolt Rooftop Ad Released
HTC Inspire 4G Review
US Cellular offers buy one get five deal on Android

SlashGear
DIY Transformers 2 Megatron tank is utterly crazy
Apple considering 24-bit iPod/iTunes update for boosted audio quality?
OWC Mercury Elite-AL Pro Qx2: 12TB of super-flexible storage
SuperTalent CoreStore SSDs promise 350MB/s read & 220MB/s write rates
Verizon Motorola XOOM pricing confirmed: $600 with agreement
Palm Pre Plus webOS 2.1 update already up and running on French phone
$76 Micro Four Thirds/NEX lenses promised as China weighs in
T-Mobile readying unlimited data plan
Nintendo 3DS games detailed: Nintendogs, Steel Diver, more
Spring Design “phasing out” Alex ereader
Amazon Prime Instant Video service switched on
Toshiba AC100 Android 2.2 Froyo update arrives with Flash support
Apple looking to white iPhone 5 as touch supplier leaks
Steve Jobs says subscriptions are “for publishing apps” but confusion remains
Sony VAIO L Series all-in-one wraps touch-bezel around multitouch screen
Sony VAIO C Series: Garish looks hide decent notebooks
Palm Pre Plus gets webOS 2.1.0 update in Germany
Sony VAIO S Series: 13.3-inch ultraportable with 14hr runtime
Nokia N950 MeeGo phone named: “very elegant hardware” says CTO [Video]
Apple iPad 2 release in June after production delays tip analysts
Secusmart encryption microSD: security costs $2,700 [Video]
Apple iPad stock shortages tip iPad 2 imminent
Geohot Sony defense fund closes after rapid response
HP TouchPad tablet shipping April tip suppliers
AT&T Motorola ATRIX 4G on sale now
Motorola XOOM Flash Player 10.2 release “within a few weeks”
Lenovo ThinkPad W520 quadcore desktop replacement outed
Lenovo ThinkPad T420s, T420 and T520: up to 30hrs battery life
Lenovo ThinkPad L420 and L520 entry-level notebooks outed
Verizon Updates V Cast Music App for Android
Verizon Releases New Ad For Motorola Xoom
Apple’s New Subscription Policy Upsets Readability App
Sony 3D Dual-View Split Screen Demo For PlayStation 3

To see more Daily Slash posts, click here: [The Daily Slash] or here: [SlashGear Morning Wrap-Up]

We are hoping that the USB port has some kind of a cover to keep cheerios and goldfish and stuff like that from getting stuck inside it.

The Tandars Pet sells for $49.99 (ouch!).
[via Everything USB]

It’s got an electric motor that makes its rear wheels speed, charged by lithium-ion batteries, has an output of 1.5 horse power, and cruises at 18.64 mph. Is this your grandmother’s tricked out buggy? Nay, man, no way. This little master of the road that only goes 15 miles tops before it has to be recharged is a toy to be desired. And we desire it. Don’t know where we’d put it though. Maybe in the shed? Maybe in candy apple red, too.

Check out the full press release below:

A small-scale e-tron study: Audi at the International Toy Fair in Nuremberg

Prototype with electric drive travels at up to 30 km/h (18.64 mph)

Audi’s second appearance in Nuremberg

From racing bodysuit to exclusive soccer table from Audi design

AUDI AG will be showing a selection of its products again at the 62nd International Toy Fair in Nuremberg. Last year Audi became the first car manufacturer ever to present a selection of model cars and new products from the Audi children’s world to visitors on its own stand in Nuremberg. The highlight in 2011 will be the “Auto Union Type C e-tron study” with electric drive. The International Toy Fair will take place from February 3 to 8.

Audi will be continuing the subject of electric mobility in a fun way at the Nuremberg fair: The brand with the four rings is presenting a unique specimen, which is as innovative as it is exclusive, on its 75 square meter (807.29 square feet) stand – the Auto Union Type C e-tron study. This is based on the limited-edition pedal car model which is sold through quattro GmbH, a subsidiary of AUDI AG. The body of the hand-finished unique specimen is made of aluminum and carbon-look material and is suitable for children and adults of up to 1.80 meters (5’11″) in height. The 1:2 scale study is 2.32 meters (7.61 feet) long and 97 centimeters (38.19 inches) wide.

The electric motor drives the rear wheels, is charged by a lithium-ion battery and, with an output of 1.5 hp, reaches a torque of 40 Nm (29.50 lb-ft) – and briefly as much as 60 Nm (44.25 lb-ft). This enables the car to reach a top speed of 30 km/h (18.64 mph). The study is also equipped with a reverse gear.

Depending on how it is driven, the little Audi e-tron has a range of around 25 kilometers (15.53 miles). It can then be charged at a standard 230 volt household socket. Depending on the battery charge status, this takes about two hours.

The exclusive soccer table from Audi design will also be making an appearance in Nuremberg. Alongside its emotive styling, this toy is also noted for its Vorsprung durch Technik. Its materials, finish and technical workmanship satisfy the highest standards. Aluminum and high-strength plastic are added to the wooden core by hand. The table, incidentally, is absolutely suitable for professional tournament use. Its combination of functionality and design is unique in table soccer. Only 20 tables will be built initially, with each small-series soccer table costing €12,900.

quattro GmbH is showing prototypes of a rather different kind in the area of baby and children’s products: The racing bodysuit, the power/brake socks, the pit stop baby bottle and the mini sound absorber kit (pacifier) were all inspired by the world of motorsport. Audi is also showing a study of the successor model to the current “Audi Junior quattro” ride-on toy car in Nuremberg.

Audi will of course also be presenting its high-quality range of classic car-related toys: remote-controlled models, plush cars and the Audi motorsport bear. The Wörthersee models of the Audi A1 to a scale of 1:87, among others, will be displayed in the model car paternoster.

Industry professionals, journalists, commercial resellers and large-volume buyers can view the world of toys offered by Audi by visiting the exhibit stand. Through its presence at the fair in Nuremberg, Audi is looking to draw attention to the wide range of toys offered in its portfolio. The International Toy Fair in Nuremberg is one of the world’s leading professional exhibitions for toys and leisure products. About 2,600 exhibitors will display their wares from February 3 to 8.

That’s alright though, says Space International Ltd., the group that was behind the idea of putting these machines out in Japan, who says, very similar to Ron Paul here in the states, that trading all your money in for solid gold is a great investment, especitally when “10,000 yen note becomes wastepaper,” or so says a statement released by the group. The first rate, if you’d like to know, set by these machines earlier in the week was 6,800 yen ($82.70) per gram. This machine can give you gold in the form of coins or bars, with the heaviest bar weighing in at over 7 grams.

[Via Japan Realtime]

R3 Media Network

Editor’s Choice
Notion Ink’s Adam slate ships today, Wednesday 19 2011 [JOYYY]
Samsung Mobile Announces both Mobile World Congress “next evolution” and a February 1st Tease [MY EYEBALLS HAVE FALLEN OUT]
T-Pain Booty Symphony app is chocked full of booty shakin’ fun [RUMP SHAKER]
Nintendo 3DS hits US March 27 for $249.99 [ITS 3DS DAY HERE ON SLASHGEAR]
Nintendo 3DS to get 30+ titles between launch & E3 [AND THEY'RE ALL POKEMON]
Intel Atom Windows 8 smartphones on horizon [WAIT WHAT?]
Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 No-Froyo Due to Complicated UI [KNIFED]
Cai Shen Dao Chinese New Year God of Wealth Android Toy [SUPER CUTIE]
Nexus One to Receive Gingerbread SOON [PINKIE SWEAR]

SlashPhone
Samsung Will Not Be Charging Carriers For Android Updates
Android Gets New Update on RealPlayer
Verizon Giving Away $200 For Purchasing Their iPhone 4
T-Mobile Netherlands Offered to Unlocked iPhone For Free

Android Community
Verizon’s LG Ally Android 2.2 Froyo update gets early release
HTC ThunderBolt to Support Both Voice and Data in LTE Areas Simultaneously
PlayStation Phone XPERIA Play Due at MWC, PSP 2 on January 27
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Line2 VoIP/SMS app arrives on Android [Video]
T-Pain Booty Symphony app is chocked full of booty shakin’ fun
Official Starbucks mobile payment app in the works, third party app offered now
WebMD launches Android app for clinical reference for healthcare pros
Android owners most platform-tenacious claim researchers
Notion Ink’s Adam slate ships today, Wednesday 19 2011
Samsung Mobile Announces both Mobile World Congress “next evolution” and a February 1st Tease
Samsung Says They’re NOT Charging Carriers for Froyo Android Update
Motorola: ‘Buy Elsewhere if You Want Custom ROMs’
Nintendo 3DS Available for Pre-Order at Amazon
HP Topaz and Opal webOS Tablet Features Detailed
New Consoles Will Make Game Prices Reach $100, Danny Bilson Says
ShootMe Screen Grab Application Updated, Now Featuring Video Capture
Motorola: ‘Buy Elsewhere if You Want Custom ROMs’
Android Destroys Apple Logo in Short 3D Animation
Nexus S Equipped Man Trapped Under Vending Machine for Days
Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 No-Froyo Due to Complicated UI
Cai Shen Dao Chinese New Year God of Wealth Android Toy [REVIEW]
Nexus One to Receive Gingerbread SOON
Motorola Cliq 2 Now on Sale Via T-Mobile
Honeycomb Themed Clock Widget Available on the Android Market
Bejeweled 2 Coming This Week, Plants vs. Zombies and Peggle Coming This Summer
Kongregate 300 Free Game Deal Dashed by Google
ROM Kitchen Allows Customizable ROMs for Galaxy S and Captivate
Acer 7-Inch Tablet Gets the Hands-On
MasterCard Launches ‘ATM Hunter’ for Android
Skip the Activation Message on the Sprint Galaxy Tab with this Quick Hack
LG Optimus to Bring Back Color Customization in Phones

SlashGear
Nintendo 3DS Europe launch March 25
Sony BRAVIA HDTVs & Blu-ray players to get Opera browser
iPad 2 Retina Display rumors under fire: prototypes aren’t next-gen iOS tablet
Nintendo 3DS hits US March 27 for $249.99
Nintendo 3DS to get 30+ titles between launch & E3
Intel Atom Windows 8 smartphones on horizon
Apple’s new iPhone AT&T agreement is non-exclusive: T-Mobile iPhone ahoy?
Touch-n-go multi gadget charging thingy is cool and weird
Kinect adapted for robotic surgery
Entire Playboy back catalog coming to iPad
Windpower winners Vestas give $1.5m prize to runners-up
Western Digital adds new SAS HDDs for enterprise
Apple reveals All-Time Top App Store apps
MSI offers new N570GTX and N580GTX Twin Frozr II video cards
Starbucks now taking payments from mobile phones nationwide
Verizon offers some customers a $200 gift card for iPhone 4 upgrades
Himax unveils world’s first USB 3.0 pico-projector
Eurocom launches 15-inch Racer notebook
Spider Pocket Speaker E500 plays your tunes wherever you go
Puget Systems adds new rigs to Serenity Silent PC line
AMD Embedded G-Series puts Fusion APU in set-top boxes, SFF PCs, more
iPhone most satisfying smartphone but Android users loyal tips research
First HP webOS tablet shipping March tip insiders
Sony PSP2 due Jan 27 with PlayStation Phone at MWC 2011 tip insiders
Linksys E4200 is new dual-band flagship router
Samsung “Evolution is Fate” teases Galaxy S replacement at MWC 2011
Notion Ink Adam ships today
$100 Gets You a Mysterious Package Aboard Any Airplane (so Long as You’re a TSA Agent)
Official Android Designer Toy Line Expanded by God of Wealth, Reviewed by Android Community
Android “Flip Phone” Concept with Three Flexible AMOLED Touchscreens
iPhone and iPad RPG Sacred Odyssey: Rise of Ayden Announced by Gameloft
Microsoft Opening a Retail Location in Costa Mesa, California
iOS 4.3 Beta 2 Released
Microsoft Discovers Third-Party Source for “Phantom Data” Issue
iPad 2 May Feature a Proximity Sensor
Retailers Shed Some Light on Nintendo 3DS Game Prices
Ocean Empire Super Yacht is Self-Sustainable, Costs $17 Million
Best Buy Shying Away from the Verizon iPhone 4?
7,000 Students in Florida Public School District Enrolled in Virtual Classrooms
Microsoft Looking to Bring Kinect Drivers and SDK to Windows
HP Touchpad Trademark Filed, Possible Tablet Name?
Xbox 360 Receives Dashboard Update to Thwart Pirates [ARRR]
Leaked Image Shows AT&T is Changing Messaging Plans on January 23rd
Doctors in Germany Create Swallowable, Remote-Controlled Stomach Submarine
Acer deny netbook phase-out: Tablets “will find their space”
Samsung ST95, ST90 and ST65 digicams pack 720p HD
Samsung ST30 and ST6500 digicams get official

To see more Daily Slash posts, click here: [The Daily Slash] or here: [SlashGear Morning Wrap-Up]

Our good pals at Android Community got their claws on one of those Asia-only toys and they’ve done a fabulous review of it. Not only is this toy super high quality and nicely printed, it’s super cute as well. A cardboard box with gloss print ink, two pieces of thin plastic casing, and six points of articulation later, you’ve got yourself a lovely little desk warmer.

Unboxing Video with Yours Truly:

Take a peek at the full review on Android Community.

Mister Tyler Stout, an illustrator and designer extraordinair, does several things with his time including rock show posters, movie posters, and even toys! He’s often commissioned by The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema to do fabulous new visions of classic or otherwise cult-classic films. With so many magical amalgamations under his belt such as The Big Lebowski, Inglourious Basterds, and Big Trouble in Little China under his belt, it was only a matter of time before this perfect vision was realized. Good luck getting one for yourself, they’re basically all spoken for!

Regular editions of this set were done in a run of 850 and each poster sold for $50, while the variants (below) were editions of 275 and cost $100 each. Each poster was made as a screenprint, each one 7 colors with metallics. Check out more work by Tyler Stout over at http://www.tstout.com/

[Via TStout]

Although this would be an amazingly simple sort of bookshelf to produce and sell in hipster shops across the USA, Eatock has only produced two of these, and both times for installations. This particular one you see above is host to 75 books that were, every single one of them, used as research material that informed the art show this project was included in, Book Show, Eastside Projects, all of them owned by the show’s curator James Langdon.

MDF 1220mm long x 300mm deep x 18mm thick, two metal brackets, 75 books – take a peek on Eatock’s portfolio page for a full list of the books used (if you want to recreate it yourself, I suppose.)

[Via Daniel Eatock]

This board is made of molded plywood and has foam and leather upholstered to the top. Although it’s made for the office, I imagine the goofiest of ladies and men would have an alright time skating barefoot with this pillow of boards. Don’t fall off though, I’ve done such a dare and it doth hurt quite mightily. I’ve also skated around campus way back in my college years, and having a board under my feet during class can be surprisingly soothing – supposing the wheels are properly greased.

Would you like your own “Secret” board by designer Carissa Carter? Too bad! This is an art project, and not made for mass consumption -unless of course you and enough other people contact her to make you one. All art projects are open to multiplication under the right kind of well-meaning duress.

[Via SnowFlyZone]

A company in the UK called Firebox has announced that it will be offering a full series of Angry Birds plush toys. In other words, these stuffed animals look like the birds and the pig in the game. The largest of the offerings are 8-inch plush animals in blue, red, and yellow birds or the green pig for £9.99 each.

The company also has backpack clips with the blue, red, or yellow birds for £3.99 each. To really annoy parents they also have some mini Angry Birds plush animals that have sound effects. You can get them in black, blue, red, white, and yellow birds as well as the green pig. The sound characters are £4.99 each. Shipping is included in the price, presumably in the UK. All of the plush animals are up for pre-order and will ship on March 1.

The idea is that you’ll want to stick a few crayons in the machine, melt them down with a bright light, and then let them get combined into one crayon. And yes, Crayola does expect you to get some combinations in there. If they created something like this, of course they knew that the combinations that would come out of it would be pretty unique. But, at least your kids have new crayons to use.

To make the device work, you’ll need to find yourself a colorless 60-watt candelabra bulb, and a wall outlet to plug it into. If you’re interested, you can pick up one of the Crayon Makers from Crayola for $21.93 right from the company’s website.

[via Core77]

This fancy little lady will cost you right around $469 USD and has the following NEW or IMPROVED features from the last time it was released:

Voice Recognition
Senses Motion
Sense of Smell
Learning Stone Technology
Senses Temperature
Time of Day Awareness
Longer Battery Life
More Touch Sensors

Now head on over to PLEOWorld to see where you can buy one or view the horrific nature of the beast below (first video is of the original PLEO, but I want you to see it because it has no skin!) Did I mention this dinosaur was made by wizards? Check out the second video to see what I mean.

If you like to look at bugs or have kids that like to look at things like that ThinkGeek has a new toy that might be perfect for them. The toy is called the Electronic Butterfly in a Jar and it looks very realistic. The butterfly is offered in pink morpho, blue morpho, monarch, and yellow swallowtail varieties.

The only downside is that right now they are all backordered for 1-3 weeks except for the pink morpho. The jar looks real and the butterfly has a thin, clear wire that gives it the juice it needs to flutter around the jar. It looks very realistic and you can only see the wire close-up. This will fool many folks so be ready to have tree hugger types call you mean and have to explain. The strange toy costs $19.99.

The thing needs no snow because it has special trays that you freeze in the freezer that make blocks of ice that you fix to the bottom of the sled. Those blocks of ice let the thing scoot down grass hills. Short grass apparently works best with the thing.

If you happen to get some snow, you can also remove those ice molds for some real sledding fun. The sled measures 38″ L x 20.5″ W x 6″ H and weighs 10.5 pounds. This would make for some nice winter fun as long as your ice holds out.

Created through the combined efforts of the talented mister Sean Bonner and his pal in DIY electronics and whatnot, the also very talented mister Matt Pinner, this My Little Pony doll actually solders. It was created at Los Angeles hackerspace Crash Space‘s weekly meeting, and they now say it is their mascot. Well played.

[Via DVice]

The training wheels in this case are a pair of rollerblades. The FlyRad has a battery and a little seat on it and the rider sits on it and uses the rollerblades to keep balance. There is no need to balance the FlyRad, and it appears to use the tops of the thighs to support most of the weight of the device.

The thing comes in sizes for adults, teens, and kids and has a 500W electric motor with a 36V battery in the adult version. The thing weighs about 53 pounds and can hit 25 mph with a traveling range of 31 miles on a single charge. It takes four hours to charge the thing fully. Those with the need for speed can get 1000W motor and stronger batteries.

If you’re an avid user of Twitter, then you know that updating the micro-blogging service is very important on a day-to-day basis. And if you’re a dog owner, then there’s probably been a few times where you’ve felt compelled to tweet something about your lovable animal companion. But, what if you could let your dog tweet on its own? Thanks to a new gadget called the Puppy Tweets medallion, you now can.

You put the medallion on your dog’s collar, and then set up the device with a new Twitter account. Once all that is done, every time your dog barks, a randomly generated tweet will be sent out to the Twitter account, which will subsequently post it to the Twitter service. There are 500 messages stored in the medallion, so while that may seem like a lot, it won’t be too long at all before repeated messages start showing up on your dog’s Twitter account.

The device is available right now, actually, and you can pick it up from Think Geek‘s website. For the $35 price tag, it’s not that expensive of a gift, especially if you’ve been trying to figure out what to get your dog for Christmas. Talk about the perfect gift.

[via TG Daily]

If you are the sort of person who rocks at creating LEGO sculptures and want to donate, or if you’d just like to donate to this cause without purchasing something, that’s alright too. For either form of donation over $50 USD, you get an engraved Creations for Charity 2010 assembled and glued by LEGO celebrity Sean Kenney (certified professional), topped with a really real gold-plated brick from ChromeBricks. Weird! Awesome! Get over to the store and buy up a bag o bricks!

[Via The Brothers Brick]

Simple enough in their design, it wouldn’t be too far of a leap to suggest that they’re cute, too. Designed to look like animals that live in colder climates, you’ll find a peguin, walrus, seal, and polar bear waiting for you every time you open the refrigerator. Every time you do open the door, they’ll be happy to greet you and say nice things, but everything changes when you leave the door open for too long. They’ll quickly turn nasty, telling you how much energy you’re wasting.

If you’ve ever heard of the Japanese hip-hop crew Romancrew, then the voices of the animals will sound familiar enough. You’ll be able to get one of your own for about $25 each, or 1,980 yen. They’re available right now in the Appare Store, if you’re trying to find ways to make sure that you save energy every way that you can.

[via OhGizmo!]

Sure, you won’t find any advanced technology in these things, but they certainly look fun, don’t they? You might not be able to tell from the image of the “real” person right there, but the cartoon certainly does a good job of explaining just what these glasses, or perhaps goggles would be more appropriate, do. Just strap them to your head, right there where goggles/glasses should go, and you’ll immediately notice that the rubber is pulling on your “delicate” skin. Tightening it, even.

The idea, we imagine, is to keep your skin tight for long periods of time, so that way it’s not sagging all day long. We’re not exactly sure if a “skin doctor” would agree that this is the number one way to make sure that you don’t look like you’re getting older, but it’s probably cheaper than any other method, right? And hey, you get what you pay for.

[via DVICE]

If I wasn’t afraid, I would lose an eye one day I would get her some of the gadget shaped rubber band bracelets. The things are shaped like mobile phones, MP3 players, tablets, notebooks, digital cameras and what appears to be a portable speaker system.

Considering she is growing up to be a girl geek, these would be great for her. They come in 24-packs and will set you back $5.99. Just don’t blame me if you get shot in the eye with one of these things.

This new Magnetic Thinking Putty reminds me a lot of Silly Putty only its magnetic and all. You can stretch, bounce, and shape this magnetic putty, but it gets even more fun when you bring a magnet around it.

The maker says that millions of tiny micro sized magnets are inside he putty and when you use the super-strong neodymium magnet included with the putty you can control the putty making it stretch. The putty can even be magnetically charged and pick things up itself. The putty is sold out right now, but when it’s back in stock you can get it for $13.50.

Video demo after the cut

Well, we say Gear Diary tested it; Judie didn’t actually chase around the laser on her hands and knees.  Instead she left it to gadget-testing cat Avah, who – judging by the video below – seems to enjoy the randomly-flicking dot.

Controls on the BOLT are straightforward, with a power button in the base that flips between automatic mode (for hands-free use, with the device stood upright like a bowling pin) and manual mode (where you can guide the pointer yourself, or conduct a bizarre PowerPoint presentation to a cat audience) together with a slider to adjust the flicking mirror inside.  Best of all is the price; at just $19.95 it’s hardly more expensive than a cheap laser pointer.

Video demo of the Tapescape robot after the cut

The concept is simple: the magnetic head from an old boombox is mounted on the front of the robot, and is used to track a strip of tape that has been stuck down to the floor or table (the “scape of tape”).  What makes the Tapescape robot particularly endearing, however, is the fact that it’s mostly constructed from what was salvaged from the boombox, with the addition of a few servos and an XBee module.

Audio is transmitted to a nearby radio via an FM transmitter, though you could presumably mount a small amp and speaker onto the robot for standalone use.  Next up for the project is wiring in the XBee module for wireless control of the tape player buttons.

Similar to punching a pillow when your angry, the traditional stress ball allows you to squeeze, slam and otherwise abuse it in whatever way you choose in order to somehow get rid of the stress your feeling. This oddly shaped stress toy allows you to virtually take your stress out on your computer screen. Go ahead and put a picture of your boss on the screen and give him a good squeeze.

Not only does this work on photos but any other work you are doing at the time. Photoshopping a difficult picture, take your anger out without actually destroying any of your work, just don’t get carried away and break it. You may need a traditional stress ball for now as we are not able to get a price or even general release date for this little gadget.

According to WowWee, the ball is able to be controlled, ad-hoc, from any Wi-Fi enabled device you have sitting around and, when configured properly, can be controlled over the internet.  From there, you’re set to snap photos and capture video of your unsuspecting targets without them ever knowing – that is, unless they notice the strange looking ball on the floor.

The WowWee Spyball will cost around $149.99 and is set to drop sometime this Fall.  Until then, you’ll just have to spy the old fashioned way.

As mentioned, this toy takes “Duck Hunt” out of the video game world and attempts to bring it to life using a radio-controlled duck and a plastic gun.  We’re unsure of what exactly the gun shoots, but we’re guessing due to the “safe and fun” tag on the box that it doesn’t shoot anything particularly dangerous.

Duck Hunter’s pricing and release date are unknown at this point.  We’ll fill you in when more information becomes available.

[via I4U News]

Yes, you heard me right. A robotic plant. How can a plant be robotic, you must be wondering? Well, it nods at you. So, when you speak toward the plant, it nods back at you as though in agreement. That’s it. That’s all it does.

When I saw this, I guess I had hopes it would do a little something more than nod. But when the tag line for the product is, “When you need someone who just listens to you,” I guess I shouldn’t have expected much more. You can get your own robotic plant for about $23.

[via Gizmodo]