A Swiss pilot has become the first person to cross the English Channel using a jet-pack. Yves Rossy – who goes by the name Fusion Man – leapt from a plane with four kerosene-burning jet turbines mounted on a wing on his back, twisting his head and back to change direction while moving at up to 120mph. It took thirteen minutes to cross the 22 miles between the UK and France.
Video of the jet-pack attempt after the cut
There’s nothing more annoying when driving than coming to a complete stop at a red light only to have it change one second later. Well, besides road rage, that is. But anyway, now Audi is looking to remedy the problem with a new system called Travolution.
If you need a new GPS system or simply like to stay current with these things, two new Blaupunkt navigation systems are coming next month. The TravelPilot 500 and 700 will have interactive voice controls among other new features.
Both models will have Bluetooth and interactive voice controls, while just the 700 will have Internet access. One thing that sets these devices apart from others on the market is the real-time video navigation and traffic sign recognition. With a video camera on the back, these TravelPilot models take in live footage of the upcoming road. This is meant to make looking at the GPS map more safe because it is overlaid on an actual, real-time image of the road in front of you. It can also tell you if you’re going over the speed limit.
If you’re traveling, it can be very frustrating to constantly have to worry about how you’ll charge up your gadgets. Laptop batteries drain, cell phones die and iPods go kaput. The only real answer is if you could carry around an electrical outlet with you at all times. Then your gizmos would stay charged. Lucky for you, that’s exactly what the Take Anywhere Electrical Power Source is meant to do.
Back in May frequent travellers were promised speedier security queues as the TSA confirmed it was going ahead with proposals to allow X-ray-friendly hand luggage; now named QuickCheck, the system is basically a set of guidelines that state a laptop in a qualifying bag must show up in an X-ray image as clearly as if simply placed in a standard bin. One of the first manufacturers to show off their QuickCheck luggage is Mobile Edge, with three new travel bags.
If you’re stuck toting around a lot of luggage then you know it can get tiring after a while. Especially for those that aren’t supposed to lift above a certain weight due to health concerns.
If you’re still on the lookout for a solar bag of some sort, this new backpack is perfect for gadget lovers. It features several different pockets that would be great for organizing your smaller gadgets.
Sat-Nav specialists AvMap have announced their latest standalone GPS, the Geosat 6 Drive Safe, which can not only guide you but chide you if you’ve drunk too much. Fitted with an alcohol sensor, users simply blow onto the device to get a reading and advice as to whether they’re safe to drive or not. Input is all courtesy of the 4.8-inch wide-aspect touchscreen, with spoken guidance prompts and Bluetooth for using the Geosat 6 as a mobile phone hands-free.
Being something of a geek, I actually quite enjoy checking out what notebooks people are unpacking when waiting to go through airport security. However, I’d happily trade that for a quicker check-in, so hearing that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are working with laptop bag manufacturers including Targus and Scooba Design to create X-ray friendly carry-cases is, in today’s security-obsessed times, welcome news. The new bags would exempt owners from needing to unsheathe their notebooks when going through airport screening, and would have be free of image obscuring padding, straps or electronics.
I just received a detailed itinerary for the HTC London press event on Tuesday May 6, 2008. I arrive in London at 8:45 AM, registration starts at 11:00 AM and the HTC press event kicks off at 11:30AM. I have a briefing with HTC CIO, Horace Luke at 3:30 to 4:00 PM. There’s a cocktail event with HTC’s CEO Peter Chou at 5:00 PM and dinner at 7:30 PM. HTC’s Chief Designer will be attending so looks like I’ll have an opportunity to pick his brain on HTC’s next wave of innovation. Make sure to stay follow the event in real time via http://live.phonemag.com.
HTC isn’t releasing what the press event will entail, but if what’s been rumored over the past weeks are indeed true, then we will witness the birth of the HTC Diamond, HTC Touch Pro and perhaps Mr. Chou will dazzle us with the highly anticipated Android-powered Dream phone.
SlashGear Japan
