Filed under: Portable Audio

LeapFrog is moving on up the chain, and hitting 3rd through 8th graders with a new study aid, the Crammer Study and Sound System. Crammer works basically as a replacement for those annoyingly handwritten index cards, allowing you to enter data for each side of virtual “cards” and run through them on the 2.5-inch grayscale screen. You can also download study aids for a myriad of subjects, or use the included language tools to automatically translate and pronounce words for study. The built-in music playback is pretty straightforward, and lets kids relax with some songs or listen while they study. We spotted a prototype at the 2008 Toy Fair, and while it wasn’t a functional unit, we got to see the iriver clix-style four-way screen clicking controls, which seem friendly enough. Crammer will be out Fall 2008 for $60, and includes 1GB of built-in flash memory.

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Filed under: Cellphones

We’ve gotten a flood of tips that the notoriously miserly Verizon is lining things up to offer unlimited calling plans. Starting Tuesday the 19th (of this month) should see the following plans sprout up:

• $100 – Nationwide Unlimited (voice)
• $120 – Nationwide Select Unlimited (voice, SMS, MMS)
• $140 – Nationwide Premium (voice, SMS, MMS, VZNav, VCAST, email)
• $150 – Nationwide Email and Messaging (voice, SMS, MMS, and data)
• $170 – Nationwide Global Email and Messaging (voice, SMS, MMS, and international data)
• $200 – Family plan with two lines, $100 per additional line.

That’s not all though. There are even more perks and benefits in store for premium-paying unlimited users:

• 5GB cap on data is out
• No contract extension for current customers
• Available on one or two year agreements
• All plans include Mobile Web 2.0 portal access (skip it)
• No roaming or long distance

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Filed under: Robots

Famed technologist and futurist Ray Kurzweil is on the record about human-machine intelligence parity: it’s going down by 2029, so be prepared to get digital on entirely new levels. Apparently, machines “will have both the hardware and the software to achieve human level artificial intelligence” by then, but even if it’s not in the form of meatbag-terminating cyborgs, Kurzweil thinks one future of intelligent machines is on the nano scale, with interfaces to enhance our own physiology and intelligence. Oh sure, this stuff is completely pie in the sky — but it’s still absurdly fun to think of what kinds of crazy crap the 21st century’s going to hold.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Interactive nightclubs aren’t entirely unheard of, but we’ll be sure to relieve ourselves just before prancing into any party scene with these displays on the lavatory doors. The small LED Matrix displays can be mounted on both male and female doors, and the image shown can be switched as folks enter and leave. Needless to say, such a setup caused quite a bit of hilariousness / confusion when caught on candid camera, so be sure and take a peek for yourself after the break.

[Via Halfmachine]

Continue reading LED displays keep folks guessing at nightclub bathrooms

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Following a so-called “insider’s release” last year that targeted early adopters with beta software running on final-spec hardware, Chumby has finally completed and rolled out a somewhat massive firmware update for the plush lil’ buggers that adds significant functionality — significant enough, in fact, that they’re now being sold disclaimer-free to all comers. Besides a long, what’s-what list of bug fixes, the real draw in the new firmware is fairly comprehensive support for a variety of internet radio services, a feature that previous builds technically supported but had no user interface for (they are Linux-based, after all, and totally hackable). So yeah, if a cute touchscreen with an open-source platform, Flash player, and integrated speakers is just what the doctor ordered, you can pick one up now without the worry of pre-release software getting in your way for $179.95 in black, white, or “latte.”

[Thanks, Kurt]

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