[Via Wired]

All work and no play makes Robosapien a dull bot. All work and no play makes Robosapien a dull bot. All work and n0 play makes R0b0sapien a dull bot. All w0rk and no play makes R0101ap1en a dull b0t. A11 w0rk a1d n0 play m01es R0101ap1en a dull b0t. A11 101k 11d n0 p10y m01es R010101e0 a d011 b0t. 011 1011 11d n0 p10y m011s 0010101e0 a d011 b0t. 011 1011 110 10 p10y 1011s 0010101e0 1 d011 b0t. 011 1011 110 10 1100 10110 001010110 1 1011 001.

Okay, so we're trying not to judge this book by its cover, but Taijia's PSP-860S just reeks of chintzy. The handheld gaming PMP not only plays back the elusive MP4 file format, but it also snaps presumably lackluster still shots with its 2-megapixel camera. You'll also find 1GB / 2GB of built-in RAM, a USB port, AV in / out, miniSD expansion slot and some form of emulation application. If you're not dozing by now, you may actually care that it'll only run you 399 yuan ($59) / 499 yuan ($73).

[Via PMP Today]

Not that mad scientists haven't figured out a way to convert waste heat into energy, but a team from Ohio State University has developed a new material that does the same sort of thing... just way, way better. The new material goes by the name thallium-doped lead telluride, and at least in theory, it could actually convert exhaust heat from vehicles into electricity. According to a new report about to hit the journal Science, the material packs "twice the efficiency of anything currently on the market," though it still seems as if it's a good ways out from being ready for commercial applications. Nanotechnology geeks -- you've got a real treat waiting in the read link.

[Via CNET]

Let's face it: you don't have nearly enough game controllers and accessories adding to the spaghetti that is your entertainment center. This USB M.A.D. Game Pad gives you the option to remove a little steering wheel for those moments when you're not driving about. Compatible with Windows Vista, XP, and 2000, this Brando product is available for $20. So, why? Apparently this thing is meant for the gamer on the move -- it's small and light, measuring only 4 x 2.5-inches and weighing in at a dainty 3-ounces. As for the size of the steering wheel? It's tiny. Really tiny. For tiny people with tiny fingers. Can you feel the love?

VOIP provider Vonage is doing a bit of reshuffling at the top, while putting the finishing touches on a $215 million infusion of cash from Silver Point Finance LLC. Dry enough? Perhaps, but we're sure Jeffery Citron, CEO and current interim chief executive of the recently embattled company will be pleased to get the helping hand. Citron is currently preparing for a swap of duties as well, taking a step back from the day-to-day -- which will probably provide a welcome respite from the flurry of legal hits the provider has taken. Enjoy your vacation, Jeff.

According to the oracle-like superbrains at J. Gold Associates, Google's Android OS and Nokia's Symbian will "combine to provide a single open source OS," sometime in the very near future... say, three to six months. Sure, Android is just about to launch on devices in late 2008, and Nokia just announced in June that it will be moving Symbian towards open source -- and of course the two companies have no formal relationship that would come close to permitting such a collaboration. Still, J. Gold assures us this is happening, stating, "A combination of the Android and Symbian efforts would be good for the industry, good for Google and good for Symbian." In related news, we understand a handful of similar mergers are in the offing: Linksys and Belkin, Red Hat and Ubuntu, Engadget and Gizmodo, and the inevitable one-two punch of Coke and Pepsi.

Poor xTablet. First it's used as a hammer and now it's submerged under water by an accented man in a wetsuit. In the latest test of the xTablet T8700, the guys over at RuggedPCReview swam gingerly with the machine all the while tapping away at its screen, amazed that it continued to work, submerged and "without bubbles." The Jacque Cousteau-like narration had us hoping that a shark (or even a furtive sea turtle) would come along to make things a bit more exciting, but all we saw was some creepy whispering, scuba gear, and uncomfortable silence. We mean no harm to the diver, we just felt as though something really, really bad was about to happen. Video after the break.

In a move which at best could be described as unsurprising, Yahoo! has announced that it's taking its Music Store DRM license key servers offline come September 30th... and freezing customers from ever registering their music with another computer. Ever. Like a twin-sister rehash of Microsoft's PlaysForSure / MSN Music DRM debacle, this moves ensures that the only way you can take your tracks with you will be the (suggested!) technique of burning the songs to CD then ripping them back to your PC -- thus ensuring the absolute worst possible quality. Normally, we'd expect to see a massive backlash over a move like this, but given the near-insignificant nature of the Yahoo! Music Store, it may not be the firestorm Microsoft got itself into. Regardless of the outcry, this is a terrific reminder of the failure of DRM in general, and a slap in the face to the people who actually went to the trouble of buying their music in the first place.

[Via Techdirt]

Taiwanese industry and rumor site DigiTimes is reporting (without citing a source) that ASUS expects to deliver "whole-day" battery options to its Eee PC range of netbooks. In addition, ASUS also plans to offer some level of Internet storage, apparently beyond the 20GB they already offer to new Eee PC 901 and 1000 owners -- a move that we hope will become a trend amongst netbook providers in order to offset the miniscule flash drives found inside the lowest of the low-cost, mini laptops. Both changes are expected before the year is up. Incredibly, ASUS also plans to push out new software and hardware upgrades every month to "fill gaps in the netbook market." Funny, we didn't think any gaps remained in this over-saturated niche.

If you're scouting the strange, the weird and the weirder, you'll find plenty to get absorbed in over at the research facilities of NTT DoCoMo. The Japanese giant is at it once more, but this time the invention is actually somewhat down to Earth. It's mission? To create a method for easily controlling a music interface (on a PMP or cellphone) with just your eyes. By rolling one's eyes and jerking them from side to side, the outfit is hoping to have the corresponding music player change tracks and get louder / softer. If you're not exactly keen with freaking out fellow citizens on the street with completely erratic eye movements, you may also appreciate a similar technology it's working up which can detect a user's finger tapping to achieve to same goal. Of course, said technology would be halfway useless on the smash hit-packed ZVUE Journey (no way you're bypassing any of those tracks, son), but we guess you could check out your toes every now and then to keep from constantly staying at 11.

[Via ShinyShiny]

Your morning iPhone news fix: looks like Apple's seeded a beta of firmware 2.1 (not to be confused with the supposed 2.0.1 that will fix the myriad bugs and issues with 2.0), which may have some new GPS features that would imply turn-by-turn directions. No argument from us if Apple really is including new Core Location hooks for tracking your direction and speed, which would both be needed for doing proper GPS navigation.

Another bit which may or may not make it into 2.1 is copy/paste. We're still both hopeful and skeptical, but supposedly in the new version of the WebKit framework exists commands for "plugins," "copy," "paste," "cut," and some others. We can't confirm if these really exist (and if they do, we don't know how they've actually been there, or if they're simply holdovers from the desktop WebKit frameworks), so don't hold your breath. Also supposedly making its first appearance in the 2.1 beta code: Apple's push notification service.

Oh, and by the way, if all this has whet your appetite for the device, sounds like today will be a bad day to try and snag one. Apple's retail site shows absolutely zero iPhone availability in the US, so if you're jonesing then check out eBay or the seedy looking dude on the corner with the overstuffed trenchcoat.

Update: Looks like the stores have been updated in the last hour, many have stock. Game on!

[Thanks to Cameron and everyone who sent these in]

Read - Apple all out of stock
Read - New GPS features seeded?
Read - 2.1 getting background push?

Chinavasion isn't known for offering up cutting-edge gadgetry -- far from it, to be honest -- but the MP4 player known only as the CVSJ-1304-4GB is actually fairly notable. According to the dodgy specifications, the $39.55 device checks in at just 4.5-millimeters thick, which is certainly thinner than the other so-called "world's thinnest" DAP. Of course, this may only be true due to the "MP4" moniker, seeing as most units not created and sold exclusively in China are called "MP3" players. Semantics aside, the unit also includes a 1.8-inch display with a 160 x 128 resolution, a curious 2.5-millimeter headphone jack, a USB 2.0 port and a rechargeable battery. So, do any of you have a competitor that's a hair thinner? Our hunch is yes.

[Via PMP Today]

Tired of waiting for scientists to crack the secrets of levitation in order to purchase a bona fide hoverboard? Look, life's short -- why not take matters into your own hands? A genuine wooden Mattel hoverboard used by Michael J. Fox (or Marty McFly, as we prefer to call him) in Back to the Future II and III is up for auction, though the barrier to entry is rather substantial. Of course, this is considered the "best example of all wood hoverboards to have survived the rigors of filming," but whether or not it's worth the $30,000+ asking price is entirely up to you.

[Via CrunchGear]

Brace yourselves, dear readers. The item we're about to explain just might be is most certainly the best thing to ever happen to the digital audio player market. ZVUE's 1GB pre-loaded Journey MP3 player not only reeks of the early '80s in design alone, but this thing actually arrives with 22 Journey tracks loaded on (11 new joints, 11 of your childhood favorites). It's like buying Journey's greatest hits and getting a DAP for free -- go on, be good to yourself, it's only $39.88. Jump past the break if you need some encouragement / discouragement.

[Via AnythingButiPod, thanks Dula]