Honda Throws Party for ASIMO’s 10th Birthday!

If Geppetto is for Pinocchio, then Honda is for ASIMO – the robot boy they have created which has captured the world’s amazement for a decade now. ASIMO is now celebrating his 10^th birthday and just like any sense of fairytale; somehow people who loved this robot can wish him to become a real boy. We’ll just wait for a fairy to drop by.

But seriously on his birthday, let us take a look on what ASIMO has accomplished over the years according to Telegraph.

“ASIMO was created 10 years ago as part of Honda's program of research and development into robotics and human mobility. After 10 years of innovation and development, it can now run and walk on uneven slopes and surfaces, climb stairs, and reach for and grasp objects. ASIMO can also comprehend and respond to simple voice commands, recognize faces and even avoid moving obstacles as it runs.”

ASIMO is moving on to the next level and that involved the fine tuning of his artificial intelligence (AI). Hopefully, this includes having the robot to care for the elderly and the disabled and having the ability that weak-bodied humans cannot do.

Photo credits: ASIMO Anniversary Site via Gizmodo

Built-in SIM Card for Phones – Apple’s Development for iPhones

What do you think if a phone manufacturer will provide you with a SIM card exclusive to the phones they produce? This will surely give you more phone exclusive capabilities as far as purchasing is concerned which will cut out carriers. According to a GigaOM report, Apple is working on creating such iPhone exclusive SIM card!

According to Brian Barrett of Gizmodo, The plans reported by GigaOM involve the European market only, and would mean that customers could change carriers without having to change SIMs, and complete the entire purchasing process through Apple's website or retail stores. That would be effective overseas because the iPhone is offered by a multitude of carriers all operating on networks that use the same tech. In the US, the iPhone is an AT&T exclusive and incompatible with CDMA carriers.

But while the domestic implications of a baked-in SIM are few right now, one can imagine a future where they're quite powerful. The transition to 4G looks like it will be dominated by LTE, at which point one device would be compatible with all carriers. And AT&T's sweetheart deal looks all but expired. It may not be soon, but eventually an iPhone SIM would be just what Apple needs to circumvent carriers for hardware sales in the US. Just like they did with app sales.

Photo credit: GigaOM via Gizmodo

iPhone 4 Recharges Comfortably with Powermat Charger

If you think that the plug in phone chargers are already out then it is time for you to change your lifestyle to inductive charging mode. Cut off the crazy wires and cables and just charge your phones by laying it comfortably in a mat! Thanks to Powermat that this has become possible. This charging pad is already available for iPhone 4 with and accompanying case.

Wirelessly, this charger can recharge your iPhone 4 battery as seen on TV ads. Versions for other phones such as Droid X, EVO, Bold 9700Blackberry Curve 8500, and 9300 are on their way in the market.

Photo credit: Powermat via Gizmodo

Sony Cassette Walkman Killed on iPod’s Anniversary

For 3 decades that Sony has made the cassette Walkman a popular gadget icon, the company has finally announced the final demise of the portable cassette player. This means that they will stop manufacturing and selling the player right on the date when iPod celebrates its 9^th birthday.

Stereo has become more portable with the birth of the Sony Walkman on July 1, 1979 in Japan making it a major breakthrough in the market. Though it was just a month-long hit because of media continuously panning it, Sony continued to push targeting younger markets by advertising it having young popstars. The efforts that year had good results and the sales grew ten times. For over 30 years, Sony has sold 200 units of the first Walkman and it has even become a known product in the world.

On October 31, 2001, iPod was born. And just like the walkman, it has also received lesser acceptance at first but then with continuous push, it eventually gained popularity which phased out the idea of portable music players such as Walkman. The cassette Walkman is not actually beaten by the iPod but the CD Walkman also from Sony. But in this case that iPod now prevails; it seemed that Sony has missed the assignment of having the desktop software to give people a portable experience in music play for which iPods are made of.

Photo credit: Crunchgear (Walkman); Gizmodo (iPod)

Protect Your iPhone4 with Metal Back Casing

Compared with the other models of iPhone who have fragile glass, this new iPhone 4’s backing made of glass is even more delicate. But there is always a solution to that without making your phone bulky with protective housings – a metal back cover.

Damaging your iPhone in case of accidental drops can become costly with repairs and sometimes it can be irreparable. So in order to avoid this to happen, all you have to invest in addition is $12 for a durable back metal casing. You can actually find so many of this beveled back metal case but there are also stores and blogs such as Unplggd where you can get something cheaper in price.

The metal back casing for iPhone4 is easy to install. All you have to do is to make some few screws and unscrewing and it is done. After having it, your iPhone is now protected against accidents without adding to much bulk on it.

Photo credit: Unplggd via Gizmodo

Online Test Drive a Mitsubishi at Home – Starting November 1

Test driving cars have already come to the next level – even actually doing it at home via the Internet. Yes, this program by Mitsubishi is totally amazing that you can have the ability to control a 2011 Outlander Sport by simply enrolling in a course where you can test drive car online without actually riding on it.

With this course, you will be able to steer the car, drive as if it is already yours, and maybe crash it if you can pay for the car itself. Experiencing this kind of test driving a car will let you use touch screen navigation. Having this as convenient as possible, there is no reason that you would not want to try this program.

Mitsubishi’s driverless test drive program will run from November 1 to November 10. You can start signing up for a slot now.

Video credit: Mitsubishi

New iPhone Ringtones Secret

If you are fond of discovering iPhone secrets then here is one video that will let you get new ringtones without using any computer to download. Once you did what the video is actually telling, these iPhone ringtones are yours to have for free.

Though we have the chance to get these ringtones, they can only be used for rings during calls but not as SMS alerts. We just hope that someday Apply will let us use downloaded tones or tunes for text alerts.

Video credit: DreRandom via YouTube