2005: One of the factors inhibiting the mass adoption of zoom lenses in mobile phones is the size and cost of a mechanical zoom. Though Sony, Panasonic, Canon, Casio et al continue to astound us with their ability to further reduce the size of their products, the next major breakthrough in zoom lens miniaturisation will be electrowetting , a technology that enables multiple liquid lenses to combine into a zoom lens, offering significant reductions in size, cost, weight and power consumption.  Read More

It’s no secret that pets are beneficial to our general well-being with two thirds of all homes keeping a pet and research showing that children who have pets are more self-reliant, more sociable and less selfish than children without pets, that adults with pets have less stress and heart-related illness and that elderly with pets are more active and outgoing. Think pets and you tend to think of dogs (39% of US households have a dog) or cats (33%) but a new innovation might see chickens considered as ideal family pets in the future. Launched last year, the UKP365 (US$700) Eglu is the brainchild of four British Royal College of Art graduates and in its short time on the market has significantly improved the popularity of the chicken as a pet, at the same time as promoting a self-sustainability concept to families throughout the UK. Accordingly, the Eglu offers a taste of the good life for all, particularly if you’re a chicken.  Read More

Sega Toys has released the iDog, a companion speaker/pet for the Apple iPod that will also work with any audio player, though it is unashamedly aimed at the Apple iPod user with packaging, look and feel all, well, sorta iPoddy. The iDog’s reason for being is basically as a companion in that it takes headphone music from an MP3 player and plays it out loud, and at the same time as dancing and seeking playful interaction – the ideal companion for children, and geeks who spend too much time living in the space between their ears with music as their only companion. The companion robot will play a major role in society’s future and at US$89, this is quite possibly the cheapest companion robot available on the market at this time, narrowly pipping the Robosapien at US99.  Read More

With four races completed in the 2005 World Superbike Championships, the good news is that the race that was known by many as the Ducati Cup over the last few seasons is now a thriving series once more with six competitive manufacturers fielding two three and four cylinder machinery – the bad news is that the podium for 2005 may be dominated by Suzuki as much as it was by Ducati in 2004. From a possible 180 points so far, Suzuki has scored 176 points – and although the prospects for Yamaha, Honda and Ducati look brighter as the year progresses, 1996 Superbike champion Troy Corser looks already like the 2005 champion.  Read More

Ladders are useful in a myriad of places though they are clumsy difficult items to store and carry. Accordingly, we think the Xtend & Climb telescoping ladder is a very simple, very good idea. It compacts and stores in a bag that is a very manageable 30 inches (76 cm) by 19 inches (48 cm) by 3 inches (7.5 cm) and 25 pounds (11.3 kg) then miraculously transforms to a stable 12.5 feet (3.8 metre) ladder with a duty rating of 225 pounds (100 kilograms). Accordingly, it’s a perfect ladder for the apartment, condo, motor home or shop.  Read More

In cooperation with the Swiss watchmaker IWC Schaffhausen, Mercedes-AMG has developed an exclusive model known as the CLS 55 AMG “IWC Ingenieur”. Only 55 units of the unique four-door coupe will be produced. The car has a powerful AMG 5.5-litre supercharged V8 engine and boasts exclusive equipment details. The design of the newly designed AMG instrument cluster is based on the new “Ingenieur” watch family from IWC, which is making its world debut at the Geneva watch show in April 2005. The 55 units of the CLS 55 AMG “IWC Ingenieur” will each be customised at AMG in Affalterbach, Germany, and the first deliveries will be made in autumn 2005.  Read More

Sealegs International today announced that it has developed a new all-terrain version of its amphibious marine craft. The new 5.6m Sealegs All Terrain Amphibious Craft (ATAC) can carry a payload of 500kg (6 adults) on land and sea will sell for US$65,000. The Sealegs ATAC has a top speed of 10kmh on land but is far more capable as a water-going amphibian. Once driven into the water, the Sealegs ATAC hydraulically retracts its wheels to allow speeds of up to 60kmh. Later this year Sealegs will make an attempt on the world record for the fastest crossing of the English Channel by an amphibious vehicle. Gizmag has covered a wide range of amphibious vehicles in recent times, including the original launch of Sealegs, the Gibbs Aquada Sportcar, the Gibbs Humdinga 4WD amphibian, the Platypus 4WD amphibian, the Rinspeed Splash, the Phibicat and the Amphicar.  Read More

General Motors and the U.S. Army yesterday announced they are partnering to introduce the world's first fuel cell-powered truck into U.S. military service. The U.S. Army took delivery of the crew cab pickup at the GM research facility outside of Rochester, NY, where the vehicle's two fuel cell power modules were made. Marking the occasion was Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who was instrumental in securing the funds in the 2005 Department of Defense appropriations on behalf of GM's experimental truck.  Read More

TOKYO – April 5, 2005 – It seems like once a month that we write about the promise of a radical new digital storage medium. Accordingly, it’s ironic that Hitachi Global Storage Technologies has announced new advancements to a century-old magnetic recording technology that will set the stage for ultra-high capacities such as a 20-gigabyte Microdrive or a one terabyte 3.5-inch hard drive. To achieve this, Hitachi has demonstrated the industry's highest data density at 230 gigabits per square inch (Gb/in2) on perpendicular recording. Hitachi believes 230 Gb/in2, which represents a doubling of today's highest longitudinal recording densities, will be implemented in commercial hard drive products in 2007. When fully realised over the next 5-7 years, perpendicular recording could enable a 10-fold increase in data densities over longitudinal recording, paving the way for new heights in capacity such as a 60 GB one-inch drive.  Read More