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Gadgettes 100: The 100th Episode!

One hundred action packed episodes of Gadgettes! We recap the history of our segments in this week's episode. And who's that special guest knocking at the door? Listen and find out! Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 100

PinkWatch Sanyo Xacti DMX-HD800 camcorder offers palm-size HD shooting for $468 http://dvice.com/archives/2008/07/sanyo_xacti_dmx.php

Samsung thinks patronizing women will get us into tech; Engadget agrees http://www.popgadget.net/2008/07/samsung_thinks.php

Hot Asian Gadget Audio slave: Gadget nut turns Pikachu into a ‘musical’ instrument http://dvice.com/archives/2008/07/audio_slave_gad.php … Read more

USB pendant made of wood (yawn)

We're not exactly sure if this qualifies as part of the gadget jewelry trend, but it's probably the closest that Hong Kong-based Brando will ever get. (This, you'll recall, is the outfit responsible for the massaging mouse and a pig-shaped USB card reader.)

Yet valiently they try, in the form of a 2GB wooden USB memory strap that's apparently meant to be worn around the neck. Yeah, pretty ugly. Some unsolicited advice for the company: Stick to the stuff you know, like the mouse hand warmer.

A video player as jewelry, sort of

It's a funny thing: Jewelry that pays homage to technology can work just fine, but it seems to make less sense when it actually functions. Why, for example, would one need to carry a computer peripheral around one's neck?

Case in point: The oval-shaped video MP3 player from X-Micro, which is designed to be worn as a pendant. As Chip Chick rightly points out, watching videos chained to the neck doesn't seem like an optimum viewing experience, especially on a screen that's so small. Nor does it look quite like anything under glass at Tiffany's.… Read more

Now, Swarovski lays claim to the Walkman

Say it ain't so, Sony. The standard bearer for decades in defining good taste in consumer electronics has gone Swarovski on us.

It's hardly the first design leader to fall under the garish crystalline spell. First Philips, then the iPhone and now Sony's E-Series MP3 players have fallen victim to the trend with its "Walkman Abiste" model. As if that weren't bad enough, Digital World Tokyo says the Swarovski-studded stick players will be available in blue, gold, pink and violet, as well as black, when they're released in September on the Japanese market.… Read more