mint

The same people who brought you Olly the smelly robot have taken the next logical step into creating miniature 3D cardboard avatars. Yep, I said "huh?" when I heard that, too.

But "huh?" isn't a bad thing. Mint Digital's Foldable.Me is an online design tool that lets you customize your blocky little avatar. Next, you pay $11.99 and your little friend shows up in the mail a few days later. The avatar comes flat for you to fold into shape.… Read more

Following up on last year's popular launch of official "Star Wars" currency, the New Zealand Mint revealed a new set of coins featuring Queen Amidala, Yoda, Darth Maul, and Anakin from the epic sci-fi prequel trilogy.

The colorful 1.6-inch diameter coins work as $2 legal tender on the tiny South Pacific island country of Niue and individually contain one ounce of .999 silver. A ripple in the Force indicates that few people would probably actually spend these collectors' items, and if they do, they may get clubbed over the head by Yoda's cane. … Read more

Is Roomba going square?

Besides celebrating the vac-bot's tenth birthday today, iRobot announced that it's buying Evolution Robotics, whose sleek, four-sided Mint droid cleans hard surfaces with disposable cloths.

The $74 million deal brings the compact, lightweight Mint into the iRobot fold, giving the vacubot maker another product to tackle floors that aren't carpeted.

The scrubber was a potential rival to iRobot's Scooba robot. Now iRobot will get Evolution's know-how in sensing, navigation, and artificial intelligence, built up over 10 years.

"It's more about growing our capabilities -- both product line and long-term … Read more

Trying to stick within your budget is no easy task when you're guessing at your balance. Mint.com's free personal finance service and companion mobile apps change that.

After giving Mint.com access to your bank, credit card, and investment accounts, the password-protected Mint.com app can monitor your accounts, your budget, and even your cash flow. The app presents your money matters in summary form, with the capability to drill down to the item level of a purchase. Follow the trail to the end to edit an item's transaction details or jot down notes or tags. … Read more

It appears that Samsung is not the only handset manufacturer tied to a big IFA announcement next month.

Now we're getting word of a possible new Sony smartphone called the Mint. But these are more than just blurry rumor shots; tech blog Mobile Review has published a full analysis of the device replete with dozens of photos and screen shots.

Listed with a LT30p model number, the Mint reportedly features a number of high-end specifications, including a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor and 4.3-inch HD display. Other key hardware details include 1GB RAM, a 13-megapixel rear camera, front-facing … Read more

Canadian money authorities just can't sit still. Like a hyperactive kid, they have revamped Canadian cash, first introducing plastic bills and then killing the penny. Now they want people to play with glow-in-the-dark quarters.

The Royal Canadian Mint's latest collectible coin features a dinosaur whose skeleton shines at night from beneath its scaly hide.

It's actually two images on one face, which could be a world's first. The other side depicts Queen Elizabeth. Her Majesty does not glow in the dark. … Read more

Mint Market is a mobile marketplace for preowned goods in mint or near-mint condition. Much like Craigslist, it covers everything from clothing to furniture to auto parts to event tickets, but what makes it uniquely useful, is that it focuses only on new or like-new products.

The first thing that struck me about Mint Market was its interface. While it may not be the most user-friendly thing in the world, it's certainly visually attractive. The Home screen features a long, vertical stream of listings, with each item displaying a large photo, name, and price. This layout makes it easy … Read more

We already met Olly, a Web-connected robot from Mint Digital that emits odors according to social-media alerts. Well, meet Olly's cousin Molly, also a generous social-media bot.

Instead of doling out smells, however, she hands out candy when you reach a set number of retweets. It's the sweet tweet life.

Think of it as having your own personal Pavlovian experiment. Molly will encourage you to create ever-more-interesting tweets to get your candy faster. … Read more