Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Consider yourselves fortunate. You’ve had well over two whole months without an episode of Crapgadget, but today, that grace period ends. The most recent laughable load includes an absolutely vile wristwatch that supposedly plays MP3s / MP4s if you can manage to glance away from the bezel and band. Furthermore, we’ve got a TV tuner and webcam — in one — alongside a way-too-expensive WiFi sniffing pen that doesn’t do 802.11n. Bringing up the rear is Connectland’s 180° X2 Revolving USB Hub, which clearly raises the bar in USB hub design stupidity. Per usual, we’re begging for your vote on the crappiest below, but we’ll understand if you just can’t bear the thought of spending another moment thinking about these pitiful creations.

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Filed under: Cellphones

Heads up, affluent sect. The immensely pricey Professional 105 line is expanding, as two new members slip in to tempt your stuffed wallet. Mobiado’s Professional 105 EM is available in Cocobolo and Ebony, and the frame is even constructed from anodized aluminum; you’ll also notice sapphire crystal buttons and a black finish. As for the Professional 105 GCB, it’s layered with a 5-micron thick 24-karat gold plating and jazzed up with a fancy logo ’round back. Both candybars feature quad-band GSM support, a measly 1GB of internal storage space and a ho hum 2-megapixel camera, but fret not, as it’ll (very likely) be the most expensive lackluster cellphone you’ll ever pay for.

[Via UnwiredView]

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

We’ll spare you our feelings on just how cheesy this thing looks, as we’re fairly certain you can judge that for yourself. Those with no shame and an unrequited love for all things gold, however, may actually find this one quite appealing. Cooper’s Amber F1 purportedly features a 2.8-inch widescreen LCD, support for RMVB, AVI and FLV formats, a built-in equalizer, SRS WOW technology, a bundled case and an obligatory set of gilded earbuds to ensure public humiliation. A price or release date wasn’t immediately apparent, but please don’t say you’re willing to dig around to find out. Please?

[Via PMPToday]

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Filed under: Transportation

We appreciate the effort, we really do, but we can’t see a new hue as being the adjustment that coaxes the world to stop laughing at the Segway i2. Nevertheless, those who have convinced themselves that they just have to have a two-wheeled transporter can now snatch one up in Metallic Sage. Of course, it’s not like anyone outside of the i2 owners circle will even notice the difference, but hey, we’ve heard that some seriously great relationships have come from within that exclusive sect. Sike.

[Via Gearlog]

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Death isn’t funny, but it’s often absurd. A man in Tulsa accidentally poisoned himself while using mercury to “extract gold from computer parts.” See, mercury can be used to dissolve gold from discarded PC boards. You then heat the runoff to evaporate the mercury. Guess what though, inhaling mercury is extremely toxic. So much so that the man is now dead and his residence must be gutted before its livable again. Look we know the value of the dollar ain’t what it used to be, but you’ll need a ton (literally) of old system boards to extract a single ounce of gold. Should you, however, stumble upon the Philosopher’s Stone in your quest — well, immortality solved.

[Via Switched]

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Death isn’t funny, but it’s often absurd. A man in Tulsa accidentally poisoned himself while using mercury to “extract gold from computer parts.” See, mercury can be used to dissolve gold from discarded PC boards. You then heat the runoff to evaporate the mercury. Guess what though, inhaling mercury is extremely toxic. So much so that the man is now dead and his residence must be gutted before its livable again. Look we know the value of the dollar ain’t what it used to be, but you’ll need a ton (literally) of old system boards to extract a single ounce of gold. Should you, however, stumble upon the Philosopher’s Stone in your quest — well, immortality solved.

[Via Switched]

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Despite Becks’ prior troubles with über-geeky car thieves, we’re fairly certain the LA Galaxy midfielder still has a soft spot in his heart for technology. And even if he doesn’t, we’re confident there’s a nook in there for precious metals. Reportedly, Mr. Beckham has been gifted with a gilded iPod touch (the top-end 32GB model, no less) by his English teammates after participating in his 100th appearance for the national club. Word on the street has it that the golden touch only set the squad back £600 ($1,188), which isn’t too shabby considering the £329 ($651) sticker on the vanilla version.

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Filed under: Portable Audio

Yeah, there’s a lot of good, civically-minded things you could do with your cash… but wouldn’t it be more fun to blow it on a 1GB iPod? If you’re dying to prove how little £20,000 (or around $40,000) means to you, here’s your chance. A jeweler named Thomas Heyerdahl has created an 18 karat, diamond studded, white and pink gold iPod shuffle, meant to be auctioned at a charity in London. We’ve seen an almost identical version which appeared to be selling just for the heck of it — at least this one seems to be going to good cause.

[Via Mobile Magazine]

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Unfortunately, Dr. Chunlei Guo of the University of Rochester hasn’t yet figured out how to turn scrap metals into gold, but he, along with Dr. Anatoliy Y. Vorobyev, has discovered how to colorize a variety of metals. By utilizing a “femtosecond laser processing technique,” the duo has crafted a method for turning even aluminum into aluminum with an impeccable gold finish. Furthermore, they’ve also been successful in turning tungsten dark blue, leaving reason to believe that nearly any metal could be altered to appear as a different color. Ah, just imagine what these folks could do with your MacBook Pro.

[Via The New York Times, thanks Jonathan]

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Filed under: Desktops

Most of the questionably-ostentatious gear we see is designed for use on the go — why else spark out your kit if not to blind your frenemies at the club? — but at some point even Diddy runs out of handhelds to ice up, which is where Japan’s Zeus Computer steps in. The company is offering two different glam desktops for your wallet’s delight: an ¥80,000,000 ($747,768) diamond-studded model, or (for cheapskates) a ¥60,000,000 ($560,826) gold version. Both offer a 3GHz E6850 Core 2 Duo on an Asus board with 2GB of RAM, a 256MB GeForce 8400GS, 1TB drive, Blu-ray + HD DVD combo drive, and Vista Ultimate — but that’s not at all what matters here, is it?

[Via F******gaijin, warning: sitename may be NSFW]

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Filed under: Gaming

Sometimes those rumors are spot-on. Just like we heard, Nintendo is launching two special-edition Nintendo DS bundles for the holidays. The Gold edition ships with The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass while the Metallic Rose ships with the Best Friends version of Nintendogs. Each comes emblazoned with the series’ signature logo, “a shiny nugget that any gamer — girl or guy — would be proud to show off.” Right, ’cause all gamers love to show off their nuggets. Available on November 23rd for an undisclosed price, though expected to be $150 like the rumor said.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Peripherals

Here at Engadget HQ, we’ve no particular issues with superfluousness, but we’re just hard pressed to believe that anyone could find value in a $30,000 remote control. Granted, we’d certainly have a change of heart if said remote could grant a trio of wishes, create a clone to handle our 9-to-5 and serenade us on command, but unfortunately, Lantic Systems’ RC 1 does none of the above. The discuss-shaped device only offers up control of one’s DVD player, TV, CCTV / security setup, audio system, lights, curtains, HVAC and any other standard AV component, all of which can be taken care of for a Toyota or so less. Interestingly, the outfit doesn’t even mention how much gold you’re really getting here, but considering that those signed on to bring one home likely posses more money than sense, that tidbit probably isn’t a dealbreaker.

[Via BornRich]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds

Apparently, the gold DS Lite you see tucked away in the lower-left hand corner of the picture above could soon be coming to retail stores, which to be honest, wouldn’t shock us considering the smorgasbord of colors already out there. Reportedly, the photograph was snapped at the Nintendo World Store as Phantom Hourglass launched, and to make things even more interesting, a certain individual has also claimed that his company has received orders from the Big N to design graphics for a “BOX, SYST GOLD W/ZELDA: HOUR USG.” Even if legitimate, it remains to be seen if the elusive new portable will simply be a limited run for contests or if it’ll hit shelves en masse, but it’s hard to argue how well a gilded Zelda DS Lite bundle would sell this holiday season.

[Via DSFanboy]
Read - Gold DS & Phantom Hourglass Bundle
Read - Zelda DS Lite Bundle Coming Soon?

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Cellphones

Just in case two recently announced Sony Ericsson mobiles weren’t enough for one day, along comes the K630 to quell your grumbling. This handset sports a slightly less impressive feature set than the other two newcomers, but it ought to put a noticeably smaller dent in your wallet to compensate. Nevertheless, the K630 will be available in Havana Gold and Quick Black and will feature HSDPA, Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync preloaded, a two-megapixel camera, 256MB M2 card, built-in Media Browser, an FM tuner, support for MP3 / AAC / WMA formats, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, video recording at 15fps and USB connectivity. Mum’s the word on pricing at the moment, but look for it to land in “select markets” during Q4. Check out a video of the device right over here.

[Thanks, tootie_boy]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Really, it was just a matter of time until bad taste prevailed. Goldstriker International is now offering Apple’s iPhone dipped in 24 carat gold for your (even more) conspicuous consumption. The perfect accessory to your wife ornament and mojito while parked at the bar. The not so free-for-all begins mid-October for an undisclosed price.

[Via Pocket-lint]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Laptops

For Apple owners, there’s one consistent event that can make their shiny new device seem dull and boring: the replacement of their specific device with a new one from Apple. Now there’s a new Apple gadget on the block that literally makes every other Apple device look dull. A company called Computer Choppers has put together a Gold-plated MacBook Pro, with an appropriately diamond studded Apple logo. Should go nicely with your gold plated … HP … LaserJet. Yeah. Get ready to sell your house.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!