New Zealand -- Engadget

new zealand posts

Double-amputee New Zealander has mermaid dreams fulfilled

by Laura June, posted Feb 25th 2009 at 1:29PM

New Zealander Nadya Vessey -- who lost both of her legs to the knee when she was a child -- has just received a prosthesis that's pretty much unlike anything we've ever seen (outside of Splash). About two years ago, she approached Weta Workshop, who specialize in design and manufacturing of costumes and special effects (and have worked on projects such as The Lord of the Rings trilogy) to see if the company might be interested in making her a working, prostethic mermaid tail. Turns out they were, and they've just completed the final product. The tail, which is composed of wetsuit fabric and plastic molds, with a custom paint job and digitally-imaged effects, enables Nadya to swim quite effectively, apparently, and is an all around sexy piece of machinery. No word on what one of these slick dudes would cost in real life, but we have a feeling we couldn't justify the expense just to tool around in the kiddie pool.

Update: Check out the video after the break!

[Thanks, Pyper]

Continue reading Double-amputee New Zealander has mermaid dreams fulfilled

Red Xbox 360 mentioned in PR, is probably real

by Laura June, posted Feb 19th 2009 at 11:44AM

So it looks like that red Xbox 360 Elite that we heard might be on its way is, in fact, on its way. A press release for Halo Wars in New Zealand makes mention of the phantom console -- the deal is that anyone buying a new Xbox 360 will get a free copy of the game, but the fine print excludes the doesn't-yet-exist red model, because it's "exclusive to EB Games." So this is the Resident Evil 5 one? It's all so unclear. We haven't picked up on any context clues as to a time frame for release or price. Yet.

[Via Joystiq]

Zero-emission i MiEV begins testing in New Zealand

by Darren Murph, posted Feb 13th 2009 at 8:59AM

Slowly but surely, the i MiEV is making its way out to test fields around the globe. Just months after a smattering of the zero-emission vehicles hit the west coast of America, we're now being told that a new crew of guinea pigs have waltzed into New Zealand. Over a hundred government representatives and key stakeholders were invited to drive Mitsubishi Motors' oddest, greenest vehicle, and of course, to talk business about how this bean could fit into the nation's transportation system. As it stands, Mitsu is still looking to launch the vehicle for consumer use this summer in Japan, though no word was mentioned on when it would arrive Down Under, across the pond or on US soil.

New Zealander gives classified DAP back to US, gets a new one in exchange

by Darren Murph, posted Jan 28th 2009 at 5:38PM

Aw, lookie here -- a happy ending! That suddenly popular Chris Ogle -- you know, the New Zealander who accidentally purchased an MP3 player full of classified US Army documents from a thrift store -- is basking in the glory of his 14th minute of fame. According to a new report from Reuters, Mr. Ogle peacefully handed the device back over to US authorities, and for his cooperation, a brand spanking new player was handed over to him. It's unclear what kind of unit he received and if it was your tax money paying for it, but we get the feeling we'll never truly know answers to either question. As for Ogle's next move? We hear he's jockeying for a guest spot on Flight of the Conchords.

New Zealander buys used MP3 player, finds classified US Army files in like-new condition

by Tim Stevens, posted Jan 26th 2009 at 1:29PM

While used and refurb'd electronics have a long history of delivering more than the purchaser bargained for, like assembly-line photos, MI6 documents, or the phone number to Sarah Palin's hair stylist, New Zealand man Chris Ogle's surprise find is a little more troubling. He picked up the above unidentified MP3 player at a thrift shop in Oklahoma for $18 used. On it were 60 files, many of which appear to be US Army property of a confidential nature, including one that lists soldier names, SSNs, and phone numbers, and another doc that appears to be a mission plan. Sadly the Government is choosing to ignore this little security breach, but we think it should step up and make Mr. Ogle an offer. He's likely to let the thing go cheap thanks to a second unfortunate discovery: it doesn't even play music any more.

[Via The Sydney Morning Herald]

Meet the world's first ten iPhone 3G owners

by Ryan Block, posted Jul 10th 2008 at 12:53AM

With just seven hours to go out here in New Zealand before the first worldwide iPhone 3G launch (yeah, we flew all the way out for it), the line at the Auckland Vodafone store is growing steadily but surely. Everyone's in high spirits, despite the fact that it's winter here in the southern hemisphere, and they can't as easily get away with that whole hippie line-sitter thing like in New York. We'll check back in soon as we get our international iPhone 3G launch lineblog started.

#1
Name: Jonny Gladwell, 22 (pictured above, right)
Current phone: Sony Ericsson K800i on Voda
Waiting for: more than 48 hours now
Buying: black 8GB
Motivation: to be the first, duh! His girlfriend is just in it to keep him company, she's not actually getting one herself. Jonny tells us he's not going to eBay the world's first iPhone 3G, though. Whatever, dude!

Continue reading Meet the world's first ten iPhone 3G owners

iPhone Jonny: world's first iPhone 3G owner (in waiting)

by Thomas Ricker, posted Jul 8th 2008 at 8:22AM

See that guy? That's Jonny Gladwell from Auckland New Zealand. He's special no matter how you define the word. He's camped outside of Vodafone NZ right now which puts him on a path to be the world's first iPhone 3G owner. Of course, there's still time for other Kiwi's to get in line at the Wellington and Christchurch shops which will open simultaneously. A red hot trinity of buffoonery to be sure.

[image credit and thanks to Darryl Carey]

iPhone 3G launching 00:01 NZ time, home delivered in the UK

by Thomas Ricker, posted Jul 7th 2008 at 5:29AM

Vodafone just went public with the information you already knew, New Zealand will see the world's first iPhone launch at 00:01 local time on the 11th. That's almost a full day before any New York, propaganda farmer gets his. In the UK, O2 is now taking pre-orders (one per customer) on a first come, first serve basis. Better yet, your new slab of 3G will be delivered to your home on the 11th of July by courier where you can activate it from the digital comforts of iTunes. So civilized.

Update: According to a handful of tipsters, O2 sold out of the 16GB version of the iPhone in about three hours. Here's hoping you made the cut.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Read -- O2 UK
Read -- Vodafone NZ

Xbox 360 price cuts official... in Australia

by Thomas Ricker, posted Jul 2nd 2008 at 2:17AM

It's not the Stateside discount we've been waiting for, but at least Australia and New Zealand are looking at discounted Xbox 360 pricing across the board. No press release, just an update to the Aussie Xbox site indicating a new starting price of AU$349 Australian dollars for the Xbox 360 Arcade -- the same console which sold for AU$399 just yesterday. That makes it AU$50 cheaper than the Wii locally. Gamespot spoke to local Xbox exec, Jeremy Hilton, who confirmed that the Xbox 360 Pro bundle has been slashed to AU$499 (was AU$579) and the Elite is now AU$649 (down from AU$729). More importantly perhaps, is this quote about Microsoft's pricing strategy:

"One of the big changes Microsoft has made is that with price drops, you'd see the US would drop, and pretty much within two weeks we would drop as well. Now, it's very much the individual countries who manage what they feel would be best for their respective regions. In March we had a price drop in Europe, and in April we had a price drop in Asia. So we're definitely moving away from that big global strategy."

So no guaranteed followup drop in the US regardless of the mounting evidence.

[Via Gamespot, thanks Adam L.]

World's first iPhone 3G on sale in New Zealand a day before the US

by Thomas Ricker, posted Jun 25th 2008 at 1:54AM

Consider yourself an Apple fanatic? Gotta have the latest and greatest the moment it's available? Ok... prove it. We have it from a trusted source that the world's first iPhone 3G will be on sale at 00:01, Friday July 11th, in New Zealand -- that's still Thursday, July 10th at 5:01 in the AM in Cupertino or 13:01 hours in London. At that precise minute, Vodafone NZ will swing open the doors of its Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch shops to your overeager HSDPA jones. So, now that you know, the next move is all yours.

Read -- 00:01 NZ time calculated globally

Acer offers Ubuntu pre-load for kiwis

by Thomas Ricker, posted Jan 15th 2008 at 8:03AM

Well here you have it. After the rumors surfaced back in July, Acer is offering Ubuntu 7.10 as a pre-load on their 14.1-inch Aspire 4315-100508C model with 1,280 x 800 resolution, 1.86GHz Celeron M 540, 512MB memory, 80GB disk, and DVD optical drive. Better yet, the price is just NZ$699 -- that's $553 in US greenbacks. The offer appears to be good in New Zealand only for the moment. Toe dipping the consumer waters are we Acer?

[Via Geekzone]

Robotic tuatara successfully generates research data

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 9th 2007 at 10:28AM

Just over two months ago Robo-Ollie, a robotic tuatara, was loosed into the wilderness on Stephens Island in New Zealand, and now that its creator and her colleagues have had a chance to monitor it in the wild, it looks like Mr. Oliver is performing toppingly. Sporting a nickel-cadmium battery, servos, and a rubberized skin suit, the creature has spent its time bobbing its head, gaping its mouth, and providing researchers with some intriguing data about aggressiveness and mating tendencies within the species. Unfortunately, the current iteration is essentially paralyzed from the neck back, and it took its masters a tick to understand how the head bobbing gig was "sending mixed signals" as it showcased feminine tendencies -- but now that he's regained his masculinity, it's on to figuring out what olfaction and infidelity have to do with tuatara life.

[Via Digg]

New Zealand peeps imitate plants to do solar on the cheap

by Paul Miller, posted Apr 6th 2007 at 2:35AM

Obviously, scientists didn't exactly originate the idea of harvesting energy from the sun when they started slapping together solar cells -- plants have been up on this whole photosynthesis mojo for a good long while. Now some researchers at Massey University in New Zealand have developed a range of synthetic dyes from organic compounds that closely mimic the light harvesting that goes on in nature. Other scientists have been pursuing similar solar techniques, but there's a major difficulty in getting the dyes to pass the energy on for actual use. After 10 years of research, the Massey scientists claim to have "the most efficient porphyrin dye in the world." Benefits of the dyes over traditional silicon-based solar panels include the ability to operate in low light, 10x cheaper production, and flexible application -- starting with canvassing roofs, walls and windows, but eventually moving on to wearable items that can charge your electronics stash. A working prototype for "real applications" should be ready in a couple years.

[Via The Raw Feed]

Zephyr's smart fabrics to gauge physiological data

by Darren Murph, posted Mar 18th 2007 at 9:20PM

Although soldiers of the future (the non-robotic variety, that is) could very well rock tactile displays on their gear, it looks like the next-generation clothing worn on the battlefield could also monitor physiological information. New Zealand firm Zephyr has developed smart textiles that are currently being shown at CeBIT, and aside from being used by the US Department of Defense to "gauge how individuals cope and react during combat situations," the garb could also be used by athletes looking to carefully measure their vitals and improve their performance. The outfit's first two offerings, a chest-worn bioharness and a shoe pod insert, are both laden with intelligent sensors that can "store and broadcast data," which could certainly become beneficial in the health, security, training, and medical markets. It's been a good run, Nike+iPod, but it looks like you've been lapped.

Robotic tuatara fools males, partakes in social dominance study

by Darren Murph, posted Mar 1st 2007 at 9:35AM

Although Wowwee's farm of robotic animals are quite the playful bunch, they aren't exactly prime targets for participating in a biological study of how animals interact in the wild, but Jennifer Moore from Victoria's School of Biological Science is aiming to use a faux tuatara to be the focal point of a new study. Modeled after a highly-regarded and recently deceased tuatara named Oliver, the new creature will purportedly be mingling with others of its kind in order to give a first-hand view on "social dominance and aggression in wild tuatara." Crafted by the Weta Workshop, Robotic Oliver will be used for the first time next month on the tuatara capital of the world, Stephens Island, in order to carefully inspect male mating habits in an effort to "significantly enhance conservation efforts." Of course, utilizing robotic clones for the betterment of a species seems like a brilliant idea, but we should probably all join in unison and hope this same stunt isn't pulled on the human population.

[Via RobotGossip]