gadget

I don't hate girly things. Shiny, pink objects actually excite me, but sometimes the marketing of gadgets to women takes the meat out of a product.

I've been oohing and aahing over the HTC Rhyme because it's so hot and sexy, but geez. I was so distracted by the gorgeous purple color that I didn't even notice what operating system was installed or why its processor is not as powerful as the HTC Sensation XE with Beats Audio--another recently released HTC Android phone.

The Rhyme has a 1GHz processor, while the Sensation XE has 1.5GHz, dual core. Say what?! Women like dual-core processors, too. Ahem!

And don't even get me started about video recording--780p versus 1080p.

One look at the Sensation XE and it's clear that it's a man's phone. (OK, and goth girls too--don't hate me.)

All this made me think: Should gadgets be gender-neutral? And for argument's sake, if gadgets are going to have to be gender-specific (like pants and shoes), how different should the hardware be? Heck, the only reason pants and shoes are designed with gender in mind is because our bodies are made differently. That's a fact. But when it comes to technology and our use of mobile devices, are women that much different than men? … Read more

Apple and other gadget manufacturers are once again said to be investing in new manufacturing techniques that will yield electronics with rounded glass surfaces, a new report claims.

Following up on its own report from May, DigiTimes today says Apple and other unnamed technology companies are working to produce "products with curved cover glass." That's the glass on the front of the device, the one users touch when using apps and press up to their face when making phone calls.

Citing unnamed sources, DigiTimes says the effort is purely competitive, with manufacturers looking to set their devices apart from the pack.

A report in late May--also by DigiTimes--claimed Apple had bought 200 to 300 glass-cutting machines to help glass makers make curved glass for its gadgets. That report was of special note given curiosity around Apple's next iPhone, which is now rumored to be making its debut next week. While numerous reports have now suggested Apple plans to release two new design variations, mentions of curved glass on the front have been all but non-existent. … Read more

On today's show we're covering an emerging tech trend: The Quantified Self movement, or the collection of data streams about what we do, how we feel, how we move, and so on. Why? That's one of the big questions. The best answer is probably: to live better lives. And today we're talking with two entrepreneurs who are working on a subset of the quantified self movement: body monitoring. Both their companies have the goal of making us more aware of ourselves. Using that knowledge, hopefully, we can live more healthy lives.

Our guests are Monisha Perkash, CEO of Lumoback, which I covered this week from the Demo conference, and Jef Holove of Basis, which I wrote up in July.

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You've looked at the edge of your MacBook Air and thought, "Dang, that's super slim." A man who writes for a Japanese blog called Mochrom looked at his MacBook Air and thought, "Dang, I can cut vegetables with that."

And so he did. Mochrom gives a step-by-step guide to prepping a meal with a MacBook Air in place of a kitchen knife. You can check out Google's attempt at a translation. He started with mushrooms, known to many chefs as an easy first vegetable for testing out your knife skills.

The MacBook handled the 'shrooms with ease. Emboldened, our culinary hero also whacked through a cabbage and shaved a carrot. Getting a good cut on the cabbage required the more extreme step of opening up the MacBook Air to get a thinner edge.

He had no fear in rubbing raw shrimp all over his laptop during the de-veining process. Scallops quickly surrendered to its chopping prowess.

Here's hoping it got a good cleaning before being pressed back into service as an actual laptop.

As it turns out, there are some things a MacBook Air will not cut through. A real kitchen knife was required for carrots and raw bacon. At least he had the good sense not to stir the stir-fry with the laptop.… Read more

Dear Krispy, I'm breaking up with you. Thanks to the new Automatic Mini Donut Factory, there is no longer any reason to venture out into the world.

The $179.99 doughnut maker from Nostalgia Electrics sits on your kitchen counter and magically transforms raw doughnut batter into little halos of sin. All the flipping and frying is handled automatically, with your treats popping out at the far end of the machine.

Safety windows let you observe the action without accidentally frying your fingers. It even has a component called the "donut slide."… Read more

What is a P65VT30? It's a Panasonic 65-inch TV. Is it better than a P65VT25? Yes, it is: the model number ending in "30" means it's a 2011 model. The "25" means 2010.

Gadget review and shopping site Retrevo is launching the Model Number Decoder on Thursday to make it easier for consumers to read the coding embedded in gadget model IDs. Because unlike on car tires, the product codes you see stamped onto the product labels are not based on any agreed-on standard.

The service will cover flat-screen TVs at launch. Other product … Read more

And you thought your iPhone was so cool. Tag Heuer, known for making lux watches, has released one of the cooler-looking smartphones we've ever seen. But don't get too excited--one Tag Heuer Link Android smartphone will set you back $6,750.

What's with the price? The Link Android, which runs on the old-generation Android 2.2 (Froyo), comes with a steel, 18-carat rose gold- or titanium-finished case. (It kind of looks like it belongs to a Jedi knight, right?) Trims come in calfskin, alligator, lizard, or carbon leather. (Fancy!)

It features a Gorilla Glass screen, a high-strength thin sheet of glass used as a protective cover with scratch resistance and durability, and offers up 256MB of RAM and 8GB on a memory card to save the pics you take with its 5-megapixel auto-focus HD camera. It can also house 11 hours of music playback. The phone goes on sale this month TAG Heuer retailers.

So OK, you're paying for the look and feel of this gadget, not the tech specs. Is it worth the price? You tell us!

This story originally appeared on CBSNews.com.

You know you look good, but sometimes you just want to double-check. You could excuse yourself and go to the bathroom. You could find a reflective window and stare intently. Or you could subtly gaze at your watch.

The Vanity Mirror Watch is a chunky, shiny accessory that looks like it has been designed for a substantial man-size wrist. The marketing photos of a hairy arm sporting the watch are another tip-off that the target customer is a vain male. That probably won't dissuade a fashion-forward woman from picking one up.

It's hard to tell what the $69.… Read more

The Natural Resources Defense Council has ranked the biggest energy hogs in the home, and the thing that's gobbling up the most is probably not what you think: the pairing of your digital video recorder and set-top box.

The environmental monitoring group released a study today that says that a high-definition cable or satellite set-top box when combined with a high-definition DVR uses up 446 kilowatt hours per year. That's more than a new Energy Star rated 21 cubic-foot refrigerator, which uses 415 kWh per year, according to the NRDC's data.

The combination of an HD DVR … Read more