Wired will be a drawing one lucky winner on Feburary 15th (2/15/2009) to win a bag full of desirable gadgets. From the rules page, value of the prize is $8,560. The “bag” is actually a $1600 computer tote bag, but all the gadgets on their wishlist sure would be a life-changer.

Entry is free, one per person per email address, US residents only.

Here is the 25-item list:

Lenovo IdeaPad U110 Laptop
Nokia E71 smartphone
Ducati Corse rollerball pen
Phiaton MS 400 Headphones
Canon PowerShot G10 Digital Camera
Manfrotto ModoPocket camera stand
Leatherman Serac S2 LED flashlight
Buffalo Shinobi hard disk drive (60 GB)
Oliver Peoples Victory 58 Sunglasses
Creative Zen X-Fi media player
TomTom Go 930 GPS navigator
Moleskine Cahier notebook (set of 3)
PRS-700 E-Reader
Monster Outlets To Go 3 USB power strip
llpod Chargepod device charger
igg 0.4L traveler bottle
Iqua 603 Sun solar-powered headset
Monster ScreenClean cleaning fluid
Sprint Merlin EX720 mobile broadband card
Nintendo DS Lite gaming console
Tod’s Cartella Computer Bag
Tiffany Business Card Case
Clear Card airport security pass (1 year)
Snow Peak titanium spork
Small Dog Chill Pill mobile speakers

• Submit your entry
• Photos of wish list gadgets

Here is a simple guide that I decided to write up. This will get you firmware 2.1 and Apps installed (should work with iPhone). Should be easy to follow if you have some know-how. Enjoy!

On your computer:

1. Download the 2.1 restore file, QuickPWN, cracked MobileInstallation, any iPod/iPhone Apps (.ipa) you desire, and either WinSCP (Windows) or Cyberduck (Mac)
2. Connect your iPod/iPhone and load iTunes
3. Go to Device > Summary
4. Hold Shift, click Restore, select the 2.1 restore file. This will wipe your device.
5. Run QuickPWN, follow instructions, verify Cydia installation

On your iPod:

1. On your iPod/iPhone: Run Cydia, let it update, Select “Featured Packages”, download OpenSSH then BossPrefs. Device should restart.
2. In BossPrefs, make sure OpenSSH is On.
3. Go to Settings > Wifi > Select your network. Note IP Address.

On your computer:

1. With device connected, run WinSCP/Cyberduck
2. Add new connection. Host: IP address, Username: root, Password: alpine, set as SFTP/SSH connection
3. Navigate to the iPhone folder: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/MobileInstallation.framework
4. Backup and replace MobileInstallation file with downloaded.
5. Set permission of new MobileInstallation to 775
6. In /private/var/mobile/ : set Applications folder to 777 and have reclusive checked
7. In /private/var/mobile/Applications/ : create Documents folder (777)
8. In root folder, navigate to Applications, and create Documents folder (777) there
9. Close WinSCP/Cyberduck, reboot iPhone, restart iTunes

On your iPod:

1. Go to App Store and download/install an application (free is fine)

On computer:

1. Load up iTunes
2. Drag (or double click) .ipas into iTunes
3. Sync, smile, and give thanks below

Yesterday, the highly anticipated T-Mobile G1 [google intro page] phone was put on sale publicly yesterday for $180 and a contract. This is the first phone to offer Android [wiki], an open source operating/software system developed by Google.

What does that mean, Steve? A lot more Google Applications access, a lot of developers working on it, and a lot of free stuff. There is an Andriod Store that functions like the Apple Store. Some claim that this phone will be an iPhone killer, mostly due to the fact that Android can be brought to all other phone services. I can’t wait to own a Google device, as I have been using more and more google services. Don’t use any google services? You need to sit down and have a talk with me. To get on my good side, at least tell me you signed up for a google account.

What about the features? I believe the phone is only out in Black, but White and Bronze will soon be available. Color shouldn’t be your only concern, though. See the G1 summary from CNet or just get a quick look at T-Mobile’s features.pdf . There are also dozens of sites out there giving reviews, and the features will obviously change as other phones running Android are produced.

I am not trading for a T-mobile contract, so I have to wait. I can dream for a few years, can’t I?

Nintendo unveiled the DSi at a convention in Japan. It will be similar to the DSLite, although there will not be a Game Boy Advanced cartridge slot. Larger screen and touch-screen, two cameras (3MP outside the case and a cam in the binding), SD slot, some internal storage, and a Wifi “DSi Shop” similar to the Wii Shop Channel. It will be available in November in Japan,  but we’ll have to wait a year here in the states. The DSI will sell for $180, while the current DSLite is selling for $130.

I need to decide what handheld to get in the future, although my iPod Touch might stay my choice for my Vietnam trip this winter. Maybe I can swing by Japan and pick one up .

Source: Engadget
More detail @ Wired

Update:
The battery life of the DSi is not up to par @Engadget, but we’ll see as it develops.

I ran into Nabaztag (Armenian for “rabbit”) while in Boston and I have been meaning to share it with everybody. Nabaztag, unlike other rabbits, is loaded with applications including some neat WiFi ones.

Nabaztag tells the time, does Tai-Chi, plays MP3s, checks the weather conditions, checks your email, reads RSS feeds, and plays webcasts (titled Nabcasts). Oh, it has it’s own mood, says some random things, and you can synchronize it’s ears with another Nabaztag’s ears, which not only makes it useful, but a personable plaything.

Last month, an upgraded rabbit hit the scenes with a less creative name, Nabaztag/tag (which I’ll label NTT). This rabbit does much more than the standard, although it comes with a heftier price tag. The new NTT has a belly-button microphone which, as you guessed, does a whole load with voices. The new one can now read online texts /emails (in 16 languages), has voice recognition, can do RFID readings (which my father spoke to me about recently), reacts to websites, chats to other NTTs through voice, music, and movement, and has it’s own API (with support for several programming languages) so that users can customize.

The current price is $80 for the NT and $190 for the NTT.
Sounds like my kind of pet, how about you?

Wikipedia article on Nabaztag
Nabaztag.com – Check out the 4 videos at the top
ZTORE - The official NT store.

• EEtimes has an article with information on parts inside the iPhone

• YouTube instructions on how to disassemble the iPhone

• The irc channel for iPhone reverse engineering is: #iphone on irc.osx86.hu

• Joe Hewitt has released a Firefox debugger for the iPhone, named FireBug

• People at the hackint0sh forums have the root password cracked

• Jon Lech Johansen’s has found a way to skip AT&T activation on your iPhone. The phone capabilities don’t work, but the iPod and WiFi do.

You can view most of the discoveries on the hackint0sh forums, the iPhone Dev Wiki, or at iphonehacks.com