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In what may be some of the worst cell phone etiquette ever recorded, President Obama had a speech interrupted by a reporter's ringtone yesterday. The moment, video captured and spreading quickly on YouTube, happened during a White House speech about gay rights. The ringtone, which is difficult to hear in the video itself, apparently featured something resembling the Aflac quacking duck sound you hear in the insurance company's commercials. After being interrupted, Obama jokes "Whose duck back there?" and asks the White House press corps "Where do you guys get these ringtones by the way?" Here's the video:. At least the President has a sense of humor about it. As for the reporter whose phone rang, seriously … use vibrate!. Reviews: YouTube . Tags: cell phone etiquette , president obama , video .

It seems Japanese papercraft art isn't limited to Origami or Pellermodels but also has something in store for us gadget fans. Case in point: The Paper Speaker [JP], announced yesterday by Tokyo-based Princeton for use with your PC (or any device sporting a USB port). Designed like a retro audio device, the speaker will be shipped to you as a DIY cardboard kit. Buyers essentially get a 3W amp and 1W speaker (mono), just housed in a paper box and ready to be plugged into your PC via USB. Princeton offers the 60g-kit in three different versions (pictured above) for $22 each. As the Paper Speaker is Japan-only, people living outside Nippon will need to ask the Japan Trend Shop or Geek Stuff 4 U to get one for them (Michael Keferl from CScout Japan/the Japan Trend Shop writes about the kit in his blog , too).

Not much to say about this DIY transformer except that it's pretty darn cool. It can transform from a car, walk, and even right itself if it falls. It could use some cool styling - maybe they could stick it into a Yugo body or something - but it's still much better than anything I ever made in school. via Make .

It all seems a little bit early for Ars Technica's fall release prediction , but according to the Economic Daily News, Sony has awarded two companies contracts on the PS3 Slim for shipments starting this July. The report claims that Hon Hai won a majority of the production contract with Foxconn scoring a bit as well. But details are scarce on the new PS3, describing it only as "smaller" and "lighter. ". Unless the Slim were to be released in July (or maybe August), the "early July" shipments from Economic Daily News seem way too early for the console. Sony would need to announce the Slim next week, otherwise where would they hide all the new consoles?. So either the Economic Daily News is wrong about July shipments, Ars is wrong with the "fall" release, Sony is wrong about the best way to announce a console without it leaking or we're all wrong and the PS3 isn't ready for miniaturization. Fun stuff! [ UDN via Engadget ].

Really interested in what kind of nuclear rocket capability North Korea has? The Bulletin does a really in-depth analysis of the latest launch, based on released and carefully reasoned interpolated data. It's quite interesting, with well-thought-out logic that points to NK obtaining parts and knowledge from Russia. In short, they probably don't have quite as good a capability for delivering the payload as previously thought. [ The Bulletin ].

Mushroom Networks has been in the "broadband bonding" business for quite a while now , but we're guessing they're going to find a few more fans with their new wireless broadband gear, which promises the fastest cellular-based internet connection to date. Like the company's previous PortaBella device (pictured above, not exactly to scale), its new rig can combine up to four different cellular data cards into a single high-speed connection, but this one is fully portable (just over a pound) and, perhaps most importantly, it has an optional battery pack that'll let you be truly mobile with it. That, Mushroom says, makes the device ideal for a whole range of applications that can be a bit tricky with a single modem, like mobile TV broadcasting or temporary offices set up in a disaster area. Unfortunately, there's no word on pricing just yet, but it doesn't exactly take much guesstimating to figure out that it's likely not the most cost-effective solution around. Filed under: Wireless . Mushroom Networks announces new wireless "Broadband Bonding" technology originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments .

It's five dollars. It has half the functionality of Twittelator Pro. But Birdfeed just became my default iPhone Twitter app. It's fast . The fastest Twitter app I've seen since Twitterfon (which isn't that fast anymore, once it started inserting ads. ) The user interface is even cleaner and more spare than Tweetie's—the app it will inevitably be compared to the most. For instance, the "load more" button at the bottom is gone—you just keep scrolling down, and it keeps loading new tweets. Gone, even, is the ubiquitous row of buttons that line the bottom of most Twitter apps for one-touch access to mentions, direct messages and other features. You have to slide back to a list-style menu to reach any feature besides the one you're currently looking at, meaning it's at least two taps to get from a timeline to mentions or vice versa. It solves this problem in part by making it so that you only have to do that when there's a reason to—a number pops up in the back button whenever you have new mentions or DMs telling you many are waiting (pointedly, it badges only new mentions and DMs, not new tweets in your overall timeline). The problem is when you use multiple Twitter clients, since you'll have to look at the same mention twice to get rid of the badge. Like most every Twitter app except Tweetie, it does cache tweets on your phone, so you can read them offline. Caching is also part of the reason it feels fast. Beyond search and integration with Instapaper, however, it lacks any of the other "power features" that are the bread and butter of say, Twittelator Pro or TweetDeck , like grouping or multiple windows. It's the opposite: A remarkably focused and well thought out exercise in restraint. It's the details like a timestamp marking every time you open the app so you know where you left off, that shine. If you only use the core Twitter features, Birdfeed is the best app you can buy. That's not to say it's necessarily better than TweetDeck or Twittelator. The amazing thing about Twitter is that you can do whatever you want with it, and having all of those features is fantastic if you need them . Birdfeed is simply the most essential Twitter app for iPhone yet—it's only what you really need, beautifully designed. It's not perfect—it freezes for a second when loading new tweets, like you hit the bottom of a timeline and starts pulling in more, and then there's that account amnesia bug . But whether or not it's worth the extra $2 over Tweetie or the same $5 as feature-rich Twittelator Pro depends on how much speed, focus and design really matter to you. [ Birdfeed , iTunes ].

Alas, I have no spawn of my own. So when LeapFrog mailed their new Tag Junior, a handheld device that reads special LeapFrog books to children, I had to call in the big guns for the review. Err. little guns. My 18 month old niece Rysa (with the help of her mother Katharyn Wheeler) put the Tag Junior through the paces. Their collaboration:. Tag Junior 'book pal' . Let's just say that the Tag Junior looks a bit like an alien, a happy alien, but an alien nonetheless. It was actually difficult to keep the reviewer interested in the book because the Tag Junior book pal was so interesting in comparison. By touching the pal to pictures throughout the pages, everything from animal sounds to the specific names of colors play back on the pal's speaker. The audio quality is pretty decent for such a small device, and all voices are clearly audible. The biggest problem with the book pal is that the power button is available to the child. The second biggest problem is that the power button makes noise when it is turned on and off. Subsequently, the reviewer was far more interested in turning the button on and off than touching the Tag Junior to the page. The third biggest problem is that the pal is set to read through a whole passage when touched to any word on a page. This feature is great in the entry-level Curious George Color Fun book where there is one word a page, but proves detrimental in more advanced books that hold up to four lines of text on each page. Beyond the one bundled book you get with the Tag Junior, each additional book requires you to update the Tag's software via a PC/Mac and USB. This is a simple process, but it requires some preplanning. The reviewer that was so excited seeing the Curious George book was disappointed in having to wait to look at it with the book pal since it wasn't preinstalled. Luckily, once all these books are installed to the pal, the reviewer was able to switch between books at will—every book is loaded at once. LeapFrog makes use of PC syncing in one other notable way: Once the book pal has been connected it uploads information onto LeapFrog's site to help you monitor your child's activity. The site shows the amount of time spent with the Tag, which books were read, and which skills accomplished. These tools are far beyond what any other toy/learning tool manufacturer is doing right now. And by far the cutest function is that you can personalize the book pal so that it uses the name of the child each time it powers on (and for names not available you can set a nickname such as "little monkey"). Overall, the reviewer liked the book pal and loved the books themselves. She cried when they were taken away from her. Formfactor Fits Perfectly In Little Hands. Online Progress Monitoring Is Excellent. The Books Themselves Are Entertaining. You Need to Sync Every Book to PC. Power Button Too Prominent/Enticing. Children Might Cry When Pal Is Taken Away.

The only time people visit arcades these days is when they're waiting for the 8:30 showing of Transformers to start. Whether it's convenience of quality of games, people just aren't going. But what if it came to YOU?. Games2U puts PS3s, Wii and Xbox 360 games inside of a van and delivers it, letting 20 people play no matter where you are. We can imagine it being useful for kids' birthday parties , tailgating parties or funerals; especially since the company also offers laser tag and giant hamster balls. And if you think this is a good and viable business opportunity, they even offer franchise options to set one up where you live. [ G2u via Kotaku ].

While there's a place for USB hubs that double as a mousepad and calculator , it's sometimes best to just keep things simple, which is what Elecom has thankfully done with its new U2H-TC410B "wall socket" USB hub. Contrary to what that name might suggest, however, this one doesn't actually plug into a power outlet, but is instead designed to be mounted on a wall or the side of the desk and become a wall socket of sorts itself. Apart from that, it's basically just your standard four-port USB 2. 0 hub and, as you can see above, it's available in your choice of black or white. Unfortunately, it's not priced like a run-of-the-mill USB hub, with this one running a somewhat hefty $39. 99. [Via OhGizmo! ]. Filed under: Misc. Gadgets , Peripherals . Elecom keeps things simple with U2H-TC410B wall socket USB hub originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments .