Engadget Podcast 157 - 07.31.2009

Another quiet week, podcast fans — but we were still excited by a few new toys, like the new Creative Zii EGG, the Kodak Zi8, and the Nikon D300s. We also spent some time with the new Sony Walkman X-series, which got us thinking about Sony’s fortunes in this brave new world and how the company might need to change — and speaking of change, both Apple and Palm need to rethink some of their current policies.

iPhone OS 3.0.1 update released, fixes SMS vulnerability (updated with statement from Apple)

Looks like Apple pulled the trigger on patching that nasty iPhone SMS vulnerability a little earlier than we expected — the iPhone OS 3.0.1 update just hit iTunes. It’s not some lightweight, either: you’re looking at 280MB of love here, so get downloading, friends. Update: Here’s what Apple rep Tom Neumayr had to say about this little episode.

Onkyo ND-S1 iPod dock feaures digital audio, composite video, and leaves iPhone owners out of luck

We’ve seen plenty from the folks at Onkyo in the past, but until now their iPod accessories have been rather few and far between. That said, we gotta say that this here ND-S1 iPod dock looks pretty, pretty good. Obviously designed with the home entertainment crowd in mind, this guy features optical / coax digital output, composite a/v outs, and supports 16bit audio playback (up to 48kHz)

Engadget Mobile reviews Nokia’s Surge

Some might say that the phone you’re peering at above is the most un-Nokia-like Nokia device produced in quite some time (if not ever), but remember, this one was custom made for US consumers and AT&T’s audience — something that’s not true for too many Espoo-sourced handsets. Once known as the Mako , Nokia’s Surge (or 6790 in international speak) is certainly unorthodox in design, though the actual specs list is fairly familiar. We get the feeling that Nokia was aiming to hit a very specific niche with this device, somewhere in-between the text-happy handsets adored by tweens and the smartphone desired by Mr

LG’s BL40 "Chocolate" phone sashays its way through new ad

We’ve already gotten a pretty good look at LG’s stylish new BL40 phone (also simply known the new “Chocolate”) courtesy of some official shots , but no phone launch would be complete without an over the top ad, and LG’s naturally got that covered as well. As you can see for yourself after the break, the 4-inch, 800 pixel wide display is one of the main selling points here, and if that’s not enough for you, we hear you can even use it to output full HD video to a TV. Unfortunately, there’s still no word as to when it’ll be release ’round these parts, although there’s at least some indication that it could be making its North American debut on Telus .

Motorola Sholes Android phone for Verizon appears in the flesh

Hm, maybe Motorola should have stuck with the render a while longer, cause this first shot of the Verizon-bound Sholes Android smartphone is looking mighty rough. Of course, it is just a blurrycam leak, and there’s a chance we’re not seeing this set’s true beauty, but honestly, we’re not sure even the most loving press photographer can make that red D-pad attractive

Black Wii now available from importers for $333

Yeah, we were pretty bummed that Nintendo’s super-hot black Wii wasn’t coming to the US , but fear not, fanboys — it looks like the stealth console has hit the gray-market import scene. Sure, you’ll have to pay a bit of a premium at $333, but surely that’s a reasonable price for exclusivity, no? [Via DCEmu UK ; thanks Craig] Filed under: Gaming Black Wii now available from importers for $333 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:46:00 EST

LG’s magical sliding fridge drawers: how did we ever live without them?

Sure, we know you get most of your hot, breaking fridge news from our pals over at Fridgegadget , but if you’ll excuse us just this once as we bring to you news of LG’s latest and greatest: the “Ultra-Capacity 4-Door French-Door Refrigerator.” This little number not only has the “world’s largest” water and ice dispenser, but has push-button automatic sliding freezer drawers.

O2 claims iPhone security patch will hit iTunes on Saturday, Apple stays silent

According to UK carrier O2, the SMS-based iPhone security hole that Charlie Miller unveiled on Black Hat this week should be patched by this weekend. An O2 spokesperson claimed the update would be pushed through iTunes this Saturday, says BBC . Apple hasn’t made a comment yet, and it’s not perfectly clear that this will be an update for iPhones worldwide, but hopefully that’s the case — the security flaw certainly isn’t geographically limited

Toyota’s humanoid robot was born to run

We essentially can’t get enough of advanced robots doing things that look human — probably in the same way we can’t get enough of pretending our dog understands English. Anthropomorphism aside, Toyota’s humanoid running robot is really impressive.

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