April Fools' 2014 roundup: selfie-taking drones, smartgloves and more
For the last 24 hours (and likely the next 12), excitable company execs have been barraging our inbox, YouTube and your social media networks with their best shenanigans. Love it or loathe it (and you're probably starting to loathe it by now), the April Fools' tradition continues, even stronger, in 2014. Google went a little overboard, but hopefully, after today, selfies will die a death. Hopefully.
Google has too much fun, again
Aside from its Pokémon-mapping efforts, Google wants the world to see the web differently... peppered with emoji icons.
Google Japan also has a new "Magic Hand" for touchscreen text input, featuring a very necessary cat paw add-on.
Then there's Gmail's shareable selfie, the Shelfie and a new auto-Awesome photobomb feature, ruining your photos with David Hasselhoff.
HTC's GLUUV lays down the gauntlet to Samsung Fingers
Who was first? We'll call it an awkward draw, as both Samsung and HTC had largely identical ideas for AF 2014: smartgloves. HTC's Power Glove knockoff Gluuv promises holo-calls and an 87.2-megapixel camera. Finally. We also like the companion BoomBass speaker though: "durable, humongous and completely wireless" ... and carried on your shoulder.
Samsung Fingers' blog post outlines a palm-based flexible screen, another mention of selfies and, in a nod to its own often superfluous software add-ons, an increasingly bizarre list of features, showcased with sketches like these:
Sony reveals the future of gadget power sources
"Our engineers and culinary technicians have come up with a way to tap into the amazing energy of food," says the nondescript Sony spokesman. An enzyme that transfers food energy to gadgets and it involves a "voltaic enzyme." Sony's planned cereals and protein bars, filled with "protein, fiber and charged lithium."
Nokia brings the 3310 back from the dead, pumps it full of megapixels
Nokia's most iconic phone, the 3310 is making a return. Nokia's best-selling handset returns with Windows Phone OS, a 41-megapixel camera sensor and most importantly, preloaded with Snake 2. We almost wish it was real.
Here maps goes back to basics (and paper)
Apparently, you can still get Here maps without a smart device. This is Here Papyrus, and we're particularly taken with this augmented reality trace sheet.
CERN gets serious, switches to comic sans
Truly, the thinkers' font.
Virgin America + Nest
Total temperature control for every passenger. Our own social media manager even makes a cameo!
Kodak Picture Kiosk Drone
We can tell it's a fake because Kodak's blog post mentions calling and texting a phone number. Oh and hands-free selfies. (Also, how is this any more ridiculous than Kodak's very real nuclear reactor?)
Samsung's Fli-Fy
Why not just utilize the rats of the skies to be your drones... and boost your WiFi?
GoPro: #STOKED, the energy drink
Has its own hashtag. Must be legit.
iFixit
iFixit gets an offer it can't refuse.
Swiftkey Flow Hard for your physical keyboard
No touchscreen needed.
'Make your own smartphone, piece by piece, with this magazine subscription'
In just 10 years, you can make your very own smartphone, in this tie-up between Japan's KDDI network and magazine publisher Deagostini.
Sega returns: MEGAne DRIVE, the wearable
That should equal 32-bit gaming.
The Roku Watch
Look at the size of the remote. Coming April 31st.
TechCrunch introduces Crunchcoin
Tim Burton's Killzone Movie
Some of us here at Engadget HQ love Tim Burton, but thankfully, he's not directing the first official Killzone movie.
BMW Force Injection Booster
"Driving slow never felt so fast."
Moog's Emerson System
A SYNTHESIZER THAT SHOOTS ROCKETS!
Twelve South's new iMac Cover
Who hasn't wanted one of these?
TOMS Shoes + Uber = shuberX
They've "uninvented" the wheel.
Razer's Wearable Drone
"A true out-of-body experience."
FINALLY! A SELFIE-BOT
...because selfies are the new black.
YouTube Reveals the Viral Video Trends for 2014
"...so people around you are like 'WUT?!?'"
ObamaBeard
Next up on President Obama's to-do list? A Presidential Council on Beards, of course! It's not tech, but sure is silly.
ASUS Announces 'THE END'
We're not sure of what, but ASUS announced "the end" today. Either that, or something was lost in Google Translate.
Call of Duty: Ghosts PEW PEW Multiplayer Mode
WHICH ONE DO WE PICK? OH GEEZ. [Thanks, Matt!]
Flappy Board
We see what you did there, Flipboard.
Tesla's Pet Driving Cars
"My little chum, Eric the goldfish, has an uncanny sense for what direction to swim or drive," said Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Hulu Announces Spin-offs
Can't wait to see In the Kitchen with Hannibal. There's The Field too: A Brooklyn Nine-Nine spin-off with Sgt. Jeffords.
[Image Credit: Michael Muller/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images]
The Twitter Helmet
This would be a pretty good Facebook-Oculus joke, if only Twitter had bothered providing, you know, a picture of said helmet. Nobody could be bothered to PhotoShop something?
Help Fund Silicon Island
If you're tired of luddites harshing your Google Glass vibe, perhaps you'd like to live on an island where everyone probably already has one.
