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Gizmodo

Gizmodo, the gadget guide. So much in love with shiny new toys, it's unnatural.

632-Meter Shanghai Tower Will Oscillate Towards The Sky [Shanghai Tower]Today

Financial apocalypse be damned! The Shanghai Tower, set to reach a whopping 632 meters by the time it's completed, broke ground over the weekend. With its zenith a full 140 meters higher than the Mori Building (currently the world's highest observatory), it'll grab the honors of the tallest building in China.

The Shanghai Tower is organized as nine cylindrical buildings stacked one on top of the other with a double-skinned layer on the outside. The outside layer is triangular shaped and swivels as it reaches upwards. Designed by San Francisco-firm Gensler, the tower plans on accommodating offices, a luxury hotel, nine sky-gardens and various retail and cultural venues, as well as a new Shanghai Metro stop.

A lot of folks over here are saying that no matter how bad the current economic situation might get, the chances of this project losing funding is very slim. Ironically, this is probably due to the Mori Building, whose own con

Chinese-Themed Microsoft Arc Mice Can Get Lost In Your Pottery Collection [Arc Mouse]Today

During my visit to Hong Kong, Brian showed me to a local design store called G.O.D. (Goods Of Desire), which kind of reminded me of a China kitsch-themed Urban Outfitters. When I get a chance to go back there, I'm definitely saving up some money for these laser mice, a Microsoft Arc and G.O.D. mashup. Man, could you even tell computer mice were in the picture? Fooled me at first glance!

There's two G.O.D.-designed ARC mice for sale, one with a traditional Chinese tea pottery scheme and the other with an old-timey “mouse” drawing and character. Cute! Both use 2.4GHz wireless technology with a range of about 30 feet. Like the regular ARC, these can fold to half their size. No price was listed, but they're probably a tad more expensive than the $60 the regular ARC goes for. [

Old Beijing Subway Trains Get Second Life As Homeless Shelters [China]Yesterday

Ever wonder what happens to old subway cars when subway lines upgrade to newer trains? In Beijing at least, the ones used pre-Olympics have been shipped to Sichuan and converted into temporary winter shelters. Ten DK-16 trains, each with six cars, are now in Guangyuan, a city north of Sichuan's capital Chengdu.

Sure, they may not look very homey to us, but they're an ingenious way to deal with the terrible problem of the thousands left homeless by the earthquake, while making sure older subway models don't end up in a landfill somewhere. Altogether, the trains will accommodate roughly 1,200 people. [China News]

Japanese Healthy Cigarettes Do Nothing for Kicking the Habit [Unsexy]Yesterday

A Japanese company, Sosu, has recently revealed healthy cigarettes, rechargeable battery-powered butts that emit flavored steam, complete with glowing LED lights. Unfortunately these cigarettes won’t actually help with those nicotine—you know, the addictive part—cravings.

The Mismo cigarette comes from Sosu's 'Nicolestyle' (or "Nicotine-less Style") line of products. Nicotine-free and tar-free, the cigarettes ensure you get your essential nutrients such as CoQ10 and Vitamin C. Flavors come in mint and grapefruit, which lay in cartridges that cost about $10 each and last for 300 inhales. For about $126, you can at least look swanky and cultured (coughpretentiouscough) as you hang outside a high upscale Euro club. I guess smoking is still pretty in—just this morning I swore I woke up and for a few hours I thought it was 1929. [Engrish]

At Gizmodo Gallery: A Live "Will It Blend?" Demo [Gizmodo Gallery]Yesterday

The Gizmodo Gallery, which starts this week in NYC, is going to have voodoo. See, Blendtec, the guys responsible for those catchy videos of gadgets being destroyed aren't just giving us one to give away as a door prize, but they're setting us up with a demo model we can use to pulp our own gadgets with.

We'll have lab coats and goggles, but also whipped cream and berries. And I think we'll sacrifice a gadget or two come this Saturday to the gods of user interface design or battery life because clearly, asking companies to improve such things have by and large gone unanswered. We may do even more than a few if you've got some particularly interesting and hated ones you want to puree, but no promises!

[Read more about our Gizmodo Gallery here and see what else we'll be playing with at the event.]

[Thanks to REED ANNEX and thanks to our benefactor gizmine.com]

Gizmodo Gallery
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