Lamborghini and Tag Heuer teamed up for a new limited edition luxury cell phone. With a design based on the strikingly sexy Lamborghini Murciélago LP 640, the MERIDIIST looks about as cool as a cell phone can look. Only 1963 (the year Lamborghini was founded) copies of this phone will be made, starting at an enormously expensive $7,500.

The phone is constructed from stainless steel and coated in black titanium carbide (really hard stuff,) and you can get it in various colors of leather, alligator skin, or rubber. My favorite: Black calfskin leather with red stitching. The screen is made from sapphire crystal, the same scratch-resistant material high-end watch faces are made from.

The whole phone has a sharp-edged design any Lamborghini lover will adore, although the dimensions and feature design resemble phones from five years ago. The rear is styled after the Murciélago LP 640’s V12 engine block and engraved with your “XXXX/1963″ limited edition number.

Battery life is an impressive seven hours talk time, 28 days standby power. Tech features are a typical 2 megapixel camera and WAP 2.0 browser, quad-band GSM, an ultra-sensitive antenna, an OLED screen on top displaying time, and Lamborghini wallpapers and screen animations.

Worth the price? Not even close, but if you just bought a new Lambo, chances are you’re not worried about saving money on your cell phone bill. Continue Reading…

The Apple iPhone, by design, is meant to be an all-in-one device, but who would have guessed it would be capable of doing some of the things it can? A few months ago we reviewed Rev for iPhone, which allows you to measure and graph many in-car statistics and analytics in real time, among many other features.

Viper Security has just announced a new iPhone app that allows you to start, lock, unlock, pop the trunk, arm security, or even find your car in a parking lot from anywhere you and your car have cell phone signal.

The system is called “Viper SmartStart,” and uses a downloadable app from the iTunes App Store to connect with the SmartStart system installed in your car. The system isn’t cheap, however. If you already have a remote start installed in your car, you can save some cash and just get the SmartStart module, which runs $299. If not, expect to fork over $499 for the whole system, which does not include installation at Best Buy, or the $30/year service charge (first year is free.)

This is a unique system, and might have some unexpected benefits. Standard key fobs have a very limited range, and the Viper SmartStart system’s range is virtually unlimited, as long as you have cell phone coverage. For example, let’s say you’re at the grocery store and lock your keys in your car. You could simply unlock the car with your iPhone, or even have your spouse at home unlock the car for you. Another benefit is that you’re able to start your car and warm it up in the winter from anywhere. If you’re in the office, for example, start the car while you’re at your desk so it’s warm when you get to it. An interesting and useful system, though a bit pricey.

Check out the video of the Viper SmartStart system after the jump. Continue Reading…

Finally, a Ferrari I can afford, more or less. In case you hadn’t noticed (although I did) Ferrari has been producing a TON of gear over the past however-long. They even have Ferrari stores where you can not only buy the usual car-maker stuff like t-shirts and whatnot, but also stuff like desk sets and bathrobes and even parts and bits and bobs off of old race cars. This being Ferrari, the stuff is amazingly expensive (think $80 polo shirts) but not all of it is too far out of line – I mean, after all, this is a pretty nice watch.

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To coincide with their expansion to new models, Lexus just announced that they will be offering a 20% discount on all equipment from their F-Sport accessories line, up to $2,000 ($10,000 worth of merch) for the month of July.

The F-Sport program, in case you haven’t heard of it, is designed to allow buyers of the Lexus IS (and now the IS C and GS) to add dealer-installed sport accessories to their cars. This program has been open to IS customers since early 2008, but just recently expanded into the IS C (convertible) and GS line. For the IS, the available upgrades include better brakes, clutch, engine cover, exhaust, performance air intake, quick shifter, shock set, lowering springs set, chassis brace, sway bar set, 18- and 19-inch forged wheels, floor mats and shift knob. In other words, a poor-man’s Lexus IS-F. Continue Reading…

The Need for Speed gaming franchise has been around for a long time. Starting with “The Need for Speed” in 1994 for the 3DO, Sony Playstation, and Sega Saturn gaming consoles, they’ve released 15 installments since then. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 for PS2 was my favorite; still one of the best racing games ever made. After that game, Need for Speed: Underground changed the overall direction to a more “Fast & Furious”-type game with lots of tuner import cars, all races at night for an illegal street-race feel, and a focus on that lifestyle.

But now, the NFS team has truly outdone themselves with an all-new simulation racer - Need for Speed: Shift.

This racer, based on the screenshots and preview video I’ve seen, looks photo-realistic as if you’re really there. During development, the NFS team focused on realism and mapped every one of the 70 available cars down to the last detail, including the interiors for a real-life driving experience. 15 real-world locations including Willow Springs and Laguna Seca have been mapped to the closest detail… Continue Reading…

Back in the day, automakers used glass to create headlight lenses, and all was well. But over time as car designs became more complex, glass simply wouldn’t do anymore, as it couldn’t be shaped to match the lines of the vehicle. To fix this, automakers began using plastic or polycarbonate for headlights, which would conform to the correct shape, and was cheaper and lighter than the old glass units.

The downside to using plastic lenses is that over time, they turn yellow and cloudy from oxidation, UV rays, salt, road debris, and other factors. Most people assume that the problem is on the inside of the lens (and in some cases it is,) but what they don’t know is that most of the time you can take out the yellow and cloudy from the lens in under 5 minutes with a simple solution… Continue Reading…