While perusing eBay Motors, I stumbled upon a gem of a vehicle, one I just had to share. Have you ever seen such a cutie? Meet the BMW Isetta 600, circa 1959. This auction is for the larger model, not the more commonly seen little egg-shaped version. Well, “commonly seen” is said tongue in cheek, because I think the last time I remember seeing an Isetta was in the late 80s Depeche Mode videos “Behind the Wheel” and “Never Let Me Down Again“. Go ahead and click, I promise you won’t get RickRoll’d; both songs are also good background music for reading about this car.

According to the auction, this Isetta 600 has been “meticulously restored to the original specifications with over $25,000 invested.”

Designed by Willy Black, BMW 600 was created like an Isetta enlarged, but with the power and conventional appearance of a car with four wheels.

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Those of you who have been following me for years know that I am a sucker for shiny things. After all, I once had my own little PDA stylus company which created custom styli made of sterling silver or gold, with options such as inlaid precious stones. Yeah, I can be a little bit over the top like that.

The product I am writing about today is in the same vein, and it is not for the faint of heart, nor is it for the light of wallet. I’m going to put that statement right out there, right up front. The Vaja ivolution Silver for iPhone is an item of near decadent luxury that will make some swear and some swoon. You see, it’s not just the “typical” ivolution case made of the finest Argentinean leather, it’s also jewelry for your device because all of the metal trim on it is made of pure sterling silver.

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One of the first items to greet me in this morning’s email was this scrumptious and sexy tan leather MacBook Air Thinovation Thinvelope coming soon from Beyza Cases. (say that 10 times fast!!)

Man, this thing is gorgeous…

COMING SOON…
Apple MacBook Air Leather Cases & Sleeves Thinovation is the most incredible term to express feelings about MacBook Air and Beyza could not resist to use the same term for the Brand New Cases and Sleeves for the MacBook Air.

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Stop what you are doing for just a moment, and enjoy these pictures I just received in an email from my mother…

It read, “There is a restaurant in Vancouver, there are actually three, where they dress up the lattes. You get to watch them create the pictures.”

What can be done with coffee, cream, milk & imagination.

space…the final frontier…

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Vincent, always the enabler, knows that I am tempted by the MacBook Air - even though I can’t exactly justify it, and even though I so recently complained about Apple Tech Support. But his video is so intriguing…and the Air is so thin, so light, and so drool-worthy.

I can’t help but wonder though, if this would be one of those technolust purchases that would only disappoint me in the end? I mean, I really wanted an Apple tablet of some kind - larger than the iPhone, running the full Leopard OS. I really don’t need another 13ish-inch laptop, ya know?

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I get a lot of really cool stuff to review for my day job, so at any one time the Cave (my affectionate nickname for my pint-sized flat) is usually brimming with all sorts of goodies - a kind of digital fun park for the geekily-inclined.

This month I’ve got some especially nifty gear that I thought I’d share with Gear Diary readers - and, time permitting, possibly review as well!

First up, I’ve got the Samsung M8 LCD TV in the living room. Hot diggity dang, this is my favourite HD television so far! Picture quality is smokin’ - in a Jim-Carrey-in-the-movie-Mask kinda way, rather than a Oh-my-God-it’s-on-fire way. I’ve tested TV sizes from 40 to 60 inches, and I’ve decided that 40 is definitely the magic number. The M8 features 3 HDMI 1.3 ports, a gorgeously-glossy piano black casing, and jaw-dropping visuals that make me want to burn an analogue TV effigy in thanks to the HD gods.

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A couple of days ago, Telstra in Australia launched the Hiptop 3 (aka the T-Mobile Sidekick 3): a cute little teenybopper phone mainly aimed at teenage and twenty-something girls (no offense to the guys that own one!). Compared to the latest generation of smartphones, it’s way underpowered. My embarrassing admission is that I want one, despite the rational part of my brain insisting that I really don’t need another phone. So I thought I’d vent my spleen a bit on Gear Diary, and possibly shame myself into keeping my money in my pocket where it belongs!

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If you are like me, and I hope some of you are, you probably have fond memories of hanging out in the video arcades, feeding quarters into a big black box as your sweaty hand became one with the joystick. Back then, in the days before Playstation, X-Box or Wii (we called that the Dark Ages), having a gaming system in your home meant a giant black cabinet…a true video arcade game.

I had a friend who actually got one. We used to hang out in his basement playing free game after free game of asteroids (for you youngsters, Asteroids is a classic video arcade game, in which you control a spaceship navigating through an asteroid belt. Shatter the giant rock forms with your laser in order to make it safely through to the next level).

Well, today, we received an email from DreamAuthentics, which brought back all of these memories of the 1980’s. DreamAuthentics is a leading manufacturer of custom-built personal arcade cabinets, just like the ones from my childhood. Now, they have launched the Katana, the first model in DreamAuthentics’ line designed to sit on a table top or bar top, allowing you to convert any room into an “entertainment destination.” The cabinet comes preloaded with over 200 licensed games and also functions as a jukebox, computer and DVD player. Heck, you could even use it to watch Judie’s unboxing of the HTC Advantage.

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Well, now my day is complete! I have been able to add a dashing accent to the mental image I had already formed of my friend, SlashGear’s�Chris Davies.

What’s the occasion? His unboxing of the LG Prada Phone, of course!

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While I have only just got my Samsung SGH-i600, I REALLY love the design of this device. The colour, the keyboard, and the ingenious flip-up display all combined just look brilliant!! Add to that HSUPA on all the bands available and you have one amazing PDA Phone! PDAMobiz.com has managed to get a hold of a working unit and have posted some very sweet pictures for the world to see. The site is VERY slow, but the pictures are worth the wait if you have the slightest interest in this device

[via Modaco]