The TwitterPeek is... a Peek for Twitter?

Peek's never been one to shy away from the wacky and opportunistic marketing schemes but launching a whole product just for Twitter? That's courage, drive, and possibly a mental health issue. Yet here's the TwitterPeek -- what looks to be the same old Peek you know, love, and probably haven't purchased, stripped of its email and SMS functionality and re-oriented towards telling the entire world too much about your body and what you're doing to it every waking moment of the day. Now, to be fair, we're getting a distinctly strange feeling of phoniness about this whole thing, but there's already an Amazon listing and a picture of the box has already surfaced on -- where else? -- Twitter, so this could really be happening. Just think about that for a second. And then tweet about it, of course.

Microsoft researchers build muscle-computer interface, play air Guitar Hero

Google adds free turn-by-turn navigation, car dock UI to Android 2.0

Those nat service providers' fears were actually quite justified. Google today unveiled Maps Navigation (beta, of course), an extremely upgraded version of its current Maps software that'll be free and, from what we understand, available by default on all Android 2.0 devices. All the usual Maps features are present, including the ability to search by name of business and have it suggest the closest matches, both semantically and geographically, and traffic data. We're also now looking at turn-by-turn navigation, female robotic voice and all, and integration with satellite and street view, the latter of which will be able to show you what lane you need to be in when exiting the highway, for example. Instead of just searching nearby, it'll also now search along the route for when you're looking for upcoming gas stations or fast food joints that won't take you too far off your beaten path. Select addresses can be added to the Android home screen as their own icons, and given the limits of living in the cloud, trips and their respective visual feeds will be cached just in case you hit dead spots along the way. Still no multitouch, but as VP of Engineering Vic Gundotra noted at a press conference, there's nothing stopping a company like HTC from adding that feature à la Sense UI.

In addition to demonstrating the basic navigational functions, Gundotra also showcased a new user interface that appears when the device hooked up into a car dock, one that is intended for use "at an arm's length away." Essentially, it means much larger iconography and a convenient "voice search" option front and center. We later got confirmation from a Google product manager that car dock detection was definitively a hardware-based feature, which we take to mean Android devices currently on the market won't necessarily have the same convenience. If Android 2.0 takes off how Google (and Verizon!) hope it does, companies like TomTom and Garmin are going to seriously need to worry about their bottom line. Watch Gundotra demonstrate the app after the break.

Motorola Droid unboxing!

We just got a stack of Droid review units at Engadget HQ, and we're told that this is in fact the final packaging. The charger is just Micro USB, and that's really all you get in the box -- the docks will cost you extra. We're digging for pricing info on those, we'll let you know.

Sony recalls 69,000 AC adapters due to shock hazard

Oh, Sony. You've been doing so well with not making things blow up lately. Even a seemingly minor fizzle turned out to be a false alarm. While it's not laptop batteries this time, it seems that Sony has run into a bit of trouble with some of the AC adapters used for its VAIO all-in-one desktops and docking stations. Specifically, the insulation used in adapters for the company's VGC-LT and VGC-JS2 series desktops and VGP-PRBX1 and VGP-PRFE1 docking stations can apparently fail over time and pose an electrical shock hazard for users, although there have been no reports of injuries to date (and only four reports of any short circuiting). Still, it's probably a good idea to take Sony up on its offer for a free replacement. Hit up the link below for all the necessary details.

start / stop your car with your iphone!!

Jealous of the way those hipper-than-thou ZipCar people are always unlocking the doors to their rented Minis with an iPhone? We aren't either. But if you are looking to recreate that scenario with your Dodge Dart, have we got a gadget for you! If you already own a compatible Viper security system, the SmartStart module will let lock and unlock your car, arm and disarm your car alarm, pop the trunk, or fire off that panic alarm -- all from your cherished handset. There are two modules available, priced at $299 and $499, depending on which Viper system you've installed. You also need a SmartStart account which will run you $29 a year (the first year's free). But don't take our word for it -- check out the action-packed video below for a breathtaking recreation of the system's features.

iPhone OS 3.1.2 update now live, fixes sleep, network issues

Apple's just posted up iPhone OS 3.1.2, which purports to fix some of iPhone OS 3.1's Greatest Bug Hits, including: Don't Wake (From Sleep), Lost Network Access, and everyone's all-time favorite, Video Stream Crash Dance. We're updating now, let us know how it goes for you in comments -- and there's an iPod touch update too, we're sure it's just as fun.

Verizon turns to Android to compete with Apple's iPhone

Together, the two companies plan to create, market and distribute both products and services featuring Android-powered phones on the Verizon Wireless network. The two companies plan to co-develop handsets that will come with "innovative applications" created by both, as well as third-party developers already seen on the Android Marketplace.

And in what is likely a direct challenge to Apple and the iPhone, the Google Voice service will be allowed on all Android-powered Verizon handsets. The first two handsets are expected to be released in a matter of weeks.

"You either have an open device, or not," Lowell McAdam, CEO of Verizon Wireless, said in a conference call Tuesday. "And this will be open. We expect to bring that... application to market when we bring the first device out."

Apple has refused to accept the first-party Google Voice application onto the iPhone App Store, stating that the software too closely mimics its own default phone software. Both Google and Apple disagree on whether the application was formally rejected from the App Store.

Verizon's new "open" stance is quite a change for the company, which has traditionally kept tight controls over devices on its network. Earlier this year, the nation's largest wireless carrier said it would create its own application store and, at the time, said it would be the only option available for handsets.

"The nation’s best wireless broadband network is a perfect complement to the innovation of Android-powered services and devices," McAdam said this week. "Together, we’ll work to deliver a compelling new experience to our customers."

Fujitsu cellphone design contest yields mind-blowing results: hands-on

The clear pebble mock-up (shown above) was easily the crown jewel (in our mind, anyway), with a small black blob able to morph into different screens (media panels, a keypad, web browser, etc.) depending on which corner you drag said blob into. There was also a design reminiscent of paper mache, not to mention one with a circular vibe that just has to be a long lost cousin to Motorola's AURA. Have a gander at the masterpieces in the gallery below, but don't bet on these hitting your favorite carrier anytime soon.

iPhone app claims 95% piracy rate

With all of the success stories coming out of the App Store, it's been pretty easy to forget the problem of piracy for most developers. Not so for Fishlabs, who've posted over on the Touch Arcade forums that their latest game, Rally Master Pro 3D, is experiencing a 95% piracy rate. You read that right: supposedly 95% of the people playing the game on the iPhone haven't paid for it.

There's probably a multitude of reasons why that is -- the app is $7 with no trial version, it's not a super-popular app quite yet (so one pirated copy on a popular message board is probably traveling farther than the copies coming off of the official App Store), and there are probably at least a few other factors in the mix that we don't know yet. Still, 95% is obviously pretty darn high for a platform that's supposed to only deliver software through Apple's official store.

Now, fortunately Fishlabs doesn't sound litigious -- they're not pulling the old "piracy = lost sales" fallacy that many companies in this situation would do. They are lowering the price on the app -- they expected it to be worth more, but apparently their consumer base seems to disagree. They tell Mobile Entertainment that they'd entertain the idea of providing content only through Apple's in-app purchasing service (presumably, that would prevent piracy by locking down the extra content), but they also say that's a gamble they've tried and missed on other platforms before.

Of course, it'll take more than one post on one message board to make hay out of the problem of app piracy -- it definitely happens, but on the other hand, there certainly are apps selling well, and there are also apps not selling well that don't have this level of piracy going on. Apple already has lots of authentication and validation processes in place, but if app piracy is this big a problem for everyone, they may need to look at more.