Planet CNET: Another Apple first Video

Planet CNET: Another Apple first Video Transcript

^B00:00:00 [ Music ] ^M00:00:08

>> Hey there. I'm Kara Tsuboi, reporting from CNET headquarters in San Francisco. Welcome to Planet CNET, our weekly show where we bring you reports from CNET editors around the globe. We kick things off down under, where Apple fanboys finally have a place of worship.

>> Amid all the craziness surrounding the release of the iPhone 3G, Australians have another reason to get hyped up about Apple. The first Apple store in the southern hemisphere has launched in Sydney, Australia. Would you like to have a tour? ^M00:00:38 [ Music ] Sydney might not have the glass, spiral staircase found in the Fifth Avenue store in New York, but we do have a straight version of our own. Hopefully, nobody will get injured in that rush for the iPhone. The top floor of the Apple store in Sydney is devoted to service. And right behind me is the biggest Genius Bar in the world. It's almost 20 meters long. We're in the Apple queue. It's five hours and 42 minutes left to go. I'm here with Damien. Now, how long have you been waiting in the line?

>> Since about a quarter to midnight last night.

>> I'm here because I'm a devoted Mac fan. And I'm a lunatic, of course.

>> Is there free Wi-Fi in this area?

>> Yeah. Apple actually switched on some free Wi-Fi inside, so we've been having free Internet, and downloading bit turns at their expense.

>> What is on this shirt?

>> That's my Microsoft partner shirt. I got it a week or two ago.

>> Have you been beaten up by other queuers yet?

>> Well, I've had a few death threats.

>> When nature calls, how do you answer?

>> The first time we answered with the Hilton. The second time we answered with McDonald's.

>> How many apple products do you own at the moment?

>> At the moment? I guess I've got two laptops. I've got an iMac. I've got two iPods. That'd be about it.

>> I have a Mac Pro, two 30-inch monitors. I have a Mac Error, three iMacs in my laboratory. Every iPod that's ever been produced, two Apple TVs. Gosh, let's see. I'm not home and someone now knows my whole list.

>> iPhones and whatnot aside, I would give anything to see Steve Jobs here. ^M00:02:03 [ Music ] ^M00:02:08 [ Cheering and applause ] ^M00:02:15

>> Well, that about wraps it up on the opening of the Sydney Apple Store. We're gonna go home and have a good lie down because it's been one heck of a night. I'm Ella Morton for Planet CNET. ^M00:02:25 [ Music ]

>> For some reason, standing in a queue, even if it is hours and hours long, sounds so much more civilized than waiting in a line. But yikes, I'd hate to be there on July 11th when you Aussies are finally introduced to that iPhone. We mellow things out now as we move on to Japan. Kaori Omoto shows off a new toy that may just grow on you.

>> Hi. I'm Kaori Omoto from CNET Networks, Japan. Today I'm here at Sega Toys to see it's newest product. Sega Toys has so far offered healing toys such as Homestar and Grand Pianist. Nowadays in Japan, we often see healing toys designed to make adults relax and relieve stress. If you access toy makers website, you can find a new category for these new kind of toys. So this is the new product called "Pickleba [phonetic]." It looks like an ordinary plant, but when you talk to it, it automatically detects a break in the talking, and wave its leaves or bend its stems as if it is listening to the user. Pickleba? Nice to see you, Pickleba. The rhythm analysis program was made based on the theory developed by Professor Tomio Watanabe of Okayama Prefectural University. You are going to be sold in Japan by the end of September, right? So these products are aimed at people who want to have heartful communication. Reporting from Japan, I'm Kaori Omoto. ^M00:03:54 [ Music ]

>> Sadly for the rest of us, the toy will only be available in Japan starting this September, where it'll retail for around 22 US dollars. And can I just add how much I love that there's actually a niche called "healing toys" in Japan? Only in Japan, I think. Finally, we travel to the UK, where Rory Reid puts some fancy car tech through the paces. ^M00:04:18 [ Music ]

>> Over the years, we've seen some good car tech. ^M00:04:22 [ Music ] And some bad car tech. Cancel. Cancel. Cancel. But today, we're looking at a system that promises to be the ultimate in human-vehicle interaction. I'm Rory Reid, and this is the Fiat 500, one of the first cars to use Microsoft Auto, a system that lets you not only make and receive calls, but it will also read out your text messages as you drive along. Let's take a look. Okay, here's how it works. The system in the Fiat 500 is called "Blue & Me," but you might have heard of it as Microsoft Auto, Microsoft Sync. Anyway, the point is it comes with a Windows start button on the steering wheel. Once I press that and hook up to my mobile phone via Bluetooth, I'm good to go. What we're gonna try and do now is find out how it handles unconventional English. I already know it works quite well with everyday sayings. What about Internet slang, emoticons, that kind of thing? Let's test it out.

>> Working. Delighted, slash. Surprised. Tossed about.

>> Hey, [laughing] that's [beeping] awesome. Not bad, but let's throw in some acronyms 'cause if there's one place you don't want to spell out every single word, it's in a text message.

>> Laugh out loud. Laughing my head off. Funned up beyond all recognition. O-M-G. W-T-F. [Inaudible].

>> [Laughing] All right. Let's crank it up a notch and see if we can combine everything in one mental text message that only 16-year olds can understand.

>> O-B-D-Y W-N-T to go C-T-H-T [inaudible] movie tomorrow? Copy please. U-N ur girlfriend can come. Winking. As far as I know, Gayla [assumed spelling] had me [inaudible]. Laugh out loud. TTYL.

>> We'll give it the benefit of the doubt. I think if you can understand exactly what the said as a human being, there's something wrong with you anyway, so, yeah, well done, Fiat. ^M00:06:18 [ Music ] I'm Rory Reid for Planet CNET and this car is "funned" up beyond all recognition.

>> Funned up beyond all recognition? Here's a winky face to you, Rory. TTYL. Thanks for watching Planet CNET. We'll see you next time. I'm Kara Tsuboi reporting from CNET San Francisco. ^M00:06:37 [ Music ]