Thanks to 54 tiny photovoltaic panels, the iBonsai (we just made that name up) will store energy in a hidden battery during the day, allowing you to recharge your gadgets even at night.

Hate wire clutter? Who doesn’t. The bonsai charging tree cleverly hides all wires and plugs under the tray.

Need to slim down the tree’s berth so you can fit it on your desk? No problem. You can rotate each part individually and produce an endless number of different shapes. It’s like metal adult LEGOS.

The iBonsai Tree is decorative, good for the environment and sexy. It’s also just still a concept, so sorry. You can’t buy this yet. Hopefully Vivien will sell his concept and get the tree mass produced soon.

[Via methodshop]

According to Kevin, Apple will announce the following within the next few weeks:

• the iPod nano will take on a slimmer, more rounded look
• the iPod Touch will get an update with a new 2.1 operating system
• Prices of the iPod line will drop to differentiate the product from the iPhone
• iTunes 8.0 will be a major new release with several additional features
• Further out Apple is planning to add Blu-ray support to Mac OS X

Why would Rose risk exposing his Apple contacts by announcing this information? And why now? Rose mentions his Twitter account multiple times in his blog post and urges people to “follow” him on Twitter to get more information. Perhaps Rose is bitter that Barack Obama took the top slot away from him on Twitter earlier this month.

methodshop

This month, American presidential candidate Barack Obama dethroned Kevin Rose from Digg.com and became the most popular person on Twitter. According to Twitterholic, a website that measures the “followers” of Twitter accounts, Barack Obama has over 58,000 followers.

Obama’s closest Twitter competitor is Kevin Rose with 56k followers. Robert Scoble, CNN Breaking News and Leo Laporte help round out the top 10.

Someone not in the Twitterholic top 10… John McCain. In fact McCain isn’t even in the top 100. The only serious McCain Twitter account we found has a little over 1,000 followers. A truly pitiful showing for someone who is running for president.

Here’s a 101 primer on Twitter and tips on how to explain it. If someone who personally knows John McCain is reading this, please print the article out for him (because you can’t email it to him yet).

Tutorial: How to Explain Twitter to Your Grandma

And if you are feeling wild, you can follow @methodshop on Twitter here.

methodshop

So what did Steve and Eric do with all that experience? What was the culmination of this vast interactive knowledge? In 2007, Steve and Eric joined forces with Naomi Kokubo and co-founded ROCKETON, a new type of multiplayer social experience that spans the entire web.

Instead of having to go to a separate site or use a specific application like Second Life, ROCKETON turns the entire Internet into a virtual world for browser based avatars. Think of ROCKETON like Second Life + PMOG with a twist of Facebook and a dash of StumbleUpon. It’s a Web 2.0 evolutional twist on virtual reality.

MethodShop was lucky enough to get some time with Steve and Eric and grilled them pretty hard about ROCKETON. A link to the full interview is below. Enjoy.

Interview: ROCKETON’s Steve Hoffman and Eric Hayashi

methodshop

AT&T’s insistence on trying to activate the phones in store taxed Apple’s authentication server (more info) and caused lines to move at a snail’s pace or sent buyers home with a phone only good for making emergency calls. During last year’s iPhone 1.0 launch Apple had everyone activate their own phone at home through iTunes.

Worse yet, AT&T outlets were allowed to sell far fewer phones that Apple Stores, forcing them to turn away customers who waited hours to get their hands on one.

The iPhone 3G line outside the Manhattan Apple Store on 14th Street at 12:52PM. Estimated wait time was ~4 hours. (Photo credit: MethodShop.com)

Earlier this week, Apple also had problems with the relaunch of their data service now called MobileMe (it was previously called iTools and .Mac). The MobileMe service is designed to synchronize a user’s personal data across devices, including the iPhone, but many users were denied access to their accounts this week, including Frank Accarrino.

“I’ve been trying to upload pictures from iPhoto to my .Mac website for the past few days but it’s offline. I can’t even get to my Mac mail. I bet Steve Jobs is pissed right now,” Frank told MethodShop.com.

Apple is usually known for flawless product launch events. Let’s hope Apple solves these network issues for next time. It’s estimated that 1 million iPhone 3G models were sold in the U.S. this weekend.

methodshop

You know how when you are browsing Amazon.com and the site suggests related products based on what you are viewing and what you’ve already purchased? This new Digg feature works kind of the same way. It analyzes your previous “diggs,” or stories you’ve voted for, then lets you know what other users with similar tastes have recommended.

If you want to know more, Digg execs Kevin Rose and Anton Kast go into detail about how it works on the Digg blog.

Rose will also probably explain the new feature during his next Diggnation podcast.

methodshop

Loopt is a mobile phone application that enables users to spy on see the location of their friends on an interactive map (see image below). The application also allows you to message friends in your general area and setup automatic alerts to notify you when friends are nearby.

In the last few months, Loopt has published several BlackBerry versions of its software for all major American cellphone carriers including T-Mobile, AT&T, Alltel and Sprint. Loopt also demonstrated an Alpha version of their software for the 3G iPhone at the 2008 World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC). You can sign up to be notified when the full iPhone version of Loopt is released here.

If you have a Jailbroken iPhone, then the function and features of Loopt might sound similar to Twinkle. Twinkle is a native Twitter client for the iPhone that pairs your GPS location with your Twitter posts. Twinkle also gives you the ability to add images to your Twitter Tweets.

But whether or not you use Loopt, Twinkle or Twitter.. it’s not any fun unless all your friends are also using the service.

methodshop

Beginning later this month, developers will begin to upload apps to the store accessible by iPhone users or to a new section of the iTunes Store, sharing revenue from app sales with Apple in a 70/30 split. These apps will be in addition to the 1,700-odd apps already developed for the iPhone’s Safari web browser.

One of the games people are looking forward to playing is Super Monkey Ball. Sega’s Ethan Einhorn showed off Super Monkey Ball on stage at the WWDC. According to Einhorn, after 8 weeks of development, the developers have created 110 stages.

In related news, the AOL Radio app for the iPhone won for Best Entertainment Application at the 2008 Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), providing users free access to over 350 online radio stations (including 150 local CBS radio stations) and more than 200 AOL Radio channels.

Other WWDC iPhone App winners:

Best iPhone Game:
Enigmo by Pangea Software

Best iPhone Social Networking App:
Twitterrific by the Icon Factory

Best iPhone Productivity App:
OmniFocus by the Omni Group

Best iPhone Healthcare & Fitness App:
MIM from MIMVista

methodshop

AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) launches its next-generation mobile processor - the AMD Turion Ultra notebook platform.

AMD state that the new processor is the first real opportunity to capitalize on their US$5.4 billion acquisition of graphics company ATI in July 2006.

A successful launch of the new AMD platform is seen by some as a turning point for AMD to take advantage of ATI’s graphics expertise and Intel’s failure to deliver its new laptop system.

By AMD’s own admission, it’s been a challenging time for the company as it attempts to go head to head with Intel and increase its market share which grew to 18% in 2007. Despite the current financial climate, the mobile computer market has become a key battlefield for chip makers. AMD sees mobile success as critical to its future growth; in 2007, AMD notebook sales grew by 53% compared to Intel’s growth of 33%. Overall laptop sales grew 37% worldwide from 2006 to 2007, particularly in emerging markets such as Central and Eastern Europe, and the Middle East and Africa, which has experienced 67% and 45% growth in sales respectively.

But it is the home entertainment market that could be key for AMD and also signal the death of the home desktop PC, as laptop power and graphics become increasingly sophisticated. Personal laptops now outsell home desktops, with 83% of people in Europe stating they use their notebooks for entertainment alone, such as HD gaming, HD DVD, streaming live TV and accessing the internet. AMD have tapped into this entertainment-driven market with specific features that enable the user to experience high quality graphics without draining the battery life of the notebook - enabling a mobility not previously seen before.

Click video below to watch Alberto Macchi, Managing Director, AMD Europe join spokespersons leading computer manufacturers including Acer and Packard Bell to discuss the exciting new platform…

In regards to the iPhone, here’s what we know today:

• Apple.com lists the iPhone as “Currently Unavailable.” Stock is so low that you can’t buy it. Usually a good sign that a new model is coming out soon.

• Apple continues to make iPhone sales deals across the globe. Netherlands, Hong Kong, Singapore, India and Australia were all announced with the last few months.
• A 3G settings screen was found by hackers in the latest firmware update for the iPhone.
• The new iPhone will most likely be unveiled during Steve Jobs’ keynote speech at Apple’s WWDC (World Wide Developers Conference) on June 9th.
• AT&T is prohibiting retail-store employees from taking vacations between June 15 and July 12, claiming that they’re expecting a “heavy selling period”. They implemented a similar policy last year for the iPhone launch.
• AT&T executives have said numerous times that all of their smartphones (the iPhone is one of the) will support 3G networking soon.
• The Apple Stores have been out of stock of the iPhone for weeks. And people are forming daily lines outside Apple stores that still have a few iPhones in stock.

And according to MethodShop.com, here are some rumors about what Steve Jobs might announce at the WWDC on June 9th

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