Visual Spicer creates a 7-foot tall papercraft Gundam, films the entire process as a timelapse (video)

Believe it or not, the massive seven-foot Gundam you're looking at was mostly constructed out of paper -- 720 sheets, to be exact. The papercraft artist behind the model, Taros Lesko (aka Visual Spicer), began creating it nearly a year ago, and estimates that it took him about 350 hours and four to five months to complete. As explained on his video commentary, the process started with building a store-bought model for photographs, using the shots to render it in 3D on his computer. After that, he created various templates using a variety of programs, which were then printed, cut and assembled into place. Notably, the final product has 1,250 total parts, weighs in at about 10 pounds and packs an internal 12-piece foamboard skeleton to stand. All of that is only the part of the final product, though.

Taking it a few steps further, he created a bevy of "fantasy shots" (like the one above) with his brother, Ivan -- and of course, Photoshop -- and even filmed both endeavors as timelapse videos. According to Taros, the aim was to make something "bigger and better" than the four-foot papercraft Gundam, which he made nearly three years ago and burned to ashes on video prior to this project -- we'd say mission accomplished. You'll find the construction timelapse video after the break, along with more related vids and photos at the source link below.

[Thanks, Christos]

Visual Spicer

Galaxy Note hooks up with O2, brings the hybridized goods to British hands

Sammy's already released its massive mobile in-betweener to the UK, but so far the 5.3-inch Galaxy Note's failed to catch on with the country's carriers. Well, the winds of wireless change are sweeping in and O2 looks to be the spot for your subsidized needs. There's not much more than a November mention and the promise of it "Coming soon" on the operator's landing page. Still, it's good news for those of you on tight budgets with a predilection for tablet-like smartphones.

Cool Smartphone O2

$100 Kobo Touch with Offers ships in '2-3 weeks,' serves you ads between reads for a one-time discount

Well, would ya look at this? Apparently, Kobo's unceremoniously launched a new variant of the Touch eReader on its webstore -- this time "with offers," priced at $99.99 (down from the regular's $130). According the company, this six-incher is identical to its original Kobo Touch, but will display advertisements when you're not reading -- namely, while it's off, in sleep mode and across other "discreet" areas when it's on. Notably, the device is only available in the US in black and currently unavailable for pre-order, although Kobo's listed it as "shipping within two to three weeks." There's no word on what sorts of "sponsored content" you can expect to see, but we'd bet that Amazon-related items won't be on the table. Ad-tolerating eBook aficionados will find all the details at the source link below.

The Digital Reader, The eBook Reader Kobo

Editorial: Why Apple isn't releasing a TV

The internet was ablaze upon the release of the Steve Jobs' biography about a particularly interesting quote that seemed to reveal that Apple would release a TV. This is just as exciting a proposition as it was over four years ago to smartphone users who dreamed that Apple would fix the mobile phone. But the fact is that Apple, and many others, have been trying to "fix" TV for years, and to date we are still stuck with hundreds of channels that have nothing on, a dozen remotes and a textbook example of how not to make a user interface. It seems, though, that people are ignoring another Jobs quote, from just over a year ago at All Things D, that seems to explain very plainly why Apple has yet to release anything more than a hobby.

When asked about Apple and the TV market, Jobs' reply showed how well-versed he was in the TV industry, but the choice quote was "it's not a problem with technology, it's not a problem with vision, it's a fundamental go-to-market problem." Jobs also explains that Apple made an iPhone and the iPad instead of a TV because there wasn't a choice, "there was no way to get it to market." So as much as we'd like to shed the chains that are channels and grid guides, as long as the monopolies that own the wires that run into our homes control the bits that travel over them, there just isn't a way to change TV.

Amazon bringing 400 magazines, newspapers, flame retardants to Kindle Fire

It's been a busy week for the Kindle Fire. First came news that Amazon would be bringing Facebook,Hulu and "several thousand" other apps to its forthcoming tablet, and now, we've got confirmation that hundreds of magazines and newspapers are on their way, as well. Yesterday, the company announced that more than 400 "full-color" titles will be available on the Kindle Fire Newsstand, including Us Weekly, The New Yorker and Reader's Digest, among others. Users who subscriber before March 1st, meanwhile, will be able to access a full 17 Condé Nast titles for free, as part of a three-month offer. Amazon is also promising plenty of interactive editions with built-in video and audio, which you'll be able to check out for yourself next week, when the Fire begins shipping. For more details, check out the full press release after the break.

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Kindle Fire Newsstand

LG might show off Google TV hardware at CES

Turns out the Apple TV isn't the only one to see rehashed rumors making the rounds, as Bloomberg has dredged up "people with knowledge of the project" to say LG could show off hardware featuring Google TV at CES 2012. Of course, slow-to-materialize new software apparently put a stop to LG, Sharp, and Toshiba's plans at last year's show, leaving Samsung and Vizio alone to bear the flag. Making the timing of this rumor conspicuous however, is news of Logitech sitting out the next round of Google TV, the aforementioned Cupertino project, and Sony's promise of a "different kind of TV" floating around recently. Now that the Honeycomb update and Android Market access actually exist, Google's next big task is securing more partnerships for content and hardware -- we'll find out how successful it's been in January.

Bloomberg Businessweek

3DS to beat out original DS' first year sales, land killing blow during holiday season

First 3DS sales were great, then not so much, and now things seem to be evening out somewhere around "normal." According to numbers released by Nintendo, the fledgling handheld is poised to break the original DS' first year sales numbers -- closing out its 8th month with 1.65 million units sold, or roughly 69 percent of its predecessor's 2.37 million first year sales. Noting that half of the old DS' year one sales were made during the holiday season, Nintendo is confident the 3DS will surpass its predecessor's numbers before hitting the one year mark. We'll let you make your own predictions -- Nintendo's press release is after the break, if you want to compare notes.

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Joystiq