Quantum of Gadgets
We look at the gadgets in the new James Bond film Quantum of Solace, and chat to director Marc Foster about the technology behind Bond (includes spoilers).
In the tradition of Casino Royale, the latest installment in the continuing Bond franchise features another gadget-lite adventure for the super spy 007.
We spoke to Director Marc Foster at the Quantum of Solace Premiere in Sydney on saturday night. He described to us how his vision for Bond exists "...in a time where we consolidate gadgets. The iPhone can do so many things, so you don’t have like 10 different gadgets anymore. It’s everything. He has one gadget. And I think that gadgets in general remind me more of a superhero than anything else. So that was sort of my idea to make him this human being, this three-dimensional character."
The lack of ‘Q’, Bond’s go-to gadget wiz in most of the previous films is a character that Marc Foster isn’t necessarily against. "I like Moneypenny and Q, but they weren’t in Casino Royale and as this was a follow up to Casino Royale, I thought that maybe they eventually should bring these characters back. They’re fun and if you could introduce them in the right way that wasn’t cliché, that would be great."
Not far behind Marc Foster on the red carpet, we caught up with the beautiful Olga Kurylenko who plays Camille Montes in the film. When we quizzed her on her favourite James Bond gadget in the film, there was a short pause, followed by two fan favourite words; "His gun". Even Bond girls know the importance of Bond's favourite toys.
Quantum of Solace gadgets:
The 'you probably already have this' gadget: Sony Ericsson C902
Okay, okay - we get it. Sony put up the big money for this film and they wanted product placement for their new mobile phone. So, just as Batman used a Nokia, Bond now uses a Sony Ericsson and it remains his gadget of choice throughout the picture. It also has a number of non-standard functions that your C902 probably doesn't have - including spy tracking, facial recognition and an ultra-fast 3G connection. If only.
We detail more of the Bond-style technologies used in this phone, later in the article.
Real life counterpart: Released earlier this year, the C902 is available from a number of online vendors, including here for $469, which is still a fair bit cheaper than some of Bond's other Gadgets.
The ‘old school Bond’ gadget’: Walther P99.
While not strictly a ‘gadget’ in the Bond sense of the word, we thought that its inclusion was justified – the Walther branded firearms have a sacred place in the Bond Universe, particularly since the similar-looking PKK model remains iconic to the series. A German and Polish favourite, the P99 features 630 grams of automatic stopping power and is Bond’s main gun in Quantum of Solace.
Real life counterpart: With the right licences and clearances, you may be able to purchase or test one at a local gun range. This online shop has a number of Bond firearms for sale.
The ‘looks too sci-fi to be true’ gadget: Multi-touch, multi-sensor display.
In scenes reminiscent of Minority Report, the MI6 headquarters set has been redesigned since Casino Royale to include a multi-touch, multi-sensor style projection screen. There's also a couple of scenes where flat white tabletops project important intelligence reports on high ranking officials.
In one interesting scene, an MI6 intelligence report, including a series of tables and graphics - is projected as a multi touch surface. And it all happens in front of a clear glass office window, un-viewable to anyone else outside the room, while reverting back to an original see-through pane of glass with one click of a remote control.
Real life counterpart: Microsoft Touch wall and Microsoft Surface - have each been used at various Microsoft presentations around the world to demonstrate the reality of multi-sensory touch systems.
The 'we've almost got it' gadget: GPS locator/ phone tracker.
Bond appears in a number of scenes tracking his various targets using the Sony Ericsson C902; some from a phone signal source and others from what appears to be an actual tracking device.
Real life counterpart: There's a number of companies on the internet proporting to offer mobile tracking services, such as Phonestealth and Locate my phone. Some offer the ability to track the source of an SMS - while others will actually try and track a person on their mobile phone via satellite GPS. Maybe Bond is right - we are living in an age of secret surveillance. | 
GPS tracking is already here. |
The ‘perfect for snooping on your friends’ gadget: Wireless, intercepting Ear-piece.
Bond taps into a wireless conversation occurring amongst some of the members of Quantum in the Italian Opera scene. It happens with such ease, that you wonder if the bad guys have ever heard of phone jammers and interceptors.
Real life counterpart: It appears that Bond is using a run-of-the-mill listening device and this kind of tech has been used by the CIA and various spy agencies for decades.
The best part? The spy tools that once cost a small fortune can be attained for under $200 in some cases – including this cool little device.Phone-Spy.net have some unique looking packages that supposably “allow you to monitor the target phone of your choice in any place, there is absolutely no restriction on the range available.” Now that sounds very James Bond to us. | 
GPS tracking is already here. |
Thoughts on this article? Add a comment below.
Comments: 2
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bprobst
Nov 24, 2008 8:46 AM
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Uh, guys, the Walther P99 is a semi-automatic pistol, not a revolver. You can tell it's not a revolver because there's no ammo cylinder in the middle that revolves! Back to spy school for you.
Comment made about the PC Authority article:
Quantum of Gadgets?
We look at the gadgets in the new James Bond film Quantum of Solace, and chat to director Marc Foster about the technology behind Bond (includes spoilers).
What do you think? Join the discussion. |
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saywot
Nov 26, 2008 7:19 PM
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Quote:
The ‘old school Bond’ gadget’: Walther P99.
While not strictly a ‘gadget’ in the Bond sense of the word, we thought that its inclusion was justified – the Walther branded firearms have a sacred place in the Bond Universe, particularly since the similar-looking PKK model remains iconic to the series. A German and Polish favourite, the P99 features 630 grams of automatic stopping power and is Bond’s main gun in Quantum of Solace.
they fixed that |
