You probably already know this, but here at Engadget, we love our readers. And, whenever we get the chance, we love to give a little back. Today, we're happy to have a brand new Computer Engineer Barbie to offer up to one random, lucky commenter. This Barbie has a new career and a new attitude to match it, and we think she's pretty cool. All you'll need to do to win her is to leave a comment below -- after reading the rules, of course.
Thanks to Mattel for providing us with the doll.
The rules:
Leave a comment below. Any comment will do.
You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you'll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.)
If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you'll be fine.
Contest is open to all residents of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Canada (excluding Quebec), 18 or older! Sorry, we don't make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
Winners will be chosen randomly. Four winners will receive one Computer Engineer Barbie.
If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.
Entries can be submitted until Wednesday, December 22, 2010, at 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
We're still a little ways away from completely disposable laptops that do everything in the cloud, but if all you want is a completely virtual game console connected to your TV, you can buy one right now. Eight years after the Phantom slowly got laughed off the face of the planet, the OnLive MicroConsole fulfills the same basic promise: it's a box less than an inch tall that streams games from powerful remote servers. We already told you what to expect from the OnLive's Game System, but now that we've given it our all, we can help you find the answer to the only remaining question: is it worth your funds?
When OnLive first demoed its service at the Game Developers Conference in March of last year, it showed us concept images of what the MicroConsole might look like. Just 21 months later, things have hardly changed -- it's the exact same shape and size, and as you can see, it's a pretty attractive little brick. Dwarfed even by its own game controller, the half-pound MicroConsole fits in a medium-sized hand and is solid as can be, with no flex or creak anywhere even when very firmly squeezed. OnLive told us key members of the team responsible for Apple's Mac Mini and Magic Mouse worked on the unit, and it certainly shows here, as the MicroConsole feels much like an angular counterpart to the rounded-off Apple TV.
The case is a pair of wedges almost seamlessly sandwiched together, with nothing but an OnLive logo on its ultra-glossy top, four wedge-shaped rubber feet and a label on the bottom, and completely bare sides. The front sports two USB 2.0 ports and the power button, which has a tiny LED inside, and the rear houses all the MicroConsole's connectivity options, including HDMI, optical S/PDIF (stereo only for now), a 3.5mm stereo minijack, 10/100 LAN, and a spot for a breakout A/V cable. By default, the Game System comes with an HDMI cable and an ethernet cable, but you can buy a component video package that supports 1080i and 720p for $30 more, which comes with both your standard RGB RCA cables as well as a 3.5mm to stereo RCA splitter to handle analog audio. Internally, the box also has Bluetooth, but there's no support for wireless headsets quite yet -- Bluetooth and surround sound support are scheduled for a firmware update in early 2011, and after that the company's looking to offer 3DTV signals as well.
How can the box be so tiny? By virtue of what's inside: an underclocked Marvell Armada 1000 chip, likely less powerful than your smartphone. It merely decodes the variable-bandwidth 720p stream of images that OnLive delivers to your door and outputs them to your HDTV. Marvell lists the Armada 1000 as a dual-core 1.2GHz system-on-a-chip, but OnLive tells us it's actually underclocked here, such that it only uses about 6.7 watts (according to our Kill-A-Watt meter) when running at full bore. Thanks to the energy savings and a pretty hefty heatsink, the MicroConsole doesn't need a fan, and is merely pleasantly warm to the touch after piping games for a while. After a number of extended sessions with the unit, the only hardware nitpick we can think of is this: if only the power LED had drastically different colors when turned on (orange) and off (red), we'd be able to tell if it's really off from a distance.
Controller
Thanks to those two USB ports up front, you can use a wide variety of controllers with the MicroConsole, including just about any USB mouse, keyboard and gamepad, or even the official Xbox 360 controller if you've got the dongle you need. However, the OnLive Game System comes with one controller already, and it's a doozy of a pad. OnLive's pitching it as a hybrid of the Xbox 360 wireless controller and the PlayStation 3's DualShock 3, and truth be told it actually feels more durable, if not quite as ergonomic, as either of Sony or Microsoft's units. The basic shape of the controller is cribbed directly from Microsoft's playbook, with a pair of handles on either side of a removable battery pack and nice big triggers up front. Sadly, OnLive didn't give quite enough thought for larger hands -- there wasn't enough room for our middle fingers between the handles and battery, unlike with competitors' pads. On the upside, vibration aficionados will be pleased to hear that rumble comes standard.
Twin analog sticks occupy the center of the controller, just like Sony's controller, but with comfortable concave indents for thumbs on top, while your index fingers wrap around two pairs of triggers both thicker and more solid, but functionally identical, to those on Microsoft's. The eight-way directional pad emulates Sony's with four buttons poking through a cross-shaped gate, but with a bit more tension than we're used to, and not much give when pressed -- they're fine for occasional use, swapping items and the like, but we found ourselves switching to the more comfortable analog sticks whenever possible. Meanwhile, if you're a fan of Microsoft's face buttons, you'll be in good company here, as the A, B, X, and Y are a virtual reproduction of the Xbox 360 ones in terms of placement and resistance, albeit a little more domed. The center also sports the standard Select, Start and Guide buttons, a series of LEDs to designate the player order, and there's a micro-USB port on the front. (OnLive told us the port is presently for charging only, and sure enough, the controller wasn't recognized when plugged into a nearby PC.) Last but not least, there are five media buttons on the bottom side, the only unique feature of the lot. Right now, they just navigate through pre-recorded video content -- game trailers and the like -- but we're told there are some exciting ideas in store.
Another interesting thing about OnLive's controller is that it doesn't use standard RF technologies -- it's got a IEEE 802.15.4 wireless solution designed to minimize lag. OnLive claims they propped up the artist formerly known as ZigBee with a custom wireless stack that responds to input in 800 microseconds flat, and while we weren't exactly able to test that figure with equipment lying around the house, we'll tell you it worked well enough. It isn't quite as responsive as a dedicated game console due to OnLive's inherent lag (more on that in a bit) but the controller slightly bested the experience we had with a standard wireless mouse and keyboard, and the wireless range wasn't bad. You can't cart the controller quite as far away as you can an Xbox 360 pad and keep playing, but it worked across a large room and through a couple layers of antique drywall. We weren't able to test controller battery life as our controller hasn't yet needed a charge, but when it does the solution is simple enough -- just like with Xbox 360, the unit comes with a cartridge that holds two AA batteries, and you can buy a rechargeable lithium-ion pack for $20 more.
Experience
We've been skirting the truth for paragraphs and paragraphs, but the reality is this: that beautiful little box and quality controller are just another way to access the same cloud service you can get for free on any old Mac or PC. From the moment you connect the MicroConsole to OnLive, everything you see -- down to the dashboard interface -- is actually running in a data center miles and miles away, with each and every video frame compressed and streamed to you as quickly as possible. The MicroConsole just means you don't need a dedicated computer, as it does all the dirty work of decoding and upscaling OnLive's variable-bandwidth 720-pixel-wide stream to a nice big 1080p, and puts a controller in your hand so you can kick back in front of your HDTV. As far as that leanback experience is concerned, however, the MicroConsole does a pretty decent job -- as soon as you hit that big OnLive button in the center of the controller, it's on and ready to connect, and that Marvell chip does fantastic work upscaling those images. Testing with a 1080p-native Panasonic plasma set, 1080p over HDMI and 1080i over component both looked great, even as 720p appeared rough and pixelated due to the TV's own futile attempts to enlarge. There's also something to be said for sitting a good distance away from an OnLive screen, as when you're across the room it's much harder to notice OnLive's video compression artifacts than on an in-your-face PC display.
Assuming you're not familiar with the existing OnLive service, here it is in a nutshell: every game is a video stream and you are an engaged observer. You start out in a hub surrounded by a field of what look like security camera monitors, each with a different game on screen, and it's not pre-rendered footage -- every single one is watching a real person play a real game in real time. Should you wish to try yourself, you can demo any game free for thirty minutes, and then rent it for several days if you feel like. You can also buy a game to play for as long as it's on the service -- current games are guaranteed through 2013 -- or pass the time by watching Brag Clips. The latter is something entirely unique to OnLive, and it's worth a mention here; if something hilarious happens in a game, you can press a button to instantly record and share the last ten seconds. (There's nothing quite like watching aircraft collide with palm trees, if that gives you any idea.) There's a miniature social network of sorts in OnLive as well, complete with friend requests, messages and invites for multiplayer games, though we chose to remain sad and friendless as a matter of principle.
From here on out you should take our impressions with a grain of salt, as your mileage will most certainly vary: OnLive depend heavily on your internet connection and how close you are to an OnLive data center, as your available bandwidth determines how good the picture will look (OnLive recommends 5Mbps for TVs larger than 40 inches) and latency dictates how speedily games will respond to input. Remember how we mentioned earlier that the exact same service is free on Mac or PC? Well, we can't stress this enough: if you're not sure whether the MicroConsole will work for you, test it on a computer first.
With an up-to-18Mbps AT&T U-Verse connection in San Jose, California, we found OnLive games loaded as quickly as on console -- sometimes much quicker -- and were actually quite playable. The controller never felt quite as responsive as that of a dedicated console nor the images quite as crisp, but we'd say that most of the time the overall experience was only slightly behind what we expect, only bogged down by the occasional annoying stutter. Frantic first-person shooters and driving games weren't as accurate as we like, but over the course of a couple days we adjusted to the mild lag, racking up plenty of kills, scoring the occasional headshot and drifting around some fairly tight corners as well. In Prince of Persia, a game that can require fairly precise timing in combat, we were still able to parry foes' swords and execute tricky jumps with a little bit of forethought, and a multiplayer game of Unreal Tournament III was intriguingly balanced -- if slightly laggy -- thanks to the fact that all players had 0 ping to the (virtual) host server. What's more, we found the graphical quality of most games actually ahead of their console counterparts in a roundabout way -- since OnLive uses the PC versions of titles, it can turn on higher levels of detail and add anti-aliasing to smooth those jagged edges. However, the image compression OnLive uses does cancel out some of the effect, so it's a bit like looking at a beautiful picture through a slight haze.
In short, you're giving up some immediacy in exchange for a tiny machine that lets you try any game for free and easily rent or buy from there, without requiring any physical discs.
Library
So, the MicroConsole performs as advertised, but what's there to play? Not a lot at present, we're afraid to say. OnLive scored some major wins in the form of Batman: Arkham Asylum, Borderlands, Assassin's Creed 2 and Mafia II, but there's nothing particularly new or exclusive here, just a small stash of some good and some middling games. Now, the company certainly has grand plans to turn that around, starting with a Netflix-style $9.99 flat rate plan it's testing right now and launching January 15th, and CEO Steve Perlman told us there are over 100 new titles in the pipeline including likely hits like Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, some of which he's trying to get on OnLive the same day they're generally released. He even told us that OnLive might even have "practical exclusives" in the form of games so graphically advanced they won't run on current PCs and consoles, but rather take a whole bank of servers to run. The long and the short of it is that we're looking at a whole lot of promises and not a lot of games for now.
There's also the little matter of what happens to the games you've purchased if or when OnLive should go under, but considering people seem to trust Steam with their money (which generated similar worry at its debut) we're not going to dwell on that topic.
Wrap-up
The OnLive Game System isn't for everyone, particularly folks who are cheap -- you'll find practically the exact same experience for free on Mac or PC, and OnLive has told us it plans to eventually integrate the tech into TVs and set-top-boxes too. It's also probably not for your average gamer armed with an Xbox 360, PS3 or capable gaming PC, as they'll likely have played the titles available and they won't be able to easily bring their existing online buddies along for the ride. If, however, you're an early adopter with an eye for quality hardware, a killer internet connection and your head literally in the cloud, $99 is a fantastic price for a taste of the future. It comes with a free game, too.
It's not exactly a ton to go on, but a trademark application recently filed by Motorola for the word "Stadia" has at least opened up a few interesting possibilities. While the (as yet nonexistent) device in question is seemingly phone-related given the goods and services Motorola is hoping to have covered, the application also specifically mentions a "game device in the nature of handheld units for playing electronic games for use with external display screen or monitor," along with a number of fitness-related functions like heart rate, speed, and calorie monitoring. That latter bit is further backed up by a separate "Stadia" trademark application filed by Motorola back in November, which specifically covered "fitness monitoring devices." What does it all mean? If we had to guess we'd say it's some sort of fitness accessory designed for use with a phone (possibly with some game-like features). Unfortunately, guessing is about all we can do at the moment.
Google's never been afraid to "blow it out" with Google Maps, most famously with its inclusion of Navigation, which knocked the legs out from under a lot of the GPS device and navigation app market. Google Maps 5.0 for Android might seem similarly earth shattering, but it marks a significant change to the basic technology of Google Maps. Most importantly, Google is now using vector graphics for its maps, which are scalable and much lighter weight than the traditional stitched together images used in most Google Maps incarnations. The vectors also enable something else a whole lot sexier: a two finger swipe can "tilt" the map and now you've got a 3D view of the landscape. It's not quite as flashy as Google Earth, but it looks a whole lot more useful. The other thing these low-bandwidth vector maps enables is offline caching of maps, specifically your most frequently visited locations, and entire trips that have been routed in Navigation, including potential reroutes. Anybody with an Android 1.6 or higher device can download 5.0 right now for free, but the 3D and offline features are 2.0+ only.
When is a YouTube video not a YouTube video? Every so often, a promotion pops up on the site that thinks outside the box, so to speak. In honor of the Nexus S (i.e. the best Android phone out there until the next best Android phone comes out), Google's re-teamed with Patrick Boivin and his ragtag group of tiny ninjas -- previously seen showing real unboxing power on a Nexus One package. We don't want to spoil the fun, so just click through and enjoy... and after all is said and done, keep an eye out for the nunchuks. Trust us.
Headed to Pawnee, Indiana anytime soon? Don't lie, it's a place that survives in only two places: your mind, and NBC's studios. The only "Pawnee" in proximity of the Hoosier State lies in Illinois, but it's cool, we can still pretend. After hearing that Think was planning to hawk its City electric vehicle in the Big Apple this year, it looks as if Indiana's government will actually be first to acquire it. Fitting, though, given how Think's primarily manufacturing facility is parked in Elkhart, IN. The first 15 City EVs -- described by the company as "all-electric, zero-emission cars designed in Scandinavia for fleet applications and urban commuters" -- have hit the ground running, delivered to the Department of Administration to be used principally by the Department of Natural Resources in the state's park system. Naturally, Ron Swanson was at the ribbon-cutting ceremony with a mind to swipe one for his own personal use, but once he learned of Think's plans to finally roll out retail distribution in select US cities in the second half of 2011, his conscience got the better of him. Phew.
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THINK™ Delivers Its First U.S.-Built Electric Cars
Indiana Receives First-in-nation Delivery of Electric Passenger Cars with American-made Lithium-ion Batteries for Fleet Use
State Receives 15 Cars
INDIANAPOLIS, Dec. 16, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- THINK™, the world's leading dedicated electric vehicle maker, has delivered its first U.S.-built cars to the State of Indiana for use in its government fleet. The 15 vehicles, which were shipped from THINK's manufacturing facility in Elkhart, Ind., will be the first electric passenger vehicles with American-made, Lithium-ion batteries used in a U.S. fleet operation.
"We're proud to be the first manufacturer to deliver an all-electric car built in the U.S. with an advanced battery that suits the needs of government and commercial fleet operators," said THINK CEO Barry Engle. "Our delivery today is part of a larger effort to help transform the U.S. light-duty vehicle fleet from one that is mostly dependent on imported oil, to one that is fueled entirely by domestically produced electric energy."
"As part of that goal, we've made a strategic decision to target initially the many millions of fleet vehicles in operation in the U.S. market," Mr. Engle added. "These fleets can jumpstart vehicle electrification in America's cities and help push the industry past early adopters into mainstream consumer markets. Fleet sales will drive up vehicle and battery production volumes and drive down costs, which will benefit retail consumers."
The economics of electric vehicles for fleet operators in terms of cost of ownership are highly positive. With defined travel routes and centralized recharging and service, fleets are the natural platform to launch this new industry.
The THINK City model is an all-electric, zero-emission car designed in Scandinavia for fleet applications and urban commuters. Durable, highly maneuverable and with low maintenance, the THINK City can travel 100 miles on a single charge, using advanced Lithium-ion batteries manufactured in Indiana by Ener1, Inc. The vehicle has accumulated more than 35 million road miles in customer experience since it was first safety certified in Europe in 1999.
The vehicle presentation took place today at Fort Harrison State Park outside of Indianapolis and was presided over by Governor Mitch Daniels. The cars were delivered to the Department of Administration and will be used principally by the Department of Natural Resources in the state's park system.
"THINK found a great place to establish its business in Elkhart, and we're proud to be the first customer," said the governor. "We believe that the coming era of electric cars, like the THINK City, will find its home here in Indiana."
Indiana Department of Administration director Rob Wynkoop, whose agency maintains the state vehicle fleet, said: "We saw this specific green initiative as an opportunity to test alternative energy vehicles in real-life situations. We believe the state parks provide the best locations to test these vehicles."
Mass deployment of electric vehicles in the state of Indiana is being facilitated by Project Plug-IN, an initiative organized by the Energy Systems Network (ESN), which is creating one of the most advanced ecosystems to support electric transportation in the country.
By early 2011, ESN will place 100 or more electric vehicles and supporting charging infrastructure with government and corporate fleets, as well as selected individual commuters, across the Indianapolis metropolitan area. Project Plug-IN enlists a wide range of industry and government partners to solve technical and regulatory challenges related to preparing communities for electric vehicles and is helping lead the national government-industry dialog to develop deployment community strategies.
"Our goal with Project Plug-IN is the seamless transition for consumers from gas-powered to electric cars," said ESN President and CEO Paul Mitchell. "To make this happen requires collaboration among vehicle and battery makers, utilities and government agencies at all levels and the willing participation of fleet operators, like the Department of Administration. The response so far has been tremendous."
THINK plans to roll out retail distribution in select U.S. cities in the second half of 2011. The retail distribution timeline coincides with the company's plans to expand the production line at its Elkhart facility, where the company currently employs more than 25 local workers. By the end of 2011, THINK will have more than 100 people in Elkhart building electric cars and more than 415 by the end of 2013. The company also builds the THINK City in Finland for sale in Europe.
About THINK
THINK is the world's leading dedicated electric vehicle manufacturer, developed and proven over 20 years. This heritage gives THINK a head start with having put nearly 10,000 electric vehicles on the road and accumulated more than 35 million road miles of customer experience. The THINK City, the first electric car to be granted pan–European regulatory safety approval, is sold across Europe, with sales and production in the U.S. and operations being developed in Asia.
THINK is also a leader in electric drivetrain technology, and was the first to offer a modular and flexible electric drive-train solution in the business-to-business sector. With its Scandinavian origins and sustainability mindset, THINK is one of the most carbon-efficient car companies in the world.
About Project Plug-IN
Project Plug-IN is an industry-led, commercial-scale pilot of plug-in electric vehicles and smart grid technology to demonstrate an energy efficient transportation solution for the Indianapolis area. The project includes vehicle and battery manufacturers, electric utilities, smart grid technology firms and research institutions. They are working collaboratively to build a plug-in ecosystem that provides an optimal test bed for accelerating the commercialization of plug-in and smart grid technologies. Phase 1 of the project will include the deployment of more than 100 plug-in vehicles and 250 charging stations across the Indianapolis region by early 2011.
Project Plug-IN is an initiative of the Energy Systems Network, a non-for-profit industry consortium focused on the development of the energy technology sector.
Palm has never shied away from odd, short names for its devices -- take the Zire, for instance -- so when you hear that Palm's new owner has filed for trademarks on "Gyst," "Myte," and "Veer" in the category that covers smartphones, it doesn't take a very big leap of logic to believe that they're intended for future Palm models. HP's filings were all made on the 10th of this month, so they're very fresh; of course, companies of all types regularly file trademarks that they don't use either to throw off the Engadgets of the world or just in case they end up needing it down the road, so we wouldn't take these to mean there'll definitely be Veers on your carrier's shelf in 2011. Our vote? We think Myte's a great name for a tiny phone and we've heard rumors that they'll be releasing a small model -- possibly a Pixi successor -- in the next few months, so that lines up rather nicely.
Sick of seeing that little hard disk with an exclamation point popping up on your Android handset? Yeah, us too. Thankfully we can now count Skype among the apps that can be moved to external storage. This new release also adds compatibility with the Samsung Galaxy S -- but there's a catch. Android 2.2 is required, which many Galaxy S owners may or may not actually have yet and, while some are said to be getting a dollop of FroYo this very month, we've certainly heard that before.
If ever a post needed a sunglasses warning this one is it. Check out that paint job. It's a pretty hot hue for a pretty hot car, the E-Cell, a Mercedes SLS AMG that has had its internal combustion assets stripped and replaced with not one, not two, but four electric motors. That's one per wheel, naturally, and if you add them all up you get the equivalent of 528hp, a little short of the production car's 563hp, but torque is up to 649ft/lbs from the stock car's 479 -- and being electric that's all available from the start. Sadly, though, twisting force isn't the only thing that's swelled, with this car adding a whopping 880lbs to an already heft 3,571. According to Auto Express that's had a decidedly negative effect on handling, but it does at least offer a quite respectable 125 mile range. No information yet on cost or when exactly Mercedes might put this thing into production, but earlier word was we won't see it on the streets anytime before 2013. You'd better prepare yourself now by staring at the sun for a few minutes a day, and do yourself a favor: start squinting before you click "play" on the video below.
You know what they say about a trip to the FCC's database, right? Why, it's much like the step just prior to achieving manhood -- one more leap from here, and you'll be ripe for the pickin'. Just a few months after Hannspree teased us with a formal introduction of its (then unnamed) 10.1-inch multitouch Froyo tablet, it looks as if that very device has now found a moniker. The 1.6-pound HSG1164 will eventually bring a fairly impressive build of materials to light, offering a 1GHz Tegra 2 chip, 16GB of internal storage, 512MB of NAND Flash, a microSD slot, Android 2.2, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, mini USB / HDMI connector, an inbuilt light sensor, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR and a Li-ion battery of unspecified size. There's obviously no direct mention of a ship date in the documentation here, but we're putting our money on an early 2011 release. Care to wager, too?
Looking for a little zip in your next portable hard drive? Look no further than Super Talent's latest, the svelte USB 3.0 Storage Pod. As you've likely pieced together by now, that ultraslim black box above contains a 500GB hard drive and the appropriate circuity to transfer files using SuperSpeed USB, or right around ten times faster than USB 2.0. It's completely bus-powered, too, so don't bother packing an AC adapter. The company claims that it'll pass along files at up to 90MB/sec (vid's after the break as proof), and if you're already sold, you can fetch one yourself next month.
San Jose, California – December 13th, 2010 – Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of Flash storage solutions and DRAM memory modules, today announced their newest USB 3.0 entrant, the USB 3.0 Storage POD™.
With 3x the available power and a theoretical throughput that is 10x faster than its predecessor, USB 3.0 was made for external storage. Super Talent's new USB 3.0 Storage POD unlocks the true performance of modern hard drives and enables them to reach speeds that were previously only obtainable on the SATA bus, yet remain fully backward compatible to the millions of USB 2.0 enabled products; something that eSATA was never able to do.
"The USB 3.0 Storage POD is going to change the perception of external storage. No longer should an external USB drive seen as second-class storage. Now you can upgrade the storage capabilities of your existing system without opening the case and in a convenient form factor that you can take with you anywhere"., CH Lee COO of SuperTalent.
Once relegated as a convenient peripheral used for system backups, external USB hard drives have come a long way. USB 3.0 Storage POD enables an external drive to function as fast as or faster than the internal hard drive. The Storage POD is ideal for anyone who wishes to expand the storage capabilities of their current machine. It's not just for backups any more.
The Storage POD is ideal for the Road Warrior; there's no external power adapter, no drivers to install and weighs a mere 200 grams. Reaching speeds of up to 90 MB/s, for about the same price as a USB 2.0 external drive, the USB 3.0 Storage POD truly delivers on price, performance and convenience. It's external storage without compromise.
Starting today, Super Talent will begin offering the 500GB Storage POD for only $99.99!!
The USB 3.0 Storage POD will start shipping in early January.
This one's strictly for the record, the one that documents failed aesthetic experiments. Microsoft's Albert Penello has been cornered for an interview by the British Official Xbox Magazine -- mostly to discuss the console's five-year anniversary -- and their discourse touched on the ill-fated frontal accessory for the original 360. Penello admitted that although "faceplates were what everybody wanted to do" five years ago, they pretty much fell flat in terms of retail success, which led Microsoft to kill them off pretty quickly. We can't say we ever developed strong feelings either way about these plastic prettifiers, let's just be happy that Microsoft's latest console peripheral probably won't be subject to similar mea culpa admissions five years from now.
As you well know, if it exists it can be hacked. And what better way to ring in the holidays than by taking a string of GE Color Effects G-35 lights and -- thanks to some hand-crafted drivers and a Microsoft .NET Micro Framework embedded controller -- turning it into a IM notifier? Of course, these aren't any old Christmas lights: between the ability to change colors and the preset light shows, these guys boast a feature set that Clark Griswold would die for. And that's where a Microsoft employee named Andrej Kyselica comes in: using the Microsoft Lync 2010 Office Communications Server, our man has rigged a system that allows him to assign each of his instant messenger contacts to a particular bulb, which changes color according to each contact's status (for instance, green indicates that someone's available, white means away, and purple means out of the office). Pretty sweet, eh? Check out the video after the break for a closer look.
Consider the rumors quelled. Despite whispers that Apple would be starting up the Mac App Store in the final year of this decade (or the first of the next, depending on perspective), the Cupertino giant has just affirmed that it'll be 2011 before the general populace gets to dig their hands into it. January 6th is the opening date for the Mac App Store, and unfortunately for those still humming along on OS X 10.5, it'll be a Snow Leopard-only affair. Smack dab in the middle of CES, Apple plans to unleash the store in 90 countries, and it'll feature "paid and free apps in categories like Education, Games, Graphics & Design, Lifestyle, Productivity and Utilities." Naturally, it'll be a free update, and it'll work more or less exactly like the App Store does on your iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. As with those outlets, developers are able to set their own prices and then keep 70 percent of the revenue (provided it's a paid app). So, who's ready to blow a little Santa cash to ring in the new year?
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Apple's Mac App Store to Open on January 6
CUPERTINO, California-December 16, 2010-Apple® today announced that the Mac® App Storeâ„ will open for business on Thursday, January 6. By bringing the revolutionary App Store experience to Mac OS® X, the Mac App Store makes discovering, installing and updating Mac apps easier than ever. The Mac App Store will be available in 90 countries at launch and will feature paid and free apps in categories like Education, Games, Graphics & Design, Lifestyle, Productivity and Utilities.
"The App Store revolutionized mobile apps," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "We hope to do the same for PC apps with the Mac App Store by making finding and buying PC apps easy and fun. We can't wait to get started on January 6."
The Mac App Store lets you browse new and noteworthy apps, find out what's hot, view staff favorites, search categories and read customer ratings and reviews. Like on iPhone®, iPod touch® and iPad™, you can purchase, download and install apps in just one click and start using them immediately. Purchased apps can run on all of your personal Macs and updates are delivered directly through the Mac App Store so it's easy to keep all of your apps up to date. The Mac App Store is available to Mac OS X Snow Leopard® users as a free download through Software Update.
Mac developers set the price for their apps, keep 70 percent of the sales revenue, are not charged for free apps and do not have to pay hosting, marketing or credit card fees. To find out more about developing for the Mac App Store visit developer.apple.com/programs/mac.
Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork, and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple is reinventing the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.
It's so fresh, so new, and so comfortably shaped we don't know how anyone could resist getting their own Nexus S to have and to hold this holiday season. Well, there is one reason: getting up on a cold Thursday morning at 8am is no fun. If you're dedicated enough, Best Buy is selling them right this very moment, and again the up-front cost is $199 on contract, $250 for adding a line, or $529 if you roll restriction-free. Still on the fence? Maybe our review will help you to fall on one side or the other.
We told you that this would likely go on forever. Nokia just announced that the company has filed claims in the UK, Germany, and The Netherlands alleging that Apple's iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad are infringing upon Nokia's patents. This adds 13 more patents to the 24 already asserted in the ITC and US federal claims. Here's a particularly snippy remark made Paul Melin, vice president, Intellectual Property at Nokia:
"The Nokia inventions protected by these patents include several which enable compelling user experiences. For example, using a wiping gesture on a touch screen to navigate content, or enabling access to constantly changing services with an on-device app store, both filed more than ten years before the launch of the iPhone."
The new Nokia patent claims are wide ranging covering user interface, on-device app stores, antenna structures, signal noise suppression, messaging functionality, chipsets, caller ID, display illumination, integration of multiple radios, and data card functionality. Click through for the full press release.
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Nokia files patent infringement complaints against Apple in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands
Espoo, Finland - Nokia announced it has filed claims in the UK High Court, Dusseldorf and Mannheim District Courts in Germany and the District Court of the Hague, Netherlands, alleging that Apple infringes Nokia patents in many of its products sold in these countries, including iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.
"These actions add 13 further Nokia patents to the 24 already asserted against Apple in the US International Trade Commission and the Delaware and Wisconsin Federal courts," said Paul Melin, vice president, Intellectual Property at Nokia. "The Nokia inventions protected by these patents include several which enable compelling user experiences. For example, using a wiping gesture on a touch screen to navigate content, or enabling access to constantly changing services with an on-device app store, both filed more than ten years before the launch of the iPhone."
Nokia's filing in the UK covers 4 Nokia patents related to touch user interface, on-device app stores, signal noise suppression and modulator structures.
Nokia's filing in Dusseldorf, Germany covers 7 Nokia patents related to touch user interface, antenna structures, messaging functionality and chipsets.
Nokia's filing in Mannheim, Germany covers 5 Nokia patents related to on-device app stores, caller ID, display illumination and the integration of multiple radios.
Nokia's filing in the Hague, Netherlands covers 2 Nokia patents related to signal noise suppression and data card functionality.
None of the asserted patents have been declared essential to any wireless communication standard.
During the last two decades, Nokia has invested approximately EUR 40 billion in research and development and built one of the wireless industry's strongest and broadest IPR portfolios, with around 11,000 patent families. Nokia is a world leader in the development of handheld device and mobile communications technologies, which is also demonstrated by Nokia's strong patent position.
The observant among you will have noticed that we're a week past December 9th, yet Venue Pros are still conspicuously absent from their pre-orderers' hands. Dell's ever-changing shipping date was last bumped back to early January, though the company itself said it was hopeful that some units will ship out this week. And guess what? At least one did. Our tipster placed his order for the 8GB Venue Pro on December 2nd, and according to FedEx's online tracking service, his shipment has been picked up from El Paso, Texas, and is currently en route to him. What say you, brave Windows Phone buyers, has your Venue Pro broken out of the warehouses ahead of its (delayed) release?
The BMW S1000R is fast enough and sexy enough (other than that one lazy eye) to sell itself, and you'd think a commercial showing World Superbike rider Ruben Xaus flogging one around the track would be quite enough to get people inclined to buy the things. Not enough for BMW. The company used the optical illusion of afterimage to temporarily imprint "BMW" onto the retinas of theater-goers. Behind the screen was a giant cut-out backed by an even bigger light (a Profoto Pro-7B, we're told). It flashed for an instant during the commercial and, while all the spectators noticed was a quick pop, when they were asked to close their eyes they saw the logo hovering in their vision. Subliminal? Possibly. Illegal? Maybe. Ingenious? Absolutely.
We know, it's shocking, but some people think that Apple might actually introduce some new home and mobile computers next year. DigiTimes is reporting that MacBook Pro and iMac refreshes are coming, the latter specifically getting "a new panel size and a price point for the mainstream market." That certainly screams "smaller" and "cheaper" to us, but don't let us rain on your desktop-crushing, 55-inch all-in-one dreams. Regarding the MacBook Pro rumor, there are said to be four or more revised models arriving with "a slight change in chassis design" and Mac OS X 10.7 Lion onboard. Both sets of revisions are said to be due sometime in the first half of next year, which won't be "next" for very long at all.
Dell's keeping up its usual habit of sneaking devices out with today's announcement of the Dell Venue for launch in South Korea. Local carrier KT has revealed the details of this 4.1-inch Android 2.2 device (sans keyboard, unlike its WP7 cousin the Venue Pro), which is set to arrive by the end of this month at a price of 700,000KRW ($606). Formerly known by its codename of Thunder, this has actually been one of the most hotly anticipated Android handsets of the year, though the only other information confirmed by KT so far is that it'll have a curved Gorilla Glass screen. We're sure a US launch can't be far behind.
We've maintained for quite some time that Navigon's MobileNavigator app was leaps and bounds better than most of the similarly priced alternatives, and if you just so happen to already own it, you can look forward to a rather sizable update this morning. The newest build -- which should be percolating through the iTunes tunnels as we speak -- takes things to v1.7, and it essentially includes a half-dozen new features: universal iPad integration, Zagat Survey, Active Lane Assistant, Map Reporter, enhanced Retina Display support and new user notifications. Furthermore, the outfit's announcing a series of free single-feature apps for the iPhone in 2011, with help2park launching today; as you might imagine, this one assists in finding a parking space nearby, and it's being offered gratis. The outfit has alerted us that all MobileNavigator US MyRegion apps should see the update right about now, while the USA and North America versions will "follow soon." Oh, and if you're curious about those new add-ons, the Zagat will cost you $7.99 (it's on sale at the moment for $5.99), Traffic Live will run $19.99 and the Panorama View 3D tacks on another $9.99. The full skinny is just after the break, per usual.
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NAVIGON Announces iPad Customization and Zagat Survey® Integration for iPhone Navigation App
Including a Total of Six New Functions, MobileNavigator Update 1.7.0 Also Adds Active Lane Assistant, Enhanced Retina Display Support, Map Reporter and User Notifications
Hamburg, Germany, December 16, 2010 - NAVIGON AG, a leading provider of mobile phone on-board navigation, today announced the seventh update for its iPhone app MobileNavigator, the most feature-rich navigation solution on the iPhone platform. The update adds a total of six new features and is already available now for all NAVIGON MobileNavigator US MyRegion apps. It will follow soon for the USA and North America versions. The update adds a total of six new features. MobileNavigator is now optimized to run natively on the iPad , making use of the larger display and the user interface of the device. Integration of Zagat Surveys premium ratings and reviews for thousands of restaurants, and other leisure activities are available through an In App Purchase. The market first Active Lane Assistant shows drivers exactly which lane to choose in a moving on-screen animation. NAVIGON also adopted the apps graphics to iPhone 4 Retina display. Further additions include a new Map Reporter function and the option for user notifications.
NAVIGON's updated version provides our over one million app users with the latest navigation technology from NAVIGON's development labs, said Gerhard Mayr, vice-president worldwide mobile phones & new markets, NAVIGON. By transforming MobileNavigator into a universal app, optimized for both the iPhone and the iPad, premium features and content offerings are available across platforms. Instead of having a separate app for the iPad, we decided to develop one app that runs natively across both devices without extra cost for our dedicated customers.
MobileNavigator 1.7.0 brings the following additions to the NAVIGON iPhone app:
-Universal iPad Integration: NAVIGON is the first major GPS Company to make navigation universal; it now runs natively on the iPhone and the iPad. Users with MobileNavigator installed can use the app on both devices without extra charges. The app utilizes the iPad's large display and user interface with a higher resolution, and new menus. Route planning is convenient on the iPad, showing a large scrollable, multi-touch map to select destinations in simple taps. Users can plan their routes at home on the iPad and then send them to their iPhone for navigation on the go. MobileNavigator can also be used for navigation on the iPad. Capitalizing on the large screen, the app demonstrates Reality View Pro and the map view side-by-side, providing an accurate overview of the way ahead. In-map elements such as direction arrows, Lane and Speed Assistant symbols are designed in proportion to the iPad display size.
-Zagat Survey: An In App Purchase offers access to Zagat's signature ratings and reviews of over 40,000 restaurants, hotels, attractions, golf courses, nightspots and other leisure activities, based on the thoughts and opinions of a worldwide network of thousands of surveyors. Zagat has become the world's most trusted source to help consumers make informed decisions about where to go. Zagat's content is integrated into MobileNavigator's point of interest search, so users can easily find locations within a city, state or nearby. A tap on the individual destination reveals further information such as ratings of the appeal, decor and service as well as prices, telephone numbers and the full review text.
-Active Lane Assistant: The market first feature Active Lane Assistant assists drivers with getting and staying in the correct lane by showing a live lane animation. Displayed in the lower right corner of the map view, the animation reflects the current lane configuration and allows drivers to see ahead. An orange line indicates the way the driver should follow. The optional feature can be switched on or off.
-Map Reporter: The new Map Reporter feature enables users with the power to store changed road names, new speed limits, and one-way streets and submit them to improve the accuracy of future maps. The information is checked, verified and then integrated into later map updates.
-Retina Display Support: Retina display adaptation is further enhanced and now also shows the map, map fonts and POIs in high resolution.
-User Notifications and Newsletter: The update now also allows users to receive on-screen messages with important information about MobileNavigator within the app. In addition, users can also sign up for a newsletter and receive exclusive offers and first hand information by email.
MobileNavigator transforms the iPhone into an inclusive navigation device that saves the maps on the phone and relies on the GPS receiver, independent from a cell or wireless signal. It is the most feature rich on-board navigation application, featuring premium functions such as Traffic Live, Clever Parking, Reality View™ Pro, Panorama View 3D, NAVIGON MyRoutes, Live Weather, Connection to Facebook and Twitter, branded in-route POI's and much more. NAVIGON's iPhone app has been the top-grossing app several times in 29 different App Stores around the globe, including the U.S.
Pricing and Availability NAVIGON's North American apps and selected In App Purchases are up to 30 percent off until January 6, 2011. The promotional offerings are below next to the regular prices.
Applications MobileNavigator North America $59.99 (on sale for $44.99) MobileNavigator USA: $49.99 (on sale for $34.99) MobileNavigator Canada: $49.99 (on sale for $34.99) MobileNavigator US MyRegion East, Central or West: $29.99, additional regions $14.99. (first region on sale for $24.99)
In App Purchases Zagat Survey Ratings and Reviews: $7.99 (on sale for $5.99) Traffic Live: $19.99 Panorama View 3D: $9.99
MobileNavigator 1.7.0 is compatible with iPhone 4, 3GS and 3G and iPad 3G. The app also runs on first generation iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad WLAN, but third party accessories for GPS reception are required for these devices. *iOS4 multitasking is supported by the iPhone 4 and 3GS only.
For more information, please visit: www.navigon.com/iphone.
Google's famous penchant for keeping things in beta doesn't seem to have changed lately, as the company's App Inventor for Android is still keeping its Greek lettering, but at least access has now been opened up for everyone to enjoy. The switch from private to public beta isn't the most significant thing in the world -- up until now you just had to ask for an invite to get one -- but we're sure amateur Android coders and experimenters will appreciate not having to go through that extra step. The App Inventor's sitting in Google Labs right this minute, waiting for you to magic up (no coding skills required!) a finely crafted solution to modern living of your own. Hit the source link to get your mouse pointer dirty.
Microsoft just released -- or should we say, Apple just approved -- version 2.0 of the Bing search app for iOS devices. In addition to several other new features including integrated Facebook Likes on search results (really!?) and in-app checkins to Facebook and Foursquare, Bing now comes packing Streetside, something that first blew us away as Street Slide when it was still in the labs at Microsoft Research. Unlike Google's Streetview that requires a lot of forward- and back-clicking and turning in order to get a feel for a location, Streetslide provides a more comprehensive view of the shops and businesses in an area by letting you strafe down the sidewalk while zooming in and out of the buildings located on each side of the street. We took it for a brief spin (literally) and came away impressed. You won't find Streetside implemented for all locations yet (for example, San Francisco's Make-out Room was found on Streetside but the Slanted Door restaurant wasn't) but they do seem to have large swaths of major cities covered based on our brief testing of Chicago, Seattle, New York, and San Francisco. Sorry, nothing yet in London and Amsterdam but maybe you'll have better success searching your own neighborhoods. See the full list of what's new after the break in addition to a Streetside demo from Bing's architect Blaise Aguera y Arcas -- unfortunately, we're not seeing the impressive Panaroma feature he mentions in this release.
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What's New in Version 2.0 Quickly find the perfect restaurant based on your price range, cuisine, atmosphere, or location.
Easily find great movies by name, location, or theater.
Use the Plans feature to plan a night out, a dinner and a movie, or any event you want. See what plans your Facebook friends like and read their comments.
More transit directions to help you plan your commute. Real-time transit updates for Boston, San Francisco and Seattle (more cities to come), show you if a bus is on time, early, or delayed, with predictions for arrival times. Standard transit routes for 11 cities including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New Jersey, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington DC, and Vancouver BC, with more to come.
Familiarize yourself with a location before you go, using Bing Streetside. Streetside, a new mapping feature, gives you a multi-street level panorama of a location so you can take a virtual walk through the streets with a view of a location and its landmarks. Slide the street level imagery sideways, and the view of the sidewalk is seamlessly constructed, including an overlay of business listings, street names and store fronts.
Use reminders to get a notification when you're nearby a business or location where you have an errand. Add a reminder and you'll stop forgetting to pick up the dry cleaning.
Check in to Facebook, Foursquare, and Windows Live Messenger, without leaving Bing.
Improved homepage layout and design for easier navigation and discoverability.
While the controversial (and deadly) use of combat drones certainly shows no signs of abatement, the Air Force has announced that a recent purchase of 268 Predators will be its last. The vehicles, manufactured by General Atomics, should be in the hands of the military by early next year. For its part, the USAF will apparently switch to purchasing Reaper drones -- which can carry a wide variety of armaments, including Sidewinder or Hellfire missiles and laser-guided bombs. We just hope that they aren't using the unencrypted video feeds that made Predators so easy to monitor.
Looking for a bit more integration than your usual iPhone car dock or FM transmitter can provide? Then you might want to consider Oxygen Audio's new O'Car head unit, which packs a swiveling iPhone dock that's considerably discreet than some other similar units out there. It's also, of course, a full-fledged car radio, and it packs a 4x55W amp that Oxygen says delivers "perfect quality sound" to your car's speakers. If that's all a bit too much for you, however, Oxygen has also announced the decidedly more standard-looking O'Dock unit that simply mounts on your dash or windshield -- check it out after the break. Unfortunately, there's still no word on pricing or availability for either unit, but we're assuming those details will be made available at CES next month.
Iconic Stand is seemingly still a concept, but an interesting one for sure. Korean-designed iPhone stands, they're made of birch and have a serious natural feel to them. The makers have seen fit to design the stands with various famous logos for properties such as Twitter, Facebook, and Blogger built right into them. And while a nice little iPhone stand (which will apparently hold your phone whether it's nude or Bumper-wearing) with an iconic logo on it sounds pretty neat to us, we can't imagine these are actually... you know... licensed. Another example is after the break, hit up the source for a plethora of images.
This video, criminally, doesn't actually show any high fives, but we're sure the students at the University of Tsukuba have sustained endless LOLs over the past few months, pushing their gesture-driven robot arm system to the limits of human-robot high five interaction. The system itself is relatively simple: it uses two cameras to track a hand's movements, including specific finger gestures, which are then processed and translated into robotic movement in real time. The end result is basically the world's most elaborate claw machine game, as demonstrated above.
If you're in the market for a new Rock Band axe, it looks like you'll be heading to Best Buy very, very soon. That's right, the Rock Band 3 Squier Stratocaster is seemingly a BB exclusive. The $280 peripheral, which requires the MIDI PRO-Adapter to function, will hit shelves on March 1st. Until then, we'll just have to be happy with the Mustang Pro.
Still bummed to be waiting for your Venue Pro? Dell's amended its December 14th shipping update -- henceforth known as (this time only, and then never again) as "VP Day" -- to let yearning customers know that, if they had ordered the device before that day, a present was coming in due course. Nay, not a present, a Thank You in the form of a free Plantronics Explorer 240 Bluetooth headset. That's shipping in four to six weeks, excusing any ironic bouts of delay of its own. Let's just hope it doesn't beat your Windows Phone 7 device to the doorstep.
Since 2007, researchers at Tokyo University's ISI Lab have been working on a prototype of a running robot, which we've seen several of in the past. Athlete Robot (as it is seemingly dubbed) is a little bit different though. While it hasn't outwardly been given the humanoid treatment in any significant way, technologically, it works very much like a human. As you'll see in the video below, early prototypes of the bot which were less 'human' like in design didn't function as well as the newer version, which boasts McKibben artificial muscles and a biologically correct musculoskeletal system. Now, the robot still can't run very far without falling over, but it's impressive to watch its movements nonetheless.
One of our favorite parts of Kinect, at least theoretically, was the idea of controller-free and remote-free control of the dashboard and media playbook. Sure, it's never going to be as optimized and snappy as those tried-and-true digital buttons, but it's a great party trick, and we're all about the party tricks. Well, now you can get some of that gesture mojo going on with your XBMC setup -- and we're guessing eventually you'll be able to control just about anything else you'd use basic "left, right, click" actions for navigation. Our only suggestion? Get some of that Dance Central-style menu navigation going on here. That goes for you, too, Microsoft.
That's right, it's official. Needless to say, that LG Star we recently got our paws on is very real, though it won't go by that name at retail -- just as LG's own release materials had suggested, this monster has picked up the Optimus 2X name as it morphs from a prototype into brutally fast, overpowered reality. At the phone's heart beats a dual-core Tegra 2 processor running at 1GHz, the first such configuration to be officially announced by any smartphone manufacturer (though we're expecting others any day now). In case you're wondering how such power might be used, well, for starters, you've got both full 1080p TV-out via HDMI and video capture through an 8 megapixel primary camera paired with a 1.3 megapixel cam up front for face-to-face calling.
A 4-inch WVGA display is along for the ride along with 8GB of on-board storage (expandable with up to 32GB of microSD) and a 1,500mAh battery -- no larger than most single-core smartphones these days, so it'll be interesting to see if the final retail units hold up through a day of typical use. Unfortunately, the Optimus 2X is launching out of the gate with Android 2.2, but LG's already committing to releasing Gingerbread updates "in due course." It hits first in LG's home market of Korea next month, followed by Europe and other Asian locales in the coming weeks; we're sure you can hardly wait, so why don't you check out some eye candy from our preview while you pass the time? Follow the break for the press release.
LG LAUNCHES WORLD'S FIRST AND FASTEST DUAL-CORE SMARTPHONE
LG Optimus 2X with Tegra 2 Offers Top Multimedia Features for a Better User Experience
SEOUL, Dec. 16, 2010 -- LG Electronics (LG) today unveiled the LG Optimus 2X, the world's first smartphone with a dual-core processor. Along with more powerful multimedia features, the LG Optimus 2X's high-performance Tegra 2 processor makes for faster, smoother web browsing and applications and lets users multitask with virtually no screen lag.
"Dual-core technology is the next leap forward in mobile technology so this is no small achievement to be the first to offer a smartphone utilizing this technology," said Dr. Jong-seok Park, CEO and President of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. "With unique features such as HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) mirroring and exceptional graphics performance, the LG Optimus 2X is proof of LG's commitment to high-end smartphones in 2011."
Developed by graphics processor powerhouse NVIDIA?, the dual-core Tegra 2 system-on-a-chip found in the LG Optimus 2X runs at a clock speed of 1GHz and boasts low power consumption and high performance for playing video and audio. Users will experience faster web browsing and smoother gameplay compared with single-core processors running at the same speed as well as instantaneous touch response and seamless multitasking between applications.
The LG Optimus 2X offers 1080p HD video playback and recording with HDMI mirroring that expands content on external displays to full HD quality. The LG Optimus 2X can connect wirelessly to any DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) compatible digital device such as HD TVs for a console-like gaming experience taking full advantage of the phone's HDMI mirroring, accelerometer and gyro sensor. The smartphone also includes both rear- and front-facing cameras, microSD memory expandability, Micro-USB port and a hefty 1500mAh battery.
The LG Optimus 2X will be available in Korea next month with countries in Europe and Asia to follow. The phone will initially be released with Android 2.2 (Froyo) and will be upgradeable to Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). The upgrade schedule will be announced in local markets in due course.
Key specifications:
- 1Ghz Dual-core Processor (NVIDIA Tegra 2) - 4-inch WVGA screen - 8GB memory (up to 32GB via microSD) - 1,500 mAh battery - 8 megapixel rear camera and 1.3 megapixel front camera - HDMI mirroring - 1080p MPEG-4/H.264 playback and recording
This, friends, is the ThinkPad W700's worst nightmare. Rather than forcing consumers into buying a gargantuan lappie with an inbuilt secondary display (or settling for one of Mimo's diminutive alternatives), Mobile Monitor Technologies has an even better solution: this thing. The four-pound Field Monitor Pro is sure to be a hot seller over at Accountemps, with a fold-flat design and a spacious 15.4-inch LCD underneath. Essentially, this is a 15-inch laptop sans the guts, boasting just a 1280x800 LED-backlit display, a rear kickstand, two Kensington lock slots, a pair of USB 2.0 sockets, DisplayLink technology and a full-on number pad. It's designed to be used in both lay-flat or stood-up modes, and if you're looking for a more permanent solution, it can also be mounted on a nearby wall. Unfortunately, you'll still need a separate AC line running to a wall outlet, and the relatively low resolution isn't apt to drop any jaws. Head on past the break for a peek at what exactly this beast can offer, and then wait patiently for a price as "busy season 2011" swings in. Ah, the sweet smell of taxes coming due.
Never underestimate the power of Dreamcast to live on long past its intended expiration date (which, if you ask Sega, would have been around September 2007). The final flagship console from the Haus of Sonic is survived by a multitude of emulators propagating across a multitude of platforms... and well, here's another. Drk||Raziel has posted some videos showcasing the work in progress of nullDCe for Android (on what we make out to be a AT&T Samsung Captivate). The footage ranges from buggy (Soul Calibur) to pretty smooth (Crazy Taxi), but again, no one's calling this a finished product. See it for yourself after the break.
We've been tracking the MIT-originated Siftables so far with grudgingly bemused expressions on our cynical, internet-hardened faces. Now we find out they're called Sifteo Cubits, and they've got a slated release for the first quarter of next year. Sure, sure, we can keep it together. But then we saw this adorable press shot, and the callouses just fell right off our hardened blogger hearts. The 1.5-inch LCD-equipped blocks, which can sense motion and proximity while communicating with each other wirelessly, are going to be mostly used for games initially, though the possibilities seem endless -- and endlessly quirky. At $149 it might be a hard sell for most, but Sifteo had us at "pixel art." We should know more in January when Sifteo makes the full unveil.
If there's one thing we've learned from our stratospheric rise in smartphone adoption over the past several years (with no end in sight), it's that we can never have enough spectrum to run data services for them -- just ask the chairman of the FCC, the president of the CTIA, or pretty much anyone who's ever tried to load Engadget on an iPhone in Times Square. To that end, we're excited to see that the FCC has slated another round of 700MHz spectrum -- the pure gold that Verizon, AT&T, and others are using for LTE deployments -- but we wouldn't get too excited, because it's actually just a few blocks left over from the last auction that went unsold or unpaid. Markets in Puerto Rico, North Dakota, North Carolina, and South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia make up the 16 licenses available, so if you were planning on setting up 4G services in the Bismarck metropolitan area, you're in good shape.
Remember the Barracuda LP? Meet its formal successor. In a bid to generate some interest from upgrading Sierra Club members, Seagate has just introduced the Barracuda Green, described as the world's highest performance eco-friendly desktop hard drive. Essentially, this 3.5-inch internal HDD aims to split the difference between power and performance, with a 5,900RPM spin speed and the company's own SmartAlign technology to enable the benefits of the new 4K sector standard. The company claims that it's whisper quiet in use, and it drains less power than non-Green alternatives. It's hitting the sales channel now in 1TB, 1.5TB and 2TB sizes, with the big guy topping out at around $120. Ma Earth thanks you in advance for your consideration.
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Seagate Ships Industry's Highest Performance "Green" Desktop Hard Drive
Barracuda Green features Seagate SmartAlign technology for seamless transition to 4K sector desktop hard drives
SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. - December 14, 2010 - Seagate (NASDAQ:STX) today announced the availability of the Barracuda® Green hard drive, the industry's highest performance eco-friendly 3.5-inch desktop drive for low-power personal computers, multi-drive home networking systems and external PC storage.
Seagate Barracuda Green, the world's highest performance eco-friendly desktop hard drive.
The Barracuda Green hard drive, formerly Barracuda® LP, combines the industry's highest spin speed (5900 RPM) with Seagate's SmartAlign™ technology to deliver best-in-class performance. SmartAlign technology enables all the benefits of the new 4K sector standard while simplifying drive installation by eliminating the need for utilities often required to ensure optimum drive performance. The cool-running, lower-power Barracuda Green hard drive delivers whisper-quiet acoustics and helps reduce system costs associated with the fans and power supply devices often required for power-hungry systems.
Barracuda Green hard drives also support Seagate Think Green™ programs for a greener more sustainable world:
* 70 percent or more of the materials used to build the drive can be recycled. * All Barracuda Green drives use low halogen components to reduce the negative environmental impacts related to these substances. * Barracuda Green is designed and built to the highest environmental standards.
"Not only do Barracuda® Green drives offer environmental improvements in power consumption and material usage, but these drives are also among the first hard drives from Seagate to offer SmartAlign™ technology," said Dave Mosley, Seagate executive vice president of Sales, Marketing and Product Line Management. "This is important because the industry is transitioning to 4K sector formatting called Advanced Format to improve capacities and maintain strong error correction. However, the transition to Advanced Format without SmartAlign™ technology can be complex and require additional integration steps and software utilities to avoid performance degradation. SmartAlign technology removes these concerns and makes this transition virtually invisible for our customers."
The Barracuda Green hard drive, offered in capacities of 2TB, 1.5TB and 1TB, is now shipping to the worldwide distribution channel.
Is it the deal that'll never go through? Some might hope. For the better part of this year, Comcast has been jonesing to pick up a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal (for a cool $13.75 billion), but as you'd expect regulators have been poking and prodding the arrangement from just about every angle. The potential antitrust issues go on for miles, and now officials are paying particularly close attention to how the deal could shape the future of internet video. As you may or may not know, NBC holds a 32 percent stake in Hulu, and in theory, a Comcast buyout would enable it to limit access to other ISPs or force Comcast internet subscribers to also pay for a programming package in order to have access. A new AP report on the topic mentions that the US government is considering forcing Comcast to sell NBC's Hulu stake as a stipulation for the deal to go through, and moreover, they may insist that Comcast provide online access to NBC Universal's content library without a cable sub. Currently, Time Warner Cable requires users to sign up cable in order to access ESPN3 -- a nasty, strong-arm tactic at its finest -- and if the Fed gets its way, it could also set a new precedent for other operators. Needless to say, there's quite a bit to be sorted before NBC bigwigs take on corner offices at Comcast, and there's an awful lot at stake along the way.
Those giant Chanel sunglasses you bought for $450 may make you look happening at the pool, but did you notice the extra squint-lines you're getting thanks to their barely-there tinting? Not cool, and that wouldn't be a problem with Dynamic Eye shades. The concept model above admittedly looks worse than that pair of knockoff Oakleys you got for $20 from some mall kiosk, but that's hugely better than the early prototype demonstrated below, ready for its cameo in Revenge of the Nerds V: Nerds Hit the Beach. The concept is simple: each lens is an LCD that creates a dark box over the sun, blotting out the biggest source of glare and allowing the rest of the glasses to remain rather less tinted. They're even said to work at night. It's a project the company has been working on for years and still has many months of development left, but it feels close enough to ask for your help via Kickstarter. If you're feeling generous, a $400 donation will ensure you get one of the first pairs to roll off the assembly lines -- or you can just chip in $10 for now and get an e-mail telling you when you can order. Probably the safer way to go.
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Dynamic Eye Develops LCD Sunglasses; Initiates Funding Effort on Kickstarter.com
PITTSBURGH, Dec. 13, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Dynamic Eye (www.dyneye.com) announced today that it has completed the technology verification testing stage of its electronically controlled glare reduction sunglasses. Dynamic Eye's LCD sunglasses offer active glare control that is completely unlike and superior to today's passive technologies, and let you see what you need to see. The sunglasses darken only a small spot on each lens instead of the entire lens, so glare sources are dimmed dramatically, while everything else can be seen easily. The products combine sensors, miniaturized electronics, and liquid crystal displays (LCDs) to increase comfort and safety in glare conditions.
To raise capital and identify an early adopter base, Dynamic Eye is offering fans a chance to show their support through monetary pledges at Kickstarter.com. Kickstarter is an online threshold pledge system for funding creative projects. Top pledge levels are essentially preordering the first pairs of LCD sunglasses off the assembly line at a discounted price. The commercialization stage of the product will require additional funding and development, but Kickstarter affords an opportunity for market feedback. Dynamic Eye will then offer the sunglasses to the consumer market at a competitive, premium sunglasses price, and bring the price down as the technology matures.
The sunglasses are being developed for the $2 billion US sunglasses market, as well as for entirely new markets such as fighting headlight glare at night. Company founder and CEO Dr. Chris Mullin states, "Our products let users see more in glare situations than ever before, because they reduce direct glare ten to one hundred times more than any other sunglasses. On the technology side, we have a compelling application for the nascent plastic LCD industry because the application itself requires the lightweight, shatterproof, and bendable characteristics that distinguish plastic from glass."
About Dynamic Eye: The Company was founded to solve the problem of glaring lights by Dr. Chris Mullin, who received his PhD in physics from the University of California at Berkeley. The company has been awarded two patents and is pursuing several more. Dr. Mullin and his team have over thirty years' experience in LCD process development and manufacture.
Welcome to the Engadget Holiday Gift Guide! The team here is well aware of the heartbreaking difficulties of the seasonal shopping experience, and we want to help you sort through the trash and come up with the treasures this year. Below is today's bevy of hand curated picks, and you can head back to the Gift Guide hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the holiday season.
A new digital camera is a solid go-to gadget present for almost anyone on your list, since everyone loves taking and sharing photos. But pairing the right camera to the right person at the right price can be challenging -- with thousands of camera choices spanning every shape, size, and price tag, picking the right camera can be overwhelming. You're in luck, though -- we've looked through all of 2010's holiday camera offerings and narrowed things down for you. Read on!
For just over a hundred bucks, Canon's baby PowerShot offers stellar image quality, a decent 4x zoom, an optical image stabilizer, and face detection. No, it's not the most tech'd out cam on our list, but it'll take great photos and it comes in a bunch of colors -- and isn't that what matters most?
Perhaps the ultimate tween present, the Samsung TL210 offers a front-facing LCD that makes oh-so-artful selfies easier to take, while optical image stabilization and Smart Auto shooting modes ensures quality shots. Step up to the TL210 for HD video and a 5x zoom -- it's $30 more.
Budget compacts are generally bereft of style, but the Optio H90 comes in a variety of fun two-tone color schemes. On top of that, it actually takes decent photos and offers a 720p HD movie mode, although the interface is a little less than beautiful, and there's no optical image stabilization.
The mid-range compact market is packed to the gills with great options, but the Coolpix S8100 offers some of the most cutting-edge tech available at a terrific price. A backlit CMOS sensor allows for great low-light performance, there's a 10x zoom and 1080p video, and hey -- it's just a tick over $200 at Walmart and Best Buy right now.
Key specs: 12 megapixel sensor with up to ISO 3200 sensitivity, 10x zoom, 1080p video mode.
Rugged cameras generally don't offer the best image quality, but the Optio W90 can withstand water, dust, and even small children while taking solid snaps. Prices range all over the place on this one, so do some shopping around.
Sure, it's pricey, but if you can swing it, the Canon S95 might just be the best pocketable point-and-shoot camera ever made. With terrific manual controls, a built in HDR mode, solid low-light performance, and 720p video recording, there's not much more your loved one could want... except a DSLR.
Nikon's newest entry-level DSLR is the perfect blend of easy-to-use and feature-packed: it has a number of hand-holding auto modes, but still packs a 14.2 megapixel DX sensor with a max (boosted) ISO of 12,800, a 1080p/24 video mode with continuous autofocus, face detection, and subject tracking, and all the usual manual controls you'd expect. For the money it's hard to beat -- there's not much else you could ask for.
Key specs: 14 megapixel DX sensor, 1080p video with continuous autofocus
Sony's NEX cameras are a funky techno remix on the standard camera formula -- they offer terrific image quality in a tiny chassis that's still compatible with the entire range of A-mount lenses. If you're looking for a first-time camera, you're probably better off with a DSLR, but the NEX-5 is a great gift for someone who wants to try something new.
It's a tough fight between the Canon 60D and the Nikon D7000 this season, but the 60D strikes our fancy for a couple reasons: first, it's a bit cheaper, and second, it has an articulating display, which we're total suckers for. Head-to-head against the D7000 we'd say it really comes down to personal preference and brand loyalty, but if you're just looking to step up your game the 60D will serve you well for years to come.
We told you that this would likely go on forever. Nokia just announced that the company has filed claims in the UK, Germany, and The Netherlands alleging that Apple's iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad are infringing upon Nokia's patents. This adds 13 more patents to the 24 already asserted in the ITC and US federal claims. Here's a particularly snippy remark made Paul Melin, vice president, Intellectual Property at Nokia:
Google's famous penchant for keeping things in beta doesn't seem to have changed lately, as the company's App Inventor for Android is still keeping its Greek lettering, but at least access has now been opened up for everyone to enjoy. The switch from private to public beta isn't the most significant thing in the world -- up until now you just had to ask for an invite to get one -- but we're sure amateur Android coders and experimenters will appreciate not having to go through that extra step. The App Inventor's sitting in Google Labs right this minute, waiting for you to magic up (no coding skills required!) a finely crafted solution to modern living of your own. Hit the source link to get your mouse pointer dirty.
If there's one thing we've learned from our stratospheric rise in smartphone adoption over the past several years (with no end in sight), it's that we can never have enough spectrum to run data services for them -- just ask the chairman of the FCC, the president of the CTIA, or pretty much anyone who's ever tried to load Engadget on an iPhone in Times Square. To that end, we're excited to see that the FCC has slated another round of 700MHz spectrum -- the pure gold that Verizon, AT&T, and others are using for LTE deployments -- but we wouldn't get too excited, because it's actually just a few blocks left over from the last auction that went unsold or unpaid. Markets in Puerto Rico, North Dakota, North Carolina, and South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia make up the 16 licenses available, so if you were planning on setting up 4G services in the Bismarck metropolitan area, you're in good shape.
Is it the deal that'll never go through? Some might hope. For the better part of this year, Comcast has been jonesing to pick up a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal (for a cool $13.75 billion), but as you'd expect regulators have been poking and prodding the arrangement from just about every angle. The potential antitrust issues go on for miles, and now officials are paying particularly close attention to how the deal could shape the future of internet video. As you may or may not know, NBC holds a 32 percent stake in Hulu, and in theory, a Comcast buyout would enable it to limit access to other ISPs or force Comcast internet subscribers to also pay for a programming package in order to have access. A new AP report on the topic mentions that the US government is considering forcing Comcast to sell NBC's Hulu stake as a stipulation for the deal to go through, and moreover, they may insist that Comcast provide online access to NBC Universal's content library without a cable sub. Currently, Time Warner Cable requires users to sign up cable in order to access ESPN3 -- a nasty, strong-arm tactic at its finest -- and if the Fed gets its way, it could also set a new precedent for other operators. Needless to say, there's quite a bit to be sorted before NBC bigwigs take on corner offices at Comcast, and there's an awful lot at stake along the way.
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