| AUO's 71-inch ultra-wide 3D LCD panel eyes-on Posted: 08 May 2011 10:55 AM PDT While strolling around Shenzhen earlier today, we decided to stop by at the China Optoelectronics Display Expo to feast our eyes on AUO's "world's largest" 71-inch 21:9 3D LCD panel. Phew, what a mouthful, but this 240Hz ultrawidescreen is indeed larger than the sub-60-inch offerings from Vizio, JVC, and Philips. But is it any good? We put on our passive 3D glasses and found the experience to be surprisingly comfortable and effective (even at about 40 degrees from the center before we hit the wall), though the glossy screen's reflection of the neighboring booth was slightly off-putting. This would probably be less of a problem at your humble abode, anyhow. In terms of availability, AUO told us that China-based TCL will be the first to pick up this beast of a panel, and the final product should be out in August. Apart from that, we couldn't squeeze out further info about other brands, so you best be writing to your nearest dealership to import this exotic cinema TV. More eyes-on pics in the gallery below. |
| DoubleTwist upgrade features AirPlay support for more Apple / Android miscegenation Posted: 08 May 2011 09:21 AM PDT Add another notch to DoubleTwist's Apple ecosystem integration belt, now that its Android app has added AirPlay streaming to the list of features. As of version 1.4 it will stream music, videos or pictures to the Apple TV or other compatible devices while also claiming beta support for Sonos hardware. The DoubleTwist player is free, but using AirPlay means purchasing the $4.99 AirSync add-on that also enables wireless sync with your media library (iTunes) and streaming to DLNA or uPnP compatible devices. Twonky Mobile is a free alternative that's also AirPlay-compatible but without the tight iTunes integration; you can check them both out in the market. |
| Nearly half a million customers left T-Mobile in Q1 2011 Posted: 08 May 2011 07:20 AM PDT Not even promises of a new Sidekick can keep T-Mobile from hemorrhaging customers, it seems, as the company reported significant losses in its Q1 statement for 2011. According to reports, 471,000 contract customers either failed to re-up, or outright canceled their contracts. Stacked against a shortcoming growth of just 372,000 prepaid customers (including MVNO customers for sub-carriers), T-Mobile suffered a net loss of 99,000 users, a 29% increase in losses over the same period for the previous year. Ouch. The firm chalked its loss to increased "competitive pressures," which lends credence to AT&T's insistence that Sprint and Verizon are such fierce opponents that it has to acquire T-Mobile for the magenta-tinted carrier to stay in the game. You can judge the profits and pitfalls for yourself -- just hit the source link for the full financials. |
| Space Adventures will shoot you (and your ego) to the moon for $150 million Posted: 08 May 2011 05:11 AM PDT Y'know, there are only so many pristine beaches and spectacular slopes one can see before terrestrial tourism becomes blasé. That's why Space Adventures -- who lets folks vacay in space via suborbital jaunts -- is offering to shoot you to the moon during your next work sabbatical. Amateur astronauts won't actually land on the lunar surface, of course, but their Soyuz spacecraft will get within 62 miles of it. To indulge in your lunar fantasy, it'll only cost you 150 million bucks, or roughly the GDP of a [insert small island nation here]. One of the two seats is already taken, but the company needs another would-be moon man or lunar lady before the trip's a go. The only thing stopping us (and everyone we know) from signing up is an empty bank account -- does Fastweb do spaceflight scholarships? |
| Eton's Soulra XL solar-powered iPod boombox will cost $300, now ready for your pre-orders Posted: 08 May 2011 02:08 AM PDT Summer's nearly here, the sun shining bright -- wouldn't you like to share your tunes with friends while basking in the light? That's what Eton's counting on as it prepares to ship the Soulra XL, the solar-powered iPod boombox formerly known as the Soulra 2. As we discovered at CES in January, its set of eight speakers get pretty loud, and Eton claims it charges twice as fast as its predecessor (five hours) thanks to a sizable monocrystal solar panel, and lasts five hours on a charge. It'll juice your phone, too. All told, you'll be schlepping around seven pounds and paying $300 for the privilege of completely cordless mobile sound. Sound like a deal? You'll find Eton ready to shake your hand at our source link. |
| LG Optimus Black debuts in Europe 'this month,' rest of the world settles for dual-core crumbs Posted: 07 May 2011 11:05 PM PDT LG told us to expect the ultra-slim Optimus Black handset globally in the first half of the year, and at least one continent will receive the device as planned -- the company just announced that the 9.2mm thin smartphone with the 700 nit NOVA display will hit Europe this month, with launches planned for North America and Asia at unspecified times after that. Yes, there'll be plenty of jealousy to go around, especially sometime in June -- that's when LG will allegedly unveil white and pink versions of the phone. Assuming, of course, that you're willing to settle for a single-core 1GHz processor when confronted with the latest spec sheets. PR after the break. Show full PR text LG OPTIMUS BLACK TO ARRIVE ON EUROPE'S SHORES
SEOUL--(Korea Newswire) May 8, 2011 -- The LG Optimus Black, the stylishly slim and lightweight Android smartphone featuring the unique NOVA display, will make its international debut in Europe later this month.
Following successful unveilings at the Consumer Electronics Show and the Mobile World Congress, the LG Optimus Black has attracted pre-orders from 56 network carriers in 50 different countries. The phone will be available globally across six continents beginning in Europe before heading to North America and Asia.
"For smartphone users who appreciate both style and substance, the LG Optimus Black offers beauty, performance and mobility in one smart package," said Dr. Jong-seok Park, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. "LG Optimus Black is a significant addition to our global Optimus portfolio and we think it'll prove to be one of our most popular phones."
Introducing LG's new NOVA display technology, the LG Optimus Black provides optimal brightness and clarity that allows for enhanced readability. With higher levels of brightness and true blacks and whites for ideal handset viewing, the NOVA screen provides a more natural experience for web browsing while reducing power consumption by 50 percent during general indoor use compared to conventional LCDs.
The sleek design of the phone is accentuated by the flush finish of the seamless 4-inch display to offer a smooth, undisrupted surface. This is complemented by the slim 9.2mm body and its unparalleled weight of only 109g.
The black version of LG Optimus Black will be available first followed by white and pink versions which will be introduced next month.
For more information and product images, please visit www.lgnewsroom.com.
Key Specifications:
* 4-inch NOVA Display (700 nits brightness)
* Dimensions:122 x 64 x 9.2mm
* Weight: 109g
* 1GHz processor (Texas Instruments OMAP3)
* Wi-Fi Direct
* 5MP Rear Camera / 2MP Front Facing Camera
* Gesture UI powered by Gyro-sensor
* 2GB Internal Memory and Micro SD up to 32GB
* 1,500 mAh Battery |
| Snail concept rolls out Braille-to-speech translation Posted: 07 May 2011 10:03 PM PDT A new concept that fits nicely in the things-you-never-knew-you-wanted category is determined to make speed readers out of the visually impaired. Snail -- deceptive name aside -- uses a pressure-sensitive touch pad to read patterns in a Braille passage, then translates them to speech, speeding up the reading process and allowing users to record audio passages for later playback. The user places his / her thumb, in the obvious opening and glides the device over a line of Braille. The translated audio is then played back either through a built-in speaker or over a connected Bluetooth headset. Snail was made with the blind in mind, but considering we've always been curious about what resides in those bumpy white lines, we wouldn't mind rolling with one of these things ourselves. As is the case with so many concepts, however, there's no telling when or if this Snail will slither on to the market. |
| How would you change Motorola's Xoom? Posted: 07 May 2011 08:28 PM PDT Two Motorola products in a row here at HWYC? Say it ain't so! A week after throwing the Atrix 4G out for discussion, Moto's Xoom tablet is on the docket next. As the world's first commercialized Honeycomb tablet, it obviously launched with heightened expectations. That over-the-top Super Bowl ad didn't help, but we digress. For those who've chosen the Xoom over countless others, we have to ask: are you happy with your decision? How's the software treating you? Taken those cameras out for a spin yet? Battery life still living up to your lofty hopes? If you had the opportunity to tweak anything, what would you do? Shrink the form factor? Toss LTE in from the start? We're hearing whispers that Motorola may end up partnering with Mazda on the Xoom- Xoom, so get your recommendations in now. Now! |
| Amazon Cloud Player streams tunes to iOS, following silent upgrade (updated) Posted: 07 May 2011 07:27 PM PDT Amazon Cloud Player has been laying low following its scuffle with Sony Music, but that hasn't kept the company's developers from rolling a crucial new feature out -- support for Apple's iOS devices, which it didn't have on day one. Despite running in the Safari browser window, we've confirmed that songs will indeed play. If you've got a device handy, give it a try yourself; otherwise, we'll update with impressions a little later this evening. Update: Great news -- we ran the Cloud Player on an original iPad and iPhone 3GS without a hitch. In fact, there was very little (if any) lag or time delay when buffering a new song, and were able to refresh playlists and other information quickly. The interface of the Cloud Player is almost the same as -- if not identical to -- the page that loads up on your computer browser. Even better, the Cloud Player works flawlessly with the multitasking controls in iOS; the usual forward/pause/volume options are all usable as you play Angry Birds. Sadly, there is just one bump in the road that keeps the process from being perfectly smooth: mobile Safari prohibits you from doing drag-and-drops, which adds a couple extra steps to the process of adding songs to your playlists. Take a look below for some screenshots of the Cloud Player in action. Sean Hollister contributed to this post. |
| Tor to fork Firefox for simplified anonymous browsing, doesn't think you're paranoid Posted: 07 May 2011 06:15 PM PDT Soon political dissidents, whistle blowers, and those trying to cheat MLB.TV's blackout restrictions will have an easier way to protect their privacy thanks to a dedicated Tor Browser. For those of you unfamiliar with it, Tor is a tool for anonymizing web browsing and communications through encryption and proxy servers. Trouble is, it requires both a browser extension and a standalone app to work -- leaving average users "horribly confused," according to developer Mike Perry. So, the organization has decided to retire the Tor Button and create its own fork of Firefox with private browsing features baked in. As an added benefit, Tor will no longer be at the mercy of Mozilla to fix bugs that affect privacy and security. For now, the group will focus on its downloadable bundle with automatic configuration scripts for simplifying setup, but eventually the paranoid will have a browser they can finally call their own. |
| Samsung Exhibit 4G for T-Mobile caught on camera, passes through FCC Posted: 07 May 2011 05:11 PM PDT Someone left a little gift for the folks at TmoNews -- spy shots featuring the Gingerbread-toting Samsung Exhibit 4G, which also just passed through the FCC as the SGH-T759. We can tell from the photos and fillings that the T759 packs both front- and rear-facing cameras (the latter with an LED flash), a microSD card slot, Android 2.3.3 with a TouchWiz veneer, and an HSPA+ radio. It's been suggested that the Exhibit could possibly have specs that line up with the rumored Galaxy S II Mini, including a 3.7-inch Super AMOLED screen and a 1.4GHz processor -- according to TmoNews, that CPU might be the older ARM11 variety, which could help explain the underwhelming Quadrant score in the images. Price and availability are up in the air, but we'd err on the side of cheap and soon. Check out the source for a few more pics. |
| iPad 2 light leakage due to faulty LG panels? (update) Posted: 07 May 2011 03:09 PM PDT We don't have official word from Apple on the subject, but we're hearing rumors that might explain why some iPad 2 backlights tend to bleed -- according to Digitimes' anonymous sources, LG Display was "forced to reduce its shipments in the first quarter due to light leakage problem for panels," and that Samsung took up the slack. That suggests that some of today's vaunted 9.7-inch IPS displays may be from LG's faulty batch and some may be slightly superior Samsung screens, but we don't really recommend you crack yours open on the basis of an uncorroborated rumor (or at all, really) to find out the truth of the matter. Update: An astute reader reminds us that while LG, Panasonic and Chimei make IPS screens, Samsung traditionally does not. Perhaps Samsung has managed to get its plane-line switching (PLS) displays into iPads instead, as was rumored last month, or perhaps this rumor is simply inaccurate, in whole or in part. [Thanks, trucker boy] |
| Tachyon launches OPS and OPS HD helmet cameras, not as durable but way more tiny Posted: 07 May 2011 02:06 PM PDT We can't say we've ever been particularly impressed by the video quality delivered by the Tachyon line of helmet cameras, but they're a good choice for those who need a recorder that can take one heck of a beating -- if you don't mind some extra bulk. That fat has been banished in the new, slimmer OPS line which will be available in two flavors: a $90 VGA base unit and a slightly higher-end HD (720p) one for $140. If you're keeping track that's the same as the earlier XC and XC HD models, but these aren't waterproof like those. The SD model is less than an inch wide and 2.252-inches long, while the HD model looks to be roughly $0.25 longer. Each camera is square in profile, meaning it can be rotated in four orientations on its mount, or flipped around backward. And yes, just like the XC cameras, Tachyon will be releasing a range of mounts for all your extreme endeavors, including shotguns, picatinny rails, and one that looks like an overgrown tie clip. It should be perfect for when things get fancy down at the range. Show full PR text Tachyon Releases World's Smallest and Lightest SD and HD Helmet Cameras
Tachyon, Inc., known as the maker of the world's toughest helmet cameras, is unveiling a brand new line of the world's smallest and lightest helmet cameras. Tachyon's latest product, the Tachyon OPS and OPS HD, will be available this summer. The Tachyon OPS line was designed from the ground up, with the desire to create the best helmet cameras in mind.
The OPS weighs in at only one ounce and measures just .95 inches in width and height and is 2.252 inches long. The OPS HD is only slightly larger. The OPS cameras also boast of a patented 8-way mounting system that gives the user an unparalleled range of mounting positions. The camera can face forward or backward towards the user, and can also rotate inside it's mounts from the 12 to the 9 to the 6 to the 3 o'clock positions. This lets the user position the camera correctly, so that they can film from any direction.
The camera couldn't be easier to use. It is ready to go right out of the box and has a simple, one-button operation. The cameras are also plug-and-play with a PC or a Mac.
The OPS line comes equipped with three standard mounts: A clip mount, with multiple angles of rotation. This mount is perfect for caps and straps and collars. A contour mount, for mounting to curved surfaces, such as motorcycle or bicycle helmets. And a standard tripod mount that will attach to any
¼-20 inch universal tripod screw.
For more extreme activities, such as paintball and airsoft, and riding around dust and gravel, the OPS comes with a extremely durable piece of clear plastic impact armor, that fits snugly over the camera and mounts.
Additional GunCam mounts are targeted at hunters and other fans of gun sports. These include a patented 8-direction Picatinny rail mount, three different shotgun and scope rails, and a rifle rail. The zinc-alloy Picatinny rail mount and rails allow for the secure mounting of the OPS to handguns, rifles, shotguns and assault rifles, without any modifications being done to the gun.
The OPS cameras record around two hours of video onto an 8GB Micro SD card. They have a built-in
Li-Ion rechargeable battery that is perfect for filming in extreme temperatures. They feature a high-dynamic light sensor with superior light gathering ability that makes them ideal for low-light situations and indoor filming.
"We design our products with the specific needs of our customers in mind," said John Chase, Sales Director for Tachyon, Inc. "The cameras are virtually weightless and the 8 directional mount is groundbreaking. The GunCam accessories are a hunter's dream come true."
To go along with the small size and light weight, the OPS prices are small and light as well. The standard OPS package is $99.99 and the HD package is $149.99. Any aspiring action film makers can now easily and affordably record and share their videos. The OPS cameras will be available this summer. For more information, or to pre-order from the first batch, visit www.tachyoninc.com .
Be sure to sign into Facebook to enter a sweepstake to win a OPS camera. We will be giving one away each month until December. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tachyon-XC/254143607929
About Tachyon, Inc.
Lewisville, TX based Tachyon™ Inc., is the premier innovator of durable, extreme helmet cameras. The Tachyon camera's ease-of-use, durability, recording time and quality, make Tachyon the trusted and go-to helmet camera source for people who engage in a wide-range of extreme activities.
GunCam is a registered trademark of Tachyon, Inc.
Tachyon, Inc. is an accredited member of the Better Business Bureau.
For additional information, please visit http://www.tachyoninc.com |
| Modder miniaturizes 5.25-inch disk drive, brings microSD support to Atari 400 Posted: 07 May 2011 01:01 PM PDT You aren't looking at a retro microSD card reader, you're looking at an Atari-compatible serial disk drive that just happens to use microSD in lieu of 5.25-inch floppies. In a Zork inspired fit of nostalgia (we've all been there), hardware modder Rossum paired up an Atari connector with a LPC1114 microcontroller, capable of emulating up to eight Atari drives, managed by a custom, auto-booting app. The whole package is neatly packed in to a tiny 3D printed replica of the original Atari 810 disk drive, and is available for sale never -- but don't let that stop you: Rossum's schematics are free for the taking. The word's biggest little Atari drive is just a DIY away. [Thanks, Francesco F.] |
| Screen Grabs: Kyocera Echo goes back to the alternate-reality future in Fringe Posted: 07 May 2011 12:02 PM PDT Screen Grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today's movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dot com. We liked the Kyocera Echo quite a bit, but perhaps the dual-screen tabletphone concept is a mite ahead of its time -- here it is fifteen years from now, helping the Fringe team pull up security blueprints for an opera house. Or perhaps Astrid has become a vintage technology connoisseur? We have to admit it's a step up from the Streak seismograph, but we can't help but frown -- we wouldn't be caught dead running Froyo in the year 2026, after all. [Thanks, Prince C.] |
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