InputDynamics makes dumbphones smarter with tap-to-touch tech
You can't afford a proper QWERTY keyboard on your phone, much less a expansive multitouch slate. What to do? Well, if a UK startup named InputDynamics has its way, you'll just tap on any surface of your handset. The company's developed a piece of software called TouchDevice that uses a phone's embedded microphone to analyze the acoustics inside, reacting to your finger's impact on the surface with a touchscreen-like input on the device. New Scientist reports that's not all, as the algorithms can also be fine tuned for detect scratches and swipes for scrolling and zoom, and the company's in talks with "tier-one handset manufacturers" to license the program even as we speak. You'll forgive us if we're a bit skeptical, though -- if this truly requires only software and works on any surface, why not release an app to tap the backs of our Droids, BlackBerrys and iPhones?
You had to know that Corsair wouldn't stride into a new product category with just so-so hardware. Its new HS1 gaming headset has been sent out to a couple of UK reviewers and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Both Hexus and Bit-tech praised the circumaural (made to fit around, rather than on top of, your ears) design for its weight distribution and memory foam-assisted comfort, while also giving the thumbs up to sound quality. Bass reproduction is said to be somewhat weaker than desirable, but the bundled software gives you plenty of adjustment options. It's a shame that you'll have to install the drivers in order to avoid the in-line remote control blinking madly at you, and it's also not too awesome that you won't be able to use the mic on a Mac, but so long as these vices don't bother you unduly, you should find the $99 investment in an HS1 set more than worth it. Hit the links below for more detailed impressions.
Time to get down and boogie if you think the Android fragmentation issue is overblown. Google has dropped its latest platform version stats and Android 2.2, aka Froyo, has managed to corner a healthy 28.7 percent of all active Googlephones (those that accessed the Market within the two weeks leading up to September 1), rapidly closing the gap on version 2.1 and nearly matching in number the handsets still stuck on the Cupcake or Donut diet. When you consider that back in May those pesky 1.5 and 1.6 versions were on a whopping 62 percent of Android mobiles, you'll probably agree that phone makers seem to be getting their act together in terms of delivering Google's latest wares in a timely fashion. Who'd have thought it, the more practice they have, the better they're getting at their jobs!Continue reading Android 2.x now on 70 percent of all active Android phones
You get all-terrain vehicle babies, is what. Ben Gulak, the youngster that brought us the Uno electric unicycle, is back with a new transportation device, this time aiming to woo military procurement types with a rugged and extremely versatile one-man transporter. The DTV (Dual Tracked Vehicle) Shredder has enough torque to tow an SUV, but is also flexible enough to turn within a circle of four feet and scale slopes as steep as 40 degrees. To be honest, though, nothing we say can do justice to just how badass this thing really is, you'll want to see the videos after the break for that. Our favorite part? The Shredder can be remotely operated and its makers even advertise its ability to carry offensive weaponry and serve as a "robot attack platform." What self-respecting supervillain wouldn't want an army of those?Continue reading What happens when you leave a skateboard and a tank alone in a dimly lit room? (video)
Sony's typically the equal-opportunity offender, poking fun at everything from Wii to iPhone, but the company's latest marketing campaign is unmistakably aimed at Microsoft's motion-sensing peripheral. Head on over to www.yaybuttons.com to interact with a two-dimensional PlayStation Move, which will pop out a series of quotes from Kevin Butler -- Sony's fictional VP of Realistic Movements -- explaining Sony's tactile advantages over Microsoft's Kinect. While members of the Sony Defense Force will surely eat this up in spades, the rest of us will simply enjoy this latest tussle, and go back to waiting for both companies to put their money by their oral socket and make more games worth playing.
We knew dualscreen laptops were the future after our Toshiba Libretto review, but unfortunately for Toshiba theirs was a future attempted too soon. Acer, however, is apparently testing a rig that might be powerful enough to do the trick -- pictures bequeathed to Tech Review Source purportedly show a 2.67GHz Intel Core i5 processor (likely a Core i5-580M) with dual fifteen-inch multitouch screens, making both the Libretto and MSI's 7-incher look positively dated by comparison. Sadly, the publication's source says this device is "still slow and buggy," so retail availability is probably a long while off, but now you can tell your friends you too saw the future and it looked reasonably good. Peep a couple more shots of the laptop at our source link while you wipe your sweaty palms off.
Android-loving Japanese readers, your day has come. Mouse Computer is kindly bringing you the so-called LuvPad AD100, a 10.1-inch, 1,024 x 600 tablet running Android 2.2 on NVIDIA Tegra 2 internals. As is the way of Android tablets it is naturally just a rebrand of someone else's product, which we've earlier seen showing up with a Hannspree logo and, before that, an Interpad logo. There's the typical 512MB of internal memory paired with microSD expansion (8GB included), and it can be yours in a few weeks if you get that pre-order in for ¥48,250 -- about $575. Need to see more before committing? Check out our Spanish colleagues' hands-on with the Interpad version.
A decade ago at Macworld Expo, Steve Jobs provided a rare look into the vision guiding Apple. Breaking with naysayers foretelling the demise of the PC, Jobs said that the PC was now entering a third golden age of "Digital Lifestyle," following those of productivity and the Internet. In this era, the PC would serve as a digital hub.
The presentation was rife with references that are amusing with a decade of hindsight, one in which Apple has received more attention for its work in advancing popular digital spokes. For example, in pointing out some peripheral devices that will connect to the digital hub, Jobs showed the Rio flash-based MP3 player as well as the Palm V, both of which would succumb to Apple' own iPod and iPhone.Continue reading Switched On: Why the digital hub died
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We'd heard rumors that a new Zune was on the way, but here's a spot of evidence that something's actually up: Microsoft's adding a senior mechanical engineer to help build "the next generation of portable entertainment and communication devices." While the job listing in question is technically for Microsoft's Mobile Communications Business, which oversees Windows Phone, it's clear that some things have changed since the Entertainment & Devices shakeup: "We are the team that shipped the Zune HD," the post reads. It appears that there's a new group within Microsoft called the Portable Entertainment Group which isn't afraid to design its own hardware and includes the Zune team, though whether that hardware be Zune, phone or something more obscure still remains to be seen.
LG is touting its plasma PX950 as the first THX-certified 3D HDTV, and while we didn't run into it at IFA, the company held a press gathering this week in New York to make up for it. So if this set meets THX's rigorous demands -- 400 bench tests and 1,000 data points spread out over 30 test categories -- how does it look to the average consumer? Well, LG certainly has done a lot to prevent ghosting -- that is, image doubling from sync issues with the glasses -- and we were able to enjoy some pretty extreme horizontal viewing angles. What did bother us, however, was the 600Hz sub-field refresh rate; though not an issue with slower-moving footage (a camera-loving fish from "Under the Sea" comes to mind), any quick movement felt jarring to our vision. Can't say for sure if it was the content or the display, but we'd like to presume LG would showcase with only the top-notch visuals. The tech is still young, but when you're asking $200 to $300 more over the 2D equivalent (and that's before having to pick up the requisite glasses separately), the benefit of 3D still isn't quite as prevalent to us yet.
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Just like its older sibling the GTX 460, NVIDIA's GeForce GTS 450 is hitting online stores, even though we've yet to hear a word from NVIDIA itself about the new Fermi-based graphics card. While we can't confirm rumors that the GTS 450's got a new GF106 chip under that plastic shroud, it seems evident we're looking at a somewhat less powerful board -- shipping samples from ASUS, EVGA, Gigabyte and Palit show just 192 CUDA cores (down from 336) and a narrower 128-bit memory interface. That doesn't mean the GTS 450 won't necessarily be a capable gamer, though, as the graphics and shader chips are actually clocked closer to 800MHz and 1.6GHz respectively this time, and so far they're all paired with a full 1GB of GDDR5 memory with the same 3.6GHz effective rate -- no 768MB cop-outs. At around $130 a pop, we imagine dedicated graphics enthusiasts will spend the extra to get those bonus cores, but if you've only got three portraits of Ulysses S. Grant to spare, this might just be your board. Don't take our word for it, though -- if history's any indication, we'll have plenty of reviews come Monday morning.
As you might imagine, becoming the dominant player in electronics component manufacturing in China -- particularly at a time when competition has never been fiercer -- takes a particular personality type, and after reading BusinessWeek's profile of Foxconn founder Terry Gou, you get a very real sense that the dude meets the criteria. His reaction to this year's factory suicide controversy is a bit unusual; he basically comes out and says that he didn't worry about the first few before realizing that he needed to make some changes somewhere around the fifth death, but given that he says he's been living in his office for a while now and eating three meals at his desk trying to make things right, it sounds like he's finally on top of it.
The story of Foxconn's stratospheric rise is an interesting one, starting with its early coup making components for the Atari 2600 leading through to its purchase of 1,000 Fanuc milling robots generally reserved for prototyping -- valued at $20,000 apiece -- that it needed to buy to secure Apple's iPhone 4 contract. Gou envisions a fully-automated (and presumably almost employee-free) component factory inside of five years, has qualms about expanding his manufacturing presence in America ("I don't want to spend time having people sue me every day"), and pays executive bonuses out of his own dividends to protect the company's bottom line... so yeah, he's quite the industrialist. Follow the link for the fascinating full profile.
There's really no better way to say it: the item you're peering at above is genius. Lenovo's Power Hub is a sight for sore eyes, and a product innovation we've needed for decades. Put simply, this ThinkPad charger (compatible with 90W and 65W machines) has a breakout USB cable that plugs into a single USB socket on your machine; from there, you can plug four USB devices directly into the power brick. At long last, laptop users can charge / sync their phone, their iPod and their MiFi all at once -- and yeah, that last port is most definitely reserved for your treasured Hello Kitty warming blanket. There's no word on if (or when) Lenovo will start bundling these chargers with their machines, but at least this thing is more than a concept -- it's available to order right now from the source link at $74.99. So much for counting that ultraportable out due to having "only" one or two USB ports, eh?
0diggsdigg It seems more than a little odd to us that Apple hasn't bothered to make FaceTime compatible with its own longstanding desktop video chat service, iChat, but we've at least supposed that it's an inevitability with whatever upcoming Mac OS X update or software bundle that Apple deems appropriate. Now Mac4Ever, who was spot on with a pile of rumors last year, but hasn't succeeded with its recent prediction of an iLife '11 launch in August, is saying that Apple is prepping FaceTime both for Mac and PC. We don't know if that means building a whole copy of iChat for Windows, or just making FaceTime compatible with some existing PC video chat service, but it would certainly improve the odds of us ever finding a legitimate use for FaceTime.
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Read More ...Archos 32 'internet tablet' now shipping for $150, redefining the bounds of 'tablet' We're still struggling to understand how exactly a device with a 3.2-inch display is considered a "tablet," but at any rate, the Archos 32 is now available for those who'd like to pretend their shiny new PMP is -- in fact -- a tablet. Shortly after we sat down with this here handheld, Archos has managed to get 'em rolling off of the production line, and since you're curious, we'll have you know that $149.99 buys a 0.39-inch thick device with a 3.2-inch touchpanel (400 x 240), Android 2.2, 800MHz ARM Cortex A8 processor, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, an internal microphone, G-sensor and playback support for nearly every file format under the sun. The battery's good for up to 24 hours when cruising through tunes, but that dwindles to 6 once you fire up those bootleg copies of Family Guy. Still, not bad for a tablet. Right?
Audiophiles are quick to name the umpteen flavors of Dolby, but at the risk of oversimplifying things a tad, there are just three types of surround sound today -- each easily identified by their plug. Virtual surround uses just simple stereo jacks, emulating multiple channels from two, while digital surround travels across optical or coaxial S/PDIF cables (or HDMI) and has to be decoded. Finally, there's analog surround sound -- the cheapest solution of all -- where you basically just plug a pair of dumb speakers into each of front, rear and center 3.5mm sockets on your existing PC sound card. Unsurprisingly, the $100 Logitech Z506 speakers use this last technique to deliver their true 5.1 sound, but that's no reason to count them out. The question is, do they deliver enough bang, boom and tweet for the buck? Read on to find out.
Hello, obvious! Anyone who has actually used an Android-based tablet for any length of time would probably tell you that the experience is far from optimal. It works, sure, but it doesn't take a CSC major to understand that Google's existing builds of Android were crafted for smartphones and nothing more. Thankfully for those who are tired of arguing the point, Hugo Barra, director of products for mobile at Google, is stepping up to the plate and giving you some backing. Quoted over at Tech Radar, Hugo noted that "Android is an open platform, and we saw at IFA 2010 all sorts of devices running Android, so it's already running on tablets; but the way Android Market works is it's not going to be available on devices that don't allow applications to run correctly." He followed up by proclaiming that "Froyo is not optimized for use on tablets," and while he wouldn't go so far as to affirm that Gingerbread would be built for use on the aforementioned form factor, he did say that the company's working "to ensure our users have [the] right experience." How's that strike you, Galaxy Tab?
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Read More ...Enso shutting down retail sales, finally refunding zenPad orders We didn't want to get sucked into this whole Enso debacle, but our first post on the company and its too good to be true zenPad resulted in a flurry of warnings about unsatisfied customers and never-appearing shipments. After numerousdelays we finally got one to try out -- and a sad, sorry review unit it was. Now, nearly six months on from that original post, the company is finally, finally processing refunds for those who ordered their zenPads back in March but were left with nary a gadget in sight. With all that behind it, Enso is shifting its efforts exclusively to B2B sales, meaning that you can still buy any of its various and KIRFy wares but the minimum order is 25 units. C'mon now, who wants to be the proud owner of two-dozen zenDroids?
Outside of confirming the phone's existence and predicting pre-orders this month, T-Mobile hasn't put out its own official price tag and launch date for the G2 yet, but that's apparently not stopping Best Buy from publishing its own version of upcoming events. Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile are accepting pre-orders for the phone as of today, and will launch the device in stores on October 6th for $199 with a two year contract. That doesn't rule out a higher price or some rebate shenanigans from T-Mobile's own retailing efforts (though $199 is the rumored official pricetag), but it's comforting to know that this phone, the great gray / white / black hope for QWERTY sliders running stock Android, will retail for the industry standard $199 at least somewhere.Continue reading T-Mobile G2 retails for $199 on October 6th at Best Buy
Sure, you've fawned over razor-thin OLED TVs and vibrant AMOLED screens, but as Philips keeps reminding us, the organic diodes are good for more than displays -- they also make a fancy light bulb, too. This week, the company took the wraps off the latest advance in that direction: a bright-white OLED module that takes alternating current. Philips says that up until now, OLED technology required low-power DC voltage, which necessitated costly switching mechanisms built into such products in turn, but now they've got panels that sip fresh-squeezed AC juice directly from the wall. Now, it's just a question of when they'll be bright and cheap enough to be remotely worth your while. PR after the break.Continue reading Philips claims first AC-powered OLED module, points the way to cheaper, more reliable bulbs
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We're still struggling to understand how exactly a device with a 3.2-inch display is considered a "tablet," but at any rate, the Archos 32 is now available for those who'd like to pretend their shiny new PMP is -- in fact -- a tablet. Shortly after we sat down with this here handheld, Archos has managed to get 'em rolling off of the production line, and since you're curious, we'll have you know that $149.99 buys a 0.39-inch thick device with a 3.2-inch touchpanel (400 x 240), Android 2.2, 800MHz ARM Cortex A8 processor, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, an internal microphone, G-sensor and playback support for nearly every file format under the sun. The battery's good for up to 24 hours when cruising through tunes, but that dwindles to 6 once you fire up those bootleg copies of Family Guy. Still, not bad for a tablet. Right?
We didn't want to get sucked into this whole Enso debacle, but our first post on the company and its too good to be true zenPad resulted in a flurry of warnings about unsatisfied customers and never-appearing shipments. After numerous delays we finally got one to try out -- and a sad, sorry review unit it was. Now, nearly six months on from that original post, the company is finally, finally processing refunds for those who ordered their zenPads back in March but were left with nary a gadget in sight. With all that behind it, Enso is shifting its efforts exclusively to B2B sales, meaning that you can still buy any of its various and KIRFy wares but the minimum order is 25 units. C'mon now, who wants to be the proud owner of two-dozen zenDroids?
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