|
|
|
||
|
Login
|
|||
Blu-ray set-top players are expected to be hot sellers this upcoming holiday season, but you might want to hold off until early next year when Pioneer and Sharp team up to bring Blu-ray recorders to living rooms in America. The partnership is hardly surprising—Sharp is part owner of Pioneer—and the recorders will launch in Japan this year and be shipped overseas next, with Europe and America likely being the first markets to get them. No word if they'll use those awesome new ultra-high-capacity disks we mentioned earlier, but not likely for this consumer-focused line. [Reuters]
The first iPhone 3G reviews have just hit, from Walt Mossberg of the WSJ and All Things D, Ed Baig from USA Today and David Pogue from the NYTimes. No one goes deep into the app store but here's what they think:
Walt Mossberg of the WSJ has been testing it "for a couple of weeks" and sees that surfing on the faster 3G is between three and five times the speed of the original iPhone. However, Moss found that browsing on the 3G network drained his battery much faster than browsing on the original. Externally, he says the speaker was "much louder" (YES!) for both music and speakerphone, but otherwise pretty much the same as the original. One bug/feature he ran into was that you can only sync your calendar and contacts with either Exchange or your personal accounts, not both.
In Mossberg's own battery tests, he got 4 hours and 27 minutes (short of 5 hours) of talk time, which is three hours less than his test on the original iPhone. Using 3G, he got 5 hours and 49 minutes, which is slightly better than Apple's own claim. He couldn't test any apps on his iPhone 3G, but did on his old iPhone—they worked pretty much as advertised. He concludes with pretty much what we've all known: it's slightly more expensive on AT&T due to the higher price plan, but satisfies people who really need that 3G speed. What's weird is that Mossberg didn't test the GPS functionality at all, so we're left wondering how that is. [All Things D]
Ed Baig of USA Today also tested the iPhone 3G and claims both that it was worth the wait, but still not perfect. His complaints of the first one—no video capture, no Bluetooth stereo and no voice dialing—are still there. Also, AT&T's 3G coverage was nonexistent in his New Jersey home, which kinda negates the whole "iPhone 3G" thing. He notes that the new plastic backing helps reception, and the new flush headphone jack is "a welcome development." Unlike Mossberg, Baig does have something to note on the gps. He says he was quite impressed by its accuracy when searching for pizza places while driving, and hopes that there will be a third-party add-on for turn-by-turn live directions.
Baig also says that the speaker is improved, but notes strangely that you can't directly charge the new iPhone 3G in some old accessories, such as a Bose SoundDock or a Belkin car kit. There's actually an adapter coming that will enable charging on those. Weird. He finishes up with his wishes for the next generation: Flash, Java and WMV support, removable battery and an expandable memory slot. All in all, a pretty positive review. [USA Today]
David Pogue of the NYT says that the audio quality is much improved, and notes that both incoming and outgoing sound is better than before. "In fact, few cellphones sound this good." The curved back makes the phone feel better in your hand, which is a definite plus. However, he says, the missing "standard cellphone features" from the first generation are also missing from this one. He hopes that the third-party Apps from the iPhone App Store will help fill in the gaps, but some of the ones we've seen—finding parking spots, free phone calls at Wi-Fi hotspots, random restaurant recommender, expense tracker, Etch-a-Sketch and tip calculator—don't exactly make up for the missing MMS, video recording and cut and paste features.
Pogue doesn't have much else in the way of benchmarks or impressions, but comes off seeming like he really likes the phone because of the iPhone 2.0 software; something old iPhone owners will be able to get for free. [NYT]
Notes: We have to say that Mossberg's review was the best in terms of completeness (save for the GPS omission). Normally, Newsweek would have a review up for the iPhone along with these three guys, but both they and Wired don't have an early review. This, we think, is because Steven Levy (the old Newsweek guy) at Wired, and Fake Steve Jobs (who hasn't quite started at Newsweek) didn't get the nod from Apple. We had our own hands on with the phone back at WWDC, which covers a lot of the exterior hardware elements as well as some of the software details.
Packard Bell—previously referred to as Packard Hell and Packard Smell—is diving head-first into the gaming PC market with the ipower X2.0, a gaming rig that features full customization at a decent price. It's aimed squarely at offerings from Acer and Ares. The Intel-based machines give customers their choice of ATI or nVidia graphics, disk drives, audio options, TV tuners and other add-ons. In addition, the PC features advanced cooling, including a silent water cooling system. The boxes are expected for this holiday season at about $2000, and we're hoping they're nothing like the PBs of the past. [Trusted Reviews]
Inadvertently posted to the Nokia site, the 8208 not only looks similar to the n96, the first non N-Series phone to feature a two-way slider. Part of Nokia's music phone push, the phone features the 0-9 keys below the screen, and music player controls above the screen. In addition, the CDMA phone has a 3 Megapixel camera and EVDO Rev.A. No word on release date or price. [Electronista]
Windows Media Center still isn't what Microsoft wants it to be, but it has its fans, and its getting an update this month that they've been waiting for. Word is coming down, though, that this update isn't the one the users are lusting after, the one with H.264 and DirectTV tuner support. Instead it's a minor upgrade that adds things like international support. But fret not, users, as now it seems like there's another rumor flying around about another update later in the year which will add many requested features. Patience, my fellow home theater nerds, we'll get our updates. [EngadgetHD]
Remember those modders from NGOHQ who were swolling out ATI's Radeon graphics cards with Nvidia's PhysX physics engine? Surprise, Nvidia loves the idea of their physics engine running on rival ATI's graphics cards, so they're giving Eran Badit and his crew total support, with access to documentation, SDKs, hardware and actual engineers. AMD, on the other hand, isn't being so cooperative.
Right now, Badit is chasing the goal of porting PhysX to the Radeon HD 4800, but ATI's not giving them any hardware yet, much less developer and PR support. Not totally surprising that ATI would stall, since porting their rival's physics engine to their cards is a definite poke at them and the Havok engine they license from Intel.
And making PhysX more universal by having it run on ATI cards makes it more likely to be supported by game developers, which isn't so hot for Havok. Nvidia's definitely got the upper deck here, since in the meantime ATI looks like a bunch of meanies, but helping out Badit threatens their own wares. [TGDaily]
Among the rush of Apple patents relating to touchscreens over the last year came one on tactile feedback touchscreens, and Nokia seems to have been thinking along the same lines. Almost exactly the same lines, since Nokia's Haptikos tech is a system of fluid-cells driven by piezoelectric actuators that push up through a flexible touchscreen. And that sounds a lot like Apple's sub-surface, adjustable tactile "keys." But apparently the Nokia tech is aimed at "variable and controllable user perceived surface roughness or friction coefficient" rather than buttons. Fascinating stuff, nevertheless. [Unwiredview]
This remote-control car has an infrared follower system built in, so you steer it simply by pointing the IR beam from the controller somewhere ahead of the car, and it works out where you want it to go. So yes, it's a simple remote control for those who can't be bothered to learn how to steer their toys with a joystick or wheel and throttle remote. Or kids. Ah... now I understand. The "magic dot" can be up to five feet ahead of the 9-inch car and it'll still work, and you get about 20 minutes of racing, cat-bothering action from one charge of its batteries. Available now for $49.95. [RedFerret]
I haven't met a single soul who doesn't like popping bubblewrap, and now there's BubbleCalendar, a full printed calendar that uses the bigger, more satisfying bubbles. And that might all be very neat and stress-relieving... but I have misgivings. Doesn't the expiry of another day of your life, disappearing into the past with a little *phut* of plastic-wrapped gas sound rather sad? Available now with a paper backing for $29.95, and heavy-duty plastic backing for $49.95. [BubbleCalendar via Coolhunting]
It's not quite midweek, but according to readers at Sony's PlayStation blog, the new firmware update 2.41 for PlayStation3 is now available for download. Hopefully when you fire up your update it'll be a smoother process than for some 2.40 users. [Playstation Blog—Thanks Eric]
As a large bunch of readers have noticed, the Apple store is down everywhere. If you consider the timing of the iPhone 3G's and MobileMe's launch (which has to hit New Zealand nearly a day ahead of the US) some preliminary setup kinda makes sense. We'll keep you posted. Update: the store's back up. No obvious changes, so it was likely maintenance to set things up for later in the week.
The Gadget: The LG Decoy, now available at Verizon Wireless, is the first US phone to include a Bluetooth earpiece that rides piggyback—and charges up—on the handset itself when you're not using it.
The Price: $180 after $50 mail-in rebate and 2-year contract, but remember that includes the Bluetooth earpiece.
The Verdict: The combo is obviously useful at a time when law enforcement is getting increasingly hostile to people who hold their phones while driving. My wife is the only person I know who actually got a ticket for talking on a cellphone—and who still refused to use Bluetooth on the grounds that it was too much to remember to charge and carry—so it made sense that she'd be the perfect candidate to give the Decoy a test spin.
"I love it," she told me, after a few days of using the Bluetooth headset everywhere she went, then diligently snapping it back on the phone when she was done. It's comfortable, especially for a one-size-fits-all piece, and it sounded perfectly fine when she was using it to call me. (Traditionally I have not been impressed with LG's Bluetooth execution, so that's a good thing.) When you plug in the phone, the screen says it's charging both batteries.
This being otherwise a fairly run-of-the-mill Verizon slider, there are no big surprises with the interface. Thankfully, it's not a faceful of RED when you turn it on—in fact, you can see here it's a cool, non-Verizony blue. It has a quick launch, so unlike on older LG phones, you don't have to dig deep into menus all the time for favorite functions. My wife's biggest gripe is that, since the directional stick in the middle is also a button, it sometimes points up or down when she's trying to hit OK, or vice versa.
It's no big deal for her, though, since she abhors touchscreen phones. Though I myself am excited by the new touchscreen phones from Sprint, Verizon and of course AT&T, I don't think my wife is alone in her lack of touchscreen interest. And for those people, the good news is that the LG Decoy may be a one-trick pony, but it's a pretty useful—and unique—trick. [LG]
In Dubai, they're doing things big these days. Big hotels, big palm tree islands, big wallets, and very soon, big $281 million fountains. The biggest one in the world, in fact, and it will be large enough to give the famed fountains at the Bellagio in Las Vegas an inferiority complex.
At 825 feet long, the unnamed fountain will be 25% larger than the Bellagio fountain. Powering the fountain will be pumps capable of shooting columns of water approximately 450 or so feet into the dry Middle Eastern air. A light and sound show produced by a network of 6,600 lights and 50 projectors will illuminate the burgeoning Dubai skyline at night. About 22,000 gallons of water are expected to cycle through the fountain at any given time when it is completed in 2009. Now, if you'll excuse me, nature calls.[Luxury Launches]
Careful what kind of digital camera you give your kids from the Disney Store these days, otherwise the spawn of your loins could end up putting a goatse right up against their chubby cherubic faces. Then, their virgin innocence robbed from them, they'll probably go around leaving this 8MB camera in the darker places of your house, hoping to catch a few nether region images of their own (of poor quality, btw, this is actually a pretty poor camera to begin with). You've been warned. — Thanks, Chris, we think? [The Disney Store]
In a Nikkei article set to publish Monday, it was revealed that Toyota has green lit plans to offer solar panels on its popular Prius hybrid vehicle. The solar panel option will be available on the high-end Prius model when it receives a redesign in 2009. Strangely, the Japanese business newspaper also reports that the power generated by the solar panels will be used for the air conditioning system. The solar panels are being manufactured by Kyocera Corp. Previously, Gizmodo has covered some DIY solar panel options for the Prius, but the news today confirms that an official offering is now forthcoming from Toyota. It's a start, right? [Reuters]
Hey girls, can't decide whether or not to wear that midriff-bearing shirt out to the bar tonight? No worries, simply don this Venetian blind t-shirt and yank on the fully functional string when Joe Hotty walks by. Sure it's ridiculous, but it's also one-of-its-kind, and available only at art museums for the time being. Just don't be too peeved when some drunk mistakes your shirt for an actual window and pukes all over your chest. [Shikisai via I New Idea]
The folks behind the Roomba robot vacuum appear to have another robotic helper up their sleeves. In this case, it's of the lawn mowing variety, but the final design is anything but final if the wide variety of shapes, configurations and features are any indication. A lawn-mowing Roomba-like robot... Lawmba? Loomba? Mowba.
According to a detailed 84-page filing, various configurations are on the table, including all-electric model and a gasoline-electric hybrid. The filing also depicts several acoustic and optical sensors that will allow the robot to "avoid hard surfaces, water and other barriers," in addition to its main job: cut grass. The robot can even sense uncut grass and make sure the blades are aligned properly.
Other features gleaned from the filing by Robot Stock News:
- A possible edge trimmer along the outside edge of the chassis.
- The possibility of collecting clippings and depositing them at a specified location
- The possibility of using RFID tags or proximity sensors to avoid running into pets or people
- The possibility of learning your lawn in the first cutting and remembering it for future cuttings
- The inclusion of grass-combing technology to ensure that the grass is fluffed and properly oriented for cutting
IEDs, or Improvised Explosive Devices, are a sad fact of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, so you'll see the influence of these deadly weapons in this list of the US Army's top inventions for 2007. Every year the Army selects the top refinements, outright new inventions, or streamlined weaponry, and pumps out a list. This year's list features several new types of Humvee armor, GPS-guided artillery rounds, and a wheeled contraption for vehicles called SPARK (above), which sniffs out IEDs before they have a chance to do any damage.
Here is the XM982 Excalibur precision-guided artillery projectile. Soldiers are able to program map grid coordinates into an Excalibur round and use GPS to guide it to target with pinpoint accuracy.
The Objective Gunner Protection Kit (OGPK) is a motorized, rotating turret mounted on top of Humvees and MRAP vehicles. According to the Army it offers protection from IED fragmentation and small-arms fire, includes transparent armor, a sling for the gunner, and super handy rear-view mirrors.
The HMMWV Egress Assistance Trainer (that's better known as "Humvee") is a mockup of a Hummer's cabin, and can be spun around to simulate an upended vehicle. Soldiers use this invention to practice disembarking from damaged or overturned vehicles before they're deployed. [CNET]
Forget legs or treads or wheels, everyone, because tomorrow's robots will traverse the earth on a thin film of slime, just like the humble snail. At least, that's MIT associate professor Anette Hosoi's vision of our robot future, and she has the "Robosnail" prototype to prove it. Since 2003, Hosoi and a revolving cadre of students have studied her terrarium full of more than 200 snails in an attempt to recreate their slimy way of locomotion in a robot. They've since got a working model together that can climb tree bark, walls, and—coming soon—perform invasive surgery procedures near you!
The Robosnail moves along various surfaces using moveable segments that ripple along a synthetic slime. Because the slime allows the robot to traverse vertical surfaces and even ceilings, Hosoi hopes to be able to deploy similar robots to adverse environments in the near future. It would be kind of like the slowest bomb sniffing or exploratory robot of all time, that can go anywhere, eventually.
Now, this sounds cool and you can call me shallow all you want, folks, but I don't Tricia Helfer would be *quite* as hot slithering around the universe on a trail of slime instead of those long legs of hers. Just an opinion. [CNN]
If German scientists have their way, your shirt may one day be able to pipe up with "I can see you're really upset about this. I honestly think you ought to sit down calmly, take a stress pill, and think things over." That's because they've developed a new sensor that detects muscle excitation and thus detects stress. It's flexible enough to be woven into clothing and survive washing. Why would you want to do that? For sports training, coaches may be able to tell if athletes are tired out or still have some reserves left, or you may slide on a special vest that lets you control your games console. Makes a Wiimote seem kinda wimpy doesn't it? [Talk2MyShirt]
The Sierra Nevada Corporation claimed this week that it is ready to begin production on the MEDUSA, a damned scary ray gun that uses the "microwave audio effect" to implant sounds and perhaps even specific messages inside people's heads. Short for Mob Excess Deterrent Using Silent Audio, MEDUSA creates the audio effect with short microwave pulses. The pulses create a shockwave inside the skull that's detected by the ears, and basically makes you think you're going balls-to-the-wall batshit insane. The MEDUSA can also "produce recognizable sounds" and is aimed primarily at military uses, but New Scientist revealed there are other uses in the works, too.
And if you're thinking ear plugs are this thing's Kryptonite, think again. Lee Sadovnik of Sierra Nevada Corp. said normal audio safety limits are off the table since the sound bypasses the eardrums and emanates from within the skull. "The repel effect is a combination of loudness and the irritation factor," he said. "You can’t block it out."
Wet blanket James Lin of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Illinois in Chicago wants more testing done, however, because of the perceived health ramifications of such a device. Lin said lower, whisper-level intensities work fine, but the higher incapacitating levels expected by the military could fry more than a few brains out on the battlefield. "I would worry about what other health effects it is having," Lin said. "You might see neural damage."
And those "other uses" hinted at above? Try subliminal advertising; or suggestive subconscious comments that you don't really "hear" but can influence decision-making anyway. Or, alternatively, the beam can be ramped up to 11 and just kill you outright. WIN!
Fun Gizmodo Fact: The MEDUSA is useless against a raging pack of schizophrenics. [New Scientist via Danger Room]
All you travelers coming home tomorrow from your wild and crazy Independence Day weekend vacations, don't be one of 12,000 people who lose their laptops at airports every week. That's right, that ain't no typo—12,000 dudes and dudettes somehow manage to misplace their portable computers every seven days. That's 600,000 machines a year, many containing sensitive information that companies need to account for.
According to a study by the Ponemon Institute and Dell, only 30 percent or so lost laptops are ever recovered. Los Angeles' LAX airport reported having the most lost laptops out of any other airport, with 1,200 going missing every week. The most likely place for you to lose your computer is at security checkpoints and departure gates—so no matter how many beers you downed this weekend, try to be a little more alert while going through those areas, yeah? [Newlaunches]
picture credit: Mike Reger
One of the coolest things about the Batpod from the upcoming Dark Knight movie is the fact that it actually works. Previously seen being straddled by Meredith Viera on The Today Show, the decked out motorcycle burned rubber at the slightly more dignified British Formula One Grand Prix this weekend. Who else would give anything to be Jean-Pierre Goy, Christian Bale's stuntman, right now? [Gizmag]
Before there was the Game Boy, there was Game & Watch. DS Fanboy has a sitdown with two dudes who scoured the world to collect every Game & Watch handheld ever produced: 60 in all, each one a unique and delicious plastic bundle with a single game, like Snoopy Tennis or Donkey Kong Jr. How obsessed is collector Michael Panayiotakis?
After collecting them all, he reset his goal and sold most of them to collect only sealed games, ones in their original blister pack or rare versions (like the special edition Super Mario Bros. box he spent $1200 on). They've also got a pretty sweet gallery retrospective of the Game & Watch that's definitely worth checking out on this lazy weekend. [DS Fanboy]
With soaring fuel costs and greenhouse gas concerns, zeppelins might get their second chance to be a relevant mode of transportation. According to the New York Times, several countries are now looking into developing dirigibles for transporting things such as sightseers, postal deliveries and scientific payloads. France's postal service, La Poste, seems to have some of the most ambitious plans in mind: using airships on routes between France and Corsica or the Antilles in an effort to reduce emissions.
Most experts say that the dirigibles will likely remain a niche vessel. The flying machines can only reach top speeds of around 100 miles an hour, fly in fair to good weather, and hold a maximum capacity of several dozen passengers. Not to mention, each one is still about the size of a football field. But at least now, thanks to im
