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Friday, January 22, 2010

Verizon prices Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus -- offers a free Pixi Plus for limited time

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/22/verizon-prices-palm-pre-plus-and-pixi-plus-offers-a-free-pixi/

In case you missed it in our review, Palm has gone and spilled its Verizon pricing info on its official blog. The Pre Plus is hitting shelves at a cent under $150, closely followed by the Pixi Plus at $99.99 -- both after $100 mail-in rebate and on two-year commitments. Available to buy from this coming Monday, the new handsets are also incentivized with a free Pixi Plus coming with every purchase -- a limited offer running until February 14. That's after yet another mail-in rebate, meaning you'll probably be shelling out a cool $450 to get your webOS fix on Verizon, but we can't argue with the final tally after all the paperwork has been done, filed, triple-checked, lost, recovered, and your money's finally reimbursed.

Verizon prices Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus -- offers a free Pixi Plus for limited time originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 07:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Thursday, January 21, 2010

Intel Reader Offers High Tech Help For Dyslexics and Visually Impaired [Intel]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/j6eumZvUwSU/intel-reader-offers-high-tech-help-for-dyslexics-and-visually-impaired

Intel's Reader, developed by a dyslexic Stanford graduate, is a powerful device for dyslexic and visually impaired readers, allowing them to scan entire pages of text to audio for immediate playback or later review.

The book-sized device is capable of capturing text from a variety of sources, ranging from restaurant menus to academic journals. That scanned text can be magnified and read on the device, listened to via on-board speaker or headphones, or exported to MP3.

Intel's Reader packs a high resolution camera and an Intel Atom processor, allowing it to quickly and accurately capture massive amounts of text.

The Intel Reader made its debut at CES and will be available for around $1500. It's not cheap, but it could be a life changing gadget for the 55 million people whose reading is challenged by dyslexia or vision impairment. [Intel via Fast Company]

Seven Futuristic Movies That Got It Right [Lists]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/4mhDG5mmPmk/seven-futuristic-movies-that-got-it-right

Mania has dutifully compiled a list of seven sci-fi movie technologies that have come to fruition. All I can say is well done, humanity! And don't worry, Sleeper fans: we'll get those Orgasmatron booths before you know it.

The usual suspects like Minority Report and Total Recall make the cut, along with a much-deserved nod to the Star Trek franchise. The list strays a little off target when it comes to non-gadget predictions like "geopolitical milieu," but it's otherwise a sobering reminder that with multitouch displays, private spaceflight, and even clamshell cell phones, we're all incredibly lucky to be living what other previous generations only dreamed. Or, in the case of Draconian, full-body x-ray scanning, feared.

Also: if you're going to have that much Arnold Schwarzenegger on that list, you really shouldn't forget Junior. [Mania via The Daily What]

NASA's Puffin is the latest personal flying machine that will never be produced (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/21/nasas-puffin-is-the-latest-personal-flying-machine-that-will-ne/

Yes, this is going to be another flying car post in which we lament our current, terrestrial ways and our predominantly Earth-bound means of getting places. NASA has what it thinks is the solution, a personal flying machine called Puffin that is just large enough for a person to wedge themselves into before lurching off vertically, powered by a pair of electric motors. These motors are said to make the machine almost silent so an initial application could be covert battlefield insertions, meaning yet again those military brats get to have all the fun -- in theory. However, we're going to be downers and say we don't think they'll ever get to use this thing either, as we're not seeing any room for battery packs in that man-sized fuselage. But hey, there's some rendered conceptualization after the break if you're a dreamer.

Continue reading NASA's Puffin is the latest personal flying machine that will never be produced (video)

NASA's Puffin is the latest personal flying machine that will never be produced (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 08:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toshiba ships Tecra A11, Core i7-packin' Qosmio X500 and more

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/21/toshiba-ships-tecra-a11-core-i7-packin-qosmio-x500-and-more/

These didn't quite make it off the boat before CES, but if it's a new Toshiba laptop you've been searching for, you can still get some satisfaction before the end of this month. The outfit has just announced that four of its machines are available in the US starting right this very moment, including the 15.6-inch Tecra A11 (starts at $879). This one packs an integrated numpad, NVIDIA GPU, an undisclosed new Intel CPU and a charcoal black chassis. Moving on, that Qosmio X500 workhorse that we first heard about late last year finally has its shipping papers (and a $1,549 starting point), bringing with it a Core i7-720QM processor, a GeForce GTS 360M GPU, 8GB of memory, an 18.4-inch display, 500GB (7200RPM) hard drive, a Blu-ray drive and a vivacious color scheme that's guaranteed to polarize. The Satellite Pro L450 and Satellite Pro L500 are also slipping out to the suits in attendance, but with price tags starting at $529, the spec hounds probably won't be drooling much here.

Toshiba ships Tecra A11, Core i7-packin' Qosmio X500 and more originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 09:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Palm Pre Plus shows off multitasking upgrade with 50 simultaneous apps (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/21/palm-pre-plus-shows-off-multitasking-upgrade-with-50-simultaneou/

Yea, you read that right -- fifty apps loaded side by side by freaking side on the Pre Plus, and the thing just kept on ticking. The chaps over at Pre Central decided to test out specifically how much of an improvement the doubling of RAM and storage in the new handset delivered, and they were not disappointed. Opening up the same apps on both phones, they found the original Sprint Pre (sporting a mere 256MB of RAM) ran out of puff at the 13 app mark, whereas the Pre Plus soldiered on until a nice round fifty was reached. Go past the break to see the video evidence for yourself -- long live multitasking!

Continue reading Palm Pre Plus shows off multitasking upgrade with 50 simultaneous apps (video)

Palm Pre Plus shows off multitasking upgrade with 50 simultaneous apps (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 10:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS' Congo-based Eee PC 1201T pops up on Amazon's German portal

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/21/asus-congo-based-eee-pc-1201t-pops-up-on-amazons-german-portal/

Tired of waiting for the Eee PC 1201T to ship? Impatient, aren't we? We've been wondering about the status of this here netbook since it came to light last November, and now it looks like the Germans are about to get a real, live taste of AMD's Congo platform. Boasting a 1.6GHz MV40 CPU, the same look and feel that we've grown accustomed to on Eee PC netbooks, 2GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, ATI HD3200 GPU and Windows 7 on the OS front, this is certainly one of the more unique machines in the sea of Atomized "me-toos." The pain? €399 ($560), and the first batch is expected to ship out tomorrow. Here's hoping the price dips somewhat when it makes its Stateside debut.

ASUS' Congo-based Eee PC 1201T pops up on Amazon's German portal originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 10:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Cornucopia: MIT's 3D food printer patiently awaits 'the future'

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/21/the-cornucopia-mits-3d-food-printer-patiently-awaits-the-futu/

The traditional fast food business model just never had a chance, now did it? Marcelo Coelho and Amit Zoran, a pair of whiz kids doing their thang over at MIT, have developed what very well may be the next major revolution in food preparation. It may also be the only machine that keeps you alive when the Robot Apocalypse goes down, but we'll try to stuff that to the rear of our minds for now. Essentially, the Cornucopia concept is a 3D printer that precisely mixes foods and flavors from a number of canisters in order to produce something that's edible (and supposedly close to what you ordered). Able to deliver "elaborate combinations of food," the machine also has a rapid heating and cooling chamber that purportedly allows for "the creation of flavors and textures that would be completely unimaginable through other cooking techniques." Color us skeptical, but we're guessing these government-issued MREs probably taste just as good -- guess we'll find out for sure if the project ever gets its date with reality.

The Cornucopia: MIT's 3D food printer patiently awaits 'the future' originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 11:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Noiko H-988 PMP is light with details, detailed with lights

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/21/noiko-h-988-pmp-is-light-with-details-detailed-with-lights/

So you're a little known consumer electronics manufacturer with a PMP that stands little chance of attracting much attention based on features or form factor alone. What do you do? If you're Noiko, you add a clear strip filled with LEDs to the bottom. Details on the company's new H-988 device are otherwise a bit light, but it does apparently pack a 4.3-inch screen, support for video output up to 1080i, and a few somewhat unique features -- like the ability to set a video as a background image. Unfortunately, there's no word on a price or other little things like storage, and it doesn't seem likely that this one will see a release 'round here anytime soon -- but hey, LEDs!

Noiko H-988 PMP is light with details, detailed with lights originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 06:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Siemens gurus hit 500Mbps with white LED lights, dare you to blink

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/21/siemens-gurus-hit-500mbps-with-white-led-lights-dare-you-to-bli/

You know what's better than wireless power? Nothing, frankly. You know what comes darn close? Wicked fast transmissions through thin air. Researchers from Siemens have just shattered their own record for wireless data transfer using white LED light, hitting a whopping 500Mbps while working in collaboration with the Heinrich Hertz Institute in Berlin. The old record sat at "just" 200Mbps, but the new speeds are helping to take Visible Light Communication from a hopeful technology to a serious contender in the space. These same researchers were also able to show that a system using up to five LEDs is capable of beaming out data over long distances at up to 100Mbps. We're told that the IEEE has been toiling tirelessly since 2007 to standardize activities in this field, and while a late 2010 completion date is currently being penciled in, we're not holding our breath. Anyone remember how long it took 802.11n to escape "draft?"

Continue reading Siemens gurus hit 500Mbps with white LED lights, dare you to blink

Siemens gurus hit 500Mbps with white LED lights, dare you to blink originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 05:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Study shows that better gamers have bigger brains, are better learners

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/21/study-shows-that-better-gamers-have-bigger-brains-are-better-le/

Study shows that better gamers have bigger brains, are better learners

While we can't say for sure that videogames, as your grandmother insists, do indeed rot your brain, thanks to research conducted at a variety of Universities around the States we know that better gamers tend to have more gray matter than others -- at least in certain areas. Kirk Erickson, Ann Graybiel, Arthur Kramer, and Walter Boot worked together to form a study in which 39 participants' brains were scanned before those subjects were asked to play a game called Space Fortress (which looks a little like an Atari-era Geometry Wars). Players with larger nucleus accumbens did better learning the game early on, while those with larger caudate nucleus and putamen did better at playing with distractions. There was no sign that playing games actually increased the size of those areas of the brains, meaning some people are just born with a Power Glove on -- and that it's only a matter of time before MRIs replace aptitude tests.

Study shows that better gamers have bigger brains, are better learners originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 07:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Viewsonic joins the Android Tablet fraternity with the VTablet 101

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/21/viewsonic-joins-the-android-tablet-fraternity-with-the-vtablet-1/

Viewsonic joins the Android Tablet fraternity with the VTablet 101

In a move that can only be described as caving in to peer pressure, Viewsonic has become the latest to prop up an Android-powered and keyboard-free device that probably won't revolutionize the way you idly surf the web from your couch. Called the VTablet 101 it rocks a 1GHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor and NVIDIA Tegra graphics powering an 8.9-inch, 1024 x 800 touchscreen display. There's 4GB of storage, WiFi, and Bluetooth, all in a reasonably attractive 3,000 Yuan ($440) price. Availability? Whenever hazing is over -- assuming it survives.

Viewsonic joins the Android Tablet fraternity with the VTablet 101 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 08:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Youth of America Spend Half Their Waking Hours Staring at Screens [Charts]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/-2tJTuSdrZU/youth-of-america-spend-half-their-waking-hours-staring-at-screens

Or, if you count multitasking—which is just the kind of hysterical, stat-juicing thing you would do if you were running a study like this—nearly 11 hours a day. That doesn't leave a lot of time for fresh air.

Even with out including multitasking hours, the Kaiser Family Foundation study shows that kids these days are watching TV, texting, or on the internet 7.5 hours each and every day. That's an hour more than in 2004, and an even bigger jump since 1999. Basically, if they're awake and not in school, they're staring at a screen.

My first thought: so what? The children are our future, and our future is a digital age. I can accept that. And there's a lot of valuable information and insight to be gleaned from these here internets, if you look in the right places.

My second thought: oh, man, are we doomed. [NY Times]

Qik VideoCamera App Gives iPhone 3G and Even 2G Video Recording [IPhone Apps]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/tNSoXYc8kjE/qik-videocamera-app-gives-iphone-3g-and-even-2g-video-recording

Qik's VideoCamera app isn't the first to give older iPhones video recording capabilities, but it could be the first to do it well enough for non-gimmick use. It'll record at 15fps with various real-time effects, including a Na'vi-inspired blue tint.

Other features include landscape mode, zoom, brightness and audio controls, and effects like black and white, red (?), Na'vi blue, and mirror. It's available now for a buck (link opens iTunes). [Qik]

3D maps demoed on Sony Ericsson X10, Snapdragon paying off

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/19/3d-maps-demoed-on-sony-ericsson-x10-snapdragon-paying-off/

Ericsson Labs is showing off an API for navigating through a three-dimensional interpretation of the world based on real imagery powered by Saab spinoff (the defense firm, not the car company) C3 Technologies on Sony Ericsson's upcoming X10 -- and in a word, it's looking impressive. The buttons for controlling the action are a bit hokey, of course, but don't worry too much about that -- this is strictly a proof of concept, and the important thing is that no matter how much panning, tilting, and swooping through the cityscape the demo-giver does, video output stays above 30 frames per second. Thank goodness for Snapdragon, eh? There's no indication that we'll see a shipping version of this app on retail X10s out of the box, but let's hope something awesome comes of this. Follow the break for video.

Continue reading 3D maps demoed on Sony Ericsson X10, Snapdragon paying off

3D maps demoed on Sony Ericsson X10, Snapdragon paying off originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Jan 2010 21:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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