Thursday, August 06, 2009

My Tether turns mild-mannered Palm Pres into wild and crazy hotspots

My Tether turns mild-mannered Palm Pres into wild and crazy hotspots

My Tether turns mild-mannered Palm Pres into wild and crazy hotspots

Official application portals like Apple's App Store and Palm's App Catalog are the big box retailers of the mobile space: plenty of choices, but to get the really good stuff you have to go elsewhere. Case in point: My Tether, an app that, naturally, allows tethering through a Pre, and does so quite comprehensively. Palm's savior can be directly attached through USB, but Bluetooth and WiFi are also available, thus delivering the connectivity trifecta. It's a lot easier to enable than the last option we found, and though the fully-automatic, self-installing version costs $10, there's a free one if you're feeling cheap (and know your way around a shell prompt). We're still waiting to see whether Palm or Sprint will put an end to these 3G hijinks, since the pair are obviously not in favor of them, but right now this particular carrier needs every selling point it can get -- even unofficial ones like this.

[Via Palm Infocenter]

Filed under: Cellphones

My Tether turns mild-mannered Palm Pres into wild and crazy hotspots originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Aug 2009 09:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Creative rents tuxedo, selects Opera for Plaszma-based Zii EGGs

Creative rents tuxedo, selects Opera for Plaszma-based Zii EGGs

Creative rents tuxedo, selects Opera for Plaszma-based Zii EGGs

We're still not entirely sure what to make of Creative's Zii EGG handheld, as the last demo we saw of the product looked interesting but also somewhat devoid of features. Now Creative has confirmed an important one: web surfing. The device can officially run either Android or the company's own flavor of Linux dubbed Plaszma, and for that latter, poorly spelled one Opera has been chosen as the defacto browser. Given the open source underpinnings users will have plenty of other options to install if they like, but the Opera Devices SDK also enables the easy creation of webby widgets to clutter that 320 x 480, 10-point multitouch screen. The hope is this will speed up software development for the... thing, thus opening the door for a flood of useless applications the likes of which we haven't seen since the last App Store update.

[Via anythingbutipod]

Filed under: Handhelds, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Creative rents tuxedo, selects Opera for Plaszma-based Zii EGGs originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Aug 2009 09:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung and Sprint introduce the Reclaim -- a cellphone made from corn

Samsung and Sprint introduce the Reclaim -- a cellphone made from corn

We love the Earth, and apparently so do Sprint and Samsung. The two companies have just introduced the Reclaim, a super-eco cellphone made from 80 percent recycled materials. The device -- a stout, sliding, QWERTY message-friendly model -- is constructed from "bio-plastic" materials made from corn, is free of PVC, and mostly free of BFR (brominated flame retardants)... which are apparently pretty bad. The phone also has a 2 megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth, can accept microSD cards (we assume) up to 32GB, and has Sprint Navigation onboard. The packaging will be eco-friendly as well, as it's constructed from 70 percent recycled materials and printed with soy-based ink. The carrier will be selling the Reclaim in "Earth Green" or "Ocean Blue" come August 16th for $50 (after a $30 instant rebate and $50 mail-in rebate) with a two-year contract. Additionally, $2 of that profit will be funneled to the Nature Conservancy's Adopt an Acre program. Finally, a phone that goes with your Prius.

Filed under: Cellphones

Samsung and Sprint introduce the Reclaim -- a cellphone made from corn originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Aug 2009 09:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Touchable Holography uses Wiimotes to add touch to holograms

Touchable Holography uses Wiimotes to add touch to holograms

Researchers from The University of Tokyo have demoed a touchable hologram at Siggraph 2009. The project, called Touchable Holography, involves the use of Wiimotes placed above the display to track hand motion, and an airborne ultrasound tactile display created in the university's lab to create the sensation of touch. The result is a holographic image that produces tactile feedback without any actual touching, and without degrading the image itself. Check out the video after the break for a fuller, more stunning explanation.

[Thanks, Adam]

Continue reading Touchable Holography uses Wiimotes to add touch to holograms

Filed under: Science

Touchable Holography uses Wiimotes to add touch to holograms originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Aug 2009 11:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumored Micro Four Thirds Panasonic GF1 gets pictured

Rumored Micro Four Thirds Panasonic GF1 gets pictured

Well, this one's a bit out of the blue, but a member of the Xitek.com forums has produced this image of a hereto unheard of Micro Four Thirds Panasonic Lumix GF1 that's purported to come from an internal Panasonic PDF. A second image (after the break, and full size at the link below), also reveals a few more interesting details, like a port below the hotshoe that would presumably be used for a detachable EVF, and a built-in pop-up flash. Otherwise, about all that's clear is that the camera itself appears to be slightly smaller than the Olympus E-P1, and that it's prompted an endless stream of speculation on the photography forums.

[Via Digital Photography Review]

Continue reading Rumored Micro Four Thirds Panasonic GF1 gets pictured

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Rumored Micro Four Thirds Panasonic GF1 gets pictured originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Aug 2009 13:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lifehacker: magic spell kills all ads in gmail - for realz - http://bit.ly/xofH8

Pentax P80 Is Less Than an Inch Thick, but Has 12 Megapixels, Rapid Face Detection and 720p Video Recording [Cameras]

Pentax P80 Is Less Than an Inch Thick, but Has 12 Megapixels, Rapid Face Detection and 720p Video Recording [Cameras]

Pentax's P80 camera doesn't really do anything that original or spectacular for its time—the 12.1 megapixel sensor, 720p, 30 fps video recording, face detection and 0.8-inch thickness are all pedestrian compared to other cams—BUT it is $200.

The P80 can even detect faces at an angle and can find up to 32 of them in 0.3 seconds. It will be available in September. [Crunch Gear]

LG's 15-inch OLED Screen in Production: Could MacBooks Be A Beneficiary? [Oled]

LG's 15-inch OLED Screen in Production: Could MacBooks Be A Beneficiary? [Oled]

It's been widely rumored that LG may supply Apple with screens for its future products. If that's true, LG's plans to have a super thin and bright 15-inch OLED in stores this December could signal big things.

The update comes from OLED-Display.Net, which also reports that LG plans a global roll out soon after the display hits Korea in December.

So even if Apple's next MacBook, MacBook Pro (or even Tablet) don't have any OLED love, at least we've got LG's display (TV?) to look forward to. And at 15-inches, it'll be a welcomed step up from Sony's beautiful, but small 11-inch XEL-1. [OLED-Display.net]

Zune HD's browser previewed, sounds just as sexy as the hardware

Zune HD's browser previewed, sounds just as sexy as the hardware

The folks over at CNET got a quick look at a recent build of the Zune HD, and the player seems to be getting rather close to a final product. Among praise for the hardware, video playback and a quite refined music player and music discovery experience, they found the Zune HD's browser to be particularly excellent. It's been built by the IE team, which bodes well for prospective Windows Mobile 6.5 users, and it's apparently very comparable to the iPhone in features and speed. There's pinch to zoom, accelerometer-based reorientation, and a good onscreen keyboard -- no Flash, but from the pain it's inflicting on the Android browsing experience, perhaps that's a good thing.

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Zune HD's browser previewed, sounds just as sexy as the hardware originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Aug 2009 14:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Shack, short on money for new signs, asks for your help

The Shack, short on money for new signs, asks for your help

Like the rest of America, we've gotten some serious LOLs out of Radio Shack's current bid for relevance. But, as you know, rebranding comes at a price -- all those new signs excising the word "Radio" from the chain's storefronts aren't exactly cheap, you know. That said, we were equally amused and annoyed by today's email blast urging consumers to carry around little pieces of paper with the word "THE" printed on it. That way, you can obscure the offending noun whenever you find yourself within close proximity of one of these signs -- saving the company money on signage and increasing brand recognition in one bold move. Still unclear of the concept? Get yourself detailed instructions after the break, or hit up that read link to catch some rockin' videos on the company's Facebook page... and prepare to be underwhelmed.

Continue reading The Shack, short on money for new signs, asks for your help

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

The Shack, short on money for new signs, asks for your help originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vice President Biden announces $2.4 billion in battery-related grants

Vice President Biden announces $2.4 billion in battery-related grants

It hasn't been much of a secret that the US government was planning to dole out a couple of billion in battery-related grants to automakers this week, but we only got the details on who gets what today when Vice President Joe Biden made the big announcement himself in Detroit. As you might expect, the big three automakers all got a sizable chunk of the $2.4 billion up for grabs, with GM snagging $240 million for three separate grants, Ford getting $92.7 million (part of which will fund an electric-drive-parts facility in Michigan), and Chrysler receiving $70 million to develop and deploy advanced plug-in hybrid pickups and minivans. The single biggest winner, however, is Johnson Controls Inc., which got close to $300 million to produce battery parts for hybrid and electric vehicles. Chrysler partner A123 Systems Inc. was the next highest with $249.1 million, while EnerDel got $118.5 million that it'll use for its Indianapolis plant that produces lithium-ion cells and battery packs.

[Image courtesy Wood TV8]

Filed under: Transportation

Vice President Biden announces $2.4 billion in battery-related grants originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Aug 2009 17:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Uber-nano nanolasers could lead to faster computers, reliable internet, neverending list of awesome things

Uber-nano nanolasers could lead to faster computers, reliable internet, neverending list of awesome things

Researchers at Arizona State University and Technical University of Eindhoven in the Netherlands have been collaborating on a project to make lasers significantly smaller than the ones that are currently available, by finding a way around the traditionally accepted diffraction limit -- the idea that the size of lasers in any one dimension (say, thickness) is limited to half of the wavelength involved. One way around the size limitation, they've found, is to use a combination of semiconductors and metals like gold and silver, which causes electron excitement which helps confine the light in a laser to smaller spaces than that of the supposed limit. Using this method, the team has created nanoscale lasers that are one quarter of the wavelength or smaller -- as opposed to the previously accepted size limitation of one half of the wavelength. As far as consumer applications go, the smaller the laser, the easier it will be to integrate them into small electronics components, leading to things like faster products and more reliable internet access. Sounds great, right? Well, chill out: they're still working on it, with no word on when we'll see any street application of the nano nanolasers.

[Via Gizmag]

Filed under: Science

Uber-nano nanolasers could lead to faster computers, reliable internet, neverending list of awesome things originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Aug 2009 18:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon-branded Touch Pro2 plays 'spot the difference' with previous spy shot

Verizon-branded Touch Pro2 plays 'spot the difference' with previous spy shot

It's been some time since we last spotted HTC's Touch Pro2 in the wild with a Verizon tattoo, and yet, there's a tinge of unfamiliarity with these new shots. For whatever reason, on this model the HTC logo has been banished to the opposite reaches of the front display, whereas previously it was fit to share space right next to the Verizon logo / check mark. Everything else seems to be identical, however, including any indication of when and for how much we'll be able to pick one up ourselves. Hey VZW, how's that fire sale of the original Touch Pro coming along?

Update: As a good number of readers have pointed out, there's now also video of the phone, with 3.5mm headphone jack to boot. See it after the break.

[Thanks, ckeegan]

Continue reading Verizon-branded Touch Pro2 plays 'spot the difference' with previous spy shot

Filed under: Cellphones

Verizon-branded Touch Pro2 plays 'spot the difference' with previous spy shot originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Aug 2009 21:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony's CyberShot DSC-TX1 and DSC-WX1 cameras boast pet-friendly settings, 'Exmor R' sensor for low-light scenarios

Sony's CyberShot DSC-TX1 and DSC-WX1 cameras boast pet-friendly settings, 'Exmor R' sensor for low-light scenarios

If you've been waiting on the edge of your seat for some confirmation of last month's leak of the CyberShot DSC-TX1 and DSC-WS1, wait no longer. Sony's just gone official with the pair of 10.2 megapixel point and shoots, and they're about what you were expecting. The WX1 (pictured left) sports a Sony G lens, 2.7-inch LCD, 5x optical zoom with f/2.5 max aperture, 720p HD movie recording (MPEG4 format), and a new "Exmor R" back illuminated CMOS sensor for better low-light handling. The fancier TX1 has the same Exmor R sensor and 720p movie mode, but also comes with a 3-inch LCD and Carl Zeiss Vario-Tesar lens with 4x telescopic zoom. Both beauts possess the same anti-motion blur and multi-shot modes found in the DSC-HX1, as well as a BIONZ processor, facial detection, smile shutter (for snapping shots when people are smiling, of course), wide panorama capabilities, 10 frames per second burst shooting, and a "pet mode" for taking pictures of your little loved ones, helping to alleviate issues with blurring and pet red-eye. You want street date and price? WX1's coming in October for $350, black only, while the TX1's due out in September for $380 and a palette choice of silver, gray, pink, and blue. Full press release after the break.

Update: Akihabara News got some hands-on time during the Japanese unveiling.

Gallery: Sony's CyberShot DSC-TX1 and DSC-WX1 cameras boast pet-friendly settings, 'Exmor R' sensor for low-light scenarios

Continue reading Sony's CyberShot DSC-TX1 and DSC-WX1 cameras boast pet-friendly settings, 'Exmor R' sensor for low-light scenarios

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Sony's CyberShot DSC-TX1 and DSC-WX1 cameras boast pet-friendly settings, 'Exmor R' sensor for low-light scenarios originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Aug 2009 00:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hitachi one-ups WD with industry-first 2TB 7200RPM 3.5-inch hard drive

Hitachi one-ups WD with industry-first 2TB 7200RPM 3.5-inch hard drive

Western Digital may have been first to launch a two terabyte 3.5-inch desktop hard drive, but it's Hitachi snagging the first 7200RPM 2TB crown (WD's entry hummed along at 5400RPM). Launched today, the 2TB Deskstar 7K2000 also features 32MB of cache and a 3Gbps SATA interface, but unfortunately, few other details are being disclosed. As in, there's no pricing or release information whatsoever. In related news, the company is also refreshing its 7200RPM Deskstar 7K1000.C line, which is available in sizes ranging from 160GB to 1TB. The full, completely unprovocative press release is just after the break.

Continue reading Hitachi one-ups WD with industry-first 2TB 7200RPM 3.5-inch hard drive

Filed under: Storage

Hitachi one-ups WD with industry-first 2TB 7200RPM 3.5-inch hard drive originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Aug 2009 03:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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