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Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Video: Samsung I5700 Galaxy Lite running Android, keepin' it classy

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/08/video-samsung-i5700-galaxy-lite-running-android-keepin-it-cla/

Well, what do we have here? Looks like someone's got their hands on Samsung's low-cost, Android-packin' I5700 Galaxy Lite. And don't you worry -- the fine folks at ai.rs blog have assured us that the rave-tastic green battery cover will be replaced by something a little less garish when this bad boy goes into production. Otherwise, it should all be here, including: a 3.2 megapixel camera, 1GB memory, and an AMOLED display. And for further proof that HTC Click has a fight on its hands, hit the read link for plenty more glamor shots -- but not before you check out the video of Sammy's contender after the break.

Continue reading Video: Samsung I5700 Galaxy Lite running Android, keepin' it classy

Filed under: Cellphones

Video: Samsung I5700 Galaxy Lite running Android, keepin' it classy originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Sep 2009 11:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon rolls out Samsung Rogue and Intensity with order and predictability

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/08/verizon-rolls-out-samsung-rogue-and-intensity-with-order-and-pre/

We just heard a couple of weeks ago that Samsung's Rogue and Intensity phones would be landing on Verizon sometime soon, and then we heard again that they'd be making their debut on September 8th and -- wouldn't you know it -- they've now both made their debut on September 8th. The higher-end of two is the Rogue U960, which replaces the Samsung Glyde and packs the same slide-out QWERTY keypad as before, along with a 3.1-inch AMOLED resistive touchscreen, a 3 megapixel camera with LED flash, a microSD card slot and, of course, the usual TouchWiz interface. The Intensity U450, on the other hand, hangs onto the sliding QWERTY keyboard for easy texting but drops the touchscreen altogether, and keeps things fairly lightweight all around, including a 1.3 megapixel camera, and not so much as EV-DO for data. Of course, it also comes with an equally lightweight price (free on a two-year contract), while the Rogue will set you back $99.99 on the same contract.

Filed under: Cellphones

Verizon rolls out Samsung Rogue and Intensity with order and predictability originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Sep 2009 12:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Elliptic Labs returns with more red hot touchless UI action

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/08/elliptic-labs-returns-with-more-red-hot-touchless-ui-action/

Elliptic Labs is back on the scene with another demo of its touchless UI. This time 'round the company's teamed up with Opera and presents us with a much more polished affair, not to mention a couple technical details. According to CEO Stian Aldrin, the device is based on ultrasound, tracks the hand itself (no reflector or sensor necessary), has a range of one foot, and has been designed to be either embedded in any electronic device (including a cellphone) or to connect to devices via USB. The company's current demo shows the technology being used to flip through photos in an Opera widget. Sure, a couple simple one-gesture commands isn't exactly "pulling all the stops," as far as a proof-of-concept goes, but we're looking forward to seeing what this company comes up with in the future. Peep for yourself after the break.

Continue reading Elliptic Labs returns with more red hot touchless UI action

Elliptic Labs returns with more red hot touchless UI action originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Monday, September 07, 2009

Creately Makes Group-Edited Charts and Illustrations Easy [Diagrams]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/PH7_OHPBdVc/creately-makes-group+edited-charts-and-illustrations-easy

If you're looking to plan out a project, share code design, or craft a funny flowchart for friends or coworkers, Creately is a free webapp that offers a no-software tool with a nice and easy learning curve.

Most of Creately's diagram and illustration tools, ranging from dead-simple flowcharts to circuit diagrams, are free for signed-up users and allow sharing, embedding, publishing, commenting, and other collaboration tools for up to five people on publicly available works (paid accounts get more shared users and private postings). Like so many web tools, it strips down the interface of desktop offerings like Visio and makes it easier for first-timers to get a grasp on things. Click on a shape or line in your Creately chart, and a context menu offers all the options of moving, reshaping, resizing, or whatever else you can do with it.

We might ask for a more updated look than the steel-gray toolbars of yore, but the end products—stamped with a subtle Creately logo, unless you fork out—are what really matter. Creately is free to sign up for and use.

Creately [via TechCrunch]

Google Docs Beefs Up its Response-Gathering Forms [Data]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/g_Ce-Ich2n8/google-docs-beefs-up-its-response+gathering-forms

If you like your Google Docs enough to use them as a public or semi-private polling tool, Google has added a grid-style question selection form, made the results charts cleaner and prettier, and now allows form owners to pre-populate fields with example data, along with adding bi-directional language support. Know of a great use for Google Docs' forms? Tell us in the comments. [Official Google Docs Blog]

Build a BBQ Smoker for Under $50 [Weekend Project]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/J8wCF6mQQdI/build-a-bbq-smoker-for-under-50

Want some deep smokey BBQ flavor without shelling out hundreds for a ceramic smoker? For $50 worth of parts and a trip to the hardware store, you can build your own.

One of the keys to good BBQ is low temperatures over extended periods of time. High-end smokers are made of ceramic to help keep the heat in while cheap ones are made of heat-shedding metal. You can get the heat-retaining properties of the higher end models by using terracotta pots as the body of your DIY cooker. Check out the video below of Alton Brown building and using a $50 smoker:

If you're intrigued but want more detail than is found in the video, check out the link below. An Alton Brown fan built their own and detailed the process including where they found the parts and which parts worked best.

Have experience with DIY BBQ contraptions? Let's hear about it in the comments.

The Alton Brown Flower-Pot Smoker [via Blogiversity]

Fujitsu Esprimo Q1500: Core 2 Duo and Blu-ray in a laughably small form factor

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/06/fujitsu-esprimo-q1500-core-2-duo-and-blu-ray-in-a-laughably-sma/

My my, we've seen heatsinks bigger than this latest Esprimo Mini PC from Fujitsu. The Q1500 might look like your run-of-the-mill underpowered nettop, but its makers have successfully crammed a mobile Core 2 Duo CPU and a slot-loading Blu-ray drive inside to make one hell of an appealing little goer. 4GB of memory and a 320GB hard drive fill out the generous spec, and yes, there's a HDMI out as well. Basically, you're looking at a Timeline laptop adapted to the desktop, which would also suggest that the unknown Intel CPUs are of the CULV variety. Of course, all that grunt won't come cheap and the base Core 2 Solo, DVD drive-packing option will start prices off at €699 ($998) when these hit Germany later this month.

[Via Slippery Brick]

Filed under: Desktops

Fujitsu Esprimo Q1500: Core 2 Duo and Blu-ray in a laughably small form factor originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 06 Sep 2009 01:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fujitsu's multitouch LIFEBOOK T4310 tablet makes quick work of Microsoft's Touch Pack

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/06/fujitsus-multitouch-lifebook-t4310-tablet-makes-quick-work-of-m/

If Fujitsu was going for sexy, it certainly missed the mark with the LIFEBOOK T4310, one of the least attractive machines of its kind, but where the T4310 tablet falls short on style, it certainly makes up for with its excellent multitouch-friendly capacitive touchscreen. Playing with Windows 7's new touch features, it almost seems feasible to use the OS with a finger (gasp!), and the screen can also accept pen input (based on pressure-sensitive Wacom technology) when your blunt jabs aren't getting the job done. The multitouch prowess is most evident using Microsoft's Surface-inspired Touch Pack applications, which come pre-installed, but it's also a nice way to get around in Internet Explorer. Other perks of the machine include a 360-degree rotating hinge, a hot-swappable drive bay, and all the internal accouterments (SSD, 3G) one could ask for. Video demo is after the break.

[Via Engadget Spanish]

Continue reading Fujitsu's multitouch LIFEBOOK T4310 tablet makes quick work of Microsoft's Touch Pack

Fujitsu's multitouch LIFEBOOK T4310 tablet makes quick work of Microsoft's Touch Pack originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 06 Sep 2009 12:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stanford's open-source camera could revolutionize photography, you'll still use 'Auto' mode

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/06/stanfords-open-source-camera-initiative-could-revolutionize-pho/

Here's the moment where you pretend that a breakthrough in a given industry would just revolutionize the way you do work, yet you know -- deep down in your heart -- that you'd never take advantage. Okay, so maybe you would, but your friend wouldn't. At any rate, a gaggle of boffins at Stanford have set out to "reinvent digital photography" with the advent of the open-source digital camera. The idea here is to give programmers the power to conjure up new software to teach old cameras new tricks, with the hope being to eliminate software limits that currently exist. In fact, a prototype shooter has already been developed, with the Frankencamera hinting at a future where owners can download apps to their devices and continuously improve its performance and add to its abilities. The actual science behind the concept is stupendously in-depth, so if you're thinking of holding off on that new Nikon or Canon in 2034, you might want to give the read link a look for a little more encouragement.

[Via HotHardware]

Continue reading Stanford's open-source camera could revolutionize photography, you'll still use 'Auto' mode

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Stanford's open-source camera could revolutionize photography, you'll still use 'Auto' mode originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 06 Sep 2009 13:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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UMEC's Android videophone and MID prototypes stray from the beaten path

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/06/umecs-android-videophone-and-mid-prototypes-stray-from-the-beat/

We've seen plenty of odd Android permutations, but UMEC seems to be striving to do something all its own. It's showing two devices it currently has in the works, one is a videophone / hub / DECT phone / etc. unit (pictured), which might be at home on a countertop, while the other is a brightly hued MID, with similar internal specs but more portable aims. Both are running ARM Cortex A8 processors (like the iPhone 3GS), though there's some significant OS optimization to be done: everything was incredibly sluggish on the videophone, and the MID was locked up at the time we dropped by. UMEC also doesn't have the touchscreen drivers working for either device, though the good news is that they're looking at both capacitive and resistive touchscreens, based on what the reseller that picks these up desires. Luckily, the videophone has USB plugs galore (along with plenty of Ethernet jacks) so we were able to get a quick demo of the device using a mouse and keyboard. The MID also has a full-size USB plug, and both devices sport HDMI out, so the end usage for both of these is really up in the air. Check 'em out on video after the break.

Gallery: UMEC's Android videophone and MID prototypes

Continue reading UMEC's Android videophone and MID prototypes stray from the beaten path

Filed under: Handhelds, Household, Portable Audio, Portable Video, Tablet PCs, Networking

UMEC's Android videophone and MID prototypes stray from the beaten path originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 06 Sep 2009 14:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG HS200 'pocket projector' hands-on reveals an FM transmitter and embedded DivX surprise

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/06/lg-hs200-pocket-projector-hands-on-reveals-an-fm-transmitter-a/

Small, bright, and wireless: a potent trifecta of win for an ultra-portable projector. LG's new HS200 DLP projector is here at IFA sourcing DivX video off local USB media and throwing the audio over its embedded FM transmitter. And because it's LED-based, it racks up numbers like 200 ANSI-Lumens and 30,000 hours of operation before burn-out -- that's 4 hours of operation per day for oh, say, 20 years. The 80-inch, 800x600 pixel moving image that we saw was reasonably bright in a demo-room where ambient lighting was on par with a daytime living room, curtains closed. The viewing and listening experience was more than passable, enjoyable even, and far superior to what you'll get from a pico projector. Jacks include HDMI, RGB / component, and composite with an expected price of €499 when it lands in Europe this month (coming to the US a few months later). See it for yourselves in the video after the break.

Continue reading LG HS200 'pocket projector' hands-on reveals an FM transmitter and embedded DivX surprise

Filed under: Displays

LG HS200 'pocket projector' hands-on reveals an FM transmitter and embedded DivX surprise originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 06 Sep 2009 14:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MSI X600 hands-on: 15.6-inches on a slim plastic platter

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/06/msi-x600-hands-on-15-6-inches-on-a-slim-plastic-platter/

There's not really much to say about MSI's X600 that can't be said about the X340: both laptops slightly improve upon the (rather shoddy) build quality of the X320, but the X600 is just bigger, and packs a numeric keypad. The keyboard is really the definition of mushy, though it's at least got a bit of a backbone underneath now, and the machine overall feels like it could snap in half at the slightest bit of misapplied pressure. We're sure that's an overstatement, and it's hard to find this much computer in this thin of a form factor at this low of price, but you might want to save a few dollars for a new pair of kid gloves if you're thinking of making the plunge.

Filed under: Laptops

MSI X600 hands-on: 15.6-inches on a slim plastic platter originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 06 Sep 2009 15:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Solar Roads get small DoE contract, confidence to change the world

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/06/solar-roads-gets-small-doe-contract-confidence-to-change-the-wo/

Solar roadways? Yeah, we've seen 'em before, but we've yet to see America's own Department of Energy give any one development company such a notable vouch of confidence. Just recently, the DoE handed over a $100,000 contract to Solar Roadways, which is just enough to build a prototype of the "first ever Solar Road panel." The 12- x 12-foot panels could theoretically be embedded into roads, and when shined upon, could pipe good, clean electricity straight into the grid. Heck, they could even boast LEDs in order to alert drivers to upcoming accidents or changes in road conditions. Reportedly, each panel would cost around $7,000 (at least initially), and if these were used on the entire US Interstate system, we could pretty much forget about using non-renewable energy sources to power our homes and businesses. Of course, our government is simultaneously wasting money on repaving perfectly good roadways with antiquated asphalt, so there's a tremendously great chance that this won't amount to anything.

[Via Inhabitat, thanks Miko]

Filed under: Transportation

Solar Roads get small DoE contract, confidence to change the world originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 06 Sep 2009 18:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS planning dual screen Eee Reader: world's cheapest e-book reader

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/07/asus-planning-dual-screen-eee-reader-worlds-cheapest-e-book-re/

Don't you just love it when a plan comes together? You betcha. After catching an up close and personal glimpse at ASUS' dual panel touchscreen concept at CeBIT this past March, we soon forgot ASUS even had such a beast in the R&D lab. Just over a week ago, however, all those fond memories came rushing back with an off-the-wall rumor that the company just might push out an Eee-book reader later this year. Fast forward to today, and the Times Online has it that such a device is very real, and it should be out and about before the year's end.

According to president Jerry Shen, the Eee Reader will become the planet's cheapest e-book reader, though a premium model could also be launched to satisfy those craving higher-end features -- probably amenities like inbuilt 3G, a web browser and expandable storage. The dual screen form factor would enable users to read books as books were intended to be read, or they could use the secondary panel to surf the web, type on a virtual keyboard or whatever else ASUS dreams up. We're told that the firm is aiming for the £100 ($163) mark on its low-end model, and based on the affordability of its Eee PCs, we'd say it'll probably get awfully close. Hey Kindle, you skeered yet?

[Via BestTabletReview, thanks Rob]

Filed under: Displays

ASUS planning dual screen Eee Reader: world's cheapest e-book reader originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Sep 2009 03:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Slim, wireless, LED-backlit Sony ZX5 LCDs prepped for November release

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/07/slim-wireless-led-backlit-sony-zx5-lcds-prepped-for-november-r/

Sony KDL-46ZX5 LCD TV

Sony's packed in a plethora of buzz-worthy tech into its ZX5 series of Bravia LCDs -- thin panels, edge-mounted LED backlighting, 240-Hz Motion Flow, and wireless connection between the media receiver section and the glass. The new 46- and 52-inch versions have got the styling portion of the competition aced, but we're still smarting over the move away from local-dimming Triluminos LEDs. As for the Motion Flow, we'll have to wait and see for ourselves if 240-Hertz is going to be the magic number to win us over. But then again, we're greedy like that; but there's something drool-inspiring about a 52-inch LCD that gets 1080p video wirelessly sent to its 16.6-mm thin frame. Somehow, we don't think our response will be different when these beauties are released to Japan in November. Video after the break.

Continue reading Video: Slim, wireless, LED-backlit Sony ZX5 LCDs prepped for November release

Filed under: Displays, HDTV

Video: Slim, wireless, LED-backlit Sony ZX5 LCDs prepped for November release originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Sep 2009 04:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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