Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Sanyo bungs 23x optical zoom into Xacti DMX-SH11, Full HD into DMX-CG110

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/27/sanyo-bungs-23x-optical-zoom-into-xacti-dmx-sh11-full-hd-into-d/

Ever tried operating a handheld cam at 20x optical zoom? Without a tripod, your recordings tend to look like they were taken in the middle of an earthquake, so quite frankly, we ain't so wildly impressed with Sanyo's 23x-rated SH11 camcorder -- okay, we are, but we thought we'd inform you that that silly large number comes with limited use scenarios. Freshly announced, carrying 16GB of internal storage, and coming to Japan in late April, this is part of Sanyo's Dual Camera series, as its CMOS sensor is capable of 4 megapixel stills as well as 1080i / 30fps video in MPEG-4 format. It'll be joined there by the pistol grip-shaped CG110, which improves on the previous CGs by moving up to Full HD recording, adding 16GB of built-in storage, and even supporting SDXC cards. Check the source links for more.

Sanyo bungs 23x optical zoom into Xacti DMX-SH11, Full HD into DMX-CG110 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jan 2010 07:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Akihabara News  |  sourceSanyo (SH11), (CG110)  | Email this | Comments

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Hexagonal interactive OLED gaming tiles likely to cost a bundle, would sure spice up our Wednesday nights

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/26/hexagonal-interactive-oled-gaming-tiles-likely-to-cost-a-bundle/

We've seen plenty of ways for board games to be revitalized with large touchscreens, but a new concept from the Human Media Lab at Queen's University in Ontario puts the screens and interactivity onto the gaming pieces themselves. The idea would be to use slim, networked touchscreen hexagonal tiles with edge-to-edge OLED displays. The proximity of the tiles to one another, along with gestures performed with the tiles, provides the interactivity, and the occasional branching touchscreen menu selection keeps play humming. Unfortunately, that enabling tech isn't all there yet (at least in university-affordable forms), but the video demo after the break is pretty convincing in its presentation of these ideas in a top-down-projection simulation. Certainly promising, but we're sure not expecting to see this sort of gaming priced within reach of your average Sorry! board anytime soon.

Continue reading Hexagonal interactive OLED gaming tiles likely to cost a bundle, would sure spice up our Wednesday nights

Hexagonal interactive OLED gaming tiles likely to cost a bundle, would sure spice up our Wednesday nights originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Switched  |  sourceHuman Media Lab  | Email this | Comments

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Is this the Apple tablet? (update: new image)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/27/is-this-the-apple-tablet/

Okay, we obviously can't confirm this, but we just got two very interesting images of what certainly looks like a prototype Apple tablet, or what could be the tablet bolted down to a table. It's big -- really big -- and it's running what clearly looks like an iPhone app, although we've never seen an iPhone app with that interface or at that resolution before. We also see a WiFi icon and a cell service indicator, although tragically there's no carrier listed. As far as fakes go, this is as convincing as it gets, so either this is the real deal or someone deserves a hearty congratulations.

On a totally separate note, we also received a tip claiming to have some specs -- we can't verify any of this either, but we're told that the device will have a 10-inch screen and look like a larger iPhone with a MacBook-like aluminum back, and that pricing will run $800 on contract with Verizon and $1000 without when it arrives in March. We're also told that the official name remains a secret and that Apple employees are still calling it by the codename of "K48" -- a name we last heard in May from the same source that pegged the iPhone 3GS exactly. This source also tells us that the iPhone will be coming to Verizon as well and that we'll see iLife '10 tomorrow, but there won't be any MacBook updates. A relatively safe set of predictions -- which is why we sort of believe them.

Just 13 hours to go -- we'll find out if any of this is the real deal soon enough.

Update: Based on some rough measurements, that screen does appear to be between 9- and 10-inches diagonal. Additionally, it looks as though there could be a front-facing camera on the opposite side of the home button (up top in these photos) due to that cutout section, though the images are really too grainy to know for certain.

Update 2: Our source has shared another photograph, this time showing an iPhone resting on the tablet for comparison. Check it out after the break (bigger image for inspection available in the gallery).

Continue reading Is this the Apple tablet? (update: new image)

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Is this the Apple tablet? (update: new image) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jan 2010 01:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pressure-sensitive touchscreens show up on the not too distant horizon

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/27/pressure-sensitive-touchscreens-show-up-on-the-not-too-distant-h/

Ever heard of quantum tunneling? It's the basis for the latest approach to gather steam in the never-ending quest to endue touchscreens with force recognition, and its promises are as lofty as you'd expect. Developed by UK researchers Peratech, this new methodology revolves around a 75-micrometer (less than a tenth of a millimeter) quantum tunneling composite, which display makers can add to their screens relatively cheaply and painlessly. The pressure-sensing layer consumes no power when it isn't depressed and requires a miniscule two micrometers of movement to register a touch. Japanese display maker Nissha (who counts LG and Nintendo among its customers) has grabbed a license and we're even hearing devices could be coming out as soon as April. Check the Peratech site for more info.

Pressure-sensitive touchscreens show up on the not too distant horizon originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jan 2010 04:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceMIT Technology Review  | Email this | Comments

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Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Apple, the iPhone Company [Apple]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/9IJFaADoLr0/apple-the-iphone-company

Apple watchers can now see how truly huge the company's iPhone business has become, thanks to a new accounting method the company started using this past quarter.

In less than three years, the iPhone has grown to become Apple's biggest business—up from zero.

Specifically, during Apple's December quarter, the company reported $5.6 billion of iPhone-related revenue, up 90% year-over-year. That edged out the Mac business ($4.5 billion) and iPod business ($3.4 billion) for the second quarter in a row and the third time ever. It was the first time the iPhone has beat the Mac and iPod businesses by more than $1 billion each.

And this despite Apple missing Wall Street's expectations for iPhone sales, thanks to increased competition from Google Android and other smartphones.

Why the new visibility? During the quarter, Apple started taking advantage of new accounting rules that lets it report the vast majority of revenue from iPhones and Apple TV devices immediately. Previously, it had to spread the revenue over 24 months to account for free software updates it would offer those customers.



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