KDDI's 'smARt' television viewing concept links phones to consumerism at long last

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/08/kddis-smart-television-viewing-concept-links-phones-to-consum/

Say you're watching a cooking show on television and you see some ketchup. Tasty, right? Salivating? Need some ketchup right this second? Look no further than KDDI's "smARt" television viewing concept, which uses your phone as a tool to get more information on stuff you're seeing on the boob tube in real time. Using an Android-powered Sharp IS01 to demonstrate, KDDI's crack team of presenters showed some delicious-looking food on screen then captured it with the phone's camera, which ultimately resulted in being redirected to a site where you could purchase a bottle of Hunt's for ¥650 (about $7.83). Of course, considering that TV itself can be interactive in a variety of ways, it seems a bit much to bother getting your phone involved while you're trying to zone out on the couch... but hey, whatever gets us to our Utopian dream of real-time ketchup purchases the fastest is where we want to be. Follow the break for video.

Continue reading KDDI's 'smARt' television viewing concept links phones to consumerism at long last

KDDI's 'smARt' television viewing concept links phones to consumerism at long last originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Oct 2010 04:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gamma Dynamics high-contrast, high-speed electrofluidic e-paper gets closer to reality

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/08/gamma-dynamics-high-contrast-high-speed-electrofluidic-e-paper/

E Ink more or less has a lock on the e-reader market, as competitor after competitor sees delays or simply disappears altogether. Today we have an update from another would-be foe, and there's some real potential here. It's electrofluidic e-paper from Gamma Dynamics and the University of Cincinnati, which we first heard about last April. The tech is similar to that in E Ink but, instead of simple microcapsules having both black and white ink plus a clear oil, the Gamma Dynamics pixels have a colored fluid in a pixel that's split by a reflective sheet. Using voltage applied to these pixels the ink can be forced up above or pulled down below the reflective separator, forming an image in a video-capable 20ms and delivering a near paper-matching 70 percent reflectivity. There's a picture below showing how the tech works and, thanks to confirmation that it can be produced in an LCD manufacturing facility, it's looking closer to production than ever. How close is that? Oh, about three years, meaning E Ink still has that market cornered -- for now.

Continue reading Gamma Dynamics high-contrast, high-speed electrofluidic e-paper gets closer to reality

Gamma Dynamics high-contrast, high-speed electrofluidic e-paper gets closer to reality originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Oct 2010 07:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Revolution In Mobile Cup Holder Technology [Cupholders]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5658018/revolutionary-mobile-cup-holder-technology

Version 1.0: Carrying a bunch of drinks around with your hands. Version 2.0: Those shallow egg carton trays that always make you think your drinks are about to tip over. Version 3.0: This magnificent beverage buggy.

Where can I sign up to be a beta tester? [Damn That's Whack via Daily What]

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Simple Hack Allows American Androids to Skype Over 3G [Android Apps]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5658175/simple-hack-allows-americans-to-skype-over-3g-on-androids

Android users (except for those on Verizon) were understandably excited to hear that the Skype app was now available—until they discovered that it can only be used over Wi-Fi in the US. Fear not, friends, there's a hack!

A Droid Forums poster released a new version of the app allowing for free Skype-to-Skype calls over 3G, like the rest of the world is allowed. The best news is that you don't even have to root your phone to download it—instead, you just download the Sideload program onto your Windows, Mac or Linux computer, and can load apps thattaway instead. [Droid Forums via Engadget]

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Displax Overlay Multitouch turns your LCD or plasma into a touchscreen, demands a pretty penny

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/07/displax-overlay-multitouch-turns-your-lcd-or-plasma-into-a-touch/

Remember when Displax teased us earlier in the year with a polymer film that could take any conventional LCD, plasma or RPTV and turn it into a touchscreen? Yeah, well now that very technology is shipping to Average Joes and Janes like yourself your good pal Jim. Starting nowish, the outfit's customizable Overlay Multitouch will be heading out to screens ranging from 32- to 103-inches in size in order to add multitouch capabilities to a screen that previously hated even the thought of being groped. Of course, with a starting tag of €1,300 ($1,805), we get the impression that most of the orders (at least initially) will be coming from corporations looking to jazz up their boardrooms. In related news, the company is also debuting a 42-inch Windows 7-based multitouch table that can detect up to four independent touches at once. The Oqtopus uses a specific kind of optical technology that allows bare fingers, styluses and even gloved hands to operate it, but with a starting price of €4,500 ($6,250), we're guessing your own personal Santa is already signaling "no."

Gallery: Displax Oqtopus and Overlay Multitouch

Displax Overlay Multitouch turns your LCD or plasma into a touchscreen, demands a pretty penny originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Oct 2010 09:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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