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Friday, June 17, 2011

Nanogenerators Could Power a Bluetooth Headset With Your Pulse [Science]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5812865/nanogenerators-could-power-a-bluetooth-headset-with-your-pulse

Scientists have developed the first self-powered nanogenerators that scavenge energy from their surroundings. They could someday replace conventional batteries in small electronics.

Even the slightest movement or vibration, such as a light breeze or the thump of your pulse, can provide enough energy for these nanogenerators. The energy is stored in a capacitor and used to power sensors or even a small wireless radio like those found in Bluetooth headsets. Signals from these wireless radios can be detected up to 30 feet away.

These technology could be used in tiny spy cameras, small wearable electronics or even medical implants. [Science Daily via Inhabitat]

What Does a 268MP Image Sensor Look Like? [Cameras]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5812877/what-does-268mp-image-sensor-look-like

Space photography requires a camera—a really big camera. One with 32 CCD sensors that snaps pictures at a mind-bending 268-megapixel resolution. Go ahead, you can call it the OmegaCam.

You may want to take this one home with you, but you can't. It weighs a whopping 1700lbs and produces about 30TBs of data per year. It's also the camera portion of the VLT Survey Telescope (VST), which is the world's largest telescope designed to operate in visible light. It resides in the northern Chile and is part of the European Southern Observatory. [ESO via PetaPixel and PhotoRadar]

Galaxy S II coming to SaskTel next month, we embark on northward migration

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/17/galaxy-s-ii-coming-to-sasktel-next-month-we-embark-on-northward/

The Samsung Galaxy S II has yet to make its US debut, but it looks like our neighbors to the north will be getting it as early as next month. Yesterday, Canada's SaskTel announced via Twitter that it would launch the phone "within the next month," making it the first North American carrier to confirm the S II. Earlier this month, it looked as if Verizon would be the first to bring the device to the New World, but our hopes were crushed when the carrier debunked rumors of a July launch. It remains to be seen whether Sasktel's announcement will pave the way for a wider North American release, but we'll let you know as soon as we hear more.

Galaxy S II coming to SaskTel next month, we embark on northward migration originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Jun 2011 07:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP ships $50 WiFi Mobile Mouse, gives your Bluetooth radio a break

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/17/hp-ships-50-wifi-mobile-mouse-gives-your-bluetooth-radio-a-bre/

If you've been waiting oh-so-patiently for HP's $49.99 WiFi Mobile Mouse to ship, take heart -- the aforesaid critter is now ready to free up one more valuable USB port at your workstation. As mentioned before, this ain't your mum's wireless mouse, as it makes use of WiFi technology (you know, instead of the tried-and-true Bluetooth) similar to that found in Logitech's Unifying Receiver. In other words, this bad boy doesn't require anything other than itself to connect. HP promises up to nine months of battery life, offers five programmable buttons, a four-way tilt scroll wheel and adjustable sensitivity. Just think -- you can finally choose to keep those remaining Four Loko cans chilled without resorting to an inbuilt trackpad. Reason enough to pull the trigger, yeah?

Gallery: HP WiFi Mobile Mouse

Continue reading HP ships $50 WiFi Mobile Mouse, gives your Bluetooth radio a break

HP ships $50 WiFi Mobile Mouse, gives your Bluetooth radio a break originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Jun 2011 09:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CrowdStar Targets Female Gamers With First Mobile-Only Title, Top Girl

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2011/06/16/crowdstar-targets-female-gamers-with-first-mobile-only-title-top-girl/

Fresh off a $23 million round of funding, Social gaming company CrowdStar is launching its first mobile-only social game, Top Girl. As you can see from the headline, the free game, which is launching for iOS, targets female gamers interested in shopping and fashion.

While CrowdStar offers another female-focused game on Facebook, It Girl, the two games have no connection. Top Girl is a mobile role-playing game that allows players to create a fashionable avatar and then climb up the fashion social ladder, collecting money by doing modeling jobs, buying new outfits, and going to clubs.

The core gameplay is around the modeling job, where as you work more,you earn coins and cash and are able to buy better clothes. The game also has a dating feature, allowing users to flirt with a virtual boyfriend.

The game actually doesn’t require Facebook integration and is utilizing OpenFeint’s (a fellow YouWeb company) plug and play social gaming platform more iOS. And Top Girl isn’t totally devoid of social features. For example, players will see a leaderboard of fellow players who have accumulated the most clothes.

As CrowdStar CEO Peter Relan has told us previously, he believes interactions on mobile social games will be different from social gaming on Facebook, necessitating the need to create new titles. We saw this trend with Zynga’s newest CityVille game ‘Hometown’, which was announced yesterday.

Relan says we can expect more mobile titles from CrowdStar in the coming year, with three mobile games already in development. And the company will expand these titles to Android as well as iOS.