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Wednesday, January 09, 2013

JVC Kenwood's wooden cube speakers offer realtime streaming of nature sounds

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/09/jvc-kenwood-offers-wooden-cube-speakers-with-realtime-streaming/

This year's CES has seen no shortage of wireless speakers of all shapes and sizes, but none quite like these options that JVC Kenwood has introduced in Japan. Available in 12.2 and 5.35-inch sizes, the cube-shaped speakers are made of wood and little else, with a vibrating frame producing the sound. As The Asahi Shimbun reports, that system isn't the best for producing deep bass (making them less than ideal for music), but it apparently fares considerably better with the medium and high-pitched sounds of birds and rustling tree branches. JVC Kenwood didn't just stop at the speakers themselves, though. It's also offering a subscription service to go along with them, which will stream realtime sound from microphones set up in the mountains of Takayama and Morotsuka. Not surprisingly, these don't come cheap. The small one with set you back ¥60,000 (or about $680), with the larger model running a hefty ¥300,000, or more than $3,400 -- the subscription service also comes with an unspecified monthly fee.

Filed under: Misc

Source: The Asahi Shimbum

Agawi and Marvell team up to bring cloud-based gaming to Android set-top boxes

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/09/agawi-and-marvell-partnership/

It's like a match made in heaven. Agawi and Marvell have partnered up to combine a cloud-based gaming platform with the equipment that powers many popular Google TV devices. Together, both companies will offer a white-label Android gaming solution to OEMs, internet and cable providers, game publishers and retailers. As a result, we may see a number of smart TV devices begin cropping up that support Agawi's CloudPlay gaming service. Whether this solution poses a legitimate threat to the console business remains to be seen, but we're going to scour the floor at CES to bring you a demo of the system in action. In the meantime, full PR follows the break.

Continue reading Agawi and Marvell team up to bring cloud-based gaming to Android set-top boxes

Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD

JVC launches Procision slow-mo HD camcorder, refreshed Everio line at CES

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/09/jvc-procision-camera/

When it comes to launching a groundbreaking flagship video camera at CES, JVC's got previous. The company has outed the Procision GC-PX100, a 1,920 x 1,080 camcorder that shoots at 36Mbps, a bit-rate that the company claims makes it perfect for slow-motion and special effects work. Light will be pouring forth into a F/1.2 lens, a 1/2.3-inch 12.8-megapixel backside illuminated CMOS censor with optical image stabilization. JVC is claiming that it's capable of cranking out 600 frames per second and shoot still images in bursts of nine frames a second -- although not at the same time. When you're done, you can push the footage straight to your smartphone or tablet over WiFi and the company is also offering a mobile app that'll let sports coaches analyze their players movement in staggering detail. It'll be available in March, but you'd better all of that athletic scrutiny is worth it, as it'll set you back $1,000.

At the same time, the company's outing a game of Everio camcorders, with the entry-level GX-E100 setting you back $230 for the most basic model the company can offer. At the other end of the range, the $500 GZ-VX815 offers a f/1.2 lens, a 12.8-megapixel sensor and WiFi when it goes on sale in March.

Continue reading JVC launc! hes Proc ision slow-mo HD camcorder, refreshed Everio line at CES

Filed under: Cameras

Hands-on with Archos TV Connect (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/09/archos-tv-connect-hands-on/

Archos first announced its TV Connect ahead of CES 2013, which detailed a two-device approach to bringing the Android experience to televisions. On one end is an HD camera mounted either to the top of your television or set up as a stand, and at the other end is an enormous remote control -- what Archos is calling the "TV Touch remote." The camera end of things also contains a 1.5GHz "multi-core" CPU, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of expandable storage, all of which powers the experience. Sadly, with a mess of WiFi signals and Bluetooth devices at the Las Vegas Convention Center (TV Connect included), navigating TV Connect's Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean interface could only be done via physical buttons -- the TV Touch remote is otherwise advertised to interact with the camera by placing a cursor on screen, navigable by physically pointing the giant remote at your screen.

In our hands-on time, not only was the cursor bugging out, but the Bluetooth connection dropped altogether at one point. It's possible that this was just a measure of the demo area's constraints, of course; we're reserving judgment until we can test it in our own homes. When it was working, it operated like you'd expect Android to operate. We were able to jump quickly from Google Maps to a game just as easily as you would on any standard Android device, albeit on the big screen. And that's quite a promising concept -- pushing not only apps like YouTube and Netflix to the TV, but more importantly, Google's Play store. That means games (controllable with the TV Touch remote), media, and more. Whether it's as exciting a! s it sou nds remains to be seen, but we'll be sure to find out before it arrives at retail this February for $130. Take a peek at TV Connect in use in our hands-on video, just below.

Gallery: Archos TV Connect @ CES 2013

Continue reading Hands-on with Archos TV Connect (video)

Filed under: Displays, Gaming, Home Entertainment, Household, Peripherals, HD

Peter Gabriel brings remixing to the masses with MusicTiles for iOS

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/09/peter-gabriel-musictiles/

Neil Young already had a go at changing the music world, but now it's Peter Gabriel's turn to mix up the scene. The acclaimed artist has introduced a new app known as MusicTiles, which allows users to create and share remixes of their favorite tunes with a simple tile interface. Each tile represents a basic element of the song -- be it a guitar track, drums or vocals -- which can then be blended together with other elements. Users can then manipulate the effects and timing of the individual components by placing them in different arrangements. MusicTiles costs $2.99 and is available today for the iPad and iPhone. Once the app is downloaded, users can then make in-app purchases of songs and albums.

The app's creators suggest that any professionally produced song can be transformed into the MusicTiles format. Artists need only to submit the master stems of their work. You'll find a demo of the app after the break, which reveals some of the remix possibilities for Peter Gabriel's hit "Sledgehammer". This is the new stuff, indeed.

Continue reading Peter Gabriel brings remixing to the masses with MusicTiles for iOS

Filed under: Software, Mobile

Via: Fast Co mpany

Source: Peter Gabriel

Why 4K Phones Aren't Such a Bad Idea

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5974276/why-4k-phones-arent-such-a-bad-idea

Moments ago, at a small press event, Raj Talluri, Qualcomm's VP of Product Management dropped this little nugget. "You are just starting to see 1080p display phones. I think that will go even higher." My brain instantly exploded.

If people are working on UltraHD screens for mobile phones, Raj would know about it, as Qualcomm builds chips for virtually every mobile device manufacturer you can name. 1920 x 1080 pixels (1080p) on five inch screens—which are popping up like crazy on new high-end phones) have 440 pixels per inch. You couldn't see those pixels if your eyeballs were pressed to the glass. So, I asked him what the point could possibly be. It's just a pointless manufacturer pissing contest, right?

Raj's answer was that sure, above 400 PPI or so, it's not really about how many pixels the screen itself can display, what's important is how many pixels the phone is capable of pushing, as in CPU and GPU horsepower. It's because of things like Miracast, where you can wirelessly push video and audio to your TV. If these upcoming phones with the superfast Snapdragon 800 processor can shoot 4K UHD video, wouldn't it be great if you could push that directly to your 4K UHD TV? Damn right it would. And there's certainly room to go well beyond 1080p on larger tablet screens.

We really hope that phone manufacturers don't waste their time, energy, and endless marketing dollars on pushing beyond 440 PPI displays for phones. Until we all have our eyes replaced with robotic cameras, their efforts would be better spent on making screens more efficient. If you look at your phone's battery stats, the screen is always the biggest devourer of juice, often by a factor of three or four. That said, if chip makers like Qualcomm are eager to push beyond 1080p into 4K video recording, even 8K video, bring it on.

LG Curved 3D OLED Hands-On: An Imax For Your House

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5974348/lg-curved-3d-oled-hands+on-an-imax-for-your-house

LG just made the first curved 3D OLED screen. I just saw a crazy setup of three 55-inch beauties aligned side-by-side into a perfect cinematic curve. The effect is very dramatic. This could be the whole reason 3D and curved OLED exist.

As we saw with the huge curved OLED that Samsung showed us earlier today, these wavy displays are basically made for watching epic and atmospheric content. That's true with LGs OLED with 2D content and when you throw on a pair of shades and watch 3D content like planets in space and weird intergalactic flying jewels, you get sucked in.

The content doesn't pop out at you the way some people imagine 3D. Rather, the curved panel pulls you in, and when all three are lined up creating a mega curved OLED the effect is even more intense.

And of course there are no plans to sell these things yet, but we can all ready of setting up some real home theaters one day.

What the Hell Is Facecake? (It's an Awesome Augmented Reality Shopping App)

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5974382/what-the-hell-is-facecake-its-awesome

I really love to shop, but I always feel bad about pestering the salesperson for different sizes or colors of a pair of pants or something. But Facecake eliminates that issue—and makes it so you never have to ask another human being if a pair of jeans make you look fat.

Using Kinect, you can browse through a virtual clothing rack where you can see if that dress looks alright on you or if the purse you picked totally ruins the whole look. There's also a version for testing makeup and accessories called Swivel.

It was pretty fun to try—I love makeup, but sampling a different hue of an eyeshadow isn't as easy as slipping on shoes in another color. And obviously you want to know what something looks like on your face. Swivel literally lets you swipe through color selections. I tried orange, red, purple, and I don't even know, green lipstick? Just using gestures I could instantly make myself look classy or choose more of a hooker clown kind of look. I test drove jewelry and scarves in the same way. Bloomingdale's used the clothing version during Fashion Week at a New York City store, and you're going probably going to see Swivel pop up in more retailers this spring. It's so awesome for me, but also really bad: It's the kind of thing that makes you want to spend, spend, spend.

Luci Hands On: The Cheap Inflatable Solar-Powered LED Lantern

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5974388/luci-hands-on-the-cheap-inflatable-solar+powered-led-lantern

Developed as an affordable and reliable solar-powered lantern that can be easily deployed to parts of the world lacking reliable infrastructures, the Luci also happens to be the perfect camping accessory since it's lightweight, durable, waterproof, bright, and collapses as flat as a pancake.

Looking like a translucent cylindrical beach ball, the Luci can be deployed with just a couple of quick breaths, and a built-in lithium-ion battery holds enough charge to keep the lantern's ten white LEDs glowing for up to 12 hours on its dimmest setting, or six if you crank the brightness. On the underside you'll find a simple solar cell that will completely recharge the Luci's battery in six hours of sun or artificial light, but that's your only option. There's no USB port, and the battery is most definitely not swappable.

Probably the best feature of the Luci is its price. You can get one for just $20, but for every lantern purchased the Mpowerd will donate another one to aid organizations around the world. So you're not only getting a brilliant camping accessory—or a great addition to your car's emergency kit—you're also helping someone in need. Can you say that about your 4K 3D curved TV?

Lenovo K900 Hands-On: This Tall, Skinny Hottie Needs to Get In My Pants

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5974392/lenovo-k900-hands+on-this-tall-skinny-hottie-needs-to-get-in-my-pants

The Lenovo K900 is a big phone, yes, but it's a designy big phone. It's handsome, skinny, and slick like the finest smartphones ever made. We never thought we would be into a 5.5-inch phone until the K900's brushed metal back landed in our hands.

This phone is all about the hardware. The unibody construction is completely smooth and flat, unlike other large, long phones. In fact, Lenovo says that at just 6.9mm thick, it's the thinnest in its class. It weighs just 5.7 ounces.

The Full HD, 400ppi screen is amazingly satisfying. As you can see in the images, the IPS display blends beautifully with the black bezel. On the reverse, the back panel is totally without bumps, which is impressive on such a slim construction. Not even the camera pokes out. (Speaking of the camera: it shoots with a 13-megapixel Sony Exmor sensor and has a super fast f/1.8 lens.)

The K900 runs an Intel Atom z2580 processor, and it was wasn't final so we don't know anything about performance. Sadly, we don't even know what operating system the phone will run, let alone when I'll be able to see if it fits into my skinny pants.

ZTE Grand S Hands On: Superphone Doesn't Seem So Super

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5974391/zte-grand-s-hands-on-superphone-doesnt-seem-so-super

We love an underdog story. So when we saw that ZTE—a company which in the U.S. is not so synonymous with "quality" —was making a spec-monster phone, we were excited. After playing with it for about ten minutes, we're a bit less enthusiastic.

On the good side, the phone looks very nice and it was super light. And it comes in, like, eight different colors. The screen looked as sharp as you'd hope, but colors didn't seem as vivid as some other 1080p phones we've been peeping. But to be fair we'd have to do a side-by-side comparison to be sure.

The software is where things start getting messy. For starters the custom UI strips away the slickness of Android 4.1 (Jelly Been) both in look and feel. Menus look more like they belong on a late 2000's feature-phone. Everything is blocky and cartoonish in an unappealing way. Worse, though, the smoothness is gone. You can see it in the video when I flip between screens, there's a fair amount of lag. With a quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro and 2GB of RAM for brains, you don't have lag on your phone unless you screwed up your software.

There's also this strange, floating thing that brings up the classic four navigation buttons for Android. It's omnipresent and distracting, but even more so, it's redundant as the phone has three capacitive navigation buttons at the bottom. See them in the video? No, you don't, because they're practically invisible and they didn't light up. Just what the hell is going on here?

The camera was slow to open and took a long time in between pictures. I wasn't able to get a sense for the photo quality in my brief time with the phone, but it's lack of speed is certainly troubling. When I first got to it, it was even laggier and slower than the video shows, due I assume to many people pawing at it over the course of several hours. I rebooted the phone to make sure it was getting a fair shake, but A) it shouldn't have had that problem in the first place and B) even with a clean boot it wasn't exactly a speed demon.

So, we'll see what happens here. Obviously, because we still don't know exactly when this phone will make its way to the U.S. or which carrier will pick it up (if any), the software isn't final, so they may be able to work these bugs out. We hope they do, because so far we aren't so impressed.

Huawei's HiSilicon K3V3 chipset due 2H 2013, to be based on Cortex-A15

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/08/huawei-hisilicon-k3v3/

Earlier today our brethren over at Engadget Chinese got to hang out with Huawei Device chairman Richard Yu, who was kind enough to inform us that his company will release a HiSilicon K3V3 chipset -- the follow-up to the current quad-core K3V2 -- in the second half of this year. What's more, much like NVIDIA's upcoming Tegra 4, the new platform will be based on the more powerful Cortex-A15 ARM architecture instead of Cortex-A9. Yu also hinted that the K3V3 will be featured in the successors to the Ascend D2 and the Ascend Mate, but our guess is that we won't be seeing those at MWC next month. We shall tickle the man live on stage for more answers this Thursday.

Filed under: Misc, Mobile

Hands-on with T-Mobile's HD Voice, Tap Tag app for NFC-ready Android phones

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/08/t-mobile-tap-tag-and-hd-voice-hands-on/

T-Mobile had more than just big updates at its CES event; it gave us opportunities to try both its newly national HD Voice service and a seemingly unknown carrier-specific NFC app, Tap Tag. The currently Android-only software is best described as a crossover between somewhat simpler existing NFC tag systems. like Samsung's Tectiles, and multi-step automation like Motorola's Smart Actions. Put a Tap Tag-equipped phone against a relevant marker and it will perform one or more customizable tasks, such as putting the phone in a do-not-disturb mode at the same time it sets an alarm for the morning. From our glance through the menus, it's surprisingly deep and flexible without being intimidating. There are pre-defined templates, but nothing's set in stone -- if your definition of an office mode involves launching YouTube and cranking the volume, you can make it happen.

More details, including HD Voice testing, await after the break.

Gallery: T-Mobile Tap Tag and HD Voice hands-on

Continue reading Hands-on with T-Mobile's HD Voice, Tap Tag app for NFC-ready Android phones

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, T-Mobile

Kno launches 'Kno Me' interactive textbook metrics, lets you study your studying

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/09/kno-launches-kno-me-interactive-textbook-metrics-lets-you-stu/

It was almost a year ago that we first heard about Kno's smart textbook metrics system "Kno Me." Now the software is set to actually launch, and find its way into students' (and parents') hands. As a refresher, the system provides analytics on your (or your children's) study patterns, letting you see how long you have studied for, amount of time interacting with the subject matter, percentage of pages that have been annotated and more. Kno Me is available for all of the firm's interactive textbooks and launches tomorrow on the iPad, Windows 8 and browser platforms, with Android and Windows 7 coming by the end of the month. Kno Me is free, and will be pushed out via the existing app.

Continue reading Kno launches 'Kno Me' interactive textbook metrics, lets you study your studying

Filed under: Misc

Panasonic FZ-G1 Windows 8 Pro and JT-B1 Android Toughpad tablets hands-on

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/09/panasonic-toughpad-fz-g1-jt-b1-windows-8-android/

Panasonic just revealed the two newest members of its Toughpad family here at CES, the FZ-G1 Windows 8 slate and the 7-inch JT-B1 Android tablet. Naturally, when the company's gave us the chance get handsy with this pair of chunky monkeys we jumped at the chance. Each of them have the telltale look of every Panasonic Toughbook and Toughpad -- a solidly constructed silver plastic shell with black rubber corners and a girth roughly twice that of its less robust gadget brethren.

We were surprised to find that the smaller of the two tablets we fondled failed to have Android 4.2 on board. Instead it was loaded up with Ice Cream Sandwich, which the slate's dual-core OMAP silicon kept humming smoothly during our brief time with it. Like its 10-inch sibling we saw last year, its matte screen mutes colors while it reduces glare. While the strap on the back is an optional accessory, we see its appeal for securing the device in hand, and fully expect it'll be a popular add-on for enterprise customers.

Gallery: Panasonic Toughpad JT-B1 Android tablet hands-on

Meanwhile, the Windows 8 slate's screen was a bit brighter and more vibrant, and its Core i5 had us swiping through the OS's tiles even more smoothly than its smaller stablemate. Build quality was, of course extremely solid, but results in a tablet with considerable heft. If you'd like to see the two Toughpads in action, a pair of videos await after the break.

Mark Hearn contributed to this article.

Gallery: Panasonic FZ-G1 Windows 8 Pro and JT-B1 Toughpad tablets hands-on

Continue reading Panasonic FZ-G1 Windows 8 Pro and JT-B1 Android Toughpad tablets hands-on

Filed under: Tablets

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