Google and Mattel team up on a new virtual reality 'view master' (GOOG)

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/google-mattel-new-virtual-reality-view-master-2015-2

Google and Mattel are teaming up to put a new spin on the classic "view master" toy, the two companies announced at an event Friday morning. 

Starting in the fall, Mattel will sell a view master powered by Google Cardboard technology that will give kids a taste of virtual and augmented reality. 

Buy Mattel's headset, pop in an Android phone with the view master app (or any other Google Cardboard app currently in the Google Play Store) downloaded, and you'll be able to explore simulated 3-D worlds. 

Mattel will also sell "experience reels" that will offer other exclusive augmented reality content that you can't get on the apps. For example, Mattel will sell a San Francisco-themed reel that will use augmented reality to let kids explore different tourist destinations.   

Google introduced Cardboard at its I/O conference last summer as a cheap way to let people become immersed in virtual reality. Mattel's view master will essentially be a kid-friendly version of cardboard. 

"We're using Google Cardboard platform to reimagine the view master like kids have never seen before, using the power of virtual reality, augmented reality, and photo-spheric images," Mattel SVP Doug Wadleigh says. 

The device will launch this fall and will cost around $30. It will be able to accommodate Android phones of all sizes (with other operating systems likely following). 

"Our goal is to make virtual reality accessible for everyone," Google's Mike Jazayeri says. "The more people — like Mattel — making viewers, the better for everyone."

Although Mattel's view master device wasn't ready for us to test, we got to try out its experience reels in the Google Cardboard headset! .

 

In many ways, it really was similar to a classic view master experience. As you looked around the 3-D world, you could press a button on the side to switch scenes. We got to try out Mattel's space-themed reed, San Francisco reel, and dinosaur reel, the three the company has developed so far. 

Here's the front of the device:

And a look at the back:

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drag2share: Miami cops flood Waze with fake police sightings

source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/02/12/miami-police-waze/?utm_source=Feed_Classic_Full&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget&?ncid=rss_full

Hundreds of Miami police officers aren't happy with Waze's police-finding feature, and they're not content with asking Google to remove it. According to NBC Miami, a number of cops in the city are taking matters into their own hands, downloading the app and inundating it with fake police sightings. We're sure a lot of people love the app for that particular feature, as they can use it to make sure they're driving well below the speed limit in the presence of law enforcement. Some American officers told AP last month, though, that the app could pose a threat, as wanne-be cop killers can easily use it to find a target.

Sgt. Javier Ortiz (president of the Miami Fraternal Order of Police) for one believes that it "puts [them] at risk, puts the public at risk, because it's going to cause more deadly force encounters between law enforcement and suspects." But not every law enforcement officer out there shares Ortiz's opinion, such as Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel: "If someone is suffering mental illness and they want to commit a heinous crime or hunt a deputy or a police officer; they don't need Waze to do that," he told the news outfit. Despite getting flak from authorities, Waze's developers stand by the feature, telling NBC Miami that police partners support it, because people tend to drive more carefully when they know cops are around.

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Olympus' new lens camera can be (incredibly) upgraded

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/02/13/olympus-air-lens-camera-prototype-accessories/

This is no DSLR. It's not even a bridge camera. This is actually Olympus' recently announced Air lens camera, tricked out to a (some would say excessive) degree. While the accessories on show here were only for internal testing, we admit we'd like to do some external testing with it. Alongside the DSLR-esque handle and controls (the Air camera handles any micro four-thirds lens), what you see on top is Olympus' eagle-eye viewfinder that projects a laser bullseye that will hover between you and your long-range target of choice. That also explains the telephoto lens which is attached to what was, originally, a petite camera upgrade for your smartphone. Naturally some extra framework is necessary simply to support all that attached glass. Check its ridiculous backside -- where your smartphone would sit -- right after the break.

Filed under: Cameras

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Dell has a new Chromebook and a tablet that runs your choice of OS

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/02/12/dell-chromebook-11-gxtx2a/

After winning a Best of CES Award last month and then releasing what appears to be everyone's favorite new laptop, Dell is already back in the news: The company today announced not one, but four new products. And they run the gamut too, including a Chromebook, a Windows laptop and a tablet that runs either Android or Win 8. While this might seem like a random assortment, they all have this in common: They're aimed at classrooms, and were designed to take a beating from careless children.

Starting with the new Chromebook 11, it takes the place of last year's model, with a more durable design that includes a 180-degree hinge that can stay intact even if students decide to dangle the laptop by its screen. (They do that sometimes.) Dell also sealed both the keyboard and trackpad, making them immune to the occasional chemistry-class spill. As for the 11.6-inch, 1,366 x 768 display, school districts can configure it with either a touchscreen or an anti-glare panel but either way, it's covered in Gorilla Glass to ward off scratches. On the inside, the Chromebook runs a new Intel Celeron CPU, along with a 10-hour battery and a faster 802.11ac WiFi radio. Nothing revolutionary there; just a spec bump.

If anything, it's the lid that's most interesting. Dell installed a so-called Interactivity Light that glows red, blue or yellow depending on the context. For instance, a student could use an onscreen dashboard to have the light shine red when they have a question, or blue when they want to raise their hand. (Maybe yellow if they want to join in a conversation.) As it happens, Dell already has a kids' laptop with an LED indicator that shows if kids are online, but Dell imagines even more use cases here. Perhaps teachers could split the class into smaller discussion groups by automatically assigning each student a color, or maybe students could use their colors to silently cast votes -- "Which Presidential candidate would you vote for?" and what have you. Surely developers will have some ideas there too.

Lastly, Dell unveiled two 10-inch tablets for classrooms: the Venue 10, which runs Android Lollipop, and the Venue 10 Pro, which uses Windows 8. Both have a plastic shell, available in blue or black, with a reversible keyboard dock that allows you to put the screen in facing away from you. (Think: Something similar to "Stand" mode in Lenovo's Yoga line.) The screen can also be configured with up to full HD resolution, and comes standard with a pressure-sensitive Wacom pen digitizer. That said, you'll need to pay extra for the stylus, which means the tablets are more "pen-ready" than anything else. Finishing our tour, both models have a microSD reader, SIM tray for optional LTE, lock slot, full-sized and micro-USB ports and a network activity light to show teachers when kids are doing something online. Both pack a quad-core Intel Atom processor and are rated for 10 hours of runtime. The only difference: The Android version has NFC to support Google's "Bump" feature.

The Chromebook is on sale today, starting at $249. There will also be a Windows 7/8 version (the Latitude 3160) available in March, which features the same design, except it has an Ethernet jack and is missing an Interactivity Light. That'll be slightly more expensive, at $299-plus. The tablets meanwhile, will go for $299 $330 regardless of which OS you pick. If you want a keyboard in the box, the price goes up to $349 $380. Look for those in March as well: the 3rd for the Venue 10 Pro, and the end of the month for the Android-based Venue 10.

Filed under: Laptops, Tablets, Google, Dell

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