Thursday, December 17, 2009

ASUS says EeeBots are coming, inevitably running Android OS

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/asus-says-eeebots-are-coming-inevitably-running-android-os/

We've seen humanoid bots ranging from the cute to the downright insane with none of them ever coming close to commercial viability, but stick an Eee in front of their name and all bets are off. ASUS, the company that started the seemingly unlikely netbook revolution (sorry, FIC), is about to apply its golden touch to the field of consumer-friendly robotics. Intended to serve as an educational tool for young children to interact with, the EeeBot will be driven by a modified version of the aptly titled Android OS and ASUS is said to be hard at work developing a content and services ecosystem around the hardware. Teased technologies include voice, video and navigation abilities, but we'll have to wait a while before we see any of it since production won't begin for another two years.

ASUS says EeeBots are coming, inevitably running Android OS originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Dec 2009 04:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nook hacked with Web browser, Facebook, and Twitter apps for starters

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/nook-hacked-with-web-browser-facebook-and-twitter-for-starters/

And here we go. With the Nook rooted and plenty of Android devs at the ready to exploit the device's free 3G data and semi-useful WiFi connection, it's officially open season on Barnes & Noble's new e-reader. Within the last few hours the Nook has been given a web browser (pictured left) to join the Pandora hack just announced by NookDevs. A trick that adds plenty of functionality to the Nook including the ability to login to public WiFi hotspots and read the news on an RSS aggregator (pictured right with Google Reader). Better yet, the rogue band of devs have already ported AndTweet and the Facebook app from the Android Marketplace. Unfortunately, the Google Maps port failed due to some missing libraries within the Nook's Android implementation. Naturally, none of this has been packaged for the everyman yet, but at this rate we might have off the shelf Nook homebrew before those January Nook orders can be delivered. Hey Barnes & Noble, welcome to the wild west of consumer electronics.

[Thanks, Scott]

Nook hacked with Web browser, Facebook, and Twitter apps for starters originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Dec 2009 04:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blu-ray 3D specifications finalized, your PS3 is ready

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/blu-ray-3d-specifications-finalized-your-ps3-is-ready/

In case plans by AMD and a slew of other tech vendors planning to showcase 3D Blu-ray compatible products at CES wasn't a tip-off, the updated specifications are done. The key details? First, that the Blu-ray Disc Association has chosen the Multiview Video Coding (MVC) codec to store 3D, so that even though it is now providing a full 1080p frame for each eye, it will only require about 50% more storage space compared to the 2D version, and all discs will be fully backwards compatible, in 2D, on existing players. Better than backwards compatibility, the PlayStation 3 will be forwards compatible with the new discs -- a new HDTV setup (the spec promises to work with plasmas, LCDs or projectors equally well) with IR emitters and glasses will still be necessary. According to the PR (after the break) we can expect Blu-ray 3D-stickered products in 2010, our only advice is to keep those responsible for the Cowboys Stadium abomination far, far away from it.

Continue reading Blu-ray 3D specifications finalized, your PS3 is ready

Blu-ray 3D specifications finalized, your PS3 is ready originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Dec 2009 05:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.!

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Hot Virtual Keyboard for Windows 7 is hot, virtual, multitouch

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/hot-virtual-keyboard-for-windows-7-is-hot-virtual-multitouch/

Hot Virtual Keyboard for Windows 7 is hot, virtual, multi-touch
Thought that multitouch support in Windows 7 was only good for putting twice the smudges on your screen in half the time? Here's the app that makes all those blemishes worthwhile. It's the 5.0 release of Hot Virtual Keyboard, which provides the ability to do mindblowing things like hold a shift key while pressing another key to make on-screen letters bigger! Crazy, right? It offers a variety of flavors, including thumb-friendly UMPC models and even a pseudo-ergonomic one, complete with comically oversized spacebar, as apparently those with bad wrists have big thumbs. It's all hugely customizable and could make text entry on that svelte new tablet of yours a little less of a chore -- if you don't mind fronting the $29.95 entry fee.

Hot Virtual Keyboard for Windows 7 is hot, virtual, multitouch originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Dec 2009 07:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EyeTV iPhone app granted 3G streamability, App Store's WiFi-only club hemorrhaging members

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/eyetv-iphone-app-granted-3g-streamability-app-stores-wifi-only/

EyeTV iPhone app granted 3G streamability, App Store's WiFi-only club hemorrhaging members
Happy day, iPhoners; your days of living life one hotspot at a time are over. You can now use that data plan for all its worth as more and more apps break through the WiFi-only iron curtain. Last week it was Ustream, the week before Knocking, and now EyeTV has released an updated app able to stream your own personal TV broadcast to your iPhone wherever you are. Assuming, of course, you're not situated within a "coverage gap" -- or a major metropolitan area.

Update: To be clear, this isn't actually a new App Store app, it's a webapp, available at live3g.eyetv.com via Safari and fed by an update to the service's desktop client.

EyeTV iPhone app granted 3G streamability, App Store's WiFi-only club hemorrhaging members originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Dec 2009 07:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Gear Diary  |  sourceEyeTV  | Email this | Comments

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Iraqi insurgents using $26 software to monitor Predator video feeds

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/iraqi-insurgents-using-26-software-to-monitor-predator-video-fe/

We can't say we've ever heard of a $26 Russian program called SkyGrabber before, but it's about to get famous real fast -- according to the Wall Street Journal, Iraqi insurgents have been regularly using the satellite-snooping software to monitor live Predator video feeds. Apparently the Predator transmits video over an unencrypted link, so there's no major hacking or security breach going on here, but it's obviously a huge issue -- and we'd say the bigger problem is that Pentagon officials have known about this flaw since the 1990s, but they didn't think insurgents would figure out how to exploit it. Way to underestimate, guys. The WSJ says the military is working to encrypt all Predator feeds from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, but it's slow going because the Predator network is more than a decade old and based on proprietary tech -- too bad it's not proprietary enough to keep prying eyes out of it.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Iraqi insurgents using $26 software to monitor Predator video feeds originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Dec 2009 10:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ericsson demos 42Mbps HSPA Evolution for the laypeople

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/ericsson-demos-42mbps-hspa-evolution-for-the-laypeople/

Talk about making good on a promise... and then some. Back in March, Ericsson proudly proclaimed that it would be able to make 21Mbps look like child's play by reaching 28Mbps before the dawn of 2010, and now the company is tooting its horn once more after demonstrating 42Mbps equipment to common folk over in Stockholm, Sweden. Reportedly, it's the planet's first 42Mbps HSPA achievement on commercial products, and better still, it's now available for mass deployment. Unfortunately, details beyond that were few and far between -- we're guessing Ericsson just needed an avenue to gloat -- but we suspect carriers like Telstra will be pushing out their own releases once the upgrades start rolling out. Granted, we've seen mobile data rates tickle the 42Mbps mark before, but those showcases were hardly ready for public consumption. Meanwhile, Verizon and AT&T are spending bundles arguing about their comparatively glacial "3G networks." Way to go, America.

Ericsson demos 42Mbps HSPA Evolution for the laypeople originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Second Fuse UI video shows wild, dynamically lit 3D interface

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/second-fuse-ui-video-shows-wild-dynamically-lit-3d-interface/

We only got the briefest of glimpses at the new UI approach in Synaptics' collaborative Fuse concept handset, and now TAT (The Astonishing Tribe, the folks behind the original Android UI), has posted a brief clip that gives a better idea of the full UI. It's pretty wild, with some sort of rendering engine that really emphasizes depth, lighting and motion. We're not sure it's the most usable UI on the planet, but it's certainly one of the oddest we've witnessed. Check it out in motion after the break.

Continue reading Second Fuse UI video shows wild, dynamically lit 3D interface

Second Fuse UI video shows wild, dynamically lit 3D interface originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Phone Arena  |  sourceTAT  | Email t his | Comments

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HTC debuts widgets for Sense-equipped Android phones

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/17/htc-debuts-widgets-for-sense-equipped-android-phones/

HTC was already in the Android software game by virtue of the fact that it drops a fully-customized UI and widget suite on some of its models, but this is new: they've migrated over to the Market. Now, what'd be insanely awesome here is if you could, say, buy Sense for $9.99 and install it on any Android device, but yeah, not so much -- what we've actually got here is a four-pack of free widgets that are compatible with the Hero and Droid Eris. Dice, Today in History, Tip Calculator, and Battery are each downloadable individually; none are particularly exciting or different than what's already available in the Market, but they've all got that famous HTC high style and the exclusivity of knowing that Motorola, Acer, Samsung, and Huawei riffraff can't use them. All four are available now.

HTC debuts widgets for Sense-equipped Android phones originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink AndroidCentral  |  sourceAndroLib  | Email this&nbs! p;|  ;Comments

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Is Believing in Behavioral Targeting Like Believing in Santa? - http://bit.ly/5aKbu4

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Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Tegra 2 Coming in January: Nvidia Promises Netbooks, Smartphones and Smartbooks Galore [Nvidia]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/dQuM79mrT0Q/tegra-2-coming-in-january-nvidia-promises-netbooks-smartphones-and-smartbooks-galore

The Tegra system-on-a-chip, the zippy hardware that powers the Zune HD, had so much potential. Then, the delays. Slow pickup. Disappointment. Whatever happened to the Tegra, Nvidia doesn't want it to happen again. This time, they say, will be different.

As for what the Tegra 2 is, nobody really knows, because the closest Nvdia execs will get to a spec rundown is to offer vague promises of MORE: evidently it will be at least twice as powerful as its predecessor, which was was impressive in its own right. We'll get a sense of how powerful it is at CES, but the major point Nvidia would like to make is that unlike last time, the Tegra 2 will actually get used:

At CES we are going to make a major announcement about Tegra family. It is highly possible that we will see some very interesting form-factors coming out at the same time. [There will be products] shown by our partners using the next-generation Tegra device. You are going to see roll-outs and deployments of tablet PCs, smartbooks, netbooks, MIDs throughout the first half [of the year]; and then you will see major roll-outs of smartphones in the second half

This jibes with chatter from the last few months that companies like Samsung, Nintendo and even Nvidia themselves have suddenly started working on Tegra hardware; we just didn't know until now that it'd be next gen. What we still don't know is what that means: If the original Tegra could decode 1080p video, what can the new one do? Decode 1080p video mo! re enthu siastically? [XbitLabs]




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Shooting Challenge: Anthropomorphism [Shooting Challenge]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/MZSf8aIxUJs/shooting-challenge-anthropomorphism

You know what commercial I can't get out of my head? The Amex commercial the one where faces are found where they shouldn't be. That's the Shooting Challenge for this week. Make inanimate objects animate.


The rules:

1. Submissions need to be your own.
2. Photos need to be taken the week of the contest. (No portfolio linking or it spoils the "challenge" part.)
3. Explain, briefly, the equipment, settings and technique used to snag the shot.
4. Email submissions to contests@gizmodo.com.
5. Include 800px image AND something wallpaper sized in email.

Send your best entries by Sunday at 6PM Eastern to contests@gizmodo.com with "Anthropomorphism" in the subject line. Save your files as JPGs or GIFs at 800 pixels wide, and use a FirstnameLastname.jpg naming convention using whatever name you want to be credited with. Include your shooting summary (camera, lens, ISO, etc) in the body of the email. ALSO, AND THIS IS SOMEWHAT NEW, ATTACH A 2560x1600 JPEG AS WELL FOR PEOPLE TO DOWNLOAD AS WALLPAPER. [Image]

And for a little inspiration/free product placement:




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AAXA cranks up the brightness on M1 micro projector

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/16/aaxa-cranks-up-the-brightness-on-m1-micro-projector/

We can't say with any degree of certainty that AAXA's recently announced M1 "micro projector" truly is the brightness of the miniaturized bunch, but it's certainly brighter than the vast majority we've had the displeasure of seeing ourselves. Most pico projectors pack between 8 and 12 lumens, and up until now, AAXA's own P2 was widely consider the best for using in partially lit rooms due to its 33 lumen rating. The M1 doubles up on that figure, bringing 66 lumens to the table along with a native SVGA (800 x 600) resolution, 1GB of onboard memory, an SD card reader and optional iPod, PSP and DVD cables. Said display is up for pre-order as we speak for $299, while the M1 Plus -- which supports VGA and composite AV inputs -- will set you back $359.

AAXA cranks up the brightness on M1 micro projector originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Dec 2009 09:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Pico Projector Info  |  sourceAAXA  | Email this | Comments

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NVIDIA promises Tegra 2 chipset and third party hardware at CES

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/16/nvidia-promises-tegra-2-chipset-and-third-party-hardware-at-ces/

For an upstart mobile chipset, Tegra seemed off to a decent start in 2009, but with a minimum of actual hardware actually on shelves for the holidays, we're supposed to look to 2010 now for Tegra's big break -- according to NVIDIA, anyway. NVIDIA plans to unveil its next-gen Tegra 2 chipset at CES in January, which is rumored to be around twice as powerful as the original, and we're supposed to be seeing a bunch of "interesting form factors" along side (like that Tegra tablet pictured above, for instance). We're told to expect tablet PCs, smartbooks, netbooks and MIDs running Tegra in the first half of next year, but the real traction is supposed to take place with the first smartphone entries in the second half of 2010. It sounds like a long time to wait.

NVIDIA promises Tegra 2 chipset and third party hardware at CES originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Dec 2009 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink SlashGear  |  sourceX-bit labs  | Email this | Comments

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Flexible, organic flash memory on tap at the University of Tokyo

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/16/flexible-organic-flash-memory-on-tap-at-the-university-of-tokyo/

If the University of Tokyo has its way, we could be seeing an onslaught of flexible computing devices sooner than you think! Earlier this year the school made some noise with its stretchable OLED prototype and now a research group led by Takeo Someya and Tsuyoshi Sekitani has developed a non-volatile, flexible organic flash memory that may someday be used for large-area sensors, electronic paper devices, and non-volatile memory. Using a polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) resin sheet arrayed with memory cells, the memory can be bent until its curvature radius reaches 6mm without causing mechanical or electrical degradation. As it stands now, the device has a memory retention time of one day -- but the team maintains that this can be "drastically improved by reducing the size of the element and employing an SAM with a long molecular length." Piece of cake, right?

Flexible, organic flash memory on tap at the University of Tokyo originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola Backflip / Enzo bringing Android contortions to AT&T

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/16/motorola-backflip-enzo-bringing-android-contortions-to-atandt/

Just when we though this decade had run short on phone form factors, Motorola comes along to blow our minds with this new Backflip / Enzo / Motus device. Amazingly, the most interesting part of this device might not even be the reverse hinge design, which flips the keyboard back behind the screen and faces out when not in use, but the fact that there's a clear-as-day AT&T logo on it -- something we'd heard rumored, but dared not believe until we saw it with our own eyes. The rest of the leaked photos go on to corroborate earlier rumors: there's a touchpad on the back of the keyboard to aid in no-look scrolling, it's running Blur on top of Android 1.5 (with a few AT&T apps, Yahoo search and no Gmail), and it runs the same 528MHz processor as the CLIQ. Hard to believe this very same company builds the Droid.

[Thanks, Jeff B.]

Motorola Backflip / Enzo bringing Android contortions to AT&T originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG eXpo goes on sale at AT&T, sans projector

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/16/lg-expo-goes-on-sale-at-atandt-sans-projector/

Anyone looking for the highest-end Windows Mobile experience you can buy on AT&T, go ahead and form a line to the left, please, because your knight in shining armor has arrived. The LG eXpo -- complete with a Snapdragon core, 5 megapixel camera, 3.2-inch WVGA display, fingerprint scanner, QWERTY slide, and optional microprojector -- is now available, albeit at a $199.99 after-rebate, on-contract price that puts it pretty far into the realm of the high-power smartphone elite. The downside is that the aforementioned projector isn't yet available for purchase, which makes the whole package a little less compelling -- then again, that means you're walking out of the store with $179 that you wouldn't have otherwise had, so just look at your eXpo purchase as a fantastic money-making opportunity.

LG eXpo goes on sale at AT&T, sans projector originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sunday, December 13, 2009

MSI X-Slim X600 Pro tweaks the 15.6-inch thinsanity formula

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/13/msi-x-slim-x600-pro-tweaks-the-15-6-inch-thinsanity-formula/

The last time we bumped into MSI's 15.6-inch X-Slim X600 we were unimpressed with the build quality -- it just seemed like too much plastic in too thin of a form factor to be trusted. Well, the X-Slim X600 Pro seems to have addressed some of the perceived quality issues, with a new scratch-resistant surface and silver inlays, but we'll have to play with one before we really know if these refinements are merely skin deep. The largest hardware tweak is the new chiclet keyboard, while inside the laptop has scored "the latest" Intel Core 2 Duo CULV processor, matched with the same ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 graphics from last time. There's no word on price or availability, but we're sure we'll be seeing and hearing more at CES.

MSI X-Slim X600 Pro tweaks the 15.6-inch thinsanity formula originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Dec 2009 22:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceHotHardware  | Email this | Comments

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Joojoo tablet gets its first batch of press shots, $30 dock accesory

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/12/joojoo-tablet-gets-its-first-batch-of-press-shots-30-dock-acce/

Up until now, the only official shot of the Joojoo tablet was that seductive snippet of the corner. 'Course, you got a pretty good look of the thing if you bothered to watch our sit-down with Fusion Garage's Chandra Rathakrishnan, but it's still a pleasing sight to see the company push out a nice gallery of press shots to really tickle the senses. We aren't exactly sure if these guys have Cameron's approval to use Avatar screen shots to promote their product, but at this point, we wouldn't put anything regarding the Joojoo beyond the realm of feasibility. Oh, and if you were wondering how you'd eventually use this thing as an at-home movie viewer, the $29.99 dock accessory pictured above is the answer. One word of caution, however: given all the drama surrounding this thing, use that pre-order button at your own risk.

P.S. - Our good pal Chippy is suggesting that the only possible CPU / GPU tandem that could result in the claimed 1080p support and 5 hours of battery life is the Atom Z530 and the GMA500, both from Intel. Hopefully we'll hear something official in short order.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Joojoo tablet gets its first batch of press shots, $30 dock accesory originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 Dec 2009 12:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceThe Joojoo  | Email this | Comments

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