KDDI’s INFOBAR C01 coming soon: ten keys and very Japanese (video)
Many Japanese thumbs still love that classic ten-button keypad, so they should feel right at home on the newest model in KDDI’s designer INFOBAR range.
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KDDI’s INFOBAR C01 coming soon: ten keys and very Japanese (video)
Canadian researchers aim to build a more life-like robot, one piece at a time
It may not be all that human-like in its current state, but a team of researchers at the University of Ottawa are promising that this robot will get there sooner or later. Dubbed “Pumpkin,” the bot will apparently have its parts replaced piece-by-piece with more life-like counterparts over time, including parts that make use of a new artificial skin the researchers have developed. It not only includes the usual array of sensors that give the robot some degree of tactile sensitivity, but a network of tubes that circulate hot water to actually increase the temperature of the skin.
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Canadian researchers aim to build a more life-like robot, one piece at a time
Energy Sistem’s new tablets promise a taste of Honeycomb on Android 2.3
A trio of new tablets from Energy Sistem (a company known for low-end PMPs and e-readers) may not ordinarily turn many heads, but if you look closely at these you’ll notice they don’t quite match your average budget-minded slate running Android 2.x. They’re not actually running Honeycomb, unfortunately, but rather a “Honeycomb-style” skin that’s been slapped on top of Android 2.3 (much to the displeasure of Google, we presume). Otherwise, there’s decidedly few surprises to be found — you can choose from a 16:9, 7-inch or 4:3, 8-inch screen (with the higher-end model topping out at 1024 x 768), and they each pack an ARM A8 processor and either 4GB or 8GB of storage (with a microSD card slot for expansion). Prices are also expectedly on the low-end, running between $185 and $270, and all three are set to ship on November 19th. Hit the link below for the complete rundown.
Continue reading Energy Sistem’s new tablets promise a taste of Honeycomb on Android 2.3
Energy Sistem’s new tablets promise a taste of Honeycomb on Android 2.3 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Nov 2011 01:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Inhabitat’s Week in Green: 9/11 Memorial designs, an electric helicopter and laser headlights
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week’s most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us — it’s the Week in Green.
Today a day of reflection dawns in New York as the city recognizes the ten-year anniversary of the September 11th attacks with the official unveiling of the National 9/11 Memorial at Ground Zero. Tranquil though the memorial may be, it has had a tumultuous past – this week we showcased seven unrealized designs for the WTC site that will never see the light of day, and we took a look at what happened to Daniel Libeskind’s original plans for the WTC Freedom Tower. We also saw green buildings soar as Sydney unveiled Australia’s greenest office tower, we learned that the new Batman movie may be filmed in a salt mine in Transylvania, and we spotted an amazing replica of the Trump Tower built from 65,000 LEGO bricks.
It was also a record-breaking week for green transportation as the world’s first manned electric helicopter took flight and scientists developed the world’s tiniest electric motor. Meanwhile, pedal-powered transportation got a major boost as Hertz launched an electric bike rental program in London and Silverback unveiled a series of bikes with built-in USB chargers for your gadgets. We also brought you the latest news from the Frankfurt Auto Show as Rimac teased the unveiling of its 1,000 horsepower electric supercar and Audi and BMW both unveiled vehicles endowed with ultra bright next-gen laser headlights.
Speaking of shining examples of green design, this week we brought you a first look at the Samsung Galaxy Skin concept phone, which features a flexible AMOLED display that can fold to fit inside your pocket. We also saw several inspiring ways to reduce waste as scientists worked on a fuel cell that generates power while cleaning up nuclear fallout, Think Geek brought us a clever set of Fridgeezoo icebox pets that encourage kids to save energy, and we looked at Sloan’s innovative AQUS grey water toilet system that recycles your sink water. Finally, we brought you the state of the art in wearable tech as we reported that scientists developed a Terahertz “Invisibility Cloak” and researchers discovered a coral reef secret that could lead to sunscreen in a pill in five years.
Inhabitat’s Week in Green: 9/11 Memorial designs, an electric helicopter and laser headlights originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 11 Sep 2011 21:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Wrist sensor turns the back of your hand into a meaty haptic interface (video)
Continue reading Wrist sensor turns the back of your hand into a meaty haptic interface (video)
Wrist sensor turns the back of your hand into a meaty haptic interface (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Aug 2011 04:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Android Ice Cream Sandwich pictures leak, leave us slightly cold
Continue reading Android Ice Cream Sandwich pictures leak, leave us slightly cold
Android Ice Cream Sandwich pictures leak, leave us slightly cold originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Aug 2011 19:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Hands-on with TouchWiz UX for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
Today’s Samsung event in New York City was a strange scene — the company collected Galaxy Tabs from the journalists in attendance and handed back coat check receipts, promising to give the devices back after the press conference ended. One Samsung executive acknowledged the unusual nature of the event, explaining that, “this is the first time we’ve held a news conference for a software update, and it probably won’t be the last.”
The event marked the pre-launch of a major software update for Samsung’s slate — one that is set to get wide release on August 5th. Members of the press, however, were given a side-loaded preview of the tablet UI — as were New York City Galaxy Tab 10.1 owners who showed up to the Samsung store with tablet in-hand. We’ve been playing around with the update for a bit and have a full hands-on preview for you after the break.
Continue reading Hands-on with TouchWiz UX for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
Hands-on with TouchWiz UX for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Aug 2011 17:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Virgin Mobile lets Android run Blur-free on the Motorola Triumph
Motorola hopes to rescue its tarnished MOTOBLUR UI with a name-change. We, however, think the rust runs deeper than that — and it seems we’re not alone. Virgin Mobile has decided to give its prepaid customers the “true Android experience” from now on, which means you’ll find no proprietary shell whatsoever sitting atop its new Motorola Triumph handset. Aside from a few bits of Virgin bloatware, the Triumph escapes with a relatively standard install of Android 2.2. Meanwhile, MOTOBLUR will still be foisted on pay-monthly customers who buy a Photon 4G or XPRT from Sprint, Virgin Mobile’s parent company. Some of them might like the shell and its add-ons, but others will be better off without such OS contamination.
Virgin Mobile lets Android run Blur-free on the Motorola Triumph originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 12 Jun 2011 04:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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MOTOBLUR name phased out due to public feedback
The first rule of MOTOBLUR is do not talk about MOTOBLUR. Not in public at least. We got a bit of a mixed message on the matter, while discussing the newly announced Motorola Photon 4G with the company. Representatives mentioned the UI by name during our hands-on, but failed to discuss the proprietary Android skin in any press materials discussing the device. Asked what precisely is going on with the interface, a Motorola spokesperson confirmed CEO Sanjay Jha’s earlier comments that the handset manufacturer is moving away from the name, adding that the decision was due in part to public feedback. Pieces of the UI’s social functionality will remain present on devices, however, combined with more enterprise-focused features delivered as part of the company’s purchase of 3LM. Of course, all of this not talking about MOTOBLUR certainly hasn’t stopped the company from singing its praises.
MOTOBLUR name phased out due to public feedback originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Jun 2011 23:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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App review: SPB Shell 3D for Android
As we all know, the beauty of Android stems from the fact that you get a wide variety of choices when it comes to devices and interface, though the latter can sometimes be a double-edged sword. Luckily, users who are fed up with their bloated Android UI but don’t want to (or can’t) mess around with ROMs now have another easy solution. Joining the handful of Android launchers is SPB’s Shell 3D app, which installs as a replacement (but removable) home screen that comes with some nifty widgets (radio switches, backlight dimmer, weather forecast with a 3D chart, clock with over 60 skins, world time with a 3D globe, etc.) and resizeable folders.
As you can see above, the highlight of the show here is a cool-looking 3D carousel for switching between up to 16 panels, and you can trigger it by either tapping or horizontally dragging the bottom-center button. Whilst in carousel mode, you can also rearrange the panels, change their colors, or flick away excess panels. All of this required no manual reading on our end, so it’s safe to say that this is a pretty intuitive app. Read on to see what the performance is like.
Gallery: App review: SPB Shell 3D for Android
Continue reading App review: SPB Shell 3D for Android
App review: SPB Shell 3D for Android originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 13:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.