Pricing pressure, anyone? Super Talent has just put a serious kink in the plans of storage makers hoping to milk their dwindling USB 2.0 flash drive inventories into the holiday season, as the introduction of the USB 3.0 Express Duo line sets a new bar for MSRPs on these things. Expected to ship later this month, these critters are available in 8GB and 16GB capacities, with each offering USB 3.0 speeds, USB 2.0 backwards compatibility and price points of $14 and $29, respectively. Who doesn’t love a good stocking stuffer, anyway? Continue reading Super Talent intros 8GB USB 3.0 Express Duo flash drive for $14 Super Talent intros 8GB USB 3.0 Express Duo flash drive for $14 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Nov 2010 06:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Somewhere in the world, Creative just announced a pair of 7-inch (480 x 800) and 10-inch (1024 x 768) Ziio tablets running the Android 2.1 OS. Both feature a ZiiLabs ZMS-08 processor, Bluetooth 2.1 EDR, Wifi 802.11b/g, and microSD. And somewhere, somebody must be jonesin’ for these resistive touchscreen tablets (China?), just not here. Creative Ziio 7- and 10-inch Android tablets say ‘me too’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Nov 2010 06:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Not much detail here, just some vagaries uttered by Michael Dell at an event in Hong Kong. According to Reuters , Mr. Dell said that it’s easier to develop smartphones using Microsoft’s Windows operating system than Google’s Android. Something that he, or at least his developers, should know something about having dabbled a bit on both platforms. Unfortunately, that’s all we’ve got — hopefully more details will be revealed later to give this some context. Switching gears, he also said that Dell would be launching a ” significant number ” of tablet PC models next year. Next year huh? What happened to Dell’s 7-inch Looking Glass tablet that was coming in ” a few weeks ” now more than one month ago? Michael Dell: Developing Windows smartphones ‘easier’ than Android originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Nov 2010 05:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …LG Display snatches ‘world’s thinnest bezel’ title back from Samsung with new 37-inch LCD
November 2, 2010 No Comment
They say two things about war: that it never changes, and that nobody ever wins. Tell that to thin bezel fans, however, and they’ll point you in the direction of the LG-Samsung tussle for the title of world’s thinnest bezel separation. Samsung snatched the glory last month with its 55-inch Digital Information Display , but today LG is upping the ante with a nearly nonexistent frame around its new 37-inch LCD panel. There’s 2.5mm of bezel on the bottom and right side of the screen, and 1.5mm on the top and left sides, resulting in a microscopic 4mm (0.16 inches) of separation. The panel’s designed for outdoor advertising, can be stacked infinitely, and will get its debut demonstration at the FPD International 2010 show in Japan later this month. LG Display snatches ‘world’s thinnest bezel’ title back from Samsung with new 37-inch LCD originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Nov 2010 04:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …UCLA / Caltech researchers help patients move mouse cursors with their brains
November 2, 2010 No Comment
It’s certainly not a revolutionary new concept — whiz kids have been tinkering with brain-controlled interfaces for years on end — but a collaboration between UCLA scientists and colleagues from the California Institute of Technology has taken the idea one leap closer to commercialization. Itzhak Fried, a professor of neurosurgery at UCLA, kept a close watch (via embedded electrodes) on how a dozen humans reacted to certain images, and eventually, Fried and co. were able to show that Earthlings can “regulate the activity of their neurons to intentionally alter the outcome of stimulation.” In other words, they were able to move a mouse cursor with just their mind, and brighten a test image with a 70 percent success rate. By honing the process of controlling what actions occur when focused on a given subject (or input peripheral), it opens up the possibility for paralyzed individuals to not only check their email, but also control prosthetic limbs. It’s hard to say when this stuff will be put to good use outside of a hospital, but the video after the break definitely makes us long for “sooner” rather than “later.” Continue reading UCLA / Caltech researchers help patients move mouse cursors with their brains UCLA / Caltech researchers help patients move mouse cursors with their brains originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Nov 2010 04:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Some researchers at the Technical University of Munich have built an unassuming but no-less-remarkable mechanism for tilting and panning a small camera robotically. Designed to keep up with the eye movements of a human in gaze-tracking studies, the camera mount features three degrees of movement, and can flick around at a rapid 2500 degrees per second — our flesh-composed eyeballs max out at a mere 1000. The setup uses ultrasonic piezo-actuators, which move prismatic joints, which drive spherically-jointed rods attached to the camera, keeping the weight under 100 grams and still acting gently enough to avoid rattling on top of the wearer’s head. We’ll take two. Speedy robo-cam mimics the movements of the human eye, exceeds them originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Nov 2010 03:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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If the damp blanket of leaves warming the ground is any indicator, then we’d say that fall has arrived in the Northern Hemisphere. That means Google’s Chrome OS is due . What better time for DigiTimes to cite sources from “component players” claiming that the first smartbooks featuring the Chrome OS will launch later this month. According to the Taiwanese rumor rag, Google will follow a similar strategy as its Nexus One and be first from the gate with the launch of a self-branded Chrome OS notebook manufactured by Inventec — the ARM-based machine will not be sold through normal retail channels and is expectated to ship a very modest 60,000 to 70,000 units. Acer and HP are then rumored to be launching Quanta-manufactured Chrome OS gear as early as December while ASUS waits to gauge market reaction. Of course, if all of this is true then we should be getting a Google event press invite right about, well, now. Google-branded Chrome OS smartbook launching this month? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Nov 2010 02:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Shocker! Kids spending too much time in front of TV screens, too little in loving parents’ embrace
November 2, 2010 No Comment
Not that anyone really needed to have this spelled out, but America’s tots are apparently spending too much time in front of the telly tubes. The latest study, conducted by the Seattle Children’s Research Institute and the University of Washington, finds that children under the age of five are spending 4.1 hours of each day watching movies or TV, doubling the recommended maximum of two hours a day. Whether you take the slightly arbitrary two-hour RDA to heart or not, it’s undeniable that all of us — not just the young ‘uns — are spending increasingly larger chunks of our time looking at the world through a screen and not through our own retinas. And, if you want an extra topping of alarmist extrapolation, these figures come from a research sample concluded in 2006, today’s better-equipped toddlers are very likely to outdo those numbers when mobile devices and the like are factored in. Imagine how bad this would all be if the US didn’t have so much quality programming to entertain and educate them with. Shocker! Kids spending too much time in front of TV screens, too little in loving parents’ embrace originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Nov 2010 01:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …VUDU, Wal-mart and Disney join forces, add a free streaming copy to Toy Story 3 Blu-ray discs
November 2, 2010 No Comment
Wal-mart is showing how it might make use of VUDU after purchasing the 1080p movie streaming house earlier this year, now that the two have teamed up with Disney to throw in a free digital copy of Toy Story 3 with each one purchased at the store on DVD or Blu-ray. When the movie goes on sale today, customers will receive a download code they can use on their nearest VUDU player ( now including Boxee on the Box, PC or Mac) to stream some Buzz and Woody at any time without a disc involved. Wal-mart and VUDU are quick to describe this mix of of physical and digital access as the future of content, and we’re thinking this type of promotion is about to become much more widespread since Amazon’s already offered a similar deal with Disc+ , and Best Buy purchased CinemaNow specifically for this type of offer . The only question now is if customers will start asking “which streaming service does this connect to?” before they run out to buy a new Blu-ray instead of simply looking for the lowest price or other promotional tie-in. Continue reading VUDU, Wal-mart and Disney join forces, add a free streaming copy to Toy Story 3 Blu-ray discs VUDU, Wal-mart and Disney join forces, add a free streaming copy to Toy Story 3 Blu-ray discs originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Nov 2010 01:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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In a bid to grab a little of that “respect” we keep hearing so much about, Archos has just started shipping its downright seductive 4.3-inch Archos 43 . Boasting Android underneath, an HDMI output and inbuilt WiFi, this $249.99 portable media player has just about everything any on-the-go media lover could want. Though, we will say… that 16GB of storage could afford to be expanded. Good thing there’s a microSD slot, huh? Hit the source link if you’re interested in experiencing that whole “Add To Cart” phenomenon. [Thanks, Kevin] Android-based Archos 43 PMP now shipping for $250 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Nov 2010 00:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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