Flexible, implantable LEDs look set to start a new body modification craze
October 18, 2010 No Comment
LED lights are cool , you’re cool , why not combine the two, right? We doubt that’s quite the reasoning that led to this international research project, but it’s certainly an appealing way to look at it. Our old buddy John Rogers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has headed up a research team with participants from the US, China, Korea, and Singapore, who have together produced and demonstrated a new flexible and implantable LED array. Bettering previous efforts at inserting lights under the human skin, this approach allows for stretching and twisting by as much as 75 percent, while the whole substrate is encased in thin silicon rubber making it waterproof. Basically, it’s a green light to subdermal illumination, which could aid such things as monitoring the healing of wounds, activating light-sensitive drug delivery, spectroscopy, and even robotics. By which we’re guessing they mean our robot overlords will be able to color-code us more easily. Yeah, that must be it. Flexible, implantable LEDs look set to start a new body modification craze originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 10:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We know Google mentioned it would be a “good citizen” and allow Hulu to block its browser ID, but that doesn’t mean you have to be one too. By default, accessing the website from a Google TV device yields a prompt hoping you’ll wait for the two to work out some kind of agreement on Hulu Plus access , but with a Flash enabled browser at the ready, we’re sure all you want to do is press play. The fine folks over at GadgetWhore first discovered that by digging deep into the advanced settings of the Chrome browser app and changing the browser ID to “Generic” or any custom string one may prefer, Hulu streams immediately start playing with no problem (users may want to change back to default afterwards to make sure other pages render properly.) That’s one benefit of having a “run-of-the-mill” desktop browser integrated into your set-top box, so w while early adopters may only be moments away from discovering the dark side of Google TV, it seems like a few easy browser tweaks may take care of most issues — let us know if you’ve run into any others. Playing Hulu on Google TV is as easy as changing one setting originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 10:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Microsoft to spend one billion dollars advertising Kinect and Windows Phone 7
October 18, 2010 No Comment
Microsoft’s serious about making Kinect a success. A $500 million kind of serious. That’s the latest report, courtesy of the New York Post , on the change Steve Ballmer and company intend to drop to make sure that every living and breathing creature in the US knows about the controller-free controller this holiday season. That mirrors earlier analyst estimates placing the Windows Phone 7 marketing budget at a similar figure, which in total would amount to a cool billion dollars in advertising expenditure. We already know Microsoft’s scooped the Old Spice Guy for WP7, but Kinect is getting the extra special carpet bombing treatment with Burger King, Pepsi, YouTube, Nickelodeon, Disney, Glee , Dancing with the Stars , People and InStyle magazines, and even Times Square all having a role to play in spreading the word. Yup, it’s gonna be pretty hard to miss it. Continue reading Microsoft to spend one billion dollars advertising Kinect and Windows Phone 7 Microsoft to spend one billion dollars advertising Kinect and Windows Phone 7 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 10:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We’ve been catching glimpses of the BlackBerry Style for so long we’re glad to see it finally hit the big time: reality. Yes, Sprint and RIM have just made the 9670 QWERTY flip phone official , so if you’ve been dying to grab one, well you’re going to get your chance. This bad boy runs the all new BlackBerry OS6, boasts a 5 megapixel cam, and two high resolution displays (one external, one internal). Other than that. you’ll find built-in GPS and WiFi, and a microsSDHC slot for up to 32GB of storage. You’ll be able to preorder starting tomorrow with a ship date of October 31st, and it’ll run you $99 on contract after a mail-in rebate. Full press release is below. Continue reading BlackBerry Style officially launches October 31st for $99 on Sprint BlackBerry Style officially launches October 31st for $99 on Sprint originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 09:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …OTI report finds US and Canada have the most expensive cellphone plans, India and Hong Kong the cheapest
October 18, 2010 No Comment
It’s far from the first study to compare the cost of cellphone plans around the world, but this new report from the New America Foundation’s Open Technology Initiative (which counts Google CEO Eric Schmidt as a board member) does look to be a bit more thorough than most, which might help to dissuade some of the criticism levied at past studies from the likes of the CTIA. Of course, the ultimate findings of the study aren’t exactly a surprise, with the group again finding that the United States and Canada have the most expensive cellphone plans in the world. As you can see in the chart above, that takes into account voice, text and data rates, which added up to a minimum $67.70 and $59.99 per month for a “complete” postpaid cellphone package in Canada and the US, respectively. That’s as opposed to just $13.50 and $12.90 per month in Hong Kong and India, which are considerably cheaper in large part because they ether rely on a pay-per-use business model or a combination of pay-per-use and a small preset limit. That’s just scratching the surface though — hit up the source link below for the complete report with charts aplenty. OTI report finds US and Canada have the most expensive cellphone plans, India and Hong Kong the cheapest originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 09:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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While we’ve already seen it get official in Japan , Europe is first from the gate with an official launch date for the new Wii Remote Plus: November 5th. Unfortunately, we’ve not been given a price. What we do know is that it will launch in the four colors shown above and integrate into a single Wiimote what used to required a separate Wii Remote and Wii MotionPlus add-on . Too bad Nintendo’s pricing and availability announcement strategy isn’t as simple. Wii Remote Plus hits Europe on 5 November originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 08:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Netflix on Wii drops the clunky disc requirement, starts streaming through Wii Menu
October 18, 2010 No Comment
It’s not just the PS3 that will be doing its Netflix streaming disc-free from today : the Wii is joining in the fun as well! Americans and Canadians alike will be able to download and install Netflix from the Wii Shop Channel, provided they’ve signed up for a subscription of $8.99 (C$7.99 in Canada) or above. Continue reading Netflix on Wii drops the clunky disc requirement, starts streaming through Wii Menu Netflix on Wii drops the clunky disc requirement, starts streaming through Wii Menu originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 08:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Sony said to be outsourcing production of high-end LCDs, Foxconn and Wistron getting the nod
October 18, 2010 No Comment
Potentially bad news this morning for fans of high-end Sony HDTVs . The company, still struggling with huge losses and desperate to find reasonable pricing for its exported TVs amid historically high values for the yen, is looking to outsource not only assembly but full panel production on many of its LCDs. According to the report, up to 80 percent of Sony’s 2011 sets will be manufactured externally, with between 40 and 50 percent of those getting panels manufactured by Foxconn-affiliate CMI. Foxconn itself is said to be producing 18 million sets, while Wistron , the other major partner here, will stamp out Sony’s Google TV . If true this will be the first time Sony has outsourced full production of its higher-end models to Taiwan. None of this has been confirmed by any of these players, so apply salt to taste, but the concepts certainly make sense, and recent production slowdowns at the company’s massive new LCD production facility could be related. Naturally you’re wondering whether this move to help Sony’s bottom line will hurt quality, but since Sony just sold one of its major panel-production facilities to Foxconn last year maybe this isn’t so much a change as it is keeping things the same. Sony said to be outsourcing production of high-end LCDs, Foxconn and Wistron getting the nod originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 07:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Samsung Galaxy Tab redesigned for KDDI, hitting Japan in late February as SMT-i9100
October 18, 2010 No Comment
Japan’s KDDI is in the midst of its biannual hardware refresh and in among its new roster of phones is a familiar 7-inch slate device we’re more familiar with as the Galaxy Tab . Samsung has stripped all branding (and 3G, boo!) from the SMT-i9100, while refashioning its exterior a little and letting KDDI throw in a bit of custom au -branded software aboard. Beyond the cosmetic changes, which include the capacitive buttons being aligned for landscape (rather than portrait ) utilization, you’re mostly looking at the same machine as the rest of the world, with a 1024 x 600 resolution, 512MB of RAM, MicroSD expandability, and a built-in webcam. The internal storage is quite a bit more frugal at 4GB, but you will get a handy docking cradle as a consolation prize, plus a mobile router that’ll turn this into something very similar to Verizon’s iPad plus MiFi offering in the US. All that said, KDDI won’t have the i9100 on sale until February, by which time the Android tablet market could be somewhat better populated . Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Tab redesigned for KDDI, hitting Japan in late February as SMT-i9100 Samsung Galaxy Tab redesigned for KDDI, hitting Japan in late February as SMT-i9100 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 06:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Uh oh, HyperMac just announced that it will cease the sale of MacBook charging cables and car chargers — on November 2nd at 00:00 US Pacific Time, they’ll be gone for good. While the HyperMac batteries will be sold, you won’t be able to charge your MagSafe -equipped MacBook without the cable, so what’s the point? This, obviously, is the direct result of the patent-infringement lawsuit Apple filed over Sanho’s unlicensed use of Apple’s MagSafe power connector. And while it may be a victory for Apple legal, it’s an unsettling blow to consumers like Engadget editors who need the extra juice to augment the life of Apple’s non-removeable MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro batteries. Read the full statement after the break. [Thanks, Daniel] Continue reading HyperMac will stop selling MacBook charging cables on November 2 HyperMac will stop selling MacBook charging cables on November 2 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 05:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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