We know the following to be true: microelectromechanical systems ( MEMS ) technology can foster some very inventive gadgetry , and it’s a wonderful four-turn, 45-point Scrabble word (barring special tiles and presuming an abnormally-large board). That said, the MEMS display sector is still quite small and still a ways from reaching the market (hello, Mirasol ), which makes every appearance a bit more interesting than the last. Hitachi’s little showing caused quite the crowds at its CEATEC booth, with a pair of 2.5-inch QVGA prototypes built using Pixtronix’s PerfectLight MEMS display tech within a LCD infrastructure. The color came through on the first screen, and animations was fairly fluid (with the exception of one or two brief moments of lag). The other display on hand was monochrome with a backlight that flickered on and off as a generic desk lamp shone directly onto it. It was still legible enough without the backlight, but it definitely took some straining. Pixtronix is promising 24-bit color depth, 170-degree viewing angles, and a 75 percent power reduction over equivalent LCD displays. As for Hitachi, the company reportedly plans to release displays in the 10-inch and under market by early 2012 — so yes, in case you were wondering, these’ll be back for next CEATEC, too. Enjoy the pictures below, so you have something to look back on. Gallery: Hitachi MEMS display eyes-on Hitachi’s MEMS display: big aspirations in a little prototype originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Oct 2010 09:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Well, it looks like Pantech may not be dropping AMOLED screens just yet after all — the company has just rolled out its new Laser slider on AT&T complete with, you guessed it, a 3.1-inch AMOLED display. Set to be available on October 17th, the phone is also the thinnest QWERTY slider available on AT&T at just 9.95 millimeters thick, but things unfortunately get decidedly less interesting from there. The Laser is simply a “quick messaging phone,” for starters, and you’ll only get AT&T’s own apps for navigation, social networking, and other basic tasks — though it does have a somewhat unique “Drawing Commander” feature that lets you draw shapes to make phone calls or launch apps. That doesn’t mean the Laser comes with quick messaging phone price, however — it’ll set you back $100 after a $50 mail-in rebate on a two-year contract (placing it right in line with some of AT&T’s newest mid-range Android phones ). Hit up the gallery below for a closer look, and head on past the break for the full press release. Gallery: Pantech Laser for AT&T Continue reading AT&T debuts slim, AMOLED-equipped Pantech Laser slider AT&T debuts slim, AMOLED-equipped Pantech Laser slider originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Oct 2010 09:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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At Cisco’s CTIA press conference this week we got a chance to “experience” the Umi consumer video conferencing system , and it’s pretty much what you’d expect: FaceTime for your living room. Just bigger, wider, and with, well… more living room. The hardware consists of 3 parts: a camera unit, a set-top box, and an infrared remote. The camera is able to pan and zoom, and connects to the set-top box via two cables. The set-top box features connections for power, Ethernet, and both HDMI in and out (for passthrough) as well as optical audio out We also got a video demo of Umi Connect by Steve Sullivan, product manager at Cisco — it’s the online portal which handles your messages, videos, call history, and contacts. There’s also a “share” feature, for posting videos to Facebook and YouTube. Take a look at some video of Umi in action after the break, and please: remember to keep your pants on. Gallery: Cisco Umi hands-on Continue reading Cisco Umi hands-on Cisco Umi hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Oct 2010 08:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Nokia N8 teardown reveals easily replaceable battery, ‘beefy’ construction
October 8, 2010 No Comment
Surprise, surprise. The iFixit team have cornered themselves a dark grey Nokia N8 and have proceeded to do the one thing that comes naturally to them: disassembled it. It’s mostly good news all around with this teardown, which found the BL-4D battery cell was only two Torx screws away from being user-replaceable, while the overall N8 construction was praised as being the “beefiest” of any phone this year. There are plenty of bodacious highlights within, including the massive Xenon flash and the pair of camera modules — which are regrettably not removable from the main board. The touchscreen controller in the N8 is the same as has previously been used on the Kin Two and BlackBerry Torch . Perhaps that’s not the best pedigree in the world, but the (complete in one case, and relative in the other) lack of success of those phones was never really about the screen’s responsiveness. Hit the source link for a full gallery of images and the complete deconstruction guide. Nokia N8 teardown reveals easily replaceable battery, ‘beefy’ construction originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Oct 2010 08:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Gamma Dynamics high-contrast, high-speed electrofluidic e-paper gets closer to reality
October 8, 2010 No Comment
E Ink more or less has a lock on the e-reader market, as competitor after competitor sees delays or simply disappears altogether. Today we have an update from another would-be foe, and there’s some real potential here. It’s electrofluidic e-paper from Gamma Dynamics and the University of Cincinnati, which we first heard about last April . The tech is similar to that in E Ink but, instead of simple microcapsules having both black and white ink plus a clear oil, the Gamma Dynamics pixels have a colored fluid in a pixel that’s split by a reflective sheet. Using voltage applied to these pixels the ink can be forced up above or pulled down below the reflective separator, forming an image in a video-capable 20ms and delivering a near paper-matching 70 percent reflectivity. There’s a picture below showing how the tech works and, thanks to confirmation that it can be produced in an LCD manufacturing facility, it’s looking closer to production than ever. How close is that? Oh, about three years, meaning E Ink still has that market cornered — for now. Continue reading Gamma Dynamics high-contrast, high-speed electrofluidic e-paper gets closer to reality Gamma Dynamics high-contrast, high-speed electrofluidic e-paper gets closer to reality originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Oct 2010 07:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …HTC Mondrian render teases AT&T U-verse Mobile for Windows Phone 7, looks fatter than last time
October 8, 2010 No Comment
Not that the connection between AT&T and HTC’s Mondrian WP7 handset was under much doubt anymore , but here’s the first image purporting to show the carrier-branded version of the device. The render is provided by 911sniper , whose long and distinguished record of leaking legit HTC ROMs leads us to believe it is indeed the real deal. It’s curious then to juxtapose the somewhat bulky Mondrian on show here against the press imagery recently unearthed by BestBoyZ — are we still looking at the same device? Our eyeball geometry would suggest not. Anyway, there’s not too long left to go until Microsoft tidies this alphabet soup of codenames up for us, and until then we suggest just enjoying that tantalizing tile titled AT&T U-verse Mobile . [Thanks, Kamal] HTC Mondrian render teases AT&T U-verse Mobile for Windows Phone 7, looks fatter than last time originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Oct 2010 06:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Thrustmaster shipping HOTAS Warthog flight controller this month for $500
October 8, 2010 No Comment
Already got a tween of your own begging and pleading for a decent gaming joystick from Santa? It’s a common issue, or so we hear. Thrustmaster’s HOTAS Warthog is probably one of the nicest around, and it looks as if it’ll be landing on American doormats in plenty of time to procure a sufficient amount of wrapping paper. The ultimate flight sim stick will start shipping out by the end of this month for a wallet-melting $499.99, but thankfully for you, we were able to put together a lengthy list of impressions during a hands-on session back at E3. And hey, if this one ends up out of reach, at least you’ve always got Solipskier . Continue reading Thrustmaster shipping HOTAS Warthog flight controller this month for $500 Thrustmaster shipping HOTAS Warthog flight controller this month for $500 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Oct 2010 05:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Cowon X7 debuts in home market of Korea with 4.3-inch screen, American ambitions
October 8, 2010 No Comment
What was merely an indistinct outline in August is today a bona fide retail product. Cowon has made its X7 PMP official over in South Korea, letting us take a gander at the spec sheet if not necessarily buy one just yet. A 4.3-inch touchscreen takes center stage, backed by up to 160GB of hard drive storage and a battery rated to last for 103 hours of music or 10 hours of video playback. An FM radio tuner, built-in speaker, and Bluetooth chip fill out the “retro modern” body, while the software front reveals DivX-encoded video compatibility and a smattering of your usual note-taking and utility apps. The standard 160GB model is going on sale for 339,000 KRW ($304), or if you’re a globetrotter and need a set of preinstalled dictionaries, it’ll set you back 379,000 KRW ($340). There’s no word on US availability just yet, but this thing didn’t go through the chore of getting certified with the FCC for nothing. Continue reading Cowon X7 debuts in home market of Korea with 4.3-inch screen, American ambitions Cowon X7 debuts in home market of Korea with 4.3-inch screen, American ambitions originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Oct 2010 04:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …KDDI’s ‘smARt’ television viewing concept links phones to consumerism at long last
October 8, 2010 No Comment
Say you’re watching a cooking show on television and you see some ketchup. Tasty, right? Salivating? Need some ketchup right this second ? Look no further than KDDI’s “smARt” television viewing concept, which uses your phone as a tool to get more information on stuff you’re seeing on the boob tube in real time. Using an Android-powered Sharp IS01 to demonstrate, KDDI’s crack team of presenters showed some delicious-looking food on screen then captured it with the phone’s camera, which ultimately resulted in being redirected to a site where you could purchase a bottle of Hunt’s for
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The latest thrilling installment in BlackBerry’s Middle East saga has turned out not to be so thrilling after all. Having set an October 11 deadline for RIM to comply with its “telecommunications regulatory framework,” the United Arab Emirates is today reporting that the BlackBerry maker has managed to make the necessary changes with plenty of time to spare. Consequently, there’ll be no state-ordained curtailing of email, web, or BBM services within the UAE, which mirrors similar agreements that BlackBerry has managed to finagle with India and Saudi Arabia . Of course, the grand purpose of the UAE’s ultimatum was for RIM to allow the state access to encrypted messaging communications, and while the current announcement is pointedly missing details on what’s been done to appease the Dubai decision makers, we can’t imagine them giving up the fight without RIM making some type of concession. And the shady, undisclosed concessions happen to be our least favorite kind. UAE says BlackBerry is now compliant with regulations, free to rock on originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Oct 2010 03:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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