Cryptex flash drive uses combination lock sleeve, brings a whole new meaning to hardware encryption
July 12, 2011 No Comment
256-bit AES not doing it for ya? Now you can replace that dedicated-processor encryption with actual mechanical hardware, thanks to the Cryptex flash drive and its five-wheel combination lock sleeve. Modeled in AutoCAD and constructed using various glistening metals, the Cryptex’s five-digit combination will keep prying eyes far from you sensitive files — and, well, it just looks insanely awesome. Like many shiny objects that seem too good to be true, it’s barely more than a concept at this point, so you’ll have to settle for the digital version for now. Cryptex flash drive uses combination lock sleeve, brings a whole new meaning to hardware encryption originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jul 2011 01:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Bowers & Wilkins C5 iPhone headset oozes luxury into your ear canals for $180
July 12, 2011 No Comment
Maybe you’ve wanted to step up your iPhone listening-game with Bowers & Wilkins P5 headphones Maybe its $300 price tag or supra-aural fit just weren’t appealing. Well then, maybe you’ll be pleased hear about the company’s new and extra-mobile $180 C5 noise-isolating in-ear headset. Crafted mostly from aluminum, its bullet-shaped earbuds look like a posh blend of the Zeppelin Air and Mini geared for mobile. The ‘buds are iDevice compatible with an inline remote / mic to get a handle on phone calls or swap though playlists, and have a few unique features to boot. To ensure a proper fit on-the-move, you’ll find Secure Loops that can be adjusted to hug the inner cartilage of your ear, along with added heft (Tungsten Weighting) near the inner-ear side for a tight seal. Internally, there’s a Micro Porous Filter to widen the perceived soundstage, while also preventing any leakage to folks around you. We’ll be checking these out in due time, but for now, audio lovers will find full specs at B&W’s website linked below. Continue reading Bowers & Wilkins C5 iPhone headset oozes luxury into your ear canals for $180 Bowers & Wilkins C5 iPhone headset oozes luxury into your ear canals for $180 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jul 2011 07:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Tokyoflash’s Kisai Kaidoku LCD watch arrives 12 years too late for Neo, Trinity
July 12, 2011 No Comment
There’s something to be said about someone who’d rather strap an LCD full of words on their wrist instead of a tried-and-true pointer-based timepiece . Comically enough, that description is likely to flow across the LCD of Tokyoflash’s new Kisai Kaidoku. This limited run watch is available with a black or white strap, and shockingly enough, was designed by a 15-year old by the name of Tynan Mayhew. The whole thing’s water resistant, and the EL backlight enables nighttime viewing; unfortunately, it’s hard to know just how long that CR2016 battery will last, but those who’d rather not think about such trivial matters can snag one now for $139. Continue reading Tokyoflash’s Kisai Kaidoku LCD watch arrives 12 years too late for Neo, Trinity Tokyoflash’s Kisai Kaidoku LCD watch arrives 12 years too late for Neo, Trinity originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jul 2011 06:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Social x-ray glasses can decode emotions, make your blind dates less awkward
July 12, 2011 No Comment
You may consider yourself a world-class liar, but a new pair of “social x-ray ” glasses could soon expose you for the fraud you really are. Originally designed for people suffering from autism, these specs use a rice grain-sized camera to pick up on a person’s 24 “feature points” — facial expressions that convey feelings of confusion, agreement and concentration, among others. Once recognized, these signals are analyzed by software, compared against a database of known expressions and then relayed to users via an attached headphone. If their date starts to feel uncomfortable, a blinking red light lets them know that it’s time to shut up. Rosalina Picard, an electrical engineer who developed the prototype with Rana el Kaliouby, acknowledged that her algorithm still needs some fine tuning, but told New Scientist that the glasses have already proved popular with autistic users, who often have difficulty deciphering others’ body language. No word yet on when these social specs could hit the market, but they’ll probably make us even more anti-social once they do. Social x-ray glasses can decode emotions, make your blind dates less awkward originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jul 2011 04:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Some more fun phone facts from the folks at Pew : 83 percent of American adults own a cellphone, 35 percent have a smartphone, and 87 percent smartphone owners use their handset to browse the internet and read email, apparently having decided that the things are good for more than just making phone calls and keeping papers from blowing away. Also of interest is the fact that 28 percent of the 2,277 people surveyed actually use their small screen devices as their primary method for accessing the internet. It’s worth noting that it’s not a huge sample size we’re working with here, so maybe hold off on declaring the PC dead — still, it may be a sign of lots of squinting to come. Pew: Smartphone owners increasingly ignoring other devices to get online originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jul 2011 03:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Panasonic debuts UT-PB1 e-reader tablet, spices it with Android flavor (video)
July 12, 2011 No Comment
Listen up, bibliophiles. Current e-readers don’t have enough pizazz for ya? Panasonic’s Japan-bound prototype e-book reader tablet may just be your fancy. According to DigInfo, the UT-PB1 was recently shown-off at e-Book Expo Tokyo sporting a 7-inch 1024 x 600 display, micro SD slot, webcam, and WiFi, all running atop a dual-core processor. Being Android-based , there’s confirmed support for basic apps like email, but it’s hard to tell just how restricted customized the build will be. The reader will have 600 “previewable” titles to get you started, and Rakuten ‘s e-book store will serve up content and real-time updates — via a custom API — in August when the service goes live. Panny’s remaining coy about specific price and release details, but before you get back to that hardcover on your desk, head past the break to view it in action. Continue reading Panasonic debuts UT-PB1 e-reader tablet, spices it with Android flavor (video) Panasonic debuts UT-PB1 e-reader tablet, spices it with Android flavor (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jul 2011 02:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) starts rolling out to Verizon’s Droid Incredible 2
July 11, 2011 No Comment
Messin’ with hacked ROMs ? Fuhgetaboutit. HTC’s Droid Incredible 2 is finally getting the Android 2.3 it has long deserved, with the luckiest of Verizon Wireless subscribers seeing the update pushed to their phones this evening. The update (coined 2.18.605.4) brings along performance improvements with mobile IM, solved Hotmail sync issues, better device connectivity, a built-in browser bookmark for the New York Times, the addition of the Wireless Charging UI and a new desktop dock app. Don’t be shocked if it takes a week to get to your particular phone, but be sure to let us know how things go in comments once your turn arrives. [Thanks, Jimmy] Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) starts rolling out to Verizon’s Droid Incredible 2 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jul 2011 00:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Who needs sleep, right? Rather than putting in the tried-and-true “eight hours” that your mum still insists that you get, you’re going to be doing something a bit more adventurous this evening. Something involving a “jailbreak” of your recently updated iPod touch, iPhone or iPad. Just hours after Apple pushed out iOS 5 beta 3 to its developers, the folks at iPhone Dev-Team have confirmed that a Sn0wbreeze update will support jailbreaking on that very build. Sadly, it’s still tethered for the time being, and the iPad 2 remains unsupported, but those with nerves of steel (and gobs of vacation days) can hit the source links to get started. Furthermore, we’re just starting to see what kind of wacky tricks beta 3 has up its sleeve — things like custom alerts for text messages and what appears to be a shattering of the app grid on the iPad. For more on that, hop on past the break; for more on the jailbreak, we’d encourage you to talk amongst yourselves in comments below. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Continue reading iOS 5 beta 3 already jailbroken, new features come to light iOS 5 beta 3 already jailbroken, new features come to light originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jul 2011 00:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Id co-founder: mobile devices will be as powerful as today’s consoles within two years
July 11, 2011 No Comment
Id Software has taken that whole “can it play Doom ” challenge to heart in recent years, embracing the mobile space in a big way. Given the explosion of phone-based gaming, it’s not hard to see why — in fact, the speed with which devices have advanced has apparently left co-founder John Carmack’s mind reeling. In a recent interview, the Wolfenstein / Doom / Quake developer noted how iOS has gone from non-existent to a major gaming player in the time that it has taken the company to develop the still forthcoming Rage . And while the iPad 2 isn’t quite as advanced as some might suggest, Carmack predicts that in two years, mobile devices will “almost certainly” be as power as the current crop of high-end consoles. Don’t say we didn’t warn you . Id co-founder: mobile devices will be as powerful as today’s consoles within two years originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 23:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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a Deep in the stodgy bowels of the USPTO sits a folder full of Apple patent applications specifically for gesture controls . A few more pages from that expanding tome were just made public, and the concepts unearthed are certainly thought-provoking. The first involves using a proximity sensor in addition to the touch panel to register gestures in 3D. For example, you could use three fingers to mark out the corners of a triangle on the screen and then “pull up” and pinch to create a pyramid for use in a CAD application. The second idea involves gestures based on intuitive “physics metaphors” that are recognized using motion sensors. So instead of navigating menus in order to start a file transfer between an iPhone and iPad, the user could arrange the desired files on the phone’s screen and then pretend to “pour” them onto the tablet — an idea which rather reminds of the funky Project Blox . Oh, did we just make a Cupertino lawyer twitch ? Apple seeks patents for 3D and ‘physics metaphor’ gesture controls originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 22:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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