See that? That just might be the cheaper iPhone that Apple’s rumored to formally unveil on Tuesday. Gizmodo Brazil managed to get a hold of a purported iPhone 4s from within a Brazilian Foxconn factory, and while the hardware itself looks just about identical to the iPhone 4 that exists today, there’s a new SKU that’s leading to understandable speculation. The N90A model number that popped up has certainly emerged before, but where things really get interesting is the “reprovado” (“disqualified”) labeling. Is this batch an early set of prototypes that didn’t quite pass QA? Will the eventual iPhone 4s even look anything like the iPhone 4 that’s on shelves today? You can bet we’ll be on hand in Cupertino to find out, and there’s no time like the present to clear out your Tuesday morning / afternoon / evening schedule (depending on time zone, of course) to find out with us. Is this Apple’s cheaper iPhone 4? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 02 Oct 2011 00:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Prototype magic carpet uses electrified threads to ‘fly,’ Aladdin pre-orders (video)
October 1, 2011 No Comment
If you spent your childhood longing to fly, you’re not alone — and one Princeton grad may have come one step closer to making it a reality with a prototype magic carpet . Ok, it’s not actually a rug of the magical variety, but a 4-inch piece of plastic electrified by tiny conducting threads. It works as such: by applying a current to the sheet, tiny air pockets form underneath, propelling it forward one centimeter a second. Since it requires air pockets to move forward, the carpet must stay close to the ground — making it more like Marty McFly’s hoverboard than Aladdin’s preferred mode of transportation. Better yet, the inventor has plans for a solar powered version, which would free the carpet from heavy battery constraints and allow it to travel freely over larger distances. Check out the video and source after the break for more deets. Continue reading Prototype magic carpet uses electrified threads to ‘fly,’ Aladdin pre-orders (video) Prototype magic carpet uses electrified threads to ‘fly,’ Aladdin pre-orders (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Oct 2011 21:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Prototype magic carpet uses electrified threads to ‘fly,’ Aladdin pre-orders (video)
October 1, 2011 No CommentIf you spent your childhood longing to fly, you’re not alone — and one Princeton grad may have come one step closer to making it a reality with a prototype magic carpet . Ok, it’s not actually a rug of the magical variety, but a 4-inch piece of plastic electrified by tiny conducting threads. It works as such: by applying a current to the sheet, tiny air pockets form underneath, propelling it forward one centimeter a second. Since it requires air pockets to move forward, the carpet must stay close to the ground — making it more like Marty McFly’s hoverboard than Aladdin’s preferred mode of transportation. Better yet, the inventor has plans for a solar powered version, which would free the carpet from heavy battery constraints and allow it to travel freely over larger distances. Check out the video and source after the break for more deets. Continue reading Prototype magic carpet uses electrified threads to ‘fly,’ Aladdin pre-orders (video) Prototype magic carpet uses electrified threads to ‘fly,’ Aladdin pre-orders (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Oct 2011 21:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …ASIMO mimics your every move, edges closer towards Single White Robot territory (video)
October 1, 2011 No Comment
Hey, look Engadgeteers! It’s another Kinect hack — except this one uses a real deal robot. Honda ushered ASIMO out to the crowds at IEEE’s 2011 International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems to show off its newly acquired pop and lock skills . Alright, so the silicon-gutted fella can’t krump with the best of’em yet, but he can probably do the locomotion — it all depends on your dance repertoire. After toiling away in their mad scientist lairs, the researchers behind the bot have managed to devise a means of mimicking human movement that translates mapped points on a user’s upper body into real-time, robot-replicated motion. The devious among you are likely imagining left-of-center uses for the tech, but let us deflate that mischievous balloon; there’ll be no instances of “stop hitting yourself ASIMO” here, as engineers have built-in collision and stability safeguards. The so-lifelike-it’s-Uncanny advancements don’t end there either, as ASIMO now also contains a database of text-inspired gestures — giving our future robot friend a means of physically expressing his cold, “I hate you so much right now” robo-tone. Other than finding himself at home in Italy, these innovations are sure to put ASIMO on the other end of our remote-controlled behest . Click on past the break to see this automated mime drop it like it’s hot. Continue reading ASIMO mimics your every move, edges closer towards Single White Robot territory (video) ASIMO mimics your every move, edges closer towards Single White Robot territory (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Oct 2011 19:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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No, the picture above isn’t some modernized Power Ranger’s wrist communicator. This is the Mutewatch , and we’ve been intrigued since we first laid eyes on it over a year ago. At a glance, it looks akin to a rubber fashion bracelet , which could make its $260 price tag a shocker. But with the right touch or flick it reveals itself to be much more. The Stockholm -based start-up behind it, dubbed Mutewatch AB, envisions the device serving as “time management tool” for setting quick wrist-felt vibrating reminders during the course of the day. Think Growl, but on your wrist. The wristwatch lacks a dial and crystal, and instead has an angled, touch-sensitive section for a face with hidden LEDs , an ambient light sensor, a motion sensor and a vibrating motor for alarms. We’ve spent some time using a near-final unit seeing what it would be like silently manage our days, and it’s all laid out just past the break. Gallery: Mutewatch hands-on Continue reading Mutewatch wrists-on: stay on-task with good vibrations (video) Mutewatch wrists-on: stay on-task with good vibrations (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Oct 2011 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …No, the picture above isn’t some modernized Power Ranger’s wrist communicator. This is the Mutewatch , and we’ve been intrigued since we first laid eyes on it over a year ago. At a glance, it looks akin to a rubber fashion bracelet , which could make its $260 price tag a shocker. But with the right touch or flick it reveals itself to be much more. The Stockholm -based start-up behind it, dubbed Mutewatch AB, envisions the device serving as “time management tool” for setting quick wrist-felt vibrating reminders during the course of the day. Think Growl, but on your wrist. The wristwatch lacks a dial and crystal, and instead has an angled, touch-sensitive section for a face with hidden LEDs , an ambient light sensor, a motion sensor and a vibrating motor for alarms. We’ve spent some time using a near-final unit seeing what it would be like silently manage our days, and it’s all laid out just past the break. Gallery: Mutewatch hands-on Continue reading Mutewatch wrists-on: stay on-task with good vibrations (video) Mutewatch wrists-on: stay on-task with good vibrations (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Oct 2011 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …iPhone 5 / 4S placeholders pop up at Cincinnati Bell, questionable specs in tow
October 1, 2011 No Comment
It looks like the iPhone speculation train is gaining steam on the way to its final destination , and this time it’s flying by Cincinnati Bell’s pre-paid service, i-Wireless. A helpful tipster sent in the above screenshot of an iPhone 5 placeholder, accompanied by a $639.99 price tag and a handful of specs: 32GB, 4-inch screen and 4G data speeds. Our friends over at TUAW have also procured a screenshot (after the break) from the same site, displaying a $99.99 16GB iPhone 4S , sporting a 5MP camera, 3.5-inch screen and an A5 processor. Of course, there’s also a chance these are just placeholders, but we’re hoping Tuesday’s announcement will bear dual fruits, nonetheless. [Thanks, Cory] Continue reading iPhone 5 / 4S placeholders pop up at Cincinnati Bell, questionable specs in tow iPhone 5 / 4S placeholders pop up at Cincinnati Bell, questionable specs in tow originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Oct 2011 17:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Although Nokia still hopes Windows Phone will round out a “three-horse race” with iOS and Android, it’s said to be cooking up an entirely new operating system aimed at lower-end handsets. According to the Wall Street Journal , the OS (codenamed “Meltemi”) is meant to cement Nokia’s top dog status in emerging markets, where feature phones remain king. Makes sense: low-end phones accounted for 47 percent of the company’s device-and-services earnings in the second quarter. We’re not sure if the adage ” when one door closes , another one opens” exactly applies here, but either way, it looks like we’ve hardly seen the end of software updates out of Suomi. Nokia developing ‘Meltemi’ OS for feature phones? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Oct 2011 16:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Picture the scene: you’re checking your emails on a shiny new device (worth two months pay) and from nowhere, a greasy-fingered infant is screaming at you to play. Reluctantly, you pass it over, watching your own hands cup the air beneath any potential drop zone, wondering how best to explain the jam-smeared calamity to your insurance company . Then you wonder if there isn’t a useful, hard-wearing and cheap device you could let them play on without fear of bankruptcy. That’s what prompted Norwich-based bedding magnate Andrew Kerry to conceive the AndyPad, an inexpensive, 7-inch Android tablet he could fling at kids. It wasn’t long before jealous adults were demanding their own version, so a tooled-up edition of the device called the AndyPad Pro was born. The tablet is currently UK-only and it retails for a lot less than the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7 (
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Could it be? Are the rumors true? If this screenshot, apparently culled from Radio Shack’s inventory system, is any indication, Sprint will indeed be among the carriers offering the iPhone 5. That lines up just right with previous reports from Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal , slating the phone to hit the Now Network in mid-October. There’s no indication of actual dates at this point, but if Sprint’s getting Apple’s next-gen iPhone, we’re guessing we’ll hear more about it on Tuesday . [Thanks, Anon] Radio Shack inventory screen pegs iPhone 5 for Sprint originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Oct 2011 14:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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