Do you like to play rough? Good, then this Kodak’s for you. Up for pre-order on the imaging company’s website, is an update to the Playfull we got eyes-on with at CES earlier this year — except this handheld camera’s waterproof , as well as dustproof and drop-proof (although, only “onto plywood”). The slim 720p shooter weighs in at about 85 grams and sports a 2-inch LCD display, HDMI out, pop-out USB 2.0 and an SD card slot expandable up to 32GB. Kodak’s offering this pocket and pool-friendly portable in mid to late October with a premium $120 price tag set for the black version, and the white at a lesser $100. If your high-end smartphone’s just not cutting the HD-recording mustard, go ahead and hit up that source link below. Kodak’s Waterproof Playfull records your pool parties in 720p, lets you relive that belly flop originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Oct 2011 07:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …After placing all bets on Windows Phone , Stephen Elop announced that Nokia would slowly phase out its OG operating system, Symbian. Today, it’s officially passed the torch, handing over all Symbian-related duties to Accenture, a consulting and outsourcing firm. 2,300 former Nokia employees will also be repurposed, getting a new name on their paycheck as they tend to the ill-fated OS. The Finnish mainstay says the arrangement will last until at least 2016, and plans to continually roll out updates during this time. Not everyone is hanging on another five years though, as it seems that at least 500 employees have jumped ship or found new gigs within the company since the original announcement predicting 2,800 reassignments. Head past the break to find the full (and very terse) press release. Continue reading Nokia passes off Symbian and 2,300 employees to Accenture Nokia passes off Symbian and 2,300 employees to Accenture originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 11:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Chances are you don’t need a machine to know that the office stresses you out, but if you’ve ever felt an urge to actually quantify the toll your boss takes on your body, the Compact Stress Meter could be your new best buddy. Developed by researchers at Tokyo Metropolitan University, this system uses a pulse wave sensor and infrared reflective probe to measure the blood flowing through a user’s fingertips, which serves as a relatively accurate stress index. All you have to do is place your finger on the sensor for ten seconds, and an accompanying computer program will automatically display your stress levels in real-time by analyzing variations in blood flow. At this point, the software and sensor are still separate, though the meter’s developers have already completed a new prototype with the sensor built in to a mouse, allowing users to continuously gauge their stress while diligently working in front of their computers, or while furiously searching for a new job. Click past the break to see the meter in action for yourself. Continue reading Compact Stress Meter provides checkups from the comfort of your cubicle (video) Compact Stress Meter provides checkups from the comfort of your cubicle (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Oct 2011 05:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Chances are you don’t need a machine to know that the office stresses you out, but if you’ve ever felt an urge to actually quantify the toll your boss takes on your body, the Compact Stress Meter could be your new best buddy. Developed by researchers at Tokyo Metropolitan University, this system uses a pulse wave sensor and infrared reflective probe to measure the blood flowing through a user’s fingertips, which serves as a relatively accurate stress index. All you have to do is place your finger on the sensor for ten seconds, and an accompanying computer program will automatically display your stress levels in real-time by analyzing variations in blood flow. At this point, the software and sensor are still separate, though the meter’s developers have already completed a new prototype with the sensor built in to a mouse, allowing users to continuously gauge their stress while diligently working in front of their computers, or while furiously searching for a new job. Click past the break to see the meter in action for yourself. Continue reading Compact Stress Meter provides checkups from the comfort of your cubicle (video) Compact Stress Meter provides checkups from the comfort of your cubicle (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Oct 2011 05:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Chances are you don’t need a machine to know that the office stresses you out, but if you’ve ever felt an urge to actually quantify the toll your boss takes on your body, the Compact Stress Meter could be your new best buddy. Developed by researchers at Tokyo Metropolitan University, this system uses a pulse wave sensor and infrared reflective probe to measure the blood flowing through a user’s fingertips, which serves as a relatively accurate stress index. All you have to do is place your finger on the sensor for ten seconds, and an accompanying computer program will automatically display your stress levels in real-time by analyzing variations in blood flow. At this point, the software and sensor are still separate, though the meter’s developers have already completed a new prototype with the sensor built in to a mouse, allowing users to continuously gauge their stress while diligently working in front of their computers, or while furiously searching for a new job. Click past the break to see the meter in action for yourself. Continue reading Compact Stress Meter provides checkups from the comfort of your cubicle (video) Compact Stress Meter provides checkups from the comfort of your cubicle (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Oct 2011 05:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …If you didn’t notice, Amazon was really on one this week, and we were there with pad and pen in hand to document the drama. Come along with us, won’t you, to discuss the silkier and more fiery points of the tablet sm
Continue reading …Samsung’s just announced the newest and fastest version of its Exynos mobile processor. The 4212 is a dual-core ARM Cortex A9 clocked to 1.5GHz, built using a 32mn process that makes it 30 percent more efficient and 25 percent faster than the 4210. Last year’s model was capable of many impressive feats, but its 3D abilities were hampered by the limits imposed by the its HDMI 1.3 controller. The new boy gets version 1.4 and hence the freedom to run stereoscopic imagery at an impressive 70fps. The chips will be available in Q4 of this year, but only to “select customers” who — we guess — look after Mr and Mrs. Samsung’s cats over the holidays. The chip comes too late for the Galaxy S II LTE but we can expect to see it in future superphones before too long. At the same time, the company released a 16 megapixel CMOS sensor designed for mobile devices. It can shoot stills at the quoted figure and is theoretically capable of 30fps video at around half that, although we’re unlikely to see a device that can record 8 megapixel video in the near future. If you hadn’t guessed, “select customers” will get their extra-polite hands on the Samsung S5K2P1 in November, other OEMs will have to wait outside, in the snow. Of course, as everyone knows, it’s not about how big your megapixel count is, it’s what you do with ‘em that really counts. Continue reading Samsung releases 1.5GHz Exynos processor and 16MP CMOS for mobiles, if you’re nice Samsung releases 1.5GHz Exynos processor and 16MP CMOS for mobiles, if you’re nice originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Oct 2011 02:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Softbank’s on a roll — doling out the updated mobile kit to lucky denizens of Japan. After treating us to news of Dell’s dual-core beastie and Sharp’s comparatively lower end Aquos 102SH , comes word of this true wireless brute — the Aquos 104SH. Rocking a dual-core 1.5GHz TI OMAP4460 processor beneath a 4.5-inch 1280 x 720 HD LCD display, this handset’s certainly no forward-looking specced slouch. Prospective owners can mark their calendars for a spring 2012 debut, at which point you’ll get to enjoy speeds of up to 21Mbps down, useful for recording and uploading HD video on its 12.1 megapixel rear camera. Oh, and did we mention the device’s loaded with tri-band GSM / WCDMA radios for that global roaming trip around the continents you’ve been putting off? We haven’t yet seen pricing for Sharp’s orange and blue (a Syracuse fan, we presume) wonder, so sit tight and wait for a future announcement. Sharp’s Aquos 104SH monster phone hits Softbank next spring, colors it blue like an orange originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 13:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Softbank’s on a roll — doling out the updated mobile kit to lucky denizens of Japan. After treating us to news of Dell’s dual-core beastie and Sharp’s comparatively lower end Aquos 102SH , comes word of this true wireless brute — the Aquos 104SH. Rocking a dual-core 1.5GHz TI OMAP4460 processor beneath a 4.5-inch 1280 x 720 HD LCD display, this handset’s certainly no forward-looking specced slouch. Prospective owners can mark their calendars for a spring 2012 debut, at which point you’ll get to enjoy speeds of up to 21Mbps down, useful for recording and uploading HD video on its 12.1 megapixel rear camera. Oh, and did we mention the device’s loaded with tri-band GSM / WCDMA radios for that global roaming trip around the continents you’ve been putting off? We haven’t yet seen pricing for Sharp’s orange and blue (a Syracuse fan, we presume) wonder, so sit tight and wait for a future announcement. Sharp’s Aquos 104SH monster phone hits Softbank next spring, colors it blue like an orange originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 13:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Leaving the confines of a Manhattan apartment, Lincoln Center has the uncanny ability to make one feel dwarfed. Home to the performing arts and haunt to New York City’s glitterati, the landmark received the IBM makeover as part of the company’s THINK exhibit — an interactive installation designed to weave the story of technology as it applies to the fabric of life, achievement and change. The first thing that catches the eye is IBM’s sparkling 123-foot long, 12-foot high LCD wall lining a tunnel leading into the bowels of the NYC landmark. The “living” wall thrives off the surrounding environment, visualizing traffic patterns and analyzing corresponding air quality from nearby Broadway. It also shows the solar potential of every rooftop in the city, financial transactions and the amount of water leaking from the main aqueduct. As the event’s producer Lee Green simply put it, the idea behind the set up is to “delegate understanding” to “intrigue and inspire” even the least technologically-inclined. Gallery: IBM THINK Exhibit NYC September 2011 Continue reading IBM’s THINK Exhibit invades NYC, aims to inspire (video) IBM’s THINK Exhibit invades NYC, aims to inspire (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 14:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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