The ThinkPad X1 thought it was safe. It foolishly believed that, having reviewed it in full , we would spare it from further scrutiny at Lenovo’s UK launch event this evening. We quite naturally did no such thing, poking and prodding at the slimline laptop — which still feels supremely well built — but we also went that one step further, by putting it through a trial we didn’t dare subject our review unit to: a spill test . Well, it was a less a spill and more of a steady stream of water that we doused the X1 in, which might explain why it eventually gave out and shut down on us. Lenovo says that the keyboard tray can only handle 25cl of water before throwing a self-protect switch and turning the computer off. Given enough time to fully dry out, our unfortunate test subject might even have been brought back to life, but our efforts at restoring it were met with failure. You can see the H2O-based carnage after the break, though we should note that Lenovo managed to perform this test three times without taking the X1 out of commission… before we came along and ruined its spotless record. Continue reading ThinkPad X1′s keyboard is spill-proof, not flood-proof (video) ThinkPad X1′s keyboard is spill-proof, not flood-proof (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 May 2011 19:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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The Life’s Good gang warned us with the written word about its super fantastic, ultra-high resolution Advanced High Performance In-Plane Switching (AH-IPS) displays. Of course, written resolution claims merely provide verisimilitude; viewing is the only way to discern their veracity. We saw the screens, ranging from a petite 3.5 inches to a prodigious 84-inch panel, at SID 2011 and were impressed enough to begin scheming ways to get a wall of these for Engadget HQ. Unfortunately, we don’t know how many dollars LG wants for its plethora of panels or when they’ll go on sale, but you can bet we’ll keep you posted. If our impressions and that mouthful of a moniker haven’t sold you on the awesomeness of AH-IPS, then take a gander at the gallery and let the pixel-packed pics persuade you. Gallery: LG Display high-resolution / conceptual roundup at SID 2011 LG’s new ultra-high resolution AH-IPS displays, simply stunning at any size originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 May 2011 18:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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With all the giant screens throwing around flashy 3D graphics at SID , the smaller offerings like this LG 4.3-inch transparent bistable LCD display can be easy to overlook. Lucky for you, our hawk-eyes combined with a love for tiny gadgets landed us — and our video camera — right in front of this bantam wonder. Sure, bistable displays (which can retain an image when powered down) are nothing new, but this 4.3-incher was just too eye-catching to pass up — even if it was just running a simple stick-man animation. We’re not sure where LG’s going with this little screen — it is just a concept, after all — but we can already hear advertisers and automotive designers licking their lips in anticipation. For more transparent display goodness, check out the video after the break. Gallery: LG’s 4.3-inch bistable display concept eyes-on at SID 2011 Continue reading LG Display’s 4.3-inch bistable display concept eyes-on (video) LG Display’s 4.3-inch bistable display concept eyes-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 May 2011 17:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Samsung’s 10.1-inch plastic LCD showcased in concept laptop, tablet at SID 2011 (video)
May 18, 2011 No Comment
Fumble your phone much? Samsung may have a solution for clumsy gadgeteers with screen shatter fears: a lightweight, ultra-durable, plastic LCD screen. Tucked into laptop and tablet concepts at SID 2011, this 10.1-inch 1024 x 600 wunderpanel could be the next innovation in durable mobile devices — cutting thickness by as much as two-thirds at one-fifth the weight of a glass LCD. Lighter, stronger devices sound awesome, but the tech has its drawbacks; it suffers from poor off-axis viewing angles, and the entire surface has a visible, but not entirely off-putting, wavy texture. Cracked LCD bending art enthusiasts can rest easy for awhile, there’s no word yet on pricing or availability; easy-to-bust displays aren’t going anywhere. Hit the gallery and the video (after the break) for an eyes-on look. Gallery: Samsung’s 10.1-inch Plastic LCD prototype eyes-on at SID 2011 Continue reading Samsung’s 10.1-inch plastic LCD showcased in concept laptop, tablet at SID 2011 (video) Samsung’s 10.1-inch plastic LCD showcased in concept laptop, tablet at SID 2011 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 May 2011 17:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Samsung’s 10.1-inch plastic LCD showcased in concept laptop, tablet at SID 2011 (video)
May 18, 2011 No CommentFumble your phone much? Samsung may have a solution for clumsy gadgeteers with screen shatter fears: a lightweight, ultra-durable, plastic LCD screen. Tucked into laptop and tablet concepts at SID 2011, this 10.1-inch 1024 x 600 wunderpanel could be the next innovation in durable mobile devices — cutting thickness by as much as two-thirds at one-fifth the weight of a glass LCD. Lighter, stronger devices sound awesome, but the tech has its drawbacks; it suffers from poor off-axis viewing angles, and the entire surface has a visible, but not entirely off-putting, wavy texture. Cracked LCD bending art enthusiasts can rest easy for awhile, there’s no word yet on pricing or availability; easy-to-bust displays aren’t going anywhere. Hit the gallery and the video (after the break) for an eyes-on look. Gallery: Samsung’s 10.1-inch Plastic LCD prototype eyes-on at SID 2011 Continue reading Samsung’s 10.1-inch plastic LCD showcased in concept laptop, tablet at SID 2011 (video) Samsung’s 10.1-inch plastic LCD showcased in concept laptop, tablet at SID 2011 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 May 2011 17:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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On display at the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference are the latest high tech systems to train and equip the same kinds of special forces teams that were used to find and kill Osama bin Laden. (May 18)
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Whether or not D-Wave has actually built a quantum computer is still a matter of debate (though, a study authored by the company and published in Nature claims to prove its success) but, whatever it is these crafty Canadians have created, you can order one now and start crunching qubits with abandon. The D-Wave One is the first commercially available quantum computer and, while its 128-qubit processor can only handle very specific tasks and is easily outperformed by traditional CPUs, it could represent a revolution in the field of supercomputing. As D-Wave scales up to thousands or tens-of-thousands of qubits, complex number theory problems and advanced cryptographic systems could crumble before the mighty power of quantum annealing… or at least give us faster Google searches . Just out of curiosity, we contacted D-Wave to see how much we’d have to cough up for a quantum desktop of our own, but we’ve yet to hear back. D-Wave One claims mantle of first commercial quantum computer originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 May 2011 16:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Just over two weeks since 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden was killed in a raid, United Airlines announced that it would be reactivating UA093 and UA175, two of the planes hijacked and crashed by terrorists almost 10 years ago. Perhaps a sign of closing yet another chapter in the post-9/11 era, United Airlines will reinstate
Continue reading …OmniVision’s new 5 megapixel CMOS sensor shoots 1080p video, is built for ‘slimmer’ devices
May 18, 2011 No Comment
Apple might be poised to ditch OmniVision for its next round of iPhone / iPod Touch cameras, but that hasn’t stopped the company from trotting out a fresh crop of sensors. Weeks after unveiling a beastly 12 megapixel number, it’s announced the OV5690, a 5 megapixel chip, and the first to use the company’s second-generation OmniBSI-2 pixel architecture. In addition to shooting 5 megapixel stills, it records 1080p video at 30 frames per second and 720p movies at 60fps. And, most notably, OmniVision cut the sensor’s height by 20 percent in the hopes that it’ll find a home in “slimmer” smartphones and tablets. So far, it’s unclear what devices will incorporate it — the company says key vendors are sampling the sensor at the moment, with mass production expected to begin in the second half of this year. Full PR after the break. Continue reading OmniVision’s new 5 megapixel CMOS sensor shoots 1080p video, is built for ‘slimmer’ devices OmniVision’s new 5 megapixel CMOS sensor shoots 1080p video, is built for ‘slimmer’ devices originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 May 2011 15:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Good news for those left less than satisfied by their auditory experience after the recent Boxee Box 1.1 update , the company has completed work on a fix and released the v1.1.1 update earlier today. Owners of the box can now matrix stereo audio sources through their surround sound setup again and if you prefer volume control to be on, it’s just a click of a settings checkbox away. One change that is remains is that it still no longer decodes Dolby TrueHD to 5.1 channel PCM internally, which appears to be the change originally intended due to the licensing between Dolby and D-Link. The update should be downloaded automatically shortly while those who are more impatient can go the manual update route, all the necessary instructions can be found at the source link below. [Thanks, Neil] Boxee Box patch fixes surround sound problems, brings back volume control originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 May 2011 15:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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