Panasonic’s AG-3DA1 camera will shoot 3D video, Robonaut vlogs on the International Space Station
April 11, 2011 No Comment
NASA’s Robonaut 2 is something of a celebrity around these parts, owing to his dashing good looks and insatiable appetite for publicity, which can now be put to good use with a new toy the landlubbers are sending his way: a professional 3D camera. The human-aiding robot that presently calls the International Space Station home will soon be joined by Panasonic’s AG-3DA1 , a full 1080p 3D video recorder with twin lenses and dual 2 megapixel 3MOS sensors. Panasonic is also loading up the next Space Shuttle Atlantis flight to the ISS (scheduled for June 28th) with 25.5-inch 3D LCD monitors and rugged Toughbook laptops to help with documenting proceedings aboard the research vessel. The new shooter costs a whopping $21,000, and though it’s not clear whether NASA paid for it or Panasonic just decided to be charitable, the space agency should have the cash to splash after deciding to shelve the James Cameron-approved project to slap a zoom-equipped 3D imager on its next Mars rover . We’re just wondering if the human world is quite ready for 3D video blogs from its favorite robotic astronaut. Continue reading Panasonic’s AG-3DA1 camera will shoot 3D video, Robonaut vlogs on the International Space Station Panasonic’s AG-3DA1 camera will shoot 3D video, Robonaut vlogs on the International Space Station originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 11:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Windows 7 closes gap with XP, is poised to steal top market share this month
April 11, 2011 No Comment
As recently as a year ago, Windows XP was the kingpin of PCs in the US with 43.1 percent market share. But that’s rapidly changing. StatCounter shows that while Mac OS X is creeping up slightly and Windows Vista continues its death march, Windows 7 is on the rise, steadily closing the gap with trusty ole’ XP. Last month, XP’s share sank to 32.17 percent, while Windows 7′s edged up to 30.84 percent, leaving the latter poised to overtake XP — something the much-maligned Vista never did . And if early numbers are to be believed, it’s already happened: StatCounter says that for the first week in April Windows 7′s share (among desktops, at least) totaled 31.71 percent, compared with XP’s 31.56. Either way, it seems Microsoft has convinced consumers that it’s finally safe to upgrade . Windows 7 closes gap with XP, is poised to steal top market share this month originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 11:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Gartner: Apple will dominate tablet space for years, Android won’t drink its milkshake until after 2015
April 11, 2011 No Comment
The inundation of tablets upon these very pages from day to day should give you an idea that manufacturers see this as a golden opportunity to grab a big chunk of a fledgling market. According to Gartner , though, the prospects are a little less rosy — for the next five years, anyway. Analyst estimates indicate that the tablet market will boom over the next five years, from 17,610,000 units last year to 294,093,000 in 2015. No, not 294,092,000. 294,093,000. Apple will be the dominant force, its market share not dropping below 50 percent until the terminal year of this study. Android will take up the lion share of the other half, with the remaining dredges shared by MeeGo, WebOS, and QNX. The latter, which powers RIM’s upcoming BlackBerry PlayBook , is scheduled to have a 10 percent share. That’ll be the closest thing to a threat that Google and Apple will face — if you believe any of this. Update : The figures above are in thousands of units. Gartner: Apple will dominate tablet space for years, Android won’t drink its milkshake until after 2015 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 09:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Over the years, we’ve seen a steady stream of business and messaging-centric landscape QWERTY smartphones come and go, with HTC arguably leading the pack via its collection of Windows Mobile, Android, and WP7 devices featuring sliding keyboards and tilt-out displays. But few of HTC’s offerings are as iconic or memorable as Nokia’s line of Communicator clamshell phones — starting with the Nokia 9000 in 1996, continuing with Symbian S80 models, and culminating with the Nokia E90 atop S60v3. The Nokia E7 is the latest in this distinguished succession of Communicators and the manufacturer’s current flagship device, dethroning the Nokia N8 which continues on as the company’s media mogul. Now that the E7 is finally shipping in the US , we can begin to answer a few outstanding questions about Nokia’s latest high-end device. Is it the greatest Communicator to date? Can it carry the torch for Symbian in the immediate future? And more importantly, how does it fare in today’s shark-infested Android and iOS waters? Jump past the break for our full review. Gallery: Nokia E7 review Continue reading Nokia E7 review Nokia E7 review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 10:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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If you’re going to compete in the consumer electronics business then you’d better have a solid grasp of industrial design and materials science. Otherwise, you’re just another manufacturer trying to eke profit from drab slabs of commodity plastic. With the exception of the MacBook, Apple’s entire Mac lineup is currently cut from aluminum. However, Apple’s been caught experimenting with its newly acquired Liquidmetal materials recently, even as rumors swirl around new ultra-lightweight and durable carbon fiber components and enclosures. Speculation about the latter has been fueled by an Apple patent application for a process that would use carbon fiber materials woven into the reinforced device housings of mobile telephones, laptops, desktops, and tablets. Interestingly enough, the patent app was filed by Kevin M. Kenney (developer of the first all carbon fiber bicycle frame) on behalf of Apple back in 2009, a man who changed his job title to “Senior Composites Engineer at Apple Inc.” on LinkedIn at some point after March 1st (according to Google cache). Of course, a carbon fiber laptop is far from unique — just reference the Sony G11 from 2007 or 2008′s Voodoo Envy 133 if you want to see how it’s done. But if Apple makes a wholesale shift to carbon fiber in the months ahead then you can expect the horde of mee-too OEMs to follow suit a year later. See the before and after LinkedIn profiles for Kenney after the break. Continue reading Apple hires carbon fiber expert to posit composites Apple hires carbon fiber expert to posit composites originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 09:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Ralph Lauren’s solar-panel backpack charges your phone in hours, your credit card in seconds
April 11, 2011 No Comment
We here at Engadget are in favor of hitting the books from time to time, but we can’t have lame gadget-less backpacks hurting our true techie rep. That’s why we’re excited to see Ralph Lauren outing its first solar – equipped knapsack as part of its RLX sports line. Four solar cells around back harness the sun’s power to generate 3.45 watts — completely juicing up an iPhone in a purported two-to-three hours, assuming you’ve got “proper sunlight orientation,” of course. Like the optional orange hue (it also comes in black), the sun-sucking cells aren’t particularly low profile — but for $800 don’t you want something, uh, recognizable? Still, if you simply must be that guy be sure to hit the source link and don’t look back, but for everyone else, might we recommend a portable USB charger for a little less coin? Ralph Lauren’s solar-panel backpack charges your phone in hours, your credit card in seconds originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 07:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Rogue modder rips off stingy consumer, puzzles repairmen… all with a USB thumb drive
April 11, 2011 No Comment
Welcome to today’s episode of ” You Get What You Pay For ,” starring some poor sap in Russia who bought an external hard drive in China for a “very, very low price.” It seemed like a bargain, until the schmo noticed that video files were picking up from the tail end, as if the preceding footage had vanished. When the folks at a local repair shop tore the disk apart they found a dinky 128MB thumb drive running in a loop, emptying itself when full only to start saving more data. Laugh all you want, but the repair guys (and us, frankly) are still scratching their heads as to how those scam artists pulled off this mod in the first place. [Thanks, David S.] Rogue modder rips off stingy consumer, puzzles repairmen… all with a USB thumb drive originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 06:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …LG adds ‘Tweet-TV’ enabled Android phone to its list of Mobile DTV prototypes
April 11, 2011 No Comment
Whenever mobile digital television broadcasts finally take off LG will be ready and it’s latest concept design — following the autostereoscopic 3D screen shown at CES — is the Tweet-TV pictured above. At the National Association of Broadcasters show this week it’s demonstrating the prototype Android phone with a Harris MDTV antenna that also pulls in relevant tweets and displays them over the broadcast being watched. Whether or not a dose of social networking will help MDTV succeed where others have failed remains to be seen but first we’ll see if it succeeds in reaching 40% of the US population later this year . The press release and a bigger picture follow after the break. Continue reading LG adds ‘Tweet-TV’ enabled Android phone to its list of Mobile DTV prototypes LG adds ‘Tweet-TV’ enabled Android phone to its list of Mobile DTV prototypes originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 05:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …LG shows off 47-inch transparent IPS LCD with multitouch and Full HD resolution (video)
April 11, 2011 No Comment
Where Samsung leads , LG inevitably follows (and vice versa, of course). The Korean electronic arms race has now heated up by an extra few degrees with LG’s demo of a crazy new 47-inch display that packs in everything a geek could want: IPS technology, 1080p resolution, multitouch, and some good old transparency … just because. This so-called Window Display is sadly intended for advertisers and other digital signage proprietors, meaning that even if it wasn’t still at the concept stage, it likely wouldn’t be populating living rooms anyway. Ah well, so long as LG makes sure John Anderton and the precrime unit get one, we’ll be happy. Video for the rest of us after the break. Continue reading LG shows off 47-inch transparent IPS LCD with multitouch and Full HD resolution (video) LG shows off 47-inch transparent IPS LCD with multitouch and Full HD resolution (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 03:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Is your phone manufacturer’s Android ROM not treating you quite the way it should? Worry not, Cyanogen’s got your back as usual and has just released the final v7.0 of the CyanogenMod, now based on Android 2.3.3. There’s an extensive list of supported Android handsets, which is now also augmented with a couple of tablets: the B&N Nook Color and the Viewsonic G Tablet . As usual with custom ROMs, we advise reading up and making sure you know what you’re doing before you do it, but if you’re already up to speed on the latest in homebrewed Android, this is the moment you’ve been eagerly waiting for. Full details of the changes made in version 7 plus instructions on how to get it set up on your Android device can be found below. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] CyanogenMod 7.0 is now final, ready for your consumption originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 04:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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