Timescape Sci-Fi watch makes you work for the time of day, looks good doing it (video)
March 1, 2011 No Comment
If you’re like us, you don’t mind working that grey matter to tell the time , especially if the watch your wearing looks and acts like something ripped from the U.S.S. Enterprise. The Timescape Sci-Fi watch, thus named for its cryptic time telling interface, sports a chrome exterior and uses a series of blue LEDs to illuminate a rectangular grid, giving you unique temporal readouts. Each line contains a series of dots representing minutes or hours, with the vertical lines displaying hours, the first three horizontal lines showing five-minute increments, and the last row offering exact minutes. Sound complicated ? Well it is, but sometimes looking good takes a little work — you think Uhura rolls out of bed looking like that? The Timescape Sci-Fi watch is now on sale exclusively from Gadgets and Gear for $70, but if you just like staring at shiny flashy things, we’ve got a video of the timepiece after the jump. Continue reading Timescape Sci-Fi watch makes you work for the time of day, looks good doing it (video) Timescape Sci-Fi watch makes you work for the time of day, looks good doing it (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Mar 2011 10:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We’re all familiar with this handset by now, but what we weren’t suspecting (although we have yet to finish our first cup of coffee) to see a GSM version of the Xperia Play come through the FCC this sunny Tuesday morning. While we know that Verizon won’t be the sole carrier of the phone in the states (we heard that from Sony Ericsson CTO Jan Uddenfeldt himself), there is yet to be another carrier confirmed. So maybe this is an indication of another possible future? Or, most likely, this is just one of those “north of the border” jobs — as you know, the FCC gets its look at all Canada-bound phones, and this particular phone is exclusive to Rogers . Get a closer look after the break. Update: Further examination of the docs reveal that this bad boy has global GSM bands and 900 / 2100MHz 3G, which is primarily used in Europe and Asia. Continue reading Xperia Play goes back to the FCC, this time with GSM (update) Xperia Play goes back to the FCC, this time with GSM (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Mar 2011 10:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We’re all familiar with this handset by now, but what we weren’t suspecting (although we have yet to finish our first cup of coffee) to see a GSM version of the Xperia Play come through the FCC this sunny Tuesday morning. While we know that Verizon won’t be the sole carrier of the phone in the states (we heard that from Sony Ericsson CTO Jan Uddenfeldt himself), there is yet to be another carrier confirmed. So maybe this is an indication of another possible future? Or, most likely, this is just one of those “north of the border” jobs — as you know, the FCC gets its look at all Canada-bound phones, and this particular phone is exclusive to Rogers . Get a closer look after the break. Update: Further examination of the docs reveal that this bad boy has global GSM bands and 900 / 2100MHz 3G, which is primarily used in Europe and Asia. Continue reading Xperia Play goes back to the FCC, this time with GSM (update) Xperia Play goes back to the FCC, this time with GSM (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Mar 2011 10:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Panasonic GF2 crashes the Engadget reader meetup, collects a gallery of memories / sample images
March 1, 2011 No Comment
Our reader meetup this past Friday in San Francisco was infiltrated by a somewhat unusual assailant, Panasonic’s GF2 Micro Four Thirds shooter. Sporting a new, significantly thinner , pancake lens primed at 14mm with a maximum F2.5 aperture, this eminently portable camera managed to sneak into the building while concealed inside one of our editors’ jacket pockets. As we’ve said before, the major difference between the GF2 and the GF1 for us is that the new model really feels like a compact point-and-shoot, to the point of making us forget that it has a DSLR-sized sensor within it. We’ve put together the following galleries, which were mostly shot in the fully automatic mode, to give you a taste of how Panasonic’s latest handles the challenges of a poorly lit nighttime scene, on the one hand, and a gorgeous sunny day, on the other. Enjoy! Gallery: Panasonic GF2 sample images – Engadget reader meetup, SF 2011 Gallery: Panasonic GF2 sample images – San Francisco Panasonic GF2 crashes the Engadget reader meetup, collects a gallery of memories / sample images originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Mar 2011 10:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Fujitsu and partners show off cord-free display using SUPA wireless power (video)
March 1, 2011 No Comment
Cords suck. They tangle, they get lost, they’re never long enough, and you never have the kind you need. Indeed, wireless displays are nothing new — but when you hear “wireless display,” you typically think that they’ve managed to cut the video cable alone. Well, Fujitsu’s taken it one step further here at CeBIT this week, throwing together what it claims to be the world’s first totally wireless desktop display — no video, no power. The imagery is handled via wireless USB and can connect to any appropriately-equipped PC, while the juice is sucked in using a newly-minted proposed standard for wireless power delivery called SUPA (developed with the likes of Fraunhofer ) that can function over wide surface areas — in this case, an entire desk. Right now it’s just the display, but it’s easy to imagine how phones, laptops, tablets, and anything else that requires continuous power or a quick, convenient recharge could benefit from this arrangement rather than needing a special mat (which is, of course, corded) lying around. Fujitsu tells us that SUPA can deliver about 25 watts in its current incarnation, which isn’t going to keep your gaming PC going — but it’ll certainly handle your typical handheld device (or, in this case, a 22-inch monitor). The demo we saw was a little glitchy; the first time we visited the booth, Fujitsu was having a hard time getting the WUSB connection to light up, but it was up and running the second time we dropped by. We got the impression there wasn’t quite enough bandwidth to deliver smooth video at this color depth and resolution, but it was good enough for data entry tasks. Likewise, the monitor appeared to flicker from time to time, suggesting that it was either right on the edge of that 25W maximum or just experiencing typical prototype hiccups. On a couple occasions, they lifted the monitor to reset it, and it only required 2-3 inches of lift before power was lost — so this isn’t the kind of thing where you can get up and wander around with a device and expect it to magically continue to charge (we’d be awfully concerned about being turned into beef jerky at those energy levels, anyway). All told, we’re excited about this technology, assuming SUPA can gain enough critical mass in the marketplace to be relevant. They’re expecting the first commercial applications next year… so in the meantime, enjoy our pictures and videos while you plan how you’re going to rearrange your workspace once you don’t have to worry about power cords. Gallery: Fujitsu and partners show off cord-free display using SUPA wireless power Continue reading Fujitsu and partners show off cord-free display using SUPA wireless power (video) Fujitsu and partners show off cord-free display using SUPA wireless power (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Mar 2011 11:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Bigfoot brings Killer bandwidth management to laptops via Wireless N module
March 1, 2011 No Comment
Good news for the Bigfoot faithful — the bandwidth management technology that’s been making your desktop gaming experience smoother for years is just about ready for the laptop sector. When we spoke with the company’s leadership back at Computex, they hinted strongly that infiltrating the mobile gaming space was a top priority, and it seems as if the stars have finally aligned for that to happen. The company’s new Killer Wireless-N 1103 and 1102 half-size mini-PCIe adapters are suited for use in pretty much any laptop on the market, with the primary difference between two being available streams: the former utilizes three-stream MIMO for data rates as high as 450Mbps, while the latter relies on a two-stream MIMO setup capable of pushing 300Mbps. Both units will have Advanced Stream Detect and Visual Bandwidth Control, which should make your wireless gaming and videocall sessions smoother, more reliable and more predictable, regardless of what the network situation is. We’re still waiting in tense anticipation for who Bigfoot plans to partner with here, but we’re guessing that the gaming mainstays will be all over this in no time flat. Keep it locked for more as we get it. Continue reading Bigfoot brings Killer bandwidth management to laptops via Wireless N module Bigfoot brings Killer bandwidth management to laptops via Wireless N module originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Mar 2011 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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The Federal Aviation Administration is moving with the times, it would seem, as it has just granted the first approval for the use of iPads instead of paper charts for informing airline pilots while on duty. There are already a number of EFB (electronic flight bag) devices in use, however the iPad is by far the cheapest and most portable one that’s been validated yet. Executive Jet Management, a charter flight operator, went through three months of testing with the iPad, wherein it was used by 55 pilots on 250 flights, in order to obtain its FAA license to rely exclusively on the Apple tablet for its in-flight mapping data. Other airlines will have to go through the same process in order to dump their big stacks of paper charts for a slinky slate, but the important thing is that the precedent has been set. As to redundancies in case of failure or a software crash, the likeliest scenario is that pilots will carry a spare iPad with them, though there wasn’t even a single (software) crash during the trial period — which also included rapid decompression and electronic interference testing. So there you have it, the iPad’s found itself a grown-up job just in time to retire from its throne as consumer sales leader. [Thanks, Andrew] iPad gets approval from FAA to replace paper flight charts and maps originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Mar 2011 09:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Chord Electronics builds a Google boombox you can’t buy, but wish you could
March 1, 2011 No Comment
Do you find yourself uninspired by the staid and predictable aesthetics of today’s boomboxes? Well, if you dig the red, yellow, green, and blue look, the folks at Chord Electronics have delivered a Google-fied custom portable stereo. Chord pimped out its Chordette Carry — which has Bluetooth connectivity, USB, optical and digital coax inputs, a four input preamp, and a 40W amp — with a Google-approved-and-ordered paint job. We don’t know if the Mountain View version has the exact same innards as the standard Carry or what exactly El Goog plans to do with this little sonic gem, but we do know that it isn’t going on sale to the public. Too bad, that Google branding would have given us mad cred on the streets, yo. Chord Electronics builds a Google boombox you can’t buy, but wish you could originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Mar 2011 09:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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As a loyal iPod user , you’d have thought that Queen Elizabeth II would have seen fit to bestow an honorary knighthood on a certain Steven Paul Jobs by now. After all, Sir Bill received his back in 2005 even though his company couldn’t quite get its cellphone or tablet strategies to stick with consumers. According to an anonymous senior Labour MP who left Parliament in the last election, Jobs had reached the final stages of approval for “services to technology” only to be rejected in 2009 by the then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Why? Well, according to The Telegraph , Jobs had the audacity to turn down an offer to speak at Labour’s annual conference. In retaliation we hear that Apple is holding Jony Ive — himself, an honorary Commander of the British Empire — hostage in an infinitely looping orange grove somewhere in northern California. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Steve Jobs’ knighthood rejected by Gordon Brown? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Mar 2011 08:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …As a loyal iPod user , you’d have thought that Queen Elizabeth II would have seen fit to bestow an honorary knighthood on a certain Steven Paul Jobs by now. After all, Sir Bill received his back in 2005 even though his company couldn’t quite get its cellphone or tablet strategies to stick with consumers. According to an anonymous senior Labour MP who left Parliament in the last election, Jobs had reached the final stages of approval for “services to technology” only to be rejected in 2009 by the then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Why? Well, according to The Telegraph , Jobs had the audacity to turn down an offer to speak at Labour’s annual conference. In retaliation we hear that Apple is holding Jony Ive — himself, an honorary Commander of the British Empire — hostage in an infinitely looping orange grove somewhere in northern California. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Steve Jobs’ knighthood rejected by Gordon Brown? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Mar 2011 08:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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