Sonos Controller for Android with voice search will blow you away (video)
February 10, 2011 No Comment
You can exhale Sonos fans, it’s finally happening. The Sonos Controller for Android is official. After almost a year in development, the free WiFi music remote finally gives Sonos owners control over their whole-home audio system from any Android 2.1 and above device with a screen size of HVGA 320 x 480, WVGA 480 x 800 or WVGA 480 x 854. At least it will when it hits the Market at the end of March. Better yet, it trumps the Sonos iOS controller with music controls mapped directly to the buttons on your Android hardware. As such, you can control the volume of your Sonos system with the physical volume rocker on your Desire Z or use the search button on your Droid X to forage for that certain artist, track, or album. Oh, and the Sonos Controller for Android also supports voice search — take that iOS app. Sorry, Sonos isn’t announcing anything related to an Android tablet-equivalent of the Sonos controller for iPad today as the company is waiting to see how that market develops and which screen sizes and resolutions gain the most traction. Nevertheless, we’ll be getting our first hands-on opportunity of the handset controller at Mobile World Congress next week. So, until then, why not wipe the tears from your $349 Sonos CR200 controller and watch the video preview after the break. Continue reading Sonos Controller for Android with voice search will blow you away (video) Sonos Controller for Android with voice search will blow you away (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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This is what happens when you connect a few floppy drives to a PIC18f14k50 microcontroller operated by a MIDI-wielding madman. Be sure to watch until at least the 2 minute 30 second mark for a 5 1/4 inch surprise. Look closely, and you might just notice that Box 5 was left empty. [Thanks, Jussi J.] Phantom of the Floppera (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 07:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …WiFi-only Motorola Xoom tablet does its FCC duty, silver version spotted in Dubai (video)
February 10, 2011 No Comment
We heard some weird reports over the weekend that the 3G Motorola Xoom tablet couldn’t be sold unless you bought at least one month of wireless data. That, plus the groan-inducing $800 MSRP, is surely giving some potential buyers a wee bit of pause. This might help. Crossing the wires at the FCC is what appears to be a WiFi-only version of the Xoom, called a “wireless tablet with embedded WLAN.” It’s lacking a 3G radio so, unless Moto has another trick up its sleeves, this is probably that. Obviously any speculation on price would be highly… speculative, but here’s to hoping ditching that modem brings this thing down a Benjamin or so. Also spotted, this time in Dubai but also embedded below, was a silver version of the Xoom, sporting a two-tone back that will nicely complement your Casio Data Bank calculator watch. No word on whether we’ll get that on these shores, but we hope so. Variety is, dear readers, the spice of life. Continue reading WiFi-only Motorola Xoom tablet does its FCC duty, silver version spotted in Dubai (video) WiFi-only Motorola Xoom tablet does its FCC duty, silver version spotted in Dubai (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 07:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Brain-controlled robot arm kicks off new FDA program to speed up approval of medical devices
February 10, 2011 No Comment
As we’ve seen, the FDA approval process for medical devices and other gadgets can be a long one, but it looks like things could soon be speeding up considerably. The agency has just announced a new “Innovation Pathway” program that promises to allow for priority reviews of “truly pioneering technologies,” which could potentially cut the approval process time in half. Somewhat ironically, however, that program itself will first need some further review before it’s broadly deployed, but the FDA has already kicked things off on a limited basis with its first submission: a brain-controlled robotic arm from DARPA. It’s not clear which arm that is, but it sounds a lot like the now-famous ” Luke ” arm developed by Dean Kamen’s Deka organization, which just so happens to be funded by DARPA. Head on past the break for the official press release, and a video of the FDA’s webcast announcing the program. Update: A tipster has pointed out that the robotic arm seen briefly in the video after the break is actually the Modular Prosthetic Limb developed by Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory (now pictured above), not Deka’s Luke arm. Continue reading Brain-controlled robot arm kicks off new FDA program to speed up approval of medical devices Brain-controlled robot arm kicks off new FDA program to speed up approval of medical devices originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 06:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Losing your smarpthone is bad enough. But if you lose your iPhone and don’t issue a remote wipe command (available for free with the Find My iPhone app ) then you could find yourself in a world of hurt. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute Secure Information Technology (Fraunhofer SIT) can jailbreak and decrypt passwords from the iPhone’s keychain — for say, your Gmail account, corporate VPN, home WiFi, and MS Exchange — in about six minutes using existing, known exploits. Sorry kids, your flimsy lockscreen passcode won’t help. Video proof, after the break. Continue reading Researchers steal iPhone passwords in six minutes (video) Researchers steal iPhone passwords in six minutes (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 06:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Beauty Lift High Nose puts the plastic in (and leaves the surgery out of) plastic surgery
February 10, 2011 No Comment
Sizable schnoz? Problem probiscis? Looking for a dubious, crapgadgety alternative to costly rhinoplasty? A Japanese company called Omni has a device called the Beauty Lift High Nose that claims it will do the trick. You can get yours for $140 if you dare — but don’t hold out for an Engadget review before placing your order. Continue reading Beauty Lift High Nose puts the plastic in (and leaves the surgery out of) plastic surgery Beauty Lift High Nose puts the plastic in (and leaves the surgery out of) plastic surgery originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 05:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Skype for iPhone upgrade lets it videocall Skype for TV, if you actually want to
February 10, 2011 No Comment
There’s a new update out for Skype on iOS devices today that which expands the new videocalling compatibility to “a wider selection of Skype clients and devices” by adding the h.264 compatibility necessary to chat with any Skype for TV clients. That’s available on certain LG, Panasonic and Samsung HDTVs right now, while Sony and Vizio have both announced it will be in some of their new HDTVs coming out later this year. The ability to call mobile devices seems to give a big edge to Skype over other living room videochat setups from Cisco , Logitech or Microsoft’s Kinect , but even with a compatible (& pricey )camera in hand, good luck finding someone out enjoying the world who wants to chat while you’re chilling on the couch. Skype for iPhone upgrade lets it videocall Skype for TV, if you actually want to originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 03:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Researchers aim to replace copper with aluminum as a conductor in auto power systems
February 10, 2011 No Comment
As every lonely cat lady with a police scanner knows, the price of copper is as high as it’s ever been — and there is no reason this trend won’t continue. Of course, this affects more than those creeps that sneak into basements to steal the plumbing: the aforementioned ductile metal is currently the best conductor for on-board power systems in automobiles. But with any luck this might soon change. In order to replace copper with aluminum in power supply systems, several challenges need to be addressed, including the fact that aluminum creeps as temperatures increase, and the corrosive effect of bringing the two materials together. Among the efforts of Technische Universitat Munchen (TUM) and BMW to bring aluminum into EV s, the LEIKO power plug uses a sheet metal cage and a pressure spring to allow copper and aluminum elements to remain in contact. If all goes according to plan, TUM’s Professor Udo Lindemann (not to be confused with Udo Dirkschneider, the diminutive frontman of German heavy metal bands Accept and U.D.O.) predicts that “the high-voltage on-board systems of most electric vehicles to be based on aluminum by 2020.” Check out an awesome picture of Dirkschneider after the break. Continue reading Researchers aim to replace copper with aluminum as a conductor in auto power systems Researchers aim to replace copper with aluminum as a conductor in auto power systems originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 03:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Mophie sneaks out new Juice Pack Air with Verizon and AT&T iPhone 4 compatibility
February 10, 2011 No Comment
There’s been no shortage of cases for Verizon’s flavor of the iPhone 4 — Ballistic, iLuv, iKit, AGF and Scosche have already announced ones of their own — but if you’re looking for a mainstay in the industry, you can now turn to Mophie . The company’s life-doubling Juice Pack Air has been ever-so-slightly reengineered to work with both AT&T and Verizon iPhone 4 units, with initial shipments expected by the end of the month. At first it’ll ship in black with silver accents, while soft-touch red and glossy white versions are scheduled for release shortly thereafter. Still $79.95, and still awfully hard to resist for 3G power users. Continue reading Mophie sneaks out new Juice Pack Air with Verizon and AT&T iPhone 4 compatibility Mophie sneaks out new Juice Pack Air with Verizon and AT&T iPhone 4 compatibility originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 02:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Rovi Connected Platform brings another flavor of Android-to-anything streaming
February 10, 2011 No Comment
And then, there were two. Just days after Qualcomm pushed out its DLNA Certified Skifta Android app for streaming content from your smartphone / tablet to just about anything else, along comes Rovi with an awfully similar alternative. The company — which swallowed up Sonic Solutions just months ago — obviously has a thing for slinging contained media all over the place, and its new Connected Platform will soon be available pre-ported to Android 2.1 or higher. In short, that’ll enable Android devices to beam multimedia stored on their microSD cards to an array of PCs, set-top boxes or NAS devices, which in turn would be connected to a monitor or HDTV of some sort. The dirty details on what kinds of devices it’ll support remain murky, but we’re hoping to hear more once the app makes its debut in the Android Marketplace sometime this quarter. Something tells us you’ll need a phone with a bit more oomph than the Acclaim to actually have decent streaming performance, though. Continue reading Rovi Connected Platform brings another flavor of Android-to-anything streaming Rovi Connected Platform brings another flavor of Android-to-anything streaming originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 01:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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