Texas student sends robot to school in his place, can’t get it to do his homework
February 3, 2011 No Comment
You may have recently seen telepresence robots played for laughs on The Big Bang Theory , but they do also have quite a few practical purposes, and high school student Lyndon Baty from Knox City, Texas is now using one to particularly great effect. He has a weakened immune system that prevents him from actually attending school, so he’s using a remotely-controlled Vgo telepresence “robot” that allows him to move from class to class and interact with teachers and other students using nothing more than his laptop and webcam at home. The bot itself is four-feet tall, self-balancing, and simply packs a basic video conferencing system up top that allows its operator to interact with their surroundings — at $5,000, it’s also considerably cheaper than some other similar options . As Popular Science notes, however, this isn’t the first time that a telepresence bot has gone to school — a student in Russia suffering from leukemia has also been using a similar bot since September of last year as part of a pilot project from the robot’s designers. Head on past the break for the local news report from Texas. Continue reading Texas student sends robot to school in his place, can’t get it to do his homework Texas student sends robot to school in his place, can’t get it to do his homework originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Feb 2011 19:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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The mobile rumor mill has been abuzz about Verizon’s potential move away from unlimited data plans for a long time now, but we’re not putting the rumors to rest. In fact, we’re just fanning the flames — according to the folks at Droid Life , Big Red’s $30 unlimited data plan could be coming to 4G LTE. The site’s sources point out that this might mean $30 plus $15 for 4G data, and that pricing structures are likely to change as the LTE Juggernaut powers ahead. Considering the first Verizon 4G phones haven’t even made it to market yet, unlimited data might be around for sometime to come … then again, it might not — don’t you just love speculation? Verizon 4G LTE might offer $30 unlimited data plan, if you’re lucky originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Feb 2011 19:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Technocel’s $70 PowerPak Duo battery pack doubles up on USB ports, ships April 1st
February 3, 2011 No Comment
Technocel’s original PowerPak (and Battery Boost) were both among our arsenal of gadgets used at this year’s CES , and they proved incredibly useful for juicing up a dead MiFi or smartphone without having to remain tethered to an AC outlet. As you well know, we’re pretty big fans of external battery packs, and it seems as if Technocel has addressed the one major gripe we had with the first-generation PowerPak. The Duo is essentially the same kind of gizmo, but with a lot more oomph and double the ports. It’s a squared power brick with an internal 2500mAh lithium-ion battery (compared to 1600mAh in the earlier build), and rather than having a single USB port, this guy’s got two; moreover, it’s far easier to look at, and is said to provide up to 7.5 extra hours of talk time to the average phone. The company also throws in a half-million interchangeable tips that are compatible with around 95 percent of handheld USB devices, and based on word directly from Technocel, it’ll go on sale April 1st for $69.99. Gallery: Technocel PowerPak Duo battery charger Technocel’s $70 PowerPak Duo battery pack doubles up on USB ports, ships April 1st originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Feb 2011 18:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Motorola’s dangled an Android 2.1 upgrade in front of CLIQ XT users for what seems like forever — now it’s putting away the bait indefinitely. In a statement released this morning, the company said that despite months of rigorous testing, the phone will remain on Android 1.5. We first heard promises of an update in June last year, but Motorola quickly reneged . In November, its predecessor got an upgrade , but the CLIQ XT was left hanging. Then in December, the company announced a delay , citing “additional testing,” and when those tests failed to bear fruit, it just plain gave up. Now CLIQ XT users are stuck with a phone indefinitely sporting an OS that’s three steps behind the most up-to-date competition, and unfortunately, that’s all she wrote — Motorola shows no signs of pursuing another upgrade anytime soon. And that, friends, is your cue to pick up a handset made by HTC and situated on Verizon Wireless . [Thanks, Josh] CLIQ XT won’t get Android 2.1 upgrade, Motorola’s word as good as dirt originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Feb 2011 18:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Sony’s Kaz Hirai discusses NGP strategy, longevity, expectations (video)
February 3, 2011 No Comment
Why was the NGP announced so far ahead of its launch? How long does Sony expect the NGP to reign before a refresh is needed? What impact will the NGP have on Nintendo’s supremacy in mobile gaming? Each of those questions has been handled by Sony Computer Entertainment’s chief Kaz Hirai in a video interview you can now eyeball after the break. In case you want the textual version of his responses, Kaz says the PSP successor was unveiled early in order to allow Sony to get as many third-party developers on board as possible (which is a lot easier when you don’t have to worry about them leaking your hardware to Engadget), the new mobile console’s lifetime should be no less than what we’ve come to expect from Sony’s home consoles (so at least four or five years), and Sony’s weapons for attacking Nintendo’s dominance will be the litany of integrated sensors and connectivity options at the NGP’s disposal. Kaz is careful to note that Sony is only aiming to improve on the PSP’s current install base, but we suspect Sony’s unofficial ambitions are far higher than that. Continue reading Sony’s Kaz Hirai discusses NGP strategy, longevity, expectations (video) Sony’s Kaz Hirai discusses NGP strategy, longevity, expectations (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Feb 2011 17:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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It’s brief and a bit blurry, but in the midst of a 14-minute demonstration of the BlackBerry PlayBook the folks from Lotusphere Podcasts scored something of a first: a demo of the tablet finally using portrait mode. Unfortunately, we don’t get a look at much more than the home screen and the keyboard, and it appears that the functionality might not be perfected just yet — the PlayBook used for the first ten minutes of the video was the usual horizontal-only deal, and the portrait-enabled model was quickly put back on the table after the brief demo. Hit up the source link below for the complete video, and look for the portrait mode to make an appearance around the 10:55 mark. BlackBerry PlayBook gets demoed in portrait mode originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Feb 2011 17:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We’re no strangers to Zigbee around these parts, using the various Alliance-certified devices to monitor our power usage and let our refrigerators talk to our washing machines . Soon our cars might be able to get in on that little conversation with the Zigbee Alliance and SAE International starting to work together. SAE develops standards and certifications in the automotive industry (amongst many others) and it embracing Zigbee Smart Energy means that we should see many more auto manufacturers adopting this tech to enable their cars to talk to the grid straight through their plugs. They’ll be able to do things like provide charging status updates and to pull down utility pricing information, ensuring your ride charges when rates are lowest. Many current and most upcoming electric cars can do this sort of thing, but they rely on wireless data connectivity to do so. Zigbee would eliminate that. No word on which manufacturers will jump on first, but given the pull the SAE has we think many will. Continue reading SAE and Zigbee team up to make plug-in cars charge smarter SAE and Zigbee team up to make plug-in cars charge smarter originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Feb 2011 16:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Dreamplug is the low-powered, lilliputian PC for people with really boring dreams
February 3, 2011 No Comment
Sure, tiny-ass PCs are nothing new, but as power increases and prices drop, things definitely get more interesting. Take, for instance, Globalscale’s DreamPlug: your hard earned $150 will get you a 1.2GHz Marvell Sheeva ARM processor, 512MB of DDR 2 (800MHz) RAM, 1GB storage, not one but two gigabit ethernet ports, two USB 2.0 ports, an eSATA 2.0 port, SD card slot, Wi-Fi b/g, Bluetooth, and a headphone jack. And it all sits in the plug itself! And it draws a scant five watts of power. Of course, this isn’t gonna replace your trusty desktop, but we’re sure you can think of all sorts of clever uses for this bad boy. Set to start shipping sometime this month, hit the source link to get started. Dreamplug is the low-powered, lilliputian PC for people with really boring dreams originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Feb 2011 15:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Aava Mobile reportedly set to reveal Medfield-based Android / MeeGo phone at MWC
February 3, 2011 No Comment
Eager for a way to forget about Moorestown ? We wouldn’t be shocked if Intel was in the same camp, and if this here rumor pans out, it could be Medfield acting as the amnesia at Mobile World Congress. If you’ll recall, Intel briefly showed off a Medfield-based phone late last month, and now we’re hearing that Aava Mobile — the same company responsible for a WoW-crunching Moorestown demonstration at Computex — is poised to release a real stunner in Barcelona. Slashgear has it on good authority that Aava’s second-generation Core design will be officially rolled out in a matter of days, complete with Intel Inside, an 8.9mm-thick chassis, Android and MeeGo. You read correctly — both mobile operating systems will be supported. It’s said that Aava doesn’t actually plan on hawking these to consumers; instead, they’ll be shuttled off to developers in order to promote its integrated ACPU and modem platform. Hard to say if the shell we’ll (hopefully) see at MWC will remain final, but you can bet we’ll be digging for more once the show floor opens. Aava Mobile reportedly set to reveal Medfield-based Android / MeeGo phone at MWC originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Feb 2011 15:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We came, we saw, we took pictures. A London-based startup by the name of Agility today unveiled its first and only product, the Saietta electric sports bike , and we just had to pop out to the MCN Motorcycle Show in its hometown to peep it for ourselves. Well, what is there to say that the pictures don’t already? We should probably start off with that massive hump you see up front. At first glance it makes the bike look extremely front-heavy, but it is in actual fact mostly a shell — made of a lightweight composite material whose ingredients we were not allowed to know — which channels air into the areas that need cooling and, more importantly, optimizes the hell out of this two-wheeler’s aerodynamics. There’s an exposed double wishbone suspension system, just some of the eye candy on this extremely reflective racer, and the weight balance is, contrary to our first impression, almost perfectly even. This is due to the battery packs being stashed in the center, just in front of a brushed DC motor with 90+ percent efficiency (Agility tells us the whole roaring machine has an 83 percent throughput efficiency). Gallery: Agility Saietta eyes-on There will be a choice of body panels, we saw a highly reflective chrome one, but a tamer red version is also available. Speaking of colors, the tiny speedometer lights up in a snazzy blue for night riding. We were looking at only the company’s third production prototype, but pre-orders are already being taken — at prices of just under
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