Northwestern University’s curvilinear ‘eyeball camera’ is squishy, just like yours
January 20, 2011 No Comment
We’ve seen gooey lenses before, the Varioptic variety already having found a home in an honest to gosh retail product . But, this is a little different. It’s called the “eyeball camera,” a curvilinear lens and sensor system developed by a team at Northwestern University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It uses a similar sort of flexible design, this one actuated by varying the pressure of fluids in the device — higher pressure for convex, lower pressure for concave. Interestingly here the camera sensor itself flexes right along with the lens, and while the maximum zoom is currently a measly 3.5x, higher power is said to be possible — eventually. No word was given on when we might see these coming to market, so don’t pull a Batou and get rid of your fleshy ones just yet. Northwestern University’s curvilinear ‘eyeball camera’ is squishy, just like yours originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Jan 2011 20:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We’ve seen a lot of DIY clock mods in the past, but the Lunchtime Clock has to be the most useless. It’s great in theory: the thing speeds up 20 percent starting at 11AM and slows down twenty percent at 11:48AM. So, at 11:48AM the clock reads noon, and by 1:00PM it’s back in sync, giving you an extra 12 minutes to digest that chili dog you so hastily sucked down before returning to work. Here’s the catch: watches, cellphones, and computers also tell time, and if you work in an office where you’ve got to fake it to get an extra 12 minutes with your chili dog, you can bet your boss isn’t trusting ye olde wall clock. So, before you go tinkering with your office timepiece, thank the heavens you’ve been blessed with an hour long lunch break to begin with. We hear the guy at the chili dog stand only gets 15 minutes. Lunchtime Clock mod offers false promises to beleaguered office workers originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Jan 2011 19:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Second-gen CherryPad rumored to feature better specs for a bigger price tag
January 19, 2011 No Comment
After seeing Android tablets galore at CES, it seems strangely fitting that a device bearing the CherryPad moniker could top off this month’s tablet news dog pile. Specifically, Mobile Magazine is sharing “unconfirmed details” about a new 7-inch Cherry-branded tablet that’s said to run Android 2.2 “at a minimum” and feature a 1024×600 capacitive multi-touch display, front and rear three megapixel cameras, a 1GHz Cortex A8 cpu, and either 8 or 16GB of flash memory. Other goodies on the sequel’s spec list include an integrated HDMI output, accelerometer, microSD slot and even an unlocked GSM antenna. Unfortunately, these enhancements won’t be available at the old CherryPad’s $200 price point — which was pretty much the only thing the original had going for it. Instead, the new device is rumored to cost $300 to $400. The same source also reports that an official announcement is expected in just a few weeks, so in the meantime, we’ll pass the hours debating whether it makes more sense to name tablets after fruits or rocks . Second-gen CherryPad rumored to feature better specs for a bigger price tag originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Jan 2011 19:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Microsoft tracks down ‘phantom data’ bug in Windows Phone 7, points finger at unnamed third party
January 19, 2011 No Comment
Tired of your Windows Phone 7 device sending and receiving random bouts of data ? Well, Microsoft is, too — and they’ve started to reach some conclusions from that investigation opened a few days ago. Apparently, there’s a “third party” that’s responsible for the misbehavior, and Redmond’s already reached out to help ‘em make the necessary fixes; the story isn’t necessarily over, though, because they’re still “investigating additional potential root causes,” which we presume could involve the operating system itself. As for the third party, it seems a “small” number of customers are affected, which probably explains why it’s taken this long for the complaints to come to a rolling boil. Here’s the full statement: “We have determined that a third-party solution commonly accessed from Windows Phones is configured in a manner that potentially causes larger than expected data downloads. We are in contact with the third party to assist them in making the necessary fixes, and are also pursuing potential workarounds to address the configuration issue in case those are needed. At this point in our investigation, we believe this is responsible for most of the reported incidents. We are investigating additional potential root causes for the remainder of the reports. A small (low single-digit) percentage of Windows Phone customers have reported being affected. We are continuing to investigate this issue and will update with additional information and guidance as it becomes available.” Microsoft tracks down ‘phantom data’ bug in Windows Phone 7, points finger at unnamed third party originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Jan 2011 18:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …IBM forms new partnership with ARM in hopes of developing ludicrously small mobile processors
January 19, 2011 No Comment
We’ve seen IBM and ARM team up before, but this week both companies announced a new joint initiative to develop chips measuring 14nm. That’s significantly smaller than the ridiculously tiny 20nm SoCs ARM hopes to create in partnership with TSMC, and makes the company’s previous work with IBM on 32nm semiconductors look like a cake walk. The potential benefits, though, are faster processors that require less power, which both firm’s hope will pave the way for a new generation of devices. Who knows if or when we’ll see tangible results from the tag team, but if IBM’s Watson can beat Jeopardy champions , creating smaller semiconductors should be elementary, right? To read over the full announcement check out the press release after the break. Continue reading IBM forms new partnership with ARM in hopes of developing ludicrously small mobile processors IBM forms new partnership with ARM in hopes of developing ludicrously small mobile processors originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Jan 2011 18:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …iOS 4.3 beta 2 released, iPad multitasking gestures just a developer preview
January 19, 2011 No Comment
Apple just dropped iOS 4.3 beta 2 on world, and with it a big sad bomb: those nifty iPad multitasking gestures we discovered in beta 1 won’t be enabled when 4.3 ships to customers. Instead, Cupertino says it’s “providing this preview to gather input on how these gestures work with your apps,” Oh well — there’s always 4.4, or even iOS 5, we suppose. We’re on the lookout for other new features, but for now let us know what else you spot in comments, okay? [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] iOS 4.3 beta 2 released, iPad multitasking gestures just a developer preview originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Jan 2011 17:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …AT&T tweaking messaging plans, killing some upgrade discounts, raising fees and MicroCell pricing
January 19, 2011 No Comment
How on Earth have Verizon and AT&T both decided to kill off their upgrade discount programs within a few days of each other? Hard to say, but we’ve gotten a little peek at some new policies designed to “streamline” things that are apparently coming into effect next Sunday, January 23rd — and very few (if any) of them are going to bring a smile to your face. Here’s the gist: There’ll be a new text package of 1,000 messages for $10 with overage at 10 cents apiece. This compares to 5 cents at the 1,500 / $15 level and 10 cents at the 200 / $5 level. Speaking of those other text packages, they’re going away. Both the 200 and 1,500 text plans are goners. Obviously, if you’re already on them, you shouldn’t be affected — you just won’t be able to select them for new plans or changes anymore. Early upgrade pricing on new iPhones — the standard subsidized price plus $200 — will only be available six months into an existing iPhone activation. $50 and $100 discounts on top of subsidized pricing for upgrading customers — similar to Verizon’s recently-killed New Every Two program — are going away. If you’re currently eligible, you’ll still be eligible to take advantage through July 23rd of this year. Family plan add-a-line activation is increasing $10 to $36. International voice roaming prices are changing in 117 countries. That’s a lot of countries! We’re assuming most of those rates are going up, not down, though we don’t have details at this point. Calling to Canada is going from 29 cents per minute to 39 cents. The 3G MicroCell is increasing in price from $149.99 to $199.99, which seems like a really bizarre move to us — hard to say what the motivation is there. Certain “pre-selected” customers will still receive special discount offers for it in the mail, though. Check out full details on the changes in the gallery below. [Thanks, anonymous tipster] Gallery: AT&T tweaking messaging plans, killing some upgrade discounts, raising fees and MicroCell pricing AT&T tweaking messaging plans, killing some upgrade discounts, raising fees and MicroCell pricing originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Jan 2011 17:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Samsung just introduced a slew of new cameras at CES earlier this month, but it’s now already back with another batch, which consists of five low to mid-range point-and-shoots in its ST series. Those begin with the $100 ST30 model, and move on up to the ST65, ST90 and touchscreen-equipped ST95, before topping out with the $230 ST6500 (pictured above), which packs a 16 megapixel sensor, a 5x optical zoom, 720p video recording, and the same touchscreen interface as the ST95. As for the rest of the lot, you can expect to get between 10 and 16 megapixels, either a 3x or 5x optical zoom, and 720p video recording on all but the ST30. Head on past the break for the press releases with the complete specs, and look for all five cameras to be available in February or March. Gallery: Samsung ST series point-and-shoot cameras Continue reading Samsung rolls out five new ST series point-and-shoot cameras Samsung rolls out five new ST series point-and-shoot cameras originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Jan 2011 16:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Ah, there we go. After a bit of a false start , Boxee’s rolling out Vudu to the Boxee Box today — you can either hold tight for the auto update in the next 24 hours, or trigger the manual update in Settings. Vudu’s offering new users who sign up on the Boxee Box a $5.99 credit, which is just one cent short of three $2-for-2-nights Vudu HDX rentals, so that’s very clever. Vudu remains Vudu — 1080p/24 video, 5.1 audio — but we’ll obviously give it a look on the Box to check it out. As for other improvements, there are quite a few; highlights include better browser performance with HTTPS support, a sorting option to ignore “the” or “a” in titles, more deinterlacing controls, a whole host of bug fixes, and quite a bit more. Not bad — we’ll let you know if we discover anything crazy. PR and the full changelog after the break. Continue reading Vudu arrives on the Boxee Box, along with a host of big fixes Vudu arrives on the Boxee Box, along with a host of big fixes originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Jan 2011 15:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Acer: netbooks will not be phased out, Sandy Bridge tablets not coming any time soon
January 19, 2011 No Comment
Stop ordering the caskets! Clearing up yesterday’s somewhat shady reports , Acer’s PR team has issued an official press release stating that company has no intentions to halt production on its Aspire One line of netbooks. Instead it claims that its new array of Android tablets “will find their space next to netbooks and notebooks.” In addition to that, Acer’s taking on the Sandy Bridge tablet rumor that also spouted up, and clarifying that tablets based on Intel’s new laptop / desktop platform “are not yet foreseen.” That syncs up with what we had heard yesterday — that Acer’s announced 4.8-, 7-, 10-inch Android tablets will launch in April in the US and that it would likely wait for the forthcoming ultra-low voltage (ULV) Sandy Bridge parts if it were in fact going to put Intel’s next generation Core processors into tablets. That certainly clears up a lot — hit the break for Acer’s official statement. Continue reading Acer: netbooks will not be phased out, Sandy Bridge tablets not coming any time soon Acer: netbooks will not be phased out, Sandy Bridge tablets not coming any time soon originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Jan 2011 14:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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