Vulkano Blast and Flow due this month, streaming your media all over the place
January 13, 2011 No Comment
You know what was missing form Vulkano ‘s last release? More pun-ful names, that’s what. Enter the Vulkano Blast and Flow do-it-all media boxes. For $99, the latter boasts watching live TV, browsing episode guides, and accessing recorded content via PC, Macs, smartphones, and various tablets — iOS, BlackBerry, and Android for now, according to the press release, with Windows (Phone?) 7 and Symbian on the horizon. Meanwhile, the Blast adds HDMI out, UPnP support, and a 160GB hard drive for $199. Both have a 802.11n router and both are due out this month, if ya dig. Vulkano Blast and Flow due this month, streaming your media all over the place originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 22:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …NC State’s coiled nanowire discovery could lead to stretchable electronic devices
January 13, 2011 No Comment
Cotton may very well be the fabric of our lives, but it’d sure feel a lot better draped across our skin if we could incorporate stretchable electronic devices into it. That’s the goal of NC State’s own Dr. Yong Zhu, who has worked with a team of gurus to create “the first coils of silicon nanowire on a substrate that can be stretched to more than double their original length.” Essentially, this type of breakthrough brings us one (major) step closer to “incorporating stretchable electronic devices into clothing, implantable health-monitoring devices, and a host of other applications.” Compared to prior studies on buckling, this particular approach one-ups those focusing on freestanding nanowires, with the new coils’ mechanical properties enabling them to be “stretched an additional 104 percent beyond their original length.” That’s a lot of technobabble, for sure, but what you need to realize is just how amazing your life will be as soon as The Zhu Crew figures out how to improve the reliability of the electrical performance when the coils are stretched to the limit. Flexible PMPs woven into your ski jacket? Bendable LCDs sewn right into your car’s headrests? The future… it’s here . NC State’s coiled nanowire discovery could lead to stretchable electronic devices originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 22:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Samsung WiFi-enabled RF4289 fridge cools, eats and tweets; we go hands-on
January 13, 2011 No Comment
Other brands may view networked fridges as the key to going green, but it seems Samsung is more interested in letting users access Pandora or tweet while grabbing a snack. At least that’s the impression we got from its staff while playing with the RF3289 fridge at CES, which the brand touts is the first of its kind to feature integrated WiFi. To be fair the unit provides a few pragmatic features too like the ability to view Google calendars, check the weather, download recipes from Epicurious, or leave digital notes — though we’d have been more impressed by functions such as remote temperature adjustment or food spoilage alerts. We also found that the stainless steel exterior made reading the 8-inch LCD touchscreen screen difficult from more than a few feet away. Otherwise, further details on the software and definite pricing are nonexistent at this point, but we do know the appliance will be available to cutting-edge Canadians sometime in May. For more details check out shots of the UI in the gallery below, and hit up Samsung’s vague press release after the break. Gallery: Samsung Wi-Fi-enabled RF4289 fridge Continue reading Samsung WiFi-enabled RF4289 fridge cools, eats and tweets; we go hands-on Samsung WiFi-enabled RF4289 fridge cools, eats and tweets; we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 22:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …AT&T and Verizon are the same bag of 3G hurt for iPhone owners, says T-Mobile (video)
January 13, 2011 No Comment
Want some help with your newfound choice of iPhone carrier? Let T-Mobile break it down for you in an entirely unbiased and dispassionate fashion. The pink carrier’s latest hit piece commercial highlights the fact that, whether on Verizon or AT&T, the iPhone only has recourse to 3G connectivity, painting the two carriers as a pair of grey suits distinguishable only by the color of their ties. It’s a cute way to promote your own 4G network, sure, but it conveniently disregards the fact that Verizon’s enriching its LTE ( Lightning! Thunder! Electric! ) network with some true superphones while AT&T is similarly committed to a 2011 LTE rollout . So, really, the only thing under critique here is Apple’s rapidly aging 3G wonder. Skip the break to see the video ad. Continue reading AT&T and Verizon are the same bag of 3G hurt for iPhone owners, says T-Mobile (video) AT&T and Verizon are the same bag of 3G hurt for iPhone owners, says T-Mobile (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 21:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Active-i sunglasses slyly capture video, plays it back on integrated display
January 13, 2011 No Comment
Interactive Group — the same folks who ruined our lives last year with Cyber Clean — are back. Seriously back. The company’s latest gimmick gizmo is the Active-i sunglasses, hailed as the planet’s smallest standalone video and audio recording / playback device. Put simply, you’ll get a set of somewhat unsightly sunglasses (with “polarized lenses for optimum UV-protection,” no less) with a built-in video camera right along the bridge of the nose. It’s placed there for maximum stealth, and it’s capable of capturing up to two hours of low-res video; after the deed is done, users can actually view it back on the monocular viewer, or if you need to break it down Jack Bauer-style, you can offload clips onto your PC or Mac via USB. There’s also a TV output, a microSD expansion slot and a bundled carrying case, but your guess is as good as ours when it comes to pricing. Something tells us your local spy store may be more “clued in.” Continue reading Active-i sunglasses slyly capture video, plays it back on integrated display Active-i sunglasses slyly capture video, plays it back on integrated display originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 21:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …AC Ryan unveils Realtek-based Playon!HD2 and Playon!HD Mini2 media streamers
January 13, 2011 No Comment
AC Ryan already took a few precious moments to introduce its FLUXX media player , but given that one new streamer in a month isn’t nearly “enough,” the outfit’s dishing out two more this week. The Playon! HD2 and Playon! HD Mini2 are both based around Realtek’s 1185 media processor, tout gigabit Ethernet and will soon have access to the WePlayon! content portal. For all intents and purposes, both of these boxes are identical save for a couple of major differences: the HD2 ships with space for a 3.5-inch HDD (whereas the Mini2 goes drive-less), and there’s also support for 802.11n WiFi on the big daddy if you spring for an optional adapter. Oh, and the HD2 has a larger chassis — go figure, right? You’ll also get a USB 3.0 port on the HD2 if you’d like to connect up any other media, and you’ll be able to find either in stores starting next month. As for prices? The empty units will sell for $169 (HD2) / $109 (Mini2), while the former can be ordered up with a 500GB ($205), 1TB ($229), 1.5TB ($259) or 2TB ($289) hard drive within. Continue reading AC Ryan unveils Realtek-based Playon!HD2 and Playon!HD Mini2 media streamers AC Ryan unveils Realtek-based Playon!HD2 and Playon!HD Mini2 media streamers originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 20:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Kinect hacked to work with Flash, Wiimotes, we can’t imagine what’s next (video)
January 13, 2011 No Comment
It’s safe to say that, on the console gaming front, the Wiimote and the Kinect are competitors. But, take a step away to the world of PC gaming, and suddenly they can get along like old chums. That’s what’s demonstrated in the video below, created by YouTuber demize2010, which shows Call of Duty controlled by Wiimote, Nunchuk, and Kinect, enabling reloads, knife attacks, and peeking around corners. But wait, there’s more! The Blitz marketing agency has worked up a demo in which the Kinect can be used with a Flash interface, which doesn’t look too dissimilar from what Microsoft uses on the Xbox . This could open the door to fancier websites — if indeed any large number of PC owners ever actually wind up buying a Kinect. Both videos can be seen below. Kinect hacked to work with Flash, Wiimotes, we can’t imagine what’s next (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 20:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Stronger-than-steel palladium glass paves way for dental implants of the future
January 13, 2011 No Comment
A team of researchers at Caltech and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have created a new type of glass that’s stronger than steel, but it might not make it out of your oral surgeon’s office. The material is a combination of glass’ simplest form, called marginal glass, the metal palladium , and small fractions of phosphorus, silicon, germanium, and silver, making it resistant to massive amounts of pressure and strain. A glass this strong has endless potential in the way of structural application — think cars, planes, and bridges. Thing is, though, palladium is super expensive, and researchers involved in the project say the best applications are in products like dental implants, which are currently made of soft, stiff noble metals, more likely to cause complications like bone atrophy. Chances are we won’t see super strong glass bridges anytime soon, but the new glass dental implants could be in your mouth as early as 2016. Filed under: Science Stronger-than-steel palladium glass paves way for dental implants of the future originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 20:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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So far, iPad keyboard cases seem to follow two schools of thought — the folio and the mini-clamshell — and while both have their merits, neither do the job quite as well as the set of chiclets on your standard netbook. Best Buy’s in-house Rocketfish label has a different idea: forget about making it svelte, and just hand you a full-size Bluetooth laptop keyboard that holds your iPad as well. It’s called the iCapsule, and as you can probably tell it can accommodate your slate in both portrait and landscape modes, and when you’re done it folds up into a hardshell case with an integrated carrying handle. The unit takes two AA batteries — rather than a rechargeable Li-ion cell — and costs $100 to own, though it’s presently both on sale for $80 and unfortunately out of stock. We’ll let you know if we get the chance to try it for ourselves. Two more pics at our source link, if it has piqued your curiosity by now. [Thanks, Yeti] Rocketfish iCapsule keyboard case looks ugly but exceedingly useful originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 19:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …MetroPCS alleged to be violating net neutrality rules with new LTE plans
January 12, 2011 No Comment
Well, it looks like the fine print in MetroPCS’ new LTE pricing plans is causing more than just some confusion among MetroPCS customers — as CNET reports, it’s now also drawn the ire of several public interest groups, who allege that the carrier is violating the FCC’s new net neutrality rules . For those not familiar with the new plans, they include a $40 plan for unlimited web browsing plus YouTube, and a $50 plan that adds 1GB of “additional data access” that covers things not considered to be “web browsing” by MetoPCS — Netflix, Skype, etc. That, in effect, creates two different types of “data,” and leaves MetroPCS as the only voice deciding what gets included in one plan and not the other. For its part, MetroPCS insists that its “new rate plans comply with the FCC’s new rules on mobile open Internet,” and that it is simply offering “increased consumer choice” by offering different rate plans. MetroPCS alleged to be violating net neutrality rules with new LTE plans originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 18:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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